[IC] The Cosmic Jest - A Fantasy with Steampunk Elements Roleplay

[KRAZY J]

Jack stayed by Veronica the entire time but none of the enemy had gotten close and the others had taken care of them. After the action gear heart brought a man still alive to speak and as he threw the claw Jack saw lucky next to Veronica and then the next second they were on the ground. Everything went so fast that next he new another assassin was being taken to the pig pen.

Jack then turned to the baron and asked "Might I have some time with the assassin so bold, in an attempt to make him spill his story untold, for I have experience with goons like this, and I can be very persuasive when the time calls upon it." Jack turned looking at the escape attempt the assassin made before Lance punched him back out and laughed a little bit as he turned back to the baron for his answer.

[IceHeart]

The baron frowned when Jack said he wanted to interrogate the last surviving assassin. As much as he would like to find a way to get at the person who hired the group, he also knew Jack did not exactly have an 'ethical' background. He might be able to garner some information but at what cost? He could not let the actions of someone under his employment reflect poorly on his family, he had trouble enough keeping his family's reputation alive with just all the incidents with his daughter being constantly discussed among the gentry.

His need to protect his daughter won out in the end. "You may do as you wish, out of sight and report back to me." The baron felt he could allow a little bending, if it would ultimately help out his daughter.

---

It did not take long for the grounds to be moved away from the carnage and soon nearly everyone in the household had come out to join in the festivities. Pies, ales, wines, plenty of fruit, cheeses, breads, and various other items to eat and drink were being based around. The baron looked at his daughter with a smile, with his wife beside him.

The Lady of the House was a pretty red-head with porcelin skin who appeared quite fragile. It was unfortunate but her appearance was actually quite in line with her physically. She was not very strong, had frequent ailments and in general was not up to the task of taking care of a daughter who almost died every Tuesday. Every moment she could spend time with her daughter was precious but the emotional and physical toil often kept her away for her own safety.

At the moment, the noble couple looked warmly at the scene of Veronica playing a game called Freeze-Run. It was a simple game where one person was the Gate-Wizard who guarded a section of ground that the others were attempting to run across. The Gate-Wizard would have their back to them, people would try to run but then the Gate-Wizard would 'cast' a freeze spell and turn around. Anyway still in motion would 'shatter' and be sent back to the beginning.

At the moment a good bit of the help had been roped into playing as Veronica played the role of the Gate-Wizard to perfection. "Mhahahah. You shall not pass! Thou shall never make it to the other side!" Complete with a giant Wizard hat the baron had acquired in the city a while ago, Veronica grinned at everyone who was stalk still. "Hmm, I must recharge my magics, it will only be a moment." Veronica turned around and started to mumble non-sense, signaling everyone involved to start running.

After a few seconds, Veronica spun around a little too quickly while yelling, "Freeze!", forcing her to use one hand to hold onto the ridiculously large purple, wide-brimmed, hat. Her free hand was pointed at the contestants, with an opened palm and fingers splayed apart for dramatic effect as if she had just cast the spell. Most managed to stop but one of the servants was in too awkward a pose and crashed to the ground.

Veronica tried to make the sound of breaking ice and would not have been very convincing had she not raised up her hands as if signaling an explosion of epic proportions. "Boom! Jill you're broken! Back to the start." The servant laughed and did as she was told.

"I hope moments like this never end." The Lady of the house whispered to her husband and slipped a dainty hand into his. The baron could only nod in agreement and bask in his daughters cuteness and his wife's kindness. It was moments like these he fought for, each and every day.

[rush99999]

Gear Heart had been roped into the game along with the other servants. Gear Heart was quite good at Freeze-Run, but only as a runner*. Although his slow and steady pace made sure he was only occasionally the 1st to pass the Gate-Wizard and the sound of his feet meeting the ground with a audible thud gave away his distance from victory, the golem had never been caught moving. Thud...Thud....Thud...Thud...The moment Veronica looked away, she could hear Gear Heart begin to move. Thud...Thud....Thud...Thu-CLANG! As Veronica turned around to freeze the runners once again, a loud clang could be heard from within Gear Heart's body as his servos locked up and rendered the golem incapable of any and all movement. Once Veronica turned away again, Gear Heart resumed moving. The process repeated itself until Gear Heart finally passed Veronica.

