"Yo. Mikkael. Selamat Pagi!" Yemhelch greeted his old friend as he climbed up, then held his hand out to Philena. "What a nice family reunion we're having." He moved out of Mikkael's way as he ran over to Philena and hugged her gratefully.

"What could you possibly have wanted out of a soulless tool like her?" the old Meridian in the suit thundered. "Her womb is despoiled and she couldn't even bear human children for you! And you, Mikkael! You have violated the sanctity of a royal's womb with your impure blood! Even if you somehow survive this fight, I'll see to it that the royal family knows of your indiscretions!"

Mikkael stared bloody murder at the man in armor.

"She's my friend, and she has more of a soul than YOU, soulless old sole." Yemhelch shot back. "Not that I expect an old, bitter fart like you to understand..."

"Fools!"

"Shut the fuck up, fat man!. Actually, you know what... Hey, gramps! You look like you could stand to lose some weight!" Yemhelch replied. "Even a brain sturgeon would understand that!"

"...what?"

A tense silence fell as the older meridian's deadly gaze settled on this man... this grinning clown who was making jokes at his expense.

"Yeah, loosen up. You look like a real stuffed shirt right now."

Mikkael couldn't help but chuckle at that one.

The older Meridian's patience snapped. With an unknown tongue, he summoned forth four meteors that now spun around in the sky like sharks circling its prey. "Silence! You will all surrender - and hand the girl over to me and I will offer you all the boon of a quick death. Resist, ohoho - resist?! and I will rip your souls and damn you to an eternity of suffering!"

"How about option C, you stuffed old trout?" Yemhelch smiled. "Mikkael, we're going home."

"What?"
"What?"

The package in the tank of pressurized ether reached 1000 degrees celsius - the material no longer able to contain the enormous explosion boiling away in it... and breached. A massive explosion tore through the basement of the Tower of Will, blowing away a massive section of the foundation. The tower leaned precariously and the old meridian lost his balance - and his magical chains on the meteor. Unbound from their summoner, they spiralled out of control and at least three smashed into the tower, blowing away massive sections of the wall with each impact!

KABOOOOOOOOOOM!

"JUMP!"
"WHAT?!"
"Trust me."

Yemhelch took one of Mikkael's hands, and Philena took the other - and in perfect synchronization, they threw off their robes to reveal an unusual suit designed like a bird.

"NO!" The old man in the armor lurched forward, realizing that he had been played like a damn fiddle. Aiming a fireball barrage at the trio, the spell fizzled out - cancelled out by the unusual properties of the knight armor he was wearing.

"NOOOOOOOO!!"

Mikkael, Philena and Yemhelch jumped as the tower began to lean precariously - overloaded on one side, and the foundations torn.


Link


As if in slow motion, they watched the Tower of Will crumble like a sandcastle on high tide - disappearing into a black cloud that swirled like an oceanic whirlpool before finally fading out, revealing the hill itself collapsed in on itself. Mikkael pulled himself away from the sight, and focused on landing.

The landing was a little rough due to the rubble, but they made it. For a short moment, Mikkael had experienced pure flight with no mounts and the adrenaline made him laugh. It was a contagious feeling - they were all laughing now. Even Philena, who had been keeping quiet - finally freed from her burden, laughed long and free.

A weak cough from a pile of rubble interrupted their celebration. Mikkael walked over and kicked away some bricks to reveal his grandfather, still wearing his knight armor. It had protected him, yes, but now he was stuck under a massive broken pillar.

_________________

The man was coughing from the rubble and dust as Mikkael's Barioth flew over. The rest of the clan closed in and Shade even joined them. The old man lifted his black helmet.

"Mi... kka... el... Do you... even know why we did it?" The man asked, "Immortality. By giving her to them... we would finally have the power of immortality in our grasp..."

Mikkael look at him, then angrily pulled him up with one hand, "You're a fucking idiot. No one would benefit from that shit!"

Though he tried to stand on his own, the old man collapsed, his leg bones fractured within the armor. Mikkael began to explain, "If we had the power of immortality, all we would have in never ending pain, never ending war, never ending evil. Sure, there would be good people, but people need to be able to die." He looked into the man's one remaining eye, "Even I can understand that with my few years of life. You're too afraid of death is all."

"You..." The man tried to rebuke him, but couldn't find the words.

Mikkael mounted the Barioth and helped Philena on as well, Shade chimed in, "The tower is gone, and now, so too is Vex Vinas. I don't know if anyone will be able to repair the winter coming."

Mikkael gave his grandfather a red grenade, "At least die with some dignity, old man. I'll give you the choice of when you die."

--------------------------------------------------

With that, Mikkael and the rest of the clan flew off back to Selk. He arranged with the Assassin's Guild to rescue survivors for the fee of 50,000 Legens which he had pocketed earlier. He gave everyone else 25,000 legens, paying off 175,000. He lastly gave Yemhelch 25,000, deciding to use the remaining 50,000 towards the reparations of Avalon.

"After all, the people of Vex Vinas will need new homes. What better place to send them?" Mikkael thought.

--------------------------------------------------

Back at the rubble, as the storm began picking up, the old meridian was approached by a man in a black long coat.

"Nnng... Baphomatt! Thank the heavens... It was the damned meridian... Mikkael... He... He ruined our entire plan!"

Baphomatt laughed, "No... You were planning on betraying us. I knew it from the very beginning. You just wanted to create the elixir of life for yourself."

The vampire leaned in and used his hooked left hand to tear out the meridian's heart.

"Well, worry not. I shall use this as sustenance. In that sense, your life will be carried out by me." He stated, eating the heart. He looked towards the oncoming blizzard before disappearing.

