[center][abbr=Ace Cadet][img]https://fontmeme.com/permalink/190924/544c85ab5c75bc61a4bb5ce40dc0caa6.png[/img][/abbr]
[color=salmon]Word Count: 1696 (+3 exp)[/color]
[color=salmon][u]Level[/u]: [b]9[/b] - [u]Total EXP[/u]: 350/90
[sub][i]Wednesday Morning.[/i][/sub]
[b]Location:[/b] Snowdin, the Frozen Highlands[/color][/center]
Ace didn't know how 'populated' the manor Kit mentioned was, but as it turned out the population of this one was dwindling pretty quickly. When they'd pushed open the door and were greeted with the harsh noises of smashing, scraping, screeching, and metal on metal, the Cadet was quick to go deeper in and see what was going on. It didn't sound like machinery operating, but instead like a battle was going on. A battle that involved a whole lot of metallic somethings. When the familiar blue light of Blazermate's shield abilities shined through holes in the walls, a fight was all but confirmed.

The hunter expected the sounds to get louder as he got closer, but they actually grew fewer at a steady rate until he came upon the source: Blazermate of course, and another person, along with a handful of hostile robots... and a few of the pieces of the defeated, which were still intent on attacking them. Though Ace had no idea what had triggered this fight, he didn't hesitate to jump in to lend a hand. With a thought to seek out a nice impact type weapon for that good blunt damage in the future, the Cadet drew his sword and shield and made a beeline for the nearest zombot. En masse the robots might have been a problem, but since most of them had already been made into scrap metal the remaining few had no chance, especially now that reinforcements had arrived. Ace slammed his shield into a steel cranium, sending the robot's head spinning as he searched it for a weak spot. Since they could still move when decapitated and de-limbed, they had to have some kind of power source that had to be targeted instead - or, as Blazermate was doing, grinding them into small chunks worked. The Cadet couldn't quite do that with just the Master Bang though, so targeting the power source it was. 

The glowing circles on their chests were pretty likely to be it, so Ace drove his blade into it. The zombot twitched and stuttered before dropping, and though its limbs continued to make minute movements akin to the final firing of nerves, it was no where close to the severed arms clawing their way over the ground. While the others took down the final zombots, the Cadet made sure those that had already fallen definitely wouldn't be getting back up by smashing their cores. 

It hadn't ended up taking very long at all. 

[color=salmon]"Wow,"[/color] the Cadet started once it was over, stowing his weapon and looking around at the mess of metal and busted up fixtures in the rundown manor. [color=salmon]"Everything from the house to the residents have been decommissioned, huh?"[/color] 

He grinned at Blazermate after the lame attempt at a joke. Then he looked at the stranger they'd been fighting together with. He was humanoid, but also very obviously a robot too. Ace wondered if he'd been here whenever Blazermate had arrived - maybe this manor was actually some kind of science lab...? And speaking of the manor, it might have made a decent base of operations if a lot of the floors and walls hadn't been ripped to shreds. The house still had decent bones despite the heavy draft, so maybe it was usable? It certainly wasn't fit for royalty or anything, but it was better than the abandoned mine. [i]Actually, maybe we should look into that hotel after all...[/i]

Shaking the thought from his head, Ace approached the two robots still standing. [color=salmon]"Another new friend?"[/color] he asked of Blazermate while holding a hand out towards the taller of the two for a handshake if they accepted.

[color=salmon]"I'm Ace,"[/color] he said simply as an introduction, followed by, [color=salmon]"uh, sorry your place got wrecked, if it is your place."[/color]

To be fair though, it had definitely already been pretty rough looking.

Ace then looked back to Blazermate, pulling at the straps of his square pack. [color=salmon]"Kit and I got a bunch of stuff for all of us, we were gonna check out this area before heading back but since you got to it first - what do you think? ...minus the robots rusting in peace."[/color]

As in, would it fly for a temporary base of operations, and especially if her new acquaintance already claimed it would he be willing to let them use it if so?

