"Alright, what's up?"
Rose settled into the offered chair, out of view from the tavern's other patrons; the Crowe's Nest had a few backrooms used for trade deals and the like, though most of them were not particularly legal. Opposite to her sat Laphicet, prim and proper but with an ever-present frown. She never figured the boy out from their few encounters, seeing how he was always kind and soft-spoken. Today seemed different.
Before the seraph boy explained anything however, he levitated two cups of tea onto the table. "We received some news that need our attention," he began carefully. "Perhaps yours as well." Rose spent the time sipping the beverage placed in front of her; though she preferred ale, this tea's mild aroma felt just right. It was one of her favourites, which she knew was not a coincidence. Regardless, she listened to Laphicet as he continued: "You should be aware that Shepherd Sorey passed through Lastonbell seventeen days ago?"
"Well, duh! The Sparrow Feathers brought him into town!" The boy did not appear bothered by her flippant tone, though his expression fell somewhat. Rose wondered if she should be a little nicer with whatever kind of impression he was trying to make. She shelved the thought when he broke the news to her.
"He passed through over a week ago and left for Hyland again. After... an encounter with the Lord of Calamity, Heldalf." Rose stilled, hot tea running down her throat as she listened intently. "Seraph Lailah was corrupted and turned into a dragon. Sorey lost the flame of purification and is thus shepherd no longer. For now."
Silence hung in the room after his announcement. Rose, never one for sugarcoating, lowered her cup with a quiet clink. "Well, shit."
Laphicet huffed, but a weak smile graced his features for a moment before slipping away again. "Heldalf is far stronger than any of us expected and Sorey is out of commission while he recovers," he continued. The way it was phrased, Rose figured there was more to it, so she coaxed a little.
"Alright, thanks for the warning."
Going by the face the boy made, it really was more than a courtesy. She only had to wait a moment before he got on with it: "There is a reason we asked for you instead of just sending a letter. Sorey needs assistance against a foe this strong."
"I hope you realise that we can't beat him either, right?" In truth, Rose was making time; she could already guess what he was about to ask for. Yet he left her no time to think.
"Anyone else? No. You, however? Perhaps." His tone became more business-like at that, the intention clear enough to Rose; she heaved a sigh and shook her head. Regardless of the tragedy, she could not just drop everything to run off with a shepherd.
"I already told Lailah when she asked me, I'm not a good fit for a squire. Seriously, this is ridiculous, the gentle shepherd and the leader of the Scattered Bones?"
"In this case," Laphicet smacked down her point, "compatibility is a non-issue. Us Bloodwings are staying in the background for as long as we can to dig up more information about the enemy. The only other person with suitable resonance we know is even less suited for being a squire."
Despite her own feelings, Rose could see how keeping an organisation consisting of seraphim away from a super-powerful hellion made sense. A dragon swarm helped exactly no one. Nonetheless, her feelings remained the same. "I'm not suitable either. What sets me apart?"
"That Sorey has no idea of your occupation." It was so simple and delivered so matter-of-factly, Rose had to halt the cup at her mouth to mull it over. The boy did not stop making good points, though: "All he will see is a friendly woman with powerful resonance and a bonded wind seraph."
"Alright, I guess." She could not refute him on that one, even though she wanted to. "But I still don't see why it has to be me." He inclined his head at her as if to agree, then made a motion encompassing the room and beyond.
"We are looking for other willing supporters as well, but the squire is important and difficult to find. For you... well." A pregnant pause was left as several heavy bags clacked onto the table; he pushed all of them toward her, uncaring for Rose's rising eyebrows. "If the job is necessary, no?"
Admittedly, now she was gaping at the boy in front of her. At this sly smile slowly emerging. She could not help but grin herself. "You little brat," she muttered good-naturedly, to which Laphicet chuckled. He picked up his tea and leaned back.
