Chapter 197 - Twins

"Morning people," a new day rose, Staxius stood before Pandora. As ordered the day prior, Kniq waited with bags filled with equipment and supplies. The facial expression spoke but one thing, they were ready for anything.

"Morning guild leader," they replied at the same time, it felt like a wave.

"Before we leave," the door to the shop opened, "-I've got supplies that need to be distributed," he walked, they followed.

"What about transport?" Avon asked intently.

"I presume we're going on horseback?" Deadeyes guessed.

"Here," he stopped, on the shop counter laid four boxes, silver with each one's name engraved atop, "-please take one and change. The boys will stay here, while the girls are to head upstairs," for the past few days, his voice and tone fluctuated heavily. Adjusting to the new host took a bit of time and effort. Now, it felt second nature, the voice returned to how it was before the changes. Monotonous, without feeling and unreadable. Staxius's facial expression also subsided, nothing good nor bad, he returned to normal.  

"On it," they replied, picked-up the individual cases and dispersed.

"-Sure is heavy," Avon commented to which they laughed. Staxius didn't pay attention. A conversation on the phone took the focus away.

"Yes," he spoke without paying heed, the room grew empty, "-I'm ready to pay, can you bring the vehicle?"

"As you wish, sir," the reply quick, the phone hung.

"I wonder how much he paid?" Achilles asked; the cases opened – it was as if staring into a treasure chest. Each came with instructions and neatly placed inside a red-colored interior.

"Holy…" Viola stared in amazement, "-are you serious?" her smile could not be contained.

A few minutes went by, Staxius waited patiently outside the shop. A rambling in the distance distinguished itself. 'What a beast.'

"Is that even a car?" Adete asked.

"No," he replied, "-that's a military-grade transport vehicle. Don't ask how I managed to procure such a machine, I've no clue from where or when it came."

"Lord Staxius?" the driver stepped off, a tiny fellow with a mask covering the face.

"Over here," he called and waved gently.

"Awesome," the tiny-man came closer, "-here's the key, any damage will be added as an extra cost. Better take care of this baby," he smirked, "-tis armored with plenty of space for a squad of eight or more."

"I'll be careful," the cash handed over, "-no need to worry," the voice monotonous, no read could be made on the intent.

"Thanks for the business, Shadow," with a smile the man took off. The speed at which he ran was impressive, dust from the dirty street lifted with each step taken.

"How can someone always manage to find such weirdoes?"

"Talk about irony," the hand grabbed Adete's head, "-you're the biggest one of all," her eyes stared menacingly.

"Let me go," waling and swearing later, Adete was freed from the grasp.

"How many times do I have to say to not treat me like a doll," angry, she hovered and stood atop his head to which she stomped. No response, rather, the focus changed to examine the rented beast.

'The man spoke true when he said the beast was rare. Just look at the size of this thing,' he did circles around, '-large, fairly low to the ground, massive wheels, windows that seem to be sturdy enough to handle a barrage of attacks,' impressed, he took a step back and admired. The head-light upfront seemed as if two eyes staring off into the distance, their gaze said, come close and we'll destroy you.

"That sorts out the details about transport," Achilles voiced as if to anger Avon.

"Yeah, yeah…" the spirit's voice grew distant.

"Master," Viola called, "-we're ready," she smiled, the rest stood in line. Boots that reach just shy below the knee for the ladies and ones that went above the ankle for the men. The pants, one dark-grey with black stripes along each side. On the waist, a leather belt strapped around the legs and back. It was fixed so that it could not be moved, there was space for a  gun, sword, potions, and anything required. The top, a black shirt made of special fibers, the emblem embroidered on the collar. An optional amber-colored scarf was given to which only Avon and Viola wore. On top of the shirt, a jacket, one grey with the wings on upfront and at the back.

"Looking good," Staxius commented. The party stood, the outfits reflected their resolves

"I can't believe that each one of these items is custom built and serve different purposes," Deadeyes added.

"It's not that great, there are slight differences for each one – should not be much of a problem," the leader ended the conversation.

"Guess it's off to Plaustan," Avon voiced with sparkles, "-I'm sitting up front with master," without a second lost, the seating arrangement got decided.

"Alright people," Staxius interrupted the would-be argument about who sat up front, the look on their faces revealed more than they thought. "Load up the equipment and weapons," he ordered – the back opened, a place were additional people could sit. The capacity upfront was three on the first and four on the back then came the storage space. The three up front would be, Staxius, Avon, and Viola. Deadeyes and Achilles reluctantly accepted the back seats.

'I was able to make 25 Common potions, 5 Uncommon and 4 Rare. For scrolls, I only managed, 8 Common, 4 Uncommon and 2 Rare. Weapon wise, I've got Tharis and that's about it. No swords, Dragonrend seems the viable option but… can't mix business with my life. Either I have to pay myself to not lose in the long run,' a conundrum, '-whatever, I'll just make due.' Mana injected, the vehicle came to life, the shop closed and blocked off by a barrier spell from Undrar.

"Let's go," Avon pointed forward, Adete remained on the shoulder, the two at the back had more place than imagined whilst Undrar stared out the window.

