A Grande Adventure

(Soon as Nergal posts I'll update.

Gildor would walk over, once more casting the spell that would allow him to understand Dargo. "So where are you off to? Looking for Taihaku?" The Elf chuckled. "You know, I think she might enjoy being hugged by a clean Snauwhat instead of a dirty one. I can kinda tell you don't like the idea, but think of it this way. If you are clean she is more likely to high and pet you, if you're dirty she's more likely to shove you away." He was silent for a moment. "And I'll cast the spell on her so you can communicate with her if you take the bath."

Richard grinned. "If I could do that would I not just pop into the Vampire's lair and steal my sister back?" He said laughign lightly but there was a pain in his eyes. "Still so far away. But it can't be helped. We must rest after our many encounters." He took her by the shoulder and guided her to the street where Gildor and Dargo could be seen talking to one another, well Dargo barkign and growling and howling and Gildor speaking in the more Elven manner. "There's our hotel. It's called the Weary Wonder Inn. It has veyr large lovely, but afordable rooms and a basement bath house." He said with wink to her. "That way you and Atlanta can wash that gunk off in a private room. I figured her 'features' may cuase a panic"

The gargoyle-like creature smirked and spun around speaking to her while flying backwards. "Because my race is trained to spot magical trails and you're lit up like Kirsmaas Tree, sister. So big person, loads of magic used on you to make you freakishly tall I figured you were smaller than you really are and the magic used on you made you bigger since your body's muscular structure doesn't match your size I figured you were really little then made really big." He said turning back around and looking along the shelves and finding the label for the ingredients she needed. "There you go. Take a look. I'm sure one of two of these will satisfy your quest. What is it if I may ask?" He asked in his usual irritated manner.

Dargo would consider Gildor's words. He did need a bath, he just hated them so much! But if it meant he could talk to Taihaku he'd take a metaphorical bullet. "Very well." He said through the spell hanging his head and turning to back to look up and watch, seeing if he could catch a glimpse of her again.


As Kira went through her mail she'd see it was all addressed to her and one bore the crest of the Thrill Seekers Adventure Group, another was asking her if she wanted a subscription to Gunz And Bigger Gunz a weapon's lover magazine that promised to always have the dirt on the best, the biggest and most effective weapons both on Felarya and off. The last was a mysterious black letter with a red seal that looked quite expensive.

(I'd do Taihaku but I can't think of much other than room service ala Tiny. XD)

Persephone didn't need any further prompting, she was ready to grab Atlanta by the hand and run straight into the bath with her. But that would have to wait until she knew which room was theirs - oh, and probably until she had a room reserved in the bath area.
"Well what are we waiting for, then? Let's go check in!" she urged, clearly anxious.

(Read it again, Jedi - she's on the roof, not in a room. >.> I don't know what 'window' Dargo is talking about either.)

Kira decided she would burn the letter from the Thrill Seekers later. The one about the weapons sounded promising, though - it might give her some ideas for later inventions. The one that caught her attention the most was, naturally, the ornate and ominous black letter. She hoped it wasn't something telling her her dad, or a friend of hers, was dead. She unlocked the front door to her house with her key and went inside, closing the door behind her. She set the mail on her work bench at the left wall of the main room, and went to work getting everything ready to make Jade's medicine.


Taihaku heard a familiar barking sound from her vantage point on the roof of the inn and looked down to see Dargo conversing with Gildor. She wondered what they could be talking about. She couldn't hear Gildor's words from so far away, and she didn't understand Dargo at all. She also wondered how it was they came to be so close to her position. Were they tracking her somehow? Or was it just coincidence? Her thoughts were interrupted by the appearance of Richard and Persephone. Just great. It looks like her time alone was over, she thought.

(Okay got it, thanks Nyaha! I've been doing one too many typos lately since I decided to write long hand fics. O_o; Must be nerves.)

"Thanks Dargo, lets go get you clean. I'll try to make it fast for ya." The Elf would look over to Richard, Atlanta, and Persephone and nod towards them. "Hey, I was just about to take Dargo someplace to give him a bath. What to help me Richard?" He'd watch Atlanta and Persephone head into the Inn. "Hmmm...wonder if they'd let us bathe Dargo in there..."

Jenna frowned a bit as she thought over the gargoyle’s words. Well, they made sense and his reasoning was fairly sound. As she shrugged, admitting his excellent points, he suddenly stopped. On the shelves Jenna could see several ingredients that definitely had spectral properties, but before she could take a long look, the gargoyle stopped her again.

“I’m sure one or two of these will satisfy your quest. What is it if I may ask?”

Jenna frowned, about to ask how he knew that, but supposed a tiny that had been grown with magic was definitely on some quest to stay big or get small or whatever. Telling him about some ‘vampire’ creature probably wouldn’t lower his opinion of her any further.

