So suddenly had the air in this Guild hall changed to one more cold and…hostile…due to the abrupt barging entry of a certain man and his companion—though, the man took the brunt of these apparent antagonistic glares.

Inhaling. Exhaling. Panting away, drenched in sweat, that gargantuan fully stuffed and bloodied sack this adventurer of sorts had been carrying over his shoulder…had taken its toll, even for a hardened man such as him.

This specific adventurer upon whom all eyes seemed to so frigidly glare was perhaps rather peculiar in appearance.

He wore a thick, elaborate, and foreign red tunic of sorts, covered by a layer of chainmail which was underneath a Far Western refined-steel cuirass once donned by their armies centuries ago. His shoulder guards and other auxiliary pieces were all Far Eastern lamellar, however, as well as his knee-guards. But his boots and greaves were Far Western, while his hands donned plated leather gloves in local style. His helmet was clearly Far Eastern yet not of any Far Eastern culture these lands could identify; his somewhat curvy-bladed polearm was equally exotic in that regard.

Indeed, this man was one who appeared to have been to many places and lands, seemingly—an adventurer in the more truest sense of the word.

His companion, on the other hand, was a freelancer mage of sorts—an adventurer freelancer, to be precise… Bronze-rank, judging from the distinct badge pinned upon her. She donned typical freelancer attire—that being the ever-so iconic pointy mage-hat and caped-robes, all of which were an icy-blue sort of color with side colorings of white; an ice mage, she was thus. Though, she also had some basic armoring. A rather simple plate chest-piece of decent quality, basic greaves, and knee-guards; lightly armored and mobile. Her staff had a pointed end to its bottom for stabbing and she had a backup dagger.

Both had a myriad of pouches, satchels, and other such things on them, in addition to their own backpacks.

Of course, Antica was unable to see any such details… All she knew of them was their voices; though, the bouncing sounds echoing about were…starting to give her brain some details, finally.

“There, there, Red” the ice mage companion continued to provide moral support to the back-broken man.

“Great, just keep getting those kind of faces today, huh?”

“Oh look… it’s Dragon Slayer”

“You mean ‘Dragon Extinctor’…”

“I think you mean Dragon ‘Entire-bloodline-banned-from-the-Far-Eastern-Continent’-ter”

“His companion, though… Goddess of Fertility, ain’t she pretty…”

“I’m bamboozled that girl’s still with him. Tch, awful taste in men…”

“Gods’ sacred, I forgot he was even mooching from our branch… Here I thought he finally died”

Such bitter judging voices bounced about from the adventurers around. Even to Antica, the shift in tone was apparent.

“oh, heya reddy. still alive i see. here to turn in, then?” the main counter receptionist, having switched to such flattened indifferent affect, finally greeted with an absent smile.

“Let’s move out of the way…” Novea whispered before gently grabbing Antica by her cloak and…nudging her off to the side and away from the main counter.

Indeed, for as soon as the man heard the main counter receptionist’s voice, he stood himself straight up and back onto his boots, his potent yellow-amber eyes lancing attention with rather the furious glare.

“You!” his ire exclaimed with finger pointing accusation; he stormed right to the main counter, his…somewhat embarrassed companion trailing behind…quietly.

The other receptionists quickly cleared way, leaving only the single main counter receptionist to deal with…him.

With one final stomp, the man halted before the main counter and promptly lobbed the gargantuan…bloodied sack…right over it and to the receptionist’s side, which made rather the sounding plomp. Yet the main counter receptionist remained unaffected; she was accustomed to him.

“Yeah. Quest done.” he said with antagonism, shoving the quest-sheet onto the counter in kind.

“oh. good. please wait for processing to confirm the validity of the collected proofs and i’ll disperse your reward accordingly” the main counter receptionist so indifferently replied, her eyes then…looking at the…thick…bloodied…practically-bigger-than-a-person…sack. “…I ain’t touching that…” her breaths slipped from behind her metaphorical mask.

Her eyes quickly peered right at…two light-blue vested receptionists unfortunately in gazing range. “You two, might you move this over to processing while I…handle him, please?” she kindly requested, pointing at the sack; her hollow cheer hid the reality that…there was no choice on the matter.

The two sighed… Such was not even their job, but now it certainly was. Silent, they simply did as they were told and walked to behind the main counter, taking the quest-sheet and…together, as a team, strugglingly carried away the sack through a door behind.

