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Post by Deleted on Jan 1, 2016 20:13:14 GMT -6
Although she was a little sour over the hidden info,Thana gave a genuine smile, unseen by the world. "Sounds like my kind of place."
Thana gazed over his shoulder into the distance. The town was rather breathtaking, as a romantic novel would say. The kind of place rimance novels took place. Of course, Thana wouldn't know, she would never read such raunchy material.
Thana popped her neck with her hands. She gave a devious smile full of wild excitement and untamed malice.
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Post by empireoffire on Jan 2, 2016 22:56:25 GMT -6
"If I could control the weather, I would've dispersed the fog a lot sooner than it did," said Gareth. "Would've kept both our schedule, and our cabin." He leaned back on his seat. "But no. I specialize in Burst magic. Blowing stuff, and by extension people and animals, up. I do most of it by enchanting my weaponry -- hence how much gear I carry."
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Post by GX1997 on Jan 13, 2016 22:53:30 GMT -6
Eden only had a split second in which she could see the ice cracking and ultimately collapsing before it actually happened, and she knew that both she and Orion would fall into the crevice regardless of what she did. Out of pure instinct she dove into the center as it collapsed and reached out for Orion with one arm and grabbed his wrist while working on manipulating the snow with her other hand. She swirled the snow around below them, allowing it to take on a very slow, gentle motion intended to soften their impact and lower them safely to the bottom of the crevice. In the hand she was using for magic she held Orion's staff, and so as she could see they were seconds from hitting the snow she held it out and tried to channel as much of her magic through it as possible, hoping it might produce some sort of field that might take the sting out of their impact. All of that seemed to happen in a moment and she wasn't sure that she was seeing it as it happened or seeing it through divination and then repeating it subconsciously, but she was keenly aware of the spike in magic power that was even causing her hair to more or less float and her eyes to glow brightly, and making those feats possible. Through the odd, hazy feeling the came with the mix of her divination magic with the increased power she managed to call out Orion's name desperately and hoped he could still hear her.
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Post by Neo on Jan 14, 2016 13:24:48 GMT -6
Orion's eyes slowly fluttered open, and as he regained consciousness, he immediately noticed three things. The first, miraculously enough, was that he was still alive. Aching and sore, but alive. The second thing he noticed was that he wasn't cold, despite having fallen into a literal pit of ice. In fact, he was quite comfortable. He was laying on his back, tucked into a large sleeping bag, with tent walls surrounding him, keeping out the cold. He recognized the tent as being the same one he bought back at the Outpost. The third and final thing he noticed was that he wore only his pants, and his chest was lightly- and expertly- bandaged. Just outside the tent he could hear the sound of a flickering fire, casting shadows over the walls and ceiling. One shadow in particular made him smile; the shadow of a young woman sitting by the fire.
A second later the tent flap parted and Eden walked in, the relief etched on her beautiful face as clear as day. She knelt down beside him, and for the first time, Orion noticed his staff and their supply packs propped up against the wall behind her. In a surreal moment of clarity, he realized just how familiar this scene was. It was just like when Eden first woke up in bed at the Inn, after he rescued her. Except now he was on the other side.
Smiling, Orion reached up to gently cup her cheek in his palm. "... Life has a strange way of coming full circle, doesn't it? You would make an excellent doctor, Eden."
He closed his eyes. "Forgive me. I never wanted to drag you into this. All of this is because I was too weak... Too weak to do what had to be done."
I understand now. I understand why I failed. It takes more than just emotion; it requires an unwavering commitment. At the last second, I faltered. Realizing what it would mean, what the price for permanently freeing myself from the Witch's control would be, I couldn't do it... Not if it meant breaking my promise to you, Eden...
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Post by GX1997 on Jan 18, 2016 22:18:19 GMT -6
Eden, desparately wanting to avoid a conversation about weakness and forgiveness while she was still struggling with those things herself, turned away from Orion slightly and tried to steer the conversation elsewhere by replying to his earlier words. "Caring for others has never been one of my strengths."