*After an incident where he almost hit Veronica full in the face with 1 of his large metal hands after turning a little overzealously during his 1st time being the Gate-Wizard, the baron decided letting Gear Heart play that particular role wasn't the bast idea in the world.

[Lord Orgasmo]

Lance watched as the people played their games and as food and drink were brought out. An hour or so had passed, but Lance still deciding to keep his armor on. It was easier to put on than take off. His sword was sheathed and hilt buckled on his side, to prevent anybody from taking it out without reason. His shield was still in his left hand, to the point where he had almost forgotten about it. Almost. His lance, was strapped to his back still, sharp end covered by a thick sturdy leather cover, an pointed upwards. Far out of reach from Veronica. He had recently given the poor assassin to the man called Jack. Fearing Jack might kill him, he gave J one of his Regeneration potions. Just in case he needed it. The other potion was still strapped to his belt, capped off with a cork in a vial. In the meantime, Lance had gotten a book from the manor's library. This book detailed different types of plants that could be found in the country, as well as some of their properties. All from poison-thorned plants to medicinal herbs.

[IceHeart]

The rest of the day was a resounding success. Veronica only choked on food two times, fell in the lake once, and one large watermelon almost hit her in the head. Everything was quickly taken care of as it appeared and the entire household got to enjoy themselves to the utmost.

Jack did some rather intense interrogation on the last surviving attacker but got very little useful information. Before they could give him over to authorities he committed suicide however under Jack's watch. Soon after the baron decided to fire Jack who went on back into the world. The baron was actually rather grateful he left without a fuss.

Before anyone knew it a year had already passed, making Veronica the ripe age of eleven.

---

"Are you sure this contraption is stable?" The baron questioned as he poked around his newest purchase, a horseless carriage. A very diminutive pixie fluttered around in a shocked fashion, meaning very erratically as it tried to defend its work.

"Of course it is! The gearbox has been triple-checked! I would stake my reputation as the best engineer in all of Brighton!"

"Ohh, but I thought you were the second best?" The baron countered without batting an eye as he continued his inspection over all the shiny metal that comprised the machinery that allowed the carriage to move without any animal power.

The two foot-tall pixie seemed to buzz as its ruby red wings moved like a hummingbird's wings in frustration. "Please, that no good gnome hack might have a much bigger operation but he can't do the find detail work that I can!"

"I have great respect for your work, and I really do thank you for coming all this way to do a check even after I bought it. I really hope this will make a great addition to my house and allow me to get home even sooner." It had been a very expensive purchase and he'd be feeling like he had a hole in his money pocket for a while but the benefits such a machine could bring had been too good to pass up. He just hoped it would not come and backfire on him later.

"Thank you for your service. I'll have James take care of anything you need before you head back." The baron figured this would be as safe as he could make the inspection and turned toward the pixie to thank it.

"Thank you your lordship, I'll happily take you up on the offer." The pixie's irritation gone, he flew away to find James and get some tea before heading back to Brighton.

The baron looked back at the fancy machine with worry. "Well, I hope you're up for a trip, cause it is high time I take my daughter on a trip to the city." The gear laden carriage shone with splendor as if to say it would complete the trip without fail. The baron certainly hoped that was the case.

---

Veronica happily played with a rather large playhouse in the middle of a special playroom inside the mansion. It was large, two-story, and was cut in half so that her dolls could populate the inside while she made up stories. The current drama seemed to be a family dispute between Mr and Mrs Bunny and their human offspring.

"How many times have I told Danny, you cannot go into town on your own? What if something had happened to you because of those hoodlims you hang out with?" Mrs. Bunny scolded Danny, a young boy doll with dark hair.

