This is a nice little solo that ties more of the Finale into it.

Check out this quick little Wildfall piece!

 
Jarlsboris Wildfall had his doubts about this plan even before his foxbard friend Todd Blackpaws teased Wildfall over the idea.

They'd just gone through a hellacious battle with the Elite 8. Not just the two of them, of course. That would have been a slaughter and a half, and not in Wildfall's or Todd's favor.

But the two of them with.. well.. plenty of help from plenty of others.

Back to the present. Wildfall eyed the snakes. He started walking towards them. No question. The pair of snakes watched Wildfall until it was clear he was moving in their direction. Then they turned, not really in a hurry. Lucky. As far away as they were, they'd be easy to lose track of.

Weapon ready, Wildfall tried to plot out the safest route through the open plains. Not that he minded a fight, but the events with Sassy Snake had made it clear there were at least a couple gangs roaming the plains, mostly unchecked. The aftermath of the chaos Kadlin Bearsmasher had caused.

Of course, Wildfall figured, if the other heroes left Kadlin unchecked, none of this would matter anyway. But hopefully.. they'd take care of her, one way or another. Although he rarely saw her in action, he knew her magics made her incredibly dangerous.

Wildfall found himself sticking close to the trees and ducking behind the rolling hills without really needing to think about it. Reminded him of travelling the plains of northern Ireaca. Just the thought of his beloved island left Wildfall aching for home.

Wildfall peered into the distance and realized the snakes weren't waiting. He picked up his pace, not wanting to lose tracks of the two serpents who would lead Wildfall to Sassy Snake.

At least, Wildfall thought, pausing, he thought they would. He was pretty sure.. but did he really know?

Jarlsboris Wildfall really wasn't sure.. but he'd committed to the path, and so he would keep at it. The main problem?

Thugs. Thugs everywhere. It forced Wildfall to detour repeatedly, which made it harder to keep track of the snakes in the distance. A couple of thugs eyed Wildfall along the way but he carefully assured them he was just passing through.

Nothing came of it so far but even Ireacan luck and charm couldn't hold up forever under these conditions. Still, Jarlsboris Wildfall was able to find a spot where the activity was much quieter. He made his way up a hill in the clear, and quickly remembered why.

It overlooked clown rock.

He'd only seen it a few times, but clown rock always sent a chill down Wildfall's spine.. and that was before he'd found out about the dangerous creatures inside. From what Wildfall had heard, it was usually quiet- eerily so- around the clownshaped rock. Wildfall's unfortunate few times there had echoed the truth of those statements. From this safe distance, he could see at least half a dozen of the strange, mutated beings in the distance, each one terrorizing a group of thugs or adventurers.

They didn't really have 'clowns' in Ireaca, at least not the regions Wildfall was familiar with. There were plenty of references to clowns in Honorburg. Some of the less scrupulous (and more insane) groups seemed to have various takes on the theme. Scary as they tended to be, the clowns Wildfall now observed seemed to have a more .. natural feel to them. Almost like it was less makeup and outfit and more the result of some perverse twisted form of nature.

That would fit what he'd heard - that the clown shape was the result of 'natural erosion,' and wind.

Wildfall had to remind himself to breathe after a moment, such was the power of clown rock, even from this distance, with Wildfall alone on the great plains hill.

If only he had reminded himself not to jump at an unexpected voice only a few feet behind him.

"Well that's new."

Wildfall indeed felt himself jump, nearly out of his leather boots, spinning around and readying his weapon as quickly as he could. Unprepared for the voice, it was quite a clumsy response. Wildfall took- then resigned from- an attack posture as he realized this was one of the strangers who had helped him out earlier. The ninja-price? (Wildfall couldn't say for certain this was a prince and yet, his presence made it clear as day he was. For the ninja part, it was clearly a ninja outfit, though white, and somehow.. different than the ninjas of Ninja Village. Better materials?)

"I.. didn't know you were there. Yeesh, sneaking up on a guy like that."

"Hey, it's what I do." The ninja prince shrugged. "What's that abomination? I've seen some odd places in my travels, but that one might be one of the stranger."

Wildfall took a moment to collect himself and then turned back to face the odd looking rock formation. "Clown rock. I don't know much about it, other than it's trouble."

A silent, dramatic breeze blew, slightly lifting the half-mask half-covering the ninja price's obviously handsome face.

The ninja prince spoke next. "Reminds me of the Jester King of Beasts. At least, how he used to look. Reminds me of a couple others, too."

Wildfall chuckled. "Sounds like you got history with him."

"Quite a bit." The ninja prince quickly shifted the subject. "So why are you watching the creepshow circle here?"

"I wasn't, I was watching the.. snakes." Wildfall suddenly spun around, realizing he'd lost track of them.

"I don't see any snakes." The ninja chuckled, glancing around the grand hill. "Do you need a soft green echo eyedrop antidote? I've got a spare."

"I saw them in the distance." Wildfall paused and kept looking. "I was following them."

"... alright then?"

"I know a girl who talks to snakes, so I thought it was a message.." Wildfall let out a proper overly drawn Ireaca sigh. "Tryin' to track her down."

"I've heard stranger stories. Go on."

"But I was so distracted by clown rock.." He paused. "Why are you out here? Shouldn't you be trying to get your shipfly back?"

"Airship." The ninja prince shrugged. "We've no idea where it is. We split up to search for clues. And find a way to head to the mysterious island."

Wildfall shrugged. "Wish I could help ya there. Sounds dangerous. But I'm not really familiar with the island."

The ninja stood. It was a dramatic prince-looking pose. "Any suggestions on where to go?"

"Seaside Town," Wildfall answered quickly.

The ninja prince smiled. "We got that covered. Goodluck with your snake hunt."

Wildfall sighed. "Thanks.. guess I'll be hunting blind."

The ninja prince paused. "Hm... I happen to excel at that. I may be able to help. I need to be scouting anyway."

"Cool with me," Wildfall answered.

There's one of our penultimate heroes, too! Next up is Sir Fumblies!