[QUEST] Trouble at the Mines

[nekomatarita]

Party: Rita & Jay (Dist can stalk follow if he wants)
Location: From the Guild House to the Mines
Goal: To break the seal and free Col. Curtiss.
Status: Closed
Affection: Yes -2/+1

[Rita arrived at the Ad Libitum guild house with a note she had been writing since leaving Col. Curtiss to fend for himself at the Mines. She read over her note a few times

Comments

Re: This okay?

[nekomatarita]

[Rita, not being one who is skilled at multi-tasking, struggled to keep her Fire arte delayed, keeping an eye on Dist and listening to everything Jade had to say.

The moment she was told to seek validation from Yuan, her concentration broke, and her spell delay was ended, causing the spell to suddenly stop.]

"Blessenwood chapter?" I thought I was joining the Ouin branch! I'm coming in there and you're going to tell me what's going on!

[Rita turned to the door to do what she can to break the seal and get Jade out, and maybe get some answers. If she was being dropped into Blessenwood's chapter after she was told she was now a member of Ousin's chapter, she'll make him reconsider.

Jay, you take care of that doll freak. I'll see if I can break that seal.

[And with that, Rita dashed toward the sealed door, stopping only a few feet away. With a wave of a hand, a large, mystical blue monitor and keyboard appeared in front of her. The many small screens were littered with all sorts of formulas. She rubbed her arm across her forehead, and got to work.

Rita's fingers glided over the keyboard with precision. She was aware this could take some time. Shutting down the Hoplon Blastia in the Egethor Forest was one thing, but cracking the code of a seal in another world? She can only hope Jay can buy her enough time for her.]

{OoC: For those unfamilar with Tales of Vesperia, Rita and other characters familiar with all things blastia and formulas are able to produce these "control panels" from thin air and use them to make any sort of modifications they need to a blastia, or anything with an inscribed formula, if they have access to the inner workings. Using these, they can even set up a "fire wall" to prevent other Mages from taking control of a blastia. While this may seem it should only be used on blastia, there were a few points where Rita even used it on Estelle, a human being, and a sword.}

Re: This okay?

[iknowjj]

[Jay was somewhat annoyed at Rita's rant.]

Oh, don't be too alarmed. Usually, we guild members start out in the Blessenwood chapter, but you can easily transfer to another branch at anytime. So I wouldn't concern myself with that if I were you.

[Then he flashed a devious smile as he was instructed to deal with the doll freak. He pulled out one of his daggers and began tossing it lightly into the air and catching it repeatedly.]

Oh, this shouldn't take long at all...

Re: This okay?

[runnyrose]

[Dist froze, leaving the puppet half-grown. That voice! Jade was there! Dist was no longer paying any attention whatsoever to Jay and Rita - which was, perhaps, a shame, as Jay was threating his life and Rita's actions were something he would have found very interesting under most circumstances.]

Jade! You are here! You... you... I hate you! Why didn't you ever come to Keterburg?! I told you to come! What could possibly have been more important than that?! I waited for ages! You're far too slow! You ruined all my plans!

[Yes, Dist came all this way pretty much just to whine at Jade. Well, it wasn't like he'd had time to prepare any sort of elaborate revenge plan.]

Le sarcasm

[petapetakapu]

[Oh. How touching. Dist had made the arduous trek through the mines just to find him and deliver that heart-warming message. Oh, the others would simply have to forgive him for not crying--he had dried up in his old age.]

My, my. Thank you for the lovely confession.

(He must have come from a different point in time--then again perhaps he did request my presence in Keterburg...That must have been ages ago if that is the case. Oh well.)

In any case, you must have the wrong Jade. I have no recollection of receiving an invitation, and quite honestly, I know no Jades with such questionable contacts. But I do appreciate the sentiments, I really do.

[His smile felt a little more sincere--perhaps he could continue to improve his mood at Dist's expense...No, extended contact with the narcissistic God-General would only make matters worse--he would have to leave on this high note.]

Ahem. [Onto other matters.]

In other words, you are saying that no matter what your guild leader tells you, you intend to come along with unwanted company that will undoubtedly get in his way? How considerate of you.

[Incidentally, his tone happened to indicate that he actually appreciated the notion. He had to balance out Yuan's grumpy attitude one way or another.]

Le confusion

[iknowjj]

{OOC: I don't know what the doll is made of, but I'm assuming it's a very flammable material?}

[Jay paused for a moment, pulling his knife back as he listened to the exchange between Jade and Dist.]

(I hope he didn't follow us all this way just to whine...but how long are they going to keep this up? I'd rather get rid of Dist as soon as possible.)

Tell us what you want, Colonel! Do you want us to get rid of this egotistical egotist??

Re: Le confusion

[runnyrose]

{OOC: Well, it's probably at least somewhat flammable, though some of the parts inside definitely aren't.}

[At this point, Dist was waving his arms about and just generally throwing a complete tantrum.]

Grrr! Jade! How can you treat your best friend this way?! Why do you always deny our history together?! You loathsome snake!

