@Lord Sawsaw2@Valor@Lmpkio@Crimson Raven

---

Ceri flashed a smile to Dreadlin. Though she was comfortable around most of her guild mates, he was still intimidating simply from his size. Not that she didn't trust him, she did, but it was something she just couldn't help feeling for various reasons. Still, if it was just Dreadlin, Saeko, Cyril, Mis, Alexandria, and her then this mission should be fine, right? Ehe, today was turning out to be a rather good day, wasn't it? Aside from the initial shock of announcement that she might have had to work with Golems Hand members, her fears were well...unfounded.

Annnd then death came for Dreadlin.

"A-ah!" Her eyes widened, unable to properly form words as she pointed a cloak covered arm towards Dreadlin. "A-ahm, uhm Dreadlin!" She had no idea what was going on, and she was 100% certain that there was nothing she could do.

And then it tapped Dreadlin on the back with a long cold finger of death.

@pkken@Joker892@Spanner

---

"Good question...", the only other person he could think of was Seto for this... Except despite the strange way they didn't rub each other the wrong way, he had no idea where to find him. He just happened to run into him, but he knew he was in town.

So then what shall they do?

"Wait... You guys know Seto's back in town right?", he asked. Only he and... A few others would know. He wasn't the type to draw attention to himself, and only stepped in to his own amusement and Vega's own convenience. Regardless unless he showed up some time later at the guild, no one else should know of his return.

"I take it you won't have any problems with Cyril and Saeko joining your team as well? They were just with us, but seem to have gotten temporarily lost. I'm sure they'll be over soon to talk to you about it, but surely that won't be an issue."

Internally, Dreadlin was a little disappointed that he'll have to put up with these odd characters, but at least he wasn't placed with those of Golem's Hand. Then again it will be most likely necessary to do so later down the line. He understood why it could've been initiated in the first place, as to tie and strength the bonds between rival guilds rather than drift away from one another in complete isolation, or at least something amongst those lines. If he could've done the rules, he would've done it traditionally, but this may come as a useful experiment. Besides, you have a silent ninja, and a flirt, who while annoying is otherwise pretty sane., both better then some of the other characters you can find here... like Vega for example.

Ugh, that made a sour taste in his mouth.

But regardless, he accepts the offer as he nods complingly with it.

"I fink I can 'andle it." he answers confidently enough, "I mean, they're at least da less annoyin' bunch ov da lot, 'eh 'eh. Like what's da worse what can 'appen? "

It was at that moment though when Ciel began to act a little weird around him, acting more of her traditional look of horror. She seemed to be pointing to something behind him, yet the lizardman didn't seem to take the hint that something, or someone, was coming up behind him. He looks at her with confusion as he tries to decipher what's wrong.

"Eh?" he asks audibly as he looks down to her, "Was' wrong Ciel-bonnie? Looks like ya've seen a~"

And then he feels a cold shiver tingling down his scaly hide.

His eyes blanked out in widened shock for a short instant, before issuing a quick bellowing-yelp. Being trained out in the jungles of his village, his natural reaction was less passive... and much more defensive. His tail seemed to act on his own as it issues a sweeping swipe towards Kage, capable of sending her flying until she hits a wall or skids across the floor. By the time he noticed who was behind him, it seemed to already be too late to stop...

Fortunately, or actually, by design, Dreadlin’s tail simply passed through Kage’s form like an illusion. A path of shadow temporarily trailed where his tail passed through her, blurring her features before they reformed.

A quiet giggle came out from behind the mask. Kage stepped out from Dredlin’s shadow. She held up a hand in greeting and tilted her head. “Haystacks, Wizard Lizard.” She said.

@Lmpkio

@Lord Sawsaw2, @Rune_Alchemist, @Valor

"I fink I can 'andle it. I mean, they're at least da less annoyin' bunch ov da lot, 'eh 'eh. Like what's da worse what can 'appen? "

Illedrith grinned back at her new teammate, and was about to respond when Ceri's stammering alarm alerted her to the looming shadow behind Dreadlin. She barely had time to raise her hand in preparation to cast before Dreadlin responded on instinct, and his tail scythed through the shadow. Instinctively, Illedrith had put a large mirror behind the shadow, who she now recognized as one of the town's more insular individuals, in an effort to catch her if she was blown away by the strike. It turned out to be unneccesary however, as Dreadlin's tail passed through her as if she were no more than an inconvenient fog bank, seemingly at no inconvenience to Kage, who simply raised her hand in greeting.

“Haystacks, Wizard Lizard.”

Breathing a deep sigh of relief, Illedrith dispelled the mirror into motes of light which floated away on the wind. Turning to face the group's newcomer, she levelled a stern gaze at her as she voiced her displeasure.

"Was that necessary, Kage? You could have given poor Dreadlin here a heart attack with your stunt, not to mention the distress you caused poor Ceri here."

Illedrith emphasised this point by using her concern as an excuse to give Ceri a hug. Any excuse was a good excuse after all.

"Now did you have some business with us, or were you just here to give us a scare. If not, we're off to choose a job from the board."

With the board only a couple of meters away, Illedrith was getting a little worried that all the jobs would be gone before they even got there. There were still a couple of team leaders gathering up team members though, so there should hopefully be at least a couple left for them...

@Crimson Raven, @Rune_Alchemist, @lmpkio, @Valor

As Dreadlin swiped his tail, he quickly realized that it didn't connect to anything. Did the trickster manage to dodge just in time? No, it couldn't have... the swipe was too fast and sudden. Unless it had super-speed, cat-like reflexes, or the ability to transform into a ghost, then there was no way one could've dodged at point blank. And as far as the lizardman knew, he didn't know anyone who had two of the three abilities...

The lizardman turns around to see who attempted to grab his attention with a very worried look, hoping everything was ok back there.

"Oi! did I hit anythin' back there?" he asks concerningly, "So sorry abut~"

And then he notices the shadowy fog trail forming around the base of his tail. Dreadlin soon realizes that he knew someone who could transform into a 'ghost' as he hears a familiar giggle. Magus stepped into view while waving mischievously at him.

“Haystacks (Back), Wizard Lizard.”

An audible growl, mixed with relief and light aggression, emits from Dreadlin's maw as he looks on at the masked wizard.

"Oh don' give meh that treament, ya garden tool (fool)!" he hisses at Magus defensively, "Ya know not to do meh dirteh like that! I could've sen' yew flyin' fer way yonder an' break yahr everythin'! "

Regardless, Illedrith proceeded to cool the hot waters by giving a stern stare and statement not to do it again. Once that was finished, they began to look at the job applications they can enter. Dreadlin had the decision in picking where they should go. He considered trying to give the young laddies an easy and calm mission for them to go on... but the first job proved to make Dreadlin much more excited than anything...

Enough to forget his original goal.

"Ahahaaahaahaaaaaa!" he bellows out in childish glee, "Les' go on tis one! I call all da marbles on dis job!"

However, would the ladies accept in going on one Gypsy Nell (Hell) of a journey?

Alexandria's movement was subtle and precise. She moved with extreme intention and meticulous planning. One could even say she moved in the blink of an eye. But Alexandria didn't move too far. When Kage had appeared, Alexandra's guard had been roused from it's relaxed state, and when Kage found reason to lay a hand upon the back of Dreadlin, Alexandria switched into her alert mode. Her hand left hand found purchase on the hilt of her sword. The scabbard was gripped tightly in her right hand. She was poised to draw her weapon at any moment needed. Thankfully, that moment never came. Alexandria relaxed her grip slowly, and allowed the scabbard to rest at her side once more.

Now that Kage had proven she wasn't going to be a threat, Alexandria resumed her previous prim and proper pose and allowed herself to relax. The conversations went on around her, but Alexandria remained silent. She had no reason to comment, and everyone else echoed similar thoughts. When the group would move onward to the mission postings, Alexandria finally made use of her voice.

Looking over the individual missions, Alexandria gave her opinion on each, assuming they were all there. "The first mission seems like it would theoretically be the most difficult. Dragon's are not opponents that I would underestimate. The second mission seems like it would be simple, though it would also be slightly dubious to undertake as we would be getting into a legal situation that is unclear to us and we may not be told the real truth. The third mission seems like it would play well into my personal strengths, but we might again be getting over our heads, as, even if we brought the whole guild, defending a town against what appears to be hordes of creatures is rather... Unconventional. The last mission seems interesting and clear cut. Perhaps the spear will be given to us if the party involved finds that they do not want it? Risky enough, but also tempting."

Returning to the group that she had grouped with, Alexandria spoke. "I've stated my opinions, but I will go along with what the majority decides. I'm brave, but I'm no fool: Taking these missions on alone is asking for trouble."

