Steel Sky (Adelle/Mind Flayer)

[Guan Yu]

There was little more to be said, Rachaela finding Adelle's quest for Rose and her claw dexterity to be a good enough cause for some time and effort. With both her and Luna likely to put a good word in, it should not be terribly bad a thing to deal with.

Backtracking away a bit from the rich folks quarter, the two had only a bit of travel time on foot to make it through the areas of the northern sector of the city. It was not bad to go through, certainly being a better area to go around in than the more wrecked areas in the south. And as Rachaela had told them, the two would find a tower at the city limits there, though it was not just a tower. There was a house attached to the base of the tower as well, and that is where the entrance was. It even had a sign above the door. "Rizzet's Arcane Curios" and a smaller text below "Non-wizards are welcome".

 

[Mind Flayer]

Making their way through the city, Adelle was in high spirits, finding the richer section of the city to be quite a pleasant place to walk through, and after a while she spotted the tower on the city limits on the north end of town. "Oh wow, I guess this is the place. Non-wizards are welcome. See Rose, it doesn't look like he'll turn us away at least. Come on, let's go say hi, and be polite of course, and maybe he won't ask too much of us," Adelle said cheerfully as she read the sign above the door before knocking on it, or ringing the doorbell should there be one. "Hello! Is anyone home?" Adelle called out as she knocked or rang the doorbell, curious if the man was home or not.

 

[Guan Yu]

There indeed was a button to be pressed for informing the residents that a customer or similar was coming, a green light lighting above it almost immediately after the button was pressed, indicating that coming in was permitted right away. Probably a slower period of sales time for the place, or maybe they did not have massive amounts of people coming around to begin with. The door opened inward as Adelle went for it, the entry stopping there under the door frame as she was met with another customer coming out. But for better or for worse, this was a potential hazard as she was standing within arm's reach of the emotionless face of Margaret, the lost fifth sister. She was right there at the door, looking a bit disbelieving that she was almost walked into by another customer. The second they met gazes felt like half an eternity to Adelle, who was probably getting a bit bothered by the sudden development.

 

[Mind Flayer]

Seeing the green light above the door, Adelle opened it and stepped inside with Rose in tow, after which she'd look around curiously. As she went in however, Adelle came face to face with Margaret, whom she nearly bumped right into as Margaret was on her way out, their faces nearly colliding. Adelle gulped softly and stared back at Margaret for a few moments that felt like hours, days even. "E-Excuse me," Adelle said, not forgetting her politeness even to a foe that had tried to kill her before.

After that, Adelle would step on through with Rose and look around the place proper, mentally noting this development to tell Rachaela and Mariela later. She was mostly looking for Luna, but if she couldn't find her, then she'd look for Rachaela's old master.

 

[Guan Yu]

While it was certainly obvious that Margaret was in the know of the situation, she did not seem to be interested in having a go at Adelle. Maybe there was little reason for it, maybe the lack of pay held her off from doing anything drastic, though she had apparently killed numerous times for fairly meaningless reasons before. She went by the busty girl without a blink or word once given the room, but the sight of Rose actually managed to stop her. The two looked at each other for a bit, and despite the obvious size difference, Margaret's gaze made the large girl back up and kinda move so Adelle was between them. "Hmm... interesting... too bad I can't linger for now so... maybe at a later date..." she would kinda mumble to herself before turning away, not having the slightest bit of urgency in her step as she went. Again, Adelle could see the rather bizarre yet uniquely deadly weapon of hers on her back, that giant rifle/scythe combination. Hopefully they did not have to engage the thing any hostilities any time soon. "What was... that...? She looked so much like the other girls yet... none of the same humanity in her look that they had..." Rose would go on to say as the two went inside.

Entering the store revealed that the store area itself was fairly small, only a counter and some shelves behind it making the actual buying area while a few chairs lined the wall next to the door, probably to maintain some sort of order if multiple customers came in. There was no old wizard to be found there though, only Sebastian the ghost looking around while Luna popped up from behind the counter, having been rummaging there after Margaret's departure. And while she had a fair bit of the crazy, Luna did not burst out from behind the counter or anything, remaining fairly professional all things considered. "Oh hey, did you already come to ask me back? I KNEW YOU'D MISS ME YOU PERVERT. Or are you just here to buy something like that previous girl? Whaddya need?"

 

[Mind Flayer]

"That was Margaret. She was one of them some time ago, but they had a... falling out. Margaret's a cold blooded killer for hire, and she's been hired by Miguel, the guy that Luna's familiars took care of not long ago that raided the house. Steer clear of her unless you can get a kill on her from a mile away, and even then still be careful," Adelle told Rose softly so Margaret didn't hear her after they were inside and the door shut.

