The third Leaf is easily the one we know the least about. The clue read thus:

Standing vigil by city's gate

Counting coins 'till hour turns late

Garbed in purple scented sweet

A smile is promised and kindness cheap

Thy prize doth lie 'neath Libra's weight

Observed by the trader rich and Great

This seemed to refer to a local merchant who called himself the Great Ragneli. He was quite infamous for his corruption and aggressive practice, and seems to have disappeared without a trace during the Blank. What actually happened to him is anyone's guess.

Huan Strongarm: A Bartfort Folktale, by Lufas Maphaahl

"Have any of you ever heard of a merchant named Ragneli?" The other three men all groaned at once. Aravind even crossed himself. "Wow, is he that bad?"

"He's an asshole," said Jinyan. "He's a pathological liar, his goods are counterfeit, he wears too much perfume, he charges too much, he puts hits out on his competitors and he groped me twice. Once when he thought I was a woman, then again after he found out I was a man."

"He liked to monologue at me when no one else was around," continued Iven. "He called me a cripple and compared me to a rash on his nutsack. He thinks poverty is a disease that you catch with close contact. He rapes women who owe him money and refuses to use protection, then forces them to abort the children when they get pregnant. He steals pocket money from children and candy from babies. He kicks puppies, Leon! Puppies!"

"He's a dick," said Aravind flatly. "Why do you want to know?"

"He may or may not have one of the Oak Leaves that I'm looking for." There was another round of groans from the other men. Aravind had let Leon and Iven crash at his place, and was treating them to a basic breakfast of bread and reheated soup. "Honestly, my original plan was to see him right after Iven, but he offered to help me and I realised I didn't know the way to Jinyan's house. Or shop. Which was it again?"

"Both," Jinyan clarified. "The bottom floor was a shop and I lived on the second. Leon, Ragneli is a snake but he's also twice as cunning. He has almost certainly found the Leaf already and is going to charge you through the nose for it."

"I have a plan," said Leon firmly. Iven and Aravind thought little of this, but Jinyan had prior exposure to Leon's plans and was instantly worried.

"Does it involve the Head Takers?"

Aravind did a mild double take. "The what?"

"Not this time," Leon assured him, which was hard to believe thanks to his broad, untrustworthy grin. "Anyway, what are you guys doing?"

"Me?" grumbled the merchant. "Not much. I'm stuck here until my contacts can smuggle me back to Darhan."

"I'm going to take Iven to the temple," grunted Aravind. "Now that he's finally accepting help I'm going to find a priest who can fix his skin. Maybe get him some decent nourishment."

"Absolutely not," said Iven firmly. "I'm going with Leon. I promised I'd help him find those Leaves."

"Thank you," said Leon, and meant it. "But my plan this time involves going outside the city. You got exhausted just running to the Keep; if you start hiking around the countryside then you may not make it back. I don't want you to suffer to pay me back, Iven. I want you to make yourself better. To be healthy and happy."

Iven's face twisted miserably, and for an awful moment it looked like he was going to cry. "Fine," he spat bitterly. "Fine."

"There is one thing you can help me with though."

His face instantly lit up. "There is? What?"

Leon pulled the freezing axe out of his belt. "I didn't bring a gun when I left home and I'm no good with ranged magic, so I really don't have any options for flying monsters. I've been making do with throwing stones but my aim isn't great. But this axe can alter its own trajectory and come back to me when I call. I know that it's your friend and I know that it's a lot to ask, and I promise I'll give it back before I leave, but-"

"Not at all!" Iven blurted out. "By all means, you'll get more use out of it than I will!"

Leon held the axe at eye level. "What about you? Are you okay with this?" It nuzzled his palm in agreement.

"Wait, so it's actually alive?" Aravind asked nervously.

Jinyan just seemed curious. "Does it have a name?"

"Yes," nodded Leon. "But we're not allowed to say it out loud." He pushed back his chair and stood up, tucking the axe back into his belt. "Thanks for the food. And the bed. I'll wash the dishes and then I'm out of here; it's best if I get an early start."

"Is there anything I can do to help?" Jinyan asked later, while Iven and Aravind were preparing for their visit to the temple. "Anything at all?"

"Just don't get caught again," grunted Leon. "I don't think I can pull that off a second time." That would have been it, until a thought occurred to him. "Unless you know how to cast a Trace spell. That would be really helpful."

Jinyan just smiled.

Ragneli's stall had pride of place on the left as he exited the city gates, directly facing Iven's old alcove. He stood behind the counter, decked from head to toe in ugly purple robes with an ugly purple cape and an ugly purple hat.

The man himself was paper thin, constantly rubbing his hands as he talked. He had narrow, squinty eyes, a sallow face and an artificial smile. On his counter was a set of scales for measuring gold, and beside it was a matching set of weights.

Leon went over to the largest and lifted up. As Jinyan had predicted, the Oak Leaf had already been removed.

"Aw, hell."

