Hargeon, the port town of Fiore. Beautiful was the sea, and it attracted many visitors to the place. The day was sunny and the sky was blue. Such was the life in the early summer, or late spring of Hargeon. The beach was packed, but so was the port as well. The ships were going in and out, and there were many fish stands put up for those hungry to buy themselves some fresh caught seafood. In addition, there were ferries to far off islands. It was truly the time to be in Hargeon, unless, of course, you hated crowds or something. Geb? Well, he didn't mind crowds, as long as it was something worth going throguh a crowd for. And of course, it depended on the rowdyness of the crowd.

Where was Geb right now? Well, he was just getting out of bed after falling off it onto his face. Why did that always happen to him? It seemed like every morning he woke up from falling on his face. Except.. the days when he didn't do quests. Was this a coincidence? Probably, but Geb couldn't help but think there was some sort of greater force at work here telling him to do lots of jobs constantly, and maybe falling on his face in the morning was a sign? Maybe, just maybe...

Geb put on his signature hoodie, which looked GREAT in this light by the way, and headed outside of the hotel room he was in, bringing Gallent the munchlax along with him. The lad had been munching away on chips all night, jesus. That was annoying, but if Geb just took the chips away it would only cause more trouble in the long haul, and Gallent would either have a tantrum of bust through the hotel door and sneak in their kitchen or something. And that would probably be a lot worse than the sound, honestly..

The two headed out, Geb having to hold his hand over his eyes for a second as the sun shined down on him. It really was light out today, huh? Him an Gallent began to head to the fisher's port. After all, Geb had promised he would go and get him food.. and thus, it sprung them into a series of happenings that would end in Geb getting work. All because Gallent wanted some fish. What a crazy world we live in, huh? Maybe there really was a god that was watching over Geb and giving him signs and pushes to do work. Of course, he wasn't sure what kind of God supported a dark mage, but that of no concern to him right now.

The two arrived at the fish market, or, well, the docks at least. They went through the docks on their way tio the market, but little did they know on this path, they'd be running into a familiar face.. but, for now, they continued on, still ignorant to what was about to happen to them. And, of course, the money that would be going right into their pockets. Good stuff, good stuff indeed! This was gonna be a good day for this duo (soon turned trio)

Geb couldn't help but wonder what kind of seafood him and Gallent were going to get.. there were so many, after all! It made his mouth water just thinking about it.. if Machia mouths could water, even. Well, it made his mouth water mentally anyways.

575/2700 (10% Team Discount)

Bianca was at the request board once again, looking for a way to find some money. She noticed today that a crisp sheet stood out from the others that were starting to go yellow. It was ranked higher than the others, and it was the only one of the specified rank. Bianca was luckily qualified to take that quest. The rewards were very attractive. If she could get more money from this request compared to the others, why would she hesitate, right? So the vampyress pulled the sheet off the request board and started her journey to the docks where her client would be. She wore a simple outfit today that she felt easy to move around in, instead of her usual outfit that made everyone who saw her think she was ready for war or something. The Phantom Lord sorceress was not so familiar with Hargeon Town, but the job location was a popular place here, so even if she did not know how to reach it, she could always ask. After reading the details of the request, she folded the sheet neatly and tucked it carefully into the back pocket of her jean shorts, not trashing it so that she could use it for reference later.

As she arrived at the docks, she saw that it was quite busy today with a lot of shipment coming in and people everywhere. What day was it? She did not know. The white haired lady looked around to check if there was any way she could recognize her client, but there were just too many people, most of them being tough looking men who did hard labor for a living. Bianca stood in the middle of all the commotion, probably standing out more than she wanted to with her pale complexion that contrasted the tanned skin of almost everyone here. Hopefully someone would notice her or something, because she was completely lost at the moment. Her client was called ‘Reagan’ and would appear to look about the age of a grandfather, if the description on the job paper was accurate. Bianca rested her hands on her hips and started to walk around a bit, trying her best to look for an old looking man with probably gray or white hair.

After a while, she would find one, but seeing the situation she did not approach him immediately. She noticed that he was arguing with someone, specifically a Rune Knight, about something she could not hear from her location as there was a bit of a distance between herself and the two. She also did not catch the two familiar individuals who had come here to take the same request as well. Either Geb or Gallent would notice Bianca first as she was focused on the conversation that the old man she presumed to be Reagan was having with the Rune Knight. From the gestures that the knight was making, Bianca could tell that he was giving the old man a warning.