When she spotted Luna behind the counter, Adelle smiled and waved over to her as she made her way inside, giving Luna a quick little hug. "Heh, while I do Kind of miss you snuggling up at night with me, I've got Rose to snuggle with. And... that's Margaret by the way, the one that turned on Mariela and the others, just so you know. So be extra careful around her. She's nothing but a cold blooded killer. And what we're here for, is to talk to Rachaela's old master, the owner of the place. I was hoping to talk to him about helping Rose here out some more in getting some better dexterity for her hands. I mean, having the claws makes her strong and all, but she's really unable to take care of herself easily, so I was going to see if he could maybe make her claws... I dunno, extendable, or transforming, or something like that," Adelle told Luna cheerfully, hoping the old wizard would see them.

 

[Guan Yu]

"I should have guessed, same getup as the others and all. She is apparently one of master Rizzet's more frequent customers, buys potions mostly but occasionally other things too, according to him. She was a bit distant, but otherwise seemed a good customer." Luna would say what she thought of the situation and Margaret. It looked as if she had been left with an actual decent image of her. "You'll have to discuss that with him then. Hey Sebastian, go poke at the old man until he comes down, we need him." she would go on, urging the head-and-hands ghost to do the summons as she went ahead with her shop duties.

After a few minutes, the back door behind the counter creaked open, an older gentleman in deep red robes stepping into the room. The robes did enough to cover his body up, but it was safe to assume he was of slight yet tall build, if a bit hunched over. His facial features were somewhat tapered and sharp, indicating that he had probably been a beautiful man in his younger days, yet now he looked more masculine with his long, thick moustache and beard that were both grey at this point. He even had equally bushy eyebrows to go with the facial hair, but no actual hair remained on the top of his head in his current age, which was probably mid or late seventies. Yet he moved around with no need for a support, having the ability to do so without help. "I get the idea that I am required over here, if Sebastian's poking is a sign about that." he would speak up in a still strong voice, introducing himself as Rizzet the Red, the owner of this tower and store.

 

[Mind Flayer]

"Well I mean, I'm not gonna tell the old wizard here who he can and can't sell stuff to, but I do believe he ought to know just who and what she is, and that she and Rachaela are... well, enemies now. Anyway yeah if you can get him, I have more than that to talk to him about," Adelle said to Luna, watching as Sebastian floated off to find the wizard man that was Rachaela's master.

While they waited, Adelle looked around the store area curiously for any potions and whatnot that seemed interesting, and when the older man came in, Adelle glanced over and awaited him to get fully in to talk to. After he spoke up to Luna, Adelle would step over and introduce herself. "Hello sir, I'm Adelle. I'm a friend of Rachaela's, and she said that you might be able to help me in my endeavor," Adelle said politely, giving a respectful bow. "N-Now I don't know much about magic or anything myself, even though I would like to, but now's not the time for that I suppose. A-Anyway... my friend Rose here has a bit of a problem, and I was hoping you might be able to help me, and Rachaela said if anyone could then it would be you. She's... well, nothing's really Wrong with her per se, but she's unable to really take proper care of herself easily like this, as you can see and probably suspect. I was wanting to know if it's possible for you to maybe... w-well, magic something up so to speak that could give her normal hands, b-but still allow her to get her claws here out too when she wants to, when she needs to fight and stuff I mean. Would that be possible... perhaps? Sir Rizzet?" Adelle went on to say to the wizard

 

[Guan Yu]

The items around the store were not all that numerous to be sure, given how they were all behind the counter and safely away from the hands of the customer unless brought to them by the person doing the sales, Luna at the moment. But it was not hard to get some fairly accurate ideas about the items just by looking at them, the bottles with red liquid that had a heart on them probably being fairly easy to understand what they were, among the myriad of other things like scrolls, wands and even some mundane items that had very little indicating why they were on sale to begin with.

Despite his station and somewhat powerful presence, Rizzet was hardly a bad person to deal with, coming at the issue right away as he didn't even answer Adelle and went right to Rose's side. Looking at her claws, he asked to see them and Rose did as was asked of her, raising her hands in front of her for him to look at. He probed at them a little with his own hands, auras of blue enveloping his own and soon making the glow transfer to Rose's hands as well. "Hmm, remarkable natural magic resistance. But I don't think it'll be a problem, given enough time." he would go on to say, the focus remaining a bit longer as he did seem to be able to get a grip on the whole matter, managing to shift the size down a bit. But it did not last too long, and only a few seconds later the alteration was gone, Rose's claws returning to the normal size. "I can do it, but if you want to make this permanent and actually be able to adjust the size at will, I need to intertwine a few permanency enchantments in there to make it last longer than a few hours. There's a natural sort of anti-magic present here, but it's not something I can't handle at my power level. It will take time though, and I'd like a small compensation for my time. I do have a lot of items to make for this store, and I don't really know you people, but I still don't want to be the stereotypical arrogant wizard by leaving her in her current state. I don't think I'd be able to handle that myself, so I don't wish it on anybody else either."

