Graded [Goldcrest Village] The Grandmaster of Goldcrest

[RavenSong]

This story takes place in the world of Isekai Hell following the journey of Zeke and Loke (and whoever else) on their quest for instruction from one of Rykens finest Grandmasters: Iwamoto Keiji.

RP Listenings:


Location: Southeast of Ryken; Goldcrest.

Getting word from various sources, Zeke in his search for a way to imbue his current body with that of his previous incarnation, eventually led him to this remote village. The outskirts of Rykes southeastern foothills are dense and slightly more humid than other places around Ryken, mostly due to the geography and various vortexes which are rumored to produce the purest forms of mana. Goldcrest, the home to a simple peasantry whose daily activities revolve around agriculture and leading a life of immense moral discipline. While under the rule of Ryken bureaucrats, it is the peasant warriors who defend it. Officials find themselves constantly at odds with the dwellers of this resource rich land. With little success in the field of industry, the nobility shares its power with the peasant autonomous council.




After an arduously long journey, the party would stand at the entrance of the village. They’d notice the pristine and lush vegetation and the atmosphere inspired a sense of peace. During this time in Goldcrest, there appeared to be an ongoing festival of sorts. Warriors and spectators alike would make the journey from far and wide to put their skills to the test against the elites of Goldcrest. As the party walked into the village, vendors offered their food and other wares and services. But the main attraction and purpose was the various teachers and their students displaying their techniques and weaponry. While other groups trained in unison, making the ground rumble and their fierce battle cries echo through the mountains.

Among those conducting their demonstrations a fierce looking warrior would eye the party. “Hey you!” He called with a demanding finger. “You’re not from around here are you?” His question was more like a statement as he rose from his stool. He had the bearing of a teacher as his mean student fighters would follow in his wake. Spectators and other martial artists would turn their attention towards the growing commotion. “I challenge you to a fight..” he said as he eyed Zeke up and down, sizing him up. “..against my best student.”



His attention would turn towards another, as he made himself known approaching Zeke. Without a word, his eyes formed a scowl as he opened his stance in the middle of the courtyard. The crowd began to murmur. “He won’t accept.” “Come on! He’s weak!” “20 rykes on the newcomer.”




Stella, with open wings stood on Zekes shoulder, only recently having come into the world her eyes widened with awe. “W-whoa!” She exclaimed as she observed the massive architecture. “Zeke, where are we?!”
Her little front claws clutched onto Zeke's shirt as she took in the various faces, and the smells! Oh the smells! “That smells so good! Let’s go get something to eat!” She begged as her wings flapped, hovering her scaly body above Zeke's head. Unfortunately for her Zeke was on a mission, but her pouting was interrupted at the sudden demands coming from a smelly uniformed man. She tilted her head, before it became a glare. “H-hey! That’s no way to treat a guest! Maybe you should be inviting us to dinner…. sir!”

The teachers eyebrow twitched at the star dragons remarks but other than that was ignored.

Stella looked around as people in the crowd muttered many things before bringing her face to Zekes ear. “Zeke.. l-let’s get out of here, something tells me these people won’t play fair.”






NeramoDJI

 

[NeramoDJI]

Zeke "Mors" Valdain
​

Zeke was slightly impressed by all the scenery around him, something of note for a primitive planet like this one. But he guessed that could just be him getting too used to being stuck on one planet. The scenery was starting to grow on him. Anyhow, this place was something he'd heard of from one of the crew, since they traveled quite frequently, and he figured that if he planned to make a name for himself, he'd need to get back to fighting for himself. And if he could find someone to train him, he'd get the hang of fighting in this ape descended body much faster than if he tried to move his insectoid techniques here. So, that left the issue of finding someone who could train him to a style he actually liked using. Preferably something to utilize his weapons of choice. But of course, beggars cannot be choosers, so he would have to settle if he couldn't find anything and train the two weapons separately. "Looks like some kind of martial artist town Stella." He answered the dragon, reaching a hand up and giving her a pat on the head.

Zeke turned slowly to the shouting instructor, tilting his hat up a little bit as he grinned. "Aye?" He had a feeling this would just be annoying, but he decided to hear him out. Might be fun. He listened up to the man standing, snickering a bit at the challenge. "Bit odd to be challengin' some lad you've never seen before, but I'll 'umor ye." He said, speaking with a purposefully deep accent, looking over the student.

He glanced at Stella, chuckling a little bit. The small dragon already had grown on him, and he didn't particularly mind, her and Loke were the two he felt he could trust in, though, Loke seemed more loyal to the prospect of money. So in the end, Stella was the more trust worthy of the two, but not too say he wouldn't trust Loke, but he knew what the highest bidder type was. He was one himself after all.

"It's fine Stella. You just watch and learn." He said, gesturing to his opponent. "I'll propose a rule, we make an arena, and whoever leaves that circle loses automatically. You can decide the rest." He said, deciding that was how he wanted things to go, since he already have a plan in mind. And if these folks agreed to that rule, they lost already. He needed to test his skills to see where he was at as well, so he'd know where to start with training.

 

[NebulaBlossom]

Loke wasn't entirely sure what he was expecting out of this trip. He himself wasn't skilled in martial arts in this life nor his previous one. Though as a caster by nature, there could be merit in putting efforts towards learning how to dodge well. In his short time with the crew, he had already become something of a right hand to Zeke though he felt a far cry from being a first mate. Zeke was clearly a dedicated Captain though and a cynical profit-seeking healer likely wouldn't make for a good second in command.

The scenery here was beautiful. The majestic serenity of the area was especially refreshing after being in Shal. He hadn't dyed his hair again since they had left so the pink was beginning to show through again. Eventually, the color would all fade out.

His musing was interrupted by the shouting. This seemed to be a marketing ploy to show off the teacher's ability as a mentor. Effective and straightforward. Zeke seemed interested in the idea. "Stella, you can use my shoulder if you want." She used Zeke's shoulder often so he figured he'd offer. She was a nice dragon, albeit a young one. Though even as he offered, he hoped not to get challenged himself. Really all he was good for was healing magic and planning. Perhaps he could find someplace to study magic more as unlikely as it seemed. Regardless of what happened, he would find a way to make the most of this trip.

 

[RavenSong]

Listens:









The teacher looming over Zeke grinned impishly as if looking into the eyes of a lost kitten giving a shrug. “We challenge whoever we wish here.” There was clear malice burning through his eyes towards Zeke. With no other apparent reason than to display their martial prowess. The murmurs grew as more and more people called their friends to the growing tension unfolding in the courtyard.

The teacher looked towards Stella mockingly, “Yeah Stella, ‘watch and learn’.” He chuckled as he smiled through yellowing teeth.
The teacher would cross his arms hearing out Zeke's proposal, he pondered over it a bit before clapping his hands. His students would all suddenly scramble to appear behind the teacher, who would murmur some words at them, and at once they all hastily marked a 20 foot radius circle with powdered chalk. People would move out of the way and surround the circled space.

