[Voice] An open query from a curious magician.

[nogimmicks]

These journals are cute, and convenient! But ah, I'll skip the boring part. An excellent ship is only part of the fun. A good crew is a vital piece of the puzzle. But we're sort of missing what the heck we're putting together in the first place, don't you think~?

[ The voice is a young adult woman's; somewhere around teenage to twenties, from the sound of it. Her tone is lilting, amused, and very, very CURIOUS. She's definitely found the right sort with Grell, but facts remain... there's other things she wants. Needs. Is curious of. ]

But what matters most... the right ingredients! A drop of luck, a dash of skill, and just a pinch of magic.

[ As if to prove that point, anyone listening to this will find a small flower drawing appearing on the page, but then it slowly materializes into a real, honest-to-goodness flower of whatever color you can imagine! Is it special beyond that? Not in the slightest. Is there a point? NOPE. Just for fun. ]

The question is, who among you believes in the most vital part...? And what sort of magic... might we be seeking? This treasure must surely be some powerful magical artifact, after all... huhuhu. Indulge me, won't you? Tell me your thoughts, my audience.

... Oh, and I'm looking for someone who may or may not have been brought here... brown hair. Nurse's outfit. Regular human. Goes by the name Juri. If you see her... tell me.

Comments

[voice]

[oceanicbutterfly]

[Karen believes in magic for obvious reasons, but the flower is still a surprise!]

It's good to hear someone else questioning just what we're being sent after. Something our new "friend" can use to cause even more trouble, I'd imagine.

[voice]

[nogimmicks]

[ She likes to make a good first impression. Besides, everyone needs a flower, in her opinion. ]

I'm not one to go after something we have no information on. Oh, don't get me wrong; an artifact of power is nice and all, but we have no idea what it does, what it looks like, or what use it will BE. We don't even know if it'll send us back to our respective dimensions.

In other words... this is something that's going to either become a force to be reckoned with--and fought for--or a complete waste of time.

[voice]

[oceanicbutterfly]

There's also the question of whether it'll have the same use for us as for him. It may be that only he can use it... or alternatively, it may be that he can't use it, and is just trying to keep anyone else from doing so.

[voice]

[nogimmicks]

Exactly. So the question remains, we're being forced to set sail after this artifact we know nothing of... this is obviously a low-class setup. Oh, sure, he's "giving" us "freedom"... under his rules.

The real question is what he WANTS from all of US. If he cannot gather this object himself, I suppose it would only make sense to make US do it.

[soundandfurry]

Well... Magic's kind of a given, right? I mean, how else do you explain all of this stuff!

[nogimmicks]

Exactly. But some people are fools; the sort who go, "oh, that can't be real!"

... Ufufu. I say they'll see soon enough what's fake.

[soundandfurry]

Humans have a tendency to doubt. And when they don't doubt, they fear or hate.

[voice]

[carptricks]

[When the flower pops out of the page of his notebook, Kaito can't help but think of only one thing: what a show off.]

[Not that he was really one to talk, of course, and with a small grin he picks the flower up and twirls it in between his fingers idly]

It's kind of hard to have thoughts this early in our adventure, don't you think?

[voice]

[nogimmicks]

[ Hey, Kaito, you of all people ought to know: EVERY Magician is a show-off. It's part of the trade. ]

Well, if your brain is empty, I imagine it IS hard to have thoughts this early.

[voice]

[carptricks]

[that gets a dry snort out of Kaito]

You sure are making quick assumptions. That's what I'm trying to avoid doing. It has nothing to do with empty brains.

[Voice]

[collagehero]

THAT'S AMAZING! HOW DID YOU DO THAT?! Aaaaaah, I wanna make magic flowers!!! [Never mind the rest. MAGIC FLOWER. Hajime's voice can be heard increasing and decreasing in volume as she dances around her journal with her flower and babbles excitedly about it.]

[Voice]

[nogimmicks]

[ Hahahaha, she's hooked an interesting one here. ]

You're asking a Magician how she does her job? Well, well... maybe someday I'll tell you. But, for now, perhaps the flower itself might know. Who knows? If you try hard enough, anything is certainly possible.

[collagehero]

The flower can tell me? I'll ask it! I can make origami flowers out of paper, but not real flowers! Oh! Maybe I could learn to make origami flowers into real flowers! [That would be easier wouldn't it? The Doctor had said there was no such thing as magic, and clearly he really DID need to go back to Doctor school, because she was holding a magic flower.]

How do you learn to be a Magician? I want to learn! [It's a new way to make something and there's nothing in the world more exciting than that.]

[VOICE]

[notsokillerwhale]

Thank you for the flower, hope your chest is feeling better.

[VOICE]

[nogimmicks]

[ A chuckle. This boy's a cute one, and besides... ]

My chest is quite fine, but saying that to a girl... huhuhu. Though you'd best check yours, because you may have a heart attack. Remember to stop and smell the flowers every once in awhile, hmmm?

[VOICE]

[notsokillerwhale]

I did smell this one, it smells very goo--

What? Oh! Sorry, I didn't mean anything by that!

[ He's horrified.

asdlkgjaslkgjdsalgk ]

[voice]

[yatagarasu]

Hey, that's a neat trick! [Kay picks up the flower and examines it LIKE A REAL ACE ASSISTANT.]

And whether we believe it or not, there's more than just a pinch of magic around this place.

[voice]

[nogimmicks]

[ She'll laugh. ]

The second part is quite right. This place is rife with it. ... But this is no trick; there are no tricks, and there is no gimmick.

[voice]

[yatagarasu]

I could tell. If this place were fake, someone would've figured that out by now!

[Voice]

[callmewhateveryuwant]

[The flower is nice and it doesn't surprise him. But Yu listened to the words carefully, thinking of his own answer to the girl's question. If it were him, the answer would be...]

For what we're searching for, the only thing we have to go on is that inscription on the fountain. So it's possible that it could be magic but we won't know until we see it.

[Voice]

[nogimmicks]

[ Hmmm. ]

I had a look at that earlier... if this artifact is magic, it may be capable of granting wishes, just going off that inscription. If so... then we should do our best to gather it. Whether that means a little fighting, though... well. We may be doing old Ghostybeard-san's work FOR him, but he'll have a fight on his hands.

... Then the question becomes this: if you had that treasure, if it could grant you anything you desired, what would you wish for?

[Voice]

[callmewhateveryuwant]

[Enjoy that fight then. Yu's taking a different route.]

Besides going home? Making sure my friends and family are safe.

[Voice]

[thefoglies]

[...did everyone have their powers besides her and the boy? Still, Izanami let out a faint noise, plucking her flower from her book.]

Impressive, child.

As to your question, we can only speculate, given the location.

[Voice]

[nogimmicks]

The artifact we're to be getting... it's a curiosity to me because, well, if it can grant wishes...

[ Doesn't everyone have one? She... has plans. ]

... Ah, that voice seems familiar... I think we're going to be shipmates. Consider this a formal introduction, then. ... I appreciate the compliment, though.

[Voice]

[thefoglies]

[...shipmates, hm? Granted, she had been a bit preoccupied with her duties (and trying to keep the boy from running off), so she had yet to meet all of the rest of the crew. She started up, walking to find this person as she talked.]

Pirates were very materialistic humans, truly embodying the greed of humanity. I would imagine our prize is something physical, and certainly something that would glitter like gold.