fairyland fun! (your levels of fun may vary)

[fair_trouble]

[New day, new town, and hopefully new opportunities. Specifically opportunities to make some money because Zel and Emery’s funds have been running kind of low after their most recent misadventure. This has meant a temporary separation while Zelgadis goes to look for merc-type work and potential cure leads and Emery goes around chatting up the locals without terrifying them.

Or at least that was the plan, until Calanthe showed up.

By the time Zel gets back to the inn, Emery’s still busy talking to Calanthe in their inn room, although the conversation’s just about wrapping up. If he’s perceptive he might even catch a bit of Emery’s words.

“...some funds this time? ...Seriously, is that it? He’s always such a cheapskate. …Okay I got it. I’ll see you later.”

A few moments later a woman wearing a green cloak exits their inn room. Her hood is up, partly obscuring a pale face and hair, and she barely spares anyone a passing glance as she drifts down the hallway.

Emery is still standing inside the inn room looking pensive, but when Zel enters he’ll give him a bright smile.]

Oh! Hey, Zel. Did you manage to find anything?

Comments

[fair_trouble]

[Zel's sudden departure provokes a range of surprised reactions, from Emery's more mild expression (this has hardly the first time that Zel has decided to abruptly Leave), to the more awed reaction of the children ("He can fly!?"), to the less impressed and somewhat bewildered reactions of Kiestun and Watixi. ("What kind of...?")

Emery decides the most useful thing he can do right now is take charge of the kids.]

Zel's learned all kinds of magic. You know, he once had to fly us to safety when we were attacked by bandits.

[So, while Zelgadis is scouting ahead and avoiding people, Emery winds up spending that hour or so hanging out in the wagon with a small hoard of children, entertaining them with carefully edited stories and, by the time the caravan is arriving at the fork in the road, by losing at multiple rounds of Old Maid.

This far from the village, the trees are thinner and the roads are semi-paved, lined with cobblestones that aren't entirely maintained and thus makes for a somewhat bumpy ride. There are also a few more travelers around- no groups as big as the caravan, but various peddlars on foot, a naked lady on a giant horse, etc.

As with the last fork there aren't any convenient signposts, but the caravan knows the way to go and unerringly takes a left turn. And when Emery spots Zel by the side of the road he immediately brightens and leans partway out of the wagon to greet him.]

Zel! Hey~!

[-And then the wagon goes over a particularly bumpy bit and Emery nearly topples out of the wagon entirely, though he manages to grab the side of the wagon before anything calamitous can happen.]

[chimerad]

[Zel is there just as quickly, having been close enough to lunge forward and catch Emery, a broad step that has him bent at the knee and braced to ensure he doesn't use any momentum to jostle him too much.

a beat. exhale.

honestly, he goes to all the trouble to scout for trouble, and Emery's gonna go ahead and crack his skull open on the all-clear? tsk.]

That's a bit dramatic.

[fair_trouble]

[Emery just laughs, only a little embarrassed by the near-mishap.]

More dramatic than I intended, sure. It would have been quite tragic if I'd damaged my face~!

[...Maybe that's kind of a tactless quip considering Zel still bears some marks from the spring guardian's attack. Oh well.

Emery settles back, resting his forearm against the side of the wagon.]

We're making good time, apparently. The kids here say we'll probably be at Fairford sometime after lunch, as long as the traffic isn't too thick.

[And what's a more reputable source of information than a bunch of small children?]

[chimerad]

[once Emery's secure, he starts back into motion, following along, adjusting his mask.]

So no more pitstops or chances to get jumped. [good. he'll take it.] From there it's a ferry?

[fair_trouble]

Yep. There should be loads of boats traveling up the Ganaranth to Zennor Lake, so it shouldn't be hard to find transportation. [With a wink, Emery adds:] Let's try and book one with a private cabin for the two of us.

[chimerad]

[he cants his head to the side slightly. a boat, huh? the lake must be quite large, or they could just fly it...]

Right. I--[wait. was that wink?? sir did you WINK at me?] ...Well. Right. Obviously.

[what, like he was going to eagerly join steerage?? on a lake boat?]

[fair_trouble]

[Jeeze, you act like Emery winking is somehow unusual.]

I'm glad you understand.

[Emery nearly asks if Zel's taken a riverboat on the Ganaranth before, in the mundane realm, but remembers they are sort of trying to seem like fae realm regulars so he pivots slightly.]

How are you with boat travel?

[chimerad]

[well honey i'm very often the anchor.]

