Hunting the Hunter that Hunts the Hunted [Anubis/Jerb]

Deeper and deeper they traversed, occasionally stopping so the white haired girl could hold a cupped hand to her ear and listen. Never mind her ability to sense people within a space – because as a constant hostess in “Paradise” she always “expected” her guests before they even knew they’d arrived, let alone been invited – sometimes she completely forgot about that second-nature ability. She listened though, curious to perhaps catch a pair of footsteps of her hopeful partner and each time to no avail. At best the caught the skittering of some mice, the corners of her eyes spotting a lizard or two dashing out of the way lest she try to eat it according to their simplistic brains.

’Oh!’ For perhaps the fourth or fifth time they stopped, though this time due to an idea occurring to Shade. If perhaps they ventured too far she feared the person being completely unable to find them even if they happened to clear a path. With the snap of her fingers she summoned a certain blue wolf in his stuffed form, gold horn jutting from his rather large head. The stuffed form would allow her to properly call upon another denizen of “Paradise” and yet he could act as a potential guide to this mysterious person to them. ’Or I suppose he can spy the hunter fellow lurking about worse comes to worse if my partner skips out…but I imagine he’s already in here somewhere. Well…could have guards, who knows?’

”I need you to go back to the beginning and see if you can find someone who….hm…well I don’t know what they look like…but as long as they’re not mumbling about treasure, this “Goldenshrine” person, or seem too scummy it might be them? Anyways lead them here, and worse comes to worse if they’re not the teammate we are looking for…I guess we tell them to move along one way or another.” Judging by the way his head bobbed the wolf plush gave his version of a “sigh” yet ultimately agreed to go along with his master’s whims. He didn’t have much of a choice, but Shade enjoyed Gaspard’s easygoing style all the same as he galloped back towards the entrance. It might be a bit however given the stubby state of his legs, but he’d get back there eventually.

It was only a minute after parting with her adorable minion when two life-forms really hit her senses. Toying with the idea of large rats even Shade’s expansive imagination couldn’t escape the acceptance they were likely humans…or at least capable of human speech judging by their complaining about “guard duty” and how they “couldn’t wait for their turn to be over” and the like. ’Hmm…guess I somehow missed the outside party?’

The member 'Cielle' has done the following action : Dice Rolls

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'Monster Dice' :

In his true form Gaspard might’ve flinched at the woman’s readiness to attack and for once he really didn’t mind the plush form. It certainly meant her foot wouldn’t meet his face and even if it did…at worse he might make a small “floof” noise since Shade grew bored of squeaky noises a couple hundred years ago. Dark times those were. This person could still be dangerous and he held half a mind to not lead her to Shade…but that would mean going against Shade’s orders and unfortunately something the denizen remained incapable of doing. So as per her request he’d started leading her back the way they’d been, steps silent with his light and fluffy body, tail waving back and forth to the waddle of his tiny behind.

With Shade already well inside the horned wolf plush stopped upon spying the man, tail shooting straight up in alarm. How had they missed him on the way down? How had he missed them on the way to meeting this woman? ’But I checked both ways at every cross roads!!! Was he just on his way out now?!’ Without proper power in this form Gaspard immediately hid in the bushes, trying to inform his mistress about their dilemma.

’If I can get there I’ll help but…’ The white haired girl managed to hide in a hole down a side path, but that didn’t change the fact the patrol group currently blocked her way back out. Meeting this other woman would have to wait as the guys decided to chat up a storm right then and there, complaining about their boss and mission, hoping the payout would be worth it among other things. ’Gods why don’t you just whip out a pot of tea while you’re at it!’ she mentally fumed. It could’ve been worse she supposed only to curse herself as her worst nightmare happened: they started chatting about their latest “scores.” They planned to hit up a good bar after this job and it was all Shade could do not to tug at her hair and scream in frustration.

Where there’d once been a tiny hope to just bypass this group entirely it seemed in order to meet this mysterious woman she’d have to deal with them. ’For this injustice and waste of my time these guys are becoming cookies damn it!’ Not that Shade turned souls into cookies, but in her mind she liked to imagine she fed her precious denizens biscuits so that’d have to do. With five of them lurking around the corner though she’d have to make the best use of her surprise opportunity.

’Who should come out to play…’


(taking one of the normal rolls)

Laughter died quickly, one of the group staring at his buddies as their mirth ceased and two even reached for their pistols. The thought, ’Oh shit,’ even raced through his head before the shadow fully descended on him and a large, thick fist slammed against his skull as a horned boot jabbed him in the back of a knee. A handful of shots rang out between a few of the other men, the last fellow keeping a wary eye on the dust cloud as he slowly inched towards his fallen comrade. Their fears became founded as the black and white, lithe form of the rabbit leaped through the cloud as if it were a hoop, smile etched permanently into place. The boneless arm swung out, slapping the trio into one another and causing their bullets to rocket into the walls and ceiling, a yelp of pain sounding from the fellow on the floor. The one who’d been ready to help him yelled, jumping as he barely dodged a stray bullet himself. Taking a few steps he watched as the other members of his group tried to deal with this troublesome rabbit, hands reaching to arm his cannon.

Backwards Desa the White Rabbit bent, dodging a few bullets as the singular eye stayed trained on the ground trio, one large hand keeping one of the men’s gun down. Just when the fellow thought he could free himself – and more importantly get the gun away from his leg – their elongated attacker jumped, performing a handstand on the man and forcing him back to the ground entirely in order to avoid a few more shots. Recovered for that moment both men received a foot to their chests, air whooshing from their bodies as the grinning fool of a rabbit again forced them to the ground. That tiny head turned a little, beady eye staring at the man he still “held” and as silently as he’d been, moved the large limb to grasp the man’s head and force it into the ground. Again. And again. And again.

Despite being shot however the first man raised his gun and murmured, ”Fuck off you freak,” and grunted when their attacker disappeared in a white puff of smoke. His heroism was rewarded with scowls, bewildering the man until he felt another set of large hands grasp one of his arms and legs, crying out as it squeezed down on the injured calf. The other duet couldn’t scramble away fast enough to avoid being struck with their friend’s body.

Desa spied the fifth man, expression unchanging and yet too late to fully warn his mistress not to enter as the large barrel of the hand cannon pointed in their direction. She’d opted for the power of the pole axe form of Morganna, magenta eyes widening as the barrel plumed a cloud of smoke. This would’ve made quite the mess…and still did…the man going so far as to whoop in victory.

