Parthevia Empire

[Bloodedge]

http://i570.photobucket.com/albums/ss142/vastolordeulquiorra/Magi/Parthevia-empire-in-anime_zpsbtvxlmrk.png

Parthevia is a small country in southwest.

[Apollymi]

Through the streets of the Parthevia Empire a slave girl was walking. Her ankles and wrists bound in chains as she carried a large basket of fruit directly over her head. Her wrists and ankles bruised permanently beneath her chains. She was rather odd looking for a slave. She seemed to eat very well and was a healthy size and weight. Though dressed in rags she seemed to have an odd presence about her. Though she kept her eyes down and didn't speak to a single soul as she moved through the market place. Her pink hair was dirty and so was her rather tanned skin and the rags she wore as clothing. But it was like a gentle breeze moved with her as she practically danced through the streets, dodging oncoming traffic with a great deal of grace despite the imprisonment she'd known for most of her life.

[Bloodedge]

Most travelers through the streets of Parthevia paid no heed to the pink-haired slave girl, as the presence of such slaves was nothing more than a normal occurrence in this area. There was however, one particular lad who seemed just as filthy as the slave, though there were no chains upon his person. Ashen hair billowed its way betwixt pedestrians recently passed by the tanned girl, until this male figure, also sporting quite an intense tan himself, slipped ahead and landed himself in an alleyway to await the girl's passage. At the time she would step into view from here, she would likely hear a very well-known whistle. It was low, but elongated and delivered in a sing-song manner as if it were some strange bird's mating call.

[Apollymi]

A whistle passed through this girl's ears and made a momentary smirk cross her lips. Her head still down she ducked into the alleyway to be reunited with an old friend of hers. Her movements making it appear that this was always the direction she'd intended to go. The basket of fruit balanced atop her head, she'd speak to him in a manner befitting to friends. And since they were simply two undesirables talking, no one would even think twice about whether or not they should be looking into what the pair of them were doing. "Baki~ it's been a couple of days, you had me worried something bad had befallen you." she said. Her voice seeming to convey a deep bit of care about the apparent street urchin. But this boy had been her friend pretty much since the inception of her imprisonment. He was one of the few people she felt close to in this world and as such his care was something she took very seriously, despite her own current condition as a slave in a foreign land.

[Bloodedge]

As the girl approached through the alley, the white-haired boy smiled and moved deeper into the shade, eventually reaching for a large sack he had placed against the wall. "Sorry, Yas. I had to disappear for a couple of days to make sure nothing happened, but everything's fine. I've got some new stock for you to have at. Fruit and bread ripped straight from His Majesty's dinner table. Eat your fill and tell me what's new."

[Apollymi]

As this was a kind of normal meeting for this pair of individuals she also slipped into the shadow of the wall blending in between these buildings for the duration of the minor food and rest break being afforded to her by this moment. "Well, I am happy you're alright. But you know Baki... you don't have to feed me. I am capable enough to get fed on a regular basis." the girl mentioned. Slaves who weren't worth much often were only fed scraps. But she was a tough girl with strengths beyond the norm so she was always fed more than her fellows. Even so, she began to rifle through the bag choosing to snack on an apple, a treat she was often denied herself as she was constantly feeding her own food to the slaves less useful than herself to keep them from starving. After a few bites she spoke also grabbing in her other hand a loaf of bread which she broke in half to give to the boy with her, as she never properly enjoyed eating alone.

"As for new things, you know that guy who got captured a couple of weeks ago? He's really weird, it's like he really doesn't belong among the slaves... I am not sure why he stays. And he's damned hungry for such a scrawny being." she finished only to chuckle as she finished off an apple all the way down to the core only to begin stuffing her face with the broken loaf of bread right after. "Anyways, this is straight from his Majesty's plate... my my... how busy you must have been these last few days Baki."

[Bloodedge]

"Of course you're capable. But, because you're capable with a kind heart, you make sure those who aren't capable can still eat... and you get their food before you get food for yourself. We're to much alike, Yasmin." As the boy spoke, his own stomach growled audibly. The truth of the matter was, he had gone out of his way to find the girl called Yasmin, and bring her this spread of food before having so much as a bite of it for himself. As such, when she broke bread with him, he offered a warm smile and partook with the lass. "People like us... I think sometimes we need to be reminded that if we let ourselves get weak, the people we look after will suffer for it." Without another moment's hesitation, the boy began eating nonstop, until nothing remained of his half of the bread. In the meantime, he listened to Yasmin's story about the new slave owned by her master. "I remember you mentioning him when he showed up. Has he actually been useful? From what you said before, I figured he'd have been gotten rid of by now."

[Apollymi]

"I suppose I can't argue with you there." the girl said smiling brightly and giggling just a tad at the sounds of the boy's stomach before he began eating. For someone always stealing food to feed her, he was quite prone to not feeding himself either. But she supposed they got along so well, because of the similarities they shared if nothing else they were two kind individuals inhabiting the lower rungs of society. But at least here, the difference they made was felt among those who understood what the kindness they gave actually cost them. As the conversation progressed between them she tossed the boy a piece of fruit and began eating another herself pausing only to answer his question.

"I don't know if he's useful. I haven't actually seen him do anything. Surprisingly enough, my master refuses to get rid of him. He's apparently under the impression that this new guy is his ticket up in the world in some way. I don't know, I think that man has lost his mind to be honest." she said of her master and this apparent new comer only to take a few more bites to eat. "As for the new guy... he's always looking around... like he's seeing something the rest of us can't. Like he's waiting for something... and I'm not entirely sure what it is. Whatever the case, I am as nice to him as I am everyone else, I've seen way too many people lose all of the spark in their eyes." she finished up looking around. She knew that she couldn't spare too many moments stuffing her face with this friend of hers. After all, she was expected to return soon and she wouldn't want anyone hunting her, and in particular she didn't want anyone else hurt because she hadn't returned. Such was a threat she believed in earnest from her master and was the most solid reason she remained under his control. "Thank you, as always Baki. You're good to look out for me. Don't let it get you into any trouble." she said with a smile as she stood. "You don't mind if I take a bit of this..." the girl said tucking away a few small pieces of fruit into her cleavage for her later consumption. After this was done she'd pick up her basket and head further down the alleyway and to her master's estate with a parting wave to her companion of choice.

[Bloodedge]

"Sounds like the infamous Shaqeeq is turning into a regular old nutter. I have half a mind to use that to my advantage to get you free finally," the boy commented nonchalantly. He left his food bag open long enough for Yasmin to claim whatever she desired from its confines, and surely enough, she did have more before preparing for her inevitable departure. "Of course I don't mind. I'd be offended if you didn't," he said. With Yasmin making her way back to her home of slavery, the boy named Bakura was left to return to the streets after waving his farewell.

Meanwhile, with the rest of the caravan Yasmin was to be returning to, there was a peculiar male with spiky, multi-colored hair that seemed to have lightning bolt-shaped streaks accenting each spike while also forming bangs. Unlike the other slaves in the carriage he inhabited, he was dressed in much cleaner white cloth, as if he'd been picked up only recently. As he stared off into the open sky, the strange male felt a tingle within his nose. Said tingle quickly resulted in a light sneeze, prompting him to rub his nose post-haste. For whatever reason, he then smiled despite being brought onto a cart of slaves to presumably become one himself.

[Apollymi]

A small giggle escaped the girl's mouth as she disappeared back into the crowd of people. Apparently in spite of her life of servitude she found these moments of happiness to be just enough to keep her spirits high. She knew her friend of choice, was always talking about freeing her from slavery, but she was firmly against this because of the effect it would have on others. That being said, she wasn't born a slave and this wasn't the only kind of life she'd ever known. In fact, she'd once been a very particular kind of free person, and she thought about this only briefly as she approached the caravan now holding numerous slaves which she'd soon be locked back up in.

The large basket of fruit on her head would soon be sat at the feet of her master. And by her own approximation she'd still be able to return much faster than the norm. With that in mind she kept her head low and waited to be addressed by the infamous slaver Shaqeeq who had purchased her from a man in a far away land many years ago.

[Bloodedge]

At the head of the caravan, there was a tall male with purple hair and amber eyes. He sat in the back of a carriage alone, bar the driver, and when Yasmin returned, he glanced over the girl briefly before fixing his gaze upon the basket she brought. "An excellent retrieval as usual, my Yasmin. You sit in here for the rest of our trip," the man said as he fiddled with a strange object shaped like an inverted pyramid made of gold, which hung from a necklace. "But first... bring me the boy. He's in the first cage. I'll be taking both of you with me on a little adventure."

[Apollymi]

Yasmin kept her eyes low, but even as she did so, she managed to catch a glimpse of a strange artifact in the man's possession. She wouldn't draw attention to this she would simply nod her head and continue on doing as her master wanted of her. As this man complimented her apparent retrival of goods and even commented that she would be allowed to sit in the carriage the girl was quite confused. After all, she'd done nothing out of the norm and as such shouldn't be at all entitled to any kind of special treatment. Such things made the girl slightly uneasy as he went on to demand that she retrieve 'the boy' from the back. Which she could only assume was a reference to the newest capture of their party. "As you wish." these were all the words spoken by the girl she never had much to say to her master, and they were partnered with a bow which left her head even lower. In fact she'd learned it was better simply to acknowledge that he'd made a request of her and complete it as soon as she was able. With that in mind she walked back to the first cage and stood in front of it, pausing for it to be opened by one of the mercenaries accompanying the party. Once it was, she pointed to the young man with his spiky hair and his still clean clothes.

"The Master wishes that you ride in front with him." she said calmly hoping this wouldn't turn into any sort of ordeal as she offered this young man alone the ability to walk out of the cage she usually inhabited with the rest of the slaves. Most of the others wouldn't stir, they all seemed a bit lethargic but that could only be expected given the recent heat they'd traveled through. She also couldn't really bring herself to admit that she was also part of this apparent riding in the front, but she'd learned long ago, that questioning her master's wishes only got other people hurt... with this in mind she'd simply do as she was told, until such a time as she didn't have to anymore.

[Bloodedge]

Shortly after Yasmin left the master's carriage, she had the eye of another individual from within the first cage. He seemed quite spaced out as it were, but after being called on by the pink-haired lass, his attention was grabbed. Without much hesitation, he walked toward the cage door and hopped outside, pausing thereafter to speak with Yasmin directly. "A new sun is rising soon. I hope you're ready," he said. With that, he continued on his way toward the master's carriage.

[Apollymi]

"No idea what you mean. Are you alright? Did you eat enough?" she asked only about this young man's well-being. But whether or not she received an answer she would tilt her head downward as the young man moved past her and towards the front carriage. Given that this had transpired she also moved right along having the gate closed she also headed back to the front as she had been instructed to come back and sit in the front as well. She paused in the front of her Master's carriage ever respectful of his boundaries, and waited for permission to join him, as he could have well changed his mind about her being seated in the front since she went to the back and retrieved the young man he'd asked for.

[Bloodedge]

"Be ready," was the cryptic male's only response as he approached the carriage to enter without so much as a word to this Shaqeeq individual. "Welcome aboard... my Magi," Shaqeeq said just before turning his head toward Yasmin with an expression resembling disgust. "You. I said get in the fucking carriage! Do I need to tell you twice!?" Shaqeeq's attitude toward his slaves, particularly this lass, prompted something of a stale expression from the man he had so recently called "Magi." However, the man still had nothing to say, it seemed.

[Apollymi]

'Magi?' the girl mentally questioned. The male before her was rather odd, but for her master to have captured a Magi when those were said to be magical beings was completely contradictory to everything the young girl had ever heard about them. Before through stories and lessons given by her private tutors and after in stories given by slaves to keep their spirits up. Regardless this man's attitude towards this young girl was something she was beyond used to, she simply bowed apologetically and joined the pair of men in the front carriage. Her posture while sitting was surprisingly lady-like despite her dress and general dirty appearance. And though she kept her head down she stole glances at this young man while they moved forward. 'I wonder what it is I need to be ready for?' she thought as their adventure unfolded before them.

[Bloodedge]

At the snap of the slave owner's fingers, the entire caravan began to move toward a previously arranged destination. They were en route to the edge of the city, toward a massive pillar that seemed to stand out from the architecture of the surrounding area. This pillar was a dungeon that had taken the lives of many prior to this day. "Magi. You are going to help me capture the dungeon. With that treasure, I will own much more than these measly slaves; I will be on a path to own everything! Yasmin... you will be my shield. With the speed of your errands, I expect you to be quick about getting between me and any danger inside the dungeon. Hell... If you succeed and manage to live, I might even allow you to become my personal toy when I rule a country. Doesn't that sound like a wonderful promotion?"

[Apollymi]

Yasmin had gotten very good at pretending to be on board with this man's desires. Mostly because it had been the saving grace for the rest of the slaves in the caravan. Even so, she was rather surprised by the idea that the young man with them was going to lead her master into a dungeon and help him capture it. Her eyes widened at the news and she didn't much like the idea of being a human shield to the dangers of a dungeon nor was she really interested in the idea of being this man's 'toy' as he put it. But to the man all the changes in the young girl's face would seem like the excitement of a upwardly mobile slave, not a girl disgusted by the ambitions of an evil man. "As you wish." was all this young girl had to say. In most conversations it was all she had to say. Hidden behind these words though in the calmness of her blue eyes was something very different. She could only imagine what a man like this would be like ruling a country, given how he treated the people who were his property. And she was almost silently pleading with the young man across from her not to do as this man asked, not for her own sake, but for the sake of everyone else.

[Bloodedge]

"There's a good girl." Soon enough, the caravan stopped just outside the dungeon. Shaqeeq removed himself from the carriage, making his way down by stepping on the backs of two servants. "You two will come as well. You will carry the food," he said. Expecting his chosen crew to follow suit, Shaqeeq made his way toward the semi-circular gateway radiating a bright, golden light, which would allow entry to the dungeon. With the assumption that Yasmin would be present when he stopped outside, he began speaking. "Well, meat shield... you'll be going in first. Any traps in the entrance are your problem. Magi, you'll enter when I do."

[Apollymi]

Yasmine kept a calm face, even so, she didn't like watching this man step on two people to get out of his carriage. She personally hopped over the two with her movements seeming completely incidental to her movements. She was rather light-footed in the first place, but she wouldn't want to harm another as they were all in the same boat. Outside of the dungeon it was determined by her master that she would enter first, and so she did without hesitation. "As you wish." Disgusted by the fact that this man had her go and get so much food, just to stuff his own face while he completed his apparent task, with no thought at all for the starving caravan in his possession. 'Selfish.' she thought as she walked into what was a long empty hall with huge drafts coming up from below.

On the far wall was a very complicated looking language with pictures aligned to the tiles on the floor. This girl could read this writing despite her slave status and moved forward her chained ankles making contact with only feathered or tornado'd tiles. All others would break apart beneath the person walking making them fall into a large spike pit. As she continued to step forward she'd look back speaking more than three words to her master for the first time in ages. "If the master doesn't wish to fall, he should follow in my steps precisely... the tiles marked earth, fire, and metal will cause the floor to fall in those areas, killing the person who lands there." she mentioned most respectfully only to wonder how many bodies were beneath the floor of this area alone. As she got to the middle the placement of safe tiles became a tiny bit more precarious and required her to keep a large amount of tension on the chains which bound her ankles lest the weight of them cause a shift in her balance and thus cause her to step where she needn't.

[Bloodedge]

Following Yasmin, Shaqeeq and the Magi entered the dungeon, being followed thereafter by the slaves carrying the food. Little did any know, there was another individual who had been stowed away on the caravan prior to their arrival at the dungeon. This was none other than the street urchin from Yasmin's return trip. He was presently sneaking around behind the food carriers, keeping out of sight and earshot while following the group through the dungeon.

Shaqeeq had no reason to distrust Yasmin's claim, so he did indeed follow in her footsteps. The Magi was no different, but he didn't seem to care one way or another. "What's the hold-up?" the master asked of Yasmin as he caught up to her location. "Get moving; my treasure is waiting for us!"

[Apollymi]

Yasmin had paused just a bit because moving in chains at this junction was rather precarious. But she'd been wearing them about half her life at this point, so she trusted herself to move with them probably more than she trusted herself to move without them. "Well, if you are using me as a shield I shouldn't be too far ahead." this was rather simple logic coming from the pink haired girl. She thought it most likely that this man would need saving in this hallway, and she'd rather not have to run too far back to retrieve him. With that in mind she began to spin lightly taking the diagonal route then the straight then a few more. This is how the new floor pattern worked a bit like a diamond. Her steps in this were precise and sure and though the movements of her legs were extremely limited she didn't seem to have a problem keeping her chains from brushing against the floor tiles. With this the pink haired girl soon found herself standing at the opposite end facing a door with five dragon heads surrounding it and more of this ancient writing.

To the best of the girl's knowledge it mentioned that each dragon represented a different tile like the ones on the floor. And only the safe ones could be used to open the door. It also mentioned that both would need to be touched simultaneously or else those who used them risked losing a limb in the mouth of the the dragons. As evidence of this there was a recently decayed body against the door with one arm missing seeming to have bled out or starved to death while unable to move forward. "This one is tricky." she mentioned waiting for her master and whoever else survived this moment to catch up.

[Bloodedge]

Shaqeeq fell silent when Yasmin replied. He remained this way as the group continued to cross this puzzle of tiles, but drew closer to Yasmin as she inspected the next challenge. With all his might, he drew back his left arm, then swept it outward with the intention of slamming the backside of his hand against the pink-haired girl's face. "I expect you to be fast! If you're ahead, I want you back to me in a split second if you're needed! If I catch you thinking you know what's best again, I'll cut out your tongue! Now, stay down." With that said and done, Shaqeeq looked toward the two food carriers, beckoning them forward to imply that they were the ones he expected to take this next trial. Both parties approached the dragon heads, one reaching for the feather, and the other for the tornado. However, these servants were abruptly and simultaneously dismembered by what seemed to be the air itself from within the dragons' mouths. "What the hell is going on here!? Aren't those the right symbols?"

[Apollymi]

Yasmin soon found herself facing a hand coming back against her face. Now... she could have dodged this hand but she'd learned before that when she did this, her master generally took out his frustration on someone else. So his hand made contact with her face without much ceremony. Soon after her lip was bleeding and her head was bent down. "As you wish." and just those three words. She wanted to say more, but she wouldn't at this moment because it wasn't for her to say anything.

Beyond that the other two servants soon were forced to reach for the dragon mouths and their subsequent deaths seemed to only serve to make her master more upset. She spoke now because she wasn't sure if anyone else could. And she did so while biting back an intense bit of anger that he'd come here without the knowledge necessary to complete the dungeon. "Those are the right symbols, but... they weren't the right people. This puzzle is tricky because it requires two people to touch the mouths at the same time... but it isn't any two people... it is two specific ones. The wording roughly is the vessel and the one who is loved by the rukh." she said spitting blood from her lips and keeping her eyes low but having a moment to glance at the Magi. And to her knowledge only one of those things were present and with this in mind this door would never open. This somehow made the girl very happy. A small smile on her face knowing simply that if the man with them attempted to open this door, he'd find himself dismembered as well. Though that wouldn't solve the slaving issue, it would at least keep him from becoming king. It also explained why this dungeon had gone unclaimed.

[Bloodedge]

The Rukh? Very well. Magi, that means you... but what does it mean vessel?" Shaqeeq asked. At long last, the alleged Magi stepped forward and spoke. "The Vessel is chosen by the Magi... someone the Magi has made a special kind of connection with," he said. And, as he spoke these words, he held out a hand to none other than Yasmin. "We can open the door. Then, Shaqeeq, you may enter."

[Apollymi]

Yasmin's eyes widened as the Magi spoke of what the 'Vessel' was. "What? Why me?" she asked completely astounded by the fact that she apparently had any kind of bond with this Magi. Obviously she was nice to him, fed him when he was hungry but this was normal behavior from the girl. She knew nothing about this young man besides their small moments of speaking. Even so, she knew of Shaqeeq's behavior and knew that it wasn't likely that they'd be allowed to properly clear up the meaning behind everything here, when this man was getting treasure apparently very soon. So she reached out for the tornado dragon assuming this young man would go for the feather, even without knowing him she knew this to be the case. Still she didn't want to let this man capture this dungeon. She looked to the young man with her, gentle blue eyes pleading that this not be allowed to happen.

