Chapter 2: Crossroads in the village

The sun's bright rays illuminated the village as the trio came into view. Houses made of cobblestone bases and wood glowed with gentle warmth, cheery villagers flitting through the wide dirt streets. Clearly the bright day brought with it a sunny mood.

Rossandra's footsteps rattled determinedly forward, her head held high as she gazed about, ignoring the reactions from the villagers. She turned to her travelling companions, sniffing down at the bedraggled selkie and the fighter before her. "Well, Danach? We are here! Now, you will show us the way to your client. The sooner you organise your deal with him or her, the sooner we may procure supplies and payment without cause for friction between the two of you. I would not wished to be blamed for you lateness after all." she huffed. "Although if your 'friend' with the magical talent is about, I would wish to speak with them," she finished.

Gat Fuun, for his part, had simply been looking around the scenery with a mixture between nervousness and curiosity until Rossandra had spoken up. He patiently awaited Danach's response, wondering where it would go from there.

Danach looked stumped, he hadn’t expected to be forced to admit that he wasn’t going to be late. He wasn’t even close to being late yet. Instead he decided to inform Rossandra as to where she could locate his friend. “He’s quite an easy chap to locate. I’ll lead the way, after all, my client had to wait this long, why not wait a bit longer?” he said as he began walking.

Rossandra grumbled, seeing through Danach's act in an instant. "So you were not late after all... Tch!" She shook her head, but gave in. "Oh well, I suppose some rest may prove wise. There is little use in looking exhausted to an employer."

As Danach led them, he nodded at the villagers. Leansion was like a second home to him, no, it was his only true home. They passed the farmer’s water mill, the merchant stand and the ranch, the blacksmith and the alchemist, right up to the library. As he got to the steps of the library, he halted his steps and sucked in a deep breath. He turned round to them, “Well, here goes nothing.” He said as he was about to knock on the door. “Oh” he quickly added, “He’s a rather unusual chap, so be careful.” He said with a sideways glance, while knocking on the door.

Gat Fuun looked over the half-lilty, curious from Danach's remark. He turned from surveying the villagers, who seemed to give him no ill will except the occasional upturned nose at his pauper's clothes, "Unusual? Oh?

As the large wooden door creaked open, a small golden tip shone, before disappearing again. Danach took another gulp. “Hey” he said meekly.

The curious selkie leaned around Danach as the door opened. He giggled nervously at the sight beyond its thick wooden frame. "Heh... hi...?"

A high pitched giggle echoed throughout. “Who have we here?” said a croaky voice. Dashing back and forth. “Friend or foe?” It asked, its voice coming from all directions, almost impossible to detect where it was coming from.

Danach laughed to himself, he figured the other two were going to get quite skittish now. “Hey, play nice now.” He chuckled. He knew full well how crazy this guy could be, not that he mind, Geadeus was rather pleasant company after all, if you could get past all his crazy attitude. He then pushed the door open and stepped inside, beckoning the other two to follow. As he entered, the familiar scent of old dusty books filled the air. He let out a relaxed sigh, no place was quite like this one, it was his true home.

The elderly voice, known as Geadeus chuckled once more, “Friend or foe? Friend or foe? What does they want? What does they know?” it asked. Constantly dashing back and forth, only a slight shadow of their figure could be seen.

Danach shook his head, “Seriously, please stop. You’re going to freak them out.” The voice only laughed louder. He tried to hide his smirk.

Rossandra followed Danach into the library, eyeing the flitting figure cautiously. One of her fists clenched, and her posture changed. She stood tall and proud, boldly claiming her space as if challenging the quirky Geadeus to try anything with her. She did her best to hide her curiosity at the ancient books surrounding her, failing somewhat.

Gat Fuun, on the other hand, had frozen in fright the instant the high pitched giggle had sounded and summarily disappeared himself into a bush near the library's front door the moment Danach turned his back after beckoning them in. Whether or not Rossandra had either noticed or even cared about the behaviour was a mystery.

On the other hand, he'd managed to dive headlong into a thicket without making a single noise. Even a yuke would have to get curious about that feat eventually. In the meantime, hearing no ghastly shrieks of pain or begging for mercy, the selkie was regaining his courage and peeking his head out of the thicket to attempt peering through the door.

Danach looked over at Rossandra, curious as to what she was trying to do. Though he wanted to ask, he simply shrugged his shoulders. He guessed she was trying to seem brave, he also noticed her eyeing up the books. He smiled once more, guess she was a sucker for ancient texts.

He turned to see what Gat Fuun was up to, when he noticed he couldn’t find him, he guessed that old Geadeus had scared the kid away. Though when he noticed a slight tuft of blue hair sticking out from behind some bushes, he knew where the scaredy cat was hiding. He thought for a moment, before hiding from the view of the selkie and letting out a bone chilling sheik. Today was truly turning out to be a fun day.