And then he took an arrow to the knee.

’Very well, melee was a bad idea,’ Shade sighed, glad she’d chosen Desa out of the lot. The White Rabbit offered a window – albeit small – to correct one’s mistake and it’d come in use even as his clones provided some ample distractions. Another arrow sung through the air to slam in the man’s chest as he tried to stand up despite the pain buckling his leg, and finally dropped the troublesome cannon altogether. The last thing he saw was that large, black and white hand of the ridiculously lanky rabbit rise with a sizeable rock in hand and then descend towards him.

The white haired girl took careful aim of her final two targets as they struggled slightly beneath their unconscious friend. Half a breath and she released the arrow, the tip piercing through one man’s neck and causing the other to start wiggling more furiously in his attempt to break free.

’I’ve got to warn-!’ The thought ended as an arrow pierced his neck, the man managing to make it to his feet. He’d only provided a better target however, the body crumbling to the floor in wonderful, floppy fashion.

”Impressive splatter though…” Shade found it hard not to admire some of the splatter of her ‘doomed’ self, the cannon’s blast unfortunately impressive. ’Alas I don’t fancy sitting back in “Paradise” for a spell. I want to check out that treasure and I certainly can’t keep Magna waiting. Although…’ She grimaced as she swapped the form of her weapon, opting for the daggers to quickly finish off the unconscious ones, not relishing in the trouble they likely summoned in all the hoopla. Dead men told no tales except to those affiliated with the dead…Shade sincerely hoping they didn’t have some sort of necromancer or medium with them, but even then it’d take them a moment to get the full story. All that damnable noise likely caused some stir though. Too echo-y in here not to at least catch a small whiff of noise. I suppose I should double back…’

Life couldn’t be easy, could it? Just once the girl would’ve liked for something to go a bit more in her favor and instead life through a small mud ball at her in laughter. Sighing she peered around the corner again, noting the trio of people around the corner conversing seriously amidst each other. ’I must’ve interrupted a guard swap or something…I’ll just bet those fellows were supposed to be their relief.’ Sounds of combat hadn’t completely escaped their attention either as they debated whether or not to stay in place or check out what happened, especially with everything calming down.

”I’m just saying they could be in trouble!” a muscled chap pointed out, arms crossed and eyebrows downturned, ”The longer we stand here debating it the more injured they might be!”

”Can’t help but feel you just wanna get to break sooner,” another one interjected. Unlike the first he appeared more on the slim side, leaning against the wall with less concern, though Shade felt the man could spring into action at a moment’s notice. ”If you need to tinkle just traipse out front: we’ll continue watching the door. Otherwise I’ve got jerky if you’re hungry.”

”Besides we were told explicitly not to leave our posts!” This time the ponytail wearing brunette talked up. At first Shade believed him to be an effeminate man until she turned to the side, just enough for her to make out some unmistakable lady bumps…or someone who stuffed their shirt. Sometimes it really was hard to tell. ”Though…I guess it wouldn’t hurt if maybe one of us checked it out. There are three of us and we could just recon, make sure the next group’s doing all right and what the situation is. It’s gotten rather quiet and yet no one’s shown up yet…”

Their growing tension became palpable as on one hand their replacements might be dealing with the fallout of a scuffle and yet there lay the possibility they’d lost somehow. They didn’t leave a lot of time for Shade to consider her options as the girl heard the sound of boots scraping sand against the stone floor: someone was approaching.

More than anything she wanted to reach outside, curious how things were going out there. It’d seemed someone showed up, but Gaspard couldn’t tell her much and they’d stumbled upon yet another person as well. With him hiding though she couldn’t very well say how that was going down as she stepped back a little and forced Desa back as well. Again her weapons shifted back into the bow, an arrow manifesting in hand as she prepared to notch it at a moment’s notice. The sound of the string would give her away if done beforehand, limbs poised in anticipation. As the woman came around the corner Shade’s pale limbs moved through the rest of the motions, the arrow flying as the whites of her opponent’s eyes widened. Backwards the woman flew, her lithe form hitting the ground with a harsh shudder, limbs convulsing as hands half-heartedly scratched at the air around the arrow lodged through her throat. Blood burbled through her lips, painting the area around her mouth red before everything became sluggish.

Around the corner Desa flew with his clones, the first one disappearing as the two men drew their blades and slashed at the false form. The burly one flew back as a solid punch met jawbone, the other man bracing against a kick with the flat side of his blade supported by a palm, feet kicking up some dust as he slid back. He’d manage to deal with the other clone before the real Desa came upon him, friend struggling to stand up without too much swooning from the head blow, and found the sword ripped from his hand. ”The fuck is-“ he managed to get out before yelling as the grinning white rabbit snapped his arm. An arrow slid solidly into his throat, ensuring his pain would end soon enough as the duet set their sights upon the third man.

”P-p-please! Let me go! It’s just a part time gig!” he managed to stutter. Metal clattered against the stony floor as butter fingers released the blade, the man gulping further as he backed up.

”It’s not you, I promise,” she smiled at the man, now visible with an arrow in hand, ”but if I miss you’re free to go!” A giggle escaped as the man immediately turned about, almost tripping on his feet in his attempt to run away. Shade permitted him to get maybe five yards before notching the arrow and letting it fly, the thing sinking into his left shoulder blade. ”Darn…I was hoping to get three for three…oh well. Desa go finish the job. I’ll be nice this time and not let him suffer too much.”

Besides she held more pressing matters, such as Gaspard returning with her supposed “friend” for this job the requester setup for her. Except something must’ve happened in transit as she found herself staring at...a whole fat lot of nothing. "Gaspard dearest...what happened to our supposed friend of the deadly nature?"

The poor, blue canine plush whipped around and Shade could almost imagine a large exclamation point above his head. Their guest lacked too much of a personal smell and...well with the gentlemen nearby wreaking of death it could be a bit hard to pick her out of the bunch. Her presence came off as a bit weird so she wouldn't reprimand the precious and helpful canine as she could feel the disappointment and confusion wafting off of him. "Well it's no matter. I want to see what sort of lovely toys they have stashed away and if there's anything helpful in there...just means less competition."

