The Forgotten Zodiac

Aries hesitated, but slowly slid her legs down onto solid ground. She stuck close to the tree, but slowly reached out a hand to pet the dog. Gumpy laid down and crawled forward on his stomach, trying to look as cute as possible. Aries slowly reached down to pet him, scratching him behind the ears, much to his pleasure. "Okay..." Aries said after a few minutes. "He's kinda nice."

"Yay!" Arachne clapped happily. "Everything is working out so nicely. Lumpy, Gumpy, we can't find Verolen. When we're ready, do you think you could track him down for us?"

"YES!" Gumpy barked.

"Certainly, lady Arachne." Lumpy snorted.

"He can do that?" Rush blinked.

"Yesyesyes, anywhere in the entire world." Gumpy nodded seriously. "Anywhere!"

Byrne smiled. "That's convenient," he said, going over to stand by Aries, in case she was still nervous. "Isn't it? Maybe he can also tell us who's with Verolen. Can you? If it's someone you've met before, you'd know their scent or something?" he asked.

"No. I just track people. I have to learn their scents before I can." Lumpy nodded. "I can tell you that he's in the ocean. Pretty far from here." He sat up and scratched behind his ears just to make sure the itching was gone. "But he's alive. I can tell you that."

"He's...in the water?" Aries blinked.

"Yep. The scent is salty, so I assume it's Oceanica. I can lead you as far as the spot he's in, but I cannot dive or anything. Swimming is not hard, though..."

"...perhaps we should wait for L'arc and Sylas to join us," Byrne said, looking around at the group. Eve nodded to him, so he continued. "I mean, I'm sure they wouldn't want to miss out on our big reunion," he said, smiling a bit. "And we know that the last place that we saw Israel, Verdi, and Bermuda was in Oceanica. If we need to get them out of some sort of trouble, we could use the help."

"Right," Arachne nodded.

"Sylas isn't going to be of much help. He doesn't like water almost as much as Verolen doesn't." Aries reminded them, backing up a pace when Gumpy stood and shook out his fur.

"I like water!" Gumpy proclaimed loudly. "I like it a lot, I do. Swimming is fun!"

"We also might need a boat...just maybe." Rush said, obviously sarcastic for the 'maybe' parts.

"Well, didn't Gabe say that there's a selkie at the Manakete palace as well? Quay, was it? I bet he could help!" Eve chimed in, smiling as she thought of this.

"Quay is okay...kind of odd, and he's mean to Israel, though." Arachne pouted. "I don't like him."

"We should get him back home, though. Poor kid." Aries tutted.

"I like fish!" Gumpy barked.

"He's a selkie, which means a seal, not a fish," Eve gently explained to the Cerberus. She then looked up to the group. "He's our best bet. I'm pretty sure he could arrange a ride to Rasalhauge for us."

"But...fish." Gumpy tilted his head, not quite understanding.

"Right. We might as well tell Sylas and L'arc to get a move on, then." Rush shrugged.

"And Gabe." Aries said pointedly.

"Right. Him, too. Didn't he say he was working on his magic? That's good news for me, I could use a nice healing spell..."

"I thought I heard something like that," Byrne said, watching as Aries dug out her sending stone. "I suppose they'll be here soon enough, and we can see for ourselves."

Aries was quick to call them, and Sylas picked up with his usual 'yellow' greeting. "Hey, Sylas. Any plans to move out, yet?"

"No. Are you ready for us, then?" Sylas sounded inqusitive. A bit tired, too, perhaps.

"Yeah. By the time you get here, the Tree of Seasons will be in full bloom, and we'll be ready to leave."

"Gotcha. We'll set our sights that way. Oh, by the way, we found Verolen, Bermuda, Israel and Verdi." Sylas said. "Bermuda's in Foamalought, Israel and Verdi are a little outside it, and Verolen...is in a trench."

"Orange!" Byrne shouted in reply to Sylas's answer, grinning a bit at his own joke. He listened for a moment, then nodded. "I see, we've heard some of the same stuff from Lumpy and Gumpy."

"...who?" L'arc asked, his voice cutting in over Sylas's.

((Bermuda was in Fomalought.))

((Consarnit, I can never remember the names...))

"It's Aries and Arachne." Sylas answered his friend. "They want us to move out soon."

"Yeah. You two be careful, though...I have no idea who or what you could possibly run into. You know where we are, right, Sylas?" Aries questioned.

"I wouldn't be a Forester if I didn't know where the ancient ones are, Aries. And the Tree of Seasons is the most ancient of them all."

"Good. Glad you know him. Just...get here quick."

((Consarnit? Never heard that one. XD))

"We'll bring Gabe." L'arc said. "And Quay, right? We might be able to convince Minori to send one of the Manakete with us, as well..."

"Jerod, bring Jerod!" Gabe's shirll voice cut in, coming over loud and clear over the stone.

((Neither have I.))

"Jerod? Isn't he getting...old?" Aries blinked, then smiled. "But I suppose he's been helping Gabe with his magic. Alright then, bring Jerod along if you want. The more the merrier...and stronger. Hurry up and get here."

((XD.

I have a horrible feeling about this next mission.))

Gabe let out a cheer, then the connection between the stones went dead, as the trip went to get ready to leave the Manakete Palace.

"Well, easy enough," Byrne said.

((We are KINDA going to all the wrong places. xD))

"Yep. All we've gotta do now is wait." Aries leaned back against the tree, smiling a bit.

"So...they're ready for us to come, then?" Jerod blinked, then smiled a bit. "Right, then. I suppose I can come..."

Gabe clapped happily. "I'm so glad!" he said, throwing his arms around Jerod's waist. "I would miss you if I had to leave!"

Jerod smiled. "And I'd miss you, little student. Oh, tell you what; I've been meaning to give you this," He rummaged in his bag for a moment, then handed a slip of paper to Gabe. "This is a stronger version of your shield. You can make it large to cover many people, but the larger it is, the weaker it will be. Cast it on a single person, and they'll be practically invincible for as long as you can continue the spell. You should be able to do it on your own. Try it," He encouraged, smiling.

"Oh!" Gabe cheered. "This will help a lot!" He smiled up at Jerod. "Thank you so much!" He grabbed Jerod in another hug, then pulled back and looked at the paper. "This doesn't look too hard. I think I can do it!" He sat down and studied the paper a while longer as he and Jerod waited for L'arc and Sylas to give the orders that they were moving out.