Geb and Gallent were just  peacefully walking down when they did indeed see a familiar face of a woman. No, it wasn't an ex girlfriend (not that he had any) or his sister (once again, didn't have one), but his teammate - Bianca! This was great, he hadn't seen her for a little while, a little under a month, if he remembered correctly? Who knew. Either way, here she was here. This was truly a good thing. Gallent seemed pretty happy to see her too, probably thanks to all the love and attention she seemingly gave him last time. While the Munchlax species did indeed focus mainly on eating and sleeping, it seemed like they also enjoyed human companionship as well. It was crazy just how much a lot of animals were like humans, huh? Really did blow your mind. Maybe they should put that in a fun facts book? Nah, it wasn't nearly fun enough. They'd need something a little more interesting than just that fact after all.

It seemed she was listening to someone nearby talking, so it was probably best that Geb go up and say hi quietly, so not to interrupt the other man's conversation with what seemed to be a Rune Knight. Geb began to slowly and quietly walk up towards the location where Bianca was, coming from behind her. Geb tapped her shoulder and spoke in a hushed voice, making sure Gallent was quiet too. "Hello Bianca, Geb here. How may you be today?" he asked, as he looked over to the man talking with the rune Knight. Ah! That was reagan, a man that Geb had worked for before. It seemed like he was getting in trouble with the police or something.. maybe Bianca was here for work? It would make sense, considering she was a dark mage. Geb once again spoke in a hushed voice. "Tell me Bianca, are you perhaps here to work for Reagan? Do you mind if I join you? It may be of use to us to work together if you're here to do a job for him. Usually they're hard to handle with just one person in a short period of time.." Gallent, meanwhile, seemed to be very happy to see Bianca, lifting his arms up at her in a sign of happiness. How cute, but if they were indeed doing a job it wasn't the time for hugs. That would come after. Food after too, considering that was usually how Geb was able to persuade Gallent into doing work with him. Pretty sneaky, huh? Well, it was a good strategy, so there was no shame in using it for Geb. After all, he was sure one day Gallent would grow up to be a very useful creature. At least, he thought. He hoped, anyways. And that hope was what kept him going this long with the munchlax, so no use in stopping now. Gallent would have his moment to shine one day, Geb was sure of it.

1075/2700

As Bianca studied the two from afar, a blue haired young man came up to her, accompanied by a blue creature, both of whom she was familiar with. A bright smile upon meeting her teammate and what seemed to be his pet crept onto her lips. “Hey guys,” she said, bending down to pet Gallent the little adorable creature that followed Geb around now, it appeared. Maybe he had adopted the animal? She did not know Geb was such a caring person, given how he was usually rude, even to those he had never met before, but it was a nice thing to know about her teammate. Although they were teammates, there was a lot they did not know about each other. The vampyress was just about to ask the same thing that Geb asked next, so she simply replied by saying, “You’re here for that, too? I didn’t know that more than one person could take this request, but that’s lovely. I think it’s better to work with someone else than alone.” Bianca noticed that little Gallent was showing signs of affection towards her, raising his arms up as if asking the vampyress to pick him up or hug him, which she would have done if they were not on a mission at the moment. She gave him a smile as if to tell him that she would play with him later, maybe after the request was taken care of.

Reagan turned away from the knight with a disappointed look, which was their cue to approach him. Bianca took the lead since she noticed the opportunity and walked over to the old man who wore an expression of dismay. He caught sight of the sorceress, however, which brought his lowered head up to meet eye to eye with her. There was a questioning look on his face that basically said ‘what?’ Bianca gave him a smile before saying, “Hello, I’m Bianca and this is Geb here. We’ve come to recover your shipment for you.” She made sure she spoke in a quiet tone only for Reagan’s ears. The old man’s face showed an expression of sudden realisation, as if he had forgotten about the job he posted on the request board. She wondered how he managed to do that seeing how busy he was here at the docks. Maybe he had his subordinates do it for him instead. The aged man cleared his throat and began to speak of where to get the shipment from ‘Balthazar’s’ ship that could be found at the beach. Of course the job required them to be as sneaky as they could be, otherwise the plan would be ruined. Bianca was good at doing things without getting caught, and being a fellow Phantom Lord wizard, she knew Geb would be as well. She wondered if Gallent could be, too. Bianca nodded as Reagan simply told them to be careful after giving his short instructions and turning away to do other things that smugglers did.

