Isa quickly reached for Moss’ hands and squeezed them in hopes to comfort him. ”Roy was out of it from his severe injuries by The Godfather. We don’t know each other prior. I don‘t like him like that. I pushed him off.”
- Carver Rest Camp - "Sunset, Archean's Hammer The Fridge"
L laughed. "Oh! I'm sorry mom! Sorry daddy Bucephalus! It's just, you know, dad's name always gave me the giggles. "I'll be right back with some gruel." And off Matilda went, going through the paths carved out by others in the snow so that she wouldn't be chest deep again.
As night came on, snow began to fall hard again. They may have another blizzard again tonight.
Moss searched Isa's eyes for the truth. He was breathing heavily. As though a huge part of him was about to be shattered, but was then suddenly caught when he saw the truth.
He dropped his illusion of a bearded boat man and cupped Isa's cheeks, eyes ablaze. "I will make you forget all about him." and Isa was kissed with all of Moss' pent up longing.
Isa sat still, holding his breath in fear that Moss might not believe him when he was telling the truth.
He quietly yelped when the merman suddenly cupped his cheeks as his illusion dropped. His eyes widened and before he could question the man, Isa was pulled in a- dhfkgkdhsb-! Flooded, was his senses, as his face heated up. Steaming and red like a lobster fresh out of the boiling pot. Did his heart pop just now?! He is pretty sure he stopped breathing. The redhead passionately kissed back, responding to Moss’ pent up longing. Happy that he believed his word and howhemissedthismansoverymuchthatit’sheartbreakingtothink-
“F-forget who?” Mumbled Isa, slightly dazed from the lack of air as he breathed heavily. Is the world spinning? “Miss y-ya too.”
"Nobody at all." grinned Moss, who covered every inch of Isa's face with kisses, ignoring the painted disguise that he was marring. He purified, sanctified, and exorcised every inch of Isa's skin, nuzzling his forehead and whispering. "I miss you too!"
When they returned to Mr. and Mrs. Belladonna and their daughter who was protecting their bowl of gruel from the snow that was starting to come down hard, Isa looked . . . Well, Isa's disguise was frankly no good. His eyebrows were like thick pointy hills. The brown make up on his face was obviously not skin. His dirty looking red hair was just smudged in ash and ground coffee. It smelled like coffee too, but most importantly it was still obviously Isa.
Moss seemed to be happy with the disguise. He had put up his illusion again, and noticing the snow, asked Isa if they could set up his four-man tent together.
Okami stayed outside, as now the blizzard from earlier this morning picked up again. They were cramped with Mr. Bucephalus inside too, but warm and cozy.
L bought gruel for all of them and stared at Isa's disguise, saying, "Erm . . . It's---it's good, Mr. Mumbo, but it could do with a liiiittle bit more improvement. Or, or we could just cover Mr. Red's face entirely? I have a scarf and maybe Mr. Bucephalus' goggles will help?"
As Sassy watched the outside, she saw no group of people who closely resembled their quarry.
Isa practically purred from Moss’ kisses and smiling like a goof. “O-okahhh~” He nuzzled back, dazed and happy.
As they returned, with Isa still looking like Isa, the redhead decidedly waited on Sassy’s and L’s opinions on the disguise. Helping Moss with the four man tent and going inside as the blizzard started again.He didn’t mind being cramped inside, it was cozy and warm! When L returned with gruel, freezing in her spot, the redhead snorted and looked away. Chuckling. He can only imagine what Moss came up with on his face.
”If it makes everyone feel better, I can stay close to your parents and be in an illusion in the meanwhile? Enhance the disguise by changing my figure- Oh! And Matilda, Mr. Mumbo and I need to tell ya something. Your mother should listen in too, it’s involved with Therias.” Isa said, shuffling a bit to reach for the food and thanking L for grabbing some for everyone.
Moss deflated. "I know," he admitted, "I'm sorry, Isa. I was . . . distracted. " He then added. "O, and I have something to show you later." he smiled excitedly.
L-Matilda looked on curiously at Isa and Moss. "Okaaay?" She sat down close to Mr. Bucephalus where it was very warm, and passed Isa her scraf from her little blue backpack. "What do you two know?"
