Edit-04/04/2022- spelling and punctuation fixes.
"Your total for these magic stones come to 9700 Valis, please take it all, as any left behind will be considered a donation to the guild." The clerk behind the counter said simply, likely having repeated such words hundreds, if not thousands, of times
"Thank you, have a good day!" Bella replied as she took the valis from the clerk and left to allow the next adventurer in line to use the stone exchange. She had just finished running through the first five floors for a couple of hours as she still wasn't allowed to go deeper, but just going back into the dungeon had felt amazingly good, like she was finally making some progress!
Of course she wouldn't have been allowed to if Mama Mia hadn't gone with her to take the test, but that was completely fine.
Coming out of Babel the early day sun shone against her face and made Bella smile, breaking into a run as she went down the streets and headed back for the Hostess of Fertility to clean herself up a bit and out her equipment away.
It didn't take long to get to the hostess, and as soon as she came through the door she was greeted by Lunoire, who grinned. "Oh my, back already Bella?"
"From Babel, yes, I left early," Bella stated as she went straight for the back to head up to her room.
"I noticed, you tripped on your way out and woke me up," Lunoire said with a smirk. "How was your first day back in the dungeon?"
"It was good, I feel like I'm finally getting the hang of moving around again!" Bell answered before she was gone into the back and on the way up to her room. As soon as she was in and the door closed behind her she dropped the knife that Eina had let her keep onto the dresser, and then placed her pouch of Valis beside it before sitting down on the bed and then falling onto her back.
Three days. She had waited three days since she had gone into the dungeon with Mia before going in on her own. She and Mama Mia had made the deal that she would have every third day free to do as she wished as an adventurer, whether that be delving into the dungeon, or shopping for equipment. It was a really good deal as while she wouldn't be resting a lot, she was making money from both waiting tables and from the dungeon.
Of course it would be better if she wasn't so tired after being in the dungeon for just a few hours! She wasn't even tired from the monsters themselves. Her body moved so much faster and was far more agile than when she was a boy, it was like her body just used more energy. Though her Falna could also be responsible for that, it was hard to say. Having no armor also made it hard as she was moving even more just to make sure she was not hit.
"I need better knife, and maybe some armor too," Bella said as she sat up, scowling as her chest made her almost fall forward and got off the bed. She looked at the dresser where the knife and her recently added funds sat, and then looked further down it where the Wraith blades were laying.
With a nod she picked them up and carefully attached the bundle of them to her belt before leaving the room and heading back downstairs.
"Oh, heading to the dungeon?" Syr asked as she turned to see Bella right as she came into the Hostesses dining hall.
"Already went earlier, need to see if I can get some equipment made,"
"Do you have a place in mind?" Chloe asked from where she was wiping down a table by the windows.
"I do, I'll probably be back in the afternoon," Bella declared before she was out the front door and running down the street. She was still wearing her simple clothing for in the dungeon, consisting of shorts and a sleeveless shirt so she was receiving a few looks from passerby, but didn't really consider that they were looking at her clothing.
"Whoa, look at the rack on that girl!"
At least until she overheard someone talk to their friend right as she past, and realized that there were few others around on that street that they could be referring to. She turned into a nearby side road and, seeing no people came to a stop and looked down at her chest in annoyance.
"Even with that, uh, underclothing, they still move around quiet a bit," Bella grumbled as she mentally decided to walk the rest of the way to where she was heading.
Off to the side and in a relatively open area between the workshop and merchant areas of Orario was an almost rural area full of smaller homes and shops where individual craftsmen not part of Familias, or those who wanted privacy, tended to stay. Near the back by the wall and a small stream was a home of solid wooden planks and a pair of large stone chimneys that protruded out of it alongside the sound of a hammer striking steel.
The building looked the same as she knew it, but the worry about who owned it nagged at the back of her mind.
"I won't know until I try," Bella said to herself before stepping up to the door and rapping on it twice. "Hello?"
The sound of a hammer striking metal, likely on an anvil, was the only thing that came in reply.
"Excuse me, Welf Crozzo?" Bella called again with another pair of knocks on the door.
The hammer strikes stopped with one last, much louder strike. "I am not making magic swords, go away," came the reply from Welf.