The prodigy student continued to stand in the middle, gesturing with his hand for Zeke to come forward. His stance was wide, his hands steady and his eyes focused and fierce. He was somewhat armored but nothing significant to stop the strike of a sword or shot. Perhaps he had other abilities to negate such attacks however.





Stella flinched at the smelly man's mocking tone. “You sir, need your teeth brushed!” She retaliated. But it was no use, whatever Zeke had planned included giving into the demands of this rotten toothed teacher. Before she could continue spewing further insults at the man however she turned to Loke and nodded then to Zeke. “D-don't get yourself killed just yet okay?” She said with a worried tone. He was everything she’d ever known so far, and she deemed it tragic should she lose him now. Stella would take up Lokes offer reaching out with her clawed hands, effectively now standing on his shoulder, she’d climb up to his pink haired head and leaned forward into Lokes face. “You know how to heal black eyes right?” She remarked as her big eyes looked closely into his as she tilted her head in wonder.

NeramoDJI NebulaBlossom

 

[NebulaBlossom]

Loke adjusted to having Stella on him easy enough. He smiled up at her as he moved out of the circle. “You bet I can. We’ll see if it’s needed though.” Now at the edge of the ring, he looked back to Zeke. The man probably had a plan and tended to have strange aces up his sleeves. Maybe he should ask Zeke in depth what he could do. Loke doubted he’d get a full answer but it was worth trying to figure out at least some.

Loke’s eyes trailed to Zeke’s opponent. They were certainly fit and had to have a lot of confidence in their ability to have so little armor. Challenging strangers when weapons hadn’t been explicitly banned took either confidence, or arrogance.

 

[NeramoDJI]

Zeke "Mors" Valdain

​

Zeke grinned back in the face of the martial artist teacher, finding this entertaining in it's own right. He decided to throw an appraise the way of the instructor and student, wanting to see if there was anything notable he could gleam from it. "Fun." He said simply, deciding to deal with this in his own way, keeping his hand on Stella's head, giving the dragon slow pets on her back and head, walking over so she could climb onto Loke, getting ready for this competition. "This to the death? Or just to surrender?" He asked as he approached the circle, standing within it, looking over at his potential opponent. "Don't worry Stella, I wouldn't bite the dust here in any case."

"Oh boy, all eyes on me. Looks like I gotta show off some." He hummed, a hand under his chin and one on his hip, before getting ready for the beginning of the battle, his plan slowly coming into his mind. This boy was either as good as he thought, or about to get embarrassed before his entire class. Of course, countering his blade or pistol mattered little in the way Zeke planned to win, grinning slowly, his fingers twitching a moment as he drew his blade with one hand, his other free to move as he needed for now.

His sole plan was making even a single point of contact with the boy. The moment he did, was the moment the fight was over. He only needed a single touch to activate his Banish technique, which either meant the boy forfeit, or he got blasted in the side of the head by a flintlock should this be a battle to the death. "Ready when you are boy." He said, taking his own stance, similar to his last life, with his hand in front of himself and his blade at his side.

 

[Lulidew]

Orrius
​

After days of travel, the carriage Orrius was in finally came to a stop in the village of Goldcrest. He was a stowaway who had hidden himself in a crate atop a merchant's carriage, for the sake of running away from home. Somehow, the merchant never noticed him in there, even when he had been enjoying some of the food on board. His legs were stiff from having crouched in a ball for such a long duration, but to him it was all worth it. He could never return back home. Never.

Suddenly, he heard rattling as the merchant started unloading his goods, which started to get his heart racing. He nervously bit on his fingernails, wondering of what the merchant could do to him. Would he call the guards and have him sent to prison? But just then, the merchant stopped his unloading as another person's footsteps seemed to have gotten nearer.

"What? An arrogant newcomer in this town facing against one of ours? Ooh, I guess unloading can wait. I'd love to see this rookie get his ass beat!" Orrius heard the footsteps fade away as the merchant left. This was his chance! The boy carefully lifted off the lid on the crate, before scrambling his way out of the carriage. He then glanced left and right, hoping no one had witnessed him, before nodding to himself and continuing on his way. He had done it! He was finally in a new town, far away from home, as a free man!

He took a deep breath of fresh air, before taking in his surroundings. There were groups of martial artists, training together and crying out with vigour. A line of merchants who had their wares out on display, consisting of food, weapons, and even some strange scrolls, possibly ones for martial arts. There were also huge mountains off in the distance and a lot of vibrant greenery. Just where in the world had he arrived in?

A large crowd had formed in the courtyard, supposedly the thing that had drawn the attention of the merchant earlier. Orrius approached the crowd out of curiosity, tip toeing and trying his very best to watch what the commotion was about. He then caught sight of an unknown creature perching atop a stranger. Letting out a yelp, he fell backwards onto the floor.

"Dra... dragon?!" He widened his eyes at the creature in disbelief, rubbing his eyes as if he were seeing things.

 

[RavenSong]

Listens:


Location: Goldcrest; Courtyard.





The suspense seemed to rise, as the crowd began to cheer the fighters on. It was quite the scene, as people started to climb on others to get the best view of the challengers.


Zeke appraisal would garner some information about the challenger, although there were a few [???] and the same for [titles]. It would reveal some kind of ancient technique related to dragon magic. Furthermore Zeke's appraisal would reveal to him he was blind, but was able to see through some other means.

The student's teacher grinned as he stepped away from Zeke, ignoring Stella but shutting his mouth immediately and stepping towards the outside of the circle behind his fierce pupil. The other students looked on with solemn faces, some newer members were even anxious as they had trouble figuring out who exactly Zeke was. He was dressed strange to a people so tucked away from civilization. And some might have even had doubts about taking on this newcomer, noticing Zeke's very own confident stride.

The silent challenger looked in Zekes direction with immense fury, suddenly emitting a loud roar he began to ignite with blue flame. First emitting from his shoulders then completely overtaking his figure. He would suddenly charge towards the pirate and launch an explosive fiery punch straight towards Zeke's face. It was just in this moment that an unknown figure appeared in front of Zeke, intercepting the mighty blow by catching the student prodigy’s fist mid air with his open hand. The assailant gasped. “What?!” He exclaimed angrily and with disbelief.



The defender spoke softly. “I would have expected better from the famous dragon fighter Kenji, than to tarnish our festival with such an unpalatable display of foolishness.” Kenji spat at him but then the defender wrapped his fingers around the dragon fighter's fist before firmly twisting his wrist. Kenji's hand would audibly crack from the pressure as the pain forced him to his knee. “Agh!!”

“Your little game here is over now, Makoto.” The shadowy defender gazed at Kenjis teacher who was visibly seething with hatred towards the stern samurai. “This is not the way we do things here. Gather your students and seek opponents from other schools, not foreigners and spectators.”

The teacher Makoto, with eyes wide, a deep scowl and a vein that looked as if it might burst from his neck, would then approach the shadowy defender addressing him by name. “Soon, the grandmaster will die..” he started as he paced back and forth, his hands at his sides as if ready to rip someone apart. “..and there will no longer be anyone to back you up.. when that day comes, Hiroshi I will break you with my bare hands!”

