Ch.2: "Trouble in Paradise" / Volcanic Paradise Island Arcadia

[Legendary Sidekick]

Debbie stammers. "Overstepping? Uh... I hope not. I keep telling that story, which means I'm overstepping... oh my."

Shelly replies to Kell. "Losing wings means you can't fly."

Steph says, "That sounds like something Captain Obvious would say."

Cathy says, "It's not obvious to big people. There was this Hunter named Skeeter or Peter or something. He thought if a fairy brushed her dandruff onto him, it would make him fly. But there isn't any shame in losing ones wings. It just stinks. And that's why we're very careful about which big people we invite here."

"Really?" Bridgette asks. "You just met me. What's the vetting process?"

"You seem nice." Cathy goes on, "Unlike the party crowd Phoebe started hanging out with. She wanted Sapphire to come to Arcadia for the city life! Her human friends thought it was so funny to see a tipsy fairy sitting in her own martini glass. The joke didn't end there though. Someone drunker than Phoebe thought it might be funnier to stuff her in a wine bottle. They got her in there, but it was full. She was drowning. She couldn't get out. So her friends decided to fill their glasses before getting her out, which they did by smashing the bottle. And then... tell them, Debbie Downer."

Debbie says, "When the bottle broke, so did her wings."

Cathy goes on, "The ironic part is that she might've been fine if the bottle was full when they broke it. But I don't know why she and Sapphie split over that. But you know who would know? Her human friend, what's her face. Debbie, you know all the depressing people."

"No I don't. A lot of people are sad because they're lonely."

"Yeah, but this is one of those I'm-sad-because-I'm-an-artist types. She used to decorate for goddess parties and stuff, so how lonely can she be?"

"Very," Debbie says, "But what she lacks in friends she makes up for in talent. Desma makes art you can eat!"

 

[tbgg]

Kelleia

Kell blinks, then exclaims, "Desma?! Are we talking about Desma from Nyse who wants to be a baker? I was going to try to find her after we found Phoebe. Do you know where Desma is living these days? The last I heard, she was staying with her aunt and uncle in Arcadia Village. That's where I was going to start looking for her when we got that far."

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

"Good place to start," says Debbie. She starts to mutter, "I wish I was in a good place," but Cathy cuts her off.

"You know what?" Cathy says, "I think she lives on the south side of the village. There's a SHORTCUT you can take through the Volcanic Caverns! I take that route all the time when I go shopping as the Sunset Strip!"

 

[tbgg]

Kelleia

Kell asks, "Ummm....doesn't the Lava Monster live in the volcano area? I mean, that seems like a logical place, anyway. Would we be risking running into it if we took the shortcut?"

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

Cathy shrugs. "I go through the caverns all the time."

Debbie says, "It really doesn't take much longer to go around the volcano."

Cathy says, "Wellllll… no, it doesn't. But then they have to go back the way they came. Nobody likes to do that!"


((Choices:
1. Go back the way you came to get to the village.
2. Go through the volcanic cavern to get to the village in slightly less time.))

 

[tbgg]

Kelleia

Frowning, Kell asks, "So Cathy, why do people have to go back the way they came, and why does no one like it?"

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

Cathy replies, "Oh, don't read too much into that. I just thought you might enjoy exploring the caves instead of having to go through Palm Spring AGAIN and then pass by the docks where you first arrived. The cavern gives you a change of scenery."

Debbie says, "We fairies pass through the cavern to avoid being hunted by birds. I always go the same way. Because if I go a different way, there are birds."

Shelly takes out a map of Arcadia. "If you go south you can travel clockwise."

"No they can't," Steph says. "They'd have to pass by the Plambot Mansion. You can't get on the property without an invitation."

 

[Ireth]

Leto

Leto tilts her head. "Why not? What's the Mansion for?"

 

[tbgg]

Kelleia

Kell asks, "Do you know of any big people who safely travel through these caves of yours? It might be that you fairies are small enough to not attract any notice by this lava monster or whatever else might be in there, but we big people might. Unless you know for sure that it's safe for us, too."

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

Cathy replies, "Phoebe--not sad Wingless Phoebe--I mean Phoebe the Torch... she leads tour groups--of human tourists--through the caverns all the time. The tours start at Sunset Strip. She takes this cavern to get to work."

Debbie says, "Phoebe hasn't mentioned any problems. If she has a bad day at work, she usually tells me about it. Just to..." Debbie sighs. "...vent."

Cathy giggles when Leto mentions the mansion. "Do you really want to hear all the juicy gossip about the mansion?"

