Arrange The Clues

The Seven Secrets of the Dragon Clan
Momoko produced a map from her person. Detailed on the paper was several locations around the village. Supposedly, these all were important factoids on numerous mysteries around the area. "...Alright, guys. These are seven places I wanna visit. Legend says that they're all mysterious- and solving the riddles will lead to something climatic happening..."

Iris's tail wagged. "I still think that this is all one giant hoax, but whatever floats your boat~ Let's get to it then, shall we~?"

"I can't help but point out that things like this never end well." Yasaka said irritably. "Has solving a riddle to get a climactic even ever been good for the parties involved?"

"Relax, Yasaka." Wendy said soothingly. "I think it could be fun!"

Vivian wasn't too amused. In fact, she was actually rather peeved by this whole turn of events. "And so, nobody still cares that I am freezing my butt off..."

Ulalia smacked Vivian on the ass rather heartily, making her yelp slightly. "Relax, sweet cheeks. I mean, it's not really killing you just to do all this, is it?"

"So where do we go first?' Wendy asked, excitededly. The prospect of treasure hunting excited the child greatly, she'd never done it before, since, living with Jason was always a quiet thing, and even now with the guild, treasure hunting was never a job request they'd recieved.

Momoko traced her fingers around the rather dusty-looking map, seemingly unimpressed by the quality of it. "I can't see a thing, honestly. But what I can make out is that they're littered about in different places, meaning that it could quite possibly take some time to find the mysteries."

Iris raised a valid point. "Or we could ask people who actually know where they are."

Momoko applied her palm to her forehead in exasperation. "...Good point."

"Before we do anything..." Jason walked over to Iris, and removed an acorn from behind her ear, looking at it curiously. "What is this? It seems to be different from a normal acorn..."

Iris's eyes lit up in excitement. She wasn't sure if she wanted to consume it straight away or save it for winter season. Sweat trailed down her face as she was overcome with possible thoughts. "...I'll think I'll just save it for later on..."

Vivian looked grumpy. "...So, where's my present....huh?"

Iris grinned, "You'll get your present when you make that sandwich for that guy."

"You'll most likely get one later on, don't let the thoughts absorb you." Jason told Vivian. He knew Mr. E better than the rest of them, and was quite sure he knew Vivian wanted something. When the girl least expected it, she'd get her own weapon.

"Let's go, let's go!" Wendy was tugging on Momoko's arm, trying to budge her. She really was excited.

Momoko looked down at the small girl gripping her, mumuring, "Alright, alright. Don't rush these things." She seemed rather unamused. "We require the utmost concentration and planning-"

"TREASURE HUNT LET'S GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO~!" Iris dashed out of the building at high speeds, leaving the remainder of the group in her wake.

"...For once, Iris has the right plan." Ulalia snarked at Momoko, who was utterly speechless.

Jason sighed. "Foolish girl..." He looked over at Momoko, a look of mild exasperation on his face. "You'll adjust to that."

Momoko clicked her teeth. "...I hope so. I'm...just not so good at handling people like that."

Ulalia chimed in the background, "You'll get used to it~"

Jason held up a little bell, and rang it. "She'll hear this, the chime of the bell, and come bustling back." He explained to confused looks. "It's the best way to keep her around without using a leash."

Momoko was still confused. "So she's like a pet to you?"

Vivian remarked, "Pretty much."

"Heyheyheyheyheyheyheyheyhey" Iris scrambled in; her eyes wide with excitement as she burst towards Jason on all fours, tackling him to the ground. "What wassdat?!" She was so hyperactive right now it was sickeningly adorable.

"She's not a pet." Jason told Vivian, as he stroked Iris' ears and he felt her tense up and relax as he pocketed the bell. He slid the girl off of him, petting her head to keep her content. He looked over at Momoko. "You simply have to learn how to control her."

Momoko still wasn't sure what to say. "I see."

Vivian placed her hand on Momoko's shoulder. "Don't think too hard about these things."

"Now let's gooooo~" Wendy was still tugging on Momoko's arm. "Maybe we'll find really pretty things!"

Iris's ears shook for a moment. "Hopefully~!" Her tail was wagging as well in excitement and anticipation.

Vivian seemed rather annoyed by it all. "...Sometimes, you're too hyperactive, y'know."

"So what are we looking for, so we know exactly what to ask around for?" Yasaka asked, floating around Momoko, looking at her map. "Your villagers might know some things, no?"

Momoko looked up at the Exceed with an 'are you serious' expression, muttering in an almost-hissing tone, "Exactly. We could ask the old bag or other elderly people. We'll split up and scout the area, asking whoever looks like they may know something about the Seven Secrets of the Dragon Clan."

Yasaka was rather taken aback by the woman's attitude to her, and she immediately went back to Wendy's side, where the air was much kinder.

