[Name: Caliburn (Vessel), Nora (Former)

  Condition: Mended

  Rarity: Uncommon Sword (16 ATK)

  Skill(s): Spirit Vessel

  Quest 1: Bind yourself to an owner

  -->Status: Complete

  -->Reward: Cimed

  Quest 2: Recover from 'Battered' condition

  -->Status: Complete!

  -->Reward: Cimed

  [A 'mended' bastard sword, useful for its ability to be wielded with both hands or just one. There appears to be more to this bde than meets the eye… Currently owned by Grail Initiate Romeo.]

  Ramsey let the silence linger after his final sentence, clearly enjoying the tension that had settled over the training yard. The ntern hanging from the post swayed slightly in the night breeze, throwing slow-moving shadows across the dirt while Romeo stood motionless a few paces away. For several seconds neither of them spoke.

  Finally, Romeo broke the silence.

  “You’re serious,” he said ftly.

  Ramsey tilted his head with a faint smirk. “I usually am when I’m standing around in the cold waiting for someone.”

  Romeo’s jaw tightened. “Damaging the imperial repelling sigil isn’t some harmless prank. That array exists so monsters don’t wander near the town.”

  Ramsey shrugged, as if the concern were trivial. “You make it sound like I’m dismantling the whole thing. It’s one boundary marker on the outer edge of the forest. The array will weaken slightly in that section, a few creatures will wander out, and tomorrow morning the brave knights of Arenberg will ride out and deal with them.” He spread his hands casually. “Problem solved. Reputation restored.”

  Inside the bde, Nora felt a quiet arm spreading through her thoughts.

  ‘This man is an idiot,’ she concluded.

  Romeo did not appear much calmer. “If the emperor’s mages find out someone tampered with their work-”

  “They won’t,” Ramsey interrupted easily. “The barrier gets refreshed every decade anyway. A few scratched runes will look like natural erosion by the time the next mage inspects it.”

  “That’s not the point.”

  “No,” Ramsey agreed lightly, “the point is that people need to see their captain handling monsters.” His expression hardened slightly. “Not some retired knight with a curse dragging trophies out of the forest.”

  The words hung in the air for a moment.

  Romeo’s grip on Caliburn tightened just enough that Nora could feel the pressure through the hilt.

  Ramsey noticed and smiled.

  “Still protective of the old man,” he said. “Admirable, really. But admiration doesn’t fix my current problem.”

  “And dragging monsters toward the town does?” Romeo asked.

  Ramsey’s smile thinned.

  “You’re exaggerating. The creatures near the border are weak. Wolves, goblins, the occasional stray beast that wandered too far from deeper territory.” He tapped the pommel of his sword zily. “Nothing a squad of knights can’t handle.”

  Nora considered interrupting but held back for the moment. She was still piecing together the details.

  Ramsey reached into a pouch at his belt and pulled out a small leather packet tied with twine. He tossed it once in the air before catching it again.

  “Besides,” he continued, “I’ve got something that will make the process quicker.”

  Romeo eyed the pouch warily. “What’s that?”

  Ramsey loosened the string slightly and tipped the packet just enough for a faint glitter to spill into the ntern light.

  The particles shimmered softly as they fell before drifting to the ground like dust made of pale gold.

  Nora froze.

  ‘…That’s,’ she said internally, ‘Fairy dust.’

  Romeo frowned slightly. “Fairy dust?”

  ‘Right,’ Nora repeated. ‘It’s a consumable item. It increases monster encounter rates and monster rarity rates.’

  There was a brief pause.

  Romeo blinked once.

  Then he spoke quietly under his breath. “You’re telling me that powder attracts monsters.”

  ‘Very efficiently,’ Nora replied.

  Romeo slowly looked back at Ramsey.

  “You’re pnning to damage the sigil,” he said carefully, “and then scatter monster bait along the forest edge.”

  Ramsey shrugged. “When you phrase it like that it sounds far less heroic than I intended. But I guess this it the more ‘cloak and dagger’ part of the pn, the real heroics come tomorrow.”

  Romeo stared at him for several seconds.

  “You’re out of your mind.”

  Ramsey’s expression did not change. If anything, he looked faintly amused.

  “Rex, runt, I’ve done worse.” He tossed the pouch lightly in his hand again. “All we need is a few beasts wandering out tonight. Tomorrow morning the town wakes up to a monster problem, the Grail Knights ride out, and by sunset the threat is gone. People cheer, Lord Arenberg nods approvingly, and everyone forgets the embarrassing story about your father.”

  Romeo’s voice remained low. “You’re risking the entire town just to fix your pride.”

  Ramsey stopped tossing the pouch.

  For the first time that evening, the rexed amusement slipped slightly from his expression.

  “You’re misunderstanding something,” he said calmly. “I’m risking nothing.”

