by Liandra Jake
The man brought the tip of the fin to Arend' chest. "Yes, now where is Nem?!" He asked again.
"I don't know who you're talking about." Arend lied.
The man brought the scythe back and cut through the walls of the room. "Don't bother lying, I'll find out where he is even without your help. Too bad you still have to die." The man said as he swung the scythe around at Arend.
Even at a full swing, the blade would have never reached Arend. Arend' good luck would be brought to an end when a massive blast of water from the hole on the scythe knocked him backwards mid swing. The force of the water sent Arend flying through the window, knocking the entire wall off the building. Arend dropped like a stone.
Stunned and unable to breath, Arend watched the ground quickly fly towards him. The workers in yellow hats quickly looked down the edge when Arend past, they looked away in unison when Arend hit the ground with a sickening crackle.
On the ground in the Guild, they flinched in unison when Arend hit the ground. The rushed outside to find the cause of the noise. "Over here!" Someone called out when they found Arend.
He landed in a depression in the ground, soaked to the bone in water. "What happened?" Kronth asked as she pushed through the crowd. When she saw Arend, her heart skipped a beat. Before she could utter a word, Arend slowly sat up.
"Fuckin' hell…" Arend grumbled as he struggled to his feet.
His hat slowly drifted down from the sky, landing next to him. He bent down and put it back on his head.
"His safeguard must have kicked in." Cris said from beside Kronth. Kronth quickly wiped a tear from her cheek. Knowing this, Cris continued. "But why is he wet?"
"Kronth, we need to talk." Arend said as the crowd dispersed.
"What about?" Kronth asked.
"Someone attacked me up there." Arend replied. Cris raised an eyebrow. "With Aquaporus."
Kronth's jaw dropped. Cris simply tilted his head. "This isn't good." Kronth said as she began to pace. "Cris, I need you to get the guys together."
"Nate's still busy fixing stuff and Kyrel's having his patch replaced-"
"Not them." Kronth cut in. "We need to get the S Ranked members together. Possibly even the Master."
Cris gulped. "A-are you sure?" He stuttered.
"Cris, if things get bad, we may need to get Faulken involved." Kronth said.
Cris turned white. "I'll get on it." Cris said before sprinting back to into the building, shoving Rusty aside.
"What's going on?" Rusty asked.
"Celestial Rim is on the move." Kronth replied.
A dark look shrouded Rusty's face. "They asked about Nem right?" Kronth asked, turning to Arend.
"Yes." Arend replied with a surprised look.
"Damn it." Kronth cursed as she pulled a gold ring from her necklace.
She slid it on and turned three times. The air crackled. Oragè shot out of a portal created by the ring.
"What's the matter? You usually don't Rush me here." Oragè asked.
"Someone attacked Arend. I need you to track him down." Kronth replied.
Oragè turned to Arend and sniffed. "This scent is… unusual." Oragè said with a snort.
"I don't think you can track him." Arend said.
Kronth glanced over. "Why not?" She demanded.
"I met Nem in what is now my room. The man had the same cloak that Nem did. If you didn't notice Nem leaving, I don't think you will be able to track my attacker with just his scent." Arend explained.
"Damn it!" Kronth exclaimed.
"I can at least try milady." Oragè said assuredly.
"Go ahead. Report to me when you're done." Kronth è disappeared in a sharp gust of wind. "It'll take a few days to get everybody together. Until then we'll continue as normal."
"Sooo, Hunter said I had work?" Arend asked, hoping to clear the awkward air.
"Jacob has your weapon done. He worked the rest of the night on it and wants to talk to you. He's in the lobby right now. Afterwards I want you and Rusty going on a request with someone else. Let me know what you choose." Kronth said with a glance towards the stone faced Rusty.
He nodded without a word or a second glance. "I'll get going then." Arend said as he ran back to the building.
Rusty walked after him. "Good luck." Kronth said to Rusty as he passed.
He only raised his hand in reply. Arend scanned the lobby. He saw Jacob sitting at a bar towards the left of the lobby. He was sitting next to a man with spiked red hair and a thick leather jacket with metal spikes and studs covering the shoulders. Something about four and a half feet long rested on the counter, wrapped in brown paper.
Arend quickly walked up. When Jacob saw him, he tapped the shoulder of the man next to him and pointed towards Arend. The man turned around to face Arend. He had a long, narrow chin and pointed ears. He glared at Arend with a pair of golden eyes. Arend choked on his breath. The man spat at Arend' feet and walked away.
"That's Vladd. He doesn't like other Kruxsetters or those with poor feelings towards Changed, so he doesn't hold much respect for you." Jacob explained. "Anyway, out little project is done." Jacob said as he lifted the brown wrapped object.
Arend took it from Jacob and pulled off the paper with a single stroke of his hand. It was a large sword with two blades set parallel, with a two inch gap in between them. Rectangular strips of metal held the two together on either side. The second blade was sharpened only at where it rested above the lower blade.