[Bloodedge]

"Because the sun is rising," the Magi replied. When the time came, he reached out for the feather mark while looking toward Yasmin. He could see the pleading look in her eyes, but irrespective of this, he activated his trigger. Assuming both were done at once, the gates would then open to allow entry to this dungeon's treasure vault, which Shaqeeq sprinted into. Meanwhile, the Magi spoke to Yasmin. "It's our turn now. Let's go."

[Apollymi]

Yasmin also pulled hers at the same time. The sun was rising. "What does that even mean?" she asked. It was something completely foreign to her as an idea. Soon though Shaqeeq went running into the vault and she stood outside of it. But the Magi with her said it was their turn so she sighed, seeming just a bit defeated as she also approached the room. It was covered wall to wall in massive troves of treasure, more than enough to buy an entire country with. Precious gems, jewelry even clean clothing were amassed within this place. As well as an oddly placed dias with a podium surrounded by a column of blowing wind with an odd eight sided symbol in the middle of it. Among the treasure were some random older metal pieces as well, this was odd to the young woman but she expected they had a reason to be there just like everything else. 'We shouldn't have done this... letting that man in here was a mistake.' and she knew given the type of person he was, he shouldn't be allowed access to all that was in here.

[Bloodedge]

The Magi would not elaborate on his earlier words, in spite of Yasmin questioning them. Instead, he merely entered the final room of the dungeon, only to witness Shaqeeq fiddling with numerous bits of gold and valuable trinkets. "Yes... finally! I'm going to be king of a new country!" the man exclaimed. It was at this point that the supposed Magi spoke to the purple-haired man again. "I will have my items returned to me now," he said, prompting Shaqeeq to turn about and glare in his direction. "I have no more use for you, Magi. Consider yourself lucky to be allowed continued life, and get the hell out of my dungeon!"

When these words were spoken to him, the Magi casually walked toward a pile of treasure, picking up a simple golden stave. Yellow butterfly-like entities began to materialize in the surrounding area, converging on said stave as the Magi turned toward Shaqeeq once more. "No, Shaqeeq. It is I who have no more use for you. My things. return them to me," he demanded. "Heh! I'll have none of this. Yasmin... kill the Magi." With that said, Shaqeeq tossed one of his two swords in the pink-haired slave's direction, fully intending to keep his own hands clean when having the life of this traitorous Magi taken from him.

[Apollymi]

At this point Yasmin was looking at the young man with her completely confused as to what he meant. Then after a moment of thought she remembered the golden pyramid with which she'd seen her master Shaqeeq. She figured this must be at least one of the items spoken of. Even so it seemed her Master wasn't too keen to return them, but much like her earlier thoughts about this young man not belonging among slaves. His blatant disregard for the apparent kindness he was being shown by Shaqeeq was obvious in his tone as he gathered one item and took it instead requesting his item again.

Yasmin knew nothing good would come of telling Shaqeeq no. In fact, it was more than obvious by the way the man behaved on a normal basis that he wasn't often told that word and when he gave Yasmin an order she looked at the kindly Magi and then back at her master and shook her head from left to right. She was always inclined to do what this man wanted, but she wouldn't kill an innocent person just because they dared stand up to him. When she caught the sword she planted it into the ground before her. "No." this was the only word spoken by the girl. She didn't care if she was punished for this inaction. She'd been ordered to be a meat shield she didn't come here to kill anyone.

[Bloodedge]

The rejection of Shaqeeq's order to kill the Magi left a bitter expression on the former's face, and a smile to the latter. "I knew it would be you," the Magi said. Without further ado, he waved his tool in a very nonchalant manner, sending white butterflies toward the chains which bound Yasmin. This caused the chains to shatter instantly, but when they did, Shaqeeq darted toward the sword he had offered Yasmin to reclaim it. With both in hand, he physically threatened both her and the Magi, but the latter did not seem at all bothered by this. No; instead his attention was focused on the dais within this room. "Yasmin... You are the vessel. You should claim your treasure."

[Apollymi]

"What? I'm the vessel!?" Yasmin seemed to be in shock. So much so, that she didn't seem to register the threat which was Shaqeeq as he threatened both her person and that of the Magi she'd become acquainted with over the last couple of weeks. "Claim my treasure?" the girl looked to the dais completely dumbfounded. "But why?" she asked this was truly a confusing moment for her. She'd never dreamed of capturing a dungeon herself. Though she'd been taught about them when she was younger. This whole thing was rather surreal. Even so she couldn't help but feel drawn to the dais, she had since she'd walked into the room and as such she walked towards it. The winds around it felt comforting to her and though her chains had disappeared the manacles themselves remained, she supposed this was good, it would feel odd not to have anything on her wrists and ankles after so long.

As such she reached for a pipe like instrument known as a pungi. It was often used by snake charmers and was floating in a small piece of wind in the center of the dais. She reached out and touched it. The instrument came into her hand and it was cool, and that was nice, since it was a wind instrument, Yasmin brought it to her lips and played in that moment and gentle and enchanting tune that she remembered from her childhood lessons. After a few seconds, an ethereal wind escaped from the pipe, materializing into the form of a large blue woman. Half naked with gold jewelry all over her body, connecting her piercings to chains including two nipple piercings only made more obvious by the partial nudity of this being. Her pointed ears twitched as she looked down at the girl who was obviously the vessel and to the Magi overflowing with Magoi. Her presence was so imposing that Yasmin couldn't speak for a moment, she instead looked to the Magi and spoke to him directly first. "If she is the vessel why did you bring this man here, Ali?" she questioned. Being the first person to mention this man by name.

[Bloodedge]

The Magi's smile widened as Yasmin went on to claim the pungi and summon this dungeon's Djinn. "Good morning, Paimon," he said when the giant blue woman emerged from the wind instrument. It seemed she was curious to know why the Magi, apparently named Ali, had brought this strange man into the dungeon if he knew Yasmin was to be the King Vessel of his choice. Though Ali was prepared to explain himself, Shaqeeq spoke to the Djinn before he got the chance. "I am the vessel! I claim this dungeon, and I'm going to be a king!" Shaqeeq could not accept the idea of a mere slave becoming a king over himself, simply because she had been chosen by a Magi. So, he charged the young woman with both swords drawn, only to have his attempts at cutting her down halted by a barrier of some sort. When he turned around, Shaqeeq could see Ali with his staff elevated, seeming to have concocted this mystical defense. "This man is Shaqeeq Harron, a slave owner. He found and captured me while I was asleep, thinking I would be able to make him a Dungeon Capturer. But... he has been useful for this entire trip. He and that other boy have let me see what kind of person Yasmin is, and that let me make my final decision on her being a candidate."

[Apollymi]

"Good morning!" the Djinn spoke happily only to have the man known as Shaqeeq Harron move to explain that he claimed to be the vessel and then she got to watch as such a man tried to cut down the young woman who was obviously the Vessel. A bit of confusion crossed the face of the Djinn as she stared at the Magi who explained how this had come to be, and that he'd been captured by this slaver who thought to become a Dungeon Capturer based on the Magi's forced help. Beyond that she got to witness the girl's reaction to being saved and to the information being given. A wince came from the young girl as she assumed herself to be cut down but she was soon found to be behind and barrier and thus beyond this man's reach. "Thank you." she said to the Magi. "You didn't have to save me... also what other boy?" she asked. Not knowing that the Magi would know of her street urchin friend with the kind heart.

Wind would conjure around the slaver to keep him from trying any more craziness within the Dungeon which apparently belonged to the Djinn known as Paimon. "Quiet you." she said turning her attention back to the Magi. "I am also curious about the other boy... are you referencing the other person scuttling about the Dungeon?"

[Bloodedge]

"Of course I didn't have to. But, if I didn't, he would have sacrificed himself," said Ali as he gestured to a dark corner of the room, simultaneously answering Yasmin and Paimon's other query by bringing attention to the 'other boy' in question. The ashen-haired street urchin, Bakura, seemed to have been using this free time to loot the room for a crimson coat and various bits of gold jewelry. When he was pointed out, he seemed a bit bashful about it. "He's been here all along, watching and waiting to help you out if needed. It only goes to show how much influence you have on others."

[Apollymi]

Yasmin's attention was drawn to the corner of the room where she soon saw her friend the street urchin named Bakura. She seemed immediately surprised to find this young man here, she figured he was out doing urchin things when they weren't together. To think beyond that, that the boy who had been feeding her and helping her along while she served this man would have sacrificed himself to save her from her master made the girl's eyes widen. "Eh? No one should have that sort of influence over anyone else. I definitely wouldn't want what has been my only friend in the world dying..." she said rolling her eyes but feeling rather good at the moment. Having friends was a good feeling and likely the only thing that kept this girl from falling too deeply into the depression which was the lifestyle of being a slave. "Thanks, Baki~" she mentioned to the seemingly bashful young man with the ashen hair.

Paimon watched this interaction and it made the Djinn squeal just a little. "Aww, she's perfect! Ali did such a good job, finding me a new friend." mentioned the blue woman who shrank herself down to a comparable height slinging her arms over the shoulders of the pink haired girl and nestling herself into this young woman's body in a manner most intimate. "I like you, the world could use your kind of compassion. I am Paimon Djinn of Maniacal Love and Chaos. I'm going to help you become King~" she mentioned to the girl whose eyes went even wider. Yasmin despite her kind nature was not really used to such familiar treatment out of nowhere. A blush crossed this girl's face and those blue eyes of hers darted left. "I... ah... um..." she seemed to be at a loss for words. "I'm Yasmin Matar, nice to meet you. I never much considered being King of anything. But if you want to help, I'm happy you'll have me." the girl finally managed still blushing profusely. With this all that was necessary on the part of the bonding between the Djinn and the Vessel was done. "Good, nice to meet you as well. Now all this stuff in here is yours... so take what you will." she said to the girl whose eyes went wide. "Baki!" she exclaimed as she began running about the room happily collecting many items and piling them into large bundles of cloth to be carried out of the dungeon. Meanwhile Paimon watched the young girl rush about only to divert her attention to the man known as Shaqeeq Harron though she spoke to Ali. "I'm going to join my new friend. In a moment... but we can't really let this one leave here now can we?"

[Bloodedge]

"Don't thank me. I didn't even do anything," was Bakura's response to Yasmin's thanks. As the moments passed, he received information that the treasures of the dungeon belonged to Yasmin, and when she called his name, he knew exactly what to do. Dashing about the area, he filled a pair of large sacks with treasures, even taking some onto his body. When the bags were filled, he found a necklace with a ring attached, featuring a design somewhat similar to that which was owned by the Magi, Ali. After putting it around his neck, he inspected the trinket, finding it rather pleasant even compared to his other finds.

Meanwhile, Ali stood just outside the wind barrier Paimon had placed around Shaqeeq. Using his magical abilities, it seemed he had retrieved his own pendant, as well as a purple cape of sorts to complete his ensemble. "There. All back in order," he said before returning his attention to Paimon. "I'm going to close this dungeon soon. Do with him what you will."

[Apollymi]

"You can say that all you want, it won't stop me from doing it." said the pink haired girl as she paused only to stick her tongue out at the boy for rejecting her gratitude. To be fair, he'd done a lot for her, including making sure she was well fed, even as a slave. As they gathered many belongings up and she noted that he'd found something he seemed to like she looked up giving him a happy grin. "Looks nice on you Baki~" she chimed only to go back to what she was doing. And after a few minutes hard work she'd found several things she liked including new clothing and a golden handled white feathered fan. She liked these and could see herself wearing them, as they'd be the first thing she'd own. With these in a small separate bag held by her teeth she carried another six large bags of treasure all will the Djinn and the Magi spoke of what was going to be done with the slaver known as Shaqeeq Harron.

"Hm... I got it then. Ali as you like~ Yas!~" said Paimon as she finished chiming what it was she was doing. "I'm coming with you." she finished as she used a bit of magic and the power of her control over this Dungeon to trap the man in a wind based cage with a beast as vicious as he himself was. This visceral version of himself would begin stalking this man around as Paimon used the rest of her power to situate herself within the shackle on the girl's left leg. Transforming it into a piece very similar to the other ones she'd chosen for herself. Yasmin looked down at it and grinned. And then back at the man known as Shaqeeq Harron, and though she disliked this man more than any other in her life, she still pleaded mercy on his behalf. "Paimon, I know he isn't a nice guy or anything... but I don't wish to see him suffer." mentioned the girl. This was the depth of her kindness as a being... that even in the face of someone who had only done her wrong, she could only offer kindness in return. "Oh fine... you really are freakishly nice." mentioned the Djinn as she stopped the torture of the man by his visceral form and instead aimed to have that version of himself shred the real one in the most humane way possible per the request of her master.

[Bloodedge]

"I think so too," Bakura said regarding the piece he'd acquired. Yasmin saying such a thing about it was essentially her giving the boy one of her new riches, which gave this particular object a special bit of meaning to the boy who had nothing of his own before. "I think I'll wear it forever." As the goings-on continued, Ali removed the purple cape he wore, revealing it to be a magic carpet in actuality. The Magi stood upon the floating cloth, waiting for the others to finish their doings before escorting them out of the dungeon. "Whenever you're all ready, I'll give you a lift."

[Apollymi]

Yasmin was once again a bit shocked. She hadn't expected such retribution from her Djinn, but she supposed that spirit was one of chaos and she couldn't well expect her to treat someone who was so evil well. Beyond that it seemed that her friend was very content with his new acquistion. So much so, that he'd claimed he would wear it forever. "That's a long time Baki~" said Yasmin teasing just a bit. After a second, she felt a warm sensation from her leg and from it would sprout a glowing white butterfly which would settle itself into the ring around the boy's neck. This was a piece of Paimon herself which would turn the jewelry piece into a Household Vessel for the boy who was obviously the best friend in the world to her new Master. "What was that?!" Yasmin questioned.

Only a few seconds thereafter, it would seem that the Magi who had led them down was offering them a ride out, with this in mind and with six extra large bundles of treasure gathered on her back and one now held between her teeth Yasmin nodded. She'd then gesture for her friend when he was finished and join Ali atop his floating cloth to get out of this place. "Thank you." the girl mentioned to Ali, though that wasn't meant to just cover the ride but rather everything he'd done for them this afternoon.

[Bloodedge]

Bakura was more than ready to hop onto Ali's magic carpet immediately, but he took pause when a strange butterfly found its home in his new object. As it glowed, he stared at it, wondering exactly what had occurred. He thought to ask Yasmin, but she had already expressed an equal amount of confusion, so he continued toward Ali and the carpet. Of course, the knowledgeable Magi would go on to explain what happened. "Paimon has joined your shackles to create a Metal Vessel, the tool of a King Candidate. As a King Candidate, you can have a Household... and, though it's a bit strange to happen so soon, it looks like you already have your first Household Member." With that said, the Magi looked at Bakura as the carpet began to rise out of the dungeon. "That necklace is now a Household Vessel. As long as you have your Metal Vessel, Yasmin, Bakura here can also access some of Paimon's power."

[Apollymi]

Yasmin heard out what was said by Ali and she was quite thankful to have him around. When she was younger she was made familiar with Kings and Magi but she thought them to be fairy tales and fantasy not something she should have been seriously considering as part of her life. "Wow, you're a fountain of useful information. Thank you again~" she chimed seeming happy only to look over at her friend and ponder the explanation so recently given. A bit of a sigh escaped her she looked to her friend and she felt a bit odd, roping him into something she'd not meant to get herself into. "Are you okay with that Baki? I mean... I didn't really know what I was getting myself into... I didn't intend to rope you into being my companion." she mentioned as they rose out of the dungeon and up into the open air. For some reason the girl was truly apologetic because she didn't really like the idea of keeping someone from going off to find something else, simply by virtue of tying them to her. This different form of kindness probably stemmed from the psychological aspects of her imprisonment and being forced to commit to someone else's will which was something she'd never force from herself to anyone else.

[Bloodedge]

"I'm here to tell you whatever you need to know. After all... a future king should be well-informed, right?" Ali asked rhetorically with a grin upon his face. Once the carpet was high above the dungeon, a wave of his staff caused the massive structure to begin descending into the ground. As this occurred, Bakura laughed off Yasmin's concern about his take on becoming a member of her Household this way. "Are you kidding? I'd be disappointed if I couldn't come along! Let's make you a king already!"

"... King of what?"

[Apollymi]

Yasmin couldn't help but laugh. Her apparent guide to Kinglyness was going to be this spiky haired lad with his magical items and his vast knowledge of things she'd previously thought to just be fairy tales. "I suppose being well-informed would make for being a good King." she mentioned as her eyes shifted about and shined with new light. Her friend apparently thought nothing at all and preferred to be brought along on her journey to become King but he much like she herself had no apparent idea of what she'd become king of. Still nothing but a laugh would escape the girl as she shrugged. "I assume of the world, if the tales hold true. But... I don't know if I can handle that much responsibility." the girl said looking to the Magi as the dungeon she'd captured sank into the ground. "I think I'll set my goals a bit lower to start with... Ali... are you planning on staying with us for a while? There are some things I want to do here." mentioned the girl. This place wasn't her homeland but she'd lived here more than half her life, and before she left it... she intended to free the other people who were bound in servitude with her.

[Bloodedge]

"Haha! Yas running the world? That sounds like a pretty fun place to be," Bakura said as he sat upon the carpet, allowing himself a moment of rest during the descent of the dungeon. The collapse in the end was sudden, as if the dungeon simply vanished in thin air. Many bystanders had been brought by from the earlier commotion, and their eyes wandered up to the now descending magic carpet, merely to see who the new Dungeon Capturer was. "My job here is done," Ali replied to the inquiry of whether he'd be sticking around or not. "But... that means I have nothing else to do at the moment. I'll accompany you."

[Apollymi]

A grin crossed Yasmin's face as Bakura commented on the idea of her running the world. "You're so agreeable Baki, I don't actually think I'd be that good at it." she said. To her the idea of running the world was completely and utterly far-fetched. She didn't want to rule anything there was only one thing she wanted. And after the Dungeon disappeared and all the people gathered around to see who had become the next Dungeon Capturer. Now on the ground Yasmin found herself surrounded by people of varying classes and the last of all the downward cast eyes of several slaves like herself. Ones whose eyes glimmered with hope as they saw the former slave girl with her one gold bangle around her ankle marked with a special crest.

"I'm glad, I could use your help a bit you seem to know a lot. What do you think I'd have to do to abolish slavery in this country? Aside from taking down the Harron Clan's influence." Yasmin finished. She knew that this was a rather lofty thing to take on initially, but she couldn't rightly enjoy the newness of her own freedom while she knew people were still suffering that she suffered with. It was part of the main reason she'd never tried to escape before.

[Bloodedge]

"You want to abolish slavery in the Parthevia Empire?" Ali asked rhetorically. When he thought about it, he was able to give a concise answer that harbored the idea of removing slavery entirely from the country. "As you are now... I don't think it's possible. You are a Dungeon Capturer now, but not the only one in this country. A couple of slave traders in the area are also Dungeon Capturers who have far more experience with Djinn Metal Vessels than you do. You would have to take them down to truly do away with slavery, even temporarily."

[Apollymi]

Yasmin heard out what the Magi with her had to say. And his words made a reasonable amount of sense. She didn't know that slavers in the area were Dungeon Capturers as well, but she supposed then it would be perfectly possible to simply fight them and drive them out of the country. After all, if they were half as rich as she was now, they'd have no problem moving on or even not using or purchasing slaves in the first place. She assumed that such things would require both an ideological change as well as the ability to fight against them if need be. "Well, that doesn't seem overly difficult, does it Baki?" she asked. "Now... I think I will need to know about Metal Vessels and what they're supposed to do. A bit of practice and then I'll be well on my way to doing the other things I want to do." said Yasmin. She didn't seem to have any problems, nor was she swayed away from her general desire to do something which would probably take more time than most felt necessary.

[Bloodedge]

"Sounds easy to me. I've been trying to get good enough to steal people anyway," was Bakura's reply. Knowing nothing about these Djinn, or their Metal Vessels, he assumed they were simply ordinary magical items. He had slipped around such things before. "Don't underestimate the power of a Djinn. With just one Metal Vessel and one Household Member, it will be difficult to catch up to more skilled Dungeon Capturers. Even if you learn how to do a Djinn Equip, you may have a lot of difficulty."

