Izadura’s words burned into Argent’s mind as he idly walked alongside his companions, too lost in thought to pay any heed to where they were going. Even with the warm meal and care provided by the kind staff of the Endless Horizon, the alchemist’s body yearned for nothing more than the downy embrace of his pillows and bed. His solemn trudge was a compound result of the subconscious processing he was doing internally and the rampant fatigue that was fresh in every ounce of his muscle.

He didn’t respond at first to the fact that voices and footsteps were growing ever louder and more prominent all around him. The sounds of bells and chimes, animal hooves against stone, grating wheels as carts meandered past. He simply walked, following the pair of boots in front of him until they stopped without warning, causing him to stumble face-first into Gauge’s back. The rogue turned and glanced at Argent, reaching out to tap him on the cheek.

“Oi. You sleepwalking? Come on now.”

The words and touch roused him slightly, urging Argent to lift his head and truly take in the surroundings. To his surprise, he found that they had ventured into the depths of Tenebris’ Market District. It was as though recognizing this spurred his senses back to life, his nose tingling with the smells of incense and spice, the bright colours of trinkets and clothes dancing in his eyes.

“I didn’t realize we were coming here.”

The alchemist muttered, rubbing his eyes and trying to force the weight from their lids.

“If we don’t do it today, we’d have to wait all week.”

Gauge responded, giving Argent a common sense sort of shrug.

“I’d like to get my goods in pocket before we start another wave of classes… You never know around here, after all, we might end up needing some of it depending on whatever insane activity catches Instructor Spinette’s attention this week.”

Argent let off a gentle chuckle in response, shaking his head in dismayed understanding. Gauge was right. They’d gone this long, what was a few hours more? Especially hours spent utilizing the fruits of their life risking labour?

“Come on. Didn’t you want to get a sword? I know a place.”

“Shouldn’t we try and exchange some Argonite, first?”

“Hmm.. True. I suppose we haven’t hashed that out yet, have we.”

Pausing, Gauge glanced over at Izadura as Kotomi shifted happily into human form, clinging to her companion. As could be expected, she was all smiles and energy, practically swinging off his arm as she fussed at him in a musical tone.

“Iza! I want to look for some new clothes~”

She held up the sleeves of her strange attire, showing that they had been torn in places. The lower hem and some other portions were also quite stained with blood and who knew what other kinds of muck. The swordsman looked at her and opened his mouth as if to say something, but abruptly closed it again, instead letting out a heavy sigh. Kotomi beamed, clamping her hand around his and dragging him off into the din of the marketplace with a wave back at Argent and Gauge.

“..Girls are kinda scary.”

Argent commented lightly. Gauge hesitated, his mind revisiting the flashbacks of his Awakening for a solitary moment, the image of Hannah dressed in the outfit they had shopped for together fluttering acrost his thoughts. He shook the memory away.

“The ones at the Academy sure are.”

The rogue retorted sarcastically, reaching down towards his belt to retrieve the pouch containing their collected Argonite. He looked over his clothes as he did so, noticing for the first time how damaged and dirty they actually were, and frowned. Despite their banter, Kotomi may have been on to something. Argent seemed blissfully unaware of their tattered appearance, though the rogue wondered if that wasn’t partially due to flat out delirium resulting from twenty-four plus hours awake spent in a mix of life shaking combat and trauma.

“Shizu isn’t so bad.”

“Shizu could kill you with half of a kick.”

“..Well.. Okay..”

Argent faltered at the response, and Gauge rolled his eyes slightly. Undoing the drawstring on the pouch, he pulled it open and glanced inside. There were only a few less than thirty pieces of crystal jingling around the pouch’s depths, causing the rogue to lift his head from the contents in search of a place to sit.

“Let's grab a drink and sort this out.”

“Works for me.. How about that place?”

“Stellar.”

Gauge stepped ahead in the direction Argent had been pointing, leading the way towards the small tea stand. Though it was clearly a mobile cart of some sort, an array of small tables and chairs had been settled around it like a small patio space. On the way up to the window, Gauge reached back and deposited seventeen pieces of Eldan silver into Argent’s hand. The two ordered their drinks, Gauge settling down with a simple cup of hot black tea, whilst Argent took a dive and ordered the specialty drink for the day. It was described as a milk tea mixed with the powders of a sort of root. It had a distinctly sweet flavour which surprised the Alchemist. He had supposed the inclusion of a root would have made it bitter, but he found that the liquid was smooth and easy to drink.

