He'd thought that question over a few times already, knowing that it would likely come up. "Are there any handguns available? I am definitely not proficient in firearms, but it would be good to have one just in case, and so something concealable seems for the best." Bec scratched at his head.

Bekka's lips pursed thoughtfully. Then she whistled. "Duff!" she called out. "Get me one of the thirty-eights."

A moment later a small, matte-black pistol was tossed to her from behind Bec. She caught it easily, handing the light-weight, easily concealable weapon to Bec. "Try the feel of it. See how it feels in your hand. Finger off the trigger unless you intend to shoot someone. And always point it at the bad guy. When it clicks, you have to reload." She smirked, catching a pair of clips tossed by Duff. "Reloading's simple. You thumb that little slide there, old clip falls out. You stick the new clip in. You don't have to chamber a round though, this little guy does that automatically when the clip is loaded in."

He looked at the gun in consternation. It was almost foreign to him. Sure he'd seen guns like this in the movies, and video games as well, but it was a different beast entirely to be holding one, the cold rough plastic of the grip scrapping the against skin of his palm. He prodded the slide a bit, before pulling it back. The clip clattered to the ground; he'd forgotten that even here, the laws of gravity were not suspended. He sheepishly retrieved it, shoving it back into the gun.

"I think I may need to practice this... I don't think it would be a good idea for me to be juggling clips in a dangerous situation." He smiled wryly.

Edited by WillowtheWhisp on July 26, 2014 at 7:11:48

"That's right," Duff chortler merrily as he strode up behind Bec. "Dun' want to drop de lifesaving ammo. Bad for your health, that is."

The scruffy, wirey mercenary was now clad not only in the clothes from earlier, but in a tactical vest of black cloth and mesh as well. Slipping a spare clip of his own in one of the myriad pockets arrayed on the clothing. He tossed an identical vest to Bekka, along with a small automatic rifle that appeared, comically, to be almost entirely barrel. The rest of the gun almost tacked on as an afterthought. "We ready to meet the nice nice lion men?" He questioned with a manic smile.

Bekka looked down to Bec, eyes thoughtful, even calculating, before she gave a nod. "Aye," she said, slipping the vest on with practiced ease. "Let's go meet the lions in their den." She attached the rifle to her vest via a simple sling like device, then slapped the release for the Gunship door, letting in the warm, muggy air and revealing the world outside. "Be ready for anything." She advised Duff and Bec with a soft, almost gentle tone.

Somewhere in his mid thirties, Parks was a man of average height and build, though his body armor made him look bulkier than he actually was. Black haired and brown eyed, his traits were not terribly memorable, but he held a look about him that was. His face was relaxed--almost purposefully so--and despite his calm demeanor, he seemed like the type of person who had spent much of the last fifteen years of his life screaming himself hoarse. He carried it in the way he walked. As the gunship doors opened, he nodded respectfully to the newcomers, signalling one of his robed allies to the side to do his work.

At once, trees bent toward the vehicle and bushes sidled up next to it, covering the thing from top to bottom almost entirely with a loose but effective camouflage.

Parks smiled with the satisfaction a man gets at things following their order and plan. He knew this mission could be dangerous--perhaps moreso with contracted help--but he determined as usual to keep things level and orderly all the while. Content with the arrangement of things, he took a few steps forward toward the new crew, extending his hand to each one in turn and introducing himself in the mean time.

"The name's Parks. Safe flight from the Core?"

---

The armored woman felt her nerves settle themselves as the lock slid into place on the door. Rogueport was a dangerous place, especially now, and this hunt of hers had resulted in plenty of losses already. Would this fellow break any new ground? He did not seem like the type that the Thief would typically associate herself with, but perhaps it was merely another side to the whole thing. Maia didn't know. She did take a seat, though, and extended a hand to the hologram, touching it gingerly.

"Open files on the Eden Ring over the last six months," she instructed the device plainly. The thing seemed to recognize the command, and a moment later a map opened up, a dozen and a half lights lit up on it, mostly across Allondell but also in Zailleon, Kouchi, Kemei, and Cher Plek as well. With an armored gauntlet, the woman selected one from Minervum, opening a host of news clips and articles.

