Celestial Storm: Golden Dawn

Chapter Eight: Dice And Signets

Murina and I had just entered the common room when we heard a slight commotion upstairs.

"Leave me alone!" someone shouted in a pained voice.

"Not until you get out of bed! You don't want to miss the breakfast special!" Vlukyn's voice roared in answer, "Hurry up!"

Sreldes came down the stairs a moment later. He and Murina greeted each other cheerfully. Nilfrasi came down the stairs just as Sreldes was sitting down. Kelix was following him. The two of them exchanged friendly greetings with Murina then sat down. While Nilfrasi sat down next to me, Kelix sat by himself at the far end of the bar. Vlukyn came down the stairs pulling Tugulia along behind her. Tugulia looked like she had a very bad hangover. Ethiza followed them into the common room. Stelgun and the guild's dwarves arrived about thirty seconds later.

"So, where is the old potato?" Kelix asked as he watched the dwarves sit down, "I haven't seen him yet. He's usually an early riser, isn't he?"

"You mean you 'aven't 'eard?" Ketven grunted, "'e resign as master a bit over a week ago."

"He what?" Kelix demanded.

"Yeah, now we have a proper matriarch," Vlukyn said happily.

Dukhiza and Khanordhoi entered the common room just then. Khanordhoi looked as though he had a hangover that was just as bad as Tugulia's hangover. Flame and Fryn followed them down into the common room, and Flame immediately ran over to glare at Kelix.

"You! I want to fight you," Flame growled.

"Go away, Little Savage! I'm trying to figure out who is the new guild master," Kelix growled back, "That information isn't likely to reveal itself since I just learned that the old master retired."

"Forget about that and fight me!" Flame roared trying to punch Kelix.

Kelix twisted his body aside and grabbed Flame's wrist with one hand. He brought his other hand up and shoved against Flame's stomach. Flame flipped over in mid air, and Kelix swung around Flame's wrist to end up behind him. Kelix released Flame's wrist just as his foot shot out. He kicked Flame's behind and sent him sliding across the room. Flame slammed into the couch and came to rest with his head and neck wedged under the couch.

"Cease making a fool of yourself, Little Savage," Kelix said, "It won't do you any good."

He sat back down looking as though nothing of importance had happened.

"Ah, I come down in time to see Flame get his ass kicked—literally," Gazual said.

"Who is the current guild master?" Kelix asked Murina ignoring Gazual completely.

"Oh, it's Hebikage," Murina said.

"What?! That stiff-necked wench is the guild master?! Impossible!" Kelix hissed looking positively furious.

"Oh, yes, she took the position about a week ago," Murina said happily.

"What was that old potato thinking?" Kelix growled at no one in particular.

"Breakfast special today is fried seagull!" Vlukyn declared as several other guild members came into the common room.

"That sounds disgusting. I think I'll just stick with drinking tea," Kelix said.

"No, no, everyone should try it," Vlukyn said, "Lucina went out and got them all by herself yesterday. It would be rude not to try it out."

"Fine then. I am rude. Now get off the bar," Kelix said peevishly.

Vlukyn had jumped onto the bar, perhaps so that she could better survey the other guild members. Everyone else that I had come across in the guild, with the exception of Tamira, was taller than Vlukyn.

"Don't insult my woman, you impudent piece of slime," Vlukyn snarled.

"Hey, Vlukyn, isn't that gnome making a rude gesture?" Nilfrasi suddenly asked.

"What gnome?" Vlukyn demanded.

Something scampered off giggling madly as it fled.

"What is that doing inside?" Vlukyn demanded, "They're supposed to be living in the gardens!"

Vlukyn chased the creature around. Neldi appeared when she stepped around a pillar and walked over to sit next to Stelgun. Most of the guild members gave her appreciative glances or knowing chuckles. Hebikage walked in just as Vlukyn crawled under the couch and grabbed the gnome by one of its knobby legs.

"Sorry for being late, Murina. I just got back from the council chambers. That meeting went on all night. Get me a drink, please. Vlukyn, what are you doing by the way?" Hebikage said.

Vlukyn was tickling the gnome, which was kicking its feet and giggling madly.

"I'm teaching it not to come inside again. Last time I was hitting one with a hammer, Neldi attacked me for no reason. I'm playing it safe this way, see?" Vlukyn replied.

Hebikage just sighed and shook her head. She started forward again but found her way impeded by Kelix, who was glaring at her.

"Do you have some kind of problem?" she asked, "Spit it out."

"Why were you chosen to be the guild master? What could you possibly have done for the old master to choose you?" Kelix demanded sounding very angry.

"The master chose me not only because he trusts me, but also because I know the needs of everyone in this guild, including you," Hebikage replied calmly.

Kelix snorted.

"Don't patronize me, wench. You may have been chosen as the guild master, but you don't have my respect," Kelix sneered.

"Is that so? If you wish to challenge me for the position of guild master, I will accept your challenge anytime," Hebikage responded.

"I'm not going to waste my energy fighting you," Kelix sneered, "You are unworthy of such energy and exertion."

"And who would you have as the next guild master, Kelix?" Hebikage asked.

"Murina would have been a much better choice," Kelix said.

"That's true," Hebikage said, "The master did ask her before he asked me, but she declined. Murina and her sister are much happier as barmaids. They didn't want to take the position again nor did Sreldes."

"Guh, Sreldes," Kelix admonished.

"Well, I'm retired," Sreldes said with a shrug.

"You ruined an opportunity to save our guild's integrity," Kelix said.

"I didn't ask you to call me the guild master, nor do I require you to do so," Hebikage said, "Do as you wish."

She stepped around him and walked up to the bar. Kelix watched her go from out of the corner of his eye. He clenched his fists a few times then spun on his heel and walked over to where he had been sitting without another word. I noticed that he walked pigeon toed as he strode back to the bar walking in a particularly straight line. For a moment, I was reminded of a tight rope walker because of the way he was walking in a straight line.

I heard a scuffle in the background and turned to see Flame and Gazual grappling with each other. Fryn was watching silently. His tail would make lashing movements every now and then. At one point I almost thought I saw sparks fall out from between the long, coarse hairs the covered his tail, but it never happened again, so I dismissed it as a trick of the light.

Siegfried came down from the men's dormitory shortly after I noticed Flame and Gazual grappling. I noticed that he went around Kelix as though trying to avoid the dark elf prince. Kelix, for his part, ignored Siegfried so completely that he might have been nothing but thin air although I thought I saw Kelix watching Siegfried out of the corners of his eyes when Siegfried move behind him.

Nilfrasi was talking happily to Tugulia and the other dark haired woman, who appeared to be called Kuporla. Tugulia would occasionally grunt when Nilfrasi would pause to draw breath, and Kuporla usually nodded politely.

"Hey, that reminds me," Nilfrasi suddenly said, "Where'd Vlukyn go?"

"Who cares?" several people asked.

"I've returned!" Vlukyn called a moment later as she stepped out of the kitchen with a large platter, "Seagulls! Have a taste, everyone!"

There were a lot of grumbles and a few people shuffled closer out of curiosity.

Everyone except Kelix, Khanordhoi and Dukhiza took a piece of seagull and took an experimental bite. The seagull meat tasted like rotten fish.

Everyone spat out the bite of meat they had tasted. In the case of Sreldes, Nilfrasi and a few other polite guild members, they tried to conceal the fact that they had spat out the meat by pulling their napkins up to their faces and quietly spitting into the napkin. Neldi actually spat her piece on the floor while Tugulia and Kuporla spat on the bar. Everyone else was spitting onto their plates.

"Fools! What is the matter with you? There's nothing wrong with this seagull meat! Lucina collected those seagulls, and they are delicious!" Vlukyn cried scornfully.

She popped her piece into her mouth then swiftly grabbed Tugulia's drink and downed nearly all of it.

"Bleh! That seagull doesn't taste good at all," she grumbled.

"I told you that they would be no good, you fool," Kelix said, "People don't eat piscivorous birds for a reason. They taste like rotten fish."

"Ugh. Well, someone needs to eat this," Vlukyn said with a shrug.

She stuffed more piece of meat into her mouth and washed it down with a drink from Nilfrasi's cup. Nilfrasi pushed his glass back toward Vlukyn after she set it down in front of him.

"You're breath is going to smell something awful after you eat that flesh, Vlukyn," Nilfrasi said, "Just feed it to the local cats and dogs. They'll appreciate it."

"They can have some of it, but I am showing appreciation toward my woman and eating the seagulls anyway. I won't let Lucina's seagull catching be in vain!" Vlukyn said.

She ate another mouthful and downed it with the rest of Nilfrasi's drink.

"What gave you the idea to cook the seagulls?" I asked incredulously as I watched Vlukyn drain Nilfrasi's glass.

"Are you barking mad?" Vlukyn replied, "These winged rats have stolen my food far too many times! Now I'm getting revenge! I fed them, and now they're feeding me."

I just wrinkled my nose. I was glad I didn't have to eat the seagull meat.

Vlukyn had finally had enough of eating seagull meat after another couple of mouthfuls. She looked around and sighed.

"The cat-girl's cats aren't here because she is gone too," Vlukyn said, "I guess I'll have to give this to those homosexuals from Kitten Cloud. They have loads of cats and dogs that they feed."

Vlukyn left the guild carrying the large platter full of cooked seagull. Several people chuckled after she had gone out the door.

"Looks like those poor Kitten Cloud people are getting so pathetic that even Vlukyn can't help but feel sorry for them," Stelgun chuckled.

"Since she regularly bashes them, I should hope she feels at least a little sorry for them," Neldi said.

"Tch! She still wastes her time harassing Kitten Cloud?" Kelix asked.

