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Smoke! Fire! Gunpowder! Stealing the Tesoro of the Feast! - Episode 2
⭠ last episode | Episode 2 | next episode ⭢
Snow: So it wasn’t anything serious after all, that’s music to my ears. I’m glad we needn’t set aside the matter at hand to deal with an in-house ordeal.
Akira: I heard that we received a request for aid… What did it say?
Snow: This time, the request comes from a specific region in the Northern Country.
One must travel through the Five Foothills, then across a wide, sprawling lake to get there. We’re told that a huge ravine suddenly opened up in that region.
Cain: A huge ravine…?
Snow: Correct. Not just ‘quite large’ or ‘surprisingly large,’ people are saying it’s outright bottomless.
Shino: Are you sure that’s strange enough to be worth investigating? Northern Country is rife with climate and environmental changes. Couldn’t it be just some product of natural phenomena?
Snow: Well, you see, it was originally a small crevasse in the earth, and wasn’t as huge as it is today.
For unknown reasons, it’s twisted and split open into a terrifying ravine, fathomless, so deep that no one can see to the bottom of it.
A small crevasse that suddenly turned into a giant ravine.
It was analogous to seeing a little puddle turn into a lake overnight. It was such a wild idea that just imagining it would be enough to make anyone’s eyes widen.
Figaro: Just to be certain, were there any records of large-scale earthquakes near the region?
Snow: Nope.
Figaro: What about sightings of Mithra or Oz on a rampage?
White: Nope.
Figaro: Well, changes in landscape for no apparent reason bring to mind…
Cain: The < Great Calamity > ?
White: Umu. There’s a good chance that the giant ravine’s due to the Moon’s influence. If that is indeed the case, there is no way of telling what lurks in its darkest depths.
There’s already been casualties.
Akira: Casualties? Oh no…
Snow: Umu. A ravine that appeared out of nowhere is bound to raise suspicions. The locals sent investigation teams in to look around, but most of these teams have simply gone missing.
White: Only very few people made it back. By their accounts, they were attacked by a strange ‘something’.
We do not know how much of it is fact or fiction, but one thing is certain: there’s a high chance that we’ll have to engage this mysterious ‘something’ in battle.
Snow: That is why, for this mission, we’ve decided to gather up our combat specialists to venture there.
Akira: I see…
It makes sense, then, that Bradley and Figaro were recruited for this expedition. Venturing into the unknown called for wizards who are able to perform under duress.
Snow: And it is only during dire times, that the cooperative long-lived wizards we have in the manor would all be away on their respective missions.
Cain: No matter what may happen down there, we can’t let the number of casualties increase. If you’ll have me along, I’d be glad to help out.
Shino: I’ll go too. If it’s going to be dangerous, then that’s my chance to show everyone what I’m capable of. I can’t pass up an opportunity to add more feathers to my cap.
Snow: We are glad to hear that.
White: You two may be young, but you have courage and guts. We’ll be counting on you.
Shino: Sit back and watch. I’ll go out there and show all you old wizards how it’s done.
Snow & White: Whoa~! So cool~!
Figaro: By the way, do you two happen to know how to get to the ravine? The Five Foothills are pretty far out from any civilisation.
Snow: We have only heard of it.
White: Unfortunately, it is not within the boundaries of our territory.
Bradley: Well, I know the way.
Bradley, who had been bored all conversation, lazily crossed his legs as he reclined onto the couch.
White: Bradley, have you been there?
Bradley: I haven’t. Because I got my ass caught and tossed into jail before I could.
But I have done a lot of research on that place. It’s rumoured to be where the Walpurgisnacht was hidden away.
Akira: Walpurgis Nacht… If I remember correctly, that’s the festival with all the witches and wizards, right?
The Walpurgis Nacht I knew was an annual festival by wizards for wizards. The wizards in the manor had once brought me along to the Northern Country to experience the festival.
Bradley: This and that ain’t the same deal. I’m talking about a very special gemstone christened with the same name.
It was all anyone would talk about for a while, and I bet those twins have at least heard of it. It’s a phantom of a gemstone, and no one’s ever laid their hands on it.
Having had the ball tossed back into their court, the twins exchanged glances.
Figaro: And that’s how the story goes. What say you two?
Snow & White: We may… or may not… have heard of this tale……?
Bradley: My bad, shouldn’t have tried asking the old and decrepit.
Snow: We’re not old and decrepit!
White: We’re as bright and bubbly as newborns!
Tired of their complaints, Bradley waved the twins aside and continued speaking.
Bradley: It was a real long time ago, but there was this wizard that zealously collected jewels and other treasures. The Walpurgisnacht is but one item in his collection.
