Kida frowned as she attentively followed the conversation but the whole thing seemed foreign to her. She doesn't mean to judge but she is thoroughly confused by the statement of the bandits. "Your emporer is not aware of the hunger you suffer? How can that be? Why must you be invited by a ... summon... to speak to your emporer and explain in what dire need of assistance you are?"

She turned to the person she had embedded her dart into and asked to retrieve it though she pulled it out before an answer was given. Quick and painless was her merit. "I apologise", she said.

Then she turned to the person who seemed in possession of said summon. "The emporer wants to see you but you do not know why? Is the birthday of an emporer usually a reason not to summon one's people? How would someone contact the emporer? Surely there's a... spokesperson or such? Someone to address instead who then will inform the emporer about matters such as these?"

Seeing no indication that the violence was about to continue anytime soon, the Huntsman sheathed his shortswords and listened quietly to the conversation as it went on. When the men in black revealed that they were in fact little more than desperate, starving peasants driven to the ends of their ropes by the rule of their Emperor, the Huntsman sympathized with them. He knew what it was like to live under such rule. While it wasn't as bad as this in Ebenholm, the Queen ruling fairly and competently when in view of the common folk, the regular disappearances of young women beautiful enough to contest the Queen's spot as the Fairest One of All was a constant source of sadness for the people. And while he himself hadn't starved under the Queen's rule, it had been a long time since the Huntsman's dreams had gone untroubled by the guilt he carried from the part he was forced to play in those regular disappearances.

The Huntsman emerged from his thoughts when one of his newfound companions approached the man she had injured during the fight, asked if she could reclaim her dart, and then did so before the man could answer. Had he been a little more on his toes, the Huntsman would have tried to stop her. But as he had been lost in his thoughts only a moment ago, it had already happened by the time he realized it was happening. Fortunately, it didn't seem like the removal had seriously injured the man. But even so, the Huntsman tensed in anticipation of the act possibly reigniting hostilities.

Shang simply pretended not to hear the question about why they would arm themselves. Instead he chose to continue addressing the peasant, "Maybe it would be wise to have some company for your trip? There's safety in numbers and I wouldn't want another mishap like this happening." he offered. Obviously the summons was for that man in particular and no one else, but that didn't mean the man had to travel potentially unsafe roads alone.

With a sigh, he reached into his own pocket, "Here," he said to the two other men with his hand held out. In it was two gold pieces, "It's what I can spare. You're welcome to it."

Upon hearing Kida's questions, the bandits looked to each other befuddled at her lack of knowledge of this place.

They answer her taking turns to speak,
"Well...it's not that he's not aware...it's more of--"
"It's more like he doesn't care about anyone but himself!"
"Our summons to see him is our best chance, because when we tried before, we could only speak with his Advisor, Yzma,"
"She is scary beyond all reason! And when we told her about our food insecurity, she told us, 'We should have thought about that before we became peasants!'"

The only reaction one of the bandits had to Kida pulling out a dart was a simple, deadpan "Ow,"

The peasant then answered Kida's question, "I'm afraid I don't know why. The messenger didn't say when he delivered the summons. And as they said, it seems the Advisor speaks with the people..."

Then Shang stepped up and offered to travel with the peasant. He answered him, "Oh! That's very kind of you, thank you! I don't mind traveling with company, and I don't think the guards would mind either as long you're with me,"

He then realized something and he introduced himself, "Oh right! My name is Pacha. It's nice to meet you,"

The bandits were surprised and elated to receive two more gold pieces from Shang and they looked to him in awe. They both profusely thanked him,

"Thank you so much! This will really help!"
"Seriously! We can't thank you enough, sir!"

When the locals explained to her that their emperor seemed to not care for the dire state his people were in, she felt a slow and bubbling anger build within her. These people were starving. The very same people who kept the country running, who farmed the food and build the houses and taught children and were needed for its defenses and growth. Self serving people never understood the value of a community, the value of people well-fed, taken care of and educated where possible. It made her wonder why an emperor so self-centered and uncaring wanted to invite a peasant to his palace on his birthday. Surely not to inquire about their needs or ask for their opinion.

"I shall also accompany you", Kida said as Li Shang extended his offer. She came here to find aid for her people. And what she had found so far was a group of seemingly caring and capable people as well as a strange land with an uncaring emperor. Ideally, that emperor was more caring than the tale of the three locals let on but she doubted it. It was worth a shot meeting him anyway. If they would even get that far. But this was definitely the way forward. And if she would find no help with the authorities of this place, she was still certain she could find help with the other strangers she had met in this tavern place.