Isa looked at Moss and smiled warmly. Oh how he just wants to hug him tight and kiss his cheek right now, but they just agreed to not be overtly showy in their affection. Maybe-
The redhead reached an arm around Moss’ shoulder and hugged him, still smiling warm with an amused glint in his eyes. “It’s alright, Moss. Ya tried and I won‘t waste your efforts either.” With that, Isa lets himself be under an illusion too. Soft indigo flames burned him into a tall-ish Drow teen with wide brown eyes, just a foot smaller than his regular height, ratty clothes with coffee stains, and dirty ashy white hair in a long braid; the makeup made it seem like he fell into a pile of ash and dirt. He perked up when the merman said something about something being shown later and nodded with an excited grin. “Okay~!”
As L-Matilda passed him her scarf, Drow child-Isa simply wrapped it around her neck and shoulders before leaning back. Crossing his legs in a lotus position. “Thank you, but I’m fine without it now.“
”About Therias . . .” Isa revealed what they know in whispers. Of the large Tuilpost that switched places with Isa when Moss and him tried to teleport with the ruins’ portal to the Sunken Temple. How the real Therias actually died due to the Tuilpost attack on the Templars’ post as it chased a thief who was connected to his Uncle Manuel. How the Therias they were chasing was named ‘Penny’ —- if that’s her actual name — and she might have backstabbed the real Therias for having a letter that’s signed by L herself. Isa didn‘t read it in fear of involving others that were around him and wanting to avoid that even if it meant not knowing himself.
“It was about a month or two months ago when we discovered this whole thing with the real Therias and we didn’t think on it anymore after we found what I was looking for. A volume 2 book they stole from the Templars. It had a demon miasma cure inside.” Isa deeply sighed, obviously annoyed at himself for not noticing her disguise. “After Moss and I separated our ways, we stopped thinking about Penny and the whole thing with Therias.”
"It's not about obvious! It's about what sounds good and what's fitting!" Sassy collected a ball of snow quickly in one hand and hurled it at Isa.
Sassy only laughed at L's response, happy to have someone who was eagerly partaking in their group disguise and just as eagerly awaited the gruel which she garnished with some broken up jerky, moss, and mushrooms once L returned with it, "any news?"
When Isa returned with Moss, Sassy didn't hold back her laughter, cackling loudly, "ya get in a fight with a garbage pail and lose?!"
When Moss and Isa put up the tent, Sassy let them have it with Ralph and instead stayed outside with Okami, snuggling against his fur like he was an old friend and keeping the fire stoked before them, it was also part of keeping watch, she wasn't eager to let their quarry slide. She wasn't keeping an eye out for the people she knew because she knew that they could look like anyone at this moment so instead she watched for groups of three. How would they know that they were being pursued and why would they bother to split up if they didn't know?
"No news." L had told Sassy earlier. "I didn't see anyone with Therias' three daggers hanging around with two people, but there are white and brown chocobos hitched outside some of the tents north of the camp. I think we're going to have to do a more thorough poking around soon."
Moss had deflated even more at Sassy's cackle, but cheered up at what Isa did. Isa could just have easily covered up his failed diguise, but instead he incorporated it into his illusion. It was very sweet of him, and he smiled at Isa-drow. And smiled more when he saw him sitting. He missed that lotus sitting quirk of his.
L listened to Isa intently, as Sassy went outside. Moss added his own bits to the story, such as the Katulu dwellings in the ruins of Windshear with their clockwork army, the letter they found pertaining to Theosebia in the Cheirokmeta book, and how this person was in cahoots with Isa's uncle Manuel, Therias whom they now know is one of the thieves who broke into the Cerberus tower and stole this book, a crew headed by a person named Milan, and a guy named Slater and his sister, and now that white haired guy with the eye patch that Sassy knows about. There was a lot of people. They seem to be a group. And then he asked Isa if he could show L the book and the letter.
And there it was: the ancient book of Cheirokmeta, written by Zosimos of Panopolis, looking very well kept despite being more than six hundred years old. L's eyes went wide. "Remember what I told you in the tavern? Zosimos was the one who made the Vault Key. He was the one who had visions and dreams of the door he called the Vault of Memories, and a clockwork heart, just like what you saw, Isa, when you activated the key." She opened the letter.
