"Hey... Boss. Wake up."

"Ugh... What.. What time is it?"

"Oh, I'd say about a little bit before noon. Did you really sleep all night up there? Isn't it uncomfortable?"

"Up there? What are you... Oh shit," Finally, the owner of the voice, a large burly man sporting a number of scars on his face alone rose to a sitting position to find himself, indeed, on top of the bar counter surrounded by tankards, bottles, and a cracked barrel of spirits. He glanced around for only a second before cradling his head in his hands. "Damn, it feels like I've been hit with a hammer... Again," The man said, rubbing his temples. "Do you have anything to make this bloody hangover end?" He asked the woman behind the counter. "Aside from more booze or an actual hammer to the skull? Nothing I can think of, Boss."

The man sighed and looked down at the woman. "Lila, I told you not to call me boss. It's Yuri," he said, with a raised eyebrow and a hand caressing his head. That hangover would kill him yet. "Oh yes sir, mister Yuri Abel sir," She said with crossed arms and a grin. Yuri sighed and looked down at Lila again before shaking his head, "Here, help me down. It wouldn't be good for your 'Boss' to fall down a break his neck, right?" He said, swinging his feet over the counter and planting them in the floorboards of the guild hall. "Of course Boss. Then who would pay me?" She teased.

"The hell was the celebration for anyway?" He asked as Lila helped Yuri around the bar. "Don't you remember boss? It was for Apotheosis's hundredth job, right over there," She said, pointing to a paper stuck to the wall with a dagger and the word 'Completed' stamped in ink. It was among a number of likewise papers, weapons, and assorted trophies. "Oh... Why'd we stop then?" He asked in jest. "Probably the risk of alcohol poisoning maybe," She responded, finally making their way around the long bar and to the nearest stool where she sat Yuri down.

The burly man held on to the edge of the bar so that he wouldn't fall over into the floor. Still, as strong as he was, he was unsteady. "Hey, why don't you start making breakfast.. Or lunch?" He said, glancing out the nearest window and out into the sunny day. "Please? Something to chase this forsaken hangover off. I'm sure I'm not the only one wrestling with this," He pleaded looking around trying to pinpoint the rest of the guild. She relented and nodded, making her way to the kitchen, leaving Yuri, as far as he could tell, alone. Who knows what bodies could lay under the bottles and cups though.

Apotheosis. A relatively new up start guild, situated inside a renovated inn. The bar that dominated the wall was a major selling point for Yuri. The cobwebs and rotted floors... Were not. It took a while, but time, a bit of money, and a lot of manual labor turned the ramshackle inn into a respectable guild house. At least they wouldn't have to worry about falling through the floor any time soon. Plus, they had room to grow. The current inn could easily house more than double the current number of members.

Yuri uneasily spun around on the stool and came to bare witness to the entirety of Apotheosis's first floor. A number of tables randomly thrown around, a couple of structural beams with throwing knives embedded in them, a large fire pit near the back wall with a number of chair around it, and of course, the ridiculous number of bottles and flagons strewn out across the room. Drapes of gold and purple with the guild emblem emblazoned on them framed the windows and a larger emblem on the doors.

"Hey! Where in the hell did we get all of these mugs? I didn't think we had this many in the entire building," Yuri called into the kitchen. "I don't know, but I'll tell you, there isn't a sign of a cup one in here- You even took my bloody measuring cups and one of my sauce pans! Boss, if someone is wearing it, I swear I'll beat them with it," She threatened causing Yuri to laugh painfully. "Please, don't make me laugh. It hurts," He said, spinning back around and holding back onto the bar for dear life.

Before long, the girl came back into the room holding plates of eggs, waffles, pancakes, bacon, hashbrowns, and a big jug of fruit juice. It was enough food to feed the whole guild. "Breakfast is ready!" She called, "Even though it's noon," She added to Yuri with a sly smile.

"Lila. You are an angel and a godsend," He said, gathering a pile of food on his plate. "Aw, you're making me blush boss. But if you think that means I'm cleaning this mess up by myself, you are bloody insane," She said, waving a finger in his face, "Think of it as Apotheosis's hundred and first job."

"Ouch..." groaned Fizban as he tried to raise himself off the floor of the guild hall, supporting himself against the wall. He opened his eyes, blinking slowly, realizing that his head felt like he drank a fireball potion. Fizban slowly patted himself over, making sure that all his belongings were still in the correct places.

"I need food," mumbled Fizban, getting up and tripping on the uneven floor boards, accidentally busting one of his spell-vials when he got back up. Suddenly a large amount of non-toxic smoke, enough to fill the entire guild hall, began appearing out of nowhere.

"At least it wasn't the fire ball. That would have sucked." said Fizban, plopping himself down on what seemed like a very soft bench. The bench must have been encrusted in metal, because it was cold and smooth.

*What a squishy bench.* thought Fizban.

The air was still crisp from the morning dew while the sun glared brightly off his golden, plated armor. Lionel walked down what seemed like an endless stone path, heading to somewhere familiar. He had woken up a couple hours earlier, sitting on the ground of his guild hall with his back against the bar counter. Yuri's hanging leg kicked spontaneously, startling Lionel awake. With a pounding headache and no recollection of the happenings of the night before, Lionel had got up and went for a walk outside. It was a tradition of his to walk off his hangovers in solitude.

Lionel glanced up to see that he had reached his guild hall's entrance. While massaging the back of his neck with his right hand, he walked forward to enter the hall when he noticed something move in the corner of his eye. Instinctively, he withdrew his sword, pointing the tip of it at the creature within a blink of an eye. Glänzendes Können, a glorious golden sword that never chipped, never grew dull, shone so brightly that anyone who dared to look at it directly in the sunlight would risk being temporarily blinded. Though as clean as it was, it spoke of many hard battles and many slain enemies. Lionel, almost immediately after withdrawing the sword, lifted it up as he had just startled a stray puppy who had been passing by. The puppy was a dirty blond color with a weathered look on his face. Lionel continued to stare at the puppy's big, watery eyes for a little bit, sheathing his sword slowly. He bent down and reached out his hand, the puppy warily approaching Lionel. Once the puppy realized that Lionel had meant no harm, he showed his affection by licking his hand and face and wagging his tail rapidly.

I wonder if we have any openings in our guild for new members...

Lionel picked up the pup with one hand and swiftly entered the guild hall, lifting the puppy high in the air like a prize hard won. Without even looking to see if anyone was in the hall, he exclaimed,

"Everyone! Meet our newest member, and our guild mascot.....um.....Maximilian!!!"

Scarelt's eyes opened to pitch darkness that was her room. She fumbled around the room for moment before lighting a candle, the darkness slowly fading away. Her room had a rather plain look about it. A white bed spread, a few wall mounted candles, a dresser full of clothes, the only things out of the ordinary where the books that lined her floor and the black walls. The books were there because she liked to read more than she liked to talk to actual people and the walls, the darkness made her feel safe. The darkness was her element and if she couldn't see her enemies they also couldn't see her.

"Maybe I'll get to kill something today." She thought as the shadows around sprang to life, as if agreeing with her thoughts. Scarlet started to change out of her bed clothes with a smile on her face from the thoughts of blood, gore, and ripping people limb from limb. With a small yawn she made her way out of her room and down the hallway toward the living area. She looked at the halls remembering painting and repairing them just a year ago. It seemed like only yesterday they packed up from their home and relocated to this beat down old Inn.

As Scarlet walked into the living area she looked down to see Ravyn asleep on the couch. She let out a long sigh as she wandered why she was sleeping on the couch. *I hope she didn't do anything stupid last night.* She thought to herself before walking into the kitchen area and starting to cook breakfast. Fresh eggs she had "borrowed" from the neighboring farm along with some milk and a rather cut up pig. "I may have had a little too much fun with the pig." She laughed to herself remembering the look on the farmers face. She had bought the pig then butchered it in front of him.

