The Mediamancer

Chapter Nine: Winter's Tou- WAIT, SIX MONTHS?

"Are you serious, world?" Lana called out in surprise as she looked around.

Once more her bed had moved abruptly as she slept… and this time it wasn't into a Castle.

It was into a snowfall so strong that she could barely see around her.

She would would have feared freezing to death… but it seems just like before her outfit had received a fitting change, this time turning into a red wool jumper with what appeared to be shirt underneath, a big poofy coat with white furred trim. To finish was a white fur trimmed red skirt, long red socks that went up her entire leg and a pair of boots made similarly to the coat and skirt, that being red and white trim.

Her arm cannon was also running with the same theme of red and white.

An inspection of her inventory marked the entire outfit as 'Festive Outfit', causing her mind to realise just what happened to her.

Just like the night before… she was being dragged on a themed quest.

A Winter Holiday themed quest…

With no companions except for the Pokémon that inhabited her shadow, according to the party listings.

Confirmation of this came from a text box, which was bordered with red, green and had the effect of fresh snow dropping upon it. Her health and energy bars were similar.

[Quest! A Chilly Adventure

Something has brought you into this land of snow… to find things! Get walking and I'm sure you'll find what you need!

Quest completion requirements:

Find 10/10 Festive themed items.

Bonus requirements:
?

Rewards:

What you find is yours to keep!

Your new outfit!

4 Chilly Coins

700xp (Before Bonuses)

Bonus requirement reward

?

The failure of this quest isn't possible… your only escape is to find all the items. You still have the ability to make portals, but you cannot enter them yourself.

Quest Timer: ?.]

'Well… at least it isn't the twenty like last time…' Lana thought to herself. 'Not that I minded though… but the fact I can't escape as easily worries me.'

And so the girl climbed out of her bed and dropped into the snow. It crunched under her feet as she started walking.

By the time Lana found something she was unsure how long she had been walking. Her travel through the cold winds eventually lead her to a cave entrance, which reminded her of a beast's maw with the amount of icicles that filled the mouth.

'Well… even if there is nothing here it will still give me a break from the snow.' The girl thought to herself as she walked inside, pulling the Ghostly Candlestick from her inventory while doing so.

The little blue flame did a good job lighting the area around Lana and let the girl see the path ahead of her, which eventually led her into a much wider part of the cave, even more frost covered than the tunnels before it.

In the centre of the room rested a pedestal of ice, which Lana walked carefully towards to to check the item that glinted in the blue flame of her candle. When she got closer she came to a realisation on what it was.

A fan. An old one, something you might see a 'posh' lady use to wave off the heat. This one however appeared to have a secondary use… cutting things. The edge was serrated and deadly, matching feel of the beautiful yet deadly looking icy blue eastern dragon patterns that was marked on the rest of the fan, which looked to be made of a lightweight bamboo or some other material. After checking the the surrounding area of the cave for some sort of trap, and after apparently finding none, Lana plucked the unfurled fan from the pedestal it laid upon.

[Item 1/10

The Fan of Blizzard's Breeze

Equipment/Weapon

Stylish yet Deadly. This fan holds the element of cold inside, giving a wonderful cool breeze if you waft it at yourself to fend off the hot of the world and giving a deadly frostbite if you were to slice at an enemy.

Effects:

Always produces a cool breeze for the holder.

Causes frostbite on the enemies 'lucky' enough to hit it]

'Neat.' Lana thought as she collapsed the fan and stored it away.

Time to think was short lived however as the Cave's temperature took a heavy increase. The ice on the walls was melting… and evaporated instantly as it landed on the floor. One of the walls melted entirely, revealing that it was in fact made entirely of ice… and a new path. The blue flame of the candle in Lana's hand was becoming overwhelmed (and was put away because of such) as fire snaked its way dangerously out the new entry.

The girl was very much thankful for the fire resistance she had gained in connection to the fire control… she was certain that the flames would have been quite bad without it.

'Well… There must be something here… so I guess I know where I'm going' The Mediamancer thought, her Protagonistic Sense of adventure peaking.

The new room was hotter than the previous… Lana could swear she saw Lava through cracks in the black basalt walls and there was an insane amount of heat to match…

She still brought out the Blizzard Fan to help cool herself off however, which did a great job in keeping her temperature at a 'safe' level.

Lana soon found the main source of heat in the room… another fan, resting on a pedestal of obsidian and fire. This one's dragon was instead red and was inverted. The metal endings were lacking serration too.

The complete opposite of the previous fan, it seemed.

After a few moments of thinking it over the girl walked to the pedestal… took a few breaths… then quickly grabbed the fan.

[Item 2/10

The Fan of Hearth's Ire

Equipment/Weapon

The Seething Sister of Blizzard's Breeze. A waft of this fan will certainly bring up someone's temperature… and if someone were to meet the blades… burns of a high degree and cauterization in an instant will be met.

Effects

Always produces a warm wind for the user

Cauterizes and burns those who meet the blade]

'That makes sense…' Lana thought to herself as she looked at the now folded fan in her hand.

The action of her collecting it had done some good for the temperature and danger of the surrounding room, its fires growing duller but still leaving a reasonable light source… for that room anyway. Her exit of the cave, after a little more inspection and finding nothing else of interest, required the candle once more.

Once Lana had left the cave, whose mouth still contained icy teeth, She put away the candle and unfurled the Fire Fan, waving it back and forth to assist with staying warm against the blizzard-like snowy weather blowing outside.

Her journey through the snow eventually brought her to what appeared to be a shack, a pillar of smoke billowing from outside its chimney. With the thought of someone who might have an understanding of the nearby area Lana walked towards it and was about to knock on the door… only to find that said door was unreachable because of a thick layer of snow propping itself against it.

The next idea she had was just walking up to the window the shack had, which was barely visible too, and calling out… this idea proved fruitful as a pair of amber eyes peeked through the visible curtains behind the remaining glass slither and looked down to Lana in surprise.

"What's a little girl doing out in this weather?!" A voice called. "No matter, no matter. Find a way to clear the snow from the door and I'll let you in. You'll freeze to death out there… this blizzard has been the strongest one yet."

"Okay! Give me a moment!" Lana replied, the snow crunching loudly as she reached the door and started to wave the Hearth's Ire fan at the snow rapidly.

One minute later a clear path to the door arrived, the only remnants of the snow previously there being the warm puddle. The girl knocked on the door, signalling the person inside of the successful task, with its creaking open showing that the signal was heard loud and clear.

"Don't just stand there, come in, come in!" the voice called once more, the person it belonged to still unseen to Lana's eyes. With nothing better to do the girl followed the voice's order, but was prepared to defend herself just in case the person or thing the voice belonged to was not 'friendly'.

Thankfully, the owner of the voice was more than friendly… but they were not exactly 'normal', either.

The owner of the voice was a woman, whose skin was tanned the colour of caramel. Her height was above average, giving her form a rather large presence as it went with the firm-muscled arms, stomach and legs that were visible in the tight tank top and shorts they were wearing… an odd set of wear even if they were inside and not out in the snow… it seemed they were there only to cover the woman's generous… assets… but they were not doing a very good job

It helped show off the intricate tattoo-like fiery markings that wormed around her entire body, whose colours went between a deep red, similar to the upwards curling hair the woman had, and the amber of her eyes.

'Hot!' Lana squeaked internally… her mind not deciding which way the thought was drifting to as the girl admired the woman's beauty… and the sweltering heat that she seemed to fill the room with. The fireplace was seemingly only being used to light the shack, it seemed.

