Dies Irae was the type of guild that Arthur could see himself remaining a part of for a very long time. Flying toward the port, Arthur stayed elevated near the shoreline. Waves visibly capped in the distance, but the oceans were otherwise smoothe today. The wind was calm, with little strong wind in either direction, lending the open airspace to a cacophony of gulls. It was like the birds were frenzying, cawing wildly as the human invaded their airspace. They mostly stayed away from him for the most part while he was flying along the beach. There were a few beachgoers that looked up at him in awe, and Arthur couldn't resist the chance to smile down at them and wave. Normally, he would have taken a horse or a carriage to the port of Hargeon, but since the job required him to board a ship, he didn't think it to be the best idea for the duration of his job. Arthur was the last person who would want to leave a horse tied up on a post for who knew how long. Plus, the thing would probably get stolen if he didn't keep it in a stable, not that he knew where any of those were in town anyway. Thus, flying was the simplest choice, even if it did use a bit of stamina, not as much as running, however. Flying was more efficient than running for a few simple reasons, Arthur could glide along the winds without any input from his part, they were magically enhanced, and his heavy armor gave him a lot of momentum to keep gliding forward. The sun shined bright above him, casting down the god rays that Arthur's skin couldn't help but greedily absorb. With the confidence of his god's presence, he did a little roll in the sky as he let out a thrilling cry of excitement. He didn't know what this journey would offer, but at least it wasn't a cave. Anything but a cave after what had happened back on amber island. If not for his guild HQ residing there, he would never returned to that wretched place. Arthur knew, though, with his general magical sensory, that nothing of the sort still remained on the island. He knew that there were no tiny slivers of the parasite that had survived and was slowly biding its time as it regenerated its presence. Nothing like that at all. The only reason he worried about such a thing were the comic books his guildmates had gotten him into. They, for some reason, thought that Arthur would enjoy reading sci-fi horror stories. Needless to say, he did not like the gift nor the thought of reading them. While they did scare him so, he couldn't help but admit himself to be ensnared in the plot regardless of how scary the art and story actually was. One positive of being a light demon slayer, Arthur supposed, was being able to sleep in broad daylight, alongside never needing to put on sunscreen. The amount of mana regenerated just from his presence in the solar rays was enough to passively repair any normal sun damage. And to be honest, he wasn't even sure if the radiation damaged his skin in the first place, given his general resistances to its effects. What this meant, though, was that all in all, Arthur was one of the best sunbathers and catnappers in the world. He didn't need pure darkness to sleep, and for that, he was glad. A V-shaped flock of gulls dispersed as he soared past them, turning slightly to follow alongside the sandy beaches below. Given his relatively low altitude, Arthur could hear the lapping waves over the sound of wind rushing past his body. It's not as if he was going too fast anyway, as that generally took more energy out of him in the long run. Seeing the port town of Hargeon in the distance, Arthur looked for a spot nearby that he could land. While he loved the attention, he didn't think that landing in the middle of a crowded city square was either safe nor smart for his general presence in the town. He'd be singled out easily for any dark mages that wanted to pick a fight, and he wasn't particularly in the mood to put anybody down, nor greatly injure anyone. Instead, Arthur decided to gracefully land with a thunk just outside of the town's outskirts. As he had landed on a packed-dirt pathway, a cloud of dust was kicked up as he landed. Though, with the gentle breeze, it was swiftly carried away and out over the beach dunes. Taking the path closest to the ocean, it offered the paladin an amazing view of the ocean's horizon and the sun rising over it at dawn. Orange-gold light doused the world in the process, casting a dreamy glow overt he ocean and the entirety of Hargeon. This would be a great day for sailing, potentially meaning that his ride over the ocean would not cause him too much trouble. He was thankful, in this moment, to not be a dragon-type slayer. From what he knew and had read about himself, dragon-type slayers became woefully ill whenever in transport from vehicles. Given his love for his stable of horses back at Dies Irae, motion sickness to that degree simply wouldn't do. Brushing the dirt off of the blue silks of his armor, Arthur walked his way onto the first canal street. Stepping up onto a bridge to do so, Arthur admired the water rushing beneath him. The sounds of the flowing canal were relaxing for him, and so was the general atmosphere of the place. There was very little magic in the town, lending a break to Arthur's senses. The only blip on his radar was miniscule in comparison to amber island, likely residing to some sort of magic shop or fledgling guild. Regardless, Arthur took in the sights of the town as he wandered towards the docks. A woman staring at him caught Arthur's attention. She was looking behind him though, directly at his wings. Giving her back an equally blank stare, it took Arthur a few moments to come to his senses and mutter out an apology that was definitely too quiet for the woman to ever hear. And to be honest, he had no clue why he was even apologizing in the first place, as it was not like he had done anything wrong to the girl at all. If anything, she should have been the one to apologizing for staring, after all it was a rather rude thing to do so brazenly. Regardless of his annoyances, the paladin dispelled his angel wings as he turned a street corner. Almost bumping into a pack of young men and women, Arthur muttered out a quick "Sorry, didn't see you there. My bad." before continuing his walk towards his destination. The docks weren't too far from the outskirts. Arthur had been to town before, when he was much weaker of a mage. From what he remembered, the docks in this town were massive though, so finding the people who had hired him would be a struggle of itself as well.
