[Jean] Chapter 17: Back to Mt. Velothia

[pringerbeam]

     "I will...  And I talked to the elder as well.  Alyona is to be the youngest dragon to make a contract.  The elder will not lower the age of the ceremony anymore.  The sending of your children to fight this war ends here.  Send your hero my regards."  Said Rosalie before she took off.

     Valeria departed, Jean made his way into Karn's house to find his companions and the alchemist.



     "I have no problem with it but since I'm not a lord of Drugan yet I think that would be up to someone more senior than me."  Jean looked to Lili.  "What do you think?  I'm not sure how much we're pushing it bringing Karn back to help with construction, let alone captains from the dragon knights on top of that."

[Throndir]

Mt. Velothia - Refugee Camp - Karn's Home
Day 10 (Jean), Day 12 (Rosalie) - Time: Morning

"Hey Karn?  Know how I said you would need to wait to go visit the dwarves?  Well things changed and we need you there earlier than expected."  He shouted through the doorway.  "Gather up what you think you're going to need to bring with you.  We'll pick you up when we're ready to go.  Gotta go, lots to do, need to leave before nightfall!"

When you entered, all three in the home glanced over to you.

"Guid mornin' tae ye Jean." Lili said first.

"Hmm. We were discussing plans to help dig the dwarves out...  assume that it what you meant? Unless you plan to bring me directly  to the dwarven capital? I'd much prefer the latter, than the former. The other dragonknight captain arrived here just yesterday, I'm sure they'll be fine against the horde of demons."

"Either way, give me some time to gather everything up. But do tell me if this is for the grunt work of tunneling, or if I get to finally examine the treasures of the dwarves." The man said as he picked up one of the mana crystals on his desk. "Amie should be more than enough for the tunneling work after all."

Dalina was in the room as well, though, she was seated in one of the chairs, simply watching and listening to the conversation Karn and Lili were having.

"Oh! Jean! Sorry we took off earlier and I took Viridio with me. Gust is still a bit injured, so I didn't want to stress him too much. Viridio's been really helpful though." She paused for a moment. "So how did that dragon bonding thing go?" She asked curiously. You noticed her move her eyes towards Alyona, who was in her human form peering out from behind you staring into the room.

"Was it umm... good?"

Mt. Velothia - Training Camp
Day 10 (Jean), Day 12 (Rosalie) - Time: Morning

"Weel, ah heard back in th' day, convoys usually consisted o' an honor guard alang wi' th' delegates. A'm hoping mah faither is handling mah grandfather 'n' th' priests... Bit ah think it wull be okay."

"I very much will insist on coming either way! Good Captain Charles here and I will formally request our own audience with the king. This Karn... that was the alchemist from the village north of here, right? One can always have him tag along with the rest of you lot. At the very least, if the Antwarch princess were to go anywhere, she would be surrounded by a platoon of knights! Nary a fear of the dangers taking royalty to foreign places."

"No offense to you of course princess Lili!"

"Dinnae ye' worry aboot it, ah dinnae need any escort ye see."

[pringerbeam]

     "Well I mean...  Yeah I was kinda hoping you could help with constructing the tunnels.  As beneath you as you might think it to be, opening up clear and secure lanes of travel from the capitol to the rest of the world would be beneficial to everyone, including yourself.  As advanced as the dwarven kingdom is, it doesn't have everything and if you wanted resources from the outside world those tunnels will suddenly seem much more important to have had constructed earlier.  But if you'd rather prioritize learning about the dwarven technology then I leave that decision to you.  Everything has to be done at some point after all."  Said Jean with a shrug of his shoulders. 

     At Dalina's mention of the ceremony Jeans mind flashed back to kissing Vasilissa and he blushed slightly.  "Oh yeah... Uh it was...  Good!  Nothing weird happened at all!"  Then, realizing how much he sounded like the younger knights with their younger charges, moved up next to Dalina and whispered in her ear.  "We can talk about it later..."  Then straightening back up said: "Oh yeah, I was going to ask about Gust.  I guess it sounds like he can't carry anyone right now...  How many people do you think Viridio can carry?  We're starting to need to make some choices about who we can fly to the capitol...  Right now let's see...  If I ride Alyona, then Viridio would need to carry you, Lili, Anja, and Karn...  Do you think Viridio could manage?  I could decrease your weights but I'm not sure how many people could still fit on their back."  Jean held his chin ponderously.  "I don't suppose you could carry someone else with me could you Alyona?  Maybe Anja?"  He said, twisting in place to look back and down to the young dragon that had kept to the hem of his robe.



