[center][h3]Ms Fortune[/h3]
[b]Location:[/b] Carcass Isle - Where All Things Must Come
Level 8 Nadia (24/80)
Koopa Troop’s [@DracoLunaris], Blazermate’s [@Archmage MC], Hat Kid’s [@Dawnrider], Geralt’s [@MULTI_MEDIA_MAN], Ace Cadet’s [@Yankee], Sakura's [@Zoey Boey],  Link’s [@Gentlemanvaultboy]
[b]Word Count:[/b] 1660[/center]

After Nadia voiced the question on everyone’s mind, Geralt -his thankfully rather minor changes taken in stride- directed her attention to the remnants of the Koopa Troop. The Witcher suggested that everyone make use of the Atomos airship, which Nadia herself had totally forgotten about. To be fair, she’d set off from Limsa Lominscuttle Town that morning as a member of the crew aboard Shippy, so she’d never actually ridden on it. Plus, with the magical aircraft rendered unusable by the malefic atmospheric conditions above the Bottomless Sea, the Atomos stopped being a factor at all right before the Seekers found themselves plunged into the innards of the nonstop nightmare machine that was the Maw. If the loathsome denizen of this impossible place truly did exist as the wellspring of the curses and storms that plagued this godforsaken ocean, then maybe with it dead the triumphant heroes really could just fly on out of here.

Whether by fatigue or good old-fashioned insensibility, It didn’t occur to her to think about what ‘here’ actually meant. Brought to the ill-omened Carcass Isle and its violated fishing hamlet by forces beyond their control, neither she nor her teammates could say where they were with any degree of accuracy. Limsa lay somewhere to the south and the continent somewhere to the east, but that amounted to everything the Seekers collectively knew for sure, and in the dead of night how could they tell cardinal directions? All that assumed that the Atomos could be made ready for flight in short order anyway, and judging by Junior’s words of warning even that might be a tall order.

As luck would have it, after Blazermate finished healing poor Hatty, she presented a different and far more direct solution. Thanks to her Engineer striker, she possessed what Nadia suddenly realized might be the most important ability of all: the power to return her team home, no matter where in the far-flung World of Light they might be. As it turned it, she wasn’t even the only one, either. The Koopa Prince Junior didn’t want to spend one picosecond longer in this hocus-pocus hellhole than he had to, and after announcing as much he began to ink a drawing of a [url=https://i.imgur.com/pBzAiPh.png]floating city[/url] on a section of the nearby rock face. Fascinated by the painting and curious how that would facilitate the safe return of the Seekers, Nadia sat herself down in the sand nearby to watch at rapt attention. As the feral rested Sakura made her rounds offering hugs, and Nadia wasn't about to turn down some genuine humanity. Once hugged, she half-listened to Kamek as he dropped a little exposition, not just for the sake of Rika but everyone yet to participate in the destruction of one of Galeem’s thirteen Guardians, which included the crew’s resident cat burglar. Apparently that wave of shadowy fog was normal, and would even free everyone in the vicinity from Galeem’s influence, although in this case that amounted to a bunch of grotesque sea monsters, most of whom did not look remotely capable of rational thought. She felt uneasy seeing Rika go back through the tunnel into the Azure Weald, hoping that the Abyssal girl wouldn’t end up punished for acting on a good conscience. With Link, Kamek, Sakura, and of course Bella watching Rika’s back, however, she would be in good hands.

In short order, with everyone eager to be free of this place gathered around, Junior completed his work of art. His imprecise brush-strokes and hurried coloring might not stand up to a critical eye, but if the magical painting could really get Nadia home, it was a masterpiece in her book. When the tiny terror stepped forward to test it, he passed straight through the warp graffiti and disappeared. Peach went through next, and then the floodgates were open. When an opening presented itself, Nadia couldn’t squeeze through fast enough.

[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/INboVnY.jpg[/img][/center]

After being spit out the other side and picking herself up from the grass, the feral stopped short in surprise. With visions of her inn room in mind, complete with a hot shower to wash away the filth of the briny deep and luxurious bedsheets she could sink into forever, she’d been expecting a view of marble-white seastacks and washed-out driftwood walkways, complete with the gentle, low roar of the tide below and the pure ocean breeze. Instead she found herself in the atrium of some sort of colossal megastructure, spacious, sterile, prim and proper, not quite as reverent as a grand cathedral but not quite as hall-over-the-place as a mega-mall. If anything, with its sleek, futuristic design, it smacked of corporate idiosyncrasy, like the illustrious headquarters of some international megacorp, complete with an expansive indoor business park. Nadia’s eyes turned skyward, and through the [url=https://i.imgur.com/upRD6yJ.png]glass dome[/url] she could see a night sky speckled by distant stars and alight with wondrous auroras that bathed the walkways and fountains of the atrium in splendid, dreamlike colors. It was beautiful, and it filled her with awe, but it also weighed upon her. All that space and grandeur in her current state made her feel exposed, gross, embarrassed even, and very, very small. She felt like she didn’t belong.

