OOC: Co-written with Dyste
Riley’s Private House
Outskirts of Saint Monica
The one story rustic log cabin in the middle of a patch of woodlands was as typical as a Siverdalean home. The white clouds passing by with the breeze of the fresh pine air of autumn, and the sunlight of Solis warm the cozy cabin. A cute dragon welcome sign greeted all who came to visit. Inside the cabin was decorated with all forms of wooden carvings and goods of the penguin, and dragon iconology. It was the Dragonlover’s cabin for all to come and gather. The back porch had a view of the forest with a fence for any pets to roam freely. In the platform of the porch itself was a hot tub to ease up from the coldness of winter. All with the fully stacked firewood nearby to get and throw into the stonish fireplace to relax and bench watch the latest program on Penflix.
That is if you know where to search for its secrets.
A boulder nearby had a simple hidden magical hatch that led down into the depths of a secret hideout from the world itself. An old bunker and shelter, a relic from the civil war era, was forgotten in time as the surface pinbox was destroyed by a bomb. Yet outside of the erie and decay, the rest was retrofitted into a traditional Dragonlover dojo. A room for training with bamboo floors, and cases to hold swords, a literal build in the concrete walls of a weapon’s army with all kinds of ninja weapons to guns, axes, magical items, and armors in the second room nearby. The main gathering and intelligence room with a magical map of the entirety of Silverdale with the nearby islands with the Fairy Island and the South Pole. The gathering room that was open next to the intelligence room with a small mini kitchen and a group of couches. Lastly was the fifth room, the garage, was a seperate room from the hallway that connected to the dojo and army, where a special get away speed car laid dormant.
Riley slipped out from the dojo in her ninja persona. In the public and partisan circles, they know her as Riley. In secret, her codename was Momiji Dragonlover, a harlot of the night that terrorized all. As Momiji, the presidential candidate’s skin was tanned, her long hair became as wild and unkempt in a dark violet, and burning scarlet eyes. Her gorgeous voluptuous body was clad tight against a very flexible leotard, leggings, and gauntlets of a dark red color with blackened dragon scales. All completed with a terrific dragon mask that laid on the right side of her head. Momiji made sure nothing resembled her other self in public as it’d be a disaster! Which she might be better than most fictional superheroes, but Riley knew that as a bit of a stretch and silly!
All that was left was to wait for the others.
Momiji didn’t have to wait too long for the first of her guests. While Hinoka Dragonlover was a dwarf, she was relatively tall and slender for one, though she was still over a foot shorter than Momiji. While she often took many guises, Momji saw her as she actually was, having short grey hair and icy blue eyes, wearing a light blue kimono that seemed rather loose on the dwarf’s pale frame, and in her hands were a pair of light blue fans. At first glance, she seemed rather harmless and even a bit frail, but Momiji knew better when it came to her leader. “Momiji,” she spoke in a stern tone, but there seemed to be a hint of concern in her voice, “I hope you have not been waiting long for us. Have you been well?”
Momiji gave a light bow to Hinoka, and then made a delightful grin. “Your timing was on schedule Hinoka. The old bunker needs some small polish. As for myself, I am glad that I can loosen myself up, and fix up my outfit. How about yourself sensei?”
Hinoka offered Momiji a seat on the nearby couch, “I have been doing fine, Momiji. I recently got a visit from Marron and her mother, and we have… been talking about a few things. Among those is that I fear my time in administrative duties might have dulled my skills and made me too rigid, hence why I am handling this mission personally, alongside a small team of my choosing. Shana will be acting leader while I am on this mission, so you needn’t worry about the well-being of the clan with myself absent from our village. I trust that you still enjoy the same drink order as when you lived in Dyste?”
Momiji leaped onto the couch with bouncy glee, and chuckled when Hinoka mentioned the list of drinks. “It’s been ages since I had one of your drinks, Hinoka. I hope it remains as splendid as ever.” Momiji winked.
Hinoka gave a slight smile, a rare sight from the dwarf, but even for a ninja leader dwarves still loved their drinks. She pulled a small tankard with draconic runes on it from her sleeve, and picked up a pair of mugs from the kitchen, pouring both of them a drink; the tankard appeared to be one that preserved the temperature of the ale, keeping it nice and cold. “It has been over a decade since you came to Silverdale, so I have no doubt you missed this. I know I have been rather strict in the past, but know that I always wanted you and the others to be your best. And from what I’ve seen of you and your campaign, you still have a strong drive to better yourself and those around you.”
“That’s possible.” Momiji sighed as she closed her eyes. “As Riley, I must ascend above the fray to achieve a semi-impossible dream to serve others. A wild dream yes, but there’s a point after I worked hard and done much for this country and Dyste, I do worry that there are stones that were left set to... “ Momiji opened up and huffed in irritation as she took a mug. “People who aren’t that smart. It’s a dangerous time for those people and others as well Hinoka. If you listen to the news from foreign leaders, they condemn an enemy they do not know, or made dealings with them in secret. If you say the enemy’s name in public, you’ll end up with a tin foil hat with mad conspiracy rambles.” Momiji took a sip from her mug.