The teacher would then call out to his students with a clap of his hands. Hiroshi would then let Kenji go once he saw that the other students were taking their leave. Holding his wrist in his hands he gave one final look at Zeke, “This isn’t over.” He said before darting off with the others, following their footsteps.

Some in the crowd would boo and shake their heads in disbelief. While most of them would just disperse, whispering disappointments and muttering about how that fight could have gone.

Hiroshi, the defender, then turned towards Zeke and approached him and the others. “You’ll have to forgive them travelers. This festival, at times, spurs into action petty emotions of ambition from lesser schools who choose the way of cruelty instead of discipline." Hiroshi would bow his head lightly. “I am Hiroshi, as one of the council, I welcome you to Goldcrest. What brings you to our serene village?” A gentle smile would draw upon his face. He seemed immensely composed and collected, with an air of leadership upon his frame.

No one turned to look at Orrius, although his yelp did attract some glances towards himself and Loke. Dragons in this culture were protected and revered. It wasn’t uncommon for some to befriend them, or adopt them. Generally, as long as the dragon was treated with respect and exercised its free will, it was accepted.



Stella sighed at Loke's words. “Well, good..” she responded quickly. “Wouldn’t want a bruise on Zeke's pretty fac-“. Her words were suddenly interrupted by a yelp, to which Stella tensed and flapped her wings. “Dragon?!?” She exclaimed. “Where?!?” She clutched onto Loke, frantically looking up into the sky and scanning her surroundings. It wasn’t long before she noticed the boy on the ground just next to Loke. Noticing his petrified look,she tilted her head both left and right looking at him a bit anxiously. “Hey! Who are you calling a dragon?” A genuine look of concern enveloped Stellas expression in her own draconic way. “Who are you?” She asked as she pulled on Loke's pink locks, beckoning him to notice the boy on the ground.

NeramoDJI NebulaBlossom Lulidew

 

[NebulaBlossom]

A lot happened in that would be fight though not much of it made sense to Loke. This Hiroshi seemed to have quite the reputation with the teacher though. His strength was certainly on another level by stopping the student assailant so easily and even causing harm to him. Loke would have offered to heal the student but he made himself scarce along with the rest of the school. Ah well, a profit opportunity lost.

Loke’s attention was pulled to Stella upon her startled behavior. “What?” He looked up, searching the sky for a dragon with her before he realized she was probably the dragon being talked about. Before he could say anything though, she was tugging his hair to direct his attention to a young man next to him. “Hey! Not so hard!” He reached up to get her to let go before turning his attention to the newcomer. “You okay?” Loke held his hand out to him in offer to help him up.

The poor kid looked terrified though Loke couldn’t blame him. The trio probably made quite the spectacle with Stella and their strange clothes. He figured he could leave the samurai to Zeke for now while he handled the kid.

 

[Lulidew]

Seeing how everyone was indifferent to the dragon, Orrius felt like he had just exposed himself being an outsider here. This was dangerous! Would they have him arrested? Orrius shuddered at the thought of it. However, he did notice that the stranger was dressed differently from the other villagers and had odd pink hair. Perhaps they too were not from around here themselves...

The dragon creature and the tall stranger responded to his sudden outcry by scanning the skies in search of another dragon, which left Orrius with more questions than he had answers. The dragon could speak human language? The duo then realized what he meant, while the dragon continued on to question him. It seemed like it didn't enjoy being called a dragon, maybe it was a different kind of bird species he had never seen before.

"I'm sorry for offending you, umm, weird, dragon bird thingy..." He voice trailed off, realizing that he still didn't know how to address it. He then lowered his voice, so that only the duo could hear him. "I'm nobody. I'm not from around here." He decided to answer her truthfully, hoping she wouldn't take offense to his reply. The tall stranger then reached his hand out to him, asking if he was okay.

"Oh... yeah..." Orrius hesitated for a while, before accepting his hand and helping himself up. He wasn't used to having people treat him kindly in any way, so he was naturally distrusting in others. However, now that he was left all alone in this world, he had no other option but to find new allies. Seeing how they were in the middle of something, with an important person seemingly addressing them, he asked, "what's happening here? Who are you people?"

 

[NeramoDJI]

Zeke "Mors" Valdain

​

Zeke saw the flame crawling up the boys arms, getting a sense that he could see through that dragon magic, but it made no difference, if Zeke could survive that ball of flame that left his skin charred and broken before, he could handle some boy in over his head. With that, a small pulse of divine energy coated Zeke's hand, prepared to send the boy to Heaven the moment he got close enough, since then he would technically have left the circle. However, just as the clash was about to begin, the man stepped in, with Zeke hopping backwards out of the way.

He watched the exchange between the men without speaking up himself, simply sheathing his cutlass, waiting for them to be finished. However, when the boy, Kenji as he was called, began to spit a threat directed at Zeke, every pirate bone in his body was screaming to grab his flintlock and lodge a bullet in the back of the boys head, but he couldn't do that here. Not with this many witnesses. So instead, he simply sat there with a smug expression, shaking his head as the man turned to him with an apology.

"Oh don't worry lad, I've had worse experiences of hospitality. Everyone has those ne'er do wells among their ranks." He said, deciding to speak with his full vocabulary once more now that those who were there before had left. "The welcome is appreciated friend. Truthfully, I've come here in search of learning techniques myself. See, I'm a rather inexperienced combatant, and I plan on doing quite a bit of travelling, so I've come to look for a teacher who can help me reach my own peak faster than I could get there myself." He explained, figuring if there was anyone who could help him find what he was looking for, it would be this man in front of him.

"I have a group with me, just over there." He said, gesturing to Stella and Loke, only just now noticing the young boy before them, sighing a bit as he saw they'd found their own little stowaway for the journey. "In any case, it's nice to meet you Hiroshi. My name is Zeke."

 

[Scholar Ya]

Davina Solon
✺
​

Atop a nearby rooftop of one of the buildings situated in the courtyard sat a girl with striking hair the color of light violet and eyes that matched perfectly. Said eyes watched curiously upon the scene unfolding below them. That Makoto fellow.. was really one nasty guy. In more ways than one. Was dental hygiene not a focal point in Goldcrest or was it just him not concerned about his teeth? His little student, Kenji was also rather unpleasant. But that really wasn't unexpected. After all, as the saying went, birds of a feather flock together. She happily slurped up her chewy noodles from the wooden bowl in her lap as the pirate-looking man and Kenji faced off in a thrilling showdown.

Her gossipy mood was on the high right now. Who would win? Pirate man or the dragon fighter boy? This was so much better than watching Korean dramas! However, the sudden turnaround of the situation made possible by the mysterious appearance of an unknown figure almost made her drop her chopsticks. Ah, who was that? Had a new challenger joined the fight? She leaned her body forward as if to try to catch a slight bit of the conversation happening below. Unfortunately, she was met with extreme disappointment as there was nothing but mumbled sound being carried by the wind.