Kage wasn’t sorry. She knew she had immediately started off on a bad foot with the party, but she didn’t mind. Illedrith was a stick-in-the-mud anyway. She stood still and took her well-deserved scolding.

"Was that necessary, Kage? You could have given poor Dreadlin here a heart attack with your stunt, not to mention the distress you caused poor Ceri here."

"Now did you have some business with us, or were you just here to give us a scare. If not, we're off to choose a job from the board."

“Join you.” Kage said solemnly, as oppsed to her earlier mischievousness. “S-Class.”

Kage was new, but even she knew that mixing golems and harpies was a bad idea. Which are the best kind of ideas, and should be acted upon immediately. But she wasn’t here to start anything. Mearly to see if anything was started.

Something felt like it was missing though...

Oh yeah, didn’t people seel these things with a handshake? Or was it a kiss? Should she had bought a ring? Was there going to be cake?

Kage imagined kissing Dreadl—.

Her mind went blank.

What was she thinking about again? It must not have been important.

She held up her hand and examined it at it as if she had never seen it before. Then she thust it out towrds Illedrith. “Fun.” She said.

@Lord Sawsaw2

@Lmpkio, @Rune_Alchemist, @Valor

@Lord Sawsaw2@Valor@Lmpkio@Crimson Raven

---

"A-ah..." The small robed girl returned the hug from Mis, now feeling incredibly silly. Of course it wasn't some sort of monster. It was Kage. A mage from Golems hand. She shouldn't have freaked out so much, should have she? After all, she should be able to at least tell the difference between friend or foe. She had been trained to do so, and to make such a mistake might only hinder everyone in the future. Once Mis let her go, she She kept her mouth shut as they decided to take a look at the jobs.

Looking over them, she had no clue about which one they should take. With Mis and Dreadlin, they should be able to pretty much handle just about any one, right? Dragons, though...the thought terrified her. Still...she didn't want to disappoint Mis or Dreadlin by backing out. Dreadlin seemed intent on taking it at least, but really...how much use would she be against a dragon? She had read stories about them. Strong, could see and smell extremely well...wouldn't she be useless against such a beast?

She cast a glance over to Mis and Alexandria, for the most part ignoring Kage. She was still embarrassed about freaking out like that. As far as Golem's hand mages went though, Kage was nice. Well, more so than that cretin Vega at least. Funny, too.

"...d-dragon?" She questioned quietly, glancing up at Mis.

"Join you. S-Class." Illedrith blinked and took a moment to think about this. She was surprised that a Golem would even be remotely interested in joining a group so full of Harpies. Straightening up and letting go of Ceri, she looked to Dreadlin for his thoughts on the matter. He'd already recovered and gone off to grab a job from the board, so he seemed to be fine with the situation. Looking back to the newcomer, she saw a hand extended towards her. Taking a step forward, she tentatively reached out to shake the extended hand, hoping that by this point it was touchable again, and not shadowy like her form earlier.

"I guess if Dreadlin is alright with it, I'm happy to have you on our team. Guess we'll get to know each other better on the road."

Their conversation was interrupted when Dreadlin came flying back into the group clutching one of the jobs in his fist.

"Ahahaaahaahaaaaaa! Les' go on tis one! I call all da marbles on dis job!"

Looking closely at the proffered piece of paper, her eyes widened. Then flicked straight down to Ceri, just in time to see her look back up in her direction. She smiled to Ceri in an attempt to seem confident about the situation, but she had some initial doubts and concerns. A dragon? There hadn't been a sighting of one of them for decades as far as she knew, certainly not one that had turned out to be real. Legends of strength and power, they were nothing to be taken lightly, which was presumably why this one was still on the board. No surprise that Dreadlin had gone for it immediately she supposed...

"Well, I'm not backing out, and it is your choice after all, Dreadlin. I'll back you up on this job all the way, and I'm sure if we all work together, we should be fine."

@pkken@Joker892@Spanner

---

After some deliberation it was decided that this could be the best they've got. Anyone new would be a bonus. Besides, the people they had in mind were problematic to track down, so hopefully they may just come to them.

Looking over the jobs, Vega's disgust at some of them were clear, but eventually his gaze rested on an... Interesting choice, given all the others have known about him. Justice for Angela. The only other one he was considering was the Lost Heirloom, but something about this one didn't sit right with him. This began to remind him of his thief days... A lot of people took the fall for a crime if it meant everyone else got out with all the loot, and then they'd be broken out later. Of course such a thing for a mission like this wouldn't be allowed, but whatever. The job is to clear someone's name, that's just as good maybe.

He clicked his tongue in minor annoyance before snatching it off the board with the intent that they'd take this one.

"You boys good with breaking some bones? And a lot of them... Whatever I'll make you do it even if you refuse", with that it was decided, this was the mission they would be taking, so it seems.

With a beam and a pivot, Cyril slowed down mid-spin to avoid almost decapitating someone with Illedrith's weaponry, cringing a little with a smile as he apologized to the disgruntled Harpy. Crooking his head back at Sae, he nodded his head in a direction in the midst of the dissipating crowds. "Then we're off~," he brazenly announced, walking in a direction through the different guild members, scouting for someone to recruit.

As he traversed with the shield-maiden, Cyril was on high alert, constantly whipping his head back and forth between the crowds, ascertaining who was in a group and heading off to solo members who nary a thought on what team they should join as they made their way back into the stands. While the place was somewhat diluted, there were lone members of each guild hanging around there, either giving each other the evil eye or chatting over whose group to jump in on; he was certain one of the Golem's he passed by called him a clipped winged pansy, but honestly, now was not the time to be getting into fights.

Not bothering to illicit a remark at the snide insult, Cyril just rolled his eyes and frowned slightly as he shook his head before peering forward, eyes scanning each of the stands. "So Sae, y'found anything y'want t'try out," Cyril suddenly spoke up, breaking the silence as he tilted his head back just a bit, peering at Sae with a small smile. "Maybe some fritters or ooh what about some spicy dumpl- er..." He stopped mid-sentence, recalling what just happened a couple of minutes ago.

"... hm... actually, Sae, what types of food d'ya like exactly? Spicy, bitter, sour," he posed a question, turning away to sift through the crowds and find any solo figures or incomplete groups he could integrate.

"I have no preference, honestly," she said looking at Cyril, a tilt confused at the sudden question. It was odd for her she never honestly thought about her own tastes; if it sated her hunger it was good enough for her. "I can not honestly say I prefer one thing over another," she continued her voice quiet with thought as tried to figure when she cared for small things like that.

A small smirk formed across Cyril's face as he tilted his head back to eye Sae; there was a certain gleam of mischief in his eye as he chuckled. "Oh really then, maybe I should buy ya some more Harlequin Creme Brulee," he could barely stifle a giggle, let alone stop quivering just a smidgen. Suddenly, he let out a small yipe as he almost dropped one of the sundaes Mis bought. Of course, as he slowly regained balance, he realized he impaled a part of the tent of one of the stands.

Slowly backing away, he pivoted around, profusely apologizing for putting a hole in the mans stand with a faltering, nervous smile that seemed to be on the edge of breaking apart. Thankfully the man was a much more forgiving person, chuckling as he teased Cyril to give him one of the sundaes as compensation for it.

Of course, this lead to both of the men laughing before the owner of the stand questioned if they wanted to purchase something. Turning to face Sae, Cyril did his best to jam a thumb in the mans direction with a large grin on his face.

"Sae, how about some'f this?"

"As long as you taste first," Saeko said a small smirk on her face as she tried to tease Cyril back... the key word try. She was not used to such actions she meant well with a lot but she wasn't a social butterfly in the slightest as she often focused everything on her training as to better herself. This made her somewhat awkward in social situations such as this. This really was outside her comfort zone and as such she was trying her best which was obvious as she tried her hardest to continue the conversation. "Is there anything you would prefer," she asked, looking at Cyril cause she was obviously outside her comfort zone... and Cyril on the other hand had little trouble with things so far, so perhaps she should defer to his judgement for now.

Oh this was too perfect. "Alright then... I'll take some... Dragon's Bounty Dumplings then," he announced to the man, fumbling around, trying to get his gem pouch as the proprietor set to work baking them. It was a struggle, considering he was pulling off a balancing act with Illedrith's halberd and the sundae's in his hand.

"Er, a little help here Sae," he chuckled with some nervousness as he struggled to reach for the pouch that was snugly kept within his jacket.

"I'll handle this," she said, taking out a small satchel and handing the required amount of gems to the vendor. It was only fair she supposed as she took the food and held them for Cyril to at least take a bite. It was going to be hard for him to much of anything with what he was holding... but still, this was what she could as she stated so it was probably for the best. She admit she still didn't understand why she decided to follow him on this trip. What made her accept to readily to follow Cyril? She could not understand what her own motives was that it was seriously confusing her she kept trying to wrap her head around why but kept ending up nowhere. "Is there anything else you wish to go beyond food?" She asked with a small tilt of her head to some it would make her look cute but she was unaware of these thoughts dense would be a word that some would use to describe her as. If it dealt little with what her goal was or finding what many in the guild considered "jerk" of a brother she honestly couldn't say she cared.

