DracoLunaris

Pilgrim's Caravan: An Open-Ended Fantasy (with Worldbuilding!)

Here it is!



Sadly, I did not have the height for Roter or Fern.

@Katakuri

if you want the full art i used for Rita: imgur.com/a/KU8PBbe

Pilgrim's Caravan: An Open-Ended Fantasy (with Worldbuilding!)

@DracoLunaris Another Goblin. Nice😁

@Timemaster

goblin dynamic?



or friendships?

Pilgrim's Caravan: An Open-Ended Fantasy (with Worldbuilding!)

Rita, the goblin knight

Rita

Race, Age, Time in the Caravan:
_{Goblin, 27, 2 years in the Pilgrim's Caravan}

Appearance:
_{Rita is about 1 meter tall in stature, and is most often seen riding alongside the caravan clad in a full suit of plate mail, face hidden behind a somewhat battered grilled helmet}

History:

<sub>While goblins certainly have a reputation for being nothing but half pint bandits, not all of their tribes are like that. Some, like Rita’s, live too far away from any roads or towns to do such a thing, and instead practice actual trades. In her case, her home village was one nestled away in a swamp with mushrooms the size of trees, and her people were, naturally, farmers and forages of fungi, as well as brewers and potion makers.

Not that they didn’t play a part in the whole goblin’s are jerks thing, seeing as their main trading partners were other goblins, and particularly those who lived on the edge of civilization causing a nuisance and who didn’t have time for that whole farming thing.

It was during a routine visit to one of those that Rita’s life changed forever. See, she had always had a secret fascination with tales of knights. Not goblin tales of them mind, but ones from looted story books she had gotten her hands on (and which someone had already ripped out all the stories containing goblins in them out of) that she had read near religiously as a child and young adult. Well, it was on that day that the goblin first met one of the knights she so adored

Captive.

That was something that would just not do, so, at night, when no one was watching she snuck in, freed the confused knight, and helped them escape the camp undetected while babbling quietly about her admiration for their profession. Her reward for this? A boot to the gutt once they were clear … and also the knight’s helmet, let behind while they themselves fled.

The kick turned out to help her excuses once the knight was spotted legging it a lot, as she could claim he had totally tried to stop them escaping (a thing the knight successfully did despite said spotting), an excuse that held. For a little bit. Once word of her obsession with knights started to get out, she was already on the run and further from home than she had ever been.

Given that she had grown up in the wilds as a forager, living off the land wasn’t hard, but it was hardly living. So, along with the help of a feral dog turned close companion, she set about following her dreams, donning her ‘gifted’ helmet on her head, and scraps to disguise her species and setting out to do daring deeds.

That was rough going at first, but with dedication, hard work, a fair amount of luck, encountering several open minds that encouraged her to not always hide what she was, Rita has gotten herself to a place she is quite happy with: traveling across the world with the caravan, and seeing whatever adventure that brings her too.

Well, and one other thing got her there too, and that is the patronage of one Sir Perrywinkle, a small god of knighthood, which she gained in recognition for her daring deeds and strict adherence to the code of chivalry. She is, functionally, a paladin, although as a paladin of a god of knights, this involves less healing and smiting, and more riding fast and hitting things hard.</sub>

Personality:

<sub>Rita is brave, perhaps recklessly so, while being cheerful and optimistic in the face of danger, a combination that is either charming or, given that her occupation is, functionally, killing, manicaly unsettling. She is eager to help whoever and however she can, but is also eager to show off while doing so, having a bit of an ego and a mountain of confidence, which can get in the way of getting a job done right.

That is not to say that she has zero survival instincts (she would not have lived this long if she did not) but suffice to say that Rita can often get in over her low to the ground head and then has to fight tooth and nail to get herself out of it if no-one helps bail her out.</sub>


Motivation:
<sub>Rita’s main passive goal is to simply live up to the idea of a Knight errant, to roam the land in search of daring deeds to be done, and the caravan’s worldly wanderings are a good medium for this at the moment. It helps that she does not need to worry about her species’ reputation among them too, as she is ‘out’ to them, and at this point happily accepted.

Longer term, things get a little hazier. Pure fame and fortune, to an extent. Being knighted. Saving a princess. Basically, having her mimicking of the knightly nobility legitimized. That and maybe poking goblin culture and the perception of it in a direction she finds preferable via leading by example</sub>

Skills, Strengths and Weaknesses, and Tools:

<sub>Rita has remarkable, bordering on absurd, amounts of strength for her size, and she needs it, considering her profession and typical garb and armaments, which consist of some custom platemail, a kite shield and multiple melee weapons from swords, maces, knives and lances.

She uses these from atop the back of her noble steed Bernared, who she has become quite proficient at riding into battle.

Half of this is training, while the other is paladin-ly gifts, which let her break past her mortal limits and grant her a surprising amount of durability to boot (on top of what the armor grants). Other than raw strength and durability, the god also grants the ability to perform quick bursts of speed for dodging or charging proses, allowing the goblin and her steed to ‘dash’ in any non retreating direction. She is also resistant to hexes, curses, and other cowardly deliberating magics.

In return for her gifts, the goblin is oathbound to aid those in need, and to abhor villany in all its forms (though her god is just savvy enough to let her pick her battles rather than forcing her to throw her life away on lost causes)

In a more practical, less violent, set of skills, she has excellent foraging and survival skills, and has a decent knowledge of brewing simple potions (mushroom based as often as not) that can have a number of beneficial effects (typical stamina and strength are the ones she makes the most) as well as some, lets say, fun ones. Her actual cooking of regular food is rather lacking however.

As a goblin she has excellent hearing (even when her ears are jammed inside her helmet), and decent night vision. Also as a goblin, she is also smol, which is still sometimes a problem even if the strength issue has mostly been dealt with.</sub>

Optional: Extra Details

What They Most Want: For stories to be written about her

If They Had a DnD Alignment, It Would Be: Lawful Good

Three Likes: Adventure, sugar and, obviously, all things knight related

Three Dislikes: Getting looked down on, mushroom based foods (they make her homesick) and hailstorms (the way they set her helmet ringing is painful on the ears)

Do They Follow Their Heart or Their Mind?: Heart

Worst Fear: Being outed as a goblin while disguised in a place she’d need to fight her way out of to survive

Favorite Color: Silver

Most Like The Animal:
_{Husky: loyal, dependable, and playful}

Favorite Time of Day: Dawn. or sunset. They are dramatic

How They Dress: Knight-illy

Favorite Season: Autumn, its just the right temperature

What Gods/Spirits/Whatevers They Worship (If Any):


<sub>Sir Perrywinkle: A legendary knight who was deified upon his death, and is now the, or at least a, patron saint of knights. Kind of a niche god, unsurprisingly, and is more often worshiped by the common folk hoping for salvation than by knights themselves(who, being nobles, tend to stick to the bigger ones).

The Gobbler: Goblin god of food and good times, and the only goblin god Rita still considers still worth her time

An assortment of other ‘good’ gods in a far more loose fashion</sub>

Pilgrim's Caravan: An Open-Ended Fantasy (with Worldbuilding!)

Rita, the goblin knight

Rita

Race, Age, Time in the Caravan:
_{Goblin, 27, 2 years in the Pilgrim's Caravan}

Appearance:
_{Rita is about 1 meter tall in stature, and is most often seen riding alongside the caravan clad in a full suit of plate mail, face hidden behind a somewhat battered grilled helmet}

History:
<sub>While goblins certainly have a reputation for being nothing but half pint bandits, not all of their tribes are like that. Some, like Rita’s, live too far away from any roads or towns to do such a thing, and instead practice actual trades. In her case, her home village was one nestled away in a swamp with mushrooms the size of trees, and her people were, naturally, farmers and forages of fungi, as well as brewers and potion makers.

Not that they didn’t play a part in the whole goblin’s are jerks thing, seeing as their main trading partners were other goblins, and particularly those who lived on the edge of civilization causing a nuisance and who didn’t have time for that whole farming thing.