Walking through the canal-routed city, Arthur couldn't help but admire the beauty of it all. Tropical trees grew between stone-latticed pathways. Puffy clouds dotted the peerless blue sky. Gulls cawed in the distance, and nobody was in a rush. It was the picture of relaxation and seaside ease of life. Arthur could see the telltale sign of the red-roofed gate to the docks. Due to the town's prime real estate location of said docs, most of the more businessy and commercial boats docked in the luxury docks. To even enter them in the first place, one would require some form of compensation in either their pass ticket, or just a plain fee. Arthur figured as if he was going to pay a fee, but he'd try to weasel his way out of it, especially since he was here to do a request for the dock officials themselves. There was no way he was paying the people to do the job they had requested him for in the first place. Arthur was no miser with his coins, but that didn't mean he was just eager to spend them either. Give a homeless man a few hundred jewels? No problem. Pay a toll taker? Probably not, Arthur would have found a way around it. It's not even that it was that he just didn't have the money, but he just didn't like the idea of being forced to pay the people he was helping as he usually wound up paying said fees when he was travelling. And when it came to that point, he usually just flew over the booths to get around any of their pesky enforcement. Was it stealing? Probably not, as Helios was never and had never been angered by his numerous 'transgressions' in that particular category. In fact, he almost felt the thrums of appreciation when Arthur used his magic to avoid tolls and taxation. It's almost as if the god was amused by it. A woman smiled at the paladin as he walked by. Casting her a friendly grin right back, the woman blushed at the warrior's expression. Arthur was not afraid of flirting back with those whose intentions were rather clear. Unfortunately, though, this was not the time for such relaxations. For now, Arthur had a job to do. And since today was the culmination of his travels to Hargeon, he was not going to let his encouragement and dedicated fade after a few days in a hotel room with a few thousands less jewels later. There was time for all of those enjoyments later on, when the knight was finished with what they were requesting him for. And they had been mostly keeping him in the dark around the whole thing, not telling him anything other than the fact that he would practically be serving as a bodyguard on a boat. With only that information in mind, Arthur still had all the confidence in the world that he could do a job. Defending things was part of his skillset, and so it would be one of the things that he did well. Approaching the somewhat nautical-looking building with the bright red tiled roof, Arthur dusted off his armor to make sure he was presenting himself prim and properly. Arthur could use every lick of charm he could muster to make his way past the ticket-taker. That was his goal, anyway. Upon walking into the climate controlled lobby, Arthur's plated boots clacked against the black and white checkerboard tiles. A small potted palm tree swayed from the vented air current. The building was divided into two sections, the entrance, and the exit. Divided by a wall of glass-barrier booths and turnstyles, it definitely seemed like the place where he'd have to pay some sort of fee. Approaching one of the boothes, Arthur came to see the sight of a young woman with long flowing hair. Sporting what looked like cowboy hat, Arthur couldn't help but appreciate how it matched her outfit and general aesthetic. Grinning warmly at her, he asked. "If I'm here as an employee, are you still going to charge me?" Blushing at his question, the young woman made a noise and began scouring through a nearby book. Was it some type of manual, ledger? Arthur really wasn't too sure why she had to consult a book to answer his question, but he let her do her job. After planting her finger on a specific page and paragraph of the book, the woman cast her gaze back upwards towards him. "You see, that depends on a few things okay? First of all, I have to ask you if you're a day laborer or here as a shiphand." Arthur considered the question and came up with a blank. The look must have shown on his face, for the woman saw this and laughed quietly to herself. Clearing his throat, Arthur clarified. "I'm here as a mage who was personally hired by one of your bosses to bodyguard a shipment." After saying this, the receptionist's brows furrowed up in contemplation. A look of realization flashed across her face as she scoured her book again, but this time for a different page entirely. Pointing to a part on the page, she read out what sounded like a personal note. "If a mage from Dies Irae enters our port because of a job, send him directly to the quarters of my ship." Suddenly sure of herself for no good reason, the secretary pressed a button and Arthur watched as a lacrima light above one of the turnstiles blinked green. Assuming it meant for him to continue forward through the checkpoint, Arthur did as he was instructed. "Thank you!" the paladin called out to her as he pushed his body past the turn spikes. Like a well-oiled machine, the checkpoint made a satisfying clunking noise as he emerged on the other side of the gate system. Stretching his arms somewhat, Arthur walked to the little gift shop in the side of the building. Containing all sorts of souvenirs, snacks and drinks, the paladin decided upon buying himself a bottle of water for good measure. Tossing an amount of jewels more than necessary to buy the water, Arthur gave the cashier a wink and watched as the man behind the counter counted up the change. "Keep it!" Arthur howled out to the man as he left the little gift shop. The trip here had absolutely exhausted him, dehydrating him as equally in turn to the point that he felt like just buying some more water was better than rehydrating his body magically. Arthur had never done so before, and was honestly not looking to try. From what his medical books had gathered, it was just generally only to be done in the most desperate of situations.. Pretty much chugging the bottle of water in one go, Arthur crushed the container and threw it into the garbage bin.