Across the table from him, Gauge emptied the contents of their bounty out into the open. Normally it was the sort of thing the rogue would not do, but here in the belly of Tenebris, he knew full well that thievery and robbery were not issues one needed be wary of. Members of the Black Vanguard, Tenebris’ primary infantry reserve, were never more than a few steps away. They weren’t just run of the mill town guard types, either– they were militant elites. Highly trained specialists in dismounted combat. Many an egotistical criminal from outside the city had met their unfortunate end by underestimating the darkly armoured men patrolling these streets.

“Alright.. So.. Shards here, Fragments here.. And there’s these three units of Black, from the royal myconid, unfortunately. They might have counted for a pearl if they hadn’t shattered.”

Gauge spoke out loud as he began shifting and categorizing the stones, Argent helping along with the simple directions. It turned out to be twenty-seven individual crystals; Eighteen fragments, six shards, and three units.

“Oh, and.. There’s this.”

He placed another pouch on the table with a clunk. It appeared to be holding only a singular object, and Argent peered at it curiously as the rogue carefully undid the straps.

“Don’t touch it, it burns.. Or, drains.. Or something.”

Gauge commented as he pulled the mouth of the leather open just a touch, revealing the top of the Argonite. As before, the strange violet stone appeared to swirl with lines of red and black where the sunlight touched its surface. The two boys both stared at it, neither saying a word for a long moment.

“..Do you know what it is?”

The rogue finally asked, unable to contain it any longer.

“I.. Don’t.”

Argent admitted, though he quickly added on to his statement when he saw the way his companion’s face fell at the news.

“But I have a guess.”

“Alright, shoot.”

“You know how Argonite comes in classifications, right?”

“Of course. You mean like ‘common’, ‘exotic’, and the like.”

“Exactly. Well, Argonite develops its properties based off the creatures it forms inside. Natura in general flora and fauna, Mortal in humans and demi-humans… Well, some types get mixed up inside monsters with multiple classifications and qualities. Melding together, becoming different things entirely.”

“That makes sense, I think.”

“I’m guessing this piece came from the Skogr’raithe?”

“That it did.”

Argent nodded his head.

“It has to be a hybrid type. Some variant inbetween.. I don’t know.. Black and Anima? Black and Faelin? Something of that sort.”

“Okay.. Soooo.. What does that mean for us?”

The glittering in Gauge’s eyes was obvious, the prospect of high revenue clearly on the forefront of the rogue’s mind. Argent broke his bubble gently.

“It means, that we’d need it appraised by a specialist before we could properly attach a price to it… Someone from the Guild, most likely.”

It wasn’t the worst news in the world, and so Gauge’s expression fell only slightly. There was still the chance that it was high value once professionally assessed. Getting access to a Guild specialist would be difficult, though. The Guild kept their main counters open to the public in most major cities, often as part of their local property contracts, in order to help manage and control any stones procured by low level adventurers and common folk; But for full service one would need access to the grand halls much further inside. While they could likely bring the stone to the general counter and from there be referred to a specialist; For non-ranked, non-members such as themselves, this would come attached with a hefty service tax.

“It’s not entirely necessary, mind you. I’m sure we could find a buyer, there’s just no way we’d know if we were getting scammed or making off like kings without having it looked at.”

Gauge sighed, but tucked the stone away again with a nod.

“That’s fine.. It’s not exactly burning a hole in my pocket, per-se.”

“Benefits of acquiring something by legal methods.”

Argent teased, giving his companion a small smirk. The rogue ignored him, choosing instead to sip deeply from his teacup. After letting the comment pass in silence for a time, he resumed business as though it had never been made.

“So.. We’re looking at seven pieces of Vitra, and ten pieces of both Black and Beast.”

He started, looking over the sorted crystals.

“Starting from the Vitra, we’re sitting on five fragments and two shards..”

“That’s perfect. If we consider the piece I used to make the tincture as one of mine, those can be split evenly.”

“Are you alright with that? We both benefited from your work, and shared the healing potions evenly.”

“It’s fine by me.”

The alchemist responded, reaching out to scoop up two fragments and a shard. Gauge nodded gratefully and slid the remaining portion towards his side of the table. Next was the Black, which came in six fragments, a single shard, and the three broken units. Splitting the fragments evenly, Argent agreed to take the shard and a unit, giving Gauge the two remaining portions on the grounds that he had been the one to ultimately down the Myconid.

“You’re too accommodating, Argent.. We’re going to have to work on your haggling skills before you go out into the real world.”

Gauge frowned as he spoke, looking a little put out despite being the one who was currently benefiting. The alchemist shrugged lightly, clearly unperturbed.

“I don’t have much use for the stuff.. I’d mainly be selling it.”

“Isn’t that the entire point of what we just did?”