It was during a routine visit to one of those that Rita’s life changed forever. See, she had always had a secret fascination with tales of knights. Not goblin tales of them mind, but ones from looted story books she had gotten her hands on (and which someone had already ripped out all the stories containing goblins in them out of) that she had read near religiously as a child and young adult. Well, it was on that day that the goblin first met one of the knights she so adored

Captive.

That was something that would just not do, so, at night, when no one was watching she snuck in, freed the confused knight, and helped them escape the camp undetected while babbling quietly about her admiration for their profession. Her reward for this? A boot to the gutt once they were clear … and also the knight’s helmet, let behind while they themselves fled.

The kick turned out to help her excuses once the knight was spotted legging it a lot, as she could claim he had totally tried to stop them escaping (a thing the knight successfully did despite said spotting), an excuse that held. For a little bit. Once word of her obsession with knights started to get out, she was already on the run and further from home than she had ever been.

Given that she had grown up in the wilds as a forager, living off the land wasn’t hard, but it was hardly living. So, along with the help of a feral dog turned close companion, she set about following her dreams, donning her ‘gifted’ helmet on her head, and scraps to disguise her species and setting out to do daring deeds.

That was rough going at first, but with dedication, hard work, a fair amount of luck, encountering several open minds that encouraged her to not always hide what she was, Rita has gotten herself to a place she is quite happy with: traveling across the world with the caravan, and seeing whatever adventure that brings her too.

Well, and one other thing got her there too, and that is the patronage of one Sir Perrywinkle, a small god of knighthood, which she gained in recognition for her daring deeds and strict adherence to the code of chivalry. She is, functionally, a paladin, although as a paladin of a god of knights, this involves less healing and smiting, and more riding fast and hitting things hard.</sub>

Personality:
<sub>Rita is brave, perhaps recklessly so, while being cheerful and optimistic in the face of danger, a combination that is either charming or, given that her occupation is, functionally, killing, manicaly unsettling. She is eager to help whoever and however she can, but is also eager to show off while doing so, having a bit of an ego and a mountain of confidence, which can get in the way of getting a job done right.

That is not to say that she has zero survival instincts (she would not have lived this long if she did not) but suffice to say that Rita can often get in over her low to the ground head and then has to fight tooth and nail to get herself out of it if no-one helps bail her out.</sub>

Motivation:
<sub>Rita’s main passive goal is to simply live up to the idea of a Knight errant, to roam the land in search of daring deeds to be done, and the caravan’s worldly wanderings are a good medium for this at the moment. It helps that she does not need to worry about her species’ reputation among them too, as she is ‘out’ to them, and at this point happily accepted.

Longer term, things get a little hazier. Pure fame and fortune, to an extent. Being knighted. Saving a princess. Basically, having her mimicking of the knightly nobility legitimized. That and maybe poking goblin culture and the perception of it in a direction she finds preferable via leading by example</sub>

Skills, Strengths and Weaknesses, and Tools:
<sub>Rita has remarkable, bordering on absurd, amounts of strength for her size, and she needs it, considering her profession and typical garb and armaments, which consist of some custom platemail, a kite shield and multiple melee weapons from swords, maces, knives and lances.

She uses these from atop the back of her noble steed Bernared, who she has become quite proficient at riding into battle.

Half of this is training, while the other is paladin-ly gifts, which let her break past her mortal limits and grant her a surprising amount of durability to boot (on top of what the armor grants). Other than raw strength and durability, the god also grants the ability to perform quick bursts of speed for dodging or charging proses, allowing the goblin and her steed to ‘dash’ in any non retreating direction. She is also resistant to hexes, curses, and other cowardly deliberating magics.

In return for her gifts, the goblin is oathbound to aid those in need, and to abhor villany in all its forms (though her god is just savvy enough to let her pick her battles rather than forcing her to throw her life away on lost causes)

In a more practical, less violent, set of skills, she has excellent foraging and survival skills, and has a decent knowledge of brewing simple potions (mushroom based as often as not) that can have a number of beneficial effects (typical stamina and strength are the ones she makes the most) as well as some, lets say, fun ones. Her actual cooking of regular food is rather lacking however.

As a goblin she has excellent hearing (even when her ears are jammed inside her helmet), and decent night vision. Also as a goblin, she is also smol, which is still sometimes a problem even if the strength issue has mostly been dealt with.</sub>

Optional: Extra Details

What They Most Want: For stories to be written about her

If They Had a DnD Alignment, It Would Be: Lawful Good

Three Likes: Adventure, sugar and, obviously, all things knight related

Three Dislikes: Getting looked down on, mushroom based foods (they make her homesick) and hailstorms (the way they set her helmet ringing is painful on the ears)

Do They Follow Their Heart or Their Mind?: Heart

Worst Fear: Being outed as a goblin while disguised in a place she’d need to fight her way out of to survive

Favorite Color: Silver

Most Like The Animal:
_{Husky: loyal, dependable, and playful}

Favorite Time of Day: Dawn. or sunset. They are dramatic

How They Dress: Knight-illy

Favorite Season: Autumn, its just the right temperature

What Gods/Spirits/Whatevers They Worship (If Any):
<sub>Sir Perrywinkle: A legendary knight who was deified upon his death, and is now the, or at least a, patron saint of knights. Kind of a niche god, unsurprisingly, and is more often worshiped by the common folk hoping for salvation than by knights themselves(who, being nobles, tend to stick to the bigger ones).

The Gobbler: Goblin god of food and good times, and the only goblin god Rita still considers still worth her time

An assortment of other ‘good’ gods in a far more loose fashion</sub>

World of Light

wordcount: 4,179 (+5)
Midna: level 8 EXP: //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////(143/80)
Location: SOU Hideout - Suoh
Warp Charges: 1 (+1 from fight reward)

warp locations

Virgin Victory teleport room
Top of the Split mountain
Outside the Convent of Our Lady of the Charred Visage
Tostarena Town

Sakura Level 9: 07/90
Karin Level 4: 27/40
Location: Suoh
Word Count: 4,179
Points Gained: 5
New EXP Balance--- Sakura Level 9: 19/90 (pending) +6

Karin Level 5: 03/40

(pending) +11

Midna had to cover her mouth to hide her sniggering regarding Sakura’s blatant bias about wanting to check out the sports center.

”I don’t know how your lot got on over in the ocean, be we’ve managed to build plenty of good reputations in the desert…. and then ruin them by dropping a giant worm out of a mountain” Midna replied to Karin’s relief at maybe having a good reputation in town for once, doing so mostly as a joke. She had to wonder how badly things had gone for her before however, the princess unaware that the fighter was somewhat new and she already knew about all the bad reputation events the Karin had been involved in.

”As long as entire towns stop being rallied against us, I will be more than happy.” Karin said.

”Oh!” Sakura ran over and shook Midna on the shoulder, trying to find the words. ”Oh, uh- uh- Midna-san, uh- the- the radios. The radios!” She glanced around at everyone and stuck her hand in the air. ”I have six radios. We should give radios to everyone here who wants one. Walkie-talkies. They fit on your belt or in your pocket and we can talk to each other! Easy squeezy lemon peasy.”

Either way, with agreement from all who cared to ‘vote’ afterwards, operation “find Raz’s friends and punch some Others” was a go. As was poke around the area Desperado and the Hermits where in for info.

Midna got to look a little smug about her plan being picked up, even if it wasn’t the most complex or inspired one. She was, however, still a bit skeptical about the whole Desperado, but she had to put her faith in Riden and take him both at face value, and assume he knew how to handle them.

After that, they had some down time as they waited to get some fake credentials to make navigating around the city easier. And legal. Or, seemingly legal anyway. Mention of needing pictures, and also that there was a shower, prompted the princess to swiftly claim one of the latter to deal with the built up dust and grime that had come with fighting for her life atop a speeding truck.

While in there she had a shower thought and so, after exiting, once more clean, and picking out the one outfit that actually fit her ( she was mildly surprised and rather please that there was even an option), she found a spot to summon a moogle and check a hunch she had.

