~ADVENTURE~

"Oh... Oops," Shisho recalled, floating off the path instead now. Since he floated, he made relatively no sounds that came with traversing across fresh vegetation, but his cables did accidentally bump into a few roots and branches here and there, making the Navi very uncomfortable.

Then a branch decided to slap at his face. Ouch.

A bit deeper into the forest, the wizard (witch?) lady floats down in front of Shisho. "Hello, dear child." She titters, holding a hand up to her lips. "Come for those lessons?"

Shisho spotted the lady as she floated down to greet him. Naive and unsuspecting, Shisho nodded eagerly when she made her offer again. "H-hello. Yes I have," he started, a little ball of excitement and nervousness.

She nodded at that, purple hair fluttering. "Well then, what is it you would like to learn? I assume you're at least something of a fellow practitioner..." The witch said, gesturing towards Shisho's floating feet, "but we all have something to teach each other."

"Umm, I do not know what you have to offer, so..." Shisho responded, looking at his own floaty feet. It sort of came to him naturally, and didn't think much about it. ... Not that he was trained to think in fantasy or magical terms in the first place.

Shisho just shrugged, biting his lip in ignorance of the subject matter in question.

"I can teach you tricks." She said, flipping a hand over and showing Shisho the palm. "See this, for instance? I put a bit of magic in it, and..."

On cue, the pellet began to exude a thin little stream of smoke into the air. A second later the trail disappeared, and the Witch smiled at Shisho again. "So if I put a looooot of magic into it... Yeah. There's tricks like that. I can also teach you other things, like teleportation, or how to jump higher... lots of little things, nothing too fancy."

The witch paused for a moment, murmuring to herself, and then spoke up again. "There's also other, more destructive things I can do, but I ah, don't really enjoy using those. They take a lot of magic power, and they usually end with the guards coming after me, if they aren't already..."

Shisho was still trying to figure out the technicalities and theories behind the Witch's little magical events, but realised that he failed to come up with a plausible conclusion. Maybe, perhaps, it really was magic; and had nothing to do with how Navigators work at all! Wait... are all these people even classified as Navis?

At the mention of mobility techniques, however, Shisho leaned in further. He wasn't entirely interested in destructive techniques; after all, he was a scribe, not a scribefighter or a bookknight. Those would've made cool titles, however. "Yeah... I think those jumping or teleportation techniques might be useful," Shisho said, holding out one of his swaying cables. "I'm not exactly agile, per se."

The witch smiles, then urges Shisho to come closer. Afterward, she looks around, seemingly checking one last time for any onlookers... then gets right into it.

An hour or so later, after having profusely discussed how exactly to teleport or jump higher than normal, Shisho finds he understands absolutely none of it... but could probably pull it off if he tried.

[TEMPGET: Teleport Spell!]
[TEMPGET: Farleap Spell!]

"This looks surprisingly comprehensive," Shisho said, despite not understanding what the woman had blabbered; but he could do it anyway. Fable magic? Perhaps. "I'm surprised that there aren't more magic practitioners around," Shisho added with a thought, spinning a few quick rounds mid-air as he did so. When he stopped spinning, he faced the woman again. "Thank you, miss. O-oh, and your payment...?" he noted suddenly, realising that the lesson probably wasn't free.

"...was sort of dropping those guards on you. Thank you for not giving me up." She chuckled. "Ordinarily you're right; I would charge for a lesson like this. But between fellow practitioners, and for someone who helped me, well..."

She smirked, turning to walk away, "I'll just waive the fee. Good luck to you!"

With that she darts, abruptly, between a couple of trees---- and is gone.

"Oh... Thank you!" Shisho said, bowing to the woman just as she left the scenery. Now that his business in the forest is done, Shisho supposed that he can return to the much-safer town interiors. When he passed by the familiar guards, however, he realised that he had forgotten something.

"Oh yeah... Something about the King wanting an independent party," Shisho floated in the entryway in thought, turning his eyes towards the castle building. Guess that's his next destination.

