To say the shit hit the fan after Apricot Death-princessed (yay a new verb) the forr [King] is a form of charity. Not to ntion Kasumi, the [Saintess] cursing the forr Crown [Prince], now [King] and the whole Satyr species, turning them into Fauns, which, despite the novelty factor, pleased nobody.
Oh, add in that a runaway [Saintess] which the church wants back, and Barbara and I humiliating the sa guy who now sits on the throne in a duel. Then the cherry on the cake, the curse I put on him.
The perfect storm was brewing, one that could eclipse the churning continent-sized vortex that was the Maelstrom. And that was after considering this world's crazy weather.
Yznarian's magical currents led to very odd weather patterns. Elental forces and other arcane effects changed how the winds, temperature, and humidity factored into the weather. There's also the fact that the planet didn't have a regular orbit around the sun. The star shining upon Yznarian was more like a magical construct than a proper star. The Age of Eclipse wouldn't happen if that was not the case. Bundeus, the god of the Sun at the ti overtaxed it and caused the thing to blink on and off like a cheap motel's neon sign in a horror movie.
We went to the Academy to pick up Barbara's belongings including the mirror leading to the training dinsion, and then fled to her new domain. I was planning a scenic trip, just a halfling girl and her evil grimoire strolling through the scenic countryside but that was dashed. Instead, we had Arista ferry us through the Ethereal and back to Barbara's holand, the newly appointed Baroness' domain.
I was surprised at the gorgeous scene that greeted us when we crossed over back to the real world.
A valley of rolling hills surrounded by eroded mountains. The southern Pekothian peninsula saw more than its fair share of winds due to the confluence of two major oceans and a large amount of boats used the place as a refueling stop. But the winds that granted the ships great speed also ate at the mountaintops for thousands of years until they beca stunted. Still, they were tall enough to shield the valley from the harsh winds and storms, but short enough to let so rain through.
The ground was half-covered by grass, the other half was cloves. Wildflowers of all shapes, sizes, and colors fought for space between the bushes, A perennial tapestry since the mild southern weather had a set of flower species for each season, including winter. People here rarely saw snow. The Halflings had plenty of food with half the effort people on the Scorched Continent would need, which gave them ti for leisure.
Many tried their hand with music, gardening, weaving, dance, and even trimming bushes into topiaries. These nature-loving folks took good care of their surroundings and I am sure several nobles would like to hire a halfling gardener for their estates.
Alas, such place was far from being paradise. Ambient mana levels were low, making this place uninteresting for both monsters and people after natural resources. It was a beginner village, a place for low level heroes to start their journey. And yet, it was the perfect place for peace-loving people like Barbara's fellow Halflings.
I had to paint the landscape into Mom's Encyclopedia to immortalize it.
Spoiler
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"Goodness, this place is gorgeous," Lily said, then added, wistful, "I wish Tambrillia was like this."
Her ho village which was destroyed by the Gods. Lily never go to see how it was outside her mother's hovel. Though Tambrillia was way north, closer to Fulgen.
"Welco to Clovehaven, my ho," Baroness Ambrose curtsied with the warst grin I've ever seen.
"Thank you for having us, your Excellency," Arista smiled as she curtsied back.
"Yeah, what she said," Apricot added.
"We look like giants," [Saintess] Kasumi said as she compared their size with the Halfling-dinsioned landscape.
"That's normal," Barbara remarked. "Everyone looks like giants to . Now, follow , I want to see my parents!"
With firmly tucked under her arm, Barbara ran ahead, forgetting her guests. Lily gave chase while Apricot shapeshifted into a black jaguar and sprinted to stand beside the [Crystallomancer]. Kasumi and Arista were content with strolling down the path.
Arista had dropped us on the outskirts of the valley. When we found the first Halflings, they were scared of the giant feline but soon noticed the great cat wasn't eating the tasty girls right next to it, so they cald down. They didn't have the custom of raising great mastiffs for assistance in combat but animal companions and [Tars] or [Rangers] were common enough that even here in the boonies people knew of them.
Sorry for so fantasy fans, but in here everyone had their shoes in place. No barefoot denizens in this shire, no, no. The workmanship on the little balls of joy's boots and shoes were actually very good. With nothing much else to do, the Halflings took a page from the elves' playbook: "Honing one's Proficiencies staves off boredom".
Soon a lot of halfling kids ran to join us and greet Barbara when one of them recognized her and started shouting. Getting into the Academy was big news around these parts and she had a sort of celebrity status. I hoped that goodwill would translate once she announced she was now the [Lady] of the valley.