She and the little fluff ball talked for a little bit, and then once they were done and he was gone, she relayed what she had learned to the group: ”Good news, the people who looked like they got lost in the metro made it, just, uh, to somewhere called ‘Edinburgh’ instead of the places they where meaning to get too”

After that, the suited up princess checked in with the id creation, got the disappointing news that they would not be able to register her vehicles using this method, and then got a crash course in modern occupations while they figured out her cover story occupation. Princess was sadly not a valid option.

Meanwhile, Sakura and Karin also needed their pictures taken. Sakura smiled big for her picture, and Karin settled for an ever polite-yet-restrained smile. Karin naturally insisted that she be marked as something like a financial analyst. Sakura settled for ‘arcade worker’ because she already did that job back home.

Sakura and Karin both were down for punching monsters, but there was only so much room in both teams and if they were going to split evenly, they would have to go to Suoh. But they couldn’t complain. They could use the downtime to relax and rejuvenate and explore the city they were probably going to be spending the next few days in, or more. Plus, Raz wanted the back up.

After that was all sorted, Midna the courier helped herself to some tea (which mainly resulted in her stomach reminding her that granola bars were not a meal, and then after that it was time to go.

Midna, of course, went with the team headed for Suon to see her own plan through. To get there, the princess of twilight slipping into the shadows within the unstoppable Hummer to avoid taking up a seat, which left her unable to take in the sights (hard to see out the windows when the light was coming in through those after all) and so she spent most of the time either napping or pestering people to describe what it was they were gawking at out of the windows.

That feeling of missing out did not go away when they got to the town of psychics, as to everyone but those the place was made for, it was rather drab looking, at least at first. While there were more interesting things for those with mundane eyes to be found, the princess paused before moving on to get a second opinion.

She mounted her wolfos steed first, basically to get any bystanders used to the idea, and then summoned one of the Psynumbra Initiates strikers that she had claimed from the monastery and asked them ”Describe it to me”

The masked cultist scanned her gaze across the mental graffiti “All the powers of the mind, and they spent it on covering every surface in advertising … I don’t know whether to be appalled or impressed at how feeble minded consumerism has wasted their gifts'' which Midna found harsh, but somewhat reasonable. The follow up was not, as the woman who had embraced suffering and entropy and called both gods turned her dead eyes to the princess and told her “this whole place needs to be dragged screaming into the abysse” with absolute sincerity, and with what Midna was quite sure was an implication that, if they initiate had her way, it would only be the first to go, followed by the rest of the world.

”Alright that’s enough from you” the princess said after a few moments of staring down the cultist, waving her hand and dismissing the malevolent specter.

She shook her head, regretting asking anyone but Raz what the deal was, before looking around and realizing that she’d lost track of the only gifted one among them.

”Guess I’ll just find my own way around. How hard can it be?” she resolved, before tapping her heels against her mount’s side and taking a ride through the street. She got lost almost immediately in the sprawl of small businesses, but they weren't exactly a bad place to get lost in, other than the fact that they were a drag on her funds, as after a few minutes she was down a bunch of gold.

Not that all of it had been poorly spent, as the princess was now full of noodles and that was good. Less good was the cheap watch she had been scammed into spending several hundred gold (or zenny technically, but fortunately there was no need to mess around with exchange rates) on, due to her lack of familiarity with that kind of technology. Still, it did tell the time, so at least it did it’s job

The main event of her wanderings was when she spied a place called Paradise Lost sauna, the Twilight princess finding herself drawn to its dark atmosphere … that and her curiosity as to whether a sauna was like a spa.

In the front lobby of this place were the pair of street fighters, Sakura and Karin. Before Raz tracked down his friends they were doing some tourism of their own, but not before ending up a light sparring session in the middle of the street. Karin had to force herself to shut down the battle on the grounds that attracting attention too early would be a bad move. Since they were both looking to rest up before moving on to find the psychic friends, they wound up here, at this weird looking sauna. But Karin recognized class when she saw it.

”Ah!” Sakura said when she made eye contact with Midna. ”Hey! It’s Midna-san. Are you here for the sauna, too?”

”No, I imagine she’s here for the movie.”

”...shut uuup.”

Midna could not help but smile at their banter, before confirming that ”Yes, that’s why I’m here. We checked out this place called Shangri-Spa in the city town we visited, so I thought it would be fun to make it a thing to visit some other city’s spas and baths as well. Plus, the atmosphere is very nice on the eyes” as much as she admired the aesthetic, the light adverse princess also ment this literally.

She then had a thought, and had to ask ”What’s a ‘movie’ anyway?”

Karin frowned, her sharp wit now lost on Midna.

Sakura scratched her head. ”You don’t know what a movie is?” She asked. ”You’ve probably at least seen something like it by now. It’s a moving picture that can make noises, and people tell stories with them. There’s little reels with all the pictures that they put in a big projector. Or sometimes on tape that goes in a little box which you can bring home with you. It’s tech. I don’t know the specifics.”

”Well, essentially-”

”I don’t have enough room in my brain for whatever you’re about to start telling me, Karin-chan.” Sakura waved Karin’s explanation away.

”Oh right, those things I see” Midna said, at least getting the picture somewhat, although she still did not get the specifics of the joke due to not knowing how those illusions (as she interpreted them) could be used for entertainment purposes. Even without the details, the gist/energy of the joke had translated perfectly fine however.



After that, there was a bit of a pause in their talking as they checked into the sauna, or rather, what it actually was, which was a bathhouse, and got to admire the interior decoration. It had a gothic style right out of vampire fiction, as if they had just been invited into some secluded sun averse noble’s abode, and was decked out with dark wood, ornate rugs, candelabras, lamps with fancy lampshades, plush chairs, gilded mirrors, and big paintings, all of which gave a stylish yet haunting atmosphere to the palace.

And that was only the foyer/changing room. After they’d swapped out their outfits for towels (with Midna doing her best but ultimately failing to hid the mottled healed burn look her torso had), and Minda had stashed their valuable possessions away, they exited out of the ‘mansion’ and into the ladies section of the sauna



Styled after a rock pool filled with a water who’s mineral composition made it look more than a bit like blood. It also had a vision that made it appear that the room opened up into what looks like a vista of a sprawling ruin that extends infinitely into a starry night, covered by giant, softly glowing spike, though unfortunately for them none of the 3 ladies could see it, leaving them with a much less impressive blank wall where the projection was.

Still, the water was warm and inviting, and so the trio eagerly joined the a number of number bathers in the pool.

The princess slipped in first, sighing as the warm rejuvenating waters washed over her body ”Ahhhh, I‘ve needed this. Beats those weird shower things by a mile”

Sakura happily sank in the water, the twin tails of her headband floating clinging to her shoulders. She left the radio in her sneakers which were at pond side. Karin, meanwhile, reached her arms up and undid her ribbon. Daintily, she lifted it off her head and dropped it on a nearby island of rock, where it hit with a heavy thud.

”It is adequate.” Karin surmised.

”The red water is kinda badass.” Sakura mused, cupping some in her hands. ”If a bit, uh…”

”Macabre?” Karin offered, smirking.

”Yeah, that’s it.” She splashed it on her face. ”’A blissful death. Sink into the peaceful gloom after the end.’” She quoted the place’s grim tagline. ”If you say so!” She sank all the way down to her chin and closed her eyes.

Karin kept her hair out of the water, resting her arms on a nearby rock.

”It feels … homely. Not the water, but everything else is just, more familiar to my world than outside” Midna admitted, as she floated on the water’s surface, only her face poking out as she enjoyed soaking every inch of her body in the relaxing and rejuvenating waters

Karin watched them both for a moment, before focusing on Midna’s floating little face. ”You lived underground, then? That would explain your complexion.”

”Hmm? No, I lived in a place called the twilight realm where it's always, well, twilight. Like the town, but a fair bit darker shade of twilight” Midna explained simply before giving a slight correction ”But I also ment, well, the technology. We didn’t have all these cars and guns and whatever all the roads are made from. It's a bit overwhelming at times I’ll be honest.”

