Zetaark

"Heh, good for them I guess. Makes dealing with this mess a lot easier," Marcus muses to himself as he sees the others escape the field. His attention then turns to the soldier next to him. "So, what will it be for you? Is this whole fiasco really worth your life?"

"This could have gone a bit better, though it could have gone a bit worse," Marcus muttered, moving over to the recently downed woman. "Sorry, but you're not dying on my watch." Vuln Akane back to the state of living

More Constellar Rain

"Looks like I'll be going forward," Marcus groans before looking back towards the bard. "Oi, mind moving a bit closer. Otherwise I'll think you're bailing on us." Moves to L15 and zaps merc with Lightning

"Clarisse, must you be so stubborn? Even your friend is worried," Clarrise's mom notes, looking at Rayne's expressions. "Don't you think you should just stay home and continue on with our work?" she asks in a slightly more aggressive tone. "Mom, don't you think you're pushing this a little too hard? Clarisse seems to have found her own life to live. Can't you accept that?" Caleb pleads with his mother. "And what of our family trade? Do you expect me to just let her go about as she pleases and abandon the family? Is that what you want?" Clarisse's mom angrily responds.

After a bit of wandering through the town, garnering a few looks here and there, Cadence and co would eventually find Idei and Cass in one of the town circle areas near the fountain with instruments in hand. ------------------------------ "Alright then. I'll let you do that. But at the very least, can you promise that you'll let me know if you need anything?" Helena asks.

"I'd certainly say so. I figured we would just get to look around the place, but instead we ended up being part of the trials themselves," Helena laughs a bit before looking back at Darius. "Also...if I may ask, before we left the director said something about how having a true purpose can keep the elder spirits at bay for the most part. If you don't want to answer that's fine, but I want to know if you have such a purpose or not," Helena finally gets out, acting similar to how she did earlier.

Constellar Rain

"You know, I've listened to a lot of bards in my time, but you sir take the prize for the worst under pressure," Marcus groans at the partially halfhearted musical display. "Whatever, I didn't come and join this guard for the music, so I guess we should clean up," Marcus says as he moves forward. Moves to M12

Before the group leaves off to the manor, the man goes up to the group. "Are you sure the 4 of you can deal with the issue? Surely you have more guards around? Gather them and bring them here. Then I can take you to the manor," the man pleads.

"All I can say is that the owner of that manor is in grave danger. If someone doesn't act, he'll be dead before the next day comes around," the man says in a concerned voice. ---------------------------- "And I'm glad you two came around. You see, when testing this with past mages, we found some rather inconsistent results. Sometimes it worked out rather well, other times it didn't work at all. Thanks to you two, I think I've found the answer. In order for the magic to properly tune itself within the engine, the two mages must have some strong bond. I figured with you two, I could confirm these suspicions. Now I'm not entirely sure how strong the bond must be for it to work, but it's a start for sure," the director says, smiling. "Oh...err, is that right?" Helena asks, a bit more bashful than usual. "From what I can tell, this seems to be the case. Incidentally, Darius was it? I'm impressed to see that you can command dark magic as well as you can. Many who walk that path often will lose themselves. However, those with true purpose can explore even the depths of dark magic without losing themselves. Or at least that's what I've heard, dark magic and it's practitioners aren't all too common. Nevertheless, I think you'll be fine. On that note, I'd imagine you two have other matters to attend to, but if you'd like..." the director pauses, giving each of them a card with his information and the information of other branches. "I would love for the two of you to assist with future research we may do. Please consider it," the director says as the boat finally slows to a stop and everyone disembarks.

"Time to deal with more of them yet. Hopefully the mess afterwards isn't too bad," Marcus mutters to himself before taking aim at the fighter below him. Move to M9 and Bop Fighter 4 unconscious with Lightning (save whoever has to clean these streets a huge mess)

"Perhaps. I recall overhearing that storekeeper mention something about preparing the necessary tools to dispose of someone. I'm not sure who exactly, but it may be the owner of the Faux manor further North," the man explains.. --------------------------------- "Very well, all you'll need to do is channel your magic into the animus engine and hopefully this shall work," the director says as the pair begins to sit nearby the device itself. As they sat near the orb-like device, it seemed to glow in a multitude of colors. After a moment of preparation, the two mages began channeling their own magic into the device. It took a few moments for the animus engine to show any signs of reaction, but when it did, everyone on the prototype boat knew. Mostly because it hat jetted forward at a rather high speed. "Lessen the intensity of the magic so we don't go too fast alright?" the director says, nearly falling off the boat at the sudden acceleration. The pair managed to lessen the intensity of the magic before hitting the next wall, and after some fiddling managed to be able to control the boat, allowing it to circle around the pool at a moderately high speed. "So...it worked?" Helena asks, looking at the director, but still handling the engine. "Yes, and if the theory on this engine is correct, you should be able to step away from it now. It only needs initial energy for startup purposes like speed and direction, though the direction part can still be done on a normal ship with a normal steering wheel of course," the director says with a grin. "Still though, it looks like my hypothesis on what this engine was lacking may be right after all. We may finally be able to continue on with the research and development. I truly thank you both for this," the director says with a face that is about to burst into tears. Some of the other individuals near the test platform start clapping, glad to see a successful trial.