"Pacha", she rolled the name on her tongue. It was different from what she knew but so was everything here. "It is nice to make your acquaintance. I am Kidagakash."

Mabel glanced at what was left of the rest of her food. All this had kind of put a damper on this meal with new friends thing. Some of the others continued talking, sorting out that Shang and Kida wished to accompany Pacha to the palace. That seemed like enough people to guard him. . . probably. The palace sounded impressive too, but also like it was full of toxic people. Plus that would be a major sidetrack to getting home.

Mabel slipped her juice off the table and downed the rest of it quickly. Then, ignoring what was left of the food, she slipped out of her chair and adjusted the straps on her pack. “Well, since that sounds settled, Mabel here” she indicated herself by pointing with her thumbs, fingers still wrapped around the straps, “needs to find herself a map, so she can get back to her great uncle's village. Thank you everybody, it's been weird.”

She shot the group finger guns. Then she looked over at Pacha and the bandit peasants, “Don't suppose there's a mapmaker's shop nearby?”

The group had decided to accompany the peasant, known as Pacha to the palace. That sounded like a good idea… until Mabel decided to go her own way, and asked about a mapmaker, and Ariel’s eyes lit up. A mapmaker might know where to find Eric. Besides, if she were being honest, she didn’t want to be anywhere near Shang… He just seemed too uptight. She had enough of that at home.

“Oh, I’ll go with you!” Ariel said excitedly. “I’m looking for a certain prince, and I don’t think he’s here… You wouldn’t happen to know a man who’s tall, dark hair, and the dreamiest blue eyes you’ve ever seen? If you haven’t, a mapmaker certainly might. And maybe we can have some of this cake while we’re at it.”

"A tall, dark haired, blue eyed, prince?" The Huntsman said as he moved to join Ariel and Mabel. He looked thoughtful for a moment as he tried to put a name to that description, but the details Ariel had given weren't enough for the Huntsman to draw any concrete comparisons. He did know for certain that it wasn't any royalty from his homeland though. "Ebenholm only has a princess, so you won't find him there." The Huntsman said. "Does this prince have a name?"

Ariel had to think for a moment. “I believe the old man who was with him said his name was Prince Eric.” She replied. “I never got to talk to him. I only saw him once before the storm, and… his ship became engulfed in that thing you humans call fire, and went down. He would have drowned if I hadn’t brought him back to shore… I just want to meet him, and see if he’s ok… Do you know him?”

Mabel looked excited at the thought of Ariel joining her, though when she heard why, her expression turned more somber. "I thought I did, but he turned out to be a bunch of gnomes in a trench coat."

The Huntsman seemed to have an idea though, getting a name out of Ariel, who went on to explain the drama of their first meeting. Mabel's eyes went wide, and excitement grew in her voice, "Well that settles it! We got to get you two back together!"

She thinks for a moment about who that could be. She gets the excited look again, "Oh Tirasea has a Prince Eric! I think he matches the description! And he's the heir to the throne too!"

Using both the description and the name that Ariel provided, the Huntsman tried to finally put a finger on where this Prince Eric could be found. But as he pondered he found his thoughts constantly going back to the description Ariel gave of Prince Eric. Aside from the blue eyes, that was precisely what the Huntsman imagined Snow White would look like today if she were born a boy. And that quickly got the Huntsman thinking more and more about Snow White. What was she doing at the moment? Was she doing well? When he had last seen her, it was to say goodbye to her before he set out on this journey. She'd been so saddened by the news. He hoped he could get back soon. With any luck, he'd be able to find and deal with the right spellcaster before too long and get the call to return home that the Queen said she'd send once the caster he'd been sent out to find was dead.

The Huntsman shuddered then at the thought of the Queen. Was she treating Snow White well? Though she had seemed to ease up before he left, the Queen's jealousy had barely been held at bay by the assurances of the magic mirror before that. Many times, he had wondered if soon he would be getting the orders he had been dreading since the very first murder he had been forced to commit on the Queen's orders. The Huntsman wondered if he would have been able to defy those orders, or if his fear of the Queen would have won out over his love of Snow White...

The Huntsman was pulled from his thoughts by Mabel declaring that Tirasea was where Prince Eric lived. "Tirasea." The Huntsman said. "I know it's a costal kingdom, but not much more than that. It should be easy to find on a map of the world now that we know its name though."

Pacha looks to Kida as she offers to go with him as well, and he answers her, "Oh! Thank you! And it's nice to meet you Kidaga--....." It's clear to see that he is having trouble saying Kidagakash's full name, so he asks her politely, "I'm so sorry, is there a nickname I can call you by? I'm having a little trouble..."