"Why do you always have to get in the way mom? I have great fun every time I'm over there! It's perfectly safe!" Danny argued back fiercely.

"Now you listen to your mother young man or one day you're going to regret it!" Mr Bunny said in his wife's defense.

"Honey, let me handle this." Mrs. Bunny said, then continued to explain to her son what horrible things could happen to him. The funny thing was that Veronica had actually had quite a few of things things happen, or at least been attempted against her so the drama was not exactly that far from home.

[Carlyle]

Noella Le Sciellou
^{Current Location: The Asmothe Estate (Veronica's Playhouse)}

The year went by, of course, with quite a few incidents. Wherever Veronica went, bad luck would always follow her like a stalker, yet that was the effects of her curse. Thankfully, Noella and the rest of the Baron's servants were always there to watch over his daughter like hawks. With them on patrol, surely nothing had the chance to harm Veronica, and ultimately Noella was glad that the girl was alive and well. Over the past year, she had begun to dote on Veronica as if she was her younger sister - a feeling Noella never was able to experience as an only child.

When Jack left, Noella had some difficulties with his dismissal. The two of them had rarely talked, yet the man was a friend. She had enjoyed his rhymes and poems, and Noella thought the Baron could employ Jack elsewhere in the estate, but the Baron's word was law. In the end, the Baron was only thinking of his daughter, and Jack had let the captured assassin commit suicide under his watch. It didn't take long for Noella to realize that Jack's failure to keep the man alive could in the future have dangerous effects for Veronica once she understood the reason for Jack's firing. As he left, Noella hoped he would one day visit again, or perhaps the two might meet up down in the nearby city on a later date.

As expected of Noella, she didn't let her thoughts distract her from her duties. Noella was often the one that watched over Veronica in her playhouse while Lance, Lucky and Gear Heart all went to do their own thing elsewhere on the estate grounds. She didn't know what they were doing most of the time, but Noella felt that they were probably bothering each other about what the other could teach them while listening or watching in the distance if anything felt off nearby.

Glancing at the doll in her hand, Noella smiled as she listened to Mrs. Bunny's speech about the possibly bad events that would happen if Danny had went to town on his own. "What if I go to town with him, mom? I'll watch over him!" Noella replied, moving the doll closer to Danny and the bunny couple as she tried her hardest to make her voice sound younger, almost high-pitched like a young child.

---

@IceHeart, @Lord Orgasmo, @rush99999, @Apollosarcher

[rush99999]

Gear Heart stood in the corner of the playroom watching Veronica play with the doll house's residents. For the most part, he was in an inactive state. But from time to time, a quiet 'ding' from within his structure would bring him to life for a while. During these moments of activity, Gear Heart would relocate to another corner of the room. Gear Heart's eyes rarely left Veronica though. The golem kept his eyes locked firmly on the little girl whose protection was the soul purpose of his existence. He looked on passively at the dollhouse drama Veronica was making with Noella. Then a 'ding' that was louder than the rest echoed throughout the playroom. Gear Heart moved closer to where Veronica and Noella were playing. What he was doing was anyone's guess. It it were his 6th sense going off, the 'dings' would have been preceded by ticking and if it served some other purpose, nobody could tell what that purpose was.

[Apollosarcher]

Lucky was out in the barn, he'd set up a practice dummy holding his knife he'd spent the past year training himself how to fight fight one. Though he'd hoped to be an archer once, he would never match Noella who seemed to only become better by the day. Instead he'd focused on blade work, and throwing knives he had gotten good at burying a blade in his target or using a dagger to block blows. Lucky put the blade away on his belt, the thirteen year old boy then walked over to the bucket of water he sat aside and splashed himself with the water.

Cleaning himself up Lucky put the blade away hiding it within the violin case, he stretched again. A little sore from his workout, but proud none the less of his growing skill. He fixed his hair and pulled on a shirt whistling as he started up to Veronica. He usually waited for the girl to come see him, but as he'd been busy lately breaking a new pony he had missed her the past couple of visits. So walking up to her room he knocked at the door, tilting back and forth on his feet still whistling he only stopped to tell her who it was. "It's Lucky."