Cyril slightly frowned a bit at this little excursion as Saeko went on to purchase the dumplings with her own gems. It was supposed to be him treating her for buying the lady something that she honestly disliked. Sighing just a tad, he thanked Saeko for assisting him as he now began to fumble around and readjust how he held each of the remaining sundaes and the halberd... only to be slightly caught off guard by what Sae was doing.

"H-huh," he murmured to himself, feeling the gaze's of other people fall upon him as he stared down the dumpling. The man gave a singular warning to be careful as each piece was as hot as the breath of a dragon, retreating just a bit into his stand after handing Saeko the dumplings.

Of course, there was the questioned she parsed as she held out the piece to his mouth, waiting for a response. Pushing that frown to the side, he slowly approached the piece with a Cheshire smile, bending over a bit and stretching his head out a bit like an ostrich. "Well, yeah, I mean, other than makin' up t'you for earlier, we're searchin' for other people to recruit to our group for this mission," he said before delicately biting a half of the dumpling and letting it sit in his mouth for a bit.

Leaning back up, he began chewing the piece. Huh, this wasn't as bad as the... hm?

Suddenly, he felt his nose becoming a bit... runny. Cyril began sniffling a bit as the spices danced along his tongue teasing and harrowing his buds with every second. As he continued chewing, he was half tempted to find the nearest place to spit this out and gobble down another one of these sundaes. Eventually he was certain that tears were leaking as he gulped down the spicy overkill of a dumpling down...

... dear god his throat was burning to from that! It took every fiber in his body not to scarf down the sundaes Mis bought as he looked to Saeko with a mildly painful (and possibly amusing) expression.

She couldn't help but giggle a little as she saw the face he made from the bite wasn't to his liking it seemed. Soon that giggle quickly became a full blown laugh as she saw the face he was making it was pitiable really. With a smile she once again decided that perhaps she would be nice once more and purchased a thing of milk for him and deciding to add a bit of insult to it placed a kiddy straw in it as she held it out for him to drink. Her almost bell like laughter dying down a bit but still within where he would be able to hear.

Yeesh, this was... not what he was planning for this whole excursion. First, Sae giggles at the increasing torture he was going to, increasing it by eleven as she broke out into a full on laugh. As he tried to say something, his breath felt dry and hoarse from that all... Wincing at the pain, he just stood there, clearing his throat and riding out the pain... gods, the ice cream in front of him was looking better by the minute.

... at least Sae wasn't going to leave him in agony and brought him some milk... complete with one of those kiddie straws. Looking up, a small frown formed on his face, raising one of his eyebrows as he studied her visage.

Lightly shrugging, he decided against swallowing his pride and pouted at the girl before whipping nose away from her in faux enmity, taking a bite out of one of the sundaes as he slowly began to devour it. While he did look away, he would noticeably turn his eye towards Sae with a small smile forming on his face.

After a few minutes, Cyril completely devoured another sundae, letting out a satisfied "ah" as his throat began to cool-down a bit. "Satisfied with your revenge Sae," he questioned with a hint playfulness in his voice, turning back to face the shieldmaiden.

"Perhaps you deserve another? Afterall you did just eat someones sundae I am pretty sure that requires punishment" She said her laughs slowly dying down as she looked at him he was kind of childish but it made him cute at times? She was unsure but in the end these moments really felt like they were getting to know each other more she supposed. "Still shall we get some regular food than this punishment game we seem to be inflicting upon ourselves," she asked with a smile it was fun she supposed just being able to relax like this she really never thought on that really but it was nice that was for sure. "Unless you want to than that is ok with me," she said her giggles still present as still held the glass of milk just in case for him.

"I'll just buy Mis another; I'm sure she'll understand the dire situation I was in after all," he whipped his head around, flipping his hair with a small, toothy smirk on his face. "But yeah, I think that would be a-"

Cyril suddenly stopped, his face changing course from Saeko's as he spied someone else behind the woman. A familiar (if not, "brutal") visage appeared not too far from them as she was strolling along. "Uh, hold that thought Sae," he quickly stepped to the side of her, pursuing a girl in green garments who looked to be in her early twenties. She looked to be a little shorter than Saeko and had two long, light green pigtails that flowed down all the way to her legs.

"Heeeeey Naomi," Cyril called out as he jogged towards the girl.

With a soft sigh Saeko quickly followed after Cyril it was never a dull moment it seemed which was something? In the end she was unsure on it but sounded like as a whole he was just like a little kid easily distracted by various sights and things. It was charming somewhat but at the same it seemed a bit flighty. Still she supposed you had to appreciate his spirit and determination if anything.

The girl turned to quickly spy who was calling out for her, before rolling her eyes and continuing to walk along as if she never saw Cyril. Of course, this left the man slightly befuddled as he continued going after her, giving Naomi one more call out before she just stopped and pivoted around with the biggest frown on her face, accompanied by a nasty glare that would give the dragons some pause as he approached.

"Jeez, way to give me the cold shoulder there," he chuckled lightly despite the angered girls look, trying to get her to ease up with a disarming smile and him slowly walking towards her. However, she gave no response, peeking behind the tall "playboy" just in time to see Saeko coming after him. Hanging back, she crossed her arms and furrowed her brows, shaking her head as she brandished her teeth in a exuberantly antagonistic fashion, murmuring "why am I not surprise," to herself.

Cyril was a bit confused at her statement, slowly raising an eyebrow and tilting his head. "Uh, Nao-"

"Shut it before I stuff yer 'spice with som' sugar' ya bastard," she swiftly spat venom at the man, cutting him off before he was able to get another word in. This caused Cyril to freeze up for a few seconds, eyes widening slightly as his smile faded just a tinge. Promptly ignoring the guy, she instead turned to address his companion, Saeko. The frown softened as the girl approached, her arms slowly relaxing as the hardness that was directed towards Cyril dissipated slightly.

"Is something the matter here," Sae asked as she looked at the two her face set into a expressionless stare as she looked at the two she heard the angered remarks and while she knew it wasn't her business Cyril was a friend of sorts and she would defend them cause it was what she does. Though with that said she was obviously unaware of something so best to remain neutral it seemed. Though a lot of questions was passing through her head as she tried to piece together what exactly was going on.

"Yeah, there is actually," Naomi spoke in a flat tone, looking over Saeko, before sighing. With one singular huff, she let her guard down, placing one hand on her hip with her other hand pointing straight at Cyril. She gave him one long, hard stare, squinting at the man as she pursed her lips before continuing on. "Th' bastard is doin' what he usually does, an's stringin' ya along fer a one night stand or somethin'; y'should ditch 'im while ya still can," she uttered in a grave tone, waggling her finger at him as she continued displaying an angry visage, tensing up in the process.

"Hmm why would I agree to that? Cyril while a bit of a idiot pervert, he won't do anything to me. I think you are generalizing just a bit to much here." Saeko said she did not like the tone but she was sure there was a reason. There is a lot that seemed to be left unsaid sure Cyril wasn't the most pure of hearts but he meant well and had your back when you needed it the most as far as she was concerned he was a friend for that and despite that she was sure that things wasn't as she said. "It seems are we are getting nowhere I suggest we leave." She said towards Cyril the fact she was implying that she was someone who would do something like a one night stand and the fact that she cared less about what she said gave her a less than positive impression.

"Idiot? That's a bit harsh..." Cyril couldn't help but cringe just a hair at her choice of words to describe him, shaking his head just a bit. Ruffling his hair and shaking it just a bit, his shoulders went slack as he sighed as he clutched his hip before looking over at Naomi. It looked as if she had given up, slowly returning her had to her side as she looked to the side, shaking her head.

[color=olive]"Idiot an' a perve? Y'know 'im t'a good extent, an' yet yer content with 'im,"[/olive] she announced before shaking her head in defeat. Twirling around, Naomi gave the duo one last glare with a hostile frown while furrowing her brows. "Ugh, whatever then... 'ave fun on yer date," she spat with a mix of mockery and spite, punctuating the word fun and date before whipping her head away and pointing her nose up to the skies. "Now where th' 'ell did they buzz off ta..."

As the girl marched away, Cyril let out an exasperated groan as he looked up to the skies, covering his eyes with his palm. "Still bitter after so long," he muttered, shaking his hand off as he stretched both arms upwards before letting them both come crashing down to his sides.