--------------------------------------------------

Eiryk had easily pulled Karliah out of the prison, and managed to sneak her out into the forests.

"You know, Eiryk, I don't much like this." She stated.

"Well, at least you're alive. Now come on, we need to head to Selk." He stated, holding the former paladin's hand and leading her through the northern forests of Cyndar.

_________________

Mikkael made all the business transactions he could to buy wood and steel for the people of Avalon. He managed to purchase a tavern and beutify the area for those staying there using the funds gained from the raid. The people wouldn't have much, but it would all have to do for now.

Then, he had a visitor.

"You!?" Blackbeard shrieked, "You're the leader of this new guild!?"

"Yep. It certainly has been a while since I scammed you guys." Mikkael stated, reminiscent of his days as a soldier for the meridian crown.

"You got a lotta nerve, settin' up on my turf..." The nekor stated angrily.

"Well, I'm about to make your day. Take a look at these." Mikkael shared with the nekor all he and his clan had raided from Vex Vinas. The pirate leader nearly went pale at seeing all the materials Mikkael had laid out before him.

"This..." The nekor voiced.

"This is..." Blackbeard voiced once again.

"This is... wh-... wha-..." Blackbeard continued to studder.

Scorpio smirked, "I told you, he's the real deal. All these are directly from the tower, now completely in ruins."

Blackbeard went silent, "YOU RAIDED THE VEX VINAS TOWER OF WILL AND CAME OUT ALIVE, NYA!?"

"Oh, like Scorpio implied, I did one better. I destroyed the thing with my clan and bestie." Mikkael noted. The nekor looked back down at all the materials. Scandalous documents, letters of credit, experiment reports of both mundane and extraordinary magic. Everything was laid out before the man and he could barely comprehend the level of materials he was being shown.

"Plus, I have one other thing." Mikkael stated, producing the rune stone, "Tell me about this."

"HOLY FUCK! WHERE DID YA GET THIS!?" Blackbeard exclaimed, "You know what? I don't want to know. Hey, Scorpio, this kid's alright. I totally forgive ya for scamming my boys all that time ago..."

"So what is it?" Mikkael asked, "Clearly it's worth something."

"This here is a rune stone, but it has some really unique engravings on it. Consider it like a book containing all the details of an experiment. Looking at it, it appears to be a very delicate and powerful experiment."

Mikkael gazed into the rune stone and asked, "How much is it worth?"

"Oh by Lumbra... The rune stone itself or the documents? I mean, the documents are... awesome. Literally, this rune stone alone would dry up our coffers. However, the rune stone AND the documents..."

The pirate's head began spinning and Mikkael tried to calm him, "Hey! How much!?"

"I... I can't even put a price on this. I'd have to throw away the entire guild to pay for this all... HECK! I'd have to pay you for the next twenty years of my life."

Mikkael gave it thought, and looked at the rune stone, "So you say it contains all the knowledge of the experiment in question, right?"

Blackbeard nodded, and Mikkael smiled, getting up, "Well, we can't have that getting out."

He then proceeded to slice the rune stone in half with Excalibur.

"W-WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?" Blackbeard jolted.

"Trust me, we can't let the knowledge that was in it go out. Too dangerous." Mikkael stated, "Anyways, focus. How much can you give me for those documents?"

"Three hundred thousand." Blackbeard stated, extremely disappointed. Clearly he was curious about what was in the stone. However, Mikkael focused on the bargain. The price was too little, and besides, it was never his rule to accept the first offer. He wanted at least three hundred fifty thousand.

"Four hundred thousand." Mikkael jumped the price up.

"I can meet you at 325." Blackbeard offered.

"Going that route, hm? Well, How does 365 sound?" Mikkael offered.

"Three hundred fifty. That's my final offer." Blackbeard stated, extending a hand.

Mikkael took it and eagerly gave it a shake, "Deal... Oh, and it was just immortality in the rune stone."

"W-W-WHAAAAAAAAAAAAA!?!?!?"

--------------------------------------------------

With the 350,000 Mikkael began spending it on more upgrades to Avalon.

Mikkael wrote things down very specifically.

350,000 (Starting balance.)
-42,000 (Gun shop.)
308,000 (New balance.)
-85,600 (Wood costs for forge and forge cost. Platinum bought from Pirate's Guild for great forge.)
-50,000 (Great forge cost.)
202,400 (New balance before ten thousands subtraction.)
-30,000 (Remainder for subtraction.)
172,400 (New balance.)
-50,000 (Dragon port costs.)
-20,000 (City wall costs.)
102,400 (New Balance.)
-44,000 (Purchase of school.)

+58,400 (New balance.)
-34,000 (Price of initial work on arcane forge and magic station including enchanting table.)
+24,400 (New balance.)
-22,650 (Materials.)

1,750 (Remainder. Still need 25 Sacred Wood and 8 Rainbow Gems.)

"For fuck's sakes." Mikkael remarked. Perhaps he shouldn't have destroyed the rune stone. However, everyone in the bandit clan came up with some of their share. Five thousand from everyone.

"This is for them. You hear, boss?" Maxwell stated. Mikkael nodded. He only needed a little more to give the people of Vel Da Ir a Magic Shop in Avalon.

+16,750 (Remainder. Still need 25 Sacred Wood and 8 Rainbow Gems.)
-3,750 (Sacred Wood Costs.)

13,000 (Remainder, still need 8 Rainbow Gems.)

