The Adventures of Naletia: Ancient Civilization

The two servants that stood together behind the statue were talking in hushed voices, but Aria was close enough to overhear them and listen in on their gossip. They seemed to be talking about the royal family, as was suggested by their quiet voices and the mention of the firstborn.

"... that the Prince has taken a liking to a foreign girl," one of them was already mid-sentence when Aria got within hearing range.

"I heard that this girl is actually a younger woman with beautiful brown hair and electric eyes," the other servant responded, her tone almost distasteful. They were both female and wore a white apron over their red and black striped uniform.

"I can hardly believe that our little Prince Charming has grown up into such a strong man," the first servant sighed. The two of them seemed to be on completely different subjects without actually changing the topic. It was surely a strange experience.

"But I still think that prince's and princess' should only be allowed to marry a prince or princess. This foreign girl is stepping into a war zone. If she doesn't think that the people won't oppose her and the prince being together, she's got another thing coming."

"What was that girl's name, anyway?"

"I don't know. I just know that our prince is being stolen from us by a witch."


(+) (-) (-) (-) (X) (X) (-) (-) (-) (+) A
(|) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (|) B
(|) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (4) ( ) (|) C
(d) ( ) (3) (2) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (d) D
(|) ( ) (s) (s) ( ) ( ) (s) (s) ( ) (|) E
(|) ( ) (s) (s) (A) ( ) (s) (s) ( ) (|) F
(|) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (|) G
(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (d) H
(|) ( ) (1) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (|) I
(|) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (|) J
(+) (-) (-) (-) (X) (X) (-) (-) (-) (+) K
-1---2---3---4---5---6---7---8---9---10

(A) - The Idiot Locator. In other words, this is your position relative to the room. For the time being, you are permitted to travel infinitely across the board any number of times.

( ) - Red Xanite Carpet

(d) - Unlocked door
>West Wing (Located at the lower west side of the field [Left])
>East Wing (Located at the lower east side of the field [Right])
>???????? ???????? (Located at the upper west side of the field)
>??????? (Located at the upper east side of the field)
Note: Entering the "?" rooms is risky, for you might get caught and thrown out of the castle. If you are thrown out, you're not getting back in for awhile. But if you can sneak in successfully, all our lore are belong to you.

(X) (X) - Double doors. North is the throne room, south is the exit.

(1) (2) (3) (4) - Servants 1-4. 1 is male, the others are female.
>Servant 1 - Talk
>Servant 2 & 3 - Listen
>Servant 4 - Talk

Things Learned So Far:
+The Prince has a girlfriend with brown hair and electric blue eyes.
+Servants are very superstitious.

Mindless gossip? How boring and not in the least bit helpful. A sigh began to break off the woman's lips before she quickly stifled it. Best not to let the servants know she had been listening in on their obviously private conversation. Making a slight movement in the direction she had been going, the Elementalist pursed her lips upon seeing the other servant. She likely wasn't going to move from her spot; especially with that door right there. Frowning slightly, Aria turned back and headed over to the other servant.

Aria moves to H3!

Upon approaching the only in the room, she faltered for but a moment. She had heard of male servants, but it didn't seem like something a man would want to do. Especially if his job was equivalent to the maids that were cleaning the statues. Making up her mind quickly, she made her final approach, her eyes brightening slightly.

"Excuse me sir, I was wondering why there isn't carpet leading to those other doors. Is there something in those rooms that isn't for public eyes?"

The question was a stupid one, she already knew why. There was something either to hide or something private in one or both of the rooms.

Aria talks to Servant 1!

"Those doors?" The servant frowned, eyeing Aria over carefully, as if he was confused by her question. "They are merely the Servant's Quarters," the servant pointed towards the upper left door, "and the kitchen," the servant pointed to the door on the other side. "Visitors are not allowed in those rooms because they also provide access to the cellar and the treasure hold." The servant fidgeted slightly, his face becoming red. It seems he was enraptured by Aria's appearance, as his tone became hushed, "if you are able to get in without the other servants seeing you, then I suppose it's like you weren't actually here, huh?" The servant put his hand to his chin and turned around, as if dismissing Aria.

