Forgotten Gears Episode 1: Snowdrift

[Gadgeteer Mikami]

Cries of hungry sea gulls rang in the air above the shifting waves, throwing salty sprays onto frost-bitten land. A white sail loomed against the cerulean backdrop of the horizon as it plowed through the flock of scavengers on its way to land. Down below, the travellers huddled in their thick fur coats as they braced against their body's warmth, braving the chilling ocean breeze sweeping against their back.

Among the sea of brown and blonde hair was a young bespectacled girl, shivering under a thick cotton sheet. The shattering of her teeth was enough to draw apprehensive glances from the other travellers on board as they waited for the ocean ferry Titania to approach the Knife's Edge dock. The girl remained passive to the probing stares, her mind more focused on formulating her next plan of attack than the sheer embarrassment she was receiving from travelling un-prepared.

Ffff- Freezing-!

The jolt of Titania docking into port jarred the Akashiman girl awake, reminding her of the cutting frigid air that she had imagined back in her Motherland. Armed with only her meager travelling kit and a large piece of blanket (borrowed from the deckhands, no less) she painfully advanced her feet towards the rigid roads of Salvic soil.

"Gyahhh... Who'd thought Salvar would be this c- c-..." A gust of wind ripped the oversized blanket from Reina's grasp, sending it drifting through the air back towards the ship it belonged to. Without her defensive shield against the biting winds, the Gadgeteer girl shrieked in surprise as she darted off to find a sanctuary. Prefereably somewhere with clothes she could borrow to keep out the winter chills.

"C- COLD!!!"

[Camella]

Decided to start this out with a brief intro and the ending of the bazaar topic (http://www.althanas.com/world/showthread.php?t=16061) from which the idea came. hope you don't mind.

Camella had come into the bazaar for warm clothes herself this day, thing was, she needed something a bit more specific than warm clothes that fit, on this, the coldest day that Salvar had had in quite a while, she needed warm clothes that fit in a specific way. They had to be skin-tight and have absolutely NO loose ends. Otherwise she couldn't turn the entire thing invisible with her when she wanted to.

She needed to show the shopkeeper what she needed by going invisible for a bit, but after a while the shopkeeper was able to produce a leather jacket some Pants, and some special footwear for her. She had already tried on, the Jacket and pants the other day, which left only one item on her agenda before she headed out.

Camella tried the footwear on. Had she been looking for comfort, she would have been quite disapointed, but never had she seen such good craftsmenship or such closefitting footwear. The seamstress had pulled through, and then some.

"Listen I don't know how you did it, but you have proven yourself to be extremely good at your job, and you've made my day. You know, though, I never got your name. If you ever need any protection, and I'm in town, I'll help you out, but I need to know your name first. Don't say you won't need protection, though, because I know that when you are the best at something, people will come after you.

With that I've got to go, though. Thanks again."

Camella put the money on the table and left the store, in her invisible state, wearing everything that was made for her.

As she stood in the doorway, waiting for the shopkeeper's name she just had to crack a joke.

"So, how do I look?"

The shopkeeper blinked quizzily when the customer suddenly said something like that, although she did have a point. Protection was a valuable thing in the land of civil strife, to which the northern country was experiencing now. It could do her no more harm, the tailor thought as she tentatively put away the coins, to have that extra strong arm on the road.

"...Um, you look..." She began, trying to find where the customer was standing now. There was no visual cue that the shopowner could go by, at least until the invisible fighter stepped out into the snow. "...Well, I can't really tell. You're invisible. Anyway, my name is Millie. Millie M. Thanks for using our services..."

Silence was the only thing which met the leather worker, prompting her to cast her eyes about in anxious suspicion.

"...Hello?"

Camella heard her, of course, but decided not to answer. She was about to leave the block the shop was on when out of the blue a black-haired, brown eyed lady almost mowed her down in a rush to get in the shop. Camella, curious, as well as confused, decided to stay just long enough to see what was up.

[Gadgeteer Mikami]

“Cold!”

The tiny clothing store Silver Spool shook violently upon the entry of a certain young dark-hair girl who literally exploded through the doorway. Millie, the unlucky owner of this venue, jumped in fright as she hastily steadied her glasses which nearly dropped from her nose. A stray gust of late winter winds slipped through the weathered cracks in the doorframe, further aggravating the shivering maiden standing just within the shop’s warm interiors.