Mikkael shook his head, "We can only buy two rainbow gems. I don't know how we can quickly get another six." Mikkael stated. Everyone produced two perfectly good rainbow gems, presumably from their raid in Oasis Canyon, and Mikkael smiled brightly.

"You guys are the best." He happily stated.

He gave everyone 333 Legens back of the remainder and kept the last Legen for himself. It seemed that Avalon would get a Magic Shop. By tomorrow, reconstruction of the area would be well under way, and in two days, the place would be completed. However, he still had to add two more features.

"A bank and a church. Each worth a hundred thousand. I have no money left after that spending, but we got most of the costs covered." Mikkael stated. Philena walked down the stairs in a graceful white summer dress.

"Mikkael? Is everything alright?" She asked. Mikkael turned to her with a smile, and then to the bandits. They each turned away.

"Go on, boss, your girlfriend needs ya." Ivor stated, "C'mon, it's time this bandit realized 'is dream."

After everyone left, Mikkael held Philena close in his arms and gave her a deep kiss.

"Mikkael... I'm so glad you came to save me, and Yemhelch too. I just wish I still had my summoner clothes and scarf." She stated. Mikkael laughed a little, pulling it out and wrapping it around them.

"You know, your clothing would make you colder than me during those times." Mikkael remarked, "You should be the one with the scarf on."

Philena led him up the stairs as he asked, "Philena... You know what they did, right?" His stomach was tight as he knew what she was going to answer...

The girl smiled, "I know, but they're all idiots." She showed Mikkael the water basin she had set up in the bedroom with their egg in it. Mikkael's gaze widened as he removed his helmet.

"Y-You mean...!"

"Yep, I totally had them fooled by implanting a false egg in a certain special place." She laughed to herself. Mikkael was at first incredibly pissed at first, but right now, all he could be was happy that his child survived. So happy, that he outright began to shed tears of joy.

"Hey, Mikkael..." She stated, still leaning over the basin, "Want to make another?"

Mikkael blushed as she laughed, "I'm only kidding. We're both pretty worn out after all that. You yourself have become quite the important individual in the short time I was locked away in the lab... Why not relax? I'll make us dinner."

Mikkael happily got out of his armor, setting it onto a rack in their room, and into some casual clothing. It had been a while since he had been treated to a home cooked meal, and now that he was with Philena, he wanted to cherish this moment in comfort. However, knowing she herself was probably subject to experiments that were outright wrong, he decided to help in the kitchen with her. Granted, she would protest, but he figured one thing.

"As long as I get to spend some more time with you, Philena, I don't mind working a little."

To that, she couldn't refuse.

_________________

Sleep weighted heavily on his eyes as he knocked on Mikkael's door. He had been up and about for a while, but after the rolling battles and the sudden infiltration mission, he felt as if he was almost ready to float away. Regardless, he steadied himself and waited.

After a while, Mikkael opened the door.

"Osu! I'm not interrupting any... fun stuff, am I?" he grinned as he saw his friend's face. "Actually - aside from the egg, there's something I need to ask you about. May I come in?"

"Sure."

"Well then, sorry for intruding..."

-

"Yo, Phi-chan! So yeah, the egg I gave you earlier today - it was in my bag, right? And we flew. Does this mean I'm a stork?"

"You stork!"

Philena laughed at this jibe, and Mikkael smirked too. "So, what's this about? You look pretty much beat, though - so this must be important." he said.

"Yeah. While I was in there, I managed to snag these." he took out some sheets from his bag - and a large, black book. "Thing is, I couldn't quite recognize the script... can you tell me what's this about?"

_________________

Timmy stood there for a few minutes looking around, "Sir where is your boss?" he asked, "There are a few plans I want to run past him that could make the Pirate's Guild incredibly wealthy"

The receptionist scratched his cheek, "Sorry lad, but only a select few get to see the boss. Perhaps if you make a name for yourself, help out around the guild, you can get an audience with him."

"It's fine, I understand." Timmy said disappointedly, "Is there anyone I can talk to that could relay this information to him?"

"None that I could think of. We don't work in middle men. Maybe if it was the old leader, but not this one." The receptionist finished.

"Well damn, I guess I'm on my own. I'm going to check on something and I'll be right back. If there's anything you'd like me to do, feel free to ask." Timmy stated, waiting for the pirate to respond. The pirate thought about it for a moment.

"Oh, yes, there is one thing. Can you turn in this letter to the leader of the bandit clan housed in Selk? They're called the Sand Sharks and they're lead by one Mr. Mikkael Altans. He just recently came back from a raid of Vex Vinas, his group completely destroyed the city. Something about another guy who helped him, but that's besides the point. He's housed in 'The Golden Sand Dune' which is a sort of pub. Really fancy looking. I figure he may be busy given that he had to rescue his girlfriend and all, but the fish dude is nice enough if you don't piss him off. I digress, though, get the letter to him. Scorpio requested that the letter reach Mikkael specifically via one of the new guys, and you're fresh as they come."

Timmy smiled, "You got it, I'll go there first, and then the church second." Timmy walked off carefully, singing to himself and possibly loud enough for the pirate to hear him, "Yo ho yo ho ho, a pirate's life for me!"
It felt strange exiting the Pirate's Guild after how long he spent staring at that keypad. He walked past the same homeless people and prostitutes, not even looking at any of them. He wasn't even really paying attention to anything, just the ground moving forward in front of him. He finally stopped when he reach the building with big sign on it which read, "The Golden Sand Dune" which looked notably nicer than the surrounding area. He took a deep breath and knocked on the door.

