The Night Before the Trial

Oh, hey there, Chasca. Did Elder Allpa send you?

Yeah, she's got other things on her plate right now. How are things looking here?

Hmm, well, the inspection revealed numerous blockages all over the trial arena. It looks like they're the result of ley line disorders caused by repeat Abyss invasions.

Theoretically, we just need to clear those obstacles, and the arena will fill up with gaseous phlogiston again. But that's proving difficult to achieve in practice, for all sorts of reasons...

Why don't you head on down and check things out for yourself? Feel free to ask the staff for more details.

Wow, you took care of everything in no time at all... Incredible work!

Now, we just have to wait until the gaseous phlogiston is fully replenished. Then we can kick off the retrials.

Hmm... Actually, Inkanak, I'd like to do a test flight first, just to make sure we're not missing anything. Could you arrange that for me?

Huh? But... you only just finished getting the arena ready, there could still be other hazards we're unaware of...

All the more reason to have me test it out. Think of it as another inspection.

Eh... I guess you're right — with your flying skills, you won't be in any serious danger, even if there are hazards we overlooked...

The conditions in this area seem a little unstable, but a test-flight is the only way to catch any lingering issues.

Alright, I'll get things set up for you. Just let me know when you're ready.

That was amazing! Paimon couldn't take her eyes off you!

So, any further issues with the venue?

Hmm... No, nothing major. Give it a few days, and we should be able to conduct the trials.

Help... Help me!

...You're from the Flower-Feather Clan, right? Please, come quick, you've got to help us!

Catch your breath first. What's the situation?

W—We were... We got attacked, by a qucusaur!

My friends are still stranded in the middle of the road with the goods we were transporting... Please, I'm begging you, save them!

Huh? Are qucusaurs really that aggressive? Do they usually attack groups of people unprovoked?

Not in my experience... but there are exceptions to every rule. Let's go check it out.

Hm? Chasca, Nhà Lữ Hành? This is a surprise.

Elder Allpa? Huh? So... where's this aggressive qucusaur we've heard about?

Already flew away. Looks like it backed off once it realized that reinforcements were coming.

So why do you think it attacked these people in the first place? Was it after the food?

No, these merchants aren't even transporting food...

Ah! Thank goodness! The Phlogiston Wings are intact!

...Phlogiston Wings?

Ahh, thank you so much for coming to our rescue. These Phlogiston Wings are our most prized goods. If anything happened to them, it would ruin us...

...Wait a minute, are you the merchants that were looking to collaborate with us? Warmi told me about you.

Yeah, that's us! So... I take it you're Elder Allpa?

I am. You must be exhausted from your journey, not to mention shaken up from the attack. Let me bring you back to our tribe to rest — we can talk business after you've recovered.

But Elder Allpa, what about the qucusaur attack?

Well, our guests here weren't seriously injured, and their goods are intact... Perhaps that qucusaur was just having a bad day.

There are so many of them around here, you'd expect something like this every once in a while. I don't think we need to pursue it any further... More importantly, how are the preparations for the flying trials going? Is everything in order over at the arena?

Huh? Did you say... flying trials? Wow, what a coincidence! Sounds like a perfect use case for our Phlogiston Wings! You'll be pleasantly surprised by what they can do!

Oh, really? ...Now I'm intrigued.

Hehe, well then let's forget all about this qucusaur attack for now... We have some serious business to discuss!

...

So that's it? That all went smoother than expected... Well, guess we'd better get going... Huh? Chasca?

What are you looking at?

...

A bloodstained feather...