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"He's late," Jersa said, looking out the window of the bar. She had been scanning the street every few seconds. Stella was near the door, leaning against one of the tables. But Jace sat at the bar, drinking and ignoring the two of them. Neither of them had even asked if he was alright and that bothered him.

"Maybe he got cold feet?" Stella suggested.

"More ice," Jace said as he tossed the bag onto the table. By his pocketwatch, it was almost four, which meant the bar should be opening soon. He watched as Billy put more ice into the bag before handing it back to him. "Thanks." He let his eye warm up for a few minutes before pressing the pack back to it.

"He's late," Jersa said again, grumpier than the last few times.

"We are all aware of that, Jersa," Jace said before taking another drink. "He is a wizard. Wizard's follow rules." He put his head down on the counter, resting on the ice pack so he no longer had to hold it.

"And?" Stella prompted.

"The bar doesn't open till four," he continued. He could practically feel their blank stares. He sighed. "Rules. Rules. Magic is full of rules. You don't follow the rules, you're dead. Or worse. I don't know how better to explain it to you."

Jersa folded her arms, frowning at him. "But we're here. I don't see-"

"But is it four yet?" he interrupted. "A true wizard, an experienced wizard, would not be able to break a rule without effort. Even one as simple as the bar not opening till four." In truth he didn't know that the bar opened at four before he arrived and he had been trying to figure out why the wizard had not shown up at the designated time, but this was the best reason he had thought of.

"Wizard's are weird."

He looked at Billy, who seemed to have understood what he was talking about. It reminded him of something he had read: As dense as a rams horn. Apparently the idiom did not apply to all rams. But ferrets and bats were another thing. He sighed, staring at his mug. And for the first time in weeks...he thought about home.

Auser was a dry, hot place. But it was lush with flora and fauna that had grown tough with the area. The people from there were just as tough. Some people called it a desert, not the sandy kind, but the rocky cracked earth kind. Most of it's populace was reptilian aside from the noble. There were plenty of reptilian nobles but most were mammals, such as the Foxern's. They had ruled Auser for thirty-seven generations. All of the cities thrived. All because of sugar. Sugarcane to be more precise. Auser had thousands of lakes and rivers, and for some reason, it was the only place sugarcane grew. Something to do with the composition of the soil.

"What?" he mumbled, looking up at Jersa. She had said something, but he hadn't heard her.

"I said; it's four, and he's still not here."

"Oh." He went back to staring at his half full mug of beer. "He's late."

She frowned at him. "What are you going to do now?"

"Nothing."

There was silence for a moment. He could feel Stella come up on the other side of him, though he couldn't hear anything.

"The hell do you mean 'nothing'?" Jersa said, glaring at him.

"Exactly as I said. Nothing." He sat up slowly; sluggishly. Everything hurt. He could barely pick up his mug to take a drink.

"How the hell is that even an option? You have to find a wizard before tomorrow. Otherwise...I don't know, you might not be able to attend the meeting." She actually took away the mug.

He stared at his empty hand. "Attend the meeting? Jersa...look at me. For fucks sake look at me." He looked at her out of the corner of his eyes. "I'm done for. I don't know if I'm going to survive the rest of the day, let alone make it till tomorrow."

There was silence. Even Billy seemed to have stopped whatever he had been doing.

But he continued, putting his hand down slowly. "This is an afternoon. One afternoon. They only have to be lucky once. I have to be lucky every minute of every day. I can't-"

She grabbed him, yanking him over so that he was forced to look at her. "The hell is that talk? What happened to Mr. Ozymandias? Who's this pathetic thing sitting in front of us?" She shook him rather roughly. "Suck it up and do your job."

It was pretty obvious to him what she was trying to do. But he just...couldn't. "Jersa-"

"No. None of this." She shook him again. "You need to snap the fuck out of it and be a man."

"Jersa." He looked at her, he felt like he wanted to cry from sheer pain. He managed to give her a lopsided smile. "I can't stand up," he managed with a slight chuckle. She froze, only now realizing she was holding him up. "Adrenaline is a hell of a thing, but I'm quite spent at this point."

Stella moved in to help put him back on the stool. "Why didn't you say anything?" she said softly.

I figured neither of you cared. "What does it matter...nothing either of you could do." He gingerly touched the gash on his chest. He was worried at first that the lion may have poisoned his blade, but he was quite sure he wasn't the type. "Everyone has a breaking point. And I am well past mine."

