Unified Connection, Tales of Enigmatic Encounters

A Warrior's Call, An Unintentional Rescue Attempt
Godfried hated hostage situations.

Ever since he was a part of the Wizard Council's Punishment Force as its Captain, it was the one thing he was never good at handling. Negotiations weren't in his vocabulary, mostly due to the fact he was better at intimidating and punching someone's lights out than telling them not do a stupid thing. He couldn't help it, he just wasn't a people person, and he often allowed his impulses get the best of him during these rare scenarios.

This situation was really no different.

He took up a contract to get back a valuable heirloom belonging to his client. In order to do so, he would have to painstakingly infiltrate a heavily fortified, formerly abandoned castle. Nearly two hundred bandits worked for this crime lord, Vasta Libres, whom had a nasty habit of hoarding items of various worth and then selling them onto the black market to the highest bidder.

Godfried, however, decided the direct approach. By direct, he employed his Twister Coaster magic to pile drive through the roof of the castle and land directly into the cellar many floors below. He found the heirloom almost immediately, and fought his way out of the castle as he walked out the front doorway of the fortress. Mission seemed accomplished.

That is, until he found out that Vasta Libres was out of the headquarters when he got wind of the assault, taking matters into his own hands when he realized whom contracted Godfried. With only a handful of men, he entered and taken Godfried's client hostage, and was currently barricaded within the upstairs bedroom area. By the time Godfried had gotten back, he was already too late to halt the assailants.

"He's got a man hostage up there! Why isn't the town guards handling this?!" A civilian shouted out, stretching his arm at the barricaded home that was blocked from advancement by the local town guards on duty.

"Stay back! A Mage is here to handle the situation!" A town guard responded.

"What's one magician going to do in a hostage situation?!" Another civilian asked.

"Don't underestimate this one! He's the Wizard Saint Godfried, one of the strongest warriors within all of Fiore, if not in the world!" One of the guards applauded the tank-top toting man whom was staring up at the house.

Godfried sighed, as a foreboding shadow of knowing crossed over his visage, "If he only knew how many hostages I let die cause of my calvalier attitude and impatient demeanor..."

"You say something?" One of the guards asked curiously.

"Nothing," Godfried waved back with a nervous smile on his face, before turning his attention back at the situation at hand, "just wondering how to breach the house without causing it to collapse..."

"I-Is it that dangerous for you to use your magic?!" One of the civilians asked.

"If I misuse it, yeah, everyone inside might die," Godfried said bluntly.

"D-Does he know what he's doing?!" One of the civilians asked with incredulous disbelief this was a Wizard Saint.

"WHY DON'T YOU SHUT UP AND LET ME THINK, JACKASSES?!?!" Godfried comically yelled with sharp teeth as his eyes glazed into whites, glaring at the crowd talking behind him as he raised up a vein-throbbing fist up with emphasis.

"S-Sorry!" The crowd and guards said in unison.

"Geeze, this is going to be a pain in the ass," Godfried sighed as he scratched the back of his head, looking up at the townhouse in front of him, seeing the varous boards blocking it, and the various proximate buildings connected to its two flanks, "how am I going to do this...?"

Walking in town, his hood thrown up around his face, was a strange mage who looked at the commotion. He wondered what was going on, and so jostled his way through the crowd that grew by the minute. It was then he heard a voice call out"Don't underestimate this one! He's the Wizard Saint Godfried, one of the strongest warriors within all of Fiore, if not in the world!"

''Godfried...That man...HERE?! No, no...NO!'' The man thought to himself, half afraid to push closer. If the Saint saw him, his life would be over in minutes. Godfried and this man had met in the past, under less than friendly terms, which justifed such a reaction here and now.

Something told the man to flee before it was too late, but a second thought, one that basically was deciding that it would indeed be in his best interest to walk up to the man and offer his assitance in whatever matter there was. After all, a man in such a position would be willing to give anything to one who helped out, even such a low-down dog such as he could at least be rewarded

Shoving still closer through the crowd, the hooded mage already had a feeling that Godfried would rather tear him limb from limb than to listen to any proposal, but the tone in the words he could hear from him was proof enough that perhaps he'd be in a decent mood, one more open to discussion with a criminal,

Tossing down his hood, the man walked closer to the Saint, a smile on his face. In his mind, he could see it, his life, his goals, hinged on earning the good graces of Godfried, at least for the time being. If only the crowd would quiet down and allow him to make a grand entrance.

The instant Godfried called for silence, the man took his chance. "Hey Godfried! Long time no see! It's your old pal Rei Mokuzai come to save the day! I've come to selll you my services, if you're interested! C'mon, you scratch my back, I scratch yours!" He yelled, trying to nab the attention of the one hailed as a Wizard Saint.

"Rei Mokuzai?" Godfried answered with a nostalgic, dry tone as he sideglanced the man who came his way. After a few long seconds considering his words, Godfried looked back at the house with a sigh, "I'm not interested in kicking your ass today, so I'm feeling a bit generous. What exactly do you have in mind?"

"Like I said, you scratch my back, I scratch yours. I help you with your little...problem, you in return, get rid of the bounty on my head. What do you say? I mean, not like anyone else around here's gonna help out, right?" Rei smirked. he could only imagine what Godfried's reaction would be.

"A Wizard Saint isn't a position of authority, but a position of respect. I'm not going to remove the sign of your sins simply because you want to help me with a small matter," Godfried spoke bluntly, not even casting his gaze towards the man, "but...I can consider putting you under a form of probation which will alleviate your position within society. Maybe fourteen months of good behavior, and your bounty can be removed. How does that sound, Rei Mokuzai?"