"Please, take a seat. Would you like something to drink?" The woman asked as she looked through shelves. "I have tea, coffee and hot chocolate… nothing else sadly."

"Umm… hot chocolate please…" Lana replied as she sat on one of the squishy and slightly scorched armchairs that sat by the fire.

"Okay then. My name is Fia, by the way." The woman now known as Fia greeted as she pulled two slightly blackened mugs from the shelf and poured what appeared to be milk and cocoa powder into both…

The heating of the mugs was rather unconventional, however… as the woman just seemed to hold the items in her hands for a few moments before they started steaming.

"Here you are… be careful with the mug, I would suggest holding it by the handle if you don't want to get burned." The woman suggested as she handed Lana one of the cups, which she accepted gratefully… and proceeded to follow the woman's suggestion of where to hold it as it seemed to be the coolest point of the drink receptacle… even if 'coolest' was still 'still kind of awkward to hold' at that moment. It would have been worse if the girl had not had some fire resistance.

"So… may I ask what you're doing here in the Land of Winters? You look rather young to be walking around alone, at least it seems like you're alone anyway." Fia asked as she sipped from her own mug… seemingly not following her own suggestion as she held both of her hands around it and drank possibly face-melting liquid inside.

"Oh... well I suppose you could say I'm on a quest." Lana replied.

"Hmm? How so?"

"I have been told to find ten items found here… I have two already." The girl mentioned.

"Really? I've heard about that stuff happening a while ago… but that sort of thing ground to a halt when the new king was crowned." Fia shared "Of course I've only been here for a couple years, so I don't know the exact story."

"New king?" Lana questioned.

"He calls himself 'king cold', apparently. I haven't met him myself because he's locked down the castle, only people he wants get inside now… and being a high power Fire Attuned has put me on the strict no entry list."

"I'm sorry to ask this, what do you mean by Flame Attuned? I can give a guess what but I would like some sort of more information on that." the Mediamancer said in confusion.

"Oh, that's no problem. Flame Attuned, and being an Attuned in general, is a fairly uncommon thing those born in magic areas can get and it makes them, as you might think, Attuned with an Element of nature itself, shown by the markings that are on their body." Fia gave off a little presentation by running a finger across one of the marks on her arm, which literally lit up with activity, "A Flame Attuned means that you have a high tolerance to heat, fire and can learn to produce it your own body. Some are stronger than others in their attunement too, such as myself. This means that the heat generated by my body is extremely hard to control… and that is why I moved here. The cold keeps me from burning things down accidentally you see?"

By the time Fia had finished her explanation Lana's Cocoa was at somewhat a safe to drink level and she was now taking gentle sips every once and a while… The Mediamancer also realised that the Attuned was not sharing the entire story, but she wasn't going to pry with someone she had only just met.

"Anyway, you were talking about a quest, weren't you?" Fia recalled, "Have you made any progress with that?"

"Yeah, just before I got here I managed to find two of the required items… one of them actually helped unblock your door." Lana explained

"May I ask what that item is?"

After a few moments of thought the girl nodded and pulled out the Hearth's Ire fan, which she had stored away moments before entering Fia's shack, and presented it in its folded state… The woman seemed to understand what it was just seconds later.

"Woah… you weren't lying about the quest thing then… you need to be careful who you show that thing to!" The woman said in surprise, looking to her window warily. "You're lucky that I live so far away from the castle…"

"What? Why?" Lana replied, quickly shoving the fan back into the pocket and looking to the window herself.

"The King has been looking for a set of items…the ones your 'quest' has sent you to find. If he or any of his affiliates see you with any of them you are most certainly going to be in trouble, if you're not with him and you are brought to his castle and be forced to find the items for him… after that though… well lets just say it won't be good."

"If he's a king… why hasn't he been able to find the items himself? I found the fan just in a random cave…" The girl questioned.

"From what I had been able to pick up before the king's throne-ing, its something to do with the magic in the items, only those on the quest has the vision to see them in the original location, once they have been found anyone can see them however." Fia explained.

'That I kind of assumed, because you saw it yourself' Lana thought to herself.

For a few minutes the Potter child sipped her Hot Chocolate in silence, unsure what to say next… but eventually she decided to speak up.

"I know that you yourself said that only people 'on the quest' and see the items… but do you have any idea where the others could be? I can't go home without them…" She asked.

"That sounds rough… luckily I have an idea where one of the items could be. Near to my shack is a special place, somewhere you might find something special. If you'll let me finish my drink I'll happily take you there. It's the least I can do for getting some actual nice company these days."

Lana accepted the 'deal' and sat deeper into the slightly smoky chair, sipping at her own drink while Fia drank her's. Once she had done so the Attuned got up from her own seat, placed the mug into a water filled bucket and headed towards the door.

"Wait, don't you need to put something warm on? You're… well…" Lana questioned before she got up from her own seat and followed the woman's previous action.

"Nope. I don't need to put anything on. My inner fire helps stave off the cold… in fact, you might want to stay close to me while we're outside, it should help you too." The fire user said as she opened the door with no reaction to the snowstorm that attacked her skin… in fact the snow just melted as soon as it did so.

And so the both of them made their way into the snow, with Fia leading the youngest Potter safely to her next item.

[*One Hour Later*]

"This is the place?" Lana questioned.

"Yup."

"Its… a box."

"A very suspicious box."

It was indeed a box. A wooden crate to be exact… just a plain crate. It was covered in gold tinsel, but that was the only thing special about it.

The fact the strong blizzard winds were avoiding a circular area around the crate was kind of weird too, Lana reasoned.

"Why is it so special?" The girl said as she turned to Fia.

"Well… its been here for a very long time, snow doesn't land on it and when I tried to break it down for firewood to keep my shack lit it could take any blow I sent it's way."

"Right… well I'm going to try and open it I guess." Lana commented before walking to the crate.

A bit of inspection later and she found a crack between two of the box's panels and tried to pry it open… but sadly the crate was quite sturdy and only left the girl's chilly fingers red from the attempt.

'Maybe I should use something other than my fingers?' The girl thought to herself. 'The only thing I can think of being useful for this would be one of my swords… It'll have to be Slime Slayer because Fear Eater might be angry that I am using her to pry open a crate.'

And with that thought in her head Lana pulled out Slime Slayer, sheath and all, and stuck it into the point her fingers tried to pry open.

Fia watching in confusion as she watched the girl try and heave open the crate with a sword she had pulled from nowhere… she knew the girl was special because of the fact she was on the 'quest'… but how special was she?

Lana's attempt soon proved fruitful as the top panel tore itself from the crate, leaving access to the goodies inside.

Those goodies were… A scroll of paper resting upon a sack. A big, lumpy, brown leather sack seemingly chock full of stuff.

And it made her head ring with bells.

[Item 3/10

The Sack of Granting

Equipment

This jolly sack of presents holds gifts for everybody! Just reach your hand in while you are looking at someone and you will pull out a gift… The sack will only work on special occasions though! That means Birthdays, Christmas and things like that!

If you try to keep the item for yourself it will disappear, so don't be greedy!

Effects

Grants gifts on special occasions to those you look at.]

'I guess this place is Christmas related… even if its actually November in my so called Home world.' Lana thought to herself as she pulled out the sack from the crate. It was surprising how light it felt… but magic seemed to enjoy removing the problem of most huge items, that problem being 'weight'.

'Hey… if its Christmas here or something… would the sack work now?' Interest peaked Lana looked to Fia, who looked at her in surprise, and reached into the sack.

