Clean up.

Late afternoon has come. Autumn paired with the location of your home means the sun sets rather early now. It's already getting dark, though it matters little given how many magic flames and enchanted lamps you have throughout Castle Phoenix, both inside and out. They were present before, though with your growing treasury and open trade, the furnishings of both people's homes and the winding streets have greatly improved. The lights, the buildings, and the many flowers and other plants grown by peony make for a beautiful little village. While the tall, dark stone walls used to house a wicked Demon King, you've long since ousted the previous owner, and now it far more resembles a slice of Heaven than Hell.

The previous night may have gotten rowdy, but there isn't too much to clean. Some things were burned, and you're finding a lot of fragments broken off plates, mugs, and even weapons, but it could have been far worse. More damage was done by Elok Daven, or even Lord Vraelion. This is nothing. And with everybody helping, it'll be back to normal in no time at all. Even plenty of the visiting merchants are are willing to aid you given how fun the party was.

Captain Silver, the blue buxom beauty from across the sea, approaches you with her tricorn hat pressed against her chest. She smiles and bows politely. "Well, I think I need to offer you my thanks. That was an even more wild party than the ones we've had on our ship. As for those things me and the others broken, I already offered your treasurer some coin. What's treasure hunting for, except to pay off damages after drinking?" Yet despite her jovial tone, there's a strange glint in her eyes. Something seems to be off.

"You can stay as long as you'd like," you say.

"We best head off as soon as possible, to be honest. This was wonderful, but our home is the ocean. And the longer I stay, the more I'll yearn."

"Feel free to visit anytime."

"Thank you. I will." She places her hat back upon her head and turns to step away. Through the moment after she does, she stops. She sighs. Then, she turns back around again. "There is one thing I'd like to discuss with you."

"What is it?" you ask.

"It's about Xue." She places her hands on her hips, and takes in a deep breath. "He wants to stay."

Xiaoqing doesn't want to go with her crew? "Oh. This was something he discussed with you last night I assume."

"He tried, but he had to wait until not long ago, given the festivities. It was a long talk. Actually, we only just finished speaking about it about half an hour ago. Since then, I've been pondering his words. They make perfect sense. He's always been adrift, trying to find where to go, and now he's found somebody he can relate to more than anybody else. It's just hard to say goodbye."

"It doesn't have to be a goodbye. You know where to find us, and that can't have been the last party we have."

"You've got a way with words."

Fava comes hustling over, piloting her humanoid form. Beside her is Mole, and not far is Laira.

"We got something to show you!" shouts the pixie. In that exact moment, her wings eject from behind her back, either by accident or dramatic flair. Either way, she doesn't react to it, though the smithy behind her flinches back as she's almost smacked in the face. In her hand is a buttoned purple bag. She hops up and down with excitement. "Let me put this down somewhere, and we'll open her up."

Captain Silver chuckles. "What are you girls up to, Mole?"

The engineer wipes her brow. "Last night, she was showing me all the stuff she's made, and I admit, she was already pretty closed to finishing this one."

"I worked the metal," Laira speaks up bashfully with a hand in the air.

Fava chuckles and wraps an arm around her shoulder. "I couldn't have finished it without you~!"

The group wanders over to a bench nearby. Fava places down the bag, pops the button, and retrieves just a few of something there are more of inside. Each is identical--a small metal slab, rounded along the sides as to not cut one's hands--and she hands one of them over to you. At first it doesn't seem like much. Though upon closer inspection, you can make out one name written near the top. It says, "Captain Silver".

Fava then hands the aforementioned captain a slab of her own.

She looks it over. "Hm. This thing says your name, Kyle. Did I get the wrong one?"

Very confident in her work, Fava places a hand to her chest and smiles smugly. "They're Sending Stones. Well, they're better than those, but it's the same idea."

You look over the craftsmanship closely. It isn't just a smooth, empty plate. There are intricate carvings. Near the bottom, there's a tiny, subtle pair of lips, and along the right side, the same goes for an ear, much like the item she referenced. This looks far fancier and more complex than the Sending Stone in your pocket, however. And with the name on the top, you have a general idea of where this is going already.

Mole grabs her captain by her arm. "If you push the name and project your mind to wherever he might be, it'll request a link. Give it a try."

"All righty then." Captain Silver places her thumb against the name Kyle Warren.

When she does, you feel the slab in your hand vibrate. Energy swirls in the center. These crazy girls actually invented the cellphone. Kinda.

You press to answer, and then hold it near the side of your head. "Can you hear me?" you ask.

Captain Silver's eyebrows raise. "Definitely better than a Sending Stone! Or at the very least, it looks prettier."

"It's better because we made it," says Fava. "Also because you can write in as many names as you can fit. We'll hand these out and link them up to our allies, and we can speak to each other any time. If you use them for too long, they do eventually run out of juice, but they naturally recharge. The more supplies I get, the more of these babies I can produce. It'd be extremely expensive to give one to everybody here... but you are the Hero King. Maybe that isn't such a crazy goal after all."

"... May I have one? I'll pay," comes a quiet voice from the side.

Xue stands there, of course still garbed to the nines. Only a select few still know his true identity.

"I'll leave it up to Kyle," answers Fava. "I've got a handful of them made, so unless you've got a bunch of people you wanna get these to right away, feel free to be liberal with it. And you've already got those magic mirrors for communication with William and Vex, right?

You nod. "Definitely give one to Xue."

She looks to you with eyes which speak more to you than any other watching. Though she says nothing aloud, it's clear she wishes to thank you in some way.

"It's all right, Xue," you say softly. "Take it. Now you and Captain Silver can--"

The captain wraps her arms around you from behind, pushing hard into your back. Then so quietly that you can barely hear beyond the smack of her lips, she whispers right into your ear. "The next time we meet, I'll give you a time you'll never forget." Then with a smack on your shoulder, she once again removes her hat to sweep through the air as she calls out to her scattered crew. "Once things are all cleaned up here, we're heading out, Silver Hunters!"

You look to Fava with a smile. "A great invention."

"Well, to be fair, I based it off one that already existed. Though the more I hear you talk about Earth, the more excited I get. What kinda technology do you have there, I wonder."

"So what do you call these things?"

"Oh yeah! They're called Fava's Oral Network Expatiater."

"... Is that last thing a real word?"

"Maybe. Maybe not."

"Well, this uh... FONE, as you call it, will prove to be a valuable tool I'm sure. I'll leave my Sending Stone behind then. Thanks again, everyone who helped. Between these, the manga, some of Luna's outfits, and the game consoles, it's feeling more like home every day."

You look down at the shiny slab of beautiful metal. Right below where it reads the name of Captain Silver, it also says Xue. You decide it's best to keep her alias there instead of her true name. The same, though with your name instead, is written on theirs. You can now communicate with any of them whenever you desire, as long as they're free to answer the call.