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Co-Starring: [@Majora] Omori

[H3]Help Urgently Cnided[/h3]

[b]Word Count:[/b] 2,220
[b]Level 4 Ganondorf:[/b] 31/40
[b]Exp:[/b] 3
[b]NEW EXP Balance---[/b] 34/40[/center]

Something must've happened.

 For some reason or another, Omori wasn't there for Consul P's defeat. That was probably fine, all things concidered. The kid needed a break. Besides that, he still had to keep an eye out for any familiar faces that might have ended up down here too. But something must've happened while his allies were busy.

 Why else would he suddenly end up poisoned, among other pain-ridden ailments?

 Luckily someone had admitted him to the local clinic [sub][i](There was no way he was going back to that dreadful hospital.)[/i][/sub] where he remained until he was well enough to head back out again. He made sure to thank Dr. Natasha beforehand for keeping an eye on him.
 
  ...So now what? If he and his team were staying at the Home of Tears for a bit longer, might as well see if he can help with anything. He and Mewo could he seen standing in front of one of the commission boards scattered around town.

 The King of Evil's route was still largely aimless. His pace was slow, he would occasionally reach up with a hand to rub his aching head. Was he even still in the Downtown district? He wasn't even sure. But eventually he did catch sight of a familiar monochrome figure. Omori was standing in front of some kind of notice board, appearing to be reading something.

 [color=Red]"What are these? Requests of some kind?"[/color] he asked when he was close enough to read some of the notices himself. They all looked like rather menial tasks, but they promised payment in exchange for them. Honestly, the only one catching the Gerudo's eye was something from someone who was apparently a witch, [color=Red]"Spells and Elixirs?"[/color] he said, pointing to the request for Cnideria toxins, [color=Red]"Looks easy enough, and we might be able to get her to give us some healing potions. I'm getting rather tired of having to rely on those Koopas or that insect to heal me."[/color]

 [b][i][color=darkgray]"Hopefully."[/color][/i][/b] Omori tiredly agreed. Enduring so much injuries was really starting to irritate the boy. He didn't know what these Cnideria things were, but the other job that he'd want to take didn't allow humans. Besides, at least he wouldn't be alone in this if things go screwy.

 [b][color=darkgray]"Should we head over there then?"[/color][/b] He glanced back at Ganondorf.

 [color=Red]"Yes, let's."[/color] Ganondorf agreed. Directions to the witch's shack were included in the commission and Ganondorf made not of them before beginning to walk, [color=Red]"It shouldn't be difficult to find. The commission board said to find her at her cottage, so a cottage is what we should be keeping an eye out for."[/color]
 
  After a few minutes, the Gerudo spotted something that looked like what they were looking for. A shack constructed from a combination of timeworn wooden planks and rough-hewn stones, giving it a rustic and earthy apppearance. The exterior contained patches of moss and lichen here and there, and roof made of a patchwork of mismatched shingles and chimney smoke occasionally wisping upward into the air. The walls were adorned with arched windows with wodden shutters that were currently closed.
  
  Ganondorf approached the door and knocked on it, "Huh? Who's out there? I'm busy, go away!" called out a grumpy feminine voice from within. Ganondorf simply rolled his eyes and spoke up with a reply.
  
  [color=Red]"We're here about your... request... from the commission board?"[/color]
  
  "My what? Oh, right! Well what're you waiting for? Come inside!"
  
  With a shrug, Ganondorf opened the door. The door itself was pretty small, fitting for the ramshackle abode, and the King of Evil even had to duck down in order to actually enter through it. Inside, the shack exuded a certain... cozy atmosphere. An armchair was sitting in the main living space nearby a shelf of tomes and a cauldron for brewing potions. Right next to the door was a small little counter where business could be conducted, and standing behind that was the author of the commission, Sophie.
  
  An Ixi with with emerald-green fur and long hair of a darker shade of green. She wore a patched-up-looking brown witch's hat on her head and matching brown dress with a similarly patched up skirt. The witch herself had an impatient look on her face.
  
   [b][color=darkgray]"Your request mentioned something called 'Cnideria'. Can you provide any further details about them?"[/color][/b] Omori spoke up first, noting the expression on the witch's face.
   
   "Yes, yes, they're slimy, rubbery creatures that look like toadstools with tentacles, and they glow." Sophie supplied. She reached into the wet-looking sack propped up against her counter and withdrew the last of the specimens she collected, which she plopped down on top of what looked like a cutting board. Its tentacles splayed out across the surface limply, and she took grate pains not to touch them with her bear hands. "These things. Every second they're out of the water their drying up, the precious compounds going to waste. Now that you're here, you can take over collection while I handle preparation." Deftly she worked the invertebrate with a sharp carving knife, removing the Cnideria's cap and then slicing up its tentacles to carefully deposit them in her cauldron for dissolution. Every drop of poison spilled on the board or into the wood was wasted. "Take some gloves and some bags and head to the market. Don't let their tentacles touch your skin. Their toxins are incredibly narcotic--knock out a full-grown Skeith in seconds." She looked up from her work with a perplexed expression, as if the pair's continued presence here confused her. "What're you waiting for? Quick, before they're gone!"
   
   Omori nodded, grabbing two bags and pairs of gloves. He slipped one pair on and passed the other to- Wait, would they even fit on Ganondorf's hands? He paused to consider this, before handing the gloves and a bag to him anyways. They'll figure it out.
   
   Ganondorf, well, the gloves were indeed too small for him. And yet he took five pairs of them nevertheless. And also five bags. As if the King of Evil was going to directly perform this task himself. Of course not, that's what subordinates were for. Once they reached the market it was as simple as summoning his five Moblins, and giving them the gloves and bags so they could collect the Cnideria's [i]for[/i] him. Let the grunts do the work, it's what they were there for, anyway.
   
