Compass Kingdoms

"I suppose that's enough meat…" Replied Gordon, releasing a bead of sweat to go from his hair and down to ride from his forehead and off below where it hit the ground with a nice 'thwip!' and the gladiator began to dig into his food as the girl explained the current situation about Kleenexe, and how the mad villain was considering he was starting up some newfound chaos in the southern kingdom. It was the home of many terrible things as it was, like the Jersians of the New Jersey Empire, and that was only one of the many problems they could face, like the Crimson-Throats and their xenophobic ways, their mountain-billy daughters probably dedicated fans of WGF like any other, prepared to kidnap and rape Gordon or anyone else from his current profession. Plus, there was supposedly a clan of dragon hating hate-monger organization said to have been led by a 'Grand Scorpion' Beast.

"Alright…Things seem pretty damn grim what with the fact the southern kingdom is a shit-hole…But I think if we pull together, we'll pull this thing off, no matter how dangerous Kleenexe makes himself out to be. We're gonna find this motherfucker, and mount his head on a wall, and fuck it like a train!"

He raised up his drinking stein, and roared with the fury of B-movie actor Reb Brown.

Gordon's little speech actually seemed like it would go somewhere at first, but once he mentioned mounting Cleenexe's head on a wall (among other things Aerak wouldn't dare to repeat) the moment was more or less totally gone. But still, going down to the savage south was as good an excuse as any to burn or crush any obstacles on their way to the evil sorcerer with little to no qualms. Okay, something did need to be sorted out about making Sakura and her idol a little more inconspicuous. Aerak wasn't that much of a celebrity, so he was relatively safe. There was still that dragon-slayer cult, but Aerak doubted that they'd faced a real dragon before.

"As crazy as this plan sounds... I think it just might work. If we keep a low profile, and stay clear of any major settlements, I reckon we'd be able to find him sooner or later. All that's left now is to make preparations before setting off." And without another word, Aerak left the table to get himself ready for the journey ahead.

Sakura clapped when Gordon finished his speech. It was empowered, exactly what she had expected from somebody like him. It didn't matter that it ended with something a little...less than decent in the presence of a princess. She didn't really see herself as much as a princess, so it wasn't a big deal to her. It was still an amazing speech that made her fearless to go into the terrifying south kingdom. But she quickly stopped herself when she saw that Aerak seemed unamused by it, and set back to eating some cake.

She had been thinking while the boys both gave their piece. Should she share her plan? It went against what Aerak said about keeping a low profile, but it was the most direct and surest way to come into contact with the evil man. Maybe she should wait. It could be their last resort, their Plan B. But still...

"Uhmm, actually," she started but was interrupted by Aerak getting up and leaving the two by themselves. Awhh, she said in her mind, bummed out by not getting to share her ideas. Oh well. They were going to be spending a lot of time together, so it could wait for later. She stood up and starting scooping food into boxes to make plenty of lunches for their journey. She wasn't going to let them go hungry!

"If you need anything to get ready, any clothes or any food requests or anything, the castle is at your disposal!" she told Gordon with a smile. She was a natural when it came to entertaining guests even though she had lived by herself for a big part of her older life. It was an instinct that came with the royal blood line.

"Alright, awesome: now Aerak just needs to place a cannon on his body as a weapon in dragon form, Then Sakura and I will pack Flintlocke Shotguns. Don't rely on them though, they're just to ward off the spammy lot…of low level enemies. We must watch out for the various dark weapons of the south, including the techniques of my rivals from back in the competition, seeing as the south obsess over it much worse than a fire near some tankards of oil…Then there's the arrows that can block out the sun!…Among various other things that horrify me to no end, but I'm sure we can handle it, come what may!"

Gordon hopped up off his feet, and turned away to look for an armory. Cleenexe had a secret hidden underground criminal safe house with weapons and supplies. In all honesty though, Cleenexe really didn't understand the point of it, even after all his 'allies' used it so often, Cleenexe himself too busy doing leisurely things with his time. He ignored the safe house much like his interest in kidnapping Sakura.

Gordon continued down through a spiraling staircase hidden off behind a portrait of the Man-Bat, a popular magical hero from Gothic Kingdom who ruled his land via fear and violence. Gordon could only salute the portrait before entering, and digging around...

Having left the table first, Aerak had gone straight up to the top of the tallest tower in the castle. Of course, using the stairs would have taken too long, so instead he used the elevator that had been installed during the renovations. Never again would one have to be tired out from climbing gods know how many flights of stairs!

Once he had reached the top floor, Aerak entered the observatory there. Even though it was mainly used for its intended purpose, he kept a stash of important items and even a few artefacts he had obtained decades ago. Aerak went to the chest in the room, carefully removed the contents (just a few assorted tunics and robes; nothing of value) before gently prying open the chest's false bottom. From there it was pretty straightforward: grab the stuff, replace everything, and go meet up with the others. The artefacts he had collected were two magical amulets. One was a silver four-pointed star with a shimmering sapphire set in its centre, supposedly able to boost the magical powers of its wearer, if they had any in the first place. The other amulet was a simple yin-yang made of clay that had been imbued with magical energies that would (in theory) protect its wearer from harm, specifically from dark energies. The dragon pocketed both items and made his way back down.

Along the way, he had decided to stop by at one of his many wardrobes. Aerak wasn't usually one for vanity, but he felt that the whole quest should be treated as a special occasion, and as such, required the proper attire. Once he reached the castle's front door, he was clad in a dark blue robe with gold trim that looked pretty ancient, yet still kept in decent condition. Who knows how long Aerak's had that thing with him? Either way, Sakura knew that it was one of his all-time favourites of the collection. When someone puts that much effort in dressing to kill someone, one can be pretty damn sure that they mean business.