"Yeah, and she usually drags Nifrael into it too," Neldi replied.

"Kitten Cloud isn't worthy of recognition. They are nothing but a hive of weak human rabble," Kelix said scathingly.

"Now, now. Don't discriminate," Sreldes said.

"I'm not. I am simply stating a fact," Kelix said carelessly.

Sreldes gazed at Kelix for a few moments looking as though he was trying to find the right words to say. However, the door opened and two people I had never seen before walked into the common room. One was a silver-haired, tan-skinned elf and the other appeared to have a demonic parent and a human parent judging by her appearance. She had horns that grew from her forehead and gradually curved around her skull and back down toward her ears. Her hair was so red that it seemed unnatural. Ethiza and Flame's hair seemed dull and ordinary by comparison. Her skin was an orangey tan color that also stood out. She had purple eyes that were just as vivid as her hair in terms of coloration. She was holding a staff that appeared to be topped by a lion skull that held a fiery orb in its mouth. The lion skull had ram horns coming out of it attesting to the unnatural nature of the creature. Feathers hung from the staff. Small, fiery balls of light circled the staff seemingly of their own accord held up by nothing that I could see. Her armor was finely made and almost looked like dress armor. It appeared to be of elfin design.

The elf that was with the demonic woman had two claymores strapped to her back and two rapiers and four daggers on her belt. She was wearing armor that appeared to be sheets of strong metal attached to one another forming an armor that would deflect glancing blows easily.

"Phoebe and Anticlea are back!" Nilfrasi announced.

Everyone turned around and waved or called out greetings to the two newcomers. The demonic woman waved back enthusiastically while the elf maid simply nodded.

"Phoebe, how are you?" Nilfrasi said jumping up to shake Phoebe's hand.

"I am doing splendid!" the demonic woman said, "You should have seen those fools run! They squealed like pigs! Ah-hah-hah! It was very amusing."

"Oh? Well, that's...entertaining," said Nilfrasi apparently not certain of what he should say to this.

"The mission was very successful. We were paid quite well," the elf maid said.

Nilfrasi shook her hand as well.

"I am quite pleased to see you again as well, Anticlea," he said happily.

"Likewise," said Anticlea.

"Phoebe and Anticlea, you simply must meet our newest member," Sreldes said.

Phoebe and Anticlea both looked at him. Anticlea glanced at me then patiently watched Sreldes. Phoebe bounced slightly on the balls of her feet as she walked over to Sreldes.

"Lucina, this is Phoebe," Sreldes said, "Phoebe, this is our newest member, Lucina. Isn't she wonderful?"

"Lucina, I am extremely delighted to meet you," Phoebe said shaking my hand enthusiastically, "And I must say, if I had deviant interests, I would definitely chase you until I caught you."

"I, um, thanks," I said awkwardly as I accepted the handshake.

Anticlea stepped forward and shook my hand as well. Where Phoebe was gregarious and enthusiastic, Anticlea was serene and dignified. She shook my hand briefly.

"Nice to meet you," she said.

"Ah! The demon team is back!" Vlukyn's voice cried out.

Phoebe spun around.

"Vlukyn!" she cried throwing her arms out as though inviting Vlukyn to embrace her.

"D-demon team?" I muttered.

"Phoebe!" Vlukyn squealed.

The two of them ran over to each other and started bouncing around each other waving their arms around until they finally stood with their chests touching.

"Yeeeeeeeeeeeeee!" they both squealed in glee.

Several people laughed at this display, which provoked Phoebe and Vlukyn into laughing.

"People refer to Phoebe and Anticlea as the demon team," Sreldes told me.

"Oh," I said.

"It is a rather pointless name since Phoebe is only half a demon, and I am just an elf," Anticlea added, "There is no demon in our team."

Vlukyn and Phoebe skipped up to the bar.

"The studly young prince is back," Phoebe exclaimed having just noticed Kelix.

"I'm not particularly young anymore," Kelix muttered.

"Bah! Don't make yourself sound like an old man. That's why we have Sreldes," Phoebe said.

"I say," Sreldes said pretending to be slightly indignant.

"It's hardly surprising since we don't see you at the guild very often," Anticlea said.

"X ranked missions are often long," Kelix said dismissively.

"So are R ranked missions," Anticlea pointed out.

"Truly," said Kelix in agreement, "However, I have contacts in many of the underground networks that keep me busy as well."

Anticlea nodded and didn't press the subject.

"Underground networks?" I whispered to Sreldes.

"He has informants in a lot of criminal rings, dark cults and evil guilds," Sreldes whispered back, "It is a method of learning what the evil guilds are up to. It has helped us in the past. We have warded off attacks from evil guilds more than once thanks to the information he got through his contacts."

"Sounds like a very important job," I muttered.

"Oh, yes," Sreldes agreed, "It is very important."

Phoebe and Vlukyn were sitting with Ethiza and Anticlea talking happily together. Anticlea was not talking as much as the others although she would occasionally add something to the conversation. Their conversation didn't seem to be about anything in particular. At one point I heard them talking about Gazual's hair and not too long after that I heard them start talking about musicians.

Since I didn't have anything to do that day, I stood up and went to look at the request board. I figured that a simple day job might give me some minor experience, which would be helpful. A request from the Hat And Boot on the D ranked board caught my eye immediately.

I require an assistant to organize merchandise that I have recently obtained. Due to the weight of the merchandise, the assistant should have some means of magically moving and opening the boxes to speed up the process. Four hundred golens will be given to the assistant after the merchandise has been sorted. If the assistant does a particularly good job, additional golens can be earned.

Signed,

Lôtasäsheêkhago'änekeshê "Keshee" of Cloudleaf Forest, Owner and Manager of the Hat and Boot.

I grabbed the request off the board and walked over to the bar. I showed Murina the request and told her that I would be off doing that mission. Murina nodded, and I was able to leave without Vlukyn noticing me. Phoebe was talking animatedly to her, which was keeping her distracted. I left the guild and started toward the Hat And Boot. I had barely left the guild when I heard footsteps behind me. I looked over my shoulder and saw Fryn following me.

"Lucina, where are you going?" Fryn asked.

"I'm doing a mission at the Hat And Boot. Did you want to join me?" I replied.

"Hmm... Yeah! You're useless by yourself, so you might need some help," Fryn said.

"Well, I can see that your confidence in me hasn't improved in the last week," I sighed, "I would be glad to have company, however."

"Good. Flame and Gazual are doing a boring ritual right now, so I'm bored," Fryn said, "Oh, yeah, can you summon that kitty thing you bought yesterday?"

"Do you mean Freyr the Gale Cat?" I asked.

"I guess so," Fryn said.

"Well, I haven't summoned him yet. I shall do so now. I summon thee, Freyr the Gale Cat!"

I pulled out Freyr's signet and slammed it against the ground. A creature that vaguely resembled a sphinx appeared. It was quite clearly a cat despite the sphinx like appearance. It was about as tall as Fryn was. It had green predatory eyes that looked very intelligent. Wings that looked like they would belong to a falcon grew from its shoulders. Black fur covered its body. Six golden earrings were in each ear and golden colored hieroglyphs were engraved into its fur.

"You have summoned me, Mistress," Freyr said in a squeaky voice that sounded very much like Fryn's voice, "What would you have of me?"

"Huh?" Fryn cooed in disbelief.

"Huh?" Freyr said in a manner very much like Fryn, "It sounds like me."

"It's a copycat. It's copying me!" Fryn cried.

"You don't have to call me "Mistress". Lucina will do," I answered Freyr.

"Oh? As you wish then," Freyr said.

"Lucina, make it stop copying me," Fryn cried.

"So, do you want to form a contract with me?" I asked Freyr, ignoring Fryn.

"Okay," Freyr agreed.

Freyr lifted a paw, and I took it as though shaking hands. Threads of golden light wrapped around our wrists and arms then sank into our skin disappearing from view. Once the golden threads of light had disappeared, we let go.

"Contract sealed," Freyr announced.

"What was that?" Fryn asked.

"We forged a contract," I explained, "A celestial mage shakes hands with the hand, or equivalent of a hand, of the spirit. The contract is binding until one of us cancels it or one of us dies."

"Oh. I don't get it," Fryn said blinking slowly.

"Well, I don't know how else to put it," I said, "Freyr has become one of my spirits now. We share a contract."

"Nope. I still don't get it," Fryn said cheerfully.

"Then you're lost," I said with a shrug, "Come on. Let's get to the Hat And Boot."

Fryn led the way while Freyr and I followed him. The Hat And Boot was fairly busy when we arrived. The same elf that I had seen yesterday was counting out someone's money when I walked up to the counter. I politely waited as the elf counted out his customer's money. I moved up to the counter when the customer left with his merchandise.

"Ah, Lucina. Good day to you. Did you want something else today?" the elf asked.

"Yes, I am answering this request. Someone called Keshee put it on the request board," I replied holding up the request.

"Ah. Yes, Keshee is what I am called around this area. It is easier for the humans and dwarves to say. Erm...before you start..."

He opened the counter, pulled out a hair clasp that was shaped vaguely like a jeweled butterfly and used it to pin by bangs behind me ear.

"As, yes. That is a bit better," Keshee said.

He shifted the hair on the other side of my head a bit.

"Yes, yes. That should do for now. It might just get pulled out of place as you work anyway. Kusreech, mind the counter please. Follow me, Lucina."

Kusreech turned out to be a barn owl. It fluttered down and landed on the chair Keshee had been sitting on.

I followed Keshee through a backdoor and down into a cellar. Keshee led Fryn, Freyr and I over to eight wooden boxes that were perfectly aligned into rows of two. The boxes were very large. I guessed that the boxes were seven feet tall and about five feet wide.