“In a sense.. But what I'm after is supplies. Materials. Money is only relevant to me as far as it can be used to purchase said materials. Certain materials may not be easy to find or purchase, which makes any amount of money useless.”

“..Kioku’s tits, alright.. Well, what about the Beast Argonite, then?”

“Seven fragments and three shards… Mm.. I can use Beast, so what do you say to taking the extra fragment and leaving me the shard?”

“More than fair, considering the way you’ve split the rest.”

Argent grinned, sliding his divy of the loot into his satchel for safekeeping.

“Pleasure doing business with you.”

“I look forward to a long and fruitful partnership.”

The two laughed together, reaching out and shaking hands in mock professionalism. FInishing their refreshments and heading off into the lines upon lines of stalls and shops, they spent the remainder of the morning and a better part of the afternoon finding places to buy, sell, and trade.

Noting the wistful look in his companion’s eyes as they traded in the majority of the Vitra Argonite in exchange for coin, Argent prodded the older boy with his shoulder and gave him an encouraging smile.

“Four Tenebrian silvers and twenty-seven copper wolves for just that shard of Vitra. It’s no gold piece, but it’s not half bad.”

He commented, tucking away the coinage. The alchemist had traded only the shard, holding on to his two fragments for more practical uses, but Gauge had sold his entire allotment. The resulting payout amounted to eleven Tenebrian silvers and sixteen copper wolves, nearly doubling the reward they had earned for kills.

“Not bad, but could you imagine the damn value if so much of it hadn’t been polluted to Black?”

The rogue fussed begrudgingly, a distant look in his eyes as he shook his head in disappointment. Argent hadn’t considered that fact, but it was a valid point. Especially if the units salvaged from the Royal Myconid had been Vitra… Though, by that same account; Had the grove not been infected to begin with, Argent would likely have not sought to exterminate such an ancient fixture of the environment.

“Can’t have it all, my friend.”

“Mhmph..”

Even with both boys selling all of their Black Argonite, the total value between them had been only twenty-four copper wolves more than what Gauge had made off Vitra alone. The disparity in pricing was obvious, but that was the difference between classifications. Despite being technically considered an ‘Arcane’ variant of Argonite due to its nature, Black Argonite was still abundant in most regions, being found in low-tier creatures such as undead. Vitra Argonite was considered Exotic, provided valuable functionality in crafting, and fetched an appropriate price.

With a new weight in their coin purses and the hard part done, the two moved on to enjoy the rewards. Truly, it was a fair amount of money in the grand scheme of average life. In most regions, the daily business of the common man was conducted in copper, iron, and steel. Silver was typically the highest variant of currency used in everyday exchange, as beyond that point the value of individual coins increased exponentially.

While silver pieces held the equivalent value of fifty copper pieces, a gold piece was worth a hundred silvers, resulting in a dramatic jump to five thousand coppers in exchange. Since Tenebris did not mint in iron or steel; Copper pieces, or ‘copper wolves’ as the coins were often called in the local vernacular, served as the medium for most trades.

Imperial mint was also accepted in most shops within Tenebris, allowing traveling merchants to utilize the values in between, but it was never a pressing issue. The city bank provided money changing services at no personal fee, whilst the Guild would also provide the same service for its members.

Argent rolled a few varying coins in his palm, comparing the differences in style and size. The Tenebrian currencies were rounded, artisan coins all with uniform size, each engraved with the symbology of the Tenebrian Bladewolf. Their difference was determined only by material type. Comparatively, Eldan currency consisted of elliptical, slightly elongated stamps of metal. Coppers were slightly smaller than Silvers & Golds, and they were inscribed with imagery of the Great Tree, the Falcon, and the Dragon respectively. Looking at them, he really couldn’t be sure how their differences in value were ultimately derived. He only knew that the established rates had been in place for just over a hundred years.

“Where to first?”

He asked, finding himself once again trailing along behind Gauge.

“Much as I hate to say it, I think Kotomi was right. Clothes first.”

Argent was about to retort that he was fine in what he had, but a cursory glance at his reflection in a nearby window told him not to say the words. He had multiple changes of clothes back at his room in the Academy, but possessed only the single pair of well-worn boots he was currently wearing. He admitted internally that picking up another pair and getting them broken in might be worthwhile to him in the future.

The two moved through a few sections of the Tailor’s corner, a collection of many textile and alterations shops paired up along a wide block. Gauge seemed to know the shops well, enough to point out which one was best for clothing, which one for cloaks, and so on. Once the boys were freshly dressed and suited, they continued on without having put much of a dent in their earnings, spending no more than fifty coppers a piece.