*Directions Unlocked - The servants will be facing a certain direction every turn. If they are facing Aria, they will be able to see her unless there is something in the way, like a statue. You may have to talk to a servant to get them to face another direction.



(+) (-) (-) (-) (X) (X) (-) (-) (-) (+) A
(|) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (|) B
(|) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (4) ( ) (|) C
(d) ( ) (3) (2) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (d) D
(|) ( ) (s) (s) ( ) ( ) (s) (s) ( ) (|) E
(|) ( ) (s) (s) ( ) ( ) (s) (s) ( ) (|) F
(|) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (|) G
(d) ( ) (A) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (d) H
(|) ( ) (1) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (|) I
(|) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (|) J
(+) (-) (-) (-) (X) (X) (-) (-) (-) (+) K
-1---2---3---4---5---6---7---8---9---10

(A) - The Idiot Locator. In other words, this is your position relative to the room. For the time being, you are permitted to travel infinitely across the board any number of times.

( ) - Red Xanite Carpet

(d) - Unlocked door
>West Wing (Located at the lower west side of the field [Left])
>East Wing (Located at the lower east side of the field [Right])
>Servant's Quarters (Located at the upper west side of the field)
>Kitchen (Located at the upper east side of the field)
Note: Entering the "?" rooms is risky, for you might get caught and thrown out of the castle. If you are thrown out, you're not getting back in for awhile. But if you can sneak in successfully, all our lore are belong to you.

(X) (X) - Double doors. North is the throne room, south is the exit.

(1) (2) (3) (4) - Servants 1-4. 1 is male, the others are female.
>Servant 1 - Talk *FACING RIGHT*
>Servant 2 - Talk *FACING LEFT*
>Servant 3 - Talk *FACING RIGHT*
>Servant 4 - Talk *FACING LEFT*

Things Learned So Far:
+The Prince has a girlfriend with brown hair and electric blue eyes.
+Servants are very superstitious.[/quote]

"Interesting."

Aria smiled once again, but quickly wiped it away as was customary. So she could easily distract these people and make her way into those rooms. Not to mention knowing what the rooms were helped quite a bit. Now all she had to do was distract the servants and get into one of them.

Aria moves to D5!

Aria quickly made her way over to the two servants that had been chatting mindlessly. Though she did slow her pace down so it wasn't obvious she was up to something. Finally reaching one she had meant to talk to she faltered for a moment yet again. What was she going to ask?

Improvisation.

"Excuse me miss, I'm sorry for interrupting your work, but I would like to apply for a position if there is one. Where would I be able to speak to someone about lending a hand?"

Aria talks to Servant 2!

"Hm?" The servant turned around when Aria addressed her, and seemed a bit surprised at Aria's request. Normally people do not request to become servants, the king's containers invite them. But there were some special cases, so the suggestion wasn't too odd to hear. "Oh, certainly. If you just head on through that door just beyond here, you will find one of the guards, who can take you to one of the containers who deals with all things with the servants."

*Aria has been granted permission to enter the Servant's Quarters!


(+) (-) (-) (-) (X) (X) (-) (-) (-) (+) A
(|) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (|) B
(|) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (4) ( ) (|) C
(d) ( ) (3) (2) (A) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (d) D
(|) ( ) (s) (s) ( ) ( ) (s) (s) ( ) (|) E
(|) ( ) (s) (s) ( ) ( ) (s) (s) ( ) (|) F
(|) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (|) G
(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (d) H
(|) ( ) (1) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (|) I
(|) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (|) J
(+) (-) (-) (-) (X) (X) (-) (-) (-) (+) K
-1---2---3---4---5---6---7---8---9---10

(A) - The Idiot Locator. In other words, this is your position relative to the room. For the time being, you are permitted to travel infinitely across the board any number of times.

( ) - Red Xanite Carpet

(d) - Unlocked door
>West Wing (Located at the lower west side of the field [Left])
>East Wing (Located at the lower east side of the field [Right])
>Servant's Quarters (Located at the upper west side of the field)
>Kitchen (Located at the upper east side of the field)
Note: Entering the second two rooms is risky, for you might get caught and thrown out of the castle. If you are thrown out, you're not getting back in for awhile. But if you can sneak in successfully, all our lore are belong to you.

(X) (X) - Double doors. North is the throne room, south is the exit.

