2nd Adventure: Proxy War (Archive)

Once the trip has started, we'll do a time skip for when we get to Zelk. However, I know some of you might want to have private sessions to interact with certain NPCs; if you still do, just contact me on Steam, and we'll arrange something. Or you can just do it on the forum if you prefer.

We then go to the private RP session.

Instead of sending for her, Konrad comes tell Fedler that he would like to speak with her in his quarters.

She is surprised by this, but she nods at him. "Okay, sure. Let's go." She follows him.

When they  get inside, he asks, "How how are you doing?"

It takes a moment of reflection before she can answer him. "It's a mixed bag," she reveals. "On one hand, we fought many battles that could have killed us. On the other..." she looks at the couch, "...I'm getting used to it. Why do you ask?”

"You seemed preoccupied during our trip. I was worried that whatever was on your mind might give you difficulties on the job if not...dealt with. Your actions have allayed my concerns though. I am curious though, as to what was on your mind at the time."

She takes a step forward, puts one hand on her hip, and says in a flat tone, "You're a pirate. You killed and pillaged for profit. And I have to work with you."

This shocks him. He straightens up and leans back just a tad. "What makes you say that?"

Deception
Pretending that this statement shocks him

The redhead rolls her eyes. "Come on Konrad. The first meeting we had with Zelk and her squad, she let it slip that there were two ex-criminals in this adjunct. You were named captain of a privateer ship, albeit temporarily, had a vendetta against a pirate named Kira Paddle, who you must have slept with at some point since she's your type, tried to force your way through the monks back on the island, in their own home, and you have a scar on your body that screams 'pirate'." She then stares at him to see if he's still going to pretend otherwise.

He chuckles to himself at the mention of his scar. He pulls out his pipe, and begins lighting it. "You live such an idyllic life, don't you? To never have seen someone a sight worse than what you normally see in that backwater village, and there's plenty worse than me. But fine, I'll play along. Where to start..."

She frowns at the word "idyllic".

"After all, I deserve a fair trial, do I not?" It’s still his casual persona, with a playful attitude toward this..."conundrum".

"Sounds like you already had a trial, since you're working for the Coins now,” adds Fedler.

He chuckles a little, and puts his pipe to his lips. "You may be right; anyway, the monks. I really would have charged right through them, I only wanted to get to Kira, who I will admit I had a vendetta against. And type or no type, though I don't see how you could assume that, a gentleman doesn't kiss and tell. And lastly, the privateer ship - that belongs to the Coins now, if I'm not mistaken, and the crew were hired on to pretend to be pirates, being freelancers themselves. And who better between all of us to play the part of captain? Not you. Certainly not Breeze. Mihai...you know him best, don't you? He's one touchy fellow, although he does mean well. There's no one better at the game then Steve, but he is a bit young for the part and a little starry-eyed to do it justice. Which leaves me. I'm the most level-headed, the right size, and and the most accustomed to violence, having been a full-fledged member of the Coins for quite some time already. And finally... I never alluded to the truth of the fact,or any lie otherwise, that I had ever attended my own trial."

He blows a ring of smoke.

Fedler sighs. "I'm not here to pass judgment on you Konrad. As long as you are on the Coins' leash, I'm fine with where you are right now. Just one thing..."

The red mage waits.

She takes another step forward, and calmly tells him right in his face, "If you ever hurt an innocent, or intentionally put this group in danger, I will take that pipe of yours and shove it down your throat. That's before I burn the other half of your face. Got it?"

Konrad sighs. His playful attitude drops, his friendliness drops. ”No, you're not here to judge. You have already judged, ergo you are here to threaten me. But yes, we are crystal clear on all of that."

"Good." Fedler is taking a few steps back. "If you ever want us to be friends, it'll take more than a few smiles Konrad. I hope you want to. Breeze likes you quite a lot, even if she knows you're a pirate, so I'll also give you a chance."

"Well," he blows a smoke ring, "anyway, you did well out there, and I'm glad we had this talk."

She raises an eyebrow, genuinely curious. "Are you now?"

Konrad blinks. "...Excuse me?" Should I not be?

Fedler puts her hands on her hips. There’s no aggression behind her next words. "I'm just surprised anyone would be glad to have this kind of conversation," she states. "I'm not. I don't take pleasure in threatening people."

"Well, now we each know where we stand, and now I want you out of my cabin, please. I am in no mood to entertain anyone in my private quarters at this time."

As she turns around to exit the room, Fedler waves her hand as if to brush-off Konrad's displeasure. "Yes captain."

