melodiesofeternity | [Closed] Where are all these moogles coming from, anyway?

The Death Pool. How... apt. Kuja makes his way towards the appointed location, grumbling under his breath. There is mud positively everywhere. Still, something in the air feels... off. A faint prickling sensation that can't simply be laughed off or ignored.

"By the pricking of my thumbs, something wicked this way comes," Kuja mumbles under his breath. A bit melodramatic, but a quote from a Lord Avon play seems... apt, here, somehow.

Mud is... far from Papyrus' ideal, but at least he's not a Woshua. Though he grimaces a little as he trudges through the muck, all seems well, until... well, that prickling sensation sinks in.

Kuja's mumbling gives him pause, though, and he arches a bony brow. "THAT SOUNDS... STRANGELY FAMILIAR. AND OMINOUS."

Then again, there are ghosties afoot.

Kuja clears his throat. "It's a quote, from a play called The Serpent Beneath. It's quite famous. It just sort of... leapt to mind."

He pauses, looking around. "There's a scene described not at all unlike this deserted lakeside, wherein the lead beseeches a coven of witches for his future to be revealed to him. The quote is from one of the three." Hmm.

"It's also likely accurate. I've heard some rather unpleasant things about this lake, while I was researching it."

Ah, yes. It was called the Death Pool. The name alone makes him wince. But then he titters, trying to shift the tone and probably failing. "WELL! WE'LL JUST HAVE TO PROVE THOSE RUMORS WRONG. BY STAYING DETERMINED! AND PERSISTENT. AND BESIDES, PERHAPS IT'S JUST HYPERBOLE?"

One could hope. He certainly didn't want to die any time soon.

Kuja nods. "It'll be fine, I'm sure. We're both quite capable combatants, and there's always the option, in this instance, of simply running-"

He has to stop, of course, since through the trees has come a shriek of rage.
"Good-for-nothing- You've only dumped half our reagents into the bloody pond!"
"It was an accident! And it never was half the ingredients it was only a few of them! And Cindy shouldn't have even put them there!"
"'Ow was I supposed to know you were going to kick me 'andbag into th' bog, Mindy? Where're we even going t'find scale of bleedin' dragon at this hour?! Can't exactly nip 'round to the shop and ask, can we?!"

Kuja steps out from around the tree to find... three moogles of varying builds, all wearing steepled hats, apparently in the midst of an argument around a cauldron. This is going to be a long night.

Papyrus nearly jumped at the shriek. He'd balled up his hands, hunched his shoulders, tension impossible to miss... until they reached the moogles, and that pent up tension diffused like a popped balloon.

Now he's slumped over, blinking and staring. This is... honestly kind of comical, if a bit strange. Once the shock wears off, he straightens and speaks up.

"AH! COULD IT BE THAT YOU'RE MAKING A POTION OF SORTS? SOME SORT OF SPECIAL ELIXIR FOR THE SENSES?!"

Ah, how intriguing! This could be a great learning experience.

Kuja pinches the bridge of his nose. This. This is what the locals are reporting as 'suspicious and dangerous individuals conducting an arcane ritual of some sort'. "Well. Alright then. There's been quite a lot of people who're alarmed at your presence in this area, so if we help you, will you kindly either leave or just... conclude your business quickly?"

There's a pause as the three moogles consider this.
"Well, I expect we'll be done by morning, if we can get this potion finished."
"If- It's a wonder we can get anything done with you mucking about, Mindy! We've only just got a whole new supply from those gentlemen earlier, and here you are with the all the grace of a concussed behemoth-"

"Ladies. Please." If he doesn't say something, this will go on all night. "What ingredients have been ruined, such that we may expedite the completion of whatever-it-is-you're-doing?"

"Well that bag had our entire stock of eye of newt and adder's fork and that's simple enough just nip 'round to the apothecary-"
"And you put all our toe of frog in as well, right before you punted it into the bloody pond!"
"but honestly, scale of dragon is such a rare ingredient! How can we even hope to get that? I saved up for ages just for one!"

Kuja sighs. "Scale of dragon, eye of newt, adder's fork, toe of frog. Anything else?"

"Well the frog's got t'be from 'round here, stands to reason."

Kuja sighs. "That's all only going to eat up the rest of the evening. Fantastic. Unless you've a substitute for all that?"