(1) (2) (3) (4) - Servants 1-4. 1 is male, the others are female.
>Servant 1 - Talk *FACING RIGHT*
>Servant 2 - Talk *FACING RIGHT*
>Servant 3 - Talk *FACING RIGHT*
>Servant 4 - Talk *FACING LEFT*

Things Learned So Far:
+The Prince has a girlfriend with brown hair and electric blue eyes.
+Servants are very superstitious.

Aria moves to D2!

Aria enters the Servant's Quarters!

Aria nodded with a small smile of appreciation and made her way over to the door she was now able to enter. Quickly opening it and entering, she wiped the smile from her face. On the inside she was happy, now if she could just get into the kitchen.

The servant's quarters was actually just like a locker room like the ones in schools and gyms. Only the lockers had combination locks on a number pad rather than a physical lock. The lockers were, you guessed it, cobalt-blue. There were a few wooden benches between each set of lockers to give the servants a place to sit to rest and change. Off on the other side of the room was another set of doors, each one labeled with a number and a few letters. Those were probably the actual sleeping quarters for the servants.

On another side of the room was another, separate door labeled "Dragon's Keep." Two guards stood in front of it. Other than those two, no other presences could be sensed or seen nearby.

(+) (-) (d) (-) (d) (-) (d) (+) A
(|) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (|) B
(|) ( ) ( ) (l) (-) ( ) (l) (|) C
(|) (2) ( ) (l) (-) ( ) (l) (|) D
(d) ( ) ( ) (l) (-) ( ) (l) (|) E
(|) (1) ( ) (l) (-) ( ) (l) (||) F
(|) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (A) ( ) (|) G
(+) (-) (-) (-) (-) (d) (-) (+) H
-1---2---3---4---5---6---7---8


(d) - Doors.
>Northern doors are opened, yet they don't seem important...
>Western door is locked, but one of the guards could be carrying a key...

Interaction options:
Guards 1 & 2 - Talk; Pickpocket; Knockout (BE CAREFUL, FOO)

Aria moves to G2!

Aria talks to Guard 1!

Aria didn't hesitate to move over in the direction of the guards, moving at a slightly faster pace than normal. It wasn't one that could be detected as off or holding another purpose, just a paced walk. Her tone however, remained at its usual speed, as to not muddy up her language and allow for instant clarification.

"Excuse me. One of the servants outside said I should speak to one of you about applying to work here. She said you'd point me in the right direction."

The guard waved her (for it was a female guard) hand nonchalantly, as if dismissing Aria. "Earl Edmund isn't looking for servants right now, come back in a year or two." And with that, the guard said nothing more, though the other guard gave Aria a once-over and smirked, shaking his head from side to side.

"Sorry about her," the guard spoke, eliciting a glare from the other guard, "She doesn't like women very much, even though she is one. If you want to go talk to the Earl, then you can find him in the West Wing. I heard he was talking to the prince in His Young Majesty's room. Just tell the guards there that Gorn sent you and they'll see about letting you in."

New option available!


(+) (-) (d) (-) (d) (-) (d) (+) A
(|) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (|) B
(|) ( ) ( ) (l) (-) ( ) (l) (|) C
(|) (2) ( ) (l) (-) ( ) (l) (|) D
(d) ( ) ( ) (l) (-) ( ) (l) (|) E
(|) (1) ( ) (l) (-) ( ) (l) (||) F
(|) (A) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (|) G
(+) (-) (-) (-) (-) (d) (-) (+) H
-1---2---3---4---5---6---7---8


(d) - Doors.
>Northern doors are opened, yet they don't seem important...
>Western door is locked, but one of the guards could be carrying a key...

Interaction options:
Guards 1 & 2 - Talk; Pickpocket; Knockout (BE CAREFUL, FOO)

Skip Options:
>Go to the West Wing

Aria's eyes began to sharpen into a glare towards the female guard for but a moment before the male guard spoke. Her gaze softened before anyone could notice she had even changed her expression at all. Upon hearing the man's message, she nodded and smiled slightly once again.

"Thank you."