The inside felt weird… like there were a bunch of random shapes but none of them seemed to have form… except for one. Lana grabbed it and pulled her hand out of the sack and looked at the item.

A wrapped, rectangular shape, finished with a ribbon bow.

"Uhhh… I guess this is for you?" The girl said as she presented the gift to the woman, who wasted little time unwrapping the gift.

"Fire Proof Paper?! I was on my last few pages… and they don't exactly make it here…" Fia gasped in surprise as she looked at the package of slightly orange tinted paper. "How did you get this?"

"It was the bag. Apparently it has good gifts for people." The youngest Potter replied with a shrug as her thoughts drifted off to the scroll of paper that had accompanied the sack, which she eventually picked up and unravelled… after she stored away the sack in her inventory.

It was a map, marking key locations that were in the area. Things like the Crate and Cave being some of them…

'So a map of the quest item locations? That is very useful.' Lana reasoned.

"Hey Fia… I know where the other items are." The Mediamancer called to the Attuned, who pulled her eyes away from her new stack of seemingly rare paper and looked to the girl.

"Huh? Well that's good for you. I suppose this is where we split ways then." They replied. "I won't be much help now you know the way, I only really knew about the crate from luck anyway."

"Well…" The girl looked at Fia, who had a neutral look on their face… but clearly something was ticking inside their mind, "you don't have to leave… I've appreciated your company, and its not just because of the warm aura negating the win-

Lana's attempt at a joke was cut off by a rather tight grapple as Fia invaded her personal space to examine the map.

"So where to, Lana?" She said happily, the neutral look turning into a toothy smile.

'Why is she getting so… close with me now? We've only just met. It reminds me of actual fire though, from calm embers to an overbearing blaze, so its somewhat fitting.' The girl thought, but quickly shook away those thoughts to pay attention to the task at hand.

The spot closest to her, according to the map, was…

[*?*]

About an hour of walking later the two of them finally reached their destination.

"The Coldstone Mine…" Lana read off the worn sign that laid uselessly beside a wooden reinforced mouth.

"It looks pretty dark in there." Fia said idly as she stared into the cave, "No problem though."

The woman's hand lit up with a bright flame with a snap before she headed into the cave.

"Wait! Fia!" The girl quickly began following the Fire Attuned, who she quickly caught up to. "Don't go running off! I'm the only one who can see… w-woah."

Both girls stopped abruptly as they saw where the cave had taken them.

It was most certainly a mine… but they weren't just mining plain rock… no… they were mining shining crystals, glowing with a mysterious icy blue light.

The job seemed to have been a little finished, wheeled carts loaded with crystals of varied sized and were seemingly ready to be pushed out of the cave… but the miners seemed to have been left abruptly, leaving the crystals and their tools behind.

Her interest peaked from the sparkling mineral Lana picked up a small, stray crystal from the ground and scanned it, an unnatural coolness biting at her hands as she held it.

[Cold Crystal

Material

A crystal found only in the cold climates of the Land of Winters, it is useful as a catalyst for cold based magic, jewellery making, keeping places lit without fires (if electrical lights have not been found in that location/can't be used safely)… and keeping drinks cold for indefinite amounts of time. It has become a rather hard find since the Coldstone Mine's unknown and abrupt closing… along with some other events.

Effects:

A useful material.]

"So… what do you think this stuff is? It looks familiar… but I can't put my finger on it." Fia asked as she held one of the minerals herself.

"It's Cold Crystal." Lana replied.

"Woah, this is Cold Crystal? The other fire attuned used to wear this to stave off their burning auras in dangerous places… but then I guess the mines closed and then I was…" Whatever the woman was about to say was by her own realisation that she may be saying to much.

Well… that's what Lana assumed anyway, she wouldn't pry though.

"Well I don't think these things are one of the items I'm looking for… so lets head deeper into the mine. We can pick some of them up later if we really want them." The girl said, taking lead this time as she headed deeper into the chilly, crystal-lit tunnels.

After about twenty minutes of mine exploration the search soon proved fruitful with something of interest, one of the mined out rooms contained more than just carts and stray tools…

It contained a large, smooth stone surface with markings carved into it… drawings of something… Instructions? Below the carvings was what appeared to be a rough shape of a body made of stone too.

"That looks like a hammer and chisel… which points to… a pile of rocks… then into a… skull?… which goes onto a body of some kind… which gets me some sort of box… which is good according to the smiling face that is pointed to it." Lana thought aloud. "What could that mean?"

"Looks to me that you need to chisel out a rock skull to put on this body. If you do that the treasure will be revealed." Fia said abruptly, causing Lana to turn to her in surprise.

"What gives you that idea?" The young Potter asked, which caused the Fire Attuned woman to point at… words below the pictures, carved into the stone wall in a nearly invisible scrawl.

=Hammer and Chisel + Stone = Skull

Skill + Body = ?

? = Treasure!=

"I really feel like I should have noticed this… its literally just below the other markings…" The girl said quietly "But I guess I know what to do now… time to bring out the golem crafting kit I guess…"

After pulling out the Large bag of tools, which surprised Fia somewhat but the woman was quickly getting used to things of immeasurable size being pulled out from nothing or pockets so decided to let it slide, Lana got to work picking out one of the stray large stones that littered the cave floor… They seemed to have been from the previous inhabitants of the mine as some already been worked on but most likely tossed out as the person/people either failed making a 'skull' or were just not able to finish it because they were not on the 'quest'.

Once an appropriate rock was found Lana got to work. Sloppily smoothing the top for the rough shape of a cranium… it was bad at first, but it got slightly better as a message blinked in her sight.

[Skill Generated

Name: Stone Working (Chibi)

Type: Passive

Stone Working is a useful tool for some lesser used magic, like runes and golem creation. This skill will help guide your hand.

Effects:

Increases skill with stone related crafts.]

Lana ignored the message and continued her work, stopping only to snack on some Oran berries and Energy juice to keep her energy at good levels. Once the task was completed girl examined the thing she hoped look like a skull one more time before nodding and placing it on the stone body resting against the wall.

The room started to rumble with activity immediately, stray pieces of Cold Crystal rattling across the ground and sticking mysteriously along the stone body and sparkling with increased activity, two of the more circular ones rattled all the way into the empty sockets of the skull and glimmered in a peculiar orange light.

And then the body got up, its crude body crumbling slightly as cracks formed from stone meeting stone…

Then it walked away, completely ignoring the other two humanoids in the room as it stomped deeper into one of the pathways out of the room.

"I guess that's what the wall meant by the treasure would be revealed…" Fia reasoned, "Follow that rock person!"

Lana quickly packed up her carving gear and followed the golem's heavy steps, with the Fire Attuned slightly ahead of her as she had nothing to pack away.

The golem, seemingly unknowingly, led them to… a dead end.

Or rather, it would have been if the crystal-encrusted humanoid didn't punch a hole directly into it, opening up a crude gateway to a room on the other side, which it itself walked into with a surprised Lana and Fia following closely behind.

As the girls entered the gasped loudly… this wasn't just an ordinary room… it was an armoury! Racks and stands of weapons, armour and more, all in more than perfect condition… as if they hadn't been touched by time itself. The blueish metal shined in a familiar icy blue light… like they were made of Cold Crystal in metal form.

Soon their attention was brought elsewhere however. In the furthest reaches of the room, resting upon a velvet cushion atop a pedestal… was a gauntlet, composed entirely of what Lana might have thought to be Cold Crystal… but the purity and near glass-like transparency made the girl question her thoughts.