Scarlet then started to set the table putting out the food, silverware,, and enough food for four. She stared down at the table for a few moments lost in memories before coming back to reality. She had set his place at the table ever since the day he had left on that mission and the masters ever since he had killed. Her good mood was ruined from the unwelcome memories coming into her mind. With a huff she stomped back into the kitchen area, pulling a tankard out for the cabinet and some wine.

The red liquid slowly filled the mug as the thoughts came back into her mind once again. She watched her master die before her eyes, powerless to stop the act.
Then she relived killing the lowly piece of shit that had murdered her father figure. A sharp pain in her hand brought her back to her senses, looking down she saw the broken remains of the bottle of wine, the shards of glass embedded in her left hand, and her blood dripping down onto the counter. A small aggravated sigh came out of her lips before she picked up the tankard and downed the wine. slamming the glass on the counter after finishing.

Scarlet then picked the glass out of her hand in a rather angered manner, not caring about the pain her mind screamed that she was in. A wet cloth then slid over the counter cleaning up her bloody mess. Ravyn could probably handle it but best not to take chances. After bandaging herself up and making another glass of wine her gaze shifted over to the couch. The perfect outlet for her anger was sleeping right in front of her. After drinking what was left in the tankard she through it at the wall beside the couch and yelled "Ravyn wake your lazy ass up already!"

The evening sun was slowly dipping closer and closer to the western hills of Torin. This natural and admired beauty was impossible to be seen inside the cold stone walls of the Duke Ollin’s dungeons. Usually trapped in pitch dark, the Duke had taken expert care that not a single part of his dungeon but one cell remained lit in the orange shadow less glow of burning candles. The normally full dungeons had been vacated of all but the watch in the presence of a single prisoner kept in the 4th cell down on the right.

The small glow from the candles illuminating the dungeon’s hall cast a faint glow on a sole tiny figure sitting in the back of the cell. A young girl, a slim figure not yet out of childhood, leaned her back against the cold stone wall, her legs brought close to her chest and hugged by her arms to hold as much warmth to her body as possible. A threadbare dress covered her small form and an assortment of bruises and half healed wounds covered her body. Her white hair lay in an unkempt mess upon her head and a thin layer of dust had stained her ragged dress and body.

A guard’s armored footsteps echoed throughout the deep dungeon and every once in a while the muted sound of laughter drifted in from the guard house where prisoner’s belongings were kept. The laughter was strained though, and the footsteps of passing guards wary. Every few hours the child’s ears would be touched with the whispers of, ‘devil, hell spawn, kill it now.’ along with a myriad of other insults or fears. For the most part, the imprisoned girl paid no heed to the guard words, though the once in a blue moon rock that was thrown at her through the bars did do its fair share of stinging pain.

Some new guards had been taken in that week, fresh of the training block ad put to duty. Each one was to be given a shift of duty in the prisons once a week but none were told of the girl locked behind cell number four’s thick iron bars. Of those who questioned the older guardsmen soon wished they hadn’t when handed the nature of their tiny prisoner. Cell four’s occupant, a tiny seemingly defenseless little girl, went by the name Nasiladashun, a demon child, spawned of the underworld and for six years helped to lay waste the states of Fein and Nosit before being apprehended, judged, and sealed by the Academy of Magic.

The quickened steps of a guard hurried past Nalla’s cell as the child continued her meditation. The walls around her were man made and thus provided only a tentative connection to the nature located somewhere above her head. Though muffled by human hands and tools, Nalla still find solace in the stone’s energy and the reverberating footsteps of the guard’s heavy plated boots upon its surface. How long had she been here? A week? Two weeks? Three? Time was different to a person when the only keeping of time was the changing of your guards and the hunger gnawing at your stomach. Sure she was fed scraps by her captors, but that wasn't enough to keep her alive. She had a slight advantage of being able to kill the unlucky rat that skirted by and take it's measly useless soul. Worse still was that her best meal was an ancient dog, that had at least given her something, though it also gave her a very harsh beating.

Nalla sighed and hugged her knees closer to her as a small chill took the girl's body, she did not have the energy to escape, she could take out one candle with a rock and then make a single jump to the shadow, but then to escape the prison. It was impossible, and she was not about to become some lowly duke's newest toy. Four more guards came and went before a small plate of gruel was placed in between the bars of the cell. Nalla finally broke her meditation and opened her weary flame red eyes to see the rough captain of the guard staring at her, a disgusted look crossing his face. His voice was thick and course and it practically dripped with hatred. "Come and get your meal demon." Nalla's eyes shifted to the gruel and back to him, her stomach growled. Sure it didn't give her much energy and tasted worse then sand, but it was still something to sate her unending hunger. Slowly Nalla got up and walked carefully to the bowl. Reaching down for the bowl, Nalla felt a sudden tug at her arm and then a sharp and painful jab as the guards knee came up and connected with her chest. Nalla doubled over onto the ground clutching her stomach and being very careful not to let a tear drop from her eye as the guard laughed at the little girl. He grabbed her by her shirt and lifted her up off the ground. "You'll be getting a little friend to join you in your cage little birdie. For your sake, I do hope you'll do as your told and kill him." The man's other hand brought his knife to the side of Nalla's face, the cold metal sitting against her cheek. "Otherwise, I might just have to put a little blemish on this pretty little face, and Master Ollin wouldn't want that now would he." The man's resounding laughter at her had been grating for weeks and to make matters worse she felt naked without touching the ground. Nalla spat in the man's face, immediately ending the laughter as he threw her across the room into the back wall. Nalla hit the wall with a high pitched gasp as she crumpled to the ground. "Know your place demon!" the man spat angrily as he kicked the bowl, sending the gruel spilling across the floor as he walked away. Nalla quickly scrambled to save what she could of the cold meal but was only able to rescue a few mouth fulls of the disgusting food.

Her stomach growled loudly again but Nalla tried not to pay it any mind as she sat cross legged in the back of the cell. Her body felt like it was on fire but concentrating on the dim energy pulsing from the rocks around her helped to soothe the pain. How had she ended up in this mess? It had to have been those kids back in town. They had been making fun of her hands and feet, she didn't harm them, just tossed them around a bit. How could she had known that the older boy had been related to the Duke, and even worse that the Duke actually hunted her town for beating his nephew up. Nalla shook the thoughts from her head. The captain had said a man was being brought into the dungeons later. Perhaps with an extra hand she might be able to escape this thrice cursed cell. Slowing her breathing, Nalla took several slow and deep breaths as she worked to match the earth's own breath.

Slowly, slowly, the gentle hum of the earth and Nalla's own soft breathing lent the girl a few hours of sleep before she was awakened by the sound of many footsteps coming down the hallway. There were perhaps 12 figures approaching, one sound she had learned to pick out was that of the duke. This had to be the prisoner they were taking to her. Nalla pulled her knees back up to her chest and slipped into the shadows of the cell, hoping to avoid any more beatings from the group of guards and watch as they brought the prisoner forward.

As the young man approached the manner house belonging to the duke who had hired the guild, He noticed there was a lot of guard activity especially for a building in the middle of a city. He approached the two guards standing watch at the entrance, they stared at him with curiosity but didn’t block his path. The doors were open and he went inside to be greeted by a small weasel faced man, “Mazrim Taim I presume the Duke has been expecting you, follow me please” the man spun and marched off. He followed without question.

The weasel faced man came to a halt in front of a large double door with two more guards situated on either side. He turned around and with a strange gesture said “the duke awaits”, Mazrim opened the doors and stepped inside to a great dining hall. The only occupied seat was at the far end of the room. This must be the duke Mazrim thought to himself. As he approached the table a guard blocked his path and pushed him backwards. “Touch me again and you will lose that arm”, the guard reached for his weapon but the man behind the table shouted “Enough Victor! Cant you see this man is a guest in my home” . The guard stepped aside and let Mazrim approach the table.