[He was slightly grateful that Jade couldn't see him to see that his nose was running - he would surely tease him for it, even though it was obviously just allergies to something in the air in this horrible place, and it wasn't like this happened all the time or anything, and who was so cruel as to tease someone for something as small as that anyway?

He looked at Jay again, seemingly having only now remembered that he was even there.]

You inanely redundant half-wit! You don't dare!

[With that he forced the doll to grow further until it was taller than himself. It sported what Dist apparently thought was a fearsome grin, and its ears drooped heavily.]

Re: Le confusion

[petapetakapu]

Best friend? I'm afraid I must question the sanity of whichever Jade would consider you his best friend.

[A pause. Oh, Jade knew Dist all too well.]

And careful not to be too angry--You need not teach the children why you are known as Dist the Runny.

[Good boy, Jay! The description could have been better, but the notion certainly made up for it. Jade smirked and nodded.]

Yes, please do--and refrain from entering until then. I promised only to venture with two of you, and I am not feeling inclusive enough to make room for a third member. Oh, and don't bother holding back on him.

Re: Le confusion

[iknowjj]

[Jay's eyes widened at Dist's outburst...not because of the outburst, but because of something else.]

Y-yuck! Get angry if you must, but please do something about that runny nose!

[Jay's pose only tensed up as Dist's doll grew larger, but he flashed a devious smile as he heard Jade's response.]

As you wish, Colonel. Dagger!!

[With that, he hurled his exploding dagger at the giant doll, expecting it to burst into flames upon contact...]

Re: Le confusion

[runnyrose]

It's not running! It's not, it's not, it's not!

[Dist furiously wiped his nose on the back of his sleeve. The world was plainly out to get him. Then he shrieked when Jade told Jay to fight him.]

Whaaaat?! No! Jaaaade...! - Eeeaaugh!

[The puppet didn't quite burst into flame spectacularly, but it certainly did catch fire, which was kind of a problem as Dist, having been unable to get the parts to built a remote control, was clinging to it. He screeched and threw himself away, landing heavily on the ground, and the doll shrank down into a small, fiery mass.]

Noooo! And after all the effort I went to just to get the materials! You'll pay for this!

Re: Le confusion

[iknowjj]

[Jay blinked as the doll shrank into the fiery mass. Surely that wasn't all Dist had, was it? Well, Jay had predicted that dealing with him wouldn't take long, but he was still somewhat disappointed.

Nevertheless, the sight of the burning doll and Dist screaming in defeat was enough to crack the boy up. Oh, Jay could not remember ever laughing so hard in his life.]

Is that the best you can do? Not very impressive for a so-called "genius."

Re: Le confusion

[runnyrose]

[The brat was laughing at him! As if this was the funniest thing in the world! What a horrible, rotten, mean-spirited brute! Dist darted over to the doll and stomped the flames out, yelping as it burned him slightly. Perhaps he could at least salvage the most important parts...]

What do you know?! You're just lucky I've been stuck in this useless, backwater town with no supplies! You wouldn't have stood a chance against one of my greater inventions!

Re: Le confusion

[iknowjj]

Is...is that so...? Well then...

[Jay paused for a moment, trying to stop laughing long enough to deliver his next line.]

Then why don't you leave and get some supplies? And hopefully when we meet again, you'll have something better.

Re: Le confusion

[runnyrose]

How dare you mock me! You won't be rid of me that easily, you know!

[Dist snatched the doll up, holding it gingerly, as it was still hot. Then, having had a sudden thought, he held it up and examined it. The majority of the outside was burned, but the machinery inside wasn't particularly flammable. It was possible it would still work, assuming one had a rather liberal definition of "working"... He prodded it carefully and tweaked one part into a better position.]

Re: Le confusion

[iknowjj]

Really? I'm only telling you this for your sake, Dist. Leave this place. If you insist on continuing to fight me, you'll only set yourself up for more humiliation. And that would be your own fault, not mine.

undead puppet

[runnyrose]

You're the one who's setting himself up for humiliation by continuing to defy me!

[Ah, what a great line! Dist was totally cool, right, Jade? Surely not even he could help admiring Dist's sheer awesomeness! Um, right?]

This is far from over, you brat! Now!

[With a surge of power, the doll began to grow again. One of the eyes fell off, the other was melting, and one arm had been burned away entirely. The right ear was just barely hanging on and was still smoldering. Still, Dist, keeping a firm grasp on one relatively uncharred portion of the puppet's neck, made the doll swing at Jay with that same, heavy ear.

He was laughing, too. He was so fabulous right now! Dist, the glorious hero, fighting despite grave setbacks for, um... for the chance to whine at Jade some more? Oh, whatever. The details weren't important. What mattered was that he was being awesome and definitely not just annoyingly, pointlessly stubborn or anything. Of course.]

Re: undead puppet

[iknowjj]

[Jay let out a quick gasp as he barely managed to duck the swinging ear. Then, from his crouching position, he rolled forward to the creature's legs, jamming his dagger into the ground. He then rolled backwards to his previous position, straightening himself as he concentrated briefly.]

Ice Storm!!

[The dagger shot up from the ground, followed by a cluster of large jagged ice boulders that popped up underneath the undead puppet. Jay caught the dagger in his hand, waiting for Dist's next move.]