Despite the ghostly reputation I had as a deity back in Revaliir, I was not in any sense of the word a "hermit." It's true that I was rarely seen or heard of outside my temple during that tenure, but a lack of earthly fame does not logically conclude a lack of activity. As was appropriate for my title at the time, most of my numerous, godly feats were accomplished outside the world's gaze. I captured monsters that could not be killed, hid away dangerous artifacts and safeguarded the world from what they didn't know was a threat to their imperfect dream. In this way, I became the guardian in the shadows: one who never desired fame or glory and was perfectly content to remain in obscurity for all time.

For that reason, few individuals could recall my countenance even before Koa wiped their memories. My deeds remained hidden from the scholars, along with the vaults I left scattered throughout their world. So it was intended, and so it was to remain.

But even good barriers eventually crumble, especially when subject to the powers I had contained. Several decades after the seals had been put in place, they started to weaken and crack. Eventually, one was broken open by an intrepid group of explorers, and so the first of the artifacts was unleashed upon the world.

I discovered the first breach while seeking to undo it myself, ironically. The artifact was actually two in one, and I needed to destroy the first in order to get at the second. That second item was a legendary gem that had been treated as a myth for generations, and also a primary ingredient for a blueprint I was working on. It was known simply as the "Purple Star Sapphire."

The Purple Star Sapphire was first discovered by Railoch natives before Ataiyo even existed as a nation, and was deemed a hazard shortly after that discovery. Mistaken as a rare form of Grisial at the time, excavation teams tried to remove it with the same precautionary measures that they had always used. Unfortunately for the excavators themselves, that was a fatal error. They lost limbs during their attempts, and many walked away maimed for life.

As it later turned out, the gem they were trying to excavate possessed the natural ability to project searing hot lights from its core, focusing them into massive, crystalline rods hot enough to cut through solid stone. Indeed, the purple star sapphire was the first of its kind: a naturally occurring radiant saber with an innate, proximity detection system. Anyone or thing trying to approach it would trigger the rods, and be subsequently sliced to bits.

The people at the time of the gem's discovery couldn't get close enough to find out more because of that defense mechanism. Every time they tried, they just lost more and more resources to it; until, finally, they just decided to seal the sapphire away forever. They posted guards so as to ensure no one would ever disturb their discovery again, and that was the end of their involvement with the Purple Star Sapphire.

Those guards inevitably became golems over the years, and the golems inevitably decayed to the point where they couldn't move. After many centuries of that impasse, no one was left standing guard anymore. Railoch's major civilization had already disappeared by then, and the only golems left had gone berserk. This left me to freely collect the gem with divine power, seeing as nothing stood in my way anymore.

At the time of that retrieval, I too shared the desire of the original finders to hide the gem away, so I sealed it inside a box – the other artifact – and locked them both inside a vault deep underneath the Tori Mountains. It was there they were meant to rest, and there where I would later go to retrieve them.

Of course, when I arrived after my change of heart, I found the vault had already been opened. A group of treasure hunters had bypassed my traps, grabbed the box, and escaped to the South. They made their way to Gobethio after losing half of their original troupe to the dungeon, and had their prize evaluated by the city's scholars before venturing to Iria to sell it. Their trail went cold after that, for they never made it to Iria. Somewhere along the way, they disappeared, and, although I tried to search for them, neither they nor their cargo ever turned up.

In the end, my fruitless search had to be delegated. From Ataiyo to Iria and Gobethio, I put up wanted posters for information, and waited for mercenaries to do my footwork for me. The documents were uniform and read thusly:

"I was once in possession of an ornate box of dark blue hues and golden inlays, whose contents shine of purple light and glow through the cracks. Unfortunately, that heirloom was recently stolen by a party that went missing somewhere between Iria and Gobethio. I will pay for any information as to the thieves' or box's whereabouts, provided that I can confirm the accuracy with my own eyes.

The reward for accurate information that helps me retrieve my item is 1500 silver crescents, but only once it is in my hands.
A word of caution, though: do not touch or make any attempt to bring the box back to me if you do find it. You will likely not live long enough to make the journey if you do. You will need me to retrieve it.

