Prologue

Streets bustled with the life of the night. Towards the east wall of the city lay a paved street that stood still in the void of the darkness, unlike its counterparts. Its grey stoned path was uneven and jagged with a lack of maintenance. The wooden houses that lined the road were battered and broken. Eyes sprouted from every crevasse in the home to peer at the single cloaked individual walking down the street. The man cloaked in black was not oblivious to the whispers that rang from the broken houses around him. He was confident with the sword strapped to his waist, hidden by the cloak, though any unnecessary hassles would be best avoided. Reaching a branch in the street, the man turned, entering an ally. The smell of sweat and garbage entered his nose. Catching his eye was a figure slumped against a wall; it didn't take a mage to know that the figure was a corpse. Without sparing the corpse another glance, the man continued forward, once again turning a corner, revealing another alleyway. The rough-looking men and women that lined the walls stared at him as he walked past them. Although some seemed to be sizing him up, they all knew better than to touch a representative of a client.

Continuing forward unabated, the cloaked man finally reached a door built into the end of the alleyway, and without giving the men, and the women that hung off them another glance, he swiftly entered. Contrary to the outside, the interior was homely, and a wooden desk greeted him. When the elderly female attendant looked up, she had a crisp and well-practised smile, which was the complete opposite of what most people expected when initially entering the building.

"uhh yes, the boss is expecting you," she said from behind her large dark wooden desk, situated just in front of the doorway leading further into the building.

"If you would just head in through, the boss' office is on the left, " she said, gesturing toward the doorway behind her.

Without a word, the man gave a slight nod in thanks and proceeded onward past the desk. Before reaching the door to the aforementioned office, he was stopped by a guard in light leather armour and a sword clearly visible, strapped to his waist, he had the build of a warrior, but small wrinkles that showed themselves as the man smiled, spoke of his age. Even with the wrinkles, the man couldn't help but feel threatened by the old guard, his muscles were taut and lean, signifying strength but not overly so, and his face was clean-shaven with a mop of greying blond hair on his head.

"Sir, sorry for the inconvenience, but I must relieve you of any blades or weapons that may be on your most esteemed personage, along with that there spatial storage ring," the guard said, his hands never far away from his own sword.

"Of course" was the only reply that greeted the guard.

Taking off his simple black cloak and placing it on a rack attached to the wall, the man handed the sword on his waist and the ring on his finger to the guard, who happily took it and placed both items in a small room which stemmed off of the hallway. The guard then proceeded to pat down the man, going through his pockets, finding nothing. The man noticed that the guard never opened the small coin pouch strapped to his waist, only feeling it for anything dangerous. Looking up, the guard smiled,

"Thank you for being so obliging," the guard said.

This prompted the man to think, were there those who weren't as willing. His mind flickered back to the corpse in the alleyway, a slight shiver running down the man's neck. The guard then opened the door leading into the office and gestured for the man to enter. Once again, giving a respectful nod to the guard, the man walked inside. Hearing the door shut behind him, the man couldn't help but be impressed by the office. He could tell the polished concrete beneath him was smooth, even through his thick leather boots. The walls were covered in wooden shelves and cabinets, adorned with books and other decors suited to the room. There were expensive looking plates and artifacts on display, as well as decorating the wall.

"uhh, I assume you're the representative than" Looking forward, he saw a large man, both in girth and size, sitting behind a small desk with sheets of paper and ink neatly organised into piles.

"Yes, sir", said the man bowing, his long brown hair falling over his face.

"My name i-"

"My boy, best keep it to yourself", he interrupted

"a real name in this industry is as good as signing your own death papers", he finished seriously.

"I...In that case, just call me….Abu," the man stuttered, quickly catching himself.

"Very well, and you may call me Silas", a smile quickly spreading on his face.

"Please take a seat, Abu", Silas said, gesturing to one of two seats in front of him.

Abu happily complied, sitting quickly down in the fresh and comfortable leather seats.

"Now, let's begin, shall we," Silas said, leaning forward.