"Looking for something?" Leon instantly hated the merchant's voice. It was slimy. Weaselly. Gross. "If you are looking for the Copper Oak Leaf, then I'm afraid that you are too late. I have decided to keep it as a souvenir; I imagine my descendants would quite enjoy keeping it as an heirloom."

"Why do you even bother?"

The Great Ragneli's smile began to waver. "Excuse me?"

"You want something, right? That's what you're building up to. You don't want money because clearly I don't fucking have any. You have something you want me to do. What is it you want me to do?"

"Direct," smirked Ragneli. "An enviable quality, mister…?"

"Strongarm."

"Ah, yes, Master Strongarm! As one one would expect from the man who cured the legendary Crazy Iven!" Again, his stall was facing Iven's alcove. It made sense that he knew this. "Truly, I could use a man who-"

"What do you want?" Leon interrupted. Ragneli looked surprised and annoyed, but tried again.

"I was just saying that-"

"What do you want what do you want what do you want?" Leon asked rapidly, channelling Marco Pierre White. "Quickly now quickly now quickly now!"

"Alright!" Ragneli snapped. "There are some people who owe me money-"

"I'm not doing that," interrupted Leon. "How about I take care of those bandits that you've been worrying about so much?"

Ragneli's smile froze in place. "How did you know about that?"

"I know a lot of things," said Leon blithely. "I know that they've been attacking your caravans in the grasslands outside the city. I know that you want them to stop."

"Yes…" From the way Ragneli was frowning at him, it seemed not a lot of people knew about this yet. "If you could eliminate them then I would be most grateful. Of course, there is still the matter of proof…"

"Let me guess," scowled Leon. "Their leader's weapon? Zane's bow?"

"Precisely!" Ragneli beamed. "Though I must ask: how on earth did you come by such information when I myself have barely been informed?"

Leon looked him in the eye. "Because I have knowledge of all secrets, and all hidden places of the earth, and all things concealed by deceit." For a moment the merchant just stared at him. A few people nearby had been listening in, and began to discreetly back away while whispering fearfully amongst themselves.

Ragneli gave him an inscrutable look. "I see," he said eventually. "So that is how healed Crazy Iven of his affliction."

It wasn't, but he wasn't about to admit it. "I could tell you the exact time and day of your death. To the hour. To the second. To the heartbeat." Leon paused for effect. Ragneli now looked a little scared, but also a little greedy. "But I think you'd rather not know."

"That's… I would actually very much like to know! In fact, I would accept that knowledge in place of the bow!"

"You wouldn't," Leon insisted. "At first it would be okay. You would walk into oncoming traffic and not worry about getting hit, you would eat food from enemies without worrying about poison, and you would travel dangerous roads knowing you'd come out the other end. But then you'd learn that being alive and being unharmed would be two different things. The scars, the lost limbs and the friends who died in your place would slowly build up, until you realise that the date is just around the corner. And you know there's nothing you can do to put it off, because you've already proved that it's inevitable."

Ragneli looked frozen in place, a cold sweat trickling down his face. The people around them had stopped whispering, instead choosing to stare with the primal fear of the supernatural. Ironically, Leon had no idea how Ragneli died; he just wasn't relevant after his side quest finished.

"But the worst part is the clock," he continued. "The ticking clock, slowly counting down to your last breath."

He began to mutter "tick, tick, tick," under his breath, visibly freaking Ragneli the hell out.

"tick, tick, tick,"

He turned away from the stall and walked out of the capital, continuing the frightening mantra until long after Ragneli could no longer hear him.

"tick, tick, tick,"

While Leon knew that Zane and his band of robbers operated out of the grassland surrounding the city, he didn't know exactly where. For want of a better option he began wandering randomly around in hopes that he'd get lucky, the sun climbing high in the sky as he went.

Leon picked the driest stump he could find and sat down on it, pulling a face at his aching feet. A flying monster resembling a fish tootled through the air overhead, bothering a flock of birds. He pulled the axe from his hip.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

The weapon positively vibrated with excitement. Leon hurled it at the monster with unbelievable force, and it immediately began altering its own trajectory to improve its accuracy. The axe curved through the air and cut the fish in half when it tried to dodge, then soared back to land with a snap in his waiting palm.

"Holy crap!" someone said. Leon looked around, but all he could see was an innocuous grove of trees. He sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose.

"Zane, if that's you then you may as well come out. You probably outnumber me anyway."

After an awkward pause a group of bandits emerged from the grove, led by a heavily scarred man in an eyepatch. Slung across his back was a bow made of glowing blue metal, its string so fine it was almost invisible. He was, of course, Zane. "I've had word of you, stranger. You've been sent by that spice merchant, haven't you?"

"Sure have," nodded Leon. "You must be the ones robbing his caravans and giving them to the poor."

"That we are," Zane nodded. If he was surprised that Leon was aware of his motivations then it didn't show on his face. "He has so much and cannot spare any for others. We rob his wagons so that the poor might live. He's the richest merchant in the capital, but he is ever greedy for more wealth."

"Like that magic bow of yours."

"Like my bow, yes." This time he got a reaction. It was only the tiniest twitch of his cheek, but it was enough. "If I surrender the bow, would you leave us in peace?"

