Chapter 273 - Major Interlude - Iona - Sigrun II (Patreon)

Countries only vaguely had notions of “borders”, and which countries started where, and where they ended. Much more important was who protected a town, and what the culture of a city was.

The Valkyries tended to protect towns, cities, and settlements that tended towards castles, keeps, knights, and serfs, all of whom vaguely identified themselves as being part of Rolland. More important was their identity towards the Valkyries, who in turn paid taxes to Rolland, and vaguely listened to their king and nobility.

It didn’t stop them from roaming all over, acting as [Knight Errants] for portions of the continent. However, their density increased the closer they got to Castle Valkyrie, and their obligations lay around the same area.

Crossing into The Great Tang was easy. There was no such thing as a border patrol. Rolland serfs simply made way for Tang nong, rice paddies replaced wheat fields, and cultivators roamed the land, turning their nose up at the nong and cultivating in their sects, instead of knights galloping across the countryside, turning their nose up at the serf and training in their castles.

It didn’t work exactly like that, but it looked that way to Iona.

The Great Tang wasn’t just a fancy name for the country, a proud boast. The Tang sect had many reasons as to why they were “Great”, but the simple truth of the matter was the country was huge. It stretched nearly two thousand miles, but Iona was lucky that Rolland - and the Valkyrie’s headquarters - were sort of center-north of the Great Tang. The country touched eight other countries - all mortal - including Rolland, Nime, and Iona’s destination, Dairalt.

The Great Tang was also great in the diversity of species that lived there. Iona was no stranger to dinosaur-crested saurians or metal-wrapped dullahans, but humans were the predominant race in Rolland. The average village was filled with humans, and humans were the majority in most towns and cities.

The Great Tang welcomed all mortals, and was a veritable melting pot of species. Individual sects and clans tended towards a single race, but no one race was in abundance over the rest.

As Iona traveled across the width of the country, moving impossibly fast with her absurd stats, she got into a few spots of trouble. Her [Vow] wasn’t just for when it was convenient - she was mandated to protect the weak. To seek out those who would prey on those weaker than themselves.

Iona at full speed could probably make the trip in a week. It took her three months, and her exploits in the time would be the stuff that’d keep bards busy for a year.

Sigrun would pitch a small fit if she knew what Iona was getting up to. Her intention was for Iona to take a break, and not burnout, yet Iona was running around, busy as ever.

For Iona, it was simply another spring. Another season. Another sketchbook filled with people and places, to add to the others when she got back to Castle Valkyrie. A diary, of sorts.

The summer solstice that year fell on the night of two full moons. A sacred day, made doubly sacred by the event. Iona found the local church of the Tabernacle, and spent the day in prayer.

Selene. Lunaris.

Hey! Hope you’re having a good day. An excellent night. Can’t wait to look at the moons tonight! They’re going to look gorgeous, I know it.

An amused divine voice answered back.

Why Iona! Are you saying that the moons don’t look gorgeous at times?

A second voice chimed in.

Oh dear. How little faith she has!

The two voices laughed, poking fun at Iona. She blew a raspberry at them, getting some looks from some of the [Priests] and other worshippers in the building. Iona carried on, undisturbed.

Please protect my sister Valkyries.

I hope Su Na manages to get a good harvest this year.

I know you said it wasn’t possible, but could you bring Lux back?

Iona got warm feelings back from the goddesses. They’d heard her. It was no guarantee of intervention, but they’d heard her.

Enough about me! How are you doing? Anything interesting going on? For me, I ended up in a small spot of bother with the Iron Sword Sect. I forced one of their disciples to stop beating a traveler, and he turned on me in a rage, trying to kill me. I killed him instead. Then his master showed up, and wouldn’t stop, so I had to kill him. For whatever reason, the sect leader then came after me, and I tried to talk it out.

Yeah, I ended up killing him as well.

