Jin dusted off his clothes and took in a deep breath. He rocked his neck from side to side. firm hands slapped his cheeks, waking himself up. "Alright almost time." He walked around the small desk and nodded at one of the cultists from the guildhall that had volunteered their time today.

Bottles of potions were smooth to the touch. Lined neatly on a few rows of shelves. Each with a small price tag beneath them. The back rooms were shut with eggshell white doors. Each one had an open sign on them.

jin pushed the side of a painting upward and leveled it out against the wall. "Okay," he stepped back admiring the straight picture frame. Finally, he made his to the locked front doors. There was another well-dressed cultist outside, that was talking to a small group of people. The small group kept poking heads around to see through the glass doors.

Jin pressed the sides of the doors and slid them open. With wide arms, he walked out, "Hello, fine people. Finally the Eternal Apthecary his open for all your health needs. And the doctor is in and ready to see you." He chose to give himself the title of doctor in this effort to change the perception of the guild.

Healthcare...but of course with a cost. No questions asked. Just the care you need.

A grim shroud like a darkened nimbus loomed over the streets of Oak, bringing behind him grey rain. It was a light shower, with each step soundless as the cloaked one’s feet dodged themselves over puddles. His presence and enigma crept itself upon the narrow windy road, and begged the question of praise and admiration from it’s townspeople. Some Villagers instantly boarded up their windows when they saw him walking outside, whereas others stared and merely bowed their heads. One of Eternal Nightmare’s Generals, one of it’s defenders of Oak; from the attack of the Rune Knights which left a burning heat & drought for two weeks. One of them, was out walking— and today he was to make a real introduction to another valuable general.

It was the Master of Daggers... Erebus Gresham. On his way to meet the Eternal Nightmare’s newest Guildmaster— Jin Tatsumi.

What he was doing today was nothing out of the ordinary normally— but it was during daylight, patrolling the neighborhood was one thing Erebus was most notorious for doing under the haze of the moon. If there was a threat that was high in the horizons, Erebus was always the first to spot it. The question of whether Oak would be attacked again was not just something based on sheepish chance anymore. It was not a coincidence recently, and it was not going to be the last time either, and that meant that at least one member of Eternal Nightmare had to keep War ever present on his mind.

Now Erebus was always the second in command at least— he felt that way, maybe third when Caius was around, and it wasn’t his idea to make Jin the new master. However, if Odin was still the sorcerer supreme, Jin would be the new liege of the area. So Erebus would show his friend the loyalty one deserves when they were knighted and made champion. The most pressing fact about Jin was that Erebus knew his methods were light-hearted and unlike what their banner was use to taking orders from. So where Jin represented Light, Erebus was going to represent the Darkness. The pendulum swing from past to present, with one future in mind— demanded the Guildmaster and the Ace, to work together and hold down the region.

Basically? This visit wasn’t coincidental today either, it was to set the pace of the further for how Erebus would view the coalition and it’s success rate. Paying a visit to the new Apothecary was about finding out more to the Healer. He quite liked the guy truthfully, but before anything humorous or jovial could bind them further to each other’s causes. Erebus needed to see what Jin was about, and if he had Eternal Nightmare’s best interests at heart. Being a new Guildmaster was an especially overwhelming task that not even Erebus would wish to take the reigns of.

It was hard being a human in the world of the Daemon, the Lich, the Vamp, and the Wolf. So like a twin looking out for his brother, Erebus took his own humanity down into the trenches today. He first passed a group of cultists watering flowers by the door, and when the Rogue entered the shop, a black hood fell over his shoulders, revealing his youth and tattoo’d complexion. Ahead of him, behind the desk— was his new Guildmaster.

“You’re getting off to a comfortable start.” His voice sent a certain kind of alarm into the air. “How are you taking things Jin, your path is an interesting one.” Erebus pondered, as his sharp irises turned from the male to a shelf of herbs and medicinal mason jars. His black finger tips scratching lightly against them as he walked and curiously looked around the new building. This was nothing like how Erebus was use to being led, but one must learn from his fellow man. Jin was wise, Jin kept Erebus alive, Erebus needed to make sure Jin would succeed in anything— into everything... Always.

"Alright, that should do it. They'll check you out at the counter." Jin said as a small glow of light magic faded away. It was just enough to ease the nausea and discomfort of the patient. The paladin rolled down his sleeves as a familiar voice sent silence through the apothecary.

"Oh hey buddy," Jin said fixing his sleeves and stepping out from behind the desk. This was his first meeting since he had become the guild master. He didn't really expect anyone to show up and speak with him. It was known throughout the guild that he was just a face for the organization, after all. But it was pleasant to see the man he fought alongside coming down.