There was two more guards stationed behind the Duke and a women standing at his left hand side, Mazrim thought she must be a servant. The Duke looked up and asked “you have fulfilled your contract?” Mazrim nodded before he asked another question “How did my dear friend pass?” Mazrim replied “I poisoned his wine and escaped before anyone even noticed I had been there”. “good good” said the duke “now about your payment I am afraid you wont be getting any”, Mazrim reached for his sword but couldn’t move his body. He was stunned how could I be so stupid he thought. He glanced over at the women on the dukes left, she was smiling at him. She was obviously a mage of some sort and then bang the world was getting dark, he was falling forward. He could feel wetness trickling down the back of his head, he hit the floor with a thud and lost consciousness

When he awoke he was dizzy and confused, what happened he thought to himself. Then it all came flooding back to him. The guard had obviously hit him on the back of the head with the hilt of his sword. He cursed himself for being so stupid. He felt the back of his head to see if he was still bleeding, nothing but dry blood, how long was I out he wondered. He heard a shuffle to his right and looked around there in the cell next to him was a little child staring through the bars at him, her eyes were bright red.

The man the guards dragged in was unconscious and his short cut blonde hair was matted with fresh blood. He must have been jumped or taken by surprise to have received a wound there. The guards opened up the iron barred door of the cell next to hers and threw the young man into the room roughly, as if disposing of a body. The guards closed and locked the cell and began to disperse as the Duke approached the cell holding Nalla. "I know you still have some power, but surely by now you must be close to death. I can let you out of this cage right now. You can be free, all you have to do is swear your loyalty to me and kill this man." the duke pointed to the now unconscious man in the neighboring cell. "I'll return in two days, and I should hope to see this man dead." the duke declared as put his heel to the floor and turned out of the dungeon.

Nalla stared at the man lying in Cell five. It would be so easy to kill him, she could simply pierce his neck with a small but powerful shadow charge and then take his soul...."NO" Nalla whispered to herself as she shook her head to chase the thoughts away. I will not let him win, I will not become his pet. she thought to herself before once again returning her gaze to the knocked out man. He was young and strong, but not heavily muscled. A fit slim, much like a snake perhaps? Perhaps, he certainly did not look stupid by any means to the small demon child. He was a pretty youth but she needed more then a pretty face to help her escape. The young girl sighed before taking up her meditation again until the young man awakened.

A few hours passed, Nalla figured that it must have been late at night for the guards had all but disappeared, though a light remained on in the Captains rooms when the young man began to stir from his forced slumber. Quickly moving over to the bars of her cage to get a better look at the man, Nalla's red eyes met the gaze of two blue one's staring back. Calculating eyes, eyes that pierced one's soul and did not usually miss a detail, eyes that she knew could help her escape. Nalla was patient, she would sit and analyze him before making a decision, she wasn't about to stake her life on an escape with someone who couldn't fight. After several minutes though Nalla decided that this so far quite and observant young man would be exactly what she needed.

Nalla cleared her parched throat a little and whetted her lips with her tongue. "I.... I am not used to talking with people. I don't know what the guards told you about me, if any. But I won't hurt you" Nalla added in quickly, fearing that the man may think she really would kill him if he knew anything. "I...My name's Nalla." She said as she stretched to reach her bruised arms through the bars to try and engage the young man in a handshake. Her old master had told her that this was how humans usually greeted each other. "Why...." for a second the girl looked away before gather to courage to continue talking. She really wasn't good with this kind of thing. "Why are you here?"

The girl watched him while he scanned his cell for anything useful. He found nothing but a few stones and a rusty nail. He looked over at the poor girl and wondered how she could have ended up here in this cell. He wanted to rip the dukes throat out for being such a traitorous bastard.

He was startled when the little girl spoke "I.... I am not used to talking with people. I don't know what the guards told you about me, if any. But I won't hurt you" he was slightly puzzled maybe she has lost her mind. How could this poor child hurt anyone he thought to himself. "I...My name's Nalla." she said as she stretched out her tiny hand to shake his. The first thing he noticed was the bruising on her arm and a fresh wave of hatred for the duke flooded through him. Then he noticed her fingers her nails were sharp and reminded him of claws. “Ello Nalla nice to meet you, my name is Mazrim” he said softly. She looked a bit nervous before saying "Why are you here?"

Mazrim took his time in answering he didn’t want to frighten the girl “well Nalla the duke doesn't want to pay the money he owes my friends and I. So he has had me locked up in here with you” he tried to smile at the last part so as not to hurt the poor girls feelings. “How did you get here Nalla and what did you mean you wont hurt me?” he asked gently

The man seemed to be a little angry about something, he hid it well but an observant person can pick out small clues in a person's gestures or their face. Though, he had just been thrown in a dungeon, anyone would be mad at that. When she spoke, the man seemed surprised to hear her voice but he didn't look startled or scared, that at least was a good start. Quickly recovering though, the man gently took his hand in her's and introduced himself softly. “Ello Nalla nice to meet you, my name is Mazrim.” Mazrim's hand was warm to the touch and Nalla was loath to let go of it. She had managed to forget the chill in the dungeon after such a long time in it, but when she had to let go a chill shot through her.

Mazrim took his time before answering his question, all the while maintain the softness to his voice. Honestly it was a little comforting to Nalla who had not heard a kind voice in a very long time. “well Nalla the duke doesn't want to pay the money he owes my friends and I." Mazrim stated as he forced a small smile for her "So he has had me locked up in here with you.” Nala nodded, payment meant that he must be some sort of hired man, possibly from one of these guilds that she had heard about it. “How did you get here Nalla and what did you mean you wont hurt me?”

Nalla froze up a little. The man really didn't know about her, didn't know she was a demon or anything. Even more his kindness towards her seemed to be genuine and she didn't want to lose that but telling him the truth. He was going to find out, but she didn't want to tell him. "I...um. I got in a fight with the Duke's nephew.... That's not why I'm in here though.... I..." She had to tell him, there was no way she couldn't and he would find out when they escaped anyways. Maybe she could only tell him half the truth. Nall leaned back against the stone wall and hugged her knees close to her. Her eyes were downfallen but she continued to look at Mazrim. "This world views everything through a veil of black and white. There's no such thing as mixing or colors, your either one or the other, good or bad, holy or evil. I believe that his veil is an illusion pressed on peoples eye's. We must cast off these veil's, these foolish notions of good and evil in order to see the truth. I am a victim of this veil....Mazrim I..." Nalla lowered her eyes to her toes, she didn't want to see his reaction. "I...I'm not evil, I don't want to slaughter people or steal children, or do anything... I just want to live in a place that doesn't hate me" a few tears were falling from Nalla's eyes, leaving little smears down her cheeks. "I'm a demon, that's why I said I won't hurt you...I don't want you to be afraid of me..." Nalla looked up to see how Mazrim was reacting, her heart was fearing the worst.

Mazrim was stunned for a second or two, how could this tiny little girl be a demon, he thought to himself. He had heard stories in the orphanage about the big monstrous demons that came in the night and ate little kids who didn’t go to bed. Maybe she wasn't telling the truth but what reason would she have to lie he thought, she must be telling the truth

Mazrim knew he should be frightened of this demon but he wasn’t. All he could see was a scared little girl who had been mistreated by the same man who had betrayed him. He looked up at her and seen she looked more scared than him and had tears streaming down her cheeks, so he tried to reassure her with a smile and said “I wouldn’t care if you were a two headed Behemoth, we are friends now you and me and we will escape this place together.”

Mazrim stood up put the rusty nail in his pocket and walked to the gate of his cell. He turned with a smile and said “Now what kinda magic does a demon like yourself know?”

For a few seconds Mazrim just stood there as if stunned, Nalla held her breath fearing the worst until a smile crossed Mazrim's lips. “I wouldn’t care if you were a two headed Behemoth, we are friends now you and me and we will escape this place together.” he said softly to her. Nalla was shocked, no one had ever said something like that to her, she could have used her last bit of power to jump into his cell right then and there and hugged Mazrim for that. Mazrim stood up and walked to the gate of his cell before turning back to Nalla, who was still sitting in shock on the floor, “Now what kinda magic does a demon like yourself know?” he said.

