A Search for Answers (backdated to November 13)

[desertbloomed]

Ashelia and Lightning have been talking for a while about checking out the lost city of Aqures Tosf. Surely, there must be answers there; it's the original resting place of the Crystal of Fire before it destroyed the city, crystallizing the inhabitants it didn't kill outright. With Aqures Ixen nearly coming to the same end on The Night of the Thirteen Moogles, answers are needed more than ever.

What awaits on that forsaken island? Marvels? Horros? Treasure? The truth? No one knows. Will you take on the challenge?


[Aqures Ixen Airship Port]

The Heroes gather at the Airship Port to depart on their flight to Balicea. Who is coming along? Why? What do you hope to find on this journey? One word of advice: don't be late. Ashelia cannot abide tardiness.

[Airship Ride to Balicea]

The ride on the ship is short, but it doesn't have to be uneventful. Is this your first time on an airship? Time to find out if you get airsick.

[Balicea]

The Heroes arrive in Balicea on a mission. Ashelia tells everyone that they'll have the day to themselves to explore, but they should be at the docks the next morning bright and early. Ashelia will make sure they have a ship chartered to take them to Aqures Tosf.

[The Voyage to the Lost City]

Ashelia hopes that some of the Heroes coming along are better sailors than she - not one captain was willing to take them to Aqures Tosf. It looks to be a safe enough voyage with the weather, but running a ship is no small feat and Ashelia is an amateur.

[The Lost City of Aqures Tosf]

This is it. The Heroes have arrived. What awaits them? Will they learn anything that will help them unravel the mysteries of the Crystals? Or will the strong creatures that have made the ruins of the once-great city their home prove to be too much?

Comments

[desertbloomed]

Ashelia saw Sephiroth from across the way. She was surprised, but pleasantly so. His sword would be welcome on the trip, and she couldn't think of a better way for him to start settling his conscience over what had happened than helping with the investigation of the Lost City. The information they would glean from the trip would make all the difference Could make all the difference, she corrected herself. There were never any guarantees.

The queen approached the general, pack and supplies left with Merlose, who was going over her itinerary. "Sephiroth. 'Tis good to see you. You are..." It was then she clued in to his dress and lack of supplies. "You will not be accompanying us?"

[shinrasfinest]

Logically, it should be the perfect salve for the deep-seated issues that had been stirred in his over-thinking mind. But no matter how many times, how sternly he had tried to brain his way around into sparking his motivation to accompany Ashelia's crew to Aqures Tosf, the discomfort he felt underneath his skin was too intense to ignore. Perhaps next time he might but now, now he just wanted to be alone.

Begged the question why he had even come to see them off, really. Though, he was there now and he only slowly nodded at Ashelia once she had read the signs that -indeed- he wasn't going to be accompanying them.

"I felt it only right to come and personally see you off, even if I will be absent on the expedition itself." His voice held a steady, if a low tone to it and he didn't keep his -near-glowing- eye contact with Ashelia for very long. He looked past her, as if the surroundings might give him a clue what to say next.

"Have you everything ready? Just about?"

[desertbloomed]

Ashelia didn't look too pleased with Sephiroth's resolve not to come on the trip, but it was his choice in the end. Their exchange over Mognet had told her all she needed to know about his state of mind. In that light, it was actually a good step for the man to feel comfortable to come see them all off.

She nodded at his question. "Zelda was kind enough to bring some winter clothing and cured meats. I shall miss her healing on this voyage, but we all have our own path." She sighed lightly, looking at the other Heores that heeded her call. "Mine is to find what information I can, and bring everyone back alive and well."

[shinrasfinest]

The last thing he needed was Ashelia's displeasure, on top of everything else, hence the glancing away from her in that instance. He imagined he could feel how disappointed she was though, so it didn't help very much at all. Sternly, he turned his own thoughts to more of the other reasons he had decided to stay behind. He wanted to take on the military employment soon and he'd need to be able to get to Esdham.

He couldn't bring himself to tell anyone that, though.

"Zelda-" He swallowed a dry lump in his throat over mention of the Princess he'd killed without even a thread of a provocation. Did Ashelia know what he'd done and mentioned her on purpose? Still, concerned over manners, Sephiroth followed with a nod and a light 'humph' in agreement.

"We are all so similar, yet so different at the same time." He hoped, silently, that he might find his own way back to his path once he'd cooled off over what had happened.