"Wendy, Yasaka, and I will go speak with the Elder." Jason started to give directions. "Momoko, you go with Iris-" He tossed Momoko the bell. "and consult with the elderly, and Ulalia and Vivian, you two can ask the other elderly.  This shouldn't take long."

Momoko sighed as she caught the bell in her hands. "I'm always with the crazy ones..." Iris wrapped her tail around Momoko's arm rather pleasantly. "...Well, she is rather soft...so I'll think I won't complaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaain~"

Jason and Wendy headed up to the Elder's current residence. Since he had destroyed her old one, she'd moved into a different one. Without knocking, they entered, looking around for her.

"Elder!" Wendy called out into the dark of the house. "Are you here?"

Jane wandered out from the primitave looking bath stall, drying her hair...and there was nothing else to conceal her body. Thankfully, she was still in her young form, so nobody was mentally scarred. "I'm always here, chumps. So, what do you want?" She remained oblivious to the whole situation.

Jason immediately covered Wendy's eyes, to keep her from seeing Jane's bare form. "Momoko is interested in looking into the Seven Secrets of your Clan. We need information." Quick and to the point.

Jane began to count her fingers. "Let's see. There's the Wailing Well, which is to the northeast of here, on the hills. Rumor has it that when you peer directly down into it, you can hear haunting voices screaming for help. It is rather unsettling, to be honest. But other than that, that's the only one I've actually found that's real."

Wendy started to shiver, nervous at the sound of "haunting voices". Jason took note of it, but did nothing to calm her since his main priority was keeping her eyes covered. "Alright. Thank you for your time."

The group all met together under the sails at the center of town once again. Investigations had been concluded. Almost immediately after, Momoko asked each and every one of them, "What did you find out?" She was rather impatient about this. "...Actually, LaHote, Wendy, go first."

"The old biddy mentioned the 'Wailing Well'," Yasaka explained, before Jason and Wendy could speak. "She says it's the only one she's seen that's exists. When you look directly into it, apparently, you hear voices screaming for help." Wendy shuddered again, but Jason put his hand on her head, and she relaxed.

Ulalia spoke up for both her and Vivian. "We learned about the Ascending Stairs. No matter how much you traverse up them, you can never reach an end unless you head back down."

Momoko snarked, "That's...rather underwhelming. Iris and I found out about the Fountain of Truth; where you drop a Jewel note in; and it will reflect your inner self."

"The question being...which do we head to first?" Jason asked the girls, deciding they'd lead this little exposition.

Momoko was downright sarcastic in her answer. "I honestly think that the well is the safest of them all. Let's head there!" She paused and repeated that in a non-smartass tone. "But yeah, the well. It would be best to do the most eerie first so we don't have to think about it as much later on."

"L-l-l-let's g-g-go!" Wendy tried to act tough, but it was obvious she was still nervous about going to a place labeled as "haunted".

"Take us to it." Jason told Momoko. While it wasn't an 'order', it wasn't a 'request' either.

Momoko pulled out the dusty map once again, tracing her fingers along the short roads. "Alright. It should take us about ten minutes to get there if we run." She suddenly stopped all other forms of action and charged up magic in her feet; before blasting off with a jet of water that erupted from the soles of her shoes.

Iris muttered, "...That's a bit flashy..."

Arriving at the well in a fairly short space of time, it was noticeably worn. Understandable, since in a frozen area such as this, a well would be borderline useless and Jason was beginning to wonder why it existed at all. It was covered with frost and very clearly in need of maintenance. He walked over to it, and peered inside.

Iris shuffled over to the well, sticking her head down the hole in an attempt to scour the depths of the murky blackness that laid beneath. "...Oh, hey, there's nothing down there, I can't see a-" WHOOSH. Iris's body pushed forward, as she fell into the well. "...Thiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiing~"

Momoko just applied her palm to her forehead in exasperation. "...Dammit, Iris. Just, dammit."

"Such words couldn't better explain our reaction." Jason said, equally exasperated. "We're following, of course. I won't leave Iris down there." Jason immediately picked up Wendy, who grabbed Yasaka and held her tight to the point where the Exceed might need resuscitation and leapt down into the well. He may as well have screamed "Leeroy Jenkins" at the top of his lungs.

Momoko couldn't help but wonder, "Is being around these fools a curse or a blessing", before following suit after a few moments of thought. With a sudden flipping movement, Momoko leaped down into the well; her vision was blurred by the inky darkness that surrounded them. "...Huh. This isn't so scary..."

Vivian and Ulalia looked at each other. "You first."

Ulalia grabbed Vivian and merrily pushed her down the well. "No, the plans have been...rerranged!"

Jason landed neatly, his palm firmly planted on the ground and he let Wendy down in time to catch Momoko, who fell shortly after, and Vivian, who was tumbling down to to Ulalia's hasty nature of forcing her into the well. Looking directly at Vivian, he asked, "Are you alright?"