week 1; wednesday w/ sanji

[alchemenace]

[ after everyone is sure natsuo is fine (PHEW, thinks varian), varian has just gone off to fetch rudiger, who wasn't a part of this adventure because i forgot about his raccoon, and he's sitting in the lounge with his parchment on rules out and rudiger in his lap, looking a bit lot in thought

surely no one would want to track him down for anything ever ]

Comments

[alchemenace]

Yep. I had no idea anyone else was involved...

[ including his own partner. or, well, he had an idea other people might be involved, but he's never mentioning that out loud. ]

I believe we were somewhere under the castle. There were two paths that we could see, but there was something that looked like it had been caved in recently. Our own path caved in after we went in, so I think it's fair to say we were the second group to go in.

[concasse]

[Sanji taps at his chin, clearly thinking to himself. However he's not willing to share yet, and just nods at Varian]

Alright, so -- what did you see down there?

[alchemenace]

A yeti who lives under the castle.

[ there's no other way to say this. ]

[concasse]

... Uh-huh.

[Sanji's ass is from One Piece and he is still questioning Everything.]

And you didn't even invite him upside for tea.

[alchemenace]

I don't think he wanted to go? He seemed preeeetty comfy down there. He had pictures of his family lined up and everything?

[ what is sarcasm daddy ]

[concasse]

[Varian you sweet summer child.

Also Sanji's eyebrows continue to climb up and up]

There's a whole family of 'em down there?

[...]

And just so we're clear, he didn't attack, did he?

[alchemenace]

I didn't see the rest of the family outside of pictures, but maybe they were off... doing something else?

[ maybe his kids are in college? anyway, varian looks away at that other question with a nervous laugh ]

No, he, um, kind of the opposite, really. Veronica and I sort of fell off a cliff, and he caught us.

[concasse]

... oh.

[Sanji honestly isn't sure what else to say to that. One kid came back bleeding, but apparently Varian got himself a new best friend.]

Pretty damn nice of him...

[alchemenace]

[ this is the opposite of what happens to varian usually ]

Yeah. It's actually kind of strange that there's something so nice around here, just kind of... hanging out underneath the castle.

[concasse]

Yeah, feel kinda bad he didn't get a chance to come up here.

[not even teasing this time! Sanji feels bad]

[alchemenace]

[ because sanji is n i c e ]

I wouldn't worry too much about him? He showed us the way, so he must know how to get there. And his house looked pretty well-furnished!

[concasse]

[BLASHEMY]

A shame we can't visit him whenever we want... I'd have a few questions I'd wanna ask.

[Like what the hell is he living underneath the castle for]

[alchemenace]

He didn't really talk? I don't know if that was by choice or. Something else? He seemed to understand what we were saying.

[concasse]

If he could understand, that's good enough.

Just wondering why he's underneath the castle, and if he knows anything about our... situation.

[alchemenace]

Oh. Oh, wow. Maybe he did. We could pretty much only think about the lantern back there... I guess it depends on how long he's been there and if he's even allowed to answer anything.

[concasse]

Wouldn't be surprised if you thinking about the lantern was by design.

[Sanji trusts nothing, okay?]

Not that speculating does us any good. It'll take getting back down there to verify anything.

[alchemenace]

And you'd have to luck out and pick our path, considering the other two were uh. Preeeetty dangerous. Apparently.

[ people got stabbed? ]

[concasse]

[Eh. Handwaving that]

I can deal with danger.

[The ego on this man.]

But yeah, picking your path would be the hardest part... how many doors appeared in front of you again?

[alchemenace]

Heh. You kick danger in the teeth, am I right?

[ please help him, but anyway ]

Three. But that's the three they wanted us to take. Considering how the labyrinth works, I can't imagine they'd make the underside of this castle that straightforward if they can, either.

[concasse]

Exactly.

[Varian is a good boy and he is also correct.]

... And good point. It's not like we can trust the doors they show us.

[Hm]

I wonder if there's another way to get underneath there...

[alchemenace]

If we ever figure out how to blow up part of the castle, that would most likely be one way to do it.

[ why does he always go straight for explosions ]

[concasse]

-- If you ever try to blow something up, I demand to be there.

[TO FUCKIN SUPERVISE]

In any case, I actually wanna check out that maze eventually. Might find something there.

[Maybe a hidden door? One can dream.]

[alchemenace]

Oh, sure, no problem.

[ he thinks it's to enjoy the explosions. as one does. ]

The minotaur didn't seem to be guarding anything, though it's possible there was a hidden trap at its feet. I didn't get a good look at the ground once I get to the end of the maze.

[concasse]

Hn... how big is the maze? Does it take long to get to the middle? Or the end?

[alchemenace]

Well... It took me a couple of hours, and I was keeping track of where I was going along the way. I couldn't tell the exact amount of time because of the storm, though.

[concasse]

So it's not gonna be a quick trip, then.

[Ew. As if Sanji wants to spend that much time away from the kitchen. But he asked for a reason]

Guess if I go in there I better pack a snack. Oi, were there any other monsters besides the minotaur in there?

[alchemenace]

Personally, I didn't see any, but I wouldn't count it out. The hedges are alive and they were trying to lead me somewhere.

[concasse]

[This conversation is hilarious and sad in hindsight, but:]

Shouldn't be a problem then.

I'll let you know if I find anything else.

[alchemenace]

[ i'm sure sanji didn't immediately die to minotaur. oh wait ]

Oh. Thanks! Have fun out there. And, uh. Be careful.