Reina Mikami never felt more like an icicle than today as she first arrived in Salvar. She had heard many tales about this “Great Kingdom in the North” whom the Akashiman themselves have heard from Coronian and Aleraran merchants trading within the city of Yanbo. Most Akashimans had never left their homeland, thus the tale of a land covered in eternal snow was of much intrigue, especially to the ambitious. Reina had heard these tales as well, waiting for the day she would see for herself the land of her dream, but the lass was ill-prepared for the unforgiving weather which was commonplace here.

Luckily, she had stumbled upon the leather shop who also specialized in winter clothes. The girl took no chances of being stranded in the cold air before forcing her way in, despite the obvious repercussions. She would rather deal with the law while stretching in the wooden cell room than left to freeze on the streets. Or so she would prefer, one would think.

“Uh, hi! May I…” The sheepish store owner peered at the shaking youth through her spectacles, noticing the frost beginning to form on the intruder’s own. Milllie thought it would not be kind to turn the stranger back, even though it was almost time for closing shop. “…Help you?”

The dark-hair girl merely nodded, or rather shook her head in violent jerks one would think her head would fall off. Edging like an undead walker in shackles, the lightly-clad maiden inched towards the counter with both her hands tucked into her armpits.

“C- c- cl…O…th…es…” She muttered through the frost which was slowly receding from her lips. “C- … Col…d… out… there…”

Poor unlucky Millie. Not only did she give the stranger a warm comforter to wrap herself in, but she brought along a tub of water to soak her feet in as well.

There was another fit of rattling from her door, much to the shopkeeper’s surprise, as she returned from the back with a wooden tub and a kettle of boiled water. Her mind went to the invisible lady who had bought a set of clothes from her earlier, but she was not sure if it could be her. Apprehension creased her brows as she called out, hoping for a reply.

“…Cammy? Are you… Around here?”

[Camella]

hope you don't mind a slight bunny. Also sorry about the post being so short.



Camella was quite confused, but she had made a promise, and she intended to keep it. Materializing out of thin air, she quickly came to the call of Millie. She was still wearing all the winter gear she had bought. She studied the situation carefully, trying to figure out what Millie could possibly want with her. First thing she looked for was any threat the woman that just came into the shop could pose. After establishing that there was little threat to be had, she stared at Millie for a bit.

"Yeah, I'm here. What do you need?"

Her eyes turned to the startled face of the woman who had just come in. Whether the startled face was from Camella appearing out of thin air or from the fact that she was obviously not human was hard to determine, but Camella looked at her and smiled.

"Oh... Sorry if I startled you Miss. It really wasn't meant to happen. Please go about your business as normal. I'll see what Millie wants with me after you are done."

[Gadgeteer Mikami]

((Yeesh! That took Raven a while to get posting!))

"N..... No.... Pr.... obl...... em....."

Reina was, in all accounts, too distracted by the chill to notice the sudden appearance of the bounty hunter or even the fact she had not been there moments before. The girl remained quietly shivering to herself until she could feel her fingers again. But once sensation returned to her limbs, the young gadgeteer decided it was time to start her mission.

"Ha... That felt great. Thanks, eh..." Reina began but paused halfway into her introduction as she looked quizzily at the shopowner.

"Millie." She replied, a bit curious.

"Millie. Thanks for warming me up. Now..." The gadgeteer got to her feet and began surveying the store, stopping at each clothes rack with ambitious eyes. "So. How much is this coat?"

The lass held out a heavy winter jacket with thick fur lining the neck and sleeves.

"Ah, that's two hundred and fifty, miss. Thick caribou hide and layered snowshoe hare fur lining. This is one of our store's top quality items that you're sure to love."

T- Two hundred fifty?! Reina almost gagged at the price. It was well beyond the poor girl's budget, but she was intent on grabbing some gears for her journey. She had to go brave the elements outside and she was not going to be unprepared like she was upon arrival to the wintry country. Then I guess I have no choice...

"...Well... I see..." She frowned, slyly making casual glances at the tailor and her "bodyguard," or so she thought. "The price is a little heavy for my wallet, so how about I make you a deal?"

The gadgeteer smiled as she walked over to the counter and took a large scroll of paper from her traveling bag. Laying it on the table, she invited the shopkeeper to have a look at its contents.

"This is what I found back in my homeland... And the reason I am here."

Faded brown shapes and lines adorned the weathered scroll in odd patterns. Geometric figures were accompanied by odd scripts that the gadgeteer could not read. There was one word, however, that she could read. It was clearly written across the top of the paper and she had seen it in many of her uncle's works.