She then began to walk away from the two guards, and back over to the door. She stopped short at the door for only a moment, her gaze darting to the corner of her eyes. That female guard, she was lucky to have been with another this time; Had she been alone, Aria wouldn't have hesitated to remedy the problem. Returning her eyes to normal positioning, she exited the Servant's Quarters.

Aria moves to G6!

Aria leaves Servant's Quarters!

(+) (-) (-) (-) (X) (X) (-) (-) (-) (+) A
(|) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (|) B
(|) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (4) ( ) (|) C
(d) (A) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (d) D
(|) ( ) (s) (s) ( ) ( ) (s) (s) ( ) (|) E
(|) ( ) (s) (s) ( ) ( ) (s) (s) ( ) (|) F
(|) ( ) (3) ( ) ( ) ( ) (2) ( ) ( ) (|) G
(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (d) H
(|) ( ) (1) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (|) I
(|) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (|) J
(+) (-) (-) (-) (X) (X) (-) (-) (-) (+) K
-1---2---3---4---5---6---7---8---9---10

(A) - The Idiot Locator. In other words, this is your position relative to the room. For the time being, you are permitted to travel infinitely across the board any number of times.

( ) - Red Xanite Carpet

(d) - Unlocked door
>West Wing (Located at the lower west side of the field [Left])
>East Wing (Located at the lower east side of the field [Right])
>Servant's Quarters (Located at the upper west side of the field)
>Kitchen (Located at the upper east side of the field)
Note: Entering the second two rooms is risky, for you might get caught and thrown out of the castle. If you are thrown out, you're not getting back in for awhile. But if you can sneak in successfully, all our lore are belong to you.

(X) (X) - Double doors. North is the throne room, south is the exit.

(1) (2) (3) (4) - Servants 1-4. 1 is male, the others are female.
>Servant 1 - Talk
>Servant 2 - Talk
>Servant 3 - Talk
>Servant 4 - Talk

Things Learned So Far:
+The Prince has a girlfriend with brown hair and electric blue eyes.
+Servants are very superstitious.
+You can go to the West Wing to find Earl Edmund, who is the container the servant talked about, apparently.

Aria moves to H2!

Aria enters the West Wing!

Aria wasted no time in getting over to the door to the West Wing, promptly entering.

Now, the West Wing was much different from the servant's quarters. The hall was adorned with many, many red and gold cloths that hung from the ceiling. The right side of the wall held many paintings, some of them without names. The left side of the wall had windows, allowing a view of the courtyard beyond.

There were six guards total in the hall. Two guarded each set of doors that led into, presumably, the nobility rooms. In other words, the prince and the two princess' rooms were on this side of the castle. It may have seemed strange to allow this place to be open to public by some, but all three children of the king were more than capable of defending themselves. Plus, any potential attackers would have to get through the guards first and foremost, and even that would be a feat of strength.

Where Aria stood, she could hear some talking going on in the nearest room, which was Prince Falandire's. Only a few steps closer would allow her to eavesdrop on the conversation without bothering the guards.

(+) (-) (-) (-) (-) (-) (+) A
(|) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (|) B
(|) (4) ( ) ( ) ( ) (3) (d) C
(|) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (|) D
(|) (5) ( ) ( ) ( ) (2) (d) E
(|) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (|) F
(|) (6) ( ) ( ) ( ) (1) (d) G
(|) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (|) H
(|) ( ) ( ) (A) ( ) ( ) (|) I
(|) (-) (-) (-) (-) (-) (+) J
-1---2---3---4---5---6---7

(A) - The Idiot Locator. In other words, this is your position relative to the room. For the time being, you are permitted to travel infinitely across the board any number of times.

Interactions:
Guards 1-6: Talk; Ask for entry into the room they are guarding
Prince Falandire's Room - Eavesdrop (3 cell range)
Princess Imaria's Room - Eavesdrop (3 cell range)
Princess Glonna's Room - Eavesdrop (3 cell range)

Locations:
>Guards 1 and 6 are guarding Prince Falandire's room (closest room)
>Guards 2 and 5 are guarding Princess Imaria's room (middle room)
>Guards 3 and 4 are guarding Princess Glonna's room (furthest room)

Things Learned So Far:
+The Prince has a girlfriend with brown hair and electric blue eyes.
+Servants are very superstitious.
+You can go to the West Wing to find Earl Edmund, who is the container the servant talked about, apparently.

