Glenn and Sahro settled onto the cold, hard ground of Glenn's room, their eyes locked in a silent exchange. In front of them, the Howard Family crest ring lay discarded, its golden glint almost mocking their predicament.
“So, what’s the plan?” Sahro asked, his eyebrows furrowed and his arms crossed.
Glenn’s gaze shifted from Sahro to the ring, lost in thought. Finding Callum, kidnapped two decades ago and potentially still under Baron Howard’s control, so soon, felt surreal. They had no actual confirmation whether that Black Heir going around the Baron was indeed Callum, though. Perhaps it was another Black Heir that had been captured and sold to Howard.
Glenn rubbed his chin, “First…We need information. Send word to the Black Heirs that we found a trail, too. I’m sure Giselle would be overjoyed to hear that we already have some news.”
Sahro nodded slowly, “The message will take a week to go through, but I suppose it doesn’t matter?”
Glenn shook his head as he pointed at the ring, “No, it’s just to keep Giselle up to date. We won’t need their support, since I have this.”
The Black Heir glanced down at the ring dubiously, “You’re sure that ring will be enough to trade for Callum’s life?”
Glenn looked at his companion with a puzzled look. A week? It seemed a bit too much when they were so close, even more when considering that Sahro had seemingly been smuggled in without any issues. Sahro noticed his friend’s confusion and raised his hands in explanation.
"I've only recently entered the city. We can't risk revealing the cover of our smuggler."
Glenn nodded in understanding, before chuckling and patting his dimensional pouch, “ To reply to your earlier question, I got that ring off the Baron’s son, Jefferson Howard. I also have his diary. I think it shouldn’t be too complicated to agree to a simple exchange.”
Sahro moistened his lips, “...I don’t know, are you sure it’ll work?”
Glenn sighed, “I don’t think we’re strong enough to attack a Baron and survive. And I don’t know about you, but I’m not a stealth expert, so we can forget about infiltrating wherever the Baron lives and extracting Callum.” He paused and shook his head, “Negotiation seems like our best shot at getting Callum back.”
The Black Heir grunted and leaned back on his elbows, pondering, his expression now a mix of approval and lingering doubt. "Are you certain that this servant is Callum?"
Glenn shook his head, a faint smile playing on his lips. "Not entirely, but I'd say I'm sure at ninety-five percent. We just need confirmation." He looked at the ceiling and sighed heavily, “...We just need to wait for the Harvest, whatever that is.”
He glanced at the window and watched as the sun settled down, leaving place for the twin white moons.
Glenn stood up and dusted off his pants. "Tomorrow, you'll gather information on what the public thinks of Baron Howard. Get a sense of his reputation, when was the last time he came, what he likes to do when he comes to the Northern Town, things like that. Collect as much gossip as you can while doing contracts; we'll need funds just in case."
Sahro stood too, nodding in agreement. "And what about you?"
Sahro stood too, nodding in agreement. "And what about you?"
Glenn grinned, his smile strangely similar to the one often appearing in his left hand.
"I'm going to find out whether it's really Callum or not. And get new clothes," he said, before glancing at Sahro's current garments, "Do you want me to pass an order for you?"
Sahro looked down, still topless, and shook his head.
"Don't worry, my clothes are a bit special. Even if they're tattered today, they'll be fine tomorrow."
Glenn shrugged, "Your choice, your loss." A rumble escaped his stomach, forcing a grimace out of him, “...How about we grab a bite to eat first?”
Sahro laughed until his stomach grumbled too. He shot a thumbs-up at his friend, in complete agreement.
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Glenn looked at the closed sign in front of him. The last time he came to the Armory, he almost lost his soul, thanks to his own recklessness, yes, but still. He entered, Rusty nowhere in sight. He had no idea of how the matter with the Seed of Darkness ended up, but hopefully, it would end up positively for him and negatively for the Thorn’s Church. The more organizations he rallied to his side to fight these sick cultists, the better he would feel.
Unless…Glenn’s heart missed a beat as he thought of a terrible possibility.
'They wouldn't be colluding with the Thorns Church, would they?’ thought Glenn worriedly.
'They do have a strange, suspicious kind of magic,' commented Diamanes.
'You are not reassuring me,' replied Glenn with a hint of annoyance.
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'Good, because that wasn't my aim at all,' countered the entity in his left hand.
The stone chest that contained the black Nightweaver fabric was placed alongside the wall, a strange light coming off it. Curious, Glenn came closer to the container, when a single, white particle flew from it, floating strangely in the air before landing on Glenn. The chest suddenly unlocked itself and opened, revealing its contents.
Glenn's curious expression quickly changed into a happy and satisfied one. A small piece of paper was placed on top of a pile of classy-looking, folded clothes, reading: "You can change in the back store. I also put some gloves in since I saw that you were covering your left hand."
As excited as if he were a child receiving a Christmas present, he picked up the heavy stone chest, barely struggling, as he took it with him to the back store. He ignored the weird-looking stuff in there and quickly changed.
A large, human-sized bronze mirror was conveniently placed in one corner of the room. Glenn gasped, before grinning widely as he stared at his new looks. He had changed quite a lot, and he dared to say that he was now actually damned handsome. If before he was already handsome, now he had heaven-defying looks!
