"This is the place?" Xaldin consulted the card, frowning. "Huh. Someone is really rich." Xigbar could only nod.
Most aethalmages lived in Uptown, but some didn't. Either because they were poorish, for aethalmages… bad debts and investments could add up, even with their pay… or because they were exceedingly rich. Those few aethalmages who were the second lived on hereditary estates in the city. At first glance, they looked like parks… until you realized there was no way to enter. The fences were high and the gates were firmly closed. Given the prices land could fetch in the city, most aethalmages who owned such estates had sold them long ago and moved to Uptown. The few who hadn't didn't need to, and liked having the land around them.
This aethalmage owned a very large swath of land sandwiched between the slum and a lower middle class district. Xigbar glanced between the bars of the fence as they walked, trying to find the entrance, and frowned as he spotted bones under a tree. They looked too big to be animal. Then he shrugged. If the aethalmage had lethal defenses up, that was his business. One of the harsher aspects of Theradin law was the fact that if you caught someone intruding on your property, you could do anything you pleased to them. That was why sneak thievery was less popular than simple muggings.
"Holy shit!" Xaldin's exclamation brought Xigbar's thoughts back to reality, and he blinked as he spotted what had surprised his partner. They had found the gate… and the gatekeeper, who appeared to be made of vines and small, pink flowers. It had a humanoid shape but that was all. Xigbar whistled… he'd heard of such things, living golums, but they just weren't worth making with talumancery. The power drain was too heavy. Had the aethalmage found a way to make this one self-sustaining?
"We're here to see aethalmage Marluxia." Xigbar said firmly to the construct as Xaldin took a step back, reaching for his guns. "Ease up man, it's just a golum. I'm Xigbar and this is Xaldin." The golum seemed to think about it a moment, then slowly opened the gate and motioned them towards the road. It was paved in grey-green stones, and led off deep into the woods. "Thanks." Xigbar doubted the construct could appreciate thanks, but it never hurt to be polite.
"It's fucking nasty, is what it is. I bet it has no weak points." Xaldin muttered as they began walking. Xigbar shrugged. He had no doubt Xaldin was right, but…
"A good blast of fire magic would take care of it. Don't worry so much. And don't move off the road, I think the woods here would be dangerous." He cautioned his friend as Xaldin stepped on the grass. Scowling, he stepped back and favored the woods with a hard glare. The trees looked perfectly normal, but that didn't necessarily mean anything. "I sent Axel a quick crystal message before we left this morning, to find out something about this Marluxia." Talumancers made ribbons, but they were perfectly capable of using aethalmage crystals.
"Oh? What did he say?" Xaldin asked. That was interesting. Xigbar watched a flower moving slowly across the road, then stepped on it.
"That Marluxia's an herbologist and a genomancer. He specializes in crazy plants and mad flowers. You know Glory Blooms? He made those." That had impressed Xigbar. He'd always thought the useful little flowers with their deadly side effects were natural. "Also a whole bunch of other stuff, a lot of which is pretty damn useful. Better medicines, enhanced painkillers and a ton of magical plants. Personality wise, Axel couldn't say much, says he keeps to himself." Xigbar frowned, wondering how far they would have to walk to reach the mansion. "He had more to say about Vexen… a cold fish, not many friends, but apparently he loosens up when he's got some drink in him. He's a genomancer too, but not as focused as Marluxia, he works with animals and plants."
"Odd that he called Marluxia master." Xaldin commented, and Xigbar frowned. That was odd. Then he shrugged.
"We'll probably find out. There's the mansion. Holy crap, it's big." The mansion was truly huge. There had to be a hundred rooms in it. The gardens around it were huge too, and there were numerous greenhouses. "Man, this guy is dedicated… woah!" The servant who opened the door was another vine and plant construct. It beckoned them inside, and they followed, a touch nervously.
The inside of the mansion was utterly immaculate and full of wood and green living vines with pink flowers. They were planted in tubs along the walls, and had grown onto wooden trellises put there for them. Xaldin rubbed his nose, sniffing at the heavy pollen in the air.