"The merchandise that is to be sorted is in here," Keshee said, "There are empty shelved beyond them. Make sure you place the largest merchandise on the bottom and work your way up to the top with progressively smaller items. Group them together according to shape and color too. Start with red then go through the rainbow. After violet, put any pink items, then put white items in place, then place grey items, then brown items progressing from tan to dark brown, then black. And if there are any differences in symmetry, be sure to group the symmetrical items together and the asymmetrical items together. The symmetrical items should be placed on the shelves prior to the asymmetrical items. Make sure there aren't any empty spaces at the front of the shelves too. If you can't fill a row on the shelf, just bring the items forward until the front spaces are filled. Any questions?"

I felt a little bamboozled by all the instructions Keshee had just given me.

"Oh, yes, make sure they are lined up squarely," Keshee added.

"I'll try my best," I said.

"Thank you, Lucina. If you have any questions, you know where to find me," Keshee said.

He gave a slight bow of his head then left the cellar.

"Well, how heavy are the lids?" I wondered.

"They must be very heavy. Those boxes are huge," Fryn said.

"Well, I guess I should call some more assistance," I said.

I considered for a moment then reached into my spirit bag.

"I summon thee, Michosiel the Protector," I intoned.

A tall and slender yet muscular man wearing armor with steel wings coming from his shoulders appeared.

"What would you have of me, Lucina?" he inquired.

"I need you to get the lids off the boxes and start handing the merchandise inside of them down to me," I said, "The lids look too heavy for me to move on my own."

"Very well. It shall be done," Michosiel said.

Michosiel jumped on top of one of the boxes and pried the lid off as easily as if it had been made of cardboard. There was a screeching sound as the nails were pulled free of the wood. Michosiel set the lid down as though it wasn't heavy at all. I felt the floor vibrate when Michosiel set the heavy lid down.

As Michosiel hopped onto another box and pried its lid off, I saw Fryn and Freyr playing some sort of game in a corner. They were chasing each other around and would occasionally rub their ears together.

Michosiel had pried all of the lids off the boxes when I turned back to check on his progress. He was starting to take the merchandise out of the boxes. A small pile was starting to form next to the nearest box.

I started moving the items over to the shelves Keshee had indicated. I started sorting the items ahead of time. I soon saw why Keshee might not have wanted to do the job given his obsessive compulsive nature. The items were completely unsorted. It probably would have annoyed him to no end.

Fryn played with Freyr for awhile. Occasionally Fryn would move some of the smaller items and set them in the small piles I was making, but he didn't help for long. Michosiel and I did the majority of the work. By time I had finished organizing all of the merchandise, my muscles felt fatigued. I noticed that I was very hungry too.

"Thank you for all you help, Michosiel. You are dismissed," I said to Michosiel.

Michosiel bowed and disappeared as he returned to the spirit realm.

"Are we done already?" Fryn asked.

"Already? I've been working for eight hours straight!" I said indignantly.

"It doesn't seem like it has been that long," Fryn mused.

"Oh, whatever. Let's go," I said.

When I exited the basement, Keshee was not sitting at his chair. As I moved around the counter with Fryn and Freyr at my heels, I saw that he was carefully rearranging some of the spell books on a shelf.

"I finished arranging the merchandise," I announced.

"Ah, good. If you would wait a moment... I am almost finished with this shelf. Someone put one of the big books in with the smaller books... Most inconsiderate of them...," Keshee said distractedly.

He finished with the bookshelf and walked down to the cellar. He returned after a few minutes.

"Excellent job. Nothing seems to be out of place. I shall pay you five hundred golens for your work," Keshee said.

He pulled out a box and counted out five hundred golens. Like the time he had counted the golens I had given him, he arranged the golens into stacks of ten. He indicated that I should put the golens into my money pouch when he had finished counting them out, and I did so.

"Do you want the hairclip back?" I asked.

"You can keep it as long as you use it to keep those uneven bangs at the side of your head," Keshee answered, "It looks better if you keep your hairline symmetrical."

"Okay. Thank you," I said.

"You're welcome. Have a good evening," Keshee said.

I turned and left the Hat And Boot followed closely by Fryn and Freyr. Fryn led the way back to the guild. Like yesterday, Fryn looped through many dark allies. Fortunately, there weren't any scumbags that tried to ambush us this time. The guild looked quite cheerful from the outside as we approached it. I opened the door and walked into the common room.

"Welcome back, Lucina," Flame said as I walked up to the bar.

"Good evening, Flame," I said as I sat down.

"Flame, you're aren't doing that ritual with Gazual anymore. Where did he go?" Fryn said.

"He said something about going off to buy more alchemical equipment," Flame said nonchalantly.

"Hey, Murina, give me some milk please," Fryn said.

"And could I get some dinner please?" I added.

"Coming right up!" Murina called happily.

"So, what did you do today, Flame?" I asked.

"Well, I was fighting Gazual then Ethiza jumped in and beat both of us," Flame replied.

"Just how strong is Ethiza?" I asked.

"Well, she's strong enough to defeat both of us in one blow," Flame said.

"Lucina! There you are!" I heard Vlukyn yell.

Vlukyn ran over and hugged me tightly.

"Where have you been? I've been looking for you for hours!" Vlukyn cried.

"I was at the Hat And Boot," I said slightly breathlessly.

"What were you doing there?" Vlukyn asked letting go of me to squint at me suspiciously, "Were you pestering that obsessive compulsive maniac?"

"Actually, I was performing a job that he had requested," I answered.

"You didn't put something out of place and then watch him push it around until it was perfect? That is hours worth of entertainment you missed out on," Vlukyn said.

"Why would I do something mean like that?" I asked.

"Don't you understand?!" Vlukyn demanded grabbing me and shaking me slightly, "He has a condition that must be worked on! He needs to get used to disorder and chaos. We're in a war! War is chaos!"

"But that's no reason to do things like that to him. He is not an enemy," I said.

"Insubordination!" Vlukyn shrieked, "How am I supposed to teach you anything when you insist upon being obstinate?! I would subject you to more intensive training for this, but you need to conserve your energy before we do the mission. The intensive training shall very taxing after we complete the mission."

"Oh, no," I moaned.

"Oh, yes!" Vlukyn breathed, "Enjoy your day off tomorrow!"

Vlukyn skipped over to one of the tables near the fire. I noticed that Phoebe and Ethiza were both sitting at the table looking at a map. Phoebe and Vlukyn did some sort of weird handshake before Vlukyn sat down with them.

Aside from a small incident when Vlukyn and Phoebe got drunk and made weird orange stars shoot everywhere, the evening passed uneventfully. Vlukyn didn't try to harass me when I went to bed either. I bathed and went to sleep.

When I walked down to the common room in the morning, I was met by Vlukyn, who was holding a shell-like object.

"This is a shell phone," she explained, "Just speak or think of the name of a person you want to talk to, and you will be able to speak with them as though they were standing next to you. Phoebe and I are going to pick up supplies. Call one of us if you think of something that you might need."

"Alright. Thank you," I said accepting the shell phone.

Vlukyn nodded and left the common room. I saw Phoebe waiting for her outside. Flame and Siegfried were sitting at the bar, so I walked over to join them.

"Good morning," I said as I sat down with them.

"Oh, good morning, Lucina," Flame said looking up at me.

"Did you sleep well last night?" Siegfried asked.

"Yes, I slept perfectly fine since Vlukyn didn't bug me," I replied.

"It seems that Vlukyn, Phoebe and even Gazual are all preparing for something. What are they up to?" Siegfried asked curiously.

"We are all going to go on a mission to deal with a pirate like guild called Blood Beer. Would you like to accompany us?" I answered.

"Sure, I might as well come along," Siegfried replied.

After I had eaten breakfast, I decided to visit the Hat And Boot again to see if Keshee had any more signets. The streets were fairly busy as I made my way toward the Hat And Boot. I had nearly reached the Hat And Boot when I noticed a woman wearing a green hooded cape kneeling in front of a pub with her hand on a dog's head. When I drew even with the woman, she stood up and the dog trotted off down the street. The woman started slightly when she saw me and pulled her hood lower over her face. She hurried away before I could say anything.

I curiously watched the woman go for a few moments before continuing to move toward the Hat And Boot. I put the butterfly pin in my hare remembering that Keshee found my uneven bangs to be disturbing. When I arrived at the Hat And Boot, I found that it was moderately busy. Like yesterday, the store appeared to have been recently polished. I found Keshee rubbing a spot at the end of the counter with some sort of cleaning solution. Right when I reached the counter, I heard something make a slight scraping sound. I saw Vlukyn intentionally moving around the well organized merchandise. She had just pushed something from the second shelf onto the first shelf. She swiftly pushed a couple of items around as both Keshee and I looked over at her.

"Hey! Stop doing that!" Keshee snapped throwing his cleaning rag down.

Vlukyn cackled with laughter and ran from the store. Keshee vaulted over the counter and swiftly ran over to the shelf. He started meticulously rearranging the merchandise until the previous order had been restored. Looking slightly annoyed, he strode back over to the counter and scrubbed furiously at the spot on the counter.

"Good morning, Keshee. Have you acquired any more signets since I was last here?" I asked.

"No," said Keshee sounding slightly irritated, "I fear that I haven't heard of any vendors or merchants with any signets. Given the war, they have become more difficult to obtain."

"I can understand that," I said.

"I do wish your belt wasn't hanging off one hip like that," Keshee added looking very disturbed by the way I was wearing my belt.

"But I like it. I feel comfortable this way," I said.

"Well, I suppose you wouldn't wear it like that if that wasn't the case," Keshee said.

"I'm going on a mission tomorrow. Is there anything here that might be useful to a celestial mage?" I asked.

Keshee frowned slightly as he thought about this.