Every time he got drunk, he’d brag about his treasures nonstop. Sometimes, he’d get a little carried away and even show them off for everyone to see — but never the Walpurgisnacht.
Flatter, badger, or pester him all you might, he never once showed it to anyone else.
Cain: It must have been incredibly precious to him.
Bradley: You think so? We’d be a pisspoor excuse for bandits if we didn’t try to get our hands on treasure like that.
What's more, the Walpurgisnacht was surrounded by rumours — such as, the longer you hold onto it, the more powerful and honed your magic becomes. People used to tell no end of tall tales about that gemstone.
Shino: Wait, so you’re saying I’d get stronger just by holding it? Really?
Bradley: It’s all hearsay, kid. You can’t say it’s all made up, though.
In fact, that collector had shown off his giant treasure collection while he was in Northern Country, but no one ever managed to swipe any of his loot away from him, and he lived a pretty long life to boot.
Snow: Hmm. If he really managed to live a long life in the North, that lends credence to the stone’s effects.
Cain: It’s quite the coveted gemstone for several reasons, I see.
Shino: Whoa, that’s something special. So you mean we might stumble upon it just lying there during our investigation?
Shino’s eyes sparkled with hope, but Bradley shook his head no.
Bradley: I wish it were as easy as that, but that’s just gossip from long, long ago.
As I was sayin’ earlier, I know where to go. As for the gemstone, I don’t know a damn thing.
I mean, the Walpurgisnacht is famed amongst us bandits. I wouldn’t be surprised if someone else got to it first.
Shino: Oh, come on.
Cain: That sure does happen.
Snow: In any case, once we’re there, we’ll have to prepare ourselves and not let our guard down.
White: They’re not here right now, but we plan to have Mithra and Owen join us too. They’ll lend us some needed firepower.
Well, of course, we know they’ll most likely try to shirk the job with silly reasons like ‘too troublesome’ or ‘nope’, but we’ll bring them along even if we have to drag them there by a leash.
Figaro: Mhm. Seems like we’ve got a solid plan. Well then, I’ll be taking my leave now—
Figaro attempted to leave the meeting lounge the moment things seemed settled, but he was stopped by a smiling White, who had a tight grip on his sleeve.
White: Not so fast. You will be coming with us too.
Considering we have Oz away on another mission, there is no one else but you who is fit to watch over these rowdy children.
Figaro: Well, I can’t say I didn’t see this coming.
Kenja sama will be going too, right? If so, then I’d be worried for her safety anyway.
Episode 3 ⭢
Snow: So it wasn’t anything serious after all, that’s music to my ears. I’m glad we needn’t set aside the matter at hand to deal with an in-house ordeal.
Akira: I heard that we received a request for aid… What did it say?
Snow: This time, the request comes from a specific region in the Northern Country.
One must travel through the Five Foothills, then across a wide, sprawling lake to get there. We’re told that a huge ravine suddenly opened up in that region.
Cain: A huge ravine…?
Snow: Correct. Not just ‘quite large’ or ‘surprisingly large,’ people are saying it’s outright bottomless.
Shino: Are you sure that’s strange enough to be worth investigating? Northern Country is rife with climate and environmental changes. Couldn’t it be just some product of natural phenomena?
Snow: Well, you see, it was originally a small crevasse in the earth, and wasn’t as huge as it is today.
For unknown reasons, it’s twisted and split open into a terrifying ravine, fathomless, so deep that no one can see to the bottom of it.
A small crevasse that suddenly turned into a giant ravine.
It was analogous to seeing a little puddle turn into a lake overnight. It was such a wild idea that just imagining it would be enough to make anyone’s eyes widen.
Figaro: Just to be certain, were there any records of large-scale earthquakes near the region?
Snow: Nope.
Figaro: What about sightings of Mithra or Oz on a rampage?
White: Nope.
Figaro: Well, changes in landscape for no apparent reason bring to mind…
Cain: The < Great Calamity > ?
White: Umu. There’s a good chance that the giant ravine’s due to the Moon’s influence. If that is indeed the case, there is no way of telling what lurks in its darkest depths.
There’s already been casualties.
Akira: Casualties? Oh no…
Snow: Umu. A ravine that appeared out of nowhere is bound to raise suspicions. The locals sent investigation teams in to look around, but most of these teams have simply gone missing.
White: Only very few people made it back. By their accounts, they were attacked by a strange ‘something’.
We do not know how much of it is fact or fiction, but one thing is certain: there’s a high chance that we’ll have to engage this mysterious ‘something’ in battle.
Snow: That is why, for this mission, we’ve decided to gather up our combat specialists to venture there.
Akira: I see…
It makes sense, then, that Bradley and Figaro were recruited for this expedition. Venturing into the unknown called for wizards who are able to perform under duress.