Nalla still couldn't believe her eyes, she quickly wiped what tears were still falling from her eyes before a small smile broke out on her face as well. "Thank you." was all she managed to get out for a few seconds before she was able to get her wits together. "I've actually had a plan to escape for awhile now. The reason why these hallways are so well lit is to keep me inside these cells." Nalla stated as she stood up and walked to the bars of her cell, picking up a small rock that had been thrown at her by one of the guards. "This is not Demon Magic, but a little bit of earth magic I've picked up." Closing her eyes Nalla felt for the small stone in her hand. It was a little difficult because Nalla was not very good at Earth Manipulation but finaly she got it. Holding the rock in her hand she slowly turned the small stone into a smoother stone before giving a small twirl and flick with her wrist. The now smooth stone slipped from her hand and sped towards the candle, hitting the tip of the wax and putting the candle out. "Now, Demon magic" Nalla said as she turned around and vanished into the dark corner of the cell. A few seconds passed before Nalla turned around and walked out of the shadow cast onto the floor of the hallway. The small demon only took about two steps from it though before she stumbled into the wall and started coughing up a storm.

Nalla placed a hand on the wall to support herself from the coughing fit, she knew that the jump would take most of her remaining energy with it but this was more then she had anticipated. She stood against the wall coughing for a few seconds before she was able to regain control of her breathing. "Demon Magic takes a lot of power to use." She told Mazrim as she regained her breath. "I'll get the key, just stay here."

The key would be in the Captain's room down the hall a ways, just in front of Cell 1. She could feel Mazrim watching her go and she sent up a small prayer that the captain was in his bottle or something as she turned the corner of his office to see him bent over a map with a fire crackling in the chimney of the room. Nalla took a deep breath before slowly tip toeing into the room. Two steps, three, she could hear the captain's breathing and with each step closer she could feel the beating's he had given her afresh. Her chest rolled in anger. Once behind him, Nalla dipped into her last reserves of her power to slowly shift her right hand into a claw. It was slower then normal, and she feared the captain would hear her while her hand was changing, but he never did. Once the transformation was finished, Nalla brought her hand back with all her force jabbed it into the Captain's back. She could feel his body seize up in shock as her ghostly claw slipped through his skin and into his chest. The blood stained the rags as she could feel the Captain's last moments of life. The demon side of her was relishing in the smell of blood, the drug that all demons were susceptible too. The captains head turned around as she leaned against his back with her claw in his wound still, the only think keeping him from bleeding out now. "You...you...how did yo..." He choked out. "Oh please captain." Nalla said, taking in the scent of his blood. "Did you really think that iron bars and candles could keep me in this prison." Nalla was losing her senses a little now, as she the captain groaned. Her mind was screaming stop but her instincts kept her there. "Ah, Captain. What happened to that laugh you always had." Nalla whispered into his ear as she turned her left index finger into a single ghostly finger. "Laugh captain, we wouldn't want something to happen to that rugged face of yours." she said as she slowly cut into his cheeck, a line of red following it out. "Goodbye captain" She said as she pulled her right hand out of him, her claw dripping with his blood. She placed her hand onto his chest and slowly pulled back, taking a small white and blue substance with it. She quickly popped it into her mouth and her eyes flashed into a sharp red before returning to their normal rosy color. It was also at this time that Nalla regained her senses and her face twisted to horror. "No... I..." Nalla shook her head. He had deserved it...just not like this, she hadn't meant to torture him. "I'm sorry." she whispered as her hands shifted back to normal.

Nalla did now wait long, other guards would be by soon and she had to release Mazrim. Forgetting the blood covering her now, Nalla quickly grabbed the key and a strange sword leaning against the wall that she had never seen before and ran out the room, her fists were clenched in anger that she had failed to control herself. Nalla brought herself to a quick halt before Mazrim's cell, placed the key into the slot and quickly unlocked his cell. "Sorry I look like this...I I... didn't have much of a choice." she said looking down a bit ashamed. Nalla quickly thrust forward the sword, "I think this is yours." she said softly. "And Mazrim, try not to get bogged down in a fight, I... I'll watch your back. I am not defenseless." she said as she released her new energy for the first time and shifted her hands back into her claws. The energy from the Captains Soul was not enough to bring her energy completely back, and no amount of energy could heal the wounds to her body, but she could fight again. Nalla looked up at Mazrim with a glint of determination in her eyes, saying softly "I'll follow you."

Nalla smiled up at him, wiping away her tears before saying “thank you”. She took a while to compose herself before saying "I've actually had a plan to escape for awhile now. The reason why these hallways are so well lit is to keep me inside these cells." Mazrim looked on curiously as she picked up a small rock at the entrance of her cell. "This is not Demon Magic, but a little bit of earth magic I've picked up." he watched on as she morphed the stone and threw it, it hit the perfect spot and the light was extinguished. "Now, Demon magic” she said before walking into the shadow and vanishing, Mazrim looked around wondering what had happened and then out of the shadows in the hallway she appeared but she looked exhausted and started coughing against the wall. He looked down the hallway towards the room at the end, hoping no guards would hear her and come running to investigate.

She regained control of herself before saying "Demon Magic takes a lot of power to use. I'll get the key, just stay here." He watched her as she walked towards the guard room at the end of the hallway, wishing he could help her in some way. Mazrim could hear nothing from the guard room and just hoped Nalla was ok. A few minutes past before she emerged from the room covered in blood and holding his sword. She looked revitalised and steadier on her feet. She unlocked his ell door before saying "Sorry I look like this...I I... didn't have much of a choice." She handed him the sword "I think this is yours. And Mazrim, try not to get bogged down in a fight, I... I'll watch your back. I am not defenceless." He slung the sword into place before watching Nalla's hands change to black claws. They looked at each other and knew what had to be done. The duke was going to pay for holding us prisoner's he thought to himself. Nalla quickly said "I'll follow you" before Mazrim ran to the entrance of the dungeon.

He opened the door slightly to have a look into the hallway. He didn’t want to raise alarm and have the whole guard come down on them. The hallway was empty. As they stepped out into the hallway two guards came round the distant corner and without thinking he flashed leaving a mirror image of himself beside Nalla. Zooming towards them he spun in-between them striking out left and right with his sword and landing in a crouch with his sword sheathed. The guards were dead before they hit the ground. Standing up he waited for Nalla to catch up and they continued on.

When they came to the entrance of the great hall, there was two more guards, who fell to Mazrim and Nalla's attack before they could raise alarm. Before they entered the great hall Mazrim whispered to Nalla “Be careful of the women, she is a mage. I will kill her first.”

As they strode into the great hall Mazrim noticed at least four guards stationed behind the duke, who was still sitting at the table at the end of the room and he seemed to be in deep conversation with the mage women standing beside him. Mazrim used his flash skill to cover most of the ground between him and the mage and then leapt over the table, he crashed knees first into the mage and punched palm first straight into her nose. As the pair of them hit the ground he rolled forward onto his feet and unsheathed his sword. The guards were armed with short spears and moved fast but Mazrim moved as if in a dance. Striding amongst them, every time his sword struck out a guard fell. The fight had lasted only a few seconds but all the guards and the mage were dead.

He turned and watched Nalla approach the horrified duke.

Black walked through the dusty street of the small town. The morning dew had just finished evaporating and the fully clothed man pulled his wide brimmed had just a tad lower to keep the sun out of his eyes. Located in Fein, a mile or so from the border, most of the town’s income came in the from the goods and people that passed through it on their in and out of the country. Though since the war had started it seemed that there were quite a bit more goods coming out than going in. Which had provided quite the boost to the economy. Black watched someone purchase some dried fish as he walked past a small stall. He heard the unmistakable clang of tiny coins as the money exchanged hands. Oh, how he loved that sound.

As he neared his destination, his guild-house, he wondered if there would be a certain letter waiting in the charity box. He had sent the anonymous suggestion out nearly a month ago, and he was starting to wonder if this particular caveat of his plan would even come to fruition. Though it was not necessary, he knew that his lucky friend would be pleased if it did. Black always made sure to keep his lucky charm happy about the jobs they took, whenever he could. However, he hadn’t counted on them taking this long to respond and no matter what awaited his arrival in the charity box, the assignment could wait no longer.