Bella found herself smiling at hearing her friends voice. "I'm not looking for a magic sword, I would like some armour and a weapon made actually," she spoke up.
"Why would you come here for armour?" Welf called back sounding a bit confused, insulted and annoyed. "No one comes to me for anything but magic weapons."
"Well, I've used your armor before and I liked them a lot," Bella explained.
"You're lying, none of my armour's have sold yet, or ever," Welf said with an annoyed grumble.
"Well I have bought them and they were good, they just weren't yours, but were I guess," Bella said uncertainly before she realized she probably was not making sense. "I mean, I knew you in my world!"
"You are meaning that you're a Fallen then?" Welf asked after a few seconds of silence.
"Yes, I am," Bella said with a relieved smile.
"Then just go buy my armour if you used it before. "
"I would but, um, well-"
"What, you thought you could just get it from me directly for less or something!?" Welf demanded to know, sounding very, very angry.
"No, I would never think of that!" Bella declared seriously. "I just, don't think it would fit me, and wanted to see if you could make me some equipment with some drop items I have."
"I made that armor unisex so there's no reason why it would not-" Welfs voice came closer until the door opened, his words getting caught in his throat as he saw Bella. He stared at her, specifically at her chest for a moment, before his face turned a bit red before he averted his gaze to the side. "Err, I shouldn't have assumed it would fit, sorry."
"No its fine, I wasn't explaining my reasons well," Bella replied as she noticed that Welf was both trying to look at her, and not trying to look at her.
"Right, well uh, come in. I guess I can listen to what you have to say, being as you came all this way just to find me," Welf said nervously as he stepped to the side and motioned inwards with one hand.
"Thank you!" Bella said happily as she quickly entered and took a look around. Welfs smithy was the same as she knew. It was organized all the same, and the tools looked to be the same. A couple of the blades and partly completed projects on tables and wall mounts were different, but that was sort of expected.
"So did you, come here looking like that?" welf said as his eyes were stuck to Bella's clothing, only for him to pale as he realized what he just said. "Sorry, that was inappropriate I just-"
"No its fine. I don't have any other clothing good for the dungeon, but I probably should have changed. Though my other uniform would be probably more odd. You probably wouldn't have taken me seriously," Bella admitted as she tried to ignore the way welf was looking at her as she knew it was normal attraction. Probably. She had seen the way he looked at some other girls in the past after all, and she had been just as guilty for the same things in some ways.
"Wait, you're going into the dungeon, and have another job?" welf asked, looking and sounding legitimately concerned.
"Yes, I work at the Hostess of Fertility for two days, and then I have the third off to go into the dungeon, rest, or get things I would need for the dungeon," Bella said proudly. "I need to pay off the money the guild gave me to get my feet on the ground after all."
"I guess, just don't work yourself into the dirt, that doesn't help anyone," Welf advised as he closed the door and then walked over to a chair, the only one in the workshop, and sat down in it. "So, I can see why my other amour in the shops would not fit you, and you said you wanted armour and weapons made. What material do you have for them?"
Bella took the wrapped bundle off of her belt and placed it on the closest nearby counter before unrolling and revealing the wraith blades. "I know that blades can be made out of these, but I was wondering if armour could be as well, as I have a few of them."
Welf sat there for a second simply looking, then abruptly stood up and moved to the counter in an instant, startling Bella with how suddenly he moved. His eyes were glued on the blades for a solid minute before he professionally picked one up and looked it over for a few moments. When he finally put the one down, the expression that covered his face as he looked to Bella was one of mixed surprise, curiosity, and disbelief. "These are Wraith blade drop items. And if I'm right, four pairs of them. I can't believe I'm asking this as it seems insane, but did you, gather these yourself?"
"Yes."
"Goodness that's. . . how long have you been holding onto these? Must have taken a while to get this many of them."
"Uh, not really, I only got them a few days ago. Four actually," Bella admitted.
Welf's expression turned to one of shock. "What? These things are hard enough to find on the market and you got four. That would cost way more than it would be worth unless . . . Are you saying you got these, by killing Wall-wraiths?"
"I did. I was taking my test so I could prove I knew the dungeon from where I came from and, I stepped on a trap that summoned a lot of them. I killed those four and the one who was watching my test said they could be made into good blades and sometimes armour."