     "Then sure, if Lili thinks it's okay I have no reason to protest..."  He said, still absentmindedly watching the mage.  "Wait...  The Antwarch Princess?  When's she comming?"

[Throndir]

Mt. Velothia - Refugee Camp - Karn's Home
Day 10 (Jean), Day 12 (Rosalie) - Time: Morning

"Hmm. Very well. I'll help clear the tunnels. As I have heard, the demons are still yet to potentially march to this camp after all." Karn replied.

"I will ensure Amie helps out to finish the task as soon as possible. Though afterwards, I would very much like to start tinkering with these mana crystals. Their properties are... fascinating. What they are made out of is very much different from any known element."

When you went up to Dalina, she tensed.

"Ooh.. okay." Dalina said as you whispered in her ear. However, when you changed the conversation to Gust and riding, Dalina shook her head to clear the misunderstanding.

"Gust can carry people. He still has some injuries... and I only took Viridio because I wanted Gust to recover more. But I think... Gust will be just fine. Is he with you? Or is he still up at home? I can go get him."

"Oh... umm... I feel kinda weird if I carry more than one person..." Alyona said looking down and blushing. "But umm... if... lady Anja remains in that... tentacle cage carrier? Then it'll probably be okay." She quickly added on.

You couldn't help but notice Anja grinning upon the mention of 'lady Anja'. She had an almost prideful look, as if she had won something.

"That carriage was really neat." Anja replied. "Along the ride... I was thinking that we should make more of those kinds of things. Like air carriages, since that's okay with the dragons." Anja suggested.

"Dragon taxis." Karn cut in, though he had since began examining the crystals again, along with looking over his notes, and didn't bother looking up.

Mt. Velothia - Training Camp
Day 10 (Jean), Day 12 (Rosalie) - Time: Morning

"Oh a splendid princess she is! She should be arriving by tonight perhaps." Captain Ash explained.

"She is bringing with her another platoon of dragonknights as a guard, each of them just as fine as me. Alas, we had to pull some away from our western borders, but our neighboring Isikawa Sovereignty seems to have found themselves a new hero as well, so as long as this trip remains short, and this incursion from the demons handled swiftly, mayhaps it shant at all affect the war's progress."

"Captain Charles and I shall make the first introduction and plea for aid due to the demon army approaching, but it shall be our own Antwarch princess to foster ties with the dwarven people."

[pringerbeam]

     "Oh if you think the crystals are interesting, just wait for... the other stuff.  Oh shit forgot."  Said Jean as he pulled Telamon's drone out of storage.  He looked at the drone.  "Uh...  Telamon?  Sorry I forgot to get you drone out earlier."

     Hearing Anja's suggestion, Jean looked to Alyona.  "Well if you're okay with carrying Anja if she's in a basket then I think we can do that.  Viridio should be able to carry Dalina, Lili, and Karn and I can reduce their weight just to make sure.  We'll have Gust sit this one out just to let him recuperate a bit more."  He turned back to Karn.  "Pack what you think you will need.  Ideally, not your entire hoard of materials.  The dwarves have plenty of metallurgical equipment from what I understand.  We'll drop by later to pick you up.  In the meantime there are some other things I need to check before we go."



     "Word sure seems to spread quickly if the princess is already on their way.  I guess we will need to see what the dwarves think of that.  They will probably be more receptive of a full fledged princess coming to visit, though I'm not sure how they will feel about such a large escort.  Anyways, if we're done here, I'd like to talk to the mage over there...  We'll hopefully be leaving in the next few hours.  I can come back over here to find you so we can fly out.  I hope you are dressed for the cold."  With that, Jean pushed his way past the two knights to make his way towards the mage.

     "Hi!  Uh...  Mage?  I hear you're one of the mages of the Idoran Magic Academy."  He said, hailing the mage down with his waving arm as he approached.

[Throndir]

Mt. Velothia - Refugee Camp - Karn's Home
Day 10 (Jean), Day 12 (Rosalie) - Time: Morning

"MASTER!"

The voice came from the drone. The volume must have been forcefully been set to the max possible amount, as it blared in the ears of everyone present. Alyona, who's senses were perhaps better than average quickly cupped her ears, while everyone else flinched at the loud proclamation. It was definitely a familiar voice however. It was Telamon. You felt a sense of worry, relief, and anger in her tone.