As Black turned a corner, he passed one of the town guards who saluted the robed man as he walked by. Not that strange seeing as Black himself along with his guild was quite respected within it‘s home town. Tipping his hat at the guard as he passed, Black’s thoughts shifted back to his meeting with the mayor of the town. A tall and reputable man, serious and unflinching. The bearded man would do whatever it took to have prosperity in his town. Black somewhat respected that the man truly cared more about the town than his own assets, though it had been quite the annoyance when he had tried to get his foot in the man’s door. Then even harder when the mayor had flat out refused his bribe, well until Black had suggested he use it to purchase new parts for the mill. After that, he found that the benevolent mayor was quite easy to persuade whenever he needed something. In this mornings case, some guards around his guild-house for the next few weeks.

Finally, Black reached the front entrance of his guild-house. The Hide, the Hog, and the Herring. Not the most glamorous name for a guild, but at least he didn’t have to dip into guild funds for it. In fact HHH, being the rather unscrupulous guild that it was, probably benefited from the slight anonymity that came with the name.

As he reached the door, black opened the small box that was the guilds “charity box”. A place where requests could be made that provided no payment. Most came from the inhabitants of the town and it often provided a break in the monotony for whichever guild member got stuck holding down the fort during a mission. Black remembered that Lucy was the one who had suggested it and though he had at first dismissed the young barmaid’s idea as naïve, he later realized that it would be a win win situation. Increase the favor among the town, while providing the guild members from an easy break whenever they wanted it.

As he lifted the single letter out of the he grinned under the blackness that covered his face. What a fine reward for all of his early morning’s work, getting exactly what he wanted exactly when he needed. He stuffed it into one of his robes many pockets with four other documents. It looked like everything he had planned was going perfectly, something he often got to relish in. He put his hands on the double doors to the guild with a smile that no one would see and began to push.

The only way things could possibly be any better would be if everyone was already gathered in the main hall. That was, if Lucy had followed the instructions he had given her before leaving in the dark of the morning. He had told her to have everyone gathered in the main room for a meeting, but she had seemed quite sleepy at the time. He wondered if the slight romantic shock he had given her, commenting that her sleeping face was “rather cute”, had been enough to help her remember. In any case, he would soon find out as the doors began to swing open.

Upstairs was relatively quiet compared to downstairs, one could say. Water poured down from a shower faucet as the albino-colored woman washed her pale hair, gently humming as she did so. Her tired eyes slid closed for a second as she stood, relaxing and enjoying the feeling of pressure against her fragile body. Once the last of the stubborn suds were drowned out by the water, she turned off the source of heat and reached about blindly for a small towel to dry herself with.

No longer did she look into a mirror in the mornings, unable to face her reflection with the disgrace of a scar. When she was dry enough, she ran a comb through her hair, untangling small knots and humming softly once more. It was only in the mornings that she could feel the peace of living, before everything turned dull and empty.

She sighed quietly and tugged her hair into a high ponytail to get it out of the way, reaching out on to a shelf to grab a clean roll of bandage wraps. Her deft hands were quick to wrap the bandages around her eyes, carefully covering all of the scar and securing it in place with a few pins to hold it. Although early in the morning, she could hear the sounds of activity bustling down on the main floor, and she wondered if Black was returning. With that thought in mind, she quickly got dressed into her usual attire, a white robe and fisherman's pants, throwing on her vest on the last minute.

It took a bit for her to adjust to the emptiness of being completely blinded by her bandages, but after sitting still and flexing her metal hands to get used to the feeling, she was ready to move out. Her hair still dripping just slightly, Vivian headed downstairs, stretching slightly as she heard both Lucy's voice and the drowsy voice of Loke. She assumed he had fallen asleep outside of the trash heap of a room again, leaving the poor teen to attempt to wake him up.

Shaking her head, she waited until the man got up and went to his room before padding over towards the counter, quiet as ever. "Lucinda." she greeted, nodding, only slightly startling the teen. They both sat near the counter, silent, until Lucy slid over a small glass of water for the assassin, earning an appreciative hum. "Good morning to you too, Vivian." the cheerful teen chirped, only to suddenly sound delighted as the front door opened.

Black was back.

Turning her head back to face his general area, she was not surprised as the girl ran up to greet him, followed by Loke's voice from the mess of his room. She waved slightly from her seat before taking a sip of her water, "Welcome back, Black." she called.

Ravyn tossed and turned hearing slight noises outside her slumber, but all thinking it was random noises into her passed out dream. She hadn’t usually slept on the couch in the main room of their guild hall, she did have her own room, and it’s not like she didn't like it, it was exactly how she wanted it, dark and plain, nothing special about it. But the main reason why Ravyn was sleeping, or what she would say, “passed out,” was because she had been out almost all of the night doing two thing. The first thing was a quick personal job of going to Fein to get some arrows, though they did sell them in Elden, she liked Fein’s better since that was their main supply of weaponry. The second was more of something she thought was needed for the guild, information the surrounding regions, which she did get.

In the so called dream, she was reliving the day Scarlet came to Dark Cross, the same day where she found out that she was actually scared of something. She only mostly recalled the part when she walked into the old guild house, when she was out buying some needed supplies for the whole guild, and found Scarlet using her magic to literally slice and dice someone, and herself and grabbing her, trying to make her stop, not the smartest, but it was more of a reaction. Since then Ravyn has been scared of Scarlet, but mostly just her powers, but Ravyn didn't know if Scarlet knew that, but she did know Scarlet knew her deep secret, being a half vampire half human.

"Ravyn wake your lazy ass up already!" This yelling scared the hell out of Ravyn making her jump and roll off the couch onto the floor, and then looking up seeing it was Scarlet, she stood up and dusted herself off. “Morning to you Scarlet, thanks for the terrific wake up call.” Ravyn said as she grabbed her bow and arrows off the table and put it by the door. As she walked over to the counter to get something to drink, she smelled a familiar smell to her, the smell of blood, and noticing a little bandaging on Scarlet’s hand, and also the crushed glass. Great she’s angry this morning. Ravyn thought as she sat down and turned around to face Scarlet, giving a small smile, hoping Scarlet wasn’t too pissed off this morning since Ravyn wasn’t slightly herself right now.

“So last night I got some information on the other regions, and the other guilds.” Ravyn said stretching her arms behind her head. “The Duke of Torin has some sort of Demon in his dungeon, but I doubt it will stay there for long. As for the guilds, nothing new, besides some of them starting to expand, maybe we should “hire” one just to see what they can do? And I don’t know if you know about White Cross, since well that priest left here to make that guild, but they have some sort of blood lust member.” Ravyn finished reaching back behind the counter and grabbing a bottle of watered down ale, and drinking some of it without using a tankard or glass, which she usually did.

Ravyn started to think of the rumors of the King being killed by a vampire, though she wasn’t exactly one, she was seen as something worse. Being a type of hybrid scared most of the civilians through the regions, and the guards would still behead her if they found out, but luckily with her being a hybrid and living in what people thought was an abandoned house, she wasn’t known around that much, but luckily since the Dark Cross was known, she got a good wave of money coming in. But this didn't keep Ravyn from worrying about being caught, not even the other Guilds cared, since she have had encounters with some trying to cash in a price of killing a Dhampir, though she couldn’t figure out how they found out what she was.

After shaking her thoughts, Ravyn looked back over at Scarlet and waited for whatever she had to say, either yelling for no reason at all, or a “good job” but whatever she was ready for whatever Scarlet had to throw at her, figuratively speaking seeing a tankard on the floor next to the couch.

Bryndis rolled lazily onto her stomach, burying her face in her pillow, hoping to grab at least a few more minutes of sleep. Morning's usually went one of two ways for her- well or poorly, and so far it was following the latter route. Her feeble attempt to escape the morning sun's rays was failing as she could still sense the soft light coming through the window, and well, she was already awake at this point. She threw the sheets off her back and stretched, her eyes meanwhile adjusting to the surrounding room. It had only been a couple months since she had joined the guild, but the satisfaction it brought her still hadn't worn off. An involuntary smile crossed her face as she pulled herself out of bed.