If there was one thing that Brad could admit about the country he was currently in, it was that they were always having one problem after the next. At least the country he came from had had a single problem in his lifetime; the insurgency that led to the death of the royal family barring him. A shake of his head would throw his mind back on track for what he was on his way to do. In the Ancient Ruins there was supposedly a vault that held an innumerable amount of treasures that had been sealed away by the original ten Wizard Saints of Fiore. It was something like a millenia ago, but the time was not what mattered right now. What mattered was that a treasure hunter by the name of Harper Goldenshine had supposedly found it and were not inside. Even worse he had been known for his misuse of artifacts such as those that might be down in the vault, and the Magic Council were afraid of what might happen if such a person got hold of something extremely powerful that was not meant for them to ever have access to. This council, which seemed like a crumby thing for a country to be run by, had sent out requests to all the guilds to go and try to stop them before anything was stolen so that they can be displayed in Era's Museums so all might see the artifacts in a safe place. It was something he could not disagree with, and a deal from a man known as Count Sparrow made it even better to go along. Being allowed to take an item from the vault as his own? The Prince of Caelum could not pass up a deal at something magical in nature that he could use for himself. If he was lucky he could even find something that worked in tandem with the requip armory he had with him. Maybe something that could repair durability? Or maybe something that made his hits more powerful! Who knew, maybe he would find something that had such a great utility to it that he would grab it over the other ideas that floated around in his head.

It took him a while to find where he needed to go, but he finally made it to the entrance of the legendary vault of fantastic items that had already been found. It was quite funny, really, that items that had been hidden long ago were now being searched for a second time. It was like a very old scavenger hunt had been set up forever ago and now they were the group of children that needed to find them all to win. The entrance was already open, and it was clear others had already made their way inside. A few, cautious, steps would be made as he entered so his eyes could adjust to the different lighting before he began at a swift pace to catch up to anyone that may already be inside. It was quiet in the first parts of the place, the silence slowly getting to him as he made his way through each passage he thought was the right direction for where he needed to go. It was not until he began to hear panicked voices of some men that he realized he should probably pull a weapon from the holder space he kept them in, just in case they were not friendly and attacked him upon noticing Brad was there.

The Prince would choose his ice elemental blade, Ice Brand, for now and pull it from the pocket dimension. The sword's blade was cold to the touch, and those hit with it would find out that the snowflake rune actually caused the weapon to emit an aura of ice that damaged as well when the blade struck something. With a steady grip with his right hand, the man would continue at a slower pace so that he did not give his position away. It would be a few minutes later that he would begin to hear the words clearer, and they seemed to be worried about events happening farther into this dungeon-like place.

”Hey, I heard someone say that the bosses apprentice got killed by some mages that have gotten through. Boss is gonna kill us all when he finds out we were slacking off and not at our posts during that time.”

”Shut up! He ain't gonna find out we were slacking off! With our luck those same mages will kill him too! Then we just take the loot we already got from this damn place and get lost to do our own thing!”

”I dunno man, what if they don't get him? What if he kills both, or they set off a trap and he never even sees them until he finds out his apprentice is dead?”

”Well, then we tell them that a few of the gang were double crossers! They killed him, and we got them back! Surely we can find someone that was a suspicious person among our dead, right?”

”Really dude? Making one of our own into the bad guy? That's just wrong”

The conversation seemed to be more of an argument as he listened, so he tried to sneak on through only to find himself at a dead end. With no where else to go, thinking he must have missed another room back the way he came, Brad Clad tried to sneak by again. Sadly, and for reasons he would never understand, one of the treasure hunters was talking while looking away from the group. This treasure would look eye to eye with Brad as he turned the corner to check to see if the coast was clear for him to sneak through, and would not give the Prince a chance to even say anything in his case on whether he was a friendly or not. Just as he brought his head back the sound of a bullet ricocheting against the walls of the place could be heard. Shit...they had guns! 'Well, here's hoping it's just the one that has them...' Waiting back where he was, the man listened intently to see if they would say anything to each other. To his surprise, two more voices would add themselves to the mix instead.

”Woah! What are you doing shooting like that! That bullet whizzed right by my head you dip!” New voice one would speak loudly, and it came from somewhere on the other side of the room that the others were in.

”Well, if you had been here you would realize I just shot at someone that's listening in on us right now!”

”What?! Well, don't use your guns right now! It's too close quarters for you to risk bouncing bullets off the walls and killing us instead!”

”He's right, you know. Just pull out that dagger of yours that you call a precious family heirloom and just stab the cheeky bastard!”

Another name would join the group, this guy telling the other voice to just up and stab Brad after coming over to him. It was a good thing he had a sword with him, alongside an arsenal of other weapons he could use if needed. The Caelum prince would stay absolutely silent as he awaited to see what they could do. Would they actually all come at him? Or was this guy going to be the only one to do anything?

”Well, I am NOT going to try and fight someone alone. Not with people already dying down here!”

”Oh, so now you're gonna be a bitch about it? Fine, all five of us will go. But if this guys you claim is there gets shredded to pieces by just one of us I'm going to do the same to you.”

Well, this was it. This was going to be his first fight while inside the vault. Five sets of footsteps could be heard coming towards him as he prepared himself to fight back. It was as those sets of steps made noise just around the corner that Brad would lunge out and swing the sword towards where they were. The sword would not strike anyone, but that did not matter right now, and four of the five men would gasp at the sudden attack. Unfortunately for them, they did not realize what all the sword could do. A sudden burst of ice would erupt from the blade that would knock all but one of them to the ground. Remarks about how cold it was could be heard from one even as Brad swung from right to left at an angle and hit the still standing man across the temple with the flat of the chilled blade. A mix of the extreme cold, extreme pain, and the location hit would bring him to the ground; blacked out and no longer able to fight. A few daggers would reach for his legs, Ice Brand being used to easily knock them out of peoples hands while he had the advantage of being on his feet.

One of the treasure hunters took a chance to try and stand, though his unarmored body quickly found out what the flat of the runic blade could do to him. This treasure hunter would get knocked to the ground just as the prince summoned the Storm Spear into his left hand. The Storm Spear was a runic weapon, similar to Ice Brand, that instead dealt elemental damage of the lightning variety. The spear would be smashed into the ground before Brad used it to let loose a burst of lightning that would shoke everyone that was here next to him. Most of those that had been there when he came around the corner ended up passing out, though a single man remained conscious.

”No! I will not let you kill me! If I die, you die!” With this said he would pull something out from in his vest, an item that was clearly a bomb of some kind, that he would slam into the ground. It was most definitely an explosive of some kind, and Brad had no want to stay near them with that kind of threat. Not having much time to run, or any other way of escape, the requip mage would throw his sword into the other hallway and teleport to it at the same time. A small roll would put him around the corner as the explosion went off. Having been so close by when it went off, the ringing in his ears would take a moment to clear. A shaking of his head as he stood up with clear his vision enough to see someone else running at him with a panicked look upon their face.

