Private Hylands Ascent It's Collab Time!

[Chako]

Today was one of these days. One of these days where the people from the Explorer's League actually wanted Chako to work! How could they!? That's so unfair! What did Chako do to be expected to work for the league!?

So well... That happened. Apparently they lost some maps when a city went kaboom, and now they needed to map a new route out... Not like Chako knew how to map anything though, so she didn't get why she was being forced to go together, but... Hey! At least Doggo was going with her! Not having to work with strangers was welcomed!

Except... They were going to meet up with someone from the Adventurers' Guild too? Apparently they were meant to be working together... Laaaame! Why couldn't Chako just continue her day to day life practicing her dancing and playing her harp instead...?

So well, here they were all the way in Hylands, wherever this was... Seemed like a really tall place that was not friendly to tripping.

Chako sighed, "So... Do you know who is the Adventurers' Guild person we're supposed to work with, Doggo?" She certainly hadn't asked for any details, so she hoped Doggo had.

@Little Doggo @Imoogi

 

[Little Doggo]

Doggo adjusted her backpack, checking — double checking for any loose straps or misplaced knick knacks, her fingers greedy in their search for the old rolled up parchments she carried in.

Despite her hopes, memory served her right; She hasn't been to the hylands before, and all her own personal maps matched nothing from the roads presently infront of them. Nor prior to them, as there was only so much one could map of one area, and her own records of Astorea were cut short several kilometers away.

"They said it's a beastfolk like us. A very weird girl apparently, but resourceful!" Voice beamed up, hiding away her frustrations with a smile as she jumped back to her feet

"We are supposed to help them with something on the way up? Dunno! But the league says it's important!"

A dangerous quest, but Luthien needed it done, and who is she to not step up as the junior?! The Embertorch needed to recover all that's been lost and according to them to give the new members some well-needed practice.

"Pretty scary right?! Tall places creep me out. It's a good thing we are in a videogame, heh!"

She pointed over to the rocks, to the treacherous edges and the clouds, to everything that made up their new foe, the 'boss fight' that wasn't one; The environment itself, the mountain and it's welcoming little road that led through the first steps to this jagged colossi.

Doggo smiled, offering a thumbs up back at her feline friendo,

"But don't worry! Got a few tools that will help us later. First, let's meet up with this adventurer. They should be around the crossroads that lead to the tower near the bottom of the mountain."

Slinging her backpack over, Doggo put a hand over her forehead, squinting hard as she gave a cursory glance across the road until she could see the end of it, were one stereotypical wooden sign served as guidance, aswell as a marker for the upcoming intersection.

"Not that far ahead, let's leg it! Hopefully they are not an introvert and we can learn a new trick or two from an actual adventurer."

@Imoogi @Chako

 

[Imoogi]

Babysitting. They'd sent her babysitting!!!

Sure, the Handler had put on a decent spiel, about coming together in a time of need and inter-faction politics and god knew what else. But then they'd dropped those dreaded, cursed words.

Escort mission.

And now she was here with arms crossed and tongue flicking in frustration. The Hylands loomed above her, and even the thick coat she wore did little against the chill. She had warming tonics, but she needed to save those for later... and ugh, she probably needed to save some for her clients.

Flick, flick, went her tongue, but it was her ears that caught the distant sound of voices. She opened one ruby eye to stare down the road, hoping that maybe it was just some travelers.

You're looking for a felis and a caenis, the Handler had said. What they hadn't told Imoogi, though, was that they were literal babies!!!!

What the fuck????

She closed her eye again and tried to act like she hadn't noticed them. Maybe they'd walk past her and she could go back to the guild and claim they never showed up-

"...we can learn a new trick or two from an actual adventurer."

"..."

Imoogi turned her head towards the two newcomers with a (theoretically) friendly smile and waved.

"Hey! You're the clients from the League, yeah?"

@Chako @Little Doggo

 

[Chako]

As usual, the game talk bothered Chako, but she tried to not show it. Not like it would do her any good to try controlling her friend's speech anyways.

Instead, she just tried focusing on the important part; Namely that, both Doggo, and probably this adventurer too, were both much more prepared for this than she was, "I'm glad that's she's resourceful! With your tools and her smarts we'll probably handle this in no time!" and then Chako could go back to her peaceful every day life... Though well, a change of pace from time to time wasn't the worst, Chako figured. At least this place would probably have some pretty nice sights to behold... Not to mention that doing stuff with friends had its charm.