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Post by Neo on Jan 19, 2016 17:10:18 GMT -6
Orion gently brushed Eden's hair away from her face and smiled. "And yet, here I am, alive and unharmed because of you, Eden."
He dropped his hand from her face, then gently took her hand into his own. "Let's try to get some rest. That's all we can do for now. Tomorrow, we'll try to contact Cenric and look for a way out of here. Did you bring your sleeping bag, Eden?"
------
Senna sighed and draped her arm wearily over her face. "Yeah, I guess that was a dumb question, wasn't? So Burst Magic, huh? I know of it, but I haven't seen it used in a long time. It's actually a pretty rare type of magic."
She rolled over onto her side to look at him, just as the train started moving again. "Where did you learn it?"
------
Knight set the bike down on the outskirts of the small fishing village- well, small compared to most port sizes- and offered Lady Thanatos his hand. When she refused, he merely withdrew his hand and removed his helmet, revealing medium length spiky black hair, dark hazel green eyes, a tan, sun-worn complexion, and a prominent scar across the bridge of his nose, the faded white contrasting sharply against his otherwise dark skin. His features were sharp and handsome, but he also looked like he had seen one too many bar fights in his day and it gave him a weathered, world-weary look. He appeared to be in his late twenties, early thirties, but there was a glint in his eye, something to how he looked at the world around him, that implied he had seen far more than more than most people. It made him look older, wiser.
Leaving his helmet with his bike, he guided Lady Thanatos into the town proper, which was bustling with fishermen bringing in their daily catch. The open market was in the middle of being set up, and there was a sense of festivity in the air; people rushing to and fro, excited children flitting about the square, paper lanterns being hung on the roof of every house.
"There's a festival tonight," Knight explained, noticing his companion's expression. "It's the annual Festival of the Sea King. Every year, the town gets together to celebrate the sea and the simpler things in life. We arrived at the perfect time. We can stay for the festival tonight, and set out for the island tomorrow."
As they walked through the town, and people greeted them and waved, it truly began to become apparent how secluded this village was, how removed from the rest of the world it was. It was almost like stepping back in time, to an earlier, simpler age. Most of the houses were either wood or simple stone. The most modern thing they had was basic light lacrima to light their houses, and not everyone even had that. They didn't need it.
On the way to the docks, they passed a large stone fountain in the shape of a giant sea serpent, which Knight explained was the Guardian Deity of the village, the Sea King. There were many small fishing boats rocking in the gentle waves, but there was only one sizeable ship in berth, a merchant's vessel by the name of "the Maiden's Squall." Knight knew the owner quite well.
"Why don't you go take a look around town, my lady?" He asks Lady Thanatos, stopping and turning to her. "There is a lot to be learned from this town, from how the people live here. Watching them can give you insight into many things. Once I've arranged passage for us to the island and booked us rooms at the inn, I'll come find you."
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Post by GX1997 on Feb 7, 2016 18:02:16 GMT -6
Eden remained silent for quite a while before she answered. "Yeah. I brought all my supplies."
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Post by empireoffire on Feb 7, 2016 18:24:47 GMT -6
"From some guy," replied Gareth simply, as if that explained everything Senna wanted to know. "Didn't really think it was that rare, though."
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Post by Neo on Mar 23, 2016 22:40:02 GMT -6
Orion nodded silently and rolled over onto his side, facing away from Eden. Leaving the sleeping bag halfway unzipped, he closed his eyes.
We really are so alike... So why is it I can never seem to convey my feelings to you? Maybe... Maybe this disaster is a blessing in disguise. This might be the perfect opportunity to help her understand... And to understand her better. But why does something feel... Wrong?
He grips the inside of the sleeping bag tightly in frustration for a moment, then sighs and relaxes. "Goodnight, Eden," he whispered, his voice barely audible, and then all was silent, save for the flickering fire and the muffled roar of the wind high above.
------------
I sense it... A candidate. But for which Key?