”Help me! Oh my god help me! It's after me and it's gonna kill me! Please man you gotta help!” Brad was not prepared for helping anyone at this time, and the 'it' that he claimed was going to kill him looked like an oversized bunny. What kind of bunny would kill a man? That question would have quite the clear answer when the creature caught up to the man with an arrow in his left shoulder blade; this bunny would. As the running man got within ten meters of Brad, who was now on his feet and had both of his blades in hand, the rabbit would catch. It was a quick death, the way it happened, but it was still gruesome to watch. Those big hands, those oh so big hands, would reach out and touch somebody. More specifically one would reach out and grasp the entirety of the wounded treasure hunters head and squeeze. The crunch made Brad wince in pain, and miss the rabbit dropping the body to the ground. The loud thud that the body made would make him look back over to see the large monster bunny looking at him with a strange curiosity.

”Hey there big guy...I uh...I am NOT with those guys. As a matter of fact the room behind me just got blown up while they tried to kill me!” The words he made seemed to fall on deaf ears as the creature simply waved at him before darting off farther into the place. Not knowing where he needed to go, and realizing that whatever that thing was was not with the people he was racing against the clock in here, Brad Clad would give as silent of a chase to the creature that he could. After a while he would come to a room where a girl with extremely long, white in color, hair seemed to be searching around this dark place.

”Uh..excuse me. I came here on a job from the Magic Council. Do you happen to be working the same job, or should I be making myself scarce and carry on?” It was mid sentence that he would see the rabbit looking back at him again, the eyes giving him a chill as he had never seen a monster of that kind before. It was most definitely magical, but he could not quite figure out if it was a pet, a summon, or some other being that the girl had with her. He was not going to ask just yet either, as he was not even sure if they were friend or foe until they spoke in return. While the man would put both weapons back in the holder space they belonged in. He had plenty more he could use, and did not think those two last much more combat with all the marks they already had in them from the previous fight. At worst he would pull the rest of them out at the same time and become a tornado of blades while he escaped.

Mind racing for all situations, the princely figure stood straight as if in some kind of diplomatic meeting with another noble. It was automatic for him, really, as he was unsure of who this girl was. His mind simply assumed she could be some kind of royalty. Whether a goddess, a priestess, a ruler of some nation, or even a bandit leader; all of them deserved a manner of respect when being dealt with. And as his lessons in diplomacy and public manners he had had as a child, if one does not know the status of one they are dealing with you should treat them as an equal. Why equal? Well, when you are the top of the ladder in the country there's not much better you can treat them as.

Reliving the visage of the man stumbling away with the arrow jutting from his shoulder the girl gave a giggle, ”You should’ve seen it though Gaspard: he reminded me so much of a worm! Oh it was grand…” The blue canine plush tilted his head, the joke perhaps going over his head. Gaspard always had been on the nicer spectrum through…given that he’d been born from a true, loyal dog the girl didn’t mind too much. ’If my life was so insignificant, what makes them think THEIR’S is worth much more? Because they lived longer? Became “strong?” Please.’ The mirth melted from her face as the girl considered the bodies, making a small ‘tch’ sound as if now annoyed by their existence. ’You’re worth little more than food now…’

Waving a hand dismissively at the lot a small haze of light surrounded the forms. Each body transformed into a sphere the size of a gumball: a treat for her precious denizens. She’d deemed these obnoxious distractions unworthy to become a citizen of her realm and “friend” because of their rude behavior. All too happily Gaspard accepted one of these “treats” with a happy bark – always reverting to his “native” language when happy. Picking the little fellow up she spied Desa bounding around the corner, smile locked in place and single eye staring at everything and nothing at once. Blood marred the once pristine white of his oversized hands, the splatter admirable to the young looking woman. She hadn’t expected Desa to come back with a little friend though, sure that Gaspard found a potential partner or peon and yet sometimes the white rabbit brought surprises back with him.

’Odd…but I suppose I did tell him to take out that one fellow in specific…and I suppose he doesn’t quite smell the same as these other gents.’ Her nose twitched, though judging by her frown it could’ve easily been misconstrued as a gesture of displeasure. Next to her Desa seemed keen on staring down their new little companion, that immobile wide smile aimed at him as a hand twitched. The way he stood up straighter caused a spurt of wariness in Shade, tilting her head away and eyes narrowing a bit.

Maybe she should tell him to scram.

’But…if I just dismiss him and he gets to that room first…AND gets away before I find him again that’d be more troublesome…’ Pondering various possibilities the frown returned to the tall, clad in black fellow, and hugged Gaspard a little tighter to her chest, ”I’m here on their behalf as well…I don’t think they used this place for a lot so likely same job…so it’s probably better if we team up, BUT!” affixing him with a glare and tilting her head back as if to stare down her nose at him, ”I want to get one thing straight first and foremost: I get first dibs on picking a treasure out. Got it? Otherwise…”

Holding a hand out silence might’ve filled the room before something would whizz past Brad. A bite-sized orb slapped into her palm, the color a mix of white, tan, and pale red with a pearlescent hue to it swirling about. She moved it to sit atop her thumb in her fist before flicking it into the air like small change and Desa snapped forward, teeth parting to reveal complete and utter “nothingness” in his mouth, imprisoning the orb behind his returned, seamless grin. ”I’ll have little problem turning you into a treat, got it?” A faint sound of a child’s laughter punctuated the statement, the sound coming from merely around them.

The member 'Cielle' has done the following action : Dice Rolls

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'Monster Dice' :

Excellent! It seemed that this girl, whoever she may be, was working for the Magic Council as well! That made this job a whole lot easier! With two of them working together they could easily take out the mundane treasure hunters without a problem. The only issue would be the ring leader of the operation, Harper Goldenshine himself. He was supposedly an A rank crystal making mage. What decided the rank of the mage was beyond him. Brad was a top tier swordsman and the guilds here labeled him a C ranking after all was said and done. 'Though it may be based on the level of magic available to me, and all of mine is weapons I need to recover so I can use them again. Maybe as I find my more powerful weapons they will consider me a higher rank among their kind?' Where Brad was royalty, the entire country was a perfect mix of technology and magic. They called it Magitek, and it was a great source of knowledge and had far more uses than either separately. Surgery was simple when one had a magical scanner that could do the most difficult of tasks without a human operator. If not for human experimentation being banned, and the uprising caused by the ban, Brad Clad would still be under the tutelage of experts to better learn the mix of magic a and technology so that he could have a mastery that even surpassed what his father had had in it. The Prince of Caelum would have his thoughts wander like so as the other girl spoke, the man used to multitasking his thoughts during long hours of talks and treaties he had sat in to learn the subtleties of such thing, and the first thing to surprise him was the sudden 'BUT' that she exclaimed as the girl began a glare at her that seemed to be an attempt to look up at him and stare down her nose at him. It would have been something humorous if not for the little threat that there seemed to be.