The headlines ranged from "Library Plundered" to "Phantom Loose in Minervum" filled with pictures of emptied rooms and scattered corpses all in rooms of the city's main library. Maia explained.

"Not long after the ring was stolen, a group broke into the Minervum Library's hidden repositories. Things were going well for them, until..." She pulled up a clip from a camera, letting it dominate the screen.

A figure--completely blacked out and hazy around the edges--flitted across the screen oddly, pausing finally and looking around furtively before sticking its hand straight up in the air. At once, alarm bells flashed red as the hand touched a sensor, and Maia closed the video.

"Eight went in, she was the only one who made it out--no one could catch her. Everybody who's trying to track her just sees her like you saw in that video--it even affects recordings. She emptied out dozens of artifacts before escaping herself, but her whole crew was killed by security in the aftermath."

The armored woman paused, moving her hand to the hologram again and pulling it back to the map, where she gestured to the dots. "They're all like that. She ran a job in Kouchi and emptied out an entire database in one of their towers--only one to escape. Zailleon, she broke into Aurinar's fortress with a group. They almost made it out, until she suddenly broke off from them and they ran headlong into the nest of Stamarians waiting for them. Rogueport, Acera, Heigenal--it's all the same. She's a black widow of thieves."

Not that an honorable one would be much better, but not everyone felt so plainly as Maia did. Hopefully this man could see it for what it was, though.

"... are you sure you're after the right woman?" Rua asked after a few moments of thought. He didn't look troubled or alarmed at what he had just been informed of. If anything, he looked bewildered.

Because this certainly doesn't sound like how Terrel works, he thought to himself.

Sure, when he thought about it, parts of it matched up. Terrel mentioned working with a crew in a previous heist on the library. She knew how to get out of there with that GM room with all of the warp doors.

But Terrel, a "black widow of thieves"? The girl was like origami, and she couldn't even read. And hell, she wasn't even able to figure out where most of the doors in the room went--he was the one who solved its mystery. Terrel had only known about the way into the Core, and the way she spoke implied someone else taught her that, so she couldn't have been the only one who escaped, if what Maia said was true.

Unless it was all just an act. After living with Mesia, though, Rua was sure he could recognize a woman acting. Terrel didn't seem like she'd be very good at it.

"Like, really sure?" he asked.

Beneath her helmet, Maia's eyes narrowed at the man's comment. She had expected some resistance--most people didn't want to believe they were being duped--but this seemed like something else entirely. This was incredulity for other reasons. Thankfully, the mask covered her uncertainty, and she replied honestly to him.

"With her? I'm not sure about anything. I've been inches away from catching her before, and she slips between your fingers like smoke. Whoever she is, I saw you talking with her just before I confronted you. What do you know that I don't?"

"I think if you've failed to catch her, then..."

Rua shook his head.

"Well, then either you're after the wrong woman, or you're that incompetent. Which sounds more likely to you?" he questioned.

"It's not a matter of skill," Maia submitted with determination, pulling up the file on the ring itself. A picture filled the display a moment later, and the armored figure nodded at it. "This thing was designed to make whoever wore it almost impossible to catch, but I don't think anyone anticipated what that would look like. It senses aggression and seeds diversion, forgetfulness, and indecisiveness into NPCs. To players, our eyes can't follow the wearer properly--it's almost like a lag spike from those other online games, way back in the day."

She took a moment and paused, leaning back in her chair and watching the man closely now. This was certainly the closest she'd ever been to catching the Thief, but things seemed to change at every turn. Every move mattered, now.

"If I'm wrong, then it won't be the first time. I've chased this woman across half the known world, and I've been set back plenty of times. But if I'm right, then you're next. Whoever you think this woman is, you can't trust her.

"Let's... For the sake of argument, let's assume it's true. All right? If I can prove it to you, will you consider helping me?"

"Okay, let's assume that," Rua acquiesced, gesturing with a forward nudge of his hands, moving his sword a bit with the movement. "I haven't noticed anything like a lag spike around her, and we've had trouble with NPCs already. Hell, I don't think I've even seen her wearing a ring at all, let alone one that looks like that."

He could see her just fine when she ran off with that book, after all, and Relayia--who was busily watching the lights coming from Maia's device--hadn't had trouble either, and he figured that the dragonet counted as an NPC of sorts.