The goddess of the night stepped of the mountain peak and plummeted down towards the ground far below, her arms spread wide, almost as if she were trying to embrace the earth itself. She fell to the earth like a meteor, a mass of darkness congealing around her, like night was falling from the heavens. She raced towards the ground, and her objective; a single, solitary train snaking across the landscape.
The Key is irrelevant. All unknown candidates must be erased.
When Artemis touched the ground, a ripple of magic power was felt by every wizard in every guild across all of Aselia. It crept up their spines like an ominous shiver, the kind you get when you're alone at night in the wilderness and hear a strange, unfamiliar sound, or hear a twig snap in the bushes behind you when you're sure nothing is there. It was a subtle feeling most ordinary wizards would have attributed to an unusually cold breeze. But some wizards, those extraordinary few, recognized it as something more, like an ill wind blowing in from the North. And even fewer wizards understood what that ill wind meant; it was an omen of the dark, a herald of the long and cold night that would inevitably follow.
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Curiosity flared in Senna's eyes. "Is that so? I'm only curious because one of my close friends and subordinates is a user of Burst Magic, and besides him, you're the only one I've met in Aselia who uses it. Where did you say you were from again?"
Before Gareth could answer, Night descended, and the sky outside became an unnaturally pitch black, like all light in the world had suddenly gone out. The train screeched, and one by one, the Lacrima Crystals lighting the train began to flicker and die, blanketing everything in an abrupt, impenetrable darkness. Even Senna was stunned and slow to react.
"What... What's going on?"
She rose to her feet and fumbled for the lacrima she kept in her satchel. She brought it close to her lips and whispered a quiet incantation, and the crystal blazed to life, turning into a torch of white light in her hand. She cast the light about the room, and just as the train began to slow to a halt, and muffled cries of surprise and fear went up outside the room, she turned to the window and stopped. She watched as a sudden layer of frost began to cover the window, and outside, she caught a brief glimpse into the night, illuminated by her torch. There, out in the middle of the fields, stood a young woman in a blindfold. Her skin was as pale as moonlight. Around her, the grass seemed to wither and die. And as the train slowly glided by her, she appeared to smile and flicker, raising her finger to her lips. She mouthed three silent words, and Senna's eyes widened. Then she was gone, and the train lurched to a stop and there was a thud on the roof, followed by a deafening silence.
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The Cracked Tower, seat of the Magic Council, at the edge of the world...
Thirteen cloaked figures sat upon thrones of varying height, centered around an ornate oval table. The tallest throne was empty; its owner instead stood hunched over the table in the center.
"A little girl once asked me a silly question," Magnus said, an odd gleeful note to his voice. "Why thirteen?"
He straightened his shoulders and turned around, with outstretched arms. "Gentlemen and ladies, the Star of Nebilim has descended. We have much work to do."
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Post by empireoffire on Mar 24, 2016 1:05:36 GMT -6
Gareth was caught off guard as the train screeched, lurching forward to the ground as the locomotive was thrust into darkness. Cursing silently to himself he, propped himself up to a sitting position and took one of the glass bombs equipped to his belt. As Senna created a torch, Gareth made an improvised light source of his own by enchanting the sphere. The white, mist-like energy within the glass glowed brightly. It paled in comparison to Senna's torch, but it did a good enough job.
Gareth stood back up as a thud of some sort hit the roof and the train finally appeared to have halted.
"What now?" he grumbled. "This is the worst train I've had the pleasure of riding."