Geadeus was still dashing across the room, trying to stay out of view of the others, up until Danach let out a scream. He stopped in his tracks, still managing to keep himself shrouded in darkness. He’s croaking voice echoed again “What was that for?” he inquired.

Danach simply shrugged his shoulders, a rather smug look on his face. “Don’t know” he replied. Taking off his helmet he ran a hand through his sweaty red hair. “Just felt like scaring a chicken.” He added.

Geadeus looked at him questionably, he then asked him “How many companions do you have with you today?”

The boy laughed, “Ah, only two I’m afraid.”

Geadeus looked stunned, the fact the boy had any was a rather large surprise. He stepped out of the shadows and hugged the yuke girl. “Thank you!” he cried. He was an old yuke, had lived for a couple hundred years. Though his age made him wise, at heart, he was still but a child. Even if he could no longer stand straight.

Gat Fuun, upon hearing the scream, went stock still. Without a further word he bolted from the library's front, disappearing into the town with unmatched speed as if a giant monster were hot on his heels. A pair of townsfolk watched him leave curiously.

Rossandra, for her part, had also gone still. This was more due to the confusion of not only finding a fellow yuke, but having that yuke suddenly hug her. The tall female stared down nonplussed at the elder, then at Danach as if to ask 'what do I do with it'.

"You... You're, ah.... W-welcome?"

She hesitantly patted his head once, still confused. "U-uh, yes, there's two of us-oh? Where has that coward gone...? Danach!" She growled, suddenly figuring things out, "That's what that scream was for? You ruffian! Tch, if that boy hasn't left town by now we'll be lucky to drag his sorry hide out of the nearest hiding spot!" She turned to him roughly, "Well? Either go fetch him!" she waved him off. Apparently she'd decided to ignore the elder yuke momentarily for the sake of her sanity.

Geadeus sighed, it had been such a long time since he’d met another yuke, especially a young one. It was nice to know that the child was not only making friends, but befriend a yuke. Though he was curious as to the race of the other one. Selkie was it? He couldn’t quite remember. He shook his head and decided to shuffle over to his nice and comfy large chair. When he sat down on it, he looked so small, almost like a child. It was also rather soft, so soft in fact that it had sucked him in some, it was going to be a challenge to get himself back out of this chair.

Danach on the other hand had begun to walk out the door. He knew better than to try and challenge the female yuke, her bad temper would probably kill him. So instead he began his search for the selkie boy. He asked passing villagers if they’d seen any selkie boy running through, luckily for him, it seemed quite a few of them had. It only took him ten minutes to find Gat Fuun hiding up the Great Tree in the centre of Leansion. He slapped his forehead before speaking “Really? Up a tree?” He couldn’t help but feel somewhat disappointed in the boy.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the village, two selkies were planning their new trick. They were known as two of the best thieves in the continent, and they never failed. However, they generally shared their loot with the poor people who couldn't buy or steal food for themselves.

The selkie woman told her brother her dream "I don't want to be a thief for all my life. I want to adventure and see the rest of the world!"

Her brother just looked at her face and smiled. He said "One day, my dear! For the time being we need to survive, don't you agree? Yup, we need more food now...Uhm, we need a new plan."

The woman simply replied "Tee-hee, yeah, we could steal some veggies from the village of Cordelia… But it is two days of travel..." The woman looked sad, so her brother was doing the best to elaborate a plan, when he spotted a boy running, and decided to follow him.

Back in the library, Rossandra shook her head as Danach left. She watched the elder yuke practically disappear into the comfortable looking chair. She hummed in curiosity, "Well, already this day is getting more interesting. I was not expecting the dragoon to have a yuke for a friend. He did not act so amiable towards me when we first met." She looked around for a chair of her own. Who knows how long it would take for the pair to return, and if the warrior found the selkie at all it would be a miracle.

Geadeus cackled, his legs kicking about as he did so. After a few minutes he abruptly stopped, “Tell me child, did he seem practically nice to your other companion?” He chuckled more, “The boy is incapable of being nice to people the first time he meets them. It’s nothing personal really, though he often makes it seem that way.” He stretched out a shaky hand and grabbed a rather large dusty old book. He blew on it, scattering the dust into the air, before cracking it opening and reading to himself.

The selkie, for his own part, was shuddering in fright from all the stares. Upon seeing Danach, however, he started. "Whoa! You! You're okay! I thought something freaky happened when you screamed!" Although he smiled down at the dragoon, happy that he was all right after all, that smile was somewhat broken by the internal shame he felt. Some friend he was, running away when a comrade was in need... Waste of flesh indeed.

He shook his head, ridding himself of the negative thoughts. "And what do you mean, 'Up a tree'? You got something against trees? It was the tallest, most concealing thing around!" he yelled. Looking around and seeing no threat, he began clambering down, "So Nakkie, where's Ross anyways? She okay?" He didn't ask how Danach himself was still alive and kicking... He figured that if it was that important, the dragoon would tell him.

