Questions

"so how did you get his far?" Arjuna asked Hisoka

Hisoka responded with a sigh.

"the guards that my master's uncle sent abandoned us almost immediately before we trekked out. I had to pull out every connection and resource at my availability to sneak these guards out and to find a merchant caravan to travel with.

"Arjuna leaned back and looked at the sky. It was already dark, with the stars emerging and the moon slowly rising into the sky.

"so that girl, Kei was sent here to die?"

He said while looking up into the sky.

Hisoka also looked up at the sky with downcast eyes.

"yes," he said sadly, "she was"

Arjuna looked down and at Hisoka

"but she doesn't know does she"

Hisoka looked back down at Arjuna, an interested and a small sad smile covering his face.

"she doesn't know the truth of her family's death, does she, her uncle probably said it was a deadly disease or something?"

Hisoka watched as Arjuna finished

"yes mister Arjuna," he said with his head down "you are entirely correct, I fear that if she knows the truth, it will break her"

Arjuna let out a loud sigh and rubbed his forehead.

"Alright," he said looking up at him

"What do you want us to do?"

Hisoka looked at the two of them with serious eyes.

"as I said before, we will not make it out of this forest if we do not have your protection. I fear that more monsters will appear as we go deeper and deeper in."

"so? I thought we already said that we were going to do that?" Arjuna asked looking at Hisoka with warry eyes.

"yes, while we do need your protection, I am requesting something more"

Alanis stifled a yawn, as the two talked. It was getting late and she was getting tired from all of the traveling that they had done.

The campfire started to slowly die and Alanis reached over with her hand to grab a stick to stoke it.

Hisoka looked at Arjuna while Alanis stirred up the fire again.

"My master's brother has stated that we are here for a business agreement with a trusted partner of his on the matter of weapon procurement. That was fabricated and I have been able to figure out that there in fact is no such partner in the city of twilight. Though there is no partner, I'm sure that my master's brother still has plenty of spies and men in that city, my face is too recognizable, I have served at my former master's side for many years, and the guards are oblivious to the situation we are in and would fall instantly in an attack. If Miss Rei were to be found out, the last true heir of the Clarington family would be lost, which is why I am asking both of you, powerful individuals to protect her"

Arjuna nodded interested, but still not fully bought in

"so what are you going to do in the city of twilight? and if there are spies in the city why can't you just take her somewhere else?"

Hisoka nodded and responded

"you can take her somewhere else! in fact, if you think that is the best way to protect her please do so, but I plan to start gathering resources and power in the city of twilight for Miss Rei to use, starting from the guards we have in the campfires next to us. After all, before I was taken in by my former master, I was a businessman, We cannot let the Clarington family be ruled by my master's brother for too long. We must retake it, even if it takes years or decades."

Arjuna leaned forward fully interested

"interesting," he said while grinning

"so what is in it for me?"

Hisoka smiled

"I cannot offer you much, except for a bit of gold, but I can assure you, that if Kei regains her rightful place as the family head of the Clarington family that you will gain your due reward if you have played your part correctly."

Arjuna let out a smile and put down the mug of water.

"Alright!" he said "I think I can try and invest in this for a bit, so what exactly do you want me to do?"

Hisoka replied

"protect the young lady, keep her safe while I try and gather the retainers of the Clarington family and more to our cause in the city of Twilight. Please, if you can teach her some of the skills that you have, and teach her how to be strong and lead a group of people that would be most appreciated"

Arjuna thought for a moment, he communicated with Boops who then went to Jason. Perseus also joined in and so the 4 of them thought about the pros and cons of the situation.

It was obvious that the entire thing was just screaming quest. And it also gave plenty of opportunities with being acquainted with a noble family and even the heir, but on the other hand, they were in a very hard situation where they were actually facing off against the noble family.

Eventually, the general consensus was that if Arjuna was willing to accept the quest then he should, it could become a huge waste of time, but it could also become a huge boon for the operations that Arjuna was handling and planning the Nightshade empire.

Arjuna looked up at Hisoka and reached out with his hand.

"Alright, I accept, I'll protect the girl, "

A smile of gratitude passed Hisoka's face. He bowed a low 90-degree bow.

"I am enterally grateful to you Mr. Arjuna, I will be forever in your debt."

[you have accepted the quest]

[mission: protect Rei]

[rank: A]

[description: Hisoka the faithful servant of the former masters of the Clarington family has requested you to take care of the heir of the Clarington family as he tries to gather enough resources and people to take back the seat of the household leader from the former master's brother. Protect Rei from the many spies in the city of twilight]

[note: this is a chain mission]

[rewards: +10 gold, +EXP, + affinity with Rei and Hisoka]

Arjuna took a deep breath and then nodded.

"Alright, we will keep Rei safe until you have gathered enough influence and power in the city of twilight, I guess we can also teach her some fighting skills"

A smile passed Hisoka's face. A truly happy one in the hopeless situation they were in.

Arjuna stood up along with Alanis.

"Alright," he said grabbing his bow and quiver slinging them over his back. "me and Alanis will keep watch tonight, you guys get some rest."

Hisoka thanked them and went to get some well-earned rest.

Alanis and Arjuna continued to walk to where they would best be able to keep a watch for any intrudes from the forest. They passed the smoking remains of the merchant carriages that they had already looted for supplies.

Arjuna stretched his arms and let out a soft yawn.

Alanis looked over at Arjuna and let a soft smile out she walked over and placed her hand on his shoulder.

"Rest," she said grinning as she pulled back her hood to reveal her emerald-like eyes and shining blond hair.

"ill take the night watch," she said walking deeper into the forest carrying her bow and quiver.

Arjuna was about to chase after her, but he stopped himself, he had journeyed long enough with her to know that she wouldn't back down on things like these. So with a sigh, he took a blanket from his inventory and curled up next to a tree.

The crackling and the popping of the campfire could be heard a few meters away and the sounds of birds chirping and the wind moving in the trees were the only things that could be heard.

Arjuna thought about many things as he lay on the forest floor with a blanket covering him and then finally. He decided to log out.

[logging out]

A blue capsule opened and Arjuna emerged from it stretching out his sore arms as he stepped out shirtless. He momentarily passed the mirror where he could see the six-pack and muscles covering his body. He walked into the living room where he saw two figures laying on the couches.

Perseus lay on the couch snoring away with a half-eaten piece of beef jerky hanging from his mouth.

Jason sat on the floor leaning his back against the couch. His eyes half open as he fought against the tiredness that one felt at this time of the night.

A smile passed Arjuna's face as he walked back to his room to get blankets and pillows for the both of them. He had heard of all that they had done, they had exhausted themselves and pushed themselves extremely hard.

So much so that they might need a vacation soon.

A smile passed Arjuna's face as he also lay down on the soft carpet floor of the living room covering himself with a blanket as he closed his eyes and dreamed beautiful dreams. A place where he was having adventure after adventure, free and happy just like now.