"I would, but Ragneli wouldn't." Leon rose to his feet, absentmindedly brushing himself down. "I have an alternative solution, if you're interested."

Zane just scowled. "I'm willing to hear you out."

Leon smiled. "Perfect!" He tucked the axe into his belt. "Do you have a coin or something else small enough to hide behind your back? It needs to be something that you know I haven't tampered with."

Zane squinted at him with his lone eye, but pulled a chewed up wooden amulet from around his neck. He tossed it to Leon, who held it up where he and his men could clearly see it. He placed one hand over it and intoned a slow, three syllable spell. The amulet glowed briefly.

"Here," said Leon, tossing it back. "I'm going to turn around and you're going to pass it to one of your men. Don't let me know which one."

He ignored Zane as he started to scoff, turning around to face away. Reluctantly, he passed the amulet to the man on his right.

"If you're passing it to the man on your right, does that mean you're right-handed?" Zane started, then snatched it back and tossed it to someone else. "First of all, don't snatch. Second, does that guy have six fingers?"

"Leave him alone!" Zane snapped. "He's very sensitive about it!"

Leon snorted and turned around. "The point is I can sense that amulet wherever it is so long as I'm not too far away. When I'm close enough I can also vaguely feel what's around it. It's called a Trace spell."

"What good does that do us?" Zane grumbled. "None of us can use magic. Only nobles can use magic."

"With one exception," smiled Leon. "It doesn't cost any mana if you cast it on an enchanted object; the spell is sustained by the magic already inherent in the item, so even if you're a commoner you can cast it."

Zane was starting to get it. "So if I cast it on the bow…"

"Then you can find it wherever Ragneli takes it," Leon finished. "And since the spell is self-sustaining it'll never wear off. The bow - and at times Ragneli himself - will never leave your sight. On top of all that, the spell will be masked by the bow's magical signature: it's pretty easy to tell when the spell is cast on mundane objects, but nobody's noticing this unless they have mythic levels of skill."

Zane gave him a suspicious look. "And what do you get out of this?"

"I get paid," said Leon flatly. "Better, I don't have to kill any innocent people along the way. Now hold the bow in front of you like I showed you." There was a moment of hesitation, but Zane did as he asked. "Feel the weight in your hands, then say Hi-Fu-Mi. That's all it takes."

In Japan, Hi-Fu-Mi was a mystical way of saying One-Two-Three. Presumably it meant something similar in Darhanish.

After a few tries Zane got it right. The bow glowed for a while before settling down, looking exactly as it did before. Zane squinted at it for a bit before looking up at him. "What's to stop me from killing you so that you can't tell Ragneli about this?"

Leon just smiled. "Do you know what Ragneli's paying me?"

Zane blinked. Or winked. One of the two. "Money?"

"A Copper Oak Leaf," Leon explained. "From the King's Oak Leaf Contest."

The bandit gave a short, harsh bark of laughter. "Oh, really? And what do you get as a prize?"

"A music box," said Leon pleasantly, which got a few laughs. "I thought my Mom would like it. And if die, then she, my Dad, and my little brother Colin will all cry. And it'll be all your fault."

For a long moment, Zane's men just stared at him. Leon matched his glare with a smile. The bandit leader blinked first. "Dammit!"

"Aha!" Leon gloated, punching the air victoriously. Zane shoved the bow into his hands, grumbling bad-temperedly. "Thanks!"

"Fuck you!" he snarled. "Get the hell away from me!"

"Will do!" Leon waved cheerfully at his men, a few of the more sporting ones grinning and waving back. "Oh, and before I forget, earlier I convinced Ragneli that I knew exactly when and where he was destined to die."

Zane went from cranky to confused in a heartbeat. "What?"

"His worst fear is now the tick, tick, tick of his clock running out of time. If you ever find you have a chance to kill him, just say tick, tick, tick and it'll freak him the hell out."

The bandit leader gritted his teeth, exhaling loudly through his nostrils. "Wait," he snapped, stopping Leon before he could walk away. "Listen Mr… What do you call yourself?"

"Strongarm."

"Mr Strongarm, do you have any friends looking for these Leaves along with you?"

Now it was Leon's turn to be confused. "Do I… No? Should I?"

"Two idiots came through here talking about them real loudly. Heard them mention something about Lord Korel. Mean anything to you?"

Actually it did. It vaguely reminded him of a miniboss from the original game… Wait, two idiots? "Were they wearing big, stupid-looking cloaks?"

"They were."

"Did one of them have long green hair?"

"So you do know them!"

"FUCK!"

Quest: Ragneli's Robbers

Summary: another early quest from Summoner, Ragneli is just as much of a prick in his debut as he is here. Although the quest rewards you with a truckload of XP the man himself only gives 10 Gold, in a world where basic provisions usually cost several hundred.

The player is given a choice between sparing Zane or fighting him and his gang, but why would you want to? On top of being one of the most difficult fights in the early game, it also means helping out Ragneli. Fuck that guy!