Morning comes quickly, as it always does, and a brief look around a check of your surroundings shows that you got through the night unmolested. So good for the folks you paid to keep you that way, right? Yawning, you go about packing but your bedroll and taking care of the other morning stuff. Once your done with that you can go spend a shard for breakfast and start figuring out your tower group for the day. You figure you'll pick up Linnea again, the little dryad is just too useful to have around, and besides she's a nice enough girl.
A brief count of your shards shows that you can afford to purchase a skill, so you do. Your kinda looking forward to the expression of the first person who breaks a weapon on your face.
You kinda want to keep meeting new people for awhile yet though, so you'll leave off contacting Murdan or Shadow, or even that Ansom woman. You suppose you could hunt down that Du fella you met yesterday. He seemed alright, and you kinda want to see how his magic works. On the other hand, with those two along… you'd pretty much be the only offense. Someone else to deal out the hits would probably be good. Maybe you can look up a magical type. Having Shadow along to blast the back lines was pretty helpful yesterday.
With that in mind you head out, absently thanking the lady running the sleeping area as you leave, chow first, then Linnea. Course, your gonna have to find her first. She'll probably be at the gathering area for the folks looking for groups though. Given that she has a real weapon now she could probably handle a few skeletons on her own, but you have a feeling she isn't gonna go solo anytime soon.
The shard you set aside for breakfast buys you some a bag full of some kinda fluffy jam filled pastries, so you can eat and walk at the same time, peering around to see if you can catch sight of Du or an ungrouped caster type. You find a fair number of the latter, but you get a bunch of declines, with varying degrees of politeness. Some are just not with their groups, others are playing solo and some apparently don't like the looks of ya or think your gonna club 'em over the head when their back is turned or something.
Stupid that, if you wanted their stuff you'd openly crack them over the head and take it. You do eventually catch sight of shiny purple scales through the crowd heading toward the group area though, and after the third time it actually turns out to be the enthusiastic fella you met the night before.
You find Du leaning against one of the wooden posts that have been pounded into the ground to act as anchors for the ropes, he notices you coming of course. You're pretty noticeable. "Morning," you say cheerfully, raising your hand to wave a greeting. "Figured I might tap you to see how your tricks actually work since ya talked my ear off last night."
A brief expression of surprise and a hint of embarrassment cross his androgynous features, and he offers you a weak smile, "I got a little carried away. Thanks for listening though," Du responds sincerely. "You want to group up then…Yuuka? It was Yuuka right?"
You're a little amused at the care he takes to pronounce your name right, and you dismiss his apology with a wave, "Yeah, if you don't mind. I want to pick up a couple other people first though."
He nods easily, pushing himself upright from the post he was leaning against, "That's fine." He pauses to give you a considering look before following you along the edge of the enclosure though. "I can only maintain a few semi-permanent enhancements at once, would you rather have offense or defense?"
"Right," you respond distractedly, peering around for Linnea. "You did mention that yesterday. I'd rather hit stuff harder." After a moment you add, "Keep an eye out for a scraggly little bush, will ya?"
Du gives you an odd look, "…Sure. Will it be a problem if your weapon gets heavier, that's the best way to enhance bludgeoning weapons."
"As long as it doesn't mess up the balance," you reply after a moment, before your eyes catch on something leafy and green. It looks like Linnea was hanging out near the edges again… you hope so anyway, otherwise you're gonna look awful silly talking to a bush. "Looks like we found who I was looking for," you add cheerfully, "How's it going Linnea?"
Du glances between you and the waist high shrub, "Wait, so the 'scraggly bush' is the person you were looking for?"
"I'm not scraggly," Linnea's voice rings out as the 'bush' is seemingly replaced by the height challenged dryad. "Mom says I'm just a late bloomer. My foliage will come in soon."
"Sorry," you respond unrepentantly, grinning down at the huffy looking girl, "You mind coming along again today?"
"Sorry," Du adds, sounding a bit more genuine in his apology. "I was just repeating what she said." You roll your eyes; you'd give him a playful shove for ratting you out if you didn't think it'd send the poor fella flying.
Linnea plants her hands on her hips, craning her neck to glare… well it's more of a pout really, at you. "I guess I don't mind, unless you're going to keep being rude."
You laugh, bringing a hand up to rub the back of your neck sheepishly, "Hey, hey, I said I was sorry didn't I? It was just a joke." Maybe it's one of those 'cultural' things? You give Du a dirty look when you catch him biting back a laugh. It can't be that funny watching you get chastised by someone a third your size.
