[center][h3]Tora, Poppi, and Big Band[/h3]
[b]Location:[/b] Sandswept Sky - Split Mountain - Baur’s Reach
Level 9 Tora (111/90) Level 9 Poppi (111/90) Level 5 Big Band (50/50)
Midna’s [@DracoLunaris], Fox’s [@Dawnrider], Jesse’s [@Zoey Boey], Sectonia’s [@Archmage MC], Primrose’s [@Yankee], Yoshitsune and Sora’’s [@Rockin Strings], Mao’s [@Potemking], Laharl’s [@Dark Cloud], Raz’s [@TruthHurts22], Ellie’s [@Thatguyinastore]
[b]Word Count:[/b] 1466[/center]

The passage of many sets of feet quickly turned the pristine powder snow, sculpted as smooth as ice cream by the wind and gently auroral in the rosy pink light of Baur’s Reach, into a mosaic of prints large and small. Everyone moved at their own pace, bounding over the drifts and through the trees, up slippery inclines and stony outcrops. Rather than a straightforward forested slope, the mountain presented the heroes with uneven terrain that formed cliffs, walls, and gaps unexpectedly, making traversal less than straightforward. The bigger members of the team encountered more resistance from the snow, but with Braum quite used to freezing climates and Big Band’s legs longer than they looked beneath his trench coat, nobody had it quite as bad as Tora. His stubby legs meant that his underbelly dragged through the snow constantly, and a set of overalls could only do so much to quell the chill. Even with the air clear and the winds mild, he ended up turning to Poppi much sooner than he expected to beg a piggy-back ride, and when faced with his big, pleading eyes the artificial blade couldn’t help but concede.

Cozy in her X-naut costume and ready for a cold-weather climb atop her trusty wolfos, Midna instantly got distracted by the nearby lanterns. Compelled by her curiosity, she took her focus off the journey for a few moments in favor of ferrying a burning branch to and fro in order to stab it into each inert stone lantern in the vicinity. Whenever she lit one, it floated off its pedestal in a wave of warmth that permeated its surroundings in an area, not so much as to restore patches of summer to a land gripped by winter, but enough to shrink the snow somewhat and thaw anything frozen in ice. Single-minded in her mission to solve the puzzle, Midna did not wait to see each lantern’s effect, but raced her shaggy stood over to the next. Only when all five stone-age radiators burned did she turn to admire her handiwork.

The lanterns’ heat freed a couple smaller ponds from ice, turning them to pools of crystal-clear glacial runoff, fresh and pure. At the bottom of one lay the unmistakable shape of a treasure chest, simple wood with rusted metal hinges and clasps, but a trove nonetheless. Inside was a paired set of [url=https://i.imgur.com/U0kr6Yq.png]daggers[/url], one long and one short. The snow’s retreat from another lantern also laid bare a small campsite, its tent long since caved in and frozen over. A handful of books and matches lay within, alongside a can of beans. However, the warmth also thawed out a [url=https://i.imgur.com/gylNYex.png]strange structure[/url] mistakable at first glance as a frozen bush or tree. Once freed, however, the Stinger Hive released its noxious gasses, and in a fit of vulgar pulsation, disgorged its [url=https://i.imgur.com/5KXn8VJ.png]venomous host[/url]. A swarm of Stingers six strong, each the size of a chimpanzee, flew out to inject their victims with shots of deleterious Mordant Dew. 

“Ambush! Behind us!”

At Necronomicon’s alert the Phantom Thieves wheeled about from their attempt to climb up and around the waterfall cliff. They jolted into action, spreading out as they sized up the incoming threat before whipping out their guns. With a squint Joker made doubly sure that no allies appeared to be in the line of fire, then gave the command. “Blast ‘em!”

A fusillade of revolver, submachine gun, slingshot, and rifle rounds hurtled the Stingers’ way. The oversized bugs moved in short, fast bursts, which would have made melee combat troublesome, but at the moment left them vulnerable to saturation fire. Peacock joined and cut loose with her own revolver, [url=https://i.imgur.com/EbjuFvQ.png]shooting[/url] with her pinky extended. The salvo ended as Skull charged, sliding on his knees down the hill across the snow to deliver an up-close-and-personal shotgun blast and blow the final Stinger apart. “Haha, get wrecked!”

Of course, just a few seconds later a fresh crop of Stingers poured from the hive, demanding a more permanent solution. Those on their way to help but too late to deal with the first wave, like Tora, Poppi, and Big Band, lent a hand with the second, as well as the demolition of the hive. It took a decent amount of punishment but went down without too much issue, exploding into sticky chunks after a finale of fiery missiles from Tora’s Mech Arms. “Whew!” he said. “Tora not expect problems in snow level to be bugs and plants. Especially such easy ones, meh!”

“Don’t get complacent,” Band cautioned everyone. “This time we smoked ‘em, but next time we might not be so lucky.”

