With his new Clown Guard, Skeleton Archers, and Skeleton Infantry safely in his core, Charon returned to his room.
He was still sitting cross-legged on his bed, a position he planned to stay in, before he heard a knock at his door.
Frowning, he stood.
’Who could be coming to visit?’
He instantly considered the chances that the High Elders had learned of his Stadia fights and had sent soone to collect him to lecture him on why that wasn’t allowed.
Or they could get rid of him outright, unwilling to risk a repeat offender.
Sparing a mont to grab his black dagger and tuck it away in his sleeve, he approached and grabbed the handle, pulling the door open with a quick tug.
A tall blonde man was standing on the other side, wearing a freshly pressed black robe.
Gone were the golden embellishnts, instead being replaced with a few silver threads at the cuffs and around the neck, providing just enough to show he wanted to co across as classy without overdoing it.
Two sheaths hung at his waist, each holding a shortsword.
The mont he caught sight of Charon, he smiled, the action slightly annoying as it reminded the teenager of how much better looking Erius was.
’It’s just not fair! Why did the gods have to bless him with the looks and not ? A girl like Annie will always pick him!’
Suppressing his frustration, Charon offered a smile of his own before stepping to the side and letting Erius enter.
"Co on in."
Taking the offer, his friend walked past him and studied the room, his expression giving nothing away until his gaze locked onto the Mask of the Jester resting on the table.
’Shit! I forgot I had left that out!’
Stepping up to it, Erius reached down to grab it before pausing, turning his head to Charon and speaking.
"May I..?"
Unsure if refusing him could make it more suspicious, he nodded his consent and joined him around the table. The mont the swordsman touched the relic, Charon gulped.
’I hope he can’t learn anything about my ti at the Stadia from it. The announcer did say I’d be the talk of the town; if Erius was out and heard about it, he might connect the dots.’
Luckily, that didn’t seem to imdiately be the case, his friend giving the item an approving, if a bit jealous, look.
"This is a soul-bound relic. These are very rare, especially for a Novice to co across. Where did you acquire it?"
Charon shrugged as if to make it seem less than it was.
"I found it in a local shop. The guy gave it to at a good price, so I took him up on it. I didn’t even know it was a relic until after finding it."
Erius raised an eyebrow.
"You had money to buy it with? Even at a good price, sothing like this would go for a lot."
Charon scoffed.
"We are lieutenants now, and I’m a man of ans. I grew up as an orphan, rember? We are known for our ingenuity."
His friend’s eyebrow sohow raised higher.
"Are they, now?"
Turning back to the mask, Erius studied it even closer, flipping it over and peering at the face. It was set into a deep frown, the eyes downturned.
’Psh, even the mask doesn’t like him getting involved! I should’ve hidden it sowhere else and avoided this altogether!’
Erius’s breath caught as he noticed sothing, his eyes narrowing.
"Is that..? No, that can not be..."
He froze, his head swiveling to stare at Charon.
"Charon, are you aware of the enchantnts and effects this relic possesses?"
Nodding in confusion, Charon responded, his tone defensive.
"Of course, my holo-pad scanned it. Is there sothing wrong? Did I get scamd?"
The swordsman chuckled once, the sound almost coming across as a cough.
"Nothing wrong, quite the opposite. The mana I detect on this relic cos from two different elents, mind and... sothing I do not know. I am well-versed in all ten elents, so this must be a very rare subelent."
He paused and pursed his lips.
"What surprises most is the mind enchantnt. It is not what I would normally expect of a mask such as this, subtle charisma improvents, for example, but instead it is a very potent source of anti-magic."
Erius lowered the mask to the table and tapped it with his index finger.
"I doubt there lives a mind mage who could breach the defenses. If the Church of the Mind learned of its existence, they would stop at nothing to obtain it."
His face split into a wicked grin, the first ti Charon had seen such an expression on the man.
"This is exactly the kind of relic that we need more of. If we can find another for myself, we could be impervious to one of the most sadistic and effective forms of control out there. My father would pay a fortune for it!"
Charon’s excitent, which had been steadily growing with his friend’s approval, vanished instantly.
"What do you an your father would pay a fortune for it?"
His words were friendly, but there was an undertone of accusation to them that caught Erius off guard.
"Well, it is a very rare and powerful relic. My father, being one of the generals of the military, would love such an item to protect himself or his guards."
Charon slowly approached and took the mask, his gaze never leaving Erius, even when his friend began to look hurt.
"You... think I would take it?"
Charon glanced at the mask before responding. His mind was in turmoil as he considered the harsh realities he had faced recently. War and killing were rapidly becoming normal, and he still wasn’t beyond their last argunt about his emotional reaction to it all.
"I don’t know. You value your family a lot, sothing I’m sure makes sense to you, but I’m not part of that family. How do I know you won’t harm to help them?"
The words caught in Erius’ throat, his eyes widening.
"You really think that?"
Charon gave a single nod before looking down to think of the words to explain himself while not coming across as too offensive.
Before he could find them, he felt a heavy fist connect with his stomach, and his body flipped across the room until he landed on his bed’s mattress. The air left his lungs as he slamd down face-first, the soft bedding feeling harder on impact.
’What the-’
Before he could finish the thought, he felt a very powerful set of hands grab his shoulders from behind him and hoist him into the air. He was then flying again, his back slamming into the wooden floor.
He felt the mask be ripped from his hands and tossed to the side, followed by the ring of two blades being drawn. Looking up, he saw Erius raising them up as if preparing to strike.
"Wait, stop! I didn’t-"
They ca down, skewering the wood on both sides of his head, missing his ears by centiters.
With confident movents, Erius lowered himself and kneeled on Charon’s chest, pinning him to the ground and making every breath agony. Gritting his teeth, he brought his mouth up to his face and spoke.
"If I wanted to steal anything from you, I would just do it. You are not the most dangerous man I have t, not even close. I have witnessed things beyond your comprehension."
He grabbed the front of Charon’s shirt and yanked him up.
"I am not your enemy. I am not here to abuse you. I was telling you my father would fairly compensate you for the relic should you wish him to. In no way did I imply I would stoop so low to steal the item."
Standing up, the blonde swordsman wrenched his swords free of the floorboards and sheathed them, the practiced action sohow looking threatening, as if they could be redrawn at a mont’s notice.
"I am going to assu that your words were ant as a joke. I am going to leave now. If you wish, find tomorrow, and we will forget this ever happened."
He spared one last glance down at Charon before finding the thrown mask and bringing it back to him, unceremoniously dropping it on his aching torso.
"Here is your mask. It was a good find. I pray to the gods that you find more in the future, so that you will be successful. Perhaps one day you will find it in yourself to wish the sa of ."
With those words, he left the apartnt, slamming the door behind him, causing the room to shake.
Charon sat there for a minute, stupefied, too shocked to have any emotional reaction just yet.
’What... just happened...’
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