Geb did truly hope that Bianca would do this mission with him. After all, it would be lonely if he was just all by himself for this one. Sure, he had Gallent, but in the end, Gallent couldn't talk and wasn't nearly as smart or helpful as another person. But, even if Geb couldn't get Bianca's help, he was sure he could just find another job. But, another thing was of course knowing that this employer paid well... hmmm, maybe he would try to persuade her or something if she happened to say no to him for any reason at all. But, why would she do that? They were teammates, after all! There was no good reason. At least, he thought, or hoped. Maybe he had creeped her out or something? That wasn't possible, Geb was such a nice guy! Sure, he was a little rude sometimes, but other than that he thought he was fine, right...? Well, regardless, he was sure he could persuade her simply with the money. Who didn't want money, man or woman, human or inhuman, young or old? Everyone needed money in some way. It really did make the world go round, huh? Crazy when Geb thought about it. It was a scary world for the poor.. all the more reason that Geb disagreed with how the country was currently run. It was crazy to think he had forgot about his goal. But right now, he needed to focus on getting this money so he could actually live and not be hunted down by the loan sharks and killed in a few days. That would mean he would be able to accomplish absolutely nothing, so that would be worse than not taking the money right now and repaying it back. He regretted taking that loan immensely..

Luckily, Bianca was able to understand the benefits of working with another, and it seemed as though the two had now joined in partnership to do this quest. Perfect! As Reagan turned around, he explained the job to them. It seemed simple enough, and the two of them could do easily. He'd have to leave Gallent behind though. As Reagan walked off, Geb spoke.


"Hm, I hate to say it, but if we need to be sneaky I might have to leave Gallent behind on a bench. It's fine, he'll stay in one spot as long as I get him a bag of chips or something, and nobody can really kidnap him, he's like 400 pounds."

Thus, Geb took a bag of chips out of his pocket and put them on a bench for Gallent to eat. Geb usually kept those in his pockets along with other sweets in order to control Gallent. It worked.. most of the time. He was sure his companion would be just fine today, though. Geb had an awful good feeling today, as if lady luck was on his side or something like that. He wasn't religious, but if there was a good of luck he'd believe in it.

"So, what next? Wanna head over to the beach and pick up the crates?" he asked an obvious question, and it was more of a confirmation if anything else. If she said yes, he'd follow her to the beach as Gallent sat down, eating his chips in peace. Well, sort of peace. He made a hell of a lot of noise, that was for certain...

1645/2700 [10% Team Discount]

It was as if Geb heard her thoughts, he answered by saying that it would be best to leave Gallent behind, which seemed like a good idea to Bianca, too. If they were going to have to be sneaky it was better with smaller numbers. “Alright, we’ll be back in a while,” she told Gallent, amused by how easily he could be controlled with food. Geb had given him a bag of chips that came out of his pockets. She wondered what other kinds of snacks he had in his pockets just to keep Gallent under his control. At least it was good to have a way to control him. She knew other pets that were loose all the time with no way of having them under control. The vampyress again led the way to the beach as he had been there before twice, one of the two times being a memorable one. The event replayed in her mind like a little episode of her past. But she had a feeling that she would bump into the other character in the episode. If not, she would go and find that person.

The beach was a bit far from the docks, but if they hired a motorbike, they could save some time traveling there, so Bianca took Geb to one of the bike stands and hired one for the two of them. If Geb knew how to drive a motorbike and wanted to do the driving part, she would let him, but otherwise she would do it. Since Hargeon Town was not as developed as the capital or Era, nobody really cared about helmets and things like that, so they just rode the bike without any of the safety equipment. Bianca was an expert at this point as she had her own bike once, during one of the periods in her life after she left her ‘home’.

They would reach the beach in about ten or fifteen minutes, which was shorter than if they had walked the distance. Bianca stopped the bike at another bike stand that was linked to the previous one and got off, looking at the beach from where they were currently to check if they could see a ship or something. Sure enough there was a huge ship was scuttled. Bianca nodded at Geb as if to let him know that was Balthazar’s ship, although he probably had already figured it out himself. Bianca tried her best from that point onwards to go unnoticed. It was easy for her to do this as she was a vampyre. Her movements were soundless, so she was naturally sneaky. She went along an unnoticeable path towards where Balthazar’s ship was. If Geb knew of a better way, then she would follow him, but otherwise he would have to follow her. Bianca had discovered this ‘hidden’ path during her two visits here but both were at night time so she hoped that the daylight would not reveal their presence although unlikely.

1,500 / 2,700

Bianca would rent Geb a motorbike, so that was interesting. The two went along on them, and admittedly, Geb had a little bit of trouble. After all, he had never been on one of these things before. If he had to be honest, it was pretty scary. But, of course, he'd never ever admit that to Bianca, for example.

The two parked their bikes near the beach, and Geb followed Bianca with the most stealth he could, but it seemed like Bianca was never making a sound. Regardless, Geb tried his hardest and was able to avoid detection on the way to the beach, and eventually, they were able to make it there. Here at last! It was certainly a great day to be alive.