‘...Just listen to him…’ Diamanes sighed, desperate.
Glenn ignored him and straightened his clothes, smiling from ear to ear. He wore a black, elegant waistcoat without a collar, paired with a crisp white shirt and a black tie, opting for a casual yet classy look. He rolled back his sleeves, giving off a relaxed vibe. A leather belt with a steel buckle cinched his black trousers, mirroring the color of his waistcoat.
His hair had transformed from its original chestnut shade into a deep, rich black, save for a single strand that had turned a pristine white. His eyes, now predominantly blue as they were supposed to be, featured a subtle light purple tint in his left eye and an unusual shade of green in the right.
“...Can’t I just cut that strand of white hair off…?” Glenn muttered as he held the intruder in his perfectly black hair. Even the other, mint-smelling psychopath lady should be jealous of his hair now.
‘Don’t worry too much, it’s just a side effect from almost losing your soul, it should go away in a few weeks.’ Diamanes reassured him.
To complete his ensemble, he adorned his hands with black leather gloves, concealing most of the purple skin on his left hand. Nothing that couldn't be hidden by a few bandages, still ensuring both comfort and a refined appearance.
Glenn still didn't have any hair growing on his chin or under his nose, but he was fine with that. His face was handsome enough without any beard or mustache.
He took a few minutes to admire himself, striking poses in front of the mirror. After that, he started getting more interested in the material of his new clothes. The Night Silk gave a comfortable feeling to the clothes, making Glenn feel as if he was born for this suit. It also felt strangely tough and gave him a sense of safety.
"Well, that's probably the best clothes I've worn in my whole life, be it here or on Earth,” He concluded with a big smile. How Rusty Stoneheart managed to create exactly what he desired, Glenn had no idea. After all, that did not look like anything he had seen in this world, a little too modern of a style for this period. It almost felt like the little shopkeeper managed to read his mind.
Diamanes sighed aloud, bored out of his mind. The glove didn't seem to bother the entity as much as the bandages did, weirdly.
“When the hell do you stop admiring yourself and start doing something interesting? I'm not even hoping for excitement, just something interesting, please.” He begged. Glenn clapped his hands, grinning widely.
"Well, about that, I've got the perfect place to show off– try out my new clothes!"
“I heard the 'show off' part, you know?”
"I'm sure you heard wrong. Let's get going!"
With a wide grin on his face, Glenn left the Armory, heading toward his next destination.
Half an hour later, he was standing in front of the Fields, observing the farmers doing their work. The golden color of the wheat shone in his eyes, as he watched over the scenery, trying to find the man he came here for. After a few minutes of searching with his hand acting as a visor against the burning sun, a man with a straw hat finally noticed him.
"Well, I almost didn't recognize you!" Carys yelled from afar, as he waved his straw hat at Glenn. The farmer came to meet him under the guise of a quick water break, a happy but puzzled look on his face.
"Wow, that's some really good-looking clothes. They suit you!"
Glenn smiled widely.
"Thanks, I just got them."
Carys shook Glenn's extended hand, before wiping the sweat falling on his face. The sound of cicadas surrounded them like a permanent background sound, accompanied by the crushing summer heat.
"What can I do for you, uh...?" The farmer struggled, trying to remember Glenn's name.
"Glenn. Just Glenn" answered the young man, "I just wanted to ask if you knew of any good inns where I could offer you a drink?"
The farmer froze for a second, before laughing loudly. He grabbed Glenn's shoulder, patting it a few times.
"Hahaha, of course! That's what real men should do to get to know each other, drink!"
He rubbed his badly shaved chin, seemingly reflecting on what tavern to choose from.
"Hmm, the Auberge was destroyed by a monster recently, so the Frosty Beer will have to do. I heard it’s new, but still…it doesn’t have that bad of a reputation."
The farmer adjusted the position of his straw hat on his head.
"I still have work until dusk, so let's meet there once night starts to fall, alright?"
Glenn nodded with a smile, “Sure, I’ll see you there, Carys.” He bid goodbye to the farmer and turned back, heading into the Northern Town. Something moved at the periphery of vision, startling him. He felt a shiver down his back and glanced at the Fields, staring at a lone scarecrow standing in the middle of the crops. Glenn moistened his lips and straightened his tie, before hurriedly getting out of the Fields, still feeling uncomfortable from the presence of these strange monsters.
'Who would be comfy here, anyway?' commented Diamanes sarcastically in Glenn's mind. The latter wordlessly pointed at the farmers in the Fields, shutting the entity in his left hand up. He then held his hand in front of him, as the recommendation plate to the Magi Brotherhood appeared in front of him in a white cloud of particles. He had put off the visit to this mysterious organization way too much.
Now that he had a whole day in front of himself, he had the obligation of taking care of it. A sudden nudge in his mind made him want to infuse mana in the plate, summoning a small blue orb in the air. The orb started going in a direction, toward the Northern Village, apparently waiting for Glenn to follow it.
The young man obliged, not even surprised anymore. He was finally getting used to all this magic mumbo-jumbo. With a sigh, he looked at the blue sky, placing a hand in front of his eyes to protect them.
"Here goes nothing, I suppose..." he muttered.