[Lord Orgasmo]

The year had flown by for Lance. Perhaps it was his age? They do say time flies when you're older. Nevertheless, Lance tirelessly worked as Veronica's protector. The days went by, and in his spare time, Lance continued to work on his swordsmanship, (or rather, lancemanship) and potion making. At first the whole concept was foreign to him. However he quickly learned that is was simply a process of remembering combonations. Some, were of course fairly easy, like Antivenom. While others, like healing potions were much mor complicated. On the upside, however, he has managed to increase his understanding of identification. With a much bigger variety now learned, he hoped this would help to protect Veronica in some way. He had gotten attached to the child.

Lance also began to notice something odd. Lance kept his weapons in a very particular order, not to mention sheathed and buckled. Sword, Shield, Lance, and then a collection of other miscellaneous weapons. One of which was a case of knives. Serrated, like the one he gave Lucky. It also held smaller daggers, used for throwing. Over the past few months Lance noticed that they had been tampered with. Some went missing, while others were turned around, facing a different direction than what they were originally. Lance worried for Veronica's safety. Had some assassin taken them? Or used them in some plot?

Lance kept a much closer eye on Veronica for the time he was around. Lance eventually went to see some of the others. He had gotten bored and decided to socialize. Lucky seemed like a good start. Heading to the stables, he was nowhere to be found. How odd. Where else could he be? The barn seemed like the next best choice. Upon getting closer, Lance's elven ears perked up as he heard grunting and the sound of something slashing against wood. Peeking through a crack in the wall, Lance saw Lucky slashing against... something. Lucky then pulled out throwing knife, and threw it at, presumably, a target. Then he got another. Lance quickly recognized the knives as his own. While he would like them back, he decided that Lucky would make better use of them for now. Even if he told Lucky to return them, he'd likely take them while Lance wasn't around. Lance Walked back to the castle. "Keep trainin' kid. One day, the world's gonna need ya."

[IceHeart]

As Noella put her doll closer to the drama unfolding, Veronica made the bunny couple pause to consider the request. "Welllll," Mrs. Bunny considered for a while then turned to her husband, "what do you think dear?"

Mr Bunny nodded his head in throught then turned to Noella's doll. "Only if you can ultra-super-promise me that you'll keep Danny out of trouble!"

Danny rolled his eyes, figuratively, and groaned, "Oh come on I've come back safe and sound all the other times!"
"Hush child," Mrs. Bunny scolded while they waited for Noella's response. While that was happening though, Lucky peeked in the door and proclaimed his presense, momentarily disrupting the doll drama.

"Hey Lucky! You can be the bad guys trying to take advantage of Danny!" Veronica excited pointed to the dolls that were not being used at the moment.

Thankfully for Lucky he would not have to join in as the Baron entered the room from behind him. "Good morning everyone, I have something of great importance to tell everyone." As he passed Lucky, he gave the lad a friendly pat on the shoulder and sat down on a chair in the room. "The time has finally come for my daughter to go to town and be formally introduced to some friends of mine."

This was quite the revelation as the Baron had been literally avoiding such a thing, for years to keep Veronica as safe as possible. There was little secret that traveling around, especially to a much heavier populated area would increase the amount of dangers that Veronica would face; however the baron had an obligation to interact with other families of influence along with his daughter. She was already eleven and it was way past time he should have done this in the first place.

Veronica dropped her dolls, in amazement. "Dad, do you mean, I can finally go to town and look around!" Veronica's eyes sparkled in anticipation at the upcoming adventure. Full of excitement, she started to spin around, her frilly clothes twirling around her, making her a small hurricane. "I'll get to go to the candy store, and the toy store, and the bakery, and see other people!" The list kept growing along with her excitement and rapid spinning.

The baron smiled, grimly, and added, "Thankfully I have also learned that the Great Sage is in town so we will be paying him a visit as well. Maybe he will have some good news for my daughter." It was not very often the Great Sage, who was looking for a way to remove the curse, was in the area so it was certainly something to look forward to.