Then a bunch of elders popped up out of nowhere, and honestly, do all cultivators have a few screws loose?

In our experience, yes. They do. Selene said.

Well, most of them. The screwy ones die. The sane ones stick around. Lunaris chimed in.

Well, then…

Iona continued to spend the day in prayer, talking with the goddesses, and them talking back. Then as night fell - she had a particular affinity for that time of day, after her moniker - she made her way to the rooftop.

On this day, the moons rose at exactly the same time the sun set, perfectly balanced and symmetrical. At the moment the sun touched the horizon, at the exact instant that the moons peeked over the edge of the planet, a pair of thunderous, divine voices hammered Iona with such force that she was forced to her knees, hands clutching her ears to try and quiet the voices.

Selene and Lunaris were Speaking.

“Well, since the two of you asked so nicely.”

Iona spent hours curled up in pain, her pleas to her patrons to explain what happened getting no response or answer.

She remained that way until one of the priests found her, and tended to her.

====

Iona took a short detour to visit the Five Flames. Nobody was quite sure of their origins. Scholars argued if the site was magical, divine, the result of an inscrutable enchantment from an ancient civilization, some Immortal pulling a prank, or just a huge scam by the sect running the place.

Iona didn’t think it was all that impressive. And that the name was something of a misnomer. There were only two eternally burning flames, a solid pillar of black Pyronox flames, and one of Fire. The Inferno, Ash, and Radiance ‘flames’ had been extinguished long ago.

Or so the guide who Iona had to pay too much money to claimed. So much for being “eternal”. Some empty spots suggested some truth to the matter, but Iona left the place feeling vaguely disappointed. Not before sketching the scene in her book.

The terrain started to change, fewer and fewer farms turning into a more interesting mix as the temperature cooled. At first glance, it was all wild and untamed grasslands, but an experienced [Ecologist] - or anyone with passing knowledge of how the Republic of Dairalt worked - would know the truth. The grasslands were carefully cultivated by each gnoll tribe that lived in the area, giving an optimal grazing experience to the creatures they raised.

Iona met briefly with the Kokaar tribe, fascinated by their herds of ankylosauruses. Nearly every member of the tribe had one as a companion, and they had a new stock they were preparing to sell.

Or cull. Nearly everything they used came from the ankylosauruses. Their pots were hollowed-out tails, their needles carved from their bones. Their shields were overlapping scales, while their yurts were made from the soft belly leather. Eggs and meat were a staple, taken from the dinosaurs as the dinosaurs took from the carefully managed grasslands the tribe controlled.

The tribe instantly liked Iona, her mastery of the tribe’s own tongue - nevermind speaking Trader Talk or Sythria, the communal language of Dairalt - instantly cemented her as an honored guest.

When they found out she had come to Dairalt in search of a companion, they tried to convince Iona that an ankylosaurus would be ideal.

For a hefty price.

“Fantastic armor, like you Valkyrie!” Yotrr said. “Powerful spikes, looks harmless until WHAM! Tail to the face! A land creature, like yourself. And ah, what wonderful bodies they have!”

He gave Iona an appraising look.

“Like you!”

They were decent salesgnolls, but Iona wasn’t convinced. The dinosaurs were slow, and they weren’t exactly rare. It wasn’t about rarity for Iona - she’d take a common bear if it suited her well - but the lack of scarcity implied that Florence’s Friends would have a number.

“Ah, but look at them! Majestic animals, I’d hate to tear one from the herd. It just wouldn’t be right! I couldn’t hope to bear upon your hospitality while working from an egg up, it would be far too much.” Iona figured out how to gracefully decline, while making the gnolls feel good about themselves.

A few sketches of the gnolls with their particular companions helped mollify them. They’d seen themselves with the Mirror element before, but a sketch was a rare thing. Easy enough for Iona to [Draw], and worth more goodwill.

She kept a few sketches for herself. Memories, a log of the places she’d been and the people she’d met.

