[center][img]https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/546056855978377216/858843614732615700/hgtrfed.png[/img][/center] [center]Word Count: 1419 [/center] [center][color=00aeef][b]Level 5[/b] [/color] - (88/50) + 3[/center] [center][color=darkgreen]Level 9 [/color] - (71/90) + 3[/center] [hr][hr] [center][h1][color=00aeef]Link[/color][/h1][/center] [center]Location: The Bottomless Sea ~ The Maw - Local [i]Antoine's[/i] franchise [/center] [@Potemking][@MULTI_MEDIA_MAN] [hr] Link hated the smell in this vent. He hated how it made his mouth water, even knowing what most of that savoryness was probably made from. It smelled so warm and inviting her started to drool. How could it be so cold in this tunnel when there were roaring cooking fires so nearby? At least the sound of the chefs arguing with each other had drowned out any noise made by their crawling, which meant that when they finally reached their destination they still had surprise on their side. He waited in the back of the line, agitations making his shake as much as the old. What was taking so long? He just had to keep calm when Mirage called back that they were expecting someone to try this this. They had to give him the second, and as Link crawled out he got the picture. This time the food definitely [i]was[/i] the trap, each tempting morsel baiting a pressure switch. Mirage carefully disarmed one, but Link should have figured he was after the cheese. He watch, jealous, as the boy gulped it down. That was the last straw for him, especially with all the smells coming from this kitchen. He pulled the carrots he had pilfered out of his boot. Meager though it was it would perhaps give him the energy to make sure nothing went wrong. Enough to cut, at least, when it came to that. They didn't crunch when he bit into them, at least not until he got to the cores. They were practically mush already, not something he would even feed to his horses, but good goddess was he ever grateful for it now. He would have offered one to Geralt, but the look the boy gave Mirage when he made this same dumb dumb decision was enough to tell him where the Witcher stood on the matter. "I'll get cursed if it means getting the people that aren't out of here." As Mirage and Geralt pitched their strategies Link studied the room they were in. There were four pairs of eyes shared between five monsters in this room, only one of which he knew. The grotesque chef, a relievedly normal looking one, and a man in a dirty coat that he was almost positive had been the angry voice they had heard. Besides them were a pair of one eyed food monsters that were turning the other chefs scraps into delicious looking fried fish and the walking teacups wandering the floor and tables. He hadn't expected there to be so many, and the sight of a losing battle temporarily quelled the violence in his heart. "Geralt has the right of it. Look." He whispered, pointing out the stairway across the room. "We didn't hear any other voices before. If we can make it down there I think we'll catch the big bald one alone." His hand audibly tightened around the knife in his hand as he spoke. "Geralt's nail was able to go right into that fish monsters hide. We can beat him, quickly and quietly." "Wait until the guy working on the fish starts working again. If we keep to under things and move when the food sorcerers are busy transforming scraps, all we should have to worry about is the teacups." [hr][hr] [center][h1][color=darkgreen]Linkle[/color][/h1][/center] [center][h2][color=red]Merge Rate: 32%[/color][/h2][/center] [center]Location: Frozen Highlands - Alpine Skyline ~ The Old Mill --->Wildwood Glades[/center] [hr][hr] Linkle smiled a satisfied smile as she tossed the boy his purse back. "Like my Grandma used to say, 'You don't learn how dangerous a cucco is until you've kicked one.'" Unfortunately, though the cat gang had been successfully subdued none offered a way down except the obvious. Going down was faster and easier than climbing up though, and along the way they collected themselves a hefty bounty of pons. Linkle even managed to beat Albedo to the bottom this time by taking a few daredevil drops that weren't nearly as hard on her as being pile driven into an ice sheet. When they were both finally down and stepping out into the cool air Albedo suggested that she ride back and by a couple more badges with their earnings. She was going to argue that they could just pick them up on the way back, but when Albedo mentioned he wanted to sketch the village anyway she reconsidered it. "All right." She shouted behind her as she ran off toward the rope, whipping out her chain and zooming on up back to goat village. It was lucky for both of them that there was clear line of sight between the blue flagpole and the badge seller, or else Albedo might have had enough time to paint a mural of the village. Linkle returned a short while later, two shiny new badges pinned to her belt. The first was the stylish and purportedly bombastic Kombat Badge. She had no idea what it actually sounded like, but if it was as loud as advertised she knew just the person it belong with. She had no idea it even matched his naming scheme. The other was... "Hey Albedo!" She said, bounding up to him as she put the finishing touch on his sketch. "Check this out." She stood next to him and reached down to her belt to hold a thumb on the other badge. In a flash of light a floating, light blue camera flew out and hung in the air in front of them. "Smile!" She said, pressing down on the badge again. There was a quick click, then a few moments later the slot on the front dispensed a picture of the two of them. She snatched it out of the air as it flutter down and showed it off to him. "It's a magic Pictograph." She said, handing him the picture before digging into her sack and producing a few more photos that she showed proudly. There was one of her and the Badge Seller, one of her throwing's up peace signs with a pair of the villagers flanking her, one of her with a rather disinterested Goat caught walking halfway out of frame, then another that was the goat by itself. Still others were just pictures of the nearby homes, scenery, and a few random shots of the sky or half a villager with the subject just barely in frame. "You got me thinking just now... I know we move pretty fast. You keep finding things that you like along the way, but then we have to move along before you have a chance to really check them out because we're on my quest. So, I figured, whenever you find something you think is cool just say it out loud. Go 'Linkle, pic!' and I'll pic it! Then you can study it whenever you want." With that she put away the handful of photos, not bothering to take back the one she had given the Alchemist, before holding the badge again to put the camera away. With that they were on their way once again, descending along the rope line down, down, down, below the clouds. It wasn't long before Linkle had reason to use her new toy again, as vibrant color rose up out of the whiteness to meet them. She practically bounced on the grass as she landed and gawked at the natural beauty around her. The camera was out presently, spun in a few different direction and snapping indiscriminate pics. There was no need to be choosy when every direction was beautiful. "Reds a very powerful color. No wonder a goddess lives here. If I were a goddess I would." She was so taken in that she didn't notice that they had landed in someone's front yard until they drew attention to themselves with a friendly greeting. A small furry man living in an enchanted forest in a small hut that almost blended in for the vegetation covering it. This was the thing fairy tales were made of. She squatted down to speak to him at eye level. "Nice to meet you. I'm Linkle. This is Albedo." She figured this man must be a helpful sort from the way he spoke and how he wasn't all that surprised by people landing so close to his house. She hoped the cats hadn't been taking advantage of him. "We're here seeking the aid of the Goddess Freya. Do you know where she's living around here or the best way through the forest?"