“That is why people like us exist,” Hinoka chugged down her glass, yet showed no signs of intoxication; it appeared she shared the iron liver of her famous ancestor, the founder of the clan herself. “We can avoid all the issues with public perception and get to the heart of the matter to gather the information needed. And eliminate the problem if necessary. Now, if you don’t mind, I believe the next member of our team is about to arrive…”
Momiji and Hinoka were joined by a buxom blonde ninja with cat ears and a tail that matched her hair! Like Momiji, she dressed for the sake of alluring her targets and distracting them, though her black outfit with pink highlights was more on the skimpy side of things. She dashed over to Momiji and gave her a big hug, “It’s been too long since I’ve seen you, Momiji! Betcha didn’t see me getting to go on the mission with our fearless leader now, did you?”
Momiji quickly embraced the catgirl ninja and gave a passionate ear scratch! “Nope! You’re quite a surprise to see the maid Solis to work with our icy leader Solis. I hope your journey to my little cabin in the woods was an interesting one.”
Solis purred as she get her ears scratched, jumping on the couch to cuddle with her fellow ninja, “Oh, yes, I did a little maid work for a patron,” Clan Dragonlover had a tendency for their members to take on other jobs in order to gain information, with maids being a popular choice for them. Solis in particular had a long-standing role in Castle Dyste as a maid for the royal family. “I took some time in the countryside to try out a few moves Marron taught me!” Being of the more playful side of the clan, Solis, like a lot of those members, was a big fan of Marron’s. “Of course, I took a little time to bask in the sun, too; gotta live up to my namesake, after all!”
“A handy magic trick gave me this lovely tan Solis. So if you missed a spot, I can lend you a hand.” Momiji gave Solis a deviant look. “But I know your skill shall be a great use. There are times we cannot rely on weapons to sneak in a few places, which you’ll be perfect for the job.”
“It would be good to avoid bloodshed when possible,” Hinoka said, “We are here to investigate first and foremost, after all. But Solis’s talents will come in handy for those times.”
“Oh, of course,” Solis grinned, “Many people tend to be a bit too distracted by the cute kitty to really keep their guard up around me, which makes it extra easy to give ‘em a beating when it’s needed. If you have some spare time afterwards, maybe I’ll teach you a few of my tricks.”
“There’ll be enough time in between to spare Solis. I need a little workout now and then after the trail in the campaign to sharpen my skills as a ninja.” Momiji chuckled as her hand transformed into a dragon claw! Momiji’s abilities as a ninja can personify one of her talents as the ‘shadow dragon’ of some femine horror rather than pure distraction.
“All except my claws of course! But yes, Hinoka, I have my thoughts on how to avoid bloodshed in one of the key locations I pinned on the map. Believe me…. It took a long time to gather all this information from my jobs and the times as Momiji.” Momiji explained.
“Heh, it’s been a while since I’ve seen your skills, so that’ll be fun.” Solis purred as she cuddled on Momiji’s lap, seemingly not afraid of her abilities at all.
“It will be useful to have a lot of different skills for such a plan,” Hinoka said. “Fortunately, I have gotten experts in those fields to aid us…”
The next two members of the squad had arrived, as if on cue. One was a dark grey humanoid shark, or Sarkesh, who was noticeably more burly than any of the others, and only wore a pair of swimming trunks; understandable, given his speciality in seafaring missions, “Heya, I’m Brandt, of the Ninja Bros.,” the all-male team of Dragonlovers who were prominent in the 1990’s, but due to aging most had retired from active duty, aside from the Sarkesh; given his long lifespan, he could remain active for a long time further, “Of course, more like a ninja bro nowadays… Anyways, if you need any underwater work, I’m your guy. I brought my best bud’s girl along, if y’don’t mind…”
The other one was a wolf girl with grey fur and red hair, wearing a black ninja outfit that while not on Solis’s level was still fairly skimpy, though unlike the catgirl she had a kunai and a katana on her person. “Hey, so you’re the one they’ve all been talking about? Name’s Tala; I was just a pup when you left, but I think you might know my dad, Loka, or grandma Shana; I knew I had to help out given my great-aunt is one of the running mates of a candidate and all. Anyways, I’m good as both a lone wolf and as part of a pack, whichever is needed.”
“Oh I don’t mind sharky.” Momiji teased. “And my my, you grew up so much Tala. I know you saw me grow up as a fine woman on stage, but it’s the first time seeing me as Momiji yes?”
“Oh yes, of course,” Tala relaxed with a mug of ale on her own; she was in her early twenties now, so she was able to enjoy the favourite pastime of her clanmates. “I was a rather silly kid, I know, and I got into trouble a lot. Still do, as a matter of fact.”
“Ah, y’know, Tala’s a strong believer in the whole ‘ninja charm’ thing,” Brant clarified, “The likes of Marron and Lux, and you and Solis for that matter. So she got in trouble a lot for insisting on that style instead of going the serious route. Thankfully, the clan’s eased up on that recently, so hopefully she won’t go all lone wolf again, heheh.”
“Oh please. You have no idea how many silly things I did as a kiddo Tala.” Momiji had a lot of stories as a child. The simply dare from one of the frog ninja initials to act as a dog give Riley a ‘dog fad’ as she chased around squirrels to a fellow squirrel beastling, to the one back in Silverdale with her mother with her wannabe magical girl day cosplay fight with a cosplayer villain. “Still, I am the silly one here and it helps as Riley.”