[Apollymi]

It would seem to Yasmin at the very least her friend Bakura was on board. And with his skills as a street urchin she had no doubts that they could at least get into the place they needed to get to. The other part was seeming a bit more difficult, by the explanation given by Ali, but to his warning the girl could only smile in his direction. "Well, nothing worth doing is ever really easy. But... it isn't as if I have anything else to do. People aren't property... they shouldn't be treated as badly as they are... simply because someone else took from them the one thing they were born with." this is what Yasmin had to say about this matter. If only because she felt that people didn't deserve to be traded away, there was much wrong with a system which allowed people to be treated as merchandise and she couldn't rest until she'd done something about this for everyone else she'd encountered who'd been treated in such a way. "Djinn Equip? That is unfamiliar to me..." she stated knowing that her new Magi friend was a wealth of information which she may as well use while he was around. She didn't assume he would interfere directly in her plan to free the slaves of this country, but she knew at the very least he'd give her all the information she needed to become a better Dungeon Capturer.

[Bloodedge]

"You have very noble ideals. You'll make a great candidate indeed." After standing atop his carpet for so long, Ali hopped off, returning it to its resting place around his shoulders as a cape of sorts. He was not surprised about Djinn Equip being a new concept to the young woman, as most individuals did not know without previously seeing it for themselves. "Paimon is inside your shackles. She would be more than willing to offer her power to you." As he spoke, Ali moved closer to Yasmin, eventually kneeling next to her while reaching out toward her left ankle. There, he touched the shackle on said ankle, aiming to call Paimon out into the world.

[Apollymi]

Yasmin had the modesty to look a bit embarrassed, her face flushing despite the deep tan. She didn't think her ideals were noble, to her it was simply a matter of having been someone else's property for long enough to feel it was wrong. If anything that probably made her ideas a bit selfish... but the only thing people were born with was choice, and if that was taken away as a matter of belonging to someone else, it as wrong. Simple as that.

But, Yasmin didn't get to properly express the rest of this sentiment. Because, a few seconds after a brief explanation that Paimon the Djinn was within the shackle on her ankle the Magi touched it, causing a blue gas to seemingly leak from it soon enough, the shape of the Djinn female known as Paimon was out in the open for everyone to see. She was very blue, with pointy ears and an exposed bosom with nipple rings connected by chains. She also had several other visible and invisible piercings connected by chains and small white bottoms connected to her upper body. Here she decreased in size a bit and appeared beside Yasmin, whose eyes widened just a bit as she didn't actually expect this to happen again so soon.

"Hello again~" said the Djinn who seemed to feel excited about being out in the world physically again. "I didn't expect to be called out again so soon~ Is something exciting happening?" questioned the Djinn. But it was such an odd occurance that Yasmin was simply without words for a second.

[Bloodedge]

"Welcome back, Paimon," he said to greet the Djinn again. Yasmin's shock was apparent by the time Paimon appeared, but Ali was able enough to explain to the Djinn what the situation at hand was. "You could say that. Yasmin aims to abolish slavery in this country, but I'm sure you know there are other Dungeon Capturers here. Some of them may have gotten as far as the final lock in your dungeon. She's still keen on following through, so I was telling her about Djinn Equip."

[Apollymi]

Paimon looked to the girl she'd sided with a bit astounded. She supposed lofty goals weren't really that uncommon but ones so noble made her quite proud of the King Vessel standing beside her. "Oooh." commented the Djinn. When she thought about it there was one she could think of that made it to the final lock all on her own. Of course... she couldn't get in... but she doubted that would be so much a problem as what Ali made it seem like. Still, that girl had a bit more general knowledge about her, and likely had been able to figure out a bit about Magoi. With this in mind Paimon settled in and wrapped herself around Yasmin speaking to her. "Well, I have no problem lending power to you. You only have to know how to use it... that is of course, assuming you understand how to use it. Ali~" she chimed turning her gaze towards the Magi. "How much have you explained so far?" she asked. Thinking about it, she supposed explaining from scratch could be a bit complicated because she was no longer human and couldn't explain how to channel Magoi, but the Magi probably could do so in a way the young girl could understand.

[Bloodedge]

"I haven't explained a thing. The only thing I can explain is what comes after learning how to call on a Djinn's power, which is the act of compressing that power onto your sleeves," he said, aiming the tail end of his statement toward Yasmin for the sake of explaining part of Djinn Equip. "Paimon, I'm sure you can cover the rest."

[Apollymi]

"Hmm, I suppose that is true." she said returning her attention to the girl she was presently wrapped around. "Yas, I am Djinn of Maniacal Love and Chaos." explained Paimon. "I am able to use Wind Magic and because you carry my Metal Vessel, you and your household members can do this as well... through use of the magic power within you." Paimon explained which made the pink haired girl's brows draw together. She'd understood this part in theory, and had heard in stories people who could control the power of the Djinn could do amazing and magical things, but to her those had simply been stories. But given a person had just materialized from the shackle on her ankle she couldn't really argue the validity of those statements anymore.

"Magic Power?" this was the question that Yasmin spoke, as the rest of what was said was pretty easy to understand. Paimon looked at the girl then at the Magi and at her friend and explained. "Every being contains some amount of Magic Power, it's usually referred to as Magoi. The ability to manipulate it generally belongs to special kinds of people, like Magi and Magicians can use it. And magical Vessels like yours, the Household item belonging to your friend and other forms of magical items can also use Magoi to create magic." she explained. "If you need to think of it simply as manifesting your will into something physical." she finished. As the pink haired girl mulled this over she seemed to come to some sort of conclusion. "I understand. Thank you, Paimon." she said and with that the Djinn prepared to re-enter her vessel. "Feel free to call on me, but... also remember it can be exhausting to use Magoi if you don't have a lot of it. I don't want you getting yourself killed before we can make you King~" and with that the Djinn gave a salute and returned to her home within the girl's shackle. Once there an eight pointed star appeared and glowed for just a second on the singular piece of gold presently attached to the girl's body and thereafter the glow disappeared and all was as it should have been.

[Bloodedge]

Ali waited silently and patiently while Paimon finished explaining to Yasmin all that she needed to know. Bakura was also silent, but listening intently under the assumption that his supposed Household Vessel would function in a similar manner to Yasmin's Metal Vessel. When Paimon returned to her Vessel, Ali spoke. "So, you have the concept now. I'm sure you will put it to good use," he said. Bakura then broke his silence, choosing to address the agenda. "So, what do we do now?"

[Apollymi]

Yasmin heard what was said by Ali and acknowledged it with a nod of her head. "I will try to, I would like to try it out, but... not close to civilization." she said, after Bakura had spoken asking what was next on the agenda. "Baki, surely you know somewhere isolated we can go to figure out these new things and not draw too much attention to ourselves~" she trusted her urchin friend to know the kind of place she was looking for and thus give her a bit of hiding space and breathing room. She couldn't think of anything else to ask Ali right now but didn't want him to feel obligated to continue to stay with her either.

[Bloodedge]

"I know exactly the kind of place you're looking for, Yas," Bakura replied. Just as he began to move, though, a tall male stepped toward the group. His hair was purple, and he looked to be somewhat of a taller version of Shaqeeq himself, obviously being of the same lineage. "You're not going anywhere, girl," he said in a deep, guttural tone of voice. "Surely you don't mean to tell me my brother was allowed to fall in the dungeon, and you went on to capture it?"

[Apollymi]

Yasmin smiled at her friend obviously more than appreciative that he would know the kind of spot she was looking for. But before they could even leave, a man stepped forward with a voice that sent nothing but a chill up her spine. Even so, she wasn't the slave girl liable to get anyone in trouble anymore. Her own personal master had fallen and it had nothing to do with her. "He wasn't allowed to fall in the Dungeon. He made it all the way to the Treasure Room where the Djinn and Magi decided he was unworthy. You don't own me... I'll go where I please." and this was all the girl had to say. There was no more sense of servitude left in this girl, only her burning desire to free the rest of the people enslaved in this area. But she'd not known this man as a master and had no idea what he was like.

[Bloodedge]

"Unworthy, eh? That's no surprise to me," the man replied. Truth be told, he and the man he claimed as his brother were not the most agreeable siblings in the world. However... the fact that he saw no sign of the man when the dungeon closed was more than disturbing. "The dungeon is gone, and Shaqeeq is nowhere to be seen. My brother is dead, then. What a shame. I thought to take him down myself after he claimed the dungeon, but you will suffice." This man carried with him a poleaxe, which he held in his right hand with its tip pointed in Yasmin's direction. "Come then, princess! Let's see just how worthy you are of being called a Dungeon Capturer!"

[Apollymi]

Yasmin seemed to be completely and utterly shocked by what this man was saying. Shaqeeq wasn't one of the best people she'd known in her life. To be honest he was probably the worst, even so, she couldn't believe the man's own brother had simply intended to do away with him after he'd captured the dungeon. She couldn't see what anyone would gain from such an action and beyond that she wasn't really prepared to fight this man. But looking at him and seeing the stance he'd taken she couldn't well turn her back on him now. Somehow she had the oddest feeling that if she did, it would simply end with a poleaxe ending her existence if she did. "For the record, I didn't wish for any of this and I do not want to fight. But I am wary of turning my back on someone who thought to cut down his own brother though..." and with that the girl relaxed she was unarmed but, she inhaled a deep breath concentrating on what she wanted. And took a step forward, the eight sided star on her ankle shackle glowing. She'd noticed already that all of her shackles were gold, but only that one had the mark. For whatever reason the next thing to follow was a gentle breeze beneath the girl's feet. 'Oh... this feels familiar and kind of nice.'

[Bloodedge]

"You should be wary of much more than that," the man said as he brought his left hand down to the eight-pointed star on his poleaxe's blade. His Metal Vessel began to glow as he recited an incantation. "Spirit of Massacre and Arrogance, In the name of my Magoi, and my will to grant me a greater power, I order you and your members. Glasya-Labolas!" The power of the Djinn Glasya-Labolas enveloped the entire left side of the man's body, as well as his weapon. He emerged moments later with wings and five eyes on his torso and either side of his head, as well as flame-like designs all over his body. His poleaxe had become a khakkhara with the eight-pointer star in the middle, and there was a mandala behind his head and another on his weapon. "Hadith Barad Iltehad!" With a single swing of his khakkhara, the brother of Shaqeeq launched numerous bullets made of metal toward Yasmin, aiming to riddle her from head to toe with the barrage.

[Apollymi]

"So I see." Yasmin managed. She had no intention of fighting but this grotesque take over was not something she'd been prepared for. 'Oh that must be a Djinn Equip' she thought watching as this happened. Even so, there was not much time to admire or question what she was seeing as soon enough a barrage of metal coming her way. But unlike most Yasmin didn't seem at all concerned about this, in fact her body simply swayed from left to right and she moved about with a dancer's grace, wind billowing from her person as she finished her dodging movements with a swirling kick which would with a bit of extra concentration create a sweeping tornado which aimed to engulf this man and blow him a considerable distance away from herself. Oddly enough, this man was inadvertently helping the young girl figure out how to use her Djinn's powers by showing her how he used his.

[Bloodedge]

The bullets he fired continued to move forward, though after seeing how Yasmin so effortlessly evaded the first barrage, he halted the following bullets where they were. A repositioning of the bullets followed, though the kick of wind from Yasmin scattered many bullets before reaching the man himself. His arms crossed over his chest as he braced himself in the tornado's wake, retaining his position for the most part in the end. When the winds subsided, he manipulated his bullets once more, creating a dome of bullets around Yasmin. "You'll never get anywhere like that." With that said, he willed the movement of his bullets inward, focusing them on the shackles Yasmin wore. This was his initial intention against his brother: to wait until he captured a Djinn, only to destroy his vessel afterwards.

[Apollymi]

It was clear to Yasmin that she'd not be able to do anything proper from this angle of attack. Even so, she didn't see what this had to do with anything. She wondered what this man's aim was in attacking her, given she hadn't even gotten enough time in to figure out how being a Vessel and using a Metal Vessel should work in the first place. Of course, she was soon being surrounded and bombarded by a great number of these metal balls and though she could dodge all she wished, since she was surrounded there was nothing she could rightly do, but avoid major physical damage to her person. Eventually one of the barrage would shatter against the shackle which held her Djinn and break it off her ankle stopping the flow of Magoi from her body and basically leaving her own her own except for the minute control she'd managed based on watching this man perform his equip. Still she dodged and didn't falter to her credit. But to her knowledge her Djinn was lost. It was all she could do to keep moving until the barrage subsided.

[Bloodedge]

Soon enough, the purple-haired man was given visual confirmation of the destroyed Metal Vessel he was aiming for. This put an end to his onslaught, and in general, his business with this group. "There. One less candidate in the world. Have your freedom now, but be mindful what you choose to do with it. This world does not cater to the weak." And with that, the man turned around, dequipping his Djinn as he returned to the caravan with no intention of further addressing this group.

[Apollymi]

Soon enough the onslaught ended, and Yasmin was left alone. Apparently this man had no intention of recapturing her, and had only wished to do away with her metal vessel. Apparently he didn't much like the idea of competition between himself and others, but since she'd been left alone she couldn't really say she had any problems with it. "I am unsure about that man... I don't know whether he is a good person or not... but my metal vessel is broken. Ali..." the girl turned on her heels wondering what had happened to the Magi who'd been accompanying her and her urchin friend since leaving the dungeon.

[Bloodedge]

When Yasmin turned around, she would see none other than Ali standing with one outstretched arm between Bakura and the departing male with purple hair. "It's over now. You should relax," he said to the younger male, prompting Bakura to stand down. "Yes, your Djinn Metal Vessel is broken... But, you can get another. Sorry, but I have to be excused now. I need to... look into something," he went on to say as he tossed out his magic carpet again, preparing to hop atop it and vacate the premises.

[Apollymi]

"Oh?" Yasmin turned and it seemed that Ali had been holding back her friend for the duration of her fight. As it was now over and her assailant had left, it seemed that the question she'd been ready to ask had been anticipated. A smile came to the girl's face as she found out the information she'd needed to know immediately following her interaction with the brother of Shaqeeq. "Oh, alright then. Farewell~" the girl said, and in an act which came from a place deep within her previous servitude she bowed her head as this man left her presence. Once all was said and done she'd return her attention to Bakura.

"Hmm, it appears I can get another. I don't intend to waste my freedom on anything... I still wish to do what I wanted to do before." she said cheekily a grin appearing on her face as she picked up and dragged along her treasure. "What do you say Baki, want to go take another dungeon?" she asked. Apparently understanding the Magi's previous explanation to mean that she could get another Djinn and not just a new metal vessel for the one she already possessed.

[Bloodedge]

When Yasmin expressed her desire to continue with the original plan, a sly grin passed Bakura's face. He didn't know much, if anything, about the outside world, but there was one thing he knew: If Yasmin was to go on an adventure beyond the confines of this country, he would certainly be tagging along. This time, he could even be of direct use in the dungeon, now that the pink-haired girl operated of her own free will. "Let's do it!"

[Apollymi]

A smile came to the pink haired girl's face. They'd need a new destination and she even had one in mind considering their present placement in one of the desert kingdoms of the country. "Alright then. One of the other desert countries has a dungeon that hasn't been conquered yet. Qishan, I think it was. If we go there, we should be able to get that one... and then we can come back here, and continue ahead with the plan." Yasmin muttered. Still carrying a large quantity of treasure she'd aim to get all the preparation's ready so they could go on a trip.

[Bloodedge]

Some days later, the very same cart taken out of the country by Yasmin and Bakura returned to Parthevia. Strangely, however, it bore twice the amount of treasure it had left with. It was also being driven by the teal-haired man known as Fudo Shakir. Not only was there double the amount of treasure, but also double the amount of people that left days prior. "So, this is Parthevia. I've never actually been here."

[Apollymi]

"Hmm, I don't expect many to have visited here. It's a bit odd... but I am fond of the movement of the streets." said Yasmin as she looked around at the place she'd so recently fled. She hadn't expected to come back here so soon, but since she was with friends she wouldn't let the thought of it get to her sense of self at this point.

Meanwhile Nasira looked out the back where she sat, eyes wide and mouth agape. "I've never seen this place either. It's so different." she said taking in the sights as if stunned. She looked over to Bakura and tried to imagine him younger and wandering these types of streets. And still didn't quite understand the sort of circumstances that would have lead him and Yasmin to become friends as a given.

[Bloodedge]

"It does seem quite interesting to look at. I guess it's worth staying for a bit; especially while we work on your Magoi Manipulation." After finding a suitable, and somewhat out of the way place to park the cart, Fudo hopped off. This was as good a place as any, near the outskirts, with a decent bit of clearing. "So... shall we?" he asked while drawing his sword. "I'd like to see Paimon's power, and how you wield it, for myself."

Meanwhile, Bakura was hopping off the back of the cart. After doing so, he turned around and offered a hand to the black-haired girl who'd been sitting in his company for the ride. "It's an alright place to grow up in. Good for tunnels, too."

[Apollymi]

"I suppose it is." said Yasmin as she hopped out of the cart as well. Right after this was done, Fudo recommended they get in a bit of practice as they were currently on the outskirts of the city. He wished to see Paimon's power as well as her own, this was an interesting idea to the pink haired girl and as such she reached to grab the flabellum at her side and before too long had it in her hand, flipping it around her fingers as she did. "Hmm... I have no problem with that. A bit of practice is always good." she said the fan in her hands finally coming to a stop. This Magoi Manipulation had been discussed at length while they traveled so Yasmin understood in theory how to get the result she desired. And as such concentrated her Magoi. In so doing, she achieved what seemed to be a Djinn Equip of a minor status, the weapon equip. The wind kicking up around her as the flabellum transformed into a long handled spear. This was the only real change visible right now and a huge grin came to the girl's face as she began to swirl the weapon around with an unknown bit of skill. "Oh... this feels right." and with that she took an odd stance. Her left leg leading her right behind her for support. Her shoulders were relaxed and her hands were placed mid the long shaft and right at the end. "Here I come." she warned only to dash forward immediately after thrusting the spear with her hand at its far end while using her hold on the middle of the shaft for flexibility and accuracy. Her aim in this seemed to be a stab at the center of the man's body with the flabellum end enforced by wind to sharpen it quite a bit.

Meanwhile, Nasira took the hand extended to her by Bakura. She hopped out of the cart with his aid and landed on the ground hearing his statement about the tunnels her brows rose. "What on earth would one need tunnels for?" she asked, genuinely confused about the need for such things. Also there was the more than large matter of the two leaders of their Households, currently practicing right out in the open.

[Bloodedge]

Fudo waited for Yasmin to unleash her Djinn Equip. When she did, he became quite interested in its form, as well as the stance taken by the pink-haired woman. It seemed she was well-versed in staff-wielding. In fact, he dared compare the quality of her stance to that of his own royal swordplay, which he took by placing his left forearm against the small of his back while holding his short sword forward and keeping his feet close together on the ground. A nod followed Yasmin's announcement of her oncoming attack, and when her weapon came his way, he swayed to his immediate left while pressing his blade against the side of her polearm to deflect it. In the meantime, he focused his Magoi on his sword and called forth the flames of Amon from the blade. "Spirit of Politeness and Austerity, In the name of my Magoi, and my will to grant me a greater power, I order you and your members, Come Forth, Amon!" As the fire fed back into the weapon, Fudo's double-edged short sword became a claymore, black in color, while his hands and forearms developed a molten appearance. Instead of counter-attacking with his new weapon, he hopped away and looked at its large form with quite a bit of detest. "... I am not a fan of this."

When asked why one would need tunnels, Bakura could only grin and chuckle lightly. "Gotta eat to live, gotta steal to eat. Tunnels make it easier to get in and out without being seen moving from place to place."

[Apollymi]

Yasmin didn't expect to get anywhere with her current attack, that being said when it was deflected her hold on the shaft immediately changed, moving her arms further up, to grant her more control as the young man before her seemed to hop away, after having unleashed his Djinn weapon only to get something much more different than what he was used to dealing with. With this in mind Yasmin didn't immediately follow up. Instead she twirled the spear around her body and brought it to a stop in her other hand. "Hmm... yeah. That seems a bit bulky." she said genuinely trying to think of a solution to help this young man out as she retook her stance this time with her legs closer together and her arms evenly placed down the length of her weapon. "Maybe there's a way to condense it... and make it more suited to your style." she offered with a smile. She'd wait to see if he did anything with this and test out the defense of this weapon.

Nasira heard out what Bakura had to say about the use of tunnels and she supposed they were almost a necessity when one couldn't pay for things and they didn't want to be arrested. "I suppose that makes sense. I'd never have thought of such a thing myself." she said. She realized though her childhood hadn't been exceedingly happy, she'd never known the kind of struggle this young man had known. He was quite admirable for retaining his good nature and sense of humor given the circumstances.