"Well, your observer has good taste then, wraith blades are rare, but they do make very sturdy and sharp blades, though they end up being on the small side usually. Daggers, short swords, scimitars, that sort of thing," Welf explained as he looked back at the items and picked up the two pieces of the one that had been snapped in half.
"I use knives," Bella provided instantly.
"I see. . . . Alright, I can for sure make you a knife, or multiple if you'd wish, but it would take a while," Welf admitted. "I know how, but I haven't worked with these before, and I'm willing to bet that shaping them will be the longest part."
"I have no problem waiting," Bella stated.
Welf let out a long and heavy sigh. "Okay, honestly, I'm still having difficulty believing that you could kill one Wall-wraith, let alone four of them, but if nothing else I am honest so I'll admit that the price for a blade made out of these is probably out of your price range if you haven't gotten yourself any real equipment yet."
Bella swallowed, steeling herself. "How much for just one knife with one edge?"
"Slashing or stabbing focused?" Welf asked in an instant, before smiling slightly. "And do you want a handguard on it?"
"Um, both preferably, and all I'd need is just a bit of a, uh, lip I guess? Something to stop my fingers from sliding onto it, but not a full round guard."
"So a slimmer profile blade that is god for versatility and speed then, right?" Welf asked as he took a second look at the wraith blades and then began glancing around his workshop.
"Yes!"
Welf kept glancing around for a few seconds before he walked over to a small board and picked up a piece of chalk, making marks on the board in shorthand of some sort. After a few minutes of the sound of chalk filling the room he turned back to Bella. "With just one wraith blade, I can do one for thirty thousand Valis And it could be done in a few days. Two wraith blades, so I can try different techniques and take my time will be seventy thousand Valis. And while it would take time and cost more, I would suggest the latter so I can make sure the blade will be perfect."
Bella visibly winced at Welfs words. "I, don't have enough for the second," she admitted. "Could I maybe choose that option and pay for it when its done? I could probably get that much if I had a few days in the dungeon."
"No respectable Smith would accept payment before the item is produced and ready for sale," Welf said seriously as he walked back over to the wraith blades and picked up the two halves of the broken one, and another. "Do you want to go with the latter then? If you can't pay when I'm done I will hold it until you have enough."
"Then please," Bella said as she glanced down at the floor. "I, don't think the knife I got from the guild will last much longer, so I really need a good weapon before anything else."
"Well, I think you could do with some more clothing, but that's just me," Welf muttered under his breath! Unsure of where precisely to look.
"Pardon?" Bella asked, not having heard.
"I said I'll take these two blades and start working on them, " Welf said as he quickly picked them up and placed them on the anvil. "You said you work at the Hostess of Fertility right?"
"Yes!"
"Then I'll send a message to you there when its done," Welf said as he walked over to a wall and began cranking a lever, causing the coals in the forge to flare to life. "Oh, uh, sorry but I forgot to ask, what is your name?"
"Oh, its Bella,"
Welf nodded. "Alright, I'll send a message when I'm done the blade, Bella."
"Okay, thank you!" Bella said as she rewrapped the remaining six wraith blades and then bounded for the door. "Oh, when I am allowed to go past the sixth floor here I can help you get that skill you need, if you need it I mean. See you!"
"Huh, what do you-" Welf began to say, until he realized that Bella had already left just as abruptly as she had appeared. "Haaa, I heard that people that fell could be handful, but geez. I wonder how she knew me in her world to know that I don't have the Smith skill yet?" Welf thought aloud before shaking his head and looking at his anvil and the materials upon it.
He had work to do, and it would be his greatest work yet!
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
A wall shadow let out a screechy hiss as its head was punctured, killing it in an instant and allowing Bella to catch its magic stone as it fell to the ground.
Having learned just how much a blade would cost when she actually had to pay for it, Bella had decided that, with the day not even half over it was a good idea to go back into the dungeon to try to earn as much as she could. This of course visibly annoyed Syr, but she had left the Hostess fast enough that only Chloe had a chance to say anything, which was good luck.