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Post by Neo on Mar 26, 2016 1:11:32 GMT -6
To Challenge the 5thActing on pure instinct, Senna tore off her cloak and whipped out her twin magical rapiers, and in a single fluid moment, as fast as lightning, she raised her swords in front of her in a defensive stance and materialized a large nullification seal around her and Gareth. That instinct saved her life, and likely Gareth's life too. A massive blast of black and green darkness tore through the train and slammed into her with crushing force. Senna's seal held up momentarily, as it clashed with the blast of unknown magic, but before long she was overpowered, and the seal shattered like glass. The blast obliterated an entire section of the wall behind them, and both Senna and Gareth were thrown backwards through the gaping hole in the train and out onto the grassy plains, colliding with the ground several feet away. Between the soft grass breaking their fall and her seal absorbing a significant portion of the blast they were able to get up from the impact with only a few bruises. But that relief didn't last long. The train exploded and was ripped in half before her very eyes, and a series of chain reactions turned the train into a pillar of smoke stretching into the sky. Out of the smoking ruins stepped the young woman Senna had glimpsed before. She was tall, just over six feet, and built like a gymnast; slender, but lithe and muscular. Her steely blue hair fell freely around her shoulders, and her long bangs dangled over a black blindfold that completely obscured her eyes. She wore a shiny light blue sleeveless shirt, dark blue jeans with ragged holes in them around her knees, and worn white sandals. Small silver and gold earrings styled in the shape of a crescent moon dangled from her ears, and she bore what appeared to be a guild emblem on her shoulder; a white scythe with a closed eye beneath the crook of the blade. "Oh? You nullified part of my attack? Interesting." Senna's eyes widened in disbelief as she stared at the wreckage of the train. There were no sounds of life. No screaming for help, no crying in pain, just silence. A-all those people...Senna's disbelief turned to pure, unadulterated rage, and a gigantic white magic seal exploded outwards beneath her, reaching several hundred yards in diameter. A great aura of magic energy shot up around her, and her eyes became wild and crazed. She clenched her swords so tightly her hands shook, and grit her teeth so tightly her jaw trembled. "Y-you MONSTER!!! I don't know who you are, or why you're here, but I swear I'll make you pay for that!!!! Those... Those were innocent people!!! You'll pay... You'll pay, you'll pay, YOU'LL PAY!!! I'll kill you!!!" Senna charged, and a sonicboom erupted behind her, decimating the ground in her wake. However, she charged right through the girl as if she were made of air, and the girl's image fizzled and vanished. With a level of control that belied her crazed state, Senna immediately came skidding to a halt and whirled around, as the girl reappeared high above them, seemingly floating in mid air. "I see... You're quite a bit more powerful than I calculated. If that had been really me, you might have actually injured me. How... Unexpected, how thrilling. All the more reason why you cannot be allowed to live. A Candidate with your level of power is a threat to our plans. You inquired about who I am, and why I am here. I am Artemis, the Fifth Pillar of Eternity and Goddess of the Night. And I am here to erase you from existence." Unsure whether "Artemis" was merely boasting or not, Senna turned to Gareth, wild eyed. "You said you wanted a strong opponent, right?! I think this qualifies! If we're going to defeat her, I'm going to need your help!"
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Post by AlmosDug on Mar 26, 2016 1:12:07 GMT -6
Turning away as the guildswomen gave their reports on what they had found, Verala let her plant fade away, shrinking back into a seed, albeit an impotent one, like a bomb's casing. I need to decide where I'll have the stamp placed that would match what I'd said, but at least they won't bother me for now.
A sideways glance and a forced smile popped out from the thief as she turned towards the approaching shaman. Seeing the woman's nature magic again, and hearing her lineage, brought her full attention to Rosa, and a genuinely interested and friendly smile to her lips. "An impressive family, I take it? I'm Amaryllis, if you did not hear earlier. Fun to meet you. Will you be the one helping me get settled?"
"Vallast will be calling us soon... That's all the rest we have, though. Wild gir-goose chase, incoming." Aldous blew a strand of hair away from his face as he stood around, glancing up towards Hecate's room with concern apparent in his eyes. Atticus sat beside him, stuck in thought, though his expression had greatly relaxed in comparison to his earlier blush.
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Post by empireoffire on Mar 26, 2016 18:10:07 GMT -6
Gareth tumbled and rolled as he and Senna were blown out of the train. He looked back and cursed under his breath as seeing the train wreckage behind him.
Crap. I was wondering how things could get worse.
