Valde Incompertus Silva

Disclaimer: I own nothing

(I have no idea what sort of pidgin accent Shilleka is supposed to be talking with, so I just winged it.)

As Eurydice descended the stairs, she was both pleased and unhappy that everyone else appeared to be ready and waiting for their second venture into the labyrinth. Pleased because it signified the group had discipline and punctuality. Unhappy because it meant that she was the last to arrive.

"Right," she began as soon as she reached them. "Lash here says he knows a dealer that can hook us up with good equipment at a reasonable price. I know most of our weapons are rather simple ones, and I thought it'd be a good idea to go check out this store first. Any objections?"

Mihawk raised her hand. "Not really an objection, but I'd like to go show the Subaltern my map – I think it should be good enough for his purposes."

"Hm, good point." Eurydice pursed her lips. "I think we should all go together for that one. Make it look more… I dunno, official or whatnot."

Lash nodded and stood. "Well, let's be off, then."

"Ah, you're the new guild I met the other day!" Quinn smiled broadly as he extended his hand in greeting to Eurydice. "Have you come to deliver any good news?"

Eurydice shrugged ever so slightly. "Well, that would depend on what's good in your worldview – however, our cartographer believes that the map of the first floor of the labyrinth should be up to your standards."

Cartographer? Mihawk suppressed an urge to roll her eyes at that remark. It made it sound so… stiff, so formal – words that she was fairly certain didn't apply to her in the least.

The Subaltern chuckled. "Well, good work. But I'm really not the one you should be presenting the map to. Please show it to the scribes down the hall – once it has been approved, then you can return to me and we'll carry on with procedure."

"Oh… okay." Eurydice glanced behind her shoulder. "Uh, Mihawk? You come with me. The rest of you can wait here and… don't get into trouble."

As the two departed, the Radha member glanced around at the three remaining members. "Hm… only five members total for your guild? That's rather small, isn't it?"

Lash shrugged. "Well, we're always hiring. If more want to come, they can."

Quinn nodded and turned back to his files. After a significant pause, he looked up at Quark. "I don't mean to intrude… but… I'm almost certain I've seen you before."

The Alchemist folded his arms and looked away. "Perhaps you have. What of it? I do not recall meeting you."

"Perhaps not," Quinn chuckled. "Please, forgive my lapse in decorum then."

The group remained silent until Eurydice returned, a smile on her face. "It's been approved by the scribes," She said as soon as she came within hearing distance. "Here's the seal of approval to prove it."

"Excellent work." Quinn nodded. "Very well, then." Reaching into a cabinet, he pulled out a tiny sealed mark. "Here – your pass certifying you as a genuine explorers of the Guild. If you show it to any of the shopkeepers they'll start selling you Warp Wires."

"Oh?" Eurydice glanced up. "Warp Wires?"

"Yes, we've usually discouraged shopkeepers from selling these to explorers not officially sanctioned by the Radha since it'll mean they're less likely to take foolish risks and get themselves killed." Quinn gave a weary shake of his head. "You know how it is."

"O – of course." Eurydice nodded. "We'll be leaving now."

"Warp Wire?" Eurydice muttered as soon as she was out of the place. "What in the blazes is a Warp Wire?"

"You don't know?" Lash snorted. "They're special wires that allow to get to the geomagnetic field at the town square. You've seen it, haven't you? The huge glowing sigil? Yeah, you connect both ends of the Wire together, and the charge teleports you and anyone in you immediate vicinity to the town square. Once, some idiot tried using a Warp Wire to escape from a bunch of monsters chasing him and ended up bringing them back to town with him. Another managed to drag along a guy from a totally different guild out with him. They were only on the second floor down, so he wasn't too pissed, but you best be careful when fooling around with that thing."

"I'll make a note of it." The leader of the Paragon guild sighed. She took a couple more steps and frowned. If these Warp Wires are meant to help you out of binds… She turned to sneak a glance at Mihawk, walking alongside Cassandra. Then why didn't Mihawk use one when she was trying to get back from the tenth floor or wherever it was she ran into problems?

Possibly something that merited further study. Right now they were fast approaching the shop that Lash had talked about, and thus she had more important things to do right now.

Still, she filed away that question for later perusal. Just in case.

Shilleka glanced up from where she was manning her till, and as she did, a wide grin spread over her face. "Ey, if it ain' Lash!" she grinned. "Been too long sin'e I saw ya last! An' who're these fine folk you brought wit' ya?" She glanced over at the rest of the group. "Don't tell me you wen' and found yerself a guild?"

"Indeed I have." Lash's nodded. "Shilleka, wave hello to Eurydice here, head of the Paragon Guild, and my boss for the foreseeable future."