Konrad has been experimenting with weaving for the last few hours. The subjects of his experiments, raspberry-scented candles, are now lit, while the normal candles have been blown out some time ago. It’s now night time, and the vessel is approaching Zest’s Gate. He hears someone knock on his door, and he goes to open it.

He finds Naomi standing in front of him. She doesn't have her armor on anymore, and is instead wearing a normal dark blue tunic and black pants. "Konrad," she says. "Can we talk?"

He moves so she can come in, and closes the door behind her. "Oh, you want to talk? I'm surprised. Really, I am,” he says with sarcasm, and no feigned sincerity.

"I can leave if you prefer."

I may prefer it someday. "We can talk."

She naturally approaches the couch, and after some hesitation, decides to sit on it. Not wanting to discourage Naomi from why she came to his quarters, he sits next to her. The young woman initially appears uncomfortable, but she tries to ignore it, and focuses instead on what she came to say. It's almost like she rehearsed it. "Last time we spoke, I was too harsh in my choice of words. You are who you are, but that didn't give me the right to talk to you like that. I'm sorry."

Konrad leans back on the couch and sighs. "Okay. I accept your apology. I appreciate you saying that. But what does that change? What's different between us now?"

She's leaning her arms on her knees, and turns back to look at Konrad with unease. "Maybe we can talk without there being any sort of tension between us now."

"Really? I wasn't aware that it bothered you."

"Well, it did," she replies, and then turns to face forward. "It shouldn't, but it did." She stands up. "I'll leave you alone now."

He stands up and grabs her hand. "So what? I shouldn't feel this way, but I do. Yesterday you say you don't want anything else to do with me, and yet you come here just to say a rehearsed apology? Because you don't want the tension to bother you? Tell me why it does. Tell me why you're really here."

That question causes mixed feelings to Naomi, and she doesn't seem to realize he's holding her hand. "I don't know. Okay? It just feels wrong to talk to anyone the way I talked to you, especially when you started to look at me like if I hurt your feelings. So I came to clear the air."

It takes Konrad a few seconds to process what she's saying. When he does, he embraces her with his other hand and kisses her. He doesn't stop, relinquishing the initiative over to her.

For a short moment, she kisses back, but then pulls away from him. "No, not like that. Sounds like a repeat of what happened to my mother." She closes her eyes and shakes her head.

Konrad holds her head in his hands, just above the neck. "When have I ever hurt you? Lied to you?" He stops. He has kind of lied before. "In a way, I'm glad. I can drop the pretenses around you. I don't have to pretend to be different." He sighs, and drops his hand down to her shoulders. "This would never work, would it? I'm trying to force something between us that would just...float to the bottom of the sea."

She stays silent, her eyes focused on him. "Konrad," she finally says, softly. "You're right. It would never work. I fight for my country and my friends. Who do you fight for, except yourself?"

"I fight for myself, yes. I also fight for friends. But, this is a fight I cannot win." He closes his eyes and releases her from his grasp. "Go."

She stands there for a short moment, until she turns around and walks towards the door, leaving Konrad alone.

Steve is playing chess with Breeze. They’re in the galley, and Breeze is clearly winning. Mihai walks up to them. "Hey, can I talk to you for a minute?" He sits down.

"Can it wait? I've almost clinched this epic loss,” replies Steve.

"...I guess."

Steve moves a pawn. Breeze smiles. She moves the rook, and the young mage realizes she had him just where she wanted this whole time. "Next turn is checkmate; or the one after that, if you're smart enough!"

She looks down at Steve, triumphant. Mihai watches absentmindedly the chess board. More zoned out than usual.

"Um. Maybe this one?" Steve moves his king.

"You know you put yourself in checkmate if you do that, right?" asks the fairy.

"Oh. Maybe here?" He moves it to a different square with the same problem.

"There is no shame in surrender Steve..." she tells him with a smug face.

"You don't have to be so smug about it." He moves the king back and stares at the board in silence. Steve has six pieces left. He moves a pawn.

Mihai stares absentmindedly through the table; probably into the bottom of the ocean. Breeze immediately walks on the board, and pushes her tower into position; thus putting the king in checkmate.

"Hmmph,” says Steve. “I think I almost had you that time. Let's play again."

That causes Mihai to snap out of it. "Hey, I needed to talk to you."

"Huh? Aren't we talking right now?"

"This is... I'm gonna ask you something personal."

"...Okay."

Mihai looks at Breeze. "It doesn't leave this room."

The fairy is happily walking on the board, putting the pieces back in place. She looks up at her friends. "Yeah, sure! I'm good with secrets!" She turns her attention back to the task at hand.

