To the Fiery Lakes (I)

Chapter 110

A group of seven was sitting around a small, makeshift, earth-cast table, their frames too large to fit the narrow space, so much so that at least two had to sit some ways off. The atmosphere between them was a mixture of jubilant and awkward, as they'd just returned back here after hearing the rumors that the war had begun on the other side of the city.

"... do... do you think we were the cause?" Jamal asked as he took a sip of water.

"No," Emma shook her head quickly. "No. No way. I mean, no. Right?"

"There's a lot of doubt in your tone." Lukas said.

"No, no, that's not... doubt. That's, uh, conviction."

"Quite a funny way to express 'conviction'." Senna scoffed.

"Eh, so what if we did?" Larua shrugged, happily nibbling away at her new favorite food -- something others called 'rice and chili'. "We didn't literally tell them, 'ey, go out there and kill each other!'. So what if they're dumb enough to do that? Nothing to do with us."

"We... we have screwed up a lot of their transactions recently." Daniel added from the side.

"Do you feel bad about it?" Larua asked.

"No, no!" Daniel quickly exclaimed, shaking his head.

"Then there's no biggie!" she exclaimed with a grin on her face.

"Do... do you think Cain will be mad?" Diya asked pensively.

"Oof, yeah, he might," Larua said. "But what if he is? We just kick his ass, right?"

"..." she bit down her words as she noticed the dangerous looks emerge in everyone's eyes. Even she shuddered and felt chill for a moment under the weight of those gazes. Holy shit, these kids worship that dude... what the fuck?!! You're always on his ass!! What are you getting angry with me for?!

"Oh? You're gonna kick my ass, is it?" a playful voice drew everyone's attention to the doors where they saw a figure draped in thick layers of clothing and a mask leaning against the frame, his arms crossed over his chest, eyes glistening in a playful glint. "That sounds like a lot of fun."

"Uh--I... I was kiddin', you know? A joke!" Larua exclaimed awkwardly.

"No, no, I'm genuinely interested to see how you're gonna kick my ass," Cain said. "Come on out. I just happen to have some free time."

"... uh. I'd rather not."

"Why?"

"My fine bum is feeling chilly at the moment." she said. "And is begging me that I don't."

"What? I'm not gonna kick you in the ass -- I'm a gentleman!"

"Oh." Larua sighed in relief.

"I'm gonna set your ass on fire instead."

"Hey!! That's even worse!"

"Alright, pipe down you two," Emma quickly interjected, once again feeling like the 'mother hen' of the group. "You're back."

"I am," Cain nodded, walking in. "You guys heard the news."

"Yup," she nodded. "Were... were we the cause?"

"Nope, it was me." Cain quickly said as he pulled Larua from her seat and into the corner with Senna and Daniel, sitting down.

"You?" Jamal arched his brows. "What the hell did you do?"

"I might have kidnapped that guy that played with you," he explained. "And made it seem like two other groups did it. Oops."

"--so... the war is your fault?" Emma asked.

"Let's not dwell on that. We need to leave the city anyway."

"Oh? We do? Just as you fucked up?!" Senna chimed in from the side.

"No, no, we've got a Quest, you see." Cain said, lifting his mask up slightly and popping open a can of beer. "Totally coincidental. Nothing to do with the whole situation on the outside."

"Uh, uh." everyone looked at him oddly and mumbled.

"Khm, anyway, so wrap up here quickly and we're leaving."

Save for him, everyone got up and stretched, looking through their inventories and seeing whether they need any more supplies. Cain, on the other hand, lamented over their destination -- the Fiery Lakes. It wasn't as though it was a terrible place to go since it was quite rich in resources, especially precious ores that were used by the Tower-natives to craft items, but because of what their quest entailed.

//Helping a Friend (S-)

Requirements: Time Thief

Content: Head over to Fiery Lakes and seek out Taima Ludge, the enthusiastic blacksmith who went to the Lakes in search of good fortune before crafting his magnum opus. When you find him, help him out with whatever he needs.

Reward: +20% bonus Mana; +50% Mana Regeneration

Note: I won't get jealous if you kiss him.//

Sighing, he closed the window and rested his head on his hands for a moment. Taima... that's a name he hadn't expected to hear for a while. Though Cain knew that he was somewhere in Fiery Lakes, that was almost fifteen years into the future when he was an established smith that charged an arm and a leg for item crafting -- specifically because he was one of the most respected smiths even if his personality was... odd. This early on, from what Cain knew, he was just a tiny fledgling, apprenticed to some Master who didn't like him and thus sent him to Fiery Lakes in 'search of good fortune'.