"Very well"

"First off, let's discuss the payment for the products", Said Abu

"Fine, by me. As agreed beforehand, the purchase price will be 2 Mythril coins," Abu said, with Silas nodding his head in confirmation

"One will be paid before and after purchase."

"What's the matter? Doesn't our mutual friend trust me?" Silas said, a grin from ear to ear spreading across his face.

"We are hoping for the best, preparing for the worst," Abu said, shrugging his shoulders.

Disappointed at Abu's lack of reaction to his prompt, Silas pushed the conversation onward.

"So I suppose you're here, to drop off the down payment",

Abu nodded. Untying his coin bag from his waist, Abu took out a single Mythril coin placing it on the desk. Greed surfaced on Silas's face as he carefully took the coin in both hands like he was a mother taking her child into her arms for the very first time. Realising he was staring, Silas coughed to break the silence that had fallen over the room. His eyes narrowed when Abu again took out a second coin, platinum this time.

"What is this for, I'm sorry but I ain't one of those fancy escort types," Silas said, eying the second coin.

"Yes, this second coin is….a gift if you will. Our mutual friend wishes to express his appreciation for this deal and desire to build a stronger relationship in the event of you coming into ownership of any more of the product"

Silas' grin widened, "strong relationship, hell I'd sell my mother for this much money." Silas quipped.

Silas stopped, obviously in thought. Pushing his chair back, he opened a drawer and took out what seemed to be a simple wooden box and a dagger; he noticed that Abu shifted uncomfortably in his chair at the sight of the blade. Smiling to himself, Silas took the dagger and pushed it against his thumb, drawing blood.

"What are yo-" Abu stopped and observed as Silas then held his thumb over a small divot in the wood and let a single drop of blood fall. As the blood hit the box, runes lit up and slowly faded. Nothing happened until Silas put his hands up to the box and easily pulled off the sides.

"Magical lockbox," Silas said, seeing Abu's confused expression.

Pulling the sides away revealed a sizable glass vial with a suspended back flower. The flower had five large petals. They all met at the centre of the flower, where multiple pistols stemmed from. The visage reminded Abu of arms desperate to drag anything into the darkness which was made up by the deep black colour of the petals.

"Not the prettiest flower by any means,'' Silas said in a laughful tone.

"I take it you have some form of storage."

Abu nodded, gesturing to the door,

"Guard took it"

"Good, take this", he said, gesturing to the flower

", give it to your master. Tell him it's a proof of product and a sign of a lasting relationship". Silas beamed.

"Grenson!" Silas shouted,

The door immediately opened with the guard Abu had seen before quickly entering, his hand notably on his sword.

"Yes, Sir, is everything alright," The guard said, eyeing Abu,

The smile on the old guard's face was gone without a trace, replaced with an expression that told Abu that he was ready to kill, without hesitation if instructed.

"My, my, old man, don't look so gruff," said Silas with a cheeky smile on his face.

"Fetch this fellow his items."

Realising the nature of the situation, the guard bowed and swiftly collected the items handing them to Abu.

Putting the flower in his ring, Abu got up to leave, escorted by Silas and Grenson. "Grenson, please escort this man to the edge of the poor district and ensure his safety", Said Silas.

"Yes, Sir"

"There's no nee-"

"Listen, what you have in that ring of yours is a precious commodity, very few can afford," Silas said seriously.

"Your job is to get that flower to your master, and my job is to make sure it gets to that very same master," Silas said

"Very-very well, I thank you for your hospitality", Abu said, bowing once more, leaving through the door followed closely by Grenson.

After the two had left, Silas heard a voice from behind,

"Well, I take it that when well."

Silas turned to find the elderly women, who had staffed the desk looking at him.

"Ha, 'well' is an understatement, if you can believe it, Suessy", Silas chuckled.

"That was the representative of one of the noble houses."

Suessy's eyes went wide,

"A noble house! Ha, well, someone is making their way up in the world," The attendant chuckled.

Silas's mouth shot up into a genuine grin.