She then immediately, after buying one important item, went back into the dungeon and went down as far as she was currently allowed and looked for the most open area she could and waited. She didn't have to wait long as goblins, kobolds, wall shadows, and even a number of small spider like monsters she did not recognize began to appear and attack. One by one they fell to her blade, the large area allowing many to enter and charge at her at once, and each one's magic stone was stockpiled in the item she had made sure to buy. A massively oversized bag normally meant for holding enough flour to keep a bakery stocked for many days.
The onslaught of monsters was seemingly never ending, only giving small moments without any as more came to join the fight. A few other adventurers came to the room during the time, but most simply ran when they saw the number of monsters, or had then fought their way out from being surrounded or from having been chased.
Bella knew that, as a level two hunting stones on the first few floors was unfair to other low level adventurers, but sadly she had little choice in the matter as she could not go deeper than the sixth. What was strange though was that the longer she was in the dungeon and fighting the easier it seemed to become. Her body was moving easier, her strikes were faster, and the monsters seemed to be getting slower.
After what felt like an eternity though, the monsters finally ceased, leaving Bella in a room with a floor covered in magic stones. "That, worked better than I thought it would," Bella muttered as she wiped her forehead and began picking up the stones one by one and putting them into the sack she had. It was tedious, but did allow her mind to wander a bit.
The dungeon was different here to what she was used to. In addition to having traps, it seemed like its spawn rate of monsters was faster. Then there was how she was feeling. She felt good, not tired at all despite how much fighting she had just been doing, and even more her body felt more like her own. She still felt a bit out of it, uncomfortable, and like her body still was not fully moving like how she wanted to though.
"I wonder if this dungeon effects peoples minds in some way? Maybe I should Ryu or Lunoire," she muttered to herself as she could begin to hear the sound of other adventurers coming toward her. Luckily she was just about finished gathering the stones, the sack almost full and nearly up to her shoulders.
"I'm telling you, there was one girl just slaughtering the monsters up ahead, I'm not crazy!" a younger voice said, sounding exasperated.
"look, anyone strong enough to do that would be on the lower levels, not up here grinding for small stones off of goblins!" came another voice, much older sounding and rather rough.
"Look, if I'm wrong you can use it to tease me or whatever else, but if I'm right there is no way anyone could carry that many stones, we can get a good amount of money off of her!" exclaimed the first voice as it was sounding closer to the room.
Bella quickly grabbed the last few stones off the ground, hoping to avoid any kind of confrontation, and put them into the sack in the rooms center. Unfortunately when she did so was the moment that two men came around a corner and into the room, seeing her doing so.
One was a large man built like an oxen with a barrel chest and muscles nearly as large as his head. He was wearing leather armor over black pants and a sleeveless shirt, and had a large maul in one hand that looked to be both weapon and walking stick from the way he was holding it. The second man was tall and thin, garbed in robes of a dull green and grey with a old worn staff in his one hand. Both men had faces that were similar, marking them maybe as family, but they also had expressions that were rather odd, and had odd symbols on their clothing that was likely a Familia sigil.
"Oh wow, is that whole bag full of magic stones? " the larger man asked with a greedy smile on his face.
"Um, yes, they are mine," Bella said, hoping that stating they were hers, and not simply found lying around, would stop things from becoming a problem. She did know that people could be greedy after all.
"Ah well, I didn't believe my brother that a girl could be doing what he said, but it appears he was right. You must be pretty skilled to have gathered that many magic stones," the man said with a smile as he took a few steps forward. "Why don't we help you out, help you carry all of that out of here?"
"Um thank you for the offer, but I would not want to inconvenience you, and I will be fine on my own," Bella replied as she tightened the sack closed and knotted it, finding the way the two men were staring at her to be, oddly, far more uncomfortable than the way some men did when working at the Hostess of Fertility.
"No its fine, but," the thin man, probably a mage by his clothing stopped and looked thoughtful before shaking his head and shrugging his shoulders. "Goodness, to have such a looker like you delving the dungeon to gather that much, it's a travesty. Your familia must be running you like an animal, no a slave!" he exclaimed as he waved his hands around in mock anger, the tip of his staff glowing slightly as he did. "That shouldn't happen, a woman as beautiful as you should not have to fight to survive or live!"
"Uh no its fine, I chose to become and adventurer, and no one is forcing me to do this," Bella explained, noticing that the larger man was walking around to the side, looking like he was heading to the second of the two doorways to the room. Were they trying to surround her?