Cain had some dealings with the man as the pair of Orbs he used toward the end of his run the last time around were crafted by Tamia as well as enhanced several times. Each time, Cain would bleed fortune until his pockets were virtually empty. Tsk, that greedy piece of shit. Maybe we can take a slow route and let him suffer for a while longer--no, wait, I don't know when exactly he met his 'good fortune'. If I'm too late, he might already become the pompous dick who believes he's higher than heaven itself.

"Alright, we're ready." Emma walked up to him and said. "How are we gonna leave the city?"

"Jump."

"... again?" her expression dropped.

"What? Didn't you have fun the last time?" he asked her back.

"Well, yeah. But I also pissed myself, C'. You of all people should know that's not a pleasant experience."

"... you could have skipped throwing shade, you know?"

"I could have." she grinned at him. "Didn't wanna."

"And that's why we're jumping." he grinned back. "Alright, everyone. We're heading south where there's a small platform that leads to an overhead ledge from which we will jump out of the city."

"AGAIN?!"

"Aww, come on dude!!"

"You're a jackass!"

"Uh... again?" Daniel, Lukas, and Larua looked strangely at Diya, Senna, Emma, and Jamal who protested loudly while their faces paled.

"Ah, don't worry about it," Cain waved it off. "They're just being babies."

"BABIES?!!" Senna hollered out angrily. "YOU MADE US JUMP OFF THE FUCKING MOUNTAIN, YOU--YOU--YOU IDIOT!!"

"M-m-mountain...?" Daniel mumbled uncertainly while Lukas savored the knowledge he'd joined the group a bit later on. Larua, on the other hand, glanced at Cain differently and gave him an abrupt thumbs-up, something that Emma taught her just a few hours ago.

"It's like teaching babes how to swim," she said. "Just toss 'em into the water and watch. If they die, it simply wasn't meant to be."

"... I... I wasn't gonna let them die," Cain looked at her oddly. "Maybe, maybe, break a leg or something--I'm kidding, I'm kidding. Jesus, people. When did you all lose the sense of humor?"

"Right around the time you started believing you ever had one!" Senna said.

"Ow, wow. That... that hurt."

"If you all don't shut up," Emma growled coldly. "I will kick your asses all the way back home and ground you so hard you won't see the sunrise till you hold your grandkids for the first time, got it?!"

"... y-yes."

"Ahm, understood."

"Yup, yup, good call."

"Good," she nodded. "We're leaving now."

Cain smiled at others and sprinted forward, catching up to Emma who was leading the pack while the other six lagged some paces behind, still somewhat scared of her outburst.

"Call me naughty or something, but that was kinda hot." he said.

"Oh? You like that?" she said, smiling.

"Oh yeah~~"

"Will you like it when I kick your ass too?"

"Wow, all these years that I've known you," Cain said. "Never realized you were an S. I'm sorry, though; I can't be your M."

"... you should ease a bit with the poking," she said, sighing. "I know you think it's in good faith... but look at them, C'. Jamal's the oldest, yet, I swear, sometimes I think Lana's more mature than him."

"..."

"They respect you more than anyone else," she added. "And while for you, it might be a 'joke', to them... sometimes it isn't."

"... wow, really?" Cain mumbled, glancing back, feeling genuinely surprised. "I thought they knew pretty much 99% of bullshit that I spew is just that -- bullshit."

"Yeah, yeah, they know, but still," she added. "Not everything needs to be a joke, you know?"

"Alright," he nodded after brief thought. "I'll try and ease with the jokes. If you dress up as Leia."

"... seriously?" Emma groaned as she glanced at him emptily.

"Take it or leave it."

"Fine, whatever, I'll dress up as a fucking Leia. As long as you dress up as Chewy."

"It's been so long since I shaved I may as well--"

"See!! That!!" she interrupted. "You could have skipped that and the world would have been a much better place for it!! And yes, you seriously do need to shave. It's like I'm back at my grandma's, weeding her fucking courtyard or something."

"... khm." Cain laughed awkwardly and slowed down a few paces, joining the other seven, though his eyes never left Emma's broad-seeming back. Well, looks like I can just let her and Diya take charge of this group. Wait--that's pretty much how it's always been. Shit, I thought I was the glue holding this party together!! Eh, I can't even muster enough strength to pretend to care... whatever, off to Fiery Lakes!

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