Since their last adventures with their friends, Jeice and Torchy had taken on a decidedly more interesting job than just map making and rescuing tourists in the Darkside and Shadowglen forests. With a sudden rise in crime around the mainland, they'd taken up bounty hunting. Turns out their skills in tracking and navigating the dangerous woods served them well hunting down the more shadowy elements of Subeta's inhabitants.

They'd just turned in another criminal, collected their money, bought some interesting foods from some of the street vendors in Centropolis and decided to make their way to the mountains north of Veta Lake. They chose one of the smaller ones, and found a patch of grass near the summit and sprawled out, relaxing and sunning themselves.

Their dozing was interrupted by Jeice sitting bolt upright with a surprised growl after something lightweight bounced off her forehead. "What on earth was that?" she hollered, eyes narrowed as she glanced around quickly.

Torchy too had been startled, and reached out one paw, having spotted a small envelope in the grass behind the ranger. He growled and batted it closer, sniffing at it suspiciously before giving a loud squeal and jumping to his feet and bouncing excitedly.

Jeice picked up the envelope and saw a familiar seal. She gasped, then grinned and jumped to her feet, tearing it open and quickly scanning the letter inside. "Torchy, the protectors have finally been summoned again!' She laughed as the dragon pounced on her, knocking her down and then prancing around, wings stretching and flapping slowly. "Yes yes, I know." Jeice chuckled as she scrambled to her feet once more. "Come on, we've got to get to the Wayward Squirrel!"

They made record time down the mountain thanks to the foldable hang glider she'd kept from a previous adventure. Jeice and Torchy stopped at Laurie's Library to say hi to an old friend, and pick up a couple of special items, as well as reclaim her trusty motorcycle before they sped off together, heading for the inn.

At last the Wayward Squirrel came into view and Jeice could already see some familiar faces. "Hello!" She shouted, grinning and waving one arm as Torchy let out an ear-splitting shriek. She didn't see the vegetable and fruit laden cart drawn by two hikeis that was attempting to cut across the street until it was almost too late. With a gasp the ranger veered to one side where another empty cart sat tilted at an angle facing toward her. "Oh crap, I hope this works..." She muttered, then gunned the throttle, hoping to get enough speed up to hit the makeshift ramp and jump the cart in her path. Torchy, having spotted the problem, swooped down and gripped the back seat of the bike, stretching out his wings and providing some extra lift as they sailed into the air. They barely cleared the cart, startling the poor hikeis and the tires gave a loud squeak as they landed hard. Torchy held on, trying to slow them down, while Jeice braked hard, laughing as the bike slid sideways, coming to a stop just a few feet from Calie. "Whew, we made it!" She pulled off her helmet and shook out here hair, chuckling as Torchy grumbled at her, clearly annoyed. "Sorry my friend, thanks for the lift though." Jeice shot her teammate a cheeky grin. " I can already tell this is going to be the most exciting adventure yet!"

"I see you two haven't changed a bit!" The alchemist chuckled as Geep scrambled down her arm to greet Torchy, who stretched out his neck and let the small lizard clamor onto his head. "Still chaos incarnate." She said with a wry grin.

"Aw but you love us anyway." Jeice laughed, giving her friend a warm hug. "You're looking well, and it's been far too long since we've had an adventure together. I missed you!"

Calie smiled and nodded "It has been too long." She looked around and noticed more people heading toward the assembled airships. "Looks like the game is afoot, we'd better get ready to board and see if anyone else made it yet."

"Right, but first thing's first!" Jeice and Torchy darted into the Squirrel. The dragon eagerly scarfed down a sizeable portion of food, while Jeice simply grabbed as many portable food and drink items as she could fit into one of her satchels. Then she grabbed one last drink and a large sandwich in each hand. "Okay, we're ready, let's go!"