[12 ~ video | derail]

[blahblahblah]

Hey. Have any of you heard from Yuri- sorry, Yuri Lowell? I haven't seen him in a while, and there's no other way inland except through Heliord, where I've been for a while now. I didn't see them, so...

Anyway, I'm done with my follow-up research on the barrier blastia in Heliord, so I'm heading back to Capua Torim to find a ship. I've got to follow up on all that aer krene business before Alexei comes calling, and I highly doubt there's another one on this continent. It'll be annoying traveling alone, but... nothing I'm not used to.

And before anyone asks, I'm not sure why, but the whole zombie business missed me. Which is for the better - my artes don't work well on things like that for some reason. ['And I'm pretty bad with them overall,' she neglects to add.] Is everyone all right?

Comments

[blahblahblah]

I could, but I know how Yuri works. He's going to be running around the countryside until they forcibly bring him back. And I can't wait around. If I need him, I'll hunt him down. Until then, it's my show.

And I'm not saying you could have done something... I'm saying it's better you weren't there to have to deal with the risks of having been there. Zombies don't exactly take no for an answer.

[lil_tanuki]

That's true. You'll probably be able to find him when he's getting into trouble again maybe?

Mmmhmm, I think so too.

[blahblahblah]

I don't doubt it. If I wait at Torim Harbor long enough, he'll show up - that's the only port, and if he's taking Estelle back, he'll have to go through there eventually - but I'm not sure I have the time for that.

[lil_tanuki]

It's all possible that you could just go looking for him? Do you have any leads?

[blahblahblah]

[Rita raises an arm and points off to one side.]

Assuming he didn't sneak past me - which is possibly but highly unlikely, given his usual tendency to stir up trouble everywhere he goes - he's somewhere in that direction, between here and the sea. Mostly, that's Dahngrest and the forest between there and here. Unless he went back to Keiv Moc or Ghasfarost, which I also doubt.

[lil_tanuki]

So in between there, he's got a huge amount of things to do and places to be. Sounds like a tough call to see where he may or may not be then...

[blahblahblah]

Welcome to my world. And even if I did go back, Dahngrest is huge, and I'm an imperial blastia researcher - they might not even let me back in, considering the guilds and the empire don't exactly get along.

[lil_tanuki]

Ooogh, that sounds like trouble. I wouldn't want you to get into trouble going back there.

[blahblahblah]

Yeah, that's what I'm thinking. So I'll just keep heading for Torim Harbor - hopefully that damned caravan is out of the way. There's a shortcut, but it was blocked before. The stretch once you can see the harbor is bandit territory, and I want to spend as little time as possible there.

[lil_tanuki]

That's good. You could probably get through quickly as possible and make your way to the Harbor.

[blahblahblah]

That's the plan. Keep out of sight as long as possible, maybe burn a holy bottle in a pinch... It'll work out. Once I get through there, Torim's less than a day away.

[lil_tanuki]

Sounds like a good idea. What's a holy bottle by the way?

[blahblahblah]

Well... it's a bottle of holy water. It keeps monsters away. Sometimes it even works on thieves, but that's kind of a toss up, most days.

[lil_tanuki]

So it's a go away spell?

[blahblahblah]

Kind of. It's not perfect, but it works most of the time. They're a little expensive, though.

[lil_tanuki]

How much are they?

[blahblahblah]

Well... hmm. How do I explain gald to someone from another world... I could buy something like ten loaves of bread for what one holy bottle costs.

[lil_tanuki]

It sounds a little disproportionate, but I get the idea. You probably need a lot of gald to be financially secure, right?

[blahblahblah]

Lots and lots. That's kinda been a sore spot for us. There are a lot of examples of the excesses of the Council, and a lot of examples of the less-well-off in the cities.

That, combined with Yuri's well-meaning vigilante streak, get us into most of our trouble.

[lil_tanuki]

Gah, that sounds like a troublesome situation.

Does Yuri always get you guys into trouble?

[blahblahblah]

Only all the damn time. It's like it's his job or something. He's the whole reason I'm out here in the first place, and not back in Aspio.

[lil_tanuki]

But without him, you wouldn't have gone out into the world right?