Had she just threatened to turn him into candy for her little pets? Was that even possible? Was that what her magic allowed her to do on top of the destructive capabilities like that of the rabbit that kept smiling a creepy smile in his direction as it's massive, deadly, hand twitched with what seemed like an urge to kill? The laughter of a child punctuated the odd statements and threats, making it seem like the best of psychological thrillers that his country of origin had come up with. Knowing he could not just stay silent after such a threat, as it would make him seem like he was either terrified or thinking of going against her, the man blinked once as he cleared his throat. ”I am sorry you would think to do such things, milady, and doubt my honor after coming this far just to ask if you were an ally. I will gladly let you have the first pick of any treasure we find, and I assure you that our taste in the items that are up for grabs will be vastly different from each others. Whatever you want is yours, and I will take what is of interest of me once you have gotten your share. I will provide no reason for you to turn me into a treat. And if there is any other rules you would like in place I am not reluctant to talk them out as we go along.” Ever the diplomat, the man would state it in a way that left no room for someone to think he meant otherwise. After all, what he was doing here was a one on one peace treaty as well as looting rights at the same time. All normal if her were sitting at a long table at home, sitting in and listening to his father do it after some bread and drinks as a small welcoming meal. The words seemed to please the one that he had said them to, or she just did not care what he said or thought, as she turned around to continue on with her journey to find the vault that held all the precious artifacts they were here to save from misuse. The man would stand there watching the other two walk away before taking a step forward, and subsequently falling to the ground as something hit the back of his head and pulled him into darkness.

When he woke, his head pulsing in waves of pain as he slowly opened his eyes to the light around him, the man saw a group of three scared looking men arguing with each other over how they were stuck here guarding him instead of doing the work that would glorify them with the boss. A groan from Brad would draw their attention, which is what he was going for, before he spoke up just enough for them to hear him clearly. ”It's because they don't trust you with the heavy duty work. You are just peons to them, simple slaves to do their bidding.” Two of the group would spit and sputter and swear at him as the other simply looked at him with sad eyes that told Brad the man had believed his words entirely. Good, this one would be the one he could work on if he needed to. ”I mean, come on. They left you guys here, knowing you would do nothing but argue with each other and fall even further behind in the step ladder of success with them. Every second spent guarding me and standing here means one step back as they find all the treasure and run off without you. They wanted me as a prisoner, obviously as they could have easily killed me with the sneak attack earlier but did not, so it's either stay here with me and hope they come back or let me go and catch up to them; unless you want to drag me along in these bindings.” One man yelled some expletives before running off to catch up to the others, the other two beginning to argue with each other until the one that had looked at him with sad eyes suddenly stabbed the other. The surprise attack killed the other treasure hunter quickly, the betrayer untying Brad even as he spoke to him.

”Look man, I just got in on this operation on day one and it's obvious how right you are. I'll let you go, just promise you won't stab me in the back. I'm going to make my way out and never look back. Will probably just go back home and forget about adventure for good.”

A comforting smile would come across Brad's face as he listened to the words, realizing he had earned himself freedom with words alone. ”You need not worry about me harming you. I am in your debt and will go about my business as if this had never happened. If I see you outside of this place I will not speak unless you introduce yourself as if it was the first time we met.”

”All right, don't move and I'll cut the ropes to your hands and feet. After that I'm running out of here as fast as possible.” The man would deftly use a knife he produced to cut through the ropes without cutting Brad before sprinting off like his life depended on him getting out of there faster than it had taken to get to where he currently was. It was probably true, but all the Prince could do was be grateful for the small miracle even as he looted the pockets of the dead treasure hunter for anything of use before he moved on. All he had was a few different swords, which Brad would pick up to use for the time being. They wouldn't be that useful, but they would provide more ways for him to attack and defend while here for now. A long run would bring him back to a spot he recognized as the room he had been in when had run into the strange girl that he was supposed to be working with now. Where she was was beyond his knowledge, but he could easily guess at the right way to go by the sound of voices that were likely more treasure hunters. Moving quickly, but making sure he was not loud enough to be heard over their voices, the man would sneak up on a group of five treasure hunters and get close enough to throw two of the blades into the backs of legs. It would cripple them, yes, but with magic and technology advancing they could easily be healed later on. For now their screams would provide a distraction even as he summoned his basic sword from his arsenal and knocked the rest of the group out before putting the two in pain into the blackness of unconsciousness as well.

The man would find bombs and cannons inside of their uniforms and on their vests. THOSE would be useful! The man would loot them all, ending up with way more than a normal person should need. The requip mage would use his magic to hold the sword while holding a hand cannon in one hand while keeping his other hand free to grab an explosive off of the vest he had placed upon himself to hold the rest of the items he had looted in the process. As he moved on he would turn a corner to find himself looking into a room with five more men in it. They were all looking at a dead body in the center of the room, the treasure hunter that had run to catch up to the others from before, and were talking about how stupid he was to think he could mess with the big shots of the group and expect to survive. Not wanting to have to deal with them at all, the man would throw his sword to the other side of the room and teleport to it as soon as it was on the other side. The room was just small enough for him to so do though it would draw the groups attention to him. He had a plan, however, and threw what looked to be a flash bang grenade in between him and them before they could pull any weapons or attack him. Brad Clad would have the knowledge to look away, though the others would not have enough time to realize what was going on until they were on the ground screaming about not being able to see at the time. Thinking for the trip out of here, Brad would walk into the room of whimpering hunters and knock each one of them out one at a time. He would take their weapons and destroy all of them as well as take their explosives and put them on the vest he was still wearing.