"Hello." Eurydice bowed her head in a gesture of welcome. "Uh… your store… it's kinda… well, barren, isn't it?"

Shilleka glanced over the shelves. "Well, I've got enough stuff t' equip most explorers fer basic level jungle-huntin'. Most don' go deeper 'n that. Still, yer right in sayin' I could have a touch more stock up here." She chuckled. "Mos' everythin' in this store is made from stuff y' can get from the Labyrinth. If I had t' supplies, I'd have more stuff t' put on the shelves, no problem!"

"Stuff?" Eurydice's interest was piqued now. "What sort of stuff?"

"Oh, bones 'n' fangs can be used t' make weapons, hides 'n' shells can be used t' make armour – the likes. Basically what you can pick up or hunt down in there."

"I see…" Eurydice mused silently. Behind her, Mihawk silently glanced up and down the selection of bows. Picking one off the rack, she gave it an experimental twang.

Shilleka glanced over. "There probably ain't much for someone like you here. Your own bow's quality work, and no mistake."

"…" Mihawk nodded imperceptibly. Just then, Eurydice cut in again. "Say… Shilleka, was it? How about we make a deal?"

The dark haired girl folded her arms across her ample chest. "I'm lis'ening." She nodded.

"You need materials for your work, right?" A nod in response. "We can gather those materials, can't we?" Another nod. "So… what say we help you gather the materials?"

"And what d' ya get out of it?"

"Well, I'm thinking you could offer us some discounted-" Eurydice hadn't even had time to finish her question before Shilleka grinned.

"Knew you'd ask fer somethin' like t'at." The storeowner shook her head. "Nope. No can do."

Lash grinned across at his guild leader. "What, fishing for lower prices? Shilleka's stuff is already pretty cheap compared to most other outfits in the area – and in terms of quality, she's all but unmatched. Her dad taught her everything she knew."

"Cheap's not good enough." Eurydice snapped. "In case you haven't forgotten, our liquid funds are not infinite in supply. Sure, we could earn a bit more through odd jobs or whatnot, but-"

"Ah, so t'at's what it's about, eh?" Shilleka leaned across the counter. "Well t'en I have a proposal for you." She paused. "If you can bring me th' stuff I need t' make new weapons in 'quipment, I'll buy 'em from you."

"…" Eurydice folded her arms. "And then you'll make equipment from them… and we buy it back from you?"

"Correct!" Shilleka winked at Eurydice. "Deal?"

"…" Eurydice folded her arms. Lash grinned.

"C'mon, boss. By selling the stuff to her before buying it back, we're getting the discount you wanted anyway."

Eurydice blew out a sigh. "Fine. Now we're running jobs as a supplier…" She shrugged.

"Much obliged." Shilleka leaned back in her chair. "Now why don't you go and pick somet'in' out fer y'self. Got myself some decent shields over yonder…"

Cassandra walked over to a rack of staves. Picking one out, she swung it about slightly, feeling its weight in her arms. She wasn't really sure she wanted a new one – her old oak staff suited her just fine – for now, anyway.

Still… she knew she wasn't much use in direct fights, so maybe a tougher, more durable weapon would be better? Silently, she turned over the weapon in her hand, pondering.

Her reverie was broken by Quark tapping her on the shoulder and indicating that she should move out of the way. As she did so, he stepped forward, lifting one of the staffs out of the rack. Closing his eyes, he held it in his hand for several long seconds, apparently focusing on something only he could discern. Then he turned to the shopkeeper. "I'll take this one."

The shopkeeper… Cassandra looked away. She wasn't exactly familiar with 'the ways of the world', but she still felt rather awkward around someone who was wearing as little as she was. It was rather warm in there, probably a product of the smelting fires in the backroom, but still…

Silently, she replace the weapon on the rack. It could wait until later, she told herself.

Meanwhile, the rest of the group continued looking over the available wares, once or twice haggling with the shopkeeper, and generally… well, shopping.

"Okay, we've all gotten what we needed." They were once more huddled around the entrance to the Labyrinth. "Based on the map, the way down is at the far end of this clearing. Our goal for today is to get there as fast as we can, check around the second floor, scout out potential paths, and then we'll retire for the day."

"Heh – wanting to take things easy, boss?" Lash grinned. "I can respect that."

Quark glared silently at the Dark Hunter, although of course Lash didn't notice. He talks too much.

"All right, if there're no further issues…" Eurydice nodded. "Let's move."

Once more, they descended into the lush greenery of the forest. After taking a few quick glances around, Eurydice beckoned the group further in.