Gareth's attention was then taken by a lady with a moon motif appeared. As Senna attempted to assault her, Gareth looked around. He dropped his white orb in the explosion, and noticed the sturdy thing glowing a couple feet away. Gareth heard the moon girl talking, and glanced up to see her floating in the air. Gareth pulled his facemask up and his hood down as he grabbed a green orb . He dug it into the ground as he picked himself off the ground and brandished his sword.
Gareth positioned himself slightly as a wild-eyed Senna turned to him. Saying something that was probably meant to convince him to do something. Not bothering to listen to her finish, Gareth crouched and jumped as he mentally detonated the green orb, creating a tornado of wind that propelled him high into the air directly at Artemis (as that's the part of her monologue that he didn't tune out). He held his sword out, intending to impale her as they crashed.
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Post by Golurkcanfly on Mar 26, 2016 20:33:33 GMT -6
"Hey." Grigori poked the others to wake them up. "Hey, we need to find the lovebirds. C'mon, wake up."
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Post by Neo on Mar 28, 2016 2:12:53 GMT -6
Velia's eyes snapped open, and she rose to her feet, looking around. Her eyes instantly narrowed, and she quickly moved to wake Cenric, who took a little more coaxing.
"Wha-? Vel, it's the middle of the night. What's going on?"
"Orion and Eden have disappeared. I need you to try and reach them."
Cenric's eyes widened in alarm, and he immediately began to call out with his telepathy. After a couple minutes of silence, he shook his head furiously in frustration. "Dammit...! Something is blocking me, Vel. I can't reach them."
Something? Or someone? "Could Orion be the one blocking your telepathy?"
Cenric bit his lip, unsure. "I don't know... Maybe. To be honest, I really don't have any idea how deep Orion's powers go, or how many types of magic he can use. But why would he prevent me from contacting them and not answer my calls? It doesn't make sense."
Velia's eyes flickered with knowing amusement, and Cenric's cheeks lit up like firecrackers once he caught her meaning. "Vel! If they wanted to be alone, surely they wouldn't... There's a blizzard raging outside for crying out loud!"
Velia gave a light laugh and patted Cenric on the shoulder, before sobering and turning back to Grigori. "Did you see anything? Where they might have gone, which direction, when they left, anything at all?"
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The image of the goddess fizzled and faded away once more, and she reappeared even higher in the air several yards behind Gareth. All around her the sky darkened, and she raised a single arm above her. "Ancient Tower of Babel, come forth."
The ground beneath Gareth exploded in a gigantic explosion, and suddenly, Gareth was sent rocketing into the air at impossible speed, higher and higher, as the light from the explosion turned into a giant white tower reaching to the heavens. Carried by the Tower of Babel, the world grew smaller and smaller, until Gareth found himself floating amidst the stars. A dark purple mist swirled above him, turning into a hole in space, a tear in the dimensional divide. Giant green claws reached out from beyond and gripped the sides of the tear, prying open the dimensional rift with brute strength. Next emerged a single glowing red eye, and the thing from beyond growled, a growl too terrifying to describe. What appeared to be black tentacles suddenly shot out from the tear in space, restricting him, while the portal widened further and further, until an unfathomably huge maw of gigantic teeth appeared, followed by the even larger head of the gigantic demon. The demon reached out from the portal to swallow Gareth whole in its massive claws.
------
Senna's eyes widened as she looked up and saw Gareth unmoving, floating in the air while trapped by a mass of dark purple energy. W-What kind of magic is this?! Illusion Magic?!
"Damn you!!!!"
Her twin rapiers began to glow a vibrant blue, and several dozen spears of ice materialized around her and shot up towards the floating goddess. The temperature suddenly plummeted as Senna stabbed the ground, conjuring a giant mound of solid ice that carried her high into the sky at great speeds, straight towards her opponent.
Artemis, meanwhile, easily obliterated the spears of ice with a single blast and conjured what appeared to be a bow made entirely of darkness. She immediately aimed her bow down at Senna, and a giant celestial arrow of glowing white light materialized. Artemis drew back and fired, unleashing a powerful beam of swirling white and black energy. The celestial arrow exploded from the bow with such force that it sent a shockwave rippling outwards, even pushing the wielder of the bow back several feet.