With the group finished off, the misplaced royalty would run off to try and find the girl that he was supposed to be teaming up with for this job. Maybe they could get this job over with so they could get their loot and then contact the Magic Council so that they could get all of the magical items here tucked away safely in a museum. It would not take long to find her again, and the man would speak so that his presence would be known. ”Sorry for disappearing for so long like that. A few treasure hunters let me have their equipment for the rest of the day. Nice of them, right?” The man would crack the joke even as he looked over the hand cannon he was unsure of whether he should use during the job or not. It was sure to pack a punch, but he was not someone to kill without reason. Maybe he could just use it as a last resort, or if he needed to stop someone from killing someone else at the last moment.

”Honor is to be proven, not assumed. Enough people have shown me as such,” she stated clearly and without raising her voice. The words came with almost a sad finality to them, a lesson unwillingly accepted before, like with most things, the white haired mage shoved such dreary thoughts aside. With a smile, a nod, and a turn of her heel she led their little expedition party. Well the girl felt it to be a party even though Desa would soon downsize. She managed to make it all of a few turns before realizing she couldn’t hear the sound of boots tapping against the rocky floor.

”Are you kidding me?!” Turning around revealed a fat lot of nothing but passageway she’d already walked past. Not even one of her bumbling denizens as she didn’t feel like having a plushie swarm – best to keep some surprises with new people she figured – and yet after the man’s rather nice way of talking he’d straight up disappeared on her! ’So RUDE!’ Shade mentally shouted even as her cheeks puffed out. ”Goes and makes himself out to sound like some sort of gentleman or something then ditches me! UGH the nerve of some people I swear!” Talking as if their tastes differed – though considering he’d been quite clad in black and darker hues and she some sort of angelic looking opposite not a wholly untrue statement – then the man ups and shakes her!

Next to her the large white rabbit reduced himself to the plush form, his timer eventually running out and Shade placed Gaspard on the ground. Almost immediately she started twisting the fat ears, hands squeezing even as the happy looking rabbit merely giggled: everything felt funny to them in their stuffed forms. Another annoyed yell ripped from her throat before finally…a sense of calm overcame her. That was it: she just needed to work out that little bit of frustration. ’No matter. I laid out the threat, so he should know better if I find him there before me. He better be a fast man…’

For now she’d simply keep trudging on, stopping here and there as the echoes of explosions and other such things going off trickled her way. ’Wouldn’t hurt to have someone at the ready, slightly less delay that way…’ While the blue wolf would remain near her feet the white rabbit began glowing as she shifted him for a certain black moose. Into her arms the plump figure lightly fell, hugged against her body and relaxed because of her proximity. It really wouldn’t do well to allow CM to rampage in one of his episodes, not before finding this Goldenharp or Harpshrine fellow. Whatever his name might be.

The sound of someone approaching fast caught her attention, Shade turning around to catch sight of “He who’d vanished shortly after meeting her.” A small “so rude” flittered through her mind as she regarded him, again with a bit of earlier’s haughtiness though she felt a bit more entitled after his promise earlier. ”Mmm…yes, quite,” she replied as some of the haughtiness receded. The statement caught her off guard a little, mind putting the pieces together and she supposed she could forgive him. After all…well it was a little his fault he’d been captured, but he probably knew that so she wouldn’t point it out to him. Besides she’d seen some of the men following Silvertemple sporting such weapons so it must’ve born some truth.

”Hopefully he doesn’t have too many more cronies running about, though I can’t fault him for bringing quite a number of people along. I guess our opponent knows he’s dealing with dangerous territory.” This Magic Council struck her as rather protective of their treasures and property – though why they sent people they didn’t think much of rather than some top tier folks she couldn’t rightly say – so he likely allotted for dealing with a handful of mages or such.

An ornate set of doors stood before them after a bit of walking, runes declaring this a sacred holding space. Much to her ire it appeared a little ajar, one of the sides open enough for a person to slip through. ’Either he’s not trying to hide it or leave a hole for a quick getaway…not trying to hide much.’ Turning to her current partner-in-crime or…partner-in-good? What was the opposite of that? Unlike before Shade’s expression appeared more lax even though she retained a serious note to her voice. ”Look, we don’t have a lot of time to go over our abilities since he’s in there likely trying to figure out how he can take out as much as possible and what to keep for himself. I can make a lot of noise and create a strong ruckus and it’s likely he’s not aware of how many people are coming after him anyways. So I volunteer to go first and draw his fire if you promise to use your opportunity of surprise well.”

The response from the girl that was her job partner was a little better than what Brad had expected her to do. Maybe she was calmed down from how she had been acting before? Or maybe his story made sense and she really could not blame the prince for disappearing like so. Though, he had to admit, it was pretty embarrassing to be snuck up on like what had happened to him a short while ago. He would have to pay more attention from now on. It was not like he had his personal bodyguards with him anymore. In the future he would have to find one, even if he had to pay for it at first. After a while he was sure any paid guard would stick around. After all, if work panned out with these jobs while in Infinity Hydra he would have more than enough money to pay the guard more than any would ever be worth. The summoner...requip mage...whatever she was would go on to mention just how many cronies the guy seemed to have had already. They really could not blame the guy for that. After all, she was right about him and the dangerous territory. This Magic Council seemed to take the artifacts and magical control quite seriously in this small country of Fiore. Yes, small. Caelum was much larger, more than twice the size of Fiore and then some.

They would eventually find a set of highly decorated doors that held runes that made it seem like some kind of holy tomb; the ones that you buried the dead with their precious items. This had to be the vault, and it was already open! That could only mean that the main treasure hunter was already in side, and likely devising his way of escape with as much look as possible! It was as he was thinking on this that his doll loving partner would speaking of plans for going in and surprising the man so they could take him on easier. It would be difficult to work together when they had no clue on each others abilities, though if they managed to catch the the treasure hunter boss by surprise it would not make as big of a deal that they knew little about how the other fight. ”I will use the opportunity to the best of our advantage. Just be careful and don't get yourself hurt in the process.” The man wanted to say other things as well, though none were beneficial to the situation. He wanted to tell her to be careful, but that was out of selfishness of the current situation. He did not want his first job with another to end in his job partner's death. Not to mention she could not get first dibs if she was just another body on the floor. The man would prepare himself for battle while also pulling off a handful of both explosive and flashbangs in his hand before reaching it out to offer them to the woman. ”Take some of each with you. Surely they'll come in handy once we get into this fight.”

