The Exploits of Misfit Company

Obsidian hops down from the tree as Alys arrives and rams his head into her shins, demanding his usual petting tribute.

Kasha twisted her body to try and look at Alys normally. "Play with you? What do you mea- WHOA!" Kasha barked as she fell off the branch. She stood up rapidly at attention, shaking leaves out of her hair and spitting one out that got caught in her mouth. "PTH! Ok! What box?" Then it dawned on her. "OH!" she smiled, nodding slowly, grinning ear to ear. "Ok!" she said in a devious scrunched up little voice.

Alys’ eyes would go wide in surprise when she’d feel something thud against her shins. She’ll glance down to see Obsidian demanding his tribute. The elf wouldn’t help but chuckle a little as she’d bend down to provide him with scritches behind his ears and under his chin.

”Oh!” Alys would react a little in shock when Kasha would fall out of the tree, but of course she’d bounce back up right away as if nothing happened. The elf’s smile would return to her face the moment Kasha smiled at attention. With a small chuckle, the wizard will reach to pluck a twig and a couple leaves from her hair that didn’t shake off. Alys will run her nails through Kasha’s hair, pushing some of it from her face. “Am I going to have to call upon Yvan for bath time after?” She’d tease, knowing it’s not her favourite thing.

Seeing the Druid grin ear to ear, willing to help her solve Bixby’s box, she’ll grab Kasha by the hand before she changes her mind. “Okay! Let’s go!” With matching enthusiasm, the wizard will tug the halfelf to a quiet study area. 

The next morning, large bags that each contain 3,000 gold pieces are delivered to the house that you've been staying at. Attached to Bixby's bag is a note with the directions to Master Zeppeli's store.

In said quiet study area, Kasha dug in her backpack with her tongue out, found the cube she stole and set it on a table, looking at it next to Alys with mischievous curiosity. "Ok." she squeaked. "Now what?"

Alys will pick a couple chocolate peanuts off the cube. She couldn’t help but chuckle and enjoy Kasha’s mischievous curiosity. “We solve it.” She’d smile. “Here.” The elf would take the druids hands in hers to pick up the cube. She’d guide her fingers along it to try to twist and turn it, trying to figure out together what it could even do. “It reminds me of a cube that the human children would play with. But theirs was full of colours. This one could be a little tricky...” The wizard would think out loud, gently letting go of Kasha’s hands to see if she takes to trying it out on her own. And if she does, Alys will watch her fiddle, poke and prod at the cube.

The archaeologist knew that it could be so easy to over think puzzles. And having Kasha with her, who looks at things differently, could give her a different perspective, an advantage, to solving the cube, if Kasha herself didn’t figure it out first.  

"Oh, khkhk sorry about that." Kasha giggled as she picked the chocolate and peanut bits off the toy and ate them. When Alys's's let go of her hands, her tongue stuck out and she tried to gently twist and turn and manipulate the toy, not knowing what she was doing.

"Maybe it's filled with candy!!" she suddenly blurted, thinking of the idea. She then became serious again, concentrating, looking at the cube, manipulating it again. Then she startled, coming up with another idea. "Oh, oh! No! Or candy!" she returned to the cube.

Obsidian rolled his eyes.

Kasha took Alys by the back of her head and pulled her in so both of them were nearly eyeball touching the cube. "Look." she whispered. "Colors. How do we get inside it. I can hear the jelly beans inside begging to be released."

Arcana: 14

Pffff. 4. Wait a second, i'm a druid, not a wizard.

"Don't worry candy!! We'll save you!!"

She looked at Alys desperately. Obsidian looked at the camera.

All Kasha needed was the right motivation. And when she thought about about candy, that’s when Alys could tell she was beginning to focus. Amused, the wizard would watch the druid try her best as she immersed herself in the effort. “Oof!” She’d be a little surprised by Kasha grabbing her head, but would chuckle, her cheeks going a little pink being pulled suddenly so close.

Alys will continue to investigate to see if there’s an approach Kasha took that could be leading them to the right idea. She’d also think about all the historical relics she’s discovered and played with in her years of archaeology.

After Kasha’s honest attempt and looking at Alys with desperate eyes, the wizard would nod and gingerly accept the cube like she was taking over the druids surgery patient. Taking a deep breath, the elf will try her attempt at solving B’s cube. 

Kasha would grab Alys cheek to cheek in a hug, as if one of the greatest mysteries of the universe were about to be solved.

Or have jelly beans spill out.

"Ohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh..!!!!" she breathed in anticipation at what happened next.

It was that one corner piece. That one piece every, single, TIME for Kasha. The one that absolutely refused to match up with the others no matter what arrangement was made or shaken done! If it weren't for the fact that the colors appeared painted on, she might've even gotten the idea of swapping them around to make it match, and release the precious 'Clickity Clacks' of the 'Candy' inside! But alas, denial is all the druid earns for her actions.