"I do have a ring that gives its wearer some resistance to magical attacks. It is not much, but it does offer some protection. I have a necklace that increases recovery from fatigue and speeds up the natural healing of wounds. Those items would be the most useful for a celestial mage since celestial mages usually lack magic that directly protects their own body from harm," he finally said.

"I may as well buy them. How much for both of them?" I asked.

"Eight thousand golens," Keshee replied.

I paid him. He counted out the golens by grouping them into stacks of ten. He finally counted all of them out and handed me the items that I had bought. I put the ring on my right ring finger and put the necklace around my neck.

"Thank you. I'll be sure to visit the shop when I come back," I said.

"Thank you, my dear. I appreciate your patronage," Keshee replied.

I left the store and headed toward the trading quarter to see if there would be any interesting merchandise. I ran into Flame on my way toward the trading quarter.

"Oh, howdy!" Flame said.

"How are you doing today? You're not causing mischief again are you?" I asked.

"Oh, nonsense! Everyone loves me here," Flame said.

I could tell that he had made this up since everyone who had wares to sell was glaring at him and the guards were ready to pounce on him if he made any wrong moves.

"I wonder if there is anyone around here who sells celestial signets?" I wondered aloud.

"I do, missy," said a voice.

A man with greasy looking skin and hair was sitting at a rather shabby looking booth. He was slightly overweight and he smelled of booze and cheap perfume. I immediately suspected that he was a cheating merchant but decided to check out his ware in case he was telling the truth.

"What signets do you have?" I asked.

Chuckling slightly, the man pulled out a small box. He opened it to reveal a signet sitting on a piece of red velvet. A long beaked bird had been crudely scratched into it.

"This is Vergibeaky the Spear Bird," the man said, "A very powerful spirit that skewers anyone who messes with you."

"You're pulling my leg," I said glaring at him, "That signet's fake. There is no invocation circle on it."

"Why you scumbag!" Flame roared.

He grabbed the greasy merchant by the collar and shook him.

"How dare you try to cheat my friend!" Flame yelled.

He punched the man in the face. The greasy merchant fell backward and the sounds of his merchandise breaking filled the air. Flame jumped on him before he could recover and started pummeling him.

"Flame, stop it!"I shouted.

"Damn it, you savage boy!" one of the guards yelled, "Why must you cause trouble every time you come here?!"

The guards swarmed over to Flame and tried to pry him off the greasy merchant. Flame didn't take kindly to this, for he turned on the guards and started pounding on them too.

"Beat it, you stupid tin men!" Flame yelled.

"Why do I have to be stuck with a simple-minded idiot?" I moaned.

"Do you know this man?" someone asked me.

"I just met him. I don't know who he is," I said.

Just then Flame smashed into one of the buildings in the process of fighting off the guards and smashed a huge hole in the building's wall.

"Damn it, stop that boy before he destroys the entire place again!" one of the merchants howled hunching low over his booth.

"Flame, what is the meaning of this?!" Ethiza's voice suddenly shouted out.

Flame stopped in mid motion allowing the guards to dog pile him.

"Our reputation is already bad enough without you destroying everything in the town," Ethiza said.

"That greasy, slimy scumbag tried to cheat Lucina!" Flame howled pointing a finger at the greasy merchant, who was trying to collect his fallen merchandise.

"That doesn't give you the right to suddenly beat on him," Ethiza said, "You could have solved the problem in a more civilized manner."

"Ethiza, thank God you're here!" one of the merchants exclaimed in relief.

"What were you doing before you started beating up the merchant? If you're not doing anything important, go back to the guild and cause no more trouble today," Ethiza said to Flame.

"I was looking for Fryn," Flame replied.

"Fryn is back at the guild," Ethiza said.

"I could have use that information earlier," Flame muttered.

Ethiza looked as though she just noticed the guards on top of Flame.

"What are you guys doing?" she asked, "Don't just lie around. Get back to your posts."

"You're not our employer," one of the guards snapped at her.

"Flame is, as of now, under my control. You no longer have any concern here," Ethiza said.

The guards grudgingly complied and went back to their posts leaving Flame on the ground.

"Now, Flame, you should go back to the guild and meet up with Fryn unless you had something else to do," Ethiza said.

Flame obliged by getting up and walking toward Celestial Storm. Ethiza then shifted her attention onto the greasy merchant that Flame had been beating up a few minutes ago. Sensing her gaze on him, he started packing up his merchandise at a faster pace.

"And you, quit trying to sell our members things you scraped off of the bottom of a trash can," she said coldly.

"Y-yes, Mistress," he gulped, "I have seen the error of my ways."

"If you truly have, then you will put all your garbage back in the trash can and sell things of real value," Ethiza remarked.

"Oh, yes, Mistress," the greasy merchant said quickly.

"If you are looking for signets, try that merchant over there," Ethiza said pointing to a thin man with straw colored hair, "He sometimes has signets although there is no guarantee that he will have any now."

Ethiza handed me a bag.

"This contains adventuring supplies that may come in handy during our mission," she said, "Hold on to them."

"Thank you," I said, "I shall."

Ethiza walked over to a merchant that appeared to have a wide array of armor and weapons. She started getting into a deep conversation with that merchant. I walked over to the merchant that Ethiza had pointed out.

"Good day, young miss. What can I do for you?" the man asked in a thin, reedy voice.

"I am looking for signets. Do you have any?" I asked.

"I only have two. I'm afraid that they are only good for pets. Spissura the Hopping Sparrow and Wakua the Quaking Mallard," he said showing me the two signets.

I sighed.

"They won't be of any use to me. Thanks for showing me what you have though," I said.

"You're welcome. Hopefully you will visit at a time when I do have useful signets," the man said.

I heard Ethiza squeal in excitement from behind me. I saw her looking at a sword that was decorated with elfin designs. I walked over to where Ethiza was.

"How much is it?" Ethiza asked excitedly.

"Nine millions golens," the merchant replied.

"I'll buy it," Ethiza said pulling out a magic pouch and paying the man.

After Ethiza had paid the man, she turned around to look at me.

"Do you have a good sword?" she asked.

"Well, I have a good sword that uses sonic magic," I said.

"May I see it?" Ethiza asked.

I took my sword out of its bag and handed it to Ethiza. Ethiza started carefully examining it. She looked at the scabbard then pulled the sword out of its scabbard. She checked its balance and checked other things about it. I saw the merchant looking over Ethiza's shoulder as though he was examining it too.

"Hmm...," Ethiza said, "This is a pretty good sword, but I can see some major flaws. It is not impressive, but it also is not awful."

"Yeah, I have to say the same," the merchant said, "It has some good enchantments on it, but its power is limited. I can think of a bunch of enchantments that could break through this sword."

"Well, that settles it then," Ethiza said.

"That settles what?" I asked.

"You need a sword that is more powerful than this one," Ethiza said.

"But I like the sword that I have. I don't want to get rid of it," I protested.

"No, that's not what I meant," Ethiza said, "What I said was that you need another sword."

"I'm not really good at determining what sword would be good. I'm not sure that I can afford a new sword right now especially one that is more powerful than the one I have right now," I said.

"Then I'll just have to buy it for you," Ethiza said.

"Ah, no, no! That's not necessary," I said quickly.

"Don't be ridiculous! Of course it is! The difference in a sword's power could save your life," Ethiza said.

Ethiza turned around and began examining the swords again. After looking over the swords, she noticed an exotic looking suit of armor that appear to be of elfin make.

"Put that on my tab," Ethiza instructed the merchant.

"Aha! I found the perfect one for you, Lucina," said Ethiza holding up a long sword that had been decorated by elfin runes and symbols. The blade was exotically shaped and appeared to resemble a lightning bolt. The hand guards were decorated by yellow gems that appeared to have electricity crackling in them.

"How much is this one?" Ethiza asked the merchant.

"Eight million golens," the merchant replied.

"And how much is the suit of armor I put on my tab?"

"Nineteen million golens," the merchant answered.

Ethiza paid him for both items and handed the sword to me. It was incredibly light.

"This sword's name is Thunder Break," Ethiza said.

"Thank you," I said feeling a bit at a loss for words.

"There is no need to thank me," Ethiza said, "This is my gift to you. Use it well."

"I will," I promised.

Ethiza smiled at me.

"I know you will," she said confidently.

Ethiza and I walked back to the guild together. When we got back, we saw that Flame and Gazual were battling it out.

"Flame, can you hurry up and finish this boring ritual? I want you to buy me more candy," Fryn said.

"I just bought you about a hundred pounds of candy two days ago. Don't tell me you ate it all already," I said.

"Well, it was good, and I wanted to keep eating it," Fryn said.

"Gyaaaaaaaaaaah! You bought Fryn candy and neglected to get candy for me?!" Vlukyn's voice shrieked from behind me.

"Well, I can always go buy you some candy if you want some that badly," I said to Vlukyn.

"Really? You are such a nice woman. I made the right choice in selecting you," Vlukyn cried happily.

I looked over at Ethiza. In the few seconds I had spoke to Vlukyn, she had moved over to Flame and Gazual. She was now standing on top of the unconscious forms of Flame and Gazual.

"Do you two always look for every excuse to tear each other's guts out?" Ethiza asked the inert forms beneath her.

Being unconscious, they didn't say anything, of course.

"Woohoo! Way to go, demon partner!" Vlukyn hooted.

"Uh! Uraaah! Flame!" Fryn cried.

"You don't seem to care about Gazual that much," I remarked.

"He's not important," Fryn said dismissively.

"Fryn, why didn't you try to stop them?" Ethiza demanded.

"What? In a little body like mine? Oh, I try to tell them not to fight, but they never listen to me! Awaaaaaaaaah!" Fryn cried.