-N"

Beyond that message, there were directions for the mercenaries to follow: specifically on how to contact me. I told them I would be staying at a specific Irian cafe on the northern side of the city every other morning and afternoon, and that they would recognize me easily by my unique features. All that was left to do after that was to wait, specifically while hoping I could avoid more accidents.

Sadly, I probably should have been more specific in those notices. I did show up to Cafe Amel during the promised days, but those individuals who came to seek me out rarely had useful information. They misunderstood my instructions, thinking they had to come to see me in order to accept my contract. In reality, I meant for the affair to be a free-for-all, since I didn't care who found the bloody box. I just wanted it located.

For failing to specify that fact in writing, I ended up staying at the cafe longer than intended. Every other day for the span of two weeks, I would show up in my gray overcoat and suit; and every time I would get the same lip from the only waitress that worked there.

"Same as usual, ma'am," the woman would always ask? She was middle-aged and big-chested with a mixture of light brown and silver hair: certainly not displeasing to the eyes by any means or old enough to be called a crone just yet. During our many meetings, however, I did develop a strained relationship with her. She was a definite racist toward non-humans, and always found time to make an ass of herself by getting a laugh out of my appearance. It was a luxury she only possessed because, one, my natural appearance was mentioned in the contract and therefore needed to be on display; and, two, I didn't feel like killing the person who always brought me good tea without fail just because she had an attitude problem.

Still, her typical dig, which always got under my skin, was to say, "One ear twitch for yes. Two for no," after her perpetual greeting. For a long time, I just wrinkled my nose in response, which she took as a yes before filling my cup with jasmine tea and leaving me with the daily post.  That interplay continued until the day Ha Nuel found my notice, at which point I finally did three ear twitches in response to her comment.
 
"You finally gave me the ear twitch, foxy," she sneered. "What's the third twitch for, though?"

I took great pleasure in explaining, though you could never tell by the disinterested look on my face.

"One twitch for yes. Two for no. Three for stuff your attitude up your ass and bring me my damn tea already."

"Well,"   she exclaimed when I was finished with that reprimand! "Apparently foxes don't have manners!"   She fetched my usual after that then left to tend to other customers. Meanwhile, I was smirking just a tiny bit, feeling much better after that little incident. I was fully unaware that I already had more mercenaries on the way to my location, but, frankly, I wouldn't have cared at that moment. I was in too good a mood to let others sour it, anyway.

My mood from the successful quip persisted for quite some time after its delivery, though it did dull slightly when Ha Neul finally approached my table. She didn't have to speak or loom over my seat for me to know she was there. After all, I could hear her heavy footsteps from across the room thanks to the armor she was wearing. Her garb was a dead giveaway for her mercenary status, too, so I rightly should have addressed her before I did.

Even so, I really didn't feel like entertaining yet another mercenary so soon after my lunch had begun. I waited for her to speak up instead, pretending she wasn't there until she did.

"Yes," I remember saying after she put one of my contract posters down on my table, "just as I assume you haven't touched the box yet, since you're still breathing."

Now normally the next words out of that mercenary's mouth would have seemed odd to me had I not already been assailed by previous guests asking about a certain, missing professor. The town guard had already asked me questions about his disappearance before my latest guest had arrived, but their officers left me alone after corroborating my alibi with Cafe Amel's staff. For that reason, I knew what my latest mercenary was insinuating when she talked about the popularity of antique boxes, and, being the cautious employer that I was, I decided to clear the air for her so as to avoid unwanted confrontation.

"If you're referring to the other notice, the one that also asked for a box of similar design, I'll tell you what I already told the guards who came to visit me after the other poster vanished: Dr. Mathias's disappearance had nothing to do with me. I was here when he went missing that morning, and I have witnesses to prove that. The fact that we were seeking the same box is just coincidence." Pausing, I took a sip of my tea and then looked up at Ha. I motioned her to sit down with the daily post in my other hand, but did not wait for her to take that seat before continuing with the actual story she was looking for. "Or so I told the watch. Whether someone put him up to it or not, fact is that the Professor's artifact hunters stole a very dangerous heirloom from me without concern for the many warning signs I placed around it for good reason. The box they took is lethal; and before you think poison, no. No amount of armor or antidote will save you if you touch that box. As for why, well, you'll only learn that if you can guide me to its resting place: something that should be surrounded by corpses and corpse eaters by now."

