Having just left a café in which he scammed a poor girl into using up all her money to buy him lunch under a false name, Odin came to realise one important lesson: he was dirt broke. Actually, that was false, he had some money, it was just that the money he had was a pathetic amount that really wouldn't get him anywhere in life. He needed to get more if he was going to do anything with his life. The Swineherd had probably amassed some cash while Odin had been away, but he didn't have the time to just run back to Oak every time he was strapped for cash. Besides, he was a mage, and every so often he had to at least do something to remind himself of that fact, otherwise he'd just settle down and become a pub owner, god knows it would be the easier of the two options. But Odin was a member of Grimoire Heart, and that meant he had to do some work occasionally, and he couldn't just say no.

Magnolia was an interesting town when it came to looking for work, and by interesting, Odin meant dead. Being the home of the Fairy Tail guild, one of the biggest and most prominent guilds in Fiore, there weren't many people nearby willing to get their hands dirty, and probably even less people willing to pay for it, lest they get tied to it and captured by the knights or the guild. It was completely understandable, in the same way that you wouldn't find many legal requests in Oak town: there was no point in requesting aid in a location that was unlikely to provide it. It was a very basic principle of marketing, and extended to gaining intelligence and, in Odin's case, money. However, there would always be people, no matter where in Fiore you, desperate for a job to get done, and willing to bend the rules, or have someone bend them, to ensure the success in said job.

For this evening's request, that person was a Miss Bella Missandra, the owner of the bath house in Magnolia, a well respected member of society from what Odin had heard of her, having never himself visited the bath house in town. She was apparently a true beauty to behold, but the truth behind her young looks was an elixir she had created that removed any traces of old age from her skin, making her appear flawless at all times. Whether that was true or more mindless rumours spread by the common folk, Odin didn't really care. She was to be his patron for the evening, and she would receive the respect due to a client. She had delivered a note, via a multitude of couriers it seemed, to Odin's hands, detailing when and where he was to meet her and making him aware of the fact that she wanted him to avoid getting her attention at the meeting, as it would dictate whether or not she would consider hiring him. Not having much in the way of options, Odin obliged to comply.

530/2000

The easiest way to stay hidden in the shadows as you approached an enemy was to stick to the rooftops. It was an obvious trick for many mages, as they employed similar tactics on a daily basis, but civilians would not easily suspect such a manoeuvre, mostly because they didn't understand how easy it was to scale a building if you put your mind to it. Finding a nearby building that was just as easy, Odin made it to the top in a matter of seconds. After all, Odin was the man who had drunkenly climbed to the top of a massive church in Oak, a two-storey house was nothing to such an experienced climber. After reaching the top, Odin checked to make sure he knew exactly where to go, and plotted his course across the rooftops accordingly, having to go slightly further than his destination to double back, but keeping low the entire time so as not to make too much noise or arouse any unwanted suspicion. It was only a few more minutes that Odin would look down into the alleyway detailed to him and see his client, who seemed to be rather annoyed at being kept waiting. Slowly descending from the roof onto a small balcony raised just above his client's head, Odin watched her for a brief time, trying to get an understanding of why someone like her would require the use of a dark mage, and what exactly it was she wanted the demon to accomplish for her.

As she waited, getting more and more restless as the seconds passed, Odin watched her reach to her face with her hands, feeling every inch of her flawless visage before looking around again, a pattern that would repeat every four or so seconds. She was clearly an impatient woman, but this had something to do with her face, or her appearance at least. Giving it a few more seconds to allow Bella to turn and face the other way, Odin dropped from the balcony and announced his presence to the alleyway, startling his client, who would've shrieked if she hadn't already requested he try and sneak up on her.

"I understand you have a job for me?"

Taking a moment to compose herself after turning around faster than what should have been healthy, Odin got his first proper look at her 'flawless visage'. Her skin was beginning to show wrinkles and cracks, signs of ageing, as her fingers covered it from view while she spoke, in a quick, but hushed, voice.