Ignoring Fryn, Ethiza turned to the other guild members.

"Why didn't any of you try to stop them? They could've torn apart the entire common room in seconds," Ethiza demanded.

"Now, now Ethiza," said Murina, "They weren't going to kill each other or harm anyone else, so there was no reason to try to stop them. Besides, isn't it fun to watch them?"

"Yeah, some people pay a lot of money to see things like that," Kelix added.

All of these people are insane, I thought.

"Yeah, it is quite common to see wizard duels all over even in good guilds. Of course, the council has been trying to make wizard duels illegal...," Murina said.

"Because they are a bunch of stupid old fools with dung for brains," Kelix said as he rolled his eyes.

Dukhiza came down the stairs just then and added, "I'm shocked that they have anything in their cranial cavity that has the slightest bit of sentimental value."

"Right. Good point. Dung is useful as a fertilizer, and their brains, or lack thereof, would only make plants wither," Kelix amended.

"Hey, Ethiza, have you gotten the new girl ready?" Dukhiza asked.

"Dukhiza, why do you even show any interest in the new girl at all? She is bound to run away like the last girl with jugs that size. She isn't worth noting since she'll be gone within the next couple of months," Kelix said to Dukhiza.

"I suggest you look on her right deltoid," Dukhiza said, "You'll find your answer there."

Kelix tilted his head to get a look at my right arm. He suddenly stood up, set his drink down and hurried over to me nearly tripping over his stool in his haste. I flinched slightly, alarmed by the sudden interest the unfriendly dark elf was suddenly showing in me. He seized my arm and stared at my Celestial Storm symbol. He turned my arm slightly as though he thought that the color might be a trick of the light. At one point he nearly lifted me off my feet when he suddenly lifted my arm over his head.

"Be a little more gentle with Lucina. You shouldn't be rough to a charming young lady like her," Sreldes said from the bar.

"I'm not hurting her, so shut up," Kelix said, "As it is, I've lost a lot of my dignity by coming over to her and paying attention to a rookie like her."

Despite this, he loosened his grip on me slightly as though worried about leaving a bruise. He pulled my arm down toward the floor to stare at it too forcing me to bend over sideways. He stood up again and pulled something out of his back pocket. I almost shrieked in alarm when I saw it. It appeared to be a jagged razor blade that was shaped like a spider leg.

"Hush, girl, it won't hurt you if you don't jump around," he said.

I stood perfectly still after he said this. He started running it over my tattoo. It tickled at first they felt very cold when it ran over the actual symbol. When the instrument ran over my symbol, a grating sound like metal being scraped over metal filled the air. Kelix flinched slightly and narrowed his eyes as though the noise was particularly irritating. I noticed that the other elves seemed equally irritated by it. Sreldes clapped his hands over his eyes, Murina made a face and Neldi jumped into the air and retreated from the room.

Kelix licked the instrument once then put it away. He ran his tongue over his lips. I noticed that my symbol was glowing brightly after the instrument had been taken away. It slowly faded away until it was normally colored again. Kelix tilted his head and stared at it for a few more moments. He finally let go of my arm and spun around on his heel to return to the bar. He seized his glass and took an exceptionally large gulp of the liquid within.

"Heh, you're paying more attention to the new girl than I am," Dukhiza said.

"Shut up," Kelix hissed.

Dukhiza chuckled darkly in response.

"It will be interesting to see what she is capable of," Dukhiza said.

Kelix just grunted in reply. Dukhiza suddenly looked alarmed by something. He jumped up and leaped off his bar stool causing it to fall over. He jumped over Sreldes' head. Sreldes had ducked a second beforehand as though expecting this.

"God dammit, Vlukyn! Don't touch it!" he roared.

He ran up the stairs. I noticed that Kelix was staring up at the ceiling almost nervously and that his hand had drifted down to grip the hilt of his dagger.

Flame jerked awake just then and yelled, "Victory is mine!"

"Yay! Now we can get candy!" Fryn cried.

"Alright. Let's go," Flame agreed.

He jumped up, ran out, kicked the door and ran down the street with Fryn, who was happily yelling, "Yay! Candy, candy! Yum, yum!"

The half elf ran to the open door and yelled a few choice words at Flame.

After a few minutes, Dukhiza came down the stairs. He was apparently stronger than his rank suggested, for he was dragging Vlukyn down the stairs.

"You stupid broad!" he roared at her, "How many times do I have to tell you not to touch it?! Do you realize what you could have done?! You have even less intelligence than the brains in my vats!"

Vlukyn yelled several words that I didn't understand, but judging by Dukhiza's glare and Kelix's suddenly raised eyebrows, she had said something particularly foul in the dark elfin language.

"Oh, shut up," Dukhiza growled.

Vlukyn kicked herself out of Dukhiza's grip, pulled down her pants and mooned him. She quickly yanked her pants back up as Dukhiza side-kicked her right on the behind. Vlukyn threw a barstool at him and ran to stand next to Ethiza.

"Upstart male!" she sneered, "My demon partner and I shall eat you for dinner!"

"Stupid, naïve female!" Dukhiza retorted.

Vlukyn started to say something equally nasty in reply, but Sreldes yelled, "Be quiet, you hoodlums! You're giving me a headache!"

Dukhiza ground his teeth together looking as though he wanted to run over and rip off Vlukyn's head. Vlukyn wasn't helping matters as she was giving him a lot of obscene gestures, but Dukhiza grudgingly say down next to Kelix. Sreldes rubbed his head wearily.

"I swear," said Dukhiza turning around to face Vlukyn once more, "if you touch it again, I will kill you slowly!"

"Then next time I'll lick it and spit the resulting drool on your pillow," Vlukyn said.

"You certainly are dumb. I would not lick it if I were you," Dukhiza said.

"It's kind of dangerous to have that thing hanging around in the guild in the first place," Vlukyn retorted, "what happens if the volcano erupts and destroys this entire island? The neighboring islands will have a big problem to deal with if it ever got loose."

"That won't happen unless you mess with the wards Sreldes and I put over it," Dukhiza said peevishly.

"I wasn't messing with the wards anyway," Vlukyn snarled.

"Quiet! If the council finds out about it, they will sack us big time," Sreldes snapped, "It is not wise to speak of the matter any further. Cease talking about this."

I looked slightly surprised to hear Sreldes speak to harshly and wondered what they were talking about. If even Sreldes was worried about it, it must have been a very serious matter.

"What is "it"? What are you guys talking about?" I asked curiously.

"Nothing that concerns you, new girl," Dukhiza snapped at me.

"Dukhiza! Speak kindly to the young lady," Sreldes said sharply.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Sreldes," Dukhiza said injecting as much sarcasm as possible into the sentence, "I shall work on my manners. How's this? Mind your own business, wench!"

"How dare you speak that way to my woman?!" Vlukyn shrieked.

Sreldes slammed his glass down on the bar so hard that it broke.

"Silence!" he snapped, "Dukhiza, I highly recommend that you work on the attitude of yours! Vlukyn, stop nagging and pestering him!"

Vlukyn screwed her face up in a pout. Dukhiza stood up suddenly and glared at Vlukyn and Sreldes. He finally stormed off up the stairs. I heard him slam a door as hard as he could a few moments later. I could feel the guild shake from the impact.

"That young popinjay," Sreldes growled.

He seemed to have noticed for the first time that his glass was broken.

"Dear me, I broke it. The youngsters must be rubbing off on me again. It has been awhile since I broke something in anger," Sreldes said airily.

"And some people say that I have an attitude," Kelix muttered.

Sreldes snapped his fingers, and the shattered glass repaired itself.

"I'm sure, in good time, Dukhiza will warm up to everyone. He's a good boy," Murina said sounding as though she doubted herself somewhat.

"You just try to see the good in everyone," Kelix muttered, "Although he has improved somewhat since I brought him here."

"You mean he was worse?" I asked.

"Of course he was worse," Kelix said, "Given the guild he started out in..."

Kelix shook his head and downed the rest of his glass.

"Despite the fact that Dukhiza is a member of the guild, not everyone completely trusts him yet. The poor boy had a hard time as a child. It must still be hard on him knowing that there is some lingering suspicion," Sreldes said.

Gazual came up to me just then.

"I don't think that we have been properly introduced," he said, "My name is Gazual F. Harusozi. I am a generalized alchemist."

"Ah, nice to meet you," I said, "You already know my name."

"Back off Gazual! I told you already; she's mine!" Vlukyn snapped.

"I don't see your name written on her," Gazual said bristling slightly.

"What, no family name?" Kelix quipped from the bar.

"Now, now, Kelix," Sreldes said before I could say anything, "What's wrong with her having only a first name? It gives her a nice air of mystery, doesn't it?"

"It gives her a mysterious nature. Too much mystery. I learned as a child not to trust someone mysterious," Kelix answered.

"Ever since I left the house of my father, I left my family name behind. I technically don't have a last name," I explained.

"Excuses," Kelix said dismissively.

He stood up.

"I have to meet with one of my contacts tonight. I'll be back late in the morning," he said.

He swept off. Vlukyn glared at him as he disappeared down the path.

"Meeting with a contact indeed," she sneered, "Gone off to try to find someone to drive Lucina away, more like. Well, I won't let him drive my find bottle of wine away!"

"Where is Siegfried? I haven't seen him all day," I said suddenly.

"No idea," a couple of the guild dwarves grunted.

"Could it be that...he's cheating on us?" Vlukyn gasped, "Lucina! We have to find him and make sure he hasn't been cheating on us!"

"Well," I said, "I think he might be a womanizer."

"What?! How dare he think of touching other women when he belongs to us!" Vlukyn cried indignantly.

"Surely he wouldn't fall that low," Sreldes said.

