Colt/Stories
The heir to the Creoles, THE most magically talented family in Palpebra, has gone missing! For Alk and company, it's a race against time and bad eggs to get this little mage back home.
???: I'll be back, I promise!
???: I'm gonna fix everything!
Alk: HUH?! WHAT DO YOU MEAN, A TOP- SECRET SEARCH FOR THE MISSING SON OF AN UTRA-RICH FAMILY?!
Guild Staff: Shh!
Guild Staff: You trying to get every Tom, Dick, and Mary after this kid?
Guild Staff: ...You know how they say talent skips a generation? Not for the Creoles. Great mages crop up in that family like daisies in a field.
Guild Staff: But, just a few minutes ago, the heir to this name poofed. Gone, without a trace!
Alk: Ahh... The sweet smell of a case, fresh out of an oven!
Light: Must you compare everything to food?
Light: What do you think happened to the boy?
Guild Staff: Dunno. He might've been kidnapped... or worse.
Light: Alk. Where shall we begin?
Alk: I guess... at the beginning.
Alk: So this is where he was last seen, but...
Light: I can find no leads.
Alk: Hey, Light. Come look at these signs.
Light: "Foreclosure?"
???: Nooot good!
Light: That sounded like a child!
Alk: I don't think so!
Cyclops: Graaah!
???: It's now or never!
???: I will now proceed to chant a spell.
???: Ahem!
???: O, great voice that rattles the mountains and shakes the plains! Speak, and let the path before me be opened!
???: Haah... Thunder!
???: Yes! Just like I was taught!
Alk: Hey... You, uh, wouldn't happen to be the missing kid... would you?
???: Huh?
Guild Staff: So you weren't kidnapped...
Alk: And you weren't trapped or hurt...
Light: You were seeking your fortune?
Colt: Yep!
Colt: My tutor said monsters drop gems when you beat them.
Colt: This is worth a lot, right?
Guild Staff: So you're out here farming items? But why?
Colt: To save my family!
Colt: Haven't you heard? The Creoles are bankrupt.
Alk: What?!
Guild Staff: Y-you're joking!
Colt: Don't worry. I've got it all under control.
Colt: I heard that the Guild's got sacks of gold... waiting for adventurers that can take the danger.
Colt: Give me a hundred of your hardest quests! Should be enough to buy the manor back.
Alk: A hundred? Whoa there...
Light: He is small... but fearless.
Guild Staff: Alk... You gotta do something...
Alk: All right, I'll keep an eye on him...
Colt: Wait, you're gonna help me? For free?! Thanks, mister!
Colt: Watch out, world! 'Cause the Creoles are coming back!
The little mage is back and at it again. This time, it seems he's got himself caught up with some smuggling scoundrels and their problematic package...
Guild Staff: *sigh*
Alk: So... what "urgent quest" do you have for us?
Guild Staff: You guys remember the Creole kid?
Light: Yes. Colt.
Alk: What's he up to this time?
Guild Staff: Why don't you go see for yourself? Be a lot faster than listening to my gums flap on.
Alk: Okay... So tail the kid on his first errand, help out if anything goes wrong. Seems simple enough.
Light: Yes. He's going on a shopping trip. Hardly a dangerous task.
Colt: That's not what I was told!
Light: Colt!
Alk: Let's go!
Loquacious Lout: Come on, kid. All you have to do is carry one measly little box. Then you can buy all the manors you want!
Colt: Look, the contract says I should be going shopping!
Colt: I can't accept this box!
Alk: Colt, wait!
Loquacious Lout: Who're you supposed to be?
Light: It seems there was a misunderstanding. If the task is urgent, we can take it.
Alk: But first, let's see what you're trying to ship!
Loquacious Lout: D'aah! No, stop!
Light: Monsters!
Colt: But why?
Loquacious Lout: What'd I tell you?! Swords out, boys! Beat 'em back!
Alk: Uh... Okay?
Colt: I will now proceed to chant a spell. Ahem!
Colt: O, great voice that rattles the mountains and shakes the plains! Speak, and let the path before me be opened!
Colt: Thunder!
Alk: Let me get this straight.
Alk: You know some adventurers up in the desert... And you were trying to smuggle them an assorted selection of water monsters?
Light: Not everything is a box of chocolates, Alk.
Loquacious Lout: Hey, don't treat us like common crooks!
Weaselly Worm: We're do-gooders, see? Trying to introduce folks to lifeforms they wouldn't otherwise meet, see?
Greedy Goon: The crowds would've been thrilled, enthralled, and shocked right out of their socks!
Alk: Thaaat's not an excuse.
Light: The transport of monsters is perilous.
Loquacious Lout: We know, we know! Why do you think we got the world's best lightning mage on the job? Type advantage, and all that.
Colt: Wait. World's best?
Loquacious Lout: Yeah. I've heard a lot of good stuff about you. They call you a child prodigy.
Light: That is not a good enough reason to overlook your actions.
Light: You knew you were attempting something dangerous. Otherwise, you would not have lied to the Guild.
Loquacious Lout: Ungh…
Alk: The Guild cracks down on this kind of stuff, you know.
Colt: I figured it out! We just have to flip everything!
Alk: Flip?
Colt: So if transporting monsters is illegal...
Colt: Why don't we just bring the people to them?
Alk: You mean, like a safari?
Loquacious Lout: How the heck are we supposed to run a safari?
Colt: Sell 1,000 gold tour packages that include transportation, housing, and security. The Guild will help provide these for a fee of, say, 400 gold. The difference is profit.
Alk: So you're looking to form a partnership with the Guild.
Colt: Yep. Plus, once the venture's in full swing and the orders are pouring in, we can haggle for a lower fee. The Guild keeps a steady source of income, and we strike it rich. See? Win-win.
Light: Very well thought out. I don't foresee the Guild raising any objections.
Colt: Oh, and then there's souvenirs! We can team up with local merchants and set up a marketplace. A portion of all proceeds will go to us.
Loquacious Lout: Holy smokes! He really is a prodigy! A money-making genius!
Colt: You like the idea? Then come on! Let's go pitch it to the Guild!
Colt: No longer are we errand boys or smugglers! From today, we are visionaries! We are ENTREPRENEURS!
Alk: They grow up so fast...