Bec nodded to Duff and Bekka. "If we run into any trouble, I'll do my best to support you as best as I can. I'm not terribly apt with offensive magic, as I haven't had much practice with it, but I have other ways that I can help. Allow me to demonstrate."

Closing his eyes to concentrate, Bec began to chant quietly, the fingers on his free hand tracing invisible letters into the air. In a moment, they were surrounded by ethereal white feathers, which immediately disappeared. "There. I've enchanted us with a spell that is normally intended to allow those affected to slowly fall through the air, similar to wearing a parachute. However, I've also noticed that, in terms of its mechanic, it also reduces the total weight of the player to a small amount. It'll reduce the sound we make while traversing in the jungle, in addition to keeping us from creating tracks."

Liam smiled faintly, noticing the potions adorning the stall. "Bad luck in love?" He questioned, eyes glinting in the morning sun. The other woman hadn't said a word, though she didn't seem thrilled by her partner's story. "Well. If I may. The bottle you are holding is for those interested in a relationship with a curious furred species found in the most dangerous parts of Valtheran. You might want to look for the humanoid sections. On the other side of the stall."

His eyes traveled back and forth between the women, seeming to wait for something. A sign. A tell. A betrayal of some emotion.

Sera gave a small giggle. Ever genuine. "Oh." She said, looking to the label of the bottle. Wondering to herself why this was even a love potion to begin with . . . "whoops." She set it back in its place, then started to circle the stall. Noting the man keeping her in his vision the entire time. "Thanks for the tip." She said, gazing curiously back to Fille. Her partner didn't seem thrilled, but wasn't saying much to the contrary either.

In either event, she hadn't been shot yet. And the man didn't seem quite the type to gut her on the spot. Though she wasn't positive on that count. Hard to read barely began to describe him. But then . . . not dead, so best to ask questions. "So what of you? what brings you to the markets . . ." she trailed off, fishing for a name.

"Liam." He replied simply. His eyes now gazing across the stall and the very nervous stall-owner to Fille. "Since we're in a naming mood. Might you tell me yours, madam?"

_______

Duff shook his head in amazement, or perhaps more accurately, bewilderment. He tested his weight as he moved out with Bekka and Bec to greet the man Parks. "'Oly 'Ell. Dat's handy and no mistake." He muttered, nodding approvingly to Bec. "Ye already are getting yer merc-legs. 'Elping the team."

Bekka had only time to nod, herself. Before turning her attention fully to their new compatriot. She shook his hand firmly, Duff doing the same. "The trip was safe enough. You're to be in charge of this operation?" She questioned simply. Having a muddy chain of command was not something she cared to relive, ever.

Edited by Ajax on August 1, 2014 at 5:46:21

"Suspend disbelief for a moment, but the ring can sense hostility or the need for flight, especially with NPCs. Since they're linked into the game more than we are, if an NPC has a hostile response toward the wearer, it kicks in. But if you can see her, it either means she trusts you or she's not afraid of you, for better or worse.

"As for where it is, it's possible it's not even on her hand. If she has it anywhere on her person, really, it's possible it could work. In fact, if she were only keeping it in a bag or the like, it could explain why she's still alive..." Maia trailed off, her voice thoughtful but her face unreadable behind the mask.

Perhaps it was no use. What she spoke was true, but convincing another person would be difficult, she saw. Some things you just had to see for yourself. After a moment's silence, she sighed, shaking her head and standing.

"Even if you did believe me, though, you wouldn't betray her, would you? I can see it on you."

---

Parks nodded at Bekka, tilting his head to suggest they follow him. "Aye, though I'd ask you lend your ear to all of my men. They'll all treat you right, but it's not my first rodeo with any of them. I've read your file and I know you're more capable than this mission, so I'm not worried about that..."

Parks arrived at their campsite, a place with numbers of stone structures instead of tents, though there was enough equipment lying around to void any ideas of it being primitive. No other men were present at the site, though, and he turned to face them again.

"I get that your people come first. But for this mission, we're all your people, and I need to know now that it won't be an issue. Do we have an understanding?"

Rua only gave Maia a short nod at that last statement of hers. "She's a thief, true, but she and I have a shared cause at the moment," he told her. He wasn't about to tell a bounty hunter about the Arcanum Relics, but...

