Eyes for the Ancient

[Shinku]

Tokens & Supporting the RPG (Donation Thread)

Donated $60. $40 - Covers my raffle costs. $20 - Switching characters (twice) without Essence loss. I would’ve switched this account to @Bridget Remington if I’d waited a bit longer to make that character, so I’d like to essentially swap the Essence on these accounts and reset their Coin...

multerra.zulenka.com

"I'm the strongest in the crossroads!," Princess Flavor exclaimed, her body crackling with bursts of lightning energy as she floated above the Death Game's arena. Blood knives flew towards her only to be shattered by the blast of her arm cannon.

"You are going down!," she roared, rushing towards special class number twelve, destroying more of her opponent's knives, this time with the swing of her soul edge.

She lifted the cursed sword, aiming to cleave the blood maniac into two only to be blocked by number twenty's steel-like arm.

"You think you can block my sword like that? Take this!," she pushed with all her strength, slowly slicing through every inch of the iron fist master's flesh. She managed to cleave halfway through her opponent's arm before she was thrown back by number twenty's punch.

"Haha that's more like it!," the fusion princess declared with a grin, her enthusiasm for the battle only growing ever more intense as it raged on.

She quickly stood up, charging once again with her sword, pushing number twenty back with her every strike. A blood shield finally prevented her from moving forward but only for mere minutes until the blood shield broke with the last powerful swing of her soul edge. To her surprise, however, instead of the iron fist and blood maniac duo, she was met by the gruesome figure of undead Superman.

"Give me back that sword!," the corrupted Kryptonian grunted, extending its arm to grab her neck.

"Oh, do you really think you can win against me like that?," Princess Flavor sneered, as a faint white glow suddenly covered his body like a shimmering armor that prevented the foul hands of undead Superman from pressuring her neck further. While giving her opponent an even wider grin, she raised her arm cannon before firing a devastating burst of plasma energy to the Kryptonian's chest. Undead Superman let out a blood-curdling scream as the plasma energy struck his chest, sending him hurtling backwards across the arena.

Shinku then woke up, weirded out by the same dream that bugged him for the past few days since the death game ended. He took a deep breath, trying to calm himself from the lingering adrenaline rush of his dream. He was aware that his fusion with Flak did happen, but memories of him and the General, being that insane woman became a mixture of dream and reality. He was pulled out of his deep thought by the ray of sunlight that peered out of his room curtain. It made him aware that the sun has already risen, and it was time for him to look for a profiting mission for the day.

After going through his usual routine, he gathered his equipment and went out. He tried to let go of the dream in his thought but it kept creeping up on him from time to time.

'Still bothered by the fusion thing eh,' Orochi hissed, a voice that he least needed to hear at that time.

'I think it's none of your business. Besides, it wasn't really a bad thing, nor a big deal to really think about,' he responded as he walked along the corridor of the inn.

'And yet, it seemed to have affected you quite a bit,' the shadow demon remarked, it's voice tinged with amusement.

'It was the first time for me to experience such a thing. And even now, I couldn't explain anything about it. It's all just weird. That's all there is to it,' he concluded, yet even his thoughts contained a faint trace of his uncertainty.

'Ah is that so. Well then, I guess there's no need to discuss that further. Now, how are our plans on getting the next stone?,' Orochi asked, shifting the conversation to remind the assassin of shadows of their goal.

'Well, I've got a soldier from Connor and Birke also promised me an ally. I just need to make sure that I'm strong enough before I return to Opealon.'

'A wise decision. Well, as of now, looks like someone's eager to talk to you. We'll chat again later.' With those last words, Orochi's voice faded, allowing Shinku a breath of relief.

True enough, Shinku was greeted by the sweet voice of the inn's front desk officer the moment he reached the Inn's lobby area. "Good morning sir Trevor! A letter addressed to you came just a moment ago," she greeted in a soft soothing tone.

'Looks like another mission. Hope it's a good one,' Shinku mused to himself before giving the lady a courteous smile. He couldn't deny the fame that he suddenly earned after winning as the finalist in the Man in Red's death game. Missions started to pour in, one after another since his return to Arcadia. Somehow, it became a convenience that he no longer needed to look for new assignments each time, however, he couldn't help but worry about his own safety now that more people had known him and his abilities.