"Where have you been! It's a mess here! You missed a day of check-ins. First off, your storage ability interferes with any all attempts of communication. I should have noticed when no telemetry was being received when you first stuffed TLM-3OU-1 in it..."

"However, priority news first. The dwarven priests have attempted a coup. They almost took out the king, though, as requested I kept my eyes on the priests and left Ren with the king when I began to work on the refineries. He's safe for the time being, and the royal guards have been attempting to push back the priests, but there's been a lot of resistance. A lot of loyalties have been divided. Though, thankfully, we have a couple of dwarven lords on our side. Apparently they'll stick to anyone who can beat them in a drinking contest. Without their aid, we probably would have lost most of the city by now."

There was an audible sigh.

"The priests are holed up in their temples, with about a quarter of the city still under their control. They have rudimentary war machines meant for fighting Metallum from my era running, and even though I can handle them, the rest of the dwarven populace have been having problems. I need you here." There was a pause.

"I need your presence. Your body. Your soft lips~" There was a hint of teasing in her voice, and her once serious tone completely changed.

"Oh... another one." Anja said flatly. "Is my sister not good enough?" She said almost sarcastically, offhandedly to herself.

"Anja!" Dalina protested sternly, glaring at her little sister even as she began to turn red from the implied statement.

"Na noo. Cool yer heids, tis juist howfur it's, tis nae sae seendle fur a lord tae have many wives." Lili chimed in, her hands out in a calming motion towards both Anja and Dalina. Lili's eyes caught yours and she just grinned.

"W-w-wife...!?" Dalina's eyes widened as she continued to blush more. "N-n-no..."

At that moment, the snap of a pen was heard. It was Karn's pen. The man, who had been writing away at some notes, was now closing his eyes in annoyance, a blotch of ink on his paper likely a result of his willful snapping of pen.

"Hero of this new world. I please ask that you take your wives and leave me to prepare for the departure to aid in the uncovering of the old dwarven tunnels." The alchemist said clearly, from the tone of his voice, it was easy to tell that he wouldn't take no for an answer. He had his eyes closed still, perhaps an attempt to keep his own reactions cool.

Mt. Velothia - Training Camp - Captain Ash
Day 10 (Jean), Day 12 (Rosalie) - Time: Morning

"Do not underestimate the flight of dragonknights! The reason why our country has held on for so long was indeed due to the swiftness of our dragon companions. A single dragon can cover atleast 125 miles a day. More if she wills it. Our heartland and capital isn't very far from here either. Mt. Velothia is considered an ancestral landmark of our kingdom, and thusly we have out capital near." Captain Ash explained.

Once you left, the captain simply nodded.

Mt. Velothia - Training Camp - Idorian Mage
Day 10 (Jean), Day 12 (Rosalie) - Time: Morning

"Hmm? Yes. And you look like one of the priests. But you dyed your hair wrong." The mage smirked.

"Anything you guys want? I'm a bit busy teaching these knight scrubs how to cast real magic. Maybe you can sit in. Air magic is one of my compatible attributes."

[pringerbeam]

     "Damn it, I knew we couldn't trust that old ass...  Is the Legend still secure?"  Asked Jean as he walked out of Karn's house.  "Look, we'll be back as soon as we can.  Tell Ren I'm on the way and to protect the king at all costs if you can.  I'll forgive her for whatever she needs to do."  Said Jean as he had Alyona take on her dragon form so he could hop up on her.  "Come on.  We need to hurry and get our errands out of the way so we can get back and help Ren and Telamon.  We can figure out the harem pecking order later."  He yelled as Alyona took wing.



     "Sorry, I don't have time for a lesson.  Hero matters to attend to and all that.  Look..."  He said as he took out the small leather pouch that contained the mage crests from his robes and handed it to the mage.  "I need you to get this to the mage Eloise and tell her the following: Jean lives, keep our goopy friend close.  As fast as you can without having to abandon your duties.  Can you do that?"

[Throndir]

Mt. Velothia - Refugee Camp - Karn's Home
Day 10 (Jean), Day 12 (Rosalie) - Time: Morning

"It's secure. I had to lock down the Ramparts. Before the coup started, the priests were insistent of letting one of their members be part of the research team to study the Ramparts. But that dwarf you picked, Dorgan the prime minister, prevented them doing so. Which might have been for the better, since the priest tried to overpower the rest of the research team when the coup started..."

"Either way master, come back here soon."

