Elma's Observation Log

Cindeen is really too much trouble. I couldn't let her walk, much less carry me. In the two minutes it took to drag my body to a tree, she slipped on goblin guts, stepped on a nail, dropped me into goblin guts, and almost had a tree fall on her. No way, no thank you. We were not going to move from this spot until I was healthy enough to dodge danger.

Incidentally, it seemed that she didn't beckon any danger when she stayed still.

I really had to wonder how this school of hers was still standing.

My body's condition wasn't great. I couldn't feel my arms or move my fingers. I have never heard of a Witherspell turning white, either. Hopefully the Hero Hub would reset me back to my pre-mission state.

Cindeen is very handsy. I don't think anyone's ever taught her to respect personal space.

She also blushes a lot. She needs to calm down. It looks like she could pass out at any moment.

Goodness, she can be quite smothering. I keep telling her to not move and she keeps kicking up a fuss. No, Cindeen. Please. You staying still is saving my life. Please do not get me killed by walking in the wrong direction.

With regard to Goblomancer--he just vanished without a trace, his structure and surviving goblins included... He tried to help me at the end... And in the end, the one that caused things to actually get worse was probably Cindeen and her bad luck streak...

I might need to reconsider my approach in the future... What exactly caused that fight to escalate out of control... He thought I was a villain, and then, he learned Cindeen was part of the Mountaineers or whatever. Then, the fight got worse, and he tried to choke her... By the time I destroyed the structure, we were fighting because we were pissed off by each other...

Was 'evil' actually involved here?

***

"Heeeeey!"

Elma and Cindeen looked up into the sky and saw a giant hawk flapping its wings while magically staying in place.

Cindeen lit up. "That's a Mountaineer, Elma!" Cindeen waved at the black-haired man riding the hawk. "Heeeey! Please, could we get some help?"

"Cindeen? Is that you?! Hold on; we're coming down!"

Cindeen turned to Elma and smiled. "We're getting out of here, Elma! We won't starve!"

Elma sighed and let her head rest against the tree. "So, there was someone who just rides a hawk around? Why not just get him to be a delivery service?"

"Oh, because he's busy, Elma!"

The Mountaineer--Ryder--picked up Elma and Cindeen and ferried them away. According to his story, he had noticed the leyline's stream and went to investigate. He hadn't expected to find Cindeen, a fellow Mountaineer-in-training of all people there.

Cindeen, meanwhile, explained all that she and Elma had encountered, culminating in their encounter with the Goblomancer.

"Someone using the Trevolba Mountain Range to raise strange monsters? Good job putting a stop to that, Cindeen. You'll certainly be an amazing Mountaineer someday if you're beating up baddies now."

"Hehe, thanks, Ryder, but I couldn't do it alone--I had Elma!"

"Right... Elma... Thanks for helping Cindeen."

"You don't need to thank me... Cindeen is powerful all on her own."

"Aww, Elma..."

The trio flew on the back of the hawk towards the village at the foot of the mountain--the village Cindeen was originally supposed to be delivering her parcel to. There were no words to describe her immense fear and subsequent relief upon touching down without incident. So many times she had looked up to the sky for any stray lightning bolts, but nothing ever came. Maybe Cindeen staying still was an important factor in keeping the bad luck from triggering.

Whatever the case, she was happy to be back on land and to be so close to the Mission's completion.

"I'm just going to rest out here," Elma said as she reclined against a tree right outside of the village's entrance.

"Are you sure?" Cindeen whined. "There's a doctor right in the village--"

"Cindeen, please. After the day we've had--please, do not let me walk beside you right now. Let me just rest for a bit. Please. I'm begging you."

Cindeen frowned, almost on the verge of tears.

"Come on, don't make that face... Just bring the doctor here."

"Okay!" Cindeen said. She turned to Ryder. "Let's go! Elma needs a doctor."

Ryder shot Elma a suspicious glance. "Right..."

The two walked away toward the village, and Elma let out a sigh. "Yeah... I'd be concerned if you hadn't found me suspicious."

Elma groaned as she dragged her body behind the tree.

Meanwhile, Ryder voiced his concerns to Cindeen.

"Cindeen, who is Elma?"

"Huh? She was just a traveler who happened to run into me."

"Really? She was traveling in the mountain range dressed like that?"

"Oh..." Cindeen scrunched her face as she searched her memories for an answer.

"And didn't you say you met Elma after you had gotten very lost yourself?"

"Yes?"

"Then, what was Elma doing so far off the beaten trail? She shouldn't have been so deep in our wilds."

"I... hmm..."

"The only people that can be so deep in there are Mountaineers and their affiliates. Everyone else is a trespasser."

"But... Elma helped me." Cindeen turned on her heels and ran toward where she had left Elma.

"Cindeen, wait!"

"No, let's just ask her--I'm sure Elma has a reason." Cindeen smiled, her cheeks the rosiest they had ever been. "Elma's a really nice person! Even if she was a trespasser--I'm sure she had her reasons! Right, Elma--huh?"

The two were standing at the village entrance, both scanning the area for Elma.

"Elma?"

Ryder shook his head. "Her absence is enough of an answer."

"No... I'm sure Elma had her reasons."

Elma was gone, her Mission, ensuring Cindeen reached her destination, having been satisfied.

A short distance away, a certain parrot flapped its wings and lifted off from the village wall it was perched on. It flew over the forests and paths of the mountain range and did not stop until it perched on its master's arm once more.

"So, the two were able to return to civilization," the Goblomancer said. "That's good."

The man was standing in the middle of a dense forest, surrounded by his 'friends,' the goblin amalgamations.

"Something is certainly afoot, isn't it?" he mused to himself. "I have never heard of a person that radiates death itself, but..."

Two of his feathery goblins brought his discarded arm over, bringing with it a patch of the earth it sat on and the black wool that tied the arm and earth together.

"I... believe I once heard of black wool... Was it called the Ram of Disaster? Hmm... Maybe we should leave this mountain range for now."

And so, the Goblomancer set off, his curiosity stoked by the inexplicable things he had encountered on this day.