Knowledge is Power [C-Class Mission -- Open 2/2]

The duo’s eyes were averted from one another to the crispy horizon, hearing a faint voice carry out across the desolate sands. Making his way towards them with a brisk jog, the man seemed to be waving his arm through the air in order to grasp their attention. Ryder glanced back at his feline companion, shrugging his shoulders. “I guess he came a lot sooner than we thought.” He continued to billow the frigid mist around his six-foot-two frame even as the newcomer approached.

Ryder’s nose immediately crinkled, his nostrils flaring with the steady streams of air rapidly entering his nasal passage. One look back at Dashie was all it took for the two of them to be absolutely dumbfounded. He turned his attention back to the acorn-haired male stopping before the Ice Slayer, the collar of his shirt sporting a much darker color than the rest. He also reeked of sweat. There was another smell that completely overwhelmed the bodily fluids.. A draconic aroma. This could not be another Slayer. There was absolutely no way in hell another Slayer made his presence known. This would be the fourth one in a row!

“You assumed right…” Ryder hesitantly extended his hand for a firm shake, a meager greeting for his new partner in crime. “Nice to meet ya’ Cain, name’s Ryder.” His ice gaze steadily locked onto Cain’s, each one of his senses working overload to try and prove his initial impression wrong. Should Cain reciprocate the greeting and shake Ryder’s hand, he’d feel an abnormal draft spread throughout his palm. It was nothing more than just the energy radiating from the cloak of mist he kept around his body.

He rolled his shoulder in the Exceed’s direction who happened to still be heaving away upon the fallen structure. He only managed to muster up enough strength to blunderingly wave his paw through the air. “That’s Dashie. He’s a little pooped from the walk here. You can probably tell why I’m not.” His eyes traveled down towards his hand, gesturing towards the unusually low temperatures.

With formalities out of the way, Ryder turned on his heels and made his way towards the entrance of the ruins. Weathered down like everything else and covered in dilapidated shrubbery, it hadn’t looked like anyone had been here for years. He ran the tips of his digits across the shriveled leaves, thinking it best now to get a couple of questions in.

“So was Amelia a little sketchy with you too? When asking about the mission, I mean. She narrowly avoided all of my questions when I asked why she even wanted this fuckin’ book. Here is to hoping it was just the way we came off that made her really awkward…”


cain novak

“Eh,” Ryder pondered on whether or not to truthfully answer Cain’s question. He didn’t want to directly reveal his status as a Dragon Slayer in fear of starting a battle or anything of the sort. Of course, there was a way for him to answer without crossing that line. “You could say I’m an ice mage, yea. What I use is a little more powerful, if you catch my drift.” That was the only hint he was willing to reveal to the man. Anything else would have to be worked for. He didn’t necessarily trust this man yet, so unveiling all of his playing cards right out of the gate wasn’t ideal.

Both Ryder and Dashie gave the small dog companion a friendly wave. The Exceed slumped off of his resting place only to kneel before the dog, still panting his balls off. “Hey… The name.. Is Dashie. Can you talk…?”

Meanwhile near the entrance, Ryder released a sigh of solace at the mention that his conversation with Amelia wasn’t some special occasion. Cain confirmed that he participated in a rather strange and brief conversation with the woman as well. “It’s nice to know it wasn’t only us. It was really, really bizarre. The way she carried herself, her demeanors. I would chalk her sweating profusely onto that list, but I think I can cut her some slack.” He reasoned, surveying the land around them for few seconds. He couldn’t hold sweating against anyone in this environment.

“Seventy-five percent, aye?” He questioned, pushing the palms of his hands against the doors leading into the ruins. “You seem like the type to be able to handle yourself well in a fight. If it is a trap, I think we’d be fine. We just need to be on our guard in here… Stay vigilant, y’know? Even if it isn’t a trap, we really have no idea what could be lurking around the corner or in the shadows.”

The Ice Slayer stood in front of one of the doors, nodding towards the other as he pressed his shoulder against his. “Mind helping me push this open? These damn doors are freakin’ huge.”

Whether or not Cain pitched in, Ryder went to work on his side. Using his left shoulder and his right arm, he planted his boots against the dusty sandstone below, using his body weight to force the door open. The door was a lot more resilient than the Slayer had originally expected. It prompted him to tap into the strength that put him above the level of a normal human.

“Okay.. Here we go.. Just.. A little…. More!” A triumphant grunt passed through the dark-haired man’s pink petals, though he quickly retracted in disgust. The smell, the dust, the debris. Years worth of pent up stenches had been released upon the world. He reached up to pinch his nostrils shut, taking a step or two back. “Holy fuck. Did something die in here?”


cain novak

“Heeyyy, heyyyy!” Dashie was tackled to the floor, his eyes and mouth clamping shut to prevent any of the mucky saliva from entering his orifices. He had a smile on his face, overjoyed that for once, he was able to meet another companion that didn’t entirely hate him. However, the licks became a bit too much for him to handle. He pushed himself out from underneath the dog and reached forward to scratch the bottom of his chin, shaking his orange mop around to fling any of the excess spit from his features. “Ptth.. I think that’s okay.” With newfound energy, Dashie attempted to jump into the air and land softly on Aoba’s back in a riding formation, still scratching the top of his head.

“Ah, that’s fine. Looks like they’re getting along though. That’s good. Usually Dashie has trouble cooperating with other animals and such.” Ryder’s voice was somewhat suppressed as he held his nose. It made him sound like his sinuses were clogged up with a ton of mucus. He waved the palm of his hand through the air in an attempt to ward off all of the dust and debris blocking their field of vision. He wished Amelia would’ve told them about this part. The smell was almost unbearable.

“Man, I guess we aren’t off to a good start, huh? I should’ve been able to smell this crap through the door. My bad!” He chuckled softly to himself, reaching over to give Cain a soft pat on the shoulder. He was a tad disappointed in his own physical capabilities. If the smell was this bad, why hadn’t he been able to tell beforehand? “Lord, I wish there was some sort of Plant-Mage here right now. Sprout some flowers and get rid of this damned odor. Heh… I never thought I’d hear myself begging for a mage that specifically uses Plants.”

Ryder took one eased step into the compound before stopping, a light bulb pinging above his head. Cain mentioned something he’d completely forgotten about. Traps! Of course there would be traps in a place like this. He would’ve just walked in here blindly and gotten himself killed. “Oh, right! Damn. I almost forgot. Thanks dude.. I might have gotten my nuts chopped off there.”

“Wouldn’t be the first time you did something stupid.. That’s why I’m here.” Dashie piped up from behind the two, specifically talking to Cain. “Without me, Ryder would have died nineteen times already. He would’ve been maimed over thirty times. He would’ve had his nut-” ---- “Hey, listen. Can you like, not keep a list? Please? We’re trying to do a mission here.”

The small feline giggled Ryder’s comment off. The Ice Slayer turned his attention back to Cain and the entrance of the ruins. “Uhm… I mean. Here, I could try this.” He bent over at the waist, his fingers coiling around a small, ping-pong ball sized rock. With a simple flick of his wrist, he tossed said rock down the corridor, bouncing it off of the walls. Each impact chipped a tid-bit from the rock until it finally fell down the stairway at the end of the hall, vanishing from sight. There was no sound to indicate it had even hit the floor… if there was one down there.

“Eh..? Think we’re good to go?”


cain novak