It had been a while since Koetsu had the chance to stretch his legs in fieldwork. Much longer and his steel might have gone rusty. That was a joke, of course, as God Steel was a material beyond the simplicity and frailness of worldly junk metal. Mere disuse wasn't enough to dull the edge of a blade he forged. Still, better safe than sorry.
This leg of today's journey was a simple reconnaissance task, an investigation into the affairs of a certain group of armed miscreants. It was difficult to think of them as a dark guild, but despite this, it was still likely a matter of public order. This group was known as the 'Black Powder Gang', and they relied on this magically enhanced gunpowder to do most of their dirty work. They mostly consisted of nobodies and rejects from legal guilds who couldn't use magic very well. Specifically, they used guns and various magic gunpowder. Koetsu didn't like guns, one could say he had a problem with them, in fact.
That said, he didn't know anything practical about them at all. Where they hung out, what their uniform looked like if there was one, or even how to identify them. It was a giant crapshoot to him, really; In fact, he was sort of hoping they'd be super obvious. Judging by this being his third trip around Magnolia's main streets, that was not the case. Either that, or Koetsu had been unable to identify a back-alley at all, or find bars, or any such things.
Essentially, his goal had only been to isolate a few members of the gang, get into a fight with them, and quickly take them down. Then he intended to shake one down good and proper, do it 'by the book' as it were, and then take his information back to the commissioner. Without being able to find one, though, he was banking entirely on luck, and it seemed that the grace of his god wasn't paying him any visitation.
"Lord Muramasa, you jerk, at least let one of them fire off so I can sniff out their gunpowder," he would plead his sole choice of deity. This was a prayer to a God by technicality, though in truth he was just lambasting his old mentor about forgetting to help a guy out once in a while. It had been a month or two since his last job, and at this rate it'd be another month before he combed every inch of Magnolia and found out he was getting pranked by the Magic Council.
Maybe a stern nudging would remind the old man to throw him a bone. Preferably a metal one he forged himself. Say what you will about his personality, attitude, and work ethic, there is nothing mankind has offered him yet that beats the taste of a Steel God's ironworks. Of course, this whole chain of thought was making him very hungry, so perhaps it was time to spend the allowance a friend in the guild lent him on some food...
Wait... where existed a place to eat around these parts? Koetsu didn't do any research in advance, so he was lost within being lost. Maybe he'd finally find a local and ask them some questions. That seemed like a reasonable way to sate his hunger, for sure. Now to find a suitably knowledgeable-looking local...
Word Count: 564
Total Words: 564
This leg of today's journey was a simple reconnaissance task, an investigation into the affairs of a certain group of armed miscreants. It was difficult to think of them as a dark guild, but despite this, it was still likely a matter of public order. This group was known as the 'Black Powder Gang', and they relied on this magically enhanced gunpowder to do most of their dirty work. They mostly consisted of nobodies and rejects from legal guilds who couldn't use magic very well. Specifically, they used guns and various magic gunpowder. Koetsu didn't like guns, one could say he had a problem with them, in fact.
That said, he didn't know anything practical about them at all. Where they hung out, what their uniform looked like if there was one, or even how to identify them. It was a giant crapshoot to him, really; In fact, he was sort of hoping they'd be super obvious. Judging by this being his third trip around Magnolia's main streets, that was not the case. Either that, or Koetsu had been unable to identify a back-alley at all, or find bars, or any such things.
Essentially, his goal had only been to isolate a few members of the gang, get into a fight with them, and quickly take them down. Then he intended to shake one down good and proper, do it 'by the book' as it were, and then take his information back to the commissioner. Without being able to find one, though, he was banking entirely on luck, and it seemed that the grace of his god wasn't paying him any visitation.
"Lord Muramasa, you jerk, at least let one of them fire off so I can sniff out their gunpowder," he would plead his sole choice of deity. This was a prayer to a God by technicality, though in truth he was just lambasting his old mentor about forgetting to help a guy out once in a while. It had been a month or two since his last job, and at this rate it'd be another month before he combed every inch of Magnolia and found out he was getting pranked by the Magic Council.
Maybe a stern nudging would remind the old man to throw him a bone. Preferably a metal one he forged himself. Say what you will about his personality, attitude, and work ethic, there is nothing mankind has offered him yet that beats the taste of a Steel God's ironworks. Of course, this whole chain of thought was making him very hungry, so perhaps it was time to spend the allowance a friend in the guild lent him on some food...
Wait... where existed a place to eat around these parts? Koetsu didn't do any research in advance, so he was lost within being lost. Maybe he'd finally find a local and ask them some questions. That seemed like a reasonable way to sate his hunger, for sure. Now to find a suitably knowledgeable-looking local...
Word Count: 564
Total Words: 564