"Whatever beef you have with Terrel, you can't kill her. At all," he explained, leaning back in his seat, still keeping a comfortable grip on his blade. Relayia shifted her grip on his shoulder with the movement. "She's a Theta."

Maybe this'll save her life if these two come across one another.

Fille gave this Liam guy a cool stare, one that said she was clearly wary of him, unlike her companion. "Fille," she offered, her accent clear this time.

Liam inclined his head politely to Fille. Curious as to the juxtaposition between Fille and Sera. One clearly wary, the other one practically exuding friendliness. Were they truly companions? He hadn't heard of the Bard having any companions in her travels ... and this was clearly her. Manner, guitar, attire and appearance all fit the descriptions he'd heard.

So. Time for something more direct. "So. Fille, Sera." He said, testing the waters. Again watching for reactions with his steely blue eyes. "You enjoyed singing for the Mayor of the Northern Fiefs? I heard you put on quite a show."

Sera rocked back in surprise. Her last city of call had been a small port on the edge of the Cher Plek zone known as the Northern Fiefs. A little nothing town called Racket. The mayor of the town had been an amusingly gracious host, enjoyed her singing quite a lot, and sent her on her way with a smile. That this random man, even an important one . . would know who she was . . .

She opened her mouth to reply. Something, anything. When she realized he was fishing for info. Fille hadn't been with her. Her mind dashed along various paths, the heat of the sun beating down on her as the man watched the two of them. He was fishing . . but why? It wasn't exactly a hidden fact, that she was a Theta. Anyone who'd heard of her . . the Outlander bard, they'd started to call her in some towns. Would know she was a player, or whatever the NPC's thought players were.

And there was a bounty on player's heads in this city. And . . oh god, had she just gotten Fille killed? Was Fille a Theta too? Somewhere in her stomach, things started to roil.

Finally though, a clearer voice echoed in her mind. He was fishing, yes. But for a city with a bounty on hers and Fille's, and any player's head, he hadn't tried to collect. She couldn't figure out his angle, and was pretty sure her face had already given enough away to confirm that she was the crazy woman going around towns singing for their mayors or various leaders. But maybe she could still get Fille out of it. "She wasn't with me in the Northern fief's. Just my guide in this city." She grinned brightly to Fille. "Speaking of which . . . you got me to the market and the bloody big building, I suppose I should pay you. You've probably got other people waiting for your services."

Hopefully Fille would get the hint. Maybe this man, whoever he was, would believe it. With enough earnestness in her voice, she might be able to get Fille away from him. Pass her off as a guide, get her to safety.

Maia couldn't help but suppress a small shock at the man's statement. He was going to help her? Maybe he had something else up his sleeve, or maybe she had just misread him, but either way she was going to take it.

Terrel.

That was the name, after all this time? It seemed familiar, but she didn't know why. When this woman--Terrel--had stolen the ring and used it, all her data had been scrambled up as a result. No one knew anything about her before she just became the Thief. But, there was a greater problem now. Maia wanted her prize, but she was not a murderer by any means. It was just a game, after all, though it made things that much more complicated.

"If she's a Theta, then it matters even more," she said slowly. "The reason no one was using the ring when Terrel took it was because of its flaw. Wear it long enough it'd eventually kill you. I'm surprised it hasn't by now, but there's another issue. She knows who I am--this isn't the first time I've been close before. I don't know how strong this common ground you have is, but the woman I've been following will bolt in an instant if she knows I'm close. If you can get the ring off her, then she doesn't ever need to know I was involved. What do you think?"

Rua arched an eyebrow at that little revelation. All the more reason that he had to talk to Terrel now. "... I can't promise I won't tell her about this," he admitted. Especially because Terrel would certainly ask how he learned about any of this if he brought it up. Unlike EP, this woman had nothing of use to him to hold her conditions against him.

He gave it some thought, then nodded. "Give me your contact info, and I'll see about getting that ring back to you if she really does have it and we no longer need it," he offered--whatever she thought about what Terrel was, that ring sounded too useful for what they were trying to accomplish.