Did you recognize who dropped it off?" he inquired, as he approached the front desk.

"It came from our usual courier," she responded while taking out a box of unopened envelopes. She then placed the box over the surface desk for Shinku's easy access. "Do you have any idea where it might have come from?" she then asked, her eyes shining with curiosity and excitement as she watched Shinku rummage through the small box that contained the tenant's parcel.

Shinku simply shrugged as he pulled up the black enveloped that was marked with his first name or rather, his pseudo name. His lips pursed into a thin line as he opened it and saw a completely unfamiliar crest. Without even reading its contents, a sudden surge of dread coursed through his veins, causing him to abruptly place the letter back inside its envelope, and then placed under his black robe.

"Is something the matter?" the receptionist asked in concern, noticing the sudden change in his demeanor after he pulled the letter out.

"It's just a....I think I smell our breakfast from here. The cook surely does his job well everytime," he answered with a forced smile, hoping that the receptionist would just let it go.

"He sure does!," the lady exclaimed with enthusiasm before being interrupted by new visitors. "Excuse me, Trevor, I need to tend to those customers now."

"By all means," he smiled, turning his attention back to the letter in his hands and freeing his lungs with a sigh of relief. Without wasting more time, he quickly left the lobby and retreated back to his room.

Filled with paranoia, he took a careful look around to make sure that he wasn't being followed before finally sitting down on his bed and opening the envelope. His eyes scanned its contents eagerly, slowly reading each word with bated breath.

Greetings, Shadow Assassin. Shinku. Trevor. Whatever your true name is bears little consequence.

My name, however, is Lord Archivist Hammuzi. Master artificer and native of the Dragonspine mountains. You may or may not know me as the royal wizardly archivist from the times of Emperor Terrence himself. It has been some time since I've had access to the unbridled knowledge of Arcadia's brightest minds, and I'm afraid my name may have become...disenfranchised in the intervening centuries.

I require Scrying access and Data uplink to the Arcadian Wizard Academy's computer network and magically encoded libraries. I do not expect any serious danger, aside from potential capture and imprisonment, but only an agent of your caliber can be trusted to circumvent the various magical traps, digital security, and guard personnel asigned to both the Grand Archive Stone AND the Central Academy Servers WITHOUT. DETECTION.

I cannot stress that final point enough. That means that any violence on your part must be utterly discreet.

You will have a contact for this mission who will provide you with two (2) Datamite Constructs of my own design. All you need to do is bring them into the secure rooms where these information repositories function, activate their power button, and let them handle the rest.

Your contact's name is Xa'Therickax, or more commonly called 'Pincushion'. She is a young kobold, seamstress, and salesperson who works at Adelaire's Emporium; an upperscale clothing store in Arcadia. Ask her to find you some cloth colored in 'Emerald Fire Green', and Pincushion will know that you have received and accepted this task on my behalf.

Upon a successful data connection from both of the Datamite Constructs, I will forward AMPLE funds to a dead-drop location to be established with your contact.

Yours, most cordially

H A M M U Z I

A dispirited sigh left his lungs. It was from another stranger who obviously knew his identity yet someone he was not familiar with. What bothered him, however, was the sudden feeling of dread that washed over him, the moment he read the sender's name.

"What could this feeling be?," the assassin of shadows thought, his body suddenly feeling heavier than usual. Simply holding the letter in his hands felt like a torment that shook his body to its very core.

He carefully placed the letter back into its black envelope. With that, a plethora of thoughts began racing through his mind, among them wondering how exactly this Hammuzi knew about him. Also, why had this person included his previous aliases in the letter along with his real name? Was it a trap of some sort, or was it just a straightforward request?

'This city is surely filled with scary people. He must be a friend of Karl Jak or that Man in Read,' he mused, trying to console himself and shake off the fear that took over him.

Releasing another deep sigh, he finally decided to rise from his bed and made his way down the dining area. He tried to ease his mind through the sumptuous breakfast at Suvaru Inn. He feasted at the assortment of top-quality food, taking his mind off the letter's contents but much as he tried, thoughts of the request kept bugging his mind.