Shisho heads toward the castle; the brickwork on the castle building itself, back at the farthest side of the outer walls from the gate leading in, is of an almost transcendent quality, outshining even the protective walls surrounding it. The entryway to the castle, however, is guarded by a second pair of troops, these ones appearing better-armed and less aloof than the gate guards. Royal guards, perhaps?

"Halt!" The one to the left addresses Shisho. "You there, floating boy! State your name, business, and the reason for your apparent lack of gravity!"

Ack!! And suddenly some sane person who questions his peculiar floatiness appeared! Nevertheless, Shisho bowed in respect to the better-armed guards, his mind racing for a plausible excuse for all this. "Ah.. My name is Shisho. I heard from the gate guards that the King seeks an independent party for some reason or another, and I'm wondering whether I could offer any help..." Shisho started with his introductions, then gave an apologetic look. "A-ah, about the lack of gravity, I would have to apologise; I was taught a tiny bit of magic to help my ailing feet," he added, not knowing whether it was actually believable a story or not.

"If you would like, I-I suppose I can walk normally," the Navi offered further.

"Those idiots told you--" The guard balks, before making a groan of frustration. "We told them NOT to tell anyone until his majesty had decided for certain! Ugh."

A few moments pass before he speaks to Shisho again. "Yes, cease your... 'floating'. You may come inside for now, but my partner will be watching you." With that he nods to the right. "Now get down."

Entirely unused to the request, Shisho reluctantly lowered himself to the ground, making sure his two feet was securely planted to the floor before he let go of the floating processes.

He almost fell, but maintained his composure somehow after flailing about comically for half a second or two. Only when he had good footing then Shisho thought about what the guard had just told him. Undecided? Seems like they need to fix their communication channels, the Navigator mused.

He gracefully accepted the escort, though forced upon him-- then waited for the guard to bring him in. Can't be that bad, right? After all, it was a majestic castle that one normally cannot find (that is not virus infested), and the programs here (if they were) felt realistic enough to pass off as a medieval simulation game.

Maybe that's what the book was for! Some entry program for a reclusive massive multiplayer online game, or something. Shisho let his mind wander abit even as his eyes took in his surroundings.

The guard reluctantly leads Shisho into the castle, his counterpart staying behind to guard the entry. Inside, the castle is far more majestic; a bright red carpet runs the entire length of the entryway, with white, black-speckled tile off to either side. The walls are white and etched with ornate golden patterns, with red banners hanging symmetrically on either side of the path. Printed on each one is the same emblem; that of a white tower-- a Rook chess piece-- wearing a crown. Shisho has little time to muse this as the guard leads him onward.

Slowly a crowd of onlookers begins to form from the various people throughout the castle, all of them wondering what Shisho might have done, especially with his odd looks, to warrant being escorted by a pissed-off-looking guardsman. Finally, with a crowd of at least 20 trailing behind them, Shisho and his escort arrive at a regal-looking set of dark oaken doors, an effigy depicting a pair of sword-crossing knights carved into either door.

Upon the pair's arrival, the two guards at the door quickly salute. "Raitan, sir!" The one on the left says.

"At ease." He responds automatically, glancing at Shisho. "This one is here to see the king about his problem." The two guards begin to start, confused looks on their faces-- "Yes, yes. The gate guards are to blame." He sighs, and the two men at the door nod. "Remember your training! Keep a sword trained on him the entire time he's in there, but do not interfere unless his actions threaten the king." The duo at the door nod, and Raitan turns to leave... and notices the onlookers.

"Away with you, vultures!" He shouts, grabbing his sword and waving it around, still sheathed. The crowd quickly scatters, and Raitan keeps walking.

"...Right then." The guard at the left door says, "Are you ready to head in?" Meanwhile, his counterpart opens the other door and ducks inside for just a moment, then returns with a nod. "The king can see you now if you are."

