Arcane Tales

*Derek laughs a bit after remembering the circumstances of just how he arrived there, but shakes it off and walks toward the princess.*

Derek: <I've been searching for you in this hellish place for who knows how long. But seriously, we need to get out of here now. Judging by how many monsters I fought just on the way in, there's probably even more on the way out.>

*Kentaro wanders around looking for food with Kari hanging on to his arm.*

Kentaro:<Don't like flying?>

"...No!"

Kentaro:<Isn't this your first time flying?>

"...Yes!"

Alto is standing near Aera, "So you're an airship pilot?"

Bellow deck Lucien and Creed are sparring.

*Allina walks by Kentaro and Kari and hands them a platter of cupcakes, giggling with her mouth full*

Allina: <Did you sleep through our airship trip to Capital Toros?>

-----

Aera: <Yep. General Crive, right?>

*She's wearing the sexiest sailor outfit ever because fuck yeah and FFIX*

=====

*She points at the balcony*

Kelphy: <This is an island. I haven't spotted monsters outside, so you probably came from the dungeon... Thank you.>

*She looks out the door to make sure no one's looking*

Kelphy: <Let's go, he isn't around!>

"I am" Alto says. "I've always wanted my own. To be honest... I'd much rather fly the skies then swing my blade."

Derek: <If you can fight, please do.>

*He runs ahead of Kelphy and keeps a lookout for any remaining monsters.*

"N... No."

*Kentaro takes a cupcake and hands it Kari before taking one for himself.*

Allina: <So are you two like--getting married or something?>

-----

Aera: <I love it. But why didn't you become a pilot, General?>

=====

*She nods firmly*

Kelphy: <There is a village beyond a hill to the northwest. W-We can't get out through the dungeon, so we might as well go there.>

*She runs down the stairs at the entrance hall and out the door to a sunny day on a green island*

Derek: <Talk about hiding in plain sight...>

*He gets his bearings and begins heading in the direction of the village Kelphy mentioned.*

*They both go silent and their eyes widen in surprise. Kentaro begins coughing, choking on his cupcake. Forgetting Kentaro's choking, Kari starts stammering.*

"Well... Er... Uh..."

"That is a very good question... I guess you can say because I come from the Crive family of nobles. I was raised to be a noble. Hell, I think the family had some aspirations of one of their own stealing the crown. So I ran away from it to fight for money on the streets so I could buy books. I love reading about about the lore of this world. I ended up a general because of Creed Baticule who forced me into the knights. I made the most out of my situation."

Allina: <Wow, you totally are, aren't you!? Aww, so shy. Congratulations!>

*She pulls them together and hugs them tightly*

-----

Aera: <I see... Well...>

*She steps away from the wheel*

Aera: <Go ahead.>

=====

*Stepping out the door, they realize many sections of the mansion are in ruins, and there is what seems to be an old stone path that goes from the mansion into the sea, not far ahead*

Kelphy: <I've never heard of any place like this... Where are we?>

Derek: <I don't know. There's no mention of this place in any of the maps I know of. Princess, stick close to me in case any more monsters are around.>

*He resumes walking forward, alert.*

*Kentaro goes blue in the face and Kari freezes up.*

Alto walks over to the wheel and takes hold of it. Its a relaxed grip. "Feels natural to me. Just as I thought it would."

*They arrive at the spot marked on the map, large beach of white sand and light blue water, with several oversized palm trees around. The crew waits on the airship and Olympe leads the group outside. They can see a tower of red tinted stone bricks around half a mile down the beach*

Olympe: <Aera says they couldn't land closer because there are more trees up ahead. We need to walk there.>

*Allina leans over Hitomi's shoulder*

Allina: <(Don't worry, I won't tell anyone your secret! But I want to be the bridesmaid. Pleaaase.)>

======

*A few miles across the beautiful grassy island, they do indeed find a village. One that was apparently abandoned a long, long time ago. The houses, all in ruins, are rather odd, seemingly made of metal plates. There's a larger house at the center of the village, with a metal statue of an eagle that is by some miracle still intact*

Kelphy: <Oh, no...>

"Alto looks like he got laid" Lucien points out to Creed.

Creed nods in agreement, "Yes, I agree with your deduction."

Alto turns and glares at them which causes Lucien to snicker.

Derek: <This is just awful...>

*He looks around at the houses with a frown.*

Derek: <I wonder how this happened...>

*Kari freezes up again.*

Kentaro:<Don't you have some other stuff to do, Allina?>

Allina: <(What?) Ohhhh, you want some time alone to--umm--Okay, I get it.>

*She walks away making all kinds of weird suggestive gestures with her hands. They arrive at the tower. It's huge, now that they're closer. Olympe walks in and Allina follows, humming*

=====

Kelphy: <The houses look so... so... strange.>

*She looks around as she walks, observing the village in ruins. Upon arriving at the center, she notices the somewhat larger house, that could very well be the city hall (common in towns in all three kingdoms), or something of the like. She walks inside, the building's doors are missing.*

Kentaro:<(I don't want kids.)>

"What?"

Kentaro:<Errr uh... Nothing.>

Derek: <Princess, wait!>

*He chases after Kelphy into the building.*

The trio follows.

*They reach the top of the tower after a while walking up a stone spiral staircase. Olympe knocks on a wooden door at the top and walks into a large circular room that is something like a mixture of a bedroom, a library and a lab, with several bookcases and tables covered in colorful potions and stuff of the like around, a small bed, a smaller table with food, and a desk at the center, at which a very old and short man is sitting. He has a very hunched back, which only makes him look shorter. He stands at around half the height of the average man, and has white hair and a long beard that goes down to his feet, ending in a small braid tied with a red string. He has a very wrinkled face, with small dark green eyes, and long pointy ears. His skin is somewhat yellow-ish, and he is wearing oversized red robes. He smiles to the group*

???: <Ah, hello.>

Olympe: <W-Who are you?>

???: <My name is Fahren. I assume you've come to ask me about Crone?>

=====

*A largle glowing white crystal is conceleaed in a large glass tube full of frozen water at the center of the room. It looks like some sort of magic research center, with weird metal devices all over. There is a door that leads to an underground floor*

Kentaro:<What's there to know about him? It could be seen a mile away that he was going to betray... whoever.>