"No no, it really isn't, " the larger man said seriously. "Women deserve better. If you want to make money that badly there are far better ways, don't you think so brother?"
"Yes, there are," the mage said as he gently tapped his staff to the ground, causing some runes over it to glow softly. "Our Familia is a fast growing one, and could always use women as excellent as you! Quit your old Familia and join ours, where you can do the things women would be happy to, and feel good about how you make your money!"
"And feel good while making it, heh," the large man said with a chuckle.
It was then that Bella connected the dots,. The way they were speaking, the glowing runes, what they were insinuating. All of it. "No, I am not interested!" Bella said seriously as her face blushed crimson with the revelation of what they were trying to convince her to do. It was beyond disgusting to even consider!
"Hey, don't be like that, just give it a shot, in a month or so you'll love it and-" the large man tried to say, until Bella cut him off.
"No! I said I was not interested, leave me alone or I'll report you tried to use some kind of magic against me!" Bella stated as she looked at the mage, who seemed very surprised at her words.
"Hey, I thought you said no one would notice the spell if they were alone!" The larger man said in annoyance.
"No, I said the one effected by it would not see it, that's how mind magic works!" the mage said with a scowl as he directly pointed the staff at Bella. "She must have some kind of resistance."
"Well, that's a problem," the large man said as he shifted his grip on his maul, readying it for use in his hands. "I'd hate to kill such a fine looking woman, but we can't have you getting in the way of our Familia!"
"Be careful brother, if she can resist my magic, she is likely level two," the mage said seriously as Bella pulled out her blade, only then noticing that from the fighting before, it had a chip down the edge.
"If she is she must have just leveled up. No self respecting adventurer would allow themselves such shit equipment," the large man said with a grin. "Last chance girly, you can join our familia and use your body as it should be, or die here, your choice."
Bella looked at them both and entered her combat stance, seeing that these men were quiet serious. She knew she could probably outrun them, but not without leaving behind all of her magic stones. Before she could say anything though the sound of metal tapping rock drew all of their attentions to the one doorway, where none other but Mord Latro was standing with a strange and serious look on his face.
"You will not beat that girl easily," he said as he walked in with his sword already out.
"Ruffian Dog, what are you here for, this doesn't concern you!" the large man with the maul said seriously.
"It does, actually. I have business with that girl," Mord said as he gestured toward Bella, then pointed his sword at the mage. "And now that I've overheard your whole conversation, I know that it was right to tail you as well. Your Familia has been using magic to trick people into joining you."
"And even if we are, what do you plan on doing about it, ruffian?" the mage asked with a smirk. "No one will believe you of all people!"
"My Familia will, as will Ogma, and the girl there," Mord said seriously as cracked his neck side to side. "One of my pals sisters disappeared and then was with your Familia. A good honest girl who cared for her brother, now nothing more than a prostitute who doesn't recognize her own brother. You can either surrender, or we do this the hard way."
"Hard way? Its two on one you idiot!" The large man said with a chuckle as he turned to Mord and heated his maul.
"Is it now?" Mord said as he looked at Bella. "These guys are basically enslaving people to join their Familia to make money off them. What do you say we teach them a lesson and bring em to the guild?"
Bella nodded, the very idea of what they were doing disgusting her and filling her with anger.
"Heh, two on two now," Mord said with a smirk. "Can you take on the big guy?"
"I can," Bella said with a nod.
"Why you insolent bitch!" the man said as he turned to Bella. "You think there being two of you will let you win, think again! I'll break your bones and beat you down until you beg for mercy!" he roared as he ran at Bella and swung his maul in a broad horizontal swing.
Bella leapt to the side underneath the maul and rolled to her feet before lunging at the man. Her dagger flashed and cut deep into the straps of his armor around his one leg, causing the greave to flap about loosely. A second quick cut tore the greave off just before the man tried to slam the maul onto her from overhead. She moved to the side easily and slid her knife across the mans one vambrace, only to strike it awkwardly and do nothing.
"You think a tiny knife can hurt me? All I need to do is hit you once and I win!" the man roared as he swung his maul again, forcing Bella to leap backwards to gain some distance.
