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Pannych breathes heavily as Alice tops her up, while Vector and Phyr haul the bodies into the shadows of the nearby alley. Then they resume their journey to Warner’s Wayfinding.
Soon enough, they arrive to find Warner Hobbes hard at work in his garage, the store closed down for the night. He does not hear them approach above the noise of his tools. The four wait just outside in the wash of his magical shop lights, his back to them as he toils on the underside of a dune buggy raised over his head by a power lift. Pannych pipes up in a quiet moment, “Hey, Warner?”
He looks away from his work, startled, and says, “Sorry, we’re closed for the…” Recognition dawns on his face, and he opens his arms as he turns to face them and says, “Pannych? They said you died!”
“It’s a long story,” she says, walking to meet him and then joining in the first of a round of hugs and handshakes..
“Why don’t you all come in, have a drink, and tell me all about it?”
Inside, Warner fetches each of them a beer, and they give him the abridged version of their doings since they last parted. Pannych also introduces Alice before it becomes too rude not to have done so. Warner had heard the main points; everyone on the stoneweb knows of Edric’s “King for a Day” bit, and the adventurers connect the dots for the rest.
“So what’s next,” Warner asks when he’s all caught up.
“We’re headed to the Rept Isles,” Alice says.
“What for? Nothin’ there but a buncha holes where islands oughtta be.”
“That’s what I’m going to fix,” Pannych says plainly.
“You’re going… to bring dragons… back? I don’t know whether the how or the why is more worrisome.”
Phyr says, “Trust us, a bunch of holes in the world never did anyone any good. Just ask Alice here.” She waves her hand politely and smiles, her empty eye sockets wide as she can open them.
“I suppose,” Warner says with a shrug. “That’s a bit of a swim, though.”
“That’s why we’re here,” Phyr says. “We’ve only got a little sailboat. I was hoping you had something I could soup up and bolt on.”
Warner snorts in amusement and says, “Well, I’m a little rusty, but I used to work on boat engines at the marinas up North before I went into business here. You’ve come to the right place.”
As Phyr and Warner work on modifying an engine to be optimized for magic-driven sea travel, Vector goes grocery shopping with the ladies. They get fresh food for the start of the trip, cans and dry goods for later, as well as spices and other pantry needs. They grab a chill-bag for the trek through the desert, to keep the perishables safe until they get back to the boat and its chill-box. Alice reminds them that she’ll need to start eating again once she’s no longer a zombie, and they shop accordingly. Warner even has a half-dozen bags of replenishing with balanced, filling meals - but each only carries a one-week supply.
Their tasks done, they ready to depart. Warner rings them up for their supplies - he normally wouldn’t charge them for a thing or two, but they are putting a huge dent in his stock - and says, “Right, then. Shall we load up the buggies?”
“Buggies,” Vector asks.
“You wanna hoss all this through the streets and ten miles into the desert on your backs?”
“No, yes, buggies,” he says emphatically. “Sorry, I still had my mind set on ‘sneak in, sneak out’.”
“Now we’re on a midnight tour, and nobody even needs to sneak,” Phyr says with a wink. They then load up three buggies with their gear. Vector rides alone at the end, Pannych and Phyr together, and Alice with Warner up front, as they drive into the night.
Nobody gives them a second look as they head out of the city. Once they are safely into the desert, they open up the throttle and ride headlong into the hot midnight wind.
Alice turns to Warner about halfway back to the boat and says, "We ran into a problem." He looks at her with concern as he continues to drive along the shore. “Some of Ceena’s pallies were roughing up an innocent person. We killed them. But their absence will be noticed.” As Alice explains, Warner nods along grimly while he picks out the path ahead. "So you see," she concludes, "Things are gonna get worse here in a bit.”
Warner takes a deep breath and says, “At least forewarned is forearmed. I can alert the City Council. You’ll need to keep in contact; do you have any speaking stones?”
“No,” Alice says with a shake of her head.
Warner stares in thought for a few moments and says, “You can take the speaking stone in this vehicle. I can make the rest of the fleet set available to the Council, to distribute as they see fit. They can decide what to do from there.”
The caravan arrives without mishap at their boat, with time yet for Warner to return before dawn. He helps with tools from his buggy to get the magically enhanced outboard motor properly affixed to the boat. When they’re packed up, they exchange farewells, handshakes, and hugs before heading their separate ways. Warner puts the vehicles into tow mode for the drive back as the adventurers raise anchor and set sail.
They make good time, and constant. Vector finds spells in On Humanity to calm beasts great and small, as well as the seas and the weather. Phyr keeps the motor topped up and recharges his mana in the daylight, while Alice pilots day and night. Pannych is generally in charge of fitness and nutrition, and they all participate in planning entertainment. After two months of sailing directly West, they arrive at the holes in the world where the Rept Isles ought to be.
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