As they progressed, they encountered a few more tussles with the woodland denizens, but nothing that they couldn't handle. A brief moment of alarm was had when they chanced upon a strange crab that had an unusually tough shell – but Quark was able to slay it with his magic. True to their promise, they began gathering various parts of the animals – the tough shell of the crab could probably be used as some sort of shield – to sell back to the store later.

Abruptly, Mihawk signaled the party. "Over here, everyone."

They gathered around the staircase. "Built into a tree." Mihawk mumbled. "Just like the main entrance."

"Beggars, choosers, and something like that." Lash glanced around. "Anyone else wants to take first chances?"

"We're just going to the second level, Lash." Eurydice snorted. "It's not like anything that dangerous would be waiting for us."

"Fine, then I suppose you won't have any trouble forging ahead of the pack, fearless leader?" Lash aimed the question back at her.

Eurydice merely shot Lash a barbed glare before tightening her grip on her sword and stepping cautiously into the darkness.

After several seconds of hesitation, the others drew their weapons and followed.

Mihawk could hear Eurydice talking as they emerged into the second floor of the area. "There – like I said, there's barely any difference between this floor and the last in terms of aesthetics – it's just green and - and flowery."

"Duly noted." Lash shrugged. "So, which way do we go? Right or le-"

It was at that moment that several rabbits chose to jump the group. Acting more on instinct than anything else, Lash slashed his whip forward, sending one of the furry creatures to the floor with a squeal of pain. Another was quickly taken out by a combination of Quark's lightning and Eurydice's blade.

The remainders fled.

"Nasty little buggers." Lash muttered to no one in particular.

And with that, they continued further into the forest.

As they rounded a corner, they met a soldier loitering there, apparently having nothing of importance to be done. As he caught sight of them, an easy smile appeared on his face. "Well, well, explorers! Are you well equipped for your journey?"

"I… suppose so." Eurydice replied with a frown. "What's it to you?"

Mihawk's ears pricked up. She'd thought she'd heard something off in the distance… almost like hoof-beats. Strange.

"Well," the soldier continued on. "As it so happens I've some spare supplies I could part with, if you'd like. Here – some medicine, or a weapon."

"Or? Why not both?"

"Heh. Call me equal opportunity." The soldier shrugged. "Others will come by sooner or later so I'll need to have some stuff for them as well, won't I?" He grinned. "What it'll be?"

Eurydice sighed. "Fine. We just got some new gear, so – the medicine it'll be. I assume you're not going to hand it over out of the goodness of your heart?"

"Nah. 100 En, if you don't mind?"

"It had better be bloody worth it, too." Eurydice muttered under her breath as she dug around for the requisite amount.

"Much obliged." The soldier nodded and pulled out a tiny bottle. "This stuff's pretty rare, so don't go splashing it all over yourself when you get a scrape. Be seeing you."

Eurydice stared at the tiny brown bottle. "A… Soma?" She said.

Medigirl walked over. "It's really powerful stuff. Just this one bottle should be enough to treat all of our wounds at a single shot. Problem is, it spoils really quickly once it's exposed to air, so if we're going to use it, we should use it all at a shot."

"Huh – when most or all of us are bleeding, then…"

Mihawk barely heard them, she was creeping forward deeper into the forest, bow nocked, ears straining to catch that elusive sound she'd heard a moment ago. She wasn't too surprised to note Quark stepping forward too, runic gloves at the ready position. She'd always pegged the Alchemist as being the sharpest out of the others…

"What is it?" Lash called as he came up behind them. "Some new monster?"

"Can't tell." She said tersely. "Get Eurydice and Medigirl up here."

In a few minutes, they were slowly advancing forward. Distant rumblings could be felt through the earth.

"Whatever it is, it's not another person." Eurydice said softly, bringing her shield up.

Before anyone else could say a word, something charged – fairly exploded – from the bushes, eyes burning with a feral rage. Eurydice barely had time to bring her shield into a position to block the creature before it slammed solidly into her, knocking her off her feet and onto the ground.

As the stunned Protector fought to regain her footing, the creature wheeled away and spun to face the group. Snorting and wheezing, it pawed at the ground, obviously preparing to charge again.

"A – a Ragelope!" Medigirl blurted out as she subconsciously raised her staff. "It – it's a Ragelope!"

"Rage – wha?" Lash questioned as he got his whip into a striking position.

"Ragelopes – they're found in places like these – in the local ecosystem, they're among the toughest monsters you'll meet."

"And whoever first discovered these things saw fit to name it a Ragelope?" Eurydice shot a disbelieving glance at the Medic.

"W – well, from what I understand he wasn't too coherent when the rescuers found him…"

"Doing wonders for our confidence, Medigirl."

