When Solmar arrived in Cedar, it seemed to be a day just like any other, though that was more or less what he had been expecting. Still, the poster he had taken from the notice board back in Hosenka stated that if he was looking for trouble, all he would really need to do was go to an address located near the port. As it turned out, there was need for someone who could go out to one of the primary fishing coves where something actively ruined business by stealing bait, hooked fish, netted fish, stole entire fishing poles and nets and even pulled fishermen into the water before brutalizing them beneath the waves. While it made him wonder if there was truly something he could do to help these people out considering his magic wasn't entirely there for him whenever he wanted it, or really even came out upon command at all, he figured that the least he could do was try and collect the money he was promised for the completion of the job.
Stopping by the address, he and the man who put out the job exchanged a few words before both realized that everything there was to know had mostly been explained on the poster already. As such, they quickly made their way over to where most of the "attacks" had happened. While they were on the move, Solmar couldn't help but wonder if maybe he had made a mistake by allowing Fellis to go to Hosenka all alone. Having sent the flying feline there with the map from his former job in order to collect the bounty and fly back to Cedar, the fact that it hadn't yet returned worried the young mage. There were so many things that could have happened to it along the way, losing his sense of direction just being one of the smaller things he could come up with. To say that it weighed him down and acted as the main cause as to why he heard little to nothing of what the man was saying to him was a rather gross understatement.
Still, he had a job to do here, and he wouldn't know where to start looking for Fellis even if he were to leave right away. After all, the cat could fly, Solmar couldn't, meaning there was no telling exactly where it could have gone off to in the past eight hours. Therefore, he determined that the best thing he could be doing right now was to take his mind off of it, trust that the cat could handle it and just go about his business as usual. Hearing a commotion up ahead just as they were about to arrive on the scene, Solmar started dashing ahead as fast as his feet could take him. Rushing down the path to the cove, he saw that someone was in the water and that various men were standing on the docks nearby, tossing rocks at his location. For a moment, he thought that they were attacking him before it became clear that they were trying to hit something that was hiding just beneath the waves in hopes of keeping whatever it was away from the man.
Without thinking it over, he ran down the length of the docks, took a deep breath and dove straight down into the water. While the salt water thoroughly stung his eyes all over as he tried to see what he had gotten himself into, he expected something like a shark or some other dangerous sea creature, but saw what appeared to be a mixture of frog, turtle and humanoid features tugging at the man from below. Closing the distance between them, Solmar grabbed onto the creature, which was notably smaller than he was, pulling it away from the fisherman and allowing the man to make his way back to the shore. What he however hadn't considered was that this creature was quite adapt at moving in the water, and that it was surprisingly strong given its size. Scratching and biting at the young mage, he had no choice but to let it go as he himself needed to go up for air too. Making his way back to the surface, he could tell that the odd creature was making a run, or rather a swim for it.
Doing his best to figure out the general direction it went into, he made his way back to the shore. Taking a moment to catch his breath and regain his composure, he followed the shoreline into the direction the creature headed, hoping to find it and see to it that it would not attack anyone again. Several minutes passed, though eventually he reached a small opening within a rock formation. Not seeming like much at first, when he stepped into the water, he could tell that it actually went quite far in. Though he didn't really enjoy the thought of going back in, it was more or less the only thing he could do at this point if he wanted to see things through. Diving down, it seemed that he only had to go about three meters in before he could resurface again. Still, he was nowhere near the end yet, but at least he could breathe freely as he made his way into the dark and damp place. After a good ten minutes of swimming, he found that which he had been looking for.
A small beach at the end of the cavern showed him more than he had initially expected to find as there were a lot of these little turtlemen present. Knowing his own capabilities well enough to know that he wouldn't be able to take on that many alone, he nearly reconsidered going and almost headed back in hopes that he wasn't followed. But that's when he thought about how Fellis looked up to him as the courageous one, so he couldn't back out now and end up running into the cat again as a coward himself. Moving along, he heard that the strange creatures were making some strange noises, undoubtedly realizing that Solmar had found them and was coming towards the beach. Interestingly enough, none of them made an attempt at attacking him, in fact they seemed to be afraid of him as they just went out of his way when he got closer. Watching the place as he went deeper into what seemed like a tribal village, he saw the one he had been struggling with coming up to him.
When it spoke to him in the same language as him while possessing a grammar that was maybe even better than his own, it asked Solmar why it had come here as his kind had already ruined enough. Asking more into it, it seemed that the cove was once a primary hunting spot for the Kappa, but that they had been driven out of it years ago by the humans that now resided there. While they had done well for some time, overfishing left them with very little food of their own, meaning they had to do something in order to survive. Not really knowing how to deal with this, all Solmar could come up with was that he should help them, he just had no idea how to. Stating that he would tell the humans that they wouldn't need to go out looking for them if they promised not to attack people anymore, Solmar also promised that he would try to help them get food some other way. Claiming that the Kappa would abide by these rules for the time being, if Solmar did not return within a week, they would continue stealing and attacking in the cove so they would not starve themselves and their children.
When Solmar planned on swimming back out, the Kappa told him that there was a cave in the back that would lead him back to the "pink forest". Figuring that they meant Sakuramori, he figured using the caverns would be quicker than swimming. As such, he used the caves to make his way back up to the surface, memorizing where the entrance was hidden and returning to Cedar to ensure that the attacks had stopped and that the culprit had been taken care of. Taking the bounty into his care, Solmar remained within Cedar for a while as he had two things on his mind now. One was that he had to wait and see if Fellis would return, the other being that he had made a deal with the Kappa. Having to figure out something that would allow them access to alternative food sources, failure to do so would just give the Kappa and the fisherman reason to fall back to their current chaotic lives. For now, Solmar had plenty to ponder on.
