"So, one thing I wanted to talk to you about today, Alice...is the matter of joining our party."
We decided to stop by a tea house after visiting Tarrant Millinerr's workshop earlier that morning.
The sun was already high in the sky above us, shining down upon the cobblestone street with a golden hue. This Kingdom apparently has an afternoon tea culture based around taking a break from work to drink hot beverages while people eat pastries and snacks. They also serve other light meals like sandwiches. Its culture and general technological level reminded me more and more of the 1700s or 1800s in England as I spent more time here.
Laughter and chatter filled the air as the townsfolk walked around, ate food, and drank coffee and tea. A few young men wore sharp suits, smoked cigarettes, played cards, and laughed and joked about things.
A row of beautiful buildings lined both sides of the streets, built using stone and wood rather than steel and glass. It looked to be one of those old European towns.
I took a sip of the tea and hummed appreciatively. There was a rich explosion of flavors - the herbs reminded me of bitter cinnamon and jasmine. I'd eaten nothing but grains and vegetables for most of the last week, so this was a pleasant break from the monotony. Dinah was a lifesaver for bringing in the roasted venison cut that she did, and I'd cured and preserved it with my magic. Now that I had recovered, it was time to get back on my feet.
I set the teacup back down, and Lori smiled at me, holding her nose at the strong smell of tea as she began pouring herself another one.
"Yes," I finally answered, "I've considered your invitation and...truth be told, I've been turned off from actual adventuring. After all that happened..." I trailed off awkwardly, shaking my head. "This whole thing has really taken a toll on me emotionally, and that was a very traumatizing experience."
Lori sighed and reached across the table to squeeze my hand into hers. The sun's golden rays reflecting off her lavender eyes gave it a faint shimmer.
"But...?" Tarrant asked, leaning in towards us.
I looked toward my....sister and put on a gentle smile.
"Lori is my sister... and I know you will all continue to put yourselves in harm's way because you want to help save the world and stuff. So, I'm going to try to do something as well. And I'd like to do it without putting myself out there in your excursions."
I shuddered, remembering the monster's gnashing jaws. I'd dreamed about the moment I nearly died several times in the last week.
The nightmareish moment where it tore through me like a knife through butter, leaving me helpless and clawing at my throat, seemed like such a long time ago. But it felt so real. It was almost like a premonition or one of those terrible visions that came true. That moment haunted me every single day, lingering at the back of my mind. The vivid details of its teeth, claws, eyes...it was horrible.
Tarrant folded his hands, looking down at his tea with an inscrutable expression. Lori held her tongue as she sat back down on the bench beside me.
Dinah sipped her tea calmly before setting her cup down on the saucer with a clink. She suddenly held out a smoking pipe and held it up in the air.
"Huh?" I blinked at her sudden movement.
Then, I saw a flash of fire, and the pipe was lit. She puffed the pipe out a little bit, then took another puff and handed it over to me. I stared blankly at it for a moment, but then I shook my head and declined.
The elf spoke, "Well Alice, you can join our party if you want. And, I will respect both your desire and Lorina's to keep you away from the action."
He looked at me intently. "You have proven yourself as a competent craftsman budding, and potentially even someone who could eventually succeed me given enough time. I am not convinced that your mostly 'magic-less' state is permanent, either. Tell me, have you ever studied artificery and spellcraft?"
I gulped. It would be best to head this off before he asked me to help with one of those complicated gemstone array things.
I sighed, "It's...bad. It's not just spell formulae. All my magical knowledge was wiped. I have no idea what could have even happened. Mana theory, potion recipes, all of it. Gone. A decade of hard study and practice, unavailable to me. An entire decade's identity, ripped away."
Tarrant grimaced solemnly.
"That... explains quite a bit. But, the fact that you are able to relearn your magic so quickly shows us that the damage isn't as severe as we had feared," he said thoughtfully. "At the very least, your basic temperance and personality is unchanged from the years we've watched you grow up, and neither has your penchant for learning magic. From that, we can presumably surmise your soul is still intact."
That gave me pause for a second. I heard him correctly, right? I was unchanged from all the years they'd known me?
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"Well. Thank the Despondent Wanderer for small miracles, eh?" a familiar male voice said from behind Dinah.
She turned around to look toward it with a smile.
A rabbit man around average height with a bow tie suddenly stood there, lounging idly. He wore an outfit made of dark blue cloth with golden buttons and a bowtie. His hands were in his coat pockets.
[https://i.imgur.com/8S8Ltin.png]
Lori waved at him, saying, "Afternoon!"
He took one step forward as he replied, "Afternoon! So good to see ya again."
I blinked and shook my head, but then I let it go after seeing how friendly he was. It seemed like I was the only person surprised by this. The others just smiled and greeted him back.
Tarrant cleared his throat awkwardly before gesturing toward me.
"I'd love it if you would join our party too, and those terms are acceptable," the old elf said earnestly. "At the very least, we owe it to Lorina to help you as you recover from all that has happened."
The red-headed catgirl hummed softly, "Yes...it's been really nice having her around, even for a little bit...but..." she trailed off as I watched her curiously.
