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[img]https://i.postimg.cc/L5r26P82/Star-Fox-Final.png[/img]

[color=5edaf6]Level:[/color] 5 (27 -> 29/50)
[color=5edaf6]Location:[/color] Sandswept Sky - Hollow Heights -> Al Mamoon
[color=5edaf6]Word Count:[/color] 1222 (+2 EXP)
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As expected, enough of the group (all of them, fortunately) came to their senses to get going again in a timely fashion. Fox stayed off the tracks in wait for the passing train, catching the second cart by its support and swinging aboard. He spent the remainder of the trip to Al Mamoon with naught but the noise of locomotion, the passing scenic view, and his own thoughts to keep him company this time. With a single stop at a snow-water oasis to rehydrate (and thankfully no more storms to brave) on the way, that would be for the next couple of hours left of the morning. Eventually they came within view of their destination, visible out from the last few miles until reaching it, before passing around through its grand walls into the exotic, bustling, surprisingly industrious desert city. An apparent and most impressive takeaway, going by first impressions, was that an eclectic civilization such as it could thrive in a wasteland so far removed from everything (which the railroad infrastructure probably had a great deal to do with). Would that Fox’s own birthworld, Papetoon, had anything resembling...

[color=5edaf6]“We’ve got it from here. Thanks!”[/color] Fox offered his parting, genuine word of gratitude to Gnorbu as he and the others began to disembark. Though he clearly didn’t speak for everyone, as far as he was interested, there wasn’t much he could do to help them reach the mountain any faster. [i](He wondered then, in light of that, what would have been had they followed that woman they met at the desert landing on the initial route up the mountain rather than taking an early detour.)[/i] Their mission hardly called for a tour guide, for he hadn’t planned on staying any longer than they had to. Besides, they already had someone on hand who he guessed might know the area.

[color=5edaf6]“You said you were living here before...”[/color] he said to his raccoon acquaintance coming up next to him.

[color=2b64d8]“I was,”[/color] he replied in short. [color=2b64d8]“Can’t remember why, but… yeah.”[/color] Come to think of it, he couldn’t remember much of anything between the world lighting up in Egypt (which might explain him ending up in a desert) and the night before. Any recollection he had of the events leading up to the present were blurry for the most part. The question came to him of what he might have been doing here in the first place, or in Parnasse thereafter. Probably on the run from the law or some other self-appointed body of authority, knowing his luck and track record. He figured with enough time it would come back to him in short order.

[color=5edaf6]“Anything you can tell us about this place? Anything we should know?”[/color]

With a shrug, Sly responded [color=2b64d8]“You’re pretty much looking at it,”[/color] and gestured outwardly in presentory fashion to the exotic marketplace that lay just ahead. [color=2b64d8]“Might take advantage of it while you’re here,”[/color] he suggested as if to politely nudging him into what the world around him had to offer while it lasted; to “live a little” as it were. Fox would politely, tacitly decline by way of silence. There was nothing he could think they might have that he wanted badly enough as to go out of his way for it, nor did he have available any personal funds to make the thought worth entertaining. That wasn’t to say, however, that there wasn’t anything of immediate interest and potential use that might ultimately be worth their time, happening upon said object of interest with their first steps off the train.

What they found within the station was, of course, another train, but heavily armored, outfitted with a number of artillery batteries, including one main cannon (with a cork in it for some reason), presumably faster, by the look of it, and… disappointingly, inoperable. That’s what the avian(?) Conductor had to tell Tora anyway; that it had somehow fallen neglectfully into disrepair. Like Tora, Fox’s attention fell on the train with interest, albeit more quietly, and minus the Nopon’s exuberance and open enthusiasm. A subtle, cocky smirk crossed his lips as he picked up on the gist of Tora’s exchange with the pseudo-bird, and dangerous thoughts began to fill his head. If the city wanted it gone as badly as Tora wanted to make it run, and could manage to make it before day’s end, Fox would more than gladly endorse such an investment. He would know [i]exactly[/i] how to put it to good use… provided they could reach the summit with it. That much, they still needed to find out. Sly noticed this arrest of Fox’s attention and the clear expression of thoughts that went with it. He wondered if he should even ask…

Then Tora came running back to the group to issue his plan. Fox, of course, liked this plan! Still, someone had to play devil’s advocate, and this time, as with a few before, that was Poppi. She wasn’t wrong in that there were still other variables to consider, but he figured it would be worth taking care of as many ends of the issue as possible in tandem.

[color=5edaf6]“We’ll take care of that!”[/color] By that, he meant he would accompany their resident royalty, their willingness permitting, to the Cowlipha’s Court to see what they could work out in regards to their mission. [color=5edaf6]“Red,”[/color] as she heard her call herself, [color=5edaf6]“already has business with her.”[/color] As a fellow mercenary himself, he knew she would see her hire and whoever she was with. [color=5edaf6]“I’ll go with her, Midna and the Queen. See if she’ll help us.”[/color] He turned then to Tora. [color=5edaf6]“Find one of us if you need anything,”[/color] he said simply, [color=5edaf6]“and if we have anyone who can stand to, I think someone should stick with Tora. Help him with whatever he needs.”[/color] He looked about his group in the open call for potential volunteers. [color=5edaf6]“The rest of you find what you can while you’re out, and meet back here around sundown.”[/color]

[color=2b64d8]“I think I’ll leave the royalty business up to you guys,”[/color] Sly interjected. He wasn’t one keen to show his true face--the masked one--to anyone in the public eye who mattered, and would otherwise need a disguise and cover. Incidentally, he wasn’t much good at pulling [i]that[/i] off either. [color=2b64d8]“I’m… not too sure not on a ‘wanted’ list here,”[/color] he speculated, shifting his gaze around awkwardly. [color=2b64d8]“I’ll see what else I can’t take care of on my end in the meantime. No promises on deadline though.”[/color] A thief, after all, did their best work at night. Shouldering his cane, he prepared to set off.

[color=5edaf6]“Just be careful, then. Stay sharp, keep us posted, and try not to get yourself caught.”[/color] He ended with a lightly sardonic word of caution regarding whatever crime the thief suspected he may or may not have committed. Sly affirmed with a parting nod and casual cane salute before disappearing over the train carts with a single floating bound, and with that, the party broke off in their respective directions. For Fox, that meant finding Red and Midna, wherever they took off to. Short of finding them within the city, he would simply wait them out shortly outside of the palace proper to intercept them and accompany them in. She was bound to show up there eventually.