It was probably for the better though that she got up now as the other guild members seemed to already be awake. Light chatter from the main hall drifted into her room, voices she could only assume to belonged to Loke and Lucy. She wandered sleepily toward her dresser and stared blankly into the mirror for a good moment before actually picking up her brush.
"I should sleep earlier." she grumbled to herself, softly brushing out her hair. Once she found it at a visually appealing level, she slipped on one of her simple dresses and a pair of plain shoes. Done dressing, she took a quick inspection of her room and frowned. She straightened the sheets out over her bed, hardly making it proper but still better than the crumpled mass it was before. Next she re-folded her shirt and pants which had been tossed on a the wooden chair in the corner of her room. They could stand a few more wears before they had to be washed. Menial tasks done, she figured she should check to see how things were outside.

The room was empty, except for Vivian and Lucy, both seated near the counter.
"Good morning." Bryndis greeted, taking up a chair nearby. About to try and make some light talk, the door opened, Black at the entrance. As Lucy ran over to meet him, she couldn't help but smile at the girl's action. A sudden voice from behind indicated Loke was now present as well. She turned and nodded a good morning to him, then focused her attention back to the guild leader.
"Hello and good morning," she chimed.

There goes another two. Well, it's probably better for my luck to run out now, rather than later. Beneath the shifting rays of sunlight breaking into dawn, a golden-haired child stood alone amongst a clearing; just beyond which were the frantically retreating backs of a local gang of bandits. Two smoldering, half-melted swords were set in her hands, the unfortunate victims of one Rhea Bryant overloading lightning magic. She had, in all her infinite wisdom, thought that scaring some group of half-witted thieves away was probably a better idea than personally beating some sense (and also easier to do). The only redeeming aspect of the local gang, as it were, was that they were overly stubborn, weak but surpringly resilient. Or so she had heard.

The plan worked, but even such a carefree kid like Rhea cringed at the prospect of losing another large chunk of her paycheck; so quickly after the last. Hiring an enchanter, or something akin to that, took more in this day and age than it had ever used to; and there was no other way out of it. It was just her luck to pick such destructive magic; to need a high-grade 'staff' to keep up. And even then? They couldn't take the full brunt of lightning. Been going through these swords like water. Anyway, since when have I been considered such an easy target? But then again, one sigh and a shake of the head later, her optimistic attitude came back in stride; and the girl promptly set off in some, as it seemed, random direction. Because, quite frankly, there wasn't anything she could do to cut losses. The only course of action left was to rearm herself as soon as possible. And I was going back to Apotheosis anyway.

Speaking of which, it's been over a month, hasn't it? The last time Rhea went 'home', it was just to replace a set of shortswords. Now, though? It's probably better for me to be there, in case war actually breaks out. In her travels over the past few weeks, the tension between guilds had risen alarmingly high; so much so that this normally indifferent mage was so pressured to make it back. She'd even cancelled all her sight-seeing plans after completing her initial 'caravan guarding' job, to ensure a fast route home amidst the strange, low-crime lapse. Needless to say, the situation was worse than she'd thought. Obviously nobody else thinks an all-out war like this is idiotic.

As it was, her journey had been relatively safe and uninterrupted; besides the little skirmish just the little while ago. With the last leg being from the city doors to her guild-house, no other unfortunate incidents followed in her wake; although entering Apotheosis almost made her plant a palm in her face in exasperation. Because, as she saw with a sigh, the floor was covered from end to end in beer bottles. Again. Did I miss something? Being away from the guild the vast majority of times, Rhea often missed their extravagent celebrations; although she was usually in time for the clean-up. Of course, like now. The whole thought of spending her afternoon helping out Lila through the mess wasn't probably not the best thing to realize, right at the crack of dawn. But then again, she was used to it.

Rhea's mood, however, took a quick turn for the better the moment she pulled her eyes from the floor; to the smell of breakfast and, more importantly, a dog. The moment she caught sight of it's shaggy, although dirty, fur her eyes lit up; and all her stern comments about the mess were --temporarily, mind you-- driven out to make room for a five year old's dream. Of, you know, having a puppy. Eyes now shining, she made her way to Lionel, giving him a large smile and a thumbs-up. Which practically meant something akin to "I forgive you for drinking so damn much", underneath a casual "Good job." while admiring the new guild mascot. It wouldn't be far-fetched to say she was sparkling.

Done with her fill of staring appreciating, Rhea settled to the bar; putting down a small sheet of paper stamped 'Completed' among a stack at the back. Then, after giving a hug and hello to Lila, (and before initiating any kind of converstion with a couple men with hangovers) Rhea systematically set to replacing her swords; going through her room in the process. Only when she was sure that she was well-prepared did she set herself down next to Yuri for breakfast; with a half-menacing smile on her face. He'll surely know why. She poked a single finger to his forehead, a small magic circle appearing as she worked healing a ridiculous headache. "So. What did I have the pleasure of missing?" Because this mess better be worth the explanation. Although carefree, she still had the morals to help the fellow women working for her guild if she needed to. There's little of us as there is.

Black let out a soft “heh” at the greetings that assailed him as he entered the Guild house. He truly enjoyed have such loyal members of his guild. He tipped his hat in short response to the greetings that came from the bar. “A busy morning indeed.” He called out across the room as he closed the doors. Then he moved forward, though he was quickly intercepted by Lucinda before he made to the middle of the large room.

“Your back!” She said in excited voice, as she stood before him. “Did you get everything done that you needed? How was your morning? Have you gotten-” The girl stopped her chirping quickly as he put his hand on her shoulder and looked down at her.

“Yes everything went well.” he said in a claming tone. “But sadly, I haven’t yet eaten” His tone dropped into a slightly melodramatic one as he lifted his free hand to his forehead. “I must admit that I am quite famished.” He put his hand on her other shoulder and leaned in closer. “It would be quite the godsend if I could get one of your home cooked meals. They are just so delicious.” He said softly before taking his hands off of her shoulders and stepping back.

The girl merely stood there for a second completely. Before Black crossed his arms and said “To the kitchen?” The girl jumped slightly, regaining a sense of where she was. Then nodded and hurried off towards the kitchen with her head bent low. Though it was still quite easy to see that her face was bright red. Black looked down a little and shook his head slightly before uncrossing his arms and continuing across the room.

“Now..” He stared as he reached the lone round table in the middle of the room. “I think it’s time I told you all a little about the job we will be starting today.” He reached into one of his pockets and pulled out some a few documents. Then, before sitting down, he tossed them onto the table. The four letters landed on the table, and it was easy to see that all but one had already been opened.

“What we have here, is two sponsored jobs, a charity case, and a letter regarding famine in a far flung Feinean town.” He continued leaning back into his chair and stretching his legs out straight. “The first sponsored job…” He held up his right hand and pointed his index finger upward. “…comes from a wealthy man near the heart of Torin. He, thorough his sources, has discovered that a large shipment of food will soon be in transit to a large Elden force preparing to do battle within the month. Now he reckons that if that shipment were to suddenly go missing, the moral of said Elden force would sharply decrease, perhaps even resulting in a victory for his Torin kinsmen. When he told me of this, I naturally agreed with him. What soldier fights at their best on an empty stomach?”

Black paused for a moment, then held up his left hand, extending his other index finger in a similar fashion. “Inversely, an acquaintance that I have among the ranks of the Elden nobles, recently also came upon quite similar information about another shipment pending transit to a Torin force. Imagine my surprise to find out that both of these shipments are scheduled to take routs that end up two miles apart on the same day! Naturally, I saw this as a sign from the heavens…” He turned his palms upward.”…that we should take this opportunity to make as much gold as possible.”