[color=0072bc]"Uh... I guess... I mean I haven't checked out the mansion itself since we got attacked by the robots. So I don't know if its a good spot or not? But maybe the others could take a look? It's a mansion so maybe the more picky members will like it?"[/color]

Fair enough. Ace nodded, then motioned with his head back towards the door. [color=salmon]"Let's go meet up with them and let 'em know then."[/color]

The Cadet threw a friendly enough smile at the omnic, clearly not excluding him. He led the way back out of the manor back into the crisp cold outdoors. Since Snowdin wasn't all that far away, the lights and the tall tree at the center of town could easily be seen from up on the hill as they were. They could also see a massive carriage made of dark steel parked there too, as tall as some of the buildings if not taller. It definitely hadn't been there when the Seekers had first arrived. Ace pointed it out and then set a brisk pace back - either there were more newcomers to town that had shown up right after them, or the others had already found their mode of transport around the region!

Descending the dead pine hill and making their way back to the rest of the White Team didn't take long all things considered. When they did reunite with the others, the Ace Cadet was glad to see that the stagecoach ended up being the second option. It was truly huge, probably big enough to fit the whole team into, so it was a nice find. Now they only had to find something powerful enough to pull it. Even though it was on wheels, the fact it was made of metal made it look really, really heavy - and it'd also have the whole crew and all their equipment inside too. Forget a popo, they'd probably need a gammoth. Or a whole team of draft animals. 

As Sandalphon, Edward, Geralt and Sectonia repeated their findings and filled the recently arrived Seekers in on what they'd learned, the Cadet committed the information to memory. And took a parka when offered to him, finding it kind of funny that it just covered up the big coat he was already wearing, basically turning it from dark material to white. Ultimately he chose to forego the white, since the stagecoach wasn't exactly stealthy in the first place. If a fight came up, might as well leave the camouflage to others and draw danger away from them. When the issue of moving said stagecoach came back up, Ace blinked in mild surprise.

[color=salmon]"I actually got some of those. The pal spheres,"[/color] he said. He flipped his bag around and dug through it before producing one of the blue crystal balls. [color=salmon]"Talk about a lucky coincidence, I almost didn't bother buying them."[/color]

He also let them know what the mysterious marketeer had said, that they were made from energy crystals. Now that the Cadet got an even closer look at them, their design seemed... fairly simple. If they found an energy source similar enough to paldium, he or any other crafty Seeker could probably make more basic pal spheres if they ended up needing them.

[color=salmon]"We also got a lot of equipment, hopefully covered everything we need. Torches, lanterns, tents, tarps, sleeping bags and pads, a bunch of dried rations, hunting traps, cooking spits, water filters, pretty much whatever we could think of. Still looking for mistletoe though."[/color]

Thankfully since Geralt was familiar with it already and had described it, they'd at least be able to spot it in the wild. As for everything else Ace would pass out the equipment to whoever wanted some before they got moving, or else stow it in the carriage so it wouldn't take up space in his bag. It already held way more than it logically should, but the space inside was still finite. 

He'd let Blazermate or someone else give the report on the manor, after that it was up to the group if they wanted to try and bunk down there or move on from Snowdin and find another place. Before that though, there was one other thing that Ace had to bring up. He cleared his throat to get the attention back on him, and with a more serious tone he laid out his final finding.

[color=salmon]"So we were talking with one of the locals, and she told us something really... incredible,"[/color] he began, not sure if that was even the right word to use. [color=salmon]"Apparently there's some Holy Order here in the Highlands that know how to make things die for real."[/color]

He didn't pause for long before he tried explaining more, a mix of eagerness and slight apprehension on his face. [color=salmon]"Like, normally, leaving a body behind. No turning into ashes, and I'd guess no spirit either but... anyway, I think we should try and find them."[/color]  

On that the Cadet sounded firm in his suggestion. [color=salmon]"If we can learn how they do it, it'd solve some of the food problems for us and for the Lost Numbers. And if it means that no spirit gets left behind, then... I mean, maybe we could even try using it on Guardian."[/color]

Ace glanced at Geralt briefly. There were three Seekers present that had fused with Guardians, some of them pretty nasty pieces of work, but only the Witcher had mentioned a drawback as serious as potentially losing himself in a rage. If an option like this was available, and they could destroy a Guardian without needing to risk fusion with it, they should at least consider it.

Kit could chime in with his unique circumstances and the prospect of gaining Humanity too if he wanted, as it wasn't Ace's business to tell. Regardless, the hunter added after a moment, [color=salmon]"unfortunately the Order travels around the region though, so finding them might be easier said than done."[/color]

Still, he knew it would be worth seeking them out.