You have a funeral to get to.

At the very least, you'll be able to rest your heads someplace that isn't the outdoors again when you get to Traban Outpost, and from there you're in Dain and it's not a very long way to Gravern at all.

Ansi's off on his own again, staring at some personal item, while everyone else is packing the campsite the morning before you get to Traban. Pretty much everyone's of the opinion that it's best to just leave him be.

Welles is eagerly talking up a friend of his to Calof, who seems quietly interested as ever.

You and Leigh aren't talking about much in particular, making lighthearted remarks about how awful heat and desert is. And more talking about your boss, good ol' Marrius. That topic's sort of petered out, though.

>A. Discuss something else with Leigh (specify)
>B. Go pester Ansi
>C. Check out Calof and Welles' chat
>D. Write-in?
>E. Skip ahead

>>43508995
>A. Discuss something else with Leigh
Things to do when we get to town
>C. Check out Calof and Welles' chat

>>43508995
>C. Check out Calof and Welles' chat
Best not to bother the guy who can summon wolves.

>>43509037
>>43509041
"So... What should we do when we get to this Traban place?"

"I dunno... Sightsee for a bit before we have to move on, assuming Welles is alright with it. Apparently the outpost was a very major location in this war about... twenty-something years ago. I don't remember the number Welles said."

You shrug and go to see what Welles and Calof are talking about, both done packing up your own things.

"So, as I was saying, he's one of the most appreciative fellows around! A bit humble, but to some that is a virtue... I say be as confident in yourself as possible, don't hide a thing, but... Regardless, you really should meet Tomnus sometime! He and his pal Kneil travel a lot, typically showing off his parents' creations, so naturally they're not uncommonly in Elza Oasis!"

You can't really find anywhere to butt into this particular conversation, sadly enough, but you and Leigh appreciate the information you walked in on anyway.

Finally, Welles notices you two. "Ah, hello! Could you go tell Ansi we're just about ready? I just need to help Calof find the last of his arrows. There was a... Bit of a spill earlier."

You aren't sure which of you he's talking to.

>A. Go talk to Ansi
>B. Help Calof out. Leigh can do that
>C. Both of you go
>D. No.

>>43509311
>A. Go talk to Ansi
I want to be friends

>>43509311
>A. Go talk to Ansi
I don't want Leigh to commit murder.

>>43509311
>A. Go talk to Ansi

>>43509364
>>43509379
>>43509380
Turning your head towards Leigh, you explain that you'll handle Ansi, and that she should go help Calof.

She nods slowly, seeming somewhat unsure of your decision. "You sure? I don't really trust that guy, it's not like we kno-"

"Nonsense!" Welles exclaims, Leigh realizing that the two of you haven't actually seperated yourselves from him and Calof yet. "I appreciate your concern for a comrade, but you don't need to worry about Ansi! He might seem like a sourpuss at first, but he'd never hurt anyone for no reason."

... A comrade, right. "See, nothing to worry about." You assure Leigh, turning off to go meet with Ansi.

When you arrive he's already finished packing his things up and is standing around doing a fat lot of nothing. You continue to approach, stopping when he finally notices you.

He stares at you coldly, and a few pointlessly tense moments go by before he breaks the silence. "Oh. What do you want, now?"

>A. Tell him everyone else is just about ready.
>B. "We're such good friends, I just wanted to see how you were doing."
>C. Turn around, if he's gonna be like this he can deal with being possibly left behind.
>D. Write-in

>>43509566
>A. Tell him everyone else is just about ready.

>>43509566
>A. Tell him everyone else is just about ready.

File: BaelGBAIcon.gif (2 KB, 78x68)

2 KB GIF

>>43509585
>>43509597
"Everyone else is just about ready," you explain, wasting no words, "so if you were done brooding..."

"I was not brooding, I was-"

"Didn't ask. C'mon, I'm sure everyone's confident you'd be alright if you were left behind."

Without another word, Ansi picks up his packed-up things... And promptly loads them on the back of a spider-monster before summoning up one more for his own convenience.

By the time you get back to the others, they're already practically out the nonexistent door.

Nobody else gets a cool spider-mount, of course. It does get you wondering about if people actually do ride them, but you don't care enough to continue that train of thought.

You reach Traban Outpost by that very afternoon, noticing a familiarly blue-haired little man at a conspicuously snow-covered stand near the edge of the small town.

