Day 82 - Thursday

Neither Lucky nor I are very thrilled about spending the day at Sacred Grove. But there’s a relic out there, somewhere, and Gavin will pester me until I find enough enchantress statuettes for the Peddler, so we might as well go there and get it over with.

I need to pack something for lunch. Lucky has already selected a bunch of carrots. I think I’ll bring some Moonfell Clarity Soup. We can eat in the traveler’s wagon.

Before heading out, I check our cash on hand and decide to upgrade Fahleed’s shop. I also leave of list of things I want brought back from the castle’s storage room and gather up some items to drop off at the auction.

Finding those statuettes isn’t going to be easy. It’s almost time to break for lunch and we’ve only found two. But we’ve found lots of fresh frogwart, not that anybody has ever requested any. And lots of feathers. I never knew unicorns had feathers.

Things get better after lunch. I find that relic Mira told me about. And eventually we find three more statuettes and can leave this place and return to Town Hall.

At Town Hall, I put all the feathers and frogwart away in the storage cupboard and put the statuettes with the mirrors and djinns the Peddler wanted. Now I just need to find Gavin and the Peddler.

As usual, they find me. The Peddler takes mirrors, djinns, and statuettes (no doubt at some point in time he’ll be selling them back to me at inflated prices) and gives Gavin the mysterious item that will pinpoint the location of the relic he claims is in a wet and damp place.

Now to find out where this relic fragment belongs. I check out the pedestals in the Atriums. Nope, doesn’t fit.

It belongs to the Faire Exuberance Relic. Just need to find one more piece. It’s probably the relic the Fairy Queen claims is in Glitterstone Mines. Yippe! I really want to spend entire day underground looking for that relic. Not.

Work is proceeding nicely at Fahleed’s. There’s only one more building in the Faire of Light that needs to be further upgraded: Troglid’s. Upgrading it will use up over half of the cash on hand. I think I’ll ask Greg’s advise as to whether it should be upgraded tomorrow or whether I should wait until there’s more money.

When I return to Town Hall, Gavin is there, He tells me the item we bought from the Peddler worked. The relic fragment can be found in a place that is indeed wet and damp...Sacred Grove.

I stare at him in disbelief. I’ve just spent most of the day at Sacred Grove. I don’t want to go back there. I’ve already found one relic there today. Surely there can’t be another one there.

Gavin insists that there is and I know better than to argue. Back to Sacred Grove I go and of course we find another relic. This one must be part of the Atrium Vigor Relic.

Lucky and I wearily make our way back to Town Hall where Greg is waiting for me. I’m cold, damp, muddy and miserable. I’m in no mood to cook tonight and alas, there’s no Chicken Delight to call. There’s no phones either. It’s times like these that I miss Beechwood Cove.

Greg takes me in his arms and gently strokes my hair. It’s times like these that I’m glad I’m here in the Skyward Kingdom.

Day 84 - Saturday

Greg thinks we should try again with the weekend work can also be fun plan. This time, we each get to choose the activities for an entire day and not complain about what the other has chosen. This week, Saturday is my day and Sunday will be Greg’s. Next weekend, we’ll switch.

I choose to go to Rosetum Gardens in the morning to look for dew nectar. After a picnic lunch, we will then go to Cloudspire Meadow and help Ria with the flowers. I’d also like to visit Fahleed’s and do some weaving. I can tell by the set of his jaw that Greg isn’t thrilled about my choices.

By lunchtime I’ve found enough dew nectar for two flower beds. I’ve also collected a bunch of other things that people are always looking for: goblin worms, green leafy dresses, and radiant dust, to name a few.

Greg finds a very secluded spot for our picnic in Airlash Grove. He mentions that he’s not quite ready for lunch and wonders if I’d mind if he suggested an activity even though it’s my day to choose. I pretend to think it over. If the activity is what I think it is, I don’t mind at all. Quite the contrary.

After lunch, Greg is in a much better mood and doesn’t mind helping Ria with the flowers. He even picks some for me to take home. Things are going well. Too well.