Salvar.

"From what I could decipher from my uncle's old writing, he found something in the western area a few miles from the border of an unoccupied fiefdom. From the last few lines I could read, me uncle wrote that it was too large to bring back and had to be left there for future excavation."

Mikami Reina had been staying in her uncle's workshop in Yanbo Harbor of East Akashima, where the once famous Higurashi Hajime worked his clockwork magic within the tiny store. It had been many months since he sudden disappearance from the dockside workshop, but the young mechanic had searched the abandoned building for any clues her uncle had left behind. The map was one of the things she found and she hoped it would provide more clues as to where the famous clockwork master could be.

That was when the gadgeteer looked up at the tailor who had been busily studying the map as well.

"Do you know where it is?" Reina put her finger next to a small cross on the map, denoting where the supposed finding was.

The tailor shook her head slowly as she ran her eyes over the aging map. Reina's smile turned into a nervous frown for a moment before the bespectacled shopkeeper replied.

"Not in that general area, but I recognize some of the landmarks written along the way." She placed her fingers at each of the geographical signs, mouthing the local Salvic name that the gadgeteer could not understand. "So, you want me to tell you what each of the locations are?"

"Actually..." The Akashiman grinned, tipping her glasses with a flash of mischief in her eyes. "I was hoping you could help take me there."

Reina had anticipated the storekeeper's response. Almost as soon as she finished speaking, the girl's head snapped upwards as if wanting the traveler to repeat her statement again.

"But- I can't leave this shop!" Millie exclaimed. "I have customers coming in every single day! And another thing, you still haven't paid for your coat!"

"Oh... Yeah... But I could pay you with the riches that lie waiting for us..." Reina narrowed her eyes. "Plus... Maybe we could find a few artifacts... Maybe even some ancient fabric of lost civilizations..."

"...Ancient... Fabric...?"

Cha-Ching! The Akashiman gadgeteer grinned to herself at the victory.

Millie froze in place as the words slowly sank in. Slowly, she turned to Camella with eyes begging her for that promise they made earlier that day.

[Camella]

Camella got a smirk on her face as she listened to the girl explain what might be found there. She was pretty sure that the girl was pulling a fast one with the ancient fabrics, but she had to admit, it would be a tempting offer for Millie, especially if it turned out to be true.

It wasn't the first time Camella had seen a customer haggle with a shopkeeper, but this was the most ingenious way of doing it she had ever seen. Thinking on her feet, Camella decided to do a bit of haggling with the woman herself before things got too much further.

"You know, it is my obligation to protect Millie from the dangers of the outside world, that can just as easily be done by not allowing her to go with you. You may have bought her off with all your fancy talk, but she isn't going anywhere without my say so. Now, don't get me wrong, it sounds interesting and all, but I think I'd rather not go. It sounds like too much hassle, unless there is something in it for me too..." Camella said slyly.

In truth, she planned on going either way. It sounded like way too exciting of an opportunity to pass up. Thing was, she was only obligated to protect Millie. So unless this other girl gave her some incentive, Camella wasn't about to risk her life to protect her.

[Gadgeteer Mikami]

((Finally getting this back on track!))

"Sounds like you've already got one foot in the bandwagon, Cammy."

Reina narrowed her eyes at the bodyguard with a mischievous smile. For a moment, she looked like a villainous treasure hunter striking a deal with the devil. Having a skilled fighter along for the trip would certainly make the journey far safer, she thought. Which means the gadgeteer would have more time figuring out what to do once the party gets there.

Sure, it would also mean the spoils have another factor to take into account, but there should be plenty to go around. Reina wasn't that interested in money, anyway...

"I'm sorry I can't promise you anything off the bat... Although I have heard that there might be legendary weapons among the artifacts there..."

The room fell silent, saved for the sound of pedestrians walking outside. Reina stood with one hand on the shop counter, eyeing the warrior with a knowing grin. Millie stood holding the weathered map against the counter top, also looking at her new bodyguard with anticipation.

"...I see. That's OK, I guess."

Reina turned her head in surprise when the first to break the silence was ther shop owner instead of the leather-clad warrior. Millie rolled up the map into a tube and held it in her arms, a determined look on her face.

"I've made up my mind, Cammy. I'm going with Ms. Traveller. If you don't feel like coming, I understand."