Mikkael was about to say when he heard a knock at the door. Philena began explaining to Yemhelch the meaning as he went to check. Seemed to just be a scout a little older than he. Mikkael took this as an opportunity for new work. Perhaps it was someone wanting to join with them? Either way, he opened the door to the man very carefully.

"Who calls?" Mikkael asks, his yellow eye gazing into Timmy's from behind the crack.

--------------------------------------------------

Philena read a few lines of the black book and began to say, "This is in Meridian script. Looks to be a book by..."

Philena's eyes widened at the name as she excitedly spoke, "Tarlak Meyaltr... The great prophet!" She begins talking with great happiness, "Surely you know of the man! He's a hero who all mages in New Meridia aspire to be like. He leads the charge against the dragons with the knights of our city in the deep. He even was appointed as the interpreter of the Slab of Destiny!"

She clears her throat, "Of course, I never thought that you'd grab one of his books, let me begin reading it. This will take a while to translate from Meridian to Altena Common, but I can have it done for you in a short while, given that it's not too long of a read."

_________________

"My name is Michael, my friends call me Timmy I come with a message from Scorpio and for yourself." Timmy stated, rarely so formal, but given the pirate's advice, he imagined relations between the Assassins and Pirates weren't the best. Mikkael opened the door wider revealing his meridian face. It reminded Timmy of the zoras from the Zelda games he played back at home, although Mikkael had clear scars from battles whereas those fish people maintained perfect features. Mikkael took the letter and gave Timmy some legens, about 1000.

"Thank you." The meridian stated, "Would you like to come in for a drink?"

Something else was familiar about this Mikkael fellow, although, he couldn't quite figure out what. Still, he responded with a smile, "Sure. Do you have any whiskey, preferably cinnamon flavour?"

Mikkael nodded, "That I do. Come on in." He turned as he opened the door, "Honey! We have another guest for a short visit."

The pink meridian with blue fins waved, she had a more notably feminine figure with voluptuous hips and was wearing a white summer dress, helping a cloaked fellow at one of the tables translate a book of some sort. Mikkael kept the letter behind the bar and prepared for Timmy a glass of cinnamon whiskey. He smiled at the woman but didn't look too long. In most cases, he tried to make it a point not to oggle another man's partner, unless of course the husband wasn't doing his proper job.

As he sat down, he looked Mikkael, "So you're a... bandit, right? Or are you with the Assassins?"
Mikkael laughed, "I suppose, technically, I am a bandit. A barbarian more specifically. I basically kill things as I see fit and lead the clan housed here."

"Sounds like a fun life to me," Timmy remarked, "Only one problem. No guns. Hence why I met with the Pirate's Guild." He stated ina humorous and slightly sarcastic tone.

Mikkael responded, "Well, some people like to fight from a distance. I prefer to rush headlong into battle."
Timmy looked at the glass, in utter shock, he was only used to taking shots. Letting out a nervous laugh he said, "Well, if you expect me to finish this, there's no way I'm going to make it back to the Pirate's Guild."

The meridian grinned, "Come on, it's not that much. They serve you more at the meridian taverns."

Philena turned and added, "It's true! They even feed you dragon flesh."

Mikkael added onto that, "RAW dragon flesh."

"Well, I guess the people back where I'm from are giant pussies, because they usually serve whiskey in glasses the size of my finger tip." Timmy sipped his whiskey slowly. If he was going to be here for a while, he may as well get to know his host, "So tell me, Mikkael, what drives you? Why did you become a bandit, why do you fight?"
Mikkael began to talk, "It's a fairly long story. I was originally in the meridian guard, when I decided to study as a spellsword in the now-former-city of Vex Vinas. That's where I met Philena. We became the best of friends before I finally asked her out in Vel Da Ir, after the three of us, Yemhelch over there mainly, won a defense case for the new Master Daimyo of the Velian people. The next morning, however, I recieved summons back to Vex Vinas, and they nearly put Philena through a deathly experiment, given a special quality about her. However, I wouldn't have that, and my great grandfather, now former dean of the university, nearly had me sent in prison for trying to break her out... While also killing like, seven people. Thanks to a friend of mine, I was able to bust out, and that's when I joined the then-leaderless Sand Sharks, became their new leader, and went on to tame for myself a Barioth. We led the attack on Vex Vinas with success, and Yemhelch managed to help save Philena unbeknownst to me at the time. We destroyed that infernal tower, which led to the inevitable destruction of the city. My grandfather is now probably dead. If the grenade I gave him didn't kill him, then the severe snowstorm probably did. Everyone else is migrating over to Avalon, a lost city that I've been rebuilding as its new mayor... At least, that's my story so far."

Mikkael cleared his throat, "So, I guess the reason I fight... Is because it always gets me what I want, and I mainly do it for her. Given that I got her, it logically fits."

Timmy smiled in amusement at Mikkael's boast as he took another sip of his whiskey, "My story begins much like yours... With a woman. If beauty could be personified, it would be her. With blonde hair as bright as the sun, and brown eyes reflecting the stars."
The alcohol was making Timmy feel particularly poetic, when Mikkael interupted, "The sun... Which one?"

Timmy thought for a moment, "The orange one. I mean, it's the closest color to yellow."

"Well," Timmy said after a few minutes of thinking, "the short version is that this woman was the only person I could relate to. Her and I were both born disabled. I couldn't walk, she was mute. She's the kindest and most wonderful woman I ever knew. Then the great war came between us and a group of... basically sirens. It ended with her dying." Even though Timmy was holding back a lot of information for time's sake it was clear that he was visibly upset.

Timmy continued, "... Or at least I thought she was dead. The thing is, I have a son back home who is telepathic. He picked up on someone that matched her fairly identically, so that's why I'm here. To find her."

