//------------------------------// // Chapter 12: Search Party // Story: Realm of the Lost // by Orsuros //------------------------------// A good deal. Starlight gets the better amulet, and Gallus and Yona get good items.  Gallus was happy to finally be done with the negotiations. It felt wrong to give up the limited and special magic that the Tree of Harmony had given to them, so Gallus and his friends decided on the more moderately priced option. “Here’s the contract for the one favor you will all owe me,” Grandeur said. “Once signed, it will also include Yona. She agreed to have you negotiate for her, so my magic can extend to her in this situation.” Gallus looked it over. They’d owe Grandeur one specific task of his choosing before they went back home. Gallus had made sure that the task couldn’t take longer than three days, but he hadn’t been able to get Grandeur to budge on the clause stating that the task might be dangerous. He had got the concession that it wouldn’t be anything against their morals. A small addition at the bottom of the contract made them promise to try to convince Celestia to let Grandeur do business in Equestria again.  Grandeur produced a quill and ink, and Gallus signed the contract. Starlight and Silverstream signed it, too. “Now we’re in business,” Grandeur said. “As agreed by word and contract, I seal this agreement on you.” The griffon held up the signet hanging around his neck. He stamped the paper with his mark. The stamp glowed golden and a beam of magic shot out from it to Gallus’s front foot. The same stamp that was on the paper was now in the center of Gallus’s foot. Silverstream and Starlight both stared at the same mark on their own front feet. A stream of the golden magic shot off into the distance, probably toward Yona. “What did you just do?” Starlight asked. “A simple but powerful magic.” Grandeur held up his signet. “This makes sure that you can’t break the contract. I can’t either. It’s good business to make sure everyone stays honest. And now for me to fulfill my part of the deal. Glissanda, bring me seven basic packs of supplies for our friends and their lost friends. While you do that, I’ll figure out what other items I’ll be parting with. Here’s the amulet I promised.” Grandeur carefully placed the platinum amulet around Starlight’s neck. The gems on it crackled with magical power but settled down a moment later. “It should allow you full access to all the magic you carry, but only in limited amounts. It may take time to recharge if you use it that way. It will also allow you to use your own magic normally and remove any of the negative effects of holding in so much magic.” Starlight rubbed it softly with a hoof and smiled. “Thank you. It will be a great help in protecting the students and Equestria’s magic.” “And for you, Silverstream, I was told you took an interest in the Paintbrush of Tranquil Shoal.” Grandeur pulled the golden paintbrush out of his bag and handed it over. “It’s said that paintings that come from the heart take special life with the magic in this brush. I’m not a good enough artist to make it work for me, but I’ve seen what it can do. And it doesn’t need any paint.” Silverstream waved the brush in the air. “Wow! This is so cool!” She quickly painted a little pony on the ground. With a flash of magic, it turned into what looked like a real miniature pony. It galloped around the tent, but it vanished after a minute. Grandeur chuckled. “That’s more than I could ever do with it. It could be very helpful if you think creatively. And for your yak friend, I have these horn rings. They disperse harmful magic and should be valuable in protecting her. Starlight, you can hold onto them for her.” Grandeur handed over two large golden rings. They were studded with small emeralds. The last item he pulled out of his bag was a thin golden circlet with a sapphire in the center. He placed it on top of Gallus’s head. “And for such a promising young griffon, I present the Circlet of Leadership. With its magic, you should be able to inspire those around you to do great things.” Gallus couldn’t help but smile as the older griffon patted his shoulder. The faint rustle of feathers outside the tent indicated that Glissanda had returned. She tossed a pile of saddlebags into the tent. “Here you go,” she said. “Basic supplies for you.” “And your lost friends,” Grandeur added. “I shall expect you to do your part of our bargain once you find them and return here. For now, Glissanda will take you to Yona. I wish you all the best of luck in finding what you need, but I have other business to see to.” Grandeur picked up his bag and rubbed one of his rings. The leftover food and drink vanished along with the fancy plates. Saffron squeaked as the plate in his hands vanished. As Grandeur left, several of the bronze statues followed him. “Okay, I don’t have much time to waste either,” Glissanda said. “Here’s what we’ll do. With a powerful unicorn like you, we can use your magic to teleport to the linked coin I gave to Yona.” Glissanda held up a gold coin. Starlight took it and studied it closely. She touched her horn to it and nodded. “I can feel the connection. I should be able to teleport us all there. Everyone get close to me.” “You’ll need to try from outside the walls. We have wards in place to prevent teleportation into or out of here.” They followed Glissanda until they passed through the gate. They looked out over the plains outside The Bazaar. They stepped closer to Starlight as her horn crackled and glowed. With a loud pop, they appeared a few miles further down the brick road. The grassy plains were thinning to a dry desert. “Sorry,” Starlight said. “I didn’t quite get it. One more try should do it.” She grunted from the effort of focusing her magic and tried the spell again. (Starlight loses 1 stamina.) Gallus closed his eyes. The unsettling pull of the teleport tugged at his stomach. He opened his eyes a moment later as colder air suddenly surrounded him. They were in a set of rocky hills that rose above the distant desert. Sharp mountains climbed higher in front of them. The heavy steps of Yona nearby were hard to miss. Gallus looked around one of the pine trees and spotted Yona. A strange spirit was leading her up a dirt path. Go slowly and hope Gallus and Starlight catch up. The creature hissed as it spotted their group. It waved its hooves in the air. A small swirl of icy air blew through the trees, but it wasn’t cold enough to hurt Gallus. “Let’s save Yona!” Gallus shouted. “Get it!” The wind seemed to have startled Silverstream. She did nothing, but Saffron rushed forward with Gallus. Gallus swiped with his talons, but the misty form of the spirit swirled around his attack. Saffron’s spear didn’t do any better. The windigo faded from view. Gallus looked all around to see where it had gone, but he saw nothing. “Friends back!” Yona shouted. “You scared away the windigo!” “Not quite,” Starlight said. “It’s up there!” Starlight pointed to the top of a nearby hill. The windigo was glaring at them. “Yona was following the windigo. Yona think mountains good place to find Smolder.” “So you were following an evil ice spirit?” Gallus asked. “Yes. Yona knew she was bad, but she knew the best ways to go up to the mountains.” Starlight pointed up the path. “We better go after her quickly if we don’t want her to get away. But are you sure anyone ended up in these mountains?” “Yona not sure, but windigo had trap ready. Yona think windigo was looking for someone.” The windigo was starting to fly away, so they’d need to move quickly to catch up to it. Capture and question the windigo. Follow the windigo into the mountains. Try to convince Yona to look elsewhere for missing friends.