"Eyven!" Welles says, with a degree of displeased surprise. "Shouldn't you be in Gravern by now? We were going to meet there!"

"I took a bit of a break. Traveling so much is tiresome work, bro."

"Wait... Don't you teleport everywhere to begin with?" Leigh asks.

"Yeah. It's pretty exhausting." He does not look at all exhausted. "Anyway, my break's up. Just figured I'd make it last until you came by."

"Well," Welles said, "I do appreciate your checking in! Very dutiful! Now, I'm going to find our friends some rooms! That inn is still running, right?"

After that, Welles leaves the scene, Calof going after him immediately.

"So," Eyven says, "he's been treating you well?"

>A. You were attacked on the way here
>B. Yeah he's been great
>C. He's getting on your nerves now
>D. Write-in dialogue/response/question
>E. Nothing to say here. Just follow them

>>43509926
>A. You were attacked on the way here
>B. Yeah he's been great
Where did everyone go

>>43509926
>A. You were attacked on the way here
>>B. Yeah he's been a bright Ray of sunshine.

>>43510140
>>43510152
"Yeah, he's been great, all around."

Leigh nods in agreement while Ansi eyes the stand without saying much.

Eyven chuckles. "Yeah, he does have that effect on people."

"As a matter of fact," you say, unintentionally interrupting Leigh about to say the same thing, "we were attacked on the way here, but..."

Eyven closes his eyes, still grinning. "Fanmail from reformed criminals is already cluttering up a whole room of our house as it is." He opens up his eyes. "Isn't my brother cool?"

Ansi immediately says, "why's there snow on there?"

"Well, where would you put it?" Eyven winks, you and Leigh chuckle.

"No, but I mean... Where did..."

"Found it."

Ansi groans, not wanting to admit that the answer is probably kind of obvious when you think about it.

Not actually a bad plan, grabbing a bunch of snow when you're hanging out on the outskirts of a desert.

"Anyway, my break's about up. See you in a couple days."

Eyven walks off the way you all came from after that, presumably to make it more amusing when he shows up in Gravern. You and Leigh opt to follow Welles and Calof, while Ansi just observes the snow with his usual expression.

"What's his deal? I mean it's just snow."

"Well, uh... Where's he from, do you think? Plenty of places I can see not having snow," Leigh responds to your whisper.

Soon enough, Calof hands you keys to your rooms for the rest of your brief stay in Traban.

>A. Sightsee
>B. Go back, make sure Ansi isn't lost
>C. Skip all that and move along

>>43510325
>Sightsee

>>43510472
As you discussed earlier, you and Leigh look around the town awhile.

You find the former site of a detention center, with it a trapdoor that led to an underground tunnel system to what was once an improbably well-kept secret dungeon, Aum. Aum itself is no longer running as it did before, with its space being used for magical research and development now, at the behest of the late Empress Alexia.

You also learn that this is the hometown of two of Dain's most famous Wyvern Lords, brothers known as Derrick and Roderick, and their infamously cruel and "thorough" mother, Willow. Leigh mentions Marrius' father being from here too, apparently having been close with said Derrick.

Also, a trio of dancing bonewalkers, completely harmless, are observed dancing in the center of town. No one knows when they showed up, but they never stopped, even when the town was attacked near the end of the war with Neir and Heim.

>A. That's hilarious
>B. That's weird
>C. That's suspicious
>D. Write-in

>>43510662
>A
>C

>>43510884
"That is... Pretty hilarious, actually," you say, chuckling.

"I dunno, I mean... In light of all these undead?"

"Yeah, Leigh, I... Guess it's sort of suspicious?"

"No, no," the person explaining the dancing skeletons assures you, "back when they were formed, undead would literally only show up if a Necromancer was nearby to summon them up."

"Well... Was there a necromancer nearby at the time?" Leigh asks.

"Well, princess Paula was still flying around the world, the ancient advisor was still in Gravern, but... Right around when... They appeared..." The person explaining's eyes widen. "Oh my gods, they must've been a diversion for Bolse! With the aid of the Great Miles, see, it's widely-known by now that he escaped Aum... My gods, why did nobody think of this?" The explainer just laughs, surprised to have reached such a revelation.

Leigh blinks, shooting you a look. "It took them this long to figure it out?"

You shake your head. "Sometimes, someone just has to connect the dots. Good job, detective."