Then she looked down at herself, furrowing her brow slightly. She puffed on her pipe again, frowning thoughtfully, before looking up again.
"There's still the matter of what happened to you. You don't remember anything?" the woman asked cautiously.
I sighed and rubbed my forehead, sighing once more. This was going to be troublesome. Even though she gave off such a playful air and had a love for agonizing cat puns, she was way too sharp.
"I...don't know. I haven't been able to pull up any magic since I woke up from my documented drunken rampage."
The rabbit man walked closer, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. I winced as the sun's golden light reflected off his buttons into my eyes.
"Could you...walk us through everything you remember about that day?"
"Um..." I began to sweat nervously. I should have known they would scrutinize the story a bit, even if Lori had just let it be herself. I quickly got over my apprehension. They were simply trying to piece together information. That was all.
I nodded, took a deep breath, and walked them through what had happened after waking up. Lori and I had met with Captain Olimar and his men, and we pursued the thieves in the forest. I'd seen a golden ring hanging off a tree branch swaying back and forth, causing me to trigger vertigo before falling into the men. Then, I'd somehow spontaneously vomited fire magic.
Lori interjected, "So, the firestorm you conjured wasn't intentional? Was it something you did because... you couldn't control your magic?"
It seemed like I had a lifeline here.
"Yes," I replied firmly. "I think so."
She nodded thoughtfully at that. She seemed to believe my answer without asking for more details or explanation.
On the other hand, Tarrant pushed further, saying, "Do you remember what kind of magic that was? Spontaneous magic without any arrays in your mindscape?"
"Um...it felt different from the magic I normally use, but I could tell it was probably some sort of elemental magic," I explained. I didn't want to say anything else since I hadn't been paying attention during that time, but I remembered enough to keep talking.
I paused, before continuing, "There was one more thing...the thieves had some sort of book that was shaped like a sword hilt which burned me when I tried to touch it, and they talked about a 'Masked Man' who wanted to buy an artifact off them that wasn't the book. I....I thought I hallucinated it at the time, but I saw the man with the heart-shaped mask in the distance as we were returning to town. He just vanished when I blinked."
At that revelation, everyone shared a look with each other, glancing back and forth. Lori looked at me with wide eyes.
The rabbit man said nothing; he only looked downwards quietly in thought for several seconds before speaking again.
"That... is most certainly interesting," Haigha muttered under his breath. "It seems we have quite the mystery on our hands..."
He continued solemnly, "I don't know what this means, but it appears that your memories and personalities are still intact, for the most part. We are quite the seasoned adventurers, but we've never encountered something like this."
Tarrant took another sip of tea before adding his own input. "There are so many threads, and frankly, there isn't much I can do right now." He sighed heavily. "I am able to do is help you relearn basic magic, while we take a crack at this mystery."
Dinah puffed on her pipe silently, humming as she neatly picked at her fingers. She yawned, leaning back as the golden rays of the afternoon sun bathed on her.
"So," Lori spoke, " Anyone want to take a crack at that dungeon in a few days? Since it's right there anyway? I'd love to get out into the field, if possible." She gave Tarrant a wink.
He smiled back, saying, "Well, " The old elf put the empty teacup away and turned towards me with an inquisitive look. "Sounds like a plan to me! We could even sponsor little Alice Liddell's new line of supplies and equipment. Our reputations are quite established here, after all!" Tarrant finished excitedly.
"Mmmm... I'm up for the task! We do need a name though, now that Dora is no longer with us, though." Haigha remarked. "And I would hate for some of these names to be too common, since they might already have someone by them..."
Lori held her hands up, blocking out the rays of the sun. She squinted, then suddenly opened her eyes wide and promptly shut them again.I looked from one person to the other incredulously. Was it just my imagination, or did this group become way more cheerful than before? Was the word 'dungeon' such a magic word for an adventurer?
"How about....All in a Golden Afternoon?" Lori offered cheerfully.
Tarrant chuckled, "All in a Golden Afternoon. Sound good to everyone?" he suggested in return.
"That sounds nice," I added. I felt a smile form on my lips. That name did ring a bell, but I couldn't quite put my finger on it.
It was so refreshing to feel energy like that coming from these people, especially when my entry into this world had been so frightening and filled with anxiety and stress at every moment. With these people here, I really felt like I could get through it.
"We still have to okay it with Friar Dodgson since he's in a sermon, but if you're all agreeable," the rabbit man rattled off, "Then I'll go off and register us for the crawl." He smiled widely.
It seemed like they'd agreed upon a plan of action.
Dinah suddenly sat upright and yawned. "By the way! I've been thinking for a few minutes. So, the thieves lost something important for a 'Masked Mage'... Whatever did happen to that golden ring in your story, Alice? The one that made you dizzy? Any recollection, Lori?"
I blinked at her question. It wasn't something that came to mind immediately, and I was far too hungover to pay attention back then.
Lori and I shared a look, and she simply shrugged.
"You know what?" I finally responded, "I honestly have no idea."