”I see. Well, I’ve never seen any magic before, either, so I suppose we both have some things to get used to.” Karin said.

Sakura peaked one eye open. ”I dunno-” When she opened her mouth some water got in, briefly interrupting her. She sat up a little straighter. ”I dunno, Karin-san. You know Dhalsim? He calls it yoga, but… that guy gets weirder every time I see him. Besides, everything I’ve seen in the World of Light is kind of like something I’ve watched a cartoon about, or seen in real life.” Sakura says. ”Except it’s turned up to eleven. At least I don’t have to do any more algebra problems.”

Karin considered this. ”Fair point. I suppose we are lucky in that way. By the way, Miss Midna, the roads are made of concrete.”

”Well it’s impressive stuff, this con-crete” Midna said, wondering to herself how it was made, while also being presented with more questions such as ”Are those fireballs you can throw not magic?”

Sakura shook her head. ”Nope, not magic. That’s ki!” Sakura said proudly. ”It’s a form of energy within all living things. With enough training, you can harness it. We call ‘em fireballs but they don’t actually look a lot like fire if you get a close look at ‘em. I guess the name just kinda stuck.”

”If you can call what Sakura did training.” Karin said.

”Hey-!”

”I kid, of course. Just this once I must make myself explicitly clear.” Karin said, with emphasis.

”Good.” Sakura said, crossing her arms, satisfied.

”Sound a lot like mana to me” Midna said, before thinking for a moment before correcting herself ”Although I suppose if it is training rather than study then it probably is different” and then asking ”What kind of training was it anyway?”

”Push ups, sit ups, and plenty of juice.” Sakura said succinctly with a smile. ”And I did this a bunch of times.” She mimes the motion of the Hadoken.

Karin pinched her brow. It wasn’t fair.

Midna had to agree.

There was a little lul then in the talk, during which they soaked and the two dignified ladies sulked a bit about how Sakura had come into absurd power though push ups… and, admittedly, lots and lots of hard work and dedication.

After a bit however, the inevitable topic had to come up, which was, well, work.

”So … how are we feeling about this whole …. Things? I have to admit, it is a bit more daunting than being pointed at a mountain and told to ‘go there’ even if said mountain basically froze us all to death. Was the ocean stuff anything like this or?” Midna asked, ceasing her lazy floating and actually taking a seat while they discussed more serious matters.

Karin was only on the ocean for a short while, but from what Sakura had said of her first mission as a Seeker, it wasn’t good. She looked at Sakura with concern. The brunette for her part bit her lower lip and stared off into empty space for a moment.

”It was…pretty bad, Midna-san.” She said. ”It wasn’t anything like this. It was a big war, and a very big boat full of horrible people. And I got turned into a little kid. It was definitely the worst day of my life.” Sakura summed up, never being very closed off about her emotions.

”But when I got turned back into my normal self, I felt strong again. The Guardian was scary, too, but not as scary as that big boat. We destroyed it.” Sakura looked at Midna again.

”So despite everything, we still won. I don’t think it can get as bad as it was on that boat. In a weird way, I feel stronger than ever.” Sakura said.”Saving people- saving someone in particular named Bella, too- felt better than all the bad things, y’know? Made it worth it. As long as we can save people, we should keep going.” Sakura nodded to herself.

”I dunno how hard this is going to be, but as long as we stick together we’ll be okay.”

”At least it was only a day,” Midna said in relation to the curse, vaguely pointing to herself, before pursing her lips and taking it back ”Sorry, I shouldn’t say compare things like that. I’m glad you made it out ok and have recovered from your ordeal …. And it sounds like you where a real hero over there” the princess said approvingly, and with just a hint of nostalgia in her voice, before she added: ”and I think real genuine heroes is what this city needs most of all. So I’ll be counting on you, while also having your back every step we take through this tangled web”

Sakura blushed, rubbing the back of her head and wrapping her arm around her towel. ”Thanks.” She laughed apologetically. ”I think the Seekers have got plenty of those. You can count on me, Midna-san.”

Karin smiled. ”Enjoying saving the world, Sakura-chan?”

”I-I dunno. Maybe? I think I’m doing pretty good overall.”

”With myself on board things shall only improve for the Seekers. For the first and only time in history, I wish you would have defeated me earlier so I could have joined you on that accursed ship, Sakura-chan. But we’re united now. And I believe my example will push you to greater heights.” Karin set a hand on her chest, proud.

”Yeah, me too.” Sakura said, genuinely. ”You woulda kept me grounded. I got all caught up in my own head pretty fast. But, hey. I’m the veteran Seeker. I helped destroy a Guardian. You’ve got a long way to go before you catch up to me, rookie. Isn’t that right, Midna-san?”

”mmm hmmm, looks like you’ve got a ways to go till your on her level again if you haven’t even faced a guardian yet” Midna agreed teasingly, before adding with faux haughtiness ”We can review your contribution to the team again one you have punched a big worm or something”

Karin raised an eyebrow, seemingly unamused by their wit. ”That’s the second time today you’ve brought up this alleged big worm. Did you want to brag about killing a giant worm? I will allow this boast in the spirit of diplomacy. Feel free to demonstrate with your hands that it was: ‘this big.’”

Minda tapped a rock, pulled the fourth of the fused shadow out of a portal she formed on it, plonked said helm on her head, and then summoned a small shadow hand and held it up above her head while she linked both other hands together and declared that it was ”Thiiiiiiis big … and by ‘this’ I mean the cannon shells we shot out of a train mounted cannon to even tickle the big worm. It was deku nuts”

”...I see.” Karin said, looking up at the demonstration. ”Deku nuts indeed. No wonder people were so upset with you.”

”Yuck! Still, wish I coulda been there to see it. I understand why we split up all the time but sometimes I wish we could just go around as a big group of like…thirty, or whatever. It’d be kinda funny. ” Sakura said.

”Fortunately it mainly just spooked people … and destroyed a bunch of railway tracks, which in hindsight was lucky because we had no idea that was what was going to happen when we rang a massive bell at the top of the mountain… So, if we’ve learned anything, it’s that we need to be a bit more careful this time” Midna admitted. They weren't in a mostly empty desert, after all, and every stray mistake had dozens of people on the line, which was daunting.

”As for a big group, eh, we’d probably start getting in each other's way at some point. I mean I know i’ve been having to hold back, or at least be more careful, in a team than I am when I am on my own” she pulled off and put away the fused shadow, which was the main thing she had to be very careful with to avoid slapping friendlies.

”Plus there’s the whole speed thing we need to do now … but yeah it would be pretty funny” she admitted at last

”Woah. Yeah. We’re kind of in a big city so, let’s avoid any mysterious bells of power.” Sakura said. ”But I bet that Galeem thing is gonna be feelin’ real stupid when we all show up after all it’s Guardians are toast.” Sakura said, punching the air before emergency catching her towel.

”I am more interested in these Consuls. Not quite Guardian, not quite Galeem itself, yes? I suppose they are just his minions. I imagine we will have to defeat all of them, as well.”

”We might, though is it just me, or is it strange that apparently they just haven’t been a factor, and then they suddenly make two moves one after the other? Did we get lucky? Were they just complacent? It’s not like part of Galeem’s force wasn’t aware of us with that hand showing up before the guardian, so why now? What changed?”

”Well…” Karin begins. ”I did join the Seekers.” She points out.

”Oh, shut up!” Sakura says, shoving Karin on the shoulder while Midna quietly laughed.

”Ohoho! I am only kidding, of course. But that is a good question. Perhaps one or two guardians getting destroyed is within acceptable parameters. But three or four is worrying. I think you are right, Princess Midna. Complacency. They strive for a world of total control and lack of free will, after all.” Karin says.