"Barbara! Can I ride your cat?" One kid asked.
Apricot roared. The kid, having no sense of danger whatsoever, squealed. Apricot chuffed. Kid tried to climb on the jaguar. Apricot elbowed him up, then the next kid, and the next one. Thankfully she had the Attributes of a fourth-tier physical Class so the load was negligible.
The gaggle of giggling grinning Halflings soon attracted more kids, and Apricot was about to be swamped. Apparently making kids also staved boredom.
"Goddess above, that's bad. Euler, don't pull her tail!" Barbara shouted.
"I think I can help," Lily sand and transford herself.
Even though they now had two rides to pick from. it was still a lot of kids. But there's a limit to how many kids can scream and squeal in a collective frenzy before an adult cos to check on them. And an adult did co to check what was going on.
"Who goes there?" An rather aged but not elderly halfling said.
Barbara looked up and grinned. She shouted, "Brother!" Then broke into a dash up the hill toward him.
She called that old guy what?
"LIl' Barbie!" The halfling shouted back.
He called her what?
Barbara almost dropped (spoiler alert: I was slung around her shoulder) as she tackled the man. The gaggle of shortstack kids went off on a tangent with the two shapeshifted Aspects.
"Let take a good look at you! What are you wearing? You look like a noblewoman!"
"So many things happened, I have so much to tell you!" Barbara gushed.
"That's because she is one," Kasumi said as she climbed the hill.
"Greetings," Arista added.
"What? You a noble?"
Barbara grinned. "I was granted lordship over this whole valley by the [King]!"
"The elders will surely want to hear this. But you should introduce your traveling companions first," the guy suggested.
"Oh, right. These are Arista, [Princess] of Atlantis, and the Matriarch's [Saintess] Kasumi. Down there with the kids are Lily of Tambrillia and Apricot of Akerton. And here," she lifted , "Is my familiar, the Netherbane Syllabus. He's a book mimic."
Kasumi and Arista both set their titles to display on their Status Sheets. Anyone with any points in the {Appraiser} Proficiency, sothing most children acquired right upon Awakening, would sense them upon first sight. System titles couldn't be faked.
The guy's eyes bounced from person to person. But he kept his cool regardless, "Your Highness, your Holiness, welco to Clovehaven. I'm sorry we didn't prepare a reception—"
"That's unnecessary," Arista said diplomatically, "It was us who intruded unannounced. Things at the capital took a turn in the wrong direction and we thought prudent to move with haste."
"I see," he nodded. "We heard news that so magical catastrophe hit the Labyrinth entrances but we didn't think it was that bad."
"You ntioned elders?" Arista continued, "They might like to hear what we have to say firsthand. [Baroness] Ambrose will show her seal."
[Baron/Baroness] was not a rank that granted a System title.
"This way, let's talk to the elders."
We started walking toward the village proper.
I teased Barbara.
Her ntal voice rose in pitch,
She put the back of her hand on her forehead and pretended to swoon, Then she shifted gears,
"You guys surely look energetic," Kasumi remarked with just the faintest notes of bitterness.
The [Saintess] was in her best behavior ever since we escaped from the capital. I didn't dare say this was the reason why but she was out of "{Saintess Juice}" for a while (the SP they needed to use miracles) and had a hard ti recharging since it depended on the people's beliefs in the [Saintess] acts. Her petty act of turning the Satyrs into Fauns and church propaganda caused her to be considered a rogue agent. The few people who knew that [Saints] couldn't go against their deities' wishes were the only ones praying for her.
Maybe if I used {Suppress Curse} to awaken my full self, I could help her or even talk about her delusions about us being married. Perhaps even confirm that she wasn't delusional and we indeed were married back in the Empire. That wouldn't an Lorna was the blood sister all along, though. I bet the fickle hand of Fate was playing three-card Monty with us. Just the fact Kasumi had so mories when her soul should've been bleached clean by the System was enough evidence.
"Yes!" Barbara showed all of her pearly whites in a stunning grin. "Nothing can ruin my mood today!"
And if soone tried, they would have a very angry deity to deal with.
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It took a couple of hours for all the elders to gather. Barbara spent that ti ntally preparing her speech. The two Aspects kept entertaining the kids until they dropped from exhaustion. The kids, I an. Kasumi and Arista were talking about the state of the Scorched Continent and I did what mimics do best. Idle away. Until a thought crossed my mind.
Barbara was startled by my sudden question.
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