Fille was quick to realize what Sera was trying to do. It was noble, and it was sweet, and it frustrated the girl to no end. And she also knew that if she left, then Sera may very well be as good as dead. The memory of an auburn-haired woman flashed through Fille's mind, and she shook her head. "If this is as far as you want to go, that's fine, but there's someone else here I was expecting," she lied. She glanced at Liam, as if daring him to contradict her, before turning her gaze back to her companion. "She's running late, but she's not someone you complain to about that."

Bec stood in the background, listening. He would have to get used to this; the dangerous life style, travelling to strange places, the life-style of a merc, all of it. In his past life, he would never had considered it, much less be considered it for himself. Any army or military group would look at his height and laugh, sending him on his way. Here, that did not matter so much. Something for which he was thankful, yet intensely afraid of for exactly that reason. He could not lose sight of the fact that none of this was real. Somewhere out there, his body was hooked up to tubes and monitors, slowly wasting away.

Sera reacted without thinking, hoping it was the best way to go. She nodded vigorously, heading around the stall, jabbing her hand into the satchel at her side and withdrawing what little money she had. If she saw her again after this day, maybe she'd get it back. Though after the hell she'd put Fille through, she rather hoped the woman would keep it. She fanned it out to make the meager amount seem more substantial and glided it towards Fille, praying the woman would take it. "The rest of your payment, at least. Your friend's meeting you here?" She questioned with a smile. Perhaps . . hopefully, he'd leave if she just ignored him for a moment, seeming lost in transaction.

Liam's cold blue eyes watched the interaction. The bard didn't seem so much nervous as intent on getting her "guide" out of there. Perhaps he'd misjudged the other woman. Perhaps she recognized him. And now the guide was saying another woman was on her way. Was she trying to scare him? He doubted it. Add witnesses? He didn't have qualms about witnesses and his actions. "In that case, while you wait. Perhaps we could show you something most tourists don't get to see." He added on right after Sera walked up to Fille and began handing her the money. "The warehouse." He inclined his head towards the imposing ramshackle structure.

Again his eyes swept both women, scanning for any tells or reactions.

____

Duff clapped Bec merrily on the shoulder, pushing him gently along behind Bekka and Parks. "Eh, don't let the buggers see fear, Bec me boy." He muttered tersely. "They can smell it from a mile o'way, if they get a whiff, they'll hound ye."

Bekka, meanwhile. Smiled with a certain amount of lethality to Parks. "Your boys have something to add, let 'em say it. I'll not begrudge them the words. I was hired to keep the entire group alive. And that's what we're gonna do." She brightened the smile's intensity, though none of it's warmth. "You worry too much, Parks."

Fille's response was only to snort dismissively, waving Liam away with the hand not accepting Sera's cash. "Those guards over there aren't even letting you in," she pointed out in a flat tone. Her lilting accent seemed a bit thicker now, and only she knew that it was deliberate. "If you're not even allowed to enter, you won't be getting either of us to go in. Whoever you are, the mayor or the Mistress certainly doesn't think you're that important."

She was bluffing, of course. She had no idea if this place had anything to do with the mayor, the character that rumor said was behind him. But what she did know is that the guards weren't letting him in immediately, so they didn't find him too important, the man had stepped away from his three nearby guards, and she had an arrow she can easily put through his arm or his leg if he got grabby.

Sera tilted her head. A large part of her wanted to agree with Fille, though she felt it might technically be rude to the man. Who hadn't exactly "threatened" them yet. Or not in so many words. Something in her upbringing said to remain polite, at the very least.

"It would be hard for you to get us into the warehouse, if you can't get in yourself." She said, reinforcing Fille's words.


Liam's reaction was perhaps not what the women would expect. A flicker of a genuine smile wisped across his face. "Well. Obviously, no one here is "quite" what they appear. Appearances to the contrary, I'll be in that warehouse in the next five minutes. You---" He paused, contemplating a simple quick gesture of his hand, ordering his men to kill the outlanders.

But no. curiosity got the better of him again. "Are most welcome to join me."

"I'd be surprised if they even--" Fille started to say, then cut off with a barely-muffled curse when the doors to the warehouse actually opened. Instead of permitting them to enter, though, it looked like there were people exiting the extravagant (for Rogueport) building.

Two nervous-looking native men all but ran out, followed by more guards like those outside of the building. They seemed to be surrounding someone else, and they rudely made their way through the rest of Liam's entourage and headed, to Fille's growing alarm.