She gave Camella a confident smile.

"Don't worry. I'll be safe."

Wow... Now that's...

"Wa-HAHAHA! Well said, Miss Millie! That's the spirit!" Reina gave the little girl a hearty pat on the shoulder. "Anyway, now that we're on the same team, I should properly introduce myself."

The gadgeteer stuck her hand out towards the shopkeeper.

"My name's Mikami Reina, Gadgeteer Extraordinaire (or, at least, soon will be) from Akashima. You can just call me Reina, or Mikami, whatever you prefer."

[Camella]

Camella listened to the the gadgeteer talk. She was very skeptical on whether this woman was telling the truth or whether she was just a whack job who was good at convincing people of what she believed. Whatever the case, she seemed to have Millie convinced from the get-go, and as much as Camella hated to admit it, Mikami had also convinced her. Worse yet, since Millie was going, she felt she had to go whether she wanted to or not.

There were however, a few things going through Camella’s mind, mostly about the possibility of new weapons. First off, as promising as the concept of new weapons seemed, it was still only a chance, and probably a slim chance to boot. There was also the fact that there were a ton of different weapons out there, and all Camella knew how to use was Daggers. This meant that even if they found a legendary weapon, chances were she wouldn’t be able to use it.

More than anything else, though, Camella was concerned about the well-being of Millie. This was what had finally convinced her to come along. Despite what Millie said, Camella felt she needed to come along, and that there was no other option. Camella had seen the dangers of the outside world with her own eyes, and she knew better than anyone that the likeliness of everything going off without a hitch was next to none.

“Fine, I’ll come along.” Camella said after a bit of thought. “But only because I owe Millie one and the thought of leaving her alone with a lunatic would drive me batty. This is not to say I am not interested in acquiring a new weapon, but I’m not getting my hopes up. Now, let’s get a move on before I change my mind”

Camella headed out the door after she said this and looked around at her surroundings. White was the best word to describe them. Everything was covered in pure hard-packed snow, the type of snow that one could stand on without making a single footprint. This made it quite easy for Camella to blend in and make sure she wasn’t seen. It did, however, bring up an interesting concern.

See, Camella’s ability to turn invisible depended largely on the fact that she made little to no footprints and that there was nothing falling on top of her. In other words, in a climate where it snowed, both the white powder falling from the sky and the footprints left in soft packed snow could easily give away her position if she were to try to go invisible in a fight.

After making sure she had everything she needed, Camella followed the two women outside. Two women. That was going to be problematic. She had to protect both of them by herself, and as far as she knew, neither of them could fight worth a darn. “Listen up you two. If we get attacked, I want you to stay as close to each other as possible so I don’t have to choose which of you to protect. With that said, I have but one question. Where to now?”

[Gadgeteer Mikami]

"Well, let's see..."

Reina tugged on her newly acquired winter coat and looked around the featureless landscape. The gadgeteer had listened to many stories about this land from the sailors at Yanbo Harbour, but never once had she believed such exaggerations were indeed as they have said. A land filled with nothing but the cold wind and bright, white snow was beyond her expectations. A complication she had not thoroughly anticipated.

I knew it was going to be hard... but how hard?

"...Oh, huh?" She thought Camella said something, but she did not catch what the bounty hunter said. Something about being attacked or stick close. Something like that.

The gadgeteer looked around and saw Millie and Camella waiting by a horse-drawn wagon. The driver looked old and drowsy, but otherwise giving her a warm smile.

"Reina? Which way are we going?"

The gadgeteer turned her head when Millie called her name, holding the map in her hand.

"...Oh! Er, yeah. Which way, right?" Reina chuckled and looked over the weathered scroll. After pointing at the different places and trying to understand which place is where with the dressmaker, Millie then relayed the route information to the wagon driver.

No matter... I must find...

***

The wagonride had been nothing but eventful since they exited the gigantic walls of Knife's Edge. All through the countryside, nothing was seen but snow, snow and more snow. And an occasional snowshoe hare, but otherwise still indistinguishable from the snow all around them. Once or twice they had to stop by the side of the slush-covered trail to re-examine their bearing, but nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary. After an entire day on the worn-out trail, the traveling treasure hunters came to their first day's destination.

"...I think we should stop to rest here for tonight." Millie looked up from the map after the group had disembarked. The town glowed a pale yellow color from the lanterns strung along the main avenue. After saying thanks to the driver (with Millie paying for the ride) the trio set their sights on a small inn at the edge of town.