"Thanks for backing me up there Sae," he grinned softly at the girl, setting the remaining sundae down on the side to give her a gentle pat on the back. Looking off to the side, he stared down at the sundae, briefly lost in thoughts. "But I have't say that tryin' t'recruit her could of gone a lot better..."

"Shall we go?" She asked the faster they get this the better off they would be. "Is there anywhere else you wish to head to?" She asked as she looked at Cyril it was a good question and in the end she was sure that in the long run that things would probably suffer the same fate as the first try but it never hurt to try she supposed. Help would be appreciated and no matter what happened she was sure that things was never for sure so who knows maybe something will surprise her.

Any were else he wanted to go huh? Cyril paused for nearly a second, nestling his chin between his index and his thumb. As quickly as he pressed his fingers to his face, the man flicked his hand away and snapped his fingers as he looked back at Saeko with a serendipitous smile on his face. "I might have an idea of a place."

Swiftly pirouetting around, snapped his hand, pointing it like a finger gun in the opposite direction as he took one step behind Saeko. "That is, if ya got the courage try out som'f the games the townsfolk prepped," he smirked, eyes glimmering as he lightheartedly goaded the girl

"Might as well" Sae said she honestly unsure what else they were going to do enjoy themselves or go and get more people she was honestly unsure still she supposed that some time for fun was needed. This was something that she suppose was needed relaxation was important after all. It was understandable in that sense she suppose a stressed mind could be bad for the body. "Yah, I guess I will try my luck" She said once more as if confirming for herself that it was a good idea.

With a smile and a step, Cyril was on his way with Sae, making sure to adjust the halberd every few turns lest he would tear into another unfortunate vendor's stand. Still, most people around them all were busy either gathering other people or just idling their day away, making the now encompassing silence between Cyril and his companion seem far more louder than ever before. Really, the only few things that could abjectly pop into his mind was their training, missions, and the search for her brother.

... yeah, other than trying to get Mis to go out on a date with him, probably hanging out with or bringing Sae along on his more... passable excursions would be another thing on his to do list... "Maybe get her a hobby too," yeah, definitely, Cyril thought as he rapped his digits on his chin as he looked semi-dejectedly to the side.

"Soooooo Sae," he whirled his head back to face Sae, replacing his forlorn grimace with nothing more than a wide smile and slight glint forging in his eyes. "How's th' search on your brother comin' along? Find any leads or rumors about a guy matchin' his description," he inquired, arching the halberd up and down.

Sae shook her head she would love to have said yes but no she hadn't seen or heard anything about her brother and that was starting to weigh on her after so long it was finally starting to show. "I can't say I have," She said her latest rumor proved to be false which was a few months back so the overall in the end she knew that finding him was going to be hard that much was for sure but for nothing even resembling her brother in town or the neighboring ones was starting to get her disheartened. Deep inside she knew that it was probably for a reason he left he always did have a reason if she didn't understand it at first but he always did have a reason for doing what he did. Though with that said some contact would have been nice something to offer a glimmer of hope something that can show he was alive and well. Her journey was ever continuing it seems and though it seemed to have hit a roadblock she was sure that in the end that she would find him she hoped.

Woooow, way to go Cyril, you sure knew how to lift her spirits up, dontcha? Honestly, there was no glimmer of hope in her eyes, her face was visibly perturbed, and her body language? Before he knew it, he was slouching just a bit, his brows drooping as much as his lips were. The mage turned to face back forward, unblinking as he passed by other people, magi and townsfolk alike, some focusing on a few things before moving to the next. Closing his eyes, he let out a minute, muted huff.

"Messy platinum blonde hair, dull golden eyes with mildly darken bags underneath, a little paler than you, but a hair or so shorter than me," he might of missed a few details, like his magic and so forth, but that was the gist of it as he repeated it to his friend. Whirling his head back, the somber, thoughtful frown was replaced with a wild, carefree smile. Pausing and bending his knees as well as positioning, Cyril bumped the halberd off his shoulder before planting it into the ground as firmly as he could.

*Woosh!*

Launching himself upwards, Cyril flung himself into the air, feeling the breeze softly tease his cheeks as he spun through above the grounds, above Saeko. His whole body was lopsided, his feet far above his head in the air as he felt the blood rush to his head. Thankfully, that feeling was replaced as he saw the clear summer sky once again, along with him sticking the landing as he planted both feet on the ground with a thud.

Before she had the chance to react, Cyril hooked his arm around Saeko's shoulder, dragging her close for a tight hug.

"... y'know, maybe if ya asked, I'm sure your friends wouldn't mind helpin' ya out," he exchanged a giggle and a wink, continuing to look at her with a wide smile.

Sae was unaware over where her companion was going with this all, pausing in her tracks as she eyed Cyril forcibly jamming Mis’s halberd into the ground. “Cyril,” she murmured a dull bemused voice, unable to comprehend why he had just uttered how her brother looked like… and with a smile too… was he mocking her? Could he be so… no, no, no, this was Cyril she was talking about. Sure, he was a pervy idiot, but he wouldn’t go as far as to…

Huh? Why was Cyril doing a back-flip out of all the times?

As majestic as it looked, this utterly baffled and stunned her into silence as he stuck the landing. Sure, he had done this before, but why now out of all times? Yelping, she was dragged into a hug, still trying to process why he even performed that stunt in the first place as he gave her a small “hint” on what she could try next.

“I… thank you for your offer, but I can handle it on my own,” she uttered to Cyril in a serious tone of voice, glancing away as she slid a hand over the side over her face. Breaking free from his grasp, she rubbed her slick index and thumb together as she walked ahead of Cyril a bit before stopping. “Again, thank you… shall we go?

Cyril couldn't help but huff and slightly frown a bit at the way she responded, ruffling his hair with his now chick-free hand. Shutting his eyes for a mere second, he ruffled his hair before speaking up. "... yeah, lets get to it," answered the mage, putting up a faint shadow of a smile as he slowly trudged on behind her, a hand obscuring his mouth as he stared down at Sae's heels.

"Very well," She said as she went in the direction they were heading before she was still unsure on where they were going but she supposed the journey was part of the destination in the end. "So where are we heading again?" a barest hint of a blush on her face as she for forgetting where they were going before she headed off towards a direction. In her eagerness to put what happened behind her she let it slip her mind which honestly wasn't the best idea but she supposed that in the end it was her own fault.

Pulling his head up from the back to her heels to her head, Cyril slid his hands away from his mouth, placing it on his side as the former shade of a smile brightened. "Er... remember where you got the Harlequin Crème Brûlée, he questioned, chuckling under his breath as he rapped his fingers, taking a decisive step forward, and by proxy, ahead of Saeko. If he could recall, it was somewhere near them...

Cyril took a moment to scour the vicinity, looking over a group of people quickly passing by him, giving Cyril no pause as he yelped at the sudden onset before hopping out of the way. He pouted for a moment, furrowing his brows as he stared daggers at the group, unwitting to the fact that they almost ran him over. Once they were out of sight, he proceeded to just shrug, before getting back to looking. "It's actually near it; go to the left of the stand and head north of it... the problem is finding it," Cyril impatiently grumbled, his head whipping back and forth constantly before stepping a few feet forward, to look around.

((Apologies, @lmpkio, it's been the better part of a month now, so I'm just going to manhandle this team ahead until you're back again to take charge.))

---

---

Arianna had been having a fantastic time at the festival. The teams had come together just has she had predicted, and she was confident so far that all her precious Harpies would be making it back alive from their quests. The leaders seemed to have done an excellent job of choosing the easiest ones to complete, so those ones all flew off the board within a couple of minutes of the captains being released. The last Harpy team to require confirmation was Dreadlin's, and so she was making her way over when she saw the altercation with Kage. While her first instinct was to separate Dreadlin from the impending danger, she quickly recognized the Golem, and watched from a distance as they seemed to reach some agreement after a brief scuffle.

Smiling to herself, she quickly crossed the remaining distance between herself and the budding team, just in time to hear their collective agreement on their choice of mission. Appearing silently over Illedrith's shoulder, she blew softly in her ear before whispering

"Boo"

Illedrith almost leaped out of her skin, spinning in a similarly comical fashion to how Dreadlin had done so not two minutes prior. Fortunately, she gathered herself together before striking out, deflating like a balloon as she saw Ria behind her.

"Riaaaa, why are you like this?"
"Ufufu, it's all about keeping you on your toes my dear! Your reaction to the situation earlier would have been much too slow if your new Golem friend meant any harm."

Grinning at her protege as she seemed to be suitably chastised, Arianna waved her children in together, so the whole team was within earshot, specifically taking the time to make eye contact with Kage to make sure she knew she was also invited.

"Alright, you're all together, and I see you've chosen a mission? Let's see here..."

Taking the sheet of paper from Dreadlin, she looked at it with a deep sigh.