You watch the bonewalkers dance awhile longer before getting sort of tired of it.

>A. Return to the inn
>B. Write-in action
>C. Skip to when you're nearing Gravern

As an aside, sorry these past couple posts have been subpar. I've been distracted IRL for the past hour or so.

>>43511062
Also, er, time renewed, unless someone responds before this goes up.

>>43511062
>>A. Return to the inn

>>43511062
>A. Return to the inn

>>43511450
You return to the inn in question, noticing Welles talking to Ansi, who is gripping his own forehead head and wincing.

"Ah, I've seen this before..." Welles notes, rubbing his chin thoughtfully before snapping his fingers. "It's brainfreeze! You couldn't resist the allure of the snow, eh?"

Ansi glares with embarrassment before slinking away into his room. You and Leigh try to stifle chuckles.

"Ah," Welles notes, "I take it you two enjoyed seeing the sights of Traban, judging by those grins!"

Not much more of note happens in town, and you refrain from giving Ansi crap about the snow thing for your own hides. The next morning, you check out without incident, continuing towards Gravern.

When the Dain capital is within your sights, a very big guy with blue curly hair and an axe on his back runs up.

He's... Intimidating, to say the least.

>A. Figure he's a threat
>B. Figure he's here to greet you guys
>C. Just stand and wait, see what happens
>D. Ponder how little you've had to do this stretch of the trip
>E. Write-in

>>43511632
>>A. Figure he's a threat

>>43511632
>C. Just stand and wait, see what happens

>>43511632
>C. Just stand and wait, see what happens

>>43511688
>>43511846
>>43511920
Yeah, this guy just screams "menacing" to you, but you don't plan on taking any presumptuous actions. You pull out your Flux tome, just in case, though...

...and he bounds over to you, staring, glaring. "So, this one thinks he can try something with me."

His sheer presence causes you to drop your book and recoil back, and Leigh starts forward... But Welles holds up her hand as though directing her not to do anything.

The big guy cracks a smile and looks at Welles. "You really hired a bunch with some stones, 'cuz."

"Cargia," Welles says, "is that a new axe?"

The big guy leaves your personal space and you breathe in deeply, sighing in relief that your first instinct was wrong. "Yeah, it's a Silver Poleax. Really tough stuff. You still got that glorified stick?"

"Why yes! Many battles have been won without casualty by this blade and this beautiful silver tongue!"

Also visibly shocked, Leigh responds, "s-so, I take it... You're the prince of Neir?"

Cargia nods. "One and only, 'less... Well, we're not discussing that here." He pulls his cousin into a tight one-armed hug. "Glad you made it in one piece, Welles!"

"How is your older sister?"

"Shea?" Cargia frowns, letting go of Welles. "She's... Honestly, I don't have a clue. Yvette wrote earlier, said she'd be sure they all made it to the funeral, but... You know how Shea is. She'll show up at the last minute, her and Jolie and Yvette. Been asking Eyven to look for 'em with that trinket of his."

"You know he wouldn't do such a thing, though. Lazy, lazy, lazy..."

Cargia nods before turning and brusquely shaking you and Leigh's still-somewhat-intimidated hands. "Sorry for scaring you there. Name's Prince Cargia."

>A. Not cool man
>B. It's cool. Funny, in immediate hindsight
>C. It's cool (lie)
>D. Stunned silence
>E. Annoyed silence
>F. Write-in

>>43512076
And another renewal of time.

>>43512076
>B. It's cool. Funny, in immediate hindsight

>>43512495
You laugh a bit, finally coming to your senses again. "It's fine, your highness, really... Perfectly fine."

Leigh shakes her head and gives you an incredulous look. "Fine? N-no, I thought he was going to kill you! If he hadn't dropped the act a second later, I probably would've done something about that!"

Cargia grins, patting your back. "A keeper, that one is. Don't do anything that might split you up."

Calof bows his head slightly. "It is an honor, Prince Cargia."

Ansi doesn't care.

Welles is quick to say, "well, allow me to introduce you to my friends-slash-escorts! This here is Lloyd, there's Leigh... Calof, and Ansi! All mercenaries of Marrius' Group!"

"Marrius, eh..? That's a man I'd like to cross blades with someday." Cargia turns and walks a bit away before saying, "come now, Welles. The few members of our family who could be assed to show up are expecting you."

"Wait, so... Is Shea not the only one late?"