She got directions to Maral from them, the only true city in Dairalt. Headquarters of Florence’s Friends.

Dairalt was not a wealthy country. The gnolls tended to be happy in their tribes, bonded with their companions, living their best life. The climate was cold, and the land not terribly wealthy. Would-be invaders were faced with harsh winters as well as powerful dinosaurs and beasts, backed by skills.

It wasn’t worth it.

Dairalt didn’t have much to offer the rest of the world, not until Florence’s Friends. A group of gnolls from different tribes came together, based on their great love for animals. At the same time, they were a practical sort who knew that not every animal was most at home in the plains. That some animals would be happier in the wider world.

They knew money and outside funding was needed.

Such was the birth of Florence’s Friends.

They were stationary, and they expanded as external money flowed to them. They required infrastructure, and the city of Maral was born. Being a place most of the tribes had contact with, a place for resolving inter-tribe disputes emerged, and later, something resembling a government was formed.

Iona smelled the place a full day before she got to the outskirts. Lumbering titanosauruses had thick blankets, larger than most houses, to protect them against the cold. A few [Massive Tenders] kept a wary eye on the eight of them, protecting them against the elements and poachers, and keeping people on the road safe.

Iona craned her neck as she passed, watching the majestic beasts. They were like the brontosaurus the Valkyries used to have, before it died at Goblin’s Death, but even larger. There were also a number of rock-like protrusions from its back, looking like natural armor. If there was a category after “massive”, the sauropods would belong in it.

Creatures needed space and land commensurate with their size. The titanosauruses required massive fields dedicated just to them, and it was nearly half a day before Iona saw diplodocus, the smaller sauropods having their own land.

As Iona traveled along the road, the dinosaurs got smaller, more numerous, and closer together. Feed shacks popped up here and there, and the density of gnolls increased.

Dinosaurs turned to other, more fantastical beasts as Iona continued along the road. Lion-headed, scorpion-tailed manticores were next to the pegasus, and the kelpies had a large pond to keep them happy.

Before long, Iona was staring up at the headquarters of Florence’s Friends. All manner of happy shrieks and cries came from the animals inside. The building itself was made out of polished bone, the remains of many titans artfully and expertly worked together to create a glorious-multilayered structure.

The world’s largest pet store. Building 01.

The doors were wide open, and people were moving in and out. A city dweller buying cat food, a burly, way-too-hairy-to-be-fully human walking out with a hulking wolf nearly as large as he was. A full squad of dullahan warriors wrestled a stone egg onto a wagon, where it was swiftly chained down and thick canvas was thrown over it.

Iona eyed their armor-skin, noting areas of grey paint over where standards and seals were normally kept. Someone was going through a large amount of effort to remain anonymous for whatever was in that egg.

It wasn’t hurting anyone, and it wasn’t her business. Iona ignored them, and entered the store.

Signs were plastered all over, in all of the common languages and nearly every uncommon one.

“Bonding with a companion not guaranteed.”

It was a sobering reminder that finding a creature to use as a companion was the easy part. The connection was the hard part.

Iona entered the store and looked around.

Cats played on towers designed for them, while dogs raced and played with small dinosaurs. Some rabbits were in a heavily-warded enclosure, and Iona saw why as one of them hopped, then blinked forward.

Scorpions were next to spiders. A gorgon, with her head covered, was examining a variety of snakes. All of them, from the common garden snake, to the deadly cobras and asps, all the way to the crested vipers and white snakes were interested in her, raised up and following her every motion.

Was that a devil negotiating in good earnest with some poor [Florence’s Friend’s Floor Manager]? The manager had the advantage of a home turf and a narrow, specialized class for handling situations like this, while the devil, well.

Had an eternity of negotiating and writing contracts. An eternity of reveling in the act of negotiation and contract-writing.