"Lorenzo, I've got the letter, I'm going ahead. Tell Theosebia that Giovanni knows about the real portal in the Sunken Temple and that your nephew fixed the one we couldn't in Windshear. Fix this will you? I don't fancy going through the Badlands again just to avoid the Templars and this place where it's so hard to avoid that book keeper. If you can please put him out for a couple of months. I also need a pick up, maybe Milan's crew, and if you can spare Slater and his sister they can stand and roll up a welcoming committee in case it all goes sour. Message me when you've got this book and found the other one.
Penny"
L looked like her mind was reeling. "Wait, this Theosebia . . . Is she the same Theosebia who was Zosimos' student-lover person more than six hundred years ago? I-is she alive? Did-did you see a woman in the Katulu camp?"
* * * *
Outside, Okami licked Sassy's knee, and curled up around her, burying his cold nose under her leg, and thumping his tail whenever she snuggled. His belly felt like a warm pillow.
Sassy nodded to the information that L gave her, "I'll keep watch outside for them, but you're probably right," she then ducked outside with her gruel, giving a gruel covered chunk of jerky to Okami before she sat with him.
While she waited, she intermittently gave Okami pets after each time she took a bite of her food. She kept her goggles on and her hood up to stay warm, but having the nice and floofy Okami to snuggle with was definitely a help against the cold.
When the large group of boatmen came through, Sassy sighed. It looked like they wouldn't be able to find the people they sought as easily as she had hoped. She gave Okami a few more pets and still held her now empty bowl in one hand, at least it was a good reason to enter the camp, and rose from her seat so that she could peek her head through the opening of the tent, "well gang... looks like we're gonna' have ta do some 'vestigatin'... too many boatmen have arrived and I can't tell one from the other at this distance and they all have white and brown chocobos."
With a nod, Drow-Isa took out the book, along with a broken half mask and the letter left by Penny. Thankful that Moss remembered the Kutulu part. He showed it to L-Matilda and peeked out of the tent’s entrance before paying attention to L as Moss talked about the kutulus. Then he raised a high brow from L’s claim. Theosebia is the same one from six hundred years ago? But how can that be? Then again, Moss is about two hundred years old, give or take and he is a merman....
”We haven’t seen her, but Moss did hear the kutulus say her name. They were calling their leader that name and she looked ominous.” Isa replied. “Purple clouds surrounded her and she gave off the same aura as a demon lord. Didn’t she die? From people?” Then he looked over as Sassy peeked her head inside. Blinking owlishly.
”Maybe we can get some help from this mask? It belonged to one of the thieves—Penny, I think. It might give us a smaller range to search in if someone has the spell detect?” He would do it if it wasn’t for the illusions they have on, he has to focus on their disguises in order to stay under cover.
"I don't know, she should have. Theosebia and Zosimos were human." said L. "Zosimos was researching the philosopher's stone to gain immortality . . . Could it be that they achieved that? Is it written here in this book? This is . . . volume two . . . other one . . . Is Manuel looking for volume one?" She flipped the pages to read and a look of familiarity dawned on her face and Isa can tell that she can read the writings on this book.
Moss-Mumbo pondered. "So many questions . . . Why are they collecting these things? We heard in The Highlands that Manuel had been killing people and taking their souls as stones too. Then again a lot of the more powerful and nastier spells in that book require soul stones . . . I wonder if they're looking for a spell or a spell for the vault . . . or if Theosebia is behind all this and Manuel and Penny are just working for her . . ."
He and L-Matilda looked up when Sassy-Belladonna poked her head in. "Come inside, Mrs. Belladona, it's very cold." said Moss-Mumbo. "Or at least wear this." He offered his winter coat to her.