Then, Chako heard a voice calling out to them, "... You're tall." Was the first thing out of her mouth... Then she remembered she was supposed to actually greet the new girl too, "Ah, yeah, that's us, probably! I'm Chako and she's Doggo, Little Doggo. We were told to help you out with something" whatever that was, "while trying to map out a safe path to cross through the Ascent!" Chako waved to the girl while walking in her direction.

"I dunno of how much help I'll be, but we'll be in your care!" Chako bowed slightly.

@Little Doggo @Imoogi

 

[Little Doggo]

"Probably not as easy as it sounds though, but if it's hard, it's some hard FUN. I wouldn't drag you into a boring adventure."

A hearthy chuckle, giving a thumbs up back at Chako; And then noise, the kind that gets her ears to flicker and perk like antennae as the duo come face to face with a giant, someone that vaguely matches the description given to her. A quick glance over the scenery, matching the instructions exactly, like it were a vague x marking the spot.

Chako's assessment was straightforward enough to get a wide smile out of her, holding the line against her own (non theoretical) laughter, eased down once Chako remembered the 'Little'.

Important details, that's what true friends would know about!

"Like Chako here said, we gotta map out a path through the Ascent. Pretty dangerous stuff! Heard there is someone who can give us a headstart that lives near and is just on the way there!"

Doggo pointed East, where a path branches out leading to the foot of the mountain.

"We won't slow you down we promise! Chako here's been through rough battles with me, I trust her like I trust my own Jiejie." She poofed her chest out

It made her wonder for a moment, eyes turning thinner as she squints, focusing over the tall dark-haired adventurer. There was some kind of resemblance to Ruby there, yet the resemblances came with dualities. It was like watching a Sith Lord while her sis is a Jedi Knight. Two polar opposites in aesthetics!

"So you are from the guild? You look strong! Hopefully your quest isn't too tough for us, whatever it is; Let's get moving meanwhile!" She chirped, finger pointed in the direction of their destiny, yet not acting upon it despite her desire to do so.

It felt wrong to give pointers when there was someone so seasoned and superior! Likely a veteran of the adventurers with a quest equally as important as their status. Stars lit on her vision, peppering her with excitement, her tail wooshing around like a broom picking up the dirt and gravel along the way down the road.

"I have to ask, what's someone like you doing with someone like us? You look like you could carve the world if you tried, big sis."

Her head suddently turned back to Chako, smirk plastered over her features

"Max would have loved to meet her I bet."

@Imoogi @Chako

 

[Imoogi]

"... You're tall."

Yes. Yes I am. Imoogi practically preened at the compliments of the "literal babies" she had previously been mentally insulting. They clearly knew what a good adventurer looked like, which was better than basically any adult she'd met.

"Chako, Doggo..." At least the names were easy. So long as she remembered Doggo was the dogfolk, she'd be fine. She jabbed a thumb at her chest, eyes bright and tongue flicking. "Call me Imoogi! I'm here to make your mission a success!"

In other words, babysitting. Part of her still bristled at the demeaning duty, but maybe if she proved herself here the AG would let her take on harder missions. They might even let her rise about copper.

"It's about inter-faction cooperation!" Imoogi said, quoting her handler almost word for word. "We gotta stick together after Szofrit fucked everything up, y'know?"

She fell into step behind Chako and Doggo, arms folded behind her head as she pretended she wasn't freezing. She could hold out until the others were cold, and then they'd see Imoogi as the cool alchemist she was...

@Chako @Little Doggo

 

[Chako]

Chako was not exactly thrilled about the idea of an adventure, but she nodded to Doggo's words nonetheless. Hopefully it was going to be fun.

Until a gust of cold wind passed by and made Chako's whole body shiver, "T-they didn't tell me to bring a coat when coming here!" She grumbled. Not like she could do much about it at this point.

... She really was not looking forward to finding out how cold it would get once they started climbing the ascent though.

"Oh, we do have a contact here? That's convenient." Chako replied to Doggo... Well, at least they knew where to start with the mapping, then... It sure is a good thing Doggo actually got the information for them... Should Chako have asked for more? Maybe she should try asking for more info when she is forced into working next time... Food for thought, she figured.

Doggo's next comment though... "Lying is bad, Doggo... Also, please don't put as much trust in me as you put in Ruby. I'm not that great..." Like, many battles? Chako didn't like the way Doggo exaggerated that...

Either way, Chako agreed with the idea of moving, so she followed Doggo's direction for the time being.