They were set in a cubic base; a right triangular sleeve covered the sides of the first few inches of the blades. An octagonal indent was set in one side of the base. A silver Drive was built inside; with four square Korvan set inside. Each was a different color: crimson red, deep ocean blue, forest green, and electric yellow. A large circular slot was waiting to be filled in the middle.
Arend held it up with two hands. He brought it down with a quick stroke. He then took multiple defensive and offensive stances with the blade; he even held it in his teeth. Arend was satisfied with the craftsmanship of the sword.
"It's only missing one thing." Arend said as he set the blade down and pulled out his scanner and the two Korvan he received last night.
"You still haven't scanned them yet?"Jacob asked.
"Are you kidding?! I barely made it into my bed last night!" Arend exclaimed as he set up Nem's Korvan in the scanner. He smiled at the results. "It's an Amplifier; A little power infuser coupled with something called ID23." Arend said.
"That's for a Safeguard…" Jacob said, intrigued. "Oh! And Orenth absorption it seems!" Arend exclaimed.
Moving onto the next one, Arend had to scan it multiple times before he put all the wires onto the metal ring and actually got some data. Leaning in, Jacob check the monitor along with Arend. At first he was shocked, and then he smiled.
"It's your lucky day!" Jacob exclaimed. "A True Safeguard! Axis will pay a fortune to get their hand on one of these!"
"Are you crazy!?" Arend shouted.
"With a True Safeguard I never have to worry about Changing or Possession at all! I could turn this into more than just a fortune!" Arend exclaimed excitedly.
"So you're going to replace that condenser?" Jacob asked.
Arend pulled the gold card he got at the battle bar out of his bag and gave it to Jacob. "3,900 Ere. Consider it a down payment to hold you over till I can get you a Maxim Vulcanus."Arend said.
Jacob was taken aback. "A Maxim Vulcanus? Those are multi-million Ere machines capable of performing all the necessary steps of Korvan creation, it can even make Korvan with the shape and abilities of your choosing!" Jacob exclaimed.
"I plan on starting a company. How else would I do it? That is, if you're up for it."Arend said.
Jacob snatched Arend' hand and gave him a hefty handshake. "You're on! This will at least cover the replacement." Jacob replied.
With great confidence, Arend placed Nem's Korvan into the True Safeguard. They fit together perfectly. Putting it into the Drive proved
difficult, but it snapped in with a satisfying click. Rusty watched from a nearby table as Arend stood up with his new weapon. Grabbing the small cap at the end, Arend pulled it out and revved it like a chainsaw. Slowly, the ring in the Drive began to turn.
As the Drive revved into a higher gear, Arend and the sword gained a white aura. From somewhere in the room, a metal folding chair flew at Arend. As Arend turned to face it, his eyes left streaks of white light like that of a long exposure photo. With the twitch of his hand, the RPM of the Drive spiked and Arend brought blade of the sword straight up, cutting the chair directly in half.
The pieces of the chair bounced off the white aura bubble that surrounded Arend. As the pieces slid across the stone floor, Kyrel slowly clapped his hands.
"That's one hell of a weapon for a newbie. What cha' gonna call it?"Kyrel asked.
Arend tossed it up and as it made a single flip, he caught it and held it up. "I'm going to call it the Dragon Drive." Arend replied.
-Request-
"So what do you suggest?" Arend asked as he and Rusty stared at a large cork board plastered in pieces of paper.
"Something between two and eight. Remember, the higher numbers are harder requests." Rusty replied.
Arend began looking through the layers of requests. The board was located at the main subway station in the Nest. Other boards stretched down the wall to the ticket station at the far end. Each consecutive board had fewer and fewer requests; the last one only had a single request.
"Delivery, delivery, ditch digging, weeding, digging for worms, acting, babysitting… Wow you really do have everything." Arend said as he pulled up the requests layer by layer on the board.
"Yep, we have almost all the low Ranked requests. Some people even bring their new members here for their first few requests. They don't get a Ere of the reward however." Rusty replied.
'Hmm… What's that?' Arend thought as he reached for the corner of an old piece of paper that was under a mass of requests. Arend tried pulling at it. Half the board shifted slightly. Pulling with all his might, Arend tore the request off the board, along with half of the others. A women in a flamboyant orange skirt marched up.
"Watch what you're doing!" She yelled at Arend. Arend laughed nervously.
"Sorry, it didn't want to budge." He replied.
She snatched the paper from Arend' hands. "This is ancient! The client may not even be alive!" She exclaimed with an angry look at Arend.
"Well if you insist, I can choose another one."Arend said as he half turned to the board.
"Hmph!" She replied, stamping the paper and shoving it into Arend' hands. "I don't want to see you back here till you have dealt with this." She leaned in close to Arend' face. "Understand?" Arend nodded rapidly and backed away.
"Good. Dave!" She shouted at a red-haired man scrubbing the walls. "Clean this up!"
"Y-yes." He stuttered as he scurried to gather the requests.
"And I want it organized!" Arend heard her yell as he and Rusty walked away.