 

[Mind Flayer]

"Oh wow, it's real magic stuff, in a shop. It's almost like a fairy tail world," Adelle said as she saw the obvious magical potions and the like behind the counter while looking around.

After Rizzet came out and Adelle explained to him what it was she and Rose wanted and were there for, Adelle watched as the man moved over and started looking closely and magically probing Rose's hands/claws. After he had finished probing her hands and decided that he could indeed help them out with what they were wanting. "Well Rizzet, sir... I was hoping that you'd say that, or something like it at least. Now Rose needs her claws to fight of course. So being able to switch between her claws like this, and actual hands would be great if you can manage it. I mean, it's not that I want Rose to be able to take care of herself so she can leave or anything like that. I like having her at my home, just like I liked Luna being there with me too. They... make me feel safe, much safer than alone, and I don't like being alone either. And they're my friends, so they'll always have a place in my home, so long as I can provide them with one," Adelle told Rizzet after he had finished inspecting Rose. "So tell me sir, what is it that you require of me to get you for payment? I don't mind getting whatever you need. Well, so long as it's nothing illegal or anything like that. Or so long as you like, don't ask me to go kill anyone... especially Margaret that just left here, cos she's like... super uber bad nowadays, and I seriously doubt I'd make it out of that fight alive. I mean, Rachaela maybe I could take, but I've no reason to fight her, because she's my friend, and she's the one that directed me to you actually," she went on to ask the mage man.

 

[Guan Yu]

"No no no no no, just what do you take me for? I don't wish death on anyone, and much less would ask someone to carry out a murder for me. Nor do I wish to engage in anything illegal within the city, so that would not be something to ask for either and possibly have my name attached to it. No, what I had planned of the top of my head would be a small ingredient collection task." Rizzet would reply producing a rolled paper bit from his sleeve and opening it up to reveal... nothing at first, but soon an image of a

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ed flower would appear on the opened paper. "That is a lycoris flower. I'd need to have a small amount of dried samples for some future brews I've been planning on, so no need to worry about their condition. This is more of a personal thing than any real need, but I do still like to experiment when not making items for sale. As for the location, I can't know for sure where to find them, but I have heard wild tales of nature rebirthing itself in the wastes out there. If it would not be too much to ask, I'd like you two to go out there and see if you can find these flowers in these theoretical newborn forest areas. Even just confirming the rumors would be nice, just to make an old man happy that we did not manage to destroy nature with our past foolishness and our descendants might get to see the green earth again."

 

[Mind Flayer]

"Well, to be honest, Rachaela spoke very highly of you and I didn't figure you would ask me to do any such of a thing, just... seeing Margaret leaving got my panties in a bunch you might say. She's only tried to kill me twice... that I know of," Adelle replied, sighing softly with a slightly ashamed look at herself.

Adelle took the rolled up paper from Rizzet and looked at it as the image of a red flower appeared on the thing after a few moments. "Sure I can find them. I don't mind going in search of the things. But I do have a couple of questions. Will it take me more than a day to handle it? And which direction do you think nature is repairing itself out there? Would be helpful to know which way to go since my motorcycle is in the shop getting worked on and all. But heck, if we find it, I'd almost ask if you could magic me up a house in said forest because that would be wonderful. I've never seen a forest before, so I'm actually kind of excited," Adelle said when Rizzet had finished, looking as excited as she'd said as she bounced on the balls of her feet, which did make her breasts bounce and sway with her somewhat, but she looked ready to leave whenever Rose was..

 

[Guan Yu]

"It probably will take a few days if you don't have any faster method of moving around than just the good old footslogging. The rumors have mentioned both north from the city and southeast from the city to have something going on in the development of nature. I'd recommend packing up some supplies if you intend to make the trip. But as a goodwill token, let me help you out a little with this little item." Rizzet would tell the two before making a brief trip to the back room where he picked something up before coming back and handing Adelle a small metal cube the size of tennis ball that was engraved on all sides, with one side having faintly glowing round part in the middle. "This is my portable lodge. When you need to rest up in the night, just push the button and set the cube down on the ground with the button upwards, then give it a good deal of space. It will expand and turn into a small cottage with some security measures like enchanted walls and arcane locked door and windows. When you want to set it back up, leave and it will automatically shrink down back to the cube after a few minutes of inactivity. It will keep all the items you stored inside, but will not adjust size when someone is inside. And of course I want it back once you are done with the trip, it took a good deal of time, resources and effort to make."