"And it would look like I have once again outsmarted Guildleader Delsin. That's three bets in a row he's lost to me today alone. I knew only you would be insane enough to take this assignment, Dreadlin."

Looking around at the assembled group, she sighed again. Much as she'd like to tell them to take an easier mission, with a group of this size she didn't really have the grounds to deny them the mission they'd chosen. Looking each of them in the eye, and lingering on Illedrith, she spoke in an uncommonly stern and serious manner.

"Alright. I'll approve you as a team. And while I have full confidence that as a team you will work well together, I have a very serious instruction for you. If you're over your heads, leave immediately. And I do mean immediately. If this turns out to be a true ancient dragon, and not a hoax or a series of bad pranks, this is well over the heads of even a group of S-Classes, let alone you lot. There will be many years to attempt your S-Classes, but you have only one life. Don't. Waste. It."

And then with a grin and a pat on the head to Ceri, she was off, skipping across the courtyard to find Delsin. She had some debts to collect.

---

In all the commotion of the sudden appearance of Kage, Illedrith was caught totally off guard by a puff of cold air in her ear, which sent an active shiver all the way down her spine, followed by a quiet "Boo" right next to her ear. Her reaction was instantaneous, and practically involuntary. She spun on the spot, ready to hammer whoever had the audacity to scare her like that, but stopped short at the sight of Ria with a massive grin plastered across her face. Pouting to somewhat allay how much the jump scare had got her, she complained bitterly about these antics, but her Guildmistress's point about how she was slow to react stung her into sullenness, and so she silently resolved to focus on it in her next month of training. She'd not be caught off-guard like that again.

She listened seriously to Ria's warning about the mission. It was a very real concern, and one that she would probably have raised at some point herself anyway, but coming from Ria it carried much more weight as an instruction rather than just a warning. She would give this job her all, as usual, but if it came to it, protecting the members of her guild and getting them out alive was worth more than anything else this job could contain. She'd waited this long to be an S-Class, and she could wait a bit longer.

As Ria meandered off back into the crowds, Illedrith's eyes were drawn with her to an amusing sight. Her eyes were drawn to a large flashy object over the heads of the crowd. It was wobbling around like a tree caught in a strong breeze, and was unmistakably the head of her halberd. Attached to the other end, and apparently doing a valiant effort to make sure it didn't hit anyone, was Cyril, who had Saeko in toe. Stifling a laugh at the scene, her eyes soon narrowed. When she'd given it to him, that halberd was piled high with sundaes. What was it suddenly doing face up in the air? Clearly, someone needed to answer for their heinous crimes.

Turning to the rest of the group, Illedrith quickly followed up on Ria's comment, keeping the group's attention to avoid people getting off-topic.

"Guild family first. That's the rule, that's always been the rule. I trust we're all mature enough to not go glory-chasing and endanger each other."

If her eyes seemed to linger on Dreadlin longer than necessary, that was surely a coincidence...

"Still, as the last group to be approved from the Harpies, we should definitely get going to make sure we don't get left behind. I see Cyril and Saeko over there by the alley, and I'm going to go let them know what's happened. Anyone who isn't packed and prepared for the journey needs to go do that now, everyone else is welcome to follow me to collect them and head back to the Nest. We'll meet outside in an hour and a half if anyone needs to go off and get things."

With that, she turned and cut through the crowd towards her guild members and the mystery of the lost sundaes. Hardly difficult to miss at the best of times, the beeline she made for Cyril must have alerted him to her a long way off. Sweeping up in front of him, she put on a big smile and an almost airy tone of voice, while at the same time looking him straight in the eye without blinking.

"Deary me Cyril, it's so hot outside today, and I'm just absolutely parched. I sure would love one of the three sundaes I left you with. I do hope that's not a problem?"

Interacting with: @Joker892@Sho Minazuki

The search for more team members was going rather rough, currently they had just three members. All with rather interesting reputations illuding them, Jack commonly known getting drunk and trying to fight anything that moves. Vega who was Luna Crescente's #1 troublemaker from fights to stealing. Then there was Damian known as the Golems Lazy bastard. If anyone had the balls to say it to Vega, it seemed like he was just picking up anyone he knew.

"Wait... You guys know Seto's back in town right?"

"Huh? Seto is in town?" that was the illusionist guy huh? There was little to no hope in finding him unless he wanted to be found. Vega gave up almost as soon as the idea came up. Damian had no qualms with this as the S-Class canditate moved over to the jobs bored. The boy placed his hands in his pockets and awaited for Vega to chose.

"You boys good with breaking some bones? And a lot of them... Whatever I'll make you do it even if you refuse"

Damian looked bored as Vega asked him the question, he just wanted to get the show on the road. The quicker they finish the quicker he can go back to being lazy.

"Sure, lets leave as soon as possible. The faster the better for me"

---

"Eep!" Startling Illedreth, made Ceri in turn startled and she couldn't help but to let out a second small squeal of fright as Ria revealed herself. Of course, it was only Ria, and by now Ceri was feeling suitably irritated by their antics. Not that she didn't entirely mind, but being constantly startled in the course of...well, all day tended to fray on ones nerves. The small girl puffed out her cheeks, and would have been visibly glaring in a decidedly adorable manner if someone had managed to take her hood off. She was also mildly upset she hadn't been so aware of her surroundings. It was the guildmaster and Kage, two mages objectively ten times more powerful than she'd ever be, but still.

She was getting lazy.

....

Ceri inhaled, slumping her shoulders slightly as Ria spoke. She was concerned as always about all of them, and it put her slightly at ease. It couldn't really be a dragon could it? The thought made her almost visibly shiver. Something like that...she was certain of Mis' and Dreadlins strength. Even Kage, even though she didn't know the Golem's mage that well. But her own? What was she supposed to do against a dragon? Hug it to death? How absurd. As Ria patted her head, the small blue robed mage made a quiet displeased whine and watched her leave, noting Cyril and Saeko doing...something? She didn't take much time to ponder it as Illedrith told them all to go get ready for the mission. Right, she had a few things she should erm, take care of herself. Namely take a few minutes and get her nerves under control.

"O-oh, uhm, r-right." Meet back outside in an hour and a half. Easily done, yes. "I-I'll see you all later!" Ceri called out in her usually quiet voice. She gave everyone a friendly wave goodbye before heading off towards the guild. She had a few things to take care of herself. Nothing huge, but something that would at least help put her own mind at ease during the job. Her feet swiftly carried her through the crowds and back towards the guild house and her lodgings in them.

Alexandria remained quiet during Arianna’s warning. Arianna was correct in stating that should the situation be a true ancient dragon and not something else then they would have quite the situation on hand, and fleeing from the situation was indeed the best option. There was no honor in sacrificing yourself upon the altar of vain glory. Alexandria gave a nod to Arianna and spoke with a sudden air of duty to her voice. “Guildmistress, I assure you that I will do everything in my power ensure that everyone returns alive from this mission.” With her promise delivered, Alexandria turned to the rest of her group, including Kage, and spoke again. “I am going to leave the festivities for now and return to the guild hall to maintain my equipment and research what I can about dragons. I will hopefully see you all this evening or as you decide to return to the guild hall.”

Giving a bow, Alexandria turned and began to walk back towards the guild hall. There were several minutes where she could easily be caught up to or shouted at if her attention was needed. If nothing happened to stop her progress towards the guild she would rapidly increase her walking pace once she was out of the primary hub of festivities. It didn’t take Alexandria much time to reach the guild, but her walk there was far from peaceful.

Dangerous thoughts of what might be lurking for them on this mission were quite prevalent in her mind. Fighting dragons was a tricky business. Not only were their scales tougher than even the hardiest of armor, their talons could rend and tear anything built by man with ease. This wasn’t even considering their traditionally present fire breath. That alone would be an entirely different headache. Armor and weapon alone would not win them a battle with even a young dragon. Research would need to be done. Lots of it.

Reaching the guild, Alexandria allowed herself in. It was quite sparse of people, as most of them were out and about at the festivities. Alexandria nodded a greeting to the people that were present before she continued on into her room. The guild hall was so silent that the metallic heels that Alexandria wore audibly clicked against the floor for the first time in ages.

Producing a key, Alexandria unlocked the thick wooden door and pulled it open with a firm tug. Within was a long room. A very long room. Too long, really, but Alexandria did need the space. The room was fairly spartan in detail. Minimal wallpaper, wooden floors, a plain bed. The only luxury was a vanity for tending to her appearance, and even it had little in the way of excess. Alexandria brought her magic to the front of her mind, focusing on one of her many standard outfits. Soon, white light washed over her and she stood wearing a pair of generic brown boots, plain blue pants, and a plain grey shirt. Her standard armor appeared on one of the many stands that lined one wall of the room. It was on the first, with several other stands holding her other sets of armor. There were several empty stands packed into a corner, should Alexandria ever find some new armor to wear.