Imoogi's comment confused Chako a bit though, "Wait, so... You're kinda like our bodyguard?" The people in the League said that they were going to help the adventurer out though... Did they trust her and Doggo so little that they had to blatantly lie about their task? "Uhn... Sorry for the trouble."

Like, sure, Chako knew she exuded 0 confidence, but if she was going to be forced to work anyways, they could have at least told her the truth from the get-go! It would at least help with setting expectations! Or at the very least, Doggo should have been told the truth! She is obviously the more competent of them both!

"Well, I guess we really will be in your care, then!" Chako told Imoogi, "Uhn... I am mostly good at healing people, and I cast my spells through dancing." Chako stared at the narrow pathways of the ascent, "I really don't know how useful I'll be, but I'll do my best to not be a dead weight today!" She was having a really bad feeling about this... Well, it was going to be fine, probably. They did have a veteran adventurer with them, after all!

And... Should she introduce Doggo too? She wasn't sure, so she figured she'd go ahead and let Doggo complement it as needed, "And Doggo is really good at doing the bonk. What about you?" She asked Imoogi.

Then, she turned back to Doggo and smiled, "Right? I bet Dynamax would be amazed! It's not every day that we can cooperate with veterans, after all!" Though he could have made Imoogi get a bad impression of them if he started swearing, so maybe it was good that it was only them here.

... Wait, wouldn't adventuring with Ruby count as cooperating with a veteran? It probably would count, huh? Well, it's not like Chako actually went on an adventure with Ruby before though, so it's still a new experience!

@Little Doggo @Imoogi

 

[Little Doggo]

Imoogi..?

"Cool name..." She whispered, glassy eyes upon their very honest and very friendly leader as she spoke of jolly cooperation and-

]"I heard the name before, yikes, what a boss fight that probably was. The city was left a mess and I didn't get to see any of that Szofrit NPC or it's minions."[/B]

If her own eyes hadn't been witness she wouldn't believe it. The League's bastion turned to dust and the city ran down by robots! It could have been another tough battle in their adventuring belt, both hers and Chako's!

Achievements met with accusations, as Doggo yelps and lifts her hands up in tandem to counter the lies back with cease-fire intentions.

"B-but we did fight a lot of tough foes!" Fair point about trust, but not enough to dissuade her from her own truths in the matter, least it breeds distrust amidst their ragtag group for this mission.

She then took a slick turn, walking in reverse as she pointed a finger at Chako, intervening as soon as the cat begun to yap about her uselessness, matching that self-doubt with her powerful social recklessness.

"Everyone knows healers are the most precious members of ANY party. Exploring can be dangerous, and having someone to patch up our bruises is super important!"

---

It was only but a couple minutes before the tower got into plain view, more like a house than a tower at this point - These structures weren't given nearly as much care, yet even from here one can tell how fresh the paint is with it's glistening camel colour. Comparatively, the gazebo nearby lacked in love what the main watchtower did, with some streaks plastered haphazardly over one of it's walls. A work in progress, easy to tell by the ladder set up next to it and the brushes hanging neatly from a few loose nails on it's sides.

Next to what appears to be a stack of crates, sharp eyes could tell the silhouette of a man with unkempt silver locks of hair. Rolled up sleeves on a simplistic white linen shirt almost completely opposite to what one would expect in such a cold day, were it not for the blueish, woolen scarf drapped around his neck, stained by his efforts.

"That looks like the guy. Is he the guy..?"

'Only one way to find out!' A thought, interrupted as she took a deep breath and waved over in his direction.

"HEEEEEEY!"

The sound loud enough to take this watcher out of his little world, tunnel vision set onto the wooden bucket he had been working on. He let go of the wooden stick serving as a makeshift spoon, letting it lean against the wall as he dusted off his gloves and begun to approach over to the group with a welcoming, if reserved smile.

"You three must be who the League spoke of? I uhh-"

He tapped away at his pockets, realizing he has none, and neither what he was after in the first place, embarassment blending in with confusion as he gave the trio a cursory glance once more, confirming there is at least more than one tail in this pack of adventurers...

"...Sorry I just never thought I'd find beastfolk this short. No offense! Thought that you two were faerins for a moment." His eyes flickered over to Imoogi for a moment, the girl far more befit of the descriptions in the letters, "At least one of them was right; You are the guide, right?"

"Ehem well- I'm Thomas, the closest to a 'local' as you'll get near the foot of the mountain. Unofficial 'watchman' of it I guess?"

@Chako @Imoogi