Pressing the door open with his arms, Arthur eye's adjusted to the sudden bright light rather easily. Probably as a consequence of both his slayer senses alongside the element he wielded, the sun's brilliance often did little in terms of bothering him. It did not leave afterimages when he blinked, nor did the glare from the sun in the ocean cause him to avert his eyes. It's not that he'd just stare at the sun all day, because he knew it was probably bad for his eyes, even if he could just heal them, but it let him do a lot more during bright sunny days that most other people would have trouble with. For example, right now? Arthur was able to look up at the ship in front of him and see the shipwreights building and hammering away even though the sun hung right behind the ship in the sky. If he was any other person, he probably wouldn't have even been able to make out the details of anyone on the ship given the sharp contrast. He could see that this boat was not the one he'd be boarding, as it looked a little too run-down to be considered first class by any stretch of the imagination. The sounds of working men and women filled the air. Hammers struck iron, and saws cut through lumber as the construction work continued. It was marvelous, really, how such a large group of people could just gather together in one area and do all of their work. They must be good team players, Arthur though, ot be able to stand all of the incessant noise that his senses wouldn't let him tune out. One of the disadvantages towards being a slayer, Arthur immediately thought. Even so, the shoddy ship before him rhythmically bobbed up and down with the waves crashing against the dark wooden pier. Every now and then, a splash of salt water would spray up and mist the nearby deck. It was definitely a relaxing scene for him to immerse himself in, noting how the lapping waves, background chatter, and construction sounds all blended into on encouraging and comforting ambiance. It remined him of home, growing up in a small farmer's town, where the community would gather together around the farmer's market each summer. Even though they all had their differences at times, when the season came, they call gathered into one spot to work together on larger projects and to collaborate with their progress. Picking himself up out of his reverie once more, Arthur shook his head and continued down the pier. Arthur was really just guessing where to go at this point. Not knowing much about the general construction or aesthetics of modernly made boats, it was useless for him to try and judge the value of a boat based from its exterior. Arthur was not equipped with the right type of mind nor memories to have enough knowledge on boat appraisals to make a decision on the fly like that. He would leave that to the professionals. As a dockboy passed him by, Arthur reached out a hand and waved to him after flagging the worker down. "Hey, youngster, mind showing me what boat the big boss stays in? I'm here working for him as a new assistant. Thank you so much, and by the way I hope you're enjoying the weather. Smiling up at him, the small kid continued. "Well, from what I remember, he stays in the black boat with deep gold trim. Here, it's right over.... Here!" Giggling at himself, the kid pointed down the dockway and towards the aforementioned boat. Set up near a bunch of other darkly-colored ships, Arthur forgave himself for not having spotted the boss's boat earlier. It was easier to tell now that it was pointed out, because it was not just that the ship had a black hull, but also the fact that the flag itself was black with gold outlines, along a gold floral leaf motif around the entire vehicle. The ship definitely looked gaudy enough to belong to some type of owner. It was a bit further down the walkway, though, and so the paladin would have to walk a few hundred meters to reach the boat itself. Walking along the piers edge, Arthur gazed into the depths of the water. Given that it was surprisingly clear, the paladin could see down into the depths and stare at the swimming fish alongside other meats and consumables. If not for the obligations that drew him away from the lovely aspects of Hargeon, Arthur would definitely had taken up fishing along one of the cliffs on the road to this town. Either that, or the paladin would have spent a nice day at the beach with a bit of sun tanning and swimming. It had been so long since he actually went swimming, instead usually just opting to bathe in the sun on the beach. Either were good options, options that were preferrable to going through with whatever this job actually turned out to be. Arthur had a duty though, a duty to Dies Irae to actually complete this quest and help the people who were in need of helping. Walking along the pier, Arthur looked at the stalls of fish drying and the multiple barrels of unknown contents. This was definitely the more commercial side of the docks. The security patrolling the dock's walls seemed rather competent, so it's not as if the checkpoint existed for now reason. If Arthur had to bet, all of them had to be at least somewhat magically capable. Arthur couldn't sense any of them though with either his slayer senses or just his general affinity for detecting the presence of others through their magical signature. Glancing at the ray of fish fillets splayed out upon racks, Arthur had to wonder how the stuff didn't go bad. Taking a closer look, Arthur stepped in only to be blasted by a wretched ocean smell from the fillets. From their granularly coarse texture, the paladin assumed them to be cured with salt rather than magical preservation. From his previous visit to the town, Arthur had realized that it wasn't particularly a spot where a lot of magic was used. Most of the people living in this town were not magic-capable, instead opting to make a living on the docks and other fishery positions offered to those with no affinity for the arcane. Arthur had to wonder if he would still be on the farm if not for his magic, would that have really been so bad? The thought made him wonder about his home. Was it still standing? It had been so long since he visited that small dreamy place, the thought of the place alone- and it's people, places, and character- was enough to make him nostalgic enough to the point of distraction, but he wasn't here to reminisce in the slightest. The reason he was here now stood before him, unwelcoming in its monolithic darkness. Painting the ship black had definitely been an interesting choice.