L-Matilda asked for the mask from Isa-Red. "I can do it! Just give me ten minutes. Can you include me in your illusion too, Mr. Red?" She pulled out her spellbook from her hair and flipped the pages to the spell. Her arcane sigils were very different from Moss. While Moss' were watercolor gradients with overlapping boundaries, L's were bright colorful, excessively loopy arcane circles with extra drawings that may or may not be part of the spell or were purely decorative. And there was no care at all for fixing enchanted ink splats or smudges, L's spell circles embraced them, made the mistakes beautiful. It didn't look like very efficient spell circles, but it seemed that L was more into expression and making something her own instead of following rules.
She began to cast, the colorful ink on her spellbook rising like squiggly moving drawings that pranced around her.
And ten minutes later, L's eyes flew open and looked at the direction of the mess tent. "Penny's here. So-so, uhhh, how do we do this?"
Hiking Gear
Accessory. +2 to climbing, traveling safely across the wilderness, and surviving noxious gases. | Weight 1
Comes with a pair of crampons, pitons, hooks, ice axe, a hooded winter coat that's waterproof, and a firestorm shroud.
Sassy looked at the mask that Isa held up as he spoke and she nodded, prepared to do the spell herself if no one else was... you mean, you know one of the people we're tracking?" She tilted her head to side, giving Isa a somewhat curious look. She then looked at Moss and quirked a slight smile, "eh... I'm okay.. and won't you need that when we get to action?"
She continued to hover at the tent opening, leaning across Okami's stomach, and she was sure to keep the opening tight around her face so she was just like a head in the wall of the tent. She was actually pretty fascinated by the spell circles L made, they were glorious and while L was casting she grinned and blurted out, "dude... when this is done, can you make me some that don't do anything so I can get them as a tat?" It was immediately after that when L's eyes flew open and she blinked, leaning back towards the outside slightly before she glanced a moment at everyone still inside.
"Well, I got an idea but I don't know if ya'll are gonna' like it..." She sort of slurped into the tent through the opening, sliding over Okami and onto the floor of the tent, or legs, or Ralph, whatever was beneath her as she wormed her way in and proceeded to just lay on the floor amidst them to tell her what she thought they should do, "so it's like this... I can use myself as bait. i'll go into the mess hall where everyone can see and raise a ruckus of sorts that will undoubtedly catch the eye of 'Penny' and the others," she raised her fingers and made air quotes as she said the name, "then I'll go off on me own... don't know if they'll fall for it, but knowing we are there they might feel squirrely enough to brave the storm just to make sure we don't get 'em and if not they might come for me... then we can get 'em, we got the numbers after all," she gave a firm nod as though this were the best plan and folded her arms over her chest like she was very proud of the idea.
"Worst case, they stay here during the storm and don't come after me when I'm possibly alone," she looked around at the rest of them, "well, whadya' think?"
Isa shook his head. “No, not personally. All I know about Penny is that she might be working with my horrible adoptive uncle and was part of Therias’ death months ago.” He explained, his grin replaced with a frown; taking a deep breath as he felt his temper spike from the thought of his uncle Manuel.
He looked over at L-Matilda as she said the thieves were here before looking back at Sassy. Isa grinned. He didn’t blame her, the spell circles in tomes look wonderful, reflecting what each castor are like. The redhead raised a brow when Sassy ... slumped? No, slither? That’s not the right word either, she looked like a liquid just puddling in—-when Sassy puddled in the tent, he shuffled himself closer to Moss to give her floor space. Sitting on his crossed legs and curled into a small ball of Drow. This tent can only hold four people, but eh. He is not going to complain as he peeked over Moss with a bashful smile. “Sorry...ya don’t mind, do ya?” He mumbled, his cheeks heating up. He is willing to move should Moss want him to. Thank goodness no one can actually see his face turning red right now under his illusion. It’s just gonna solidify Sassy’s nickname for him. Then he listened to the disguised woman’s plan.
”It’s not a bad plan, but I don’t think they’ll chase ya when they already have what they want and are planning to leave.” Isa pointed out, pondering what they can do. “I’m up for chaotic messes, but i doubt the carvers would even let ya riot the mess hall.......maybe...maybe ya posing as a dangerous creature might help get the ’innocent’ folk running away...but we need bait to lure them away too....”
