?"I don''t like it," Bannok red at Tycondrius, who sat across from him at the nning table.


    ? Bannok, Gold-Rank Human Weaponmaster. Guild Brazen Guard. ?


    "I gathered, Brother-Bannok," Tycon nodded. "As the name of the dungeon is the ''Halls of the Dead Serpent'', I''d imagined you would not enjoy being here."


    "I was talkin'' about your banner, guy!" Bannok scowled. "It''s got a snake on it. I hate it!"


    Tycon nced over at his left shoulder te, the one painted with the Guild Letalis snake skull... but he had a perfect excuse, prepared for the human''s suspicion, "Ah, this? Well, Brother-Bannok, a dead snake has a much different meaning than a living one."


    "Makes sense!" Ariadne pped her hands together, "Husband, be nice! You know that Mister Tactician don''t mean no harm!"


    ? Ariadne, Gold-Rank Elven Priestess. Guild Brazen Guard. ?


    Ariadne... or Aria, as she preferred to be called, was a powerful Priestess and the wife of Bannok of Kasydon. Her dyed blonde hair and white rune tattoos shed against her bronze skin-- apparently an epted cultural style in the Eastern States.


    Her style of speaking was... influenced by her upbringing in that area. Tycon tried to decipher what exactly she had said... It sounded... positive? But the words she used...


    "We all know how much you prefer yer snakes dead rather ''an alive and kickin''!" Ariadne rolled her eyes before turning sharply andining in her charming drawl, "Say somethin'', Fel!"


    The reticent hooded elf, Felinus, was rubbing conditioner onto his leather arm-guards. He nced over to the war table, "Snakes have no legs, Sapling, therefore cannot kick."


    ? Felinus, Gold-Rank Elven Hunter. Guild Brazen Guard. ?


    Admittedly, Tycon was thinking the same thing.


    "SOMETHIN''. ELSE. FEL!!" The Priestess scolded.


    "Very well," Felinus returned his attention to his maintenance... "Bannok, I advise you to have faith in our Tactician."


    Bannok rolled his eyes and rubbed at his bald head, "Not you too..."


    Athena shyly picked at another of Aria''s cupcakes, a guilty look in her eyes... "Um... I... I chose the final design. It''s sorta my fault?"


    The young girl bowed her head, "I''m sorry, Mister B."


    ? Athena Vanzano, Iron-Rank Frostde. Guild Letalis Serpentia. ?


    Bannok swayed back as if he''d been physically struck, "Alright, alright. It''s fine. Stop apologizing, all of you''s."


    Tycon did not apologize but chose not to call attention to that fact.


    "The Tactician did not apologize," Felinus said aloud.


    Tycon sighed, unsurprised by the elf''s sudden, but inevitable betrayal.


    "Whatever, ughhh," Bannok groaned. "So tell me about your guild, then? I hope you guyses are worth as much as your fancy ck armor."


    "He''s just jealous," Ariadne teased.


    "W-we have extra sets..." Athena offered.<novelnext></novelnext>


    "Ahem," Tycon cleared his throat. "We technically have two armored sses, a Raging me Knight and a Heavy Gunner... as well as a half-dozen heavy-damage ranged sses."


    Bannok whistled... "A Raging me Knight... never heard of that. Is it a Knight subss?"


    Tycon frowned... "I believe it stems from the Berserker ss."


    The bald Weaponmaster blinked... "That''s... terrifying, almost... So they''ll be part of my closebat line... What rank is he?"


    "Gold. And Korr is female, though she will be wearing her full helmet to avoid discrimination."


    "Oh, I can''t wait to meet her!!" Aria giggled. "Have another cupcake, little one."


    "Korr is really nice! Kinda quiet, though? But she''s really pretty," Athena exined between nibbles of the baked goods Ariadne had provided. "These are really delicious, Ari!"


    Though Tycon did not particrly enjoy eating sweets, their scent was pleasant.


    Banana? ...How did Ariadne manage to get bananas in the Holy Country?


    Tycon addressed Felinus. The Elven Hunter was responsible for coordination amongst the ranged sses inbat, "Our gunners are trained to move and shoot as well as archers. Will you ept them under yourmand?"


    Felinus pursed his lips as he stared at one of the tent walls... "I do not like the smell of guns and cannons... but yes, if they are prepared to follow orders, I should have no issue with them."


    Tycon frowned but nodded. The Hunter would expect the sweet smell of burnt Orcish Sugar, but he would instead sense the discharge of vtile evocation magic. If he''d had any prior dealings with Bael Turath-- which was likely, due to his age... then he''d identify the source immediately. While Khyber Crystals were not inherently good or evil, Felinus would have questions that Tycon would have to answer eventually.


    "Ooh, ooh!" Athena wiggled in glee, "We have Sorina, too! She''s amazing!"


    "Oh! What ss is she?" Ariadne asked, tapping her paper fan to her chin.


    Tycon smirked, leaning forward on the table, "My Quartermaster, Sorina Capulet, is a Calctor."


    Bannok raised his eyebrows, more surprised that Guild Letalis had a Calctor than a Gold-Rank... "How good we talkin''?"


    "Bronze-Rank, but she has developed the ?Parse? skill."


    ?Parse? was one of the most powerful skills in the Realm... but as rare as it was, it was only valued by military leaders. With Bannok as a retired Pilus Prior, he would not take one lightly.


    Sorina''s skill could judge both the strength and effectiveness of anyone she observed inbat. With the information provided, she could identify efficacy ws that could then be corrected by training.


    Sorina could calcte a percentage determining whether or not an adventurer was performing to the best of their abilities. If she dered that an Iron-Rank Fighter performed in the lower 20% of all Iron-Rank Fighters or a low 10% of all closebat sses... then that person was better off performing guard duty than in the front lines. Conversely, the men and women that performed at the *top* 20% would be best protected and nurtured by the Brazen Guard.


    Doubting a Calctor''s judgments would lead to nothing but embarrassment. Their ability analyzed nearly everything inbat... amount of time spent not attacking, taking injury, rtive stamina and mana usage, willpower...


    Such things were quantified into numbers... numbers that she could provide at a moment''s notice. Numbers could not lie... and neither could Sorina, while her skill was active.


    How it worked was beyond Tycon or anyone, but the Calctor ss and its ?Parse? skill was beholden to the indisputable Laws that governed the Realm.


    Bannok snorted, "I like it. No one''s ckin'' off, this sun. Else they''ll find my foot in their arse."