[Bloodedge]

"That's exactly what I was thinking," Fudo replied while looking at the weapon. "Not that I have a strong hatred for this, but... not like this." Knowing the method of Magoi compression necessary for Djinn Equip, Fudo chose to simply amplify the compression until he was able to see the sword visibly changing its form. It became a shorter weapon, similar in appearance to that of a royal sword from the country Balbadd, which was ultimately suited to the form of royal swordplay Fudo had been taught. The curved, black blade radiated heat which gave it additional range. A couple of jabs at the air with this blade allowed Fudo to readjust to its size, though he acknowledged that its weight had never changed from its sealed form. "Amon's Royal Sword. Interesting. This looks like the weapon my mentor used all those years ago," he said as he took his stance once more. "Sorry for the wait. I'm ready now."

"You wouldn't have to. If I didn't tunnel my way around, I wouldn't be here today. If you ever need to run away from something, tunnels are the way to go." This was likely the most important bit of advice Bakura was able to give anyone, as it was one of the key factors to his survival for over a decade. Of course, he also had to give credit to his own guile, but tunnels made it possible for him to use said guile to maximum efficiency.

[Apollymi]

Yasmin had nothing to say. It was nice to be on the same page as someone else. So, she patiently waited for this young man to get a weapon he was more comfortable with using. Apparently he'd been taught Royal Swordplay as part of his earlier education and Yasmin respected that. The pink haired girl relaxed a bit more, her left hand firmly grasping the middle of her spear, her right one drifting a bit further backwards as she solidified her stance and it again became something worth looking at. "Alright then..." was all she had to say before she attacked again. This time aiming a trio of jabs towards this man's middle while maintaining a healthy distance between them. The wind seemed to dance around her person as she moved and her grip was lessened after her attempted strikes for some unknown reason.

"Hmm, I will keep that in mind. I am not very fond of the idea of running... but a tactical retreat is sometimes necessary to fight another day." mentioned the black haired girl. As she was now turned and watching the pair of Dungeon Capturers she was a bit interested in this young woman's style of fighting. It was well practiced and for her to have been a slave it seemed a bit unreasonable for her to know something like spearmanship. 'Where did she learn how to fight like that?'

[Bloodedge]

If there was one problem Fudo knew he would have in this spar, it was the amount of range Yasmin had against him. This was arguably the short sword's greatest weakness, and the wind augmentation only made matters worse. However, Fudo remained calm and collected while readying himself to move. The trio of stabbing movements forced him into much wider evasive maneuvers to both his left and right than the previous attack, and this made it more difficult for him to respond with an assault of his own. 'This form... It's so refined...' he thought. Furthermore, he considered how the remainder of this match would go if he began an assault as well. Keeping this in mind, he reverted his sword to its normal state, and backed away. "That'll do. We should avoid doing this with our Djinn Equips. I'm glad we did not meet as enemies. Things wouldn't end well for anyone in that case."

[Apollymi]

Yasmin was also busy taking in her opponents responses to her attacks. His responses were much faster than she expected. 'So fast.' she thought. In thinking about this from a fighting perspective she figured that if he dodged enough, she'd tire herself out long before she could take full advantage of the fact that her weapon had much greater reach than his. With this in mind an outcome in the fights between them seemed unfavorable. After a few seconds Fudo returned his sword to normal and in so doing stated the things she'd just been thinking herself. A smile crossed the pink haired girl's face as she relaxed her flabellum returning to it's normal length which she tucked back into the loose chain belt she had around her waist. "I was just thinking that as well... I'm glad we're friends." she said completely returning to her relaxed posture. "Hm, I should get a normal spear for practicing." she said aloud but to no one in particular.

[Bloodedge]

Now that the spar had come to its official end, Fudo pulled out his cloth and wrapped his weapon to return it to its resting place. He wondered if all Dungeon Capturers would encounter such a problem as the one Yasmin and himself nearly did, or if some were more suited to friendly combat against one another. "We'll find a way to practice one day. Your Magoi Manipulation is quite good, by the way. Shall we give liberating the area a shot?"

[Apollymi]

Samiya the Magi had been watching the practice bout between the two Dungeon Capturers and was more than a bit amazed how they turned theory into practice with little to no effort. This of course, only made her more soundly aware that both herself and Ali were apparently able to pick Candidates who had similar qualities and would be able to defend themselves. Still, the problem of the two facing each other was rather easily rectified and she figured she may as well chime in on this, before Yasmin could reply to the young man's previous statement. "He's quite right, your Magoi Manipulation is quite good, and you have an above average amount of it, both of you. As for your practicing with each other, you will find it much easier to combine your attacks and fighting styles than you will find it to fend each other off. With normal weapons though, you'll both learn to overcome your shortcomings as fighters which is something I would advise of both of you..." she finished only to look off into the distance. Yasmin was about to reply and instead was stopped and after taking in all that Samiya had to say she bowed to the redheaded Magi and smiled. "Thanks for the advice." she chimed before turning to Fudo who had suggested the pair of them try liberating this area. Given what this young woman wanted to do, she thought about what that would entail and spoke on it as such. "The Harron Clan runs the slave trade in this country, and I am unsure if it will be possible to diplomatically convince them to abandon it. According to Ali and confirmed by the Elder Brother I faced before... they are potentially all dungeon capturers... so that is something to look out for. But I never met any of the other siblings during my time as Shaqeeq's slave. I only know what the Elder brother looks like because he came looking for me after my Dungeon was sunk." she said thinking it over before rushing any particular way.

[Bloodedge]

"You're right," was his reply to Samiya. "If we manage to find a way to do this without maiming each other, we'll be able to counter our weaknesses: Mine against long range, and yours," he continued, shifting his attention back to Yasmin, "against short range. As for this Harron family, if we approach them carefully enough to not encounter multiple Dungeon Capturers and Household Members at once, we could free their holds one by one. If they won't free the slaves on our terms, then we'll free them."

Bakura had been observing the interaction between the others from the sidelines, and of all that was said, he had only one concern. Said concern was something said by Fudo, which made him lean toward Nasira and whisper a single word query. "Maiming?"

[Apollymi]

Samiya nodded to Fudo though added a little more for clarity. "That isn't all I mean. Style wise you two could help each other out, but should the need to conserve Magoi ever be present... elementally your Djinn are compatible as well. Though I am sure between the two of you, you'll figure that out all on your own." she mentioned in a haphazard sort of way. Yasmin heard these words and nodded to both Samiya as well as Fudo, who was quite right, if they managed to fight without causing each other serious injury, they'd eventually be able to overcome the problems presented them by their respective fighting styles. As for the liberation of this country, she supposed that was one way to go about it. "Hmm, I guess that would make a reasonable amount of sense, diplomacy first... fight if necessary. I am not sure how large each household would be only that there are only two other siblings of Shaqeeq so that narrows it down quite a bit. They live in different parts of town... one on the east and one on the west. Storage facilities were in the North and Shaqeeq's hold was in the South. No idea if that has changed in the last week or so." she mentioned so that everyone would have all necessary information.

Meanwhile, Nasira was asked a covert question by Bakura about the meaning of a word which was spoken by Fudo. She had no problem explaining these things, as the boy was educating her in the nature of street things. She had no problem giving him information on words as such she leaned in and whispered the explanation. "It means to injure in a way that leaves a lasting impression. Like losing an arm, or getting a horrific scar something like that."

[Bloodedge]

"Ah... I see." Moving along from the matter of training, Fudo considered the most tactical way of going about this freedom movement. Now that he knew where the outposts were, and that Shaqeeq had himself set up to the south, he figured out the best thing he could suggest. "It may be wise to go south first. If we free the remaining slaves of Shaqeeq, we could use it as leverage against the other two. Either they meet our terms and free their slaves, or we'll do what we did in the south."

Meanwhile, Bakura received the definition he sought of the word maim. But, when getting it, he was once again confused by something else. Rather, there were now two words his vocabulary seemed to be lacking. "Ohh. Impression? Horrific?"

[Apollymi]

Yasmin could at least see the logic behind the plan of attack Fudo was suggesting. It also involved the least amount of fighting which she was also okay with considering she didn't really like the idea of hurting anyone unnecessarily. "Hmm, seems reasonable enough. Let's do it." she said affirming her own beliefs in this cause to free people from the oppression that was slavery in this country.

Meanwhile it seemed that in her explanation Nasira had presented two more words this lad didn't know. With this in mind she paused before explaining. "An impression is an feeling or idea about someone or something. And horrific is a word to describe something which causes you to feel extremely shocked, fearful or disgusted." she went on to explain. wondering if the word disgust would have to be explained as well as it was the most complex of all the words she'd used in her explanation. But she was not without knowing that plans were being hatched by the two dungeon Capturers about their plans to apparently liberate this country.

[Bloodedge]

"Alright." And so, they had come to another agreement. Fudo would once again take to driving the cart to their destination, with plans of relying on Yasmin's direction in this area. Upon noticing the goings-on betwixt these two, Bakura also began to move toward the cart. Nasira had proven very helpful in clearing up the words he had failed to comprehend up to this point, and for this, he was grateful. "Oh, cool. Thanks for that. And... sorry if I'm getting on your nerves, being stupid and all."

[Apollymi]

Since Fudo was headed back towards the cart, Yasmin followed as well. They'd already come to an agreement about what to do with the Harron Clan. With this in mind she had no problem just hopping in to give directions should he need them. "Basically the town is divided into quarters from the center of town. The southern part is to the left... north to the right... east is this road we are on... and west is going straight from this direction." she said with an amazing memory for the way this part of the country worked. Of course, she'd walked it more than a thousand times in her life. "If you want a faster or more covert route though, Baki is the one to ask... he's used to moving around without being seen." Meanwhile noticing the stirring in the two King Candidates Nasira also headed for and hopped into the back of the cart waving off Bakura's commentary. "No need for all that. I am more than happy to help. To be honest..." she lowered her voice just a tad. "Normally, I am completely lost, and Fudo is constantly explaining things to me. This is a refreshing change of pace." With that they were more than clear to be be off.

[Bloodedge]

"Southern part to the left, huh. Alright..." Fudo said in his preparation to head in the desired direction. "Don't go left!" Bakura interjected from the back of the cart. "If you turn right, there's a way clearer path a few turns ahead." Following the younger male's advice, Fudo turned right. Eventually, a combination of directions from Yasmin and Bakura resulted in Fudo stopping the cart at an outpost full of slaves, who didn't seem to be without a master. "That's strange. Did this Shaqeeq have other people to manage his slaves?"

[Apollymi]

Yasmin had nothing more to say about the directions. She was actually also more inclined to follow Bakura's directions as they were more likely to get them where they wanted to go without it being too much of a problem. And it seemed to do exactly that within just a few minutes of beginning their ride. Of course when they arrived, Yasmin was notably confused... this was of course because this place wasn't abandoned and people were still moving about as if they still had a master to answer to. "No... Shaqeeq had no such thing. He was not a very trusting individual. Unless... someone else in his family has taken over here. No one accounted for his not returning from the dungeon, even his brother was surprised when he didn't emerge with me." she mentioned. This immediately made the girl become guarded. She didn't like the way this was looking right at the moment.

[Bloodedge]

"Well... it seems like we'll have to change our approach a bit," Fudo said as he looked out onto the field. It seemed the largest group of working slaves was being driven by a very skinny blonde male who wore little more than a black strip of cloth around his waist, which wrapped around his torso by draping over his left shoulder. This young man wielded a whip in his left hand to keep the slaves in line. A very strange thing to note about this blonde, blue-eyed male was the teal-colored lipstick he wore, which matched his nails and the gems placed on the ornaments he wore on his neck, ears, arms and legs. "Could that be one of them, by chance?"

[Apollymi]

As they approached and gathered that something was amiss, Fudo suggested a change in their previously arranged strategy. As they discussed this possible change a new male presence was noted obviously keeping the slaves in line. This male was blonde, with teal accents and matching coloration throughout his person. Which was surprising enough when she thought about it, but given his look, he couldn't possibly be one of the Harron Clan's dungeon capturing siblings. "He isn't one of them... everyone who is part of the Harron Clan has purple hair." she said. Though this strange male was indeed doing a job usually reserved for direct members of the family. This could only mean there was a great deal of trust presently placed in him. "Hmm... he must be one of the Household members, its about the only way he could be so trusted." she mentioned. She wasn't liking the way this reorganization was looking, actually it was all a fair bit distressing considering, but she supposed there was no time like the present to face what would be her greatest challenge to date.

[Bloodedge]

"Household Member, huh? Lemme at 'im!" Bakura chimed from the back of the cart, only to be halted by Fudo's raised hand. "Wait... that may not be for the best. If he is part of the same Household you two dealt with before, they may not give second thought to apprehending you with everything they've got. Let us start things off while the two of you relax. Nasira!" Fudo called out to his childhood friend to relay the thought that she should be the one approaching this particular individual. If they were both Household Members, Fudo had faith that Nasira would be able to thwart any challenge he could send her way, and if he was wrong, then he knew he would quickly be going on the offensive as well.

Knowing what Fudo's call was meant to imply, Bakura decided not to speak to Nasira further. Instead, he moved closer to the front of the cart, and leaned toward Yasmin. "Hey Yas, what does apron-ding mean?"

[Apollymi]

Yasmin heard this plan of attack and though she figured Bakura would want to be involved she was also against this for the same reasons that Fudo mentioned. A small smile appeared on her face, as he called his own family member in to be the one to do something about this particular individual. And Nasira who had been paying attention to everything going on with the pair up front immediately understood her role in this and hopped from the cart without a second thought. "Yeah, yeah... got it covered." she said as she approached the unknown male. Once she was within earshot she gave a minor warning which she figured would be alright give the discussions between the two dungeon capturers. "I have a minor request. That you free all the people here, or take me to someone who will hear out that request." the small black haired girl said her demeanor and body totally loose as she made her request.

Meanwhile, Yasmin was left to watch this encounter happen from the cart. But before she could really get into it. Bakura asked a question which made her turn to the younger male and blink twice. But given she was a nice person at heart, she'd not question his need to understand this word, and would only give him its definition with a warm smile. "Apprehending, means to capture or take down depending on the situation." Yasmin having finished her speech was rather curious about what the childhood friend of Fudo would do in this situation and it seemed she would take the same route any of them would take in the same situation.

[Bloodedge]

The blonde male was prepared to crack his whip on a few of the slaves near him, but he was interrupted by Nasira when she approached with her request. He looked at her quizzically while continuing to raise his whip. Who did this girl think she was? After a few moments of silence, he smirked. "And who are you to ask me, Shaka, to free these things? They will never be let go, and you will not be taken to Lady Shadiya without chains of your own!" With every intention of making this bold girl into a slave here and now, the boy apparently named Shaka cracked his whip, not at the slaves, but at the raven-haired girl who had so brazenly approached him.

"Ugh... all these words that mean the same thing as other words. Why can't everybody just keep it simple?" Bakura asked rhetorically. Fudo took his attention away from the interaction between Nasira and the blonde lad for a moment to address the lad in the cart. "I could always teach you, you know?"

[Apollymi]

Nasira looked at this man, and at the slaves she'd saved from an impromptu beating and she sighed. She figured this wouldn't go as smoothly as simply asking, but still she'd held out hope that this man would be reasonable. Still at this point, the man turned his whip on her claiming that she'd be next in chains before being taken to the person they were looking for apparently named Shadiya. Still there was the matter of this whip being cracked in her direction, but oddly enough the little black haired girl didn't back away, or even flinch from the sound it created. Instead she watched it and at the last second took hold of it. Allowing it to wrap around her right arm and her to take hold of it in the same hand. "That was weak... I was hoping to avoid any unnecessary violence." she mentioned as she pulled against the whip aiming to either disarm this man or drag him closer should he chose to keep hold of it. "I am Nasira... just a free person aiming to have a simple conversation." she mentioned still ready for whatever was to come next.

Meanwhile back at the cart, Bakura displayed a bit of frustration at the use of large words by the people in the cart. Yasmin was about to reply unexpectedly enough, it was Fudo who offered to teach the boy more about the words which were missing from his vocabulary. "Well, that is nice of you. Baki, we are all about sharing here... any of us would tell you anything you wanted to know. I'd totally take Fudo up on that offer though. The variety of words may seem a bit unnecessary, but finding the ones that give strength and meaning to how you feel, and having the ability to move other people with what you say... those are skills that can't be overlooked." the young woman mentioned, just in case, the younger male would have an issue accepting the help offered by Fudo.

[Bloodedge]

A twisted grin passed the blonde's face as this girl grabbed his whip, as if he was excited to see such a thing happen. This was followed by him being pulled by the whip toward this Nasira person. Shaka released his hold on the whip before he was brought within striking distance, and coasted the rest of the way toward the girl. In the end, he stood directly in front of her, heavily leaned forward in such close proximity that he could be heard clearly with a whisper. "Free person, Nasira? You're not allowed to get past me, and now you're not allowed to leave. So come on. Get your chains."

[Apollymi]

Nasira wasn't even surprised by this man's reaction to her grabbing his whip. After all, given she was able to do it without any problem it was obvious that she'd done it at least once before. Beyond this point, she knew the types of people who would turn a whip against another human being and they weren't the types of people who were satisfied with non-violent solutions. His words caused nothing but disgust in the small dark haired girl, and his presence so close to her was repulsive. Even so, she kept her cool and stated very clearly. "No." and with that and with this man so close. "Fine, since I am not allowed past you I have no choice, but I did try." she mentioned only to hop up and immediately aim to pull this guy's head directly into her knee, combining her upward momentum with an attempt to force his head downward, her apparent only goal in this to completely incapacitate the man in a single blow and move on from this point to one which made more sense than trying to speak with someone who was obviously not going to understand the point.

[Bloodedge]

Nasira had no intentions of becoming one of the slaves here. That was fine. No one ever wanted to be enslaved for the remainder of their days, after all. But, Shaka was confident in his idea that it would not matter whether she protested this enslavement or not, as she would be unable to stop him. When Nasira's hand reached his head and began pulling it toward her rising knee, something strange happened. Over the course of the single second it would have taken for this to happen from start to finish, Shaka disappeared and reappeared behind the girl. While her upward momentum continued, he aimed a kick backed by the forward momentum of a meter's dash toward the girl's rear end.

[Apollymi]

Nasira was all but perfectly capable of ending the average person's rampage in the matter of a couple of seconds, but it seemed she wouldn't be allowed this normal dignity. Instead, she soon found her target was not at all where he had been in the previous moment. Now, Nasira didn't consider herself to be the greatest physical fighter in the world, she was however quite sure of her abilities to handle herself, as such, when she found herself being kicked in her rear, she went with the motion going further up and taking the time to rearrange her body before making her descent her eyes narrowing quite a bit. 'There's no way he's faster than me... ' she thought as began her descent. Soon enough her feet were touching the ground again one slightly raised up to the ball of her foot, the other dangling over that. 'If he's a household member... then I have to assume he's using the Djinn's ability... but I have only a couple of choices in how to handle it.' she mused thinking over the options she'd smirk and go on to do another attack. This time moving forward swiftly to aim a kick at the man's center while spinning the rest of her weight into it. Her aim apparently simply to make contact and double the man over in this singular instance, but even while confronted by something she didn't seem to understand, she was very calm and apparently singularly minded while she attacked.

[Bloodedge]

Indeed, it did not seem like this man boasted the same level of speed as Nasira, judging by his body language alone. Even Fudo from afar found something strange about the fact that there was no build-up to his sudden movement, no matter how quickly it seemed to happen. 'Could he be vanishing?' the man wondered as he continued observing. During Nasira's second attempt at an attack, Shaka refrained from moving entirely. That is, until the moment before her kick was intended to make contact with his torso. In that second, he vanished and reappeared again, this time with his whip returned to his hand and already being cracked at Nasira's backside to begin what would be a barrage of lashes aimed at the lass.

[Apollymi]

As this apparent fight carried on Yasmin was left to be a bit confused as well. 'This isn't good.' she thought. She'd never seen this individual before, but she was quite used to the way slave masters in general dealt with individuals. And with one apparently being able to vanish and reappear in an incomprehensibly short amount of time, this would not end well regardless of the physical condition of Nasira herself. The pink haired woman frowned as this occurance happened again, this time while Nasira was aiming to kick this man, he disappeared and reappeared with his whip and lashed out at the girl repeatedly.