“Heheh, I know all about those,” Solis said, “Mishy and I also got into our own share of mischief too. But as long as we did our missions, Lux didn’t mind what sort of antics we got up to.”
“I was rather worried about the reputation of our clan,” Hinoka remarked, now on her fourth mug of ale, “But I suppose it helps you work if you get to have fun in your off-hours. Speaking of Mishera, she is currently in Silverdale, and while I know she has a mission of her own, I invited her here to stay in the know about what is going on. I know she’d want to see Solis and her brother at least.”
The dragon elf Mishera strolled inside of the bunker and made a curious coo. Mishera wore a revealing skimpy naval blue kimono that barely held up her chest. The dark bob haired woman leaned down to look at the group, and then jumped to hug Solis! “Good to see you kitten! I hope you weren’t too alone in the castle while I was away to clean up the Winter Palace and Plane! Like Momo, I bounce around a lot as both a Secret Service Agent, Spec Ops, and a ninja. I suppose my talent makes me super special.” She giggled.
Solis huggled Mishera, “Don’t you worry, I got a chance to spend time with Marron while you were gone, and she’s been helping me become stronger. And given our ties to the Royal Family of Silverdale and the Secret Service, it only makes sense to send someone like you, especially since you got to see your cousin and all.”
“Heh. I’ll say that the president does have an eye on this matter, and wants to make sure the ‘woman in white’ from Princess Snow’s prophecy is somehow related to this mess. So I’ll make sure Miss frozen heart here doesn’t get too hurt!” Mishera laughed.
Solis purred at Mishera’s affection, “Oooh, did you get a chance to meet the princess? Marron told me of some of the times she got to work with Queen Aurora, she was apparently quite a sweetheart and quite cuddly too! I wonder if Snow’s anything like that…”
“Ahem,” Hinoka said regarding Mishera’s little remark, “If that was supposed to be directed at me, I shall have you know that just because I tend to be focused on missions it does not mean I am unfeeling.”
“Oh I’m so sorry!” Mishera jumped away from Solis and then approached Hinoka. “I’ll make it up for you, sensei. It was very little matter for me to do that.” She then gleefully gives the dwarf a good old arctic elf hug. As in an embrace that smothered Hinoka. All added in with a kiss on the lips.
“Heheh. I’m glad to see you again sensei.” Mishy replied.
Hinoka blushed before returning the kiss, “I… I am glad to see you too, Mishera. I have missed you during your assignment in Silverdale. Has everyone been treating you well here? If they have been unkind to you, I can make sure they never do so again…”
“Oh please, me and my family already dealt with a tragic jerk, and revived her to become a lovefreak! Hence, I’m doing alright! I even befriended a few Melonheart girl as well. Although there is this one fairy… Emerald was it? Oh yes, her. Who pulls off awful tricks one.” Mishy admitted. “Like giving me a wedgie.”
“Oh yeah, that dragon elf in Icicle Shore, heard about her in that report…” Hinoka of course kept up with all the news of her subordinates. “I see you’re doing good work here.”
“Now I jus’ think we’re waitin’ for your bro, Mishy,” Brandt said, “I would’ve thought he’d be the first one showin’ up, he’s always so punctual…” he picked up a mug handed to him by a butler with long black hair and a fine black suit, “Whoa, thanks… ACK! Quentin!?”
“I did arrive first, as a matter of fact,” the dragon elf said with a deadpan expression. “Like my sister, I am an expert at playing the domestic servant, and part of that job is to seem like you belong there. Needless to say, I succeeded.”
“Subtle I see.” Momo drank from her mug. “I am glad you’ve made yourself at home Quentin. We won’t stay here for long, but I hope you found my secret dojo and cabin suitable for your tastes.”
“Of course,” Quentin said. “As one of the best infiltrators in the clan, I shall find myself in the homes of influential politicians and gather intel. Perhaps even from the mysterious Riley…”
“Well, that is everyone,” Hinoka said, finishing off her last mug and totally not finishing a makeout session with Mishy! “Ahem… I know it is a rather… off-beat team, but I believe they will be the best suited to this mission, Momiji. Please use all of their skills to your greatest benefit.”
“Outside of a few make up, and a little Momo special, I can get all of us ready. Such as Mishy’ alter ego.” Momiji winked.
“Oh, like my spiky ‘club in and out’ style?” Mishera asked.
“Eeyup! Need a good brown hairspray, and you’ll be a different person.” Momiji nodded. “ Now Hinoka, it must be a good time to brief over all of us about ‘Those Who Slither in the Dark.’”
“I can see that you still take good care to make good disguises,” Hinoka was glad to see that even in her time out of Dyste, she had remembered one of the core tenets of her training. “So yes, shall we begin our briefing?”