Danach slapped his forehead again, he made a mental note to not do something like that again. Instead of answering the selkie’s questions, he grabbed him by the ear and began dragging him back. “There’s no time for you to be mucking around!” he snapped. When the selkie boy began wiggling, he finally answered, “I did it in hopes to scare you, maybe give you a bit of back bone. See if you’d venture in to save us.” He said while glaring at the boy, “Clearly that was a mistake.” He spoke coldly.

Gat Fuun decided that being dragged by his ear was no fun at all. However, he stopped wiggling when Danach scolded him, instead holding his head downwards in deep shame.

His family was right. Danach was right. He really was good-for-nothing, a waste of flesh. No spine, no anything. A coward.

As Danach continued heading towards the library, he stopped in his tracks after noticing a pair of shadows lurking behind a build. What werethey doing here?

Gat Fuun himself paid little heed to the surrounding world, and it was only when Danach had stopped upon noticing the shadows that he himself dared to look up even a little.

The selkies were spying on the new visitors from above, while staying in the shadows of the village. The woman asked "Bro, don't you find it a bit odd?"

The man simply said " I don't care, let's just have fun stealing Tera' Lee…"

Tera' Lee wasn't happy with the reply, but even so, accepted what her elder brother said. She was looking at the strangers, when she noticed one of them was looking at her! Scared, she pulled her brother out of there quickly. The selkie man looked to be angry.

When Danach spotted the selkie woman pulling her brother away, he decided it best not to interfere with them any further. Unless they came down and crossed paths with them, he would heed them little mind. After all, there was no point chasing shadows unless they presented a threat. With that thought in mind he continued to drag Gat Fuun back towards the Library. He felt somewhat nervous, there was no telling what the yuke woman could have done to the old man. Heck, he could have be killed by now and she could have raided the whole collection. He was worrying so much that sweat began to trickle down his face. He had to hurry.

Gat Fuun also saw the selkie woman, but his attention was quickly diverted by the half-breed dragging him along. "Yow! Hey hey, easy there!" Melodrama forgotten with the onset of pain, the blue-haired boy flailed as he struggled to keep up. A few villagers gave them curious looks as they passed, but otherwise paid them no heed. It was a short trip back to the library, and would not last long.

Back in the library, Rossandra just sighed, observing the choice of book made by the elder. She refused to let his odd mannerisms unnerve her. "Truthfully he does not seem that friendly to either of us, even now, although I suppose he has warmed up somewhat. Tch, really though! I do not see why you seem so pleased. We are not friends, merely passing acquaintances forced together by circumstances... a horde of mu, if you must know." She took a few steps towards the books, observing the titles before picking one out of the shelves. "The only reason I continued to follow him is that he mentioned something about a friend that knew much of the arcane. Might that be you?" she inquired pleasantly.

Geadeus looked over his book, grinning to himself. "Perhaps I am, perhaps I'm not. Ask the right questions, and the answer you seek shall be revealed." He had spent many years in this library, there was very little he didn't know. Especially with Danach providing new objects and text for his archive, along with the help of his current apprentice.

Through the years, he had taught many students, though his best being the current one. He never shied away from potential that was presuming that this young one proved her worth. Judging by the book she picked up, perhaps she had what it takes, or perhaps she was just another being, blinded by the desire for power. Her response would reveal all.

Rossandra found herself deep in thought. The yuke elder would not give up his secrets so easily, it seemed. "You wish to be cryptic with me? Very well. I shall not force the issue with a fellow yuke." Instead she found herself a comfortable chair in which she immediately plonked herself. The book was held reverently, yet firmly in her grasp. "I admit, I find myself more than curious as to where some of these tomes were found." And that was the truth. The one she held in her hand had more than a few lesser known spells, some of which could be very dangerous if applied correctly. Had she been by herself she would have already been taking notes, and maybe even practicing a little. As it was, she still had an old watcher hovering nearby in his too-deep chair, one that was attempting a conversation. It never paid to move too quickly on things, especially when another potentially powerful magic user was nearby. One in the middle of a highly populated town no less. She began eagerly reading the book, but kept a shrewd eye on the old man in the meantime. It was indeed an interesting text. If she played her cards right, there might be more she could get her hands on later.

She perked up suddenly, a question forming, "Come to think of it, would this be a private or public library? Danach did not inform me when we entered."

Geadeus blinked, somewhat baffled, how had the boy failed to mention something so important. “Private.” He informed her. Though he wanted to enjoy his book, he was more curious as to what the young one would do. After all, the book she was currently reading could be very dangerous in the wrong hands. Even if it wasn’t the most dangerous of books that he owned, not that he was going to let anyone know something like that.

