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❷ the DELIVERYTROLL

Strolling flippantly with a skip to her walk, Elidae Bonbon weaved her way through the trolls passing by on New Hemisect City's sidewalk while swinging a small shopping bag. It was still early nightfall, but Elidae was eager to return home to her communal hive-stem to show off her new paper that she planned to completely snip up to her lusus. It was going to be so much fun! More dresses and accessories for her little paper dolls, more ornaments to embellish her hive. Of course at this point her paper crafting appeared entirely amateur, but she planned to hit the NHC library to perhaps find a bit of reading material for this kind of stuff. Still, more fun!!

Continuing along, Elidae stumbled upon a group of trolls staring at a community bulletin board. She paused for a moment, squinting her eyes to get a look at the board as they moved away. Deciding she wanted a better look, she hopped a bit closer.

"Oh!" Elidae squeaked curiously, "What's thiiisss?" Large grey eyes scanned over the bounty parchment quickly, excitement apparent on her beaming face. A hunt for a crook? One million beetles? Sounds like an adventure! Of course, she heard very little about the subject itself. The Miracle Elixir had never made its way to her because... well... she was way too young and didn't really need it! As for other trolls who did... their fate had stunted them to about her height and perhaps mentality. She recalled eavesdropping on a few interesting stories from the streets about this; seemed intriguing to her. If it were Elidae Bonbon, she would consider the situation a bit more nonchalant and enjoy being a child again, as all her trust and faith would be in the queen for solving the problem... but, then again, she really wouldn't have an opinion considering she has not had the opportunity to be older.

Tapping her chin thoughtfully, Elidae tried to assess the situation, but was way too excited to really assess and think clearly about it. Well, about finding the culprit. Daydreams of what she could use that one million beetles the wonderful queen has offered for the bounty have already consumed her expansive imagination. She could purchase that fancy-shmancy paper she has always desired from the little craft boutique, considering most the stuff there is pretty pricey. Or she could get some really nice scissors! Maybe some nice polish for Ladydaddy's hard exterior. However, she was pretty confident her lusus would want her to get rid of it as soon as possible, or somehow conceal the money, for it would draw unnecessary attention to them both, and unnecessary attention usually meant danger... but even so. In the end, the majority of it would probably be donated! The many options dazzled Elidae's stockings off. When a few rowdy teens came to push and shove her from the bounty slip, her fantasies were brought to a halt and she was brought back to New Hemisect's streets. Ahh, the fresh scent of smog and delinquency... time to get a lead, maybe?

Of course, questioning someone who had experience concerning this cryptic and criminal Mr. Miracle Elixir would be the best course of action, but Elidae was still just a kid, and a pretty naive one at that. Still, a bounty hunt! What fun! With a bit of light-hearted brainstorming, she assumed the most promising (and perhaps safest?) troll to interview and get some answers from would be the deliverytroll who distributed the prepackaged potions. A lowblood like herself might be kind enough to give her a little bit of direction! ... right?

1. The Journalist

Since parting ways with his friend and acquaintance turned teammates, Aprife had put a good bit of distance in. Especially considering he still had to keep his lusus from slipping back into his face, or off his too small shoulder, because the bee was rather inept at doing it himself when his charge moved too quickly. At least, he thought, he had an easier target than the others. The Equivocal Bulletin was something he'd read more than a few times in his sweeps, something he'd come to know as a reliable source of interesting news. The troll who'd written the article, he was sure she'd have even more information than was leaked. A good snoop never gave away their best information upfront, not without a rhyme or reason. The yellowblood knew from experience.

Stopping at a street corner to catch his bearings again—boy, he sure had forgotten what it was like to be this small—he also took the opportunity to come up with something he could tell this reporter troll. Good information… it had to come with a price. And small children, even if Alternia was suddenly overrun with them, didn't have much leverage in the real world. He definitely didn't want to sulk back to his accomplices empty handed. And he wouldn't, he was quite sure. Grinning broadly to himself, Aprife took off down the sidewalk again. Hopefully she'd be in the office today.

2. The Deliverytroll

Odette did a full on spit-take when she read the wanted poster that was going around. One million beetles? she speculated, Why, that's enough to feed swanmom and me for a lifetime, and then some! Which was precisely why when Vremea consulted her about teaming up, she wholeheartedly agreed. Five hundred thousand beetles was still quite the sum.

Odette set off for information from the innocent, lowblooded deliverytroll. She hardly felt she could properly interrogate anyone of highblood. She would be far too nervous to actually get any information out of them. So she settled for the lowest she could find, which wasn't necessarily a bad thing. Lowbloods often had a better understanding of the "underground" goings-ons, after all, playing dirty was what often kept a lowblood alive in most circumstances.

2. The Deliverytroll

Could anyone really blame Sempur for acting like a starved bloodhound out to murder? Well, he wasn't much of a bloodhound—that would be Wojtek, snout poking out from around the corner, having apparently reverted to his fatherly instincts after Sempur's own grand reversion. He'd been infuriatingly overbearing ever since, only adding to the blueblood's humiliation, and he had had it up to here with Wojtek's tracking them.