And upon seeing how open he left himself, used that opening. "Firebolt!" Bella cried just before she landed. The firebolt landed right in the mans side, staggering him and making him almost fall to the ground, his maul doing nothing to help his balance.
"The bitch is a mage!" The large man yelled as he looked to his brother, only to see him having difficulty hitting Mord with his magic, a number of ropes of water.
"Firebolt!" Bella called again as she rushed at the man who had, strangely willingly diverted his attention away from her. The firebolt slammed into his chest as he turned to Bella, staggering him and leaving him open enough for Bella to jump to his side and slide her knife across the side of his unprotected leg. She was not trying to kill him after all, just incapacitate him.
The man screamed as he blade sliced through and drew blood, swinging one arm at Bella and, despite her attempt to dodge, clipping her in the shoulder and making her fall over. "Now die bitch!" he roared as he brought down his maul as soon as he noticed he had knocked down Bella.
Only for her to roll out of the way of the maul and quickly get up and distance herself from the man. She had fought Mord that one time, but fighting other adventurers was not something she had really done before. They didn't move like monsters did, were not as repetitive as them, and were simply not easy to fight.
A crash to the side, as well as a gasp of pain, made both the man and Bella hazard a glance to see the mage on the ground coughing while clutching his neck, while Mord stood over him with his sword over his shoulder. Before stepping forward and placing his boot on the mages back, right between his shoulder blades. "Nothing is broken, I just tossed him around a bit and punched him in the throat. You going to finish that one or not rabbit?"
"R-right," Bella replied almost on accident, causing the man with the man to get even angrier and began swinging his maul all over at random.
"You think I'll let you! You women don't deserve the strength of a Falna, all you should do is be obedient to your betters! I'll kill you both and no one will ever even know what happened to either of you! They will chalk it up to arrogance and the dungeon killing you!"
"Are you, really forcing women into prostitution, against their will?" Bella asked, finding the words embarrassing to say, and the idea itself to be rather disturbing to her as well.
"We're just making them know their place and making money at the same time!" the maul user yelled as he continued to advance on Bella, swinging his mall constantly and often scraping the floor or striking it directly and cracking it. "Its not our fault they are so weak to a little magic and flowery words!"
"You are not a good person," Bella said grimly as she continued to dodge strike after strike and then found her chance. She rolled under a horizontal swing and grabbed some of the broken floor that had been nearly pounder into dust. Then threw it right in the mans face and ducked under his next swing while lifting her blade, letting it catch the underside of one of his arms.
The result was the man yelling from getting bits of dirt in his eyes, and his grip on his maul slacking and letting go with his wounded arm. The maul flew across the room and embedded into the wall as the man flailed and grabbed at his eyes, trying to clear them.
"Firebolt!" Bella yelled as she stepped back, letting loose her spell into the mans front and knocking him onto the ground while simultaneously wrecking his breastplate.
He continue to flail on the ground, trying to get his bearings and clear his eye, until Mord stepped over and kicked in the head, either knocking him unconscious or outright killing him. It was hard to tell.
"Not used to fighting others, are ya?" Mord asked as he bent down and looked at the man he kicked, nodding to himself with a smile before standing up.
"Um, no, not really," Bella answered, uncertain as to what was going to happen next. Was Mord going to pick a fight with her because of when she knocked him out, or something else?
"That's fine, not everyone does. Look, I do have business with you, but are you willing to wait a minute?" Mord asked, his expression oddly neutral yet sincere.
"Uh, alright, I can wait."
"Thank you," Mord said before turning to a doorway, raising a hand to his mouth, and letting out a shrill whistle. A few seconds later the sound of boots on the dungeon floor could be heard and six men, similarly built to Mord came into the room, one of whom Bella recognized as Mords friend.
"Wow, took both of these idiots on your own?" he asked Mord with a grin as some of the men began both bandage and tie up the two men on the ground.
"No, miss Rabbit helped. Take the scum back to Ogma, I'll be along in a bit," Mord replied distantly.
"Oh wow, she's a looker and, wait, isn't she-"
"Yes, now get going please, I have business before I head back," Mord interrupted his friend as the others picked up the now bound men and began to carry them out.
"Alright, alright, I'll stop pressing," Mords friend said with a chuckle as he put his hand up, feigning surrender before he turned and began to follow the others out. "See you back at the base."