The gangplank to the ship had already been lowered. Arthur assumed that whoever was residing within the ship had been expecting company. To leave such a luxurious ship practically unlocked and open, Arthur had to wonder how much faith the owner really put in his own security. It didn't seem to difficult for a mage to be able to cast some sort of cloaking spell and sneak around, or even just fly over the walls or anything in that nature. Ready to describe these threats to the boss, Arthur had to fight his urge to help. This was not why he was here, he was here to do one simple task. Besides, he doubted that the big business tycoon would even care about such a thing, as those sorts of people generally just didn't seem like the type of people to think that anything bad could happen to them ever. Following this train of thought, Arthur carefully ascended the somewhat narrow gangplank. Careful with his footing, Arthur made his way up the narrow planks. The last thing he wanted would be to lose his footing and fall into the water before he could react with his wings. Plus, Arthur didn't even think his wings would have been able to beat enough in time for him to avoid the water. What this meant, then, was that he definitely had to take his time across the dark mahogany lumber. As he made his way towards the end of the plank, Arthur jumped off of the entrance and onto the lowermost verandah-style wraparound deck. Not particularly curious about the actual architecture of the boat, the knight was just here to find and report to his boss. Thinking about the fact that it was too sunny today, the paladin assumed that the old man would likely be enjoying some air conditioning in one of the inside rooms on the ship. Arthur realized, though, that searching the entire ship would take entirely too long. Instead, he found his way into the main hallway and staring downt he long corridor into the lobby. THat's where he would be going. Feet clanking against the plus carpet, Arthur was suddenly very happy that he had decided to clean off his shoes and other plates of his armor. The last thing he wanted to do was dirty up the place for some hardly-payed housekeeper to do all the work. That wouldn't do, wouldn't do at all. The first person he managed to find in the ship was sporting the outfit that looked like a hybrid of a butler and pirate costume. It was definitely a unique look, that's for sure. Eying up the man, Arthur could tell he was rather experienced in his position given his general lack of concern at some random mage entering into the ship's lobby. Smiling at the man, Arthur was somewhat surprised when the butler just checked his watch with feigned interest. Arthur paused, curious to why is charming smile had no effect on the man. Maybe he was one of those people who were just unable to be affected by his radiating presence. If so, that was too bad, he'd have to get his way to the information the old-fashioned way- Conversation skills. While Arthur definitely had those in droves, he wasn't used to having to rely upon them without his charm magic. From his experience in life, Arthur could tell that this would either go very well or very badly. Either way, he'd get some information period. "Hey would any of you be able to help me with something? I'm looking to see where I can find the boss of this ship. I'm a new mage who was sent here to help with something regarding this boat and being a bodyguard?" Arthur hoped he came off somewhat polite with the men, as it would make both his presence and job here quite a lot easier. perhaps they were working on the assumption that he couldn't understand them due to some language barrier. However, as far as Arthur was aware, their ship was nothing like that, nothing of he sort. Although, it wouldn't surprise him if the ship was some other type of cultural relic. Plenty of those things existed in the world throughout separate histories. It was hard, in general, for Arthur to classify which of the world's histories that the boat belonged to. It wasn't from any of the provinces that he was personally aware from, and he knew for a fact that it wasn't from Amber Island. From living there for a good while, he knew that most ships that came out of the bay there had some sort of tropical aesthetic. Maybe the big black ship was from boscow? It was possible, but generally unlikely to be the case. Most residents of that country rarely made the trip over to their own in the first place. Arthur had never even spoken with somebody from that country, and he was taught very little about the culture of his neighboring country. The butler pirate responded to him with a somewhat inconvenienced tone to his voice. Nothing too irritated, but the paladin could tell his presence was being met with at least some level of resistance. It was a shame too, since he was really only here to help the residents anyway. "Yes, you're the mage I assume? I'm surprised you managed to make it past security, most people just give up at that part. Anyways, let me show you to his quarters, he's probably drafting up some sort of trading route plan as we speak. I'm sure he'll be glad to have an interruption from the monotony of his daily life. Tell him I said hi, and that dinner will be ready at the usual time, okay?"