There appears to be something encased in the rock. Linea thinks the rock is enchanted and covered by magic. According to Linea, the magic isn’t that strong and can be dispelled. We just need a few items. So back we all go to Town Hall to get some glittering dust, witch cards, and life fairy runes.

We now have everything we need to enchant a pickaxe, except for the pickaxe. The Mayor says he has one, he just needs to find it. He’ll go and look for it if we help finish up the posters he was making. Naturally, the Mayor has run out of glue and naturally I don’t have any in the storage cupboard. I’ll have to go and exchange a set of male puppets to get some. Could be worse, I suppose. I might have had to go to Glitterstone Mine to get a pickaxe.

Glue is procured, posters are completed, pickaxe is found and then enchanted. Next stop - Faire of Light to crack open that rock.

Inside the rock is a chest, dark in color with a skull insignia on top. When we show it to the Mayor at Town Hall, he remarks that it emanates an eerie presence. Research will need to be done regarding the chest. 

In the meantime, the Mayor would like me to hold on to it. I’d prefer to have nothing to do with it and Greg would rather it was in somebody else’s keeping. We decide to lock in the cupboard and go home.

Day 86 - Monday

When I awoke this morning, Greg was gone. A note on his pillow explained that he would meet me at Town Hall. He had been very quiet last night and had neither asked me about my tour with Shelsea nor told me what he had been doing that prevented him from coming with us.

Lucky and I arrive at Town Hall, but there’s no sign that Greg has been here. I decide to authorize expansion of the Glassworks and then open the storage cupboard to get some things to bring down to the auction. That awful Dark Chest is still there.

I return from the auction house to find the Mayor waiting for me. He’s still bothered by the Dark Chest and wants me to ask around to see if anybody knows anything. He’s already consulted the fairies and they know nothing about the chest.

Greg arrives in time to hear the Mayor’s request. He wants me to forgive him. He’s been asking around but hasn’t been able to discover anything more about the Dark Chest. I’m not sure just what it is I’m supposed to forgive, his lack of knowledge or his disappearance this morning.

The Peddler shows up and reports that nobody at the Black Marekt seems to know the origin of the chest. And Triffledore has made the trip from Faire of Light to tell us that the Dark Chest is truly a mystery and that the goblins are clueless as well. But I already knew that about the goblins.

The Mayor thinks we should not give up. We just need to look carefully. He doesn’t say just what or where we should be looking. However Linea has an idea. Since the fairies and goblins have no clue about the Dark Chest, we should ask Shelsea because she’s a mermaid. I remark to Greg under my breath that if we're going to use that kind of logic, we should also ask Mr Vanderkins because he’s a squabbit.

Linea, Lucky and I take the Dark Chest to Coral Cove to show Shelsea. She claims the skull insignia looks very familiair and that she might be able to find a way to open it. But first we must find her conch shell which she lost yesterday during our tour.

So Linea, Lucky and I search the places Shesea visited yesterday, but we don’t find the shell. We’ll have to ask around. Somebody may have picked it up. The first person we meet is Greg. Linea wants him to help us with our inquiries around town. Greg insists on accompanying us to make sure we find it.

Greg thinks we should start by asking the folks at folks at Faire of Light. Neitehr Troglid nor Fahlled know anything about Shelsea or her conch shell, but Triffledore tells us he thinks Quinn might have found a shell at the Rose Garden.

Quinn is at the squabbit den and tells Greg he didn’t know the shell belonged to anyone. He’ll go find it if we could look after the animals. Ob, and we’ll need to go get some food. No problem I tell Greg. I’ll just go to Town Hall and grab a feather set to exchange for fifteen bags of pet food. I knew those feathers would be good for something.

We feed the animals and Quinn finds the shell. Then Linea, Lucky and I return to Coral Cove with the shell and the Dark Chest. Shelsea thanks me effusively for finding her shell and returning it to her and begs me to hear her out concerning the Dark Chest.

According to Shelsea, the chest is enchanted and aligns itself to someone who pens and feeds it. Shelsea thinks I’m lucky to have found this chest and adds that it previosuly belonged to a sinister force. I’m not feeling very lucky at all, quite the opposite, in fact.