 

[Mind Flayer]

"Oh wow a few days. Hmm, then I'll have to check and see if my motorcycle is fixed up yet and fill up on gas too to make sure I have enough to get me there and back," Adelle said, glancing over at Rose before taking the metal cube Rizzet brought out for her. "Awesome. Rizzet, sir, which of the two areas is closer to here? Or do you not know? I'll try and head out today if my bike is fixed back up," Adelle asked curiously as she put the portable cottage into her pack and prepared to leave, though she'd look over a few of the potions and try to find descriptions for them, but barring that she'd ask what they all did, thinking that maybe a couple of potions may be helpful on their trip.

 

[Guan Yu]

"Yes, a few days, maybe even more. I have not heard any concrete proof that there even is a place like these, but the amount of rumors seems to indicate it being a truth. These were people I've known and worked with for decades." Rizzet would go on to say, not having any sure information about the locations but nonetheless thinking that it was not a lie or a bad rumor.

The potions, being numerous but not too numerous, were steadily explained by Rizzet when asked. There were health potions, ones made for curing bodily harm and disease, and nearly similar ones that were made for clarity of mind and removal of mental ailments. Potions that boosted one's physical strength temporarily were there, as were ones that made the same for reflexes or magical abilities. Enhanced senses were on the offer as well, making either vision or hearing more acute for a period of time, the former even allowing increased visibility at night for the duration. There was a potion that allowed a safe and painless fall from great heights, one that allowed temporary levitation, minor telekinetic powers that allowed one to lift small and light objects with their mind, telepathic power for silent communication between minds, minor resistance to bodily harm, understanding and speaking languages, minor illusionary disguises and the ability to climb things like a spider were the ones that were on display, but Rizzet did mention that he could have other things available or make them on order.

 

[Mind Flayer]

"Hmm, then I'll definitely need my bike. And I'd wager that there's a very good chance that our world is recovering, especially since there's that large city floating in the sky and stuff," Adelle replied with a nod as she looked over the potions.

"Say, Rivvet, sir, how much do some of these cost? Are they... well, kind of cheap? Much as I'd like it, I'm not made of money. But, if it's possible, I'd like one of these strength and one reflex booster, as well as a vision booster. And a couple of these healing ones just in case. And if it's at all possible, when I get back, do you think you could see if... w-well, I'm capable of doing magic myself," Adelle asked curiously, blushing a bit with her last sentence as she fidgeted when asking about seeing if she were capable of performing magic.

 

[Guan Yu]

"I do try not to overprice them, they are fairly simple things to make, but I don't want just everyone having them, so I keep a bit of a price on my produce just to keep them from the hands of the desperate, who might not have the best intentions." Rizzet would explain, the price of the entire stack coming up to about a week's worth of food and gas. It was manageable to the busty girl in her current situation, but might make it necessary to skimp elsewhere if she did get all of them. "In your current state, no. It would take something special for you to have that capability. Just my educated opinion on that particular question."

 

[Mind Flayer]

"Mmm, that's fair. Hmm, I don't think I can afford all of them. I'll just take the healing ones for now in that case, because I still need to fill my gas tank up on my bike before we head out," Adelle said, choosing just those two healing potions she'd grabbed, and putting the rest back for now. "Hmm, I see. I don't know much about magic myself, so I wouldn't know what it would take for me to have the talent for it or anything. I think Rachaela told me once a while back that I had something special about me, but I can't remember right off what exactly that was," she added with a shrug as she got the healing potions paid for before she looked over to Rose to see if she was ready to head out.

 

[Guan Yu]

Rizzet had Luna take out some of the red potions, and she would do just as asked, fetching a trio from the shelves and handing them over after Adelle paid for them. They were relatively small bottles with those stoppers that some wine bottles had, things that had a small metal wire setup keeping the stopper in place and a small bit at the bottom shifting it aside when moved. A few of them could be pocketed in a loose pocket easy enough, so it was not hard to move them around. "Magic is... not quite as easy to do as someone knowledgeable in the art might make it look. And it takes a certain kind of mental state to have the spark for even the book kind of wizardry. The ones who do it naturally without written word are even more special." Rizzet would make a small mention of what he knew.

For her part, Rose did not seem to have any say against leaving, having been looking at Sebastian's antics as Adelle and the rest of them had been dealing with their things.

 

[Mind Flayer]

Adelle would put the potions away for the time being in her pack, and would look back to the wizard man as he explained magic, or the concepts of it rather. "Oh, I see. So unless I got some talent for it, it's not likely I can do magic then. That's unfortunate, because magic is awesome, and who wouldn't wanna do magic and stuff. Maybe once we get back, I'll have a chance to sit down and see if I have some hidden talent for it that I never knew before or something. I've always been just so concerned with having enough money for food and to keep a roof over my head that I've not really ever tried to find anyone that could show me magic and see if I'm capable of it myself," Adelle replied before she and Rose headed out, with Adelle leading the way to the body shop to check on her bike and see if it'd been repaired yet, and kind of hoping it had been, else she and Rose would be walking, which was not something she wanted to do in all honesty.