'A scrying access to the Arcadian Wizard Academy's computer network.' While covert operations were his forte, a known highly guarded facility such as the Arcadian Wizard Academy would definitely not be an easy pick.

A plethora of complicated security systems started to crowd his thoughts, as he instinctively run through different ideas of how to get past them. Realizing that he's still having his breakfast, however, he decided to brush off all the ideas for later and enjoy his meal at the moment. But still, he could not get past the thought that more and more people were starting to catch up with his identity and worse, among those were people of high stature.

Before he could even realize it, he had fully emptied his plate without even enjoying the meal's flavors like usual. Nonetheless, he decided to rise from his seat and leave the inn altogether. The only way to free his mind of all those lingering thoughts was to actually finish the mission.

Quest: A Very Personal Tour
Word Count: 1548 / 5000

 

[Shinku]

"Ahoy matey! Ye got a mission for us again?" the voice of Jack greeted Shinku the moment he stepped out of the inn. Connor's soldier stood right beside the pirate, both of them looking at him expectantly.

"I'm afraid I've got none at the moment," Shinku replied, his voice betraying a hint of exhaustion, despite it being early in the morning.

"Arrr. But where ye' be goin!" Jack barked, pointing a finger at Shinku.

"We're here if you need any assistance sir," the soldier beside Jack offered, his tone more respectful as compared to the pirate.

"Ah, of course, you were a spy weren't you?," Shinku suddenly remarked, halting his steps and turning to face his comrades. He moved towards the soldier, leaning closer to his ear. "I think I got a job for you. I need you to gather information about the Arcadian Wizard Academy and its security system. If you can provide me with a map of its layout, that would be better. How long do you think that would take?," he then asked in a hushed tone.

The soldier looked up and pondered before responding. "I can have it done until tomorrow," he replied in a confident tone.

"Excellent. Be careful and meet me at the rooftop tomorrow at noon

"Understood sir!," the soldier responded, standing in attention and saluting at Shinku before immediately setting off.

"Arrr! Then how about meself!," the pirate grumbled, his hands rashly pulling the assassin's cloak towards him.

Shinku couldn't help but release a heavy sigh before answering the soldier. "Here! Find us a new place. Somewhere...more discrete," the assassin of shadows requested, as he handed a pouch of coins to the pirate.

Jack's eyes widened upon seeing the pouch, immediately realizing the number of coins it contained with its size. "Yohoho! Consider it done matey!," the pirate bragged, snatching the pouch from Shinku's hand and walking away with his usual loud laughter.

'Jeez, that pirate. Now, to meet with this Pincushion,' Shinku mused to himself as he scurried down the streets of Arcadia, still keeping a high alert on his surroundings. He kept his hood pulled over his head, concealing most of his features from public view.

As much as he wanted to teleport his way across the city, he decided to keep the use of his abilities to a minimum so as not to attract more probable prying eyes. Instead, he decided to weave through the crowded streets of Arcadia's commercial district, dodging carts and people alike while trying his best to keep a low profile. Fortunately, the crowd thinned out as he approached the section of the high-end shops.

"Hey, stop right there!," a guard yelled, blocking Shinku's way to the section's entrance. "What business do you...oh hey you are...," the guard continued, suddenly shocked upon recognizing the assassin's face beneath his ragged cloak.

Shinku quickly handed the guard a pouch of coins and gestured for him to keep his lips sealed. Though it wasn't enough to keep curious bystanders from turning their heads, it did allow him an easy entrance to the streets of the upper class.

He continued along the wide street, moving cautiously and ignoring the disdainful stares of the wealthy citizens who crossed his paths. It pained him to realize the rampant class discrimination in the city, but he knew that going against it would only attract more unwelcome attention to himself. After all, he's got an important task at hand, and it's not as if he'd mingle with them anyway.

It wasn't that long before he finally managed to see the clothing shop as mentioned in the letter. A large glass window in front of the shop showcased a couple of mannequins that were all adorned in luxurious suits and dresses. Above, a large carved sign of the shop's name against polished wood adorned its roof. Walking past the glass window, Shinku immediately reached for the door and carefully entered the dimly lit clothing store.