Arthur followed the butler as they made their way up the grand stairway. Given their general pace throughout the ship, the knight was able to appreciate the fine tapestry of the carpet beneath his feet, alongside the pretty arches and molding of the ceiling. Painting were strung up against the walls, obviously expensive from how he could see the texture of each oil brush stroke. Arthur had to wonder if he was the type of mage that this type of money could afford someone. It made a slight swell of ego rise in his chest. It wasn't every day that Arthur could say he was inside of a wealthy tycoon's private boat. Rounding another corner with the servant, the two of them finally came upon a set of large double doors. Circular glass panes had been cut out into each of the doors. The butler stopped him when Arthur reached for the doorknobs. "Not yet." The butler warned, checking his watch before carefully knocking on the same door the knight had tried to walk through. Arthur could hear heavy and shuffling footsteps from across the wall and through the floor inside the room. The tycoon was quickly making his way towards the door. While unable to get a peek at the tycoon through the windows of the ship, Arthur was at firt surprised by the man's general height. Standing no more than five foot eight, the tiny little thing barely reached Arthur's shoulders. He guessed it made sense, then, why the boat was as it was. Perhaps the tycoon was overcompensating for how tiny his body actually was in comparison to most male mages Arthur. It had been something taught to him in his first year of magic school. Those with a proficiency for magic often also had enhanced physical capabilities from how their soul's magic would mix and intertwine with that person's muscles. It was the type of thing that was guaranteed to happen to those with a strong magical lineage. Unfortunately for the business tycoon, he did not seem to be from one of those aforementioned lineages. Still doing his best to generally charm the man and cast himself into a favorable light, Arthur sent him a charming smile and allowed his persuasive abilities to pour out into the air. Thankfully, from how the tycoon was now looking at him, it seemed to have worked. Unfortunately for him, however, the tycoon was looking at him in all the wrong types of ways. And it wasn't even the fact that the tycoon was a man, but more of the fact that said tycoon was very old, very short, with little of substance in terms of a good body. "This is a mighty fine boat y'ave got yourself there, how did you manage to pick up such a beauty, and where did you get all of this black paint." The business man appraised Arthur in a way that could only be described as predatory and greedy. This was not the type of thing he wanted to be dealing with at the moment, but it was indeed part of the job that could not be negotiated with. He had to at least talk with one of the lead family members, which Arthur now found himself actively doing so.
WC: 5062
Walking through the canal-routed city, Arthur couldn't help but admire the beauty of it all. Tropical trees grew between stone-latticed pathways. Puffy clouds dotted the peerless blue sky. Gulls cawed in the distance, and nobody was in a rush. It was the picture of relaxation and seaside ease of life. Arthur could see the telltale sign of the red-roofed gate to the docks. Due to the town's prime real estate location of said docs, most of the more businessy and commercial boats docked in the luxury docks. To even enter them in the first place, one would require some form of compensation in either their pass ticket, or just a plain fee. Arthur figured as if he was going to pay a fee, but he'd try to weasel his way out of it, especially since he was here to do a request for the dock officials themselves. There was no way he was paying the people to do the job they had requested him for in the first place. Arthur was no miser with his coins, but that didn't mean he was just eager to spend them either. Give a homeless man a few hundred jewels? No problem. Pay a toll taker? Probably not, Arthur would have found a way around it. It's not even that it was that he just didn't have the money, but he just didn't like the idea of being forced to pay the people he was helping as he usually wound up paying said fees when he was travelling. And when it came to that point, he usually just flew over the booths to get around any of their pesky enforcement. Was it stealing? Probably not, as Helios was never and had never been angered by his numerous 'transgressions' in that particular category. In fact, he almost felt the thrums of appreciation when Arthur used his magic to avoid tolls and taxation. It's almost as if the god was amused by it. A woman smiled at the paladin as he walked by. Casting her a friendly grin right back, the woman blushed at the warrior's expression. Arthur was not afraid of flirting back with those whose intentions were rather clear. Unfortunately, though, this was not the time for such relaxations. For now, Arthur had a job to do. And since today was the culmination of his travels to Hargeon, he was not going to let his encouragement and dedicated fade after a few days in a hotel room with a few thousands less jewels later. There was time for all of those enjoyments later on, when the knight was finished with what they were requesting him for. And they had been mostly keeping him in the dark around the whole thing, not telling him anything other than the fact that he would practically be serving as a bodyguard on a boat. With only that information in mind, Arthur still had all the confidence in the world that he could do a job. Defending things was part of his skillset, and so it would be one of the things that he did well. Approaching the somewhat nautical-looking building with the bright red tiled roof, Arthur dusted off his armor to make sure he was presenting himself prim and properly. Arthur could use every lick of charm he could muster to make his way past the ticket-taker. That was