Being so high up was great for watching from afar, but not so much for sneakily listening to ongoings on the ground. A few slurps later and Davina noticed something was amiss. Her noodles.. were almost gone! It seems like she'd have to get a refill later from Madame Pou back at the inn. Though that could come later. For now, she'd keep watching until her interest dropped. She still had missions to accomplish. Had it not been for the rumors saying that there was a powerful magic user residing in Goldcrest she wouldn't have been here in the first place. An annoyed look settled on her face. She had been here for four days now and there were no signs of progress at all.

The locals were nice enough but once she got to the topic of the magic-user nobody seemed to understand what she was talking about. It was like she had started speaking another language mid-discussion. Either they were hiding something or that person truly wasn't here and she was wasting her time in this place. The entire thing was frustrating.

 

[RavenSong]

Listens:

OOC: Interact with the world or with each other as much as you like, otherwise the party moves on.



Hiroshi would listen to the pirates' words attentively, nodding in agreement at his assessment when it came to uncouth people. He brought a pondering finger to his chin as he mentioned about training for the rigors of travel. Certainly many came to learn, but only few ever achieved the lofty goal of master. However it didn’t seem to the samurai this was his intention, so he made a note to inquire further.



After being introduced to the others, Hiroshi bowed his head towards them. He seemed amused at the little dragon on Loke's head but it was nothing he’d never seen before. She seemed happy enough.

Turning his attention back towards Zeke, he began. “I believe fate smiles upon you, Zeke. There are many here who could help you advance inany given style of combat. However, if you desire a deeper understanding, then..” he paused for a moment, thinking he might have gone too far in his helpfulness. “..then, there’s the Grandmaster.” Hiroshi would smile brightly and glance at the other three. “If you’re not too tired from your travels, perhaps you’d care to meet him? I’m sure your dragon is very hungry.” He said happily pointing at Stella. Considering the party had a poor experience in his village so far, he sought to make amends. The outlook of his village meant everything, since the nobility always sought to tarnish the good standing of the Council to those outside its borders.


Although a warrior of great renown, Hiroshi had a talent for hospitality. “Please, if you will.” The samurai ushered the group onward into the buzzing crowd. They started their way across the village behind the crowds of people that would gather along the main road into the center of the village. It seemed there was a parade in the streets now with costumes depicting dragons, and enactments of warriors fighting oni’s. Music echoed through the canyon, drums and various string instruments. Some vendors would hold up all manner of treats and snacks to the crowd in hopes of making a sale. Eventually martial fighters would display their techniques and acrobatics in unison. The crowds along the cobbled road would ‘ooooo’ and ‘ahhhh’ at the warriors' physical performances. Some would exhibit with staffs, others with swords, halberds and spears.

Meanwhile, at the rooftop adjacent to the courtyard, Davina would notice the party headed towards the other end of the village. It would be difficult to not notice since they were all dressed very differently than the common Goldcrest populace. Before long however, a group of men would come up to the same rooftop as Davinas with a few boxes - a firework show would commence right above Davina's head.

One of them would approach Davina, seemingly recognizing her. “H-hey! You’re that purple girl!” He said, pointing a finger at her in surprise. “You’ve been asking around for a magic teacher, I heard rumors that the Grandmaster has a special guest visiting from a secluded shrine nearby!” He scratches his head nervously, suddenly stuttering a bit, reducing the volume of his voice. “B-but you didn’t hear that from me okay?”



Stellas expression would remain concerned for a bit glancing at Loke then back at the boy, “yeah, are you okay?” Repeating Loke's words. Her concerned look would shift suddenly at the boy's description of her and began giggling, feeling playfully boastful she posed proudly on Lokes shoulder, “I’m not just any dragon.. I’m a star dragon!” Mimicking the sound of a trumpet under her breath. She’d climb back atop Loke's pink haired head, ignorant to Orrius’ name. “Well, pleased to meet you, noooobody we’re not from around here either! I’m Stella! And this here is my temporary shoulder Loke, and that over there..” she pointed in Zekes direction, “..is my pirate prince Zeke!” Addressing his other question she continued, eager to inform but began to stutter “We're h-here to find Zeke's inner child? No..no.. that wasn’t-...his inner warrior!”

The little dragon's stomach began to make noises. “Gee.. I’m so hungry..” she grumbled as she held her belly. “Hey..” she called to Orrius. “..do you have any food?”

NeramoDJI NebulaBlossom Lulidew Scholar Ya

 

[Lulidew]

Seeing Stella giggle, Orrius was relieved that the dragon didn't take offense to his words. She then continued to elaborate on how she was a star dragon, not a regular one, which didn't really explain much in Orrius' head, but he figured that he should start getting used to not fully understanding what was going on in this unfamiliar parts. At least they were friendly and they weren't going to try and kill him, for now...

Now that Stella had introduced the whole crew to him, he felt bad for not having given his name. "I... I did say I was nobody, but... I go by Orrius." The boy twiddled his thumbs as he averted his gaze to the floor nervously. He then laid his eyes on Zeke. An actual pirate? So... cool! And standing in front of him were his sidekick and pet? That just sounded like those adventures he would read in books! His heart was starting to race at the thought of it.

The dragon pet then asked him for food, which he responded by shaking his head. After all, he was a stowaway who just sustained himself on a merchant's food wares. He did have his emergency rations in his pockets, but those were for emergencies, and Stella wasn't an emergency.

"C... can I come along? I promise I won't be useless! I can uhmmm... make stuff go boom? I guess... haha..." He shrunk smaller a little as he finished speaking, realizing that they might just think of him as a threat and leave him to die alone in this unknown land.

 

[NeramoDJI]

Zeke "Mors" Valdain

​

Zeke grinned a little at the mans introduction, nodding. "It would be the first time in a while that it has. World hasn't been kind to me as of late." He said with a hum, nodding towards the samurai. This felt like one of those cheesy novels he knew humans wrote, a samurai, a pirate, and a dragon all walk into a bar and all that. He then raised an eyebrow at the mention of a grandmaster, grinning quite a bit at that. "Well, it would be very pleasant to at least meet this Grandmaster. Let alone if I'm lucky enough to get taught by them." He said, smiling a bit at how fortunate things had gone for him, glad he hadn't ended up shooting that boy earlier. Instead he nodded at the samurai's explanation, chuckling as the man mentioned Stella being hungry moments before she complained about hunger. With that, he tipped his hat a moment. "I'll be right with you. Just going to explain the situation to my entourage there." He said, bowing a moment with a quiet 'excuse me', before moving towards the group.

"So, already picked up a stray lads?" He said with a chuckle, greeting the group. He looked over the boy, seeing the sad state of him, the smallest of pities rising up, before he rationalized it by thinking the boy could be useful with the last thing he said about explosions. "You look hungry lad. Care to come with us?" He asked, figuring the boy had no parents or the like, since he likely wouldn't be in that sort of state of nervousness and hunger if he did. "You look like you've had quite the journey getting here." He mentioned, before looking towards Loke. "Hiroshi over there's offered us a chance to meet the grandmaster. Figure it's worth checking out, if nothing else getting a meal that isn't drowned in salt and dryer than a fire." He said, telling the other member of the crew what the plan was, before looking up to Stella. "Seems they've taken a special liking to you as well Stella."

