Let's do finances! So! First up. All of the pilots cost 7 Thaler in total. Employees are another 3 Thaler. Now, next up is Hilda's plane getting upgrades. As in, installations. It needs a propeller, which is one Thaler. Joli can install the engine for free, but you need an alternator, which is 2 Thaler. Not gonna make you roll for it. You're also spending another Thaler on the scrip adding up. So in total, that's 14 Thaler spent out of your 30 you have right now. Yeeeesh! Also! Your bottom line is going up by 2 Thaler since you have to factor in your plane's maintenance now. So your bottom line is now 12 Thaler! 12 Thaler a mission or you're losing money. Make it happen.
"Alright, so, I feel like I should probably tell you guys how I became a pilot." You commented to Riya and Edgar while picking at your breakfast of greens, avoiding eye contact with them. You weren't sure how they would react to it. You framed the last time you mentioned it like a joke, though you had an odd need to tell someone about it. You weren't sure why. But you needed to be honest about it so they didn't think you were fucking nuts when you told them about Karl.
"Oh, I need to hear this," Edgar said, leaning in. Riya just looked at you skeptically.
"The night before I met Riya is when I left my coven. It's located like, a hundred-fifty kilometers west of Gregor. Pretty easy to spot from the air. They haven't had trade with the outside world, like, ever, and there hasn't been a man there also ever. Except for a couple visits during the War. But it was really just a tiny camp on the far side of the field next to the buildings. They left in August the year the bombs dropped. They left a couple planes behind. That was my first plane." You began, not wanting to think about your home.
"So who taught you to fly?" Riya asked, looking suspicious of you.
"No one did." You took a deep breath. "I went into the woods and made a deal with a nymph to teach me how to fly." You said as you exhaled.
"Wait, you were serious?" Edgar asked, as Riya just put her face in her hands. You looked down at the table.
"Yeah." You responded. You looked down at the table.
"What did you give in exchange?" Edgar asked next. You took a moment to frame your words before responding.
"I lent my fire magic to her for three nights." You said, feeling like you fucked something up.
"Is that bad?" Edgar asked. You shrugged.
"I mean, from what I've been told, their magic is kind of limited most of the time. They can't really create or have creativity. They just are. That's why deals are so important to them, and why they want to get the most out of it. So giving them the ability to use my fire magic was actually incredibly irresponsible." You said, thinking briefly about how much you'd matured in a month and a half. You ran your fingers through your hair and took another deep breath. "This isn't why I'm telling you this though. I just need you guys to not think I'm crazy."
"About?" Riya asked.
"I was given a necklace to give me the skill to fly a plane. It was made from the glass of a pilot's goggles. I didn't know it at the time, but it contained the soul of a dead pilot. You still with me?" They both nodded. "So, when I was hit with that shovel back in the mountains, I got a brain injury, and that necklace got smashed. The dead pilot's soul bonded with mine, and when my brain got regenerated he got stuck in my head with me."
"Right, the dryad said something about that." Edgar said.
"Last night he appeared to me when I was high off my ass. We talked for a bit."
"Hilda, you know I respect you. Are you sure that-"
"He's real. He was in front of me as plain as you two right now." You reached into your bag and pulled out the map tube. "I took this from home when I left. It's a map to the oldest woman in Himmelgard. Apparently she taught my coven magic. But I don't know where the map is referencing, and I don't know who could help. I want to help Karl pass on though. I owe it to him. So, I wanted to ask you guys for help with that."
"Of course, we'll help, Hilda," Riya said, smiling slightly. "Thanks for being honest with us. I hate it when you hide things."
"I'm trying to be better about that."
"So, that map is to the woman that taught your coven magic?" Edgar asked.
"Allegedly." You replied.
"Seems obvious who we should ask." He said. You looked at the table again.
[ ] Return home to find an answer.
[ ] Look for someone else to help read a centuries-old map.
