A Path Made of Steel

* **Date Completed:**Ongoing
* **Users Involved:**User:TheRedFang06,User:Citron19
* **Setting:**Agnis, Paradise, 1582
* **Characters Involved:**Selkirk Geryon, Maiko
* **Previous RP:**

The scars of the past were not easily concealed, but from a bystander's eyes, Agnis didn't have anything of the sort to start with.

It had been more than a decade since the island was devastated. Through effort, sacrifice and sweat, its people had managed to mend the wounds that were opened by the catastrophe, rebuilding from the ashes. There was a reason the Phoenix was considered Agnis' national bird, after all. From a pile of ruins and cinders, it had rose back into a flourishing hub for pirates, traders, and the sort - people who either wished to resupply, or taste the island's famed Agnissian Saké.

But even to its people, Agnis held secrets, the keepers of which died in the flames that had first scoured the island, replaced by stories and myths. But no secret, no matter how deep... Can stay hidden forever.

## Swordward

On the coastal city of Illias where it populated a settlement as well as a market corner, the lady with curly brown hair walked on a plowed path, near numerous houses as well as traders. Her reddish gaze wandered over people's faces, hoping to find something interesting among the many pirates taking refuge on this island. The brown-haired lady carried a green saber on her hip with which she firmly held the wrist of her saber. Rather cautious and discreet in her wavering gait, she headed straight for the external steps offered by a rather dubious restorer.

With her hand resting on the edge of the table after losing her balance, she sat nonchalantly on one of the chairs arranged, facing a stranger who was occupying the table, reading his newspaper. The customer, taken aback, glared at the thirsty lady, “Um… don’t be shy, ma’am! " he said in a superior tone.

The brown-haired lady delicately placed her green saber on the table, still hanging on her weapon to signify a present threat on her part. Her piercing eyes rested on those of the client, keeping her mouth closed to demonstrate a heaviness of silence.

“*Get away, prankster*” she thought very deeply, thirst and hunger made her lose the reason quite easily and she had lost all her patience to continue this discussion. Very quickly, the client felt a shiver of fear run down his shoulders and to the back of his skull, his hands crumpled the newspaper in worry.

“I… I’m going to go, have a good day eh! " stammered the customer before dropping the newspaper and picking up his coat and hat, abandoning the table, filled with half-eaten food. Without wasting time, the brown-haired lady hurried to eat the rest of the food using a fork.

“hmmhmmh ooh how good hmhmfufufu” she mumbled with her mouth full, almost rolling her eyes to the sky, a great delight for her taste bud after such a long journey alone.

As the woman feasted on what remained of the man's food, she would hear the customers roar up in jubilation - and while one could be under the assumption that it was because of her making the fleeing man run away, it'd take a mere look to find out that wasn't the case.

It was a black-haired fellow, a few years younger than her, wearing a black jacket over a dark grey T-shirt with a floral pattern, alongside baggy shorts and boots that, altogether, gave him a comfortable and casual appearance. He smiled and waved at the people next to him, he was clearly well-known, but not in the same way a celebrity was. More like a close friend, a reliable ally they trusted, rather than admired.

"So, what's in store today, Geryon? Usual stuff?" A waiter said, getting next to him to take his order;

"Yep, Claude. The usual bottle of booze. Sword training gets harder by the day, at least this little thing is my daily relief." The black-haired youth said, with a smirk, as he placed his hands behind his head in a relaxed stance.

The brown-haired lady was naturally observing the popular man nicknamed Geryon. The pace of her hand movements for which she was eating began to slow down. As soon as she heard their discussion with the restaurant waiter, the strange lady immediately started laughing out loud to the point of coughing up some of the food on her plate.

“FUFUFUFFUFHFHAHAHAHAHAHA Oh wow!”

She wiped her mouth with a small paper towel lying on the table. Afterwards, she wiped away the few tears of laughter at the edges of her eyelids, always with a stifled laugh in the meantime. She threw the rag on the table before crushing her back in the hollow of the rickety chair, letting herself swing on the two chair legs. “So the little boy is having a hard time? Is it that hard? You’re clearly not ready for to think like that fufufufu” she talked to the popular man, Geryon. As she continued to swing nonchalantly on the chair, demonstrating a colossal confidence that was impossible to break, the brunette lady continued to hold the man's gaze without fear, she was rather curious about what was going to happen next the following.