Veronica had a hard time staying in one place as she spun, stepped on one of her dolls, lost her footing, and started to fall toward her playhouse.

[rush99999]

This would have been the case had the playhouse still been there. However while everyone else was talking, Gear Heart had begun staring at the play house. And though it was too quiet for anyone to hear, the golem was ticking. After a few moments and an even quieter ding, Gear Heard began moving again. As he passed the playhouse, the golem picked it up and carried it with him to the other side of the room before setting it down just as Veronica. Tripped on the doll and tumbled down onto the soft carpet. Gear Heart then walked back over to Veronica and offered her both a hand up and a poppy.

What Gear Heart had just done was highly unusual for him. Usually, he could only tell where Veronica was and if she was in danger. This time was different though. This time, Gear Heart had also known what the danger was before it became obvious and reacted accordingly. That had never happened before.

[Carlyle]

Noella Le Sciellou
^{Current Location: The Asmothe Estate (Veronica's Playhouse)}

Noella opened her mouth to reply to Mrs. Bunny, yet she was interrupted by Veronica's excitement as the girl wanted Lucky to play dolls with them. For herself, playing dolls wasn't a big deal, but the huntress always thought it was cute that Veronica would ask Lucky whenever the elf showed his face. Their interaction seemed to be the sprouts of young love, or perhaps Noella had been too influenced by the books she had picked up over the years. Noella hadn't forgot her goal of finding who her father was, but over the past year she had begun to hear rumors circulate whenever she went to town. Sensing she carried herself too much like a peasant, Noella began to read about noble etiquette if the rumors proved themselves true. However, the huntress didn't expect herself to be swayed by the stories of knights serenading their love outside a young maiden's window.

Shortly after Lucky had announced his arrival, the Baron entered the room with important news. He thought that Veronica was old enough to go with him to the nearby town that the servants often frequented for the Baron. Noella took a glimpse at Veronica, and smiled as she jumped up in joy and twirled in her frilly dress due to the fact that she would finally see what she could not. However, behind that smile laid a gut feeling that something would happen or go wrong if the Baron brought his daughter to town, but to keep from ruining the mood, Noella kept her mouth shut. "Now, now, Veronica. You don't want to visit the entire town in one day! You'll lose the chance for new experiences the next time you visit." Of course, the feeling didn't stop Noella from offering advice to the young girl that she was paid to watch like a hawk in order to ensure Veronica stays alive.

The next few moments were fuzzy, as if something had flew over their head and they were lost in confusion over what had happened. The Baron had said something about the Sage he frequented to find out information about Veronica's curse, but Noella wasn't paying attention. The huntress' legs had leaped forward as her eyes spotted Veronica fall, and Noella fell to the ground on her knees as she caught Veronica. "I guess you were right, mom. Those boys were bad influences for Danny!" Noella replied in the voice she used before when they were playing dolls. The huntress then mumbled a small thank you, perhaps to the Baron, or perhaps to the soft carpet, but whatever the case, it was too quiet to be heard. If the floor was any harder, Noella's knees would've probably been toast from the sudden impact in order to keep Veronica from harm.

Gear Heart had approached the two, and went to help Veronica up. Noella looked at where the playhouse should've been, and its sudden disappearance caused her to blink. She knew it was right there, but a quick look around the playroom had shown that Gear Heart had already moved it out of the way to keep Veronica from falling onto the dollhouse. "Thank you, Gear Heart. If I wasn't as quick as I am, Veronica might've hurt herself on her dollhouse." Noella stated, taking a second to stand up and brush off her knees with a smile towards the golem.

---

@rush99999, @IceHeart, @Lord Orgasmo, @Apollosarcher

[Apollosarcher]

Lucky paused looking at the baron before adding his opinion into the mix as he told them they would be going to town. "Hmmm good chance for me to look for any new books on time manipulation... Also to see the blacksmith about getting me something better than a knife." Of course he didn't speak of where he'd gotten the money for these endeavors or if indeed he had the money or played to gain it another way.