Mihai looks at Steve with a serious expression. "Sorry if I am prying too much, but... during the first year at the Citadel, were you ever allowed outside the Isolation room? Even for just a minute?"

"They are allowed with the other Cursed children in two to four weeks. It depends on how much progress they make with the training."

Mihai looks into space, considering something, and then squints. "Thanks."

"Worried about Yen?"

"Just... thinking about something. Too soon to tell if it'll mean anything."

"Well, okay then. If you have any other questions about the process feel free to ask."

Mihai looks at Steve with mild surprise. "Uh... thanks. I'll try not to intrude on you too much, but for now that's all I needed to know."

"I don't mind. You know...you can talk to me and stuff if you want. You don't always have to run off with Fedler."

Mihai chuckles at that. "Thanks, but i don't think I’ve been doing it for that long."

"Just saying."

"I know."

"Okay then. Ready to go again Blue?"

The fairy has just finished putting the pawns back into places. "Yup! I won't go easy on you this time!"

"Well there is something you should know Breeze."

Mihai keeps staring absentmindedly through the table.

"I'm not actually left handed." He moves his pawn with his right hand as if that will make any difference whatsoever.

The little woman puts a finger to her lips, amazed by the revelation. "Oh! I see. Good move Steve."

The young mage winks at her, and Mihai lets out a slight chuckle, having caught that from some corner of his mind.

Mihai has just left the galley, and Breeze is on the process of crushing Steve at chess.

"Hmm. Maybe if I do this?" He moves the pawn two squares, leaving himself open to the en passant rule. "Hey Breeze, a thought just occurred to me. What do you know about the other fairies in Zest's Gate?"

Breeze immediately takes advantage of Steve's mistake. "Oh, nothing!" she replies. "I haven't met any fairy that wasn't one of my brothers or sisters."

"That's what I thought. I was thinking, since we technically aren't on mission anymore, how about we go visit them? Would you like that?" He moves his remaining knight to threaten one of Breeze's bishops but completely misses the fact that her queen can take it without trouble.

Once again, Breeze happily walks on the board and takes the queen with her. "Yeah, I want to!" she tells him. "We'll get to play all sorts of games. Maybe they even have a dance choreography they could teach us. My brothers and sisters wanted to create one, but I left before they did."

"Do you guys dance for fun or is there some deeper meaning in your culture?" He moves his king forward for no strategic gain whatsoever. In fact, that move just shortened the game significantly.

That question leaves her perplexed. "Uh? No, it's just for fun! Oh, I want to dance with other fairies. It's been so long... I can never dance with tall people like you." She moves another piece forward.

"Oh yes, imagine if the tall person was uncoordinated. They could seriously injure their fairy companion." After careful consideration he moves his remaining rook from one side of the board to the other for no discernible purpose. "We wouldn't be able to fly either."

"Oh, good move," comments Breeze. "Yeah, that's one of the reasons I want to meet them! I hope they're funny. We should go see them tomorrow though. They'll probably be asleep when we arrive. Then it's fun time!" She makes a little dance as she takes Steve's tower in her arms and removes it from the board.

"That was? I mean of course it was. I'm getting the hang of this. That is a thing I'm doing." He moves a pawn exposing his king to a check next turn. He smiles. "I also think that's a wonderful idea. I hope we can make lots of new friends."

"Right!? We'll also get to eat together, visit their home, and fly around the city! Well, you can't fly, but we'll wait for you. It's just sad that we won't be there for even a day." Breeze moves her queen. "Check."

"Oh, that's bad, right? I'll move there." He makes the only move he can legally make but it's clear it was more of an accident than a confident and considered move. "I think if we ask Konrad for more time that he'd hook us up. I'm sure there are a thousand good and legitimate reasons a captain can have for staying in port for two or three days."

Her eyes grow wide. "Really? Really, really!?"

"Of course! We can ask him right after the game if you want."

"Yeah!" She starts to fly around the galley, happy. "Oh right." She moves back to the board, and puts Steve in checkmate.

"Oh, that was fast. This one didn't take nearly as long." He laughs, good-natured about the whole thing.

"Now, let's go ask Konrad!" She puts the pieces back into place, which really doesn't take long. "Let's go!"

"Fine with me." He is content for her to lead the way. He's already thinking about getting the fairies some tea cookies as a present.

After searching for Zelk for a few minutes, and asking her squad mates, Steve finally learns that she is in her cabin, writing her report in advance. He goes to knock on her door and waits politely for her to answer. He can hear a chair being moved, and footsteps. The door opens, and Zelk is now standing in front of her fellow mage.