"Says the man who survived rapids, hunters, multiple assassination attempts...and only the gods know what else." She was helping to keep him upright at this point.

"But you don't have to do it alone," Stella said, grasping his hand gently. He looked at their clasped hands. So did Jersa. "I said I would protect you, and I meant it."

Jersa leaned back, looking at Stella. "Yeah, well, good job so far with that," she said, glaring at her.

Stella leaned back as well. "How was I supposed to know he was gonna get attacked so soon? And by so many? And what about you? You didn't help."

"I'm not the one who 'promised' to protect him," she spat, pushing Jace forward slightly to be able to yell at her easier.

"At least I'm trying to help! It's not like you care enough about him, the way you were jerkin' him around just a minute ago."

"Oh, you think I don't care about him? At least I'm trying to get him to snap out of it."

"Yeah by slamming him around and probably hurting him even more!"

Jace put his head back down onto the ice pack as they argued. "I thought you two were getting along..." he mumbled as he closed his eyes.

"And what makes you think that?!" they both snapped.

"With the way you two were snogging in the alley, I thought you were best of friends." There was silence. At least that shut them up.

There was a tapping on the bar in front of him and he opened his eyes to see Billy pointing back behind him. He sat up again and looked back towards the door. So far the bar had been empty aside from them, but coming in now was a very nervous looking crow. "You...you saw..?" Jersa mumbled.

"Sh," he hissed, turning around to look at the wizard.

"I...uhm..."

"Be quiet," he snapped at Stella, both of their faces were bright red. He looked at the fidgety crow. "You're late," he said as calmly as he managed as he took out his pocketwatch, "An hour and fifteen minutes late, in fact."

"A-ah, yes. Well, y-yassee the bar d-d-doesn't open till f-four." He could see his eyes darting to the fresh blood stains on the floor.

"And the fifteen minutes?" He glanced to either side, nudging Jersa and Stella. "You're professionals, bloody well act like it," he said in a harsh whisper.

"I-I had hoped you'd leave b-before I arrived," he said as he slowly made his way across the room, trying to avoid eye contact with any of them.

"Well, at least your honest." He looked over his shoulder at Billy. "If you could please get my new wizard friend whatever he would like, I would very much appreciate it."

Billy stared at him a moment, and then looked at the crow that sat down at the bar a few stools away from Stella. "Whadja want, Vern."

"Ah-" The crow seemed startled at hearing his own name. "J-j-j-just a pint."

"Now then, Vern." He leaned a bit forward, looking at the bat blocking his way. "Stella. If you'd be so kind as to move."

She just nodded, moving off to the other side beside Jersa.

He watched as she sulked away from him. "Right...so, Vern, was it?" he said as he turned his attention back to the wizard.

"Uh...yes?" The crow said, immediately grabbing his mug and holding it in front of him, like it would protect him against the beat up scary man.

"Well, Vern. It would seem that I am required to have a wizard in my little group." Vern sipped his beer rather nervously.

"For the Guild Council Meeting?" Vern hazarded.

Jace arched his brow, which he immediately regret as pain shot through the entire side of his face. "Th-that is correct," he mumbled through clenched teeth, picking the ice pack back up and pressing it to his face.

"W-well, begging your p-pardon, Mr. Ozymandias...b-but I ain't that k-kinda wizard." He held the mug up, blocking the glare that he was expecting to receive from Jace.

"I...see. Today is just full of disappointment..." He turned away, taking a drink from his own mug.

"A-and..." Jace glanced at Vern. "It's n-not like you actually n-need a wizard...j-just someone who c-can do a b-b-bit of magic. Like...a magus, or a sorcerer. Or even like, a magician." Suddenly the crow seemed to gain some confidence. "The rule is kinda vague. It doesn't even say the members need to be guild members. Just, a thief, an assassin, and a spell caster. They don't even need to have residence in Has-Haven. You just need to be able to say that they fit the rolls."

"You seem to have done your research." Easier to wriggle your way out of it, I suppose, if you give alternatives...

"R-right. Cus, ya see I'm not a very good wizard. I've only been studying for eighty years and I still st-struggle." The crow turned away, burying his face in his mug.

"Well then." He stood up, doing his best to not appear shaky, and placed two dollars on the table. "Sorry for the mess, Billy." He turned and walked towards the door saying, "And thank you for the information, Vern." Information well worth his time.

