Operation Black Steel

The blinding rays of the sun shined brightly on the two people walking along a path on of the tallest peak in Ishgar. One male and the other female. The male, named Aaron Fox was a young man of around twenty-two year of age, with silver hair and blue eyes. His usual silver suit that he wore was kept loose on his body, several of the buttons on it had been undone to allow him to breath better in the already thin air of the mountain. They had been walking for a few hours now as they traversed the monstrous mountain. The top of which held the mage's objective. The city-state of Othrys, had an ancient feud going with his guild Dragon Gunfire, although that was a while ago he wasn't unsure of what would happen. However it held one of the most precious metals that could be found in Ishgar that Aaron intended to coat the swords that he kept on his side with. When he looked back he noticed the girl was a little bit behind him, causing him to stop and walk a bit back.

"I'm sorry that I made you come here. However I'm sure it will be a quick mission with rewards that will be good for both of us." Said Aaron with a small smile on his face.

Emmeline smiles, "No problem, Aaron." Truth be told, she was happy to be able to travel around, the chance to get to go to another country being too hard to pass up. "What's got you so interested in Black Steel anyhow? How do you even know it actually is as great as it says on the tin? I mean, we are getting it from previous enemies."

"The black armor that Jason wears." He said as he thought back to his and Jason's matches. "It's made of the stuff. It's able to tank my strongest spells with little to no effect. And on the point if the feud....well just keep our guild marks concealed and we should be fine." He said with a hopeful smile.

Emme nods despite not knowing a great deal about the Jason character. She knew of him, sure, but mostly from the Grand Magic Games, not any personal interactions. "Well, I hope this goes as smoothly as you anticipate. It'd be a shame if Garrison had to get involved, eh?" She jabs her thumb at the young man walking behind them, who thus far, has seemed more like her shadow than anything. He was only in his human form now because his halberd form was less than friendly and she didn't want to attract unnecessary attention while in a foreign country.

Aaron looked at the young man, acknowledging his presence. He had never been around a living weapon before. It was a new experience for him. Although he treated his swords like they were alive, he figured it was different from them actually being alive. He wished he had a way to hide them but was fine with adjusting their positions so that they both rested on his left hip. "It should. Like I said, keep the guild marks hidden and we should be fine." His voice was calmer than he actually felt but he kept it well hidden. Looking at Garrison he smiled, "How are you enjoying the guild so far? I heard Matthew gave you guys quite the welcome."

Garrison shrugged his shoulders, "I preferred the Frei residence, she has too much free reign here on her own." Emme looks at him indignantly, her cheeks puffing up.

"You're a jackass, you know that?" she shoots back.

"Yeah, well, you're a pain in my neck," he says with an exasperated sigh. "Dragon Gunfire is fine though, she dragged me into the fight with Matthew because she couldn't win otherwise, I would have liked to keep on napping." Despite how much time he spent napping, undereye bags hung persistently, darkening his skin.

"Don't mind him, he's just a fun sucker. Dragon Gunfire is great, there are so many strong people. And being so close to Crocus&mdash;"

"Far from home, I think you mean," he cuts in, a smug smile stretching his lips.

"You see what I mean?" she says, looking back towards Aaron.

Aaron couldn't help but chuckle at their antics and suddenly feel a sense of relief that his swords weren't alive. If anything his dragon mentor Etherion had told him about his parents, whose bones helped to make up the skeleton of the swords, than they would have been a bigger pain then Garrison apparently tried to be. Although it was clear that he cared deeply for his master who more than likely felt the same way. "It's good to see new people here. I'm relatively new myself so if you have any questions than feel free to ask."

Garrison gave Emme a triumphant look at his laugh, leaving her to simmer in her temper. "Thank you," she says, glaring at her partner before returning to Aaron with a cheery smile. "When did you join the guild?"

"Hmm less than a year ago. Probably some 8-9 months. It's been a good time. Lots of nice people. And strong people." As he spoke he couldn't help think to his first meeting with Jason and their first fight. Jason was easily one of the strongest in the guild. He looked ahead of him, acknowledging that they were almost at the front gates of the city. "We are almost there." He said. His demeanor suddenly shift from calm to tense then back to calm. He heard of the feud the city had with Dragon Gunfire, and prayed it wouldn't come out.

Emmeline smiles, glad to know she had judged the people of Dragon Gunfire, as few as she had met, accurately. As they entered the city, she looked around with curiosity, searching out the famous Black Steel. She had little to go on for appearance, only assuming the shop would excitedly advertise such a precious metal.

Aaron as well looked through the various building's they passed. Looking for what might be a smithing shop. He shared his companions hopes that there would be a sign for the black steel he needed but was unsure of it. After a few more minutes of walking he noticed a blacksmith shop and tugged on Emme's arm. "There. It doesn't have a sign but maybe we can at least get some information." He said as he started off toward the shop.

Emme looked through the wares of the shop, quickly growing bored. While she enjoyed wielding her halberd, she didn't much care for the logistics that went into making or comparing weaponry. "Find it yet?" she calls over to Aaron.