"I think I might be allergic." He'd never had a reaction to flowers before, but he'd never been surrounded by this many either. The construct led them deep into the house, and they passed many more flowers… some vines with heart shaped, dangling blooms, bushes of red roses… after a while, they couldn't have kept track of the different blooms even if they'd tried. It seemed like every flower in the world was here somewhere.
"This guy is really dedicated." Xigbar muttered, and Xaldin nodded. It was actually slightly creepy. There was nothing else personal in the place except the endless flowers. But then, what more did you really need?
The construct finally brought them into a very comfortable sitting room. Vexen was lounging on a divan, and frowned as they walked in before shooting his companion a dirty look. Xaldin grinned and Xigbar lifted his eyebrows… Vexen was wearing only black leather pants and the same choker he had worn at the club.
"You could have warned me they were here, Marluxia." Vexen said snappishly, pulling himself up and trying to look as dignified as a man in black leather pants could. Marluxia only smiled and sipped his tea, and the two mercenaries gave their possible employer their full attention.
Despite the pink hair, he was a handsome, very masculine man. He was wearing considerably more than Vexen… a white, ruffled shirt with a black waistcoat and black pants. He looked like a dapper man around town, but Xigbar didn't think he would have ever mistaken Marluxia for harmless. There was something both amused and calculating in his eyes.
"So, you are Xigbar and Xaldin. Please, have a seat. Would you like some tea?" Xigbar declined, but Xaldin nodded and Vexen poured him a cup, silently handing it to him. Xaldin tried the tea cautiously, and blinked.
"Silver tips?" Marluxia's eyes widened slightly, and he smiled in what looked like genuine pleasure at Xaldin's recognition.
"Why yes, it is. Such a pleasure to meet another tea connoisseur. My current companion has the regrettable opinion that it all tastes like boiled weeds." Vexen just shrugged at that comment, and Xaldin shook his head.
"I wouldn't claim to be a connoisseur. I tried silver tips at a tea fair, and liked it enough to buy it, so I remember it." It had been a very expensive purchase, but Xaldin saw no reason to save for the future. Marluxia sighed at that.
"Ah, well. But if you like silver tips, perhaps I'll introduce you to iron cloud… later. For now, we have business to discuss." Marluxia smiled. "How would you like to earn a million munny? Each?" The two freeshooters exchanged a glance. A million? Was he serious?
"I'd like to ask what's the catch." Xigbar said, certain there had to be one, and Marluxia laughed softly.
"There are many catches. The first is that you will take Vexen with you." They both frowned and glanced at Vexen, who crossed his arms over his bare chest and looked at them indifferently. "It's his last service to me before I release him from his… pledge. I really don't want to give up his services, but if matters are as they appear it will be worth it. Now… the second catch is that you'll have to journey to Illendria."
"Illendria?" Xaldin blurted as Xigbar just looked puzzled. Since he was from Aerinos, he was still more familiar with that continent. He'd never heard of Illendria at all. "Are you kidding? That's a three month trip!" Marluxia sighed, examining his nails before taking another sip of his tea.
"I'm not in the habit of joking. Actually, it should only two months. You can take the airship to Lazto and travel from there. You'll be going to the capital city of Imstaba, and then you'll have to travel into the deep desert. I've been told you both know a bit about desert survival." Xaldin's eyes narrowed as Xigbar scowled. That was true, and they both wondered how Marluxia had gotten his information. "I want you to bring me samples of a very rare, very exotic plant."
"A plant in the deep desert?" Xaldin sounded as dubious as Xigbar felt, but Marluxia nodded.
"Indeed. There have been rumors for years of the Divinity Blooms, but ten years ago there was an actual report of someone from Illendria using one in battle. Fascinating! Of course, the reports are terribly garbled and inconsistent, but rumors say that the Divinity Bloom fills anyone who touches it with enormous power. I want one… preferably more than one… not to use, but to study." Marluxia smiled again, and Xigbar tilted his head.
"You don't want to be filled with enormous power?" Xigbar said, a bit sardonically, and Marluxia shook his head.