Iona stared, having never seen an Immortal casually roaming around in mortal lands before. The Wardens didn’t count - there’d been nothing casual about their actions and motives. The devil was shopping.

Iona eventually tore her eyes away, and kept going. She needed to remind herself that Dairalt was on the edge of mortal lands, and bordered both Modu and Jurcor. Florence’s Friends catered to more than just mortals, and by the Treaty of Koywa, they were allowed. She carried on.

Parrots were cawing next to sleeping owls, Oozlums flitted next to microraptors. Peacocks showed off their plumage, which offended a swan. The bird in question fashed back intricate colors, showing off her Mirage element.

Iona continued to wander around, each creature and display more overwhelming than the next. A dozen [Handlers] ran around, feeding the animals, keeping them happy, and breaking up arguments.

The second floor had endless rows of feed, from mundane hay, to live crickets and mice, all the way to rare slabs of meat, sold by the half-ton.

The third floor had eggs, neatly labeled and organized in rows. Half were under heater lamps, while more were in stasis fields, keeping them well-preserved.

Creatures that were harder to contain were here. Basilisks and Xuan’wu, tyrannosaurus rex and thunderbirds, the rarest and most difficult creatures only had a few eggs.

There were a few gaps where powerful creatures had been purchased, and Florence’s Friends hadn’t been able to stock more quite yet.

The floor had significant security, with most shoppers unable to wander among the eggs. Iona spent some time looking at the unhatched monsters, while reading a sign that indicated what they had. Before long, a member of the store approached her.

“Hi! Can I help you!” A cheerful rabbitkin greeted Iona. It was clear to Iona that she was using one of the more subtle social skills - probably [Personable] or some variant of that skill.

Iona didn’t mind. Social skills greased the world, and made things go smoothly. She had her own [Magnetic Charm] skill.

With a flex of thought, Iona rearranged the Mallium that was omnipresent on her body, quickly creating the detailed wings by her ears that was the hallmark of the Valkyries.

“Iona. Pleased to meet you.” She extended her hand, shaking the rabbitkin’s.

“Oooh! A Valkyrie! I’ve never seen one before! Can I touch?” She asked, reaching up to Iona’s ears. Iona bent over some, letting the rabbitkin touch.

“Wooooooooow. Oh! Where are my manners?! I’m Celery!” The rabbitkin was energetic, constantly moving even though the two were just talking. “Are you looking for a steed?”

“Yeah. Hopefully a companion?” Iona trailed off, not sure what terminology Florence’s Friends used, and if “steeds” were the same as “companions” for them.

“Oooh, right! Ok! You came to the right place! Florence’s Friends is here for you!” Celery said. “Now! Steeds aren’t quite the same as companions. You ride on steeds, and anything big enough can work as a steed. A companion’s different! You need to be BEST FRIENDS with your companion, and you need to have the same temperament!”

“Temperament?”

“Yeah! Like, you’re a great, big, fierce fighter, right? Strong Valkyrie, slaying goblins left and right? Pow! Pow!” Celery mimed swinging a greatsword around at the end.

Iona clenched her jaw briefly, then relaxed it. Celery hadn’t been there. Hadn’t known. Didn’t smell burning goblins in her sleep. To her, it was just a famous story.

“Sure.” Iona agreed, keeping her words curt to keep her emotions under a lid.

“Well, something like a bunny isn’t going to work.” Celery said. “They’re flighty prey animals. They’re not big fighters. Snakes might not work either. You probably want a carnivore! Or a large herbivore. Moose can be mean.”

Celery was clearly making assumptions about Iona, but they weren’t wrong.

“Something sneaky and clever like a fox might not work, but something big and strong like an anteosaurus could work! They just get right up in your face, and RAWR! Not even Lumornor can save you!”

Iona had successfully come to Florence’s Friends with a mostly open mind. She’d gotten exposed to dozens of different animals over the years, but was willing to listen to the experts. She mentally shuffled her list around.