As Danach approached the doors of the library, he released his grip on Gat Fuun’s ear. “After you” he said, bowing somewhat with a hand gesturing towards the door. His other hand at his side, ready to grab his mace and bash the boy in the head if needed. After all, he didn’t want to waste any more energy or time searching for him again.

Rossandra hummed in response, "Ah, Private? Hmm." Well, that would be an obstacle unless she could befriend the old yuke. If he was not the owner, he was at least the one who seemed to have the keys. "Truly a wondrous collection, then. I hope to one day have one of my own as great as this, if not greater! Truly there is nothing more wondrous than an ancient tome, full of hidden knowledge! I only wish I knew where I could get my own books like this, they are certainly not the garden variety you find within most markets!"

Her response was cut off by the creaking of the ancient library door. She looked towards the two selkies entering, Danach all but shoving the yellow-bellied Gat Fuun into the dark room and brandishing a mace. She half-wondered where he kept digging out all his weapons from.

"Good to see you have finally arrived" she stated coolly. Gat Fuun just grinned nervously.

Danach nodded to Rossandra, before dropping his mace, his face pale from shock. “What?! What are you doing with that book?! Have you got any idea how dangerous it is?!” he screamed at the top of his lungs before lunging forward and snatching it out of her grasp. He closed it shut before dusting it off a little. He then turned to face Geadeus. “Are you insane?! How could you let her even open a book like that?! You know as well as I just how dangerous those spells are!! If not done correctly, the user could die! Why would you let her read something like that?!”

Geadeus put his book down before shuffling out of his chair. He faced Danach with a stern glare. “A test my boy, to see what she would do. If she wishes to gather more knowledge, there are many tests she must face.” He then turned to face her, “A test which she is currently failing.”

Rossandra's mood soured instantly, and had her face been visible it would have been twisted in fury. She stood abruptly, "For one who claims to know so much about books you are certainly treating it very poorly!" Her hand clasped forwards as if to snatch the book, but stopped instead, hovering nearby. "It is indeed a book of powerful spells, one an amateur such as yourself should not deign to touch!" She mocked imperiously, her armour clattering with anger. As if she would suffer such indignation from that brute-minded whelp! No one disrespected Rossandra the cold, especially not by treating her like some mewling child or bumbling apprentice!

Gat Fuun watched her temper soar with no small amount of trepidation. He began eyeing a particularly sturdy-looking bookshelf as if he might try to climb it or hide behind it, whichever might prove more convenient should spells start suddenly flying.

Sensing the dark energy from Rossandra, Geadeus used his magic to take the book away from Danach and into his hands. “The boy is correct, the spells within this book would kill you if used incorrectly.” With a click of his fingers, the book vanished, to where would be known only by him. He then added as if an afterthought “The boy knows quite a large amount of magic, though he rarely uses it in front of others.

Danach scratched the back of his head, feeling somewhat embarrassed.

Rossandra was more than a little flustered and annoyed at the proceedings; first that armoured brat had tried to show her up, and the next thing she knew the book she'd been trying to read had disappeared in front of her eyes! She gave Danach one final glower that could have frozen a volcano. "I will believe this one is capable of magic when I see it! Hmph!" She snapped.

Back to the thieving duo, the pair were arguing. "The knowing always win, that is what they say" Tera' Lee said to her brother.

"The strength always win!! I am Ban' Hone, I could've beaten those guys easily!" Ban' Hone replied.

"Oh God! Let's just act like normal people… But let's keep an eye on those two " snapped Tera' Lee.

"Let's be thieves, let's steal all they have" Ban' Hone yelled back, he was already heading back, looking for the strangers. Tera' Lee just followed him.

By asking people of the village, they discovered the strangers went to the library. The villagers actually helped the duo in their tricks. When the selkies were about to enter the library, Tera' Lee stopped. "Bro, you know, this library has a dark past, it would be better if we forget all this and stay away."

"And let the loot go away? Nope! Stay here, I will enter and..." Ban' Hone said.

"I will go with you! And if the visitors don't know how dangerous this place can be? I think… There are legends about this place, we should warn them before we steal from them." Tera' Lee was trying to convince her brother to listen to her.

"Ok, ok! I promise we will help them before doing the ‘bad’ thing" He laughed and entered the library Tera' Lee looked back, and entered the library too.

With the entrance of the new party, all eyes turned to them. Geadeus was merely left speechless, he hadn’t expected anyone to coming into the library. Danach on the other hand was rather annoyed, he stormed over to the pair and glared at them. “The pair of you should know better than to enter a building without knocking first. Not to mention entering a private library.” He began to eye up Ban’ Hone, he knew these two all too well.

Rossandra turned towards the intruders on the library, ignoring all others around her. "Well? More miscreants here to ruin my day? Speak up and explain yourselves!" After all, the yuke was more than frustrated enough to forget her manners, especially with more selkies showing up to wreck things! Either she got some answers, and now, or she was going to start throwing about meteor spells to relieve some pent-up anger. It would be a shame to damage any of the library if that were to happen, however.