Unfortunately, t'was at that point that the mood soured. Like so many visitors before her, Ha Neul didn't believe my story. Her tone and body language made that clear, though she never exactly said, "I don't believe you." Frankly, that type of response was frustrating to receive even leading up to the 100th instance. Now, at the 150th, it was downright irritating.

A flash of anger shown across my face for a split second following the mercenary's remarks, manifesting in a temporary scowl. The emotion quickly faded to exhaustion once I let out a sigh; but my formerly haughty tone was, undoubtedly, reduced to one of weary despondence as a result of the relentless questions.

"This is why I hate hiring mercenaries," I began while setting my tea down on the table. "You all behave like you're some great detective trying to pry at secret motivations that aren't really there. You do this so much that, even when an innocuous job really does come along, you can't believe it." Returning Ha's gaze, I continued. "It's not 'most likely' that they are dead. I can guarantee, unequivocally, that whoever touched that box is a bloated corpse being fed on by necrophages by now because no one alive except for myself and perhaps Drae – yes, that Drae of the hated gods – knows the ritual to destroy it; and, since none have returned or been seen since, they all touched it. You would also be dead if you had accepted that contract and touched the item in question, so perhaps you should be thanking whoever kidnapped the professor for saving your life right about now."

That wasn't the most polite thing to say, but, frankly, my guest wasn't being all that polite either. She was badgering me at lunch when she didn't have one lick of information to give me in regard to the artifacts I sought. It was one thing to be skeptical; it was whole other thing to treat someone like a criminal just because they put up a large reward for the return of a mysterious object. Ha Neul was acting like the latter, and I wasn't the least bit pleased with her attitude even if I was still courteous enough to answer her skepticism.

"Most everyone wants that box for the same reason nobles kill kings: they want more power. But, in this case, not all magic is good nor can it be controlled. The difference between myself and those others you listed is that I want to destroy this box: not use it for research or assassination. In fact, I sealed it away to prevent it from feeding until I knew how to destroy it, but the vault was already broken open by the time I returned, no thanks to the hooligans who went spelunking in Railoch for secrets meant to remain hidden."

Finally reaching the end of that explanation, I put my free hand to my face and pinched the bridge of my nose. I was getting a headache from such a long-winded lecture, and the scent of the extra-concentrated beverage from the next table over wasn't helping matters. Because of this, I didn't notice the small collection of gang members congregating outside the cafe around that time, even though I doubt I would have cared much. The next words out of my mouth summarized my mood in that moment quite readily, and, as you can imagine, it was far from jovial.

"I grow wearier with each passing mercenary who sees some malicious intent behind me whether because of my appearance or the actions of others that I have no control over. I've done nothing to merit your suspicions, foreigner, when all I want is to prevent more deaths from something that kills indiscriminately without conscience. You can leave this contract if you wish, but I'll tell you the same thing I told everyone else who passed it up: the 1500 silver is not a sign of desperation or a representation of the job's difficulty. It's an estimate of how many people I expect to die if I have to wait to finish this contract on my own: one piece for each life lost."