Momiji rose up from the couch and gestured for everyone to gather up to the magical table in the intelligence room. She snapped her finger to unveil an illusion to show a pinboard with many red lines and links. In the middle of the maydaim of articles, photos, and papers was a symbol of a snake-like creature with a dragon mouth that looked left with icy teeth. “Now what’s Momo’s mention of this whole ‘Those Who Slither in the Dark’ deal, hmm? I suppose an enigmatic is something I caught on within the Rose Party members and the right-wing people. What I gather from folks to some loose string of history is that these snakes are some form of a Garyx cult that materialized after the last cycle. A snake creature if one is mentioned but I have no name for it. Somehow this thing has slithered its way from some obscure location to work within a network from the Luvgoods, their association, to those linked to the Fairy Council. With that network...“
Momiji pointed to an old hairy pony stallion called ‘Rep. Old Greaser.’ “They can swing this pony’s doomed election to success with a good outrage piece against an opponent. That is a soft power compared to the recent one.” She pointed to the table to show off an autopsy of the batpony that was… grey, eyes blanked, alongside a blank flank. “A tool they can create: a homunculus. A literal pony bot with one purpose. Once it is done, the pony will self-terminate itself.”
“Is that… the assassin of Silent Moonstone?” Tala asked, looking at the pictures. “I was keeping up in the news in case something happened to great-aunt Gywnie, but you’re saying that the assassination was caused by these… Slitherers?”
“Yes. It’s possible that one of the Slitherers has a tie with the Fairy Council, and knew that if Silent Moonstone’s rhetoric became a reality, then it may be the end of them. They might have decided to snuff the problem in the butt before this happened. Afterall, creating a homunculus is no easy task and the creator of it likely works for them.” Momiji said.
“Whoever is creating them is dealing with advanced magic, and dangerous ones at that,” Hinoka said, “They are like golems, only while ours in Dyste are quite obviously automatons, these are capable of blending in with people, making them perfect for infiltration and assassination. Imagine if one of us was just a disposable tool instead of a unique individual.” The dwarf showed her disgust at the idea.
“I don't see any Dragonlovers as expendable!” Mishy shook her head. “Even as strong as myself, to become a blank is awful.”
“For them, creating blanks and other monsters are more preferable than people who’d spill their secrets. Hence it makes my gathering of intelligence… difficult. Outside of this case, I cannot say that for monster attacks if it was a simple attack or a set up. A homunculus is easier to figure out.” Momo said.
“If the Luvgoods are involved, setting up monster attacks is a possibility,” Quentin frowned, working to clean up from the drinking as the brief was happening, “When Dyste was opening itself up to the world again, there were cases I took on involving that family and the former president.”
“Still, th’ whole thing seems rather dangerous,” Brandt patted his fin, “These Homonculuses…”
“Homunculi, Brandt,” Solis corrected him.
“Erm, right, Homunculi… anyways, monsters are kinda difficult t’ control. I’ve had some bouts with a few monsters of the deep and lemme tell ya, they aren’t exactly ones for strategy, and they can be as dangerous to themselves as they are t’you. But if they had someone guidin’ ‘em, that’s a whole different story. I wouldn’t count out someone makin’ sure those attacks happened. Between the two, they likely got some strong mages in their ranks.”
“Aye. Hence, we can begin our search with a few mages who can create Homunculi and other forms of life.” Momiji replied. “To hunt down a fox named Yoko will be counterproductive. Hence, there are a few wizards in Gingerbread City who have some high level skills in the similar field.”
“That would be a good place to start,” Hinoka said, “But make sure to refrain from assuming that just because it is the most likely spot, that it will indeed be there where we will find what we’re looking for. In addition, make sure to take disguises appropriate for the area, so that we blend in with the locals.”
“Well sure…”Mishy puffed up her cheeks. “A big sweater is one thing. But who are we going to look for exactly?”
“Professor Dozla Shade, and Professor L'arachel Shiningheart in the University of Gingerbread city. They’re lead in the department of life and necromancy, who have ties to people who can create forms of organic life. They’re no Doctor Frankenstein, but are more likely to know who can create forms of Homunculi or something similar to it. Not to mention ant ties out in the arcane world about it.” Momo said.
“Alright, so some of us can pose as students, others potentially scholars, or campus staff,” Hinoka said, “Learn about what we can, and see if anyone there is potentially part of this group. Either way, it will be a useful first step for us.”
“Naturally, I’ll play as… myself.” Momiji winked. “Riley’s rally and support for the people of Gingerbread city, with a rally and talk show. This will allow you to play as a student for a day. I say only a day because if you’re questioned or asked to show your ID, then you’ll be in a bad position.”
“Well, don’t we have fake IDs for this sorta thing?” Solis said, “I mean, we use ‘em all the time.”
“General citizen IDs aren’t the same as ones specifically for students, though,” Hinoka shook her head, “It would take too much time to make those. That said, I know Mishera, Solis, Quentin and I can pass easy enough for students, all of us look youthful enough. Brandt would be better off playing the role of a foreigner, seeing as he doesn’t look like a local at all…”
“I could be one of my favourites, Rip Greyjaws, surfing pro,” Brandt gave a toothy grin, “Locals might open up better to a handsome athlete instead of the nerds, as it were.”
“And as for myself, I’ve got one I’ve been wanting to use for some time,” Tala used some ninjutsu to change her fur colour to a bluish tint, and her facial features were altered to make her look more like a foxkin than a wolfkin. “Whaddya think? I based if off this cute foxgirl I saw in a magazine with Mishy’s cousin; I recall foxes being pretty commonplace around those parts.”