Gat Fuun for his part, merely blinked curiously at the new arrivals. He seemed to have entered a ‘stay quiet and see how things go’ mode, one that had saved his neck more than a few times.

When they entered the library, they were a bit confused. Ban' Hone ignored Danach and shouted "C'mon, you aren't in condition to ask for explanations. I have a bow, and my sis a racket! What do you have? Nothing, just a merely book!! HA! Well, give me everything you do have and..."

"Bro! We should at least have manners!! It is a private library, after all." Interrupted Tera' Lee.

"Thieves don't have manners... Do they?" Ban' Hone retorted.

"We are more than thieves, so we do! Tera' Lee was saying, but she noted that the strangers were a bit confused, so she continued "Alright, we won't hurt you, just give us all we need and everything will be fine… I wouldn't want to hurt a cute selkie boy like this one" And she smiled at Gat Fuun, while the boy merely stared blankly back at her.

Geadeus remained calm, he watched the two strange figures at their work. He also made a mental note to cast the two out if they tried to take anything. And should they even dare touch even one of his books, they would wish they’d never been born. The likes of these idiots were not welcome in the slightest.

Danach felt insulted, how dare they ignore him. He wanted to wring the boy’s neck! He hated Ban’ Hone with a burning passion. Where ever the boy went destruction lay in his wake.

Ban' Hone broke the silence "Well, don’t you dare move lilty boy.” He warned, before his attention turned to a shinnying blue book, “Oh, what about this book?? I never saw such a thing! It could give me a good amount of gil..."

Geadeus glared at him “Don’t even think about it Sunny-Jim. Or you’ll wish you’d never been born.” He snapped, a dark aura growing from behind him.

Danach wanted to scream at Ban’ Hone, he was practically pulling out his hair. Though when he noticed the dark aura coming from Geadeus he began to back away. This wasn’t going to go down well. Then he remember something important, the selkie code. Any selkie with half a brain would know the code. He stepped forward and took a deep breath, "You may steal from the rich and powerful, those who have wronged you. But do not steal from the poor and sick, or those who help others. Fail to follow these rules, then you shall pay the price with blood." It was set by the twelve high chiefs of the selkie tribe. It warned of the fate awaiting broke the rules, though there weren’t many.

Gat Fuun spluttered, clearly unused to being flirted with. His face went red as a beet, but his survival instincts overtook any momentary confusion. There was not one, but two very dark and powerful auras oozing off the yukes. It didn't take a brainiac to realise that pissing off two spell-casters was a very bad idea, and being near them when the spells started flying was only marginally worse. The ragged selkie started backing away from the intruders, laughing nervously under his breath. "Aheh heh, surely we can, uh, sort this out somehow else...?"

He managed a quick glance over at Rossandra, and that was all it took for him to realise that were it a choice between fighting a horde of mu again and the female yuke, he'd take the mu in an instant.

Rossandra's eye were practically glinting with rage. The audacity of the intruders had pushed her right to the brink! Books as nothing more than a means to money?! Ridiculous! No! Sacrilegious! Her fury was practically coming off her in waves, her fingers twitching with the magic necessary to turn the thieves into nothing more than an unfortunate bloodstain on the library floor.

Danach's words were the only thing that gave her pause. She towered darkly, awaiting their response. One wrong move, and there would be two less selkies for the world to have to deal with.

Ban' Hone was full of fear after hearing Danach's words, he stared and said " I-I will be back" and ran away.

Tera' Lee however, stayed there, curious to know about the strangers. She putted her racket on the floor: "I just want to know more about you..." Seeing the things were calming down, she took a look at the visitors, before finally asking "Who are you? What do you want? And sorry for the confusion."

Geadeus sighed, he grew weary of dealing with the youth, he batted his hand dismissively, then turned and hobbled off. With a flick of his wrist the book shelves began to shudder, the tomes seemed to be sucked into the wood, disappearing from view, while the elder yuke retired for the day.

Danach watched as the elder left, no matter how many times he saw it, he never got over it. It was amazing watching the magic of the library at work. He found himself reminiscing in the memories of himself as a child. He remembered the first time he stumbled in the library for the first time, the time he picked up a book, the place he sat. The day he was given full access to all the books in the library, all of the times he’d been in this place. A true wonder.

He shook his head, now was not the time to be thinking about such things. He could day dream about it all at a later date. Instead he was more interested in the fact that the girl was attempting to flirt with Gat Fuun, that would bring quite some interesting results. He clicked his fingers in hopes to remember her name, what was it? Tera’ Lee? Probably, not that he really cared.