“Is there anything you don’t have here?” Iona asked. Celery sighed, a saleswoman having heard the same question a dozen times, and pointed to the board.

“Out on those.” She said, then frowned.

“Hang on, we just sold our last cockatrice. Lemme fix that real fast.”

She made some lightning quick adjustments.

“Ok! Sorry about that! We have everything else!”

Iona scanned the board, noting a particularly powerful monster was missing from the “not in stock” list. One that, on first glance, would fit with her temperamentally, would work as a steed, and, important to Iona, was unlikely to die in a fight, or anytime soon.

The only issue might be the price. The Valkyries had sent Iona with a ransom’s worth of coin, anticipating sky-high prices for a proper companion. Iona had carefully guarded the coin, but even then, some of the prices she’d seen already were out of reach.

That was before upkeep and maintenance came into play. Feeding a creature was expensive, and the larger they got, the higher the price. Iona had spent too many years mucking out stables and throwing dinosaurs their dinner. She knew how much money it cost.

“What’s the temperament of a hydra like?” She asked. The Valkyries had one, and she had some idea of what hydras were like, but at the same time, that might’ve just been that one hydra. Outliers were everywhere.

“It depends on the hydra! They’re cunning, vicious creatures, powerful lords of their domain! I hope I can meet one someday! They’re soooo cool. It probably wouldn’t want to be my friend.”

Celery’s ears drooped, then perked back up.

“Oh! But we don’t carry hydras! They’re too smart. It’d be wrong. Could you imagine if we sold humans here? We’re not Urwa.” Celery gave Iona the evil eye, which on the rabbitkin just looked adorable. Iona wanted to pinch her cheeks - or do more - but kept on track.

“I’m a great, big, fierce warrior, like you said. I’m straightforward, and I’m a physical fighter and archer. What would you suggest for me?”

Celery grabbed a carrot from a belt pouch, and started chewing.

“Hmmmm.” She thoughtfully munched around the vegetable. “Your primary element is Celestial, and that’s just sooo rare. Usually only variants get Celestial. What’s your other element?”

Iona hesitated a moment, then figured it couldn’t hurt that much. Not when dealing with something this important, and Celery seemed to genuinely want to help her.

A paranoid part of Iona mentioned that nobody gave out information to untrustworthy people, but at the same time, Iona had used Ice arrows often enough that anyone paying attention would know her secondary element.

“Ice.” Iona said.

“Oh! That’s great! We’re next to the pole, and we’ve got a ton of Ice creatures! For you, the great big brawny fighter? A polar bear would be perfect!”

Celery’s ears drooped again.

“But they have their cubs in the winter, and the only cub we have left is a runt. That, and it’s been a few months. It’s easiest to start working with a creature from the time they’re born if you want a companion.”

Her ears perked up again.

“But don’t take the baby away from mom! They need their mom! It’s cruel otherwise.”

Iona was finally forced to sidetrack a bit.

“You care a lot about the animals. Yet you’re ok selling them?”

“Yup!” Celery cheerfully agreed. “Not every animal wants to be here.” She leaned closer, and whispered conspiratorially to Iona. “Some of the cages are a bit too small.”

Iona quirked an eyebrow at that. She’d seen some of the cages, and they’d looked plenty roomy to her. Heck, the dogs had more square feet than the squire’s rooms!

“Either way, lots of these animals want to go out! See the world! They want to have a best friend as well! I help them do that, then everyone is happy! Plus, I get to spend my days surrounded by the most awesome creatures! It’s a great job!”

“Well, let’s see the polar bear then!” Iona let Celery’s infectious happiness get to her.

The store was like an endless labyrinth. Celery guided Iona around, revealing endless rooms and hallways that Iona had somehow entirely missed the first time around - then exited the building, only to enter a different building.