Upon hearing that Mabel, Ariel, and the Huntsman were planning on going to shop, he answers Mabel's question, "There should be one in the Adventurer's Shopping District. Now that I think about it, I do need to get some chores done after my meeting with the Emperor. Perhaps we can meet up again there? I'll try and find you at the Cartographer's shop. I still want to thank you for your help today,"

With a plan agreed upon, Pacha starts to head off to the Palace. Unfortunately, as the group leaves, the same waitress informs them to never come to any of their establishments again. They clearly didn't like that a fight broke out there.

---

@Double@Benzaiten

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@rush99999@LuckyLudor@Crimson Flame

Ariel was thrilled that Mabel knew who Eric was, and where he might be. Now she was one step closer to finding him. Pacha directed them to where they could find that mapmaker, and off they went.

Ariel walked around the shopping center in awe. There were so many people, and many of them were using the gadgets, and gizmos, and whozits and whatzits she had collected before her father destroyed them. They even had thingamobs, and way more than twenty. She peeked inside every shop window to see their wares.

She walked by a man, who offered her something that she had never seen under the sea. “Flower for the lady?”

What was a flower? Was it something to eat? She remembered she didn’t eat the food back at the tavern, and this certainly looked more appetizing than what they were serving back there… Smelled better too. “Thank you!” She took it, and chomped on it. It certainly had an interesting flavor. Then walked off satisfied while the man who gave her the flower looked horrified.

But then, one of the shops she passed by filled her with dread. The Octavinelle Shop of Magical Supplies and Curiosities She looked down at the shell necklace she was wearing, then up at the sign. Was Ursula coming to collect? Now? But she had just gotten here… She turned to her travelling companions. “Um… I have to stop in here. Be right back!” She took a deep breath, and walked inside. “H-h-hello?” She called out.

The Huntsman surveyed the shopping district as he took stock of his supplies and coin. Though he had tried to pay for the tavern food, the waitress just wanted them gone by that point and said it was on the house, leaving him with the same ten gold pieces he had come here with. All he had to figure out now was how to spend it. A map of the Empire was a must, so that was one gold spent right there. Since a world map cost five gold and he wasn't sure how much coin Mabel had, the Huntsman resolved to pay for at least some of the map. Other than that, he was pretty well stocked on food and arrows and he lacked the coin to purchase better armor, so he figured he'd just follow the girls' lead and see if anything took his interest from there.

Speaking of the girls, the Huntsman noticed that Ariel was attracting attention from the locals. He smiled fondly as he watched a man offer a flower. The sight reminded the Huntsman of when he used to take Snow White out to the forest. As they rode through the town outside the castle, the common folk would often approach with gifts for the little princess. Snow White was truly beloved by the people of Ebenholm. Before he could slip too deeply into reminiscing about Snow White again, the Huntsman noticed Ariel about to eat the flower she had been offered. Before she could though, the Huntsman managed to intercept the hand carrying the flower, gently blocking its path forward. "I would advise against eating flowers. Some types can make you ill if you eat them." The Huntsman explained. "Buy a blank book while we're here and I'll show you something you can do with flowers."

When Ariel noticed the magic shop, the Huntsman noticed the unease with which she reacted to the sight. He couldn't tell why she was reacting in such a way though. "I think I shall join you. See what curiosities they have on offer." The Huntsman said as he moved to follow Ariel. As much as the cowardly part of him didn't want to find out what was making her so uneasy, the rest of him felt that he should be nearby in case Ariel found more trouble or more trouble found Ariel.

Things were going great. The Huntsman thought Ariel's prince should be easy to locate and Pacha though there was a map shop in the Adventurer's Shopping District. Mabel giggled just a little, with a place like that, you'd think the townsfolk would be more prepared. Instead of commenting on that she told Pacha, “Thank you, that is some helpful information.”

***

Mabel followed along with the Huntsman and Ariel, chatting whether they wanted to or not. She watched in confusion as Ariel tried to eat a flower and the Huntsman stopped her, suggesting he'd show her how to press it instead. Mabel smiled, still amused, “You can't eat flowers. They're for sniffing. But girl, the food was bad, wasn't it?”

They stopped in front of a curiosity shop, The Octavinelle Shop of Magical Supplies and Curiosities. Ariel said she needed to go in and the Huntsman expressed curiosity about the shops wares. Mabel shrugged and followed them inside, “Eh, sounds like somewhere that would sell the same hokey wares my Grunkle Stan peddles.”

So apparently flowers weren’t for eating… Good to know. It was too pretty to be a snack anyway. The Huntsman said he would show her what she could do with them, and Ariel would indeed hold him up to that.