Mt. Velothia - Training Camp - Captain Ash
Day 10 (Jean), Day 12 (Rosalie) - Time: Morning

"The hero... that explains the hair and the girls all around you." She continued to smirk but eventually picked up the the pouch and pulled one of the crests out. Her eyes widened. "Well I'll be... These are Idorian Mage Crests. Eight of them too. Since the fall of our kingdom a decade ago, we haven't been able to produce these. The mages that graduated before the fall of the city still have theirs of course, but the newer ones don't. A special forge was required to create them, as it was linked to the caster themselves. It's like an identification of sorts, it lets other mages know who they are, what accomplishments they have done; those sort of things. Some mages eventually put their own enchantments on them as well once they were skilled enough. Each of these are priceless to their families."

"Hmm... and this Jean who lives? Who might that be?" The mage said cautiously, though, she began to stare at you with inquisitive eyes.

[pringerbeam]

     "We'll be there as soon as we can...  How are you and Ren holding up?  Are you on the Ramparts?"



     "Ask Eloise.  I'm sure she would be willing to tell you.  Unfortunately, right now I have a civil war to end so I have to go.  I could also tell you later maybe if I ever have time for some magic lessons.  For now, I have to get going."  Said Jean as he began to walk away.  Passing by the two captains, he stopped by them once more.  "Okay, I need to get Karn and then we can go.  Oh, and it would be helpful if I had a weapon.  I forgot to mention this but we have a rebellion to quell so I should probably be armed.  Can you direct me to the armory?"

[Throndir]

Mt. Velothia - Refugee Camp - Karn's Home
Day 10 (Jean), Day 12 (Rosalie) - Time: Morning

"Ren is doing well. She's protecting the king, though, the rest of the royal guards have already secured him. The Ramparts are locked down, but I'm connected with it, so in a way, I am there. My actual unit is stationed at the refineries. I left one of my units at nearer the top of the mountain to act as a receiver."

Mt. Velothia - Training Camp - Captain Ash
Day 10 (Jean), Day 12 (Rosalie) - Time: Morning

The mage continued to narrow her eyes, but once you left she eventually nodded. "Well a message from a hero to our fire saint will be important. I'll stop by the guild to relay the message, they owe me anyways."

Both captains glanced over to you when you approached.

"Very well... Hero Rosalie enchanted more than a couple of weapons in our armory. They're all at the quality of ancient artifacts. Each has the power to be quite effective against demons." Captain Charles said with a hint of pride in his voice.

He then pulled out a spear from his back. It was sheathed in a blue-colored case on his back, but the moment he pulled it out, it was glowing with a hot fire. "Our hero enchanted ones like these as well, though in much more limited amounts. If you'll follow me, we can head to the armory now."

[pringerbeam]

     "Okay, stay safe Telamon.  We'll be there as soon as we're can. "  Said Jean.



     "I see...  well I'm not going to be fighting demons for the time being so I guess I'd prefer one of those."  He said with a nod to the flaming spear.

[Throndir]

Mt. Velothia - Training Camp - Captain Charles
Day 10 (Jean), Day 12 (Rosalie) - Time: Morning

Event added to Jean's Calendar for message to Eloise.

"They're a bit finicky... But they work." Captain Charles said as he waved the fiery stick around. It didn't take long for the captain to start making his way to the armory at the camp. He nodded once to Captain Ash, who nodded back, then proceeded to lead the way.

"Hero Rosalie doesn't actually know if they'll ever burn out... But this one has been burning straight for a few days now. I also can't just turn off the fire, so it comes with a cold enchanted sheath that offsets it. Just be sure not to touch the sheath directly either."

Mt. Velothia - Training Camp - Armory
Day 10 (Jean), Day 12 (Rosalie) - Time: Morning

The armory of the camp was located near the center, where most of the barracks were where the knights slept. There were some knights posted as guards, but they made way for Captain Charles, you, and the rest of your group. Inside the armory itself was plenty of the weapons. Most of the weapons had a particular blue glow to them, and Captain Charles explained that those were the weapons that could supposedly cut through demons like butter. Apart from that, there were also, in a much fewer amount, various sheathed weapons, each one in that light blue-colored sheath.

Captain Charles handed you what looked to be gloves. They were thick gloves, and they felt warm as well.

"Those are enchanted to withstand cold." The captain said as he himself pulled out some gloves too, and put them on. "The sheaths of the weapons are cold to the touch, and can cause frostburn, so be sure not to let it touch skin directly. As for the weapon, even though they're constantly igniting, the metal itself is still cool to the touch, and can be wielded normally. Rosalie made most of these weapons out of thin air... Anyways, feel free to look around."