"Oh, Steve,” she says.

"Hi. I heard you were working hard. Did you want to take a break? We could go for a walk."

Zelk raises an eyebrow. "A walk? On the ship"

"Sure. Walking from here to the hold and back should help loosen up those neck muscles of yours. I don't mind giving you sexy massages but you wouldn't be so tightly wound up in your shoulders if you'd change your routine a little."

She considers the proposition for a few seconds, but then shakes her head. "I'm not going to walk back and forth in the ship's hold, Steve." She sighs, and opens the door a little more so he can enter. "Come in."

"That's good too." He cheerfully enters the cabin, and sits on the bed. "I take it, it's not going well?"

She goes back to her chair, and glances at her report, which consists of a moderately large stack of paper sheets. A lighted candle atop the desk creates long shadows on the walls of the small cabin. "No, it is not. I only hope they take me seriously."

He says sadly, "I hope so too. Snicker and the kraken are real threats. Who knows what kind of mischief they'll get up to," and after a moment of thought, "or if they are the only ones of their kind. Imagine if the kraken spawns."

"I don't even want to think about it." She looks at her report, and then back at Steve. After some hesitation, she picks up the sheets of paper, stands up from her chair, and sits down on the bed, next to Steve. "Here," she says, handing the document to her companion. "I'll need you to read it and sign it."

It occurs to Steve she is only pretending to need his signature, and only wanted a reason to sit beside him.

"Zelk, what is this?"

"My report. It details everything that happened."

"Is this...something you need me to do?"

"...No." She is embarrassed now.

"I'm not trying to embarrass you. I know it isn't easy for you to show your feelings. If you need me to sign this, I'll do it."

Zelk puts the document on the nightstand. "Forget it, I shouldn't have bothered." It is difficult for her to look directly at him.

He takes her hand. "I...was never good at telling you either. I remember you had this beautiful red scarf. You gave it to me remember? And I gave it back?"

"...Yes. I did it to distract you while I tied your shoelaces together." She relaxes a little.

"That's right. I meant every word I said about it looking good on you; except I didn't say what I really meant. It set off your eyes most splendidly. That was when you became the prettiest girl ever to me and I didn't tell you that. I always wondered, did you tie my shoes together because you had that in mind already or was it for not being honest with you?"

The compliment makes her blush, but his question catches her off-guard. She stutters before she can answer. "Uh, it was... I don't know." She looks down at her feet, still holding Steve's hand. "Both I think. You were insufferable. Still are."

"I...know. I don't think like other people do. It makes it hard to fit in. It always feels like a bad choice. Do I stay true to myself and alienate some people always or do I stamp it down and try to act like other people do?"

These words seem to have an effect on Zelk. "...I didn't think about it this way."

"Well, how do you think about it?"

"I just didn't," she says, a little bitter. "I just know that being near you distracted me, like a few days ago. I let it slip that Konrad was an ex-criminal, and Fedler confronted me about it. She's not mad, but... I should have been more careful."

"Well, she isn't dumb. The more time we spend around him the more of his true colors show. There's darkness in him that I didn't really notice until this business with Kira. I've never seen someone hate another person so much. But that isn't really what I was asking about. How do you deal with it Zelk?"

She thinks about how to respond to that, as it isn't an easy question. "...I act like the others when I need to. I just don't know how to act with you."

"Do I...make you uncomfortable?"

"You didn't this morning." She looks at his hand, and squeezes it. "I'm just not used to... that."

He squeezes back. "I'd like to change that."

It appears she feels more at ease now. "Usually, I would kick you out of my room by now," she tells him, amused.

He smiles. "Yeah, that's true. By the way, my rump thanks your boot for not doing so."

"As it should." She slowly leans in for a kiss, with some hesitation. He meets her halfway and returns the kiss.

Once she pulls away from him, she keeps her head close to his, and he can still feel her breath on his face. "...We should stop now before we go too far. I know you well enough to predict that."

He's breathing hard too. "Do what you want the way you want to. If you really want us to fuck like rabbits after a date in Highwind then that's what we'll do. We promised each other, remember?"

Zelk thinks that Steve misunderstood what she meant by that promise, but she's too captivated to point it out.

"You've always been tactful," she replies. "But we're not waiting until Highwind. Zest will do. I choose the inn."

He groans. "As wonderfully amazing as that sounds, I have plans with Breeze. She wishes to visit her people and I promised I would go with her."