Alexandria didn’t hesitate with getting to work. Each and every set of armor was checked over thoroughly. No detail was left unaddressed. Her weapons were checked too. After a decent amount of time had passed, Alexandria finally gave a sigh of satisfaction. Nothing major was found, and everything appeared to be in the best shape it was going to be without total reforging. Her weapons were also in good condition. Diligence paid off in keeping them in good shape. Alexandria switched back to her standard armor, with her lightly worn outfit being deposited into her dresser once again. It was still perfectly clean, so there was no need to have it washed just yet. Alexandria hadn’t even broken a minor sweat.

With everything back in place Alexandria left her room and, after locking it behind her, went to the guild library. She nodded towards the guild librarian and requested a set of gale reading glasses. The librarian produced a thick tome which they opened to a partially filled page. Taking a pen from a holder nearby, Alexandria wrote her name down and the present time, along with the number sixteen into the field denoting the type of glasses that she was taking. With that done, the librarian closed the hefty tome and handed Alexandria the pair of glasses. They were rather plain with black frames and a small sixteen etched into the side of the temples. Alexandria nodded in thanks before she turned to the bookshelves. Tucking the glasses into a pocket Alexandria began to collect a hefty number of books and set them onto a table.

The first books that Alexandria picked out were fantasy tales of various heroes slaying dragons. Not quite realistic enough to be a study guide, but Alexandria was hunting to see if there were any common themes shared in the slaying of dragons, which in these fantasy novels was quite often much more successful. The next books that Alexandria added to her pile were books about actual dragon hunters and how they managed to carry out their work. Finally, Alexandria picked out several books on well known and highly successful dragon hunters. It was quite a pile to read, but thankfully the Gale Reading Glasses that she had requested would shorten the time dramatically.

Taking a deep breath, Alexandria unfolded the glasses and placed them gently upon her face. Sitting down and picking up the first book, Alexandria began to read. The sun inched across the sky as Alexandria read through book after book on the subject of dragon hunting. It was exhausting to read so much, but Alexandria knew that she needed to be well educated on the subject should they encounter an actual dragon. After quite a deal of time Alexandria was on the last book in the set that she had picked out. It was a tale of a blacksmith turned dragon hunter that had managed to build a device to trap a dragon. After catching a dragon, he tricked it into breathing fire several times and forged a mighty set of armor and weapons from the flame. Each time he wore the armor and stood before the dragon he found that the flames barely heated the armor, and that even after a long day of tricking the dragon into breathing fire the armor was no warmer than a rock upon the ground, and the shield was even capable of absorbing some of the dragonfire to reflect the might of it back at the dragon. The hammer that had been forged was also said to be capable of shattering the dragon’s scales with tremendous ease.

That armor, dubbed ‘firedrake’ by its creator was donated to the town of Luna Crescente upon the death of the original creator to be safekept by…

Alexandria snapped the book shut with her eyes wide. Alexandria set it aside and returned the rest of the books to the shelves. However, the final book took to the front desk and, while returning the gale reading glasses, asked to borrow it. With a nod from the librarian, Alexandria thanked them and walked briskly to the main hub of the guild. Making her way towards Guildmistress Arianna’s room, Alexandria clutched the book close and knocked sharply on Arianna’s door several times.

There was something she needed to know.

---

@Rune_Alchemist@Lord Sawsaw2@Crimson Raven@Lmpkio

---

---

With the festival slowing down as people transitioned towards the nightlife, or headed off in their respective directions, Arianna walked back along the path to the Guildhall, herding a large number of the younger members of the guild in front of her. Eager to get them to bed, their energy levels ranged from the zombie-like dragging of feet all the way up to the youngest who was bouncing around and tugging on her sleeve, asking her to make him float around again. Laughing quietly, she promised to do it some other time when it wasn’t past their curfew. Corralling them all back into the waiting arms of their parents or the young dormitory, she wandered back into the main hall, and down the winding steps under the main hall to the floor that housed both her room and the other restricted areas.

The door was a flat slab, with no doorhandle or lock obvious on it, but as she approached, she clicked her fingers and used the air inside the door to unlock the room without triggering any of the alarms or traps; a motion as casual and practiced as that spoke nothing of the years she’d taken to get it perfect, even once or twice giving up and leaving herself locked out of the room because she couldn’t make it open…

She’d just closed the door behind her and headed across the central lobby of the floor when she heard a dull series of thuds on the other side of the thick door. Surprised to have a visitor at this time, since she’d just been in close proximity to most of the guild, she nonetheless headed over and opened the door, to find Alexandria standing there and clutching a book with a serious expression on her face. Not that she was really known for any other expressions, Arianna supposed.

”Hello my darling, come in, come in!”

Arianna stood aside and invited her through the door, ready to close it behind her when she was clear of the huge door.

”To what do I owe the pleasure this evening? It’s your first time coming all the way down here to visit me isn’t it?”

Alexandria gave a bow to Arianna when she opened the rather large door. It was a strange experience, seeing the inside of Arianna’s room for the first time. Alexandria dismissed the feeling rather quickly, however, as she didn’t have time to be awestruck. The S Class mission needed her full attention, and Alexandria didn’t want to waste time. Stepping briskly into the room, Alexandria waited for Arianna to close the door before she began to speak. Holding the book up so that Arianna could take it if she desired, Alexandria revealed what she had learned. “Good evening guildmistress. This is the first time I have been here, yes, though I didn’t want to exactly come without a proper reason. Currently, I have something to discuss that might be a bit more private than most things. Within this book is the history of a blacksmith turned dragon hunter who forged a set of armor in dragonfire. It’s said to be incredibly potent against dragonkind, and the last passages detail that the armor was donated to this town upon the death of the creator to be kept for safekeeping by our guild. I was wondering if we still had it?”

If Alexandria was still holding the book by this point, she would open the book to the pages that she was talking about, and would tap her finger where “Harpy’s Wing” was clearly spelled out. There was no doubt in Alexandria’s mind that the guild spoken about in this book was the same guild she was standing in due to the matching town name and timeline, and thus, by all extensions of her reasonable judgement, the armor and weapons detailed should reasonably be here.

If something like that could be acquired, then Alexandria could reasonably safeguard the rest of her team should an actual dragon appear. Alexandria hoped that it didn’t come to that, but, as with most things: Alexandria would rather have it and not need it than need it and not have it.

Arianna smiled when she was shown the picture of the armor. It was certainly well known to her, but she was sad to have to disappoint her hopeful guild member.

”That old armor, eh? You’re certainly right, it does, or certainly did, live in this town. Without any dragons to slay, there was no reason for anyone to wear it, it being otherwise far too cumbersome for normal use.”

Leading the way over to a nearby table where she poured them both a glass of cold water and then had a seat, she continued.

”As your book describes, the armor was originally left to the guild, many years ago. When I was made Guildmistress, it was even still in our posession, a dusty old artifact at the far end of the elite armory, just through that door over there.”

She pointed across the lobby at another door of similar size to the one they had just passed through.

”Sadly, you won’t find it there any more, for during the dark guild attack, it was issued to a member to use in order to hold one of the defensive chokepoints, since the dense armor would be useful there as mobility was not required. Sadly, when the guilds split, the armor was still in that man’s possession, and he was one of the many who chose to side with Delsin. I must be honest, I don’t know what became of it after that...”

Alexandria was not one to reject the hospitality of her guildmistres. Taking the glass of water, Alexandria sat near Arianna and faced her while she spoke. Her expression darkened slightly as the truth of the matter was revealed to her, but instead of sadness or loss settling into her eyes, determination rose. Taking a hearty drink from the glass she had been given, Alexandria spoke rather boldly for her usually calm and neutral approach. “Then, if it is within the hands of the Golem’s Hand guild, would it not be fairly simple to go and ask them for it? Though perhaps avoiding most of the regular guild members would be a wise choice, I’m sure that Delsin would be reasonable enough to allow it’s return?”

Alexandria had a sinking feeling that this was not the case, but it was still a question that she wanted to ask encase the option was available.

Arianna had a quiet chuckle to herself at that, though even so she could see the uncertainty in Alexandria’s eyes.

”If only it were so simple to get things done in this town. Delsin is indeed a reasonable man, but if the armor is in the hands of someone who doesn’t wish to give it back to its old home, I think even he would have a hard time separating them from it.”

Turning around and searching around for a bit, Arianna grabbed her writing set which was sitting nearby, scrawling out a quick note and stamping the bottom with the wide ring which bore the guild’s formal seal.

”Here, take this if you’re going to go see Delsin, it should get you a meeting right away, even if it won’t necessarily get you the armor.”