"Yeah, aunt Paula's off doing... Some secret thing, with Bolse. Esmer's 'representing her in mourning' or something."

"Well, you know how busy aunt Paula often is! I'm sure it was vitally important if she couldn't be here! Who knows? Maybe she's preparing a surprise appearance! Never enough surprises at funerals. It would certainly lighten the mood..."

Damn, those two walk and talk fast. Soon after that, all of you bar Calof have trouble keeping up with their pace.

Ansi is the first to speak as Calof, Welles, and Cargia start to get further away. "So, our job's done. Welles is in Gravern. Let's just go find Eyven and get paid."

>A. Agree. Welles is cool now, surely.
>B. Disagree. We should catch up with them.
>C. Be silent.
>D. Write-in

>>43512743
>B. Disagree. We should catch up with them.
Hanging out a little while longer wouldn't hurt.

>>43512894
"I'm not gonna be caught just throwing in the towel before we know for sure it's alright."

"Well said!" Leigh says, though you're secretly certain you agree for... Entirely different reasons.

Ansi, probably seeing the point you were trying to make, nods and follows you in your attempts to catch up to your client.

Leigh and Ansi manage to do so, but you end up tired out, falling behind and panting, holding onto your knees and breathing as you look at the ground.

"Need to hit the gym, eh?" Eyven's voice makes you jump back in surprise when it rings out from directly in front of you. "Nah, I'm not gonna judge you. Welles and Cargia are pretty fast, and you're... Not. I know where they were headed if you wanted to keep following them. In the meantime, I was gonna take on the burden of sitting around and waiting for Shea to show up. Won't dock your pay or anything if you wanna keep me company."

>A. Just accept the directions
>B. Wait around with Eyven
>C. You'll find the place yourself
>D. Write-in

>>43513048
>B. Wait around with Eyven

>>43513176
You tell him, to paraphrase, sure, what the hell.

"Alright, right this way to scenic the outskirts," your client says, leading you at a brisk walking pace.

Eventually, you discover that he's set up yet another snow-covered stand.

"Yeah, it gets pretty hot outside at this time of year. Being able to grab a ton of snow and ice whenever I feel like it has its perks."

"Yeah, it... Honestly feels kinda homey."

"Huh. You from Tordo or something?"

"Yeah... Never the fondest of the snow when I was there, but being in the desert..." You shudder.

"Yeah, sounds pretty rough."

After a moment of silence, Eyven asks, "hey, mind if I monologue a bit? You strike me as a good listener."

>A. Not interested
>B. Interested
>C. Whatever
>D. Write-in

>>43513323
>B. Interested

>>43513473
"Sure, yeah."

After that, there's silence for awhile, though Eyven does break it in time. "So, people don't talk about it much, but... I guess gram dying sort of made me feel like discussing it. Mom, she was also a bit of an innovator of her own. Really liked to make things, tinker with them, see how they worked... Never managed to fine-tune the ballista to the point where it was worth resurfacing, though. She'd always really wanted to do that... Felt like she was close to a breakthrough, too. You much into science, Lloyd?"

"Er... Magical things are more my skillset."

"Never hurts to have hobbies, though. I mean, I'm not gonna put a bunch of effort into anything, but... Having ways to pass the time is a godsend, y'know?"

You nod.

"Weird to think about it, Kia being an empress... I mean, she's always been like a big sister we never had to Welles and I, but... She really takes after gram."

"How so?"

"She's got a good heart, good head on her shoulders, could probably rip a guy in half... I dunno, though, she's not as... Fierce as she could be, or even as aunt Eva could be."

"Well, I don't... Know any of these people."

"Yeah, that's a fair enough response. Just good to talk sometimes, y'know?"

After a nod and a moment of silence, he asks. "You have any brothers, sisters, the like?"

>A. You were an only child
>B. You had older siblings
>C. You had younger siblings
>D. You were a middle child
>E. That's too personal to answer

>>43513692
>D. You were a middle child

>>43513807
"Yeah, I had a... Big sister, little brother. Wasn't that close to them, or, uh... Anyone, really, besides Leigh."

"How're they these days?"

"Dead," you say matter-of-factly, unsuccessfully attempting to sound unfazed by this.

"Well, then..." Eyven shakes his head, "yeah, that's gotta be the worst. Can't say I know your exact deal, but... I know that if something happened to Welles, I dunno if I could get over it."

