Appear home, albeit dripping wet.

As you appear so suddenly in the center of Castle Phoenix, those around you turn their heads swiftly to check out what exactly is happening. Doors open, and people emerge from between buildings as they notice the return of their Demon King. You stand rather uncomfortably in waterlogged armour. You hadn't noticed it before due to the magic necklace you wear, but you've never been more wet than you are presently. Water runs down from your hair into your eyes, and your clothing clings to your skin. The first thing you do is slam down the trunk of coins and gems, and stretch your body back while getting used to using your legs on land again.

Candy wipes her forehead as she struggles with the same. Somehow her makeup doesn't run at all. "Whew. Yeah the worst part is getting back."

Snow seems the least affected. Her hair clings to her forehead, though with her normal attire appearing somewhat like a one piece swimsuit already, her slender figure is unhindered by the water rolling down her skin. She does, however, look down at the conch she was suddenly given before the teleport.

You pluck the Shard of Draconax from the rest of the loot and carry it over to Snow. "What is that?" you ask, gazing down at what's in her hand.

"Oh! I know what that is!" Candy says as she hops up and down. "It's a Magic Conch. If you put your lips as close as possible to the opening and speak, the message will come out of the shell's twin, whoever has it. And it works both ways, of course."

"May I?" you ask before Snow places the shell into your empty hand. You lower the Shard, and then bring the so-called Magic Conch up near your lips. It's striped pink and white, though upon closer inspection, there are tiny, intricate patterns covering the entire shell. Even from this distance, it sounds like the ocean is roaring from inside. So you clear your throat, bring it in closer, and then speak. "Heelllloooooooooo~!" you call out.

After a moment, it responds.

"What sort of improper greeting is that?" snaps back a voice. It's Gwynevere. "You are speaking to the Demon King of the deep sea. If you must send me a message this way, you may start it with something such as... Greetings, Queen of the Deep. I am not worthy, oh Lady of Shadows. I desire to speak with you, Your Majesty."

You stare down at the shell for a good, long moment before responding. "I'm not saying any of those things. Also, presumably you're the one who sent this to me, but it isn't like I was told who was on the other side."

"How dare--!" But there's another pause. "Fine. I, the gorgeous and powerful Demon King Gwynevere, has gifted you with this means of communication between us. As we are both Demon Kings of our respective domains, we may find it beneficial to have contact with one another. But you must only send me a message if it is important. Do I make myself clear?"

"That sounds good to me, honestly. I already have a means of communication with three other Demon Kings technically. Even Elok Daven, if he were to answer. You're right. It's probably a good idea."

"I am not the first... Ah yes. Of course. Well, you are not my first either. Is that clear?"

"Okay?"

"Continue with your business up on land then, Demon King Warren."

"And good luck with what you have going on down there too, Gwyn."

You get no answer after that.

Unable to take the feeling anymore, you drop the shell and shard back onto the chest and then kick off your boots and peel down your socks before dumping and squeezing what feels like a gallon of water out from them. Though as you finish, you look to the side to see a cloud of smoke, as well as an adorable, bright red maid waiting to aid you. She tugs on your sleeve with eyes of concern. It warms your heart, though her touch also warms your skin.

"Master," she says quietly. "Please. Let me start drying those clothes immediately."

You chuckle. "All right. Thank you, Yin. That does sound good."

She starts tugging a little more firmly as her eyes flutter closed, and she smiles. "You should take it all off now, Master, before you catch a cold."

"Cool down for a second, little devil. We just need to take care of something first. Can you do something for me?"

Immediately, she straightens up and salutes. "I can, Master!"

"Please. If you can, inform Laira that we'll need some sort of way to safely and securely mount the Shard of Draconax to where a barrier can ward Castle Phoenix from any dragon attacks. Also, I have some treasure-counting for Stax too."

"You can count on me, Master, but please don't keep walking around in cold, wet clothing."

"All right. You can count on me too."

She smiles wide and hurries off.

Candy finally speaks up again. "I should be going now too, Kyle. This was a wild adventure. I kinda forgot what one felt like. I mean, I do all sorts of fun stuff on my own, but I haven't travelled with an adventuring party in so long, and the Circle can be so boring. Not you, though. You're fun. But I do have to say, I want those magic necklaces back. I only have a few after all."

"Can I keep it if I ask really nicely?"

"No. But how about this? If you return them, I'll give you something better the next time we meet."

Snow nods and removes hers. After you watch that, you sigh and do the same. "Fine, fine. Thanks for the help, Lady Cane," you say with a smirk.

She grins wide as she takes them. "No problem, King Warren. I hope we can have fun together again soon. Next time, bring me along with a different party. I wanna see how many of your friends I can really mess with."

"Only if you're good."

"Sorry. No can do." She pulls down one of her eyelids and sticks out her tongue. Then she turns around and smacks her own butt. "Being good isn't fun~!" And then without even a formal goodbye, there's a spark in her eye, and then she disappears into a cloud of sparkles, as well as with a single honk.