“Well, I kind of fell into some other guys’ quests, actually.” She admitted, as she examined the ingredients around them, “Which is why I’m a giant in the first place, but I think they mentioned something about hunting a ‘vampire’.” She frowned as she finished saying that. “They never really explained just what a ‘vampire’ was, come to think of it…”

Richard smiled at Persephone's enthusiasm and gladly offered his hand to her, once she took it he'd walk across the street with Atlanta following close behind and looking around everywhere at once. "Indeed we'll just register at the front desk. Come along, Dargo....Dargo?" The noble would look around in bewilderment. "Where'd he get off to- Ah I see.." Said Ricahrd just as Gildor extended an invitation to bathe his own Snauwhat! Dargo seemed to have become the team pet more than Richard's lately. "Sounds quite good to me!" He said looking at Dargo and grinning mock evilly. "He hasn't had one since we left my world after all." Said Richard. As he got closer he heard Gildor talking under his breath expressing some vexement over Dargo's entry status at this particular Inn. Richard frowned. He hadn't thought of that. "Well I suppose I can always bribe the man..." Said Richard looking down at Dargo and trying to think of what a good sum would be.

Back with Kira she may notice as she set the letter down the seal began to pulsate with high frequency that her neko ears would find irritating then the seal would melt away and the letter would open a small figure dressed in heavy red garments not to disimular to Richard would appear. Though he was a much older, and larger built than Richard and his white blonde hair was mostly receeded though the remainder had been tied back in a short pony tail. His eyes were grey-green and his mouth was framed by a small goatee and handle bars. It should also be noted that he had enough gilding on his cloak to outshine most jewelry shops. Most prominent was a large crest of a double headed salamander, dragon-like not the lizard like, on white feild with a red body and a large star above it's head. The figure regarded Kira a moment then spoke in tones that were liek soft thunder on the horizon. "You are Kira Southsmith? Neko Adventurer and ..Gadgeteer? Did I say that right? Sorry I've heard sooo many different names for the tittle. Tech Wizard, Tech Girl, Techno Expert, Meachana De Torlava and many more since, but never mind that now. Are you indeed Miss Kira Southsmith?" The figure asked her with the wide faced smile of a patient grandfather.

Chun-Lo stopped in mid hover then turned around to stare at her with wide eyes and expression of concern. "You're going to fight one of the ancient Sanguine Vampiris? The most feared hunters of the night? T most powerfull and feared of the undead?? Wow you're either braver than I thought!!... or stupider. Either way here's your supplies." He said pointing at the ingredients. "Though there are those who train for life times to fight Vampires. Consider them the ultimate evil in the universe, worse only less than man eaters. But they usually get cut down, turned or something worse." He said as if it were perfectly normal to know all this.

"That depends on who's asking," Kira said, not facing the letter while she massaged her left ear. She wasn't planning on giving whoever this man was her full attention until he gave her a reason to do so. In all likeliness, she thought, he was probably some unsolicited salesman.

--

Taihaku decided she might as well head down into the lobby and meet up with the group again, since they seemed like they would be heading into the inn any moment. She retreated from the front of the roof and through the door to the inside stairwell, slowly making her way down the wooden steps, intending the kind of grace expected of royalty.

"That's true...Well, lets get to it then. Sooner we bathe Dargo here, sooner he can go hug Tai." Gildor walked into the hotel, then looked to Dargo. "Say Dargo, would you like me to use the spell on Richard here? Might be interesting being able to communicate."

(Ok. Too long since we had an update. I'm just going on. Para and Balthy will keep up, I have trust in them.)

The figure would give Kira a hard dour stare before saying in voice with full of a power and regality. "High Lord Georgan Pendergast the Third. Second in line for the Throne of Siadara. But more importantly someone who wishes your services and will pay anything to obtain them." He said crossing his arms wondering if she'd help him finish this ridiculous scheme once and for all.

As Taihaku was walking down the stairs somebody bumped into her, a middle ages neko woman with light blonde hair only begging to grey amd pair of a horn rimmed spectacles that were heavily guilded. She wore a floor length light blue robe with a crest of the old Neko Empire on it's breast. Though Taihaku likely wouldn't recognize it. Unless she had studied Negav's former rulers closely. The neko woman stopped and stepped back. She spoke in emotionless tone. "Pardon me,dear ,I'm late for a card game, but that's no excuse for my rudeness." She said offering a gloved hand which was studded with gems. "My name is Moria Morbane, may I have yours?" She asked Taihaku in a flat tone similar to hers but tinged with some kind of accent.

