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]

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.