”I suppose … well, guess things will only be getting harder than here on out” which was not a prospect she was looking forward to. ”and if we want to get anywhere we’ll need to work out how to go on the offensive against them … not sure how we do that though, other than asking around to see if anyone has seen any red helmeted people around” she said, mostly joking about that method, though she didn’t exactly have an alternative.

”It is not anything we cannot handle. If their power was so overwhelming they would have exercised it by now. Instead they must rely on trickery and deception. Perhaps if we capture one we can find out what hole they are hiding in.” Karin said confidently.

”Sounds like a plan” Midna agreed before thinking for a moment and recognising some irony about the situation ”Iand not one we’re gonna pull off soaking in a bath, lovely as this has been” she said, while standing up and stretching and then concluding ”So how about we hit the streets again, and see if the rain looks to be coming in soon or not?”

”Very well. I feel refreshed.” Karin agreed.

”Let’s go. After this, I feel like I can work triple time!” Sakura said, squeezing the water out of her headband like it was hair.

After that, it was a quick pop back into the changing rooms to redone their clothes and they were off. Well. almost. The place was cleverly set up to filter exiting through a gift shop, and so they, or at least Midna got briefly distracted by the selection, and by a quick chat with the proprietor of the sauna, a woman named Coco who happened to also be staffing said gift shop. Compliment for the experience (and money for a bottle of very nice smelling ‘blood’ shampoo) paid and the trio of ladies were back out on the streets, ready to have the clean and rejuvenated feeling the soak had left them in ruined by the upcoming rain and violence that was to come if the plan came together.

Still, it would be nice while it lasted.

World of Light

The Koopa Troop

wordcount: 822 (+2)
Bowser: Level 11 EXP: ////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// (223/110)
Bowser Jr: Level 11 EXP: ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// (110/110)
Kamek: Level 11 EXP: //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////(109/110)
Rika: Level 6 EXP: //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// (42/60)
Location: The Under - The Colorless Wood

Jr’s plan of action worked like a charm at first, especially thanks to Primrose lending them her aid and bolstering the power of Rubick, Bowser and Dazzle’s sweeping AOE attacks. Those laid waste to swaths of unseen foes, while the carpet of goop the prince and his clones produced created an exclusion zone where their foes could not tread safely or swiftly. They could still repel down, but Kamek, after summoning the clones, made sure to swat any incoming bugs down with magic blasts as soon as they came into view.

”I am a Genius!” Jr declared once the plan had held steady for a few moments …. And then right on cue everything went wrong as Rika’s volley of shells sailed towards the giant spider … and it promptly teleported right on top of them. Literally.

”Oh no!” the ship girl cried out as she realized what she had done, firing her maneuvering boosters to dash out of the way as the massive spider came careening down from the sky, its arrival heralded by a blinding flash and then a deafening crash as it landed amongst them.

Jr, his doppelgangers, and Kamek managed to swoop out of the way as well, though all the fliers were sent spinning by the resulting pressure wave of the queen’s landing hitting them. Bowser, not built for such swift motions, could only duck down and be stomped on. Right on his spiky armored shell.

It still hurt, but at least he wasn't going to be the only one suffering from the exchange. The one that came almost immediately after however, was one he did not want to meet head on as well, as the giant demonic spider teleported to the side and then came charging in to perform an over-head strike with her big meaty claws.

The king could not dodge roll, side step, or block the titanic blow. But he could still do one thing, and that was jump good. Straight up.

Defying gravity and the spider queen both, the king’s stubby legs sent him sailing up over the spider’s attack … and right into the webs strung above them that had been two high for the troop to consider clearing.

Bowser became stuck by his shell, dangling in the air above the brood mother, and likely drawing her children to him like moths to a flame. Yet, if he had his way, then just like that flame he would burn all the bugs that came to him. The king unleashed screeching sound from all 6 of his turrets, his new position above his friends and family meaning he could unleash all 360 degrees of his firepower without worry for friendly fire. He also blasted off a flurry of spiky missiles from his shell, forcing the spiders above to run a gauntlet of explosive spines if they wanted to try and attack him.

Heeding Kamek’s earlier warning, however, he did not unleash his flames upon them also, so as to not risk engulfing them in an inferno via setting first webs and then trees alight. The queen however, below in their clearing they had made, presented no such fire hazard, and so she received a dose of firebreath in a (likely vein) vain attempt to dissuade her from plucking him from the web like a tasty fly.

None of this would free himself, which left the rest of the Troop to deal with his predicament.

”I’m coming papa!” was Jr’s immediate response once he’d corrected his flight and taken stock of the situation. The prince soared upwards in his flying machine to clear yet more webs with more goop in-order to try and free his dad. Riding in the car at his trainer’s side, Dazzle unleashed the bright pink sonic beam that was his disarming voice at the prince's command, the sonic attack being used to try and clear spiders in a way that would not collaterally hit the king the way his icy wind would.

As Jr flew he called more commands to the others ”Kamek! The little spiders! Everyone else, the big one”

Rika was already on this, the ship girl sailing across the goop patch and unleashing fire upon the spider queen, cannon batteries barking, machine gun chittering, and main gun roaring as she counted that final weapon’s shots under her breath ”Three… Four…” while also mentally eyeing her dwindling ammo stores with worry.

Kamek meanwhile half followed the prince's instructions. He made the shadow clones spread out to try and clear more room on the ground with their imitation paintbrushes, splatting web, ground and spider alike as best the could though needing to be more spread out due to the queen in their midst likely left them more vulnerable than they had been when doing this earlier. The mage himself, however, used his time to cast ”Sphere of Protection! upon his king, causing a blue shimmering barrier to form around him, that would massively increase the king’s resistance to physical harm. Such as the physical harm being smashed by those massive hammer claws could cause.

World of Light

wordcount: 1,152 (+2)
Midna: level 8 EXP: //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////(138/80)
Location: SOU Hideout
Warp Charges: 1 (+1 from fight reward)

warp locations

Virgin Victory teleport room
Top of the Split mountain
Outside the Convent of Our Lady of the Charred Visage
Tostarena Town

Midna sat back and listened for a while after giving her suggestions, giving a nod of agreement/approval to Geralt when he found a use for the hermits she’d missed.

Then came a fresh deluge of info for her to take in:

They got a rundown of all the areas that made up Midgar which was interesting mostly academically at the moment in Midna’s estimation, though she both made a mental note to get an actual map of the place as she commented ”Looks like Galeem had fun stitching this place together, assuming each and every one of those was a city in and of itself … and assuming it even has a concept of fun”

They also learned that getting around it might prove tricky, both due to how big the place was, and with how travel was restricted by the regime. She had a small thing to offer on that front of course: ”Between the two bikes .. that we have left … and the warthog, we can move something between 5 and eh let’s say 8 people vehicle wise. So not enough, but it’s a start. Though, will them not being ‘registered’ to anyone cause a problem?”

Next up, fusion. It was already here, and that was concerning. Had they been told, and if so, by whom, she had to wonder. Or was it simply that, in a city of innumerable souls, it was inevitable that someone would try to do something with the spirits of the fallen, even if just to see what would happen? The latter might be more likely, but it would likely be wise to investigate the former on the side, if they got the chance.

”I suppose, if I were in charge, it’s not exactly something I’d want to encourage. The risks of mental instability and potential to encourage murderous behavior are both… something that would need managed” she had to admit, though she wasn’t sure if she, as princess, would outlaw like Midgar had, but it seemed like a thing that would need regulating. That said, they were in charge, not her, and as such, her present existence was in and of itself a crime.

”So, how harsh are the punishments, how rigidly enforced is the law and how good are they at spotting fusions? Because, well, I have a fair few” the veritable chimera of a woman asked ”and it’d be good to know how low a profile I need to keep as a result”

As for her own ideas, well, they got lightly let down. Avalanche weren't much of a force in the city, so not much use taking them on. Other than poaching their best, she still thought that might be a good idea, depending on what their ranks were like, powerful individual wise.

It also looked like you did need some kind of innate ability to detect the Chimeras, so at least for her, that was a no starter. Though maybe they could get some of the others into that group, such as Geralt.