Staring for a few minutes the girl accepted the items with a growing smile, ”Aw you shouldn’t have! Toys for little ol’ me…this will be more fun than I initially thought!” Running her hand over them each object vanished, stashed away in Paradise and but a small wish away. A thought occurred to her before the short girl slipped through the door and from between the large slabs she smiled at him, ”Oh and no worries! Time heals all wounds or so they say! I’ll be fine!” Almost like a little joke she giggled before sliding through the gap with ease for her sleight frame.

Skipping down the hallway the smile started transforming. Glee intertwined with malice: the man hiding in the treasure room wouldn’t get in her way. After all of today’s oddities she really did relish the thought of returning to Black Rose’s current abode and relaxing. Hopefully something within that room might help her “condition” if even a little and she’d be damned if anybody stood between her and a new (even if temporary) life. Before that she could work off a little frustration on this infamous fellow who the council wanted them to deal with one way…or another. Even CM shuddered in her arms, energy surging through him stoked by anticipation. It’d been a little while since he properly received some exercise in this realm.

Upon entering the room boxes littered the ground, some opened and other’s retained their magical seals as she spied the tall, brunette, and leather clad figure across the room. Harper Goldenshrine – or Jerkface Whatshisname in Shade’s mind – stood ready like a cowboy, hands at his side and jacket ready to flare dramatically no doubt before he smirked, ” A little girl ‘eh? That all the council can afford these days? Or they really just underestimating me? Well makes no matter to me sweet thang: can’t letcha take me to jail even for a kiss. I ain’t a prince I’m ‘fraid.”

”Ha?!” Shade’s expression twisted to overly dramatic confusion, head tilting a bit, ”I have my ‘prince’ already: you’re not half the man he is. If you’re into little girls then sorry: I’m older than I look!” Her hand shot out as if throwing something, a small portal opening above it firing one of the flashbangs towards the thief. The man smirked, hands flying through a few forms before the explosion of life turned into a fountain of crystals. He’d been about ready to shoot off a smart line about a “flower for her funeral” or to such effect when two things darted around the structure. While he noted the smaller, black figure it was the hulking one barreling towards him that commanded more immediate attention.

A fiery looking mane and lines of similar fiery red-orange seemed to outline the hulking minotaur beast, it’s hind hooves leaving cracks in the ground as it reared one of its large fists back. He shot crystals towards it, encasing the limb and yet the added weight only slowed the onslaught a little. Now  it’s hand came armed with the jagged structure locking its hand down and forced him to erect a wall. Crrk! The wall remained strong, but he winced at the sound of his wall already shuddering under the force. Briefly the image of him turned into a pancake flittered through his mind and then Harper steeled himself. He was The Harper Goldenshrine! He’d braved many a trap and fought plenty of mages all for wondrous treasures hidden by the people of old! Why should he fear this little girl or her friend?!

Something burned his side, eye swiveling to note the armor-clad person standing at the other end of his wall. The helm sported jagged horns not unlike the beast on the other side, though on a smaller scale. A pair of red dots shone from the metal slats and a ponytail of white locks jutted from the back of the helm, the ends fading from bright orange to a deep red hue. Harper fired a few retaliation crystal spires and aggravated eyes watched as the pistols shifted into…a large lollipop. Without intention a bark of laughter escaped his chest, watching as she narrowly avoided the mini javelin like spires and managed to slam the flat side of her hammer down. As a whimsical side of his brain happily jeered at the way they stuck like one might expect a used candy.

Raising a hand he intended to lob a wall of the spires this time. The smile dropped as she rolled aside and his head swiveled around to note the beast went around. And something was coming from its mouth. Towards him. Fast.

Into the wall he slammed with gritted teeth, a hand raised to raise another wall that blocked a few explosives. ”Pesky little shits.”

Throwing a hand out again he shoveled magical power into this entity, creating a crystalline serpent that crashed through his wall and caught the girl, shoving her into a wall in turn and locking her in place. Long fangs pierced the wall, Shade grunting from her armored form. From beneath the helm she grinned. ’Now I just need the hero to steal his attention and then I think we can end this beautifully~’ A roar from a charging CM stole the man’s attention away from outright ending her, his apparent annoyance mere fuel to her mirthful fire.

The girl seemed to enjoy the gift of explosives entirely too much. Was it a mistake to give them to her? Had he just killed everyone by being generous? No, he should not worry about such things right now! They were about to go up against someone that was recommended to be teamed up against with mages that were already a class above their own, even though he felt he would be way up in this strange class system if he had access to all the weapons he used to have before the uprising. A lot of the weapons were locked in place, held by magic so that they could not automatically return to their holder space they belonged in. The magic seals would slowly wear off, he was sure, and then they would be his again. It would take a while, but he would get them all back and then take back what was rightfully his; Caelum. He was the rightful heir, and his family had had more allies than enemies; in and out of the country. The woman would begin to enter the door, talking about time healing all injuries and saying she would be fine in a joking manner. This girl sort of worried Brad Clad, was she crazy? Or was she that sure of herself that she could joke about things in such a way?

The man would wait a little while, until he saw the signature sign of a flashbang going off, before he would begin to slowly sneak his way into the vault room. The show put on between the two as they fought was spectacular, but this was no time for him to be a spectator. A big monster stole his attention at first, the massive black and red monster towered over even Brad's height. It had to be at least ten foot tall, maybe more! Goldenshine was obvious, the treasure hunter outfit and magic usage giving him away, and the girl was obvious as well being the only other one left in the room; although she was no in some type of armor that looked like the monster. Was she a summoner AND a requip mage? That was interesting, and it made him think about possible learning how to summon creatures in the same way to give him a wider range of abilities for combat and daily life as well. With the girl looking like she was in quite the pickle, being pinned up against the wall while her summon distracted the man to keep him from murdering her, the man summoned forth his fiery sword and threw it at the treasure hunting big shot. The weapon would land against his shoulder, sticking in quite good, before Brad would teleport to it and pull it out. A kick to Brad's chest would send him off balance before a crystal sheet would push him over and cause him to hit the ground hard.

