THE MOMENT
"Did you say dragon?" Pavette asked the question; but, she wasn't the only one. She was startled by someone else also asking the exact same thing. She'd been walking through the market with her ears more open than her eyes. She stopped to inquire about the rumor and recognized the other student who asked also. He acknowledged her with a polite nod.
"Hah! That got yer interest, eh?" The villager chuckled as he looked at both of them. "The evil knight, Sir Rowinne, holds a powerful dragon imprisoned in a nearby tower," he said.
"Whe-," Pavette began to ask the question; but, she interrupted herself and glanced to the side.
"Go ahead," he nodded and gave her a friendly smile. She did not hesitate to continue and focused on the Villager again.
"Where can I find the tower?" she asked.
"No one knows," he shrugged with a smile. "It's said only a Prince or Princess is perceptive enough to see the tower. It could be right outside town," he gestured to the north gate of the village just ahead. "...and we'd never know it." As soon as he said it, a black tower appeared for Pavette to see.
"Thank you," she ignored the Villager and turned to the other student. "I'm Pavette, from the AlterNet Crew. I don't know if you remember me, you're on the Solar Council, right?" Their teams had recently competed; but, she didn't get a chance to talk to any of her opponents.
"You are correct, Miss," he grinned and gave a formal, properly elegant half-bow. "My name is Rigel," he said.
"Thank you for letting me go first," she brought up her appreciation again. "Are you a Prince?... Paladin Prince?" she asked as she deliberately studied him up and down as if assessing him. She knew all about his AlterNet character; but, she was moving the conversation to bring up the tower.
"And, you're a Spellslinger Princess," he nodded. "We didn't get to meet at the match; but, you were great," he added.
"Yeah.... sorry about Eph," she apologized for her team leader. He made sure the teams didn't interact too much.
"Yeah," Rigel laughed with a nod. "Sorry we kicked your butt," he said. He said it with a matter-of-fact tone, as if that were the only, inevitable outcome. It was just the right mix of condescension and sincerity to make her laugh too.
"Just don't start thinking it'll happen every time," Pavette replied. She had no deep loyalty for her team, and she didn't really care about the school leaderboard all that much. But, something about Rigel made her feel playful. "I'm improving my build as we speak," she gestured at the villager.
"I'm on the same quest," Rigel nodded. "Wanna team up?" he asked.
"YesNO!" she answered without thinking first, and the invitation was rejected as soon as it appeared in her vision. "Sorry!" she shook her head to apologize.
"I would like to...," she sighed. "But, Eph won't let us party with anyone not aligned with us. According to him, 'other teams don't need our help getting their points'," she said. "We need his approval to join a group."
"Oh, well, we don't need to group up," Rigel shrugged. "He can't say anything if I just happen to be in the same location, and accidentally buff or heal you sometimes," he said. Then, he turned to the villager.
"Did you say Dragon?"
"Hah! That got yer interest, eh?" The villager chuckled as he looked at Rigel. "The evil knight, Sir Rowinne, holds a powerful dragon imprisoned in a nearby tower," he said.
"Thank you," Pavette smiled with the appreciation. She had been worried about facing the quest alone, but the rest of her team was busy.
"Where can I find the tower?" he asked the villager first, then grinned at Pavette while the villager explained what little he knew.
"You're welcome," he nodded. "What kind of Prince would I be, if I left a beautiful Princess to face danger alone?"