"Oh, I expect the rumors can't be true. I imagine one of three things will happen… either the rumors are entirely false and you will find nothing, the blooms powers have been wildly exaggerated, or… there will be horrific, terrifying side effects." Marluxia smiled darkly as Vexen looked away. "Frankly, given the nature of the reports I think the third will be true. Which is why Vexen will go with you. He's helped me with numerous dangerous items, and it will be his duty to take the samples."
"Uh… okay." Xigbar thought about it a moment, and realized having the aethalmage was probably a good thing… what did he and Xaldin know about taking cuttings? Nothing whatsoever. "Any other catches?" He had a feeling there was something more. Marluxia laughed lightly.
"Oh, well. I have sent three other teams before you. None of them returned… and the last team included an aethalmage." Marluxia sighed as they exchanged a glance. "I suspect part of the problem was that they weren't desert survivalists, and had to hire native guides who were less than trustworthy. I expect the two of you will manage to avoid that and keep Vexen alive. He's such a delicate flower." If looks could kill, Marluxia would have withered under Vexen's glower, but he seemed entirely unaffected. "Now, are you interested?" It didn't take them more than a moment of thought. Sure, it was probably dangerous as hell… but that was a lot of money.
"We're in. But we'll need a partial payment up front. For traveling expenses, if nothing else." Marluxia nodded and passed them an envelope. Xigbar flipped it open, seeing a treasury note.
"A note for a hundred thousand munny. That should be more than enough for your trip, and Vexen will have funds as well. The rest will be paid when you return with a sample."
"What if it turns out it's nothing but a rumor?" Xigbar wasn't keen to waste a lot of time for nothing. Marluxia shrugged.
"If Vexen says it's nothing but a rumor, I'll still pay you half the commission. I trust that he will not give up until he's certain." Marluxia gave the blond haired man a smile, and his green eyes narrowed in a look that was less than friendly. Xaldin felt like he was missing something, but had no idea what. "Now… let me show you something." Marluxia stood, picking up a walking cane with a carved rose on the end. It looked like a silly affection, so it probably wasn't. He led them out of the room, and Xaldin quickly finished the tea before following.
"Can I be excused to get a shirt?" Vexen said, his voice tight, and Marluxia glanced back at him with a bored expression.
"No, you may not. You can show Xaldin while I show Xigbar."
"Show us what?" Xaldin asked, curious now. Marluxia flashed him a quick smile as they entered a large, indoor greenhouse… or rather, a room before the greenhouse. There were odd, white masks on the wall, and Vexen immediately took one, sliding it over his face.
"How to take clippings and transport flowers and seedlings. This will be Vexen's job, but in case something unfortunate happens to him the two of you should know as well. It would be terribly sad if you reached the goal and were stymied by lack of knowledge. Put on masks. There are… properties to these plants that you would not care to be exposed to." Suiting actions to words, Marluxia donned his own mask, then white gloves. The two freeshooters followed suit. They had zero interest in plants, but it would be truly ironic to lose out on a million munny because Vexen had bought it.
Learning how to take the clippings wasn't hard, although it quickly became clear they weren't going to be as expert at it as Vexen. The solutions to put on the little clippings and the globes to plant them in were a bit more challenging. Fortunately, the globes would keep the clippings in a partial suspension… but they would still require care.
"Not that I'm fond of you yet, but I hope like hell nothing happens to you." Xaldin told Vexen, who surprised himself with a small laugh.
"I hope nothing does either." Xaldin found himself briefly captivated by the small smile on the aethalmage's face, the way his green eyes glittered when he was amused. Then he turned his attention back to the clippings.
"So when will we be leaving?" Xigbar asked as they left the greenhouse.
"In a week. The airship to Lazto runs on an irregular schedule, but that should give you more than enough time to get your affairs in order. Vexen will have your tickets, just meet him on the strip." Marluxia snapped his fingers, summoning a construct. "This will show you out. I hope you will meet with success."
"We'll do our best." A mission to find a rare plant was a new one, but they would definitely do their best.