Though she knows that the Fenrimorph in front of her is not going to harm her, she can't help but be wary of it. The red eyes that seem to glow, alongside sharp teeth and spiked horns give her the sense of a dangerous beast built to maim and kill. She’s also wary of getting nicked even slightly by the monster's appendages. If that happens, then she is as good as dead. Unlike humans and Wolven, Gemma never survive the transformation. At least that's what her father explained.

With a calming breath, she grabs the Fenrimorphs arms and begins measuring each and every part from extended claws to individual fingers. She does the same to the other hand, more-so to make sure that the measurements are the same.

“Done.” She takes a step back.

The Fenrimorph yawns. Then it disappears and is replaced by a cat.

The cat yawns and hops up on a table. “So, how does the process of making these runed gauntlets work?”

She takes a seat and lays down her measurements. She grabs a clear piece of paper, a pencil, and a stylus.”

“Well, the first part is to design the gauntlets around your arms’ dimensions. Then I have to prepare the metal to be used. This will involve grinding down the core into a powder and mixing that powder into liquid steel. Once the steel is done, I’ll need to use the metal to craft all parts of the gauntlet and put them together. Finally, I will engrave the runes into the metal using crystal powder.”

Quasi nods. “So… that actually sounds pretty simple. Where does the difficulty come in?”

“The Runeing.” She grabs a thick black crystalline stylus that houses a glass cylinder at the top. “Is done with a rune stylus like this. Powdered crystal is put inside the glass cylinder. When I add my mana into the obsidian-” At her words, the tip of the stylus begins sparking and glowing crimson. “It glows hot enough to engrave metal. As I engrave the metal, powdered crystal will meld into the engraved cracks to form the runic framework. This framework is the most difficult part because even the slightest mistake will cause the rune to fail and then the whole item is no longer functioning and must be re-smelt.”

The cat sits back on its hindlegs while a foreleg scratches its chin. “That honestly doesn’t seem complicated at all. It sounds like you just need a steady hand, a steady supply of mana, and knowledge of how to form the rune.”

Emma snorts at Quasi’s ignorance. “It’s not a steady supply of mana. Each rune needs to be engraved in a certain way with a constantly shifting piece of mana. At certain parts of the engraving, more mana may be required to create a deeper groove, or less mana for the opposite effect. This gets exponentially more complicated with additional runes. Every additional rune added to an item increases the difficulty of applying another engraving. The more you apply, the more mana, control, and skill is required. On top of all that is the time component. Once the first rune is produced, the ambient mana in the air will start entering the metal and increasing the difficulty of the entire engraving process.”

The cat pouts. “Damn, so learning to engrave will take years.”

“Decades. I started when I was five.”

“You were making runes since you were five years old?”

“Started. My first success was when I was eight. It was a simple (Endurance) rune on a frying pan. My dad was so proud.”

“I didn't think the statue could show pride.”

She chuckles. “I grew up in Breston all my life, but my dad tells me that most older Gemma tend to act like him. If you want to see emotions, look at his eyes.”

“I see… anyways, how long will this entire process take?”

Emma leans back into her chair. “A day for the design. One- no, two weeks for preparing the metal, smithing it, and forming the gauntlets. Then two days for the engraving. One for each gauntlet. After that, they should be done.”

“Purrfect. I should be ready to leave by that time.”

The cat stands back up and then stretches. It hops up towards an elevated rack. “I’m going to take a nap while you work on the designs. Wake me up when you’re done.”

Emma watches dumbfounded how not a moment since his announcement, Quasi is already fast asleep.

She shakes her head and refocuses on her work.

______________________________________________________________________

Just as Myers remembers years ago, Runic Working is at the same place as the last time he visited. It even looks mostly the same, what with the clean white angular stone construction so heavily favored by the Gemma. Just below the sign is the only change to the store. The door, formerly like the walls, is replaced by thick runed marble. Which makes sense. Marble is capable of holding several runes in comparison to regular stone.

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He walks up to the door and easily pushes it open on account of the smooth hinges. As the door opens, the top of it taps a bell which rings of his presence. Not that it is needed, for in front of the counter is Afinov wearing a coat.