"WELL, IF IT WILL EXPEDITE THE SITUATION, I DO HAVE MY HOVER BOARD ON HAND FOR SWIFTER TRAVELS! AND A VARIETY OF ODDS AND ENDS FOR MY CHEMICAL CONCOCTIONS..."

But hrmm, scale of dragon, scale of dragon... Wait. Why go for something so mundane? Papyrus bumps a fist against his palm as a metaphorical lightbulb blinks to life in his head.

"AHA! WOULD A PIECE OF AN ULTROS TENTACLE SUFFICE? I DO BELIEVE HE'S A RATHER POWERFUL ENTITY. SURELY A CUTTING WOULD ADD AN EXTRA OOMPH TO YOUR BREW!"

If it could save them a step, then that was the important part. He'd been holding onto that thing for quite a while, anyway, just in case it served any particular use in the future.

There's a ringing silence following this proclamation.
"Have you actually GOT tentacle of Ultros? I mean, that- We could make the substitution, I suppose. Scale of dragon's non-negotiable, I'm afraid, but eye of newt and adder's fork... Yes, I rather think that would work."
"It's certainly slimy and wet enough to count!"

Kuja nods. "Well. If a dragon scale and the tentacle will do on their own, then I think we can help you quite easily. Have you a knife I can borrow?"
'Cindy' hands him a dagger, which is carefully examined and then cleaned with a blast of white magic. "Papyrus, if you would. I'll retrieve the scale." A ball of light is sent into the sky, and not long after comes the far-off cry of a silver dragon taking flight. She lands, not long after, to much appreciation by the three, and Kuja wastes no time in slipping by her side. A quick touch of magic to numb the area to discomfort, slide the blade underneath a scale, gently pry- and then a Cure to mend the minor blemish. Before long, Kuja is depositing the dagger- and a pristine, silver-white scale- into the moogle's hands. "There you are. Do hurry and finish your business quickly, hm?"

Wow. That was... very efficient, actually! Why didn't he think of that before? For a few moments, Papyrus just stares dumbfounded at the display, but soon he shakes it off. There's work to do! And so he digs into his pocket, feeling around for a bit until he whips out a jar with some of the Ultros Tentacle cuttings.

"IT WAS RATHER DIFFICULT TO FIT THE ENTIRE TENTACLE INTO ONE CONTAINER, BUT HOPEFULLY THESE PIECES WILL SUFFICE!!! THE TENTACLE IS RATHER LARGE, AFTER ALL."

But it's certainly Ultros- even the cuts he has are very large and Ultros-colored, as they'll find once he passes them along.

Well. There's no denying the integrity of the scale, and the tentacle is carefully examined by all three for several moments before it, too, is determined to be genuine.

"Well, can't imagine we'd take more'n a few hours to finish up at this rate."
"Yes! Can't thank you enough!"
"Assuming these two don't muck it up somehow..."
"Oh, as if you've never made a mistake in your life, Sandy, why don't you just-"

The argument resumes, and Kuja clears his throat, glancing over at Papyrus. "Well. Time to report back, do you think?"

Papyrus nods, though his eyes remain on the crotchety Moogles for just a bit longer. "YES, I THINK WE'VE FULFILLED OUR MISSION WITH FLYING COLORS! THOUGH I CAN'T IMAGINE HOW DIFFICULT IT WOULD HAVE BEEN WITHOUT YOUR TRUSTY COMPATRIOT!"

Nonetheless, if they can just make it back without dying, they'll be right as rain. So much for those ominous rumors, really!

Kuja snorts. "Right? Imagine having to go hunting dragons at this hour. Would you like a ride back to Hisan, Papyrus?" He's mounting as he talks, offering the dragon beneath him a gentle stroke.

"OH! CERTAINLY. PROBABLY MORE EFFICIENT THAN GOING ALL THE WAY BACK ON HOVER BOARD, ANYWAY." Not that his board wasn't good, but he didn't like to push it too hard. It was no airship, after all.

So, tentatively, he'll try and climb on as well, taking care not to distress the dragon in the process.

[Closed] Where are all these moogles coming from, anyway?

Double, Double, Toil & Kupubble [Locked to Papyrus]

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wow, for some reason I didn't get a notif for this o.o;

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