Nasira to her credit didn't cry out, she simply managed to look very confused as the first few hits met her rear while her kick met nothing but air. It was a confusing moment for her. 'Alright he was there, and then he was gone, and now he's somewhere else entirely and with the time to pick up speed.' she thought about this for a second. As she did she was brought to a moment of clarifying thought. When discussing the potential dungeons and Djinn up for capture, it had been stated that one of the types of magic affected space-time. With this in mind the girl realized she wasn't simply out of her element in this fight. Even so, she twisted after a few hits to her rear seemingly unimpressed by the power of this apparent whipping. After moving out of range she took an odd stance, with one fist extended and the other close to her body. Her feet were aligned with one flat against the ground and the other raised to mid-calf level. Her only desire in this moment, to hit this young man with her next attack. This girl began manipulating her magoi and when she did, the golden cuff on her arm began to glow. "I can't believe you actually beat people into submission when you hit like that..." she said her tone mocking. It was a simple tactic but she'd been trusted by her friend and she didn't intend to let him down. "Next time I strike... I hit you." she said her posture changing as she rushed forward this time instead of the kick she aimed a strike at this man's fore like she was going to punch him in the stomach but with it, would come a burst of flames caused by her manipulated magoi and the Djinn vessel she was using. As such the flames would be instantaneous and lasting in the singular direction before the girl and for a wide arc following the path of the intended strike.

[Bloodedge]

'Oh... That's not teleportation,' Fudo thought after witnessing Shaka's second use of this mysterious ability. Though Yasmin was content to be wary of the man, Fudo found himself relaxing once he'd figured out what this man could do. "Actually, this is perfect. I don't know if she realizes it yet, but Nasira's natural ability can overcome what that man is doing."

Meanwhile, Shaka snickered at Nasira's reaction to his whipping. "Ooohhh, somebody taught you how to take a beating? Now you're just getting me riled up. C'mon then. Hit me." This time, when Nasira charged him, he raised both arms in cross formation, showcasing the 8-pointed star glowing on his left wrist guard. As the fire began to emerge from Nasira's leg, Shaka's eyes widened, but that was the moment he would vanish from sight. In actuality, he had paused time with his Household Vessel. Once he had done so, he stepped away from the black-haired girl and the fire that her leg had spawned. He could feel the heat on his abdomen even now, but he was safe. In this one second of frozen time, he stepped to Nasira's left and wrapped his whip around her neck. Continuing to move around to her rear, he returned time to its normal progressive state, intending to begin strangling Nasira to hold her in place until she submitted.

[Apollymi]

Fudo seemed to have figured something out about the way this man worked and more so, his faith in Nasira seemed to be renewed. This much was obvious to Yasmin as the man relaxed in spite of what was unfolding before them with his household member. As it was specified by Fudo that some natural ability of Nasira's would allow her to overcome the powers this man was using, the pink haired woman seemed more intent to watch and see if she could figure out what he was getting at instead of asking.

Nasira got at last final confirmation of what was occurring here. When she moved to hit him again he seemed to disappear once more and in a second of time she soon had his whip settling in around her neck and he had of course moved once more. But this time instead of it being the first of the hits she'd intended for this man to take, her body continued after the motion, spinning in a full circle and the flames of her household vessel taking over in this moment and following the path of her motion burning him and allowing her the freedom to get away from his supposed strangling without a mark. If this action went according to plan, he'd be burned and kicked in his new position across the center of his body. Following the kick she'd previously appeared to miss. If this happened, Nasira would be standing in her form once more... one foot flat the other raised her body relaxed and ready for more continuous circular motion. "I know you're stopping time for a second to get around the fact that I am faster than you. But... it won't work on me. You should surrender before your defeat becomes too much for you." the girl commented. It happened that Nasira was quite used to being a target, with this in mind, she was much faster and her reflexes much more keen than others. In addition, she seemed to have the unique ability of being able to time her attacks to overcome the delay in time.

Yasmin seemed to be playing catch up for a few seconds after witnessing this moment. But after a few seconds she also relaxed having faith in Nasira's ability after her moment. "Oh, I get it now."

[Bloodedge]

One thing Shaka did not expect was for Nasira's attack to continue in such a way that it would strike him after he had returned time to the area. The flames of this kick spread across his torso, causing him to release his hold on the whip to quickly discard what little he wore on his chest. "Got me figured out, huh? It doesn't matter," he said while rubbing the front of his torso, which would surely be blistering soon due to the burn he'd received. "Knowing what I can do won't let you beat me. You think you can predict where I'm going to be after a second, don't you? Well it won't work!" With that said, he began charging forward.

During this time, it appeared Yasmin had come to realize what transpired before them, and why Nasira was so certain to win in the eyes of Fudo. "That's right. Nasira's adaptability was what I was trying to achieve when aiming to customize my Royal Swordplay. Her ability is unlike anything I've ever seen. Even if someone can stop time itself, Nasira can alter her movements in an instant."

In the midst of his forward movement, Shaka thought to up his own ability to its maximum potential. For two full seconds, he halted time again. This time, he hopped onto his enemy's shoulder to give himself an up in jumping above her. When time returned, he was descending with his left heel coming down strong overhead. His aim here was to deliver enough concussive force to incapacitate Nasira and bring an end to this fight.

[Apollymi]

Nasira was indeed successful in her endeavor. And now that she fully understood how this ability worked she feared less and relaxed more, making it that much more easy for her body to adapt to the ever changing situation. But this man before her seemed to have some sort of attitude about the whole thing, and thought that he'd be able to overcome this young woman by some other means she wasn't aware of. "At the end of this, remember that this was your choice." Nasira mentioned seeming to have nothing but faith in herself and this situation regardless of what this man claimed he would be able to do to her, and in that moment time stopped for the young woman again as this blonde man charged forward.

Meanwhile, Yasmin got the information of what she thought she understood she was observing from Fudo and it made her nod. "Yeah, it's like her body is ever shifting. It's amazing to watch." she mentioned as the fight continued and this man apparently continued his assault jumping over the girl and aiming to come down on top of her over the course of two seconds instead of one. In this situation one would think that Nasira couldn't possibly do anything a man descending from above shouldn't be expected, but at the return of time she was simply inhaling and turning her head upward, and this time instead of using her body to physically assault the man, as he came down, she'd exhale her power upward, spewing fire into a large ball above her head, with a use of her household vessel none could have rightly anticipated. If this worked, the man would be caught in the flames above giving her more than enough time to move as his soon to be charred self descended through flames.

[Bloodedge]

"Mm. She's also gifted enough when it comes to Magoi manipulation to take Amon's flames and make them a product of her own body. I wondered how that Household Vessel would function. Even I'm surprised by..." Fudo's statement was paused with time as this battle entered its final few seconds. The return of time resulted in another surprise on Shaka's part, which was the burning of his entire being by the flames of Amon breathed directly from Nasira's mouth. He fell to the ground in a ball of fire, rolling around and screaming bloody murder. Never had he, a man entrusted with all the slaves in this region by his King Vessel, taken such damage. "Fucking commoner! Lady Shadiya will have the heads of you and your companions for this!"

"... what she has done with the item." Even after time returned to normal, Fudo held off the end of his statement. He was simply intrigued by how quickly Nasira had adjusted to her Household Vessel, even reaching the point of being able to breathe Amon's flames. "Well, that caused quite a lot of noise. I wonder where the Lord of this area is."

[Apollymi]

Yasmin nodded her agreement to Fudo's statement. She almost couldn't believe the mild mannered girl who had so recently befriended herself and Bakura had this sort of latent ability waiting to be unleashed. Beyond that she found the girl's tolerance of another individual and willingness to allow them to walk away before a situation escalated so far admirable. Even so, it seemed that this fight had come to its end and as the man known as Shaka fell to the ground a ball of fire and pain Nasira ran her thumb over the corner of her mouth apparently appraising a burn she'd managed to give herself by exhaling that much fire. "Quiet. All that griping isn't going to change what happened here. If you are so willing to met out punishments you should be just as capable of taking them." Nasira finished up turning back to the group and waving them over while bowing to the slaves present. "You are free to leave... this man won't be hurting you anymore." she said.

Meanwhile in the building there was a redhead woman sitting in a chair with it leaned back her head against the wall her eyes closed. She appeared to be sleeping but she'd heard the commotion from earlier and even the screams of the man Shaka. 'Ugh... I see he has gotten himself into a fit about something. I'm not going out to see what... if it's good... it will come here.' she thought as her choppy red hair fell around her face and a small smirk came over her lips.

Meanwhile Yasmin looked towards the building with a brow raised but left the cart intending to move forward. "Seems no one is coming outside immediately... we should go have a look around or perhaps see who else is around here. All that commotion surely someone should have emerged by now." Yasmin stated a bit confused by why there was no one here to address this particular problem of a downed and burning man.

[Bloodedge]

"I agree. We should be on our guard." As Fudo extricated himself from the cart as well, he looked back to check on the long-silent Bakura, whom he was surprised to see was... no longer in or near the cart. "Wait... Where's Bakura?" he asked of Yasmin, being unsure himself where the lad could have, or would have gone.

In the meantime, Bakura was inside the building, sneaking around various slaves and appointed guards until he reached a room in which he could not sneak around its only resident. "Meh. That's boring. This place doesn't have anything in it, and now I can't just get around you," he said. If there was one thing Bakura could not do, it was slip around someone who had their back against the wall. So, he stood at the other end of the room, knowing full well this woman in her chair was awake.

[Apollymi]

Yasmin looked back as well finding Bakura wasn't there, was not a great surprise to the young pink haired woman. Instead of being distraught about it she shrugged it off, stepping towards Nasira as she explained the likely actions of her Household Member. "Baki is prone to wandering about to find ways in and scope things out." Yasmin offered. "He's likely inside already..." she said of the white haired lad who had been her companion throughout her time as a slave. Even so, Yasmin didn't seem too worried about this, the likelihood of anything happening to the young man that he couldn't get out of was very low by her own approximation. A second after she spoke the Magi who'd been accompanying them finally stepped forward this time between the pair of them.

"Bakura hopped out the back a few moments after he was sure of Nasira's victory..." she mentioned heading towards the door of this place and pushing it open. After a second she paused in the doorway and frowned a little. Staring around the pair of them like there was something she hadn't seen before. Nasira herself was stepping forward seeming to be interested in why Bakura had run off ahead without anyone else. But as she stepped forward a bit more her vision seemed to become a bit blurry and a step she took next seemed a bit unsteady. It would be Samiya who reached out for the girl. "Now now... your Magoi Manipulation is very good, but that was a lot for a first go... patience." she said but even so her eyes travelled across the Metal Vessels of these two Kings and she was confused but would simply continue to watch until it became necessary for her to interfere.

Inside however, the redheaded woman with her back against the wall so to speak, opened a single eye towards the boy who had spoken to her. He was not exactly what she'd been expecting and with this in mind she didn't bother changing her position or moving from the spot she was sitting in. "You aren't the one who made Shaka have a fit... but why are you sneakin' around like that?" she said apparently content to do noting until this situation was fully explained.

[Bloodedge]

"I see. That's potentially very bad. We should find him before he gets into something." Fudo walked forward with the others. He didn't fail to realize how Samiya was looking between Yasmin and himself, but it wasn't until after Nasira's little hiccup and the Magi's explanation of her Magoi expenditure that he addressed it. "Is something the matter, Samiya?"

"Oh, y'know. Just checkin' the place out. Shaka's that skinny guy outside, yeah?" Bakura asked. It was his intention initially to survey the building to give the others a path of least resistance to go by, but through a couple of windows on his way through the building, he had seen Nasira's fight and been motivated to take this challenge himself. "If you're with that guy, I gotta fight ya'. Nothin' personal. Just gotta do it 'cause you guys don't wanna free the slaves ya' got here."

[Apollymi]

"I wouldn't worry too much about that. Baki is more than capable of taking care of himself." Yasmin said of Bakura. Though he wasn't formally trained in anything, that young man was a street urchin with a good heart. He was beyond used to surviving all on his own, and beyond this was quite wise beyond what was normal. Even if he found himself at a physical disadvantage, she trusted him not to let anything bad happen to himself. Still, as she approached and saw the near falling of Nasira she nodded at the explanation given by Samiya about why this occurred. She supposed that was something she should keep in mind as well, though she hadn't felt the least bit fatigued by the use of her own vessel, she supposed that was among the things which were different for each person.

Samiya's wandering gaze it seemed didn't go unnoticed at least by Fudo. The Magi was still unsure of the circumstances unfolding before but she wasn't one not to answer the question. "The Rukh around you two behave strangely... they are trying to communicate something... but I am not sure what it is yet..." she said seemingly space out, only to snap back a second later. "It's nothing to worry about though... run along... seeing whatever Bakura is up to ahead will likely be good for all of you." she said a smile appearing on her face. This woman was very enegmatic at the moment but none could argue the urgency of moving forward. Having regained her footing Nasira stepped forward. "Thank you... I'm fine now." she said continuing on inside.

Meanwhile, the girl with her back to the wall and her head leaned back spoke again. This time opening her eye to have a look at the boy. Her attitude didn't change, if anything she simply chuckled her voice carrying the slightest bit of arrogance and dismay. "Oh, well... I am not at all with him. In fact I am only here because Kaarim wanted to chat with his sister, but didn't want to leave this place just to that skinny guy." she said seemingly having no problem revealing this information. "I can't say I care either way about the slaves, but they aren't by business so... I can't do anything about them." she said seeming to have absolutely no care in the world. "Still you can't fight me. You and your little friends should scurry on off back to the gutters and take your victory over Shaka as something to be proud of." she murmured. The chain around her neck began to move along with a pendulum located at its center which looked like a cat's eye. When it did, it showed the same eight sided star other metal vessels appeared to have, but instead of doing anything massive the metal of the chain seemed to extend outward rapidly aiming only to knock this boy clean out of the room without any effort to move from her spot.

[Bloodedge]

"Is that so? Well, I trust you'll let us know if they communicate anything strange," Fudo said with a chuckle. Without further ado, he continued moving onward, deeper into the building in search of Bakura.

Meanwhile, Bakura stood before the red-haired woman without a care in the world for her apparent lackadaisical attitude toward his challenge. Her aim was to knock him out of the room they inhabited with her Household Vessel, a chain which had the power to increase its length greatly, but Bakura was quick enough on his feet to easily maneuver around the item while closing the distance between himself and the woman. En route to her chair, he drew a knife from his waistline, holding it in a reverse grip while aiming to bring it up to this woman's throat. "Sorry, love. Never been big on taking pride in somebody else's work. I gotta do something to earn my keep, y'know?"

[Apollymi]

"Mm-hm." said the magi who apparently was still more than a bit distracted by the Rukh which seemed to be doing crazy things around the pair of them in a mix of the Fire Element and the Wind one. Still they were moving right along and with that in mind Yasmin, Nasira and Samiya all entered this place and began looking around for wherever Bakura had scuttled off to.

Inside... Bakura had artfully dodged this initial assault and that was worthy of praise, but as he came in close aiming to put the knife he carried to this woman's neck it would find itself meeting the metal which belonged to her vessel the chain around her neck. And because of this boy's proximity this woman's eye would open as metal met metal in a chiming sound. "Ah..." she said. She wasn't particularly smart or anything but if this boy felt he had something to prove to his friends, obviously she had to show him the error of this line of thought. "What a drag." she mentioned the power of this chain was being manipulated by the girl as she finally placed her hand against the metal causing it to shift and open leaving a whip in her hand while the res of it shifted with that cat eyed gem floating in the air at the end of it. "I don't care about what you earn... I just want you to go away." she said flicking her wrist in a way that would cause power to leave the chain whip through the part where it met the boy's blade as her chair fell onto all fours and she let go of her relaxed position seeming to get a bit serious. "I suppose since there's no one else. I have to do something about this." she said most arrogantly as the free end of the whip trailed around and appeared to try and encircle the young ashen haired boy only to have the chain links begin disappearing as the woman's magoi forced the chain to shrink.

[Bloodedge]

Bakura's blade was halted before it could reach its destination, and by none other than the very same chain that had so recently been used to attack him. Moreover, this chain seemed to be all over the place in no time at all, so his eyes were darting about as this woman spoke. "That's not a good attitude to have about it," was his response to her lethargic decision to combat him. Bakura could see that the shifting of her chain was moving toward it shrinking again, but there was one thing he believed he would be able to do while pressing against the chain between his blade and her neck. A rotation of his own body allowed him to slip his knife's blade into one of the chain links closer to the end of the chain. 'I hope this works,' the boy thought while continuing his movements, coming full circle to also jam his blade into a link closer to this woman's neck, connecting two opposite points of the chain by it. In doing this, he hoped to halt both the growth and shrinkage of the Household Vessel she wielded. He would then hop back a few paces, taking hold of his own Household Vessel. 'Well, I got no knife now. You in there, Paimon? I dunno how this thing's supposed to work.'

[Apollymi]

The woman seemed to scoff just a little. She still didn't want to do anything, and more over this boy's maneuver which had temporarily put a stop to the growing and shrinking of her chain whip was an annoyance the likes of which she'd never faced before. "Fuckin' brat, couldn't just leave me alone." she said sounding supremely angry and causing a surge of power in the chains which began to steadily shake the links aiming to force the knife from between the links. All while, this boy apparently questioned his vessel with no idea how to use it properly.

Strangely enough a small light appeared and a Rukh did as well, answering this young man's mental question with an explanation. Something that Paimon likely would have desired as well, as she was rather free with herself in how she spread herself about. 'I am not Paimon, but a familiar of hers. The piece of her power... that she gave to you... so that you can help the one she chose.' mentioned the kindly spirit which seemed to understand exactly what this boy would need to be able to properly use his household vessel. 'You can call upon my power in the same way the others do, you simply have to use your Magoi to do it. And feel deeply within yourself that it's what you wish.' said the kindly thing as it settled once more into the ring. It would be after this, that the knife fully dislodged from the chains and the enraged woman who began moving forward as the chain was shrinking again.

As this climax of a moment was reached Yasmin, Samiya and Nasira reached the entry way and stopped observing what was going on here. They'd seen Bakura jam his knife between the chain links and then his subsequent moment of silence where he simply looked at the Ring which was his household vessel. They wondered where this would go with the woman closing in on them, still, Yasmin had faith in her friend and knew him to be capable of getting out of tricky situations.

[Bloodedge]

Bakura was astounded by the presence of this familiar, but it gave him more of an understanding as to how Household Vessels operated compared to Metal Vessels. His power was a direct extension of Paimon's, drawn from this entity. With a grin upon his face, he spoke aloud: "I get it." With that, he released his hold on the item. A deep exhale followed as he thought about that which he wanted to accomplish, and with the little knowledge he'd gained about Magoi manipulation, he found himself able to focus his energy on the pendant. It began to tremble as the star at its center glowed bright. A very small torrent of wind blew from the center of the ring, and the five points positioned around it disconnected to be carried by the wind. As the redhead approached him, the five darts, as they seemed, were virtually hovering around his person. "Oh... That's cool." With that said, Bakura pointed his right hand forward, willing the wind to fire the two darts to his immediate right at this woman. One was aimed at her left shoulder, and the other at her left thigh.

[Apollymi]

This redheaded woman seemed to be enraged but even she gave a bit of pause to the fact that this young man didn't seem to know what to do with his household vessel. With this in mind a huge grin spread across her face. "Well, this just got easier." and with that said she saw the little darts created by the boy's manipulation but thought nothing of it. She willed the growth of her chains and sent them out towards the boy once more, but was a bit surprised when this pairing of darts he shot forth found themselves wedged within her skin. Her eyes widened drastically as she ignored the pain of this situation and caused the chains to rapidly and forcefully grow aiming to toss the pendulum end against the boy's chest and knock the rest of his little projectiles away in the process.

Yasmin watched and she was quite happy with Bakura's developments. And though she saw the attack meant to both stop and maim the boy she still had the utmost faith in his abilities. 'That isn't going to work.' she thought absently a small smile appearing on the pink haired girl's face.

[Bloodedge]

"You're right. It did," Bakura said in a snarky, somewhat arrogant tone as he watched the darts lodge themselves in the woman's flesh. When they were travelling, he realized something. These darts were even thinner than his knife, and would have no issue slipping through the chain links. In fact, as he found himself having to run and hop around the room to avoid the chain again, he used this knowledge to his advantage by shooting the remaining three darts through various links, aiming all three of them for his enemy's left thigh. It seemed he intended to incapacitate this woman, as he also forced the removal of the dart from her arm to send it toward her thigh as well.

"So, this friend of yours... Bakura," Fudo said from behind Yasmin. "Exactly how many hardships has he been through on the streets of Parthevia?"