"Its, uh going well," Jin nodded his head and leaned one arm heavily on the table. His eyes followed the scratching of the medicine jars. He knew this was probably an odd sight. One that was different than many of the members in the guild.


"Its a good way to build our reputation and make some jewels as well. Gonna be hard to attack a guild that's providing health care to a town without looking like the bad guys themselves," Jin stepped out from behind the desk and leaned his back on it. It was maybe not the most altruistic approach but it would help.

"It's a weird position to be in. And to be honest I wanted nothing to do with it. But Odin seemed to think me being here was a piece of his puzzle. How are you holding up?" he asked and waited for his ally to finish getting anything he needed to off his chest before continuing.

"This apothecary will run itself for the most part. I'm glad you came. I know what our next act needs to be," Jin gave a sly grin and placed a hand on Erebus' shoulder as if they had been pals for ages.

"Join me...on a mission of diplomacy. To rally the other guilds, good and neutral to our cause. And of course, take out any obstacles along the way," he was aware that Erebus was the dark side of the guild. The one to get things done that required a heavy hand. And no mission of diplomacy was ever without conflict or the threat of it.

Erebus stopped as Jin spoke, he palmed a special ointment for burns off of the shelf. There was no disclaimer on the bottle, Erebus supposed that these bottles were all full of homebrew herbology. Rather than corporate prescriptions. That was respectable, he mused. At least it gave the vibe that the store itself wasn’t out to make a quick lick on it’s customers. Though, some people liked to know the details of what they bought. The Rogue figured that was why Jin was cashiering for his own shop, he was more than the salesman, he was the inventor.

“I don’t blame you. You’re making a pretty big sacrifice of yourself. Putting your face out for the rest of us. A good man would say thank you, I’m not a good man.” Erebus offered a warm smile, he was the humorous type to those he deemed allies and friends. But he wasn’t joking, the fact that Jin was now the leader meant he was a target for other people and guilds hoping to land assassinations, and that in itself meant he needed people to back him. Luckily, Erebus was one of the more loyal entities on this side of the law.

If Jin was the diplomat he wanted to be, and died because of his associations and his good heart, then it was all going to mean nothing and quite frankly it would mean Erebus had failed a friend. That’s why the Rogue had already volunteered to help protect the Paladin. Odin had informed Erebus before he approached the healer, so Erebus was fully on board before the decision was made.

He’d just never imagined a pharmacy as the strategy, it was smart. The Doctor was the face; the path truly was a unique one, Erebus couldn’t recall ever having seen someone like Jin become a GM for criminals. To someone like Erebus who was literally a killer for hire, it was a new world— strange perhaps, but it was a fresh take.

“I’m holding up alright. I’ve made connections with these new Utopian Demise mages, picked up a few missions with our lot. Nothing out of the ordinary really.” Jin went into discussing his new place’s ability to run itself, to which Erebus walked towards the counter and placed a few rubies and sapphires on the table. “It’s not a bad place Jin, but it you ask me? You need to put some dancers in the windows there. Advertisement— marketing, you know— really sell the shit, beyond that I think it’s a swell place.” Erebus removed a flask from under his cloak and sipped it once. His hand extended in offering the healer a drink. He then answered Jin’s next question. “Mission? ... Of diplomacy? That’s a new one.” Erebus began to chuckle, but stopped and cleared his voice upon realizing how excited and honest about this Jin was trying to be. “I’m with you. I am. But you’re talking about convincing the most powerful mages of the nation to believe that a guild with a combined bounty exceeding twenty-five million is worth bargaining with. I mean granted we are strong, but the goal itself is almost a dream... For you Jin, failing could be a nightmare.” Erebus briefly paused. “I’m going to buy this,” he nodded towards the ointment in his hand. “and diplomacy it is... Where did you want to start?”

Jin smiled back at Erebus' interesting take on humor and shook his head. The spymaster may be better than he was leading on. "Not that big a deal. I've been able to keep a pretty low profile so far. So even as the guild master, I'm pretty unknown. life is a bit easier that way," he gave a quick side nod. Whatever the reasons, he knew it was risky, but they had already fought off good mages. "Can't put me in a more dangerous position than fighting of light guilds and rune knights." He fixed a shelf by the desk with one hand.

"Sounds like you've already hit the ground running. How is UD?" He only had a faint idea of a few of the people in the guild. Jin crossed his arms and looked at the window. He was measuring out the dimensions in his mind. "We can do dancers. Why not," he gave a cheeky smile toward Erebus, "Gotta cater to you rowdy criminal types too. Maybe we could have them holding some of the potions."

"Bottoms up," Jin took a swig of the drink and handed it back. It hit harder than he expected, but the drinking contest had prepared him.

Jin shrugged, "Yeah it was a new one for me too. But that's what Odin wanted. I've never been much of the diplomatic type...so I guess we'll see where this goes."