“Myers.” The Gemma quickly discerns the man entering his establishment. “You should not be here?” he asks.

Myers closes the door behind him and strolls to the counter.

“I didn’t have a choice. [Bounty Hunters] have reached my home and I was forced to flee.”

Afinov squints.

“Why here? You know as well as I do that [Bounty Hunters] are numerous here. If even one of them gets a whiff of you, Breston will be swarmed by the guild.”

“It has been three years. I doubt my bounty is still being hunted.”

“Your bounty has doubled every year- as has the child’s. So long as the child lives, I imagine it will continue to increase.”

“Doubled every year? That’s madness!” Myers exclaims.

“Go to any inn or tavern. Your picture is plastered on the wall alongside enough trist to buy a small kingdom.”

“What’s happened? Something must have changed since I was gone because this sounds like desperation?”

Afinov blinks slowly. “These are just rumors, but when you disappeared, Fallentine underwent a purge; [Nobles] and senior leadership lost their lives or were imprisoned.”

Myers nods slowly. “I already heard of the purges and expected them. What happened after?”

“The purges never stopped. When they finished with the [Nobles] and upper leadership, they attempted to change the [Order Commanders].”

Myers grimaces. “The [Knight] orders serve Fallantine second and the crown third. But above all, they serve the leader of their orders. To move against the [Order Commander] is to move against the entirety of the order.”

“Indeed. The orders fought back, but they were outnumbered by the kingdom's military. Instead of staying and losing, they took their weapons, armor, ships, and left for Magnis.”

Myers goes silent as he digests the information. “Dangerous. The Republic of Guilds avoids conflict. I doubt they would protect the orders if Fallantine were to hunt them down.” Myers strokes his beard for a moment. “How many of the orders left? Do you know which ones?”

“I know not the specifics, but there are twelve orders in Magnis.”

“Twelve!” Myers nearly yells. “That's a tenth of Fallantine’s military and a good half of their expert naval classes.” The old man takes a breath. “With them gone, I imagine banditry and piracy to be on the rise in Fallantine controlled islands. Hell, the Corsairs may be bold enough to attack Fallan directly.”

Afinov notes the pained look on the old man's expression. Pain from building something up, only for it to drop at a moment's notice. He knows the feeling well.

“I apologize if this information pains you.”

Myers shakes his head. “It’s fine. Please, continue. Is there more?”

“What you expect is indeed happening. Fallantine is beset by [Pirates]- but that is less of an issue in comparison to the rapidly deteriorating relations with Lapis.” Afinov explains with nary a movement of his body. But Myers has dealt with many Gemma before, and if you want to tell their thoughts, you gaze into their eyes.

“War. That idiot wants war!” Myers exclaims loudly. “He was never happy about the peace treaty. He wants a reason to break it.”

“So does Lapis,” Afinov adds. “The republic has a large ego and is more than happy to get into another war against a kingdom with a heavily weakened military. Especially one missing their [Royal Admiral].”

Myers balls his fists in growing frustration. “I’ll need to look into this more. I-I need more information.”

“Be careful who you ask.”

“I know, and I will.”

Afinov grunts ever so softly as he glances behind him.

“Now, did you come only for information, or is there another reason?”

Myers' spine straightens as he remembers why he came. “Yes. Currently, I am traveling with a [Captain] by the name of Quasi Eludo.”

Afinov blinks rapidly. “The cat?”

Myers nods slowly. “Yes. That’s him. I heard he was here.I need to ask him where the Ballistae and Cannons he got are located.”

“He’s probably talking about the destroyer, Seden’s Orbit. When I woke up from my wound, my daughter told me he convinced [Lord] Richard to give him everything but the ship.”

Myers frowns. “Wound? Did you get an injury?”

Afinov unclasps his coat to reveal his bandaged chest.

“How did you get such a wound?”

Afinov glances at the entrance to the store and the lack of customers so far.

“It is an exciting story. If you have time, I would like to tell you about it over tea.” Afinov extends an arm and points a finger behind him.

Myers strokes his beard again as a smile crosses his face. It has been awhile since he’d had something other than water and alcohol. “I could use some tea and some sane company.”

Afinov turns around and starts walking to the kitchen with Myers following behind.