The one thing she was certain of however… was that this was the next item. The youngest Potter wasted no time walking over to it and touching it lightly…

A chill filled her body… and made its home inside her core.

[Item 4/10

The Ice Queen's Hand

Equipment

A gauntlet made by the greatest craftsman in the Lands of Winter, commissioned by the Ice Queen before her mysterious disappearance. She enhanced this hand guard's Cold Crystal material with her own powers, which permanently grants its wearer control and resistance to ice and cold, even when not being worn.

Even after this the gauntlet still has a use, its nigh indestructibility and ability to guide the use of frost abilities make it a boon for those in need of protection… or budding Frostmancers.

Effects

Grants Cold Resistance and Ice Control Skills

Blocks cutting blows

Decreases energy costs of Ice Control]

'These skills sound like the opposite of the ones granted by that book.' Lana thought to herself as she picked up the gauntlet and pulled her left hand inside… the perfect fit, as if it was made for her. It looked a little odd with a winter coat, but Lana's fashion sense has turned to a "If it does something, wear it" sort of thing recently.

Suddenly, two skill pop-ups appeared in front of her.

[Skill Learnt

Name: Ice Control

Type: Active

The blizzards of the world are yours to control! Anything that is composed of the colder sections of water and ice will be moved by your will. Larger and more dangerous types take more energy to control, so keep an eye on your energy meter!

Effects:

Control Ice, and related items

(Costs different amounts of Energy based on the amount of ice and what type produced.)]

[Skill Generated(?)

Name: Cold Resistance

Type: Passive

Brr… your body's natural resistance to the cold has increased a good amount. A snowy outside will barely be a nuisance, a blizzard might chill your nose a little.

Type: Passive

Effects:

Resistant to cold.]

'That literally is the opposite of Fire control and Resistance…'

Lana's thoughts were pulled away from the recent additions to her skill repertoire as she felt a heavy, hand-like object place itself on her shoulder. She turned to see the Crystal-covered golem looking at her.

"C…command… Master?" Echoed a voice inside the girl's head, which said girl assumed to be the one of the golem's. It was surprising somewhat, but she didn't show it outright… voices inside her head was kind of normal now.

'I'm going to ignore how worrying that idea was.' Lana thought idly before speaking quietly so her seemingly random words did not reach Fia, who was now distracted by a set of Cold Crystal encrusted blue leather arm-guards.

"Make sure anyone that is neither me nor Fia, the woman over there, can't get inside this… armoury?"

"Protect… armoury… chamber… yes… Master…"

With that the golem removed its appendage from the girl's shoulder and stomped over to the room's entrance, standing beside it before seemingly going inactive if the fact its rocky shoulders slumping and its eyes dimming was proof enough.

The two companions spend a little more time in the hidden armoury, checking for any more items of interest before leaving the mine and heading to the next location closest on the map…

Not before Lana stuffed her pockets with Cold Crystal, however… and let it be known that girl did in fact have large pockets… and she won't be running out of Cold Crystal in a very long time.

[*?*]

"Well… at least it's not a cave or a crate." Lana said aloud as she stored away her map and looked at the building in front of her.

It was a factory, marked with a sign that read =Caca's Cocoa Chocolatier Company=

"Hey, this factory is where I get my hot chocolate mix." Fia mentioned "That's weird though, usually there is smoke coming from the chimneys… wonder what's happened."

What happened was quickly revealed when Lana was led to the entrance, which functioned as the company's main store front too.

The entire place looked ransacked, the small aisles that used seemed to contain chocolate treats previously devoid of any product, except for a couple stray bars that were seemingly stomped on and were therefore useless to those who had taken everything…

And then… at the end of the store, next to a till and a few displays whose glass had been broken in, was a lithe, middle-aged looking woman in a rather expensive looking chocolate-coloured suit… crying loudly into her own arms.

"Caca? What happened here?!" Fia gasped in shock, the woman Lana now knew as Cac looked up from her arms, showing the tearful heterochromatic eyes of chocolate brown and cream through drapes of long, hair of a similar colour mixture.

"Oh… Fia…" The woman who was apparently Caca said sadly, something that was somehow unnatural feeling to the young Potter's ears coming from the woman. "It was the King… he happened."

"The King? Even he leaves you alone, why did he do… this?" the Attuned asked incredulously as her hand waved over the broken shop.

"He came to the factory today in a panic… and started questioning me on the queen's gifts again… I told him that I couldn't help to him, that I couldn't even touch it unless someone doing the quest came into the factory… and then he got mad… and then he made up some stupid reason that let his men take everything from my store… and then he cut the factory's supply of magic energy, so I can't make any more… any more…"Caca's crying grew louder as she bawled into her suit.

"I'm so sorry… is there anything I can do… or maybe Lana can do?" Fia questioned.

"Lana?" The factory owner looked up from her arms once more and took in the sight of the coat wearing child… and her gauntlet. "Oh… so I guess that's why he came here in a panic… there is a quester collecting the items…"

"Um, why would that be a problem for this king? Fia mentioned that he was looking for the items earlier, but didn't go into detail why." Lana mentioned.

"Well… whoever gets the ten items is said to gain command over the the land's ice magic, which controls the weather and other things. It was something only the queen had been able to do… and when the king was throned, his power was much weaker, so he has been trying to find the items ever since… I guess he sped up his search when you showed up…"

"That doesn't sound particularly good…" The Mediamancer mumbled. This so called king was getting increasingly more horrid sounding… and the idea of him having control over a place that already had kind of scary blizzards, which she had now connected to the king too, was not something she liked.

"Wait… said that you couldn't touch the item yourself… does that mean you know where one of the items is?" Lana said in realisation.

"I do… but… well… the protections that I managed to place are going to be way too blocking now…" Caca said sadly. "I based them on specific sweet recipes that I don't keep in stock, but usually keep the ingredients for… but he took everything, so I don't even have the ingredients to make them now."

"Well… what ingredients do you need?" The Mediamancer questioned. "Maybe we can help you get them or something."

"No… that would be nigh impossible, unless you can somehow travel through world gates to collect rare fruit and cocoa… and Darkest Chocolate, the base for both of the recipes, nigh impossible to find… it was why I locked the items with those specific ones."

'There comes my luck… of course I managed to collect the base for a required quest item just a day beforehand.' Lana thought to herself as she started to pull out one of the heavy bars of said chocolate… it close to being a brick, really.

"You mean this Darkest Chocolate?" Lana questioned has she held the bar out with both hands. Caca's eyes widened in surprise.

"Where did you get that…" The Chocolatier said, her sad voice etching itself with a lingering hope as she slowly got up.

"I just happened to pick some up yesterday… again, what other ingredients do you need?"

"Well… I need two rare apples, Crystal and Rejuvenation… but those are even harder to come because of rarity, and the problem with the Rejuvenating apple producers having troub-

"Trouble with animals? I solved that… and as for Crystal Apples…" Lana put away the Darkest Chocolate and held one of said apples in each hand "I happen to have a tree."

"I don't believe it… okay… that solves some of the main ingredients for that one… but you probably won't have slime gel, lamp berries and some sort of chocolate that once moved like it was living, even if it wasn't-"

Lana once more showed what the woman was listing off, presenting a jar of strawberry slime gel, a handful of Lamp Berries, which she had stocked up on along with the other produce of the Farm Fields, and the slightly eaten Chocolate Fish.

