They woke up, the morning being one of rather disappointing results than anything else. It was tiring, it was surprisingly cold, hardly the type of day in which she was hoping that it would be, especially given the fact that there had been so many days within Era that had otherwise signified that the weather was going to be fair and enjoyable. Instead, it was cold, it was miserable and really reflected the type of weather that you just wanted to avoid, Leyaria being no exception. However, there weren’t many places, at all that she could alternatively go to and seek shelter within. Almost everything in the city of Era demanded that there be at least some degree of class and etiquette which Leyaria did not have, at least as far as they were concerned, they being the shopkeepers, the men who had wealth within the city. They were the effective elites, and to them, Leyaria was nothing more than a simple vagabond that had failed to amount to anything, though in actuality it was them who had no idea as to what it was that she had been forced to endure, the hardships that she had faced.

She wandered the streets, seemingly aimlessly, the young companion that she had picked up a time ago, Geth, walking right beside her. The two had become quite the pair, now having served and fought together for what seemingly felt like forever, though having lasted for barely over a month or so that she could adequately recount. Nevertheless though, there was no way to dispute the fact that they had become capable together. Even then though, there was a degree of uncertainty to what the two of them faced, especially with today as they were set to take up their first ever request like that of what most mages throughout Fiore have made it a habit of doing.

The man referred to himself only as Gaud. A tall man, he seemed to be rather worldly, if at the very least, being rather charismatic, though it was difficult entirely for Leyaria to pick up on the man’s origin, or even his accent entirely. Clearly, he had traveled – as indicated by his attire, but at the same time, it was a bit tough to tell one way or the other if he had just been selling his appearance or if he had actually been where he claimed or appeared to have gone. Leyaria chose not to question that, instead focusing on what was clearly the more important thing at the time, it being what this man had hired her for. According to the man, he had purchased an item that had turned out to be fake, an item in which he had been falsely led to believe was of great material value from a land in which he had not been to for years, only to find out that it was actually a fake item, one designed to elicit and appear valuable, but in reality looking to be worth less than a few Jewels.

“So, what exactly do you wish of me to do? Get your money back?” She asked, unsure as to exactly what the man wanted her to, or even what it was that she was going to be able to do. The fact was, she was a young woman, hardly an intimidating individual. And if she were to try to use her Dragon Slayer Magic, it            would be very likely that in spite of whatever value may have been attained would be completely lost due to the danger that the Rune Knights would inflict upon her.

The smirk on the man’s face indicated that he had already planned things out in advance, much to Leyaria’s delight. That she was not going to have to take care of all of this herself was a huge relief, one in which she couldn’t help but think that if it was left up to her that this job may not have been doable. Listening to the man speak, she understood that the man had found another item, one that greatly resembled one of the various items in which were all behind him, carefully arrayed around him. By all appearances, they looked expensive. But as the man explained, it was worthless, which was basically exactly that of what the man had done to him.

Listening further to the man as he explained what to do, she nodded and accepted the task, knowing tha the jewels that would be rewarded from it, it would be the first real job that she would have ever done. And to an even greater degree, it would be the first job that she ever actually had, her sister having dealt with managing the funds of the family for the greater majority of her life. In this case now, it was just Leyaria – and Geth – and she was finally going to become the bread winner for herself; a role in which she wasn’t particularly ready for, but one in which she knew she was going to have to step up and deal with.

It wasn’t long until she was out in the streets of Era, this time having a purpose. Geth was close by, doing exactly what Leyaria wanted of the creature, drawing attention to itself which was key. As everyone gathered to see and admire the golem-like creature, she happened to speak aloud to someone nearby regarding an apparently rare item that she had acquired – which in fact was actually the item that the man had given her to pretend to be very rare and valuable. Though many people were more interested in Geth than anything else, there were those who were also a bit interested in what Leyaria was saying, some of them actually appearing to have been drawn to the item that she was so boostfully talking about, several of them whispering to one another about it.