She adds that if we can unbind it (whatever that means) we can make it reveal what its master is hiding. Linea is all excited at the prospect and can’t wait to open the darn thing. She flies off to tell the Mayor.

Lucky and I return to Town Hall. The Mayor is all gung ho about opening the chest and wants me to give Shelsea whatever she needs to unbind it. What is the matter with these people? Have they never heard of Pandora’s box?
 

Day 88 - Wednesday

Greg and I had a long discussion about what we should do regarding Shelsea’s abduction and whether we should continue to feed the Dark Chest. He’s concerned if we don’t make finding Shelsea a priority, we’ll be in the same precarious position as before. Linea could complain to Queen Sophia and we could be removed from our positions - or worse.

On the other hand, we have a responsibility to all the residents of the kingdom, not just Linea, and certainly not just Shelsea, who, harsh as it may sound, is really responsible for what happened. Queen Sophia would expect us to put the needs of the many before the needs of an individual, wouldn’t she?

Greg tells me we are between a rock and a hard place. I nod. We’ll have to do enough to keep Linea happy, or at least look like we’re doing something to get Shelsea back. Greg will search for clues and ask the residents if they’ve seen the hooded stranger recently and I will slowly collect what we need for the chest.

Since Linea never checks the account ledgers, I can pretend I just found items that I already have on hand and hope that somebody else will want me to go to the Gnome Village, which is where I can find the things the Dark Chest wants. Two birds, one stone.

There’s no sign of Linea at Town Hall. Good. Today I plan on spending at Fairy Dragon Nest. Chumblepot needs glass shards, lots of them. Should take me all day to get enough. Before I go there, I’ll lock the ledgers away. Of course, if Linea wants to, she could just pick the lock, but I’m hoping if she doesn’t see the ledgers laying around, she won’t think to look for them.

I’m also going to authorize expansion of the Squabbit Den. It’s the least expensive building to upgrade. And I’ll bring a couple items down to the auction. Greg will meet me at Fairy Dragon Nest for lunch and to bring back to Town Hall the things I find.

I could trade in my collections of portraits for glass shards, but finding King Crookshank portraits is very difficult for me. Searching for the glass shards is much more lucrative.

In addition to the shards, I usually find thread, puppets, and Life Fairy runes. And lately, I’ve been able to sell the runes and Puppet Emi for around three thousand to four thousand bolgins a piece.

Greg brings a couple men with him to the Fairy Dragon Nest to transport the items I found back to Town Hall. We eat our lunch in silence, waiting for them to be well out of earshot before we compare notes.

Neither one of us has seen Linea today. Greg hasn’t found any clues and he’s not really sure what to say he’s been looking for if Linea should ask. I suggest that he tell Linea he’s been searching areas of the kingdom that have water and that he’s looking for mermaid scales, strands of bright red hair, and that conch shell Shelsea brings everywhere.

Greg thinks looking for those items is a pretty good idea. It’s shows we’re taking the abduction seriously and doing something about it. He’ll assign of group of men to do nothing but search for signs of Shelsea and put our favorite trouble-maker in change. We both grin. Two birds with one stone.

I have enough glass shards to help Chumblepot with two of his pieces. Maybe I should go back to Landsong Village and complete them. Then tomorrow I could return to Fairy Dragon Nest to find the rest.

Greg thinks I should stay here and continue searching. Like the ledger books, if I’m out of Linea’s sight, maybe I’ll be out of her mind. He’ll come back to get me at the end of the day.
 

Day 90 - Friday

Unless something urgent comes up, today I’m going to have to go to the Gnome Village and look for things to feed the Dark Chest. Grge doesn’t think it would be wise to put it off any longer. I agree. I can’t believe Linea hasn’t nagged me the past two days about that chest and how it might lead us to Shelsea.

Greg tries not to show how worried he is, but I can tell he’s very afraid we will get blamed for what happened to Shelsea. Last night, he wanted to discuss upgrading our house and on the top of his wish list was a third floor with a stairway from our bedroom leading up to an observation room where he would put his telescope. He says it would be better for viewing the stars.