 

[NebulaBlossom]

Loke chuckled at Stella’s introduction of him. “Gee thanks.” He reached up and patted her head before turning to Orrius. “It’s nice to meet you.” He couldn’t help but feel sympathy for Orrius, he reminded Loke of his own younger years in his past life. The days he wouldn’t know where his next meal would come from or if he was truly safe from what he ran away from.

Zeke’s approach pulled him from his thoughts. “Ah, Captain. This is Orrius, he got startled by Stella. Helping him up after seemed a small favor.” Loke listened to Zeke’s explanation of the conversation with Hiroshi. “Agreed. The Grandmaster though, that’s impressive. You never cease to surprise me, Captain.” He chuckled.

Loke wasn’t too worried about Orrius. Zeke seemed to like him already though explosions could make his own job harder. Perhaps looking into protective spells would be a more prudent course of action instead of illusions. “Perhaps the Grandmaster could point me to a support magic tutor as well. I may need to look into injury prevention support magic.” He thought aloud before he held his arm out towards Zeke in case Stella wanted to move, “I suppose you want your pirate prince instead of your temporary shoulder now?” Loke teased her with a grin, looking up at where she was still perched on his head.

 

[Scholar Ya]

Davina Solon
✺
​

The party of four- no five if one included the dragon that was proudly perched atop the pink guy's head, began to head towards the other end of the village, eventually disappearing from Davina's sight altogether. This signaled the end of the show and she sighed to visualize her disappointment. Well, what was there to do now? Melancholy settled over her as silence engulfed her. It was moments like these where she truly longed for home. She missed the antiseptic smell of the clinic and the white-colored walls, missed the comforting scent of her mother's lavender-scented perfume. In this world, she truly had no one. The name Davina Solon meant absolutely nothing to anyone. The grip she had on her bowl tightened. She would make sure everybody on this damned continent knew her name, one way or another. The sounds of footsteps and struggling quickly snapped her out of this state of glum, wisps of violet practically hitting her face as she snapped her head around.

There behind Davina, was a group of men carrying a few boxes up onto the rooftop. How they managed that was simply beyond her. She herself struggled to even get up here. Thus she knew it was no easy task. Surprise quickly overtook her once one of them, a relatively young boy, seemingly recognized her and pointed at her. No, more accurately her hair, that was. 'Purple girl' wasn't a title she was expecting to earn but it was a funny one nonetheless. She had to refrain from letting out a few quiet chuckles as he continued speaking. Davina straightened up unusually seriously when the boy had finished. Was this finally it? An actual lead? A special guest from a secluded shrine sounded mysterious. And being mysterious meant you were powerful! Especially if this person was to have said to been visiting the Grandmaster of all people. Hurriedly she pulled a couple of sliver Rykes out of her shouldered bag and shoved it into the boy's hands.

Davina knew he didn't have to share this information with her. Not at all. He could have gone about his business and ignored the weird violet-haired girl eating noodles on the rooftop. But he didn't. Had she not been slightly concerned for his safety she would have given him a few of the gold Rykes she had required through her healing services yet decided against it. What if he had no means of protecting himself and greedy individuals harmed him to take it? This was not her former country she was so familiar with and it was not wise of her to keep putting her modern ideals into everything. Thievery ran rampant in this world. It was just the disheartening truth. "Of course. It's merely a rumor I heard coursing through the wind. So don't you worry about a thing." She gave the boy a cheeky wink and let go of his hand. A moment passed as she thoughtfully tapped her chin before asking him a question. "I don't suppose you know how I can gain an audience with the Grandmaster?" If he did then she was surely going to slip him some extra Rykes. It would only be a fair trade after all.

 

[RavenSong]

“I’d be honored to take you to him.” Hiroshi bowed his head at Zeke’s request, as the pirate interacted with his group. He’d look at them as he spoke but would soon gaze out in the direction where the sinister martial artists had left. He felt an ominous feeling come over him. He made a note to investigate their intentions and whereabouts.

Once Zeke brought up the topic of food, he bowed once more. “You’re all in luck. There is a plentiful variety. The grandmaster is always fond of guests during these festive times.”

Once the party would come to an agreement, they’d follow Hiroshi out through the festive atmosphere. He’d lead them past the celebration across the village. Eventually reaching a great courtyard. Sculptures of dragons adorned the cobbled path into the temple.



Upon entering, two other samurai sentinels would bow. “Welcome back Hiroshi..” they would then notice the visitors, before one abruptly broke his bow. “Unfortunately this isn’t a good time to see the Grandmaster.” He said, scanning at the party then back to Hiroshi who looked surprised. “hm, it’s the festival, the m-” His trail of words was suddenly interrupted by a loud roar emitting from the room beyond the door. The samurai would gasp, clinging to the hilts of their katanas as a big crash echoed through the place. Part of the wall would glow with a blue hue before crumbling down shortly after, revealing a duel between two adversaries. The two guards stood there with mouths agape in surprise, not knowing what to do.


Master Yukito

Master Yukito, would perform quick gestures with his hands which would activate the various magic in his arsenal. His feet would begin to freeze where he stepped, as he exhaled a short icy breath. His silvery blue hair blowing in the mystic wind he just conjured. Suddenly opening his eyes Master Yukito would swiftly concentrate his magic into the form of a water serpent, firing it with immense force as a magic serpent threatened to eat the grandmaster alive.

He’d follow up with various forms of magic, composing of mostly water and ice. He roared with anger and cursed at the old man he simply couldn’t manage to even touch. Attempting every angle, every possibility within his extensive power only to miss every time. Meanwhile the old man chuckled, only fueling his anger. It had been years since he last dueled with his teacher, living a life of rigorous training and meditation secluded from the rest of society.



Grandmaster Iwamoto

“You see, using force only keeps you from hitting me. Flow Yukito, like a river, concentrate.” He’d say as he took a sip of tea with one hand, and appeared to wave his hand with another. He was effectively blocking some kind of water magic. “Yes, yes, yes very passionate! But I sense an ambition in your magic you must break free of.” He was immensely cheerful despite the fact that his assailant had every intention to hurt him, possibly even kill him.

He grunted some as he sidestepped, dodging various ice attacks with quick reflexes, and a flurry of enchanted hail. But would only move so little as icicles flew only inches away from him. Although he appeared elderly, he had the nimbleness of someone in his prime. “Ha! Good shot!” He exclaimed as fine pottery shattered, “Do you plan on destroying all of my furnishings?”

After a while, he noticed the visitors and laughed. “Ah! Welcome!” He said jubilantly before turning around to look at his opponent. “Very well, Yukito.. I believe we can both agree you have much to learn, off to your little cave now. Please come and visit me again, I look forward to it!”