Vlukyn ran up to Sreldes, grabbed his collar and shook him.

"Don't you understand how womanizers are?! He is definitely flirting with someone else!" Vlukyn hissed.

"Yes, well, you don't know that for sure," said Sreldes prying Vlukyn's fingers off the collar of his robes.

"For all we know, he could be getting laid right now," Vlukyn ranted, "This is unforgivable! I bet he's gone off to Blazing Eye to play with their harlots! Unforgivable! Unacceptable! Lucina, we're going to find him and bring him back right now!"

"I don't think he has gone to Blazing Eye since he agreed to go on the mission with us tomorrow," I said.

"You don't have to go to Blazing Eye. I can ask them if he's there, not that he is likely to be there," Sreldes offered.

"Yes, yes, yes! Ask them!" Vlukyn urged.

"Alright."

Sreldes dug into one of the pockets on the inside of his robes and pulled out a small crystal ball. He focused on it for a moment.

"Namaezen, I need to have a brief word with you," Sreldes said after a few moments.

There was silence for a few moments then a clear, melodic, male voice came from the crystal.

"Ah, Sreldes. We haven't spoken like this in awhile. What is it?" the voice said.

"Is there anyone in or around your guild that isn't from your town? Specifically, is there anyone who came from this end of the island?" Sreldes asked.

"Hmm... Hold on a moment. I'll check," the voice replied.

Vlukyn tapped her foot impatiently as I stared at the crystal. I couldn't see what was inside the crystal. It looked white and transparent. Sreldes held his concentration, and I stopped trying to look at the crystal ball from different angles after I noticed that Sreldes was still concentrating. I didn't know if the crystal ball required the user to concentrate in order to keep up the communication or not, so I stopped moving just in case I broke Sreldes' concentration. After several minutes of silence, a slight noise came from the crystal ball. It sounded slight someone clearing their throat slightly.

"There are not any strangers in the guild. I do not sense any magic disguises anywhere near the guild. Near the harbor, it is difficult to say since there are always strangers and magical cargo often coming in and out. Are you looking for someone in particular?" the voice reported.

"I'm looking for a human male called Siegfried," Sreldes answered, "His clothes and hair are rather disheveled. You will know him if he's anywhere near. He..., uh, has a rather distinct aura about him."

"Distinct aura as in he is a WOMANIZER!" Vlukyn said her voice rising with each word.

"Vlukyn, Vlukyn," Sreldes said distractedly, "You're disturbing my concentration."

"Hmm... Give me a moment," the voice said.

Another minute of silence ensued.

"There is a dark elf from your guild moving toward the volcano... Your guild has a couple of distinct auras within... You, your bar maid, a member that I don't know... Oh? I do sense something else in your area... Do you have any celestial mages in your guild at the moment?" the voice finally said.

"Yes. Our newest member is a celestial wizard," Sreldes replied.
"Are any of this wizard's spirits wandering around?" the voice asked quickly.

"Erm... Hold on a moment... Lucina, are any of your spirits on this plane?" Sreldes asked me.

"Not right now," I answered.

"Summon one for me, would you please?" Sreldes asked.

"Uh, who should I summon?" I asked.

"Someone of moderate power... That new spirit you got from Keshee's shop should do," Sreldes replied.

"Oh, okay. I summon thee, Freyr the Gale Cat," I said.

"Hello!" Freyr said in a squeaky voice.

"What the hell? Why does it sound like Fryn?!" Vlukyn burst out.

"Hush. Do you sense another presence in the guild now, Namaezen?" Sreldes asked.

"Yes. A spirit that is not particularly powerful but is able to do battle nonetheless," the voice answered.

"Is the presence in the area of a greater power than the spirit you now sense?" Sreldes asked in hushed tones.

"Yes. It goes from medium to greatest power. The difference is like the weak light of dawn compared to the blazing brilliance of the sun," the voice answered.

"Well, that settles it then. Thank you for your help," Sreldes said cheerfully.

"Certainly. Have a good rest of the day and a good evening," the voice said.

"Farewell," Sreldes said.

He put the crystal ball away. It didn't make a bulge in his pocket suggesting that the pockets had been enchanted to hold items that were much larger that the pockets themselves.

"He's in town somewhere, so there is no need to go charging off to the other end of the island," Sreldes said to Vlukyn.

"Well, then we shall simply tear apart the town looking for him. Come on, Lucin—"

"Oh, that won't be necessary. It is good to know that you are worried enough about me to take such measures," Siegfried's voice said.

Vlukyn spun around to face Siegfried, who was standing near the staircase.

"You! Where have you been?" Vlukyn nearly shouted, "You haven't been womanizing, have you?!"

"I was making preparations for the mission tomorrow, of course," Siegfried replied, "And I am not a womanizer."

"I doubt it," Vlukyn said bluntly, "You probably get laid with every woman you come across. I had better not catch you soiling my fine bottle of wine!"

"Why would I want to get laid with a bottle of wine?" Siegfried asked, "And besides, isn't the fact that I haven't slept with you, Lucina or anyone else in this guild proof enough of the fact that I am not a womanizer?"

"You might just be trying to come off as a nice guy," Vlukyn said, "I won't fall for it. All men are dogs. There are different kinds of dogs. Some try to get laid immediately and some try to worm their way under the armor and into the bed by playing the nice, chivalrous guy."

"I think I'm being insulted," said Siegfried, "At least things like this don't bother me."

"Vlukyn, you shouldn't say things like that...," Sreldes mumbled.

"Hmm? What was that, old pervert? If men weren't dogs, people probably wouldn't breed very often. It isn't like I'm saying men are evil or anything. Besides, no one here has any problem showing favoritism to baby boys, so I'm just evening the odds a little," Vlukyn said.

At that moment, Flame did a flying sidekick that sent the doors flying open to crash against the wall. The half-elf let out a roar of pain and rage as his knife slipped and cut into his hand. He roared several obscene words at Flame, who slid up to the bar. Fryn ran after him. They both jumped onto bar stools.

"Hey, Murina, get me a beer," Flame called.

"Milk!" said Fryn, who had two lollipops in his mouth and a bag full of candy.

Murina got Flame and Fryn the drinks they had requested. The half-elf walked up to the bar, holding his hand, which was bleeding.

"Could you heal this cut, please?" the half-elf asked Murina.

"Sure," Murina said.

She cleaned off the cut then brought the half-elf's hand to her lips and kissed the cut. The cut closed and not even a scar was left where the cut once had been.

"Thanks, Murina," the half elf said.

"Just like they say, everything feels better after a pretty woman has kissed the wound," Sreldes said cheerily.

"Aye," the half-elf agreed.

"Sreldes would love to get laid with Murina," Vlukyn told me in a loud whisper.

"I just remembered," Sreldes said jerking upright suddenly, "I need to finish studying my spells."

He ran upstairs.

"No, he doesn't," Vlukyn snickered.

"It is good to see that Sreldes puts a lot of time and effort into studying," Murina said happily.

"Geez, you're about as naïve as they come," Vlukyn muttered.

"Be nice to Murina!" the half-elf snapped.

"Shut up, Changetzi!" Vlukyn snapped, "You just want to get into Murina's pants!"

"I do not!" the half-elf said reddening slightly.

"Hah! You're turning red! You're guilty!" Vlukyn cried in accusatory tones.

Changetzi stood up and stomped over to sit at his customary place near the door. He started carving exceptionally fast. Vlukyn started sticking her tongue out at his back and waving her behind at him. She stopped just before he sat down, so he had no idea that Vlukyn had just mocked him.

I just realized how tired I was from the walking and shopping I had done that day.

"I'm going to go to bed," I said.

"I'll see you to bed," Vlukyn offered brightly.

"I can find my way there and get in on my own," I said.
"Of course you can, but isn't it more fun if you have someone with you?" Vlukyn asked sweetly.

"With you, I don't know what to say," I muttered.

"Leave Lucina alone," Neldi said from where she was sitting playing with a deck of cards.

"Would you like me to tuck you in?" Vlukyn asked Neldi.

"No. I would like you to go jump in the ocean, but that might be asking for too much," Neldi replied in a dry voice.

"I don't mind swimming with the local sharks and chasing the crabs. We can swim in the nude tonight," Vlukyn said.

What kind of a relation does Vlukyn have with the other guild members? I thought as I sidled toward the stairs trying not to make any noise and hoping that Vlukyn wouldn't notice me.

"I swim in the nude plenty of times, but I won't swim nude while you're looking," Neldi said.

"What?! Why not? We're both female," Vlukyn said sounding flabbergasted.

"Well, last time you came across me coming out of the water, you tried to grab my breast," Neldi said.

"Oh, pft! That... What's a little breast squeezing among friends?" Vlukyn said dismissively.

"It's annoying, that's what," Neldi replied, "It's kind for disturbing to have someone run up to you and start grabbing the fat parts of your body."

At this point I had made it to the stairs and was trying to silently ascend the stairs hoping that Vlukyn would continue harassing Neldi.

"The fat parts are the best parts," Vlukyn said, "You can play with them and have fun with them. That's why they say that girls have more fun. If you're a man, you can't grab fat parts on your body except your buttocks. We women have nice round, fat portions on our otherwise slender bodies."

"You're starting to disturb me, Vlukyn," Neldi said, "My mind is going to be permanently scarred at this point. Why don't you go bug Sreldes?"

"That boring old pervert? He wouldn't be any fun even if I did get him in my bed. He's probably all shriveled up and nasty..."

I had reached the top of the stairs, so I made a mad dash for my room hoping that Vlukyn would be too interested in her conversation with Neldi to bother chasing after my retreating footsteps. I made it to my room safely, washed off and went to bed.