"Who are we, and what do we want? As if you've earned the right to hear that, mongrel!" Rossandra snapped. She stared down her nose at the newcomer before whirling around dismissively. The yuke sorceress watched the books disappear with both curiosity and some regret... But no doubt, she'd see them again. She'd get what she wanted, no matter what! In the meantime the dark aura around her faded, albeit slowly. She watched Geadeus leave silently. Eventually she sighed in defeat, turning back to the selkie female, "I am Rossandra the cold. Remember it, wretch."

Seeing this, Gat Fuun seemed to relax. He grinned nervously at Tera’ Lee, "Heh, oh, don't mind her? M-my name's Gat Fuun, so uh... Nice to meet you...?" he stuttered, still unsure of the situation. He'd conveniently managed to maneuverer himself around the library so that a thick, sturdy table was between him and the selkie still stood at the door. Just in case, of course.

Tera' Lee was shocked "O-okay, calm yourself down" she thought. Rossandra wasn't one of friendship, she realised. And Gat Fuun… Well he looked to be ashamed, oh poor boy. First she turned to Rossandra "Again, my apologies...” Tera' Lee then turned to Gat Fuun "Tee-hee dear, I am Tera' Lee, it is nice to meet you too! I wonder what two yukes, a half lilty-half selkie and a strikin’ selkie boy is doing all together?" She smiled at him. She already had plans, so she said what she wanted from the start: "Are you on an adventure? Could I go with you?"

Danach for his part had taken a seat, one he claimed as a child. He watched the scene before him play out, what amusing companions he found himself. He was just about to enjoy it all when a thought struck his mind. He jolted up right, eyes darting about for a way to tell the time. Looking outside let him know all too well. If the boy didn’t get a scoot on, he really would be late this time round. Though he was somewhat reluctantly to leave, he didn’t want to upset his nearly forgotten client. After all, how else would he be able to help out his mother and half-sister?

He watched Rossandra who seem to be looking longingly at books she would have to wait another day to read. Then to Gat Fuun, who seem terrified yet frilled to have the attention of the selkie girl. The poor boy probably hadn’t got the faintest idea of how to interact with such attention. It pained him, but he took his leave quickly, hoping to go undetected. With all the ruckus going on, it wouldn’t be surprising if they didn’t notice for another hour or two, or at least, so he hoped.

As Gat Fuun began a conversation with the enigmatic Tera' Lee, Rossandra herself caught Danach leaving the building out of the corner of her eye. She debated internally on whether or not to follow him, but as he'd already slipped their group she left him to his devices, instead beginning a thorough inspection of the former bookshelves. She'd been in more than a few ancient dungeons or abandoned cities; this was a conundrum she had no intention of letting defeat her. The presence of the selkies was promptly dismissed as insignificant.

Gat Fuun, for his part, was both intimidated and incredibly confused, but continued a pleasant chat with the newcomer, "Go with us? Uh, sure, I guess... It's more up to Danach though, he's sort of the ring leader, and... Oh." Gat Fuun looked around unhappily, "I guess he's not here right now? Oh well!" Despite feeling more uncomfortable, continued to talk politely, "I g-guess you and your brother work as thieves?" he asked meekly.

"Yes we do!! We are almost the best!! Or were at least..." Tera' Lee was trying to not think of her brother too much... "It would be impossible to us be together forever… My bro and I will have to separate someday." She balled her fists, trying to hold back tears.

Tera' Lee really liked the new friends she was making... Or at least most of them. She knew she would never be a friend of Rossandra. The selkie boy on other hand..."He is really cute, and gentle… Oh god!" She had a sudden realisation that she had just spoke aloud. Blushing some, she shook her head.

Despite the mess up she had just made, she continued to talk with him for a time. Though she spent most of the time trying to make him forget what she had meant to have been thinking. When her stomach rumbled, she realised that she had yet to eat. She knew she should eat something, and what better way to make someone forget something embarrassing then eating? "Hey, Gat Fuun, what about if we go out have something to eat?" she asked.

Gat Fuun blushed furiously, "Ah, cute? Er n-no, wait… You're hungry? Well, I'm afraid I d-don't have a lot of money or anything, so you'd have to pay.... And oh! We should wait for Danach to get back first!" He supplied, grasping at straws or rather, for excuses. He looked around the library, everywhere except the selkie flirting in front of him, and giggled nervously. "Your, uh, brother? Yes? Where did he go again? Ah well, guess we'll find him when Danach gets back, we need him to help us sell some stuff...?"

Rossandra simply kept out of the conversation, her mind apparently elsewhere as she ghosted around the room, inspecting the walls and anything else that captured her odd curiosity.

"What is the problem? You would prefer to eat with Rossandra? Hahaha". She tugged on his arm. "C'mon it will be quick, there is food in my house, we eat, then come back here, and we bring something to the others....Oh, and maybe we can find Danach on the way." She was running to the exit holding the selkie boy's hand.