The main counter receptionist’s eyes returned to the man impatiently standing before the counter. “so, reddy, what’re cranky about, now?” she bluntly asked.

“Oh, you don’t get me started lady, you’ll find out exactly why once they’re done processing” he so irately said.

“or you could just tell me now and not waste your own time.” she flatly replied.

The man tsked; “Tch… Fine. Fine. You wanna know? That Bronze-ranked cave-clearance quest you suggested was misranked and misinformed! Completely Demon-fucked! Sure sure, the sparkle-hounds and bubble fiend-serpents listed were there, but you didn’t mention the organized band of goblins that had tamed them, their endless hoard of jackalopes, and the Gods’ sacred fucked MINOTAUR they had somehow tamed… And don’t get me started with all the guns they had!” he complained in ire.

The main counter receptionist remained unaffected. She rolled her eyes; “wow… a minotaur outside of a labyrinth? i soo believe you, reddy. well, even if true, at least you took the quest” she so coldly replied. “useless to point at me and scream, ‘you!’, i’m not the quest department” she added.

“Yeah. Well, you’re next in line to being the chief of this dump-branch, so deal with it.” he countered; “Listen… I don’t have a single remaining divine-ordained fuck in me to care that your job requires you to be a bitch to me”—he fervently pointed to his companion—“but that quest you recommended nearly got her killed—I can handle the Gods’ own fuckery, but she’s still barely Bronze” he angrily stated.

“ ‘Barely Bronze’… Hmph” his companion quietly muttered, puckering.

The main counter receptionist’s posture changed…somewhat, hearing this; “…is that so?” She glanced at his ice mage companion…who remained a bit evasive and puckeringly shy, not to mention…a tad embarrassed… The companion made a gentle wave upon being glanced.

It was clear from the ice mage’s…acknowledging posture…that his words were true.

The main counter receptionist sighed and leaned in closer; “Fine… I’ll look into it, see what happened in the quest department this time… It’s been desperate times, you know that… Clients aren’t being vetted as…properly” she…more sincerely said and…admitted, her voice whispering.

The man ughingly groaned; “Yeah, but that ain’t an excuse” he bluntly replied; “I expect full compensation for the extras given the severity—that quest was clearly Platinum or higher… No slimly shit” he firmly stated.

The main counter receptionist sighed again; “You know our branch’s policies, Red, and the Guild’s policies too: that is not going to happen, not with you at least… You are lucky that you are still in the Guild, you know?” she stated.

Fascinating dynamic indeed, this man had with…not just this simple main counter receptionist of this specific branch, but with seemingly the entire Guild as an apparatus.

“Fine, fine. The minotaur. At least the full reward for the minotaur, then—I’m not the one the Guild owes this to, Ruby…” He once again eyed his companion, who perhaps did not necessarily appreciate being used in such a way in this situation.

The main counter receptionist…too, looked at the ice mage in kind, who, again, waved faintly upon being eyed. “Alrightly, fine. One time…” she was going to acquiesce, yet then she eyed in the corner…waiting near the quest-board, those two…recent arrivals…

The man’s…rather overwhelming presence…had nearly made her forget…of her prior idea.

She began to grin, yet again, that mischievous grin.

“…oh, no no no, I know that Gods-fucked smile… What are you conniving now, Ruby?” The man swiftly interrogated, having noticed.

“You are intending to head to Huckleberry due to a request, rightly?” she asked, eyes returning to him.

“Yeah…?” the man replied, confused…and disconcerted.

“Well, two…people…walked in before you, requesting transport to Huckleberry, and since you are heading there…” she was explaining, but…

“Lady, I’ve barely got any fucking coin, so unless they’ve made a Guild-approved quest or are willing to pay me themselves, I don’t care.” he so bluntly interrupted.

The main counter receptionist smiled connivingly; “Reddy, if you do me…a favor by taking them off our shoulders, I will do you a favor…by, say, giving you the reward you wanted—I’ll do the paperwork” she said.

The man tilted his head; “…seriously? Alrightly, what are you playing? Why are you now swi—” he was saying, but…

“Reddy, you have been standing there for a time Gods’ unknown and have not turned your head once?” she simply stated.

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“Huh?” the man blurted, before doing just that, turning his attention around to the side of his visual field…staring and glaring, processing and seeing…the two cloaked figures.