Vlukyn woke me up in the morning. Something jumped on me and started tickling me behind the ears.

"Gah! Vlukyn, stop it!" I cried.

"Ahaha! So, you're ticklish behind the ears too? I wonder what you'll think of this then," Vlukyn laughed.

Vlukyn grabbed my foot and started tickling it with a feather. I kicked my feet as I laughed. I was laughing so hard that I couldn't breathe. Vlukyn finally stopped and jumped off me just when I was starting to think that I would suffocate. I got out of bed. I was wide awake after Vlukyn had nearly tickled me to death. While Vlukyn was distracted in my kitchen, I changed into my day clothes and packed everything that I thought would be of use on the mission. Vlukyn came out of my kitchen drinking a mug of tea and chuckling to herself about something.

"What are you chuckling about?" I asked her.

"Someone has piled a bunch of fish up under your window," Vlukyn snickered.

"What?" I cried looking out my window.

Fish of every shape, size and color had been piled under my window.

"What are they doing under my window?" I demanded.

"I think Fryn believes that the ground beneath your window is a nice place to make a pile," Vlukyn laughed.

"Gruh, I'll have to worry about that later," I grunted.

Vlukyn chuckled slightly. The two of us headed downstairs for breakfast.

"Good morning, everyone!" Vlukyn shouted.

Dukhiza acted as though Vlukyn didn't exist. Khanordhoi flinched and held his head. The fact that Vlukyn had yelled seemed to pain him. Vlukyn ran over to clasp hands with Murina and happily greet her. Khanordhoi groaned and clutched his head as Murina and Vlukyn passed niceties back and forth.

Ethiza, Gazual, Flame, Fryn and Siegfried were all sitting at the bar next to Dukhiza and Khanordhoi. Sreldes was sitting nearby reading a long scroll. Hebikage was sitting next to him. Neldi, Stelgun, Changetzi and the dwarves were all sitting at a table eating breakfast together. I took a seat next to Siegfried. Once Vlukyn had finished her happy greeting exchange with Murina, she ran over to sit next to me.

"I managed to reserve seats on an airship that will be leaving in an hour," Ethiza said, "I rented the airship from the council. Better theirs than mine in case it gets destroyed."

"Please don't charge any illegal items to the council," Sreldes said, "Last time Vlukyn and Nifrael did that, I thought we were screwed big time."

Vlukyn shifted slightly and put on an innocent expression that fooled no one.

"We've got the disciplinarian with us. Vlukyn wouldn't do anything that stupid," Khanordhoi said bluntly.

"I am just saying that as a reminder to anyone who might be tempted," Sreldes said mildly.

"We will be very good," Vlukyn said rubbing her hands together and grinning wickedly.

Sreldes groaned.

"Hey, Vlukyn," said Hebikage, "While you're at the black market, I want you to buy a couple of things for me. This bag contains fifty million golens, which should cover everything. There is a list of items that I want inside of the bag too. Whatever gold you don't use is yours to keep."

Hebikage handed Vlukyn a black leather bag. Vlukyn took it with a cheerful, "As you wish, Matriarch Hebikage!" She stuffed the bag into her boot, which seemed to swallow the bag revealing the magical nature of Vlukyn's boots.

After we had finished eating breakfast, we bade farewell to the other guild members, who waved and called "good luck!" as we left. Ethiza lead us to the airship, and we boarded it. Vlukyn sat down and pulled Hebikage's list out of her boot. She started reading it. I walked around to stand behind Vlukyn curious about what Hebikage wanted. I saw that many of the items were illegal alchemy components or dangerous artifacts.

"By the way," Vlukyn said sitting up straighter, "I always go by the alias Athmiel when I'm at a black market. Make sure that you all call me that from this moment onward until we return to the guild. I shall ignore you if you call me Vlukyn from this point on."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Shut up," said Khanordhoi waving his hand dismissively.

"Just don't slip up!" Vlukyn snapped, "I'm wanted in some of the rings of dark elves that visit the black markets, so it will be bad, not just for me but for everyone else, if someone connects Vlukyn to my birth name, Hriezzelvlukyn. The last two syllables are the same, so it wouldn't be difficult for someone to connect the two names especially the dark elves that are accustomed to humans shortening names like that."

"Whatever you say, Athmiel," Khanordhoi said, "You can call me by my usual name. I am smart enough not to get into enough trouble to have a bounty on my head. Not one that people would go out of their way to collect, anyway."

"If anyone else has an alias, tell everyone," Vlukyn said.

"Lucifer is my alias," Dukhiza said.

"Here that, Lucina? From now on, I'm Athmiel and Dukhiza is Lucifer. Do you have an alias?" Vlukyn said to me.

"No, I don't have one. There is no need," I replied.

"Don't be ridiculous! I'll come up with one for you then. Hmm... We'll call you Anicul while we're on this mission. Fryn and Flame are already covered. Ethiza is the Bladed Demon Mistress. Khanordhoi is himself, poor, boring fellow. Siegfried needs one too...," Vlukyn said.

"But that's just my name backwards!" I snapped.

"Siegfried is fine. There is no one among the dark cults or guilds that knows me," Siegfried said.

"Insubordination!" Vlukyn roared, jumping up to whacked my head with Hebikage's list, "I demand that you use your new alias!"

"I told you. It is not necessary," I moaned.

Vlukyn paused.

"You've been to black markets before. Have you always used your birth name?" Vlukyn said as comprehension dawned.

"Yes, I've been to at least thirty black markets and have always used my birth name," I replied.

"Never mind then! It would look suspicious if we started calling you by a different name and someone there recognized you as Lucina despite the fact that we were calling you Anicul. Alright, Khanordhoi, Gazual, Siegfried, Flame, Fryn and Lucina are going as they are. I am Athmiel, Dukhiza is Lucifer and Ethiza is Bladed Demon Mistress. Good. Remember that," Vlukyn said quickly.

Khanordhoi sneered, and Dukhiza rolled his eyes. Flame, Ethiza and Siegfried all nodded.

"Uh-huh, uh-huh!" Fryn squeaked in agreement.

"Okay," I said.

Ethiza was turned on the airship and steered it into the air. Fryn let out a few squeals of glee as we shot toward the sky. Vlukyn was sitting on her chair with her legs crossed frowning as she gazed at Hebikage's list. Khanordhoi seemed slightly sick. It seemed that he was still hung over, and he clutched his head as we ascended into the sky. He finally hurried off to the back of the ship when we were flying along in the sky. Flame, Fryn and I stared out the window looking at the ocean below us. Gazual was sitting stiffly in the middle of the airship determinedly looking anywhere but at the large expanse of water below us. Dukhiza looked bored as he sat on his seat.

It did not take long for us to reach Thaekartas Island, for it was not particularly far away. Ethiza landed the airship smoothly in a hangar that she seemed to have reserved. She stepped off the ship first and exchanged a few words with a man wearing a red robe that was open in the front. It looked like the man might have a dark elf ancestor, for he had a fairly smooth face with a long nose and angular eyes although his large muscles, dark eyes and long black hair were certainly human traits. The man walked off after Ethiza had spoken to him. I assumed that the man was in charge of the reservations in the hangar.

"The most prominent guild here is Granite Drum," Vlukyn muttered to me, "They're a neutral guild. That fellow there is one of their wizards. Rumor has it that his grandfather is a dark elf. They don't care what happens one way or the other, so there really is no need to pay any attention to them. Just smile and wave."

I nodded to let Vlukyn know that I had heard her. We all followed Ethiza out of the hangar and into a crowded square. The airship hangars and wharf connected her, and it was a chaotic place. People were coming and going moving merchandise along. Khanordhoi and Dukhiza soon move up even with Ethiza, and the three of them elbowed and pushed their way through the crowd with Vlukyn on their heels. Fryn and I followed Vlukyn. Flame and Gazual were behind us, and at one point I thought I heard them growling at each other. Siegfried was behind Flame and Gazual looking unconcerned by all the bustle surrounding us.

We finally broke free of the bustling people in the square. I saw and inn in the distance, and Ethiza was leading us in the direction of the inn. Khanordhoi and Dukhiza were still flanking her almost like a grim honor guard. They glared at a few boisterous young women dressed in nearly transparent black gowns. The women stopped skipping toward us and hurried into a nearby shop.

"Don't let anyone like that near you," Vlukyn hissed at me, "They will be at the black market later on, and they'll have stolen golens off anyone stupid enough to get near them. They're a sect of young witches. They all wear nearly transparent black dresses and suits."

I nodded. I had seen people dressed like that in other black markets, but I didn't want to point that out to Vlukyn in case she started whacking me over the head with her bag.

Khanordhoi and Dukhiza managed to scare off anyone who happened to come to close to us. They usually had only to glare at anyone who looked like they might come too close to us. Khanordhoi snarled at a young boy like an animal just before we reached the inn, and the child let out a squeal of fright as he turned and ran away.

"I hate kids," Khanordhoi growled.

Ethiza walked up to the inn and kicked the door open. A large man wearing an expensive looking suit jumped and moved in front of Ethiza. Khanordhoi and Dukhiza jumped at him, and he retreated with many apologies apparently not wanting to have anything to do with three mages that looked like they could easily destroy the inn.

The inn was moderately busy. There were several more women wearing nearly transparent black dresses sitting at the bar. Two female elves were sitting at one end of the bar. Both of them seemed to be deep in conversation about something. A young, lanky man with a long face and puffy lips was sitting near the women in black gazing open mouthed at them. Two large men and a fairly large woman were sitting near the lanky man occasionally glowering at the women in black. Several of the tables were occupied by groups of people eating and drinking. One of the tables was the center of attention due to the fact that a voluptuous dwarf maiden was currently dancing on the table. Beyond the spectacle of the dancing dwarf was a gambling table. I almost immediately recognized the eye patched man and his two bodyguards. They had looked up and saw Ethiza, Khanordhoi and Dukhiza enter. When they saw Flame come in behind me, they quickly got up and hurried to leave the inn. Judging by the look on Flame's face, he did not recognize them as they slipped behind him and nearly ran from the inn.