"So what? She won't let me have you for one night?" She gently nibbles on his lips.

He groans again, though mostly in pleasure. "I honestly have no idea. I wouldn't be surprised if they held a party. If they are anything like Breeze we'll have to meet everyone and then learn a dance, high-five everyone at least 5 times, and have awesome and silly conversations about whatever pops in our heads. You should come. I think it would be fun."

"Fine, I'll join you." She's slowly making her way down his neck. "But I am not waiting until Highwind."

He groans one last time. "Take whatever you want. I'm yours."

She chuckles, and then approaches her mouth to his ear, and whispers to him, "Get down on your knees."

"Oh my."

The ship is approaching Zest’s Gate at night when Mihai gets on deck. He sees Breeze sitting on the handrail, and tells the redhead he’ll be there in just a minute. When he approaches her, she turns to him with a big smile.

When he approaches her, she turns to him with a big smile. "Mihai! Look!” she motions to him, and points with excitement at the city. “There's lots of light coming from Zest!"

"Yeah, sure is,” he replies. "Hey, there's one thing that came to me all of a sudden. Remember that letter, that was all soaked in dried blood? You said there was something off about Jacob. How he used a scribe, and whatnot."

"Uh? Yeah, sure. Why?"

"Could he be a fairy?"

"Uh?" She then laughs out loud. "Why would a fairy be giving orders? We're too fun for that!" She then takes many fighting stances, just like the monks did when they fought. "See? Awesome!"

"Well, you were the one who said there was something you couldn't figure out. And needing a scribe? What other reason could there be?" He thinks for a second longer. "Unless he's something like Snicker."

She winces at his name, just like how a child would when they're told to eat their vegetables. "Nah! I don't want to be working for meanie people! We're the good guys!"

"Me neither, but you're the one who said the handwriting was off. I couldn't make sense of it either, so just think about it for a second. If he was, and took over someone's body to write that letter, or just influenced them somehow. Would it give you the feeling it did? Is it possible?"

She puts her finger to her lips, a gesture Mihai recognizes as an indication that she is thinking about something she didn't consider before, and then answers without any sort of hesitation in her voice. "No, I don't think I could recognize it."

"Oh, okay."

"Eh, Fedler!" She happily waves at the redhead who just snuck upon Mihai.

"Hey Breeze," says Fedler. "Did he invite you?"

"Invite me?" repeats the fairy. "To what?"

They both face Mihai.

"We're gonna check out the moving statues,” he responds. “Wanna come?"

"Yeah!" Her wings rapidly grow out of her back, and she starts to float besides the power couple. "We should take the others with us!"

Mihai shrugs.  "Sure."

"No!" protests Breeze. "You gotta smile when you say that.” She flies in front of him, puts her hands on each side of his lips, and pushes up. "Like that!"

The rest of Mihai's face stays deadpan, which makes for something a little eerie as the smile is forced out of him, but he doesn't resist. Instead, he just blinks at the Fairy, and says, "Hfinhf fun?"

Fedler comes to Breeze's side to examine the result. They both ignore his question. "He could use a bigger smile," comments the hunter.

"Oh, like this?" asks the little woman, who pushes the corners of his lips even further up.

Mihai takes his own hand to Fedler's face in retaliation, only his attempt is much softer. "We're gonna start a tradition if this goes much further,” he teases.

"Yeah, tradition!" almost shouts Breeze, who then proceeds to play with Mihai's cheeks and eyebrows now. Fedler can keep a deadpan face only for a few seconds before she starts laughing.

Mihai starts to get a little uncomfortable, and to Breeze, "Whoa hey, aren't you getting a little excited there?"

"I'm just getting started!" interjects the fairy, and she redoubles her efforts.

Mihai patiently waits for her to stop for a few seconds. When she doesn't, he inhales through his nose, hardens his face muscles, forces the air into his lower jaw and makes the fat face.

Fedler and Breeze both laugh out loud. Fat Mihai holds the expression for a few seconds, and then swiftly holds out his hand for Breeze to shake. She shakes Mihai's finger. "Nice to meet you!"

"Okay, fine, that's enough out of the two of you," interrupts Fedler.

Fat Mihai disappears as his face relaxes. "Well, you looked like you were enjoying it," he teases.

"Maybe," concedes Fedler. "Come on, we're almost there." The ship crew is preparing to dock.

"Yeah," he agrees, glad to get away from the embarrassment.

"Oh! Yeah, we're almost there!" exclaims the fairy. She then sits back on the handrail to admire the city. Fedler and Mihai leans on the handrail, right next to her.