Again, there was another great multitude of things to mentally digest and contemplate on. In fact, this further explanation, was even more difficult to mentally digest than the last. As if the previous set of statements weren't already difficult enough to believe, now, sealing, rituals of destruction, and gods became involved. Rituals that apparently only a god, and the woman right in front of her, could do. She listened intently again during the whole explanation, various eye widenings communicating her composed moments of surprise thoughout the explanation. Upon hearing about rituals and gods, though, she gave a "Tsch" sound accompanied by a mocking smirk, further communicating that she found the idea somewhat ludicrous.  Observing the woman with her eyes alone did not seem to provide any strongly useful information; She was simply just a strange individual by default. Additionally, she did not appear obviously strong or powerful to Ha Neul eyes, in order to be someone capable of performing a ritual of the very gods themselves. Strange yes, but not intimidating. The last statement, in particular, had most assuredly caught Ha Neul off mental guard the most. "One piece for each life lost?" She repeated back, her tone rising slightly higher than her usual speaking volume had been throughout the conversation, communicating her obvious surprise from the statement. "1500 lives expected to be lost? Over a box?" Her reaction, had not been quite as thought out in advanced, as Ha Neul usually had a habit of doing before making a statement. It was a direct outward communication of what immediately appeared in Ha Neul's mind, the moment she'd heard the statement. She gazed upward for quite a while, before saying any further, communicating that she was now in deep thought. While highly judgmental, still, she'd caught the portions of irritation from her guests in front of her; whether from her momentary facial expression of anger, from her statements themselves, or from the tone associated with them. Therefore, Ha Neul concluded that she would be more careful about what she would say next, and how she would word it, despite her disbelief.After the long delay of thinking, what eventually followed was a noticeable sigh. It was the sigh people made when they had many thoughts and things they greatly desired to say, yet opted to instead hold them in. A whirlwind of skepticism and disbelief was flying through Ha Neul's mind, yet she did not want to be sitting in the cafe for hours, debating with a stranger, like one of the many scholars here.
Do you know why mercenaries commonly act in such a way?" She eventually began, her tone composed, and forced to sound calm. "It is because our lives are on the line." At this summery, she let the words settle, also not noticing the congregating of gang members outside. Since she was sitting opposite of the fox eared woman, she was not facing the direction of the door to have seen them herself. "When one takes a job for a blacksmith, the result of less information is perhaps a burned hand or arm, or two. The result of less information for a butcher, is perhaps a missing finger, or more than two. Yet the result of less information for a mercenary, is death. Our methods may seem unnecessarily suspicious and doubtful, yet who can ever be too cautious about their life?" After stating her case, she finally moved on to the more important matters of the subject. "I do not profess in magic, but I know a thing or two about it. And what I know about it is, that it's capable of both great wonders, and also great destruction. Your item undoubtedly seems quite capable of great destruction. I also cannot say I believe your story, however, I additionally have personal purposes for visiting Railoch Gobethio aside from this artifact hunting, so it'd be a loss of precious silver not to check it out along the way, should your story actually be true. And if your purpose, as you say, is to destroy such a destructive artifact, rather than simply use it as a emblem of power, I also cannot say I do not share a similar desire." She stated this opinion, as composed and collected as she could, as opposed to compared to last time, where she'd ended up firing a barrage of skeptical questions and verbal 'knives'."However, you've got a problem." She continued, giving a slight smirk as she did. "Dr. Mathias was in direct contact with the previous owners of 'your' supposed artifact. So much in direct contact in fact, that he even had a map ready and drawn out for him, which showed the direct travelling route the convoy was supposed to take on it's way here to Iria, and even how many days it would take to reach here. It was the same map I was supposed to retrieve on the day he was kidnapped, in order to accept the job, and meet up with them. Even more unfortunately, is he has not been kidnapped by a simple group of thugs and ameatures, which I could have easily handled, but he's been kidnapped by members of one of the most notorious crime organizations in all of Iria."After this statement, she gazed at the woman with rather proud expression , "What shall you do?" The question itself, was rather rhetorical, for Ha Neul honestly did not really expect anything to be done. She was just one mercenary, and this woman didn't seem like anyone intimidating enough to take down an entire guild.

((OOC: Did this from my phone,  so could be a somewhat messy.))) 

[OOC: Zhelezo is a tier 2 currency for Iria according to the site wiki. Think of it like the equivalent of silver crescents, but only used in Iria's jurisdiction.]

Ha's reaction to my spiel was typical, though more educated than the average mercenary. I was not necessarily dismissive of her plight or the plight of her profession in general – far from it, in fact. On many occasions in the past, I too had conducted myself as a mercenary, but clearly my experience in that field was different from Ha Nuel's. Even back when I first started accepting contracts, I always made sure to ask the appropriate questions, gauge my client's response and then move on. I didn't have time to dilly dally on every possible detail, because either I was going to die from a botched job or I was going to die from starvation. Badgering a client was only something I did if I felt like forfeiting said client's job, because it typically caused more trouble than good.