Leyaria watched everyone as they spoke, though it was tough to tell who might have been the one that had robbed the man who had hired her earlier. She had been told to watch out for him as he would probably reach out to her in a more private setting, or at the very least less likely around so many people. Right now, there were still a great deal of people who were focused around Geth, so after a few minutes she ushered them away, insisting that she and Geth had to go elsewhere for some obligation that they did not actually have. However, she had to make it appear as serious and earnest as possible, as to best not draw too much attention to herself.

After a couple of minutes of walking down the street, it seemed that there was someone who was following her. She could not see them exactly, but she could smell them, a perk of her recently acquired Dragon Slayer Magic, the ability to detect scents of people, and one of them had remained near them since the beginning. Now, as they proceeded towards more isolated parts of Era – Leyaria in reality being completely and utterly lost – it was only that scent that remained with them as well. Turning around, Leyaria noticed the faintest glimpse of a man turning the corner, trying to keep himself out of sight which to some degree made her believe that this wasn’t the man but rather just someone trying to rob her.

“I saw you. And I can smell you. Might as well come out,” she called out, loud enough to be heard in the alleyway but still quiet enough so that those elsewhere could not hear her. The man emerged, appearing a bit odd, though at this point there were a number of characters throughout Era that had appeared to be odd as well. So to a degree, this man was almost normal, though there was an element to him that she did not trust, which all the more made her believe that this was the man that she was supposed to find and reach out to. She held her own, being a bit defensive, though at the same time trying her best to convey the trader-like illusion that her client had instructed her to behave like. “Can I help you?”

“I figured that I would be able to help you actually!” The man began, his words crackling with changing tones which made it difficult for her to fully tell his tone, but all the while knowing that there was enough reason to be concerned all the same. She paused for a moment, hoping the man would reveal more and it wasn’t until the man had finally expressed that he was a collector of fine goods did she lower her guard enough to make it appear that she was at least somewhat intrigued in what he had to say. The man smirked slightly as he began to approach Leyaria, holding his hands out as a means of conveying that he was of no threat to her. “I heard a rumor that a woman had a particular item that was apparently worth a bit. A woman who happened to be travelling through this city with a strange little golem creature, which as I look at it myself, is more interesting than weird. To the point though, I would like to see what this item that you have acquired, if you don’t mind.”

“I don’t intend on showing off my prized possession to a man that doesn’t intend to buy. I’m not a window display you know,” Leyaria hissed out. She wanted to make it clear that she wasn’t interested into games, and if this man was looking to acquire her “treasure”, then he was going to have to pay, as well as show that he was serious, which to this point he hadn’t yet.

“Fair enough. I had been hoping to hold onto this for a bit longer, but I figure if you are serious…” The man’s words trailed as he put his hand into his pockets, causing Leyaria to get a bit defensive as there was a level of unknown to this, though monents later he pulled out what appeared to have been a large quantity of Jewels held within a small bag, the very same bag described by her client. “Show me what you have, and we can talk? How does that sound?”

“Assuming that there are actually jewels in there rather than a few meager rocks, certainly.” She found herself getting colder and colder towards the man as time went, the young Dragon Slayer beginning to worry that she may be unable to fully contain herself before things got out of hand. The sooner this trade was done and she had the man’s jewels, the better. The two slowly began to walk towards one another, both mindful of each other, though Leyaria had to wonder what the man was suspicious of her about. Perhaps it was just his nature, but either way, that was how they chose to play it out, them being cautious, deliberately delicate. “Place it down there, if you wouldn’t mind,” the man beckoned, pointing to a spot on the ground just a few feet from where Leyaria presently stood.

“And the jewels?” Leyaria called out, expecting the man to do the same, putting his jewels down himself, but instead, he opted to throw the bag right to Leyaria, in a move of blind trust perhaps than anything else. As Leyaria caught the bag, the man began to proceed towards the item, either unaware of the actual value or otherwise ignorant to it. However though, she chose not to think about this, instead deciding to get out of there. It wasn’t clear if this man could detect the actual value of the item or not, but she would rather not put that to the test, instead opting to give her client back the jewels that he had lost, and hopefully in doing this fulfill everything that the man had wanted and thereby earn Leyaria what may be her very first payday, not just as a wizard, but in general as a person on her own.

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