Scenario:Karyl - Can't Read Her Poker Face

Can't Read Her Poker Face

Karyl, (Captain), and the crew interrupt their search for Kokkoro's lord to look for some local children who've gone monster-hunting in the forest. The kids are found handily beating a weakling monster, but Karyl insists they need to develop a healthy fear of monsters for their own safety. She magically controls the monster to give them a scare. (Captain) and the others realize Karyl is a more caring person than she likes to let on.

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On the island of Deliciora is a town whose streets upon streets of eating establishments have earned it the moniker "Flavorville."

The crew visited on a monster-hunting mission and met a mysterious trio from a group called the Gourmet Guild.

The three guild members had come to investigate rumors of monster activity and promptly lost track of their fourth member.

The guild helped the crew with their mission, and in return (Captain) and the others decided to join the search for the missing guild member.

The search is not going smoothly.

Pecorine: Morning! Everybody pumped for the search today?

Kokkoro: Yes. I am determined today will be the day I rescue my Lord.

Kokkoro: (Captain)... All of you... I am truly grateful for your assistance. Thank you for joining our search again today.

Vyrn: You bet! Mister Lord's long overdue for a rescue! And ya don't hafta be so formal with us, Lordette.

Lyria: That's right! We're doing this because we want to help! Right, (Captain)?

(Captain)'s answer is, of course, a bright smile and nod of agreement.

Kokkoro: Thank you so much. Your kindness warms my heart.

Pecorine: We're all so lucky we met you! You guys are the absolute best!

Vyrn: Hehe, you're as sunny as ever, Miss Peckish! Well then...

Vyrn looks over at the third guild member.

Karyl: ...

Karyl: What?

Vyrn: N-nothin'. Um. Who brushed you the wrong way, Whiskers? You look kinda mad...

Karyl: I'm not mad. Do I look mad? Let's get searching already. We're losing daylight.

Pecorine: Ahaha... That's my fault. She just finished giving me a lecture before you got here.

Karyl: Yeah, because you were taking all year to finish your breakfast.

Pecorine: But Karyl! Breakfast is the most important meal of the day! How am I supposed to do my job on an empty stomach?

Karyl: Siiigh. Sure. Fine. I already said I'm not mad. Let's just go.

Vyrn: Right...
Hey, Lordette, are they okay?

Kokkoro: Please rest assured. This is how they always interact.

Kokkoro: Pecorine set out to consume a day's supply of nutrients this morning, in order to better search for my lord.

Kokkoro: Karyl probably hurried her along because she's impatient to find him.

Kokkoro: Though their methods differ, they both feel the same.

Kokkoro: Of course, I do wish they got along better...

Vyrn: Yeesh. It must be rough on you keeping this guild together single-handed.

Kokkoro: Oh, no... The two of them are very dependable when push comes to shove.

Vyrn: Hmm... If you say so.

The guild and the crew split up to cover more ground.

Lyria: Hmm... Not here either. I wonder where he is and what he's up to right now.

Vyrn: Don't look so glum. If he's on this island, he's gotta turn up sooner or later.

Vyrn: Hehe. Maybe he's not even missing. Maybe he's just hiding 'cause he's scared of catching one of those lectures from Whiskers!

Lyria: Oh, Vyrn, that's a terrible thing to say...

Vyrn: Haha, I'm only kidding! But she's so prickly!

Vyrn: Especially compared to Miss Peckish and Lordette. They're so easy to get along with.

Karyl: Well forgive me for being prickly.

Vyrn: Gyah! Wh-wh-where'd you come from, Whiskers!

Karyl: I was looking for my friend, and I happened to hear a certain lizard running his mouth.

Vyrn: I ain't no—

Karyl: Yeah?

Vyrn: L-lizard. I'm not...

Karyl: Hunh! Well, too bad, 'cause I'm not nice, and I am prickly. Deal with it!

Vyrn: Uh... No, I... I'm sorry. That was my bad.

Lyria: Um, Karyl, I... I don't think Vyrn meant anything bad by it!

Karyl: Sigh... It's fine. He's not wrong.
So? How's the search going on your end?