Clearly, my guest understood that notion to some extent, though not quite enough to fully abandon her judgmental streak. She suspended her disbelief to the point where she was willing to work with me but that's about it. Truth be told, I wanted to continue our debate on the plight of clients vs. mercenaries, but I decided to let sleeping dogs lie for the sake of progress. Racism among Iria's population wasn't about to change from a few simple words to some individual in a cafe, after all, and the saying "truth is stranger than fiction" would likely just fall on deaf ears in that cafe. Ultimately, there was nothing to be gained from this difference of opinion, leaving only the option as moving on.
 
My mercenary guest did just that when she went on to explain her reasoning behind accepting my contract. She spared few details, going so far as to mention she was already headed toward Gobethio and simply thought the silver was too good to pass up. That detail didn't bolster my confidence in her, because it gave me the impression that she was a novice. Most veterans that had come my way thus far had tried to haggle and say, "Well, Gobethio is out of my way, so perhaps you can sweeten the deal." Obviously, I said no to these greedy vultures when they appeared, but I always expected some sort of haggling when dealing with their kind. Ha Nuel, on the other hand, freely gave up that frequently used bargaining chip before she even had a chance to apply it. She didn't even seem to mind.

After that, was when she gave me the most crucial information I had received since becoming a regular at Cafe Amel. Ha mentioned a map, a crime family, and the true identity of Dr. Mathias' kidnappers. Indeed, Miss Mercenary across the table was holding onto a wealth of information, far more than I expected of her. From her explanation, I could even tell just how complacent I had gotten over the years.

When I was first informed of Mathias' disappearance, I hadn't thought to investigate him more thoroughly. This was because my first instinct was to assume his kidnapping was unrelated to his interest in my box. He had multiple contracts out, after all, even if not all of them were as glamorous or noteworthy as a caravan trek across Railoch. Some, particularly those stashed away in the back of lodges, were for finding thieves related to the various crime families throughout Iria. I just assumed that those contracts were the cause of his disappearance, especially considering the very real possibility that he might have found something he wasn't supposed to.

A younger me would have investigated regardless of those misgivings, but the current me needed more than weak, circumstantial evidence to take action. Now that I knew he potentially had a map leading to my prize, though, Dr. Mathias became a person of extreme interest.

"Really now," I asked upon receiving this new information? "That is useful to know." I finally noticed the men congregating outside at that moment. Most of them were dressed in middle-class clothing: non-descript, stuff that didn't stand out. There was one, though, who was particularly well-dressed and flashing around a very familiar looking pendant. The item had a black background with the outline of a weeping willow etched in white. Its icon looked as if it were weeping blood: the classic symbol of the Wylloch or 'Bloody Willow' family. The coincidence was too good to be true, so I called my partner's attention to it with a nod toward the door. "I would assume from those men outside that the 'organization' you're referring to are the Wylloch family: a name that the common folk are too afraid to utter aloud? Trying to find Mathias among their holdings will be difficult without a sense of direction, especially since I never met the man personally. I'll need a hair or something from his person to find him - or his body should he already be dead. Perhaps from his office."

My intent was to slip out of the building quietly at that point, preferably taking the mercenary with me just in case I needed additional information. Before I could do that, however, the men outside surrounded the building entrances. They did this after the pendant-wielder finished talking to a scraggly gent just outside the cafe, and I could immediately tell from their expressions that events were about to spiral out of control.

"Seems we've more pressing matters to attend to, though," I said to Ha once that beggar led the gang members inside. He quickly pointed at our table after passing that threshold, long before the waitress could ask him what he was doing, and then began shouting with a lisp.

"There they is," he cried. "Da mercenary that's you's been lookin fer and the fox that put up dem notices." The pendant man from before took one look at my guest and I before giving his informant some zhelezo.

