Gearing up (Moore, Ithea)

[Nephrite]

Moore will go with Crystal!

"He's quite the character, isn't he?" Moore says with a grin. "I suppose we ought to report back to Lady Skye about our success."

[Anastasia]

"We should," Crystal says, a little pout on her face as she blushes. "But just to be clear, I am not Afina's minion!"

[Nephrite]

Moore smiles and then just starts laughing as they continue on. "Don't worry, I don't intend to be Afina's minion either."

[Anastasia]

"Yes...though..." Suddenly Crystal trails off, humming to herself. "Ah. Are you currently romantically entangled or spoken for?"

[Nephrite]

Moore blinks. "No, I'm not."

[Anastasia]

"Hm." Crystal gives Moore another look, "Speaking of Afina, I've been thinking she needs a pleasant distraction, someone to grow close to. You have promising morals and a silver tongue, both things which may well aid you should you court her."

[Nephrite]

Moore's cheeks turn a slight shade of red, but he continues to smile. "I will consider that, should fate deem we have that kind of relationship. Actually, Miss Crystal, if you don't mind my asking... before we go back to report you're no longer in debt... what exactly happened to get you there?"

[Anastasia]

As the two fly over Aurora's courtyard and down, "Ah. Awhile ago, there was a concerted effort to equip Aurora's elite with magical belt. These belts enhance all aspects of the wearer greatly but are prohibitively expensive. I understand two hundred thousand gold is the average price for one, should you be fortunate enough to obtain one. Afina is able to manufacture one for about a fourth of that. It was decided to distribute them to all, and those who could not pay would be paid for by the Aurora fund, then expected to pay off the debt."

[Nephrite]

Moore nods and gestures at his hat. "I had heard about that, so I actually had something similar fashioned into this. I'm glad we were able to take that burden off of your shoulders, though." Moore smiles and nods to Crystal. "It must not have been easy."

[Anastasia]

What's Moore's hat look like? Relevant.

[Nephrite]

dark blue beret with a silver feather in the shape of a dragon holding a book. Kind of similar to Edward's hat from FF4.

[Anastasia]

"Yes, Afina's hat does much the same," Crystal notes, flying around Moore and studying his head wear. "It was a trial, but it is one that has been finished. All that's left is to learn from it and move on."

[Nephrite]

Moore nods. "I think I must've overheard someone talking about it, the idea just came to me. Either way, I hope Queen Illsenine is pleased."

[Anastasia]

"She should be," Crystal says, the two returning to court.

You meet with Lady Skye in the same antechamber. She gives you a curious look and says, "Well then, tell me of your deeds."

Congratulations, you've been hit with the exposition stick.

[Nephrite]

"I will summarize for the Lady." Moore says.

"We first ventured to the Deep Ethereal to uncover some lost treasure. We all got separated, but eventually recovered it. However, we decided that a better use of the treasure would be to barter with the denizens of the Mineral plane -- it was Lady Crystal's idea, actually, so any thanks for it should go to her." He turns and smiles to Crystal at that before returning to Skye. He uses his arms a great deal for emphasis but most of the story simply comes from his inflections on the heroic acts. "We crossed through the tunnels and caves of Mineral to finally stand at the door to the palace of Lord Crystalle of Mineral. We met with his personal attendant, Gold, and through an up-front and honest interaction wherein we pledged the services of Aurora to Mineral, they were gracious enough to accept the offer. We returned with quite the trove, as well as new allies. It was all around a complete success." Moore finishes, offering a small bow as he moves his hands slightly away from his chest and outward.

He's being honest but still trying to upsell here.