When the two got to the beach, it was mainly empty. It made sense - this wasn't the main beach or anything, it was a side beach, a bit off. There was a ship, namely balthzar's . Geb supposed this was where they would be picking up the goods. He had never really met a pirate before, Geb wondered how they held themselves.. this would certainly be an interesting experience if nothing else. Crabs were all over, shimmering across the sand. They looked pretty cool - and of course, they also looked pretty damn tasty as well. If only there was some lobster here too, that was even better in Geb's opinion. But if there wasn't crab would always do. It was a good dish as well. Especially the legs of the very big ones.. delicious, absolutely delicious.

The ship on the shore was of a large size, and it really made Geb feel like a pirate. Or, at least that he was in a pirate story. He wondered if these people pillaged, just like in the stories. He was sure that pirates were a little different than the myths, though. Though, he wouldn't be complaining if they were exactly like them either.

Geb looked over to Bianca.

"Looks like this is the ship. Wanna head in? Be careful though, these people are pirates. While I'm sure they aren't that bad, it would probably be for the best to be on guard while we're doing it."

Geb would then make his way up the stairs into the ship, knocking on the door. A pirate answered, leading them in so they could take the two crates that awaited them there. Well, it was good to bring 2 people in that case. Luckily the crates were somewhat small as well, so they could most likely fit on the bikes that the two had got. Geb bent over to pick his up, which was no problem with his literally inhuman strength. He held it on his shoulder as though it was nothing at all.

"Alright, I got mine. Ready to go, Bianca?" he asked, turning over to the girl. Meanwhile, he also admired the fine piece of craftsmanship that was the ship. Wow, if this was what pirates sailed in, than perhaps he'd have to sign up. This ship was truly stunning to the eyes, and seemed like it sailed well also. Again, he envied these pirates. Then again, he was sure they had their fair share of mishaps with the ship and sailing as well. Well, Geb supposed it was all part of the life.

2200/2700

They finally made it to the huge ship, successfully as well without getting caught or noticed by anyone along their way. To be quite honest, she was completely clueless as soon as they reached the ship, concerning how they were supposed to retrieve the shipment. Were they supposed to walk up the ship? Call out for the pirates to come and open up the door for them? She had never been on a ship, or this close to one so she waited for Geb to do something as she did not know what to do. Geb however seemed to know how to handle things, getting them access into the ship. Bianca smiled and followed him inside. He told her to be on her guard, to which she replied saying, “Yes I will.” She studied the inside of the ship, taking in the new information - what a pirate’s ship looked like, as well as what the pirates looked like themselves. Some of them gave her strange stares but she ignored most of them and just followed Geb. They were given two crates, which was perfect since there were two of them so one crate for each person. Bianca was strong for a female, so she would not have trouble carrying the crate on her own. She bent down to lift it with both hands, making sure she had a firm hold on it before saying, “Let’s go,” to Geb who put his crate on his shoulder.

However, before they could leave, a large man who had graying hair stopped them. Bianca did not even notice the man, mainly because he only came out of a deeper part of the ship just now. The vampyress turned to face him and immediately assumed he was Balthazar. She dropped her crate for a moment and gave Geb a look before turning back to face who she thought was Balthazar. “Hello,” she said to him. The man then introduced himself, so it was only natural for her to introduce herself as well as her partner here Geb. It seemed he wanted them for a different job later in the future, so Bianca told him that she would try to him if she could, making no promises. Balthazar nodded and gestured for them to leave, almost giving them a wave if Bianca’s eyes were not playing tricks on her. She picked up her crate again and left the ship, heading back to Reagan along the same ‘hidden’ path that they took on their way here. The rewards that awaited them drove Bianca to move faster. They would have to carry the crates up to the bike stand and attach them to the vehicle, one in the front and one in the back. They would have to squish a little bit given the limited space on the bike, but it was no big deal since the ride was short. Upon reaching the other stand, Bianca detached the crates from the bike and carried her crate to Reagan, making sure that Geb was not left behind.

Once they reached where Reagan was, she dropped her crate and stood there while Reagan checked if they had brought the right crates. After making sure of it, he asked his men to take away the crates and fished his pockets for their reward. Bianca spotted Gallent finishing the last of his chips on a bench nearby.

