This time I need a soldier, a really bad ass soldier

Ruminal was sitting in the back of the main hall reading a book series he found in the library called "The inheritance cycle: Eragon". Ruminal was a young boy still only 6 years old but he could already read at a college student level. Not only that but he could already speak English just was well as a normal adult but he still kept his child like immaturity. The book he was reading was the story of a farm boy named Eragon who happened upon a dragon's egg and becomes a dragon rider to save the world from an evil dictator. The book itself was written very well full of big words that most children his age wouldn't even be able to understand. Ruminal was just getting to a good part of the story where his village was being questioned by some rather evil looking men, if you could call them men, for any sightings of a strange stone which happened to be the dragon egg that Eragon found. It was then Ruminal heard his father calling for him from the job board on the other side of the main hall.

He sighed and put his book marker in and closed the book then made has way to the job board. "Would you like to do a job with me, Rum?" Asked Marschal. Honestly all Ruminal wanted to do was continue to read his new book but something told him Marschal wasn't going to take no for an answer. "Alright, guess I could." He answered with a somewhat bored tone while looking down at his book currently in his right hand. "So what do you have in mind?"

"Well, there's this job here that I found... It's a request from a toymaker out in Motor City." Marshy replied handing Ruminal the poster. He began to look the job poster over on the details for what they had to do while Marschal continued to explain. "He's asking for two or so mages to head off into the city and follow some of his animated toy soldiers to see what they're up to. They keep bringing strings and various other items to someplace he knows not of, and he really wants to know. I'd figure you'd want to do it since it involves toys, and I know how children really like to play with toys when they get their hands on them." In truth Ruminal figured himself to mature for toys but something about this job made him want to do it. Was it his child like innocents or was it something else, he could not tell.

While Ruminal kept looking over the job poster and wondering whether or not to go with Marschal asked again "So, what do you say? I mean, it'd also help you to rank up in the guild, so you're not stuck at D rank or anything." Ruminal looked down at his book once more wanting to continue see what happens next but kept darting back at the job poster as well. Finally after about a minute Ruminal had his answer. "Alright, we can go but I want to finish this chapter first." He replied handing Marschal back the poster then went back to his little quiet spot in the corner of the guild hall and continued to finish up his chapter.

After about 10 minutes Ruminal finally closed his book with his book maker in it to save his spot then went to put the book in his room. Sometime had passed and Ruminal finally came back ready to take off for the job. "I'm ready when you are father." he said waiting for when Marschal was ready to head out although he probably has been ready for over 10 minutes now.

As Marschal and Ruminal began to walk through the town the young mage started to feel uneasy. It was due to so many people walking around and Ruminal wasn't a fan of crowds. He clinged to his father with an upset face until they reached the boat. While they were still walked through the town however Ruminal couldn't help but look around at the different buildings they passed by. There were bakeries, book stores, and even shops for art supplies. He had to make mental notes to come down here one day when the crowds have died down a bit to check them out.

Marschal purchased there tickets for the boat once they arrived at the docks and walked onto the deck. "I hope you didn't inherit the seasickness that I have," Marschal mumbled to himself but Ruminal over heard with this fox like ears. However i didn't seem like he was trying to hide it to much. Even though Ruminal only had been in the human world for less then a year now he had plenty of time to read up on the world as a whole and read about seasickness and other kinds as well. The young mage however had never been on a boat before and was hoping the same thing.

After about an hour at sea Ruminal would notice that he hasn't been getting any of the symptoms of seasickness. Instead while his father suffered Ruminal spent his time looking out at the sea for signs of aquatic life. He spotted several different kinds of fish but nothing big like a shark or whale yet and was starting to loose hope that he would ever see one before his ride on the boat was over. "Did you know that most sharks have a mirror like reflector at the back of their eyes that magnifies light and lets shark see better in low light?" he asked to try and stir up a conversation with his father.

Ruminal watched in disgust as his father wasn't handling being out at sea very well. "Do you like sharks or something, kid?" Marschal asked as he wiped his mouth. "Not in particular, its more of a wonder for the ocean itself. Underneath the surface is like a whole new world with its own ecosystem but yet still connected to the world we live in." He answered as he looked back out into the ocean. "I haven't been in this world long and I guess I'm just curious. So much to do and see but so little time."