Linnea continues eyeing you for a second longer before shrugging and going back to her usual placid expression, "That's fine then." She then turns her attention to Du, and blunty asks, "Who are you though?"
"Just call me Du. I guess we're going to be working together for a bit?" he responds with a hint of uncertainty, offering a weird little bow. Foreigners are strange.
"Oh, okay." Linnea responds easily. "Are we going in then? I kind of want to see what's in the fancy halls we found before we left yesterday."
"In a bit," you respond, looking around. "I kinda want a mage along today. Magic stuffs been coming up as we get deeper so it'd be nice to have someone who knows how that mumbo jumbo works along," you pause, glancing at Du. "No offense, but you did say that you're pretty specialized."
Du shrugs, "No it's fine, I know I don't fill the same niche as a…" He frowns, "Traditional wizard."
You shrug off the weird way he says that, and return to considering the crowd, and sharing a little small talk with the others. Within a few minutes though, something catches your eye, or rather someone. Most of the people here are relatively young, explorers and mercenaries tend to have fairly quick expiration dates after all. The lady approaching you though… well you aren't the best at telling human ages, what with the lack of horns and aversion to scars, but your pretty sure she's a bit older than the average sellsword wandering about.
She's also pretty clearly a human noble, if only because her clothes and the gems adorning them look REALLY expensive. She pauses briefly when it's clear that you've noticed her and meets your gaze for a few seconds. Heh, most of the fancy sorts you met on your travels don't have eyes like that, looks like she has some spirit. Linnea and Du's conversation fades as she approaches your little group at a measured pace and stops a short distance away. "Good afternoon," she begins, looking over the three of you briefly. "I am Lady Lona Estellor. Am I correct that you were the one seeking a skilled practitioner of spellcraft?"
You cock your head to the side a bit, studying the way the human holds herself, lots of pride of course, but there's something else there, a hint of tiredness and a certain tightness to her expression. "Yeah, that's me, or rather us now," you reply with a grin. "I'm Yuuka, guessing you're here to apply?"
She seems a bit pained by your assertion, but nods once sharply. "Indeed," she glances around once, and then briefly raises her right hand, which holds a polished piece of crystal, an arcane focus if you ever saw one, it pulses once, and the noise of the crowd dies down to a buzzing whisper. "I will be frank, I am seeking to destroy the creature that denied me my previous bodyguard." She states simply, "Not only that, but the abomination was guarding a stairwell leading up. I am sure I need not tell you what that means."
Linnea looks intrigued, "We could be the first ones to make it up to the second floor." She seems excited by the prospect.
You on the other hand are a bit more leery. "Sounds pretty great," you admit dubiously. "So what made you decide we were the ones to tell?" A quick glance shows that Du seems a bit suspicious as well.
The noblewoman gives you an appraising look for a moment. "I am not a battlemage," she admits simply. "I am quite well learned in several schools of magic, are you aware of what divination is?"
You frown, "Moon Clan stuff. Reading the stars to figure out when the storms are gonna hit and which days are bad luck."
Linnea just wrinkles her nose, "Ugh, that's the thing with animal guts and incense right? It's kinda gross."
Du's response is the simplest, "Yeah, I'm aware. You should get to the point."
She frowns a bit at Du's bluntness but nods anyway, "Those are both passable methods, although not the one I use. In any case, I have divined that exploring with you," she looks pointedly at you here. "Brings me the highest chance of success."
Huh, that's kinda unexpected, "Yeah, alright. I can accept that." Moon Clan's a bunch of weirdos but ignoring their predictions is dumb, you can respect somebody following their own version.
"To be clear," she adds. "I do not believe we should face the creatures today. I merely wish to establish a working relationship between us, such that we may do so in the future."
Linnea pouts a bit at that, but Du seems relieved. You just laugh though, "Yeah, it'd be kinda dumb to just rush in when we don't even know each other's abilities properly yet."
"Exactly so," Lona responds, seeming slightly relieved herself for some reason. Maybe she figured you'd insist on running off immediately?
"Well anyway, this is Linnea, and that's Du. We should get to figuring out where we want to roam today," you say cheerfully. "So…"
[] On Tour in Zombieland
[] Iron Door?
[] Fancy Glowing Lights zone.
[] The Deep Corridors.