Lucky had a wonderful talent for objects vanishing yet he always had a solid alibi, of course he could have been manipulating time but who would be so petty as to gift of magic for simple burglary. "Of course I still don't approve of that monstrous metal box. Nothing is as reliable as a good horse, no matter who built it. Speaking of my work, I finish training that pony. Maybe I can give Veronica a riding lesson when we get back, after all it's not like the little thing is big enough to hurt her." He added remembering the smaller equine had been a little stubborn but hadn't even bucked.

"Of course that is just my opinion sir. You do set the rules around here." He added quickly making sure he didn't seem to forceful or grateful. The man had given work to someone the town had considered a swindler and liar, even if he was just a child he owed the baron much.

[IceHeart]

Thankfully everything was well as Gear Heart managed to prevent any real damage from happening while Noella also helped Veronica from being hurt. As things were as usual the baron smiled at bit at the quickness of his staff. "Well everyone, it is up to you to prepare for the trip. At the same time we will be taking the new horseless carriage out for a spin; however, we will also be taking along the normal coach as well. As I trust in everyone's abilities Veronica will be staying in the horse-drawn carriage for the trip to town, while a few of you will be testing out our new transportation and lead the way. If what I have been told is true, the Gear-carriage can travel at much faster speeds and transport heavy things much easier, but of course it will stay close by at all times."

The baron gave out his instructions and Veronica thanked Noella for catching her and Gear Heart for his usual protection. Lucky's offer to let her ride one of the newest ponies when they got back was also exciting, but priorities lied with the trip. "I'll go pack some stuff for the trip. Fare thee-well for about, 30 minutes!" Veronica laughed, gave a curtsy to the room, then skipped away to her room while one of the servants went to get a suitcase and make sure they were there for the packing so nothing strange happened.

The baron chuckled at bit at her antics but when she was gone turned serious. "Well it is time you all earn your keep. Let's minimize any potential dangers as much as possible." The baron got up from his chair and with a gesture commanded everyone to prepare.

---

Soon enough everyone had filed out into the driveway while the servants finished the final preparations on the two vehicles, making sure everything was just so. How it was set up was the baron and his family would be in the horse-drawn carriage along with one of the families best maids, Janett. A driver and Lucky would be outside the carriage, ready to calm the horses if the need ever arrived. Lance, Noelle and a few other servants were in the 'gearbox' where they could quickly respond to anything that might happen, and test drive the new vehicle.

The thing of interest was what exactly to do with Gear Heart. A golem was easy enough to use around the house by taking him on a trip was a bit of a different matter. While it was possible for the golem to just walk beside them such a journey, short though it was, could be bad for his gears if they went at any decent speed. The golem would not fit in any of the carriages and it's weight was a problem anyway. While they had pondered what to do, James got an idea to rig a heavy wagon to the back of the horse-less carriage that Gear Heart could sit in.

This first trip would be quite the test for the new machine.

[Lord Orgasmo]

Lance sat in the horseless carriage. It wasn't the first time he'd seen one of these, but it was the first time he'd ever been inside of one. The inside was a little claustrophobic. Mainly because he was so tall. He had to sit in a bit of a slouch to not hit his head on the roof. While the trip to the city was short, Lance decided to bring a book with him. This one however, was no Botany book. It was rather small, and paperbacked. The title read: "Choose your own adventure! Dungeons and Dragons: Fall of Wintersrock." It was a one of the few choose your own adventure books in the library he hadn't read. Lance also of course had his pack full of boring traveling stuff. He always had it with him. Just in case. He also remembered to bring a regeneration potion, as well as some Antivenom. There was a poisonous plant around this area, but with any luck, nobody would be rolling around in random plants. Lastly, he brought his sword and board, tried and true, and easy to carry. He also had the hidden knife in his boot, which he had almost forgotten about. He patiently waited for the others to get in. This was going to be fun. He could feel it.