"... Ain't you the new face."

Geryon said as the waiter, Claude, brought him a bottle of alcohol. A three-thousand  payment later, and all of his attention was on the woman...

"And who would you be to tell me I'm not ready to think like that, lass? I mean, maybe you drank too much, but still."

By a flutter of eyelashes and a smirk, amused by the return of his response. “Are you insinuating that I drank too much? Damn, I just came from such a long sea voyage, I couldn't even drink a single drop of alcohol, so young man…” She rested the four legs of the chair on the ground, her elbows laid on the table, the brunette rested her chin on her crossed hands.

  “… will you share your alcohol, fufufufu” she said, implying that he had no choice in sharing. Given her condition, her cheeks were slightly sunken, her skin was dry and her outfit was worn and worn by the sun and the sea of salt. She had barely arrived from a long trip when she was already looking for challenges on the island.

She nodded from side to side with the dialogue, “I think you have no other choice… do you? " she insisted, running her two fingers over the sheath of her green saber, leaving a strange sound of bells passing under her fingers, demonstrating an intimidating presence, not that she was necessarily looking for a fight, but above all to drink a beverage which she couldn't even afford such a price.

"...Nice sword, aesthetics wise. Seen worse stuff."

Geryon nonchalantly commented. Whether unaware or simply unwavering, he didn't seem much intimidated - maybe he was made of sterner stuff compared to the man she had sent packing earlier. Point is, he didn't budge, bringing his bottle to his lips and drinking up...

Before stopping halfway and handing her the booze. She had told him to *share* - nothing specified he had to do it immediately. "Since ya seem so interested in it, I took my fill out first. Wouldn't want to miss out on drinking the home's specialty, now would I."

Her gaze was moving in the direction of the bottle, but she was distracted from his rather insulting comment about her sword, aesthetically speaking. How insulting this was to her. Her intimidating smile that she was holding on to was slowly turning into a fake smile to maintain that little peace to get him alcohol.

Without delay, she picked up a half-filled cup of coffee, downing it in a few sips before tossing it outside onto the ground and placing it back on the table.

“Indeed, at the price it costs, it is completely understandable. Which is the opposite…” she discussed with Geryon, who was now an acquaintance in her eyes. The hand moved towards an almost empty glass, leaving a mere bottom of orange juice, the glass was placed irritably in front of Geryon, letting out a dull thud between the glass and the wooden surface of the table.

“… it’s because you insult my Suzuha, be careful of what you say and especially what you observe” she retorted, resting her cheek on her hand.

"I know my stuff when it comes to blades, lass. Could tell a fake from the real thing with a look. Yours seems to look the part - but if you want me to treat her like a sword and not a decoration, show me she *cuts*."

The old 'dull sword hidden in the sheath' was a trick Geryon had seen pulled by the occasional straggler more than once. A guy rolls up, tells you to give them all your money at swordpoint - and after you kick their ass so hard they're foaming at the mouth, it turns out they were threarening you with the swordsman's equivalent of a cheap toy. Even for someone with as strict a philosophy as himself in terms of swords, he knew he had to test the quality of a weapon - and its wielder - first before acknowledging if he should be scared or not.

"Let's make a little bet. Her name is Suzuha, isn't it? If you and her manage to cut three trees in front of my eyes, I'll buy you thrice the amount of booze I bought for myself and show you around the place. Deal?"

Was it a risk? Sure, but Geryon had his means of getting back that money, and offering these sods a safe avenue was a surefire way to weed out the frauds and give the actual swordsmen a relatively peaceful outlet to get what they wanted.

Right away, the brown-haired lady who had not yet introduced herself responded quite quickly.

“hmhmhmfufufu, three trees? Wait, just three trees? You specifically want three trees or…. Only three trees left? " she said, indirectly accepting his bet, her fake smile was now more peaceful and in a better mood knowing that she had eaten the leftover meal of a customer. However, she would not forgive him for insulting the green sabre, Suzuha, an item much more valuable than he would think. Without wasting time, she stood up from her chair while delicately taking the sword. In a confident approach, she headed straight towards the exit of the staircase giving access to the external steps of the restaurant. With her hand resting on one of the wooden beams, she glanced over her shoulder at Geryon. Patiently waiting for a more precise answer from his bet. In a mocking tone, she continued speaking, her back resting on the entrance beam.

