Now getting to be known as a problem solver, especially among the noble families in various cities, Aledüne had made quite a few friends all across the world. As he was staying in the Pale city, one of the noble lords had approached him with an issue he wanted to have solved quietly and quickly.

The noble was a man named Terran Tundra. A family of noble sorcerers who where expert ice mages, and as such where always looking to be suitable dressed not only for the local climate, but also to protect them from the magical environment their experimentations brought down upon them. As such the wool of the Woolful where an especially effective fabric in the fabrication of their clothing, and so the family had something of a Woolfarm in the mountains in the north where they were cultivating Woolful who they hoped would become especially resistant to the cold. 

However, they had received word that the animals had gotten lost in the mountains, and due to a snowstorm the animal handlers where unable to venture up into the mountains after them due to how long snow storms could last up there. The task was to find the animals before they encountered predators, or worse a Yeti tribe who had recently moved in on the territory where the animals had disappear. 

Not wanting to face the possibility of encountering a group of Yeti alone, Aledüne looks to find someone that could be of assistance. That person being Videl. Sending him a letter he agrees to meet Videl at the foot of the mountain, close to farm.

Having completed a few tasks outside of his home region, Videl had found that it was high time that he returned to the frozen lands of Frost Gale. Upon arriving within the Pale City, a letter drake would locate and descend upon him, letter in claw. Given that this wasn't his first time around with such creatures, Videl would gratefully retrieve the letter from the bird-sized drake before handing it a small bit of jerky that he had in one of his bags. With that, the letter drake would take off.

A slight red tinge would overtake the mans cheeks as he had begun to open up the letter. He wasn't quite sure who would want to send him a letter but he had figured that it was Sylvari if nobody else. Unfortunately, he had been rather wrong about this fact. Rather than his beloved companion, this was a letter from none other than the most dangerous man that he had thus far met. Aledüne.

Given the shared experiences between the two, Videl couldn't help but feel momentarily repulsed by the letter. It wasn't all that long ago that they had met and quite frankly, Videl would never be able to forget the things that Aledüne had commanded those drunkards to do. And the last thing that they had mentioned to one another.. how Videl should grow strong enough to defeat such evils. At this point, he honestly wasn't sure if he had manage to reach that point. Even after the explosive growth that he had shown.

Even with these feelings pertaining to the man, Videl would force himself to read through the entirety of the letter. From what he could tell, Aledüne had been requesting his aid in recovering several Woolful. Something that had felt a bit like a trap, given their past with one another. Unsure of what to do, Videl would take a bit of time to think on it. Ultimately he would come to the decision to assist the man. If he had to fight him off, then he would.

A couple hours later and Videl would find himself approaching the base of the mountain. He had been riding astride his frigid steed, Lumi, in search of the man that he was intending on assisting. Knowing that this might have been a trap though, Videl was sure to equip himself properly beforehand. Not only did he have his fanciful equine companion but he had been sure to equip his silver circlet and a spear that he had purchased within the Pale City. He had grown in the time that the pair had been apart and was going in fully prepared to bring the man down if he had to.

Aledüne was waiting at the foot of the mountain as described. It was early night, the sun having set below the horizon, and Aledüne had made a campfire underneath a tree. The weather further up the mountain side had gotten worse and worse as he had been sitting there, and a snow storm can be clearly seen closer to the top. As the night came it would likely cover the entire mountain.

"Thank you for showing up." He nods politely as Videl's mount threads the snow towards him. "I hope you are prepared to walk through the cold mountain. It will surely be difficult to find the Woolful that are lost, and we might be in for a few dangerous encounters if we are not careful." He eyes the spear, giving a clever smile and wink in his direction as if having understood that it wasn't any Yeti that had him come armed.

Aledüne was wearing his usual cloak and robe, but as the weather called for it he had gotten some of the black wool used by the Tundra family to add extra isolation to his cloak and robe. Either way it was clearly going to be a difficult walk up the mountain, and Videl's mount was surely going to serve him well.

It had taken longer than he would have preferred but Videl would eventually find himself approaching the man that he had set out for. Camped beneath a tree and sitting around a fire, Aledüne could be found, awaiting his arrival. The young T'saya couldn't help but tilt his head and squint his eyes at the man, given that the fire was likely starting to melt the snow that had been above him. To find oneself soaked before treading up a snow covered mountain would be hell. Hopefully Aledüne had understood the risk that he was taking.

"Don't be mistaken, Aledüne. At the moment, I am more so here for the Tundra family than anything else." Videl's tone had contained a thinly veiled disdain for the man before him, the former not exactly going to great lengths to hide such feelings. "Even still, you are welcome. So long as this task of yours is real, we should be fine. Just.. be sure to keep an eye out for anything that could be wandering about throughout the mountains. This is a dangerous place for us to be."

At that, Videl would gesture with the craning of his neck for Aledüne to get a move on. "Be sure to put that fire out before he depart. While the northern winds are likely to put it out for us, it's best to be cautious with such things. The fire alone could draw unwanted attention if you aren't careful." Such tips were things that he probably should have kept to himself. Considering that he had needed Aledüne for the task at hand though, Videl had held no qualms in discussing it.