Again, the ship was great, but it was time to focus on the task at hand. While the crate wasn't hard to pick up, Geb didn't like how it felt on his shoulder, so he would of liked to get out of there as soon as possible. However, just before the two had been able to get out and deliver the shipment back to Reagan, the pirate captain Balthazar approached the duo. He told them that he had plans in store for them eventually, and just for them to look out for when he needed them. Geb nodded. So, maybe he would get to work for pirates? Well, so long as they paid well, Geb didn't see much of a problem with that. Hell, maybe it would even be, dare he say it - fun. But, he was mostly in it for the money. At least, that was what he was telling himself for now. Whatever helped him sleep at night, he supposed..

Geb brought the crates back to where the bike was, as he would go along with Bianca, if she would follow, to deliver them back to Reagan's place. After they were done with that, Geb would turn to Bianca. "Well, I'll go return the bike." It was nice of her to rent it for him, and Geb had a little bit of fun riding it, even if it was scary. It was a good idea as well, as it allowed them to more easily bring the crates back to reagan. Thank goodness. Sure the crate wasn't too heavy, but it would certainly suck to carry it by foot all the way there.

"Thanks a lot for letting me come along by the way. I hope that eventually we can do this again sometime, it was quite nice to have a partner besides Gallent for a change, you know?" Geb then smiled and drove off to return the bike.

Walking back from where he parked the bike, Geb began to make his way back to the central port of all of hargeon to meet his munchlax yet again. Walking up to the point where they had met Reagan, Geb looked around and... there he was.

It seemed like Gallent was right where Geb had left him, on the bench that was. Smirking, Geb knew that the munchlax would certainly never change. And know what? Geb was happy about that. Some things in life were meant to be left simple, after all. The two began to walk off, back on their initial plan to buy seafood. And now, thanks to the work they had done, Geb was able to buy even more seafood. Lady luck did indeed shine down on him after all. And he was very, very glad for it. The two would enjoy their seafood that day, and later head off back to their hotel room to sleep the night away, wondering what in the world could happen the next. Never a dull day for Geb and Gallent, it seemed.

exit

2702/2700 Words

Bianca nodded when Geb said that he would go and return the bike while Reagan checked the crates. After he gave their payment, Bianca said goodbye and went to the bench where Gallent was sitting. There were pieces of the chips he was eating on his hands as well as around his mouth. He was a messy little eater. Bianca giggled and petted his soft head. She knew very well that he could not communicate in the language that Bianca and Geb and everyone in this country did, so she only petted it and pulled its chubby cheeks. Geb returned shortly after, which was when she left. “No problem, Geb. We’re teammates after all,” she said with a grin and gave him a wave. She would return to her inn to relax after the job was done. But first, she would have to walk through the center of town so she might as well find some food - and this time she meant human food. The difference between human food and blood was that human food only gave her temporary satisfaction - very temporary, by the way - whereas after consuming an adequate amount of blood, Bianca is able to last a few days at most without any kind of food. In this case, she had had her fill not many days ago, so she could do with human food for the time being. Plus, sometimes she felt like having some of the human foods she enjoyed before she became a vampyre, such as sushi, and the like. As she was at the docks at the moments, she decided to buy some seafood from the street vendors along the way. She bought some with the money she had just earned and ate along the way. It was not as though she could not taste anything when she ate human food. It was just not that great compared to when she ate human food as a human.

The journey home was long especially if she walked. The inn she stayed at was almost home by now since the innkeeper was very friendly with her. The middle aged woman was naturally sociable with everyone so she was friends with almost everyone who stayed at the inn. And since Bianca stayed even longer than normal, she got to talk to the innkeeper lady more, so the lady even remembered her full name. That one time she started to say that she might have heard of the name ‘Fleur’, but Bianca immediately changed the subject as she did not want her to find out who her parents were and about herself, if the news was that detailed. It could not be called a rumor since it was true, but the change of subject made the innkeeper lady completely forget about it. She never asked again. Either she decided to shut up about it, or she literally forgot about it. Along the journey back to the inn, Bianca bought a few things from the vendors along the brightly lit street. It was a night bazaar, where they mostly sold seafood since Hargeon was a port town and they got fresh seafood every day. If Bianca was still human she would probably eat the seafood here every single day, every meal - breakfast, lunch and dinner. She still ate it though, but not as much as she would if she was not a vampyre. She bought some for the innkeeper, since she could not eat too much herself. The innkeeper might let her stay a few days without paying, or even send housekeeping to her room more frequently. Although Bianca did not like outsiders intruding her privacy, she liked neat and tidiness and she was not always there to clean up her room by herself. After all she might as well use the free service she got. So to make up for her habit of disliking intrusion, she would sit on the bed and watch the housekeeper do their job. It was awkward, but that was what Bianca did. So when she got back to the inn, she gave the innkeeper lady the seafood she bought for her and went up to her room. The lady thanked her dearly and told her to rest well.