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   Luckily, the market wasn't far. Against the backdrop of the Home of Tears' forlorn pillar-like towers, the most iconic feature of the Collection stood out like a shining beacon of livelihood and activity. At the market's very center, beneath the perennial cloud of inky airborne letters in the rain, stood an immense archway like an upturned book. In its [url=https://i.imgur.com/EM0kOAz.png]shelter[/url] stood rows of stalls hewn from paper, together making up the all-important seafood market. Right now though, that wasn't the Seekers' main concern; as a result of the Cnideria shower, the marketplace rows surrounding the book featured almost as much marine life, albeit of the distinctly inedible and toxic variety. With how vertical and multi-leveled this part of the Collection was, navigation through it would take some doing, but there were jellyfish practically everywhere the newcomers looked, ruining the merchants' business and wares. There were even a few monsters laying unconscious on the ground, accidentally exposed to the narcotic toxins. Ganondorf and Omori needed to get to work, and fast.
   
   It didn't take the Gerudo long to put his plan into motion. He summoned forth the squad of Moblins and to their confusion tossed the gloves and bags he'd brought with him. [color=Red]"Fill those bags with as many of those jellyfish as you can find and bring them back to me. Don't let the tentacles touch your skin. Go!"[/color]
   
 [color=darkgray][b]"What a mess."[/b][/color] Omori quietly said, moving quickly to start collecting as much of these creatures as he could. As much as cutting their tentacles off was tempting, he didn't think Sophie would like them tampering with the Cnideria. With Ganondorf summoning a small group of minions, maybe this'll be a breeze?
 
 It turned out to be less than a breeze, actually. Oh things went smoothly most of the time, but there were occasional incidents where Ganondorf had to step in and assist due the too-often incompetence of the Moblins. One such incident involved a Moblin jumping in place repeatedly in an attempt to grab a tentacled creature that was up on a high roof until Ganondorf grabbed the minion and literally tossed him up with an exasperated roll of his eyes. In another incident, one of the Cnideria nearly snuck up on an unsuspecting Moblin only for it to be smashed under Ganondorf's boot. That one in particular was especially annoying for the Gerudo, both because of the toxin he had to clean off of his boot and because it wasted a perfectly good Cnideria.
 
  There was the occasional unconscious monster that Omori plucked some Cnideria off before the boy [s]struggled[/s] carefully dragged who he could to a safer side of the area. There was also one instance as he was collecting the ones littering the stalls, one of the Moblins had the funny idea of trying to steal [i]his[/i] bag while his back was turned. A murderous glare at the minion's direction once he felt something yanking at it was enough to make it take a hint. However that didn't deter Omori from stepping in to help them with harder-to-reach places, or helping pick up the Cnideria that spilled when one Moblin clumsily fell over. The boy gradually made his way upwards, despite his bag's increase in weight.
 
 The Moblin-related incidents didn't stop there. In one case two of the Moblins were fighting over who had found a Cnideria first, but they shut up pretty quickly once they noticed Ganondorf's shadow looming over them and glaring down at them to knock it off. But after several irritating minutes of having to occasionally play the micro-manager, Ganondorf's Moblins did at last manage to fill their bags with Cnideria.
 
 [color=Red]"Hmph, looks like my Moblins are just about done."[/color] Ganondorf called over to the monochrome boy, [color=Red]"If you've been faring well yourself then maybe we can head back?"[/color]
 
 [b][color=darkgray]"Yeah."[/color][/b] Omori answered back, making his way back down with his bag hoisted over his shoulder. [b][color=darkgray]"I think this is enough."[/color][/b]
 
 Eventually the two found themselves back at Sophie's shack, and with quite a nice haul thanks to the extra help from the Moblins - in spite of the many incidents they caused while collecting them. When it came time to receive payment, Ganondorf only had a single request, [color=Red]"If it's all the same to you, I'd like most of my payment in healing potions if you can. I've been sorely lacking in such a resource lately, loathe as I am to admit it."[/color] Ganondorf then realized that he still had quite a bit of money left still from his share of the loot from P's stash and quickly added, [color=Red]"In fact before I leave I think I'd like to purchase some extra healing potions from you as well if that's acceptable."[/color]
 
 After receiving the bounty of jellyfish and quickly stashing them in a cooler, Sophie went to present her helpers with the rewards. Loathe to prolong any social interaction, the witch had prepared them ahead of time in the form of two small satchels of dark, scratchy hide with a slight but still noticeable musk. Inside were carefully arranged racks of potion vials, eight apiece. After taking a moment to process Ganondorf's request, Sophie popped open the satchels and quickly rearranged their contents, skewing the distribution of restorative elixirs toward Ganondorf. He received two splash potions of healing, two strong instant healing potions,two health over time potions, a jumping potion, and a swiftness potion. That meant Omori received one swiftness potion, one for jumping, two for night vision, two for stamina, and two defense-boosting brews.
 
 After that, however, Sophie turned them loose. "This is my house, not a grocery store," she told them, unwilling to engage in any more trade for now. "I've got lots to do and barely any time to do it, so go on, shoo!"
 
 Ganondorf grumbled as he took the satchel. He'd hoped to buy more but apparently this witch didn't like the idea of being paid money. Well it was her loss, then. He also didn't bother to say anything else to her. If she wanted to be rude, then he'd just be rude right back to her. Golden Rule and all that.
 
 A quick glance over his rewards and a nod in thanks towards the impatient witch, and Omori was out the door.

 And luckily, just in time to see something quite [i]dreadful[/i] in the sky. The same infinity symbol in the sky S summoned, here, caught his eye. The boy tensed up. [b][color=darkgray]"We need to head back. NOW."[/color][/b]