Having said what he needed to, Videl would urge Lumi to progress up the mountain. With this region being the one in which Videl had actually discovered Lumi, the Frigid Steed had actually thrived in the task that was assigned to her. Each step she had taken was filled with grace and would allow for a small cloud of frost to depart. For her rider at least, the ascent was going to be quite the simple feat. "Is there anything else about this task that I should be aware of?"

He listens as Videl talks, seeming to be unconcerned by his motivation. He does however give him time to speak, and seems to respect his need to express himself. An almost proud look on his face as he gives a slow clap and gets up to stand closer to him in eye contact.

"My how you have grown in our time apart. I was hoping to see some change in you, but this is beyond what I expected, I must admit. I can see that my little play to give you encouragement has worked, and that I am still the villain that you need me to be. If a fine hero you become it will have been well worth it, yes?" He chuckles, but he doesn't sound or act in a sarcastic manner. As if his action last time really had been to shock him into action.

"And while I am happy to serve as your villain I did truly call you here in hopes of solving an issue for the Tundra family, a family I call, friends. While we are together I would ask that we can remain friends as well, and that I will have your full support until we go our seperate ways again. When we do you are free to feel how you want about me, after all I have never given you reason to think that I would cause you harm, Deal?" (1)

There is a clever smile as he reaches out to shake Videl's hand in agreement, and as he does an almost tangible charisma would envelop Videl, as despite his distaste for Aledüne's past actions his words ring true, sincere and friendly. Yes, despite his actions towards the man at the tavern he had never harmed Videl, this was true. With a quick kick to the snow Aledüne extinguishes the fire before continuing. "As for anything else..." He thinks for a moment. "Yeti's. I have heard that there is a pack of them up there, so I am glad you came prepared for a fight as I do not think I would be capable of handling more than one or who on my own."

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SPOILER: Click to show

First Steps = Now that you have started along the winding path of the Bard, your Muse has certain aspects that all of their followers possess. You gain the ability listed below that corresponds with your chosen muse.



Virtuoso's who hold the Muse of Expression lay claim to a truly Charming Smile, so much so that it almost seems like they can cause compulsion in almost anyone when it comes to angling a conversation in their favour. Three times per topic you can put any one person you are speaking to under your charm, causing them to see you as a trusted friend. You can ask them to complete one favour, which they will attempt to do to the best of their ability. This favour can not force the enemy to harm themselves and the more in danger they become, the more likely it is for the ability to end. The person will remain charmed until they sustain damage or complete the favour.

SPOILER: Click to show

While Videl had acknowledged the words that Aledüne had been expounding atop of him, he wasn't quite sure as to whether or not he had believed them. Not at first anyway. When compared to some of those that he had gone on to encounter in the time that the two had been apart, Aledüne's actions wouldn't find themselves all that horrid in Videl's eyes. The actions themselves were indeed vile, molding someone's mind so that they are forced to do your bidding. But compared to the active slaughter of others and the overall willingness to simply throw someone into danger without a worry in the world? Well.. Aledüne hadn't looked all that bad in comparison.

"You may not like to hear it but I'm not the kind of person that needs someone to play the part of a villain. Even without people such as yourself, there are a great deal of evils that linger within this world. And more often than not? From my understanding, there are those that masquerade as heroes that tend to perform the most evil of deeds. Deicide being one such act. An act that I can clearly see you are incapable of."

After the run-in with Dante and their discussion about the god-killers, Videl had come to learn that the most powerful people in this world had tended to lean in the direction of abominations. Some may call them heroes but to Videl? To the one that had sought out a god for the answers that only they could hold? Those so called heroes were nothing more than beings that disturbed the natural order of the world. "Not that any of this should concern you."

Just as Videl had been preparing to go all in on his conversation with Aledüne, speaking on behalf of the fact that Aledüne would never be someone that he had considered a friend, Aledüne's honeyed words would infiltrate through Videl's overall lack of defenses. Much to his internalized chagrin, and overall to his dismay, Aledüne's words would alter the perception that the T'saya had had for the man beside him. Similar to what the man had done to those drunkards all that time ago, Videl would be forced into behaving in ways that he would never behave otherwise.

With his spare hand, Vided would extend his arm out towards Aledüne and would proceed to shake the mans hand. "Well of course you haven't exposed me to such dangers. If I recall correctly, you were only trying to provide a sense of entertainment at the time." The true Videl had known this to be false. Given that he was being magically coerced into believing otherwise at the moment though, Videl would simply smile towards the man before returning his attention to the mountain ahead. "And as for these yeti's? With the pair of us on the case, I'm sure that they'll pose no real threat to us."

He nods approvingly, glad to be done with any hostilities. Videl might not like him much, but he liked Videl. He reminded him of his own mother for some reason, a fact he hadn't realized until now. She too had been kind, but fierce when she needed, and had been a source of courage for him in the days after his kidnapping. Of course she was still alive, and he wished to see her again, oh so much.