  He stepped forward, the ntern light catching the sharp angles of his face.

  “I’m stronger than anything lurking near that forest edge. If a few monsters wander out, I kill them. If more show up, I kill those too.” He spread his arms slightly. “That’s the job description.”

  Romeo didn’t answer.

  Ramsey watched him for another second, then exhaled slowly through his nose.

  “You know,” he said, “I didn’t actually invite you here for a debate.”

  The captain pointed toward the dark road leading out of the vilge.

  “We’re going to the boundary marker.”

  Romeo didn’t move.

  Ramsey’s gaze hardened.

  “You’re coming with me.”

  “And if I refuse?”

  Ramsey’s smile returned, though it was thinner now.

  “Then tomorrow morning I report that Grail Initiate Romeo Vergonson refused a direct order from his commanding officer.” He tilted his head slightly. “Tell me, how well do you think that’ll go over with Lord Arenberg?”

  Romeo’s shoulders stiffened.

  For a moment Nora thought he might actually draw the sword.

  Instead, he slowly exhaled and began walking toward the gate.

  Ramsey chuckled softly and followed.

  The two men left the training yard without another word, their footsteps crunching quietly against the gravel road as the ntern light faded behind them. The vilge grew darker the farther they walked, the scattered cottages eventually giving way to open fields and the faint outline of trees in the distance. Eventually, the two reached the town wall, not bothering to command the guards Ramsey leapt over the three-meter-high barrier with ease.

  Romeo grunted, and Nora felt as he pushed all of the magic energy he could muster into his legs. The initiate leapt, and despite failing to clear the top with ease, Romeo was able to get a grip on the top before ungraciously hauling himself over. When he nded on the overside with a thump, the initiate ignored both Noras sympathetic ‘yikes!’ and Ramseys sly “…Well that’s what I’d expect from a runt like you.”

  The forest loomed ahead like a wall of bck shapes against the night sky.

  Nora waited until Ramsey had drifted a few steps ahead before speaking quietly inside Romeo’s mind.

  ‘Just so you know,’ she said, ‘this is a terrible idea.’

  Romeo didn’t look down at the sword, but she felt the faint shift in his grip that meant he had heard her.

  “I gathered that,” he murmured under his breath.

  ‘Fairy dust isn’t a small modifier,’ Nora continued. ‘In the game it increases encounter probability by a ridiculous amount. People used it when they wanted to farm monsters.’

  Romeo frowned slightly.

  “Farm them?”

  ‘Kill them repeatedly for materials and experience.’

  “…That sounds more insane than Ramsey.”

  ‘It’s a game mechanic,’ Nora replied defensively. ‘Point is, if Ramsey spreads enough of that stuff near a damaged sigil, he might attract more than a few wandering beasts.’

  Romeo’s gaze lifted toward the dark treeline ahead. He ignored Nora’s comments about “a game” and focused in on the more concerning matter.

  “…How many more?”

  Nora hesitated.

  ‘I’m not entirely sure.’

  They walked the rest of the road in silence.

  After several minutes the dirt path narrowed, and the open fields gave way to thicker grass and scattered shrubs. The air grew cooler near the forest edge, carrying the faint earthy scent of damp soil and old leaves.

  Ramsey finally stopped.

  “There it is,” he said.

  A stone pilr stood a short distance ahead, half-buried in the ground at the edge of the forest. The surface of the stone was carved with intricate runic lines that faintly reflected the moonlight.

  Even from where she rested at Romeo’s side, Nora could feel something subtle in the air around it.

  A quiet pressure.

  A boundary.

  Ramsey approached the pilr casually, as if inspecting a fence post.

  “Imperial rune anchor,” he said. “One of several scattered along the forest border.”

  Romeo remained a few steps back.

  “You’re really doing this.”

  Ramsey gnced over his shoulder.

  “Of course, I am.” He chuckled, “I admit I am not a saint, runt, but I try my best not too lie.”

  Then he drew his sword.

  The metal rang softly as it left the scabbard.

  Without ceremony, Ramsey stepped up to the stone pilr and drove the bde hard into one of the carved rune lines.

  The impact produced a sharp crack of splitting stone.

  Fragments chipped away from the engraving.

  For a moment nothing happened.

  Then Nora felt the change.

  The subtle pressure in the air weakened slightly, like a taut rope suddenly losing tension.

  Ramsey pulled his bde free and sheathed it again with a satisfied nod.

  “There,” he said.

  He untied the pouch at his belt and began walking slowly along the forest edge, scattering glittering particles into the grass as he moved.

  The pale dust drifted downward in faint shimmering clouds.

  Behind him, the dark trees rustled quietly in the night wind.

  Nora watched the powder fall with growing unease.

  ‘Romeo,’ she said slowly.

  “Yes?”

  ‘Your boss is a horrible guy.’