"Twenty-Five Million? Maybe I'm on the wrong side," he joked.

A big smile swept over Jin's face as he turned towards the door. "I know. Sounds like a damned headache," He brushed his hair backward. "But as long as I have a place to eat and sleep. I'm not too worried. All we are really asking is that they relax a little and let you all take care of the king. And who doesn't like some R&R right?" Jin kicked open the doors of the apothecary and tossed the keys to a cultist. Jin was excited about the idea. Not for the reasons people would think though. He didn't like the work that was about to go into this process. But it was less work than going out to battle or covert missions. If all he had to do was chat with people then it wouldn't be so bad.

"Thanks for coming with me. Let's head North. They are close," he held the door open for Erebus, "You don't have to pay. I'm already giving my services to the guild free of charge. but uh...do you think the guilds will try and attack us?"

If there was one thing Jin was on point about, it was that he was hyper aware of his situation and was still choosing to set off into the dark with it. The more Erebus listened to Jin, the more he figured the guy had a death wish. Yet, ever still, so did Erebus. So that much was respectable. “Yes, perhaps. But you’re the face now. It wont be long now before the nation knows who you are Jin.” Erebus put realism back onto the front page for the Paladin.

When Jin took the flask, Erebus took amusement to Jin’s joke as well. “Haha.. Tell me about it. Some of them don’t even work... But, allegiance is allegiance.” Ere then went back to answer up on what he knew ofUtopian Demise’s ranks. “Well their guildmaster is a strange one. They have an extremely powerful vampire in their numbers, I’ve gotten to know her well. Achlyss has crossed banners to help them, and I believe Quillareine is helping as well, though I only vaguely know her because I crushed her in beer pong that one time at Odin’s drink party.” Erebus muttered chortling, he turned to look at what Jin was focusing on, before completely drawing his attention back to the table where his jewels had been sat.

Ere pocketed the burn ointment, and grabbed his sapphires and rubies off the counter one by one as the Healer spoke. He heard keys clink into the hands of another man as Jin approached the door frame. Erebus followed not far behind Jin as they exited the building— leaving the apothecary to some of the cultist foot-soldiers. Ere hadn’t commented too much on the bit about light mages wanting to ignore their duty for R&R. The truth was, they already had it easy because of the King himself. So when called to the fray. He was positive they would be a difficult obstacle and the most devoted one. “... You want the truth don’t you?” Erebus started, a small exhale escaped him. It was a subtle sigh, but an observant listener would discern it with ease. “We’re most certainly going to be attacked, the second we exit this region; targets on our backs.” Erebus then walks up closer, a firm pat on Jin’s back. “You’re the Guildmaster now. If you wish to settle things this way, then we will fight our way out of every risky skirmish. I can’t guarantee we’ll win every bad encounter. But I will guarantee that I’ll be right there to cover your escapes— even if it means I need to be left behind. So don’t fear for the future Jin, we have a mission to finish. If we ever want to see this country freed of nobility, of tyranny... Then this will only be a small step for man. It’s one giant step for everyone else— especially our friends who get hunted down for sport and reward.”

It seemed clear to Erebus then, that the two would be going North first. Erebus only knew of one mage in particular who roamed that domain. Jikan Supēsu. The leader of Sleeping Calamity. Beyond that, it would be a mountain of surprises. He was ready.

[Gonna Exit here and do an incursion North]

Jin shrugged with a carefree smile, "Meh, we'll see how things end up. With you around, I'm sure you'll take most of the attention," he joked. He knew how serious the situation was, but didn't want it to get to him. Regardless, it was all set in motion now anyway.

The list of names in UD was impressive. Some of the stronger members from the current guild. It all seemed like a pretty even split. Jin wished he could say he cared more about all the people in the guild and across to the new forming one. But He kept score trust with those that fought for the guild hall when they were attacked. And he had a keen memory of the abandonment they faced with Hitomi.

"Quilla is pretty strong and dependable. We've worked a good amount of jobs together. I don't know anything about the rest though aside from Achlys ofcourse." Jin caught the sigh and his ear perked up. He glanced back at Ere, over his shoulder, seeing how serious the moment had become.

The paladin's chest rose with a deep breath, followed by a nod. "You're right. We probably will. And thank you. But It's you I'm more worried about. I don't have a bounty so they can't send me to jail. if we get in too deep. You get out." Jin shook his head, "I don't really want to be doing any of this. This isn't what I want. Blame Odin's plans," he laughed and picked up his travel bag. "It's just better than some of the other options."

Jin took a step out of the doorway. He felt safe knowing that Ere had his back no matter what. And the light mage was intent on returning the sentiment. "No matter what happens. Even if you get arrested. I'll bust you out."