The ice mage now furious would run up to him and attempt to strike him with his bare hands, to which grandmaster Iwamoto turned to face suddenly, swiftly touching his arm and just like putting out a candle with one breath, his magic instantly dissipated. The old man would sip his tea once more, but exclaimed in surprise. “Oh?! Would you look at that?” He said as he turned his tea cup upside down. “You froze my tea! Aha! Excellent, excellent work!” He’d then hand him the frozen tea cup and approached the party. “Welcome! Welcome! Please, have a seat!” Since most of the furniture was broken or frozen he gave one of his company a look and soon butlers and servants would bring chairs, tables and various other things. While others began to clean up the mess from the duel. Yukito stood in silent disbelief while he slowly followed after the grandmaster, holding his arm where he'd been disarmed only moments before.

“Its not often we host the festival, but when we do, Im marveled by all the new faces that come to our village. If you’re in Hiroshi’s company then you must be in need of something. What brings you to Goldcrest young ones and of course, the little dragon.” He’d smile as wrinkles formed around his eyes, although he was this villages most powerful warrior the air about him was humble, his mannerisms sharp, and his movements calculated.

——




Meanwhile, in the main courtyard.

The young boy gazed at Davina anxiously, it wasn’t until she walked up to him that made his eyes widen with surprise. His hands were starting to get clammy as she placed the money in his hand. He began to stutter looking for the words to say behind his blush after she winked. “R-r-right.. the wind.. of course, it talks..” before he could answer her next question he turned towards the others in his group which we’re calling after him. “Come on Kane! We need to set up the next batch, this crowd is not nearly ready for the grand finale!” The young boy Kane would turn around suddenly, and gave the one calling out to him the money he was just given. “Here, this will pay for my shift, I have to help this lady find her way into the grandmasters chambers.”

He would return to Davina and confidently continue. “I can take you there miss! I don’t know how exactly, but the grandmaster is a kind man. I’m sure he’ll listen to you.” He would take her by the hand and lead her towards the ladder the others had set up moments before, making their way down to the street through the festivities.



Stella

The little dragon would look at Orrius and nod happily. "Okay, Orrius it is then!" Quickly turning to look at Zeke she smiled proudly at herself, going back up to Loke's head to take in the spotlight. "Zeke! Look I found someone! He says he can make stuff go boom! Just what we need right?" Upon Loke extending his arm to pass her over back to Zeke, she climbed back down quickly and back onto Zekes shoulder, then looking back at Loke. "Aww, why the long face? Don't worry Loke, you're my faaaavorite temporary shoulder!" The little dragon giggled, but upon mention of the food Hiroshi was offering she became ecstatic. "Yes! yes! yes! Lets go eat!" Glancing down at Orrius Stella jumped up and down on Zeke shoulder. "Come with us Orrius lets go get fat!"

Upon mention of the samurai taking a liking to her, she blushed a little. "D-do they really?"

Upon arrival at the Grandmasters temple, Stella couldn't help but be amazed at the greatness of the buildings. "Whoa.. when I grow up, im going to be as big as that big building, you'll see! ill even spit fire! Wont I Zeke?" She wasn't saying it to make the conversation about her but her big imagination began to soar above the clouds.

After entering and suddenly being exposed to such a high level duel between the grandmaster and his most promising student Stella flinched, and flapped her wings with alarm. "Whoa! Look out for that ice Zeke!" She then scrambled to hide under his hat, peeking through the tiny hole at the front. Only coming out after the ice mage had been disarmed, end even then she was hesitant, what a strange world this was, and how sudden things could change. It made the little dragons heart race with anxiety. "H-hi grandmaster.. ohhh.. I almost expected you to also have gross yellow teeth."


NeramoDJI Lulidew Scholar Ya NebulaBlossom

 

[Lulidew]

Orrius face lit up when the pirate captain offered him to join them. "Can I... really...?" He found it hard to believe that they were fine with recruiting a kid who appeared out of nowhere. After all, apart from one person, there was never anyone else who showed much kindness to the boy. It was a first for him, and he couldn't help but suspect them for keeping him along just so that they could use or sell him later on. However, he decided to put his trust in them since they didn't seem like bad people. And as someone who'd spent most of his life begging for more food, there was no such thing as passing up the chance to eat more, especially when they offered to treat him! "I mean, I'd like to come along!" He nodded to Stella, who seemed keen on him coming with them.

Loke then mentioned that he needed to look into injury prevention magic, which Orrius felt responsible for. "You don't have to worry... My magic can target enemies specifically..." Orrius mumbled, while shifting his weight nervously from one foot to the other. He wasn't really confident about going into fights, but if they needed his magic he would gladly use it for them.

Arriving at the temple, Stella voiced her excitement on how big she would grow in the future. "Wow, that's amazing Stella!" Orrius replied in awe, taking her word for it as he didn't know much about her species. Upon entering, they were then greeted with a jaw dropping spectacle, where two masters were facing off with each other. Well, the battle was pretty one-sided with the grandmaster destroying the ice mage, but nonetheless Orrius watched on in excitement with his eyes wide open. So this was what a battle between mages looked like!

When the grandmaster was done with the battle, he welcomed them and offered them to take a seat. Orrius greeted him with a soft "hello", before taking a seat immediately, afraid of what the old man would do to him if he didn't.

 

[NebulaBlossom]

Loke chuckled at Stella's comment. "Well, that's very good to know. Thank you, Stella." He reached out and rubbed her head affectionately. Se had quickly grown on him since Shal and it felt nice to be liked by her for something as simple as his shoulder. It gave him hope that he could eventually relax around Zeke as well. Orrius's comment surprised him, "Oh, that's quite good to know. As you probably guessed, I'm the resident healer for Captain Zeke and his crew. Being able to selectively target with your magic certainly sounds useful. Perhaps a selective area of effect healing might come in handy... Hmm, this opens a lot of options for me to consider. Any thoughts, Captain?" If Zeke had any specific thoughts on where he should branch out his magic, he was certainly inclined to listen.

When they arrived at the Grandmaster's temple, Loke was certainly surprised to find an active fight occurring inside even if it was entirely one-sided. Both sides clearly had skill but the Grandmaster didn't seem to be breaking a sweat at all. Would a teacher of this caliber even think about taking them on as students? As the fight came to a close, it was clear only the student seemed to have taken any kind of damage, excluding the damage to the room of course. Loke looked over to Hiroshi who didn't seem concerned about the fight.

As the furniture was brought out, Loke didn't follow Orrius's lead of a quick seating. Instead, he looked to the Grandmaster. "Excuse me, will he need healing? If so, I can most likely take care of his injury." The man clearly posed no threat to the Grandmaster. If he could do this, he may earn favor with the Grandmaster which in turn could increase the odds of him helping them. He could forgo direct profit if it meant another benefit.