The smell of high-grade fabrics and perfumes greeted him as he stepped inside, along with a couple more belittling stares from most of the customers. He kept himself composed, moving his eyes around to look for the kobold that 'Lord' Hammuzi mentioned. It wasn't that hard, however, to notice the only reptilian figure in the shop that stood behind the counter. The shopkeeper's amber eyes were already trained on Shinku, the moment he caught sight of her.

Quickly, he approached the shopkeeper, maintaining a calm demeanor. A few staff were about to approach him but the kobold shopkeeper waved her hand in a gesture for them to leave him be.

"How can I help you sir?," the kobold greeted him in a courteous tone while raising an eyebrow in curiosity.

"Could you help me look for some cloth colored in Emerald Fire Green, please?," Shinku asked, putting on a polite smile for the female kobold.

"Ah, I'm afraid we're currently out of stock for that particular color, but new stocks will be arriving by this weekend," she smiled back, discreetly wandering her eyes around the shop for any suspicious character. "In the meantime, you may take a look at these clothes should you fancy any of them," she continued, handing Shinku a folded brochure that she pulled from under her desk.

The assassin immediately peaked inside the brochure, noticing two peculiar data sticks that were slipped inside the carved crevice between the pages. "Sure, I'll consider checking these, thanks. I'd have to leave for now though but will definitely come back this weekend for those new stocks," Shinku responded, giving the kobold a nod of gratitude.

He bowed slightly before walking towards the exit, however, a certain hooded cloak caught his attention. "On second thought, I'd like to buy this one please," he called out, pointing towards a midnight blue cloak with intricate silver embroidery on its edges.

"Ah, you've got great taste, sir," the kobold shopkeeper remarked, as she gracefully walked towards the rack to retrieve the cloak.

The transaction was kept short, with Shinku offering the lady to keep the change. After replacing his old cloak inside the shop's dressing room, he immediately left, letting off a small sigh of relief as he stepped out from the suffocating atmosphere of the clothing shop.

Satisfied, he slipped the brochure inside his cloak's pocket and quickened his pace. The task, however, was still far from over. The real challenge was to place the Datamite Constructs, as the Lord Archivist called them, within the Arcadian Academy. He could only hope that Michaels would actually be skillful enough to map out the academy's layout for him.

With the day still close to midday, Shinku decided to retreat to the inn to at least take a look at the constructs and plan his next steps well. Moreover, the lesser time he'd walked among the public, the less likely he'd be noticed.

Quest: A Very Personal Tour
Word Count: 1548 + 1149 = 2697 / 5000

 

[Shinku]

"Yohoho! Yer back!," Jack called out as soon as Shinku entered his room. The assassin of shadows could only nod in response, a small contemptuous smile twitching at the corner of his lips.

"So how'd it went?," Shinku decided to ask instead, as he placed the brochure on the table beside his bed.

"Ah of course! Got us a place on the Hinterlands. More discreet like ye' asked," the pirate grinned. "Want me to show ye' the way?"

"Not now. We'll discuss it some other time. For now, you're dismissed," the assassin of shadows acknowledged in a monotonous voice, waving his hand towards the pirate in a dismissive gesture.

"Arr! Ain't ye' be joinin' me fer a rum at least!," Jack grunted in disappointment as he stood up from the guest chair.

"Oh come on. I've got more important matters to attend to. Here, go enjoy yourself at whatever bar you like." Shinku decided to throw another pouch of coins at the pirate, in an aim to get rid of him. The infiltration mission still ran in his thoughts, his eyes trained on the brochures that contained the Datamite Constructs.

"Fine, suit yerself. Don't ye say I didn't invite ye!," Jack grumbled in disbelief as he swiftly caught the pouch, yet flashing a grin the moment he turned around and left the room.

With the pirate gone, Shinku decided to open the brochure and pick up the data-stick-like constructs. Neither of them appeared to be having any sort of plug that could be connected to any device but they did have small round buttons on them as power switches. The letter did mention that each of them just needed to be placed inside the two data rooms and be activated, then that's it.