For the rest of the boat ride Ruminal stayed quiet staring out into the ocean trying to unravel its mysteries from what he could see on the surface. During the whole trip he didn't see one large sea creature and was a little disappointed. As to why probably because of the fact he just wanted to say he saw one in his lifetime but didn't let it get to him cause after all he lived on an island so there will be other opportunities in the future.

Ruminal followed right behind his father as everyone got off the boat. Marschal looks a little weak but was slowly getting better sense the ship stopped moving. Although Marschal tried to hide how weak he was as much as possible but Ruminal wasn't being fooled by it nor cared cause he knew his father will be fine in a while. "Motor City isn't that far off, maybe a few hours walk, but nothing longer than that," Marschal explained. "I suggest you take a minute to recover before we start walking. Maybe grab something to drink at least." Ruminal offered before they finally set out towards Motor City.

After about two hours of walking they finally made it to Motor City. Ruminal was beat for walking so long. His legs felt like jelly and the thought of walking back made them feel worse. After a few minutes of walking through town they finally found the toy shop they were looking for. As they entered Ruminal couldn't help but look around at all the toy's that were on display. He kept eyeing all the toys he liked but refused to say anything cause he believed himself to mature for toys. It wasn't to long after they've entered that the shopkeeper said "Good evening and welcome! How may I help you today?"

Ruminal was fighting not to go around looking at all the toy's but instead wanted to try and listen to the shopkeeper but couldn't focus at all. He heard bits and pieces of the conversation but then Marschal called for him "C'mon, Rum, let's go see if we can find ourselves some mischievous soldiers, and see what they're up to." Ruminal quickly snapped out of the trance he was in and turned towards his father "Uh, right lets go." He answered back with a dull tone.

After searching around the shop for about twenty minutes the two mages failed to find anything out of the ordinary. During this time Ruminal asked the shopkeeper some more questions about the toy's like how long are they usually gone and which way they normally travel off to. The toy's are usually gone for about 30 minutes which means they can't be going to far and they normally travel down the back alleyway's heading south. Sense the two weren't having any luck finding them in the shop it must mean either there onto them and hiding or they already left. "Hey dad, I'm going to look around the back alleyway." Once in the back part of the shop in the alleyway Ruminal began looking around for any clues that could help them out. He started looking down the south way sense that's the way they normally run off to. Eventually he came across a sewer drain with a piece of string caught in it. The size of the drain looks big enough to fit a toy soldier down it so maybe there heading into the sewer system. He searched around for a manhole he could use to get down into the sewers and search around under that drain. Sure enough he found more pieces of string laying around here and there. After finding out these clues Ruminal headed back up to the alleyway and back into the shop to inform his father what he has found.

Ruminal came walking into the toy shop and found his father standing around waiting for his return. Once in he turned towards Ruminal and asked if he found anything. "I found a sewer drain with some string attached to it. I think they might be using it as an entryway into the sewer systems. I also found a manhole a little bit down in order to inspect the area further and found more string underneath the drain. I think we should start our search more thoroughly there." Ruminal explained.

After discussing the situation with Marschal they headed down into the sewer system in order to search the area by the sewer drain with the string attached to it. Nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary but then again, Ruminal had never been in a sewer before. He read about them and how they are used to carry sewage from buildings through underground pipe systems and such and the smell of the place really made that much known to him. It smelled like a million different thinks all fell down and died down here. Ruminal was having a hard time dealing with it. "Lets hurry this up and get out of here otherwise my nose will never work the same again."

Ruminal listened to his father curse over and over for a short bit of time about the smell of the place. He wasn't very found of cursing as he believes it's a sign of a weak mind. "You really shouldn't swear in front of children." Ruminal remarked as they began following the string down the passageway. Truthfully Ruminal hated referring to himself as a child even though he knows well enough he is. Its mostly due to the fact that he is far more intelligent than most people he's met. As they moved further down the sewer tunnel it felt like the smell of the place was getting worse. So much so Ruminal was also covering his nose with this sleeve. As they came into a small open room they found more stuff lying on the ground. More string, toy limbs and clothing on the ground scattered here and there. "Interesting..." Ruminal murmured to himself. He began to scan the room for more clues.