-End of Job-
Stopping by the address, he and the man who put out the job exchanged a few words before both realized that everything there was to know had mostly been explained on the poster already. As such, they quickly made their way over to where most of the "attacks" had happened. While they were on the move, Solmar couldn't help but wonder if maybe he had made a mistake by allowing Fellis to go to Hosenka all alone. Having sent the flying feline there with the map from his former job in order to collect the bounty and fly back to Cedar, the fact that it hadn't yet returned worried the young mage. There were so many things that could have happened to it along the way, losing his sense of direction just being one of the smaller things he could come up with. To say that it weighed him down and acted as the main cause as to why he heard little to nothing of what the man was saying to him was a rather gross understatement.
Still, he had a job to do here, and he wouldn't know where to start looking for Fellis even if he were to leave right away. After all, the cat could fly, Solmar couldn't, meaning there was no telling exactly where it could have gone off to in the past eight hours. Therefore, he determined that the best thing he could be doing right now was to take his mind off of it, trust that the cat could handle it and just go about his business as usual. Hearing a commotion up ahead just as they were about to arrive on the scene, Solmar started dashing ahead as fast as his feet could take him. Rushing down the path to the cove, he saw that someone was in the water and that various men were standing on the docks nearby, tossing rocks at his location. For a moment, he thought that they were attacking him before it became clear that they were trying to hit something that was hiding just beneath the waves in hopes of keeping whatever it was away from the man.
Without thinking it over, he ran down the length of the docks, took a deep breath and dove straight down into the water. While the salt water thoroughly stung his eyes all over as he tried to see what he had gotten himself into, he expected something like a shark or some other dangerous sea creature, but saw what appeared to be a mixture of frog, turtle and humanoid features tugging at the man from below. Closing the distance between them, Solmar grabbed onto the creature, which was notably smaller than he was, pulling it away from the fisherman and allowing the man to make his way back to the shore. What he however hadn't considered was that this creature was quite adapt at moving in the water, and that it was surprisingly strong given its size. Scratching and biting at the young mage, he had no choice but to let it go as he himself needed to go up for air too. Making his way back to the surface, he could tell that the odd creature was making a run, or rather a swim for it.
Doing his best to figure out the general direction it went into, he made his way back to the shore. Taking a moment to catch his breath and regain his composure, he followed the shoreline into the direction the creature headed, hoping to find it and see to it that it would not attack anyone again. Several minutes passed, though eventually he reached a small opening within a rock formation. Not seeming like much at first, when he stepped into the water, he could tell that it actually went quite far in. Though he didn't really enjoy the thought of going back in, it was more or less the only thing he could do at this point if he wanted to see things through. Diving down, it seemed that he only had to go about three meters in before he could resurface again. Still, he was nowhere near the end yet, but at least he could breathe freely as he made his way into the dark and damp place. After a good ten minutes of swimming, he found that which he had been looking for.
A small beach at the end of the cavern showed him more than he had initially expected to find as there were a lot of these little turtlemen present. Knowing his own capabilities well enough to know that he wouldn't be able to take on that many alone, he nearly reconsidered going and almost headed back in hopes that he wasn't followed. But that's when he thought about how Fellis looked up to him as the courageous one, so he couldn't back out now and end up running into the cat again as a coward himself. Moving along, he heard that the strange creatures were making some strange noises, undoubtedly realizing that Solmar had found them and was coming towards the beach. Interestingly enough, none of them made an attempt at attacking him, in fact they seemed to be afraid of him as they just went out of his way when he got closer. Watching the place as he went deeper into what seemed like a tribal village, he saw the one he had been struggling with coming up to him.
When it spoke to him in the same language as him while possessing a grammar that was maybe even better than his own, it asked Solmar why it had come here as his kind had already ruined enough. Asking more into it, it seemed that the cove was once a primary hunting spot for the Kappa, but that they had been driven out of it years ago by the humans that now resided there. While they had done well for some time, overfishing left them with very little food of their own, meaning they had to do something in order to survive. Not really knowing how to deal with this, all Solmar could come up with was that he should help them, he just had no idea how to. Stating that he would tell the humans that they wouldn't need to go out looking for them if they promised not to attack people anymore, Solmar also promised that he would try to help them get food some other way. Claiming that the Kappa would abide by these rules for the time being, if Solmar did not return within a week, they would continue stealing and attacking in the cove so they would not starve themselves and their children.
When Solmar planned on swimming back out, the Kappa told him that there was a cave in the back that would lead him back to the "pink forest". Figuring that they meant Sakuramori, he figured using the caverns would be quicker than swimming. As such, he used the caves to make his way back up to the surface, memorizing where the entrance was hidden and returning to Cedar to ensure that the attacks had stopped and that the culprit had been taken care of. Taking the bounty into his care, Solmar remained within Cedar for a while as he had two things on his mind now. One was that he had to wait and see if Fellis would return, the other being that he had made a deal with the Kappa. Having to figure out something that would allow them access to alternative food sources, failure to do so would just give the Kappa and the fisherman reason to fall back to their current chaotic lives. For now, Solmar had plenty to ponder on.
-End of Job-