Dargo considered Gildor's suggestion. It would be hepful to talk to Richard. There were a few concerns he wished to adress with him after all. Dargo looked up at Gildor and waved his tail about. "That could be useful. There's a good deal I'd like to say to him. Thank you for the offer, Gildor." Said Dargo through the spell.

Meanwhile the rest of the party were arriving in the lobby and soon they were greeted by a very large, fat man who sported a crazily long black mustache, with slicked back hair that was beging to thin slightly. He was only a little shorter than Gildor but easily was wide enough to make up the distance. "Ho ho ho! Welcome to the Weary Wanderer Inn! My name is Gustavo Pedala Keeper of this Inn, and as I've told your leader here if you need anything, anything at all, just tell me! Room service, access to the Spa and Game Room or even your supplies can be ordered and taken care of without you ever having to leave the Inn! Of course, ho ho ho, why would you want to, eh?" He said examining the group. The rich man had said it would be a large group and it was quite large. About six totall which meant the fee he'd get to charge if they doubled up on rooms would be enough to pay for his wife's ridiculous sculpture obsession. Not to mention lots of mustache wax! Ah what a day.

"Yes, spa access! Spa access sounds good." With every passing minute Persephone was feeling more and more like a fresh-picked booger drying out into a crust. Even the time when she'd first come to Felarya and was covered in sticky amniotic fluid residue overnight hadn't felt quite this gross. Nevertheless she maintained her composure, letting as little as possible of her emotions show as waited for the lodging arrangements to be finalized and a key handed to her so she could jump into a bath.

((Guh, apologies for my speed, but my schedule just cleared up a bit so I might be a bit faster ))

The 'tiny' alchemist frowned as Chun-Lo went on a little rant about vampires.

"Well, the guys I'm traveling with seem to know what they're doing... some of them, at least." Jenna shrugged. "I'm usually tiny, anyways, so it's hardly my problem. I'll probably be busy... I dunno, getting eaten."

Finally the amazon-sized tiny picked a small chunk of an ingredient she managed to recognize and knew the chemical value of. Picking it up and giving it a thorough examination for any flaws, she turned back to Chun-Lo.

"So, do you know where to find..." She thought for a moment, trying to think of an intelligent way to phrase her question, "Ah, any ingredients that let you... breath in vacuum? Or just... live without breathing? Do you know what I mean?"

Taihaku was visibly disturbed when she was bumped into, her gritted teeth showing through a small half-frown on her face. She did manage to regain her composure while the woman was speaking, but having her personal space so abruptly intruded upon had been a severely unwelcome surprise. Taihaku listened to her words, which were spoken with an air similar to the way she spoke her own. This recognition caused one of her ears to twitch visibly, her hood having fallen from her head when she was bumped. The recognition continued as Taihaku looked down to the hand being offered to her, her eyes passing by the crest of Negav's Neko empire of old embroidered on the woman's robe. Judging that this woman might prove to be a valuable source of information, historical or otherwise, Taihaku grasped Moria's gloved hand with her own fur-covered one, shaking it once in a firm grip.

"I am Taihaku," she replied in her signature monotonous, humming voice. "I am the daughter of the chief of snow leopards."
---

"Depends on the job," Kira said flatly, still not giving the man her full attention. She didn't give a damn who this Pendergast was or how important he fancied himself. She took her backpack off and began going around the room, scouring for the rest of the ingredients she needed to make Jade's medicine.

(Before I type up my reply I would ask: Nyaha did you not see the message to Kira? Or was she just too busy to even ignore it? XD)

(Sorry, Just forgot. Fixed now. :3)

Gildor shrugged. "Not a problem Dargo, I'm always happy to help a friend." He'd look to Richard. "Say Richard, I have a spell you might find interesting. Think I could cast it on you?"

Gustavo looked at two of the women with a more appraising eye. "Hmm had a icky fall in some goop did we? Well I suppose since Richard has payed me generously you can go straight to the Spa Area. It's downstairs, three flights of stairs door on the left. Very important! The door on the right is...ah...out of order." Said Gustavo smiling and tossing Persephone the keys. "Here go ahead, you two look like you could use the scrub! Ho ho ho!"

Atlanta looked at the key's quite eagerly. "Let's go, Persephone!" Said the fairy-in-disguise practically dragging her away one handed.

Moria released Tiahaku's hand and mulled over the information she had given. "Daughter of a Cheif oh my. Well then I am glad I bumped into you. Always pleasant to meet Neko Royalty that isn't hell bent on taking over the world." She said with a touch of humor. She then looked Taihaku over. "Though I must say you should display your pride more visably. How else would the knaves of the world know you are indeed pure blooded and proud?" She asked giving a little smirk though her eyes didn't show any change. "Speaking of...Are those you servants?" She asked gesturing to Richard and the others.