Alexandria took the note gently from Arianna’s fingers. Nodding, she finished the rest of the water in a swift yet surprisingly elegant way. Rising from the chair, Alexandria took a moment to make a few small adjustments to sections of her outfit that had shifted slightly before she stored the note in a pouch. Along with this note, Alexandria picked up the book she had brought and placed it within the same pouch. It would be nice to have it on hand to give exact details about what she was talking about. There was one question that was on the tip of her tongue, but Alexandria figured that asking it might have been a bit too troublesome. Resistance was a natural thing to expect when asking for items of value, and so Alexandria mentally prepared for the worst. Giving another bow to Arianna Alexandria bid her farewell and promised to return as soon as she could. Turning to leave, Alexandria took a few steps towards the door before she stopped. Looking up and down at the door Alexandria turned back to the guildmistress and raised a hand towards the somewhat awkward mechanism of the door. “Excuse me, guildmistress, but how do I open this?”

A slight blush of embarrassment danced upon her cheeks, though it was well hidden. Alexandria didn’t want to trip the alarms that were likely present on such a secure door and thus operation of of the complex mechanisms was probably better left to Arianna, who knew them well.

Arianna, for her part, had turned away and was clearing up her things, but turned back to her guest when she heard her voice.

”Oh! So sorry my dear, let me get that for you.”

And with a snap of her fingers, the mechanisms slid back and the bolts retracted, allowing her guest to simply push the door open on her way out.

”It was lovely for you to come down to visit me by the way, it makes me happy that you’re comfortable enough to do that these days! If you ever need anything again, do let me know! And good luck with the armor, I have a feeling you might need it.”

Alexandria nodded to the guildmistress, and assured her that it wasn’t too much of an issue to visit. After all, she was the one who would know the answer to this question more than anyone else. With that, Alexandria left. There were plenty of lights throughout the town, so taking a lantern wasn’t totally needed. Alexandria walked briskly towards the Golem’s Hand guild, with a firm hand clutching the pouch where the note and book were kept. They were not going to be lost under her watch.

---

Delsin, like Arianna, had been wandering around the festival for some time now, answering any concerns his Golems might have, as well as approving teams and their missions. He now had only one team left to approve, and it didn’t surprise him in the slightest to note that it was Vega’s. Still, as he walked towards Vega, he noticed he’d managed to get a small group together, and it looked like a pretty strong group all things considered. Through the stone he also sensed a pair of feet that seemed to be present in a place where there was nothing but thin air; he chuckled to himself, maybe Vega had attracted more people than he thought.

Still, it wasn’t enough for him to be allowed to approve the group, so he quickly scanned the Golems in his immediate vicinity, before heading over and looming over a group of spikey haired young men who looked like peas in a pod. The eldest, a tall and well dressed man covered in flame motifs, turned around at his approach and gave him a lop-sided grin.

“What’s up old man? Seems like it’ll be an interesting ride this year, appreciate you changing things up!”

Raising an eyebrow at ‘old man’, Delsin replied in a droll tone.

”So glad it lived up to your expectations, Adrien. I see you chose not join a team this time around though. How many years have you been an A-Class now?”

“Close on 10 now I’d imagine, what’s your point?”

”I think it’s high time you actually put yourself up for this, young man. Much as I appreciate you hanging around to look after your younger brothers-”

At this, Delsin looked over at the other two spikey haired members of the group, two young boys who were very clearly emulating their big brother in both hairstyle and clothing, who seemed to be currently fighting over a cake of some kind.

”-and being a presence around the guild, you’re certainly a viable candidate for this.”

Adrien seemed to consider this for a while before he replied.

“Even if I wanted to join at this point, surely all the teams have been filled?”

”I came over here to talk to you because there’s one left. You may not like the leader, but it’s a strong team, and I’m sure you’d do well on it.”

The young man’s face darkened a little, immediately figuring out who Delsin was referring to.

“Me on Vega’s team eh? I see how it is, you’re just trying to fill up his team because he can’t get any members himself.”

”Actually, he’s managed to pull together a pretty respectable team himself already, I just need one more person to make it fine to send out. But of course if you’re not interested in the potential recompense I’d be willing to offer, perhaps I should find someone else…?”

“Wait, recompense? What exactly are you talking about?”

”Oh I don’t know, perhaps in your absence I could convince Angela that the suspicious and unexplained charring and fire damage in the west wing of the Rock has a perfectly reasonable explanation, and that she should stop trying to string you up by the ears?”

“...Fine. Let’s go then.”

”That’s the spirit! Knew you’d get excited about it eventually!”

Leading the young man over, Delsin finally approached the small gathering around Vega, just in time to hear him decide on a mission, and for Damian to voice his approval.

”The sooner the better indeed, though it’s surprising to hear such active words coming from you, Damian; what made you turn over this new leaf?”

Turning to see what mission Vega had chosen, Delsin nodded in approval.

”And you’ve chosen a selfless mission to boot! Surprises all round with you lot today. As you are, however, I cannot approve your group, you’re simply too small for an S-Class mission.”

Holding up a hand to quell any complaints or objections, Delsin continued.

”However, if you agree to take Adrien here with you, I’ll approve your team on the provision that you keep in touch, and accept reinforcements if the situation gets out of hand somehow. You’ll need to seek Magistrate Sayatachhi to get details for this questline, you should be able to find her in the Mage Council offices in Darrelea, which turns out to be basically on your way anyway. Do I have your agreement to both my conditions, Vega?”

---

Alexandria’s trip had been thankfully uneventful. Since the hour was growing late the town has begun to wind down. Lamps and other exterior lights were being lit and shops were closing their doors. Alexandria’s footsteps echoed slightly as she walked briskly towards The Rock. Alexandria paused for a moment when she came to the end of one of the four bridges that lead to the guild hall. Alexandria tied the pouch containing the book and the note as tight as she could before she began to approach The Rock. It was unnerving to approach the home of Golem’s Hand, even on a somewhat diplomatic mission. Even on her official diplomatic missions approaching the guild hall was nerve wracking at best. Especially since Golem’s Hand held some more volatile mages than Harpy’s Wing did.

Still, there was to be no fighting, the rules for the S Class trials would see to that. Walking as briskly as she usually did, Alexandria stopped before the large door to The Rock and paused for a moment. Now was the final chance to turn back. Steeling herself, Alexandria raised her hand and knocked firmly upon the door four times before pushing it open. To her relief, she saw Angela sitting behind the front desk. They had spoken a few times before, and thus this would be a more relaxed meeting.

Alexandria stepped into the guild gently. Each step felt like she was stepping onto the pressure plate of a trap, even though such a thing would be foolish to install. Alexandria pulled the note from her pouch, though she held it close until she stood before Angela’s desk. Greeting Angela, Alexandria showed her the note that she had received from Guildmistress Arianna and requested to know if Delsin was free for visits.

Hopefully he was. To come all this way for nothing would be quite a disappointment.

Angela looked up from her work at the sound of knocking, expecting yet another requisition request or some minor complaint, as was the norm before big events. She was practically snowed under with paperwork to ensure that everything was dealt with in the proper manner during the S-Class trials, so it was with a reasonable amount of surprise and no small amount of irritation that she watched an unforeseen problem walk through her door. A Harpy’s Wing envoy? At this hour? That meant nothing but more work and probably trouble. Sighing, she sat up and returned Alexandria’s greeting as she approached, then took the proffered piece of paper.

‘Acting in my formal capacity as Guildmistress of Harpy’s Wing, I do hereby request that the bearer of this document be given free passage and an immediate audience with Guildmaster Delsin. - Arianna Carolina (xoxo)’

Sighing at the informal signature, in all likelihood written by Arianna just to annoy her since it had been a matter of complaint by Angela on multiple occasions, Angela reached over to the corner of her desk and spiked the memo on a thin rod which held several similar requests. She then turned to Sam, who was guarding the door into Delsin’s office, and waved him aside.

“She’s an envoy from Arianna, let her through.”

Turning back to Alexandria, she affixed her with a serious look.

“It’s absolute bedlam around here as I’m sure you’ll appreciate. This had better be important, and you’d best be brief.”

Alexandria nodded and spoke to Angela briefly. “I had no plans otherwise.” Turning to Sam, Alexandria nodded and stepped into Delsin’s office after knocking at the door four times, as was her custom. What she saw within was quite expected: An exhausted Delsin going about whatever it was he did as Guildmaster. Giving a bow, Alexandria spoke first. “Greetings and good tidings Guildmaster Delsin. I have come with an inquiry towards a set of arms and armor that was loaned to one of your members during the dark guild assault some time ago. It was still in their possession when they left Harpy’s Wing and came here, and I was hoping that I could retrieve it for both personal use and to return it to the original guild it was left with for safekeeping as was instructed by the original creator upon his death.”