Yemhelch watched with interest as Philena translated the book and then the notes. Nodding to the newcomer, he went back to watching the translation process, picking up basic Meridian along the way. It was the end of the conversation between Mikkael and Timmy that his ears grasped something of interest.

"Wait, what did you mean the city was destroyed?" Yemhelch's ears perked up as he turned towards Mikkael. "Surely, one tower couldn't have held enough explosive power to level a whole city, right? We all saw it collapse away from the city and into the sea... And if so, were there any survivors?"

_________________

Mikkael looked over, "Oh, yeah, remember what Shade said? That tower was a central point funneling all excess will in the area to be filtered through the planet and thus keeping Vex Vinas at least somewhat habitable. Given that we blew the entire thing up, we kind of caused the entire city to go under. Hence my rushed work on Avalon with our raid money plus the money we earned from selling those documents."

Philena finished her translation notes and gave them to Yemhelch. "Here's the details on the book. I'd love to chat more, especially after all the trouble you went through, so please, feel free to enjoy something at the bar." She stated.

_________________

"I dug up ALL sorts of interestin' dirt while going undercover." Yemhelch grinned. "But I'll show'em to you tomorrow. If I don't sleep now, I feel like my eyeballs are gonna pop."

"Oh my. You'd better get to sleep, then."

"Yeah. Don't get kidnapped now or else I'll blow up another city and bust you out again." he grinned back with a knowing wink. "'Night, Phi-chan. 'Night, Mikkael. 'Night, Tee."

With that, he staggered out of the room... "Hey Mikkael! Do I get a room? I need a room."

_________________

Mikkael went silent.

"Oh... I probably need to make more beds for our guys." He nervously laughed, "If you want, there should be two extra rooms on the top floor. One's more like a lounge of sorts. You can crash in there if you like."

Mikkael opened the letter and began reading it in solitude.

"Hm... This is interesting." Mikkael noted, "Hey, Philena, it looks like a letter from Scorpio. He wants our thoughts on the contents of the envelope."

Mikkael pulled out the contents, it appeared to be a written log of someone's arrest.

"Sam 'Black Sam' Bellamy, leader of the Pirate's Guild, was arrested following a bank heist in Cyndar. Reason for arrest was that one of his four pure silver-plated pistols had been found. After leaving the bank with a sum of fifty billion-WHAT." Mikkael jolted as he read the number, "F-F-Fifty Billion Legens, he had it deposited in an unknown area, and tried for the murder of a male teller when he was pulled from his humble Selk abode. The ballistics of the gun found matched that of the bullet markings found in the victim's body. His four pistols were removed from his person and placed in the evidence storage, and he was sent to prison on these grounds."

Mikkael gave it some thoughts before using the enclosed leather gloves to take a look at the pistol. That's when Mikkael realized the issue, corroborated with his thoughts.

"This isn't pure silver. The barrel of the gun is silver, and I can suppose that the scraping is from the test used. However, the frame isn't made from silver or even plated with silver, this is clearly high-quality steel that has been polished the hell out of. Furthermore, his four pistols were removed? What do they mean by that? Like, four pistols removed from his person or three from his person plus this gun? The way it is written implies that the four are from his person. Considering these two facts... It sounds to me like he was framed." Mikkael then added on another fact he just realized, "PLUS I was in touch with the new leader recently. He was willing to cooperate with me and reach an agreement on the rune stone, that it was worth more than they could afford. Yet I highly doubt the rock, which he had no idea the contents of, would be worth a sum of fifty billion Legens, and he said himself that he would be paying me for the next twenty years and would have to give up the guild, the place I'm sure he probably deposited the money to. The way the document is written states that it was a bank heist works with... Hang on. He killed someone as a pirate, too! That's bad for business according to the words Santiago stated during the Hiroko Hajima case."

"So what are you going to do, Mikkael?" Philena asked. Mikkael stared at the document intensely. A fellow meridian had been framed for murder, and he was certain that these facts did not add up. Too many holes in the documentation that even if there were small errors in terminology, it didn't match reality. After all, even a twenty million for the next twenty years of his life would mean nothing to Blackbeard if the coffers of the guild were filled with fifty billion Legens. Unless they really didn't have the money... at least not anymore...

Mikkael put the letter away for now, as well as the gloves. He would have to take it up with Scorpio later, as Philena had pulled dinner from the wood oven. The aroma of beef stew was filling the air and he didn't want to keep his girlfriend waiting.

"I'll take a walk over to the Assassin's Guild and see Scorpio later. I want to help solve this. For now, I'm starving, and the stew smells delicious."

_________________

This was below optimal standards. At least he had a direct handle on what exactly happens when he falls asleep. The dreams would begin again - and this time, he hid under a lounge couch and hoped that he wouldn't wake up somewhere awkward. Maybe he should go back to Vel Da Ir... the rooms there were quality with a capital Q.

The darkness offered by the pillows stacked against the couch's legs as he flattened himself under it served as a good cover. 47 hours without sleep! That had to be a new world record or something. At least that's how he felt as he laid his head back, letting sleep finally take him.

As he drifted off, he felt something move - and a serpentine form edged into this enclave he had made for himself. "Hey bud. Sorry' for the loud noiseezzzz-"

The tiny dragon gave an almost imperceptible shrug and then sat on top of the couch instead - content to watch the stars from the window.

_________________

By the time Mikkael and Philena were finished their meal, Timmy had left, off to go somewhere else, and Mikkael slouched a little in his chair. Philena had a worried expression. Mikkael took note of this and raised a brow.