"WOJTEK I HAVE HAD IT UP TO HERE WITH YOU." The snout quickly disappeared, but Semp was having none of that, stomping a tiny baby bootie in emphasis—"DON'T THINK I DIDN'T SEE YOU THERE."—because his voice was nowhere near as commanding and powerful as it was before, not that he would admit it; if you asked him, he could still lead an army like this! And he did, but his toy soldiers weren't a part of this now. This was a mission for himself and his recruit, certainly no Wojteks allowed.

Speaking of Pathetic! He turned his snarling onto her now, glad that he was at least still taller than her. He was still perfectly intimidating, surely! "PATHETIC I can't THINK with your STUTTERING." Had she gotten worse? She sounded like she'd gotten worse. No matter. That could be dealt with later, provided she was still alive. This was a dangerous mission they were on, sure to be full of much intrigue and violence. Apparently falling deep into thought, Sempur turned away, mercifully silent for a moment as his nimble mind worked through deep strategies, master tactician that he was. Ah, yes.

"AS OUR FIRST ORDER OF BUSINESS." If Sarcel's stuttering had gotten worse, apparently so had Sempur's shouting. "We shall be going our separate ways. No, Pathetic, don't even try to object. I understand your fears, to be without your brave and noble leader, but this is your first important order. DON'T MESS THIS UP. You will be dealing with the dealer," Sempur wouldn't have minded seeing that shady troll himself, but this was a test for his recruit. She should be honored. "BE HONORED. Meanwhile, I shall be seeing to that deliverytroll..."

So the plan was set. The two would set off, Sarcel to the shady dealer and Sempur to the deliverytroll. In the alleyway, a certain badger grumbled.

Feeling somewhat more motivated after your first interview, you continue onward with your search for the culprit responsible for over a third of the population's (adorably!) miniature state. You decide the next step in your course of action should be to poke around some of the more popular hangouts in New Hemisect City. After much thought about where an evil mastermind of sorts would even spend their time, you settle on investigating some of the more high traffic areas. Where do you look?

1. Diner - Renowned for it's planet-famous grub, the restaurant aptly named 'Diner' is a hot spot for trolls from all castes. Its delicious, yet affordable food has left quite a positive impression on Alternia. Conveniently located across from the city Library, there's almost always a line up to grab a table. Everybody eats...!

2. Park - The public New Hemisect City Park is arguably one of the nicest parts in the sprawling, busy metropolis. Fairly impressive in size all and all considering, many caretakers tend to the plants and gardens to ensure it stays in tip top shape. Its serene atmosphere and fresh foliage attract trolls of all shapes and sizes- perhaps the troll you're trying to hunt down had been one of them.

3. Music Hall - Entertainment is hard to come by in Alternia, what with all the Royalty's rules and restrictions. One of the few ways a troll can kick back and unwind is at their local music hall, and New Hemisect's certainly is impressive. Boasting a unique spherical design meant to amplify the live music played on stage, it's at the top of Alternian architecture and quite the tourist attraction. Certainly worth the trip for anyone- even criminals!

4. Library - New Hemisect's library is the biggest in all of Alternia, as far as you're aware. While heavily regulated with limited topics, it's the best the public has and it's surely better than nothing. There's no way whoever is responsible for this whole deaging fiasco didn't have to do a little research, right? Maybe someone there knows something.

You have one week to post your choice below. Answers will be distributed at the end of the week. If your trolls want to share their findings with each other, please do so through pm or im, as long as you keep them hidden from the general public! Any troll who's interested in getting a shot at the bounty is free to participate, regardless of if the're a victim of the Miracle Elixir or not.

4. Library

It was time for Thalia to continue onward in his quest and seek out more information on this troll. He didn't have time to sit around and loiter-- waiting for clues to come to him. No! He had to seek them out and grab them by the throat! Just like a real detective. Or, well, just like a real detective from movies and the like. He wasn't sure if actual detectives were like that, but so many were written like that, so it had to be correct.

Wow, that was a tangent. Thalia, get it together!

It was time to scope out some of the popular places in town. Perhaps someone saw the culprit hanging around nearby? Hmmm. A light bulb went off in his head as he saw the entrance to the library. It may not have had much information, but it was still information. Yes, clever Thalia... Go to the place holding information for... information. Thalia would give himself a pat on the back.

4- The Library


It hadn't been a bad idea to team up Atiqua told herself. After all one mill beetles was one million was a pretty large target on your back. Not to mention that more trolls to collab meant an easier job on her own. Or something. She was stuck with Seadad after all who was per usual trying to smother and protect and chase her from the idea of grand adventure and sweet loot. 500,000 beetles was a pretty big sum and target but still, it was a pretty penny and she was okay with that. She'd just hide away for a while.

A few years maybe.

Yeah.
Smarts.

That was all of course, if she found this nefarious, (if brilliant), troll who'd changed so many trolls into cranky pants kids. Eostre had been great thus far, the elder troll and her hitting it off and agreeing to work towards a common goal. It had been passing chance at an newsstand, picking out articles and trying to find leads. A smooth, simple agreement, Atiqua would try things her way, Eostre in her way and at the end of the day they would hook up and figure it out and it was like a real treasure hunt only this treasure was slippery like a slime fish beast.

Heading into the Library, Atiqua went to look for books on Troll biology, a few on magic, and a few on how to make- okay no, fish soup was just her being rude to seadad, (that didn't stop her from copying it down). Going to the librarian she hoped the books would still have their check out cards. Or, if they had a record of books checks out and more importantly- when.