"That would be Panzer. She's a little rough around the edges." Rusty said. Arend glanced down at the paper as they walked down the station.
Difficulty []8
Requesting four exterminators, pay and details to be discussed upon arrival with Mr. Dickerson.
Part of the page was torn off the top. "Where we headed kid?" Rusty asked as he pulled out his cell phone.
"Youkaki mountains, It says we need four people." Arend replied after turning over the paper.
He walked headfirst into a passerby, both of them falling on their ass. "Ow! Sorry!" Arend exclaimed as he looked over at who he knocked back. He was a good deal taller than Arend, and built heavier.
He had a light shade of brown for his hair and a darkened tone to his skin. His eyes were a peculiar shade of light lavender. A large buster was strapped to his back. It had a large spike to the front and numerous battle scars littered the blade. He was wearing a hybrid of chain mail and leather, with matching pairs of scaled gloves and boots.
"No worries! The name's Wake Landcaster!" He replied cheerfully.
A slender hand snatched the request Arend dropped. "I see you still need two more members for your little troop." A man with wild black hair said.
His hair seemed to shift like a flame. His skin was extremely pale, almost transparent. He had a dark mantle covering most of his long, slender body. Next to even the tall Wake, he stood well over three heads taller. As he turned to Rusty, Arend could see a six foot long double bladed katana at his waist.
"What the hell are you!?" Arend exclaimed, dwarfed by his massive height.
"My name is Nojeski, but who are you with such light hair?" He asked, bending down to Arend' level.
"Arend Myshcell, I'm Dragon's Den's new Kruxsetter." Arend replied.
"As it should be with the Myshcells." Nojeski replied.
"What!?" Arend exclaimed.
"Would you accept out assistance?" Nojeski asked.
Rusty nodded. "I'm fine with it, but what Guild are you two in?" Rusty asked.
"We hail from The Hallows of Nojorn Woods. Or put simply, The Hallows." Nojeski replied.
"K, I just need to make a few calls. Platform Nine, Track Four." Rusty said as he pointed across the rails.
"I'll meet you there." Nojeski said as he stepped across each set of tracks till he reached the far end.
"Does he do that often?" Arend asked, raising an eyebrow. Wake nodded with crossed arms.
"An Eight extermination. With two others from The Hallows of Nojorn woods. Yeah, I don't get it myself. Should be quick and simple anyway." Rusty said into his phone. Arend assumed it was Kronth. There was a short pause. "Send the Cold Steam to Platform Nine, Track Four." Rusty hung up.
"Let's go you two; our train will be here shortly." Rusty said as he walked down the station to a bridge that would bring them over the rails and platforms all the way to where Nojeski was waiting.
"What Rank are you?" Wake asked Arend as they walked on the bridge. I've almost gotten past E."
"He's fresher than an unpicked cucumber. This is his first job." Rusty replied for Arend.
"Oh really? I guess that makes me your superior." Wake said with a grin.
"I'm not afraid of fighting you right now if you try to make me call you sir!" Arend replied.
"Fair enough!" Wake said, holding up his hands defensively. "Dragon's Den really does have the crazies."
"People only say that because we don't restrict most behaviors, as long as you don't kill or maim anyone. That and how we thrive mostly on trust. If someone's in trouble, we show up with guns blazing." Rusty explained.
"So you guys don't have to have tattoos?" Wake asked.
"Only the S Ranked members get tattoos. It's been a while since someone last got one." Rusty replied.
"What tattoo do you have?" Arend asked Wake.
Wake lifted up his armor on his left arm. A green holographic tattoo of three trees was on his shoulder. A black ribbon wrapped itself around each tree and hung lose at either end.
"Huh. I think I might have seen it before." Arend said as they three of them walked onto Platform Nine.
Nojeski was waiting at Track Four. "They're coming." Nojeski said as Rusty and the others walked up.
He was staring down a long black tunnel that Track Four was connected to. "It should be here soon." Rusty said with a nod. A high pitched squeal came out from the tunnel. A loud bell sounded, and the track coming from the tunnel tilted horizontally. A hidden mechanism under the ground could be heard.
A few seconds later, a rugged train engine shot out of the tunnel. It rode the sideways track and was soon grinded to a halt. A short buzzer went off and the track returned to normal, the train fixed in place.
"What the hell was that?!" Wake exclaimed.
"All aboard the Cold Steam!" A man in goggles and thick gloves called out as he popped out of a hatch at the top of the train engine.
The engine used to be powered by steam before bei
ng modified. It looked like it went to hell and back. Its right light was missing and the left one was cracked. Numerous cracks and stress marks were evident throughout it. A passenger car was grafted to the rear of the engine.
"Hey Tawny! What have I told you about doing that at those speeds? Youkaki Mountains is where we're headed." Rusty called to the man.
"Sorry! I just thought you were in a hurry!" He called back.
"Another one of your projects?" Arend asked Rusty.
Rusty nodded. "A hybrid of a prototype Drive and a normal Matrix. It led to the current Drive in Guang Blau." Rusty replied.