Return and Meeting

The team, plus their newest acquaintance, began the return to the town. On the way back to town Yuri had come up with a few ideas for the town he decided to bounce off of Selvina. But before that, he decided to learn a bit more about his traveling companions. “So,” said Yuri turning his attention to Althana, “what inspired you to head up this way and make your proposition?”

“Oh, that,” said Althana, not expecting this line of dialogue, “my research indicated the area was rich in materials for the construction of the atelier, along with various other materials for my alchemical studies. Especially, what I think might be a key ingredient for something I happened upon a year or two ago,” she pulled her bag in front of her and began rummaging through it as she continued to walk with the rest of the group, “I don’t don’t know what to call it yet, I’m just referring to it as Experimental Batch 25143,” she pulled out glass alchemical tool that looked like a cross between a beaker and a vial, Yuri had no idea what the tool was called and figured it was likely unique to this particular setting if it didn’t actually exist in a chemical lab somewhere back on Earth. The glass container had what looked like a glossy black substance that Althana plopped in her hand before returning the tool to her bag and securing it in its position within the carrier within the bag itself. The object she had just poured into her hand was a solid black disc almost three inches thick.

The gnome began to demonstrate the item before passing it along to towards Yuri, briefly passing into Thelsia’s hands on its way to Yuri, “This is a most unusual item,” said Thelsia as she felt the rough yet smooth sensation of the object, and briefly feeling its firm yet springy properties.

“Yeah,” said Althana, “but I have sent some copies of my notes to the academic communities I’m more in touch with just a few months before I headed up here.”

A moment later, the disc reached Yuri’s hand, and after some similar examinations to Thelsia’s, plus a quick sniff test to check its scent, he almost dropped the disc in surprise, “I know what this is,” said Yuri in confused surprise.

“Really,” inquired the rest of the group almost at once.

“Uh, yeah,” said Yuri, “it’s a material called ‘Latex’ and I’m more than a little surprised you managed to happen upon a formula for it.”

“Care to elaborate a bit,” inquired Thelsia.

“I’m going to work through some context a bit before getting to the explanation,” said Yuri, “are you all okay with that?”

“Yes,” said all the women in unison.

“Alright then,” said Yuri, “first, for starters, in the world I grew up in,” this earned a brief quizzical look from Alma but she decided that was unimportant and she would get filled in on those sorts of details later, “there is a tropical plant we call a ‘Rubber Tree,’ I’m sure there could be similar plants in this world, and it got its name for the nature of what its sap does when you apply a bit of heat to it or cook it, it’s shock absorbent and can support the weight placed on it, it is also bouncy, and the bouncy level can actually be impacted based on different methods of processing and cooking the sap.”

“Sounds useful,” said Thelsia, “but that’s a harvestable material from a plant, not something an alchemist can make with supplies, materials, and the like.”

“That was all the context,” said Yuri as he continued, “latex is a sort of artificial rubber created in a lab, it’s usually not quite as durable as natural rubber, so its uses aren’t as varied as rubber itself.”

“That actually makes a lot of sense,” said Althana.

“Kind of amusing you discovered the substitute before the genuine article,” said Alma with a bit of a chuckle.”

“Once I figure out how to better produce the material,” said Althana, “I’ll share my discovery in a more official capacity within academia.”

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After what felt like more hours than it actually was, the group finally returned to town and made their way to the guild hall. The sun was starting to set and turn the sky into a vibrant collection of pinks, purples, blues, and greens. The group got a few quick looks from the guild staff when they arrived before being directed up to the guild master’s office.

Almost as soon as they entered the office, Selvina said, “Looks like you picked up another partner,” her eyes roamed and explored Alma’s figure for a bit longer than the group was comfortable as the last of them to enter, Lithira, closed the door behind them. The wolf woman then continued, still in nothing but a set of lacy blue lingerie, “I approve, it’s not often we see Lionfolk in the area,” she turned her attention to the rest of the party, “what do you have to report?”

“That dungeon is insane,” said Usagi, “it seems to randomize its floor plan at sporadic intervals, and has a trap that will simultaneously place members of a party in separate rooms while also rearranging its own layout. From what we managed to gather, thanks to comparing the notes of the last record of the dungeon’s layout, chambers and rooms that were on one floor won’t differentiate too much from the floor they are initially on but some will change the floor they are on and the floors themselves will shuffle their orientation to each other.”

“With the only real exception,” said Yuri, “being the entry-level of the dungeon. It also seems to pull in folks from other dungeons at random intervals, based on what we’ve learned from Alma,” he gestured to the topless lion woman, “in my opinion, whatever team the guild decides to assess the dungeon should be going in with that in mind.”

“Agreed,” said the scantily clad wolf woman, “now then,” she turned her attention towards Alma, “I’ll see about arranging a room for you to make use of for the night. I’ll also fill you in on the necessary information regarding Yuri.” Selvina turned her attention towards Althana, “The materials for your building projects have been moved to the requested locals.”

“Much appreciated,” said Althana as she readied herself to leave, turning her attention towards Alma, “hey, muscles,” the lion woman turned her head towards the gnome in a bit of surprise, “if you need anything to do in the coming days, you can help out with my building projects. Once we get the atelier up and running, you can use one of the bonus rooms so you don’t have to deal with the inn too long.” The lion woman gave a gracious nod of gratitude.

“On another note,” said Yuri, “I think I’ve come up with some name for the town to try out; since Dancer is also necessary for deciding the name for the town, could you set up the meeting with all the required individuals for this sort of decision?”

“Sure,” said Selvina, “it might take a few days.”

“I don’t mind,” said Yuri, “and sorry for putting so much on your plate.”

“Sometimes a big meal can be beneficial,” said Selvina, “so long as you don’t try to stuff yourself too fast, and my experiences have taught me how to be a more careful eater.”