There was nothing else out of the ordinary in the room, just some more sewage and some sewer rats running around. However upon further inspection Ruminal spotted a small set of foot prints on the ground leading down a narrow passage way barely big enough to fit Marschal threw it. "Here we go. There's some tracks going down this way." The tracks themselves weren't very visible on the concrete ground but still there thanks to the little amount of sewage on the ground. The tunnel connected this room from the next wasn't very long only like 5 yards at most. From what Ruminal can tell from here their seems to be no outlet besides this tunnel in the next room over.

Ruminal was a bit annoyed by his father's answer to the situation. He thought that he wanted to do this job together but it just seems like Ruminal has been doing all the work. Maybe Marschal was testing him he thought and just went with it. "This shouldn't take to long." Ruminal said as he transformed into his wolf form and began to walk down the narrow path to the next room. His wolf form was the same color and pattern design as his outfit, all silver fur with red fire and circle like patterns. As he walked into the next room he transformed back into his human form and to his surprise he found the toy soldiers along with other toy's that seemed to have been broken and others that have been fixed. The toys saw the light that Ruminal gave off as he transformed back and noticed him immediately. They all starred at him with a surprised look on there little faces, or at least that's what it seemed like. In an instant it seemed Ruminal was put on the spot and was starting to get nervous. All these toy soldiers looking at him reminded him of a crowd of people just staring at him.

"Um... Hi?" Ruminal said nervously. The toy's didn't move an inch. "Uh... Well. The toy maker was wondering what you guys were doing so he hired me and my father to find out and..." Ruminal started to explain when the toy's started to make an expression of relief. They must have thought that he came down here to destroy them or something. A little confused in the moment Ruminal continued to look out and about the room at all the broken toy's they've fixed. It was amazing how well of a job they did. They must have been watching the Toy Maker for some time and practice in secret down here for a quiet a while. However while the he was admiring there handy work the toys snuck up on his and all began to jump him at once. Ruminal let out a yell of surprised as they did.

The toy's were covering Ruminal from shoulder to legs. They weren't heavy enough to throw him off balance and some of them looked like there were trying to tell him something but that's when Marschal came running into the room and screaming bloody murder and threatening the toy's. That came as such a shock to them that they all jumped down and ran to hide in the back. "I don't think that was necessary but hey, I'll give you an A for quick reaction time." Ruminal laughed. But the question remained why did they just try to jump him like that? Obviously they weren't trying to hurt him. Ruminal scanned the room trying to fit the pieces of information he had together to try and come up with an answer.

They toy's were peaking there heads out of there hiding spots to see if things have settled down yet but were still scared to come out. "You guys can come out, he isn't going to do anything." After hearing that the toy's starting scrambling around in front of them and began to form a word. They couldn't spell out the entire word so they went to grab a few of the mended toys in order to finish it and they spelled out the word "Surprise". That's all that was need for Ruminal to pieces the rest of the puzzle together. "I see now. You guys were practicing your toy making skills down here in secret in order to surprise the toy maker. Is that it?" It made the most logical sense. Why else would they be working on these toys away from the toy shop and tried to jump him the way they did. They didn't want the toy maker to know just yet. "Well this comes as a problem... We were hired to find out what you guys were doing, if we don't tell him we wont get paid." Ruminal crossed his arms trying to think up a solution but non was coming to him. "You got any idea's?" He asked turning to Marschal.

After hearing Marschal's idea of the situation Ruminal couldn't help but run in the direct path of his father and hold his arms out trying to stop him. "Come on, there has to be something we can do here!" Ruminal yelled. He has been racking his brain trying to think of something but the best thing he can think of was a long shot at best. Looking over at the toy's they seem to be disappointed as well. "Maybe we can tell the toy maker that there's nothing to worry about and that..." At that point one of the toy's walked up to Ruminal and started tugging on his pants trying to get his attention. It was waving his hand like this course of action was alright. Maybe they were thinking that they have practices enough but was waiting for the right time and that this situation was the best that they can get. "You guys sure?" Ruminal asked. The toy gave him a thumbs up with a smile. Ruminal put his arms down and let his father pass and followed close behind him still a little bummed out but he guessed this was the best course of action after all.