his goal, anyway. Upon walking into the climate controlled lobby, Arthur's plated boots clacked against the black and white checkerboard tiles. A small potted palm tree swayed from the vented air current. The building was divided into two sections, the entrance, and the exit. Divided by a wall of glass-barrier booths and turnstyles, it definitely seemed like the place where he'd have to pay some sort of fee. Approaching one of the boothes, Arthur came to see the sight of a young woman with long flowing hair. Sporting what looked like cowboy hat, Arthur couldn't help but appreciate how it matched her outfit and general aesthetic. Grinning warmly at her, he asked. "If I'm here as an employee, are you still going to charge me?" Blushing at his question, the young woman made a noise and began scouring through a nearby book. Was it some type of manual, ledger? Arthur really wasn't too sure why she had to consult a book to answer his question, but he let her do her job. After planting her finger on a specific page and paragraph of the book, the woman cast her gaze back upwards towards him. "You see, that depends on a few things okay? First of all, I have to ask you if you're a day laborer or here as a shiphand." Arthur considered the question and came up with a blank. The look must have shown on his face, for the woman saw this and laughed quietly to herself. Clearing his throat, Arthur clarified. "I'm here as a mage who was personally hired by one of your bosses to bodyguard a shipment." After saying this, the receptionist's brows furrowed up in contemplation. A look of realization flashed across her face as she scoured her book again, but this time for a different page entirely. Pointing to a part on the page, she read out what sounded like a personal note. "If a mage from Dies Irae enters our port because of a job, send him directly to the quarters of my ship." Suddenly sure of herself for no good reason, the secretary pressed a button and Arthur watched as a lacrima light above one of the turnstiles blinked green. Assuming it meant for him to continue forward through the checkpoint, Arthur did as he was instructed. "Thank you!" the paladin called out to her as he pushed his body past the turn spikes. Like a well-oiled machine, the checkpoint made a satisfying clunking noise as he emerged on the other side of the gate system. Stretching his arms somewhat, Arthur walked to the little gift shop in the side of the building. Containing all sorts of souvenirs, snacks and drinks, the paladin decided upon buying himself a bottle of water for good measure. Tossing an amount of jewels more than necessary to buy the water, Arthur gave the cashier a wink and watched as the man behind the counter counted up the change. "Keep it!" Arthur howled out to the man as he left the little gift shop. The trip here had absolutely exhausted him, dehydrating him as equally in turn to the point that he felt like just buying some more water was better than rehydrating his body magically. Arthur had never done so before, and was honestly not looking to try. From what his medical books had gathered, it was just generally only to be done in the most desperate of situations.. Pretty much chugging the bottle of water in one go, Arthur crushed the container and threw it into the garbage bin.
Pressing the door open with his arms, Arthur eye's adjusted to the sudden bright light rather easily. Probably as a consequence of both his slayer senses alongside the element he wielded, the sun's brilliance often did little in terms of bothering him. It did not leave afterimages when he blinked, nor did the glare from the sun in the ocean cause him to avert his eyes. It's not that he'd just stare at the sun all day, because he knew it was probably bad for his eyes, even if he could just heal them, but it let him do a lot more during bright sunny days that most other people would have trouble with. For example, right now? Arthur was able to look up at the ship in front of him and see the shipwreights building and hammering away even though the sun hung right behind the ship in the sky. If he was any other person, he probably wouldn't have even been able to make out the details of anyone on the ship given the sharp contrast. He could see that this boat was not the one he'd be boarding, as it looked a little too run-down to be considered first class by any stretch of the imagination. The sounds of working men and women filled the air. Hammers struck iron, and saws cut through lumber as the construction work continued. It was marvelous, really, how such a large group of people could just gather together in one area and do all of their work. They must be good team players, Arthur though, ot be able to stand all of the incessant noise that his senses wouldn't let him tune out. One of the disadvantages towards being a slayer, Arthur immediately thought. Even so, the shoddy ship before him rhythmically bobbed up and down with the waves crashing against the dark wooden pier. Every now and then, a splash of salt water would spray up and mist the nearby deck. It was definitely a relaxing scene for him to immerse himself in, noting how the lapping waves, background chatter, and construction sounds all blended into on encouraging and comforting ambiance. It remined him of home, growing up in a small farmer's town, where the community would gather together around the farmer's market each summer. Even though they all had their differences at times, when the season came, they call gathered into one spot to work together on larger projects and to collaborate with their progress. Picking himself up out of his reverie once more, Arthur shook his head and continued down the pier. Arthur was really just guessing where to go at this point. Not knowing much about the general construction or aesthetics of modernly made boats, it was useless for him to try and judge the value of a boat based from its exterior. Arthur was not equipped with the right type of mind nor memories to have enough knowledge on boat appraisals to