"You mean these things?" She asked, giving a slightly cheeky smile.

"How… How do you have all these things?" Caca cried out in shock, the lingering hope growing.

"A series of very odd and lucky events… now is that all we need?"

"Yes, yes it is… please, follow me."

The Chocolatier skipped lightly towards her counter and opened the door marked with the word =staff= that was behind it, with Fia and Lana following closely behind.

Inside was what Lana might have expected from a 'chocolate factory', big machines and conveyor belts leading between them, but with a few peculiar things… like the fact other non-connected machines were sprinkled around the edges of the room.

"Over here, over here!" Caca chirped, her previously sad face beaming happily as she moved over to a machine that looked like juicer, but was mixed with an oven.

"Okay, so the first step to make the chocolates is to melt down the Darkest Chocolate into a more malleable state." The woman explained as she put on an apron, which looked to be flecked with stray bits of chocolate and burn marks, over her suit. "Put it into this machine, it'll melt it down, making it pourable for later."

Lana followed the order, placing one of the bars inside the machine's feed hole. Caca immediately turned a knob on the machine which caused it to start producing a bubbling noise, like some other liquid was working inside.

"Now lets start with the first recipe, which I like to call… the Applinsanity Bar. Take out one of each apple and bring it over there and get chopping them into small pieces…"

Lana did so, placing both of the extraordinary apples on the chopping board that Caca pointed to and started to get to work, Chopping the apples into 'cubes'… or at least what someone could call 'cubes' for a mostly round fruit.

It was halfway through Lana's task when Caca realised she just asked a child to use a knife and was about to get the girl to stop in danger of her getting hurt… but stopped when she noticed the girls expertise in the subject.

A ding distracted the Chocolatier from further questions, while also causing the young potter to turn and see that the machine melting the Darkest Chocolate had completed its task, the proof of which being the thick, brown fluid that was dripping into a glass measuring jug. Upon noticing this was done, Lana increased her chopping speed to match up to the completion.

"Once you're done chopping up the apples grab one of the bowls and bring them over to this table." Caca requested as she carried over the now full jug of molten chocolate towards a table… which looked to hold some sort of mixing device.

"Add both of the chopped apples into the machine." The Chocolatier said as she poured around half of the jug into the device herself. Lana hummed in reply, bringing the board of fruit over to the table and pushed them into the mixing machine with the knife she had been chopping with.

"Now… just stand back and watch as this maker does her work."

Caca pressed a button, causing the bowl of fruit and chocolate to start combining properly. As it did so the suit wearing lady produced a candy cane coloured wand from her sleeve and started moving in intricate patterns, blue magic streams spewing from it at every moment. The swift streams twirled all around the factory, filling the area with a sweet scent that soothed those inside…

But then it stopped. Caca's dance of magic ended abruptly as the wand fell from her fingers and clattered to the floor as she dropped to her knees, her breath heavy. The streams dissipated in the air, the only remnants of what was once there being the tickle of the sugary smell that remained

"Caca?!" Fia gasped as she ran to the woman, stopping her from sprawling limply on the ground.

"Ahh… maybe I shouldn't have done that with such low energy… with all my ingredients gone… In my sadness haven't had anything to eat in a couple days…" The Chocolatier said weakly as the Fire Attuned leaned her against a wall.

"You wait here and get some strength back, I saw some stray bars of chocolate in your shop that should still be okay." Fia mentioned as she exited the room, leaving Caca and Lana alone.

"So... what was that stuff you were doing, that dance." The Mediamancer asked awkwardly.

"That was how I make my confectioneries, the dance produces a sort of 'mana sugar'… it brings out the sweeter tastes, but a complete dance must be done for the magic to properly produce 'mana sugar'… and only Darkest Chocolate is truly receptive to it, its why I need it for these recipes."

"Huh…" Lana hummed in acceptance.

It was then that Fia returned, in her hands about ten bars of chocolate of varying qualities, most of them looking quite worse for wear.

"This is all the chocolate I could find that seems okay to eat." The attuned commented as she handed the bars over, which Caca started munching on with gusto, seemingly making little gleeful noises as the rich flavours filled her mouth.

Five minutes later chocolate wrappers and packaging were stacked onto a pile beside the woman, who hopped to her feet with refreshed energy and wasted no time restarting the dance.

This time she didn't fail. The waves of 'mana sugar' that moved through the air eventually streamed into the mixing bowl of chocolate and apples, which surprisingly hadn't hardened even after the time Caca spent resting.

After about two minutes of dancing the Chocolatier ceased her movements as the final waves collided with the chocolate mixture, which now thrummed with inciting energy that was becoming increasingly hard to resist as Lana's attraction to sweet things urged her to eat it all.

"Okay, that's the mixture created. Now we just need to pour it out into bars and let them cool." Caca said as she turned off the mixer and pulled away the bowl, bringing it over to a table of what seemed to be chocolate moulds, which were soon filled by chocolate goodness.

"Okay, now all we need to do is mix up the next batch, which I call the Bar of Life, while the chocolate cools… just chop up all the ingredients like before… well the ingredients that actually need to be chopped up, so the berries and fish." The Chocolatier requested.

"Right." Lana replied as she moved over to the chopping table once more and brought out all the ingredients, including the jars of gel.

Just as she began to chop up the berries lightly, with them being an almost reasonable size anyway, she felt the knife being wrenched from her hand with great speed.

"Huh?" The girl blurbed questioningly as she looked around... eventually she found the culprit of the theft…

Standing behind her… was Marshadow, a determined look on its face as it held the knife with both hands.

Before Lana could speak to it, the creature was already moving. It jumped onto the chopping table and started chopping up the items itself, with it not taking even ten seconds for everything to be chopped up into proper pieces.

But it didn't stop there. It picked up all the items and moved it to the mixing machine, which it poured the remaining melted Darkest Chocolate into, along with the chopped up pieces of chocolate fish, lamp berry and the entire jar of Green Gel that Lana brought out and turned on the mixer.

"Okay…" Caca said, her face lit up with confusion… but then she felt something get swiped off her person too. "Hey, that's my wand!?"

Any thoughts of attempting the reclamation were put to a stop as she saw the little shadow being dance in a familiar manner… in fact… It was identical.

With the Pokémon distracted from its copied dance, Lana realised it was an extremely good time scan it, to hopefully get some information on how it was copying the dance to perfectly.

With a quick extraction from the inventory and a press of the power button… Lana got the information she required.

=Species: Marshadow

Owner: Lana Lily Potter

Assigned Name: Marshadow

Gender: Female

Level: ?

Moves: Copycat, Shadow Punch, Spectral Thief, Pumpkin Power

Holding: Nothing

It sinks into the shadows of people and Pokémon, where it can understand their feelings and copy their capabilities.

This Marshadow is Irregular, placing data under subsection of proper Marshadow data, which was collected from the TSM.

Irregularities Include:

Zenith Mode Transformation (Yet to be seen)

Having proper gender

Levels not being found in Pokemon's data

Irregular Move 'Pumpkin Power'… new move added to database.=

'Okay I guess that helps.' Lana thought as she lowered the Dex from her gaze and stowed it away, reminding herself to check what 'Zenith Mode' and 'Pumpkin Power' were later.

Suddenly, the girl felt a tug on her coat, which caused her to look down and see Marshadow… which was looking at her as if expecting something… praise, perhaps?

"Oh… uh… good job, Marshadow… very good girl?" The girl said uncertainly as she pulled out a Sitrus berry and handed it to the Pokémon.