'I guess, all that's left is to wait for Michaels' report,' he thought to himself, as he carefully inserted the constructs back inside the brochure and started training his shadow energy.

---

The next day came swiftly, with Shinku waking up just before dawn. The same dream slipped his dreams again but this time, thoughts of the mission overcame the need to ponder over thoughts of Flavor.

He quickly got dressed and equipped himself before heading outside for his usual morning training. The air was still chilly, a light mist blanketing the summit of the rocky mountain that served as his training ground. The crips air made his every breath visible, as he went through his usual forms and moves with impressive precision. The wind danced with him as if guiding his body through every fluid movement of his blade, along with the flicker of his shadow energy that pulsed throughout his body.

Eventually, his sword reflected the first ray of the ascending sun, its glint flashing brilliantly as it formed a helix in the air, following through the assassin's swift strikes. The sound of the blade, swishing against the wind accented the still morning, syncing with the rustling leaves and distant chirping birds.

Sweat washed over him, as his training concluded. The air has gotten a bit warmer and the early morning mist had completely dispersed from view. Shinku looked at the horizon to witness the glare of the sun has risen almost halfway towards the sky. Taking in one heavy breath, he sheathed his sword, after wiping it clean with a rag, before heading back to Arcadia.

---

"Permission to report sir!," Michaels called out, snapping Shinku who waited for the soldier on the rooftop into attention. He's still yet to get used to the soldier's way of addressing him, though he couldn't help but appreciate the man's discipline.

"Of course, just what I have been waiting for," Shinku responded, walking over to Michaels.

"As per your request sir, I made this map..." Michaels remarked, continuing with a briefing of the academy guards' routines and its surveillance system which he learned from his espionage. The briefing took quite some time, with the assassin of shadows listening intently to the soldier's every word, and nodding along occasionally while asking a few clarifications along the way.

"And that's everything sir!," the soldier concluded, handing the map to Shinku.

"Great work. Now, please do find Jack and make sure he doesn't get into trouble. He's enjoying himself in a bar somewhere. Well, you know him. I'm sure you know where to look," the assassin remarked, gesturing a dismissive wave of his hand.

Michaels swiftly snapped a salute in response. "Right away sir!"

"And oh. Let's quit that sir thing, please. I'm not Connor or some officer. Maybe stick with my name next time," the assassin suggested with a faint smile.

"Of course, Si...Shi..." Michaels responded but was immediately hushed by Shinku.

"Oh, not here of course. In public, call me Trevor. Now, just look for Jack please."

"Errr..Right away!," the soldier nodded, before gesturing a snappy salute and making his way down.

"And, also stop that salute," the assassin continued but with his voice trailing off, the soldier didn't appear to catch on them. Shinku, however, decided to simply brush it off and finally decided to make his way towards his actual target.

---

The midday sun shone brightly, not the perfect time to infiltrate a heavily guarded building but a perfect time to confirm its layout based on Michaels' map and report. Shinku decided to observe from a park, just a few meters away from the Arcadian Academy. He remained still on a bench, blending in with the other park's visitors, his eyes trained in the direction of his target.

With his shadow senses, he marked the movement of every professor, student, and guard within the academy's vicinity. It wasn't that easy to match it with Michaels' map but it'll be important for him to pinpoint the exact distance between every route it had inside, especially the one he took note of. With the soldier's report, he was able to identify the safest route, but as cautious as Shinku was, he still needed to confirm. At least it wasn't as hard as creating a map in his head from scratch. And with all the information he already had, he simply needed to smooth out the details with one last observation.

Quest: A Very Personal Tour
Word Count: 2697 + 1030 = 3727 / 5000

 

[Shinku]

Night had finally befallen the city. Gradually, the people inside the academy thinned out until it was only the guards and a couple of maintenance staff that remained. Shinku waited for a bit more, bidding his time until the guards become more relaxed. He checked the map one last time while making sure no prying eyes were watching him around.

And he finally stood, his form gradually fading off into the darkness. Stealthed, he began moving toward the academy with haste. He had meticulously planned out his route, even the path towards his target.