“You might pass into Yuki’s Den with no problem at this rate! I hope you’re a bit wild, since I know Yuki’s daughter is a wild fox.” Mishera said.
“Not bad at all.” Momiji replied.
“If the fact that I’ve had to suspend her from duty several times for her behaviour counts as ‘wild’, I think Tala would get along just fine with her,” Hinoka said. Tala stuck her tongue out at Hinoka, but she admitted she’d like to meet that family someday.
“Now me, I admittedly don’t hafta do too much for my own disguise,” Brandt admitted, “I just change my face a bit with ninja stuff. I look the least out of everyone of bein’ one, anyways,” with only wearing swim trunks, he already looked the part for the beach.”
“The rest of us ought to sort out our disguises soon,” Hinoka said, “We’ll need to try and blend in, so nothing too fancy, though considering the standards of Silverdalean beauty, I suppose it wouldn’t be the worst idea to show your unique style to them.”
“People won’t complain too much, if it isn’t on a chilly day.” Momiki winked. “Remember when I am Riley, whatever wizard is out there and his puppet masters might send a few homunculi to go after me if it is a little obvious what I plan to do. I do recommend that you don’t worry about my well being and go after the assassin and other suspicious people. My campaign manager and security team can handle that role, and it will give you a window to pounce.”
“Of course, I expect you to be able to defend yourself, and I imagine you have surrounded yourself with those you can trust to defend yourself,” Hinoka said. “Either way, one of us will always remain close enough proximity to you just in case they do decide to target you, so we can hopefully catch them beforehand. I trust in all your abilities here. Now, if you don’t mind, we’ve got some disguises to sort out.” The dwarf took out a small bag, from in her kimono, and within that was a little drawer containing clothes of various types and shapes! “Never leave home without a change of clothes,” she winked.
“Wonderful! I’ll make a few calls with my campaign staff, and we shall move before the day ends everyone.” Momiji smiled brightly. “In the meantime, I can answer any other questions and share anything else I know. Outside of that, I can spar with everyone to see how much you have grown since I was here.”
“It’d be good to see how everyone stacks up!” Solis said, “I dunno if any of us can beat Sensei, though; she even gives Marron a tough time.”
“Don’t build me up to sound unbeatable,” Hinoka scoffed, pulling out a school uniform suited for a dwarf, loosening her kimono to see how well it fit her. “That said, I do wonder, Momiji, if you could take a guess, what other candidates do you see as potentially being at risk like Silent Moonstone was?”
Momiji closed her eyes as she thought of a way to explain it in simple terms. “Ah, yes. The return of Princess Snow is an omen of what is to come Hinoka. No one knew she was even alive, but the signs of her duty were noticeable. Now she’s in the spotlight, well… Not only all the candidates’ lives are at risk, but the nation as a whole alongside the rest of Mystria. The Dark Snakes did lowkey events before, but now that they’re more active, the whole Garyx sect is truly up for something big. The question is: how?” Momiji then opened her eyes. “And that is the question Snow herself likely doesn’t know. It’s a mystery. Even the simple answer of the rise of hate from a cleric doesn’t truly answer it.”
“Ah yes, I am fully aware of an oracle that is given omens but not the full picture,” Hinoka remarked, “The most recent Oracle of Bahamut I recall once warning me of a grave danger, but it took us months to figure out what it was. Thankfully Sandy helped us fight off those demons before they attacked the city, but it involved our investigation to get the correct information. I see that this will be no different.”
“So I guess the thing is less about protecting the other candidates and more getting at the bottom of the whole case!” Solis had undressed and was checking out a few outfits, trying to find the right one that went with her figure and style; Quentin seemed as unflappable as ever as he looked over some even with the catgirl showing off her figure. “We can do that, especially since Mishy’s here too. “We’ll leave protection of the candidates to their own guards and the forces of the other groups giving aid, so we can work better on the sidelines without taking much notice. Of course, if we find that one is threatened and we can do something to help, of course we will!”
“Great.” Momiji let out a coo and relaxed a little. “If we manage to solve this case, then Silverdale’s winter will be bearable. At least hopefully. Of course, a few months or weeks aren’t an excuse to waste, as our enemy is on the clock as well.”
After some rummaging, Solis, Quentin and Hinoka picked out some outfits that made them look more like students at the University; Solis’s was still quite revealing, using her charm to its advantage, and even Hinoka had her jacket open to show some cleavage. They also were looking at makeup and other parts of the disguise kit. Solis worked on making her hair and fur black, while Hinoka made her skin look a bit tanned, put on a wig, put on fake elf ears and even used tricks to change her figure; she looked a bit more like Marron when she was done, a favourite of hers. In spite of sometimes bickering, the half-dragon was one of her favourite people like it was for Mishy and Solis and she liked to dress like her from time to time. “What do you think?” She said to Momiji.
“Nice cosplay, Marron.” Momiji gave a deviant smirk as she checked out Hinoka. “I’ll warn you that the boys might try to hook up with you. Just don’t mendle around too much.”
Mishera in the meantime, just prepared a “I <3 penguin” pink sweater and baggy pants for the road ahead.