As the team moved on, Fox stopped by the monument that burned by the waterfall, from which Midna originally sourced her firebrand. “So these things can alter the temperature of their surroundings,” he mused, using an arm to shield his eyes from the ice-cold spray. With a flick of his wrist, he called forth [url=https://i.imgur.com/VRn8p7c.png]Goemon[/url] in a splendid azure flare. “I’m curious if they work in reverse.” At his bidding his Persona cast Bufula on the lantern, and just as he expected it went dark with a pulse of cold. Instantly the pond iced over, but in an unusual turn of events the waterfall flash-froze too, becoming a jagged and uneven curtain of ice along the cliff face.

Joker gave a nod of approval. “We can use that to climb up.”

“Nice thinkin’, dude!” Skull grinned, subjecting his friend to a high five.

Using their jumping ability to dash through the air as black blurs, the thieves hopped up the frozen waterfall, one foothold at a time. Anyone with similar abilities could follow suit, and Tora though Sora certainly wanted to, Poppi reasoned that her thrusters might damage the footholds. Instead, with any spent ether easily replenished, she just boosted up there with him normally.

After another minute or so spent hiking uphill through Baur’s Reach, the group came upon a chasm, carved by a frigid river as it ran down the mountain. The other side stood a couple dozen feet higher, making an already long jump that much harder, but Band had an idea. “Need a hand over here!” he shouted, calling attention over to a redwood that sat along the top of the cliff. He deployed and delivered a [url=https://i.imgur.com/ceh5LMh.png]Brass Knuckle[/url] to the trunk, splintering through enough wood to start the whole tree leaning closer to the edge. With a little help from any strong-bodied volunteers he could bring the thing down, and the Seekers had their bridge.

The team continued onward, climbing through the frozen forest at a diagonal angle to keep things manageable. When the trees and crags happened to open up behind them they could get a good view of how far they’d come already, with the tops of a couple fall-colored redwoods already beneath them. For now things weren’t too steep, so the terrain continued to be interesting, along with all the endemic life the heroes encountered there. Gaggles of [url=https://i.imgur.com/kIfiZ8H.png]Snorunt[/url] trudged here and there, [url=https://i.imgur.com/SnYi9U0.png]Ovis[/url] dug for food with their hooves, [url=https://i.imgur.com/n8eQR1e.png]white rabbits[/url] hopped about, and at one point a huge [url=https://i.imgur.com/tbvPbYo.jpg]Quetzal[/url] soared way overhead. Monsters inhabited the place too, including [url=https://i.imgur.com/vw5sjCG.png]Pendrans[/url] and [url=https://i.imgur.com/bp9g9v1.png]Snowstorm Goobbues[/url], so it paid to be wary. The heroes also spotted a couple camps either along or directly in their way, all populated by a crew of ornery Snowmads spoiling for a fight. Each boasted [url=https://i.imgur.com/snxjZ7E.png]Fluffs[/url], Tucks with [url=https://i.imgur.com/V2IFC4t.png]spears[/url] and [url=https://i.imgur.com/FePSzTg.png]bows[/url], [url=https://i.imgur.com/09KPbRG.png]Hootz[/url] scouts, and usually one [url=https://i.imgur.com/TglPAxC.png]Waldough[/url] per camp acting as leader. Nothing particularly memorable crossed the Seekers’ path until the frontrunners happened upon an unusual tree. This one, atop a snow-covered knoll that stood above the surrounding area, was leafless and brown. The fruit frozen to its branches marked it as a withered olive tree, but against it leaned an iron statue studded by arrows, and from an opening in its head peered a lone eye out from beneath the white hair of the [url=https://i.imgur.com/zQMTSw3.gif]man[/url] imprisoned within.

[center][h3]The Chalk Prince, the Fallen Child, and the Skullgirl[/h3]
[b]Location:[/b] Frozen Highlands - Alpine Skyline
Linkle’s [@Gentlemanvaultboy], Frisk’s [@Majoras End][/center]

To bear witness to someone else weeping was a strange experience for Albedo. A behavior most commonly associated with infants and otherwise borne of intense sorrow or pain, it alarmed him onto his feet for a moment, making him fret that the trio of visitors to Treat’s chilly manor might have upset her somehow, and dealt even more damage to the wolfgirl’s already-fragile emotional state. Her words, however, made it clear that her tears came not from sadness, but from joy, which set Albedo’s heart at ease. As she continued to bawl he sat back down and relaxed, a soft smile on his face. It looked like his little group’s efforts got through to her, after all.