They came to a stop not too far from the three guards who had followed the girls' harasser, but the person they were surrounding pushed through, revealing herself to be another woman.

She was of average height, like Fille and Sera, and had the sundarkned skin of a native. Her short, sandy-brown hair was crowned by a bright red bandanna, She too dressed in the local style like Fille, with a frayed-cut mantle laying loose over a tight-fitting and colorful sleeveless shirt. A nearly transparent sarong was tied over shorts, leaving her legs mostly bare, except for worn boots. On one of her arms lay a single woven armband, on the other, a multitude of golden bracelets. That hand was clenched into a fist that rested on her hip, not far from a wicked-looking dagger thrust into her sash. Fille couldn't tell if its blade was made of metal or stone.

The woman peered at the three of them with hazel eyes that looked all too annoyed. Fille's own gaze was that of shock. Not only could she see the player indicator hovering above her head, but she recognized the woman as a friend she hadn't been in contact with in a while.

"A-Audra," she greeted with a cracking voice. "So you were inside the warehouse. Huh."

Audra didn't say anything back to Fille, and instead looked right over at Liam, frowning distastefully. "You botherin' my girls?" she demanded.

Edited by RisingDragon on August 10, 2014 at 21:36:01

All eyes were on the newcomer. Sera's own orange-flecked eyes darting back and forth rapidly even as she felt the tension in the market ratchet up tenfold. The hooded guards spread out, watching over the newcomers with eyes that promised murder.

Liam gazed once to Audra, eyes taking in her form with a cool, calculating glance before he spoke. "You should work your cover stories better, milady's." He replied with a soft, eerily calm tone.

"So. You didn't mention your friend was so beautiful." Sera finally squeaked out as several of the hooded guards in the background swept their cloaks back to allow easier access to their blades.

Edited by Ajax on August 11, 2014 at 6:00:13

Bec was jarred from his brooding by the sound of Duff's voice, his thick accent making it difficult to understand his words at first. This will take some getting used to. He nodded, before looking around and finally taking in his surroundings. Perhaps he'd been too preoccupied to notice before, but the locale was actually quite beautiful. It was no small wonder that so many people played the game; even if one was not a "hardcore" gamer, anyone would appreciate the views of the game world. "I wasn't really paying attention before, Duff, but what exactly is it we are doing here?"

This thing was spiralling too far and too fast for Fille to make sense of anymore. What the hell was Audra doing here? She'd been too busy to talk to since the whole Theta thing became apparently a month ago, and now she was with an armed escort in the seediest part of Rogueport?

Fille opened her mouth to speak again when Audra shot another glare at the two women, her eyebrow arched. She jerked her head back towards the warehouse, a clear indication for the two of them to get moving. Fille didn't need to be told twice. She grabbed Sera by the wrist and yanked her a bit to get her moving, even as Audra's guards tightened their grips on their glaives and bucklers in response to the threatening actions of Liam's own guards.

As Fille dragged Sera away to the warehouse, Audra turned her gaze back to Liam, and it was just as cool and calculating as the outlander's. "I don't like it when strangers start botherin' my girls," she told him. "You got a name?"

Liam cast his eyes back over the newcomer. "A friend of the Mayor's. I am expected. Tell your thugs to stop looking foolish." His eyes traced back after Sera and Fille as the bard was dragged to the warehouse.

"The Mayor will be along momentarily and tell you to stand down anyways. Would you prefer he come to find you and your men? Or you and your men's corpses?" He kept his tone level, polite. His eyes finally locking once more upon Audra.

Sera was utterly, entirely confused by this point. "So. Your friend is the mayor? Or. . .his hench--err, woman?" She questioned, words stumbling out as she tried to keep up.

_____

Duff snorted with amusement. "Eh. Life of a merc is mooi hard to explain, sometimes. We .. . Are 'ere. To do a job. In return." He gestured to Parks and his assortment of structures. "'Deez lovely boyos will give us money, or information. We're looking for some friends of ours. 'Opefully these lion boys can tell us where they are."

He smiled brightly to Bec. Knowing that their reasoning was a bit shakey. But he hadn't been able to contact the others. And time was running out by the hour. Randomly searching for them across this . . . apparently gigantic game would take forever. Hopefully the White Lions would have a direction in which to point them. Or provide money that could buy said direction.