[rush99999]

Gear Heart looked on as the staff fussed over arrangements for the golem's transportation. He looked at the ordinary carriage to see Veronica an her family climbing in. He then looked at the horseless carriage and began ticking quietly for a few seconds. Just as he stopped ticking, a large wagon was wheeled into view. Gear Heart watched as wagon was hitched to the gearbox and opened for the golem to climb into. The wagon creaked under Gear Heart's weight. There was worry among the servants that it would break. But thankfully it didn't.

[Carlyle]

Noella Le Sciellou
^{Current Location: The Asmothe Estate (Veronica's Playhouse -> Horseless Carriage)}

Along with Lance and a few other servants, Noella was slated to travel in the horseless carriage. Like Lance, Noella brought her weapons to protect Veronica, although the edges were dulled as always. Veronica might've known to stay away from a massive sword such as the one Lance had carried, but Noella preferred shorter blades than her companion. Daggers and arrow tips could be easily hidden, and Veronica could just as well prick or cut herself on the blade if it was sharpened. Along with her weapons Noella had also brought a few items gathered from the woods that she had crafted in case the carriages would be assaulted on the road by highwaymen or bandits. Whereas Lance or Gear Heart were more suited to protect Veronica in a city, if the Baron's daughter had managed to get lost in a forest Noella would surely be her best bet at a survival. Of course, the real challenge would be to get Veronica to use the tools that Noella had brought. Not everyone, especially nobles, wanted to wallow around in the mud and dirt while having to survive in the woods covered in the smell of animal waste.

When Noella had set out to the carriages, she was dumbfounded. It wasn't because she had problems with the Baron's decision to put her in the horseless carriage, rather, it was because a country girl like her was lost with all the technology. Having lived in the woods and a poor peasant village for most of her life, Noella had only begun to be introduced to the wonders of the world when she had joined the Baron's service. The mere sight of the carriage befuddled her mind as Noella tried to think how in the world the carriage would move without horses. Eventually, she began to get dizzy from thinking too hard, but Noella wasn't about to let the Baron see her in a midst of confusion. Taking a big gulp of air, Noella sighed, slapping her cheeks before climbing into the carriage. Lance had easily entered the carriage, and she couldn't let him show her up.

[Apollosarcher]

Lucky left to quickly to prepare himself, retrieving the blade and placing it inside his jacket he moved out hitching horse's up to the usual carriage. Picking the best team from the well rest beasts of burden, he check them over and fitted blinders to keep them on track. After that he swept out the carriage interior, and brought apples out feeding each of horses a treat before they left for town.

With that complete he also returned to his small room and grabbed his wallet from under his bed. Eager to do a little shopping in town, he of course would also have to keep an eye on Veronica's somewhat. Yet he also had his own desires. He thought to grab his violin, perhaps play in the tavern for awhile then shook his head he wasn't a bard any more. He was a stable hand and he didn't have time to play music for any dandy that waltz into a bar looking to get drunk.

Cleaned up and ready to the red eyed boy climbed up to sit by the driver, knowing they would set off soon.

[IceHeart]

After everyone was in position and everything double-checked, the merry band was off on their grand adventure. Soon enough the mansion was but a small speck as the convoy made its way down the road. It was impossible for Veronica to stay still in the carriage as she kept looking from window to window at the country side. The pace was slow so even considering Brighton was only a few miles away it would still take about an hour of travel, partly due to a small stretch of heavily wooded land between their mansion and the large town.

So far the mechanical vehicle was doing just fine though getting used to the sounds the engine made as well as the occasional steam puff would take some time. The horseless carriage was a powerful thing though, as it was having little trouble hauling the Gear Heart Golem. As the two carriages began to enter the wooded area Veronica plopped herself down on her father's lap. "Oh I can't wait till we get there! Will it be much longer?" Veronica tilted her head back to peer up at her father's chin, who just smiled in response.

"You'll just have to wait and see for yourself, good things come to those who are patient." Janett winked at Veronica from the other side of the carriage. "I'm sure you'll get a nice treat if you behave yourself!"