Senna leaped off her pillar of ice, using her High Speed magic to propel herself towards Gareth, just as the pillar exploded in a blinding blast of white light. Squinting against the light, she snatched him out of the air and hurled one of her rapiers down towards the ground, creating a series of icy steps to carry them safely back down. Still trapped in a black mist, Senna gently set Gareth down on the ground and rose to her feet, as the self proclaimed Goddess of the Night readied another divine arrow.
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Post by Golurkcanfly on Mar 28, 2016 16:16:18 GMT -6
"I only just woke up and noticed they were missing, and I don't know how long ago they left so we might not be able to track them in the snow..." Griggles looked out from their shelter into the blizzard. "Do you think we should set out, or try and lead them back here with signals?"
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Post by Neo on Mar 30, 2016 16:01:45 GMT -6
"We'll try using a flare," Velia answered cooly, sitting back down against the cavern wall. "But that's all we can do for tonight. Between the darkness and the blizzard, sending out a search party now will accomplish little more than endangering the rest of us, and that's something we cannot afford. We will search for them at first light. However... Our main priority is still our mission. If we cannot find a lead within a couple hours, we must move on."
She retrieves the flare from her bag and holds it out for Grigori to take. "Try shooting it at an angle, not straight up. Keep watch for no more than half an hour, and if there's no sign, try to get some rest. Worrying about the unknown won't help anyone. That goes for you too, Cenric."
He nods silently, and Velia sighs and closes her eyes.
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Post by empireoffire on Mar 30, 2016 19:04:05 GMT -6
As Gareth touched down at the ground, he couldn't help but bear a near-delirious smile behind his facemask. He relished in what his trembling body was feeling... The rush of excitement... The adrenaline coursing through him... These feelings were exactly the kinds of things that make everything else worthwhile.
Gareth blinked. Right. Focus. There's a bad guy to fight. What happened just now? One second he was charging for an attack, then the next, he was taken to space where he was bound by tentacles as a monster brought it's maw down onto him, only to suddenly find himself burning as he re-entered the planet's atmosphere and fell back down to the ground in a strangely gentle manner as opposed to the bloody crash landing one would expect. None of that made any sense... Which meant none of it was real. What was going on, exactly? Is this an illusion? A dream? When did reality stop and the imagination begin? Was the trainwreck real, at least? How do you break this magic? What would happen if he slapped himself really, really hard right now?
*smack*
Gareth shook his head as his vision refocused to the dirt floor in front of him. Gareth quickly looked around to get his bearings. The first thing he noticed was that Artemis person readying an arrow.
I sure hope this is real right now.
Gareth quickly bolted up, leaving his sword on the ground. He quickly reached back to grab his bow and an arrow from his quiver. The arrow wasn't pointed; instead, it held a yellow orb. Gareth briefly touched it, causing the inside of the glass orb to cackle in electricity. He pulled the arrow back, quickly targeted Artemis, and fired.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Apr 1, 2016 12:03:37 GMT -6
"Hopefully, i can be the one to show you around," Rosa said. Rosa then made her way to Vallory and asked her a question. "Hey Val, could i show the new girl around please?" Rosa begged.
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Post by SummerCrow on Apr 2, 2016 17:03:11 GMT -6
"Of course, dear, go right ahead. That's a wonderful idea," Vallory tells Rosa. She turns to Sounders. "So, what's the plan?"
Sounders shrugs. "We won't hear back from the Vallasts for about a few more days. And I have a sneakin' suspicion they won't be too keen on helpin' us out, dig? So here's what I'm thinkin'. We know Wattle used to be rockin' out in Lilyville, and they're still jammin' in a small town. So I guess the best place to start's Lilyville and spread out from there, beat the street and see if we can turn up anything, yeah?"
"That's not exactly a detailed plan..." Vallory mutters. "A lot of legwork, and no guarantee it'll pay off."
"Open to better ideas, Val."
"Well... What does everyone else thing?" Vallory asks the others.
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