Ariel entered the shop, and was immediately reminded of home. The familiar feeling continued, although not in a good way when she saw the twins and was reminded of Ursula’s eels. Then the third man reminded her of Ursula herself. Thankfully, there was no sign of the sea witch here. At least… Not yet anyway. Ariel breathed a sigh of relief.

But still, this Azul Ashengrotto was a mystery to her. “You know who I am?” Ariel questioned. “I didn’t think any humans would know of the daughters of Triton… From what I heard, we’re just myths to you…” Ariel shook her head. “Anyway, the reason I’m here. That symbol. How do you know Ursula?” She asked while holding the shell necklace.

Even hearing the reason that it was dangerous to hunt, left Kovu not really understanding. He knew hunting wasn't safe but when the other option was to starve seemed like the correct choice for survival. As he thought about it more, he came to his own conclusion. Since they depended on the Emperor to feed them human peasants must be like scavengers eating others' leftovers. In that case, they might want to find someone else to scavenge off of. He might have mentioned it but the conversation had gone onward while he was preoccupied with his thoughts

It appears to be a split of the people wanting to follow the Pacha guy to meet the Emperor person and people exploring and looking for another person or object. Kovu didn't particularly know any of these people well. But he had communicated with the bulky human guy who was accompanying two of the human girls. He also had a bad record when it came to dealing with higher authority, so it seemed best to avoid it. The last thing the Leonin needed was to get exiled from this place as well. Without words, he simply followed behind them.

------

Because Kovu had originally stuck to the unpopulated area as he transverse through the area, he didn't really see much. But now walking along the main street many curious objects caught his green eyes. His eyes stopped on a glistening sword. As he was wondering what it was made of, he walked into someone. The man's furious face looked up at him.

"Watch where you-" The man stopped midsentence and his face paled as he stared at Kovu's face. Anger quickly turned into fear. "Sorry!" He screamed out an apology as he sprinted off. The human's outburst brought inquisitive eyes to the Leonin. He reached to pull and hold his hood a little lower to cover his face.

"...Maybe I should stick to the shadows," Kovu mumbled as he glanced about... it looked like two of the group he was following was interested in one of the places. Smoothly moved into the shadow of the building and continued his observation of the area from there. The third tiny one also expressed interest so they decided to enter the structure together. Kovu entered silently behind them.

It was dark compared to the outside. He was used to the darkness as it mostly hung over the Outlands, but this darkness felt a bit different from that arid, desolated plain. Glowing lights that illuminated the area were neither fire nor a glowing insect. It felt like he entered another foreign land, that he could have never fathomed. Eventually, he entered a room with many curiosities he started to reach for the transparent bottle filled with some oddly colored liquid. He paused as the humans, the owners of this domain, approached. After the bantered, Kovu figured this was some kind of trading center. As Ariel began to inquire about a person he decided to just watch and observe for now.

Kida followed the commoner - Pacha - as he lead them towards the palace. She hasn't had much, or rather any, contact to people outside of Atlantis before. The last time she would have had the chance, she had been a small child and she did not remember much from that time. Mostly she just saw images of her mother being taken, although she knew she hadn't witnessed it - her father had shielded her -, her mind was filling the blank in dark and desperate nights.

The woman chuckled at Pacha's attempt to pronounce her name. Apparently it was unusual to these people. "Kida", she offered instead. "Is Pacha a... nickname?" And so she began to gently chat with the man as they made their way to the palace.

Upon arriving, she curiously took in the unusual coloring of the guards. She herself had tattoos and all inhabitants of Atlantis did as well. They were always blue. Seeing a person half red was new to her and she had a million questions but they were ushered to move along.

Though one curious scene would only be replaced by another as Pacha was hit with a sandal and was struggling to free an old man from a makeshift prison of some kind the next moment. It seemed he had gotten himself tangled up somehow. "Oh!", Kida exclaimed surprised and went to assist Pacha in retrieving the man and bringing him back to the floor. "However did you manage that?"

Azul Ashengrotto's initial comment about receiving royal customers confused the Huntsman. Ariel's revelation that she was the royal customer and a daughter of Triton left the Huntsman stunned. In the past, the Huntsman had read books of old myths to Snow White. Some of these myths concerned the merfolk, a race of ocean dwellers with the upper forms of humans and the lower forms of fish. If Ariel was one of them, then the Huntsman had found the hero from the depths mentioned in the Magic Mirror's rhymes. But that wasn't what loomed large in the Huntsman's mind. Instead, it was the realization that Ariel was royalty, and that all this time the way he'd been acting towards her had been completely unbefitting of someone of her status. This realization shocked him into complete silence as the scene continued around him.