The second building was hot. The air was practically thick enough to drink, and murky, fenced-off ponds and soaring tropical trees was the order of the day. Nevermind that Dairalt was about as far south as possible, and chilly even in the summer. Florence’s Friends spared no expense on nice habitats for their animals.

They left that building, and kept going, navigating through numerous buildings and environments, creatures that didn’t easily graze in the grasslands.

Finally, they got to the polar bears. Iona took one look at the runt, and had serious doubts.

“He’s… kinda runty.” Iona observed. She’d never seen a polar bear before, but even to her untrained eye, the bear was less than impressive.

Her blessing to look at System-granted stats and skills was equally disappointing.

“I know, poor thing.” Celery looked from Iona to the runt, and back.

“Actually… I’m not sure if your temperaments would work well. Or if he’d be a good steed.” She frankly admitted.

“Well, what else do you have? Any Ice or Celestial casters?”

Celery laughed.

“A Celestial caster! Oh, I wish! No, but we’ve got some Ice casters. Want to see?”

“Sure! Lead the way!”

The first candidate was a scorpion, encased entirely in Ice armor, cold enough that Iona felt a chill. Iona and Celery both agreed it was unlikely to be a good fit, although Iona was more than impressed when she peeked at what skills it had, and just how many stats it was running. The second was a crafty fox, happily munching on rabbits, snowflakes dancing around its pure white fur. It was close, and Iona and Celery agreed that it was a strong candidate, even if the temperament might not be exactly there. A quick, nimble carnivore that had no issues attacking? Quite a few marks in the “yes” column.

Almost all of the fox’s skills were strong, or had the potential to become powerful.

[Heart Hearts] was a weird skill though. Something about finding the tastiest hearts to eat, and making them all the more delicious?

However, it didn’t punch up, and it liked using tricks and cleverness to get what it wanted - namely, more rabbits. Iona mentally quibbled a bit - she thought the fox knew exactly what it wanted from life and worked hard to get it, just like she did.

It went into the “maybe” column.

Iona spent some time imagining working with the fox. It could easily wrap around her neck, or balance on her broad shoulders. It could hunt with her, play with her, and Iona could easily imagine lazy hours spent drawing, while the fox gnawed on a favorite… heart?

Foxy got upgraded to the “probably” column.

A fat caterpillar that lazed around and ate was instantly rejected by both Iona and Celery, and the poor rabbitkin berated herself for even suggesting it.

“Oh! We’ve got a mammoth!” Celery eagerly bounded through the store, Iona following until they left the building. A dozen fields navigated later, and Iona was looking at a small herd of mammoths.

“That one! There!” Celery pointed to one of the baby mammoths. To Iona’s untrained eye, he looked just like the rest of them. However, looking through their statuses showed the truth - the mammoth in question was a full-blown [Mage].

“They’re not super aggressive, but once they get in a fight, watch out! Boom! Pam! Wham! Those tusks are nasty, and they’ve got a powerful charge! Their snouts are clever and nimble! And look at how heavy they are! They can smush anything, and their fur is like armor!”

Celery was a canny [Salesrabbit]. She knew how to make a deal, without coming off greasy or pressuring, which improved her chances of success.

Iona looked at the mammoth, and tried to imagine riding one.

It was easy. She could sit behind the head, and use a lance or bow easily, from a dominant position high above everyone else. On the ground, she could cover the mammoth’s weaknesses, and the mammoth could cover hers. Her biggest concern would be overheating the poor animal. Armor was hot and heavy, and that was before the animal’s massive fur coat was taken into account.

Yet, a caster - an Ice caster - should be able to keep themselves cool.

“How much?” Iona asked, and Celery named a price. Iona felt her heart plunge into her boots.

She didn’t have that much.

She didn’t have nearly that much.

“Too much?” Celery asked.

“A bit. Are all mammoths that much?”

Celery shook her head.

“No, casters tend to cost ten to fifty times as much. This one’s twenty times, given how strong its class appears to be.”

Iona winced at the price.