"Yeah, yeah, get going," Mord said with a sigh as they left, leaving him and Bella alone again in the room. He waited another minute before turning to Bella and sheathing his sword. "Alright, that is done with. I am sorry!"
Bella jumped from how suddenly Mord bowed at the waist to her. "Huh,"
"I acted a bit to, forwardly, when we first met," Mord admitted sheepishly, not looking directly at Bella as he spoke. "I didn't even think about what you had been saying then, and when I met you at the Hostess I acted without thinking as well. If I had thought about what you had said, I might have realized you were out of place, and not had to be told after the fact."
"Well, it fine I was just-" Bella stopped as something clicked. "Wait, told?"
"Ah, I shouldn't have said that," Mord said as he scratched his upper arm. "I don't go to the guild often, but I was requested to speak to one of the advisors yesterday. Miss Tulle requested to talk to me and, enlightened me as to your situation. Having fallen over I mean."
"Oh, I see, Eina told you," Bella said as she thought that, yes that did sound like something Eina might do.
"Yeah, that's why I wanted to apologize, I acted, worse than I usually would, when I should have realized you were not any girl,"
"Ah no, its fine, I was confused, you couldn't have known."
"No, I've been an adventurer for long enough that I've met a lot of kind of peoples and I've seen some odd things, I should have noticed you were different at that time. If I had been thinking with my brain I would have realized that, so I apologize," Mord said seriously as he bowed again.
"I get it, I accept your apology, just please stop bowing, its embarrassing!" Bella said.
"Right sorry, I just wanted apologize, for everything," Mord said as he stood up. "I'll leave now."
"Wait, can I ask you a question?" Bella spoke up before Mord could even turn to start walking away. He looked at her for a moment before silently nodding. "You know I fell here, but, when I knew you before you'd didn't seem like," Bella stopped to consider her wording for a second. "Why did you decide to apologize when it, doesn't seem like something you would do?"
Mord looked at Bella before letting out a short chuckle. "That is a hell of a thing to ask someone, but you are right, I'm not the kind of person to normally apologize or ask forgiveness from people but," Mord stopped and looked at his left wrist where a small and simple yet intricate bracelet hung. "Some stuff has been happening recently that my Familia has not been willing to look past. It started small, hearing rumors and stuff, we didn't think anything of it. Then the Satis Familia appeared with a large number of adventurers, mostly level twos, as well as a production and brothel businesses."
"Those two were from that Familia then? The Satis Familia?" Bella asked curiously.
"Yeah. When they popped up new rumors started spreading, like how a number of missing people where part of them, in both their production and brothel businesses, and that they would never recall meeting someone, or that they seemed odd. Ogma used the word disconnected," Mord explained before taking a deep breath and clenching his fist. "Ogma decided we should look into it, but as we did things became stranger, until one of guys sisters disappeared, and then appeared in their brothel and did not recognize her own brother. That was just two days ago."
"That's terrible!"
"It is worse than terrible with the way those at the Satis Brothel look and act," Mord said grimly. "That's why Ogma has had us looking into them for proof of what he figured they were doing, and now we have some. Sorry for not coming to help immediately, but I had to hear what they were saying to you to know for sure it was them."
"That's alright," Bella said before shaking her head and looking at the ground. "To think anyone would do something so, terrible."
"You must be pretty naïve to think its rare, but I suppose there are a lot of people like that," Mord said with a shrug. "You should probably head back with your stones and be careful for the next few days. We don't know if they hunt down specific people or do it at random," Mord said before turning and heading for the doorway.
"Uh, okay, do you need help? I mean, will you?" Bella quickly asked before realizing what she was actually offering.
"Don't know, but I wouldn't worry about it," was all Mord said before walking out of the room leaving Bella alone with her overly large sack full of magic stones.
"Haa, this, was not what I expected to happen when I came back into the dungeon," Bella said with a heavy sigh as she picked up the sack with both hands and began heading for the upper floors to leave the dungeon. As she went she found that there were not many other adventurers she passed. She did activate no less than seven traps on the way back up, but unlike her first trap, these ones simple caused spikes to come up around them, sudden bursts of fire, or summoned kobolds. Nothing she couldn't handle. "I wonder how long I've even in here for?" Bella found herself muttering as she finally began ascending the stairs out of the dungeon.
