As the others had asked the emperor their questions, Pale couldn't help but feel remorse. Their questions were rather innocuous. Asking for slavery to end, how to fend off this corrupted horde, what these 'artifacts' entailed. All of these questions were valid and normal. Pale's question was—perhaps if she was unable to cut herself off—something that would get her executed.

[i]What happened to your son's corpse?[/i]

Of course, she could have phrased it better. The meaning would always have been the same. She had a morbid curiosity about it. It would be a lie to say that Pale would've asked this question in order to get an idea of what they had to fight. In reality, she just wanted to see both a dead body and what she could take from it. Morals be damned, it wasn't as if the emperor's son would have any more need for his tools.

Surprisingly, Pale wasn't the final arrival. A green-skin had arrived and, with the assistance of the page, had introduced herself. This made Pale realize that she hadn't introduced herself nor had the page. In fact, she was sure that the page didn't even know who she was. Her introduction would have to wait!

The emperor had answered their questions and now was the time for the big reveal of the artifacts. Only, their introduction had been cut off by the entrance of some old hag. She greeted the emperor with familiarity and he responded in kind. This old fox being some sort of guide to them? It sounded interesting, at the very least.

With all other interruptions out of the way, the artifacts were finally brought in by their attendants. Even Pale, who's sense of magic was only an approximate, knew that the artifacts were powerful. She, however, didn't care about that. As the artifacts were unveiled, Pale noticed the most abhorrent thing about them—none of them actually looked good. Sure, to an untrained eye that demonic looking dagger may look amazing, but it also required the user to switch to a much more violent, rough, and black aesthetic. None of the items seemed to fit Pale's fashion sense. She enjoyed her outfit too much to just give it up for some relic.

But that's when she spotted a small ring. Hidden between two massive weapons, it instantly caught her eye. Rather, it did the exact opposite of catching her eye. Between all of the grand accessories, armours, and weapons, the unassuming ring seemed to be perfect for her couture. She went to it and, without even reading the card, slipped it on to her gloved finger.

She really didn't feel much different.

As she looked around her, she noticed one of the raggedy men holding an amulet up, it emanating a warm glow. But what had claimed her attention was that ghost cat.

She didn't like that ghost cat.

After all, someone who appropriates goods from the dead only had three fears: suddenly dying, slowly dying, and ghosts.

She decided that her first purchase with her newly acquired coin would be salt. And, if possible, she would get it blessed by a cleric. It was a necessary precaution. The salt would prove to be a valuable weapon against ghosts if the cat had come for revenge, even if Pale was just being superstitious.