A shake of the head is all (Captain) can offer. The crew hasn't found a single clue.

Karyl: Oh...

Nearby, a group of adults suddenly burst into a flurry of restless activity, worry clear on their faces.

Karyl: Wait, what just happened? Is something wrong?

Neighbor Ned: O-oh... Hello, travelers. Sorry to alarm you. Don't worry, it's just a local problem.

Vyrn: What kinda problem? We're skyfarers, so maybe we can help!

Neighbor Ned: You are? Well, the thing is, it seems some local children got it into their heads to go monster-hunting in the woods.

Vyrn: What! Kids goin' after monsters on their own?

Neighbor Ned: They're a rambunctious group, and apparently they've been talking about how they could handle monsters by themselves for a while now...

Neighbor Ned: No one had seen them since this morning, so we went out looking. Someone said they spotted them entering the woods...

Neighbor Ned: Only small, weak monsters live in the woods near here, which is probably why the kids figured they could handle them.

Vyrn: A little monster's still a monster. No way is that a good idea.

1. Let's go find them.
2. Yeah, this sounds like trouble.

Choose: Let's go find them.

Vyrn: I'm with (Captain)!

Go to "Continue 1"

Choose: Yeah, this sounds like trouble.

Lyria: Yes... I'm worried about them!

Continue 1

Vyrn: H-hey, Whiskers, sorry to do this right in the middle of our guild-member hunt.

Vyrn: But we can't just let a bunch of kids become monster snacks.

Karyl: You wanna join the search party? Fine... What else can we do, under the circumstances?

Vyrn: R-right! Let's make tracks for that forest and bring 'em back safe and sound!

(Captain), Karyl, and the crew suit the action to the word.

Karyl: These woods are pretty deep... What were those kids thinking coming here by themselves?

Vyrn: Yeah... We gotta find 'em before they run into something nasty!

Lyria: Wait! Did you hear something over that way?

Lyria leads the way, and soon the sounds she heard become clear to everyone. The crew picks up the pace.

Benny: Yaah! Hi-yah!

Monster: ...!

Kenny: That'll teach ya to mess up our fields all the time!

Jenny: This is for startling my granny! It's your fault she fell down an' hurt herself! Hyah!

(Captain) and company stare dumbfounded at the children fearlessly hurling stones at the monster and whacking away at it with sticks.

Vyrn: Wow... It's just a half-pint monster, but those kids are giving it a run for its rupies!

Lyria: I'm just glad they're safe... They gave me a fright, but it looks like they're okay.

Vyrn: True. Geez, do they even know what a fuss they caused?

Vyrn: Wh-whoa, Whiskers, what's wrong! You look like you're about to blow a fuse...

Karyl: ...!

Vyrn and Lyria move a little closer together in the face of Karyl's barely suppressed wrath.

Vyrn: Y-yo... If you're mad that they made ya worry, I get it, but... All's well that ends well, yeah?

Karyl: What do you mean, "ends well"! We can't let this stand!

Vyrn: Meep! Whaddya mean?

Karyl: Those kids are going to grow up thinking monsters are nothing to be scared of, and tell other people the same thing!

Karyl: Who knows how many people could get hurt because of that!

Lyria: ...

Vyrn: Well, maybe, but all you can do is set 'em straight when they go wrong, right?

Karyl: Not good enough. If they win this battle, they're not going to listen to anything adults tell them.

1. You have a point.
2. Sounds like you have an idea.

Choose: You have a point.

Karyl: Right? If they win now, they're not going to believe grown-ups when they tell them how dangerous monsters can be.

Karyl: So I've got an idea. I'll use a little magic to teach them to look before they leap.

Go to "Continue 2"

Choose: Sounds like you have an idea.

Karyl: You bet I do. Perceptive of you to notice. Guess that's why you're the captain, huh?

Karyl: I'm going to use a little magic to teach them to look before they leap.

Continue 2

Karyl: I need a few more people to pull this off. Are you in?

Vyrn: Sure, but what kinda magic are you gonna use?

Karyl: Heh heh. A spell I save for special occasions!

Benny: We got 'im on the ropes! Let's show the grown-ups how it's done!