 

[NeramoDJI]

Zeke "Mors" Valdain

​

Zeke followed along with the Samurai, a confidence to his stride as he walked with a hand rested on the hilt of his saber, and the other letting Stella up onto his shoulder. He glanced at the group with him, nodding a little bit. "No issues here boy. Come along as long as you'd like." He said, grinning a little bit, petting Stella's head a moment as he saw her crawling up his shoulder. "Pretty nifty stuff there kid. Good to know you got some good control of those booms of yours." Maybe the kid wouldn't be so bad to have on the crew. Not only did he have some strong magic, but he was a kid too. Impressionable, and wouldn't get too many mutinous ideas. That's always good. "Good on you Stella, you've got a good eye for talent." He praised the small dragon as he knew she was looking to be, looking over towards Loke. "Well Loke, any way you can not heal the enemy is a good way to me." He said with a grin on his face, joking about the statement.

"I'm sure you will Stella. I'm sure you will." He said, looking up at the massive buildings. They were impressive for the era this planet appeared to be in. Nothing compared to the sky piercing sky scrapers he had seen on other planets in his last life, but they were trying, that was what counted he supposed. He saw the samurai bow, wondering what was going on before he saw the two fighters explode out, instinctively making a portal behind himself towards Heaven, before he realized the fight wasn't going towards them, slowly waving his hand to dispel the floating Silver Oval. "It's alright there Stella, they're not coming towards us." He said, chuckling a little at the tiny dragon beneath his hat.

He watched the fight with a hum, putting his hand on his chin as he tried to register what the two seemed to fight like, noting the calm and controlled movements of the elder, humming a bit. "I believe we've come to the right place lads." He said with a grin, more to himself than anything else. He was glad at the stroke of luck to be offered an opportunity to be trained by this individual, humming a bit at the underhanded back attack performed by the ice mage, sighing a bit. It had the right spirit to it, but was poorly timed and awfully executed. If you ever strike a targets back, you kill shot, you don't make your attack known like that. Just a sloppy backstab in general.

"Nice to meet you then Grandmaster. I'll get to the point since you asked what we needed." He said, taking a seat as he was instructed by the grandmaster. "I'm here in seek of a tutor for myself, as I am planning on going on a journey to lands unknown, and I understand that my current self defense abilities are lacking. And if I am to protect myself and my crew, I'll need to be able to fight at the best I can. Which is why I came to this village. However, after an unfortunate run in with a boy too big for his britches, Hiroshi here came and stopped the fight, and offered a meeting with you." He explained, keeping good posture as he sat down, glancing at his companions as he extended his arm for Stella to move to his lap instead of his shoulder should she want, since it was likely more comfortable that way. "And this is my crews mascot and my favorite little dragon Stella. Saved her from a group of cultists about to sacrifice her while she was still in her egg." He said, giving his version of what had happened in that temple, before chuckling. He remembered how to get Stella he had experience a magical fire searing his very bones. He would be dead right now if not for divine magic preventing such an outcome.

 

[Scholar Ya]

Davina Solon
✺
​

Grand finale? Davina wondered what this finale was. Most likely it had something to do with the boxes. Another thing she gathered out of the whole exchange between the boy and someone in his group, was his name. Kane, what a normal and unsuspecting name. Nonetheless, it belonged to the one that helped her in her greatest moment of need. It wouldn't be much of an exaggeration to say her whole day had been saved by him. So thus the name Kane was something she was going to hold close to her heart. "You would? Oh, thank you so much, Kane!" It was very kind of him. Kind enough to be unwarranted although she did pay him for his information earlier. She allowed her hand to be taken without any resistance and somehow managed to shove the wooden bowl into her bag whilst being pulled towards the ladder. While descending she made sure to be light and quick with her feet. This ladder didn't seem very sturdy, even creaking when too much weight was put on it. Healing simple cuts and forming bruises was one thing but a broken limb? That was not in her scope of capabilities currently.

Even with magic such procedures could go wrong. In fact, Davina thought it was better to use actual medical knowledge than to rely on healing magic. A broken bone had to be sterilized, immobilized, and then set. Could healing magic stop harmful bacteria from somehow sneaking into the body's system? A breath of relief was released from her once they had dropped drown from the ladder and were now on the ground. It seemed like a broken bone was not in the imminent future. She only had a second to react before her hand was being pulled once more and her legs were set into motion. It didn't take long to move out of the main courtyard and onto the main streets where bustling crowds of people could be seen as far as the human eye could see. For a village, it was an unusually packed place. Perhaps because of the ongoing celebration? Along the way she cheerfully waved at passing samurai, stall owners, partygoers, and just generally anyone that didn't look at her with a stink face.

The joyful atmosphere was intoxicating. And while Davina had never tried drugs in her life she imagined they'd feel like this. "Kane, Goldcrest is simply wonderful. You must adore this place, right?" She, a foreigner was falling in love with Goldcrest as the minutes passed. Soon, it wasn't long before she and her companion arrived at a grand courtyard. It was beautiful. The dragons that adorned the path on the way to the temple were breathtaking and instilled a sense of serene respect within the onlooker. Or at least that's what she felt. The two samurai sentinels stationed there unnerved her, they seemed different from the friendly samurai she had waved at on the way here. There was an obvious gap in power here and she hated the feeling. How would they even be allowed entry? "Perhaps we should go Kane.." Uncertainty riddled her voice and her head turned to face the boy. She would hate if he got hurt because of her.

 

[RavenSong]

Grandmasters Temple..





Grandmaster Iwamoto


The elder would look at them all, beaming as he reminisced about his younger days. After the place became once again impeccably clean and tidy, he snapped his fingers to his servants. In a few moments time, a line of formally dressed waiters, all with various silver plates, placed their culinary works before the guests. The various aromas of spices, broths, meats and other foods from this immense feast dispersed about the grandmasters chambers. Dinner was served.

Iwamoto chuckled at Loke’s offer, but bowed his head before chuckling softly. “Yukito? He’ll be fine.. He gets ahead of himself at times, and I have a handy trick. A ‘time out’ of sorts.”

The grandmaster then leaned back in his seat, politely sipping a fresh cup of tea brought to him as he listened to Zeke. His attention was suddenly robbed by the little dragon Stella. The elder offered a cracker as he extended a hand out towards the dragon. “Hmm, no yellow teeth I’m afraid, just a dying old man.. I won’t hurt you.” The old man laughed once again, then brought his attention back to Zeke. “You have quite the companion Zeke, be sure to look after her.”


Taking another sip of his tea cup, he finally got to the more pressing matters, his tone becoming a bit more solemn. “Hah! At last a man who cares about those around him, enough to prepare himself for their defense even!” He turned to look at Hiroshi then to Yukito as his eyes revealed him in deep thought thinking to himself out loud, “hmm.. yes.. that's.. true..trul- “ he then began dozing off until Hiroshi tapped his shoulder. “Hm? Oh, yes.. yes..” he turned to look at Zeke once again. “..very well, if you’d like to dedicate say.. ten years to rigorous and dedicated instruction from either of my pupils I’ll start writing up a note of recommendation!” He chuckled, amused with himself, before looking at Hiroshi, unamused. “..hm? Fine fine..” he started, his eyes welling up from laughter. “..as you can tell, I’m an old man.. I don’t have that kind of time, if you don’t either, then I suggest..The Fountain Path.” He said with a gentle smile bringing his hands together, almost eagerly. “If the bonds of friendship between you all are strong enough, you’ll do just fine.”



