So far, so good. The leader of the West Fiore Trading Company, finally, seemed to take his attention off those runes and shifted it onto the group of mages, though ... was this kid really the guild master of this supposedly influential and powerful organization traders that was so significant it claimed an entire continent as their own? The soldier girl could hardly believe it, especially since the kid gave off ... negligible amounts of magical energy. Seems like she would have to trust her instincts over her senses on this one. She would, however, keep his bratish behavior in mind, especially when addressing the man with the darker hair. Maybe she just couldn't deal with kids. It was no use. When she was addressed, even called a, ahem, "rising star of Silver Wolf", her face remained the same as always, stoic, expressionless, while cringing deeply internally, though giving the boy a nod in response. This guy wasn't exactly the smoothest talker now, was he? It did not matter in the slightest. She wasn't here for big talk, but for action. When the blonde kid babbled on about their mission, repeating what they had already been briefed about, Aspen listened, her hands still tightly grasping both the pistol- and foregrips of the submachine gun. Perhaps not everyone had been briefed? Unless she would receive contradictory information, she would class this act as a redundancy. Still, the brat's speech would leave her more confused and with more question than before. Wasn't scouting and preparing maps the objective of Team 1, their ominous scouting force, or had she gotten something wrong? She had not brought any equipment for tasks like that. In any case, she would not raise her voice or speak up at all for that matter. It wasn't her place to care, and care she would not.
When she took a quick glance from side to side, none of the other team members seemed to care, either. She decided to ignore it completely. Though one thing the blonde boy had to say stuck with the soldier, the Silver Wolf mage once more feeling the nervousness flare in her guts. The prospect of infection was real, very real, and as far as she could tell, from what the man with the black hair, who on some level seemed attached to the blonde boy, had to say, a cure wouldn't exactly be out there and available either. She would just have to, figuratively, of course, bite the bullet and hope for the best, hope that she, as a Dragon Slayer, would have some kind of resistance to disease. Not only, however, did this illness appear to cause a terrifying degree of suffering and end your life in the end, no, it also seemed like, from what Ruvel was saying, that it would cause you to rise once more after you had fallen. A fate most terrifying, indeed. Perhaps, Aspen thought back, the Paladins had a point when they spoke of the terrible deeds and the sins mages had committed. Creating a plague that could cause such havoc, such devastation seemed like an act most foolish, if not for the safety of the continent called Tolgalen, then for the safety of all of Earthland. It's not like it could be changed. Aspen sighed.
Making sure the backpack was secure around her shoulders and the black jacket, making sure that her mask would sit over her mouth and nose tightly, and lastly, making sure that her magazine was full and that she had spares ready, of course, all simply created from the iron key, she would follow her teammates, stepping through the barrier of seals and protective magic. The first impression she got of this place that was colloquially referred to as the "Plague Area", Tsak Ordahic, was the overwhelming, omnipresent stench of foulness, decay, and death, her slayer senses not exactly helping in warding these influxes off. It was appalling. The girl, for a second, had to compose herself to keep a straight face. After the smell came the sights. The place was covered in decaying or already dead plant matter, as if serving as a warning to everyone who dared to venture through the layer of defenses, the dull browns and greys all around not adding to an impression of hospitality. All of the girl's instincts would let her know that venturing deeper into the place would be a bad idea, and yet, she had volunteered for this. She had a duty to do, a duty to her guild, and a duty to her new comrades. She had, after all, sworn an oath to Leona. For now though, she would remain silent, continuing to walk alongside her assigned teammates for this mission, keeping out an eye for anything suspicious or potentially threatening, her submachine gun shouldered and ready to be fired at anything that would dare make an attempt on anyone's life.
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Word Count: 820
Word Count Total: 1,643 / 3,500