"If you don't have need of a villain then I won't be one. I am just glad you seem confident in our encounter with these yeti's, terrible monsters that they are. Just remember that our quest is to save the Woolful, so hopefully we don't encounter them at all."

He points to the horse. "Would you mind if I sat behind you? I could always fly up the mountain, but in the spirit of staying close together I find it a safer solution now that you have brought a mount that is capable of traversing the area." He shoots a glance at the majestic steed in front of him. Powerful compared to any other steed he had met personally he could help but be fascinated. "Where did you get this creature anyway?"

A moment of hesitation would overtake the T'saya at the question that Aledüne had posted to him. While in this moment, he hadn't been all that wary around the man, the same couldn't exactly be said about Lumi. Aside from Sylvari, she was more often than not at odds with those that she hadn't known. Even Videl couldn't guess how she would react if she had decided that she hadn't been fond of somebody.

So as to reassure his trusty companion, Videl would run his hand throughout Lumi's mane, going as far as to whisper to her that everything would be alright. Once the Frigid Steed had calmed herself a bit, Videl would nod once to Aledüne. "You are free to join me up here.. but be sure not to cause any unnecessary worries to my mount. She was assuredly buck you off if you put her in a precarious situation." He would then extend a hand out towards Aledüne, offering him assistance in mounting the non-saddled steed. "As for where we met? Well it wasn't all that far off from here really. Happened to run into her and one of her companions not too far from here. You could say that we just kind of clicked."

Having said as much as he was willing to share on the topic, once Aledüne had mounted Lumi, Videl would lightly nudge at the Frigid Steed's hindquarters with his foot, more or less gesturing for her to continue up the mountain. "So how far up the mountain do you believe we'll need to ascend? While Lumi is capable of making the trek, I'm hoping to get this over with as soon as possible. There are a few things that I need to attend to, once we finish our task here."

As he had spoken, Videl was sure to keep an eye out for any sort of dangers or indications as to where the Woolful might have gone. For the first couple of minutes, he hadn't really come across anything particularly of note. After that time had come to pass, he would request that Lumi pick up her pace, so as to get the pair farther up the mountain in a lesser amount of time.

Getting on the mount with as little disturbance as he could make, Aledüne grabs hold of Videl's waits to hold on as the mount started the track up the mountain. "I have no idea where they might be. We can only hope to come across their tracks sooner rather than later. And I agree, the longer we put this off the worse it might become. Luckily I know what to do when we do find them. And as long as we do we should be fine to head home quickly. Tell me do you know anything about tracking?"

He looks around them as they travel, careful not to miss any tracks or other hint that might tell the two where the animals might be.

As they continue up the mountain quicker and quicker, the snowstorm was now setting in, and visibility was growing worse by the second. Before Videl or Aledüne knows what to do, they are met with chilly winds and ice. If not for Lumi the two would have quickly been stranded from the loss of visibility, now only able to navigate by uphill or downhill.

"Where do you think the animals will seek shelter from the storm!" Aledüne suddenly yells.

Despite all of the time that he had spent both within Frost Gale and outside of it, Videl had never really learned anything in the ways of tracking. Back when he had resided with the T'saya people, that kind of knowledge was kept to the hunters of the tribe. Given how he had spent most of his time inside, and away from all of that, he hadn't exactly had the opportunity to learn. And outside of Frost Gale? Well he simply hadn't had a reason to pick up such a skill. "Unfortunately there isn't much that I can do to help us in that regard. Given that neither of us can provide much use in that regard, I suppose that we'll just have to keep heading upward and hope that we come across them before it is too late."

Once a snowstorm had decided to descend upon the trio, Videl would quickly cover his eyes with an arm. Of course, unlike Aledüne and Videl, Lumi had been quite used to such snowstorms. As such, despite the storm that had been preparing to wash over them, Lumi had remained calm in the face of such a storm. "I'm honestly not sure!" His free hand grasping a hold of Lumi's mane, Videl would continue on. "Get us to safety, Lumi!"

In all honesty, such a storm wasn't all that serious to Videl. Not when he could conjure a similar storm in a moments notice. What had worried him though was the possibility of Lumi being blown down the mountain. Placing all of his faith in the Frigid Steed, Videl would wait for Lumi to take action. And much like he had requested, she had accommodated her current riders by heading further north and into the storm. She would force her pair of riders to brave the storm for several moments before heading off into a cave mouth that she had spotted nearby.

A few minutes after Lumi had spotted the cave mouth, the trio would arrive just outside of it. From there, Lumi would lower herself so that the pair could dismount her. After they had successfully done as such, she would follow them into the cave itself. This storm was a relatively powerful one and it was evident to the T'saya that he was going to need to head it off if they were intending on not being snowed in. Hoping to keep the snow from consuming them, Videl would call upon the mana in his bracelet before calling forth a block of ice ^{[Glacial Wall]} to seal off the exit. For the time being, it would appear that the three of them were going to have to wait within this cave.