*Driing,* before they advanced, a phone call.

"Hello?" he answered.

"Good," Melisa's voice, "-you haven't left," she seemed relieved. "Could you come by the guild before leaving?" she asked for a small detour that would take a couple of minutes.

"Going by how much the breathing is uneven, I guess it's urgent," the beast came to life, the phone hung and they were off to the guild. Cake was given the freedom to plan out their next move. If anything came up, anything urgent and life-threatening, a blank message would suffice. A distress signal both agreed over the phone – one that Staxius had to abide without a second thought.

"Look at that…" the beast came through town, the name given was RFS, no particular meaning nor explanation, just RFS.

"I wonder who's inside," adventurers who headed to the guild were stupefied. Something as impressive as that vehicle made all envious.

"I think they're here," Melisa said as whispers ran rampant from the street and into the building.

"That obnoxious idiot," Diane rolled her eyes. The RFS stopped, the party stepped off.

"What's the matter?" they walked in tandem, from the outfits to the mannerism. Led by Staxius, Kniq walked, rather than join with others to speak and socialize, each member's face remained stern and focused. That emotion came from following the leader, Staxius Haggard, his presence made all want to give their best – the man had done many things to help whether with ulterior motives or not. All had the utmost respect, both as a strong individual and a friend.

"Sorry for calling all of a sudden," Melisa took charge, "-but we received new orders, you're to take these two," she pointed at a pair of twins. Black hair, brown eyes, tan complexion, the face well sculpted with freckles. They seemed young, around the age of sixteen, "-since they were the ones who informed us about the incident. You're to take them both in thy journey." A glance from the leader, the eyes pierced through their soul. The sisters slowly backed away. "Sadly, there was supposed to be more of them," the assistant's voice grew distant, "-an incident happened to which they're in medical care."

"Honestly,' the voice neutral, "-I've but one question,"

"Go ahead," Diane joined the fray.

"Am I going to have to babysit these two or can they handle themselves?" a fair question, he continued to glare at the girls.

"They're both Tier Seven - Sapphire," Diane voiced proudly.

"Good," the voice unimpressed, "-listen," he leaned, "-I'm doing this because the guild asked us too. In no way am I responsible for your life, tier-seven should be able to fight on their own. Hold me back," killing intent oozed slightly, "-and I won't blink twice before ending your life myself."

"Did you just hear him…" the people around grew suspicious, their guards raised – all heard what Staxius said. "Who does he think he is?" subtle but present, they were all on edge.

"That's enough intimidation," Viola held his shoulder.

"Do as you wish," without care, he walked out as if all who stood were nothing but pebbles on the road.

"Sister," one of the twins called.

"What is it sister?"  the other asked.

"That man is interesting,"

"Yes, he's scary," it grew confusing.

"Hey girls, don't worry about what my brother said. That's just the kind of man he is," Viola spoke as if a big sister, her voice gentle and caring. "-I'm Viola," to which she introduced the rest of Kniq.

"Now that's how a leader should act," the rest cheered.

"I'm Emma Lymsey," the first girl spoke.

"And I'm Emmy Lymsey," the second girl added.

"We're the Lymsey sister's," they spoke as if one. Since twins, it would be hard to know who was who – however, Emma had a beauty mark on the right side of her upper lip whilst Emmy had one on the left side of her lip. Not to mention their hair was the same but inverted. Emma had her hair parted on the right as opposed to Emmy who's was on the left. Each wore light armor – but with different colored chest plates. Emma's was blue while Emmy was pink. Rather than pants, the girl had shorts of which their legging reached the thigh.

"Thanks for answering the last-minute demand," Melisa bowed, Diane gave a thumbs up. From whence they came, Kniq returned.

"We're ready to go," Undrar spoked, the two new passengers sat behind with Deadeyes and Achilles.

"You two at the back," Staxius spoke, it took the twins by surprise, "-did the guild give any specifics to where we should go?"

"Yes," Emma spoke, the tone a little shaken up.

"They told us to head to Reforge," Emmy completed the sentence. The RFS came to life, the engine made the machine vibrate, the amount of power under those wheels could make anyone feel inferior.

"Here they go," from inside the guild, Melisa spoke with a ray of hope in her eyes.

"Let's hope that Staxius doesn't kill the lieutenants," Diane added in jest, "-they're pretty annoying." Thus, the quest began.

Meanwhile, at the castle, Raulf and the Queen spoke. They discussed about the threat that Kreston might pose in the near future. With the announcement of Syphon's apostle, it was bound to create a problem. None knew what was happening in that province, a mystery to all. At the rate things advanced, the logical conclusion came to was that if Kreston had a plan in mind, it would take at least a few months before getting ready. Plenty of time to prepare. Not to mention the alliance with Arda, Gallienne could rest a little easy. Staxius gave his word as the Protector of that kingdom, one worth its weight in gold.

Xula had the same feeling – scouting parties were sent to search for a suitable place to establish a common town. A neutral zone where Gallienne could establish an embassy. A town with the sole purpose of slowly making the populous acceptant of humans – to show that behind those cruel hearts, there laid more people whomst had affection towards others.