Jenny: ...?

Kenny: What? You scared?

Jenny: Uh... hey. Does the monster look... different, somehow?

Monster: Groooh...

The monster, which had merely been running from the children in a panic, suddenly rounds on them with a murderous glint in its eye.

Monster: Grrroooaaarr!

Brat Pack: Yeeek!

Benny: Wh-what's your problem, buckteeth? Y-you think you're tough all of a sudden?

Jenny: Nooo! He's scary, he's scary, I hate him! I wanna go home!

But their fearsome, furred foe heads them off at the pass, gnashing its teeth.

Kenny: Noooo!

Just as the beast is twitching its cotton tail in preparation to spring, two figures throw themselves into its path.

Vyrn: You kids okay?

Lyria: Don't worry! We'll save you!

Kenny: Whoa! A lady an' a lizard just popped outta nowhere!

Vyrn: Hey. I ain't no—

Vyrn: Eh, maybe this isn't the time.

Vyrn: Hey, carrot breath! You take your twitchy nose elsewhere!

Benny: Are we... saved?

Lyria: Yes! Everything's going to be okay!

The monster flings itself at Lyria and Vyrn, who crumple to the ground one after the other, clutching their sides.

Vyrn: Oh no... He got me...

Lyria: Aaah... Someone, help...

Benny: !

Monster: Grraaah!

(Captain) is the next to jump to the children's defense, but the captain, too, is knocked flying.

1. The pain, the pain!
2. Can no one save us?

Choose: The pain, the pain!
Choose: Can no one save us?

Kenny: Th-this is awful! What do we... What can we...

Jenny: What'll we do? Will we ever get home?

Karyl: I'll make sure of it.

Benny: Whuh... Who are you?

Karyl: Forget that—just get outta my way!

Karyl sprints forward, winds up her staff arm, and takes aim at the monster's head.

Thwack!

Monster: Grrrggghhh...

Monster: ...!

The moment Karyl bops the monster on the head, it returns to normal. No sooner has it regained its senses than it dashes off and disappears between the trees.

Jenny: I-is it really gone?

Vyrn: I think so... Whooo, what a relief! That was the strongest monster I've ever seen!

Vyrn: (Yeesh. You really go all out with your schemes, Whiskers.)

Karyl: Heh heh. A spell I save for special occasions!

Karyl: I can magically control monsters. I just need you guys to put on a bit of a show for me.

Vyrn: Wow, Whiskers, you can really do that?

Vyrn: Wait. What kinda show? What're you planning?

Karyl: I'll make the monster look really ferocious. You guys go out there and act like it's thrashing you.

Karyl: If they see a bunch of adults getting their tails handed to them by a monster, it should teach them that monster-hunting is serious business.

Lyria: Okay... I get it. Let's give it a try!

Vyrn: So all we have to do is act like it walloped us? Sounds like fun!

Karyl: I hope you squirts realize now just how dangerous monsters are. Next time you'll know better, right?

Benny: Yeah... I was so scared... I thought we were all goners. I'm sorry...

Kenny & Jenny: We're sorry too...

Karyl: All right then, let's go home. You made a lot of people worry, you know. They've been turning the town upside down looking for you.

Brat Pack: Okay...

Jenny: But you were really cool, miss! You're so strong!

Karyl: W-well, he was no match for me, really.

Lyria: Hehe... I think Karyl just loses her temper because she cares about people. She's actually a really nice person, don't you think, Vyrn?

Vyrn: Yeah! I really feel bad about what I said earlier.

Karyl: What's keeping you two? I want to get back to our original search. You're not dropping out on me, are you?

Karyl: Those three really reminded me of our guild's lost doofus. He really is just a big kid.

Vyrn: That's what you say, but you're worried about him, huh?

Karyl: N-no I'm not! I wanna find him so I can give him an earful for putting me to all this trouble!

Vyrn: Hehehe! Aww, you don't have to be embarrassed!

(Captain) and the others exchange a private smile as they follow Karyl and the children homeward. They are happy to have discovered her kind nature in spite of her attempts to hide it.

Now that they know her better, they are even more determined to reunite her with her missing friend.