As the couple leaves and the group reconvenes, a hooded man approaches the group. "I'm sorry, I couldn't help but overhear you earlier, but would you by chance be the Royal Guard?" --------------------------- "Yes well, follow me," the director directs the mage pair down to the test grounds, which features some sort of hull in a rather large pool with a glowing orb in the center of the boat-like structure. Next to it were a set of seats positioned around the orb. "Now then, I'll need you to try and use your magic to connect to the orb here. If my theory holds, it should be able to work and start moving this miniature boat around the pool here. If not, there won't be too much danger, so you will be fine. Is this fine with you both?" the director asks. "Yes, I'm alright with it. I always wanted to be part of actual magical experiments. Darius, how about you?" Helena asks, clearly excited. --------------------------- "Well, we've made a few changes here and there to our business model, but nothing too major. I'll be able to brief you on everything later now that you're back home. As for the Marigolds, their family has always had quite the reputation. Most of the major merchants have heard the name at the very least," Clarisse's mom explains. --------------------------- "Well, that's all I can ask of you two," she says in response to Idei before laughing at Cass' response. "Don't bother the locals alright? If you get arrested I may not be able to help you. Also, my name is Sacre, so if you ever end up back around here, come and find me alright?" she tells the two as they leave the shop.

"Truthfully I'm not sure. A few years ago there were just suddenly vague rumors about him that got spread around. Most of the people who knew us knew they were nonsense, but it affected his business a bit. We still don't know very much about how it all started. At any rate, the two of us were going to go eat, so if you don't have any more questions we'll be on our way," the woman responds.

"That's why I asked him to check out the shop. You see, I'm an alchemist by trade, and I work with various substances for either commercial use or experimental use. Poisons included, though most of those are for experimental use. At any rate, I heard about some unlicensed shop opening up in an alleyway selling poison weapons and the like. I don't know if you know this, but any shop that sells poison weapons has to be registered with a licensed supplier. I am one such supplier, but none of the others in the field know about that shop. So, I asked my husband here to check it out and see what he could find, maybe get a purchase or two if possible so I can analyze the type of poisons used. I didn't expect it to cause this much of a fuss though," the woman explains.

"Shady? Me? Have I been the target of rumors yet again? Why does this keep happening..." the man trails off. The woman besides him then speaks up. "I'm sorry about all this. It's all because I asked you to check out that shop. I'm sorry, but the man here hasn't been out plotting any assassinations or anything of the sort," the woman explains.

"Hmm? Do I know you...oh!" he says as he recalls the earlier meet-up. "You were at that shop earlier. Though I'm not sure if there were any enchanted doors," he finishes. As Cadence finishes her statement, the man frowns. "Assassination plots? What are you going on about?"

Myrdwyn's ramblings are somewhat loud, which would have been fine if the crowd were more filled with people and conversation. Sadly, it was not, so all the nearby people stared at the group, concerned. Some of them started to look towards the roofs, where they would have found Belros sneaking about when Madante intervened. "You know, it's not good to say things like that when drunk. Who knows what people may think? I'm sorry everyone, my friend here is a little drunk," Madante says to the people around him. The surrounding people seem to believe what the man says, and begins to go back to their normal routine. "Sheesh, that was too close," Madante sighs -------------------------------- "I don't mind much either. What do you need?" she asks. "Well, the prototype animus engine we have at the moment powers the ship by converting magical energy to actual force, letting the boats move much faster than they currently could. This would reduce travel time quite a bit between the islands. However, two distinct magic types are needed to run it, and the magic needs to be properly attuned. That last part is the one giving us trouble. It seems like using any two of the three magic is good enough to power it, but attuning them so that the animus engine doesn't break has been...difficult. Do you two think you could try to get it to work?" the director asks.

"Sorry, no names for you, just info," the man responds. Following this, Cadence and co move out to the northern estates. On their way they find a pair chatting about something. "That's all I managed so far. Think you can work with it?" the man asks the woman besides him.