[Apollymi]

As the fight between this redheaded woman and Bakura continued, she soon found herself confronted with the little blades which randomly converged upon her leg through the links of the chain she brought up to protect herself. She was stunned as several blades entered her leg and completely stopped her from moving as they went all the way through. This was a bit violent but Yasmin could respect why such a thing was necessary. After all, Bakura was her friend but his life had been very difficult for him and he wasn't a bad person. It seemed that Fudo was curious about Bakura and as such Yasmin explained why they were witnessing the things they were.

"Baki was abandoned here as a child and forced to look after himself. He was small and the slums here aren't very forgiving. The streets here are very dangerous and a starving stranger you choose to help could just as easily turn a knife to you as accept your help. And he experienced that first hand. So, he learned to read people... and learned to use his smaller size and his dismissive place in society to his advantage. " she explained of the street urchin's practical violence and kindly childishness which seemed to be directly contradictory to one another. Bakura was one of the most dangerous people Yasmin had ever set eyes on, but he was also the kindest, choosing to steal and feed her, choosing not to use violence unless he was forced and being in general balanced in his approach to life. He always tried to do the right thing which was something she appreciated, but he was also practical in how he decided to handle things. She also watched as this redhead woman collapsed to the floor apparently unable to retain consciousness after her loss of blood and magoi.

[Bloodedge]

"You coulda beat me," Bakura said as he grabbed the ring on his necklace, allowing the darts previously used to return to their resting places upon it. As the darts dangled and clinked, Bakura's eyes fell upon the woman in the process of losing consciousness. "Until that leg heals, you'll learn what it's like to be helpless. Maybe you'll turn into a better person from that."

[Apollymi]

Yasmin watched and heard what Bakura had to say to the young woman who was now unconscious. She didn't know quite what she expected from this young man in the situation where he was using his vessel for the first time, but he handled himself well and she was quite proud of him. "Nice job, Baki." she said approaching the young man only after his ring had replaced all its small pieces. Nasira also appreciated this young man's moxie and his apparent ability to handle himself in spite of his lack of formal training. After moment a bit of curiosity overcame her and she asked a question which had popped into her head.

"How did you know your vessel worked like that?" she was curious because she wasn't sure how she knew her own worked she'd simply assumed it would because she knew how to manipulate her magoi. But this young man had no practice at all, and only became recently familiar with any of this. It was a very clutch win and she wondered how he'd pulled it from such a moment.

[Bloodedge]

"Thanks," the boy said when he was approached by Yasmin. He, too, was quite satisfied with what he'd been able to accomplish here, but it seemed Nasira wondered how he knew what his Household Vessel was capable of. "Well... I didn't. There was this... bird thing. She said she was part of Paimon, and that I could use her power. So, I thought back to when Yas was fighting both times, and I just kinda made it work. Did I mess up or somethin'?"

[Apollymi]

Yasmin had to admit after the question was asked she'd also been a bit curious about the workings of Bakura's Household Vessel. When he went on to explain how he knew what to do Yasmin and Nasira both simply looked stunned. It was more than a bit of a surprise to both of those young ladies that the Rukh would communicate directly if they were asked. But they supposed they'd never tried it before so it would make sense that they didn't know that information. Samiya managed to look pleased though the mention of the 'bird thing' had initially made her want to clap her hand over her face. But given this boy's upbringing she supposed the terms weren't really needed so long as they go the results necessary. This was quite an interesting group of people when she thought about it and it would be Nasira who was the first to speak up given the other boy's question at the end of his explanation, she often wondered if she did the same thing, and thus felt the need to reassure him. "You didn't mess up anything. I was just curious... I am just amazed that asking it worked. I never thought to do that myself." she said with a nod.

Yasmin backed her up as well. "Me either... so then Baki, find out anything interesting while you were snooping around in here?" she asked. Wondering if the boy had actually simply walked in to take the next challenge or if he'd been doing his normal sort of investigation before stumbling upon the young woman here.

[Bloodedge]

"You didn't have to, though. Yours worked right away!" Bakura replied in a brief moment of appraisal for the other Household Member's talent. As for Yasmin's query, the boy scratched his head and recollected the information he'd gathered on his journey through the building. "Nobody that looks like Shaqeeq is here. Nothin' but slaves and that lady. She said she was only here 'cause Kaarim wanted to talk to Shadiya, so they're both probably in the same spot by now."

"As I thought," Fudo said, stepping forward. "They must have merged their territory into two halves. One, this Kaarim, must have taken the north, while this Shadiya woman must be holding the south."

[Apollymi]

Yasmin received the information she'd wanted and nodded. It was a bit disappointing not to find some leader here, but she supposed this was for the best. At least this end could be properly liberated before they made their way to the northern end where the other two would likely be. Or if they chose then they could wait here for one of them to come as they were bound to at some point. Nasira only the other hand waved off the boy's statement as she explained what had actually taken place during her own encounter. "To be honest... I didn't really know mine would work at all... I was only really planning to manipulate my Magoi... the rest was a bit accidental." she whispered this statement just for Bakura. But she supposed there was nothing wrong with this.


After a few seconds, Yasmin turned to Fudo who seemed to have surmised how this situation would work out based on what they'd found here. Yasmin would take this opportunity to try and help figure out the next part of the plan. "Eh, so most likely they are at the Northern spot together if they both left their Household Members here. It's a bit strange though... it seems paranoid to leave two people here just to have at chat with a family member." she thought aloud considering that this may have been in reaction to someone else, or a thought that she might return herself. But she wasn't sure how much credit to give another individual.

[Bloodedge]

"Really? Good thing we're both lucky then, huh?" was Bakura's reply to Nasira, whom he thought to be in full control of what she was doing during her fight.

Knowing that the members of the Harron family were not here, and having the assumption that they were both in the northern quadrant of the country, Fudo was content to leave this place. And so, he made movements to do exactly that. "It is a bit strange. But, I suppose we'll be finding out what their reason is, won't we?"

[Apollymi]

Nasira smiled. When she considered Bakura's statements she couldn't disagree with him, they were both very lucky indeed... which was more than obvious by their current situation. "So it seems." she said with a smirk. She felt quite proud of the pair of them given they were essentially brand new to this entire endeavor and both had managed to defeat obviously more veteran opponents for various reasons.

Yasmin on the other hand heard what Fudo had so say and simply nodded. She too wanted to go on to the next place if only to make clear her stance on the slavery of this area. Still a smile broke across the girl's face as she moved along to join Fudo. "Indeed we shall~" she said also taking her leave of this place. Upon seeing the agreement reached by the two Dungeon Capturers, Nasira leaned her head in the direction of the leaving pair. "Seems like we're heading to the next spot." she said turning on her feet to follow. When they reached the caravan they would find the Magi seated atop the first cart again waiting for the pair of them apparently still staring off into space at the Rukh around this group of people. 'Hm... I might stay with them a while... and see what comes of them.' she thought absently.

[Bloodedge]

Eventually, after the group reached the caravan and took off, they encroached upon the area in the northern quadrant, but Fudo stopped the cart in the face of a young man. This man was unknown by Fudo, but the others in the cart were sure to recognize him. This would especially be the case for the red-haired Magi, as this male ahead of the cart was a Magi himself, who answered to the name Ali.

[Apollymi]

Upon reaching the Northern Quadrant when the stopped the young woman atop the caravan took note of the individual whom they had come upon and she was most surprised to find him here. After that moment of shock wore off she hopped from her current placement and reached the place this young man was standing looking to him as if surprised. "I so didn't expect to find you here~" she chimed.

Meanwhile on the cart Yasmin was a bit surprised by Ali's appearance and wondered why he'd been just waiting around here. "Hmm... I figured he'd be gone by now." she said of the Magi very confused as to his appearance here. Meanwhile the familiarity with these people was something completely lost on Nasira so she leaned over to Bakura to question this new person. "Who is he?"

[Bloodedge]

After stopping, Fudo seemed to only retain his curiosity for the identity of this man for a few moments, as both Yasmin and Samiya made known their recognition of him. Nasira, on the other hand, was also out of the loop, and asked Bakura for the man's identity. "Him? That's Ali. He's the magical guy who got us through the dungeon," he said to clarify.

Meanwhile, Ali himself turned his head toward the group, letting his eyes fall upon Samiya first and foremost. "Samiya? I've been here for a couple of weeks. What are you doing in this area?" While he waited for the woman's retort, his eyes wandered toward the other residents of the cart. He quickly recognized Yasmin, as well as the near-hidden Bakura in the back. "Oh, you guys are..." Ali took pause. He, much like Samiya, thought there was something strange about the behavior of the Rukh around these people; particularly the oddly mingling Rukh betwixt Yasmin and this mysterious teal-haired man. "... back. Samiya, did you do something here?"

[Apollymi]

"Oh." Nasira said understanding fully that this man must have been the Magi who lead Yasmin through her dungeon. He was a very interesting looking fellow but she supposed Samiya was also rather odd looking when she thought about it. Her curiosity now sated she sank back to where she had been, assuming that if she was needed it wouldn't be immediately.

Meanwhile, Samiya simply nodded her head to the young man who seemed to be approaching them and shrugged. "They wanted to come here. Something about liberating the country so I decided to tag along and make sure all of their questions were answered. Mostly I've just been observing and riding along a lot." she mentioned rolling her eyes over the group at the caravan. At this moment Yasmin waved to the young man who had apparently recognized her as well. "Hi~" she mentioned before returning her attention to Fudo realizing of course that he wouldn't know who that was. "That's Ali~ He's the Magi who lead me through the Dungeon I captured."

After a few seconds the question from Ali let her know that he too was seeing the things she was and confirmed in her mind the realness of the phenomenon. "I did nothing. At first I thought I was simply going mad. But since you see it too..." she said thinking about it a bit more. "I've never seen such a thing before and I have no explanation for it." And with that her tone changed just a tad, a hushed whisper would come from this young woman as she leaned in. "It's not normal... the way the Rukh around those two mingle." she said the last complete with two hand movements which brought her fingers together and danced them around for emphasis not that this was needed for the young man who could also see the Rukh and likely understood completely what this redheaded young woman was getting at.

[Bloodedge]

"It's far from normal. I've never seen Rukh do such a thing." As the two Magi spoke about this strange occurrence, Ali turned his head and inspected the Rukh more closely. "Some of those belong to Paimon." A bit if focus allowed Ali to hone in on the Metal Vessel held by Fudo. "Amon? Astaroth? I can't remember which one that was."

[Apollymi]

"I know." Samiya said she too had been watching the interaction of the Rukh pretty much since the pair of Dungeon Capturers had met each other. With this in mind, she was simply amazed enough by the whole thing, to not know what to say about it. She'd also avoided commenting on the interaction of the Rukh to the pair since she had no explanation for what she was observing anyways. While she thought on all of this, Ali brought her back to this moment trying to figure out which of the fire based Djinn was being held by the teal haired young man. "Oh, it's Amon. Fudo captured the Seventh Dungeon." she mentioned. When thinking about his from a purely observational standpoint, she assumed that the mixing of the Rukh had something od do with the Djinn and the two individuals who use them. "Whatever is going on here, it doesn't seem to be negative so I am content to wait and see." she finished still looking. "Unless, of course you have a better idea." she mentioned. It seemed that Samiya was having a continued chat with this young man while trying to figure out about the Rukh's interactions with Fudo and Yasmin.

Meanwhile Yasmin looked at the pair of Magi in front of the cart and stretched her blue eyes never moving from the pair. "They are talking about us."

[Bloodedge]

"Amon? That must have been more recent. I noticed Astaroth's dungeon went missing over a month ago. I assumed it had something to do with you at first, but I figured you would be the last person to go there." Now that he was on the topic, Ali was reminded of why he'd gone off on his own little journey. "Say, Samiya, did you raise the dungeons for Glasya-Labolas and Dantalion? Both of them have Dungeon Capturers here, but I feel like that's no doing of ours."

In the meantime, Fudo was being alerted to Yasmin's suspicions about the Magis' discussion. Nodding, he confirmed that he shared this idea as well. "That comes as no surprise. The look in that one's eye was the same look Samiya had earlier. We'll find out soon what they're going on about."

[Apollymi]

Samiya looked at the man before her as if baffled. It was quite normal to think that she might have taken someone to a dungeon, after all it was her main purpose in life. Even so, Ali was quite right in assuming that she'd had nothing to do with the dungeon raising or capture of Astaroth. "Yes, you are very right, it definitely isn't an ideal place as far as I am concerned. I figured you'd go there eventually." she said of the location which apparently housed the Djinn known as Astaroth. As for the final question posed by this man a bit of shock came over her face as she considered what he was asking and went on to explain why he had asked such a question. "No, I raised neither. It's a bit early to be considering either of those... I wouldn't have raised them. Assuming since you asked me you didn't do it either, who would raise those two?" she looked towards the next place then over her shoulder at the two Dungeon Capturers in the cart. "This does not bode well." she finished running a hand over her face. This had to mean that there was another Magi raising dungeons and doing things for reasons they did not yet know.

Meanwhile, Yasmin nodded seeming to know and understand that the Magi would eventually reveal any pertinent information. "I suppose so..."

[Bloodedge]

"No, it does not bode well at all. We should get in contact with Shula and make sure she hasn't been raising any extra dungeons recently. For now, though," he said, turning his attention to the cart and its inhabitants. "I'm back to accompanying you all. Oh, I'm Ali, by the way... for those of you I've yet to meet." With that said, Ali hopped onto the top of the cart, where he would rest until there was use for him.

"Fudo Shakir. Pleasure to meet you, Magi." Assuming Samiya would also return to the cart, Fudo moved the vehicle forward until the group reached their ultimate destination: the Harron family's palace in northern Parthevia. There were many more slaves present in this area, but upon approaching the small palace-like building he was sure to be their target, Fudo exited the cart and began walking toward the building. "I suppose it's time I did something as well, isn't it?" he said, making his way toward the front gates.

[Apollymi]

Samiya sighed thinking of the other Magi known as Shula and simply shook her head from left to right. "I actually have a reasonable amount of faith that Shula wouldn't do something like that. Though if any would lead someone to Astaroth's dungeon it would be her." mentioned the woman who also retook her place atop the cart next to Ali which would probably continue to seem odd to all below.

As the Magi introduced himself and said he'd be rejoining them for their adventure, Yasmin only nodded. She'd always assumed he would be back eventually though she was never very sure what he was doing in the first place, she trusted this individual. "Good to have you back~" she mentioned to the spiky haired male. Meanwhile, Nasira had a look at the man and introduced herself as Fudo had done figuring it would be best if they all got to know each other as well. "I'm Nasira." she said sticking her head out before shuffling back into the spot she'd inhabited inside the cart. And before too long the caravan was off again, this time making it all the way to the compound of the Northern Side of the country. Here they saw numerous slaves and a small palace. Upon reaching the destination Yasmin heard what Fudo had to say and shrugged. "If you wish to go first I won't stop you... I'll go as well." she said knowing that she'd long since reached her limit as far as letting other people get out in front of her was concerned.

Inside of this small palace in one of its more elaborate rooms decorated with lots of shelves, scrolls and books, a purple haired girl could be found with golden eyes. She was sitting behind a desk with lots of papers in front of her... but it was unclear whether or not she as alone here.

[Bloodedge]

Elsewhere, on the roof of the building, a pair of tall male figures stood to discuss matters of importance. The listener of these two was the purple-haired male whom Yasmin had encountered prior to her exit from Parthevia. The other man - the one speaking - was a raven-haired individual who seemed to be of noble upbringing. He wore kenseikan made of wood upon his head to tame his long, flowing locks, and his black kimono and hakama were worn beneath a silky, form-fitting, mostly white haori. At his left side was a katana with a purple hilt, baring the eight-pointed star of a Metal Vessel on its blade, shown through its sheath. "So, it's decided. Parthevia's monarchy will fall during the war. When that is done, the Kou Empire's rule will allow the two of you to remain Lords over the country. We expect you'll find two other candidates for the emperor to inspect."

When Fudo entered the building, he pressed onward until such a point that he stumbled upon a room with a very intricately designed door. Whatever, or whomever resided inside this room, was of great importance. So, Fudo did the sensible thing, and simply knocked on it.

[Apollymi]

Yasmin was following behind Fudo and when they reached the door which seemed to be hiding something she was a bit surprised when he knocked on it. She wondered why he'd bother with such a thing but was more immediately surprised by what followed the knocking immediately after. "Come in." a young girl's voice could be heard from behind the door. She hadn't bothered to look up she was seemingly immersed in whatever she was reading, and right at the moment she wasn't expecting anyone different so she didn't bother to change what she'd been doing prior to this. She was dressed simply in what appeared to be a bra and linen a small golden locket around her neck. Her purple locks toss up into a messy ponytail and her golden eyes alight with all she was presently reading. As she did this... "Just one second I'm almost done with this page." she said raising a finger but still not looking up immediately.

[Bloodedge]

When he was given permission to enter, Fudo did so immediately. He took a casual pace into the room, taking note of the surroundings and the work of this purple-haired girl. It seemed she had yet to notice that he stood apart from the others in this building, but in fact, Fudo still boasted the appearance of a commoner, bar his general posture, demeanor and expressions. With a gentle smile, the man with dual-colored eyes replied to this girl. "By all means, take your time. There's no need to rush on my behalf. I could even come back later, if you'd like."

[Apollymi]

The girl was still reading as Fudo entered and Yasmin followed behind him at a most casual pace. Of course, the man's words to the girl as she held up her finger to finish her page made the pink haired young woman smile. She'd not expected him to be so nice, but she supposed they weren't initially intending to do anything with violence. In fact, she was generally opposed to being violent unless it was necessary, still it was always a bit surprising to find other people so like minded. Of course, the purple haired girl stopped immediately after hearing this man's voice as it wasn't one she was familiar with and when she finally looked up she saw two different colored eyes and a rather beautiful man standing before her and she was all but dumbfounded. "I... uh... hm..." she started seeming to lose the ability to speak a blush appearing on her face. "I'm sorry." she apologized though she had no idea for what.

All the while Yasmin giggled just a little. She couldn't remember if she'd ever laid eyes on this girl prior to this moment, but she'd seen enough of people throughout her time as a slave to know when people had become infatuated and it seemed to be the case for this girl. But to her credit the pink haired young woman said nothing and was content to simply see how Fudo handled this situation.

[Bloodedge]

It seemed Fudo had gained the visual attention of the girl he'd spoken to. Her reaction, while not what he anticipated, could be considered one for the betterment of his case. As such, he continued moving forward, eventually having a seat on the other side of the desk she sat at. "Sorry? Why would you apologize during my intrusion, I wonder."

[Apollymi]

The girl behind the desk was even more astonished when this man sat down before her. Once he had he expressed a curiosity about her apparent apology. She had no reason for this, other than it was the first sentence she'd been able to utter since seeing the man. "I... don't know." she managed looking around the room and finally noticing the pink haired young woman adorned in various pieces of gold and a flimsy bit of cloth. Though she wasn't jealous of the young woman she wondered if she'd noticed the complete fool of herself that she was making, a subtle wink came from Yasmin which caused the girl's eyes to widen but again, the young woman soon turned on her heels and began to peruse the library this girl was apparently sitting in.

After a few seconds of recovery time, she seemed to be more able to focus and she managed a simple statement. "I'm Shadiya." she finally managed. She still had no idea what this man or his companion were doing here. "I wasn't expecting anyone but my brother... why are you here?" she asked. This girl seemed to be at least, a bit better tempered than her male siblings had shown themselves to be. At this point, it was kind of refreshing, and it gave Yasmin a bit of hope.

[Bloodedge]

"Well, I guess that makes two of us. No matter," Fudo said following the girl's reply. When she introduced herself to him, Fudo thought it only civil to place his right hand upon his chest, and bow his head where he sat. "Ah! Forgive my manners, Shadiya. My name is Fudo. Pleasure to make your acquaintance." With that said, he rose from his slightly bowed position to sit upright. His expression never wavered as he sat in front of this girl. In fact, he seemed to be becoming more relaxed with the passing of time. "As for why I am here... my friends and I came on an expedition to abolish slavery in Parthevia. I am not from here, but I believe I am correct in understanding that you are a member of the Harron family, the monopoly on slave trade here, correct?"