They spent the rest of the morning and a better part of the afternoon wandering the square. While Gauge pursued sets of cards and dice, Argent looked over bottles, herbs, and tools. Together they walked and talked, laughing with one another despite the tiredness edging at their eyes. Their purchases were spread wide throughout the market, compiling an array of goods and supplies. The final stopping point for the pair would be Gauge’s recommendation of smithy.

It was a humble shop, earnestly manned by a duo of father and son. The older man was built like an ox, his rich brown hair cut militantly short. Intensely black eyes glinted like obsidian against the fires of the forge, sparking with each strike of his hammer. His son diligently held the portion of iron they were working steady, heavy tongs grasped in his gloved hands.

“Afternoon, Yaldar, Ryldan.”

The rogue addressed the father and son in turn. Yaldar only grunted, keeping his eyes on his work, but Ryldan looked up with a smile and a nod.

“Afternoon, Gauge. Need your blades sharpened again already?”

“If you’d believe it, actually, yes. Though just the dirk this time.”

Gauge replied, drawing the weapon from his boot and flipping it casually in his palm to hand it out to the boy hilt first. Ryldan waited for his father to nod at him, taking the iron clasped in his tongs and quenching it in a nearby trough before doubling back to take the blade he was offered. He moved dutifully over to a grinding wheel, oiling the stone and diving straight into the task. Gauge counted out a handful of copper, apparently quite familiar with this routine, handing the payment over to Yaldar who accepted it with another nod.

“Also, my friend here is in need of a sword.”

“Hm?”

The brick wall of a man looked down at Argent, and his thick eyebrows furrowed.

“Boy, you need to eat more. Can you even heft a sword?”

Argent chose not to acknowledge that bit of personal assessment.

“Just something simple, an arming sword with a straight edge.”

“Mmm…”

Yaldar looked him over again, before turning towards the back wall of his shop. The weapons hanging there were plain– but large, sturdy, and well crafted. It was clear that nothing on display would fit the criteria Argent had just given. In the corner, however, there were several barrels filled with assorted armaments, and Yaldar looked them over before selecting one. It was more or less exactly as Argent had asked for, a variant of sidesword no more than thirty-six inches in total length. The blade had a leaf taper and was painstakingly milled with a prominent blood groove, the hilt and scabbard wrapped with dyed blue leather.

“This is the lightest I've got on hand. If you need anything smaller, I’d have to make it next week.”

Argent gingerly accepted the weapon, surprised how it felt in his hands. It was much more graceful than the wooden sparring weapon he had used against Naiara, with a delicate balance which would tip the blade forward at the slightest shift in his wrist. He looked it over with respect, noting that despite the simplicity of the weapon, the quality of steel was quite good.

“I’d expected something iron.”

He commented offhandedly, and Yaldar shrugged.

“Don’t much see the point to making something like that out of iron.”

“Why not?”

“It’s fragile enough as is, compared to a real weapon. You stamp that out of pig iron, and it’s going to get broken like a toy the first time you really put it up against something.”

Yaldar made a snapping motion, as though breaking a handful of twigs.

“Frankly, something that thin ought to be made out of mythril.”

“I’m not planning on fighting a war with it. Iron would be fine for low-tier monsters.”

“So don’t buy it.”

“No no, that’s.. Besides the point.”

Argent quickly bit his tongue, stepping back from Yaldar as the man reached out as though to pluck the weapon from his grasp.

“How much?”

“Three-hundred and sixty coppers.”

Gauge perked up at the number, turning from his conversation with Ryldan as though about to contest the amount, but Argent motioned for him to stop. He wasn’t going to haggle on his first visit to the shop. If they were going to do prolonged business here, he would rather set a generous first impression.

“I can’t argue with the price, for a piece like this.”

Yaldar nodded again gruffly, seeming pleased. Argent counted out seven silver and ten copper pieces, handing them over to the blacksmith. Gauge looked frustrated, but kept it to himself as he had been bidden, turning back to his conversation with Ryldan at the grinding wheel. With the transaction finished, Yaldar resumed his duties around the forge without further socialization. Argent could respect the no-nonsense approach. It wasn’t much trouble to him anyway, as he moved outside towards an open area for keeping wood and coal alongside the shop, unsheathing his brand new weapon and giving it a few trifling swings.

He focused on some of the techniques Naiara had drilled into him, playing through the motions with the new weapon in his hands. For a moment he thought he could almost hear her voice. Chuckling to himself, he sheathed the blade and turned around, flinching as a set of wild green eyes met him nearly face to face.

“Naiara!”