It seemed to be what the little creature wanted, as it gave another determined look and nodded, making a little, childish noise of what appeared to be agreement before it began chowing down on the berry.

"So uh… Lana..." Fia's voice called, causing the Mediamancer to turn and look at her. "What exactly is that thing? And how did it copy Caca's dance?"

"Oh, right. This is Marshadow. She is a Pokémon… and apparently it can collect information while it is inside people's shadows… and she has been in my own for this time." Lana explained.

"Kage." The little creature's noise, which sounded like a 'Mar' to those who didn't have the ability to translate it (AKA, Fia and Caca).

"What was that, Marshadow?"

"My name is Kage, Mom… please use it." The Marshadow, whose name was apparently Kage, said, its voice similar to a little girl's in Lana's ears.

"Oh. Well. Sorry… she says her name is Kage." Lana translated for the others… while also deciding not to mention the fact the creature had called her 'Mom'… it was making her blush just thinking about it.

Somehow it felt right, even if she was only nine… but still, must have been the Bond Receptive skill or something..

It was then Kage finished with her Berry and gave a little nod and childish hum before jumping back into Lana's shadow.

"Okay then…" Fia said, still rather confused about the entire situation.

"Right, lets just wait for the chocolates to cool now… Kage… you said her name was Kage right? They did the dance perfectly, so this mixture works." Caca said, trying to put the situation back on track.

[*Five Minutes Later*]

"Okay, the Appleinsanity Bar is ready." The Chocolatier said cheerfully as they popped the nicely sized bar out of its case… it took all of Lana's mental strength not to steal and eat it immediately.

Caca picked up the bar, which rested upon a chopping board for carrying purposes, and brought it over to what appeared to be two small metal doors in the wall. Much like ones you would find on a safe, but this one had no markings on it, instead there was what appeared to be a hatch beside it. The chocolate maker opened up the hatch, revealing a cool cube of metal interior inside, and placed the bar inside.

"Scanning Chocolate." a metallic voice echoed quietly from inside the hatch, which Lana and Fia had moved closer to in interest. "Scan complete… Chocolate Type: Appleinsanity… opening safe number one."

The safe door closest to the hatch swung open with a creak. Caca removed the bar from inside the scanner and handed it to Lana with a smile on their face.

"The chocolate and item are yours, the others shall be too."

The girl nodded and stored away the chocolate before heading to the now open safe…

Inside… was a basic candy cane with red and white stripes…

[Item 5/10

Candy Cane Shifter

Equipment/Weapon/Consumable

This Candy Cane Listens to its holder and consumer. You want it to be strawberry flavoured? You got it… you want it to be a sword? You got it. It also never runs out, as long as a piece remains it shall change to whatever you want it to be… the end that has a star on it is the one that will hold that power, so don't think of splitting it in half to make two of them, because that won't work.

Effects:

Changes to the consumer's will]

'Okay then… lets try it out I suppose' Lana thought to herself.

"Chocolate-Orange flavouring…" The girl said uncertainly to the cane in her hand… and after a few moments the cane changed, its stripes becoming orange and brown. Lana put on end into her mouth and took a tiny taste.

'Well that works… So good…' The Mediamancer thought to herself as the rocky sweet's flavour infused into her saliva.

After a few more minutes of trying out Caca signalled the cooling of the other chocolate's completion, which caused Lana to move out of the way of the scanner and safes for more ease of access.

"Scan complete… Chocolate Type: Bar of Life… opening safe number two."

Much like with the previous, Caca pulled out the chocolate and handed it to Lana before motioning over to the second safe, which had now swung open.

[Item 6/10

Cacaoling Seed

Consumable

This little packet holds a quick-grow pack of Cacaoling plants… What are Cacaolings exactly? Well, they are little creatures made of chocolate, which assist their grower in any task they are requested of… and when they die, that soul is sent back to the tree it is grown from to create a new Cacaoling with the same memories, leaving only tasty chocolate behind, with each remnant tasting different from the flavours of personality.

It sounds a bit gruesome and weird, but don't worry about it.

Effects:

Grows Cacaolings]

'I'm worrying about it… but okay then, text box' Lana thought to herself as she stored away the seed packet into her inventory.

With that over and done with, Lana and Fia talked a little more with Caca, before continuing on with their search for the items that would let her go home.

Six down… Four to go.

[*Oh my god… listen, I know this ended abruptly, but it was getting really hard to write this for some reason… New place time, okay?*]

'The second lake I've been to with a treasure inside…' Lana thought to herself as she and Fia stood in front of the frozen over lake that was on the map. Surrounding it was a bunch of dying trees, who seemed unable to resist the blizzard that attacked them.

It looked rather normal… but the ominous light green glow that came from inside the lake was a huge point on it being 'not normal'.

"So, any ideas?" Lana asked.

"Melt the ice? See what's in there" Fia suggested.

Both accepted this suggestion, and started to melt away the lake's barrier with a mixture of the fan's heat and self produced flame… the ice seemed to resist the attempt, but the combination was enough for the glowing green water to finally surface above the barrier for what could have been a very long time…

And as the first hole in the ice was made… the rest started to crack. Lana and Fia moved a safe distance away as the ice they were standing on started to break and melt at an insanely fast pace. The green energy inside the water seemed to creep into the surrounding banks and into the trees, which started to sprout with lush life.

It was like a small part of spring had crept its way into the land of winter… in fact, that is probably what it was, because the surrounding blizzard seemingly didn't attempt to invade the space, and when looking up a nearly clear blue sky was shown.

Suddenly a large splash caught Lana's attention, causing her to turn to where it came from.

There was no lake beast this time… just a pretty woman, who was seemingly a mermaid if the large shimmering fish-like tail was proof of much.

"I'm… free?" The woman said aloud in their harmonious voice. They looked to the trees and the grass, whose green colours matched her own greens that were in her eyes, hair and tail.

The mermaid lady looked around, eventually catching sight of Lana… and the fan she held in her hand. Their eyes widened dramatically as they dived back into the water and swam to the bank near the girl.

"You, child. You're on the quest, the queen's quest?" They asked somewhat hysterically.

"Umm… yeah, I guess." Lana replied.

"You're here for the next item then… Give me a moment."

With that the mermaid dived back into the water, returning with a small pearl coloured thing in the shape of a note. It was quickly pushed into Lana's hands, causing a blink in Mediamancer activity.

[Item 07/10

Mermaid's Note

Consumable

This little thing, once swallowed, will enhance your voice box with the alluring song of mermaids and sirens, along with allowing you to change pitch and tone at will.

perfect for carolling!

If you knew how to sing beforehand… even better!

Effects:

Enhances singing

Increases self-control of voice]

'I mean I guess I was good at singing before… the only time I was allowed to sing in that school talent contest I got a prize… or rather Dudley got a prize after he took it though.' Lana thought to herself as she swallowed the tiny note.

It tasted like seawater and honey… not bad, but not exactly what someone would call 'food'. It went down easily enough though.

[Skill Generated/Learnt

Name: Singing (Mistress)

Type: Passive

Singing.

Previous training with voice and item consumption automatically raises skill to rank of Mistress

Effects:

Enhances Passive Singing]

[Skill Learnt

Name Enhanced Voice

Type: Active

When magic is passed through the voice box, your words are enhanced to have an effect based on will.

Effects:

At the cost of energy, further enhance verbal related things, like speaking and singing.]

'Nice' Lana thought to herself as she closed the boxes and looked back to the mermaid, who was looking at her with a smile.

