[quote]"I'd rather not," said the spear.[/quote]

Vincent stared at the spear with an expression that mixed surprise with curiosity. Then a smile grew onto his face. This was certainly a fascinating turn of events. While the fact that the spear said something negative was in fact a problem; Vincent felt certain he could work something out one way or another.

[quote]"I expect you plan on swinging me about like a monkey with a stick, hoping to smack something. I expect you'll feel proud of yourself while I do all the work. I expect you'll get yourself into deep shit and assume I'll dig you out of it. On the contrary, your dad's not around and I have no more use for a paycheck or this job. I quit."[/quote]

Vincent's smile turned into a grin. That grin turned into a chuckle. He almost started to laugh in near hysterics. "Oh, wow! I would have never expected this." Well who would have? "I never pegged you for a quitter, Randy. You certainly wouldn't have kept working for my father just for the money with how difficult I know I can be."

He made a mental note to not use an entire soul on the next attempt just a large part of it. "So... can you see? Hear? Smell? Well... I figure you can hear since you can [b]talk[/b]."

Vincent then heard the sound of a creature licking the blood off the wall on the other side of the room. He readied Randy for emergency use as he stepped clear of the blood to grab the book [i]Applications of the Soul of Advanced Devices[/i], but he quickly noticed that the spot [i]Regarding Dreams and the Application of the Soul[/i] was supposed to be was empty and the neighboring book was now leaning over the vacant spot like some lazy bumpkin. He could hear the Grit approaching quietly behind him.

He placed the book in his jacket's inside pocket where the volume barely fit. He then tiptoed to the opposite side of the Grit with Randy ready to strike. If he were to test out if Randy would work or not regardless of his apparent apathy then sooner was better than later. While it was still occupied with licking up the fresh blood, Vincent thrust into its spine fiercely, and then quickly retreated away from it. If problems arose he knew of a servant's corridor he could quickly escape through.