make a decision on the fly like that. He would leave that to the professionals. As a dockboy passed him by, Arthur reached out a hand and waved to him after flagging the worker down. "Hey, youngster, mind showing me what boat the big boss stays in? I'm here working for him as a new assistant. Thank you so much, and by the way I hope you're enjoying the weather. Smiling up at him, the small kid continued. "Well, from what I remember, he stays in the black boat with deep gold trim. Here, it's right over.... Here!" Giggling at himself, the kid pointed down the dockway and towards the aforementioned boat. Set up near a bunch of other darkly-colored ships, Arthur forgave himself for not having spotted the boss's boat earlier. It was easier to tell now that it was pointed out, because it was not just that the ship had a black hull, but also the fact that the flag itself was black with gold outlines, along a gold floral leaf motif around the entire vehicle. The ship definitely looked gaudy enough to belong to some type of owner. It was a bit further down the walkway, though, and so the paladin would have to walk a few hundred meters to reach the boat itself. Walking along the piers edge, Arthur gazed into the depths of the water. Given that it was surprisingly clear, the paladin could see down into the depths and stare at the swimming fish alongside other meats and consumables. If not for the obligations that drew him away from the lovely aspects of Hargeon, Arthur would definitely had taken up fishing along one of the cliffs on the road to this town. Either that, or the paladin would have spent a nice day at the beach with a bit of sun tanning and swimming. It had been so long since he actually went swimming, instead usually just opting to bathe in the sun on the beach. Either were good options, options that were preferrable to going through with whatever this job actually turned out to be. Arthur had a duty though, a duty to Dies Irae to actually complete this quest and help the people who were in need of helping. Walking along the pier, Arthur looked at the stalls of fish drying and the multiple barrels of unknown contents. This was definitely the more commercial side of the docks. The security patrolling the dock's walls seemed rather competent, so it's not as if the checkpoint existed for now reason. If Arthur had to bet, all of them had to be at least somewhat magically capable. Arthur couldn't sense any of them though with either his slayer senses or just his general affinity for detecting the presence of others through their magical signature. Glancing at the ray of fish fillets splayed out upon racks, Arthur had to wonder how the stuff didn't go bad. Taking a closer look, Arthur stepped in only to be blasted by a wretched ocean smell from the fillets. From their granularly coarse texture, the paladin assumed them to be cured with salt rather than magical preservation. From his previous visit to the town, Arthur had realized that it wasn't particularly a spot where a lot of magic was used. Most of the people living in this town were not magic-capable, instead opting to make a living on the docks and other fishery positions offered to those with no affinity for the arcane. Arthur had to wonder if he would still be on the farm if not for his magic, would that have really been so bad? The thought made him wonder about his home. Was it still standing? It had been so long since he visited that small dreamy place, the thought of the place alone- and it's people, places, and character- was enough to make him nostalgic enough to the point of distraction, but he wasn't here to reminisce in the slightest. The reason he was here now stood before him, unwelcoming in its monolithic darkness. Painting the ship black had definitely been an interesting choice.
The gangplank to the ship had already been lowered. Arthur assumed that whoever was residing within the ship had been expecting company. To leave such a luxurious ship practically unlocked and open, Arthur had to wonder how much faith the owner really put in his own security. It didn't seem to difficult for a mage to be able to cast some sort of cloaking spell and sneak around, or even just fly over the walls or anything in that nature. Ready to describe these threats to the boss, Arthur had to fight his urge to help. This was not why he was here, he was here to do one simple task. Besides, he doubted that the big business tycoon would even care about such a thing, as those sorts of people generally just didn't seem like the type of people to think that anything bad could happen to them ever. Following this train of thought, Arthur carefully ascended the somewhat narrow gangplank. Careful with his footing, Arthur made his way up the narrow planks. The last thing he wanted would be to lose his footing and fall into the water before he could react with his wings. Plus, Arthur didn't even think his wings would have been able to beat enough in time for him to avoid the water. What this meant, then, was that he definitely had to take his time across the dark mahogany lumber. As he made his way towards the end of the plank, Arthur jumped off of the entrance and onto the lowermost verandah-style wraparound deck. Not particularly curious about the actual architecture of the boat, the knight was just here to find and report to his boss. Thinking about the fact that it was too sunny today, the paladin assumed that the old man would likely be enjoying some air conditioning in one of the inside rooms on the ship. Arthur realized, though, that searching the entire ship would take entirely too long. Instead, he found his way into the main hallway and staring downt he long corridor into the lobby. THat's where he would be going. Feet clanking against the plus carpet, Arthur was suddenly very happy that he had decided to clean off his shoes and other plates of his armor. The last thing he wanted to do was dirty up the place for some hardly-payed housekeeper to do all the work. That wouldn't do, wouldn't do at all. The first