"What can I say? This is important. Five hundred thousand Gald for integrating as shepherd Sorey's squire and supporting his cause against the Lord of Calamity, as well as relating any intel his group learns to the Bloodwing Butterflies. The first half is paid up-front, the second half upon the death of Calamity Heldalf by your or Sorey's hand." Rose blinked, almost gaping at the boy as he sipped his tea. Then she stared at the bags of coin, hesitantly pulling them over entirely.
"It's worth that much to you?"
"It might become more, depending on what happens going forward. Two hundred and fifty thousand to start out because we effectively cut you off from most of your contacts and supporting structure traveling with Sorey, because this mission requires secrecy, and with a bonus for any potential injuries or deaths among you and yours. The same amount again if you do manage to kill Heldalf."
Rose slowly counted the money while he spoke, her mind reeling; the Scattered Bones' jobs began at ten thousand, they took two hundred thousand for eliminating a prince of Rolance a few years back; now here she was offered more than that up-front 'just' for reinforcing the shepherd. She was well aware of the Bloodwings' cunning, with them having risen to be an influential shadow guild within but one year. Of course part of it had been contacts her Scattered Bones introduced, but the budding guild obviously grew a lot further. An offer like this, so much money up-front even, she needed to ask: "Be honest, what's at stake?"
Laphicet held his silence for a long moment while Rose kept counting. Only when she made a pause did he lean forward, all traces of levity gone from his demeanor. "The world," he told her gravely. "Not just Rolance or Hyland, not just Glenwood, but all of Desolation. If the Lord of Calamity stands victorious, everything will be overwhelmed by Malevolence. All humans shall become hellions, and every last seraph will turn into a dragon. A half million Gald is a small price to pay for your cooperation in this." His words hit a chord in her. Rose continued to count quietly, but her choice had already been made. This job was necessary, thus her feelings did not matter. Her life did not matter. Nothing did, just the knife and the target.
It took a few minutes to finish with the first bag of five, finding it filled with exactly fifty thousand Gald. So reassured, Rose pushed three of them back to Laphicet with a more serious expression. "A hundred thousand should be enough for now. We can renegotiate the total amount later. Give me a few days to prepare and get me Sorey's location."
There were no written contracts in the underworld; due to their extralegal activities, those who acted in the shadows could not afford such damning evidence. Where Rose treaded, one survived on their reputation alone; her Scattered Bones were spotless to all, clearly communicating their terms and carrying out all contracts they accepted. Likewise, the Bloodwing Butterflies became known for swift and clear deliveries of whatever information one desired, from market data to troop movements. The only kind of request they refused for most clients was to create dossiers of private people, not including nobles and royals. No one liked stalkers, not even the underworld.
"Good luck", Laphicet wished her with a kind smile, already busy writing what she needed on a sheet of parchment. Rose smiled back, huffing despite the situation.
"Psh, I don't need luck. But thanks." She then picked up the money and left to get everything prepared.
Only after she was gone did Laphicet's expression fall. He slowly ceased his writing and picked up the money she rejected, eyeing it sadly. "No money is worth sending you toward certain death," he told the empty room. "But we must. So says reason. And so says emotion." He knew, regardless of how much he may dislike Maotelus, that any sacrifice was worth his retrieval. He had no faith in the argument, but it remained true; no single human life equalled that of an Empyrean in worth. Not the him from before his ascension, not Velvet as she used to be, not Celica, and not even Arthur.
Laphicet just hoped that their own plans were finalised before Sorey's group ended up becoming sacrifices to their cause. For all of them he hoped, but even he knew better than to pretend their loss as a whole would hurt him; losing Edna would, though. That would hurt terribly.
. .
. .
"Yeouch, that's cold, girl."
Velvet shrugged nonchalantly, waiting for Zaveid's thoughts on her request. He had returned just the previous day to drop off more notes, but now the two of them were standing together atop Innominat's structure, watching the planet beneath. Thanks to Zaveid's mastery of the air, no one would eavesdrop on them even with a bunch of nosy seraphim nearby. "I know," she agreed in the end, "but it's the best we can do. Find reliable people to reinforce Sorey and hope that we're faster than Heldalf is."