"What's up?" He asked, she perked up immediately with a smile, he continued, "No. Stop. If you do that, it doesn't make it better. What's on your mind?"

"Well, it's..." Philena began, "Did you really have to pick banditry?" Her smile was still there. He had noticed a pattern about Philena. Whenever she felt bad about something, she would go on to smile her brightest.

Mikkael shook his head, "I probably could have taken a different route, but I chose this one instead because I had to. I've killed too many people, and you probably think that's terrible of me, but... I didn't want to lose you, and regardless of my job choice, I still want you to know that I really love and care for you."

She held her hands to her chest, "Mikkael, it makes me happy to hear that. I just wonder what they're going to say when we finally get married."

"However," Mikkael continued, "You should tell me what's really going on. After all, you can easily look beyond our traditions, so my banditry is probably of little consequence. To you it's who and not what. So, what's your real issue?"

Philena sat silent for a few moments, "... I-I really don't know what you're talking abou-"

"It's the book. Something in the book troubled you. Because you seemed fine up until you finished translating its contents." Mikkael guessed.

"H-How...!?"

"Our romance may have blossomed fairly early, but I'm pretty observant of people." Mikkael admitted, now smiling himself.

Philena laughed, "Yeah... I guess you caught me. They used a code name in that book that reminded me of the first case we worked on."

"Oh?" Mikkael looked at her, waiting for more info.

"Project Demilich." She stated, "The opening to immortality. You see, when I was outlining the scenario, I saw through the victim's eyes... Back in that case."

"Saw through them? What do you mean?" Mikkael asked, now extremely curious.

"Like, how do I put it? I saw the moment Reizei died, I saw through her eyes and even noticed what Santiago failed to see. The bat. It was almost like a supernatural dream of sorts."

Mikkael gave it some thought, "So by the 'Eyes of the Demilich' you think it refers to this power?"

"Yeah. Not only that, in the book written by Tarlak, he outlined the project details. To create soulless figures in order to preserve life. These figures would gain features of a Demilich, such as the ability to see a person's moment of death. It seems that they were referencing this book in their experiment with me." She explained.

"... That's quite interesting." Mikkael continued staring at her smile. Not once did it waver, thus, "... So what in the book troubled you? REALLY."

She jerked in place and her smile finally dissipated, "The ending... It's... a record of the progress of my experiment."

Mikkael stared intently as she continued, "M-Mikkael... I don't know what to do... They were going to trade me to him as a wife for even more research material."

Mikkael finally fell back into his chair, "I see... I'm sorry that I pried. However, it looks like I'll have to have a chat with Tarlak." He smiled, "By that, I of course mean cut his head off and give it to the dragons as a symbol of me being their new challenge."

Philena jerked in place, "M-M-Mikkael...!"

"Nah, that's too violent." Mikkael laughed, "No, I'd like to know exactly what he wants with you. He clearly just wants you to get close to the meridian crown... No, I doubt our great prophet would be involved in such a scandal. He's a truly good individual, I know. However, it just makes no sense that his name would be in a trade for a living being... This raises a lot of questions with me."

"So then what ab-"

"No. He's not marrying you. I will ensure he hasn't even the chance to do it." Mikkael promised her, "He fucking tries and THEN I'll rip his head off."

"You're evil." She stated.

"No, I just love you too damn much." They both laughed. However, Mikkael didn't much like that he now had two issues to deal with. How could he make sure of this? Tarlak had more money, a higher position, and a greater influence than Mikkael... Plus, what about Black Sam?

"Mikkael, my master, if I may speak with you in private?" Excalibur spoke, mounted near the front door. Mikkael turned to the sword and took it from the wall, taking it to the forge.

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"It appears you have quite the number of predicaments at this time."

"It's just a matter of how I go about fixing these tasks. Tarlak has everything and everything I don't have - besides a wife. Plus, given the situation with the Pirate's Guild, which do I deal with first?" Mikkael asked. The sword laughed a little.

"It's rather easy... Tell me, who has the highest authority in Jungalore, just beneath the gods themselves?" She asked.

Mikkael took a cold stare to the sword, "I already told you, I'm not aiming to be King of Jungalore."

"Both of these tie into the hidden quest of the gods." She explained, "Mikkael, the ruler of Jungalore is decided based on who holds the four artifacts given by the gods. There are six in total, yet the other two are of such power that they have remained locked away in the heavens. In any case, the other four, should the people find themselves without one of the Altena Bloodline, would be given to the leaders of the great cities."

"So... Cita Den, Selk, Cyndar..." Mikkael thought to himself, "Vel Da Ir? Vex Vinas? New Meridia? Where would the other one be?"

The sword spoke more, "All three of the last ones are wrong. However, think about what makes each city notable. I gave those artifacts to them for their knowledge of what makes a true king or queen. Be it power, justice, leadership, or reason, the monarch must have these four qualities mastered."

"I see... So each city knows of these qualities best... The only question is where is the fourth artifact? I doubt it's in Avalon."

"Why don't you ask the assassin girl? She knows precisely where it is."

"Shade... Okay. If it will get me closer to Philena, and allow me to keep her at my side, then I will take on your quest. However, as far as being king goes, count me out of it. I will decide who is truly right to rule once I have each artifact."

"Very well. I shall trust your judgement, then." Excalibur finished, going silent. Mikkael then realized one small detail.

"Wait... did you say...?"

_________________

After chatting with Excalibur, he grabbed his helmet and chest piece, putting on his black boots. Mikkael explained that he wanted to at the very least turn in his findings to Scorpio. He figured he needed at least a little armor just in case of potential ambushes, given his reputation in Selk.