"Hmm, they seem to be in a hurry for some reason," Flame muttered.

"Did they know you?" Vlukyn wondered aloud, "They looked very afraid of you."

"Those were the guys who tried to mug me after a gambling match. Flame saved me. That was how we first met," I explained.

"What?! How dare they try to mug my woman," Vlukyn hissed, "If I see them again, I'll grind them into burger and eat it!"

"Don't talk about cannibalism where anyone can hear it!" Khanordhoi hissed.

Vlukyn made a rude sound rather like a belch at Khanordhoi's back. Ethiza walked over to an empty table and sat down. We all sat around at the table.

"So, what time does the market start?" Dukhiza asked Vlukyn.

"Not until around dinner time," Vlukyn replied, "We've got time to scout around."

"I'm going to go do some gambling so we can get some spare change to spend at the market," I said standing up.

"I'm coming with you!" Vlukyn said immediately.

"I was just about to ask you to come with me," I said.

Vlukyn looked completely dumbfounded by this information. She blinked and stared at me in shock. It almost looked as though I had slapped her hard across the face.

"Really? You definitely know a good gambler when you see one," Vlukyn said.

Khanordhoi snorted.

"Well, at least no one will accuse you of cheating. Vlukyn always has terrible luck," he said.

"I do not!" Vlukyn snarled, "Every time I play with you, I beat you soundly."

"That's because my luck is terrible with gambling. There's a reason that I never gamble unless I'm drunk enough to be tricked into it," Khanordhoi said dismissively.

"Gambling is a risk. That is what makes it fun," I said, "Besides, I have the luck of the gods on my side."

Vlukyn and I strode over to the gambling table. Two greasy looking men and a dwarf with a particularly wild looking beard were at this table. Vlukyn and I played a few games with them, but they didn't bid very high. Vlukyn and I weren't able to convince them to bid anything higher than one hundred golens. We won against them.

We finally shifted to another table. This table was occupied by a gloomy looking woman, an elf and a rather husky looking man. We played a few games with them and bid five hundred golens by the end. We won, and our opponents finally left after having lost all the money they cared to lose that day. We shifted to yet another table. This table was occupied by two dwarves, some kind of gnome and an elf maid. We played several rounds with this group. The elf maid won one round, the gnome won another round, and we finally agreed to bid up to two thousand golens. Vlukyn and I won that round.

"Aye, ye trumped us," the dwarf said.

"Huh, you guys are actually pretty good," the elf maid said, "Someone with your skills should try taking on that man over there. He is very good with dice and extremely lucky."

"He bids high too," the gnome added.

Vlukyn clapped me on the shoulder.

"We've found our big golen supplier," she said.

We stood up and approached the man. A rather large woman had just joined him, and the two of them looked glad to have two more players. The man was rather attractive with a heart-shaped face, flowing black hair that went to his shoulders and a muscular physique.

"He's very attractive," Vlukyn whispered to me.

I nodded in agreement.

"Good afternoon, ladies. Would you like to play with me?" he said.

"Oh, yes, we would," Vlukyn said grinning wickedly and rubbing her hands together.

The man motioned to two seats.

"Very well, we shall start eh bidding at one thousand golens," the man said as Vlukyn and I sat down.

"You're on," I said.

We rolled our dice for the first round. The man got the best dice roll and won. He similarly won the second round.

"You cheated!" Vlukyn immediately accused.

"And how did I cheat?" the man asked Vlukyn.

"Your dice are loaded!" Vlukyn declared.

"No, they're not. As you may recall, I got four sixes on the first round and three fives and two sixes on the second round," he said.

"Give me your dice! I won't be satisfied until I've tested them myself!" Vlukyn snapped.

"Very well," the man said handing Vlukyn his dice.
Vlukyn started rolling the dice. She rolled them six times and got random numbers each time. Vlukyn grabbed each individual dice and examined it closely. She finally started dropping the dice and watching them roll on the table clearly determined to find something wrong with the dice.

"Can we play yet? We don't have all day," the man said.

"No, we cannot!" Vlukyn snapped, "After I've seen if these dice are weighted or not, we can resume play!"

She pulled something out of her back pocket and put the dice in the wire skeleton of a box. The dice levitated into the air and began spinning. The dice slowed and dropped onto the table again after a few seconds. Vlukyn threw up her hands in exasperation.

"Well, they aren't weighted, but you definitely fixed them somehow. I'll be watching you," Vlukyn said handing the dice back to the man as she stuffed the wire device into her back pocket again.

"Very well. Our next bid will be at two thousand golens," he said.

"You're on," I said.

"Bring it! We can handle anything!" Vlukyn said aggressively.

We rolled our dice. After the man had rolled his, I watched the dice carefully. I noticed something. The dice rolled five of a kind as though the dice had wanted to roll five of a kind. I did not say anything, however. Vlukyn's lips were pursed, and it seemed that she had noticed this too. She was uncharacteristically holding her tongue.

One the second round, I rolled my dice first. When he rolled his dice and the dice had come to a complete stop, I slammed my hand on top of the dice. I stared down at my hand intently.

"Is there something wrong, miss?" the man asked, "Don't tell me you're mad because you lost."

I was not paying any attention to him. I was focusing on the dice as I moved my hand and picked the dice up off the table. I looked at the dice in my hand carefully.

"Now it is time to own up!" Vlukyn said triumphantly, "You have been cheating!"

"Reveal yourself," I said to the dice, "You're a celestial spirit, aren't you?"

In response, I heard the dice chuckle darkly. In a puff of smoke, it transformed into a little man that was sitting in my hand. He definitely had the look of a clever trickster. He had long hair and a slim but sturdy body. His leather outfit was covered in pockets that looked like anything could come out of.

"Heehee! She found out your secret," the spirit said.

"Hah! Cheater!" Vlukyn cried, "I'll rip your guts out and feed them to the sharks for this!"

"There's no point in me keeping your money now that you've found out," the man said handing our money back, "You have great perception. I do like you girl. May I ask your name?"

"My name is not important. What is important is why you are using this spirit for your own gain. Why are you doing this?" I replied.

"Ah, spirits are nothing more than tools to be used for one's own gain," the man replied casually.

"You couldn't be more wrong. Spirits have feelings and thoughts of your own. I am disgusted that you would call yourself a celestial mage," I argued.

Vlukyn pulled a curved dagger out of her boot and pointed it at the man's face.

"Let's hack him up!" she snarled.

"If we do that, we'll give ourselves away," I whispered to her.

Vlukyn growled and sheathed the dagger.

"I wish to play another game with you," I said, "We will each use the exact same set of dice. If I win, you must give me this spirit's signet and break your contract with him."

"And what do I get if I win?" the man asked.

I took my signet pouch off my belt and opened it revealing the signets inside.

"You get to choose any of the signets within," I answered, "And you wanted to know my name earlier. It is Lucina."

"This is truthfully a treat, Lucina. It has been awhile since I have met such a worthy opponent. I usually don't tell my name to other players. You can call me MacLennan," the man said.

He reached into his coat and pulled out a pair of very old and battered looking dice. They were covered in grime and dirt. One of the dice even had a crack in it.

"This is a very special dice set. This was the first dice set I ever got. It had been years since I last used this set. You should feel honored," MacLennan said.

We both used the dice to roll. I won the first round while MacLennan won the second round. MacLennan was laughing with what appeared to be joy. I saw Vlukyn biting her nails in the background. The large woman was sitting in her seat calmly.

MacLennan cast his hand. He got a full house of six.

"Crap! Unless you get a straight five or straight six, there is no way you're going to win!" Vlukyn cried.

"Quiet, Vlukyn. We don't know that unless we roll," I said.

"Then roll already!" Vlukyn snapped, "I can't take it!"

I rolled my dice. I watched the dice carefully. I got a two, a three, a four and a five. The last dice was still tumbling across the table as I dropped my head in defeat. I heard MacLennan let out a laugh. Vlukyn squealed.

"Huhhh! I lost," MacLennan said.

I looked up at this. My last dice had landed on a six. Sorrow turned to joy when I realized what had happened.

"Hah! Loser!" Vlukyn cried pointing at MacLennan.

"Yeah! I got a straight six!" I cheered.

"Huh, well, Puck, I suppose this is where we part. Our contract is now broken," MacLennan said.

"Ah, yes," Puck said, "The contract is, as of right now, broken."

"Well, I've had a lot of fun with you all these years," MacLennan said.

"Likewise," Puck said.

MacLennan reached into his pocket, grabbed something and held it out to me. He dropped a signet with a piece of black onyx set into it into my hand. MacLennan stood up, put his dice away and collected his belongings on the table.

"Well, it has been an honor, Lucina. Next time we meet, let's play fair and square. I'm going to leave before I lose anything else of value today," MacLennan said.

With that he strode out of the inn.

"Ha! Take that looser! Go on, get out of here! We don't care about you! Go crawl away and die!" Vlukyn shouted at him as he left.

She seized a spoon from a nearby table and threw it at MacLennan. He simply lifted his hand and waved goodbye to her.

"Well," I said to Puck, "do you want to form a contract with me?"

"Your concern for my well being has touched me. I shall form a contract with you," Puck replied offering me his small hand.

As I reached out for his hand, his hand grew to normal size along with his body. He was now sitting cross legged on the table. The golden ribbons wrapped around our hands and wrists and sank into our bodies.

"Contract sealed," we both said.