After laying with her arms crossed for a moment, she moved them to fold her hands one over the other on top of her chest. Before grinning like a goober and holding up one hand with her index finger extended, "ah-ha! But that's where you're mistaken, they very well might not want to leave without me," she then cackled loudly at what Isa said next, "man, you've got me pegged boyo!" She continued to laugh and shook her head, "nah nah nah... I won't riot or even start a fight... ya saw the arm wrasslin' goin' on earlier, aye?"
"All at once? You're crazier than me," of course she didn't actually think that was what he meant but she laughed and shook her head, "nah, I will make a challenge and I'll do it without the disguise but... can ya' guys lend me the metals? I left mine with the others."
"I will but I'm more used to the cold and you look like you need it more". said Moss-Mumbo to Sassy-Belladona earlier. All the same he had worn his coat back on. He backed up as far as he could against the tent wall, and was surprised when Isa-Drow sat on his lap in front of everybody! Good thing no could see him blush under his illusion too. "Could you, um, turn into an adult drow, Mr. Red?" he whispered. "I'm uncomfortable having you this way when you look like a child. And . . . I don't mind you . . . sitting here. You tease." he muttered even lower, and tickle-jabbed Isa's rib with a finger.
L-Matilda felt around Mr. Bucephalus, saying her excuse-me's for disturbing the chocobo's sleep and happily climbed on his back, and laid on her belly among all the soft feathers hidden in the illusion of this giant gnome man. She laughed at how silly they all looked, cramped in this tent. "You can sit here on top of Mr. Bucephalus too, Mr. Red, there's space for one more. I hope you don't mind, Mr. Bucephalus." she whispered at the chocobo.
She and Moss-Mumbo listened to the two planning and rummaged in her hair for trinkets to bet in the arm wrestling contest. "Yes, how will that make them follow you and not maybe suddenly kill you?"
"Where do we wait?" added Moss-Mumbo. "Or are we going to split and one of us will go for the vault key what the others fight them? Can you tell where it is right now, Matilda?"
L-Matilda shook her head. "Not anymore but it should be the size of a ball." She shaped her hands to the size of her head. "If they have something as big as that, that's probably where it is."
Sassy laughed slightly when Moss said that he was more used to the cold than her, she guess that her desert bandit appearance kinda' made it a little obvious where she was from. Either way she didn't want to take someone else's coat and was glad to see Moss put it back on and laughed as Isa visibly made him uncomfortable, body language noted even if blush wasn't visible, "get a roooooooooom!" She bellowed with her hand along side her face to make her voice louder which caused Ralph to raise his head slightly and see what was going on so Sassy grinned at him, "s'okay Ralphie!"
Ralph was again disturbed when L climbed up on him and he cracked one of his brown eyes open slightly, but realizing that all was well he closed it again and didn't seem to mind the little Gnome sitting on him.
As Isa questioned her about how gambling could lure the thieves out she put her index finger along side her nose while grinning and giving him a wink, "you'll see."
It was obvious that Sassy fully believed in the plan and she accepted the metal that L offered her, tucking it away into her coat to keep it safe before she rolled over and leaned against the exit of the tent where Okami was currently laying, using him as a support as she sat cross legged, "Okay so like... I'll go and be an upstart in the arm wrasslin'," she crossed the fingers of both of her hands and held them next to her face for a moment, "and then I'll mosey my way on back to the tent... so we'll have to move it... there was an outcropping of rocks over yonder," she pointed in the direction which she had spotted them, "me thinks on the other side of that'll be good."
She paused and looked at Moss, "ya any good at thievery?"
"More on stalking game." said Moss-Mumbo. "But I can sneak around." He thought a bit. "I saw some boatmen selling some supplies. I'll go see if I can buy some winter camouflage quickly. Can you guys wait for me?"
Sassy grinned at Moss, "well that's good enough!" She then nodded, "sure sure... we have to move the camp over to those rocks anyway, just head to the camp when you're done because that's the next part."
She rubbed her chin with her gloved fingers for a moment as she glanced towards the ceiling of the tent, "so... I don't know if all of them will follow or even if one of them will... but I figure it's worth a shot so L... could ya stay with Okami, Ralph, and the tent while me and the boys handle some business? Isa, I'll need you in the tent but arrive after me... you gotta' keep an eye on everyone there... see if anyone leaves shortly after I go in or if some people look at me more clearly or with any surprise... also, can't say it'll be but keep an eye out for a guy that only has one."