His ice mage companion peeked her head over in kind, curious; “Woaha… Are those hexagons patterning that cloak?” she blurted.

The man snapped his head right back to the main counter receptionist at a speed that surely should have snapped. “N-no no no no, no, no, NO. I am not getting involved in the Guild’s political shit and especially not their dirty gutter-business. I just want to quest ‘till the Guild finally falls into its grave. That. is. it!” he so rapidly declared, argumentatively so.

“Who are they?” his companion naively inquired.

“Problems I don’t want to fucking deal with.” he so bluntly replied.

“What is the problem? Why can we not…” she was inquiring.

“Blue, hold it for later…” he cut her off, his attention lancing back to the grinning receptionist.

Novea, having been standing static as if an actual shadow, sighed. She was overhearing their…hard-not-to-overhear discourse. “Oh…Fortune’s luck, ol’ Dragon Slayer is the only one here heading for Huckleberry, huh? Fortune…you really love your games…” she muttered.

Antica tilted her head, hearing between the tonal lines; “Is there an issue?”

Novea sighed; “Issue? Oh, yep, big one… Though, not with me and him, but with him and the whole Guild… Complicated story and I only know the basics. Anyway, we don’t have a choice; we need a ride… and he’s the only one” she replied; “Anyway, follow” she instructed before making way, Antica trailing behind.

“Reddy, you don’t have a choice” the main counter receptionist simply stated as the two suddenly approached.

“No, no, we ain’t playing that game. I’ve got a choice, and I’ve already made it!” the man countered.

“We will pay you.” Novea, arriving, abruptly stated as she halted in place next and near, Antica doing the same.

His attention lanced straight to Novea, her being a Raven not affecting his bluntly entrenched posture. “Listen here, I don’t care how much you and purple hexagons over there are willing to—” he was firmly retorting, yet…

“Really now??” His companion suddenly popped herself into view, usurping control from him; “How much are you willing?” she inquired, her finger shushing the man who scowled in ugh.

“One gold. For each of you individually. I have been provided enough coin.” Novea answered.

The ice mage’s frost-blue eyes widened in glimmer.

Yet the man moved his companion’s hushing finger away; “I said no.” he firmly reiterated.

“And we are broke, Red. Two hundred silvers, that is what they are offering” his companion countered.

“Fine. If that is not acceptable, then two golds. For each of you.” Novea expanded the proposal.

The ice mage…gazed as if the very symbol of these lands’ currency glistened in her eyes.

“Gods’ sacred toilet, they’re going to keep pushing it…” the man muttered quietly.

“Fine. Three golds. Each of you.” Novea further expanded the proposal.

His companion’s eyes slowly creaked to him with rather…certain affect. “Red. Please stop being unpleasant and accept their proposal.” she calmly requested, voice frozen.

“Blue, you do not understand…” he bluntly replied, pinching the bridge of his nose.

His companion continued her piercing stare; “Red, of course I do not understand. You have not explained anything to me. I am ignorant. But our. purses. are. empty. So, accept their proposal.” Her voice only became more...

Well, he knew what such meant... Indeed, he really…had no choice anymore. “Fine…” he acquiesced.

The companion smiled. “Well, you heard him” she said to the two, extending her hand; “I am Blue, and that…angsty boy of a man…is Red. We will take you to Huckleberry… Which city, precisely?”

“Grandberry preferably. However, any town with a Guild presence will do, so as long as we get there. It is urgent and we have already been delayed.” Novea answered, accepting her hand for a shake.

“You birdies will be tossed the first town passed the border, then” the man, now thus ‘Red’—so named from his dark crimson hair—, so bluntly stated.

His companion, or thus ‘Blue’—so named from her silver-blue hair and frost-blue eyes—, immediately gave him a certain eye…after which he silenced himself. “Do you two…have any names?” she naively inquired

Novea, however, delayed her reply. “I…apologize, but that is not within your need-to-know. All that is required of you is our transportation to Huckleberry, afterwards you will receive your payment.” she finally replied.

“Alrightly…then” Blue…acknowledged with a smile, perhaps a tad…disconcerted from that reply—though, the prospect of six golds made her not care too much.

“Now, you hold for a second!” Red interposed himself, “just so we have it clear, you’re paying three gold for each; I want one gold for each in advance and no freeloading… I’ve got business in Huckleberry, and if you don’t want to be dumped in the first town on sight, you two will help, got it?”