While the alchemist was content to remain at a distance, Frisk took a more hands-on approach to make sure that Treat truly got a sense of her new acquaintances’ care for her. Hugs were simple things, and for those to whom their dispensation came easily, they truly worked wonders. Despite the fallen child being much smaller than her, Treat rested her head on Frisk’s shoulder, squeezing tight as she exhausted her long-held tears. Nearby, Linkle scooted forward too, offering apologies that the wolfgirl quickly deemed unnecessary and a hand in fellowship that Treat unconditionally accepted. When she finally extracted herself from Frisk’s embrace, she sank down by the fire alongside her new friends, overwhelmed and a complete mess but very happy, indeed.

By that time Albedo was gone, having retraced his steps through the frigid mansion to the sled that Linkle left outside. If they planned to spend more time here, they would need more firewood, and since the rabbit-eared archeress already offered her logs as fuel for the fire the alchemist saw no harm in fetching them. Better that he leave the three to their heartfelt moment, warm in the glow of Treat’s unusual hearth, than give one of them the chance to break it up and trudge back out into the cold. As he collected the logs, Albedo’s smile persisted, although his eyes held a touch more melancholy than joy. It made him glad to see that even someone as lonely and depressed as Treat, who until moments ago seemed convinced that her life would be one devoid of love, could find happiness and companionship in the kindness of strangers. Humans were social creatures after all, whether or not they had ears, tails, or horns. No matter the distance between them, it seemed that they could come together.

So where did that leave him?

With the little logs stacked in his arms, Albedo crunched up the snow-crusted stairs and back into the Beneviento House. He spared one more idle glance at the [url=https://i.imgur.com/6d5UPka.png]painting[/url] that hung over the staircase with its distractingly ghoulish doll. Taken alongside the other dolls scattered both around the mansion and the path that preceded it, with their lidless eyes always staring whether from a display case or a hangman’s noose, the eerie toys lent the place an ominous air. He had hypothesized that Treat colonized this place on account of that underlying dread which led the townsfolk of Snowdin to leave it well alone, but that demanded the caveat that this place harbored no residents of its own. With all those dolls around, how alone could one really feel here? Someone as nervous as Treat must constantly be looking over her shoulder, checking to make sure that no, that one in the corner of her eye hadn’t moved, that one up on the shelf wasn’t actually looking at her. He couldn’t help but posit that the creepy atmosphere might be a contributing factor to the decline of Treat's mental wellbeing. It wasn’t like the conditions here seemed particularly liveable, either. That pointed toward a singular conclusion, and Albedo resolved to confront the others with it when he could.

After rejoining the others the alchemist put the logs into the fire. Unlike the boxes of toys and such that bore the Little Inferno logo, the wood did not spit out golden coins at any point of the combustion process. They did, however, provide a lot of warmth, enough even to reach Albedo over on the couch, and they lasted much, much longer than anything Treat had on hand. Seeing the comparison brought even more questions to mind about Little Inferno’s business practice given the sheer quantity of product that needed to be burned to actually keep warm, but since the discussion wouldn’t do much good now Albedo just made a mental note and kept quiet.

Once some time passed and there came a lull in the conversation, from which Albedo had abstained up until that point, he chimed in with his idea from earlier. “Excuse me, Treat. I must apologize for bringing this up, since I am sure that this must be a personal subject for you, but after seeing this place I could not help but to wonder. I get the impression that your residency here is an outcome borne from necessity rather than preference. While extensive and, admittedly, rather invasive tests would be necessary to confirm my suspicions, I believe that dwelling here may actually be detrimental to your condition, both mentally and physically speaking. This brings me to my question.” He averted his gaze from the wolf girl and looked around the room. “Do you like living here?”

Treat narrowed her eyes, thinking. “Well…I suppose there’s no reason to hide it. It’s honestly not great.” She shivered and inched closer to the fire. “It’s old, it’s freezing, there are cobwebs everywhere, and all the dolls…eugh. I even hear noises from the basement sometimes. But when I think about the rabbitfolk…well, compared to being around them, it’s not that bad.”

Albedo’s eyes had widened slightly. “Excuse me?”

“I know, I probably sound crazy,” Treat sighed, giving a halfhearted laugh. “But they really don’t want me around, and it’s no use trying to convince them I mean no harm. So if I’m up here, everyone’s better off.”

“That’s not what I meant,” Albedo told her, then received an odd look that prompted further clarification. “Rather, that matter is important of course, and we will address it, but what exactly do you mean by ‘noises from the basement’?”

“Oh, that!” Treat looked almost embarrassed. “Well, I mean, I’m pretty sure I’m just imagining it. Once in a while I hear thumps or groans, but when I finally went down to check, I didn’t find anything. So yeah, just in my head. That’s just how it is with old places like this, right?

Albedo shook his head. “I do not believe so, no. Maybe we should take a look for ourselves, just to be sure.” He glanced at the others. “Or, if that sounds unnecessary, we could broach the subject of finding her somewhere better to live, and making sure that she won’t be disturbed.” His gaze landed on Frisk. “You mentioned a desire to convince the rabbitfolk to mend their unkind ways, did you not?”