“If I cut down more than three trees, I guess you’ll buy the alcohol more than three times huh? Fufufufufu, rather advantageous says so, you spoil me! "

"Hey, don't start twisting my words, lass! Three bottles I promised and three bottles I'll buy... Provided you win, of course! Tchahahaha!"

Geryon chuckled, getting up from the table and giving the house its customary tip before heading out, nodding at the woman to follow him. She didn't even know where to go - what did she expect to accomplish going ahead?

"We'll make a stop at my house first, so I can get *my* swords. May as well make it a competition while we're at it. And don't worry, I'm not gonna ask anything on your end if I win - bragging rights more than suffice."

Maybe he was being honest, maybe it was a subtle implication that he wouldn't stoop as low as to pretend someone who had to threaten him to get bozze give him a physical reward. He didn't feel the need to elaborate - so he didn't, and started walking ahead towards his place.

She couldn't help but stifle her giggles at what he had just said. “Pfufu, then, be sure that I won’t let you brag about it! » she almost cooed, she followed Geryon at her side, in a rather silent walk.

“Geryon huh? " She repeated the name of her acquaintance as they walked towards his house. “Not even curious about mine, fufufufu” She rolled her eyes, amused by the man’s very confident and optimistic behavior. The brown-haired lady finally said her identity, although he hadn't asked, being called lass bothered her.

“Let me introduce myself, my name is Maiko, a great traveller in search of the ten swords of Luc! Fufufu"

Geryon didn't react much, simply bringing his hands behind his head as he walked off towards his own home, in all likelihood followed by Maiko. Damn, she laughed a lot...

"You're a swordswoman who's eager to prove she's business. There's nothing more I need to know. Introductions come later - first, show me what'cha got."

That was all he responded with, following up with a snarky smirk - a silent request for her to show him how much she knew about swordsmanship.

## Mark of Valor

cThe woods of Agnis were far from unwelcoming. Light poured in from above, shining through the fronds. And as the two swordsmen ventured inside them, it would feel less as an adventure inside the wilderness, and more so as entering a welcoming arena for them to prove their skills.

"So, three trees. Shouldn't be too hard on either of us, if everything goes smoothly." Geryon said, his pair of swords sheathed at his side. His hand wandered instinctively towards the more ornate of the two...

"At the count of three, we'll start swinging. Gotcha?"

“Hmhm, only three trees huh? Hmhm” she affirmed again, she looked at the many trees surrounding the two swordsmen, the magnificent landscape saddened her to have to cut down a few trees. But at the expense of her little survival, she chose to feed and drink rather than worry about a simple tree with tormented spirits.

She positioned herself with her feet slightly apart, the front of her body slightly leaning, her hand on her saber wrist. All that remained was to do the counting.

“I'm waiting for you mhmhmfufu” she declared, ready to demonstrate her more than sharp blade, her mind began to empty, giving way to a concentrated and lively look at the crumpled one.

Geryon smirked confidently, his hands grasping his sword's handles as he mentally picked which three trees to swing at. He turned his back on Maiko so that he may not interfere with her own tree-cutting, and began the count.

"One..."

His grip tightened and his eyes narrowed, as he focused. This was a challenge, but also a test - one he was eager to prove himself on.

"Two..."

**"THREE!"**

No sooner had the words left his mouth that Geryon swung both swords three times each, twice per each tree - but he didn't move. Instead, the air itself would stir - creating **Flying Slashes** that would strike at the trees in his stead. He was yet to grow strong enough to fell one with a single blade of wind, but two would more than suffice, given how the trees of Agnis were nothing too special. He had the advantage of not needing to actually get close to his targets and just needing to slash - it was time for Maiko to try and beat that.

On the third count, Maiko drew her Suzuha saber, delivering a quick strike at first, then becoming slightly slow at the end. A delicate cut and at the same time deviously precise, she put away her green saber before standing up and looking at the result of the blows of Geryon's.

“Not bad fufufu,” she admitted when the man turned around to face the brown-haired lady. Three trees on a linear line and spaced by a jump of two were cut in two, one after the other. The edge was as fine as a particle, leaving no bark to splinter from the trees, the carefully sliced trunks fell sharply to the sides, interlocking among the branches of the other trees.

“So is my blade sharp? Fufufu,” she said with a sneer, showing a very amused smile, leaving aside her scathing appearance that she had shown earlier.