Fille gave a quick, curt nod, sparing a glance back to Sera as the guards at the front of the warehouse started eying them upon their approach. It made her nervous, but they must've heard what Audra said, because none of them made any moves to block their approach. "Yeah, though I had no idea she was actually here," she remarked, wondering if she was sweating at the turn of events. "Who'd've thought my bluff wasn't a lie?"

Audra suddenly laughed behind them, a harsh-sounding bark that contrasted sharply with her feminine appearance and causing both girls to glance back at her. She continued to laugh, shaking her head. "Ah, right, Liam--yeah, he's expecting you."

She waved a hand in the air. "Escort the gentleman in, boys," she ordered, glancing back at her guards. She returned her gaze back to Liam and gave him a mean-looking grin. "For the record, Liam, these are the mayor's men. I'm sure he'll be amused when he learns you're harassing my girls, and threatening his cronies. Real amused. Your boys stay outside and can have their little staring contest with the guards. Those're the rules 'round here."

She spun about, walking at a steady pace back to the warehouse, her gaze following Sera and Fille. She grinned at them, and unlike the one she gave to Liam, this one seemed humorous.

That was odd. They were technically in a game, after all. He and Duff had proved it before; private messaging and friending other players was easy enough. Which meant only that these friends of Duff's were either something that could not partake in said communication, such as a game generated object or NPC, or they were players that were otherwise incapable of doing so. Bec suspected the latter. Bec knew of only a few things, off the top of his head, that could prevent private messaging between players: dueling other players or being within a PK zone, and other special areas within the game. There were definitely more. "I see. Well, I suppose they're my friends now, too, now that I've joined with your group." Bec raised an eyebrow. "Let's just hope this job pans out, I guess." He held up crossed fingers.

Maia opened her inventory and an item filled her hand in the shape of a small, translucent business card of sorts. It was an overpriced and flashy way of linking contact information, but the people she leagued with didn't seem to worry about that sort of thing. Without a second thought, she offered the thing to the man--if he accepted it, it would dissolve instantly and she would be saved in his contacts.

Meanwhile, she decided to make one final point, now knowing that what happened next was beyond her control. "I've been hunting Terrel for months. It's not my concern what happens to her, but if she's a Theta then I want no part in her death. A life's a life, friend or foe. I've got no idea how long it will work out for her, but that ring will player-kill her eventually. Whatever business you have, I suggest you do it quick."

The armored woman raised her hand and tapped a green X-mark on the hologram, opening the bolt on the door so that Rua could leave. Before he did, though, she added one last thing.

"Oh, and you're welcome to share our conversation with Terrel, not that you need my permission, but I should warn you on that. She does know who I am, and you know her track record with other associates. For both your sakes, choose your words wisely."

---

"It's my job to worry, and you know that," Parks said with a smile of long-suffering. This was always the issue when your men weren't home grown. They were capable and they knew it, and there was no telling how things would go when the going got rough. Some Op-Coms preferred imported hands, others preferred it the other way. In either case, it wasn't up to them.

Nevertheless, despite his obligation to it, he was not overtly worried. Tilting his head, Parks turned towards the most notable attribute of the campsite, though it was admittedly easy to miss. Burrowed into what looked like, at first glance, a mass of trees and brush, was a cave with an entrance wide enough to fit four men across. This was the object of their mission, and Parks began walking toward it, expecting the rest to follow.

"Tell me, Bekka, are you familiar with the Architects of Iyelus? Bavish told me the lead time in getting you out here was basically nothing, so he expected me to do most all the briefing once you got here."

Rua accepted the card, plucking it from Maia's hands with a frown--someone this fancy, with cards like this, armor and mask like hers, made him wonder how she hadn't been robbed yet--and slipped it into a pocket of his coat. "We'll try to finish it quick, but that might not be possible."

He listened to her last bit of advice, but even as he stood and walked to the unlocked door to leave, his mind went elsewhere on that ring she mentioned. He halted at the door. "Could we prolong its lethal effects if someone else carried it for a while?" he asked, glancing back at the masked mercenary. "If it gets too much for her, I could hold on to it. Wouldn't that work?"