Aleister opened the door to his room after the annoying knocks from Aunt Lavinia didn't stop. "What do you want? I'm busy."

She waved her hand in front of her face before pinching her nose. "Do you have a thing for smelling absolutely putrid? And I know that you're the reason Kyoko abused her mother's powers to get those white-onyx crystals, so you better put some respect in that voice of yours."

It did not surprise him as a gnarly odor wafted from his body. He had confined himself in his room for two weeks straight after purchasing as many alchemical ingredients as his money could buy. The smell of burnt herbs along with natural gases clouded up the room and attached itself to him. "As I said, I'm busy."

"You're about to stay busy," Aunt Lavinia said. "Kyoko is waiting for you at the entrance."

"About time," he said. "You should have mentioned that from the get-go."

"I'll go tell her how you need to take a bath. Your smell is absolutely unacceptable," she said, still waving her hand as she walked off.

Aleister sniffed himself. "Do I really smell that bad?"

"Yes," Syn said.

"Alright, then while I go take a bath, fly over to Luo Yun and tell him to come over."

"You know I still need a location, right?"

"Yes, and Kyoko needs to tell me that location, which I will tell you by the time you arrive," Aleister explained, as he opened his window. "This should help aerate the room while I'm gone."

Aleister walked down the steps, still drying his wet hair where Myra and Kyoko both engaging in conversation.

Kyoko donned a clean and stylish slim framed set of black and yellow metal armor. The low profile provided a better fit for her body and would make movement much easier since less metal equaled less weight to heft around. This also removed most of the other inconveniences of normal metal armor, however, all of this came at the cost of such equipment being demonstrably expensive. A cost that didn't exist for her. On her back, she wore a kite shield with the symbol of Lillith drawn across it with a broad sword hidden behind, leaving only the hilt exposed.

Myra also seemed to have been informed about how this mission could be dangerous, as she also wore appropriate attire for the occasion. Her outfit comprised various and flowing padded fur layers that covered her arms, along with most of her upper torso and back. Along with this was a low-profiled haramaki that protected her stomach. Black fabric covered her legs and went up to her waist and possibly her body, but Aleister couldn't tell. A scabbard in the shape of the scimitar attached itself to her waist and a large wooden lute hung across her back.

Aleister couldn't help but laugh on the inside, because, unfortunately, Kyoko hadn't informed him that there might be an actual danger, and so he wore some casual robes.

"Let's go," he said, opening the door to leave after tossing the drenched towel onto a statue.

"Why are you in such a rush? I know you wasted some time taking a bath because Aunt Lavinia told me how she wouldn't let you see me until after I did," Kyoko said after catching up with him.

"How did you even manage to let yourself enter such a state in the first place?" Myra asked. "And why are you not wearing any armor? This mission is supposed to be dangerous."

"Business and I'm not in a rush. I just have a lot I need to do, so I'm just making the most out of my time," Aleister said as he continued his power walk.

"That's fair, but where are you don't even know where we need to go."

"I don't know where you need to go, but I know where I'm going."

"And where is that?"

"To get some food."

Aleister munched on some fried and battered vegetables sold by a street vendor that operated close by. He, Myra, and Kyoko all stood beneath an oak tree that cast a large shade.

"This better not be a waste of my time," Luo Yun said as he walked up to them, with Syn hovering right behind him. Like Aleister, he wore robes. However, that's where the similarities ended. Luo Yun's night blue robes were form-fitting and padded. Faded and abstract purple shapes decorated them. His tight pants were tapered and tucked into heavy-duty soldier boots. "I'm a busy man with a lot to do."

"That's—" Aleister started to speak, but first swallowed the food in his mouth before continuing. "Exactly what I said."

"Wow," Syn floated back over to him, "Did you come underprepared or what?"

"Why would I need armor in the first place?" Aleister asked as he tossed her a bag of dried meat and jerky. "I don't plan on getting hit so its quite pointless really."

"That's your reason?" Myra sighed as an exhausted look took over her face.

"Why am I not surprised that you, of all people, would come up with such a silly answer? Oh, and here's the property deed for the shop. You sure took your sweet time in claiming it from me."

"I had no need for it until now," Aleister said as he stuffed the deed into his bag. "But, since I'm almost out of raw materials, I need to set up shop soon. How goes your dojo and the training for those four?"

"Fairly smooth so far. Even a few days after your antics, they still acted fairly reserved, but since you haven't popped in to destroy their will to live in a while, they have recovered are performing within expectations."

"Guess I should check up on them soon."

"You weren't there when they woke up to do, who knows what, but Malozar and Stronvun in particular do want to thank you."

"Alright, after this I'll go up to the dojo with you to mess—uh, I meant to accept their thanks."

"Hilarious," Kyoko said, crossing her arms. "But, don't treat the business here so casually, and I mean Aleister. I thought you had a better reason for not wearing armor, but had I known about your nonsensical excuse, I would have purchased you some before we came here."

"Just hand me the money for armor instead. It'll save you the time of purchasing it and the time of me having to sell it."

Kyoko ignored him as she continued. "Captain Mudan informed that a kidnapping happened here sometime in the early hours of this morning before the sun rose. Our victim is a woman of motherly age and works as an official for the Osetia Crafter's Guild. This is the twelfth reported kidnapping within the last month alone, and the third this week belongs to the Crafter's Guild."

"And we know who did it?" Luo Yun asked.

"Not the specific perpetrators, but from what Mudan tells me, officers of the City Watch have discovered that this part of Osetia belongs to the gang called The Crystal Moths. The warehouse you see behind us belongs to them and is believed to be the location where the kidnapped victims are kept before it is safe for them to move."

"And we're here to take care of this problem because...?"

"Because as Weavers of Osetia, it is our job to deal with malicious actors causing harm within both the city and Empire?"

"I didn't sign up for this."

"When I first mentioned it you were excited."

"Ah, the good old days. How young and naive I was back then." Aleister shook his head.

"That was three weeks ago."

"I know."