Brandt just went with a patterned shirt, shades, and his swimming trunks; he was the one who most looked like a foreigner to begin with, so he had to lean on that fact. Quentin wore a baseball hat and red hoodie with a logo for the Dragon Elf city of Auroras on it. Tala, meanwhile, decided to go fully nude, aside from a penguin charm necklace; she was of the Lux and Celicia line of ninjas who enjoyed flaunting her raw beauty, and given that she was in the guise of an Antarctic Kitsune, the cold wasn’t supposed to affect her; in reality her fur wasn’t thick enough for that, but the penguin charm was more than a fashion accessory. “Heh, I hope the boys are ready for this,” she winked.
University of Gingerbread
The Dragonlover team arrived at the University of Gingerbread. True to its name, the Campus was sculpted by the famous architect Faye Candyman to create colorful buildings like Gingerbread houses from the early 20th century. Colorful stones and wooden buildings melt with ease, with the white sugary-like cream that glue down the buildings. With sugary and colorful chocolate like domes on the main building’s towers
Riley herself was located in a square green field on a platform with a crowd of both students, reporterers, and supporters. She was guarded by her trusty dwarven companion, and the campus police to keep watch for any signs of trouble. In the west was the Magical Institution of Gingerbread, a colorful stony building with a red and green sharp angle rooftop, is where their professors were located.
The other members of the ninja clan arrived, this time mostly in smaller teams. Brandt was there as a foreigner from Corneria that was considering applying to the college, while the others posed as regular students, even Tala who seemed happier than usual as she made a few flirtatious looks at some of the students.
“Ugh, what a silly wo-fox,” Hinoka sighed, “Well, let’s get started, lots of people to talk to.” She kept it as vague as possible, in case someone was watching. She had added a few campaign buttons for Riley on her jacket.
Mishera slipped down on a bottle of Chilly Willy as she became her ‘hipster student dragon elf.’ She appeared big, curvy, and pudgy within the baggy pants and penguin sweater, alongside the wild curvy blondie long hair. The most noticable is the use of her dragonstone to materialize her wings, horns, and tail to add a more ‘dragon in the dragon elf.’ “You know Hinoka! I did read up about the homunculus a little bit more, and I wondered… If pony, can they make manaketes too? Like war dragons or something?”
“Ooh, that would be scary,” Solis looked more like she was going through a goth phase, dressed in all black, though just skimpy enough to fit her tastes, and wearing makeup to make herself more pale. “I’d imagine they could do all sorts of stuff like that…”
“It’s truly a terrifying idea,” Hinoka said, “But hopefully we won’t have to deal with that. I dunno about you, but I’d rather we nip this in the bud instead of having to play custodian duties at this campus.”
“Aye! No war dragon is good enough.” Mishera then walked towards the building. “But I do have a question sensei: which professor should we see first?”
“Well, we have two professors in particular: Dozla Shade and L'arachel Shiningheart,” Hinoka recalled the names Momiji told them. “Let’s see if they’re available to talk to, and if not, we can talk to their colleagues.”
“Okay!” Mishera waved.
The dragonlovers entered the building, and went down its wooden bright brown halls to arrive at Professor L'arachel Shiningheart’s office. The office was designed with a rich library alongside many plants and other dolls that happily worked in the room. The dragon elf woman who worked on her computer was L’arachel herself. A silver hair maiden with purple eyes, and a white magi robe that worked hard! With one last press of a button, she snapped into action and looked at the group of ‘students!’
“Ah! What brings you here dears? Come to see Ms. Shiningheart yes?” She asked.
Hinoka gave a smile, “Ah, greetings, professor! Are you doing well today? With Riley here campaigning, things are being quite hectic around here.” She chose to start with a little small talk before getting to the heart of the matter, since going straight for the homunculus question was bound to raise suspicion.
“Living the joy of a small grace period before my next class.” Ms. Shiningheart answered. “I can’t participate in the rally as I need to work on a few emails and see students. Which, I am free to talk right now.”
“Yeah, rallies are totally overrated anyways,” Solis scoffed, playing her part well.
“Actually, we were wondering about the whole idea of bringing life to objects,” Tala remarked, having spent much of the trip to the office flirting with other students, much to Hinoka’s annoyance; she would have to give the wolfgirl a lecture on when it’s okay to flaunt and when it gets in the way of a mission, “Like the ones you have here in your office. Must be pretty hard to do.”
“Oh that?” The professor laughed. “It’s like electricity through a circuit board! This is the work of engineering, gardening, and craftsmanship.” She then picked up one of the cute blonde maiden dolls and showed the animated doll to the group. “The key for a puppet and dolls like this is the magical matrix that flows within the dolls joints, to give some form of automation, to puppetry work. So, are you interested in this field?”
“Sometimes I wonder if she’s here to actually learn or just to meet cute boys, Professor,” Hinoka couldn’t help but make a jab at Tala, causing the wolf-turned-fox to stick her tongue out at the dwarf-turned-elf, “But my friends and I are very interested in the field. I mean, lots of people when they look at magic they think of throwing fireballs or healing wounds, but there’s so much more interesting fields to look at. Like transmutation, who wouldn’t want to be able to be anything?” Granted, she might have a bit of personal bias there since the main magic professor in Dragonlover village was a transmuter, the father of her old boss. “Or something like this, making objects that don’t normally move around be able to! It’s so cool!”