Alexandria spoke confidently and formally, applying much of her skill as a diplomat to clearly carve her words and intentions into the air. Reaching into the pouch she had brought the book and note in, Alexandria produced the book she had brought with her and added to her previous statement. “The armor is described here within this book, as is it’s fate. If you turn to page fourty, you can see an illustration of the armor and weapons that I speak of.”

Alexandria held the book out for Delsin to take should he desire. There was nothing else for Alexandria to say at the moment. It was now time to wait for Delsin and see what he had to say.

Delsin looked up and groaned as someone knocked on his door before stepping through. The pile of papers on his desk was getting comically high, and he was sure this was just going to be more of them. It was with some shock, therefore, that a far more interesting prospect walked through his doors and greeted him. Returning the greeting, Delsin listened as Alexandira explained why she was here. Reaching out for the book, he flicked to the page in question, and immediately recognised it.

”The Dragonslayer Armor, of course. It is certainly familiar to me, since Ria made a bit of a fuss when Tycho came over to the guild with it. Since technically it was town property left in the Harpy Armory for lack of a better place to put it, that whole argument came to naught, particularly since nobody had used it for decades before then.”

Looking up at his guest, he grinned at her.

”Doesn’t exactly take a genius to figure out why you’d want this, I imagine that your team must have taken on the Crazed Dragon Job. Well done on your research young lady, but unfortunately I’m no more able to be of help to you than Ria. Shortly after joining the Golems, Tycho was chosen as one of our starting S-Class mages. He went off on a job and unfortunately has not returned. We haven’t had contact from him in years now, don’t know if he’s alive or dead. His last known location was the Mage Council offices in Darrelea, where he came back to report and resupply before heading back out on his job. Not a sign of him since.”

Alexandria would’ve frowned were she not acting as diplomat. This was not news she wanted to hear. There were a few options to try, however, but the S Class trials would not wait. “What job did he take? Do you remember?” Traveling in that direction now was probably going to be out of the question, since Darrelea alone was a day away and they couldn’t really spare the time to travel there to inquire about Tycho when they had an S Class job to prepare for. The situation was building up that Alexandria was not going to have the armor in time for the mission, and this caused a great deal of irritation to her, not that she showed it.

Without more questions to ask that didn’t depend upon the answer of her already asked question, Alexandria remained silent and waited for Delsin to speak again.

”The job he was on? He’d been hired by a mining corporation to clear a sprawling mine of an infestation of gribbly creatures of some kind. I think he hoped that his armor would help him in the thin corridors and such in the mine. I could request the job details from the Mage Council, but it’d be just as fast for you to go there yourself, not to mention you’ll be off on the job this evening I would imagine.”

Alexandria thought for a moment. It would be fairly simple to travel to the Mage Council and ask them, but she was working under a fairly strict time limit. Alexandria remembered what Illedrith had said before Alexandria had departed: “Family comes first.”

And indeed it did. Alexandria would have to wait and investigate later, or perhaps not at all, since the need for such armor would have passed. Holding her hand out for the book, Alexandria spoke again. “I will ponder on doing this. Thank you for the information Guildmaster Delsin.”

When Alexandria was given the book back, she would bid farewell to the guildmaster and depart silently after giving a bow. She didn’t have the time or the resources to go on a goose hunt, not when the trails were afoot and her team needed her. She’d have to figure things out as she went.

Walking back to her guild in silence, Alexandria took a deep breath to relieve her anger. There was no point to being angry now. History couldn’t be changed, only worked with. Unfortunately, history was not on Alexandria’s side.

Approaching the guild, Alexandria returned the book to the library. She doubted that she would have further need of it. Hopefully an actual dragon didn’t appear, or else they would be in real trouble.

@pkken@Joker892@Spanner

---

Handing over the job he had taken, he looked away and clicked his tongue as soon as he said it was 'selfless'. It was maybe obvious he had other reasons in mind, the mansion and all that, and other reasons. Regardless, soon as he turned back, he was informed that his team was too small. Before he could say this was plenty, Delsin began a small spiel on bringing Adrien along, and he would approve it, not to mention reinforcements and all that. Getting mission details, standard, getting reinforcements? Not on his life, but whatever. If the others wanted to call reinforcements, let it be said he never asked for them.

"Sure, fine, whatever, head to Darrelea, talk to Saya-something, gotcha, bringing this lost dog along too, alright", there was a feeling of insincerity to his words, in fact he seems to have completely ignored the bit about reinforcements from these words.

"Hey don't you call me a dog, more importantly, I'm not lost!",

"Oh how cute the dog thinks he's human, come on don't deny it. That spiked hair and the furry mane of that silly coat, you're definitely a dog",

"Oh? Well at least I'm not perpetually 12",

"Haaaaah?! The hell was that?!", the two ended up yelling insults for awhile, anything Delsin tried to say was not heard, so he just waited. Regardless it didn't look like either of them were against the proposition, but it took an intervention to stop the two from just continuing. In the experience of the other members they could go on for ages and escalating to a destructive degree.

... nope, not there either. Cyril elicited a sigh, leaning on Illedrith's halberd as he shifted his position once more, grunting as he unsheathed her weapon from the earth. He stepped a few feet to his north-east and once more, repeated the procedure. Stabbing the weapon once more into the ground, he departed not too far from it before getting up on the tips of his toes and scouring the area for the stand they bought the creme brulee from.

Honestly, how hard was it to seek out one singular stand. With a grimace, Cyril dug his heels straight back into the ground. Whipping his head around, he decided to check on how far they wandered away from the group.

Looking around the general vicinity behind him he... saw that they weren't exactly far away from the group. Cyril honestly thought they wandered farther away, but whatever. Before he could turn tail to seek the stand again, he noticed a certain red-head getting flustered amongst the crowd of individuals by a certain (hot) guild master. Resulted in the mage giggling a bit at how Illedrith was seemingly caught off guard by Arianna, shaking his head before pivoting around.

This helped with two things as he swiftly yanked the halberd out of the ground, stumbling back a bit before heaving it back onto his shoulders. Tilting his head back to eye say, he urged her to follow after him as he peered down an alley of food and other treats; the smell was still titillating at least, though, he wasn't exactly hungry after... well...

"Right, right, need to buy those sundaes too," he recalled, repeating the same process as he impaled the halberd into the ground once more and began seeking sundaes and creme brulees that would make Sae's mouth cringe in fear.

Eventually, as he was readying to gear up and continue the simple mission of finding the stands, the murmur of a specific word in the crowd caught his attention... that and the clanking of armor he managed to recognize as his ears perked up. Sure, it would of been difficult to tell initially, but at this point, it would be ridiculous not to notice it as he turned his head to the figure.

A large grin was plastered on his face as he saw Illedrith break through the crowds, tightly grasping the halberd he implanted in the ground and yanked it out. Cyril then carefully spun the head of the blade upwards, making sure not to harm anyone before waving semi-wildly with his other free hand. After all, how hard would it be to miss a guy 'flailing' around amongst other magi with a huge blade on a stick permeating the tents and stands?

And then of course, there came the insignificant bombshell which gave some pause to the man when pressed on the matter of the three sundaes. Part of his lip twitched as he gazed over to the side before giving her an answer...

"Y'know, it's probably your fault for being pretty hot Mis... maybe they melted as a result of your burning beauty," he deflected with and impish grin and a coy wink as he leaned forward, playfully pressing an index finger on her breastplate while circling the halberd around in the ground, causing it to make a small indent. After that, Cyril backed himself up, removing his finger from the woman's armor before standing straight once more.

"But honestly, I had to use them for a very just cause," he boldly announced, clenching a fist close to his torso, save for an erect index finger pointing towards the heavens. "To make up for a horrible injustice I... indirectly caused to Sae, I decided to make amends by purveying a certain item to her that she would enjoy! And abruptly, this lead me to a showdown against a mighty foe not many would expect... dumplings," he blushed slightly as he dropped the overly serious facade, ruffling his hair as he pouted just slightly.

"... very, overly spicy dumplings known as the 'Dragon's Bounty...' never again," he shuddered at the overwhelming taste and spice in his mouth, shaking his head with disdain. "And it was either eating the two sundaes to cool my mouth off, or drinking some milk with a kiddie straw Sae gave to me," Cyril gave her a semi-dirty look before readdressing Illedrith.

"And I think you can guess which option I took," he chuckled nervously, scratching the side of his face with an index finger while looking over at Illedrith. Of course this gave him another idea as well. Quickly snapping his fingers and pointing at the mirror mage, he did his best to flush away the blush as he smiled widely at her.

"Say... Sae and I were goin' to check out some of the festival games... and I could always treat two lovely ladies to some sundaes while on the way there," he playfully mused, giving Illedrith a coy, cat-like grin.