[Apollymi]

This man seemed to be more relaxed and this helped Shadiya relax as well. Though she was still obviously quite smitten, his tone and general pleasantness made it very easy for the girl to become less tense and hide her obvious like of this young man at least in her own mind. After a few seconds he introduced himself and his name made her head tilt to the side. "I've heard that name before..." she muttered only to shove it away. Somewhere deep in her head, she'd read very recently about someone with that name, but she couldn't quite recall who that was at this very moment. "Anyway, it's nice to meet you too." she said giving the man a nod as he continued on. Once he gave his reason for his visit her eyes went wide. This wasn't something she'd at all expected least of all from someone not from here. Thought it was to be expected that slavery was generally frowned upon by those who believed in abject freedom she didn't expect a man who wasn't even from this place to care how it was run. "Yes, I'm a member of that family but that still doesn't make sense. Why do you care if slavery is abolished here, if you aren't from here?"

[Bloodedge]

Fudo merely chuckled. He then went on to inspect this girl, bypassing her question entirely for the time being. Of course, a few moments later, he rose from his chair and leaned forward, eyes honing in on the Shadiya's locket. He reached out for it, stopping his right hand several centimeters away. After all, Fudo liked to avoid being rude at all costs in situations like these. "May I?"

[Apollymi]

As the man chuckled the girl seemed a bit entranced. She had no desire to question why he'd avoided her previous question and simply blushed harder as she found herself under his gaze. When it was made obvious thar he was reaching for her locket she acquiesced to his desire to touch it, trusting him for no apparent reason. "Sure.. " she said fighting the desire to touch the item herself.

[Bloodedge]

"Thanks," he said as he slipped the fingers of his right hand underneath the locket. He separated it from the girl's skin to bring it closer to himself as he inspected it thoroughly, and true enough, it was exactly what he thought it was. "I was right. You're a Dungeon Capturer. I am as well. That is why I am interested in abolishing slavery here. When I am king, I plan to have slavery and poverty be things of the past. You seem to be a very rational person, Shadiya, so I hope you'll understand that this isn't a situation in which I can easily take no for an answer."

[Apollymi]

Shadiya was exceedingly still as this man inspected her locket. When he subsequently came to the conclusion that she was Dungeon Capturer she blushed. After all, most didn't think her capable of such a thing and to be fair she might have had a very easy go of her Dungeon given how she'd gone about it. Beyond this the man revealed he was also a Dungeon Capturer and had set his sights on something much higher than she'd dreamed. It seemed he wanted to rid the world of poverty and slavery among other things, this righteousness was rather interesting to her, and she was inclined to agree with him, she was also a very rational person and with this in mind she began speaking. "Those are noble goals but surely you realize that those are things which can't be undertaken lightly." she said seeming to think about it more. "To be fair, I never cared to have slaves in the first place." she said, "But have you thought about what is going to happen if we free them all. A sudden influx of people that large into a country this size would be draining on its economy. It would create a class of poverty which you spoke about wanting to abolish as well." she said. Her points valid of course. The very quiet Yasmin had taken a book from the shelves and was reading while following along with the conversation at present. She'd also been thinking about this for quite some time, and since it'd been her idea to free this place, she'd also done a great deal of thinking about what should be done with it. More so, than one would think a former slave capable of. With this in mind a knowing smile crept up to her face as she finished reading the passage she'd been looking for and closed the book placing it back on the shelf.

[Bloodedge]

"Forgive me, but I must disagree." Fudo released his hold on Shadiya's locket by gently placing it against her skin, as to not let it merely fall back into place. Now that he had no reason to be in such close proximity, he seated himself again, crossing his right leg over his left and placing both hands in his lap. "You and the rest of your family... you're all Lords of this place, right? Because there is one way to actually improve the economy by freeing the slaves. Renounce your lordship, both of you. If the slaves are freed under the right circumstance, there won't be a need for a following revolt. Then what? They will join society, and they will do so as harder working members than anyone else in the country. Give them proper citizenship, and they will be left to fend for themselves. I'm sure you know where that leads. Each one will work for their own profit, and every man, woman and child will eventually turn a place like Parthevia into a prosperous nation the likes of Sindria."

[Apollymi]

Shadiya looked at this man oddly, and listened to the entirety of his speech. She hadn't considered that there was a way to free everyone without there being violence involved. In fact, it was one of her main reasons for not doing so herself, as she was only a child when these people were captured and she was never directly mean to them, she didn't want any of their ill feelings directed at her. But it wasn't until the mention of the country of Sindria that her eyes went wide. Actually it was at this moment that she remembered where she'd heard this man's name before, and the recognition of him in this moment made her voice come out in an excited and girlish squeal. "YOU'RE FUDO SHAKIR! CROWNED PRINCE OF SINDRIA!~" she finally managed nearly falling out of her chair as this man was probably the last she expected to visit her just to talk politics. Her earlier shyness immediately returned as she averted her gaze and began speaking again in a normal tone but there was a bit of a blush on her face that lingered as she thought long and hard about it. "I uh..." she said thinking about it. "I have no problem freeing the ones left to me. I never cared for nobility or anything of the sort to begin with... so I'd renounce my own lordship without a problem but..." she thought about it before speaking once more. "I am not sure my brother would agree. Especially in light of our visitors. If he is convinced though... I'd do as you ask." she finished with a nod.

[Bloodedge]

Fudo's eyes widened as well, specifically due to the purple-haired lass' outburst upon realizing his status. Nonchalantly rubbing a few fingers of his right hand along his forehead, he paused, searching his brain for a proper response. "Well... yes, I am, but that is a matter for a later time. I'm glad we're on the same page about the slaves, but..." He paused again, taking a moment to think things through. The southern base of this family had been virtually cleared out, but if Shadiya's words could be taken as any sort of clue about her position in this matter, the north was under the control of this brother she spoke of. "The south is free of slaves as we speak. It was our intention to liberate the area previously run by Shaqeeq Harron, but I believe the resistance we encountered instead was a pair of your Household Members? I would like to believe the south was his area of control, but I feel like you're going to say that is not the case. Wait..." One thing this girl said stood out from the rest of her speech, and in fact, it contradicted everything he understood up to this point. "Visitors? My information says the two of you were meeting here to speak with each other. Who might these visitors be?"

Bakura, who followed behind Fudo and Yasmin at a distance in case of emergency, peered into the open doorway for just a moment. He had his body pressed against the outside wall to eavesdrop on this conversation, and was equally confused as to the matter of these 'visitors' so to speak. "That doesn't sound right," he spoke under his breath.

[Apollymi]

Shadiya was stunned to find out the slaves under her control had already been freed. As it was a matter she had nothing to do with, she was a bit relieved by this information though it did cause her to worry for her Household Member who'd been left behind to watch the place. "I am sorry if you experienced any hardship going down there. It wasn't my idea to leave them behind... also are they okay? They are a bit gruff but it would be sad if either of them were dead." she said seeming to care a bit more about her subordinates and friends than any others in her family would have been seen to. This gave Yasmin a great deal of hope about the girl at least, her brother had already shown a bit more restraint than most, not taking her life when he'd crossed her path originally. "As for our visitors." she said thinking about it only briefly before continuing on, as they were bound to find out this information eventually and she liked the man before her, she had no reason to conceal anything going on here. "We have guests from the Ko Empire. They wish to annex this place and looked to the nobility as an easy way in. To do so without any unnecessary bloodshed. My brother thought it a good idea to meet with them on our terms, and I only agree to come up here because... he has a library Shaqeeq didn't I wanted to read a bit and my brother thought it a good idea to not be in the south for a while, at least for the two of us." she said. Apparently making it more than obvious that she'd rather busy herself with books than any of the politics going on around her, though she seemed to have a thorough enough understanding of all things going on regardless of the point that she seemed apathetic about it.

Meanwhile outside the door a small black haired girl crept up beside Bakura. She'd followed him, after he'd followed Fudo and Yasmin. Obviously this group didn't like to leave each other to their own devices too much. With this in mind she had but one thing to say. "It isn't polite to eavesdrop." she mentioned only to go on and smirk wondering what had caused the young man's previous utterance. "But what doesn't sound right?" she questioned.

[Bloodedge]

"No one is dead. They were a bit resilient, but that was no reason to kill them. Rest easy," he said, waiting thereafter for Shadiya's explanation. When he received it, Fudo was a bit perturbed by the information. "The Kou Empire, huh. They've been trying to make foothold in Sindria for a few years now. Everyone thought they'd given up on us, but it looks like they just decided to move elsewhere. We should move; this closed-in room is not the best place to be if the Kou are around." With that said, Fudo stood, preparing to make his exit from the room. However, he paused at the door, looking over his shoulder to let his gaze fall upon Shadiya once more. "It's been a lovely chat, Shadiya, but I have to say you're on the wrong side of things, considering what type of person you are. You're one of us at the end of the day."

"It's not polite to sneak up behind somebody either, but ya' don't see me complainin'," was Bakura's response to the black-haired lass next to him. "The guys we came looking for aren't the only ones here. That chick says there's some Kou Empire or something here too."

[Apollymi]

Shadiya heard out what the man had to say and she could understand his apprehension about the Ko Empire. For a solid nation like Sindria the Ko Empire would be nothing but a hindrance and likely considered a military threat. But for the country they were currently inhabiting it would be more like a docile overlord someone to add financial backing to a struggling country. Though if Fudo's economic policy were introduced it might make a difference in how things worked here, she doubted she'd have any real say in the matter. At the last of this man's statements the purple haired girl looked wide eyed and confused. Yasmin having heard the bit about the Ko Empire and them not needing to be in a closed in space made her way for the door and rolled her eyes. "I don't know anything about the Ko Empire... why are we worried?" she asked giving a passing wave to the girl as she too headed for the door.

Meanwhile outside the door, Nasira smiled just a little. "Well you wouldn't given you are the person normally doing the sneaking." she said her tone a tad snarky. When he mentioned what had made him speak though she lost all sense of jest to her tone becoming utterly serious. "That isn't good at all... Ko Empire is bad news." she whispered. "We should move." she finished.

[Bloodedge]

"We're worried because the Kou Empire is the largest military force around, and their goal is to essentially take over the world country by country. They wanted to use Sindria as a source to gain unstoppable power to fuel their efforts, but apparently they've found another way to push forward without worry."

Bakura was also, for obvious reasons, without any knowledge of this Kou Empire, but he trusted Nasia on her word that they should get moving. When he turned around and began to move, though, he rammed right into the front end of the black-haired man that previously stood upon the roof. "Oh?" the man said while looking down at Bakura. "And who might this be? One of your slaves inside the house?" he asked. From behind him, the purple-haired man called Kaarim emerged. "Definitely not. Shadi! Is this one of your..." he took pause when looking into the room, as the first thing this man noticed was the very same woman he had broken the Metal Vessel of in days prior. "You..."

[Apollymi]

Yasmin took in that information and nodded. "Oh... so they are a conquering kind of nation." she said in summation. She obviously had a problem with this, as nations that conquered others by force generally didn't care about the people found within. With this in mind she found herself soon confronted by a group of people with mixed faces some she knew and others she didn't. The man known as Kassim seemed to find her without any issue though and she knew he was speaking to her and as such she was rather friendly in her reply. "Hello again." she mentioned in the most casual way.

Nasira looked to Fudo and then to Yasmin, she was mapping the space in case of an outbreak and figuring out how to best place herself to be useful. She hoped it wouldn't come to blows in such a small space but she was prepared in case it did. The last person to speak would be Shadiya who finally pulled herself away from her desk to see the commotion of the people leaving encountering her brother and the representative from the Ko Empire. "Kaarim do you two know each other?" she asked apparently missing something about the interaction between all of these people. She seemed to be aware of the apparent tension in the room though and she wasn't fond of it.

[Bloodedge]

"You're still around here? How is it that you haven't been thrown back into slavery yet?" he asked, though he cared not for an answer. Kaarim's eye fell upon Fudo, who still seemed quite relaxed in the midst of all this potential chaos. "So, you're the one breaking Metal Vessels. Sorry, Yasmin. I thought I could talk us out of this, but I can already tell this one isn't the cooperating type. It'd be a waste of time to even try."

Meanwhile, Bakura backed away from the man he'd bumped into. The raven-haired male didn't seem to be too bothered by this encounter. In fact, he appeared entirely apathetic until he caught sight of Nasira. When he did, his eyes widened ever so slightly. "And who... are you...?"

[Apollymi]

At this point Shadiya began piecing things together, based on her brother's attitude and the young woman standing before them she gave the girl a quick look over and noticed that underneath the random assortment of gold jewelry worn about her wrists and ankles there were bruises... no that was the wrong word. There were scars, the kind slaves had if they ever managed to remove their shackles, ones that came from years of wearing a tight fitted metal item around a limb. "Oh, she's the one who captured the dungeon that Shaqeeq died in." she stated now fully understanding all of the tension in this room. In answer to this Yasmin simply nodded. "Yes, I am that person, your brother here also broke my metal vessel as soon as I emerged from said dungeon." she said only to hear what Fudo had to say to go along with the questions asked by Kaarim and she also seemed to understand what he was getting at. "Hmm, it's fine. I expected this wouldn't go well. I didn't expect her to be as nice as she is." she said referencing Shadiya. Still her blue eyes were rather concentrated upon the purple haired man in this group she was waiting to see what he would do. "I am not a slave and no one else should be, it's why I am still here."

Meanwhile, Nasira was waiting for something to start and as such she began bouncing on her left foot. Concentration on what was being said waiting on the trigger so she could be at the side of whichever of her comrades would have the most use of her at a moment's notice. But as she got comfortable in this, her concentration was altered by the black haired man that Bakura had previously bumped into asking who she was. She glanced in this man's direction and gave an answer, partly because as she was a basically raised with Fudo she had no desire to be rude if it wasn't necessary and partly because up to this point he'd done nothing to deserve her abject disregard. "My name is Nasira." she mentioned as the rhythm of her hopping returned.

[Bloodedge]

"You heard the lady. We're here to abolish slavery by means of your family renouncing lordship in this country. We've already liberated the south during the absence of you two. Diplomacy remains an option, but we've come prepared to do the same thing here, if necessary." When Fudo made his point known, Kaarim stood motionless for a few moments, staring the man down. "You're all idiots if you think I'm going to get rid of one of my tickets to the top. These slaves will save me labor and valuable time as I take my Metal Vessel on to become king. If you want me to get rid of them, try and kill me."

In the meantime, the chat between the girl named Nasira and this representative from the Kou Empire continued with an expression of confusion spreading across the latter's face. "Nasira...? What house are you from?"

[Apollymi]

Fudo and Kaarim were staring each other down and the words uttered by both men seemed to take their places within the mind of the young woman. She sighed then because she already knew that this was a moment of decision making. It would seem that Kaarim didn't really get the point of this whole thing, and he didn't understand that he was already on top and that the people beneath him would be his downfall if they weren't released. "You've got it wrong, you're already on top and those people would be your downfall. Freeing them would bring more good than harm and ultimately save you from building a nation atop bloodshed and angst. Or haven't you realized yet, that if you justified your continued oppression of these people, they would justify doing worse to you to gain just their physical freedom. This doesn't even begin to cover the horrible things they'd had to experience just for your sake or the sake of your family. You're already rich you could let them all go and it would do you no great disservice." this was all Yasmin had to say, but she'd already resigned herself to fighting if she needed to.

The conversation between Nasira and the Ko Empire representative continued and as it did her eyes narrowed and she looked at him. It would seem that he thought her to belong to some group she didn't know of, and she was unsure of how to properly answer this question. "Sorry, but I don't understand the question." she mentioned.

[Bloodedge]

"Be silent, girl. Do you think I would be satisfied with this little system of hierarchy? No," Kaarim stated, grabbing his poleaxe and raising it above his head. "This thing? This means I'm going to be king of everything! And when I am, I'm going to make sure you and everyone like you is enslaved for the rest of your days, like the maggots you are."

"You don't?" asked the black-haired male. He couldn't fathom why this girl would not understand his question, but at the same time, her name alone was confusing to him. There was only one thing that came to mind as a rational explanation for these qualms, but he could not be too sure. "You're a Genshi Ryu, aren't you?"

[Apollymi]

Yasmin looked at this man and she could see the delusions playing out across his face as he grabbed his weapon and proclaimed that he intended to make slaves of her and everyone like her during his plan to overtake the world. The pink haired young woman's eyes narrowed slightly as she heard his words because she knew by the statement that she had no choice left to her but violence at this point. "You won't be king, you're ill suited. I'll show you why." and with the statement she removed from her side the flabellum which had become a normal part of her attire. Just white feathers and a gold handle which had become a staple to her daily life since starting her adventure. With this in hand her magoi was channelled down through her arm in a swirling burst of wind, which extended the short handled fan into a golden polearm with the flabellum attached to the end. Her posture relaxed and her legs spread apart as she placed her hands along the shaft at two strategic points and readied herself for what she assumed to be the coming attack. "Come on then."

Nasira had still been hopping and waiting for the fight to begin but when she saw Yasmin's posture and the stance she'd taken she stopped completely a small smile coming to her face. 'I had forgotten she is much better with that weapon that one would assume. Her skill means there is nothing to fear from this man...' she thought only to have such a thought interrupted by the black haired man at her side. She turned dark eyes up at him and frowned slightly, there was still nothing but confusion in the young black haired lass' face. "I don't know what that is either. Sorry."

[Bloodedge]

"Fool! You dare challenge me again without your..." Whatever Kaarim intended to say was cut short by the sight of the Metal Vessel in use by the pink-haired woman. He was absolutely astounded by this feat. Apparently, Kaarim knew nothing of replacing such items. "How? How have you gotten another one!?" he asked in a voice full of rage. In the next moment, he channeled the power of his own Djinn toward what would ultimately be a half-Djinn Equip. He developed wings and five eyes on his torso and either side of his head, as well as flame-like designs all over his body. His poleaxe turned into a large spear with the eight-pointer star in the middle. He also gained a mandala behind his head and another on his weapon.

The Kou Empire's representative femained dumbfounded. He was without a doubt that this girl was one of these 'Genshi Ryu' he had so recently mentioned, but she didn't have a clue. An excited utterance from the man followed. "Wait! How old are you? Where are you from originally!?"

[Apollymi]

Yasmin watched as Kaarim went straight to his Djinn Equip which she acknowledged as being about half of what the supposed full equip would be. She'd learned this from the Magi and Fudo since she was unaware of this information before seeing it be performed by this man before the first time. As she watched him though she knew she likely wouldn't need more than just the weapon and that in her calm state she was more than able to do what she needed to do. "You really don't know do you?" she asked as she stepped forward twirling the golden staff around in her right hand and then retaking the position she'd had previously. Still she wouldn't be forthcoming with the information. Given this man's attitude she couldn't be sure she'd only been spared in the first place because he didn't consider her a threat any more. She couldn't properly figure out what he would do if he ever figured out that the vessels themselves could be repaired or replaced. "I'll tell you, if you back down now." she said again. This was bound to do one of two things by Yasmin's approximation, either he'd calm down, or he'd attack her and she was almost certain it'd be the latter.

Meanwhile the excited utterance from the man speaking to Nasira, along with his rather personal questions made the girl feel uneasy. She didn't want to move her eyes from the fight but she had to spare him another glance and took a small step to the side. "Those questions are a bit invasive." she stated, but she figured no harm would come from answering them so she did, Nasira was nothing if not brutally honest. "I am 20 and I grew up in Sindria. You are an odd man, are you always so curious about strangers?"

[Bloodedge]

"Heh! Don't be ridiculous," was Kaarim's retort. With a single, sweeping motion of his weapon through the air, he once again created steel bullets whose purposd was to fire in Yasmin's direction and riddle her. "Why back down to get information from you? I could just ask that white-haired Magi."

"I don't mean to pry. By all means, don't answer if you don't want to. I just..." For whatever reason, the man could not finish his sentence. Luckily, Nasira went on to answer his questions, and her answers seemed to surprise him. "Sindria..." he said, his eyes growing wide.

[Apollymi]

Yasmin was apparently right in her assumption that this man would attack her long before her backed down from her. Of course because she expected this she wasn't terribly distraught about it. Instead, she moved her own staff, creating a wind which stopped the forward movement of the bullets meant to riddle her person, causing them to fall to the ground where they'd stopped. This motion was followed through with an extension of her arms sending the staff she wielded into a downward strike seeming to go along with the motion of this man's spear. This was to aid in its downward momentum making it a larger weapon harder to pick back up and would be followed by the switch of her own weapon to its blunt end in a jabbing motion towards this man aimed for the center of his chest. This movement would aim a pressure filled wind towards the center of this man's body and blow him backward. All while she maintained that odd posture and a unique control of her weapon. "You're really going to keep this up?" She mentioned thinking only that she'd need to relay this information to the pair outside as they would likely know the other he spoke of.