Snow: And it is only during dire times, that the cooperative long-lived wizards we have in the manor would all be away on their respective missions.
Cain: No matter what may happen down there, we can’t let the number of casualties increase. If you’ll have me along, I’d be glad to help out.
Shino: I’ll go too. If it’s going to be dangerous, then that’s my chance to show everyone what I’m capable of. I can’t pass up an opportunity to add more feathers to my cap.
Snow: We are glad to hear that.
White: You two may be young, but you have courage and guts. We’ll be counting on you.
Shino: Sit back and watch. I’ll go out there and show all you old wizards how it’s done.
Snow & White: Whoa~! So cool~!
Figaro: By the way, do you two happen to know how to get to the ravine? The Five Foothills are pretty far out from any civilisation.
Snow: We have only heard of it.
White: Unfortunately, it is not within the boundaries of our territory.
Bradley: Well, I know the way.
Bradley, who had been bored all conversation, lazily crossed his legs as he reclined onto the couch.
White: Bradley, have you been there?
Bradley: I haven’t. Because I got my ass caught and tossed into jail before I could.
But I have done a lot of research on that place. It’s rumoured to be where the Walpurgisnacht was hidden away.
Akira: Walpurgis Nacht… If I remember correctly, that’s the festival with all the witches and wizards, right?
The Walpurgis Nacht I knew was an annual festival by wizards for wizards. The wizards in the manor had once brought me along to the Northern Country to experience the festival.
Bradley: This and that ain’t the same deal. I’m talking about a very special gemstone christened with the same name.
It was all anyone would talk about for a while, and I bet those twins have at least heard of it. It’s a phantom of a gemstone, and no one’s ever laid their hands on it.
Having had the ball tossed back into their court, the twins exchanged glances.
Figaro: And that’s how the story goes. What say you two?
Snow & White: We may… or may not… have heard of this tale……?
Bradley: My bad, shouldn’t have tried asking the old and decrepit.
Snow: We’re not old and decrepit!
White: We’re as bright and bubbly as newborns!
Tired of their complaints, Bradley waved the twins aside and continued speaking.
Bradley: It was a real long time ago, but there was this wizard that zealously collected jewels and other treasures. The Walpurgisnacht is but one item in his collection.
Every time he got drunk, he’d brag about his treasures nonstop. Sometimes, he’d get a little carried away and even show them off for everyone to see — but never the Walpurgisnacht.
Flatter, badger, or pester him all you might, he never once showed it to anyone else.
Cain: It must have been incredibly precious to him.
Bradley: You think so? We’d be a pisspoor excuse for bandits if we didn’t try to get our hands on treasure like that.
What's more, the Walpurgisnacht was surrounded by rumours — such as, the longer you hold onto it, the more powerful and honed your magic becomes. People used to tell no end of tall tales about that gemstone.
Shino: Wait, so you’re saying I’d get stronger just by holding it? Really?
Bradley: It’s all hearsay, kid. You can’t say it’s all made up, though.
In fact, that collector had shown off his giant treasure collection while he was in Northern Country, but no one ever managed to swipe any of his loot away from him, and he lived a pretty long life to boot.
Snow: Hmm. If he really managed to live a long life in the North, that lends credence to the stone’s effects.
Cain: It’s quite the coveted gemstone for several reasons, I see.
Shino: Whoa, that’s something special. So you mean we might stumble upon it just lying there during our investigation?
Shino’s eyes sparkled with hope, but Bradley shook his head no.
Bradley: I wish it were as easy as that, but that’s just gossip from long, long ago.
As I was sayin’ earlier, I know where to go. As for the gemstone, I don’t know a damn thing.
I mean, the Walpurgisnacht is famed amongst us bandits. I wouldn’t be surprised if someone else got to it first.
Shino: Oh, come on.
Cain: That sure does happen.
Snow: In any case, once we’re there, we’ll have to prepare ourselves and not let our guard down.
White: They’re not here right now, but we plan to have Mithra and Owen join us too. They’ll lend us some needed firepower.
Well, of course, we know they’ll most likely try to shirk the job with silly reasons like ‘too troublesome’ or ‘nope’, but we’ll bring them along even if we have to drag them there by a leash.
Figaro: Mhm. Seems like we’ve got a solid plan. Well then, I’ll be taking my leave now—
Figaro attempted to leave the meeting lounge the moment things seemed settled, but he was stopped by a smiling White, who had a tight grip on his sleeve.
White: Not so fast. You will be coming with us too.
Considering we have Oz away on another mission, there is no one else but you who is fit to watch over these rowdy children.
Figaro: Well, I can’t say I didn’t see this coming.
Kenja sama will be going too, right? If so, then I’d be worried for her safety anyway.
Episode 3 ⭢