“It is!” Ms. Shiningheart chirped. “I see your dreams lie within the Animated Objects major with either a minor in golem/magitek machines, artificial life, or plants. I can answer any questions regarding the degree, to any information about my little courses that I teach. Now, Consular Abby Bill in the admissionation building can provide further information about the degree program and the course catalog if you’re interested in enrolling in it.”
“Well, what sort of things can you make animate?” Solis said, sounding a bit uninterested, but participating anyways. “Like are there limitations on what you can do?”
“I for one would like to know, how difficult the degree is,” Hinoka added, “I mean, it sounds kinda tough… not that I’m unwilling to try, of course, but how many people actually succeed in this field?”
“Oh, an animated cat toy is a simple trick anyone can do.” The professor glanced over to the goth girl. “But the creation of magitek robots, golems, and my special: homunculi. There are limitations to it as my resources are a little short and other advanced golems like a dragon golem. But I know that one little AI I assisted with the executive office and in another university used my work to make a body!”
“Cool!” Mish nodded. “But how difficult is the degree?”
“It’s hard! A lot of education to this needed spell to fill from the library might sound dull, and only 43% of the students graduated from this field. But I assure you that magitek creation and work is needed in the workplace.” The professored answered.
“Homun… culi…?” Tala tilted her head, playing the part of a ditzy fox well, “Like, I’ve never heard of a humancully…”
“It’s ‘Homunculi’,” Hinoka sighed in exasperation. “I’ve only heard the term in shows and comics before, so I’m not sure if the real deal is anything like what I saw there.”
“It’s as broad as the horizon!” The professor explained. “For classic definition, it’s a little creature made with blood magic, as in the use of your blood, with a small sculpture, and you created a little person. There are other means to make it greater as an artificial sapient being, but they all have a form of limitation. A homunculus only takes orders and is linked to the master by telepathics, and will wither away without the master. While you can make more bigger and better ones, their lifespans are short.”
“So basically if you want to make something that can do tasks easily, you can use one of them,” Solis mused. “But what I don’t get is, why not just use a golem? Seems like that’d be easier since they don’t need blood and don’t expire…”
“A homunculus is easier to create than expensive golem! Sure, there is the scrap golem that anyone can dig up from a landfill, but if you want a proper one, you’ll need a lot of magical power and spell to build one up. That, and the alternative is just having a pumpkin patch to make another type of golem. But that’s my little rival’s work there!” The professor tck. She knew that her druid professor was more… lively with his work of magic.
“Oooh, yeah, so more cost-effective,” Tala said, “Sorta like how you don’t gotta buy clothing if you don’t wear any,” she giggled.
Hinoka rolled her eyes, “But I get the appeal, it’s an efficient and easy way to make someone to do jobs for you. I mean, relatively speaking, of course. I’d imagine that it’s still fairly complex by normal standards, especially if you want to make a particularly elaborate one.”
“Elaborate one?” The professor gave a curious look at Hinoka and the others. As if she attempted to read through the group. “There are elaborate forms of a Homunculus that one could create, but should they? So what type are you most interested in?”
“U-um…” Hinoka’s face turned red, “Well, I was thinking like if I wanted like a maid or butler, y’know, to clean my room. My roommate is a messy fox,” she gave a glance at Tala, who stuck her tongue out at her, “so something like that to put up the slack. I’d want them to look the part and all, not just be some shapeless form.”
“A servant homunculus? To build a life size one, you’ll need to use a specialized lab here in the university, alongside a sample flesh of the creature for the base, the life hex to properly construct it, a dew of lunacy and platinum to make it speak.” The Professor then rambled off with a bunch of other items that the group did not need to know. “And finally a maid outfit that is the right size.”
“Oh, wow, a whole bunch of things, right?” Tala was pretending to wrack her brains over this, “And you gotta have both the skill and the proper items… sorry, it’ll look like your dreams of a maid homunculus will have to wait,” she teased Hinoka, who sighed. “But given you have the right materials, how much skill would the maker need? Would a student be capable of this, or would it take more training?”
“Yes! It’s easy to add a few commands for a homunculus to do a few things, but more complex for a variety of tasks. It requires years of study and experience.” The professor answered.
“Hmm…” Hinoka didn’t really have any questions left to ask on her part, “Thanks for answering our questions, professor. Unless any of you have any questions left to ask, we should probably let her get back to her work.”
“Right!” Mishera then chirped in. “One last question! So, do you have any thoughts on the latest piece of news? I believe that's assassin was a homunculus, since it was… simple-minded.”
“Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear!” The professor grumbled. “Very likely yes. What villainess mastermind plotted that attack might be still out there. Of course, I know the police are questioning magi who are skilled, which means I have an appointment with the law! Fear not, I’m no vile being that will do such a thing to a candidate! Even if that candidate is a bigot. But sadly, I have class in a few minutes.”
“Right,” Hinoka said, “Sorry for taking so much of your time.” She gestured to the others to head out with her. “Hm, I think she’s telling the truth, but she might have been the one to teach the person who made that homunculus.”
“Like a student?” Mishera asked. “I mean sure, there are some teachers who make some cray cray people who scream and are full of rage! But I’m not sure if that will lend to a student who will do something so… dangerous like that with skill as a professional killer.”