"The family thanks you for your information," he said. "Now get lost." With that, the informant scurried away, along with many of the other patrons inside the cafe. The once busy establishment got empty real quick, all while these Wylloch family members gave my guest and me the evil eye. They weren't about to let us leave, but their true intentions remained a mystery. At the time, though, I very much doubted that they desired our good health.

Upon the fox eared females statement,Ha Neul turned around behind her, in order to observe the scene of gang members outside. Two thoughts immediately came to her mind. The first was: How could she have been so unattentive to not have noticed or foreseen this event beforehand? Had she been followed on the way to her cafe without realizing it, or had this search already been in place for a while, without her knowledge? Regardless of which, Ha Neul felt very disappointed that she had been caught unawarely in such an event. She always tried to stay a step ahead of her opponents. Although, perhaps, walking into a cafe, full clad in dragonscale armor and huge claymore on her back, and taking her seat in front of the strangest guest within the entire cafe, most likely didn't help one bit. They were both indeed unusual looking individuals.
The second immediate thought that came to her mind, was the most obvious: What did they want with her? She considered, that perhaps, the fox eared woman may be wanted for her interest in the same artifact as them. It made sense to remove the competition. After all, if she got the artifact before them, then that greatly lower their chance of obtaining it. But what they wanted specifically with Ha Neul, she could not quite speculate. Although, no doubt, soon enough, she'd receive her answer.

After briefly observing of the gang's numbers, she also shared a mind to sneak out quietly, however, when she took a look at the exits, she found they had all already been blocked off. Additionally, considering how noticeable they both were, they're obviously be no 'slipping out' quietly among the crowd the other fleeing cafe residents. Ha Neul slowly stood from her seat, her nonchalant expression effectively concealing what was really going on through he mind. Her brain slowly and instinctively began to adjust itself in preparation for combat. There would no longer be a need for basic human etiquette here anymore, primitive survival would be it's priority. In preparation for what would most likely be sure to come, her eyes more thoroughly examined her environment; Chairs and tables, they would hinder movement and maneuverability within the cafe, which would greatly benefit her more, in comparison to fighting in a open environment, considering they were outnumbered. She examined the exits; there were three of them. Each exit had had three men guarding it, making a total of nine men, which included the distinctive pendant wearing individual standing at the main entrance, which was obviously the leader of the pack. Although, she doubted he was the big boss of the entire crime-family, he surely had great authority of some sort, akin to a lieutenant in the military. As the cafe emptied, leaving a number of knocked over chairs, tables, and glasses on the floor in their haste, the crime-family began to make their evil-eyed entrance.

Ha Neul would be the first to break the tense silence. "Well, you guys are certainly more well-dressed than the thugs of Adeluna." Ha Neul began. "This land holds to it's repetition, even it's thugs here have at least some form of etiquette." 

"Do not play games with us, mercenary. I have little time to waste." The pendant bearer began. Ha Neul took note of his speech style. He did not have the speech of the common thugs she was used to dealing with in Adeluna, either. He most likely had noble training or education of some sort. The crime-family certainly was not your simple-minded gathering of uneducated low-life's and thugs.

"Little time to waste before the city guards you paid off to turn a blind eyes towards the cafe, can no longer continue to do so, once enough attention spreads out concerning what's going on in one of Iria's cafes?" Ha Neul replied.

"Where is the map? We know you have it." The pendant spoke, getting straight down to business.

"Um…excuse me?" Ha Neul repeated back, while momentary taking a look at her fox eared company in a way as if she was expecting an answer from the woman herself. A look of obvious confusion was written upon her face.

"Old man already told us what happened. We saw your agreement to the contract. We know he gave the map to you for the job. And now, if you think you're just going go off with fox ears here to steal that artifact away from us, you've got another thing coming. The family has eyes all over the city… 'foreign girl'."  The pendant man continued