"You do know the kid and I don't see eye to eye, right?"
"He will come around." This, she believed. "Knowing what he knows now, he can't afford to stay stubborn." Velvet paused there, jabbing Zaveid's shoulder with a knowing grin. "Then again, you took a good beating yourself. Think he is the same?" The wind seraph shrugged in response, but she could tell by now that he took this seriously despite his flippant response.
"Eh, maybe? But that's part of the issue, I was an idiot and having him act the same rubs me the wrong way."
"I still have to ask you," she insisted again. "You are one of the strongest seraphim around, maybe the strongest with Siegfried."
"Whoa, you really know how to stroke a man's ego." Despite the comment, his cocky grin soon morphed into a frown. "Hah. It's times like these that I miss Eizen. We didn't get along half the time, but damn could that guy throw a punch!"
"I'll say." Velvet could not agree with him more. After a moment of studying Zaveid, she decided to let him in on their progress there: "Laphi is actually working on that. We might be able to get Eizen back if we pool our powers and Maotelus' flame." Now this earned her an impressed whistle, though the look Zaveid threw her was knowing.
"He wouldn't want to."
"I know. That's the real tragedy here. Edna would want him back anyway. And." She paused again, uncertain how to breach the subject; in the end, she did it head-on, with a heavy sigh. "Lailah's dragon has white horns."
She saw the face Zaveid made, trying to recall the significance after a thousand years; it took him several seconds, but she could tell when his memory returned. His face fell into an uncharacteristically somber expression. "Oh. Damn, that sucks for everyone involved." After mulling it over for a moment however, his smirk returned. "Y'know what? I'm in. I do owe you either way." A quick pat on the arte holding his inventory space made it clear what he meant; Velvet knew it held at least a thousand bullets for Siegfried, among other things.
"Thank you. I mean it, this is important to us." Her hand lashed out to grab his arm as he made to swagger off. "Stay safe." The words were firm, but she knew he knew how worried she actually was; they had grown closer over the last year, gotten to know each other better. She did not want to lose him over this.
"No promises, babe."
Regardless of his words, he covered her hand and squeezed gently; they exchanged nods and then wandered off in different directions without another word. Both of them had work to do.
. .
. .
Rose's orders had been a surprise, though not an unwelcome one; while Dezel did not mind playing merchant for most of the time, he had grown restless recently. Everything felt like it came to a head and he had yet to find his mark; soon he would inquire with the Bloodwings, but he had yet to find an opportunity to do so. Rose ought to stay out of this one, he knew her feelings on the Windriders' fall and did not want to poke this old wound.
It was then that strange winds interrupted his considerations; they met Dezel's own, swirled between them, brushed past him with a certainty that befuddled him. He knew these winds, but he had trouble placing them. It must be a wind seraph and a powerful one, though. "Someone's coming," he informed Rose curtly. "One seraph, wind-aligned." He could feel the mana now, too.
"Damn right," an all-too-familiar voice was carried to his ears. As its owner closed in, he could tell even before his winds relayed the other man's general appearance. A dark drawl he knew well. "Friend of a friend told me you two need some help, so here I am. How's it going, Dezel?"
Ignoring Rose's appreciative hum at the sight of Zaveid, Dezel nodded at his former mentor. "I'm well. Yourself?"
"Just peachy. Beside, y'know, having to help save the world and nonsense like that." That made very clear just who asked him to join them, though Dezel appreciated Zaveid's presence; the other seraph was experienced and powerful, a definite boon to their combat prowess.
They bumped fists a moment later, only for Rose to clap her hands over both of theirs. "Anyone mind introducing me to the hunk here? No? Fine. I'm Rose, nice to meet you!"
"Heh, likewise. Name's Zaveid. You don't mind me tagging along, do ya?"
At the very least, so Dezel understood, this would not be a boring journey.