As for making their own mercenary company? Well, while Susie seemed like she would be a boon if they went that way, it also seemed like it would be a pain in the neck to go through even just the application process. Given that there were now forces directly arrayed against them, they didn’t really have time to sit about waiting for whatever gargantuan bureaucracy needed to run this place to do its thing.

As for the bot’s other ideas, well, ”I’m not sure if giving Despirado more power is the best idea, given that they seem to be bad news. The state the city is in now might be exactly what they want, eternal war wise, but if we solve the crisis, then, well, it sounds like they’ll not be happy about that. Unless you think you can do some kind of successful double-cross if they try something I guess?”

”I’ll be honest, incredibly powerful companies are not something I’m used to dealing with. Lords, ladies, kings and princesses, sure, but a company that can control a city housing nations worth of people? absurd” she had to admit ”But if you think you can come up with a way to get deep into them or Shinra quickly, then go for it. Just keep in mind that we have an enemy that is actively working against us now, so we need to act quickly, before they find us, and initiate whatever their next ploy is”

That was really the rub of it. The clock was ticking till the next Consul action, and they needed to act swiftly and decisively. It was in that mindset that Midna was thinking when two things slotted neatly into place together: Raz’s history with some of Psych-OSF’s Scarlet Guardians, and the answer to Peach’s question about the weather.

She bit her lip, ran it though her mind, then grinned and stood up to make her second attempt at a proposal:

”So. New suggestion. If you” Midna indicated at Raz ”Know the people in OSF, and where part of what it got cobbled together out of then we, or at least you, have a real good in there. Skillset wise, and post freeing them wise” she wasn’t saying anything new here, of course, but she did have something to add.

”Now we could try having you apply, but that would have you on your own, and it would probably take forever to climb up the ranks and the rest of us don’t exactly fit in with their whole psychic fighters deal. So. instead. We salvage my whole making a name for ourselves plan vs the robots, and instead go take a walk in the rain and go make a splash”

”Put together our own team of five and see if we can inject ourselves into the limelight right away with some daring heroics. I can already hear the town criers calling out the tale to the people: ‘Mysterious travelers from a far off land have heard the people’s cries, and have come to save the city!’” she put on some airs while giving her predictive announcements, before having the grace to look a little embarrassed about the corniness of it before she cleared her throat and added ”or, something like that”

Then she shrugged and admitted ”I mean it might not work the way I’m envisioning it, could be they’ll just get annoyed at us intruding. But we need to get an idea of what we’re up against sooner or later… and it’ll mean Sakura gets to punch something instead of sitting around kicking her heels”

Then, after a few moments she added one last thing: ”Also, you know, us getting out there will most likely save some lives” not doing so as an afterthought to her other points, but because it was a forest she thought they might need focused back on, as it was one that it was all to easy to lose sight of while scheming about the particulars of what to do about all the individual trees.

World of Light

The Koopa Troop

wordcount: 1639 (+3)
Bowser: Level 11 EXP: ////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// (221/110)
Bowser Jr: Level 11 EXP: ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// (108/110)
Kamek: Level 11 EXP: //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////(107/110)
Rika: Level 6 EXP: //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// (40/60)
Location: The Under - The Colorless Wood

”-and that’s why I said it was like tv static” Bowser concluded, having explained the concept to his young son.

”ooooh, ok, I get it” Jr replied, nodding earnestly, before glancing over at the other two troop members and saying ”Isn’t that cool!”

”hmmm? Oh. yes. very” Kamek lied, clearly distracted by something. What that something was was something Rika cleared up when she was, unlike the old mage, entirely honest about having tuned out the royal’s conversation: ”Sorry what was that? I’ve been kinda distracted by my planes being weird”

”Wow. Rude” Jr harrumphed, looking mighty upset that the shipgirl hadn’t listened to his papa’s words of wisdom

”Eh, it’s fine” Bowser insisted in-order to placate the boy, before asking ”So what’s up with your planes then?”

To answer that, Kamek pointed one out, the scout plane flailing around senselessly in the air as it tried to push past some invisible obstacle.

”Oh huh yeah that is weird” Jr agreed, easily distracted

”Indeed”

”Also neither of the other two got stuck, which is super unfair!” Rika complained, and indeed, if they were to peer into the woods the royals could see the striker and wisps happily ignoring whatever had trapped the plane. Both the planes. The other one was just stuck much deeper in the woods than the one that had first been pointed out.

”I mean, if there’s something invisible there, then I have a way to sort that” Jr said before carefully rolling his clown car forwards on go-kart wheels, heeding his elders’ requests for him to be careful as he cautiously approaching the plane.

While still a fair bit away from the trapped remote control aircraft, the prince pulled out his paintbrush and gave it a few flicks, launching splats of goop forth. The ink-like slime splashed onto and around the plane, and painted into visibility what had been unseen: a massive spider’s web, one who’s strands had been invisible to the naked eye.

The tapestry hung there for a moment, glistening in the mist, before the goop began to rapidly eat through the silk, causing the web to disintegrate, freeing the plane from its grasp. It dropped, caught itself with its thrusters, did a little loop de loop to clear the goop off of it … and then almost immediately flew into another web.

”Well I never… is the entire wood just filled with these webs?” Kamek asked, the magikoopa having carefully followed after Jr’s trail to join up with him.

”Yeah, definitely” Bowser, who had not done as his wise advisor had done, agreed as he tugged an arm to try and free it from an invisible grip. He grunted in frustration, and then opened his maw, flames licking his lips as he prepared to deal with the problem, only for Kamek to interject ”Wait! Sire, careful, we don’t want to risk burning down the woods while we are in them”

The king gave a frustrated sigh, but he nonetheless waited for jr to clear the webbing using splashes of goop. With him free, the plane re-freed, and the mystery solved, the troop wandered back to join Primrose and Rubick and actually addressed the former’s question about what they should be doing, and whether they should look any further.

”This place seems like it’ll be really annoying” Bowser summarized ”Not being able to go 3 steps without getting web stuck on you? No thanks”

”Boring too” Jr added, not appreciating the region’s aesthetic ”I mean, who’d get rid of all the color? Seems real lame to me”

”Reminds me of that whole situation with the black paint, which was just groan worthy” Bowser said, and when asked for more details, declared it not even worth talking about

”Well, anyway, I for one do not particularly want to find out where the spiders who made the webs went” Kamek added after that. Both options of either they were hiding, or that they had been eaten by something even worse, were bad in his mind.

Things seemed pretty conclusive on their front, until Rika coughed awkwardly and then asked ”Could we, uh, maybe go and get my plane before we leave though?” before pointing her bayonet towards the trapped aircraft jerking about in the mist, its luck at having narrowly avoided an unknown number of webs to get all the way out there into the mist having now turned around into a curse.

The answer to that question was obvious for the rest of the Troop, and that was how they ended up heading deeper into the woods, with or without the two heroes.

Jr led the way, splashing the area ahead of them with goop to detect and destroy the webs, which resulted in a path of sorts forming, one made of a layer of magical slime coating the forest floor. Bowser’s boots tramped atop this, while Rika gilded above its surface, and Kamek hovered low at the back, occasionally popping a torch on a passing tree as he went to fully cement the pathway.

As they trekked through the mist, the sound of static grew subtly louder and louder, the intruders being submerged in a sound like frogs being boiled, such that they would not notice consciously how much it had increased in volume till it was too late.

Add to this the subtle sights of things just beyond their vision, and safe to say, they were not having a good time.

”Almost there, almost there, almost there” Jr muttered to himself as they went, all of them getting more and more unnerved until, at last ”We’re here!”

The prince’s goop splashing hit the web holding the second plane, freeing it up and allowing it to hover back over to its owner, the little aircraft snuggly slotting itself away in the unoccupied gauntlet hanger it had deployed from.

”Thanks guys! Now uh, lets go, this place is way to spooky” Rika said, but Jr just had to ask ”Do we need to go find the wisps or-” only to be interrupted by their timely return as they teleported into the midst of the group. Something neither royal would admit being startled by, but which defiantly did.

