Chapter 5 "A Call To Arms"

As Zeth and Jey wandered deeper into the woods, they saw two towers surrounded by a large body of water. The water was still, only moving when a fisherman shot his harpoon into the deep water to catch a fish. As the girls asked him if they could hitch a ride on the boat, there she flew a woman who's armor was lined with gold and a helmet vandalized to reject the Holy Empire's previous control over her.

She hovered beside the fisherman, scolding him, "Jeez, here whenever, just make yourself known. If not for your bald spot that reflects the sun's rays, I wouldn't even know it was you." Mr. Lopez, the fisherman we met before, lets out a laugh, replying, "And that's exactly why I don't make myself known! You already know it's me by that shiny bald spot of mine." He smiles, revealing his few gold teeth.

Just then, Joy noticed our girls admiring her beauty from the other side of the lake. Startled, she sets her spear to attack and makes her way to them, demanding they identify themselves. The girls, obviously startled by the sudden order, oblige, "Joy, it's me! Jey, the girl you taught how to use earth magic! This is my crew mate, Zeth, a former royal guard turned service member for St. Michael." Joy lets out a sigh, "I assume you heard our conversation? If so, I told you the same thing, Jey! Make yourself known! What is it with you guys and not telling me when you're around?"

Jey laughs and tells her that they were too stunned by her elegance and physique to even let out a squeal. Joy, now bright red, hits Jey on the head, calling her a sly prick, always knowing what buttons to push to soften her up. Jey laughs at the remark and brings up the big question, "Hey, listen, I'm pretty sure you already know about the pirates controlling the island. I got one of my friends who controls a jailer ship to help the island reclaim itself. We need someone to scout while we fight so we know what to expect when we move on. And since you can fly, I thought you'd be perfect for the job. So, I think ya see where I'm going with this?"

"Joy takes a moment to think, and after a few seconds pass, she speaks up, 'Fine, I'll join your little crew, but you'll have to get me something when we finish capturing the pirates.'" Jey asks what this thing was, and the reply shocks her, "I want the core of a purple slime." Jey, of course, already had one in her pocket inventory still she's shocked at how simple the request is. in fact, she had a lot of them. Purple slimes are common in the area where she trains. When she asks why she wanted the cores, our fresh recruit replies, "I want a purple pet, but purple snakes look mad poisonous, so I'll stick to slimes. They're way cuter with their dumb faces." I have to agree with Ms. Joy here; at the time, I was also looking for a yellow slime core to revive and make my pet with Jiro's help, of course.

And so, a deal was struck, and we now had a Valkyrie in our team. Kinny, the sniper, also arrived at the port that same day, bearing blessings from the capital: money and a little something I had requested the emperor to give me. It was small enough not to count as a favor that'd make me owe the emperor, but something that would really help the team out later on.