[center][img]https://i.postimg.cc/MKK5m0sX/Kid-s-Hat-2.png[/img]

[b]Level:[/b] [color=8258fa]4 (6 -> 8/40)[/color]
[b]Location:[/b] [color=8258fa]Land of Adventure - Lumbridge -> Malo Mart[/color]
[b]Word Count:[/b] 857 (+2 EXP)
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What started as mere splotches and patches of green to enliven the otherwise barren terrain around it gradually gave way to lush, life-rich lands the further south the convoy traveled until it stretched out toward the horizon as far as they could see. They got an even better look at what awaited them in these plains of beginnings when Peach and gang decided to stop on top of a hill with a good view of it all. There was something inexplicably wondrous and uplifting about this place that brought a relieved smile out of Hat Kid. Then again, she was almost always smiling, but there was a better reason for it this time that couldn't be chalked up simply to her generally cheerful disposition. The sense of elation she felt just from being here was further elevated when receiving a signal she had been hoping for all day: her objective marker lit up, indicating something nearby, and it was on their way! Like that, she cut her sightseeing session short, started her scooter back up, and took off downhill forthwith in the direction of the town alongside the other more eager members of their party.

They were met at the gate by three who were assigned to keeping it: a teenage swordsman who’s coincidentally similar fashion sense Kid admired, a small mage about her size who acted as the trio’s mouthpiece, and a young mute swordsman barely older than her (if that). Linkle seemed ecstatic to meet the latter of the three, stumbling over her words and making everyone involved a little uncomfortable. Poor girl, only a day into their journey, and she was already starting to lose it. Who knew how much longer she would last at this rate. At least it didn’t hurt their chances as far as being approved for entry into town, and they were all soon cleared to do so on condition that they leave their vehicles parked outside the main entrance.

Hat Kid broke off from the group at the nearest opportunity to follow her hat’s waypoint into a general store. From the moment she pushed one of the doors open and took her first steps inside, her eyes were widely, wantingly affixed to one item in particular that sat (or rather floated) at the top shelf; something that had business being there, up for trade; a [b]Time Piece[/b]. This made the first of several she would have to find again, and she was clearly happy to see its familiar aura and glow again, though it be diminished. She ceased her gawking when addressed by the remarkably diminutive shopkeeper, who was barely tall enough to see over the counter, nudging her to make a purchase. It was then when she finally took a cursory glance at the other items that she noticed the exclusion of a price tag on the only one she was truly interested in. A “quest reward,” he called it, instructing her to either hit the guild hall, or simply inquire him about the details. She, of course, opted for the second option, preferring to save herself a trip and cut out the middle man.

Her assignment: a missing persons case involving another client, apparently. Though, said client’s importance in the quest giver’s eyes may have been overstated slightly, with finding them being more or less relegated to being the [i]optional[/i] objective. Stressed instead were the unspoken contents of her satchel, making it more retrieval than rescue mission. Sure enough, she should have little issue finding and recovering a valued key item; she was rather good at that. What bothered her, however, was the two professional criminals of their pack (or anyone, for that matter) taking up the same quest at the risk of cutting in on her much sought after reward.

It would have been unreasonable and uncharacteristic of her to openly object or complain about their prospect involvement, and thus refrained from doing so. She couldn’t fault them for not knowing better, after all, but she wasn’t exactly in a hurry to have to explain to them what they would be dealing with and why they shouldn’t, lest she further incentivize them. The best should could hope for was to beat them and whoever else may have accepted the mission ahead of her to it, which meant she didn’t have time to waste. She paused just short of stepping out of the door, shot a suspicious, determined glare halfway over her left shoulder toward the two men (without actually turning to look at them), and hurried outside before the store’s music drove her to insanity.

She hastened her trip back to the main gate with cap-assisted sprint and a few tumbling maneuvers with utterly cheerful disregard for any socially accepted conventions of public conduct, even leaping over the heads of a gruff-looking white-bearded mercenary and his fan club. She jumped to her scooter as soon as it came into view, started it up, switched hats, and headed south without hesitation toward her mission destination, where her new objective marker now guided her. With her compass still active, she would continue to periodically consult that as well.