“If you wanna jump his bones, just jump him already. Dragons, I won’t<span style="font-size: 75%; line-height: 116%;">judge. Just bring him back still alive because I swear to the Dragons if I don’t get my bonus from Adaephon cause you two were too</span><span style="font-size: 55%; line-height: 116%;">busy shagging, you will be buying me the entire Hello Clementine collector’s set! Well…? Can you</span><span style="font-size: 35%; line-height: 116%;">promise that you’ll bring him back alive or does elder sister need to supervise your playdate? Or.. how about you just promise to bring him back in one, still living piece okay? I don’t—really—no. Just.. ugh. No. Just bring him back still alive and not</span><span style="font-size: 25%; line-height: 116%;">too bang—mess—still in one piece! I can’t find zombies everyday and they’re pricey! I’m just.. going.. I’m just going now to follow Kaleissa!</span><span style="font-size: 10%; line-height: 116%;">ALIVE. ONE PIECE!</span>"<br/><br/>After the initial shock of the sudden childish rant, Jyuuzou gradually tuned out the rest of the words that came out of Ariana's mouth. Shock factor aside, it was obvious from the get-go that the words currently coming out of her vocal orifice didn't contain anything of much value. It was also rather obvious that she hadn't completely caught on as to<span style="font-style: italic">why</span>Jyuuzou was so adamant about not having this man around. And 'shagging'. In what way had he even given her that sort of impression? A quick look at the faces of the surrounding crowd told him that he wasn't alone in wondering just what was going on in Ariana's head.<br/><br/>Regardless, what really mattered was how 'Gill' was going to deal with this situation. On one hand, 'Gill' could offer to actually pay the mercenaries around them. Honestly, Jyuuzou would be surprised if this con-man actually had that kind of money on him; with the clearly shoddy preparations he had made with his backstory, Jyuuzou wouldn't have been surprised if this was 'Gill's first day on the prowl. The other choice that 'Gill' had was to simply walk away. His honor might not be intact, but at least he'd still have his life. Jyuuzou continued to apply non-verbal pressure on the con-man, and silently waited for an answer. 'Gill' finally snapped, breaking the silence and deciding to get the mercenaries around them involved.<br/><br/>"W-what are you doing? Fight him!"<br/><br/>Jyuuzou sighed, terminating the<span style="font-style: italic">sakki</span>that he was directing at 'Gill'. If this pitiable fool thought that Sabakujin mercenaries who were actually worth their salt would be so easily moved, he was in for a very harsh surprise. This exchange was pretty much over.<br/><br/>"Oh, so now the great Seraph of Kanzem deems us 'lowly Sabakujin' worthy of him? You want us to fight for you? To die for you? For free? Save your dreams for when you're sleeping, Seraph."<br/><br/>"Wait! I'll pay you! All of you!"<br/><br/>"Payment up front. If you can afford us, that is, Guilford the Ruined. Does the fallen Rossenvülf family even have funds left?"<br/><br/>It looked like he was not the only one who had recognized the name that 'Gill' had put forward.<br/><br/>"That...I'm not...er…Y-you, you bastards! Don't think this is the end! You! JUST YOU WAIT! I WILL MAKE YOU PAY FOR THIS!"<br/><br/>Lowering his hands, Jyuuzou's cloak fluttered back down, covering the blades hanging off his belt once more. However, before he could turn around to leave, a shrill, shrieking arrow tore its way from behind him, embedding itself into the con-man with an audible squelch. The con-man fell over face-first into the dirt path, with the arrow protruding awkwardly out of his equally awkwardly angled head. Jyuuzou scratched at his chin, before letting out a small sigh. While he had not intended for this to be the outcome, he had to admit that it was the safest option. He turned his gaze towards Kaleissa's form, observing her as she briefly considered what she had done. The only emotion, if it could even be called that, that he could glean from her face was one of satisfaction of having properly hit her mark. He turned to the older mercenary who had traded words with the con-man earlier, and gave him a small nod of appreciation. A small smirk played on the mercenary's weathered face, before he casually threw a simple, but distinct, salute towards Jyuuzou; it looked like they might have met before during the war. However, Kaleissa interjected with words of her own before he could approach the man.<br/><br/>"Let's go. We've already wasted enough time..."<br/><br/>Turning back to Kaleissa, Jyuuzou nodded in agreement.<br/><br/>"In that case, might this one suggest that we go to..."<br/><br/><div><hr style="height:2px; width:100%; border:0; color: grey;background:grey;"/></div><br/><br/>Jyuuzou stopped in front of the low decorated table the old man led them to.<br/><br/>They were inside a small, dingy, out of the way tea shop. There were no chairs, only low tables with comfortable carpets and well-worn cushions underneath. There were also a few water pipes lined up on the wall, but they were mostly dusty, as they did not see much use; those who came to this particular shop were not here for the pipes, after all. The old man in here was hard on hearing and dim of sight. Nevertheless, he could still brew unmatched tea with his quivering hands. The lingering, warm smells of spices and tea leaves in the shop spoke of the old man's skills. This place was a local favorite, and rumor had it that, despite the frosty relations between the two kingdoms and her tendency towards seclusion, the Queen of Fae herself would occasionally come disguised just to personally taste the tea that the old man brewed. Even at this early hour, the place was already more than half-filled with noisy regulars greeting each other. As he settled himself into a cross-legged position on the carpet, Jyuuzou placed his weapons in plain view at his right side; it was a common gesture of good-will amongst the mercenaries. After waiting for the other two to settle in, Jyuuzou began to speak.<br/><br/>"This one does inquire...how shall we proceed?"