Eldovian Era 1710, 1st day of the 1th month

A rap of knuckles on his office door disturbed Jeremiah from the current problem he had at hand. The same problem he'd been debating on for the last several days. What to do about these Vanguard?

With a sigh that seemed more a relief than frustration, Jeremiah looked up to meet the disturbance.

"Come in".

The door opened, revealing Ebony and Rassa. Ebony led the way, Rassa behind her carrying a medium-sized chest with ease which he placed on top of the meeting table in the centre of the Captain's office.

"What's this?" asked Jeremiah as Ebony closed the door.

"Your payment, as promised," Rassa replied, "A thousand Gold Coins, plus the 50% of the profits made so far".

Jeremiah looked from Rassa to Ebony, then to the chest, "It's only been thirteen days since the contract was made".

"Yes," Rassa nodded.

"How much in profits?" asked Jeremiah.

"Your share? 890 Gold Coins," Rassa replied.

Jeremiah sat back in shock, "Are you telling me you made nearly 3000 Gold in ten days?"

"Technically, in a ," said Ebony, "We only started selling a week ago".

"Selling what?" asked Jeremiah.

Rassa took an Evanine Crystal from his pocket and threw it to Jeremiah who caught it, looking at it and finding the black rune on it. A circle within a circle.

"What is this?" asked Jeremiah.

"A Protective Charm," Rassa replied, "They'll even work against those Vanguard you're having trouble with, though I wouldn't actively seek them out as magic attacks will drain them faster than physical ones".

"Against the Vanguard?" asked Jeremiah. He'd heard the rumours of these new protective charms. He'd even sent Jorl down to investigate, only to find out that during every visit, the vendor had already left after selling out their mysterious product. Still, the rumours were rather fantastical. An invisible wall that prevented any injury in a fight? As if Jeremiah wouldn't be interested, even if it was a rumour. Such a power, it was possible that it would be able to go against the Vanguard. Jeremiah had truly been on the verge of desperation trying to get his hands on it. And now, rather nonchalantly, the kid full of mysteries and his cross-dressing friend had thrown him one as if it wasn't the greatest new commodity on the market, and confirmed that it could, at least to a degree, neutralise the power of a Vanguard.

"…How?" asked Jeremiah.

Rassa smirked, "That's our secret. Do you think we'd be making as much as we were if it wasn't?"

"You've indeed made quite a lot of money. It's far exceeded my expectations," Jeremiah frowned, "Have you used all of those crystals?"

Ebony snorted in amusement, but composed herself again quickly, "We've sold thirty-five crystals".

Jeremiah paused for a second, believing he'd misheard, "How many?"

"Thirty-five".

"Thirty-five?" asked Jeremiah, "Not five thousand and thirty-five?"

"Definitely thirty-five," Ebony nodded.

"So you've made a profit of.."

"Considering we spent 400 gold to by five and a half thousand crystals initially…" Rassa paused in thought, "It's a profit of roughly 1,090%".

The room fell silent. Jeremiah utterly astounded by the number, Ebony and Rassa somewhat smug in their achievement. They'd clearly been underestimated by Jeremiah. His expectations had thoroughly been blown out of the water.

"…And all that, from drawing this picture on a crystal?" asked Jeremiah, "If anything most people just looking at it would assume the crystal was marred and therefore permanently defective".

"It's not just any mark, it's called a Rune," Ebony stated professionally, "It gives the Mist collected by the Evanine Crystal a purpose without having to charge it with an element".

"I thought you said you weren't giving your methods away?" asked Jeremiah, "What's to stop me from marking my own batch of crystals with this so-called Rune".

"Nothing," replied Rassa, "Mark as many as you like. I'd like to see you try to sell them for as much profit".

From the kid's arrogant tone, it was clear that marking the Crystal wasn't the only part of the process. Clearly, he was going to keep the most important parts to himself. That didn't mean that Jeremiah and particularly Griffith wouldn't make efforts to discover the process. The fact that they were using a Token warehouse at the moment was reason enough to constitute surveillance, let alone the fact that they were using products bought using Token gold.

"So, I'm assuming that you're intending to sell the rest of the crystals as well?" asked Jeremiah.

"Well, yes, but only half of the originals. For the other half, I've added their worth to the gold in this chest to purchase them directly for my own use, as well as the worth of all the mirrors and other equipment we brought with the remaining money," said Rassa, placing a hand on top of the chest he'd brought in, "A total of 800 gold".

"800…but you said that-"

"Yes, they're worth that much when they've got runes," Rassa replied, "However, the Evanine I'm purchasing from you are normal Evanine Crystals, not worth nearly as much".

Jeremiah, if possible, looked more flabbergasted than before. He stood, angry at not being consulted upon with this decision.

"We're having it all moved at the moment to a place for our own purposes, so your Token Corporation won't have to worry about us taking up space in your Warehouses any longer," said Rassa.

"And our crystals-"

"Already marked with the protective rune," said Rassa, "Ebony will sell them during the Festival, and as per our previous agreement you'll be given 50% of the profits".

Jeremiah sat back down, stumped on what to say. This kid was utterly ruthless. Perhaps Jeremiah should have kept him caged rather than given him such opportunity. He had grasped onto it with such strength and power that Jeremiah doubted there was anything he could do to hold the kid back.

"I suppose this means you're also leaving the crew?" asked Jeremiah.

Rassa shook his head, "On the contrary, we'll happily sail with you to the southern continent. Whilst the Southern Isles are intriguing, we left to experience an adventure, not start a new business".

"Oh?" asked Jeremiah, "And what are you to do with all of that Gold you're going to make?"

"Put it in a bank," Rassa replied.

Jeremiah was getting too old. He'd been thoroughly thrashed about in the last ten minutes. The kid had solved his problems, made them worse, then reassured his concerns all in that space of time. Jeremiah didn't know if he could take any more.

"In a bank?" asked Jeremiah, "You're the first person I've met to get rich this quickly. You're also the first to not spend it just as fast".

Rassa shrugged, "I've got no need for it at the moment. Better to put it somewhere safe. Got any recommendations?"

Jeremiah smirked, "Get out of my office Kid. I'll expect you back after the festival with the rest of the profits, after that our agreement is over".

Rassa nodded with a small smile on his face, then turned and left, Ebony right behind him.

Jeremiah rubbed his temples. He wasn't sure if he'd last the three-week journey to the Southern Continent. It seemed too cruel.