"I wish you luck on your quest… The king froze over the Spring Lake when he first took the throne and I didn't allow him to take the item… even if he couldn't exactly take it anyway…"

"Oh yeah… I thought the items were meant to be untouchable by all except the person on the quest until they were found… How did you hand it to me?" The girl said as she noticed the action that had taken place.

"The only reason I was allowed to give it to you was because I assisted in the creation of the item… you don't exactly find Mermaids around here, and my voice is the best around so I was the best template for its creation…" The lake-borne woman explained

"Okay then… I guess I best head off and find the other three items. Thank you…" Lana was unsure how to reply, she hadn't exactly got a name from the mermaid yet.

"My name is Spring, Keeper of the Spring Lake of The Land of Winter… Dumb title I know, but what can you do I guess." The one revealed to be called Spring replied.

"Alright. Goodbye, Spring! I suppose I might see you again." Lana said before unfurling the map and finding the next closest location.

Soon the girl and her fire using companion were on their way once more.

[*I know this really does seem like things are going an oddly quick pace now, but this is because I really want to release something for you guys…*]

"Whoa… that's one deep hole." Lana said aloud as she and Fia finally reached the next point.

The map marked it as 'The Aurora Breach', and it was certainly a breach in the ground… but the 'Aurora' part of it was missing.

"So, Fia… any idea what I might need to do?" She asked the only person that could really be described as a 'guide' to the Land of Winter.

"Well from what I've heard, and I've heard very little, the breach used to spew out lights into the sky… but when the king took his place, the breach grew silent." Fia explained. "My best guess would to find what you need would be to climb down, but we would need a lot of rope for that… there hasn't exactly been any mention of how deep it really is."

"Well I just so happen to have a lot of rope" Lana said as she pulled out the infinite pouch of rope and started to tug out the thick cording inside. As she did so she looked back to Fia.

"I'm going to tie myself into the rop-

Any ideas were soon ground to a halt as an unnatural wind pushed against Lana, sending her flying directly into the hole.

"Lana!?" Fia cried out, watching helplessly as the girl screamed and was quickly lost to the dark.

Said girl kept screaming as she fell, her mind running a mile a minute as she tried to think of a way to stop herself from falling, or at least lessen the speed. Eventually something did in fact come to her mind… the words of 'Phantom Quickstep'

As the spectral shoes of a space bounty hunter appeared on her feet (along with a single glove, as one hand was already covered by the quest-granted gauntlet), Lana attempted to manoeuvre her fall onto one of the sides of the breach.

The action was a success, and Lana soon found herself slowly grinding down the side of the wall at a safe pace.

'Phew… that was a close one… I wonder what that wind came from? Did that king discover what I was doing, and hoped that me dropping down here would lead to my death?'

"I don't think so, dear." Lana heard, the familiar voice echoing inside her head. "I can feel somebody down at the bottom of the breach, they hold a power almost identical to that new gauntlet of yours."

'You're awake now, Mom? Glad to hear you again.' Lana spoke inside her head, realising that the woman picked up on the previous thought, so it was an appropriate way to speak to her mother.

"Glad to speak to you too… but I've been awake from about the time you met that woman, Fia. I just couldn't find the right moment to speak up until now." Lily replied.

'Okay… wait, you said that someone down in the breach has a power identical to my gauntlet… that could be the queen, like the others were mentioning! The description did say she was missing… maybe she was put here…' Lana realised.

"There is a chance, but we'll find out when you finally reach the bottom."

An appropriate landing was reached in about five minutes after that, giving a little time for the mother and daughter to speak amongst each-other.

When the landing was reached however, both went quiet at what they saw in the dark.

It was indeed a person… and was more than likely the missing queen, if the dress, crown, regal face and body were proof enough… the glowing snowy-coloured aura that allowed her to be seen in the dark was there too.

She would have probably looked better if her features, all coloured in varied shades of blue, were not cracked, torn or marred with wounds… and if she wasn't attached to a large, burning red ball and chain

'Scan.' Lana thought to herself.

[Scan Complete

Name: Glacies, Queen of The Land of Winter

Highest Skill: ?

Lowest Skill: ?

The missing queen.]

'So this is her…' Lana thought, her face holding a look of shock as she looked at the regal woman's state.

"So you're here… child." The Nine year old gasped as she saw the Queen look up, a calm smile on her face. "I'm glad. I am sorry that I have dragged you from your land… but my sister's games granted me a chance… one that I had to take to save my land."

"From that king?" The Mediamancer reasoned.

"Yes… he was one of the many that resided in my castle… and when it was time for another quest… he took the chance as I was placing two of the items in the Aurora Breach and tied me to this thing chain before pushing me inside… it limits my powers and healing, meaning I have been unable to escape… but I have been able to stay alive by taking the power that comes from the Breach itself." Glacies explained.

"Well, I guess we'll just have to… wait, you said sister earlier. Cucurbita is your sister?" Lana questioned.

"Yes… she is." The queen replied. "Now, please try and find a way to break this chain… a strike from a sharp object should work, the chain is mostly magic, and will be destroyed by physical force from something it isn't attached to easily."

The girl nodded and pulled out Fear Eater, giving a firm strike upon the chain links between the ball and woman.

With a bright flash of energy and sparks, the entire collection of energy-draining items were destroyed, the only thing remaining being small stray shards on the floor.

Instantly Glacies looked better, the wounds on her body healing as she let out a sigh of relief.

"Thank you, child. Just give me a moment to collect some of the Land's more ambient energies and I'll help you get out of here… In the meantime, here."

The Land of Winter Queen pulled two items from her sleeves and into her hands, one being a pair of silver charms (which look like they can be clipped onto a necklace or other chain item) and another being a bracelet, which were accepted by Lana gratefully.

[Item 08/10

Ambient Absorbers

Equipment

These little star shaped charms, when worn by a person, collect ambient energy to be released at a later time.

Effects:

Collects Energy, which can be released and given to the wearer at will.]

[Item 09/10

Bracelet of Hearts

Equipment

When worn by someone with companions, said companions will gain a boost in when in a reasonable proximity…

Also works as a Z Ring and has a Mega Stone… whatever those are.

Effects:

Boosts allies' power]

"I took some ideas from one of my sister's gifts that she said she was working on… the little creature that's in your shadow will have use of the Z Ring functionality, if you find another specific object." Glacies mentioned as Lana clipped on the Ambient Absorbers, one on each side of her locket's chain, and the bracelet around the wrist lacking a bracelet, which let her see the strange patterned rock and rainbow marble that were inside the silvery item.

After a few minutes of admiring her new items, Glacies spoke up.

"I have enough energy now. Time for you to get that last item… and for me to get my throne back."

"Umm… How are we getting out of HEEEEEEEEE"

Lana didn't have time to finish her question, as a huge gust of wind sent both Magic Girl and Regal Woman into the air, said girl flailing wildly… and said woman acting as if such a thing happened regularly for her.

The nine year old barely noticed as the breach started to glow once more, its energies no longer blocked from a trapped woman trying to stay alive…

It signalled a return that many were waiting to see for a very long time.

Even when the sight of snow replaced breach wall, wind did not stop dragging Lana. It instead kept pushing her the direction its controller guided it to.

The direction of which Lana could see a castle composed entirely of ice, revealing itself from the clearing blizzard.

[*The Land of Winter Castle...*]

The landing was soft as The Mediamancer was dropped into a large pile of snow, which she quickly pulled herself out of.