Gat Fuun was getting really nervous at this point, dragging his heels fearfully, "N-n-n-no, we s-s-should really w-wait until Danach g-gets back!!" He had no idea how to deal with all this! Didn't people usually hate him?! A pleading gaze was directed at Rossandra, "Rossandra! You agree, w-we should wait until Danach gets back, right? I don't want to be skinned!" he yelped, remembering the fighter's threat from earlier.

Rossandra just gave him a look.

Back with Danach, who had successfully snuck out of the library undetected, made his way to the Great Tree in the centre of town. There he meet with a shadowed figure. He gulped under his breath.

“You’ve arrived boy?” it asked? Beckoning him closer.

He nodded, squinting in hopes to finally get a good visual of his client. “I’m here, as you requested.” His body was tense as he grew closer.

The figure nodded approvingly, “Good, good.” It began to pace back and forth before halting right in front of him. “I have a rather large request to ask of you boy.”

“Go on...” Danach encouraged.

“My daughter” the voice demanded. Upon seeing Danach’s confused face, they continued. “I want you to find my daughter. She’s a social outcast and incredibly cold hearted. Never the less, she is still my little girl.” The voice began to choke on tears, “I haven’t seen her for years, and last time I saw her, things did not go down to well.” They sat on the cobble stone path, in hopes to calm down some. “Her soul goal is to gain power, but what that child needs is a friend to accept her for who she is. Then, perhaps she will not look down on others so much. Should you find my little girl, befriend her, gain her trust. And finally, when you can, bring her back home.” And with that, the client left, no talk of pricing, nothing.

Danach sighed, he was starting to get fed up of being the errand for this client of his. Though when he kicked his foot out, he knocked a pouch over. He reached down and picked it up. Upon close inspection, he discover that it contained nearly a thousand gil, his jaw dropped. That was quite the fine price, which meant the task ahead was far hard then he had originally believed. When he pulled out a note, he realised that he was going to require the help of his two allies for this task.

As he began his trek back, he suddenly realised that he had no idea what race this girl he was looking for, nor her age. All he knew was she was cold and a daughter. For all he knew, Rossandra could be the same girl. He figured he’d give it a few weeks before showing her the note, if he was lucky, she’d recognise the hand writing. If not? He was back to square one. He let out another long sigh, today was a rather confusing day for him.

As he approached the library doors, he spotted the pair of selkies. At first he chucked, what an amusing pair. As he drew closer, he noticed the fact that the selkie boy was in distress, he quickened his pace. When he stood in front of them, he gave the girl a deathly cold glare. He then reached out and slapped Tera’ Lee’s hand away, before bending down, sweeping Gat Fuun off his feet and carrying him back into the library as if he were a princess.

Gat Fuun choked, some sort of small gurgle giving way to complete silence. He froze, staring at Danach blankly, his mind having quit on him with the unorthodox action by the smaller warrior.

The selkie let himself be carried back into the library, and only seemed to gain some semblance of intelligence back when his eyes connected with the yuke now staring dully in their direction. He made a small whine as if to ask her to please make the world make sense again. People did NOT touch him or even like him! Why was he so popular all of a sudden! He would have liked to make a more coherent inquiry of the yuke, but he was pretty sure his mind was blanking out too hard at the moment.

The yuke, for her part, gave nothing away. She continued to look at the pair dully, and whether or not she was trying to figure things out herself or just watching them for any shenanigans was impossible to tell.

Upon entering the library, Danach quickly regained his senses and dropped the selkie on the floor before walking away.

The moment his backside hit the ground, Gat Fuun was up and hiding behind the lone yuke, her rose-coloured attire rustling at the wind he created rushing to her side. The jolt had been just enough to get him to his senses, it seemed. He was looking around lost and confused, ignoring the VERY pointed look the yuke was giving him.

Paying little mind to anything else, Danach sat back down on his chair from earlier and grabbed the nearest book he could find. He bearing his face in it hoping it would suck him in and take him away from the world. What on earth was he thinking?! Why on earth did he even do such a thing?! He had no answer.

He quickly closed the book and wacked himself on the head with it. When he only felt a dull pain, he decided to turn his attention to the note, in hopes it would give him some clues upon the new task he would be taking.

Rossandra sighed, frustrated at the recent occurrences. She decided to get the ball rolling. But first... "If you are attempting to calm down, I would not recommend a book of courting rituals" Rossandra quipped. She gave a triumphant smirk when Danach blinked, actually looked at the book he's picked up, and promptly dropped it like someone had lit it on fire. His face was red as magicite. Seeing that her companions were rather too out of sort, and watching the response from the female selkie, the tall yuke took matters into her own hands. "Well Danach, now that you have returned, I see no reason why we must dally around here any longer. I wish to see to the funds you promised to help us procure." And maybe question him a bit about the library on the way, if she could...

