"I hate meeting this person again… Plus, why am I the one being dragged into this? I can spend my afternoon in another way…" whined Baldwin as they landed in front of a worn-down farm.
The area looked ghastly, as if it had been overrun by moss and whatever nasty thing was around. Bubbles were emerging from the greenish liquid that surrounded a stone hut.
The previous night's dinner chat was chaotic, with Baldwin arguing with Gillian about who should follow Mavislin to see Old Man Pond. With Wald still trying to recover and Tomoe needing to get Phanm proper gear against Magecraft, only a few choices were left.
They had debated that Raiyen should come along, but then he had the issues of the Husks to solve, so the Time Mage left right after dinner. Thus, Baldwin had no choice but to be dragged out by the Valkyrie.
"Because Gillian needs to survey the remaining Domains and help Z with his Mission... The Headmaster is very busy, and you aren't, so here you are. It ain't smelling of roses for me either, so suck it up," spat the Valkyrie as she pushed the vines away to reveal a mossy door.
"Here goes nothing..." said the Angry Man, inhaling deeply.
Mavislin raised her fist to knock on the door like an average person, but Baldwin chose chaos that day and shouted at the top of his lungs for the Poisoned Pond to come out.
"What on God's green earth are you doing?!" shouted Mavislin, kicking the Angry Man away from the door.
"Trying to get his attention? If memory serves, he isn't the type answer to knocking."
"And you're damned right about that... Besides, how did you find this place?" thundered a familiar voice.
Mavislin and Baldwin spun around and assumed a fight stance, only to see Old Man Pond wearing a bathrobe and holding a mug.
"I finally get a rest day for the first time in six months, and I have to be greeted by the same people who nearly hacked my head? Can't you lot leave me at peace already?!" exclaimed Old Man Pond as his bathrobe morphed into his usual armor of green.
"Now, hold up. First, you were the one who pointed your fangs at us. Second, we aren't here to fight you. We are asking for your help against the Tribe," explained Baldwin, trying to avoid conflict as much as possible.
"My help? Isn't the Arks more than capable of extinguishing those mites? Why'd you need me for..." asked the Poisoned Pond, shaking his head.
"The shields around the Tribe Camps are blocking us, and we need extra hands to take them down. And we want to know more about the Tribe since you were the only one who hunted them down back in the day. So..."
The Valkyrie halted mid-sentence as she realized that Old Man Pond wasn't open for discussions at the Tock. She sighed and stood before the Poisoned Pond with her Elemental Aura flaring up.
"Since you aren't the type to chat things out, I would propose a better way to convince you to help us."
"The enemy of our enemy doesn't mean that we are friends, but it would be way better than having a three-way fight," said Mavislin as she placed her hand out as streams of Elemental Energy converged into an orb in her opened palm.
As the streams of golden Elemental Energy were drawn into Mavislin's palm, the streams started to change into rainbow-colored.
"Hear me, the Air Of the Skies. Tell me, the Waters Of Cascadia. Gaze upon me, the Flames Of Helios. Show me the Beauty of Gaia... These are my foundations for using the Amalgamations of Elements... Raise the Four Crowns and close the gates leading to Arcadia!"
"Mystic Tales!" shouted Mavislin as the orb exploded, causing the dirt to kick around.
"I do agree... Well then, I will take up the job if you can force me to surrender to this fight," said Old Man Pond as he summoned his twin serpents to block the debris.
The dust finally settled down and revealed Mavislin holding a beautiful sword, of rainbow-colored blade that seemed to be moving. The Valkyrie swung her arm to clear off the remaining dust fully.
"Fine by me; I'm always itching for a good fight!" yelled Mavislin as she vanished from her spot, breaking the ground beneath her.
"Mystic Tales; Eighth Wing... Harmony of the Fiery Seas!" chanted the Valkyrie as she swung her sword four times horizontally and created eight slashes of fire and water.
The attack headed straight to Pond, who skillfully moved his hands to control his serpents to counter all of it. Baldwin raised his staff to send an explosion of Darkness, but the Poisoned Pond quickly nullified the attack.