Geryon looked back as he sheathed the weapons, smirking as he saw that Maiko was actually competent in using that weapon of hers. He caught a glimpse of the blade as she sheathed it, and sure enough - the damn thing was sharp.

"It sure as hell does its job."

He admitted, extending a hand outward as a invitation to shake it. The difference in time between them was negligible - but victory mattered little. He knew she could hold her own now, there was no reason to look at her with suspicion, at least when it came to her skills.

"I'm not sure which of us did it first. In doubt, I'll just buy some drinks anyway - how's that sound, Maiko?"

He said, finally acknowledging her enough to use her name.

Maiko shook his hand gently, the smile frozen on her face when she heard his unpleasant suggestion.

"Geryon, it wasn't about the fastest my darling, the bet was to cut down three trees" she cooed before continuing.

"A bet is a bet, you owe me three bottles of sake," she said with an imposing energy, her words were clear and she didn't like people to reconsider a decision just because he covered his face. As the words were spoken, her delicate hand gripped the man's hand tighter and tighter, crushing him with a characterful grip on the lady's part.

"... Me and my fuckin' hastily made promis-OW!"

Geryon said, wincing from the strength of the grip. Talk about killer hands...

"I just said I'd have done that anyway! What for?!"

He said, only half-ironic this time as he moved his hand to dull the pain

Maiko let out a few snickers of joy, she responded completely honestly with a touch of mockery towards him.

“You shouldn't have done your pretentious, fufufufu, I'm just thirsty, you know, drinking a little sake is very refreshing, oh also for my next trip! You need a little, otherwise, it would be so boring,” she said, rolling her eyes, she placed the saber against the tree trunk for which she had cut. She sat down slowly, her last trip had really rusted her in a few spells.

“It’s very confusing travelling in the seas around here, it’s really not the same type of weather as in the New World, it’s… so peaceful? »

Maiko watched her acquaintance shake his hand in pain, she waited patiently for him to take out the sake he had just bought earlier while she was well-installed on the lawn.

"Bloody hell... You sure got a nasty grip. Few seconds longer and I'd have lost feeling in my hand all day long."

Geryon said as he kept on shaking his hand about, dulling the suffering.

"Well... I have some back home. Special reserves for when I'll set sail myself. I'm sure I can take three bottles off of the more recent batch to give you - you've earned that, at least. Giving you the shop's would be a disservice."

He said, clearly respecting Maiko's skills with a blade enough to grant her at least that form of respect.

" The most recent? I want the oldest, the old is the best, my boy, fufufu” she cooed in a jovial mood, but the hunger hit her stomach horribly. A loud noise coming from her stomach echoed in the forest.

**grrrrooooooooooh**

“Ooh there…” she said, holding her hungry stomach tightly, the leftover lunch she had eaten earlier was clearly not enough. “Maybe an extra… full breakfast? Fufufufu” she asked Geryon, without embarrassment in asking for such specific things after losing him a simple bet.

"Pfft, it's saké. Best consumed within the year. But if you really want the older batches, so be it"

Geryon joked, shrugging as he went along with Maiko's apparent wishes. Strangely enough though, when she asked about the breakfast...

"Well, hope you like omelette and bacon. It's one of the best and only thing I know how to cook and even my pockets have their limits, ssssoooo..."

He said, crossing his arms. He clearly didn't seem all too opposed to the idea of having a meal.

As soon as Geryon accepted the idea of a meal, Maiko was already up, already starting her walk towards the path they had used earlier. Not long ago, she was sitting by a tree and in the blink of an eye, was already on her way. Talking about meals had whetted her appetite.

“I hope you cook well huh! Fufu” she mocked with a smile on her lips. She won't be picky as long as she has the old sakes, which concluded the end of the bet.

Following a long walk in the forest on the island of Agnis, both found themselves at Geryon's house. Maiko waited very patiently for the long-awaited meal, declaring it one of the best meals he had made, although it was only a simple omelette. The red lady had already started to drink her sake, she poured the liquid into that of her new friend who was busy cooking.

The small glass in hand, comfortably leaning against the back of her chair, her gaze was lost through the window, a thought becoming more and more distant. “*How can it be so peaceful to travel here? The seas are so calm, so tender, the weather is as sweet as can be...*" she sipped her glass, her eyes closed by the pleasant sensation of the taste of sake. A sweetness of rice that instinctively tickled her taste buds. The gaze focused on the landscape now, a calm that soothed Maiko's mind all too easily. “*How did some swords end up here in these lost Blue Seas? They must have travelled so much, so often that they can't even have peace of mind...*" so thoughtful that she began to speak, demonstrating a discussion she was having with herself.

