Knock, knock, knock...
Gathered around Natsuki, Vylara and Knoxis, who were busy taking care of the injured young man, all stared at the door, confused about who was coming. Though intrigued, they all knew that the final decision belonged to the bedbound hero. Seeing everyone stare at him until holes began forming, Natsuki understood that if he didn't do anything, he'd be cooked in the next second.
"Uh, you can come in..."
Creak...
"Oh good, cause I wanted to see the great hero that saved the city of Feonia..."
Clad in a mixture of old and new, a grey-haired, monocle-wearing 60-year-old man walked to Natsuki, hands clasped behind his back. Though he looked just as stoic as Knoxis, he didn't have the same warmth the old man sometimes gave. All Natsuki saw was the cold, frozen look of a utilitarian, almost as if he were a
Robot
"I, Mayor Meiur, am sorry for not giving you any rewards, because as you can see, our city's mostly, if not completely destroyed. And if I did give you anything, heh, heh, the people would have lynched me immediately..."
Though he was laughing, even twitching his cheeks, Natsuki couldn't help but feel uncomfortable at the sight. Though he couldn't put his finger on it, all his actions, all his feelings, seemed...
Fake, almost like a robot
To him, it seemed like a robot trying to act all human. Heck, even his name seemed to be a pathetic attempt to portray himself, or itself, as human. Ignoring the 'Uncanny Valley' effect, Natsuki tried to gloss over this. "Well, okay then. What can you give us?"
Adjusting his monocle, he pulled out a letter from inside his breast pocket. "Here. I believe people of your calibre would not be settled in living here. So, as a final parting gift, here is a letter from me. With this, you can enter any city, even the capital, Folktul..."
Taking the letter, Natsuki turned his gaze towards his two other companions:
Vylara, though uncomfortable, nudged with her shoulders to accept it. Knoxis on the other hand, took much longer. Eyes hidden in the shadows, he stood for a long 5 minutes, before finally uttering the words that delayed his final decision.
"Take it..."
Taken aback, Natsuki thought that the old man would have likely admonished him for accepting the 'gift'. Though confused, he nevertheless accepted it, gingerly taking it from Meiur's hands. Seeing it taken, Meiur walked out in an almost robotic manner, each and every step calculated in nanometers.
"Well... that was weird. Anyway, where're we gonnahead of next?"
Vylara, confused as heck at the situation, simply shrugged it off, chalking it up to post-battle vibes. Still wary, Natsuki nevertheless began ruminating over their next destination. When all felt lost, a deep, rough voice decided it for them.
"Let's go to the capital, Folktul..."
Eyes still guarded at the mayor's decision, Knoxis nevertheless decided to play in its hands, deciding to go to the capital...
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Bang, bang, slap...
Smacking the detector in his hands, Scaramond could not, for the love of his life, figure out why the device kept on saying that it had collected a soul, but then it did not. Constantly alternating, Scaramond swore that if nothing was done about the infernal device, it'd blow up right in his face with the next few seconds.
"Damn cunt. Ah well, though I genuinely want to know why we can't collect our souls, the old man has given me another order. I don't get why I gave to infiltrate the mayor's office anyway..."
Though pissed at being told to a thief's job, he nevertheless got on with it. Using his drones (the temporal doorway, for his life, couldn't open into the office, weirdly enough...), he lifted himself onto the roof, evading the prying eyes of the 'guards'. Though they looked human, they acted eerily like security drones, almost mechanical.
Focus, Scaramond, focus...
Shaking his head, he peered into the 'office' where Meiur is supposed to be. Expecting the usual giant table and fancy paintings, he was shocked when he found out that–
"Intruder alert! Intruder alert! Stop the thief from entering the mansion!"
Shit, gotta explain this to them ASAP!
Doing a sweet backfill, Scaramond quickly scarpered off, heart pounding loud at his discovery...