Novea suppressed the urge to sigh; “Acceptable. As part of your deal, we will offer our…assistance in any quests you might be doing on the way. However, I ask that you prioritize our transport.” she replied.

“Fine enough” Red replied in kind, before turning his eyes to Blue; “Wait with them outside… please, I’ll finish up here and then we’ll lead them to the wagon”.

Blue nodded with a smile, “Got it!”—she turned her eyes to the two—“Come on now, follow me… Let him finish here and then we will take you”.

“Well, I am glad this all worked out!” the main counter receptionist gleefully said, smiling away, her scheme having worked.

“I ain’t done with you yet, Ruby” Red bluntly stated, eyes glaring.

“Actually, I have to remain here… I have other matters I must report” Novea stated as well; “But please do take my…partner… I will join you after”.

“Alrightly!” Blue acknowledged with a smile, before she began to make way towards the hall’s doors. “Come on now, do not be…” she waved before…abruptly stopping, noticing Antica’s closed eyes… “Wait, are you blind?”

Novea leaned in closer to Antica; “Go on… Uhm, I trust you weren’t lying about ‘seeing with your ears’… Also, remember what I said before” she whispered.

Antica…silently nodded in acknowledgement and began to follow Blue’s voice.

Blue smiled; “Rightly! Follow, follow!” she said with excitement. The two promptly exited the Guild hall, making way before…simply…waiting outside.

-||-

Time had passed. How much time, Antica did not really know. She was not keeping track and had no…reference from the sun to tell. She simply stood in place, stationary, doing nothing.

The denizen she was with, however, could not…stand still. Her legs were…not necessarly jittery…but certainly did not enjoy being still for too long. Despite being shy at first, as time marched forth, she became accustomed to Antica’s enigmatic silence and presence.

“You have been really quiet…” Blue finally remarked, peering closer to this…alien…before her eyes. “Pardon my…intrusion, but…your cloak… I have not seen anything like it before… The materials, are they enchanted? I have heard of Far Western enchantment, but…I have yet to see it, so…” she said, curiosity rather evident in voice.

Antica remained silent, however… exactly as instructed.

“Hmmm” Blue peered ever-closer, now standing in front of Antica…

Antica could feel the encroaching leaning curiosity of the denizen standing before her, her forehead…tingling from the proximity.

“You are really weird…” Blue blurted before…quickly retracting; “I am sorry, I did not mean that in a…mean sense, but…as a mage—freelancer, granted—I… I have exceptional sensitivity, so… I do not know, but…you seem awfully weird in…that sense” she clarified, her voice not…awkward nor nervous, but certainly…flustered her own way.

« … » Fantastic… An arcane specialist with ‘exceptional sensitivities’ was the denizen she was lumped with while ordered not to speak. All she could do was stand there and let this…‘Blue’ character inferentially evaluate her.

The peering only intensified; “Like… It is like you are more of a monster—and I mean that in not a literal sense, pardon me, but…monsters are magical, and…it is as if you are…too?” she remarked, clarifying. “Also, is your skin kind of…glittering? I cannot tell, but it seems…”

“Blue… What are you doing?” Red, stomping out of the Guild hall with his coin pouch far more filled than prior, bluntly asked, noticing that his companion was…not exactly respecting the personal space of the other.

Blue quickly retracted away, aheming; “Rightly, rightly… I became too curious, sorry” she apologized.

Yet Antica remained silent.

“You really…do not speak at all, huh…” Blue remarked.

Red quickly joined them in their standing and doing nothing. “That bird shouldn’t take too long, I hope… But if she’s not back here soon enough, I’m leaving without her” he stated.

“Red…” Blue eyed him…

“What? She’ll track us anyway, her fucking shadow crow is somewhere around here…probably” he replied.

“So, what’s this one’s story? Huh? You’re obviously not a normal Bureau-bug or bird, so…what’s with you?” he interrogated, eyes glancing at Antica.

“She has not spoken once” Blue remarked.

“How can you even tell that’s a she?” Red frankly asked.

“Red! It is obvious! She has a lady cheeks and eyes and…her hair is obviously long and…” Blue began to reply.

“Yeah, well, I’ve seen girlish men like that before” Red replied.

Blue sighed; “Point is received…” she said, before turning her eyes to Antica; “So… might you at least clarify which one are you?”