Light still poured out from the academy's dozens of windows. Even without his senses, he could make out the movement of guards inside with the shadows that danced through each of them. Others guarded the gate, staying in cover beneath the tall pillars that towered above the wall's entrance. He crept closer, none of his steps making a sound. With his blade, he was able move in absolute silence aside from his stealth. Though he has already trained himself to move discreetly without the help of his weapon, with it, he could weave through anywhere like a ghost.

He moved towards the right wing of the wall, walking past the guards as they chatted and laughed. A tree that stood right next to the wall served as his entryway, climbing up to get to the other side. He moved down, clinging like a barnacle to the wall, his black cloak flapping dully in the wind.

He kneeled, his hand resting on the ground as he once again observed the men inside the academy. Most were idle but the few that paced back and forth served as guides to where he could safely land with his portal. Satisfied, he entered into his shadows and landed right in a narrow hall where a couple of guards passed by. He moved with nimble ease, hugging the shadows as he continued towards the narrow path.

Bit by bit, he worked his way inside, each movement calculated, every step tested before committing. He slinked past every room, not a soul alerted to his presence. He stopped, taking notice of a presence just above him. He kneeled behind a knight statue as he take note of the person's movement. After a while, he entered his shadows once again, his form reappearing in an empty room, its fireplace still lit, casting a dim glow across its finely furnished walls. Once again, he entered his shadows, passing through the air vent just beside the fireplace.

Once again, he moved hastily yet carefully, crawling through the cramped space, each crevice and turn mapped out in his mind. Seeing one of the air vent's openings, he rid himself of his sword, along with a couple of his charmed artifacts before continuing to the exit. He finally emerged into the open air at the top of a long flight of winding stairs, his first destination looming ahead. The silent intruder continued through another long corridor, creeping closer to a large vault door.

====

Conversation with Callon Michaels

"The room that houses the Grand Archive Stone is not really guarded, however, its vault door is reinforced with magic such that when it detects even a hint of magic within a small area around it, or if it's forced open through any means, it triggers an alarm that could alert the whole academy and even the high wizards in the capital," Callon warned, "Luckily, I got this," he continued, handling Shinku a small card key.

"I assume this opens that door?"

"You are correct. Just beside the doorknob is its locking mechanism that requires that card to unlock the vault door safely."

"Where did you get this?"

"Well, I just treated someone with a couple of beers and a well-paid hooker got it for me."

Shinku raised his brow at the response but decided not to comment further. "Hmmmm..and you learned who to get this from in just a day?."

"Nah, don't forget that I've been here for more than a month now. I know almost every key person in this town," Callon bragged a bit shyly, a faint smile forming on his lips.

===

'I'd make sure to learn from this soldier once I come back from this mission,' Shinku mused, amazed at the fact the man could learn such important information through pure skill.

Without wasting more time, he slid the card into the door's locking mechanism and with a soft hum, it slowly opened. As he slid inside, he was welcomed by the sight of a huge crystal that towered at the center of the room, almost reaching the circular room's dome-shaped ceiling. The crystal hummed, its pulsing light casting a myriad of colors upon the walls, illuminating the room with vibrant hues. That moment, however, wasn't the right time to marvel at such a magnificent sight. He moved with haste, approaching the crystal, his form basked in its prismatic glow. He pulled out one of the datamite constructs inside his pocket and placed it at the base of the crystal after activating the construct as Hammuzi instructed. He made sure to slip it through a crevice that would make it unnoticeable by anyone that could enter the room.

With that done, he immediately made his way out of the room, careful to slide the vault door shut as quietly as possible. "That's one construct placed, now to the central server," he muttered quietly, letting out a sigh of relief.

He slinked hastily back through the air vent and collected everything that he left there before continuing through the narrow passage. He stopped, at one of the larger areas of the air vent, once again observing the people around the area through his senses.