Black paused for a moment and his stomach grumbled. He suddenly grew tired of making a show of this. He put his hands on the table and leaned forward. “Ok, here’s the deal.” His tone turned to a more frank one. “These two shipments are going to pass quite close to each other a little ways before they reach their respective destinations. We are going to “liberate” both of them, then take the goods to a town back here in Fein that is experiencing drought. The goods will be easy to pawn there due to the drought’s food premium, and we can undercut the competition for a quick sell.” Black sat back in his chair.

“Now, because of the delicacy of this mission. We don’t want anyone knowing we are playing for both sides here. We will be contacting a group of bandits in the area and asking for their assistance. I know a merchant who deals with them so it shouldn’t be impossible. We just have to pay them and tell them they get to keep the goods. It should be easy to make off with the goods while they engage the shipment guards. If all goes well, it will look like bandits took out both shipments and we will be halfway to the drought zone either force is missing their next meal.”

Black sat up as he saw that Lucy was walking toward the table with a plate of food. She was acting professionally and quietly, as she always did when they were discussing business. After she sat the tray down in front of Black, he gave her a slight nod before picking up a piece of food and taking a bite. After the morsel had disappeared into the black of his face and he swallowed, he continued. “We will be heading out after I finish eating. The destination is a days and a half ride away. Any questions?” He concluded before talking another bite of food.

Scarelt watched as Ravyn practicly jumped out of her skin, landing on the floor. It was a slightly amusing cycle of events to watch. “Morning to you Scarlet, thanks for the terrific wake up call.” she said as she walked away putting her arrows and bow by the door before making her way to the counter. Scarlet saw as Ravyn glanced towards her wound before sitting down and turning to her with a smile. The smile was a tad bit unnerving though she didn't understand why she felt that way about it.

“So last night I got some information on the other regions, and the other guilds.” Ravyn said taking a rather relaxed position in her seat. “The Duke of Torin has some sort of Demon in his dungeon, but I doubt it will stay there for long. As for the guilds, nothing new, besides some of them starting to expand, maybe we should “hire” one just to see what they can do? And I don’t know if you know about White Cross, since well that priest left here to make that guild, but they have some sort of blood lust member.” Scarlet watched as she took out a bottle and downed some of the ale strait from the bottle. A horrible habit. Scarlet merely sighed and shook her head. "A Demon huh? Now that is a rarity in these days. Even more so then you or I." Her thoughts shifted to that deserting priest bastard.

"White Cross." Scarlet mumbled to herself, clinching her fists in anger and bringing on a new wave of annoyance from her cut up hand. "A blood lust member you say? Do think this person is a..." She paused before continuing as the topic could be a rather bad one. "You two may get alone huh?" Scarlet said in a taunting and annoying voice. She lent back against the counter putting her hands together and against her face, which was an often unknown impulse she had while thinking. "Tell your contacts to keep there ears open information on White Cross." Scarlet cringed as she said that name as if it were a sour fruit or rotten milk. "Also keep an ear to the ground for information on the demon. It has...peaked my interests." She said getting that look she commonly got. a look that screamed I want to kill it.

Scarlet walked over to the table, taking a seat and started to eat. "A good meal keeps the body strong and the mind sharp." She said while staring up at Ravyn, obviously hinting at something. "As entertaining as it would be I wouldn't want you going Feral on me on a job." She said as a crooked smile came across her face and she stood up from the table. As she went to walk out of the room she looked back a Ravyn again and said "Then I may have to kill you and that wouldn't be good for anyone now would it?"

Bryndis leaned forward in her chair, lifting her hand to try and stealthily mask the grin that was spreading across her face. The sight of Lucy's attentiveness to Black was adorable and entertaining all at once. She almost felt bad for the girl the way Black teased her, except her reactions were priceless. Not to mention, the way her face lit up when Black was in the room. She stifled a giggle.

As Lucy left the room, Bryndis was tempted to flag her down and ask for a meal of her own. She wasn't particularly hungry though, and thinking on it, she doubted she would be able to eat much right now anyways. If she got hungry later she'd worry about it then, she decided. Turning her attention back to Black, she noticed he had produced four letters from his cloak, all which had been tossed on the table before him. She raised an eyebrow in curiosity. Four tasks at once? This will be interesting.

Black began explaining the jobs in a most entertaining manner. Once she heard about the two sponsored jobs, she knew this was going to be interesting. What a lucky coincidence that both jobs would be taking place so close to each other! She smiled helplessly. Then there was the famine in the village. Selling the food there would certainly make a tidy profit indeed.

"Three birds with one stone." Bryndis laughed. She leaned back casually in her seat and thought over the jobs. She wasn't too sure about hiring bandits, but Black seemed to know what he was doing. His plan was solid, and the profit they stood to make was very worthwhile.
"I do have one question, but first..." Bryndis stood up and left the hall for her room. If they were to leave once he finished eating, she would have to get changed now.

She entered her room and quickly slid out of her outfit, tossing them casually onto her chair. A quick rummage through her drawer and she retrieved her custom corset. She could stand to treat it more carefully since it had cost her a good amount to have it made, but it was also supposed to double as armor, so it should withstand a little rough-handing. Once she was satisfied with how it looked and felt, she moved on to her plain shirt and black pants.

The shirt hung loosely over her frame, and combined with the corset, it masked her gender completely. Bryndis glanced in the mirror and picked up her hair tie. It was nothing more than a short red ribbon, but it's what really helped sell her outfit. She tied her hair back into a tight low pony-tail and stared straight-faced into the mirror. Her gender-swap was complete. She did up her boots and grabbed both her baton and sword, fastening them to her waist. The job could take a while and there was no guessing if she'd need one more than the other.

She re-entered the main hall calmly, and looked over at Black.
"My question," she began, "was if we're going to explain to each clients the bandits were a front? They'd have no reason to pay us if either thought it was an unfortunate mishap."
She straightened herself, shifting her gaze away for a moment, then back to Black's face.

"Dammit Fiz," Yuri said between coughs, "You need to better lock up yer vials of crap. You'll kill us yet, and worse, burn down our guild house! I wouldn't appreciate it in my state." He said, wildly waving his hands in the smoke. "Lila?" He asked. "Already on it boss. Bloody window's somewhere around here... Ah!" She said, and with a click the smoke quickly began to disperse out of the open window. "Thanks," Yuri added rubbing his brows. Feeling full, he then began to poke aimlessly at his food. One hundred jobs. They had completed a hundred jobs. Their first milestone, right after their first one of course. Yuri still felt the same excitement and rush as he did during the first one as he did during the hundredth one. "Beats the hell out of farming," Yuri said to himself.

Farming. Yuri was a farmer in Fain before Apotheosis. Back breaking work that put little on the table and even less in his pockets, and that's if he managed to keep the beasts and monsters away from his crops. As much as he moaned about his farmer background, it did give him the basis he needed as a warrior. Strong arms and legs, an honest attitude (if a bit temperamental), and an appreciation for the small things. Like beer and alcohol. He looked back and saw Fizban resting on a best. Yuri chuckled before he spoke. "Get your rest now. Just because we cracked open a barrel last night doesn't mean we get the day off. We don't get the name Apotheosis by being lazy!" A giggle came from behind the bar.

By this time Lionel had entered the guild with a new... Acquaintance. "New member? What are you-" Yuri said, turning around and meeting the eyes of the scruffy creature. Yuri maintained eye contact with the puppy before speaking again, "... Maximilian huh? I would say no strays but..." Yuri trailed off with a glance over to Fizban and a chuckle. "If he can keep up with us, then why not? Right?" He said, pushing his plate forward and rubbing his head.

"Helped a little bit, though I still hear bloody drums," He complained. That was when Rhea entered. "Hey, welcome back Rhea. I'd say you'd missed a hell of a celebration last night, but I can't remember it." He watched as she put a completed request on top of the stack, greeted Lionel, Lila, and replaced her weapons. Yuri was yawning when Rhea sat down next to him and poked him. Yuri froze, knowing what the little finger could do. She could fry his brain his she wanted to. Luckily, her intentions were more... Helpful. "Oh. Rhea, you are a Godsend," Yuri said, finally free from his hangover. He felt like he could take on a Behemoth and win.