So once again hilarity won over and Sassy couldn't resist laughing insanely at her pun before it died down, her hand on her stomach as she sighed contentedly, "Moss, just get there after you buy stuff because I'll need you to watch when I leave and if anyone follows me, keep an eye on them, capiche?" She gave him a wink and looked around at the others to see if they agreed with the plan or if they had any suggestions or changes.
Suddenly, Isa bends his body to the side as he felt a ticklish jab on his ribs. Snorting before ending it with a high pitched and soft squeak. Like a mouse. Then he peeked over his shoulder with a slightly smug grin, thankful that Moss still can‘t see his reddening face. “Fine, fine....and I know you like the teasing!” He shot back at Moss in a quiet whisper at the end, changing his height from being a teen to an adult Drow. Then he looked at Sassy with the same playful grin.
”Laaaaaaaater, we will! And no, I’m fine here. Thank you, Matilda.” Isa replied to L at the end with a less playful tone, more calmer than before. “I rather leave Ralph sleeping without my heavy butt weighing him down.”
As he listened to the plan’s proceedings and he passed Sassy some metals, the disguised redhead raised a brow before snorting at the irony. “That’s oddly specific but alright.” So all he has to do is keep an eye out? Well that’s easy enough since he’ll be able to move around now and he has to spot for an eye patched man or anyone who is staring at her weirdly compared to others....
He feels like she knows a little more than she lets on, but Isa is not about to question it. She’s helping, that‘s all he cares. When Moss was ready to go and buy items, the redhead got off his lap. Secretly holding and quickly squeezing his hand in the shadows of their bodies affectionally. “See ya soon, Moss.” He whispered-mumbled in his ear before sitting on the floor again as he took his spot. Grinning his usual impish grin; it might have seen softer to the merman.
L-Matilda frowned. "I can fight." she said, offended. "It's because I'm short, isn't it?" she stood up to her full height on top of Mr. Bucephalus, hands on her hips. "I can help in the ambush, that's what we're doing right? We're going to capture them?"
"Yeah, I think so?" Moss looked at Sassy for confirmation. "We're just worried about you, Matilda, and no . . . you're not short . . . you're . . . you're fun sized." said Moss placidly. That didn't seem to help.
L pulled her spellbook out of her hair with a huff and a raise of her chin. "If you must know, I helped steal that Vault Key from the Cerberus tower fighting against a host of Templars, a Commander of Knights, an Inquisitor, who chased me and my friends for days, and I even survived the Ravager Plains in Thousand Cuts Badlands. I can make them fall asleep," she flipped a page, "I can make them levitate," she flipped another page, "I can resurrect people who have died, although I do need a phoenix down, which I don't have right now, but I can do those things. And I can do this too. I want to help. I want to get my Vault Key back."
Moss smiled and looked at Sassy and Isa. "Alright, I'm sorry. It's . . . Yeah, I shouldn't judge someone by how they look like. Alright. You're part of the ambush team then?"
"Yes, I can do that. I just need them to be near enough."
And with that they had a plan. Moss nodded his capiche to Sassy, before Isa got up from his lap. He squeezed his hand back happily, ready to protect him. It seems they both will be doing the watching. "See you soon --- oh, Mr. Red, Matilda, do you have snow camouflage?"
L-Matilda nodded. "I do!" she pulled a very long snow patterned ghillie suit from her hair. Then she gave Isa and Moss a curious look.
Isa listened to the conversation, tilting his head to the side with a grin. “I was just wondering how will we ambush them. Sleeping spell sounds like a good tactic to ambush them, me thinks.”
Then he added. “If yur goin’ outside, Sassy, I can control the blizzard. Make a circle around the area ya stop to trap them in. So it’ll be stronger winds on the outside, barely windy on the inside?” He didn‘t mind if anyone objected to the idea.
He looked at Moss, sheepishly grinning. “I do not. Pass it to me when ya meet up with us? Or would it be better for me to go invisible?”