“I don’t mean they’re necessarily a student anymore, and I certainly don’t mean the professor deliberately taught them to make such things,” Hinoka shook her head, “But it’s possible that whoever did make this did learn under Ms. Shiningheart at one point. They had to learn about all of this somewhere, and this seems the most likely place in the country for it to have happened.”
“There’s that and Aurora Academy.” Mishera nodded. “But given the connections we have, the killer must still be around in this city. Still, we need to figure out which student might be the one who’d have done such a thing.”
“I’ve sent Brandt to check out the campus, while Quentin is checking information about the students in this particular field.” Hinoka replied. “With his information, we can narrow down our list of possible suspects and determine who might have both the skill and the reason to do this.”
As the professor exited her office, Hinoka’s eyes noticed a worn down and shadowy robed figure slipped from the shadows of a doll to appear towards the computer! As the door closed with the professor locked from behind, she gave one last wave as she moved out.
“Hm?” Hinoka gave the professor a wave, before going to the others, “Okay, I saw something in the professor’s office. Whoever or whatever it is, we’ll have to find out.”
Solis weighed their options, “Our options are to pick the door, go through the window, find an air duct, or use Ki to attempt a few tricks. Each has their own good and bad points to it.”
“Oh that?” Mishera looked around to see a glimmer of the moment. “Allow me…” She went towards the door, and with a rather… a dragon claw pick from her finger alongside some metal lockpick… unlocked the door!
“Nice work,” Hinoka smirked, using a Ki move to vanish, with Solis following suit. “Let’s see who our guest is…” she said as she moved forward stealthily.
Inside the office, the ninjas can see all the dolls became inanimate as the withered and grey fingers began to open up the professor’s email index. Upon closer examination, they can see that the robed figure was something like an undead wraith, with only a shadowy void and a spark of dimmed light. Mishera took position in her now invisible form, which the creature had not spotted the group.
With Tala remaining outside to act as a lookout, the three invisible ninja were able to position themselves for a surprise attack on the wraith, though before they did so, they had to wonder, what was the wraith after? Hinoka made sure to give a little time to see what the wraith was doing before they lost this opportunity.
They can see that the shadow figure wanted to… exchange an email to one of the students under the name Sour Sugardrop, with some… salutation for one’s success with one’s creation to eliminate a candidate?
Hinoka didn’t make a sound, but her eyes widened, though given her invisible state, you couldn’t notice this. Sour Sugardrop… she wondered if Quentin’s intel had gotten any information on this student? She moved closer to the computer, hoping to get a better look at the e-mail.
“Splendid! Without the ill-mattered pony who lust for blood, you’ve secure a place amongst us. Another emissary will come to herald another mission for you before your departure as-”
The email stopped there as the wraith turned its gaze right at Hinoka! In a mere second the creature's lungs formed and grabbed the dwarf by the neck! Its crooked fingernails dig deep into the dwarf! “Foolish student. You believe you’d sneak towards those in the dark?”
“GNK!” Hinoka would’ve cursed herself for getting so reckless and being too rusty from her lack of field work, but she didn’t have time to think of that! She pulled out a short sword, a wakizashi, and got it to move on its own to attack the wraith, knowing that while it wouldn’t be as effective, it could at least give her some breathing room.
Solis, meanwhile, charged forward with a kick powered by holy energy! A favourite move of her goddess’s, and one quite liked by her ancestors as well.
Mishera leaped in to deliver the DRAGONLOVER SMASH strike from her rear at the surprised wraith! The combined attack broke the creature’s grip on Hinoka! Its arm fell into the ground, as the rest of the body burned in holy agony until it was mere frabite and dust. Yet… the creature gave one last word.
“Winter is inevitable... Your interference will not change it…”
Hinoka sighed in relief, taking out a potion from her jacket and chugged it down. “Phew… that was a shock…”
Tala looked in, “Is everything alright in there?!”
Hinoka nodded, “It is fine now, Tala. Something jumped me, but Mishy and Solis were there to back me up. Go back to lookout.”
Tala sighed, he wished to show her prowess in unarmed combat as well and possibly get a few points with her sensei, but oh well, “Yes, sensei…” she left the room.
Hinoka took a cloth to wipe away some of the blood, “Ugh… thank you, both of you, for that. That said, this troubles me greatly.”
“Yeah…” Mishera frowned. “And I think… that undead creep might be using the professor’s account to talk with that student. Given that the police are likely to ask her questions, and may pop their heads into her email history.. Oh my! They might see that she was the mage who ordered a student to kill the candidate.”
“That won’t do at all,” Solis said, “We’ll have to sort this out to both make sure the student is found out but also that the professor isn’t to blame. But if we tamper with the e-mails, people might find out and cause more suspicion.”
“True!” Mishera thought about what to do! “I could testify alongside the evidence we founded from the remains of this creature that he hijacked the professor’s email account to conspire with a student. Of course, we’ll need the kiddo’s side of this as well, and see if this is a passage of secret messages for him as well.”
“Agreed,” Hinoka said. “Quentin should have done his investigation of the students by now, so he likely knows more about this ‘Sour Sugardrop’ than we do. Let’s rendezvous with your brother and sort out what we have.”