"Where are you going?" Stella said quickly, moving up to his side.

He looked at her, and she seemed to shrink under his gaze. "To buy a sword."

~

When Jace had been...getting the lay of the city, he had walked past a very interesting blacksmith. He had found it interesting because of the utter lack of any patronage, not only in it's store, but on the entire street. As he walked, retracing his steps, his companions walked at varying distances behind him, jumbled into the crowd. Neither had said a word to him since leaving the Hogs Head.

It was a rather long walk, probably because he was trying to figure out where he was going. Trying to find something you found when you were lost can be difficult. It didn't help that he was still quite buzzed, but that helped a lot with the pain and made him walk less funny. Although eventually it bothered Jersa enough that she came up to speak with him. "No one's following us. There's no need to double back so much."

All he had to do was look at her and she went red in the face and slunk away back into the crowd. After awhile he knew he was getting close as the crowd thinned out quite a lot, until suddenly there was no crowd. Just a sign that read:

'Dead End'

He paused to look at the sign a moment before he continued on, only to be stopped as Stella grabbed his cloak. "Jace...uh...you know what this place is, right?"

He took a deep breath and looked at her. "It's skunk territory," he said rather nonplussed. She loosened her grip on his cloak and he walked forward. "You don't have to come if you don't want to."

Most people avidly avoided skunks. There were a lot of rumors about skunks and how they stink, and stink up the areas the inhabit, but Jace had had quite a lot of dealings with skunks. In fact, the man he learned sword fighting from was a skunk, and he learned one very important thing: skunks don't stink if they don't spray, and skunks these days hardly ever spray. He figured it was common knowledge, but when he saw how they had been segregated into one portion of the city, right up against the wall, he realized that even pure species could be shunned.

Above the door was a sign that read 'Pin and Anvil'. Glancing back down the street, he saw Stella and Jersa. Apparently they weren't going to join him. He opened the door and was met by a jingling of a bell. "Dammit, Casper!" He heard shouted from somewhere. "If you're going to be late with deliveries, you might as well-" From behind a curtain at the back of the room popped out the head of a skunk. "Ah- You're not Casper-"

"Afraid not," he said as he walked into the room slowly, the head disappeared back behind the curtain. The whole room was rather small, showing a collection of things that they made. From horseshoes and candle holders, to armor and swords.

There was a lot of banging, and yelling in the back, things being thrown, before suddenly the skunk appeared again. "Ah, welcome to the Pin and Anvil." He was rather caught off guard by the sheer size of the female skunk wearing heavy leather clothing with only her arms and head uncovered. She was built like someone who threw around...well, anything she wanted. But it was the softness of her voice that really threw him for a loop. "I'm Anvil," she said sweetly. "What can I do for you?"

That was a fitting name for someone who looked to be made of solid steel. "I need a sword." He cleared his throat. "With a blade thirty-one inches long, two wide. Enough of a hilt to be held with one or two hands," as he spoke he held up his hand, giving her a visual on how large his hand was.

"Mmm..." Suddenly she grabbed his hand, yanking him towards her. He was about to protest but decided not to as she began examined it. "Hrm..." She turned his hand over and back again several times, pinching and squeezing certain points.

"Dear, are you scaring a customer agai-" From behind the curtain came another head.

At first Jace thought he was an armadillo, but he immediately recognized that he wasn't. "A pangolin?" he said quite surprised.

"Ah-...uh...you wouldn't happen...to be Mr. Ozymandias, would ya?" The pangolin walked out, now in full view. He was muscular as well, but nowhere near the same level as Anvil.

"I am. I take it that you are Pin?" He watched as Anvil pushed up his sleeve, and was feeling the muscle in his wrists.

"Hrrmm...severe muscle fatigue and damage. You're bruised from head to toe... Had a rough day, my Lord?" she said with a soft smile.

"What?" Pin and Jace said at the same time.

"Oh what, you don't think I can't tell a foxes musculature from a pandas?" This seemed directed towards Pin. She pat Jace on the cheek softly. "Don't worry. Come on into the back, I know exactly what you need." She winked at him and then moved quickly back. "Dear, you're in the way." With that she simply lifted the pangolin off the ground and carried him into the back with him.