"It's about time you got here, good thing I'm not paying you by the hour. Right, listen, because I don't have time to repeat myself, if I'm seen like this... anyway, I need you to break into the old pharmaceutical factory's warehouse and steal a chemical for me, it'll be labelled as something along the lines of Hydrogen Cyanide, and it's very important you get it for me. There will be guards, and I'd prefer you avoid them, but if you can't then take them out. Try not to kill them, but I will understand if it must be done. After that, meet me back here. Now go"

1082/2000

Having never been in Magnolia before this occasion, and still not knowing the lay of the land extremely well, the next hour was mostly spent with Odin trying to work out exactly where this warehouse was to be located. There was no one around to ask, not as the sun was beginning to set and the moon beginning to rise, so Odin had to fumble around Magnolia, leaving the town and even circling around the perimeter of the area, which was huge, before eventually finding the factory that Bella had spoken of. It was actually quite amusing, because the person Odin had met earlier that same day, the girl that had bought him lunch and made him aware of his poor financial situation, her name had also been Bella. Well, Isabella, but she had introduced herself as both, despite Odin only using Isabella when referring to her. And now here he was, sorting out his monetary issues by taking a job from another woman called Bella. It was like something out of a poorly written fantasy novel, which caused Odin to sigh. Pushing such thoughts from his mind, as amusing as they were, Odin had arrived at the factory warehouse.

He waited, watching the factory entrance for what seemed like an age before acting. There were two guards that were on patrol this evening, and it took Odin some time to understand their patrol shifts and patterns, and so he used the best moment to pounce on his prey, getting behind the closest guard before giving him a quick jab to the temple, instantly knocking him out, before Odin left the body where it was and dashed towards the next guard, who had just turned around a corner. With another quick attack, both of the guards were knocked out, and it was then that Odin would take the two bodies and drag them into a nearby trash heap, so that they would not be spotted in the darkness by anyone else wandering the streets at this time. With that accomplished, the warehouse was open for him to enter.

The warehouse was huge, but Odin at least knew the chemical he was looking for, and the place looked like it had been catalogued, with each chemical having been logged in a book to be easily located should the need arise. Tonight the need arose, and Odin needed the book. Unfortunately, as he entered what looked like a staff room to find said book, a guard turned around, holding the book in one hand, and drawing a baton with the other. "You're not supposed to be in here kid."

Despite having just issued a warning, the man still came for an attack, no doubt under order to simply attack anyone caught sneaking around. The baton didn't seem too dangerous, but the man wielding it was another story. He was a big, burly man that looked to have had extensive training in martial arts, training that he was about to put to use. This was not going to be easy, or fun.

1596/2000

Odin let the man get the first attack in, just to get an idea of how much damage he could deal. While it wasn't unbearable pain, it was more than the average person was capable of doing, being almost on par with Odin's own physical abilities. He wasn't the only one with a weapon though, as Odin drew his dawn sword, something he'd been wanting to try and avoid using as it shone rather brightly in the darkness. After being struck by the baton across the cheek, Odin span with his momentum to deliver a powerful backwards roundhouse kick, knocking the guard back a few feet before drawing his blade. He hadn't used it properly before, but it was a sword, there wasn't much to it for Odin to get accustomed to. As the man came with an overhead strike, Odin side stepped the vertical attack, before sending his sword plunging into the man's skull, causing the golden blade to become drenched in the man's crimson blood as his brain was pierced and he instantly slumped to the ground, dead. As much as Odin hadn't wanted to kill him, there wasn't much in the way of subduing an opponent that one could achieve with a sharp blade in their hands. Besides, he'd had the log book, and had seen Odin's face, he had to die.

It took another few minutes after collecting the log book for Odin to locate his prize, or Bella's prize which he would be rewarded for, same difference. Hydrogen Cyanide, just like Bella had requested, was sitting in a simple, nondescript wooden box. If it didn't have the chemical formula on it, and if Odin didn't have the log book to match up the formula to the name of the chemical, he probably never would've found it. HCN, what a seemingly simple formula that had required so much effort to collect. Regardless, it matter little to Odin now that he had it. He left the factory, clearing up the body of the guard by throwing him into the same trash heap as his colleagues. When they woke, they would certainly be confused and terrified. It took Odin much less time to return to Bella as it had to get from her to the factory, or even to get to her the first time, as there was no need for as much secrecy this time. Finding her in the same place she had been previously, Odin handed her the box, noting how much worse her skin looked. The moonlight hit her for just a second, but it was long enough for Odin to notice that her skin was even more cracked and broken; her nails had grown and her fingers were wispy and almost ghost like. Nevertheless, she seemed ecstatic to receive her chemical, and handed Odin a nice sum of money for his work, before they both went their separate ways. Another mission complete, and more money in his pocket, this had been a good night. Now Odin needed to look at cleaning his sword.

2121/2000