"You must forgive me for such a bumpy ride, I couldn't spare my power to smooth out winds at this time…" Glacies said regretfully as she watched the girl sweep away remaining flecks of the white winter stuff. "Now, lets get in there and dethrone an unworthy king, shall we?"

After a few moments Lana nodded, determined to stop the actions of a man she had heard only do bad…

Defeating a great evil was all in a days work of a protagonist after all.

With The Mediamancer's look Glacies gave a nod of her own, walking down the frost paved entrance to the front door of the castle and its large gates with Lana following closely behind.

With a flick of the queen's hand the heavy looking door flung open magically, an action which caused a couple cold crystal-metal clad guards to jump, and point pair of white wooded spears in the direction of them.

"Who dares enter the… Queen Glacies?!" One of them said, his no-nonsense tone turning to one of surprise as he saw who just blew open the door.

"Furst. Ciel. You must excuse my actions at this moment, I am in quite a rush." The regal woman replied.

"O-of course… I would be careful though, the 'king' has done something. You might find yourself having trouble accessing the throne room, which I assume you are heading to?" The guard which Glacies had called Furst replied.

"Indeed. Will you assist me in this venture?"

Both guards bowed, and after a few more moments of talk the second set of doors were opened, revealing a hallway of many doors, the one farthest away being the most important looking, which was revealed to be the throne room after Lana questioned Glacies.

Which meant that was where they were headed.

True to the known Furst's words however… they were stopped. Guards, who looked fresh and their armour showing no signs of previous use, came out. Along with them came familiar looking golems, composed of what appeared to be rock and cold crystal.

"Halt. Entry into the castle is not permitted by order from the king. Leave or face the wrath of the king's guard." One spoke up, his voice dull in an uncomfortable manner

"You won't be able to talk them out of their guard… the first thing the 'king' did when he took the throne was place control seals on the armour, only the ones who were guards before his taking of the throne were able to make them inert…" Furst said "I'd been hoping that we wouldn't meet any of them… because now we have to take them out."

The four instantly went into action, with Lana activating her arm cannon into stun mode, Glacies calling ice to trap a large majority of the opposition, and both of the allied guards dashed forwards, charging into the golems and breaking them apart with ease.

In a couple minutes… the golems were in pieces, and the guards were either living popsicles, or flopped uselessly on the floor.

"We need to get moving, before more guards show up." Glacies urged, quickly moving towards the throne room, followed a few moments later by the others.

When they reached the doors, the queen ordered Furst and Ciel to keep an eye out at the door, while She and Lana went inside to deal with King Cold…

The doors swung open with immense force as the queen controlled the ice they were made of revealing the throne room inside.

Dull. That was the only description that could be given. No decorations in sight. Only a throne… and the one that inhabited it. Lana instantly scanned them

[Scan Complete

Name: King Cold, The Unworthy Ruler

Highest Skill: Intelligence

Lowest Skill: Charm

The self proclaimed king. His powers were nothing until he took the throne, and even then… he never got used to them. The only reason he was able to keep the throne for so long was his craftiness.]

A teenager. Thats who this so called 'King' was.

Underneath the regal robe with colours similar to Glacies' dress, was a pale teen who looked to be about 18, with spiky white hair and blue eyes. On his head was a similar crown to the queen's own too… but it seemed to be duller in colour.

"So you finally managed to get out… with the help of a child." Cold said in a snobbish tone.

"You do not deserve that throne." Glacies said calmly, her voice like ice. "I do not know the reason of your betrayal, but know that punishment will come once you have been removed."

"And what makes you think you can stop me from getting you out of the picture again? You just brought it worse upon yourself too, giving a mere child items that means I'll gain full control over the kingdom… it'll be ea-

Lana fired a cannon shot directly at him. The stunner hit, causing him to start spasming

"H-he-hey! I w-wasn't done putting you down!" He cried out through jolts of electricity.

"No monologue for you. Fight. I wanna go home and your the only thing in the way now." Lana said as she hit him once more… then another.

Eventually not even magic power could stop his consciousness from fading.

"Huh… I was expecting more of a fight." Glacies said, slightly confused.

"I know how these things go. It was better to just take him out when he was being all haughty." The Mediamancer said as she walked over to the 'King' and pulled him off the throne, causing him to flop onto the floor with a dull thud.

"So… what was this last thing that I needed to complete the quest?"

"Oh, right! Behind the throne." The queen replied.

With that Lana looked behind the throne…

And saw a little woolen doll with the features of Glacies, holding what appeared to be a silver, intricately decorated pocket watch propped up on it

She picked up both.

[Item 10/10

Time Freezer

Equipment

Allows the user to stop time for five minutes every week. If the five minutes or any of the remaining time goes unused, it carries over to the next week, along with an additional five minutes. To use hold the watch open in the air…

Can be used as a normal watch, and will always tell the time accurately.

Effects

Stop time for five minutes every week, carries over remaining time to the next week

Is a watch]

'Okay that is by far the strongest thing I've got.' Lana thought to herself, before the next message popped up

[All items found. Quest complete]

[Quest Complete!

The Ten Items

New Outfit

700XP earnt (2310 with bonuses!)

4 Cold Coins acquired!

Bonus requirement complete!

? Earnt!

500XP earnt (1650 with bonuses!)

2 Extra Cold Coins acquired]

[Level Up! Level 18 achieved!

1 Skill Points Granted

2 Stat Points Granted

1 Lucky Coin Granted]

"Okay… so the quest is done… what now. There is this unknown reward too." Lana said as she came out from behind the throne, putting both the items into her inventory

"Yes. That reward… you know I never actually got around to that… with the whole getting stuck in a hole thing… let me think…" Glacies put her hand to her chin as she looked around…

Then her gaze met the unconscious Cold on the floor.

"I got it. Please give me a moment."

The woman walked to the teen and started to glow more vividly, energy flowing from her fingers towards the now dethroned dethroner.

"Now from my little spot at the bottom of the hole I've managed to watch you a little, just like my sister and the others do… and I've seen your robotic companion… so maybe… I should…"

A large flash of light blinded Lana… and once it faded…

Cold's head was no longer coming from outside his robe… in fact the only thing inside it seemed to be a lump, which Glacies pulled out.

And there… inside her hands… was a mechanical pixie with white metallic spiky hair and pale metal skin.

"You… turned him into a Pixie?"

"Yup. and since you command them, and I need someone to keep an eye on him… her… why not let you deal with him?"

"HOW IS THAT A REWARD." Lana cried out as the woman placed the inactive bot which was previously a 'king' into her hands.

"Oh, you'll see… now you need to get going. Talk to you later, Lana."

With a smile highly reminiscent of the woman's halloween related sister… the queen pushed Lana backwards.

But she did not meet stone, she met bed… her bed

And she could not resist closing her eyes.

ALRIGHT

HERE IT IS.

WHATS THE WORD COUNT? I SWAPPED APP DURING WRITING AND NOW I GOTTA GO ELSEWHERE TO CHECK… AROUND 12K PRE END NOTE.

OKAY.

SORRY THIS TOOK SO LONG. I REACHED A BLOCK, THEN I REACHED A FEAR. THEN I REACHED A 'please more' REVIEW CAP WHICH BROKE ME OUT TO A 'WRITE GODAMNIT' STATE.

And that's why the end part seems kinda rushed. Its so I could get this out, and hopefully write more.

Anyway… I'm not gonna post the whole form thing. I have a good amount of reviewer quests… and the form is tedious to fill out and stuff.

So

Orbit

Cya? Sorry it took like seven months.