Not wanting to get himself killed in the process of saving his partner after her distraction attempts, the Prince of Caelum would activate another two weapons as well, a pair of daggers and a javelin appearing over his head. He did not have to hold these armaments in his hands to use them effectively, and the crystal mage they were up against was about to learn this lesson the painful way. Dodging the daggers and Brad's Flame Tongue was easy enough, but the javelin would strike home and pierce through his knee and sever the tendon that let him put pressure on the leg. A pained scream would be heard as the requip user quickly got up and pointed the sword at Goldenshine's throat. ”You have lost, surrender now and we will turn you in so you can live the rest of your life in a cell rather than die.” It seemed that the treasure hunter was in more pain than he could bear. He was sweating profusely and his body was beginning to get quite pale. There was no way it was from loss of blood. His injuries were not fatal ones, Brad had not hit any major arteries on the man and there seemed to be no excess blood spewing from him. The man would put all of his weapons back in their holder space even as he took a step back, worried about what was going on with the now defeated opponent. Was he sick? Was he crazy? Or was something else going on? Whatever it was, Brad Clad was about to find out in but a few moments of time.

Attention stolen not only by a blade to the shoulder (eventually followed by a javelin to the knee and an end to Mr. Goldenshrine’s treasure hunting) CM stole his opportunity to deal with the immobile snake creation pinning his mistress. As injuries further locked down its creator’s attention the beast lost all semblance of life and didn’t react as the behemoth of a black minotaur tried pulling it from the wall. A mighty roar seemed to empower him enough to dislodge the teeth a bit, though their jagged nature made it impossible for a clean slide it at least provided him a finger point to attack some of the fangs. Unsummoning the armor and with the newly created space Shade managed to slip out from the beast as CM kept it supported for a moment in time to see their target on the ground.

A half smile formed as she anticipated the next part, waiting for the beauty that was Hallowed’s work. The Jabberwocky couldn’t be with her like Amarylis could, deigned the guardian of her realm as the white wyvern found her mark as Shade’s personal guard, but he never failed to deliver something wondrous for her eyes! Though, given this mysterious fellow’s usefulness she supposed she should save him, trotting over to him whilst avoiding some of the debris of the battle and started pulling him further back, ”Trust me, you don’t want to be a target for what’s next.”

Sticking close to further ward the attack away, they could only watch as Harper started writhing, a strained scream gurgling from his throat as the side she shot him started glowing and a bubble began to bloom. Something bathed in light sprang up, twisting as it grew in height and width, roots manifesting and slamming over parts of a rapidly wrinkling Harper Goldenshrine. Branches flicked out and things akin to leaves began dripping down until finally the creation came to a halt and they were left with a glowing weeping willow. Here and there a hint of pink affected the light, something that further delighted her as Shade’s voice took on a wistful note, ”Sadly the glow won’t last too long after we leave…but beauty is rather fleeting. Soon enough it’ll look like little more than a black and burnt variation…” Granted whenever she came close enough to these trees they’d regain some of their glow, but they required such a steady flow of “life” that they often remained in their dormant state.

”Sorry that you can’t bring him in alive,” she spoke over her shoulder, moving to study the opened boxes and look into opening the remaining few he hadn’t pried open yet, ”but I don’t fancy hearing about this crafty man find a way to slip away and crop up later. For all we know he’d simply cut that leg off and fashion a crystal one to walk on if he couldn’t find a good enough healer.” While the idea held some appeal from a piratical standpoint she really didn’t want to deal with the trouble. Call it laziness or a lack of desire for the man’s desperation to grow enough it almost forced her to offer him a contract…perhaps more the former. She didn’t relish offering contracts to those she’d defeated before as it often left a bad taste in her mouth. Sure they became a bit humbled, for a moment, whilst talking to her, but knowing they’d be talking up a huge game later just irked her. ”And at least we can enjoy that his life gave birth to something beautiful if but for a moment! Even if he couldn’t find meaning in his life he certainly went out with a bang! So…an accomplishment by regular human standards? I think?” The sentient afterlife couldn’t’ be sure, but it seemed to be what a lot of the souls bemoaned among other things…

One object caught her attention and she dropped the lid back into place and stepped back, allowing the large form of CM to grab it with a single hand. ”I’ll claim this one, so feel free to choose whatever you like. They’ll probably send someone to cart the rest off to wherever with the hunters dispatched.”

Brad Clad would stand there trying to figure out why the man was acting the way he did when he heard the voice of the girl begin telling him to trust her even as he felt himself being pulled back. It took all he had not to strike out at her. Habits of being royalty died hard, and he was used to being so protected against physical touching that was not part of a ceremony that his instinct was to try and fight it off. He would manage to get passed those instincts due to the sole reason of the warning the odd girl would give him. Allowing himself to be pulled her would hear the gurgled screams of the man before he suddenly became the shining example of what the warning was about. A disgusted look would flicker across the Prince's face as he watched what happened with a slightly saddened heart. He had not wanted the man to die, and simply turn him in instead. That was not possible now, there was no way of reviving him here and now. Maybe if he had some of the Magitek surgery items with him he could have, but this was not Caelum.

This job partner of his said some creepy stuff about beauty and lights, obviously used to causing this kind of thing quite often, and it made him wonder if she wasn't really a dark mage doing the job to simply steal everything. Would he have to fight her? He certainly hoped not! He wasn't ready to try and deal with a summoner, or whatever she actually was, on his own with a good chunk of his weapons needing to sit in the holder space to repair and everything now. ”I won't hold a grudge over his death, but I much prefer to take people alive as oft as possible. Sorry that we don't see eye to eye on that part. The light would be better if it didn't have such a high cost to it though, even as pretty as it was.” While he did not like the death involved the light HAD been beautiful, that much he had to admit. ”And I thought they could at least have sent him to the prison in Era. I heard there's some pretty powerful beings there that haven't managed to escape, and he's much lower classed than those ones.” The man would say his words even as the girl and her monstrous creature walked inside the vault and picked out the magical item that she wanted. She mentioned for him to pick what he wanted, now that she got her first dibs, and then mentioned that the people that had hired them would likely dispatch others to do the collecting and identification of all the other objects that were left here.

The room was littered with boxes and containers of all sorts, even some glass display cases, and everything seemed to be either unlocked or bashed open so that they could be sorted through. It had likely been the Goldenshrine fellow that had done such, though now it just made it easier for them to find what they wanted out of the lot. Brad would loot through the room, but nothing piqued his interest until he saw something that seemed to be from a country called 'Bosco,' if the writing for the display was correct. It was a simple ring, though it was the design that intrigued him. It seemed to be a mix of machine and magic, just like that of his homeland, and seemed to also have runes that were nearly identical to some he had on his weapons. That would be the item he would take before parting ways with this strange woman with a friendly goodbye and wishing of safe travels. Would he ever see her again? Only fate would decide that one.