person he managed to find in the ship was sporting the outfit that looked like a hybrid of a butler and pirate costume. It was definitely a unique look, that's for sure. Eying up the man, Arthur could tell he was rather experienced in his position given his general lack of concern at some random mage entering into the ship's lobby. Smiling at the man, Arthur was somewhat surprised when the butler just checked his watch with feigned interest. Arthur paused, curious to why is charming smile had no effect on the man. Maybe he was one of those people who were just unable to be affected by his radiating presence. If so, that was too bad, he'd have to get his way to the information the old-fashioned way- Conversation skills. While Arthur definitely had those in droves, he wasn't used to having to rely upon them without his charm magic. From his experience in life, Arthur could tell that this would either go very well or very badly. Either way, he'd get some information period. "Hey would any of you be able to help me with something? I'm looking to see where I can find the boss of this ship. I'm a new mage who was sent here to help with something regarding this boat and being a bodyguard?" Arthur hoped he came off somewhat polite with the men, as it would make both his presence and job here quite a lot easier. perhaps they were working on the assumption that he couldn't understand them due to some language barrier. However, as far as Arthur was aware, their ship was nothing like that, nothing of he sort. Although, it wouldn't surprise him if the ship was some other type of cultural relic. Plenty of those things existed in the world throughout separate histories. It was hard, in general, for Arthur to classify which of the world's histories that the boat belonged to. It wasn't from any of the provinces that he was personally aware from, and he knew for a fact that it wasn't from Amber Island. From living there for a good while, he knew that most ships that came out of the bay there had some sort of tropical aesthetic. Maybe the big black ship was from boscow? It was possible, but generally unlikely to be the case. Most residents of that country rarely made the trip over to their own in the first place. Arthur had never even spoken with somebody from that country, and he was taught very little about the culture of his neighboring country. The butler pirate responded to him with a somewhat inconvenienced tone to his voice. Nothing too irritated, but the paladin could tell his presence was being met with at least some level of resistance. It was a shame too, since he was really only here to help the residents anyway. "Yes, you're the mage I assume? I'm surprised you managed to make it past security, most people just give up at that part. Anyways, let me show you to his quarters, he's probably drafting up some sort of trading route plan as we speak. I'm sure he'll be glad to have an interruption from the monotony of his daily life. Tell him I said hi, and that dinner will be ready at the usual time, okay?"
Arthur followed the butler as they made their way up the grand stairway. Given their general pace throughout the ship, the knight was able to appreciate the fine tapestry of the carpet beneath his feet, alongside the pretty arches and molding of the ceiling. Painting were strung up against the walls, obviously expensive from how he could see the texture of each oil brush stroke. Arthur had to wonder if he was the type of mage that this type of money could afford someone. It made a slight swell of ego rise in his chest. It wasn't every day that Arthur could say he was inside of a wealthy tycoon's private boat. Rounding another corner with the servant, the two of them finally came upon a set of large double doors. Circular glass panes had been cut out into each of the doors. The butler stopped him when Arthur reached for the doorknobs. "Not yet." The butler warned, checking his watch before carefully knocking on the same door the knight had tried to walk through. Arthur could hear heavy and shuffling footsteps from across the wall and through the floor inside the room. The tycoon was quickly making his way towards the door. While unable to get a peek at the tycoon through the windows of the ship, Arthur was at firt surprised by the man's general height. Standing no more than five foot eight, the tiny little thing barely reached Arthur's shoulders. He guessed it made sense, then, why the boat was as it was. Perhaps the tycoon was overcompensating for how tiny his body actually was in comparison to most male mages Arthur. It had been something taught to him in his first year of magic school. Those with a proficiency for magic often also had enhanced physical capabilities from how their soul's magic would mix and intertwine with that person's muscles. It was the type of thing that was guaranteed to happen to those with a strong magical lineage. Unfortunately for the business tycoon, he did not seem to be from one of those aforementioned lineages. Still doing his best to generally charm the man and cast himself into a favorable light, Arthur sent him a charming smile and allowed his persuasive abilities to pour out into the air. Thankfully, from how the tycoon was now looking at him, it seemed to have worked. Unfortunately for him, however, the tycoon was looking at him in all the wrong types of ways. And it wasn't even the fact that the tycoon was a man, but more of the fact that said tycoon was very old, very short, with little of substance in terms of a good body. "This is a mighty fine boat y'ave got yourself there, how did you manage to pick up such a beauty, and where did you get all of this black paint." The business man appraised Arthur in a way that could only be described as predatory and greedy. This was not the type of thing he wanted to be dealing with at the moment, but it was indeed part of the job that could not be negotiated with. He had to at least talk with one of the lead family members, which Arthur now found himself actively doing so.
WC: 5062