Alys, on the other hand, quickly picks up where Kasha misstep, and is perhaps halfway through the mental gymnastics of planning when three thoughts occur to her. The First: Every time Kasha got stuck with the one piece, she could swear she heard something click inside. Not unlike that of a tumbler in a lock. The Second: In all your years of dealing with historical relics, you know that sometimes the simplest of puzzles on the surface were often designed to mislead the solver. One might yet still find a great bounty in doing things 'right', but the true secrets of the Tombs and so forth would remain secret until usually a happy accident, natural decay of the site, or some exceptionally insightful explorer revealed it. And lastly...Bixby, or at least the more familiar personas the party have dealt with in the past always had some weird quirk about them mentally. So, it stood to reason the same trend would continue in the design of the box.

With all these things in mind, and some several testing later, Alys manages to create a cube of patterns within the cube, resulting in that inner cube section popping out slightly... but nothing else. In pushing it back in place, either to try and fix it or trust in your gut, again there's a final click followed by the cube trying to shift about in hand on its own.

What starts as whispered voices grows into a small cacophony of them as many voices either vying to be heard, to scream, or given a brief reprieve from the rest to shout some curse at Bixby. Though not all are familiar, there are a few Kasha and Alys are able to pick out; such as Barnabus, Drift, Brock, and so on. Every one sounds either more horrifying, despair-filled, or angrier than the rest. And it goes on for a solid minute, prior to the cube finishing its re-scattering of pattern and settling down; the complaints or tirades at Bixby finally concluding with it clicking back in place.

Kasha froze in place, holding Alys tight, very tight. For a straight minute, she didn't let her go. She only moved her eyes, looking around to see if anything else would happen besides the orchestra of voices that were heard from it as this was going on. She slowly let Alys go, and carefully looked around the cube, even moving it gently with her finger as if looking for something.

"Where's the candy?" she asked, like a sad, disappointed, let down child.

With that one final click, a soft gasp escapes Alys' lips as she realized the puzzle was finally solved. Her eyes would widen when the whispers would start, but then she'd close them to focus on what she was hearing, leaning into Kasha's hold. The divination wizard would listen intently, picking up on the most familiar of voices and committing every tone and every word she could to memory. She could feel the horror, sorrow and anger grow as the voices shouted to be heard. She'd be lying if she said it wasn't painful to listen to the cries of their friend(s) for a whole minute, but there was that one silver lining she could hold on to. It was B, the rest of him.

Alys would slowly open her eyes, tears dripping down her cheeks as she'd stare down at the cube. "Oh, B..." She'd rest her head against Kasha's. He's here. The elf lingered in silence. She knew exactly what Kasha would break it with... and when she did, Alys would smile a teary but happy smile to her. "I'll treat you to whatever candy you want."

Kasha went from disappointment to a startled concern the moment she looked at Alys. "Why are you crying? Candy is a happy thing!" she asked. "Sugar in my tum tum makes ME happy. It doesn't make you happy?" Kasha's lip quivered a bit, as if the notion of candy not making someone happy was just plain horrific and appalling. "I mean, sometimes I eat too much and get sick and I barf, but.."

Alys would wipe away her tears with her sleeve a little embarrassed. "I am happy. I'm just soft when it comes to you all." She'd confess simply for the druid. The elf believed deep down Kasha could understand why she cried. She was good at deflecting to keep things light and positive. The wizard will boop Kasha's nose. "Speaking of which, should we go catch up with the others?" For now, Alys had confirmation that it was something. What it all meant and what could come of it was a different story. For now she was satisfied that a piece of the puzzle was solved and not was all lost. She'd take the cube and tuck it safely into her bag of holding.

"Okee!" Kasha beeped and followed Alys, Obsidian trotting close behind.

 Bixby eventually returns to the dormitory with Stella, seeming fairly upbeat. Or at least, as upbeat as a typically detached soul can be at any given time. Apart from the first person he sees inside being passed along the good news, he conjures another puzzle cube on his way up to his room, wanting nothing more than while away the rest evening in relative solitude. Even with such wants, he is polite as always and willing to spare time for others, if such request are ever a thing.

Otherwise, he is content to rest until the following morning, and alert the others of Master Zeppeli. "If any of you wish to accompany me before we head back to Headquarters, such as it is, shall we depart together? Or if you wish to lend me the coin and an idea of what you would wish, I can handle that." He adds.

Stella makes sure to inform everyone of the outcome of the trip to the tower.

She would also like to go see Master Zeppeli with Bix, since as of right now, she has no idea what she wants in terms of magic items.

Alys would return to the dormitory as well, her eyes a little bloodshot and tired, but that wasn't something out of the ordinary. She'd listen to what Bixby and Stella had to report. "I'll tag along for components." She'd respond simply to Bixby's invite. The elf would stay behind for a bit to jot down some notes for later review, waiting up for everyone to return before she'd decide to retire for the night.

Kasha would sleep on the floor next to Alys, Yvan, and/or Obsidian - dreaming throughout the night of chasing rabbits in a field and occasionally whimpering like a dog and kicking her leg out like one, too.