“I’m sure, changing from one master to another is bad.”

At the moment, she hadn't even realized that she had just spoken out loud.

"Hm?"

Geryon's head peeked from the kitchen's door, having overheard Maiko's words just as he was about to make his grandiose entrance with two plates of omelette and bacon.

"A Belly for your thoughts, lass?" He asked as he walked out, carrying the meals as he placed one in front of Maiko and the other on the opposite side of the table, for himself.

"What did you mean by 'changing masters'? Is it some kinky shit I'm not aware of?"

He chuckled, using the chance to get some light-hearted humor in.

Forced out of her thoughts, a polite smile appeared on her face. " Oh? You don't know? Fufufu, you know that swords have their own minds, it’s not just swordsmen who have hearts,” she began by explaining, peering into the glass of sake.

“No sword likes to change from one place to another owner to the other. They fade like a flower…” then she drank the last sip of sake, before taking two chopsticks between her fingers and taking the first bite of her omelette.

"My dad surely had that idea as well." Geryon started to explain, as he himself sat down and started to eat his own omelette. His swords rested on the wall next to the entrance - and since they were the subject of their conversation, he couldn't help but steal a glance. Once he had swallowed, he continued; "He liked writing these philosophical thingies from his homeland... I think they're called 'Haiku'? Well, point is, this idea about the 'soul of the sword' is mentioned pretty often in them."

He chuckled, before bringing a hand to his own glass and almost downing it all in one go. Then, he continued the discussion, one of his feet rhythmically tapping the ground...

"I believe in it too. You see, my style of swordsmanship places a lot of emphasis on treating the sword as if it was part of yourself. I'm not sure if mom had such a philosophical idea in mind when she codified the Three Tenets, but personally... I like to think she's been at her side all throughout."

He sighed, looking at his own reflection in the sakè. Then, looking turned to staring, as he gazed at his face, deformed by the liquid, as calm as the sea without storm... And then, a disturbance. Ripples in the alcohol, caused by something hitting it... One touch at his face with his free hand, and the cause made itself known to him.

Tears. Immediately wiping them away from his eyes, he laid the glass onto the table once again, taking a deep breath to try and calm himself down. He returned to eating his omelette, trying desperately to hide that apparent moment of vulnerability.

Maiko had witnessed his vulnerability and out of respect, she listened, her mouth tight for a moment before allowing herself to speak. “Fufu” she chuckled softly, not to make fun of the person, but because what he had said was courageous of him. “You miss your mother, huh? I can promise you wherever you go, your mother will always be there by your side,” she said in a peaceful whisper.

A topic of conversation she knew so well, “I can feel her” she nodded her head. “There is only maternal love, fufu”. Her relaxed attitude led her to pour the sake again into that of her nostalgic acquaintance, then she poured her own before drinking in a delight of alcohol. Abandoning Geryon on her words.

"...I hope that what you say is true, Maiko. Really, I do."

Geryon uttered as he stopped eating his omelette halfway through, clearly deprived of the will to eat by his however brief moment of despair. He started to consume the food in small pieces, eating them slowly and without much willingness, clearly forcing himself to do so. Soon enough, what little desire he still retained faded, and he got up. The reason for such an action would soon be made clear...

"You mentioned the... Ten Swords of Luc, earlier, yeah?"

He asked, crossing his arms as he looked at her.

“What I say is always true Geryon, I never lie about the dead…” she said in an unwavering voice, no tremor, no lie had betrayed her words. When it came time to answer his question about Luc, she was rather surprised that he was interested in this subject, a friendly smile appeared on her lips.

" Maybe? Fufu, do you have any information about the ten swords of Luc?" she questioned with great interest, she even took the trouble to lean towards the table, her cheek delicately placed in the palm of her hand, a posture which meant that the subject was interesting.

"Me? No. But from the way you spoke about them they seem quite famous."

He said, putting his hands in his pockets as he started to head upstairs, his steps loud and heavy - he clearly hadn't vented out all the negative feelings from earlier.