At the sight of the guards, Aria began to make her way over to them. However, she stopped short when few faint phrases and parts of words caught her ear. While she couldn't make out just what was being said, it was no doubt some sort of conversation. Though the last one she had listened in on had been boring, this one might yield something new. Not to mention it was coming from the Prince's room, something interesting had to be going on there.

Aria moves to I6!

The Elementalist casually strolled up to one of the nearby paintings, a forced smile of delight on her face. Her eyes blankly scanned the image, not registering anything of importance. Meanwhile, her energy was spent focusing in on the faint words; ears strained to catch every single syllable. Even if the conversation was of no use to her at the moment, it would be these sorts of things that might be helpful later.

Aria eavesdrops on Prince Falandire's Room! How rude!

"...and that's the jist of it," a female voice was saying. The sound was a bit muffled by the wall, so that was the most one could tell, that it was female. "What do you say?"

A long pause ensued before a masculine voice responded, his tone ashy and deep. "If you leave, then how am I supposed to take over my father's role? Without my closest friend beside me."

"You're father's in great health though! And it's not like I'll be gone forever. I'm not from this city, and I frequently leave anyway, so you can deal with an extended trip, right wittle pwincess?" The female's voice became very mushy at the end of her sentence, as if teasing the prince.

"Please stop, it's bad enough my sisters treat me so poorly," the prince sounded exasperated, but the woman merely laughed aloud. The guard just outside the door shuffled a bit, seemingly annoyed.

"Tell you what, I'll cut you a deal. I promise that when I get back, I'll become your Queen, how does that sound, princess?" It was obvious by the tone of the woman's voice that she was joking. If that wasn't clear, a solid laughing followed her proposal.

"We are agreed, Nemile." The prince's response immediately stopped the woman's laughing. A very long pause followed. "When you return," the prince finally spoke again, having earned the woman's, Nemile's, attention. "You will become my bride, Nemile Wetyna."


(+) (-) (-) (-) (-) (-) (+) A
(|) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (|) B
(|) (4) ( ) ( ) ( ) (3) (d) C
(|) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (|) D
(|) (5) ( ) ( ) ( ) (2) (d) E
(|) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (|) F
(|) (6) ( ) ( ) ( ) (1) (d) G
(|) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (|) H
(|) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (A) (|) I
(|) (-) (-) (-) (-) (-) (+) J
-1---2---3---4---5---6---7

(A) - The Idiot Locator. In other words, this is your position relative to the room. For the time being, you are permitted to travel infinitely across the board any number of times.

Interactions:
Guards 1-6: Talk; Ask for entry into the room they are guarding
Prince Falandire's Room - Eavesdrop (3 cell range)
Princess Imaria's Room - Eavesdrop (3 cell range)
Princess Glonna's Room - Eavesdrop (3 cell range)

Locations:
>Guards 1 and 6 are guarding Prince Falandire's room (closest room)
>Guards 2 and 5 are guarding Princess Imaria's room (middle room)
>Guards 3 and 4 are guarding Princess Glonna's room (furthest room)

Things Learned So Far:
+The Prince has a girlfriend with brown hair and electric blue eyes.
+Servants are very superstitious.
+You can go to the West Wing to find Earl Edmund, who is the container the servant talked about, apparently.
+The prince seems to have some family issues, but is otherwise a strong, capable young man.
+Prince Falandire proposed to Nemile Wetyna.

Aria took in a sharp breath and her eyes widened as she overheard the last part of the conversation. But she quickly recomposed herself without a second's notice, knowing better than to let the guard notice she had been eavesdropping. However, the smile that had been on her faced faded. So this was what her friend had been doing, very interesting. Filing the fact in the back of her head, she supposed it would be best to get on with her little mission.

Aria moves to G5!

Keeping her voice lowered but still at a fair volume, Aria spoke to the guard she approached.

"Excuse me, I was told that I could find Earl Edmund in this Wing to speak about a job. Gorn sent me."

Aria talks to Guard 1!

"The Earl?" The guard put his hand to his helmet, knocking it a few times, as if trying to remember something. From across the hall, the other guard spoke up. "The Earl has gone on an extended trip, you won't be able to see him until he comes back in six more days."