The girl’s ears twitched as he spat out her name. She looked him over with scrutiny, glancing inside the shop at Gauge, who was clearly pretending not to have noticed her despite Argent’s shout. Her eyes stopped on the rogue for a long moment, narrowing slightly, and she looked as though she wanted to say something about him.

“Did you come out to shop?”

Argent cut into her focus, trying to pull the attention away from the rogue. She ignored him for what felt like another full minute, staring at Gauge with a critical expression before finally turning back to Argent.

“No, I’m on my way back to the Academy.”

Argent tilted his head slightly.

“You were away?”

“Approved circumstances. I was away all weekend.”

Her gaze cut into Argent.

“What, you didn’t notice?”

“Ah, I.. Uhh…”

Argent stumbled over his words, knowing better than to walk headfirst into the trap of admitting he was not at the Academy all weekend either.

“I didn’t leave my room, much.. Testing out.. Potions.”

The wolven girl folded her arms over her chest, but did not refute the thin lie placed before her… Though she made it clear that despite her leaving it alone, she knew full well it was a lie.

“Gained a whole level over a weekend, did you? Must have been some potion..”

Her tail flicked as she glanced back at the rogue inside the shop.

“And Gauge, I never knew he was a psion. Strange how I missed that this whole time.”

The alchemist squirmed under the pressure of her words, but only shrugged and nodded, refusing to give in. Naiara shook her head, but then for the briefest moment, she smirked. Letting the matter drop, she gestured towards the blade Argent was holding.

“So. You’ve decided to stick with a sidesword, then?”

“I think so. It seems to suit me better than other swords might.”

“Perhaps.. At least, for now. Not that it’s a bad choice in the long-term, either. All weapons have their place.”

“Do you have a preference in swords?”

“Not particularly. I can use them, of course, but i’ve never been overly drawn to them. Though my father was quite fond of hand-and-a-half swords, as it were.”

“Bastard swords? Really? They’ve never struck me as popular.”

Naiara smiled, and the expression surprised Argent. It was perhaps the first time he had seen her make such a face, at least genuinely, without it being veiled behind more complex conditions.

“My father was very much his own soul. Of course, he made a point of mastering all weapons.”

“All weapons?”

“Every one.”

Argent was about to ask how one might go about tracking, quantifying, and proving the concept of mastering ‘every weapon’ when Gauge stepped out from the forge, flipping his dirk inbetween his fingers in a fanciful spin. He looked over at Naiara as he slid the blade back into its resting place, feigning surprise.

“Class Prez! Didn’t see you out here.”

She didn’t dignify his facade with a response.

“We were just finishing up, about to head back to school.”

He continued on without missing a beat. Naiara didn’t quite roll her eyes, but it was clear that she wanted to. Instead, she turned herself in the direction of the Academy and started walking. Argent glanced at Gauge, and the two of them shrugged before quickly following after her. They moved in silence after that, simply walking together through the outskirts of Tenebris until they reached the large segment of land dedicated to the DCA.

No sooner than they had passed through the gates to Academy grounds, a shadow dropped from somewhere high above and landed softly, noiselessly, directly beside the three. Quiet as it was, the sudden appearance still startled both Argent and Gauge, each taking a step back as the rogue let slip a swear word or two. Unphased, Naiara turned to greet the shinobi with a nod.

“Hello, Shizuka.”

“Mm.. Naiara.”

Argent smiled with relief as the exchange made the identity of their sudden visitor clear. To him, Shizu’s soft voice seemed like its normal, dulcet self, and as such Naiara’s following question confused him.

“What’s wrong?”

“Ah..”

The beastkin girls leaned into one another, Shizu’s long ears wilting as she whispered something into Naiara’s wolf-like ones. As she listened, the fur on her body bristled with anger, expression going cold. In a rush of darkness she was gone, shadows engulfed her being as she vanished between realms.

“What the hell was that?”

Gauge questioned, giving Shizu a look. The beastkin girl’s ears drooped further, and she shook her head softly, motioning for the boys to follow. They did so in silence, but the further they went, the more Argent recognized the route. They were heading, by his estimation, directly to the infirmary bays.

“Shizu, what’s happened? Who’s hurt?”

Still the girl said nothing, leading them inside. They climbed the stairs to the third floor, walking through the maze of signs and ground markings to the east wing. Finally, Shizuku stopped infront of a heavy set door and pushed it open, holding it from the side and gesturing for Argent and Gauge to enter. With no small degree of nervousness, the alchemist stepped towards the threshold and peered around the edge of the doorway. There in bed, sleeping or comatose or otherwise unmoving, was a small girl with golden hair; Her bright red scarf wrapped neatly into a circle and set on the bedside table.

“…Seren?”