”Ah good, your back, did you find anything of note” Kamek asked after he’d recovered from the surprise, to which the wisps responded by forming an arrow and pointing off towards the center of the forested cavern. The troop all peered into the mist and vaguely spied the out of place hotel and its neon sign … right before the howl rang out and the massive spider pulled itself atop this newly spotted landmark, and screamed something about a queen at them.

That was about when the forest around them went mad, a wave of skittering sounds rolling out as the hiding spiders revealed themselves at last, with sound if not sight. Their bodies were still invisible in the mist, even if it was now obvious they were out there. Somewhere, and getting closer every second.

An immediate response of panicked blind shooting resulted from this from all but one member of the troop, with Rika opening up with her assault rifle and canons, Bowser with shoulder cannons and a shower of shell spikes joining in, and Jr with his crank operated Mulcher machine gun offering a baseline of noise, all of them firing into the mist at the approaching sound, guns roaring in defiance.

”Stop, stop, you aren't hitting anything!” Kamek called over the din ”We need to fall back!”

His strategy fell on (literally) deaf ears until he physically grabbed Jr and got him to stop, then got the boy to get his father’s attention with ease, while the mage halted the ship girl’s own fire.

”We need to go!” Kamek reasserted after they’d wasted valuable time

”No we don’t, we just need to fight smarter!” Jr retorted, before clarifying that they should ”use attacks that hit lots of stuff!”

”Dad, use those sonic attacks you have!” he commanded, while pulling out a pokeball and deploying his Popplio to ride next to him in his car, ordering his pokemon to attack as well with ”Dazzle, hit everything out there with your icy wind”

They did just that, Bowser deploying his shoulder cannons again, but switching them from shell fire to conal screams of super sonic sound that he could sweep through the mist: sowing confusion amidst the spider hordes without needing to be aimed at any one target. Dazzle meanwhile deployed and popped a string of bubbles, unleashing wide gusts of bitingly cold air that, importantly, also reduced the speed of everything they hit.

”Kamek give us, uh… oh, i know, make more of me! And then we’ll all make a big mess of these woods!” Jr snapped his fingers as he came up with a plan to let them hold their ground

”oh? Ah, yes! At once young master!!” the mage agreed, opening up a series of portal and summon shadow juniors who, along with the original, unleashed a flood of goop all around them using their paint brushes, their ink dissolving away at any nearby webs, and splattering ground and trees in a radius around them with ink which would slow down the spiders if they tried to come at them over land after their silky pathways where gone.

”What about me! Shooting stuff was all I had!” Rika called out, to which jr replied ”then shoot the big one!”

”Oh… duh” Rika responded, and then turned her firepower on the target they could see, the ship girl instinctively angling her guns up just a bit so that her shots would fly in an arc and rain down on the somewhat distant titanic spider, where they might have fallen short had she aimed right at it due to bullet (or rather shell) drop.

World of Light

wordcount: 1482 (+3) (+11)
Midna: level 8 EXP: //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////(136/80)
Location: Kunad Highway
Warp Charges: 1 (+1 from fight reward)

warp locations

Virgin Victory teleport room
Top of the Split mountain
Outside the Convent of Our Lady of the Charred Visage
Tostarena Town

”Hey! Did ask specifically how bad it was gonna be, give me some credit” Midna retorted when she was accused of being optimistic about taking on the whole city. It wasn’t like she wanted that to happen after all. That said ”If it's any cold comfort, it is that if a consul is around to brand them as a public enemy, then it's not like we’re alone in that department. With how bad this threefold crisis and internal conflict is, I’ll be amazed if they have much left to spare to send after us if it comes to that. So we’re bugs in the dark, hiding front he boots, but there's way bigger things for the boots to worry about than a bunch of bugs scurrying around this town, and that’s something”

She also took that moment to fill them in on what she could do ”When it comes to gear, I’m good with close combat weapons, have guns but no real training with them, lots of experience riding and some in driving. Then I have some lighting, sand, dragon, shadow, summoning and giant hand magic. Pretty much the works. So I’m pretty versatile, in no small part thanks to all the spirits I’ve fused with”

”But what’s probably the most unique is that I can do this” she waved a hand and summoned a stack of crates out of the twilight realm, the boxes all neatly stacking up in an instant right next to her ”which is to say, I can store objects in the twilight realm, with some pretty big upper limits too. No people though, they turn into beasts, and even animals get warped a bit, though I can also set up portals that can let us travel long distances safely. Once we’re settled, I’ll probably set one up, which would let me link back up with base via a … pretty convoluted rout I admit”

She’d have to jump to the virgin victory just outside Garudo town, then through the metro to twilight town, then through warp graffiti back to smash city, to be exact.

”and I need to be there to bring people with me so it’s somewhat limited in usage, but I could make a trip to get mercenary reinforcements if we need them... Anyway, point is, if you need stuff stashed, I’m your princess” she asserted, before she started tapping each box to banish them crates home again.

”Princess Midna, to be exact” she added, realizing she hadn’t actually introduced herself ”nice to meet you all”

Then, once she’d tidied up, she had a think about all the info they’d gotten, the princess borrowing a chair and lounging in it, legs crossed at the ankles hanging over one arm rest while she folded her hands behind her head and had a ponder about what they should do.

Three big threats, three big forces opposing them, and any one of them or the government themselves could be harboring the guardian. It was interesting to see that the same robots from the desert were also here, but in far greater numbers. Or perhaps they had just skimmed the edge of their territory down there and gotten lucky. Something to inform home base about, she thought.

Still, she left any follow up about that to Geralt, as it was, sort of, now his purview given he was the one who had asked.

So she kept her talk and commentary to the rebel groups, at least initially.

”Can’t say any of those rebels are any more reliable sounding than the one back in the desert” she had to admit, but she did give each their own time, talking as much to herself as she was with the Twins.

”The goals of the first group, this Avalanche, are just irrelevant, seeing as, if we win, then this false tapestry of a world won’t exist anymore in a week or two. So who cares if it harms a planet that soon won’t exit, unless we are close to some kind of breaking point” she said, somewhat unkindly, even if she could see how such a thing would be worth fighting for otherwise. Which was a plus ”Still, as objectives go, saving the planet sounds like a noble one, so I’d guess the people in it might be just and principled, to an extent, so if we remove Galeem’s blinding light from their eyes and point them at the true threat maybe we could co-opt them for our own cause pretty easily”

”Second, the hermits… are just an endemic failure of the government made manifest. I’ve read about this kind of stuff, where the people don’t feel safe, they form their own, inevitably corrupt and crime ridden, militias and gangs to protect themselves. If we free them, they’ll still mostly care about their own communities, which is kinda fair, but basically just makes them not worth pursuing as direct allies” Midna said, basing all this on her royal education rather than any real world experience. The thought of using them to acquire some of that hoarded gear at blackmarket rates did not even cross her mind.

”As for the third, this ‘reunion’? I’d fold them in as part of the Chimeras crisis. A symptom that we need to fight the disease to resolve” Minda said simply. Did she feel bad about these effective plague victims? Yes. But that did not mean they should not be treated as such, even if she imagined the regime was likely far more heavy handed than it needed to be.

The other, smaller groups or individuals were not exactly worth considering seeking out, other than, perhaps, as people who could be attracted into the fold of whatever organization they ended up being a part of.

So, if it came to groups to join, and who’s resources to use, that left the government agencies, which apparently they could likely sign up with without worrying about being arrested the moment they tried. The requirements for becoming members of Psych-OSF and Neuron sounded pretty specific to her, psychic powers and seeing the unseen, so that left just Desperado Enforcement as the easy option.

For them, however, the newly caught up Riden added some more details that shot down that possibility in her mind, namely by shoving them from the ‘helpful’ column into the ‘problem to be dealt with’ column.

”Huh, and I was just about to suggest shacking up with them would be a good idea. Never mind then” she said, and in hindsight, the whole recruiting of those who have nowhere else to go sounded very shady.