However, this time around, bandits were talking to Mikkael and in a friendly manner, asking him for advice in regards to how they should conduct their raids. With the few that approached him, he would shake hands with them or impart wisdom where he had the answers.

However, he kept on track to meet with the Assassin's Guild, where he ran into the rest of his clan, who were boasting about the raid among the apprentice assassins. Ivor himself was quite a different fellow now, given that he finally went through and dyed his hair blue. Mikkael stayed with them for a bit, until Scorpio appeared.

"Ah, Mikkael, isn't it a little early for you to be seeing me again? Shouldn't you be spending time with Philena?"

Mikkael stood from his chair, "Actually, I was, then a Scout working with the pirates came in with a letter."

"A scout? Is Blackbeard over-stepping his boundaries?"

"What do you mean?" Mikkael asked.

"It's just, we as class masters aren't supposed to technically influence the choices of people, merely inform them of job choices." Scorpio explained.

Mikkael nodded and Scorpio motioned for him to follow, "Come, this needs to be discussed in private."

After climbing various flights of stairs, Mikkael was now in a room with twelve Assassins sitting around him, with Scorpio at the very front of him. The twelve assassins of legend, named after the star signs looked at Mikkael quietly, waiting for his first words.

"So... What do you want to know?" Mikkael asked, one began speaking, a human who identified as Taurus.


Link


"Mr. Altans, we heard of your involvement as investigator in a case in Vel Da Ir. We wanted you to look over those documents, given that something was off about the arrest."

Mikkael nodded, "Well, yes, there's a number of major contradictions in the document."

"HAH!" Aries spoke up in a booming Nekor voice, "Told ya guys, nya! Pisces owes me 20,000 Legens now!" The female assassin rubbed her forehead in personal anguish.

"Please, Mikkael, indulge in the details." Gemini stated.

Mikkael gave a nod, "Yes, well, first let's talk about the pistol... Can we get a table in here?" Within a few moments, two apprentices brought a table in and Mikkael reopened the document and the satchel containing the pistol.

"See, what these documents say is that the pistols used by Sam Bellamy are silver-plated. Correct? In fact, that's something I want to know. Are they?" Mikkael began.

"Yes," Virgo confirmed in a soft voice, "As an ex-rogue, I can confirm that Master Bellamy used four dueling pistols which he wore on a black sash. They were plated with silver, with the best platinum frames money could buy. What's more, the man was a trick shot with them, as he would use all four at once."

Mikkael nodded, "Then this gun is a fake. The barrel is indeed silver, but the main frame of the gun is polished high-quality steel, a much cheaper product than silver, but when polished like this, it appears silvery. Furthermore, the documents state that his four pistols were taken from his person, at least based on the way it was worded, but then the question remains, why do I have this pistol in front of me unless he had a fifth gun?"

The twelve assassins began nodding.

"So then," Leo began to speak, "What else do you see wrong with it?"

Mikkael looked over the document again, "The sum of money."

Everyone either did a double take or raised an eyebrow at Mikkael's statement.

"Scorpio, recall what Blackbeard stated when he went to visit me." Mikkael noted, recalling as best he could from memory. "For a rune stone from Vex Vinas, of which he did not know the contents of, he said that the cost would require that he turn over the Pirate's Guild, and would have to pay me for the next twenty years."

Scorpio nodded, "Yes, that is correct."

"Tell me, how much money did Bellamy steal?" Mikkael asked, passing him the written document. Scorpio jerked in place and gave the document back.

"By Lumbra, 50,000,000,000 Legens..."

Everyone else visibly jerked or showed signs of shock.

Mikkael nodded, "Exactly. I highly doubt that the hunk of rock, which he didn't know the contents of, would actually cost upwards of 50,000,000,000 Legens."

"Hang on!" Aquarius stated, "How do we know that the money was even deposited into the vaults of the Pirate's Guild?"

"Because it would lead to a golden age of piracy." Scorpio explained, "Even a million Legens is a lot. To steal 50,000,000,000 Legens and keep it all would be a waste. He could buy the entire city of Cita Den, Selk, and even Wynd Bay, and establish guilds in all of those cities. He would have a monopoly on every port, and effectively a presence in every kingdom. Money would flow into the pockets of every pirate... Including himself. Actually, if he had that kind of money, he would be able to wipe his presence clean from the map, like Robin Hood when he left this city to pursue a supposedly noble goal."

Mikkael added in, "However, the big problem is with what Blackbeard said, because the money disappeared. It's hard not to spot 50,000,000,000 Legens, especially since Bellamy would have had to hide it around Selk somewhere given that he was located by the Cyndar guards here in this city. Selk is in a desert, and so it's not like they had a place to just drop it without someone coming along and picking it up. I theorize that someone with much more organization stole it."

"Why someone with more organization?" Libra asked.

"Because, even I could only carry 300,000 Legens out of Vex Vinas during the raid. That was just me on my own, and there had to be at least 20,000,000 in the pile, plus another thirty in terms of items." Mikkael explained, "Hence, I suggest that this was a bank heist, carried out by someone with more organization."

The room was now in a chatter, and Scorpio spoke up, "Mikkael, there has to be more here, do you have any truly solid tangible evidence to prove that Sam Bellamy is innocent?"

Mikkael smiled, "I do, and that evidence is in the documents for the case of Hiroko Hajima. The testimony of Santiago."

"Santiago? You mean that rogue boy who was son of one of the forty thieves?" Scorpio asked. Mikkael nodded.