"And if there's one place we can find stuff on famous swords, it's mom and dad's old diaries. A pair of poindexters when it came to swords, those two were. Follow me - maybe we can find some information there."

“Oh there there…” she murmured, not being able to avoid an amused smile at the sound of his irritated footsteps. The interest in information from old newspapers would become a more than interesting subject for the red lady.

## The Old Past

Fair to say, the upper floor was not unlike the one they had just been in - but in all likelihood, Maiko would've been surprised by just how much... *stuff* was in there.

Books piled on books, with precarious models of ships hanging on top; plenty of ruined wooden sabers rested against the walls, chipped or snapped due to time and overexertion; a bed filled with an absolute mess of nautical charts, with a big location at the end of the New World marked in red, with a writing of the same color written in ink just above it, reading DAD'S PLACE?. But... Only one place was absolutely orderly.

A set of books, resting on a shelf left devoid of any chaos, being left absolutely clean and spotless. Geryon passed a hand over them, eyes closed... And pulled one out. An otherwise seemingly inconspicuous little thing...

"Yeah... This is the one about swords and swordsmasters they met on their journey."

...But Geryon recognized it immediately. He obviously had checked it many times, to the point where he was able to recognize it with ease...

Opening the book, the young man started to move through the pages - showing it to Maiko to see if she could understand something he didn't.

"Ten Swords of Luc... Let's see if they're mentioned here."

As soon as he handed the book aside, immediately with a fluid movement, she already had the book in her hand. She flipped through quickly, then flipped back a few pages before a page caught her eye. Looking slightly stunned, a sigh of disappointment followed.

“Ah!...ah...it looked a lot like it,” she commented as she kept walking around the cluttered room, dodging all the piles that were in her way. She brought the book closer to her face, then turned the other way before handing it to Geryon.

“Too bad, we’re going to have to spend an hour in this dump, fufu,” she said, shrugging her shoulders and humming a little mumbled song. Incomprehensible words and nothing other than little notes to lighten the atmosphere brought by the heaviness of this piece. Maiko picked through the ranger books stoically, flipping through again.

“hmhmm mhh hmm”

"Hey!"

Geryon would just as quickly snatch the book right back after Maiko was done exploring it, clutching it to his chest protectively. It wasn't that he didn't trust the woman - but he seemed to hold that piece of paper remarkably close to his heart, metaphorically and literally.

"At least ask next time!"

He would add as he flipped through the papers himself, with quickness typical of those who had read and reread the same work many times... But to no avail.

"...Nope. Not even a mention of this Luc. And mom and dad were thorough in keeping this thing updated! Unless..."

He turned towards Maiko, his eyes almost... Worried. "Did these swords bear... Some form of 'curse'?"

The eyebrow raised upwards, as if it was surprising for Geryon, she replied without respite, "Indeed, some swords carry dark curses" Then a path of reflection followed before continuing, "Don't tell me don't say they don't note cursed swords? It would be stupid not to share this information” a smile had escaped to give way to a perplexed look, the red lady had never stopped continuing to search everywhere.

Lifting a few books, dusting off a few shelves, leafing through a few papers yellowed by time and always with such delicacy and respect. She had seen a part of awareness in the man, an awareness that few men demonstrated in his attachment to memories. A protective feeling that Maiko knew so well.

"There are 10 swords... Suzuha, Kuragari, Tsukuyomi, Hebido, Amaterasu, wait a second, I'm going to take out Luc's book", Maiko took the book out of his trouser pocket, revealing a small satchel, very thick and as old as the world. She suddenly approached Geryon with a small press, showing him with pride the numerous notes that her father, Luc, had once left during his ten sword creations.

“Maybe you’ll recognize it better! Fufufu”

Looking in the notebook, a lot of the writing was illegible, garbled or calligraphy, however, there were manufacturing diagrams, noted materials, sketches of swords as well as some techniques mentioned in this precious notebook.

"YOU MEAN TO TELL ME YOU-!"

Geryon would groan as he realized that this entire process would have been MUCH easier if Maiko had busted that little thingamajig out from the start. He sighed, bringing a hand to his forehead...

"...Oh, you know what, forget it. But... No. My parents *did* write about Cursed Swords... Just not here. Mom and dad told me something that could just help us out."

He walked towards the window of his room, staring at the open sea and the roads of his homeland.