Antica remained silent… Novea could not be any slower, truly…

“…you know, I could simply…clarify myself” Blue stated, her voice turning more…mischievous and oddly…suggestive.

“Blue, we’re in public. Don’t even… Especially not with these bunch; so, contain it” Red immediately stated.

“Pfft, well, she is not speaking; it is becoming disrespectful…” Blue replied, becoming perhaps slightly annoyed by this…silent treatment.

Antica sighed; « Neșcjo quid diçhates » thus she finally spoke.

Blue tilted her head, hearing these sudden words spoken. “Trinitarian?” she blurted, before lancing her eyes to Red, “See, she is a girl! I have never heard a more girly voice!”

“Yeah, and I’ve never heard any worse Trinitarian in my entire life!” he so bluntly stated, “terrible, terrible accent—‘neshkiyo queed deeshadhes’, quid erat etiam?”

« … » Antica remained silent. Out of all replies, that was the least expected. Though, his accent was hardly any better, to be frank, even for the language he was trying to speak.

“Red…” Blue gave him rather the cold grimacing eye, “respectfully, please stop being a tail-sucker…”

Red…looked away; “Yeah, yeah…”

The Guild hall doors sprung open; at last, Novea stepped out and quickly made way to them.

“I apologize. I am here.” she stated upon arrival.

“Finally, now come on…” Red said as he began to walk off, Blue waving as she did the same.

“Follow” Novea said to Antica as she followed them, Antica trailing along in kind. “So, where is your…transport?” Novea inquired from behind.

“Outside”

“Outside the city” both Red and Blue said in unplanned unison.

Novea tilted her head, “Why…is that?”

Red and Blue glanced at each other before back at her.

“You’ll see soon enough”

“You will have to see” they both said in unison.

-||-

They were outside of the city, neither too close nor too far—walkable, at least. Novea could tell from sight and Antica could tell from hearing…that they were in a more reclusive spot that hardly any would stumble into.

Novea simply stared as she halted before the wagon, freezing, Antica doing the same behind. Yet Red and Blue continued on.

“Alrightly, get on already… I ain’t gonna make space for your shit, so make do with what you got” Red standoffishly said, placing his strange curvy-bladed polearm into the wagon’s back.

Indeed, their wagon was sizable but compact—by no means the same size of their prior Company transport wagon. It had quite the sacks and supplies both within the wagon and attached to the sides. It was evident that these two were not ones to stay in one place, suffice it to say.

There was enough space for Blue, obviously, but there seemed to be enough space for Novea and Antica plus their…stuff too. Though, it would be not-so-spacious of a journey.

Yet such was not either of their concern. Not at all. Something else had enthralled their attention.

Novea’s eyes widened as she saw it, processing; she could tell as they were approaching, yet now that she was standing before it…

Antica, likewise, stood more firm, her guard having risen considerably, her essence having…picked it up in advance. She was standing near something dangerous; she could tell; her essence could tell.

“A… a unicorn???” Novea blurted, nearly breaking character.

There was no mistaking that soft…silky white coating; that…ever-distinct horn; that faint magical eminence radiating. Indeed, she was staring at a unicorn, not a horse.

Antica, eyes closed, could only tell that there was an equine thing of sorts, one that…she did not want to approach.

Red groaned while Blue smiled.

“Yep! Now you see why we have to keep him outside, he is just so…weird and…valuable” Blue remarked, stroking the unicorn’s indescribably silky soft coat.

“Valuable? That is the most expensive…” Novea was blurting…

“Commodity in all these lands and those across the ocean blue” Blue completed, “Yep!” She smiled; “So, we keep him…obscure; we can trust him to be on his own…”

“Yeah, yeah, it’s a unicorn—I never wanted it either—but can we get going now?” Red interrupted.

“I apologize…” Novea replied, before gently tugging on Antica to follow, to which Antica…reluctantly acquiesced…despite every instinct telling her to not.

Blue ahemed; “Rightly, I shall save the…long story of how we…or he ended up with a New World unicorn…for another time. For now, it is the road ahead” she said, approaching the wagon’s back. “Let me help you both on; I hope you look forward to traveling with us—or at least with me” she said with a smile, Red simply scoffing in breath.

“You have our thanks” Novea replied.

And thus, Novea and Antica finally rebegan their…fairly delayed journey in haste.

And with that settled

Perhaps it is time for another…revisit

Of that certain other piece