"Wait... Why're we talking so personally like this, anyway?"

Eyven shrugs. "All harmless information, says I... Oh, hey, wait, who's there?"

"I don't see-"

Just as soon as you start saying that, you notice what he's talking about. A wyvern and a horse are being ridden nearby, growing closer.

>character limit, continued next post

>>43514039
Finally, as they approach you and Eyven, you see the people riding them as they dismount. A tall, lithe young woman with curly blue hair and a red headband steps off of the wyvern and pets it. Off of the horse steps both a rather old-looking woman, long-grayed hair tied into a short ponytail, looking as though in a perpetual state of "too old for this shit," and behind her a much younger woman in rather plain armor, removing a helmet to reveal short, messy green hair, bright eyes, and freckles.

"Oh, hey, you actually made it."

"But of course!" The blue-haired wyvern rider declares. "We said we would be there, and I'm not about to start breaking promises."

The older woman is next to speak. "I trust everyone else made it to Gravern safely?"

"Yep, no problems there, Lady Yvette."

"Oh, man..." The green-haired one-assuming the blue-haired woman is Shea, this one is Jolie by process of elimination-says, looking around excitedly. "This is... I'm so honored to be here..."

"You've been invited to a very important funeral, Jolie," Yvette scolds, "show some restraint."

"Eh, don't make her start now," Eyven says, winking and chuckling, "she might run out of misery by the time the main event actually begins."

"Who's your friend?" Jolie asks.

"This here's Lloyd," he responds, "part of the escort I hired out to get Welles here safe. We've buddied up pretty good in the last five minutes, I think. Part of Marrius' Group."

Yvette frowns. "Then why isn't he protecting your brother?"

"Asked him to hang out with me while you guys showed up. Anyway, Lloyd, here's Princess Shea, heiress to... Well, all of Neir. This is Yvette, one of their most decorated knights, and the new girl's Jolie. She's new."

"And honored to be a part of... Everything."

>A. Honor to meet them all
>B. Pleasure to make their acquaintances
>C. You don't care
>D. You're speechless
>E. Write-in

>>43514096
Renewed time limit, unless someone replies before this goes up.

>>43514096
>A. Honor to meet them all

>>43514449
"It's... an honor to meet you all." You bow a bit, not sure if that's the correct gesture, but not wanting to risk your head over under-honoring. You don't like the look on that old lady.

"Hey, thanks for looking after cousin Welles," Shea says with a smile. "Really, I'm sure Eyven's told you enough, but... Yeah, thanks. And if we don't see them before this is up... Relay that to your buddies, alright?"

"Oh! I can do that! Tell me what to relay, your highness," Jolie says, brimming with enthusiasm.

"Well... Guess you should be passing the time with someone during the service," Shea says. "Lloyd, introduce her to your friends?"

"Uh... Sure, yeah. She not allowed at the funeral?"

Shea shakes her head. "Grandma specifically said she didn't want us wasting resources on an extravagant funeral, even if she's the empress. Just something quiet, intimate, with her close friends and family."

There's not much more worth saying about the rest of the afternoon and evening. Jolie hangs around... Pretty much all of you but Ansi, who is off somewhere the whole time.

Welles and Eyven have your quartet of mercenaries staying at a rather nice inn, the castle of Gravern Keep not really receiving any guests who don't fit the "friends and family" criteria mentioned earlier. Jolie shares with the three of you stories about Yvette, and how absolutely psyched she is to be working with someone who was so close to Empress Alexia, so loyally served King Garrus, and was even one of the mentors of none other than Ellen.

The funeral is a sad affair, you're sure, but you weren't exactly there.

>To be continued next thread
So we didn't get back to Elza Oasis in this thread like I thought we would. Maybe if we'd moved the thread along faster we would've, but I don't mind stretching the arc over one more thread as it is.

Thanks for playing. As always, you can find us on Twitter @qmgrandflocto, check out http://ask.fm/qmgrandflocto, or just talk in-thread for a little while.

>>43514641
Thanks for running.

>>43514705
Thanks for playing.

>>43514721
Thanks for running. Sorry, I was a bit occupied today

>>43514928
Same here, honestly. It shows in the writing quality near the middle of the thread, I think, but I think I picked up the quality again when they got to Gravern.

>>43514641
Sorry, i was out drinking through most of this thread, but it was good nonetheless.