(+) (-) (-) (-) (-) (-) (+) A
(|) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (|) B
(|) (4) ( ) ( ) ( ) (3) (d) C
(|) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (|) D
(|) (5) ( ) ( ) ( ) (2) (d) E
(|) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (|) F
(|) (6) ( ) ( ) (A) (1) (d) G
(|) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (|) H
(|) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (|) I
(|) (-) (-) (-) (-) (-) (+) J
-1---2---3---4---5---6---7

(A) - The Idiot Locator. In other words, this is your position relative to the room. For the time being, you are permitted to travel infinitely across the board any number of times.

Interactions:
Guards 1-6: Talk; Ask for entry into the room they are guarding
Prince Falandire's Room - Eavesdrop a second time (3 cell range)
Princess Imaria's Room - Eavesdrop (3 cell range)
Princess Glonna's Room - Eavesdrop (3 cell range)

Locations:
>Guards 1 and 6 are guarding Prince Falandire's room (closest room)
>Guards 2 and 5 are guarding Princess Imaria's room (middle room)
>Guards 3 and 4 are guarding Princess Glonna's room (furthest room)

Things Learned So Far:
+The Prince has a girlfriend with brown hair and electric blue eyes.
+Servants are very superstitious.
+You can go to the West Wing to find Earl Edmund, who is the container the servant talked about, apparently.
+The prince seems to have some family issues, but is otherwise a strong, capable young man.
+Prince Falandire proposed to Nemile Wetyna.
+It will not be possible to enter the Treasure Room or the other restricted rooms if Earl Edmund is not present. Seems like we'll have to try another time.

"I see... thank you then. I shall return at a later time."

Without much more than that, Aria turned and left the hall and exited the castle. With no way to do anything of importance (at least to her) she was left with little choice left. It was getting dark anyway, she would have to meet Nemile soon enough; This was for the best. Exiting the castle, Aria headed in the direction of the inn.

Aria leaves the King's Castle!

Aria goes to the Hogswine Inn!

~Phase out~

>Map Exploration Canceled. Returning to Story...

~Phase in~

Night soon approached the Capital City, making the Hogswine Inn the place of desire for weary travelers. When Aria had arrived, arrangements were already prepared by Nemile, and the innkeeper was more than delighted to show her to the room where they would meet. Up on the second floor, the closest room to the stairs.

Inside the room were a few, colorful tapestries displaying a hog's head in red and black colors. Although the walls and floors were made of cobalt, the innkeeper gave the inn a splash of his own flavors. The walls were covered in a very-believable wood that supplied the an appropriate flavor for the light, sandstone floor. Although it was fake, it seemed realistic enough, and helped drown out the monotonous blue of the city. Which, by the way, was completely visible by the rather large window that showed the outside.

A single bed sat alone in a corner of the room, a small nightstand placed next to it. The room wasn't very big, but it was clean and comfortable. The green sheets were obviously made from wool.

Half an hour after the innkeeper left, Nemile knocked on the door and entered after receiving proper permissions. She greeted Aria with a hearty smile, signs of having a good day. But she was quick to get to the point, thinking that Aria didn't want to mess around with pleasantries.

"I certainly hope you enjoyed walking through this boring city," Nemile joked, but got serious afterwards. "So, what I've been thinking is this: There are a few temples and shrines near this city that we can visit. I'm almost certain that the monks who live in those places know something about what's going on with these hostile beasts. If we can get those reclusive nutjobs to talk, that'd give us some sort of lead, I think."

"How do you feel about this? I know all of this is sudden, but the matter is urgent and needs to be attended to. The small colonies in Ermith are experiencing the same difficulties with hostile beasts, so this isn't something that is being done by just one being, unless there is a god or a dragon that has had enough of us humans."

"It is a pressing matter; Though this was unexpected I have no complaints to voice."

Aria responded rather quickly, her mind having been made up the moment she agreed to traveling with Nemile. She wasn't going to be pushed off by the urgency or danger of this task. She was a top class mage after all, she had little to fear... even if her powers were diminished by this world.

"As for my walk around the city, it was rather interesting actually."

Her tone was strangely carefree and with a slight twinge of mystery that was uncommon of her. Sure the two had only spent a little time together, but it was obvious something was off.