"Hey, you piece of...” She began. She then watched in confusion as Danach carried the selkie boy inside. She quickly followed after them, “Uh, what are you doing??" she asked. Her face then grew red with anger when he dropped the boy. How dare he?! She wanted to scream at him. As she watched him, he continued to act stranger, he took a book and wacked his own head. She gave him a puzzled look.

She then looked around the room, she felt confused... And rather hungry! "Hey, we should get something to eat! I am hungry and I'm sure you guys are exhausted... Especially you Danach, let's go…” She insisted, “I won't drag anyone" she begged, speaking somewhat fast.

Danach frowned at the girl. He found her to be too loud and annoying, not to mention controlling. Though if the others wished to go, he could see no reason to argue. Besides, Rossandra wanted to get a move on and sell the objects they had acquired from their battle not that long ago. He thought to himself for a moment, then decided he didn’t really care what the others thought. It was free food after all. “Fine” he declared. “We shall go with you, eat for a bit. Then I will deal with you no longer. You are by far the most annoying woman I have ever met.” Part of him wanted to make the cursed girl cry.

Gat Fuun stayed silent, not sure of whose side to take in the whole affair, but it was clear from her stiff posture and the upturning of her nose that she too was none-too-friendly towards the selkie female. "If you wish to dine with us then you can pay for it. I do not patronize strangers and Gat Fuun has been absolutely insistent that he does not have the funds necessary for a simple drink, much less a full meal." Her voice was smooth but cold, like the water under a glacier. All too clear, and all too cutting.

"Archer! Fetch the goods!" she commanded. Gat Fuun gulped, but set immediately to acquiring the spoils of their hunt, which had been left on an armchair and soon afterwards forgotten.

Rossandra took a few steps forward before returning her gaze to Danach, "Dragoon, you will have to put that book away before we leave, I presume. It would not do to leave it out where some scoundrel," and here she looked to Tera' Lee, "Might get their filthy hands on it." She feigned disinterest, but despite her idle gaze she was very keen on what Danach's next actions would be.

Gat Fuun shot Tera' Lee an apologetic glance, as if trying to say sorry for his friend's harsh behaviour even though he was too scared to say anything out loud.

Danach placed the book back on the table. He knew that the book had little worth, so wasn’t too fused about someone trying to steal it. Though if she tried, she’d lose her hands. He walked over to Gat Fuun and cuffed him round the back of the head. The boy was clearly too soft for his own good. He would tell him aloud, but saw no point. Instead he walked over to the selkie girl, as he stood in front of Tera’ Lee, he gave her his deathly glare once more. “Well then, lead the way.” He demanded, hands pointing towards the door.

"Okay, hot headed!" She opened the door and gave a look at the party..."Well, I have food in my house, over there” she shook her hands towards the north “And if we need more, I can hunt for you. Also, I am sure you will like my food because I cook well and... Well… Let's go!" She went ahead.

Danach glared at her, but followed her lead anyway. If her food was bad, that was no real worry for him, he’d just steal some of her stolen gil. That, or he’d take over the cooking department.

As Gat Fuun retrieved the goods, he shot Tera’ Lee another apologetic look for his friend's inhospitable behaviour, but little else as he was still too afraid of speaking up.

Rossandra herself snorted. "I suppose some sustenance would be useful at this point." She made a mental note to wait until others had sampled the food, however. It would do little good if the selkie female drugged them so she could steal their hard-earned spoils.

And with that the four of them walked together, led by Tera’ Lee, they headed towards her home.

Meanwhile Ban’ Hone, who had recently escaped from the library, began to think to himself. "I left my sis… Oh god, I am such a coward! I hope she isn't dead…" Danach's words were still in his head "Pay the price with blood", was what he said. They were the words of the mighty leaders of the selkie tribe said long ago. Maybe his sister was right, they could've been more than thieves. Yet the frill of success made him crazy! He shook his head, he need to think of a plan. "Should I save my sis or take my own path?" He muttered to himself. As he looked up, he realised he was at the edge of the village. "My own path…” He pondered on the words some more. “Thas’ it!" And with those last words, he left his house, his sis, and his old life. He left everything behind.

As he walked further away, he stumbled upon a group of people. They seemed nice, though he didn’t quite believe so himself, so he stole their caravan while they slept.

"Now where should I go to? I have two options: there is Cordelia… And there is also the ‘frog kingdom’.” He said aloud. There were rumours that there was a king there, who was in need of thieving services. However, the rule was that only people chosen by the king were allowed to be thieves. There was also the fact that people could only steal from certain people. He disliked the idea as it seemed boring to steal JUST people chosen by another. But in Cornelia was the dark witch, a man rumoured to need an army of mercenaries to invade villages. Ban’ Hone knew that it was an evil thing to do… But the money was higher!!

"Cordelia, HERE I COME!" He shouted. He lost his sister, but would find new friends, and money, lots of money.

<<<<<<<< Chapter 1: The start of an adventure                                       Chapter 3: The city of gold >>>>>>>>