A fairy peers down from one of the fairy-only springs. "Ohhhh Caaaaathyyyyyyyy...! Can we chat in private for a moment?"

"Oh! Sounds like there's some fresh, juicy gossip! I gotta hear it now before all the best parts get distorted by idiots! I'll be back!"

As Cathy takes off, Debbie sighs again, but this time she looks relieved. "You've been spared. The mansion is a place you have to be invited to. I don't know how you get invited. I'm lucky Cathy thinks I'm a good listener or I wouldn't get invited to anything."

 

[tbgg]

Kelleia

Kell looks at her friends and says, "Well, as long as it's safe, the caverns sound okay to me. What do the rest of you think?

 

[Ireth]

Leto

"I wouldn't mind using a shortcut. It gives us more time to do everything else we need to while we're here."

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

Debbie seems sad that Cathy took off, leaving her to guide our heroines and then end up by herself. Steph and Shelly decide to tag along so Debbie won't get stuck traveling alone.

The entrance is a tight squeeze for anyone larger than Hess. Leto has some trouble due to the bulk of her armor. Kell's hourglass figure can get through, but being a nymph, she takes her time in order to enter the small opening as gracefully as possible. Bridgette is tall, but slender compared to a six-foot man. She needs to do something creative with her shoulders.

Once past the tight opening, the tunnel is about ten feet high and at least as wide. As for the opening our heroines squeezed into, the rocks were smooth on the side they entered. Inside the cave, the rocks are rough and somewhat jagged. It's still possible to get through, but if anything were to chase our heroines, Hess could make it out in a few seconds. It would take the better part of a minute for any of the adults to leave the cavern this way.

Helix peeks his head into the opening.

Well, this ain't happening. But you know what? I can gallop really fast and get around to the other side. If I get far away from you, I feel a weird tugging at my horn. That's how I found you so easily in the first place. Just don't get any boyfriends while you're in the cavern. Any guy starts checking you out, hide behind the amazon!

Helix backs his head out of the opening, bonking his horn on the way out. He then bows out gracefully hoping that no one noticed.

 

[tbgg]

Kelleia

Kell asks, "Are any of the rest of you starting to get a bad feeling about this, or it only me?"

 

[Ireth]

Leto

Leto looks around with a frown. "Well, now that you mention it... We still have time to turn back if you want, though."

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

Debbie says, "Sorry about the entry way. I guess Cathy didn't tell you about the opening. It's called the Lemon Squeezer. Big people try to crawl through, supposedly for… fun. But it's no fun if you're a unicorn."

Bridgette turns toward the darkness. "Something's headed our way," she says.

A few hundred feet away, the walls of the cave are lit by a faint orange glow. It is gradually growing brighter…

 

[Ireth]

Leto

Leto instinctively clutches her bow, then pauses. "...Are arrows even going to be useful against a demon made of lava? They'll just burn, won't they?"

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

The glow gets brighter, closer. There is a distant grunt… followed by a faint moan.

 

[tbgg]

Kelleia

Kell says, "That definitely sounds like trouble. It also sounds like possibly someone is in trouble, or else it's the beast's way of luring people to it."

"Debbie, do you feel up to having an adventure, or would you rather stay out of it? Your size could make you quite useful as far as finding out if someone's in trouble. However, I can try to call some local bats to go find out if someone's in trouble if you don't feel up to it."

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

Debbie stammers and finally says, "I think adventure is an acquired taste, like colorful sugar-coated breakfast granola. Some fairies think its rainbow of flavor is exciting, but for me, sweets so straight to my thighs."

Helix's lips make a sputtering sound. I can't eat anything that's rainbow colored.

In the distance, there is a tiny orange light fluttering around an old man. He is rubbing his head, muttering things like "zeusdammit" and "why didn't they put up a sign?"

An elderly woman says, "The nice little lady warned you, dear."

"Yes, dear," says the man.

A dainty voice says, "On your right is Bowser's Lake of Fire, and coming up ahead is the Lemon Squeeze. It is not recommended for humans exceeding two hundred pounds or sixty-five years of age."

Debbie says of the orange light, "That's Phœbe. I don't know if she likes adventure, but she does like to lead tours through the caverns. I have a feeling the human couple won't be going through the Lemon Squeeze, so they'll get out at Sunset Strip."



((Interesting thing about a Huntress-Nymph team: Kell can call upon cave bats and Leto can beast-speak with one of the bats. No wonder Artemis always hunts with a nymph companion!))