Nasira watched this fight and the man currently speaking with her on and off. She didn't fear for Yasmin but this man seemed to acknowledge that his own behavior and curiosities were a bit weird and as such she didn't see any ill in continuing to converse with him. And he seemed most surprised by the fact that she'd grown up in Sindria. "Yes... Sindria." she said still watching the fight between Kaarim and Yasmin and wondered why, if this man was his ally that he had nothing to say about the fight taking place in front of him.

[Bloodedge]

"I was going to ask you the same," Kaarim replied. Though Yasmin's efforts to force his weapon down were successful, he didn't seem worried at all. However, the last thing Kaarim expected was this girl's ability with a weapon such as this, which left him wide-eyed and appalled as he was launched away from her by a jab of wind. He managed to keep a hold on his khakkhara as he slammed into a wall, breaking through it and falling into the next room thereafter. "Fucking slave whore," he muttered as he pulled himself off the floor.

"... I see," said the black-haired man. Though he didn't appear to have any reason for it, the slightest hint of a smile appeared on his face for just a moment before he finally looked away from Nasira. This was, of course, interrupted by Kaarim crashing into the room. "And what exactly is going on here?"

[Apollymi]

Yasmin was oddly prepared for what would happen as a result of this man flying backwards. She was also rather used to the kinds of insults males like this one often spit in the face of people like herself showing any kind of skill in anything, which was the main thing he was missing in his understanding people. Still she seemed right at home with this weapon in hand. 'Hmm, that was a bit more forceful than I intended.' she thought after the man went flying through a wall. "Are you finished now? Surely you realize how this will turn out if you continue." Yasmin said, still right on the verge of being peaceful still, she stood at the ready for this man to attack again, because she figured it would be contradictory to his pride that a girl whom he saw as nothing more than property could beat him at anything.

Meanwhile, the black haired man who was chatting with Nasira seemed to be happy about something but was apparently shocked by the goings on in front of him. As such he expressed an apparent need for information and since Nasira had been speaking the entire time, she had no problem summarizing the situation for him. "They are fighting, because that pink haired girl used to be a slave to that purple haired man's brother. But she captured a dungeon that said man took her into, and decided she wanted all people to be free and thus came here to try and convince the people in charge to free the people in their holding. This man is surprised by the fact that she even has a metal vessel, since he apparently broke her first vessel right after she got it. But he won't listen to reason about freeing the slaves in this country even though he has a shining example of the kinds of things free people are capable of when left to their own devices. He is presently being outmatched in spearmanship by a former slave girl, it's probably a bit world shattering for him." she summarized. "I think that about covers this situation."

[Bloodedge]

"You... You really think you can beat me, don't you? I'll show you how wrong you are." When Kaarim finally rose, he supported himself on his khakkhara for a few moments while accessing the depths of his Magoi. 'How? How could a common slave bitch who can only equip a weapon get one over on me? How does she even deserve a Metal Vessel!? I'm the best! I'm the one who will become king!' The steel Kaarim's Metal Vessel was capable of producing began spewing from his khakkhara in excessive amounts. There was also a large magic rune beginning to appear on the floor of this building, signifying the makings of a very powerful attack. "I'll show you the despair Shaqeeq should have exposed you to years ago. You and all your little friends here are going on a one-way trip straight to the afterlife."

Bakura had been quite confident that he would not be needing to bother with this battle thus far, but the ominous aura Kaarim emitted at present was something he could not simply ignore. Whatever this magic circle was, it looked like a massive version of the Metal Vessels' mark, which did not bode well in the young male's mind. Previously, Bakura had thought to interrupt that which threatened his long-time friend's life, but he had been stopped by the Magi. This time, however, there was no one close enough to stop him from doing anything, so he lunged forward as Kaarim whipped his khakkhara about. Seeing the boy approach so haphazardly prompted Fudo to jump forward as well, drawing his sword to try and prevent the younger male's sacrifice. Kaarim, however, had prepared for the approach of each companion Yasmin had nearby. "I got a one-way trip for ya' right he-" Bakura said, only to suffer the after-effect of Fudo having a slower approach and being out of reach at the time. Kaarim swung his khakkhara at the white-haired lad's torso, impaling him thrice with the trio of spikes protruding from the side of the Metal Vessel. From there, he spun around and slammed the boy's body into Fudo. This caused the man with a drawn short sword to stab himself in the abdomen as well, if simply to avoid doing so to Bakura when this contact was made. "Ngh!" Fudo grunted as he was launched into a wall along with Bakura, who had been ejected from the khakkhara's spikes.

Meanwhile, the black-haired male was hearing out the explanation of Nasira, and managed to learn quite a bit about the situation. What disturbed him most, though, was learning that this Yasmin girl was a former slave. The more he looked at her, the more he believed this to be a strange case. 'Slave? But she's... She has to be...' he thought. Worse yet, though, there were a few choice words spoken by Kaarim during this time; words which he was finally listening to.

"Here's something you'd never be able to fathom! My Extreme Magic! Ext-" Kaarim's outcry ended there due to the protrusion of an unfamiliar blade through his torso. "Ugh! Which one of you..." When he looked over his shoulder, Kaarim was surprised to see that the culprit was none other than the very same man he'd so recently pledged his allegiance to: Ren Tao of the Kou Empire. The raven-haired man had, in the blink of an eye, darted toward Kaarim from the rear while drawing his sword, and drove said sword into his back and through his chest. "But... why?" His eyes darted around the place as he struggled to last and receive an answer for this question. In a few moments, his eye fell upon Nasira. "Oh... So she's the one, huh? I guess... my life wouldn't be as valuable to you as your-" In that moment, the man's sword was jerked from Kaarim's body, only to be immediately used for several more thrusts through his torso at such a speed that most individuals would have barely completed a single jab. This reduced the end of Kaarim's statement to an array of gurgles before he ultimately fell to the ground with his Djinn Equip and Extreme Magic both fading away.

[Apollymi]

Yasmin wasn't sure how to answer his question. She was very certain she could beat this man if she needed to, though she wasn't sure if she could do so without killing him, or harming the structure they were all standing within. That being said, it seemed this man she was fighting against had no problem putting every single person in this room in danger to make his point. Much like before, Bakura found a moment to launch himself at this man as Yasmin seemed utterly shocked by the apparent magic beginning in front of her. While she was busy being stunned and fearful of what was about to happen she watched as Bakura got stabbed and subsequently Fudo was stabbed as well (if only by his own weapon). A single blood curdling scream would escape this young woman as Fudo and Bakura went flying from this space and this man continued to charge this overly destructive magic he had going.

Meanwhile Nasira had seen this moment coming and she couldn't well let it. Though she wasn't able to reach both of the males in time to stop them from doing the apparently very stupid things they were doing. She did make it to them in time to catch and cushion their falls and separate them to begin looking over their wounds. She was more than prepared to move them once more and looked to the purple haired girl who was this man's sister. "You should also leave..." she started only to hear the blood curdling shriek from the girl as she watched her brother be run through several times by the Ko Empire representative. Tears streamed down the girl's face as she watched her brother apparently die, though she knew full well she had been mere seconds from death herself given she couldn't have done anything useful against him. Nasira's eyes widened as she turned and saw the man known as Kaarim meet his end in a way she hadn't at all expected. Her brows drew together as she peered at both men's wounds and began to speak to them instead. "Both of you need to stay awake and try and concentrate on something else." she said trying to talk them through what she figured was extreme pain for them as she examined the depth of each of their wounds.

Meanwhile Yasmin was watching her eyes wide. She'd crumbled to her knees no longer acknowledging any threat in particular but she hadn't moved from the spot. SHe seemed to be in a trance of some sort and she was whispering over and over to herself as if she was seeing something completely different. "No... no... he can't die. Not for me... not again." she was repeating to herself over and over as if the sight of this entire situation had caused some sort of traumatic break in her mind.

[Bloodedge]

When the two males were caught and separated, Fudo immediately pulled the blade from his stomach with his right hand, following this up by pressing his left hand against the wound. Bakura, on the other hand, was bleeding profusely and in immeasurable pain. He couldn't fathom the level of agony these three blades had placed him in, but he still felt as if he'd accomplished something. This was the single thought that kept him going, but also relaxed him a bit...

Ren sheathed his sword after tossing the blood from its blade. He seemed slightly annoyed by the screaming taking place in this room, but he could also see the reason behind it. On Yasmin's part, there was nothing he could do, but to Shadiya, he spoke. "Forgive me. He left me no choice. I will return to the Emperor with word that no deal was able to be made between us today. I'll leave you all to your mourning now."

[Apollymi]

Yasmin was beyond distraught and had slipped into some sort of trance her eyes were blank and she was simply watching everything unfold before her stunned and mumbling to herself about things long past.

Nasira was trying to hold herself together and was presently applying pressure to two of three of the wounds present and bleeding on Bakura's body. Though this boy was only a recent friend to her, she could tell that his death would have an extremely negative effect on the psyche of the young woman. And much like she'd spare Fudo any unnecessary trauma she also didn't wish to see this woman despair and as such she did her best to help out in this situation and keep Bakura alive. And while she was pleased that he was apparently still conscious the sudden relaxation of his body wasn't something she was prepared to deal with. "I could use a hand. Literally like one more to apply some pressure to his other wound." she mentioned but oddly enough no hand came, instead water seemed to wrap around the white haired boy's body in a use of magic not before seen by anyone else. "It's fine, I have him..." mentioned the red haired Magi from the other room. She'd walked directly past the Ko Empire representative though she recognized what he was she didn't have time to fully question this, with a boy bleeding to death. She also looked to Fudo and smiled. "I would have done you first, but this is a bit more pressing... just keep applying pressure and it should be fine until I get to it." Samiya mentioned her eye travelling to the still stunned Yasmin and she tsked.

Shadiya watched all of this in horror, but as the Ko empire man spoke to her she was crying. She wiped a falling tear away from her eye and simply shook her head back and forth from left to right. "My brothers weren't good people, they were bound to meet such fates eventually. You saved the rest of us, and for that you have my thanks... I just... didn't expect this day to turn out this way." she looked around the room and she saw the redheaded woman apparently looking after the fallen boy and she wondered what she could do to help in this situation.

[Bloodedge]

Bakura continued to writhe in pain, assuming this to be the end of his days. However, the pain abruptly began to subside when a strange fluid encased him. This sudden amount of relief, no matter how great or how minuscule it may have been, relaxed the white-haired lad enough that he lost consciousness shortly after it was applied.

Meanwhile, Fudo looked in the direction of Samiya, whom he had not expected to see until the group's exit of the facility. When she gave her reasons for approaching Bakura first, he chuckled and shook his head. "You don't have to explain yourself to me. I trust you'll be able to keep him with us." With that said, Fudo walked toward Yasmin, dropping his Metal Vessel on the floor as he lowered himself onto his right knee. She appeared to be in quite the shoddy state of being, prompting Fudo to reach out with his right hand and place it upon her left shoulder. "Hey. Everything's going to be alright. Come back to us."

"Your brother didn't die today because he was a bad person," said Ren to the purple-haired girl. Whatever he meant by this, and whatever true reason he had for killing the man known as Kaarim, he refrained from disclosing. Instead, he turned away from the group, providing only one additional thought to the others present for the boy he assumed to be dying. "The boy's efforts were not in vain. Kaarim's Extreme Magic was delayed long enough for you all to survive in the end. Be thankful for that." And with that, the Kou Empire representative walked away.

[Apollymi]

Bakura seemed to lose consciousness and this was enough for Nasira to relax a bit as it seemed that Samiya had a great bit of control over this situation. She had no worries that the Magi would do everything possible, and since Fudo had gone to comfort Yasmin she'd remain where she was and comfort the boy until they were sure of his survival. Samiya also simply nodded to his words, trusting that Fudo would bring Yasmin back somewhat to herself as she seemed to be very far flung from her usual self. So much so that the Rukh around her were behaving even more strangely than normal.

Yasmin was still utterly spaced out not a word spoken seemed to reach her until Fudo kneeled before her and placed his hand on her shoulder. Such an action made her see him as he was right now, and not whatever horrific scene had played out in her mind countless times since Bakura had jumped into the fray with them. She looked into this young man's eyes and seemed to calm down a bit finally hearing his words and coming back to this moment when she paused her face was covered in tears and she spoke quietly. "I'm sorry. I... get really useless at times like this." she mentioned as she sat on the floor appearing to be a bit less stunned before. At the very least she was now back in the present time, aware that Bakura was trying to be saved and that Nasira was at his side and that Fudo even injured was concerned about her mental state instead of his own physical well being.

Shadiya simply nodded at this man as he gave his final words and shook her head. "Say what you like, but I don't think he's properly sacrificed anything. He seems to be a rather lucky kid." she finished watching the Magi work on the boy who seemed to be the first to jump into the line of danger. Of course, After she said this she realized that she didn't really feel too terribly about the death of her brother, given the kind of person he was and their large age difference.

[Bloodedge]

"No one blames you. I can't say I wouldn't be just as bad off if it were Nasira in that predicament instead," Fudo said simply to offer a few words of potential comfort. He then decided to stand, making sure he picked up his Metal Vessel in the process. Once he had secured it in its resting place, Fudo extended his hand to Yasmin. "So... what do we do now?"

[Apollymi]

Yasmin found comfort in his words and nodded. She supposed she wasn't the only person who would feel deeply at the loss of a comrade, though admittedly she felt this way simply because it had happened before and it had been her fault. Even so, a bit of solace was taken as she watched this man get to his feet and secure his metal vessel. She grabbed her own as well then took his extended hand to help pull herself up. To his question the girl simply shrugged finally making it to her feet she was able to see that Bakura was no longer being worked on and his bleeding at the very least had stopped and Samiya was now standing her brow a great deal less furrowed than it had been. "I don't know... I mean my only goal in this place was ridding this country of slavery and it seems that we've done that." she said calmly. After a few seconds the purple haired girl looked to this young pink haired woman and then at the group and managed to speak again.

"Um... I am not sure what all of you had for plans... but you might consider visiting the Reim Empire. They have a group there that teaches magoi manipulation beyond what is known or just picked up by people like us. So... it could be a good way to spend your time until you figure out what else you want to do." Shadiya finished speaking but she felt really out of place in this moment because she had no idea if she should intrude on such a conversation. And upon thinking about it she immediately apologized. "Sorry, didn't mean to intrude." she said a blush covering her face as Nasira, Yasmin and Samiya looked at her. Samiya didn't think anything of this and simply went on creating a water globe purple in color and aiming to press it into the injury belonging to Fudo this would alleviate his pain and begin the process of closing his wound. While she did this she spoke calmly about the status of Bakura who was still being looked over by Nasira. "Bakura will be fine, though I can't say how long it will take him to wake up from all that." she finished having a look around at the Rukh possessed by everyone in the room she was pleased that all the erratic behavior had stopped, aside from the mixing of Fudo and Yasmin's Rukh.

[Bloodedge]

"Well, if that was your only goal here, then next should be everywhere else," was Fudo's response to the pink-haired young woman. The next words spoken within the room, though, came from a voice he had become less acquainted with than the others in the vicinity: Shadiya. Turning to look at this girl following her words, Fudo hazarded a grin not unlike his usual gentle visage. "And what better way to start than that way?" he asked in rhetoric. Fudo then began to walk toward Shadiya, having the healing magic of his guiding Magi encase his wound as he moved. His gaze averted, shifting toward Samiya long enough to nod his thanks, after which he reached Shadiya and held out his right hand. "You didn't intrude. Allow me to apologize on our behalf for the mess of an afternoon you've had. If you hold no ill will against us for all this, maybe you'd consider joining us?"

[Apollymi]

"I suppose. I just didn't think I could properly enjoy freedom while other people I knew were still in chains." mentioned the pink haired girl. Her goals were kind of interesting, but now that she'd done the one thing that she'd set out to do, and knew for a fact that her friend would be alright, she was more than up for anything else which could be done instead. In fact the idea given by the girl known as Shadiya wasn't a bad one at all, she didn't know of the Reim Empire and she liked the idea of seeing something new. When the girl followed up with an apology though, Yasmin's brow wrinkled a little, she wondered how often her ideas were shut down for her to subconsciously apologize just for saying something. Even so, Fudo seemed apt to approach the girl in his usual friendly manner, and his nod of appreciation got him a wave from his Magi.

Shadiya was still red in the face but as the young man approached her and extended his left hand she couldn't believe what he was saying. He apologized for all of them and then offered to let her join him and his group. She looked completely dumbfounded by this action but wasn't sure how to take it. "I don't hold any ill will against anyone. But is it really okay for me to join you... I mean..." Shadiya's sentence drifted off as she looked around the room her eyes stopping specifically on Yasmin and Bakura. Both of whom had now suffered greatly at the hands of her family. It wouldn't surprise the girl if neither of them wanted her along simply because she'd be a reminder to them of this particular bad day, and she didn't see herself as blameless in these situations even if she was. Seeing the look on the girl's face Yasmin looked towards her and went over to join both Fudo and Shadiya. Her speech would be both reassuring to this girl and helpful to the point that Fudo aimed to make. "Whatever you think it's not necessary. I don't hold any grudges against you and wouldn't for something you couldn't have possibly been in control of. Baki isn't that kind of person either. So, if you want to come with us... we'd be happy to have you along." mentioned the pink haired girl, much to the surprise of Samiya the Rukh around this girl and Fudo seemed to be mixing more in these moments were they appeared to share will and feelings about things. This would cause that warm flush to remain on Shadiya's face, but overall her features softened. She didn't expect the former slave girl to be so understanding especially when it would have been perfectly understandable if she was against travelling with the family member of her former capturers. With this in mind the girl reached out for Fudo's extended right hand. "Okay I'll join you then." she said with a smile. "To be fair... I was kind of supposed to be in the Reim Empire already, but I got sidetracked on my way through here." she said.

[Bloodedge]

"It's settled, then!" Fudo exclaimed in a manner most pleased. "Shadiya, welcome to our group. We'll make a better world working together!" Without further ado, Fudo turned toward the exit of this room, recalling which direction to take for the sake of leaving the building. Once he had the direction in mind, he picked up Bakura and began walking until he was outside near the cart. There, he bore witness to a very interesting sight: that of the Magi Ali ever so casually sleeping atop the cart they traveled in. "Does he always do that?" he wondered aloud.

[Apollymi]

Shadiya looked a bit stunned that this had all gone so well. She didn't expect to be receieved so well by a group of people. But she could waste no time. "Thank you... one second." and just like that the girl turned around and went behind her desk. And pulled up a backpack a bit larger in size than a normal one would appear to be. And with it in hand and before she left the room, she began picking up and innumerable number of books and scrolls from the shelves and piling them in, as if this had been her intention the entire time. Once she was satisfied with everything she'd taken she headed outside asking a small favor of a house servant before she got outside.

Nasira, Samiya and Yasmin and all followed out Fudo and one of them was just as surprised as the teal haired young man to find the Magi Ali sleeping atop the cart. "Hmm, I wonder if that is actually comfortable?" Nasira quipped only to have Samiya answer and she hopped up to the top where the sleeping young man was. "Not really. I've tried and I can never get as comfortable as he can, literally anywhere. To be honest I'm jealous." she said while rolling her eyes. Soon enough Nasira had climbed into the cart and she Bakura normally occupied and once there she expected a hand off of the young man. Yasmin waited outside the cart for Shadiya who came running out looking a bit hastened like she thought they'd left without her. Once she caught up she looked at their organized caravan and nodded. "I don't need much space, but... I also have this thing, if you want we could use it with yours.." she said as a large caravan with a huge cart and extra equipment was lead out front. "I was supposed to use it to get to Reim anyways and it would be a bit more comfortable for all of us." she quipped with a small smile. This act of generosity was the least she could do. "Also it has camping equipment and the like so the trip will be more enjoyable."

[Bloodedge]

"... Huh. At least he's comfortable," Fudo said as his final piece regarding the sleeping Magi. So long as the man would not be experiencing great discomfort, or falling from the cart as they traveled. According to Shadiya, though, they could all find a more comfortable way to get to the Reim Empire. As he looked at this new carriage, Fudo grinned and immediately foresaw a very enjoyable journey. "Oh? Well, who would we be to say no to an offer like that?" he asked rhetorically. Several minutes passed before the group had switched to the new carriage, and were on their way to the southern half of Parthevia once more. The boy known as Shaka was found there, and easily recruited to the cause due to Shadiya's involvement. So, their next destination was none other than the Reim Empire.