She hadn’t known.

“If I wanted a caster companion, what would you suggest?” Iona had an idea in her mind, and she wanted to chase it down to its logical conclusion. She wasn’t going to let a little bit of adversity get in her way.

Celery chewed thoughtfully on another carrot.

“Well… What’s your budget?”

Iona gave the top end of what she had.

“Mmmm. The fox isn’t in that range. She’s more expensive than the mammoth.”

“Why’s that?”

“Adorable Ice fox? Some noble is going to pay waaaaaaaaaaaaay too much money to get her for his daughter. We’ll probably need to send someone to make sure it all goes well.”

Celery frowned and kicked a rock.

“Nobles keep us in business, but have the woooooooooooorst track records. At least with you, I know you’ll keep the animal doing what it loves, even if it’s risking its life.”

Celery thought for a moment more.

“Well, there’s always the wilderness.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah, if you want an Ice caster, Modu’s right next to us, frozen pole and all! The conditions are terribly harsh! Unfit for beastkin or human! The animals love it though. It’s where we send our hunting teams for Ice and snow creatures.”

Celery nodded absent-mindedly.

“Yup, yup. They’re so happy down there where it’s cold. Oh! You could also poke around the tribes, and see if any of their creatures are casters. They usually bring them here though. Too hard to sell out there.”

Iona thought about it.

It sounded like her options were a non-caster creature of some sort, or visit the frozen wastes and give hunting a caster down a shot.

Florence’s Friends weren’t going anywhere. If seeking out an animal in the wilderness didn’t work out, she could just head back and pick up an animal. It’d take some time, but Iona had time - and orders to take it easy.

A few weeks in the wilderness sounded like a “break” - one that Sigrun would approve of - while keeping Iona busy and on the move. Staying still wasn’t in her nature.

Plus, they were currently out of polar bears, and the idea of one appealed to Iona. They seemed to be an exact match for her, and were large enough to be a steed, while powerful warriors in their own right.

“If I wanted to try my luck in the wilderness, how would I go about it?” Iona asked. “Also, are there special rules for entering Modu?”

The ice giants ruled Modu, but Iona knew the rules for entering the country were lax, in spite of it being on the mortal-Immortal border. The Tabernacle’s primary place of worship was located inside Modu, and Iona knew pilgrims had no issues visiting the place.

Visiting the Tabernacle’s primary temple was on Iona’s lifetime bucket list. She’d love to be able to worship Selene and Lunaris from there.

“If you’re going to the arctic? Don’t wreck their stuff.” Celery shrugged. “That’s what the hunters have said. For making a friend? It’s like making a friend anywhere! Play with them! Hang out with them! Talk with them! If they like you, they’ll hang out, and if they don’t, they’ll maul you to death! Careful though, their roughhousing and ‘shred to pieces’ look really similar!”

Iona chatted with Celery for a while. Celery didn’t seem to care at all that Iona wasn’t buying anything today from Florence’s Friends, simply happy to guide Iona towards TRUE FRIENDSHIP!!!!

With four exclamation points.

“Oh! One last thing!” Celery said as they were wrapping up. “Once you get your new BEST FRIEND FOREVER come back and see us! We can help you get the basics down!”

Unsaid - for a modest fee. Iona didn’t mind though, it’d be worth it dozens of times over.

“Of course I will!”

Their business mostly concluded, Iona moved on, and gave Celery her best [Charm]ing smile.

“Would you be interested in spending the night together?”

Celery’s ears perked up briefly, then went flat.

“Oh. OH! Um. No thank you.”

Iona shrugged.

“Alright, no worries! Thank you again!”

Iona found an inn, and spent the night drawing all manner of fantastical creatures she’d seen that day. It took up dozens of pages in her notebook, nearly filling it entirely.

At the end, she drew Celery, then went to sleep, preparing to visit Immortal lands for the first time in her life.

The arctic wastes of Modu.