Shisho was elated; and so was Rini. "Whoaaa! It's a castle! It's white and big! Bigger than my house!" the child operator said excitedly, grabbing the PET closer to her eyes to take a better look. "No Rini, no seeing things up close," Shisho noted automatically his response, not wanting his operator to spoil her eyesight. The Navi himself, however, was simply mesmerised by the effort placed into the castle's architecture and tapestry, wordless by the scenery.

Shisho gave a visible gulp when he saw the swords, but said nothing as the guard-- Raitan-- gave them instructions to "kill if provoked". The Navi wanted to grow slightly shorter than he already was to hopefully avoid those bladed, dangerous items.

He turned when Raitan shooed away the onlookers; so he really DID look weird. Might have to consider taking up a disguise if this continues, Shisho mused idly. Turning back to the door guard and nodded, waiting to be guided in.

Shisho is then shown in by the guards, and is greeted by the largest, most ornate room he has ever seen. In the center of the room is a red carpet leading up a short half-flight of stairs to a large, golden throne with red cushions; a pair of knights, mirror matches for the ones on the doors, are molded onto the sides of the chair, and stand in a pose, real swords gleaming, that suggests they are there to protect whoever sits on the throne with their lives.

Whatever part of the floor isn't covered by the plush red carpet beneath Shisho's feet is covered by more of that marble from outside-- but the marble in here is white and flecked with gold speckles, all of it gleaming in the light like small little gems trapped inside a pane of glass. The walls of the first floor are decorated with paintings, evenly-spaced, of what look like men from the same lineage; each one is denoted with a small plaque below their portrait, but Shisho cannot read them from here.

That is the first floor, however. Shisho finds his eyes drawn by the columns near the edge of the room to the walkway that rings it; several doors lead out of the throne room's second floor to side rooms, and Shisho can swear he sees one door close just as he looks. His eyes are drawn yet further up, however, by the roof; it is patterned, painted and carved with ornate colors and reliefs depicting knights, kings, and other armored figures; the colors of blue and gold are the most frequently used, offsetting the red that is otherwise present nicely.

Finally, Shisho catches himself as he hears someone loudly clear their throat. It is the guard to his left. "Presenting His Majesty, King Johnson III!" At that Shisho finds himself looking to the throne; a figure is seated there that he either didn't see or didn't notice before.

The King, Johnson as it were, is somewhat short, standing only a foot taller than Shisho when Shisho is actually on the ground, but appears to be a man of some age; small, well-worn wrinkles adorn his face and his features, and his jet black hair is going gray near the back roots. The long, flowing, red silk robe he is dressed in appears to be made more for comfort than for regality, but the golden filigree near its' borders and seams speak highly of its' quality. They also offset the gold crown atop Johnson's head nicely.

"So, you have come to hear of my dilemma? And what could a mere lad like you do to help me?" Johnson inquires, the sheer power in his voice nearly overbearing.

He took his time admiring the throne room before being snapped back to focus on the people before him-- the vertically challenged king, and the guards that looked all-too-capable to lop his own head off. Shisho shivered slightly from the thought.

What threw Shisho off, however, was the king's tone. Having a kingly voice was not something that was common amongst Navis, and Shisho found himself unconsciously cringing ever so slightly from the overbearing tone of the King's voice.
"Y-Yes, your majesty," Shisho started unsteadily, deciding to take the honest route of things. "I can't promise you on how I can help you, at least not until I am informed of your dilemma."

"Oi! The king asked you--" One of the guards starts, taking a step towards Shisho.

The king, irritated, intervenes. "SILENCE!" He shouts, glaring at the guard. He falls back into line as the King leans back in his chair, staring at Shisho. "A bold response, yet still respectful. Interesting. You might just pull it off..." he muses.

"Until just recently, there were three kingdoms in our country. The Ivory, the Ebony, and the Ashen kingdoms. Now only the Ivory and Ebony remain." He grumbles. "There was a natural disaster, or so we assume-- and one day the Ashen kingdom was simply gone. A flat plane, no vegetation, no wildlife. There were..." He pauses.

"There were no survivors, save for one."