"Wait here. I'll go get us a room for tonight." Millie smiled and bounced off to the reception desk.

The inn was fairly old, but sturdy. Its weathered dark-brown wood shining from the waxy finish, which may have given the establishment a particularly warm interior. The main entrance glowed with candlelight contained within squarish lanterns lining the wall. Laughter and lively music could be heard around the corner, possibly from the tavern attached to the inn.

"...Hmm, pretty cozy in here." Reina muttered thoughtfully as she took off her outer coat. There was no one else but the three of them in the main lobby, but the feeling of being in a strange locale set the gadgeteer on edge. "Anyway, what're your thoughts about this place, Cammy?"

[Camella]

Camella looked around inside the inn and smiled. Every inn looked the same to her these days, but because of certain circumstances, she almost never had the luxury of sleeping in one. The first thing she noticed upon looking around was that it was the first thing in a long while that she had seen that wasn't covered in snow. The price range was also quite good in her opinion, and it was quite warm inside. All in all it wasn't too bad of a place. It also appeared to be quite popular and busy, which Camella was pretty sure was just because of the snow. She highly doubted that this was a good thing, but she could think of one good thing that came of it, it was easy to hide in crowds. Upon hearing the Gadgeteer's question, though, a ton of responses drifted through her head.

Camella wanted to mention how it didn't matter since they needed sleep and warmth and this place could provide both. She wanted to mention how it was likely the only option. She wanted to mention how she hated crowds and hated the feeling of this place. Instead, though, she decided to answer the question on a positive note. "Well, it's not white." she said with a smile.

Out of the corner of her eye, Camella spotted something a bit odd. It was a tiny detail to be sure, but it was something still worth noting. There was a party of four people, two male and two females who were looking over a map very similar to the one Mikami had shown her and Millie. One of the men had brown hair, white skin, blue eyes, and was wearing a black trenchcoat. A scythe sat on his back, and he seemed to be focused on the map and pointing to certain places on the map as he talked. Camella guessed he was the leader of the foursome.

The other man was quite obviously the team muscle. He had black hair, brown skin that rippled with muscles, and those muscles had muscles that also had muscles. He looked quite slow, but he was carrying a huge warhammer on his back. Camella seemed to smile upon seeing the warhammer. It was something she could easily deal with if needed as it was a slow, easy to avoid weapon.

The first of two women at the table had Neko ears and brown and white fur all over her body. She looked to be in her late teens and wore an eyepatch over her left eye. Her right eye was blue and she wore twelve daggers on her belt. Camella guessed this female was an assassin from how she looked, and moved on to look the last member over.

The last woman was elven in appearance. She had indigo hair, green eyes and wore a black leather suit. Her weapon looked to be a crossbow, and it appeared to be loaded with 6 crossbow bolts. She seemed to be discussing something with the one Camella had assumed was the leader. Camella looked between the map and Mikami and then at the map again.

"Excuse me, miss Mikami... is it by any chance possible your map isn't unique?" Camella finally asked.

"What? Of course not!" She jumped after hearing the mercenary's question. "My uncle drew this map by hand. Of course, it's original!"

The way she insisted on it, it was surprising that the whole place didn't hear her. After a bit of thought, a second question came to Camella's lips.

"how very odd... I thought I saw.... is it possible he copied it off another map?"

"...Ya think?" Mikami looked genuinely nervous. "I... I don't know. But I'm sure it's his handwriting. Why'd you ask?"

"It's just.... I need to check something. don't move." Camella said, turning invisible and heading off to inspect the other map. Upon closer inspection, the map was a bit different. It was about the same age as Mikami's map and included a few more landmarks, but it looked like the main destination was the same. In the corner of the map was a single name: Jesse Kaufmann. Camella started to head back to Mikami and Millie when a dagger is thrown at her by the Neko, hitting her left arm, and leaving a nice sized cut. The elf at the same time, drew her crossbow, and aimed at her midsection.

"Show yourself, NOW!" the elven female insisted. And Camella turned herself visible, fully understanding what would happen if she didn't. The two males both pulled out thier weapons as well, and approached Camella, the map still on the table. the man with the scythe put his blade right up to Camella's neck.

"Well, well, well.... Seems the ears on those two were useful today. Tell me, miss, are you an assassin? A spy? A thief? Answer me!" The man with the scythe said to her, pressing the blade against her neck.