The creature charged again, once more at Eurydice, seeking to gore the blonde Protector on its sharpened antlers. But this time she had a chance to prepare herself, and she managed to hold her ground.

In that instant that the Ragelope's attention was preoccupied, Lash struck with his whip, wrapping it tightly around the creature's horns. Quark dashed forward, running his palm along the hide of the creature and leaving a discoloured stain across its fur. A poison-based spell. Mihawk realized.

Out loud, she said, "Hold it down, Lash! I'll shoot the eyes!"

Easier said than done. With a toss of its neck, it jerked away, sending Lash sprawling across the grassy floor. Eurydice uttered a curse and raised her blade, trying to stab it in between the eyes.

It was then that the Ragelope let out an earth-shattering bellow of pure anger. From where Mihawk was standing, it was deafening enough. But for Eurydice, who was standing not half a meter away from the Ragelope, the sound was unbearable.

With a cry of pain, the Protector staggered back, dropping her sword and shield. The archer's eyes grew wide and this and she leapt into action – Eurydice was the sturdiest out of all of them. If she couldn't protect the more fragile ones in the party.

Then, out of the corner of her eye, she saw a blur as a rock whizzed forward to smack the creature in the eye.

Cassandra hadn't been sure what she was trying to do by throwing the rock at the monster – she merely wanted to buy Eurydice some time to recover, maybe catch the creature's attention.

In the latter, she certainly succeeded. The beast let out another bellow of rage and swung around to face her. Trembling, she tightened her grip on her staff.

And then it was charging her, sharpened horns gleaming with the dried blood of former foes, and Cassandra did the only thing she could do.

She fell backwards.

As she lay there, paralysed by fear, the creature loomed over her, ready to end her life with a single sweep of its mighty horns-

Then it jerked back. Glancing over, Cassandra caught sight of Lash, Mihawk and Quark tugging on the end of the whip that had earlier been wrapped around the beast's horns, trying to drag it away from Cassandra.

Somehow, their combined strength was enough to give the beast pause. Bellowing yet again, the Ragelope swung around – just in time to receive a lightning bolt to the face, courtesy of Quark's incantation.

With a screech of pain, the creature staggered back, and never one to waste an opportunity, Mihawk quickly notched an arrow and fired it at the creature, piercing its haunch. They were winning, they could do this-

Suddenly, with a renewed surge of strength, the creature lurched forward, straight at Mihawk. Before the Survivalist could make a move to get herself out of the way, Lash leapt in front of the creature, dagger in hand. Cassandra failed to stifle a gasp of horror as

a spray of dark blood covered the area. The Dark Hunter stumbled back and collapsed, unmoving.

Clambering to her feet, she darted forward. I have to – I have to get to Lash – have to help him! Of course, there was still the problem of the glowering beast in between her and him…

The Ragelope, sensing Cassandra, swung around once more, and with a feral roar lowered its head for yet another charge.

And then Eurydice, fully recovered from the debilitating effects of the roar, lunged forward with broadsword clasped firmly in both hands. With a cry and a mighty overhead swing, she brought the blade crashing down onto the creature's head. There was an audible snapping sound as one of the horns was severed and the blade bit deep into the creature's head.

With a final, weakening cry, the Ragelope collapsed.

Cassandra had already scrambled to Lash's side. Predictably his stomach had been the area to suffer the wounds, and so acting quickly, she began murmuring a healing spell under her breath whilst simultaneously reaching for a medica. The wounds weren't that bad, but they were awfully messy, and it was hard to remember her training to always, always be calm.

Several tense moments later, she sat back. Eurydice had taken a medica to deal with her own comparatively minor wounds, and she was standing slightly away, gazing off further into the forest.

"How's he?" Mihawk questioned worriedly as she stood over him.

"He'll be fine." Cassandra gave her an encouraging smile.

Mihawk nodded and turned to Eurydice. "Uh… Eurydice? What now? Do we wait for Lash to wake up and we go further, or…"

Eurydice started slightly at Mihawk's question. "Huh – what? Oh! Uh…" she glanced up, where sunlight still filtered softly through the trees. "It's still pretty early. Depending on how long it takes Lash to wake up, we can continue on. We've got some Warp Wires in case anything goes awry."

Satisfied with the answer, Mihawk settled back and leaned against a tree, glancing around. Quark closed his eyes as he sat on the ground, meditating… or something like that. Eurydice resumed her vigil, a troubled expression on her face.

As for Cassandra... she would later swear up and down that she had had no intention whatsoever of falling asleep.

Chapter End

Thank you for reading. Please review.