Hiroshi

Hiroshi was standing close, keeping an eye on Yukito as he became visibly distraught. Although he was the grandmaster's student he didn’t trust his tendency to react at the worst of moments. He sought power through immense inner discipline and was becoming formidable every year. He was reckless but Yukito held the grandmaster in high esteem, whether for his generosity or his power. That much he knew.



Yukito

Yukito, as cold as his magic, watched the party with a brisk indifference. Still licking the wounds to his ego, he quietly stood on the opposite side of the grandmaster to Hiroshi. His magic would return, as he caught Hiroshi's gaze, then turned towards Zeke. A pessimistic and outright confrontational tone in his voice. “The grandmaster doesn’t think as well as he used to, he must be fattening you up like cattle to the slaughter..” he glances at the others at the table. “..don’t take The Fountain Path, dedicate your efforts through rigorous training, forget society if you must. The short path might cost you your life!” His head turned to look at the grandmaster, in his own world, seemingly ignoring him and eating happily as he bit into a biscuit.



In the middle of the festival..






Kane would slow down, and started walking beside her as he discerned the sound of her voice through the celebration. “Hm? You like it here?” He asked, a bit surprised. “If I liked the simple life, and farming then I guess I would..” They passed by a few vendors, one of them shoving a dumpling into Kanes mouth. The vendor would laugh. “I know! HA! It’s delicious! Samples! Samples for everyone! Come and enjoy our dumpling ramen bowls!”

Kane would look at Davina, holding up his index finger gesturing to her to wait as he munched on a dumpling. “Nom.. the.. food.. nom.. is what.. gulp.. I love about Goldcrest.” He said finally. “Oh.. and if you like fighting. But, you know.. I’d much rather live in a big city, and really make a name for myself.” He seemed to gaze off into the distance with his mind full of dreams. A firecracker suddenly going off, illuminating the sky, and snapping Kane out of his mind. “Hmm.. you don’t really look like someone who’s from around here, where are you from?” He asked curiously.

What seemed like the beginnings of a nice date however, had to come to an end. The grandmaster's temple suddenly came into view. As they approached, Kane looked on indifferently. Although the anxiety was beginning to make his hands clammy. As they got closer to the entrance, Kane’s tone suddenly changed. “Listen, I’m not very liked by them.. I’ll explain some other time. But I’ll get you past the door, beyond that you’ll have to figure something out..” Kane took a deep breath, and knocked on the door, he suddenly remembered wide eyed as he turned to look at Davina. “Sorry I never asked, but what is your name?”



The samurai guard would open the heavy creaky door. They’d look at both of the newcomers with stern stares. “State your business?” One of them asked. Hiroshi would then appear. "Excuse me, the grandmaster is retiring for the evening. Please, come back again tomorrow." It sounded like a celebration was going on inside, Davina would notice the festive atmosphere and the dragon walking about on the table.



Stella

Stella felt she’d died and gone to heaven at the sight of such a massive feast! She had no idea what almost all of it was by name, but it smelled absolutely delicious. She immediately jumped onto the table and dunked her head in a bowl of stir fry, then into a bowl of ramen. “Whoa! Everything is amazing!” She reached with her clawed hands to grab a sushi roll, and offered it to Orrius. “Here! Try this one! There's no knowing when we’ll ever eat again!” She then noticed the Grandmaster holding a sweet smelling cracker at her. She nervously came close to take it, almost suddenly chewing it to bits in her jaws. “Yum!!” she exclaimed, tilting her head at the old man. Maybe he has more of those? She wondered as she got on her shoulder, quickly looking through his pockets as discreetly as a two week old dragon could be. When she didn't find anything, she returned to Zekes lap, looking up at him. “Are you going to eat? Or is this all for me!?”

NeramoDJI Lulidew Scholar Ya NebulaBlossom

 

[Lulidew]

Orrius stared in disbelief at the scrumptious meal that had been prepared for him. His eyes darted from the food to the grandmaster, unsure if he could really enjoy himself with such foods that he never got the chance to try before. He was able to hold himself back from taking the first bite, as he was afraid of getting kicked out for not having table manners if he were to start gobbling up all the food like the beggar he was. The last thing he wanted was for them to be displeased and get him kicked out.

Luckily, Stella took the initiative and dived right into the feast, and Orrius followed suit by grabbing all the meat he could get his hands on. He hurriedly wolfed down on the food, unable to control himself any longer. When Stella offered him a sushi roll, he had to lean over and eat it whole because his hands were too full.

While he enjoyed himself, he also listened in on the conversation at hand, as he was still trying to piece together what was going on with this crew. Apparently, the pirate captain was seeking out a means to get stronger from this grandmaster. The grandmaster then mentioned of a vigorous training period of 10 years, which was nearly half Orrius' age. However, Orrius didn't really see it as a hassle so long as he could enjoy such good food. After all, he used to spend days studying magic books on an empty stomach. At least now he would never go hungry again.

He then heard of the Fountain Path, which could skip... 10 years of training?! Once again, he raised his widened eyes to look at the grandmaster in shock. The ice mage then warned them not to go down the path, as it could mean risking their lives. Orrius glared at the mage, as he was reminded of the naysayers who had always told him to give up on learning magic back in the village. He, of all people, knew what it was like to risk it all for his dreams.

"Well… I wouldn't mind coming along." Orrius spoke defiantly, while keeping his glare on Yukito.

 

[NebulaBlossom]

Loke wasn't prepared for the amount of food being laid out. The Grandmaster was certainly an extravagant man when it came to hospitality. His healing not being needed, Loke took a seat. He helped himself to some rice, chicken, and stir-fried vegetables. He couldn't help a chuckle as Stella wasted no time diving into the meal, literally. She and Orrius seemed to be getting along just fine which was good. If anyone was going to join the crew, they would certainly need to get along with the mascot.

As the Grandmaster spoke, Loke turned his attention back. They most certainly didn't have the patience for ten years. Loke didn't like the idea of being bound to a single place like that for so long. The ship was always moving, always going somewhere new and he found he liked that more each day. It gave him the freedom he had longed for many years in his old lifetime. Not to mention getting such training from one of his students didn't seem likely. He couldn't imagine Yukito as the mentoring type and Hiroshi didn't seem keen on it either.

"Can you tell us more about The Fountain Path?" He certainly was wary about the mention of their friendship bonds. Orrius was brand new and Loke certainly didn't think of himself as Zeke's friend. Even with his healing abilities, he wasn't stupid enough to think anything was without danger. Death wasn't an ailment to cure or a wound to heal, it was a permanent state he could do nothing about. Or at least, as permanent as anything could be when you already seemed to cheat it once by being sent to a new world.

Orrius volunteering to stay with the group spoke of a deep desperation Loke remembered vividly himself and still found himself falling into. "Thank you, Orrius, but we shouldn't rush to a decision. Regardless of what we do, I don't see any problem with you staying with us." He glanced at Zeke, figuring he wasn't speaking for the man too much.