...It'll be fine. I can cast levitation to offset my weight. [it's not his favorite mode of travel, but he's gotten by so far, hasn't he? only...how many shipwrecks...?

none of them were his fault. Lina isn't here, so it should be fine.]

[fair_trouble]

Huh...

[Honestly, Emery's so used to Zel not plunging through floors and things that he rarely considers Zel's weight as an issue except for when he's trying to drag Zel somewhere.]

Does levitation affect seasickness?

[Because motion sickness is an angle Emery was thinking about, although surely the well traveled coolguy Zelgadis doesn't have that issue.]

[chimerad]

[he considers that.]

...Not sure. Never really had a problem with motion sickness. I imagine if your eyes were closed, it wouldn't matter.

But if the boat's large enough, I won't have to worry about overloading it.

[fair_trouble]

[Were Emery a bit more scientifically inclined, he might be interested in running some experiments with the levitation spell. But ehh, they have other stuff to do once they reach Fairford.

In the meantime, idle chatter.]

Have you sunk very many boats before?

[Very kind, empathetic question brought to you by Emery.]

[chimerad]

[flatly:] No. That's Lina's work.

[fair_trouble]

[Emery laughs.]

Well I don't expect we'll find her in Fairford, so I don't think we have anything to worry about.

[chimerad]

The fact it's even possible makes it more likely than not, Emery. [you don't understand. she has ways. even when she's not intending those ways, she has them!

he sighs.] It'd be fair cover for whatever you have to do if she's riling up the countryside...

[fair_trouble]

As long as she wouldn't get in the way of our fishing trip. [Y'know, their cover story, in case anyone overhears.

Emery looks thoughtfully at Zelgadis for a silent moment or two.]



-Is she really as bad as everyone says? [Because Emery has heard plenty about bandit killing, dragon spooking, abominable fiends, and most of what Zel says about her follows along the same lines, but-

But she is Zelgadis's friend.]

[chimerad]

[behind the mask, Zel's mouth twitches, wry.]

The claims that she's a mazoku are false, but the rest is...technically correct. In a roundabout, situational kind of way.

[because she does kill bandits. dragons do get spooked. but the being party to the monsters? is...circumstantial!]

[fair_trouble]

Care to elaborate on that? Like... [Emery hums, trying to pick out one of the many, many rumors and stories that are out there.] Is it true that she turned into a dragon and blew up the initial delegation to the Outer World?

[chimerad]

[the smirk is audible behind the mask:] She wasn't the dragon. That was someone else. But she did blow up the delegation, yes.

[fair_trouble]

What, was it between her and the dragon? [Emery's eyebrows raise. He thinks he's getting the idea here.]

[chimerad]

A negotiation tactic. [he bobs his head with a single-shoulder shrug.] And to be fair, the dragon started it that time.

[fair_trouble]

"That time."

[So sometimes Lina's the one picking fights with dragons, huh?]

So what was the negotiation over? Was there some impressive treasure involved?

[chimerad]

Prophecy about the end of the world.

[it's delivered flatly, but not grimly. it worked out, after all...despite the horrors.]

Lina was getting "tested" to ensure she was the right person for the job...The unified fleet was more or less just collateral in that.

[fair_trouble]

[Emery blinks, staring at Zelgadis for a long, thoughtful moment.]

...And this was a different incident than the one where you met her?

[Damn bitch, how many near-apocalyptic situations have you gotten involved in? Okay, Zel hasn't specified if the prophecy was ultimately legit or not, but even if it wasn't it feels a bit wild that Zel was not only involved with Rezo's attempt to revive the Dark Lord but also an apocalyptic prophecy serious enough to get a dragon involved.

(To say nothing of whatever happened during the time Lina Inverse killed the Hellmaster?)

(Why is Zelgadis here instead of retired to a fancy Seyruun manor or whatever it is world saviors do after they've done their heroics?)]

[chimerad]

[he grunts an affirmative.] Year or so after the start.

[and that's been...a couple years since. the time is going by. Zel feels a little twinge at that, one that he's not in a time or place to ponder on.]

Not sure...what she's up to right now. [with Gourry in tow.] Haven't heard of anything blowing up lately.

[fair_trouble]

Maybe she's finally settled down! You know, now that she's gotten the entire continent terrified of her. She's from Zephilia, right? The next time I'm in the area maybe I can ask around for you.

[Emery deliberately doesn't mention the Field Lord but as he'd told Zel the other day- some of the villages in Southern Zephilia are part of the Field Lord's territory, so the odds of Emery being in the region at some point are high.

Possibly on the wrong plane, but still.]