Looking around the shop Aaron found various weapons and metals that heavily interested. Even a scythe blade that made him think of his friend Genisus. 'I should go visit him...' He thought to himself as he glanced over the curved blade. However he was unable to find anything with black steel. Finally deciding to just ask the vendor himself he looked over at the front of the store and saw the man. Walking over he rested an elbow on the counter, "Excuse me. Do you by any chance sell black steel here? Or know a place around that does?" He asked.

The vendor looked at him. "There's only one place you can get Black Steel in Othrys. And it's distributed at the royal palace. I'm still waiting for another shipment, but it won't be here for another week."

"The royal palace huh?" He said mostly to himself as he nodded. "Thanks I appreciate the help." He said as he walked back over the Emme. "Which do you want first? The bad news? The really bad news? Or the Good news?"

Emme put her finger to her chin. "Go in order of worst to best news," she said.

Aaron thought for a second about the order at which he needed to go before speaking. "The worst is we need to go to the Royal Palace for the Black Steel. The bad news being he doesn't get any for a week. The good news is if all goes well we should be out of here before dinner."

Emme takes a moment to process the information. She knew the Fioren king was a fairly friendly man, prone to invite various mages into his palace. She knew little of Caelum besides their conflict with Dragon Gunfire. "Do you think we'll be able to even get close to the palace?" She asks, generally curious about how he planned to get the metal now that it was only found in the Royal Palace.

Aaron thought for a moment, he was unsure of that other than walking until an idea occurred to him. He dug into the pocket of his jacket, and then pulled out a glowing red gem that was about the size of his palm. "I brought this just incase. I was hoping not to need to use it...but I don't see why not." He handed the gem to her, there was a draconic carving along the side of it. "I'll make a trade."

Emme studied the gem, turning it over in her hand a few times to examine the design. "What is it?" she asks, curious about the stone's uses and why the government of Caelum might be interested in it.

"Fire Dragon Slayer Lacrima." He simply responded as he watched her mull is over in her hand. "My mentor gave it to me in case I needed something to barter with. Looks like it was a good idea."

"Hey!" called a young boy on top of a roof. "Whatcha got there?" He jumped down, walking up to Emme and Aaron. "It looks pretty. Whaddya want for it?"

Emme turned to the young man. "What's it to you?" she asks, clenching her hand around the gem to hide it from view. He seemed all too familiar with them and she wondered if perhaps Aaron knew him, looking to the older man to shoo the blond away.

"Perhaps I can offer you something you'd like for that," said the boy. "Plus a little extra. I know where you can get some Black Steel."

Aaron held up his hand as the kid spoke. He hadn't met him before but quickly realized that he was more than likely a scammer. And with the power that could be found in the lacrima he had, he couldn't let it go. "Don't worry about it little man. Nothing that concerns you." Taking the lacrima back from Emme he looked back at her. "Ready to get going?"

Emme nods, taking one final glance at the blond before following Aaron. Garrison seemed less inclined to move on, waiting behind to talk to him. "What do you know about Black Steel?" he asks, wondering how he even knew they were searching for the powerful metal.

The boy grinned with a large smile. "It's basically the strongest metal in Earth Land. It's as strong as Adamantine, but with the added bonus of nullifying magical intangibility. At the same time, its strength allows for it to endure even the most durable of cutting techniques such as the Blades of Wrath, utilized by one of this country's very best Mages, Adze The Cleaver. If you're a merchant or trader of any kind in Caelum, you know plenty about magical metals and lacrima, it is our primary export."

Garrison nods, "Are you a merchant? Would you happen to know any place to get it here?" He's skeptical, yet open-minded. Emme, having slowed down, tugged on Aaron's sleeve to get his attention, wanting to know what Garrison was figuring out.

"A wandering one, but a merchant nonetheless. While it's true that the the smithing shops in town won't be getting any Black Steel for the next week, I can most certainly get some for you guys today."

Aaron turned on his heel as he had been using his Dragon Slayer hearing to listen in on the conversation that Garrison had started. Walking back over to the two men he looked at the younger one and asked a simple question. "How long were you listening to use in order to know we were looking for it?"

"Oh not too long," responded the boy. "I mean, why else would two foreigners come to Othrys?"

Garrison crosses his arms. "Alright, well where do you recommend we go to get Black Steel? I'm sure the government has more important matters to attend to then giving us some metal, so why don't you help us out."

"Oh I'll help you out," said the boy, his grin getting even larger, "but you gotta pay me first. Nothing shy of 10,000 jewels." He hold out his hand, asking for the money.

"10,000?!" Aaron asked indignantly. "Asking a little much their kid. Don't want to overstep." As Aaron spoke he watched the kid, his hand reached into the same pocket with the Lacrima and he though fr a moment. "Tell ya what. Show us the Black Steel first. I don't have the money but I got something worth more."

”Well, while i’m more than willing to barter, I need to at least know what that bargaining tool is before I can uphold my side of the deal. I’ll judge whether or not it’s worth 10,000.”

Aaron stopped pulling out the Lacrima for only a moment as he realized his curiosity was getting the better of him. Every so slowly he made it look like the gem was stuck in his pocket so he moved his left arm to rest on his swords and he grabbed the bottom of his jacket. With the Lacrima now out and his arm still on the sword he showed it to the boy. "Dragon Slayer lacrima."