”In that case, I have … three suggestions” The princess said after a bit more ruminating, before she stood up and found a suitable location to address the rest of the party.

”First is co-opting Avalanches, if we can find them. We get them onside, and we get access to a well armed force and, hopefully, whatever dirt or information they have on the city, which might let us work out if the regime is hiding anything Guardian shaped” she explained, before jumping straight into the potential downsides that that plan might have ”Course, problem with that is if we get found working with them, or them for us rather, then doing anything with the government gets next to impossible, and even just fighting the crises with them is itself hard, because any time they show up we risk it becoming a three way fight”

”Basically, I think they’d be good long term, once we’re out of the city, but in it, might be more trouble than they are worth. Depends what we can get them to bring to the table” she summarized

”Second is we try and get into Neuron, assuming we can get magic or machines from them that let us see these invisible foes and we aren't barred from joining because we can’t do that on our own. They are fighting the biggest danger, might have some principles, while also having some regime connections. If we’re going to join one of the government groups, I’d go for them” the princess explained, before adding ”Again, if we even can”

”Lastly, and I think this is my preference, we go our own way. Kinda. We make our own mercenary company, we make a name for ourselves by going on the offensive against the robots, because they are the only ones whose origins we actually know and can attack directly at the moment. Plus, some of us have experience fighting them from when we met some of them in the desert south of here. Assuming we can pull something off, we use the clout from that success to get government funding, and maybe muscle in on Desperado’s own funding and importance in the process to try and break that threat as well, or at least weaken them. Maybe absorb some of the other smaller ones if they have any potential or principles while we’re at it. Go from being just a bunch of roaches to an actual force for good in the city”

”Those are my ideas anyway” the princess conclude, before saying ”ok, floors open again, thanks for listening” and returning to her chair to wait and see what people thought, and what other ideas they might have come up with.

World of Light

The Koopa Troop

wordcount: 1279 (+3) (bowser - 8)
Bowser: Level 11 EXP: ////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// (218/110)
Bowser Jr: Level 11 EXP: ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// (105/110)
Kamek: Level 11 EXP: //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////(104/110)
Rika: Level 6 EXP: //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// (37/60)
Location: The Under - The Ruins

Bowser had a right chuckle at Ganondorf’s dramatic cry at the heavens, before saying ”Yeah, well, welcome to the team. Or back to it I guess. Only the pink puffball got away, and then he bailed me out, and since then I’ve been leading the charge against Galeem” to the other king, filling him in on some of the blanks, before ordering Kamek to ”Fill him in on the rest for me”

”Oh, ah, yes sire” the mage nodded and then introduced himself ”Good afternoon, your majesty, I am Kamek: Lord Bowser’s head magikoopa and trusted advisor. ” before doing as he had been commanded and laying out all the other details.

”So, hmm, where to begin…” pausing for a moment to think, before deciding to start with what was on hand ”Well, as you might have guessed, taking down the foe sealed behind that door is part and parcel with taking down this Galeem. Much like the three keeping this door shut, Galeem’s 13 guardians, now 9, stand between us and it.”

”Said guardians are spread all across a ring shaped continent Galeem has made by stapling random bits all other words together. After it annihilated/assimilated them all. Most are not aware of this whole patchwork nature of reality, as Galeem’s influence blinds them to the fact that this world is not where they belong, just as you yourself where. They are also somewhat more aggressive or impulsive, and are compelled to finish any battle they begin” he continued, before forming a friend heart and saying that ”Fortunately, individuals can be freed from that influence using these, bleh, ‘friend hears’ after an intended target has been sufficiently weakened”

The mage then dismissed the heart and pointed at the spirit of Toriel ”As you may have also noticed, those that do die turn to ash, and also leave behind those spirits. These can be crushed to create items, I believe her majesty Sectonia has a hat that improves the output of that, or they can be made into briefly summon-able strikers” he gestured to the side and summoned a Tonberry to demonstrate ”And, finally, they can also be absorbed into the head to gain skills or strengths, and into the body to gain more active abilities, some of which you can see on Lord Bowser here, and which he used against you in battle.Taking in spirits will cause changes to body and mind, but I also have a device, the snaktivator which can limit a change to a specific body part. Well. Mostly. There is still some bleed over as you can again see on his magesty”

”Oh, and, finally, it is not just us. There is another team seeking a guardian in a place known as Midgar, and a whole host of people who work as mercenaries or as civilian support who are doing what they can to secure the lands we have already passed though, and acquire more resources to fuel our quest” Kamek finally said, before glancing at the others and saying ”and I do believe that covers it?”

”Mmmm, I think so” Rika agreed, before adding ”Oh, and I’m Rika by the way, nice to meet you mr king of evil” to introduce herself as well, giving the king a little short bow as she did so.

”And the rest of them are my army of … hey wait a minute where did everyone go?” Bowser asked, glancing around at the now smaller group of people

”I mean, Nadia went off to find that map, and most of the other people missing went after her. But I think that the copy cat wizard and the nice dancer lady who gave us a bunch of stuff went down that way” Jr said, jabbing a thumb down the other exit to the room they were in. The boy then got back to work on his car, which was now covered in little cross shaped patches, doing a few final adjustments before pulling himself inside and firing up the eclectic engine, causing it to hum rather healthily to life. A miracle, considering the beating it had taken

”Yeah, nice, back up and running!” Jr cheered, before informing the group that ”Ok I’m good to go” and then asking his pa specifically, ”So… where to next?”

”Ah, mmm, hmmm” Bowser glanced to and fro the two directions people had already gone, and then took a moment to mull it over ”Well, if Ms. fortune is just going to get a map, then she’s probably be fine because that map guy is probably fine down there, and a bunch of other people went with her sooooo… lets go make sure those two newbies aren't getting in trouble”

He jabbed a finger down the corridor at the end of his little verbalized thinking over and then more specifically commanded ”Koopa Troop lets roll out!”

”On it!””Sure thing papa” ”As you say sire, a wise decision I might add” the other three responded, and then, after any more hold ups, they set off after Primrose and Rubick

What they found at the end of the tunnel was quite bizarre, a forest of towering trees in a cavern so vast its top could not be seen. Or at least that was the impression it gave, but a lot was off about it. Not enough for the Troop to not fall for its mind, though given Rika’s newness to this whole land thing, and the sometimes nonsensical nature of the koopa’s home they did have an excuse for not finding an underground forest to be the strangest thing.

”Huh, weird forest… big too” Jr said, staring up at the tall trees, before thinking for a moment and then asking ”Or did the tunnel somehow make us smaller?”

”I did not particularly notice any magic that might have caused such an effect” Kamek said ”Though there is certainly something wrong with the air here … and the colors seem to be gone? Most concerning”

”Also what is that annoying sound? That really annoying sound?” Rika asked

”Urg, yeah that is the worst … its like that sound you get when the tv loses signal. A kind of static-y one” Bowser said, identifying it.

”When it loses signal? What do you mean Papa? Doesn't it just say ‘no signal’ on it?” Jr asked, making his dad feel old as a result.

”Uh, well, you see jr, back in the day-” Bowser the old began to explain, and while he did, Kamek and Rika decided to see what they could do about the whole obscuring fog thing. The ship girl had Kamek pull out some of the torches she had in her pockets and then the mage plopped them around the entrance to the forest, which conveniently marked it out in case anyone wandered off into the mist. They also made a plan to, if/when they went out there, they’d see about leaving a trail of torches to light the way back.

Then they pulled the same trick they had done in the canyon, with Kamek summoning some of the softly glowing wisps, while Rika deployed her planes. Together, the remote scouts once again fanned out to take a look around to see if they could spot any notable landmarks, the far wall of the cavern, big obvious threats, or anything else that might be of interest, though the fog would likely make that a bit tricky.

Still, any info they could glean would be better than blundering into the mist blind, and while they sat about waiting for the results, it also gave the others time to catch up, if they were going to do so.