Only for the reality of the situation to hit her when she came out into the lowest level of Babel to see through its main entranceway that night had already fallen.
"Oh, oh no," Bella muttered as she hurried over to the exchange counter, with only one booth open, and quickly stepped up to it. "I'd like to exchange try magic stones!"
"Place them in the tray," the clerk said automatically. He couldn't be seen from the way the booths shutter was built, but he sounded very tired.
"That, may be hard," Bella admitted as she held up the sack, hoping the clerk could see it from within the booth.
"Just my luck," Bella heard the clerk butter before the front of the booth opened up to reveal a much larger tray. "Dump them in there."
"Yes, of course," Bella assail as she undid the sack and began filling the huge tray, it nearly being completely full when the sack was finally empty. "That is all of it."
The tray closed back into the booth and the clerk let out a sigh. "This will take a few minutes."
"That is fine," Bella said while hoping it would go fast. She had after all when getting her stuff from the Hostess said that she would be back before closing time. Hopefully it was not already past that time.
"Understood. These are all from the first few floors, correct?" The clerk asked as the sound of stones being clicked together and sorted began to emanate from the booth nonstop.
"from the first six, yes."
"If you can gather this many then you clearly should be going deeper," the clerk said bluntly, seeming to not care about speaking properly due to his position like many of the guilds employees did.
"Well, I'm only allowed to go down to the sixth, and I needed a lot of money so I just went down found a big room and, waited."
"And the monsters came to you," the clerk said in a uncaring tone. "A lot of adventurers die trying that. Those large rooms attract them from all over when people are inside."
"I'll be careful,"
"No, you won't, you adventurers never are," the clerk said just as the sound of clicking stones stopped. "Your total for these stones comes to thirty nine thousand five hundred and twelve. Your name and affiliation?"
"Bella Cranel, and the Godborn spirit Syr."
"Understood. How much do you want put to your amount owed to the guild?"
"Um, none for now actually."
"Fine, one moment," the clerk said with an exasperated sigh. A moment later the tray came out, holding a very full bag of Valis that barely fit in the tray itself.
"Thank you, have a good night!" Bella said as she quickly grabbed the bag of Valis and headed for the doorway out of Babel as fast as she could. Once outside she found that it was not just the night, but far late into the night with not even a speck of the sun on the horizon. Seeing this Bella instantly began running down the streets heading for the hostess. There were few people on the streets of Orario, though the many homes and businesses did keep the streets lit where the lamps on the streets did not. It also told her just how late it was, as by the time she got to the Hostess she found that while the main floor was still lit, Ryu was just about to flip the sign on the window to closed. And said something to those inside when she noticed Bella approaching.
Which of course led to the first thing Bella seeing when she came in through the door being a rather miffed Syr, while everyone else was simply smiling happily.
Xxxxx
Name: Bella Cranel
Race: Hume Bunny
Gender: Female
Level: 2
Strength: G-221
Vitality : E-456
Dexterity: S-903
Agility: S- 999
Magic: G-271
Abilities(passive)
Personal protection – the one with this ability cannot have their race, gender, mind, Alignment or body physically altered by magic boons or curses. They are also resistant to magical effects and damage.
Luck – the owner of this skill has amplified luck, and all that it entails for good or ill.
Red Eyed Rabbit Queen - Error( personal discovery required to understand ability)
Skills (active)
Argonaut- the ability to amplify effect to achieve required result. Requires charge up.
Magic
Firebolt- an accurate bolt or fire that requires no chant, but is not wholly powerful on it's own.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Kibble scribble: Alright another chapter. There were a lot of ways I could have ended this chapter, but considering the chapters contents I figured a more neutral tone for the ending would be appropriate. Also according to the contents it should be obvious and that I've said it at least once before, but I am not following the Canon plot line at this time. Bella will have to learn that things are not so peachy as she thought in the world. Hopefully no one is too against that and I hope you liked the chapter!
PS, for those who do not know, Ogma is a irish/Scottish diety who is attributed with creating the first Irish gealic script, and is a god of speech, language, eloquence and learning. So the fact that that is the Familia Mord is in brings up several questions in canon. I'm going to have fun with it though.