Feel free to choose any possible weapon type for that fire weapon. I'll give statistics once I figure out exactly what Rosalie put on them.

[pringerbeam]

     "Hm...  Fire...  Not really my element I think but I guess beggars can't be choosers."  Said Jean as he picked up one of the flame-enchanted spears.  He hovered a hand over the sheath to test its chill before taking one of the offered gloves and unleashing the flames.  Squinting at the spear tip he willed the weapon into his inventory. 

     "Fortunately, I don't think I need to worry about the sheath but I guess I should keep one around just in case."  Said Jean as he willed the sheath and gloves into his inventory as well.  He looked at the range of other weapons and armor.  "I really should figure out how to use more of these at some point."  He said as he casually tested the balance of a sword.  "But that will have to wait for a time where I actually get a chance to breath.  For now, I think just the one spear will do."  Jean turned to start heading out of the armory.  "Alright, time to pack!  We'll go to the wind temple to get Gust and Anja's stuff then meet you guys at Karn's house.  Pack light and ready for a fight."

Jean will take a flaming spear from the armory and put in his Inventory.

Jean will also take a sheath and gloves and put them in his inventory.

Heading to the wind temple to get Anja's belongings and Gust before going back to Karn's house.

[Throndir]

Mt. Velothia - Training Camp - Armory
Day 10 (Jean), Day 12 (Rosalie) - Time: Morning

Fire Spear +1
Enhancement Bonus: +1
Fire Damage Enchant at Tier 2, Overcharged Casting

Fire Spear +1, 2d6 fire damage

Fire Damage Enchant Reference
Base: 1d6 Fire Damage every 3 tiers (minimum 1d6)
Overcharge: Double number of dice

Update your inventory/items with the Fire Spear.

"See you at Karn's." The captain replied.

Mt. Velothia - Training Camp - Karn's House
Day 10 (Jean), Day 12 (Rosalie) - Time: Morning

It took perhaps 10 minutes or so, but eventually everyone was gathered at Karn's home, with everyone ready to go. From the Wind Priests, Anja and Dalina Mitrofanov were prepared and ready, with Gust picking up Dalina and Anja on his back. From the side of the knights, Captain Ash and Captain Charles were coming along, with Captain Ash on his own dragon. Captain Charles apparently would be carried, similar to luggage, in a basket-like apparatus by Captain Ash's dragon. Next Karn was ready as well, though, rather than packing light, the alchemist seemed to have piles of containers next to him, along with a variety of a alchemical lab gear. Lili stood by next to you, she didn't really bring much of anything from her trip save for some basics, so she was already more than ready to leave back for her home. Lastly, Viridio had transformed into her large green phoenix-like form, ready to pick you, or anyone else up.

Rosalie, her dragon Valeriya, and Karn's daughter were absent, though, Captain Charles explained they would be handling the digging efforts for creating the tunnels from the surface to the dwarves. Lili had already created some detailed maps this morning, and it was a simple matter for that map to be handed to the tunneling group.

With most of the leadership of the camp being away, the mage you had met earlier, along with Vasillisa would be in charge of the knight camp, with the wind priests being on stand-by for whenever they might need to send word to you. You knew very well that the dungeon core you had in your inventory could reach out to Marina, and therefore, the rest of the wind priests, but it seems Marine was still keeping that a secret from the rest of her people.

"Hero of this new world." Karn's voice called out, in an attempt to get your attention. "Pack up my gear."

Assume any basic needs/preparation was completed, in respect to adventuring gear. Specifically call out if you would have preferred someone to get something more specific that may not have already been mentioned though. If you are potentially getting more than one enchanted weapon, a diplomacy check for Make Request would affect that.

[pringerbeam]

     "You don't pack light do you?"  Said Jean as he began putting Karn's belonging into his inventory.  Once finished, Jean got onto Alyona in her dragon form and took out his new spear, raising it over his head.  "Okay everyone, stay close in flight. We don't want anyone getting lost.  Keep an eye on the flame of my spear. Karn, you're riding Viridio with Lili.  Lili, you get lead seat.  Do you think you two will manage on your own or do you need me to summon some tentacles to secure you to viridio?"

Assuming all of Karn's stuff fits in inventory.

Also checking Status when done to check MP.  Will summon a tentacle for Lili and Karn to hold them onto Viridio if they need it.