===

Conversation with Callon Michaels

"Now, the central server is a tricky one. Aside from special guards stationed at its door, the servers are being maintained by a couple of staff in a twenty-four-hour shift. Both of its guards have staff that could similarly detect magic so you can't use your stealth skill to get through them. But, what you can do is portal your way around the room. At the back of the server room is an isolated storage area, dedicated to keeping all of its backup drives and a couple of other important hardware. Behind that room, not connected to it by any means, is a small room that contains the academy's main power switches. That room, over there, is very rarely visited by any staff, nor the area around it. That can serve as your best entrypoint."

"That's a brilliant plan, I should admit. Now, if ever I reach the storage area from that route, would it be safe to use my stealth to enter the central room itself?"

"Of course. Fortunately, the storage room doesn't have any surveillance system inside, and the central server itself has lots of magic activities going in it that its use is just a norm inside."

"Good, now do people enter that area regularly?"

"The storage area? Of course. Every night they make a back up of all the data in the server and someone among them stores it inside."

"Perfect. What time does this backup usually happens?"

"Just a bit past midnight."

===

With the last staff leaving the area towards the academy's main power room, Shinku crawled out of the vent and hurriedly entered the small room where he could access the server's storage area. He paused for a while, trying to take note of any movement inside the storage room. Satisfied that it was empty, he quickly entered his shadows and reappeared just behind one of the storage shelves.

The room was dark, barely illuminated by a couple of faint lights that passed through narrow openings in the wall from the main server room.

Carefully, he walked his way towards the door, pinning himself to the wall right beside the room's only entrance. All he had to do, was to wait till the backup routine, as Michaels mentioned, happens and someone opens the door for him.

It took him a couple of gruesome hours before the door finally opened. Immediately, Shinku's form faded into darkness before slipping through the open door once the staff walked her way to one of the shelves.

With one fluid movement, he pulled the last construct, activated it and slipped it inside one of the processing units. Hastily, he walked back to the storage room and waited till the staff left.

Leaving the academy was easier with a predetermined escape route, with Shinku stopping from time to time, to make sure that he doesn't alert anyone.

---

A few days have passed when Shinku was surprised with a brochure from Adelaire's Emporium in his mailbox. He had moved out of Suvarru Inn, just a day after his last mission involving the Arcadian Academy hence, it puzzled him that they knew where he was.

He peeked inside the brochure, preparing himself for any danger that the small piece of paper might contain. To his surprise, slipped inside is a piece of silk cloth. The silk cloth contained an intricate design formed through silver threads. As he stared at it longer, the silvery patterns seemed to form a map. Underneath the patterns were embroidered letters forming the words 'The Den of Death'.

"Hey Callon."

"Sir!"

"Can you take a look at this?," he asked, showing Sgt. Michaels the cloth.

"Eh, what's that?," the pirate cut in, snooping between Shinku and the soldier.

Callon paused for a moment, carefully studying the design of the silk cloth. "Hmmm...Den of Death, I'm sure I heard of it somewhere."

"Arrrrr! Are ye' stupid! That's the ruins we just looted last week!" the pirate exclaimed, giving the soldier a sarcastic smirk.

"Of course. How could I forget about that? Would you like us to take a look at it sir?"

"By all means. And didn't I tell you to just drop that sir thing?"

"Aye! Just call 'im mate or sumtin. Now come on! We can't 'ave our booty waiting!," the pirate grunted once again, forcefully pulling the soldier out of the room.

"You two be careful," Shinku advised, pinching the bridge of his nose at the sight of Jack's brashness.

----

"Yohoho! Here's yer cut mate!," Jack called out, as he tossed a pouch full of coins towards Shinku, the moment he opened the door to their shack.

"Shouldn't we give everything to him first and let him decide what to do with it?," the soldier then objected, his visage forming a look of concern.

"Nah! It's fine. We all agreed to share everything anyway. I'm just glad that you two are ok."

"Yohoho. See! I know that scallywag like the back of my hand!"

The soldier could only sigh in disbelief, Shinku forming a light smile as he retreated to his room. "There's food on the table in case you two are hungry. I'll just catch a few naps."

"Aye!"/"Yes, sir!", the two yelled in unison, both digging in at the pouch of coins in their hands.

Quest: A Very Personal Tour
Word Count: 3727 + 1827 = 5554 / 5000