"Knowledge on cursed swords would be too risky to leave out in the open. They're usually crazy powerful - and crazy risky to use. Dad had first-hand experience dealing with one, and trust me, Sandai Kitetsu was far from a nice sword. So, they hid it - in the 'last place any Agnissian would look at'. Which leaves out two possible candidates..."

He would look towards Maiko, and point at said 'candidates' with one hand while raising the appropriate number of fingers on the other. First would be a small island, with a sandy beach and a grey mountain covering most of it.

"One, the island of **Tyrins**. It was a mine back when the island's infrastructure still needed materials to be built - now it's a buncha ruins. There's a chance we can find something there - maybe mom and dad used the mining operations to 'cover up' their metaphorical stash..."

Then his finger would move to the other 'candidate' - which honestly looked more like it resembled a sea cave than a proper island. It was made of jagged pinkish rock, and only had a small entrance that seemed carved out of the stone itself unnaturally, and yet with no precise pattern or form.

"Two, **Thebes**, the Cursed Island. Ever since mom and dad first explored this place, when I wasn't even old enough to walk, that island was marked as forbidden grounds. There's a chance they stored their stuff there and spread the rumor. Both options are plausible in their own way - what do you say we do first?"

Maiko scanned the two islands as he described the two distant lands. The hand naturally leaned against the window frame, her eyes long thoughtful, and always in a whispering voice.

“Thebes is a cursed island, the forbidden too easily attracts the gaze of others” she began, taking the opportunity to turn the window handle and push the window open. A blatant smell of freshness entered the room, a pleasant rustling of the air, a few papers escaped and fluttered from one direction to the other before calm returned of its own accord.

“While the island of Tyrins... who would go to a ruined mine? Who would think of it? ", she looked away from Geryon, the smile raising her cheekbones, "What do you say? ", her curious mind was now carried forward to that of Geryon, a path destined for him.

"I like your reasoning." Geryon would say with a smirk. "We'll check out Tyrins first. If your intuition's right, we'll spare us a whole load of trouble. And if the island's empty, we'll just go check the other one."

With that, he would grab ahold of his swords once again.

"You better go and finish what's left of the omelette, lass. In case things go wrong, we may just not eat for the rest of the day."

## Whistling Depths

The mines of Tyrins were sprawling, that was for sure. Tunnels of rock and the occasional gemstones were road, pavement and decoration of these cold, now uninhabited mines. But... What caused them to be abandoned to begin with was unknown. There seemed to be no sign of structural failings in the early parts of the mines, which were still clearly full of useful materials...

Maiko did not hesitate to head towards the exterior resources, a keen observation focused on the numerous debris, coal, metal and several lanterns several years old which were lying there. The red lady had been looking at the brass mine for ages, she wanted to know how this mine could have been abandoned. And for that alone, she found this environment rather suspicious, with a mocking smile and amused by the decor, she did not turn away for a single second from the entrance to the mine.

“Sayy my dear Geryon, is it not suspicious that the city has abandoned a mine? Is there a particular reason that explains this phenomenon?" she asked herself as her red gaze moved towards her countryside. But she returned her attention to the entrance, starting her walk to head inside where there were rails and a few baskets of wagons. Some cars were empty and others were full, Maiko threw her hands into one of the cars to search every nook and cranny she could possibly find something while Geryon answered.

"Honestly, I myself don't know the answer." Geryon added, tapping on the hilt of his sword as he looked back at Maiko. While she was busy looking at carts, he was inspecting the minerals of the cave's walls. Steel, some copper, the occasional small piece of gold which he made sure to rip out... But nothing that could lead them to the hypothetical book stash.

"The mines closed when I was something like two or three. Adults spoke about it for a month and then, poof. The subject was gone like a fart in the wind. We're walkin' into literal unknown territory, lass, so let's be careful and leave no stone unturned. Aye?"

Maiko couldn't help but laugh at Geryon's metaphor, shaking her hair in exasperation, she walked towards the depth of the cave, she took the opportunity to brag about herself.

“Fufufu, ah, but that’s not knowing me well! she said, continuing her walk along the path, the path was quite huge, but as their walk progressed, the path became smaller and smaller.

Maiko was rather thoughtful and scanned every corner of the cave, often taking the trouble to stop along the way when she needed to take a look, which slowed down their progress a lot. The two people stopped and faced two similar paths,

“Well, well, a classic,” she commented, shrugging her shoulders nonchalantly.