Jace hesitated, but his curiosity was far too strong now. He wanted to know more about this woman...besides, if she wanted to hurt him, he was fairly certain she could have easily broken his arm and thrown him around the room without even trying. He followed after the two of them. It was a very familiar scent, the smell of a laboratory, but with a far more metallic tinge to it. Yet the smell of it put him at ease. "Take a seat?" Pin hazarded, he had been set down on a chair at a little work desk. Anvil was nowhere to be seen, but he could hear her banging around somewhere.

It was a few minutes of awkward silence. "So...are you and her..." Jace prompted.

"Hm?" Pin looked up from staring off into space. "Oh! Yes. Happily, seven years now." He smiled a bit, though it was obvious he was very nervous.

"That's quite an achievement. Do the two of you have any..." Jace was trying to be polite, but he was too curious to not ask question.

"Oh, no. No children. Works too important to her, she says she'll be ready for kids when she is," he said with a soft chuckle.

He nodded slightly, looking around the forge. It was actually his first time being in one. He had been in a lot of laboratories, but this had never had his interest. "I suppose she's worried about not only the child being a mixed, but a skunk mixed."

"Yeah..." he said with a sigh. "The best we could hope for is that they come out a pangolin. Or even a skunk." Suddenly he sat bolt upright, realizing who he was talking to. "N-n-n-n-not that there's anything wrong with Mixed! I mean! Uhm!" He watched Pin fidget in his seat. "I mean...is it true though? Are you..."

"Don't go spreading around rumors," Jace said flatly. "My life is already difficult...I don't want anything more piled on top of it."

"R-right..."

There was suddenly a large mug thumped down in front of Jace, which caused both men to jump. "Here ya are. Drink up that and you'll feel right as rain in no time!" she said with a rather large grin on her face.

"Oh no," Pin said, his face crinkling out of disgust at the bubbling green concoction. "Not your health juice..."

She folded her arms and leaned towards Pin. "And what is that supposed to mean? My health juice is the best thing for all kinds of injuries, why when Rupert broke his legs, just one mug and he was walking in a few days!"

"I...uh..." he fell into silence as he watched Jace chug the mug of glop.

"Ya see?" she said as Jace put the mug down, shuddering in disgust. "At least the boy knows what's good for him." She gave him an oddly gentle pat on the shoulder, before skipping back off into the forge, whistling to herself.

"I...I can't believe you drank that stuff."

"I've had- urp," he covered his mouth. "I've had worse..." He shuddered again. "My teacher had a similar recipe for after lessons." He tried to take deep breaths, trying to keep it down.

"You're teacher was a skunk?"

Jace nodded. "Cardel. Best swordsman in Auser."

"So that's why you came to Dead End looking for a sword? Well, Anvil makes some of the finest swords in all of Has-Haven. Why she-" he was interrupted be the thud of a large bundle being placed on the table.

"Flattery will get you everywhere, my dear," she said as she leaned in, rubbing her nose against Pin's. Jace felt a slight pang in his chest. "It's no wonder you wanted a skunk blade, being trained by a skunk and all." She unrolled the bundle, showing six swords, all nearly identical. "Not very light, denser than most swords. An odd length, making them hard to handle if you don't know what you're dealing with, no matter what side of the blade you're on."

Jace stood up, examining the blades on the table with only his eyes. They were all beautifully made, that was about all he could tell. He had never paid attention to when Cardel was teaching him the physicality of the sword...he had only been interested in how to use it, and how to win. But as for to actually determine the quality of swords...he didn't even know where to start. He looked at Anvil. "Which do you recommend?"

The grin on her face told him that that had been the right answer. "This one," she said as she pointed to the one second to his left. He stared at it, trying to figure out what was different between it and the other five. "It's the one that wants you."

He looked up at her. "What do you mean?"

She was still grinning. "Every sword sings under the hammer. It sings it's name...what it wants..." He glanced at Pin, who shrugged, obviously having no idea what she was talking about. "This one's song...was lovely. In a way that I have never heard in my twenty years of forging. Never had a heard a blade call out clearer..."

He reached out and gently grasped the handle. Lifting the sword, it reminded him of his own sword back in Auser, and yet...this was on a completely different level of feel. Adding the way she spoke of it made it sound so mystical...it gave him goosebumps. "And what did it say?"

She entered a bit of a giggle fit, leaning in close before whispering in his ear, "Lord."