He also wants to expand his armory/man cave. At the top of my wish list is a mud room and downstairs shower. The places I’ve had to search lately are muddy, dirty, gritty and we need to be able to at least rinse off the heavy muck and not track it throughout the house.

Greg will see to the upgrading of the house. He says it can all be done by the time I get home tonight. I love how fast things get built here. Back in Beechwood Cove, it would take forever.

There will also be construction going on up in Skycrystal Atriums. I’ve decided that it’s time for the final upgrade to the Fungus Hut. It’s more of the cheapest buildings to upgrade and it would please Greg. He does so like to play new Tri Peaks layouts.

The cash on hand is getting low, so I’ll need to drop some things off at the auction. After that, Lucky and I can finally head out to the Gnome Village to look for Face Flower Petals and Glass Slippers.

As we exit the auction house, we meet the Peddler. He wants to sell me a scroll that will locate relics. He’s asking a hefty price for it: thirty pieces of bolgite, thirty planks of golden oak and twelve thousand bolgins!

I am not a happy camper. I need to find those relics, ergo I need to buy that scroll. But I have a sneaking suspicion that the scroll might have come from the Treasure Vault and it irks me no end to have to purchase it.

I’m also angry that the Peddler is so totally lacking in altruism. Those relics will improve life for everybody in the Kingdom. Nobody else has been so greedy in demanding payment for help in locating them.

We go back to Town Hall and I hand over the bolgins. Then I sign a letter authorizing the payment of the bolgite and golden oak, tell the peddler to take it up to the storage room at the castle, and hold out my hand for the scroll.

To my amazement, the Peddler demands even more! He wants thirty pieces of obsidian and ten packets of moon fountain tea mix! He justifies his additional demands by pointing out just how rare the scroll is and adds that I wouldn’t believe the things he did to get it. I inform him that they will pale in comparison to the things Greg and I will do to him if he doesn’t hand over that scroll.

Before I can send Lucky to fetch Greg, Linea arrives and wants to know what’s going on. The Peddler tells Linea he’s just sold me a scroll to locate relics and he’s waiting for me to finish paying him. Through gritted teeth I tell him that I don’t have ten packets of moon fountain tea mix.

Linea helpfully points out that the tea mix can be found in Gnome Village and while I’m looking for it, I can also look for the items to feed the Dark Chest. Defeated, Lucky and I head out to Gnome Village and as we walk, I mentally compose a list of things I’d like to do to both the Peddler and Linea.

It takes the better part of the day, but eventually I return to Town Hall with the tea mix, face flower petals and glass slippers. Greg can see that I’m upset and wants to know why. Not now, I hiss at him.

At last the scroll is mine. I think I’m going to be sick. It’s not written in English. The Peddler claims it says the last relics for the Atriums are in Dawnhope Cavern and Treasure Vault. He better be telling the truth or I’m going to shove that scroll where the sun doesn’t shine.

Next on the agenda: feeding the Dark Chest. I reluctantly part with a mystic gemshorn, five face flower petals, five goblin spurs, and six pairs of glass slippers. The chest chews them and then spits out...dark slime!

Now I am going to be sick, physically as well as figuratively. The purple colored slime smells as bad as one of Blessilda’s energy potions and looks nastier than the things she’s has pickling in bottles on the shelves of the General Store.

None of us want to touch it. I tell Greg to fetch an old pair of gauntlets and a bucket so that he can clean it up. I’m not sure what we should do with it, but there must be some dark recess of the castle where we can store it. For all we know, the Dark Chest might ask for it back.

We watch the chest for a while longer, hoping that it will spit out a rune orb. To our surprise, it wants to be fed the exact same items that it found so unsatisfying. Why? So it can slime us again?

I ask Greg if the construction on the house is finished. I’d really like to try out that new shower now. Don’t want to get dark slime all over the house. Greg agrees that the new shower needs to checked out and suggests we do so together. Sounds good to me.