Garden Of The Abyss

Emilia stayed silent for a moment before nodding, "...And done."

As she dragged her fingertip, covered by a silk, black glove, with the purple light guided by her touch meeting into a full circle, the unseen passageway revealed itself at last as if a curtain had been pulled away.

Taking a peek through the mystical doorway through the wall, he expected to see a bustling city on the other side, but instead found his gaze peeking into a quiet, empty establishment.

"This is the supply room of some inn on the other side of this wall," Emilia told him, "nobody will see us coming in."

"How'd you find this?" He asked.

"Obviously I scouted out the city beforehand…I take my job seriously, you know. Might want to take a note, or two."

"You get around fast, don't you?" He asked with a smirk, "I guess the magecraft of one of the "Weavers of The After" is top-notch, at least when it comes to shady business like this."

The mention of such a name spawned a pause from Emilia, who held a slight, embarrassed hue to her cheeks, attempting to kick the man in the arm, who laughed off her attempt by ducking back to avoid her leg.

"Ha-ha, sorry, I forgot that name is sensitive for you," He laughed.

"I left that organization years ago," Emilia huffed, "I don't want to be associated with those monsters. Besides…you're part of this "shady business" now, so I don't want to hear it."

"Right, right, I guess I can't deny that," he slid his hands into his pockets with a small laugh.

Stepping in first, he entered the door that connected one space to another, stepping from the grassy outskirts of the capital directly onto the cobweb-lined, dusty room of the inn.

"...Oh, man," he coughed, waving his hand to dispel the dust that fell from the claustrophobic shelves at just the weight of his step.

"This is as secretive as we're going to get," Emilia assured him, stepping in after him.

With a circular motion of her finger, the amber-haired woman released the magecraft as it vanished into small, fading sparks of mana.

"Yeah, maybe…if it's this dusty, I doubt anyone's been back here in awhile," he took his left hand out of his pocket.

He ran his fingertip along the edge of one of the old, wooden shelves, looking at the dense dust that accumulated on his digit before blowing it away with a quiet breath.

"When I was scoping out the place, it looked like the owner was an old lady," Emilia told him, "probably hard of hearing too, considering I didn't even try to mask my steps around her."

"That's harsh," he laughed quietly.

Quietly opening the supply room down as a coating of dust fell, Emilia and himself peeked out of the crack, checking for anybody passing through the halls before leaving the room with a sigh of relief.

Out in the creaky, wooden halls of the establishment, it was deathly quiet; only the flickering, lit lanterns on the walls were an indicator that it was an occupied building.

"...Is there anybody even staying here?" He asked.

"It's a real old-fashioned place, from what I gathered," Emilia answered, "I don't think it's exactly bursting with business."

"That's good," he replied, "well, for us."

After testing one of the doors, they found an empty room of the inn, temporarily using it to gather themselves in the new environment.

He looked over at the girl, who stood as tall as his shoulder, as she reached beneath her black cloak, retrieving a neatly-compact map before unrolling it.

"Let's see…we're in the south district of Yulimium, and the Merchant's Guild is…" Emilia let her words trail as she traced her finger along the map, "oh, it's right in the center of the center district."

"You didn't know that already? I thought you did your research," he teased, sliding his fingers through his hair as he plopped down on one of the two beds in the room.

It wasn't anything fancy, but it was neatly kept with olive sheets, just as the humble room itself was, alit by a softly fragrant, unintrusive candle that smelled of peaceful, grape fields.

A violet carpet stretched across the wooden floorboards, with matching coverings occupying the tops of the furnished stands. Even sitting within the room, a basket of fruit and bread was laid out–fully fresh as well.

Looks like that granny really runs this place well, even if it isn't exactly bustling, he thought.

Emilia shot him an annoyed glance before seating herself on the bed on the opposite side of the room, "I forgot, is all."

"So, what's the plan? We're about two days out, aren't we?" He asked, doing some quick, nonchalant crunches on the bed.

Emilia set the map down beside her, looking at him with her cat-like golds, "Are you going to take this seriously?"

He paused his crunches, laying against the bed as he kept his hands tucked beneath his head, "I am taking this seriously."

"I find that hard to believe," she replied, unamused.

"I am," he assured, sitting up with a smile, "I just…handle things with a different approach."

"Is that right? Every other "Black Quest" we've handled together has wound up in me having to babysit you and remind you to do your job," Emilia folded her arms across her chest, sitting against the wall as she laid her legs against the bed.

"Well, I haven't been interested in one before this," he told her in a quieter, more serious tone as his magenta eyes met hers, "...the thought of getting my hands on Argonauts is really…appealing."

"You really hate them don't you?" Emilia asked, "I mean, I understand why. You're an otherworlder. Argonauts are practically the bane of your existence."

"I could care less if they hate me, or hunt me, but they've taken people away from me," he told her, looking towards the window that looked out towards the large, walled-in city.

After a few moments of silence, the sound of footsteps coming down the halls beyond the door were audible.

"Hm?" He looked towards the door.

"Shh!" Emilia held her finger to her lips.

By the slow, drawn-out, but gentle steps, it was clearly the elderly woman who owned the inn that the woman had told him about.

We're totally just plopping ourselves down in this ladies establishment. I feel kinda bad, to be honest, he thought.