Nemile hesitated for a moment, multiple scenarios quickly rushing through her mind as she thought what Aria could have possibly seen that put her into such a good mood. It could just be her personality, but something was off. Could she have overheard what happened with Falan? Nemile suspected that was a possibility, but didn't want to think any more of it. She hadn't really accepted the prince's offer just yet. Nemile was surprised when he pulled that on her, but it made sense. He and she were close friends, and have been for a very long time. But still, it was unexpected.

"I'm glad you feel that way," Nemile smiled, referring to Aria's interesting day as well as her compliance with the job Nemile proposed. "If that's the case, then we'll leave bright and early tomorrow morning, while everyone's still too lazy to get up," Nemile said, clapping her hands together. Including that prince. She thought to herself smugly.

"Sounds like a plan."

Aria spoke with the same manner she had been using before she last spoke. The girl hadn't asked about what had made it so interesting, which was a little disappointing. However, it was of little importance whether or not the younger woman asked; She would tell her anyway.

"I heard some fascinating gossip around town. Apparently the Prince has himself a fiance. A beautiful girl with brown hair and electric eyes... wouldn't happen to be you would it?"

"I- uh..." Nemile stuttered, caught off guard by Aria's question. She had not expected that the woman would ask her such a thing outright. And this meant that Aria HAD overheard the conversation Nemile had with Falandire. Her cheeks flushed, a slight red discoloring could be seen, "I-I'm not sure what you're talking about. I never accepted a marriage proposition..." Nemile answered, nearly stumbling over her words. It was true--she hadn't accepted the prince's offer yet. Though she did have intentions to do so.

"A-Anyway, I think...I think that I should go..." Nemile said awkwardly, swallowing the lump in her throat. "I have a few more things to...uhm...take care of. I'll see you in the morning," Nemile was quick to back out the door and shut it. She quickly exited the inn and heaved a huge sigh, shivering slightly. That was close. Nemile did not want to talk about being anyone's fiance, even the prince's. Which, funnily enough, she was about to go an accept the prince's proposal.

"That woman," Nemile sighed, beginning the long walk to the castle, "she really did overhear our conversation. What a very...fickle lady."

Aria smiled as Nemile became rather flustered, the poor girl reminded her so much of Ashe. Both had not been expecting the Elementalist's other side, the sort of unpredictability that kept her from being a stiff like the gambler that stayed at her guild once. Of course, it crossed her mind that Nemile might not like that she had listened in on such a conversation. Not to mention the girl also might not like her forwardness with such a delicate, private subject. Nevertheless, Aria would make it clear, if it already was not, that she was just kidding. She did not mean to make the girl uncomfortable, at least... not that uncomfortable.

As dawn was just breaking, Nemile and Aria stood by the gates of the city. Nemile held a map in her hand and was scanning it for any landmarks that could help guide their way. For now, the gates to the city were closed, so they had to wait until the guards roused themselves and opened them. During that time, Nemile was sure to commit the map to memory. They didn't want to make any wrong turns, after all, Nemile never before visited the Adagau Shrine. Nor the Adagau Temple.

Right down next to Nemile stood the large, proud wyvern that was her eternal companion and partner-of-souls, Ralufikan (also known as Ralu). The wyvern patiently waited for Nemile to memorize the map, taking an interest in Aria instead. The elementalist had supposedly defeated his partner-of-soul, Nemile. Ralu refused to believe such a thing happened by skill alone, it had to have been chance.

"Alright! It's about damn time!" Nemile shouted suddenly, drawing the attention of the others to the gates, which were beginning to open. Nemile's smile grew into an enormous grin, it was safe to say she was excited to finally set out on the road. Except that there was no road. The outside of the city was a large clearing, a meadow of sorts. Capital City had been built in a meadow, surrounding a very large forest, known at Miracle Forest, for strange happenings occurred within the sacred woods. It was also in this forest that the small party would find the Adagau Shrine and Temple. There was still some walking to do though, and the greenery was definitely a good change of scenery.

"Good luck!" One of the guards shouted down to the party as they went through the gate and into the wilderness.

"Thanks! You too!" Nemile shouted back, waving up at the guard.