"So. What did I have the pleasure of missing?"

"Not much, just the hundredth job completed. Well, hundredth and first now that you finished yours. We could always crack open another keg and celebrate that..." He said, catching wind of the murderous glare Lila was giving him. "Er.. Just joking... Of course we'll help clean up first..." Yuri said, holding his hands up in submission. He then stood up and began to collect bottles. "Fiz, Lionel, help a man out. You too Max. You're part of this team now," he said, wagging a finger at the dog. "Rhea, when you're through eating, you too. We've got to find another contract today," He said, making his way down a bar with an armful of empty bottles.

"I'm thinking something difficult. Work off some aggression and energy, yeah?"

Mazrim was an interesting man. He wasn't revolted by her being covered in blood, though it was still a bit of a shock probably. The two shared a moment of silence before Mazrim gave her a small nod and sped off down the hallways with Nalla not far behind them. For awhile the hallways were empty and Nalla was just beginning to think that perhaps they might escape without having to shed any more blood, until they turned a corner and noticed two drowsy guards approaching from the next hallway up. Nalla quickly gathered herself for a fight and tried to put on a little more speed but then something she hadn't expected happened. It was small, not noticeable to the unwary eye, but Mazrim seemed to, well flicker seemed to fit it best, almost like a candle would in the wind. She blinked and could see Mazrim still running beside her but she didn't feel him, where his footsteps should have been, there was silence. Nalla quickly snapped her head back to the guards just in time to see the real Mazrim not only at the guards, but his sword was unsheathed and both guards had been felled.

The young man who had through fate or circumstance found himself companion to this demon child was patiently waiting for the girl to catch up to him before continuing their escape. The confrontation was fascinating to Nalla, just who was this Mazrim who had found his way into the duke's dungeon? That type of speed and agility was not found in a mere common swordsmen and under better circumstances would have brought a small smile from Nalla, it would appear after all that both of them were keeping secrets from the other.

It was not long after this brief fight that the pair of escaping prisoners found themselves at the entrence to the Duke's great hall. Two soldiers were guarding the entrance but they hardly had time to react before Nalla and Mazrim were upon them. These guards, much like the last two, were obviously not prepared to deal with the onslaught and Nalla's target quickly crumpled after Nalla jumped up onto a small table and launched herself at the guard, quickly puncturing his neck with her right claw and slamming the man to the ground before slowly picking herself up and returning to Mazrim's side. The older male cracked the door open and peeked inside. “Be careful of the women," he whispered down to her, "she is a mage. I will kill her first.” Nalla nodded just before Mazrim threw open the doors with a loud bang and seemed to stride into the room as if he owned the place. That did bring a little smile to her face, she was beginning to like this man more and more by the minute. Nalla quickly glanced around the room to see at least four guards in the room, the duke, and the mage women sitting next to him. There were possibly two more guards posted behind the other side entrance to the castles Great Hall though. All in all, a mage, six to eight guards, and an old man whom she really, really wanted to kill. Wouldn't be bad odds if she was her normal self, but Nalla was unsure how much longer her endurrence could last in her current condition.

Now was not the time to worry about that though as Mazrim very quickly took advantage of everyone's shock to use that flicker ability of his to quickly put himself not only at the Mage but he full out crashed into her chest, then bringing his fist up smashed the first guard right in the side of the face. Two of the guards were jolted back to their senses by that and quickly responded with carrying on the attack against Mazrim. However, after seeing his ability firsthand, Nalla was at least somewhat certain that the man could carry himself just fine against a few guards. Nalla quickly scanned the room looking for Duke. He was not getting away with the torture he had put on her and the countless others who had been locked up in that dungeon before her. No, Nalla had swore that she would kill the man and she intended to do so. The duke and the final guard were trying to make a quick retreat for the back door but Nalla wasn't about to let them. Nalla charged at them, putting the last little bit of energy and adrenaline that she had left into catching the pair, the duke was not going to get away. The guard noticed her first and quickly stepped in front of his master but Nalla was already on top of them. The guard took a quick stab at Nalla with his spear, Nalla slipped to the side of the weapon, bringing her left claw dawn to slash the weapon in half and then launched herself at the guard. The man panicked and reached for his dagger but his hand never reached it. Nalla had sliced it off before slipping around his arm and bringing a second strike home into his armpit, severing the nerve and leaving the man screaming in pain. Nalla turned on the Duke, his face was pale he was trying to say something but no words came out. The duke quickly turned his back and took off but Nalla was quicker, she beat the man out and slammed her body into his side, knocking him off balance and sending him falling against the wall. Nalla crouched over the slumped figure, Nalla quickly pierced his heart with her claw and ended his life as quickly as she could. "I am not your pet." she said softly as she pulled her claw out, taking with it a small blueish orb. Nalla promptly plopped the orb into her mouth and ate it. Nalla turned back to the rest of the room to see that Mazrim had finished off the guards and was looking at her. Nalla said nothing, she hadn't wanted Mazrim to see that but now was not the time for explanations.

Black continued to munch on the food that Lucy had brought him as he listened to Loke ask the first question. Shortly after the gambler had finished his question, Black frowned under his face. He had thought that the answer to that question would be quite apparent. To make the most money possible. Still, he was hardly surprised at Loke’s rather naive question. After all, Black didn’t keep him around because he was a keen planner or because he had a ruthless and cutthroat attitude, because the gambler had neither. However, Black had prepared for this.

Signaling to Loke to wait for a moment with his finger, he decided to take one last bite before addressing his question. While he was doing this, Bryndis chimed in that she had a question, but obviously left to change into her work persona before finishing it. Taking the chance to address Loke, he quickly swallowed and began to wipe his gloved hands on his robes.

“Well, the short answer is because I would like to remain in a neutral position in this war. However, seeing as to grow and do more good in the world as a guild, I need to establish contacts and trust in both Elden and Torin.” he said in a confident voice. “And with many of the influentials of their respective countries greatly vested in the war, it goes that the best way to gain said trust is to assist in matters that concern it’s outcome. However, since we all know war is terrible, what with all the indiscriminate slaughter and pillaging. I think of hampering the soldier’s ability to fight not as, going against both countries, but as helping both countries.” He suddenly grabbed the fourth and unopened letter that had been sitting on the table. “ I also think that the villager’s of this town might agree with me.” He said as he opened the document and tossed the letter to Loke.

“In that letter, you will find a desperate plea of the town caught right in the middle of two apposing forces. They are hopeful that someone will find it in their hearts to somehow stop their village from becoming a battleground. The very same forces that we will be depriving of rations.” Black leaned back in his chair. ‘Now, I’m not saying that doing this will defiantly delay or stop the impending battle, but I think that there is a chance that it might.” He paused for a moment. “Which is a bet I am certainly willing to take.” He finished, looking directly at Loke.

Just as Black finished his little speech, Bryndis returned to the room. Who then posed her question. Black stared blankly at her for a moment, watching her gaze shift away from and then back toward him. He grinned for a second. He sometimes forgot how new Bryndis was to the guild.

“Ah, that’s and easy one Bryndis. I apologize for not mentioning it earlier though, I thought you knew. You work so hard, sometimes I forget that you have only been with us for a little while.” He addressed her casually, laying the compliment in for good measure. “We simply don’t have to worry about explaining our methods. As always, the clients have paid up front. We have already received payment for the jobs and no questions will be asked as long as what was agreed upon happens.” He paused for a moment. “You were probably confused because I give everyone their cut after the mission is completed. This is guild policy because if we decide for whatever reason to not accomplish the mission, I will have to refund the clients.” He hung his head a little. “And I would just hate having to ask for money back from you all.” He finished in a slightly melodramatic fashion.

Before a reply could come, he snapped his head back up. “However, if any of you need to borrow money to make it to pay day. I can draw some out of the guild expansion fund.” He said quickly. “You will have to pay it back out of your cut later, but I want to be completely clear. I take care of my guild members.” He finished with a surprisingly genuine tone.