“This isn’t Limsa…” she breathed, stating the obvious in hopes that someone might be able to lend a hand.

On cue, Peach tugged on her arm, gently encouraging Nadia to clear the way so that everyone else could come through with no problem. Geralt in particular would need as much space as he could get, even if the Orphan’s spirit left him a bit smaller than before. “This is Alcamoth,” the princess told her. “Are you alright? You look almost horrified.”

“Uh, yeah…” Nadia tugged at her collar, causing her cat-bell to jingle softly. “It’s just…I’ve never been somewhere like this before. It’s practically alien to me.” It took some willpower to suppress the urge to shrink back into the shadow of the archway Junior’s return warp had been painted upon. “And you guys live here?”

“Not exactly. While a bunch of our allies live here, and have been for a while, our group only came through the other day. It’s more like our home base. If it’s any comfort, the back section is a lot less austere. That’s where Mercenary HQ is, plus a ton of different shops. There’s a place called Sushi Strikers you might like.”

Nadia’s eyes narrowed before she shook her head. “Nah, I’m not really hungry or anythin’. Was just hopin’ to get back to Limsa, clean up, and pass the hell out. I’m feline like the livin’ dead, ya know? Fresh from the dirty and everythin’.”

Peach pointed to where the Koopa Troop was preparing to head out. “You should follow them, then. Since Brineybeard returned to Limsa, Bowser probably did too, and I’m sure Junior wants to see him again.”

“Oh! Yeah, yeah, will do.” With what little vigor she had left Nadia scampered off, waving behind her. “Thanks!”

A few moments more and Nadia had put Alcamoth in all its glory on the far side of another Warp Graffiti, and she stood in the public docks in the harbor of seaside Limsa Liminscuttle Town. She took a long, deep breath of the crisp, clear, salty seabreeze, and for a moment longer just stood there on the wharf. The city was quiet, embedded in the comfortable dark, its lullaby the gentle wash of waves against the cove’s sandy shores, the whisper of life-giving winds, and the creaking of the wharves. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky to obscure the sea of stars. Such sights, sounds, and smells might not be to everyone’s taste, but to Nadia they meant ‘home’. This place might not be Little Innsmouth, but it was close enough. Close enough to forget the storm, the terror, the misery and rot, the deathtrap of iron and the specter of death. Close enough to offer some much-needed peace and tranquility. The seastack town was asleep, and once Nadia got a little help, she would be, too.

[center][youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oCCvx0U3um4&ab_channel=WoozyWinkle[/youtube][/center]

The Seekers dispersed, headed wherever they pleased. Too weary to rush despite her readiness to collapse at any moment, Nadia took her time as she made her way through the city to the grand central tower. With her three containers tucked under one arm, she let her tired eyes rove over everything that crossed her path, as if to reacquaint herself with the natural world. She took in the gentle rocking of moored ships whose masts waved back and forth in rhythm, shanty highrises that crowded around the seastacks like wooden barnacles, the web of ropes and nets that turned the city into one big jungle gym. All the workshops, stands, storefronts, and restaurants were closed; it must be very, very late at night. Here and there she spotted townsfolk out and about, some of whom stared back at her, but after what she went through Nadia couldn’t be bothered to care. She just padded onward and upward until she set foot inside the Drowning Wench tavern, where the late-night receptionist of the Mizzenmast Inn managed to admit her to her room without turning up his nose.

Once inside, Nadia took another deep breath. The white linens called to her with a siren song, but she wasn’t about to crash while crusted over with Carcass Isle’s mucilage. She went straight for the mercifully modern bathroom, where she deposited two of the three containers by the sink but popped upon the third, the one labeled ‘Timefall Porter’, and after cracking open all six not-so-cold ones the very thirsty feral got down to business. Her unsalvageable garments went straight into the trash, and after fighting to stay awake for fifteen minutes in the hot shower, a stupefied but filth-free Nadia barely managed to drag herself into bed before passing the hell out.