"The job is simple." Replied the noble. "I wish you to keep my nephew, Richard Grande, in Safe Harbor till my agents arrive to collect him." Said the noble. "You will do this by delaying the Giantess Jade's medication until high noon. That's all. Just ...don't give her the medicine or delay making it for another two hours and I promise you riches beyond you wildest dreams."

Richard raised a eyebrow. "A spell, master elf? What sort of spell? Oh why not? I'm always up for trying something new!" He said quite happily. Dargo got very close to him and winked at Gildor. This Richard found odd, but shruged and chalked it up to his usual life being plain old ood.

Chun-Lo hovered a moment. "There's something that may be useful for such a thing. Air Extract is pure element based air in a crystal form, Breath of Samamana is a type of flower that when ground up can produce pure oxygen and something called Tuuunnnnukktooorriiiiieee." Said the imp pronouncing it in a growling sort of voice. "Is supposed to give one the ability to breathe in any atmosphere. Even under water...But I'm not sure if we have any left after the last trip to Valamere." Said Chun-Lo taking off and zipping back up the aisle then returning. "Aisle five has some left, but you may not like the price..." He said grinning slightly.

Kira stopped what she was doing, and took a moment to process the words that had just been said to her. She closed her eyes, and tried to imagine the different reactions of this obvious fool who clearly thought money could solve any problem. She didn't know who this Richard guy was, but if it meant making Jade suffer any more than she had to, she didn't want any part of it. If it turned out he was dangerous, she'd take care of him herself. And in such a case, it would be more useful to have Jade up and about as soon as possible. But at the same time, telling this guy off could mean unwanted attention and trouble for her. She might as well live ambiguously for the moment and let him interpret it how he likes.

Kira cracked a smile, still facing away from the man on the card, and began laughing aloud, trying to make it sound as little condescending as she could. She then turned around, walked over to the letter, and lifted it up, looking the mysterious 'noble' in the eyes, still smiling.

"...Maybe," she answered, before moving to tear the letter down the center. Whatever it was made of, it was probably still too thin to resist her strength.

--

"I believe you misunderstand," Taihaku stated, holding back none of her thoughts on the matter. "My people do not practice concepts such as 'nobility' or 'royalty'; we simply follow the bold, yet considerate, leadership of our matriarch - my mother. And as of many thirtydays ago, I am taking a journey from my home, exploring the world beyond the tundra to which our ancestors were rather warninglessly whisked away from their original homeland, and taking in new life experiences." She then looked towards Richard and the rest, her eyes narrowing for a moment as the realization that they had caught up to her came to the forefront of her mind. She then continued, "And those people are my cohorts, one of whom I am working for as a mercenary in return for said life experiences. And the statement that a warrior - no, a woman - of my caliber should require servants to carry out the most menial of daily activities is a statement extremely insulting. I would urge you to choose your words more carefully in the future, if for no other reason than to respect the pride of others around you."

Taihaku then froze, almost literally, as she realized how wordy and rambling she'd just been. The air grew colder around her as her face flushed lightly, her stiff gaze shifting back to Moria.

Tunnuktorie? Weird-sounding stuff. Then again, everything here sounded weird.

"Hm, I'll have to find some way to get some money then..." Jenna muttered to herself as she started heading for this 'aisle five'. "I don't suppose you can just, I dunno, keep a bit of this stuff on hold until I can pick up some cash? I'm pretty sure the leader of our party is rich or something. I mean, knights are usually rich..." She lowered her voice to a mumble by the last sentence. "I'm sure he won't mind a bit of his cash going missing." She finally brought her voice up to a more normal volume. "At any rate, I won't need a lot of any of these ingredients. Just a sliver of each will do me. That can't be that expensive, can it?"

The dragging was hardly necessary - in fact, if Atlanta hadn't just taken the initiative, Persephone had a feeling she would have been the one to drag her running to the spa. The anticipation of finally getting herself clean had finally built itself up so much that every inch of her skin that was covered by clothes began to crawl, from head to toe, as if begging to be uncovered.
She wondered for a moment if Richard or any of the others intended to join them.

(welp I'm going to give Nergal two more days then I'll just post anyway and he'll have to catch up. I know he's moving so I'll give him the benefit of the doubt instead of assuming he's a PC game addict like me. =P )

(Erm, I've actually been busy with the holidays. ^_^;; I'm not moving till May.)

Gildor would chuckle. "Oh it's new alright." He'd quickly cast the spell over Richard. It wouldn't really take much, just a quick hand motion and a single word. "And done, Richard should be able to understand you now Dargo. Have fun chatting." He'd laugh and go to walk off to find the rest of the party.

(Oh I see! XD Well let's see if I can't type up a reply beffore midnight and celebrate a new year by continuing the RP!!)