"Sure I guess. I don't have too much against the rank and file, though this captain is something else," Marcus states, snapping his fingers to summon an orb of light to strike the archer. Boop the archer with the light (no kill this time)

"Can't say much about the poison shop. I don't tend to go around that part of town. As for brown haired noblemen with armor...there are a few people who come to mind. Well, I say that, but only one of them is particularly shady. Rumors say that he hangs about the west alleys and makes deals with some shady people. Also heard rumors of him setting up some stuff a few years ago to off a few people, though I don't know the legitimacy of that claim. Maybe if you go north you could run into the guy," the bartender replies in a somewhat uncaring tone. --------------------------------- "It's quite a feat indeed. Technically, two man crafts have actually gone a bit past prototype stage, but those are only useful for couples wanting to see the world. Though...," the director eyes the pair of mages for a bit before moving on to a different topic. "Besides the aerial transport, we've also attempted improving some of our sea crafts with similar techniques. Those have had a bit more success, and we may actually start releasing them for commercial use soon. Though they do have one little kink that needs to be worked out before then, and the issue is a bit of a pain. Perhaps you two may be able to provide some assistance?" the director inquires. --------------------------------- "Well, there are a few security measures in place to make sure nobody tries to take the inside goods. Along with...other measures. But I think you two seem like decent enough people. And hey, if you actually do manage the task, I might be able to get you something nice. How does that sound?" the woman replies with a pleased voice. --------------------------------- "I...see. Exactly what...never mind, I'll deal with that issue later," Clarisse's mom says with a rather conflicted look on her face. "At any rate, I'm surprised to see that you've befriended a member of the Marigold family. I've heard quite a lot about them. Is this a new business partnership in the making?" Clarisse's mother asks jokingly, laughing a bit as she says it.

"Just visiting you say? We'll soon see. Nevertheless, let us eat. There will be time, and there is food prepared, so we might as well enjoy it," Clarisse's mother replies. After some moving around, the 4 individuals are seated at the table with a rather modest spread of food prepared. "Incidentally Clarisse, who is the woman with you?" she asks, just noticing the presence of Rayne. -------------------------------------- After a bit of travel moving over to the other side of town, the group found a rather large tavern that appeared to be of high quality. Entering, they found a rather packed bar. The group managed to find seats directly at the countertop, where the bartender greeted them. "You look like new faces. What can I getcha?" -------------------------------------- Both standing in awe, the pair of mages didn't notice the project director and the tour woman coming towards them. "So you're the ones who came in for the tour. Well I certainly didn't expect the future head of the Vulcan family and her friend," the director says. The man is rather tall and bulky, but appears to have a gentle face. "Come, someone as esteemed as you could definitely have some good input for the project, along with your friend. But first, what do you think of the project itself?" the director asks the pair as he leads them down to the working floor.

"Well I can't say too much about the noble personally. I've never actually seen his face, so I couldn't quite give you a good description. All I can say is that he goes around with some sort of armor and has brownish hair. Maybe it's a bit more tannish, but I couldn't say for sure. As for info, the taverns closer to the east side of town may have some good info. The ones close to here don't get much attention. Hope that helps," Biden answers. --------------------------------- "Ehehehe, you'll find that this shop isn't all that big, and the walls aren't the thickest in the world. And besides, how was I supposed to know that you two were going to have a talk like that in the middle of my store," the woman pouts slightly, though clearly in jest. "Anywho, Nayavu tribe hmm? Not quite the same one I'm familiar with, but maybe it could work out. You see, a couple of years ago I took a little flight through the deserts there. I ended up finding someone stranded out there and I decided to help him out. Some time passed, and we became rather good friends, but I haven't kept in touch. If you do go towards Arcadia at any point, could you give this box to a man named Wes? I don't think he was one of the nomadic people, so he may be in the capital, but I couldn't say for sure. He supposedly was part of the Seyrm tribe, but he wasn't exactly dressed how I would have expected. Still, if you manage to find him, give this to him alright?" the woman asks the pair.

Cadence and the others, after a quick briefing, head over to Biden's shop to gather information. They arrive and find Biden at the counter, counting some change. "Oh, you're back with friends. Need something else?" he asks the group. -------------------------- "Technically yes, though the methods involved...we'll I'll just show you," the lady finishes, opening a door to a rather large room. In the center of the room was some sort of construct, though it is clearly unfinished. Around it were various individuals, some manaketes, some people, but all acquainted with magic in some way. "The current goals are finding faster means of transport through either the seas or air. Though the air-based travel methods are still in prototype stages, there were a few successful short distance flights. It integrates the properties of wind magic and various forms of levitation spells to function. For specifics though, you'd have to talk to the project director. Let me find him," the woman says as she walks off, leaving the pair of mages at the door. Helena can only stare at the project in awe. -------------------------- During their conversation, the shopkeeper seemed to have left the immediate area, but soon after she returned with some sort of box in hand. "I couldn't help overhearing your little conversation. But if you don't mind me asking, are either of you from Arcadia?" the woman asks.