"During an interrogation, he signed an affidavit, allowing us to use his testimony as evidence. In it, he stated that killing is bad for business for the guild. Yet, there was a murder during this heist, a murder using a pistol that matched the ballistic markings of the gun in front of us." Mikkael smiled, "Though there is no guarantee, the pirates try to keep their targets alive so that more Legens can be generated... and thus stolen. A banker, I'd think, generates a lot of money."

Once more the room erupted into a chatter. Scorpio gave a nod, "Alright, that's enough. Mikkael, thank you for your insights. I will take the documents off your hands once more."

"Scorpio, may I speak?" Capricorn asked. The assassin leader nodded as he continued, "I believe he is indeed acceptable for the task at hand. Just look at him, he's smart, he can point out weaknesses in logic easily, and he is capable of coordinating an assault to destroy an entire city. Let him break in and save Sam Bellamy."

"I agree." Gemini added in, "Let him do it."

Mikkael stood there for a few moments as Scorpio asked, "Mikkael, how would you like to do the Assassin's and Pirate's Guilds a massive favour?" Scorpio smiled, "Do you think you could break our friend out of Cyndar's prison? I want to investigate more myself, because something else caught my eye during Bellamy's conviction."

"I'll consider it, but only if you let me do the investigating." Mikkael added, "Something isn't right about this. I have a feeling as to who the true culprit is."

Scorpio nodded, "Alright. However, if it's who I think you suspect, Mikkael, be very careful. The Pirate's Guild is not a group you want to mess with."

Mikkael delivered a bow and left the building, now with people to get in contact with.

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"Hurry!" Eiryk shouted as he jumped over vines and roots within the heavy jungle. Karliah and he were wandering through Lake Forkheads, now far from Cyndar any normal threat, yet there they were running through the forests nearby from something beyond their comprehension. Shadows were following them as they made turns towards the exit.

"It's just a little further, Eiryk!" Karliah shouted at him. Yet it wasn't before long that he was faced with complete and total darkness. Black tendrils sprang forth, grabbing him by the neck and lifting the scholar up. The being stared into his soul as he felt a gnawing presence at his psyche.

"N-NO! N-n-not... like... this..." He choked out. His right arm went limp as he help up his left, trying to cast a spell. Yet all his will was gone from the deathly glare.

It was as if he was about to be killed, when the tendrils loosened their grip on him. They poked at his black mark of Umbraria, before the eyes and shadows began seeping into it right before his eyes. Eiryk could barely comprehend what was happening, as he felt a surge of power course through his body.

"Wh-What...?" Eiryk looked at his mark as it grew up his arm, coming to a halt at his elbow. "What... just happened?" He barely managed to voice.

"I-I don't know..." Karliah answered, "Whatever the case, I think, somehow, that evil mark of yours saved us. We'll have to have the priests in Selk look at it later."

She helped Eiryk up as they left Lake Forkheads and moved on to the Bandit Isles.

_________________

Timmy woke up with a splitting headache. Yesterday was a blur. He remembered delivering a letter for the Pirate's Guild and telling his story to a nice couple. "Oh god, that's more than I have ever drank in my entire life." He fought the urge to vomit as he got to his feet. He noticed he was standing outside of a church.

The cool see breeze with the sounds of the sea helped with his headache and nausea. He staggered into the church and sat down, looking around.

The church was clearly old and in disrepair. The priests that were there had a different appearance to the ones in Cyndar, at least based on what he could remember. Not only that, but they carried guns, and even had silver bullets and weapons laid out in various areas of the church. Adorning a cross were belts of bullets, clearly showing that these were no ordinary warriors of god... if even warriors of god at all.

Timmy blanked out for a moment, marvelling at the appearance of these people. He stated to one, "You're demon hunters, I presume."

The man in a mask nodded. He wore a red long coat with a white suit shirt a pants, "That is correct."

Timmy began speaking again, "The thing is, sir, I've been trying to figure out what to do with my life since I got here, and I've been torn between a life as a pirate and a life as a demon hunter."

The man continued to speak in a calm, soothing voice, "Worry not, son, we here in the Selkie branch of the Lumbraic church are always willing to offer guidance. The question is, what do you want most in life? This will shape your destiny more than you can imagine."

"That's actually a good question, sir. You see, I've always been drawn to crime I spent most of my life completely defenseless and forced to take everything the world dishes out. Crime finally gave me away to push back at the same time I want to help people, I want to protect them."
"Either way, the thing is, I have an end goal in mind. If I become a pirate, I want to be the greatest pirate who ever lived. If I become a Demon Hunter I intend to one day walk clean through the Shadow Realm and slaughter every demon who would wish to do mankind harm." Timmy explained. The man laughed a little.

"Well, you certainly do dream big, son. However, there is always one thing to remember as a demon hunter. Even people choose to walk as demons. We all are sinners, after all. In some way, we wrong our gods. Thus, you have to wonder, who is the real demon in the end? Is it you, the demon, or the god itself?" He explains, "By the way, you may call me Godot. I am leader of the Demon Hunters here in Selk."

"Okay, Godot, so you're saying I'm equally capable of doing both good and evil as a pirate or demon hunter?"

Godot nodded, "That is precisely my point. So next is a question of whether or not you wish to be good to the people or not. From there, you can decide for yourself."

"Well if I became a Demon Hunter I could save lives and souls, as a pirate I would have both the money and influence to do great things for people."

Godot gave it some thought before another hunter came in calling for him, "Well, I could give you more insight. However, it seems it's time for me to go. Wait for me if you wish, and eventually, I shall return."

Timmy smiled, "I will return once my decision has been made." He left the church and headed back for the Pirate's Guild.