The confusion on Ha Neul's face shifted into composed surprise. However, after a few moments, a smirk would begin to manifest itself across her face, as Ha Neul mentally began to organize everything in her head. 'Old man' was obviously referring to the Professor. It seems that the captured Dr. Mathias had been much more clever than she'd assumed him to be, with the gang. What better way to avoid having your precious artifact stolen away from you, and possibly delay your death from by the hands of a greedy notorious crime-family, than to put the blame on a nameless and unknown mercenary who you'd hired a few days before your interrogation? Smart bastard he was. While she found herself rather annoyed by the fact that he'd placed all his misfortune on her, this unfortunate event also opened up previously locked doors of opportunity. Since the crime-family was right here in front of her, and had attacked her first, there was no avoiding confrontation now. And nine gang members were a lot more manageable to deal with, than say a hundred or so. Although, she also knew this would still be no easy task. As her eyes momentarily shifted to the pendant on the man's neck, her mind reflected to the previous words of her peculiarly eared client. She had mentioned that if they could at least get a hair from the old professor's office, there was a chance of finding him. It was, no doubt, an amazing opportunity, where all hope had seemed lost. Yet still, even if they were to find the man, no doubt his location would still be heavily guarded. Dressed in their current attire, there would certainly be no way they would get past the crime-family gaurds without immediately being struck down on the spot; That is, unless, they disguised themselves somehow, or pretended to be one of those said members of the crime-family. "That pendant." She mumbled lowly to her client. "May be useful."

"Yes the map!" Ha Neul suddenly exclaimed rather boldly, which was odd behavior for her, considering her usual demeanor. "I have it! And if you want it….You'll have to rip it from my cold dead corpse!" In the midst of her loud declaration, if her client was observing, she would see Ha Neul's hands subtly reaching behind her waist, in order to make their way into a small satchel on her belt.

"That can be arranged." The pendant wearing man spoke, as he pointed towards to the mercenary and fox eared woman. At the signal, the two lower ranked men on his side began to make their charge at the two with their short swords in hand. Ha Neul remained stationary for quite some time. In fact, for a time, it looked as if she would do nothing at all, but accept an impending and undefended death, yet when the two men finally reached about ten feet away from her, and raised their blades in an preparation to strike the woman down, she would take advantage of their all out aggression, which had dropped their guard in the process. Removing the two surprises from her belt satchel behind her, one surprise in each hand, the sudden sound of quickly spinning metal breaking through the air was momentarily heard, and almost instantaneously, both of the figures immediately dropped their swords and felt to the ground, sliding across the floor next to the feet of Ha Neul and her fox eared client; bleeding terribly.
The man on their left side, held his hand closely to his neck, in his vain attempts to breathe for air, as the blood rapidly accumulated within his throat. The other man on their right side, gave a loud scream, as he rolled around on the ground in agony, the metal object lodged into his left eye revealing itself; a shuriken. Ha Neul had actually intended to aimed for the throat of both of them, but it seemed that her common negligence of the ranged projectile use since coming to this land was manifesting itself. Still, the objects had done a good enough job, despite her second misaim. The eyes of surprise and shock filled the room, as the gang watched their fellow members fall to the ground in immense pain and agony with silent disbelief. For a time, it seemed as if no sound could be heard within cafe, but the gargling of blood from the man who had the metal object lodged into his throat, and screams mixed with various ground rollings from the poor man who now had a shuriken lodged into his left eye. The noise of the later screaming man would end abruptly, however, as Ha Neul picked up her wooden chair, and hit the man aside the head with one of it's legs. Whether he was unconscious, or completely dead, was as good as anyone's guess. The answer would most likely appear in a few hours, depending on whether the man woke up or not. Even Ha Neul herself was not sure. 

Maintaining her nonchalant expression at the surprised assailants, she continued to examine her situation; Seven more to go. It wasn't going to be a easy day, today. "I don't suppose sitting down and talking together is still an option, is it?" Ha Neul eventually spoke.

The surprised facial expressions would eventually revert back to their evil-eyed gazes, now additionally mixed with great anger and vengeance; If they weren't having a bad day beforehand, Ha Neul had just officially succeeded in pissing them off. All seven of the men began their slow approach deeper into the cafe, lurking in closer towards their two unusual looking victims. Talking together was definitely not an option…

"You can destroy lethal artifacts." Ha Neul mumbled again to her fox eared client behind her. "I hope you destroy lethal people too." She continued. "Or we both might not be leaving alive from this place, in order to find your precious artifact."