[b][X] - Deny it from the priest. Whatever is inside the package, you can't guarantee that the Cult of the Smiling One won't turn it upon the Stationary Shogunate. They are still the same ones who led a crusade that razed dozens of departments during the Black Friday. [2][/b]

[hr]

“ Forget?” You echo the priest’s words back to him as your eyes look around for any possible escape or opening to take advantage of. “ You ask me to forget, you rusted swine? You of no ink, no honour, no warranty? The man who slew my ilk and claimed it was as Sam dictates it?” 

“ Spare me your sanctimony, samurai.” The priest raised his arms high and spoke aloud. “ Violence is the payment that the Wal demands. If Sam thought us so wrong, why do the likes of the Stockers or security exist?” There was a brief chuckle at the end of his question before his voice took on a softer lilt. “ But, enough of this. You are stalling for time. So, give me the artifact before we take it from you by force.” 

In the middle of the priest’s ultimatum, you spot a white beacon in the sea of blue and yellow shirts. Your sword, Ivory Crane. You stuff down the boiling rage that threatens to make you growl as you put two and two together to realise that your blade is being bermirsched by the hands of those zealots. The situation was becoming more and more dire by the second and all your options were off the table. Unless, you negotiated but what could you…..

The sword appeared once again in your view. You take notice of the upper shelf and the fact that there are no guard railings on either side of the edge. Slowly, a plan began to form in your mind. 

“ The sword.” You blurt out loud. “ It’s a heirloom. Give me the sword and I will give you your package.” 

“ No! Don’t - “ Haagen’s pleas were cut off as a vegetable peeler was lowered near his throat. 

“ Very well. ” The priest said. “ Sham, give this samurai their sword back as a gesture of our good will.” 

The crowd rumbles as they let one of their own move through. A brown haired man with a bandolier of bubble wrap walks through, holding your sword clumsily by the pommel. To be frank, you’re more concerned about the condition of the sword rather than how Haagen looks at you as if he could kill you with his gaze. The cultist cautiously lifts it out towards you whilst lowering his other hand out towards the package. You grab the wrist, making everyone in the crowd stand at tension.

“ The sword first,” you said. 

 Grumbling, the man holds Ivory Crane out to you, blade first, waving towards you whilst still holding onto the package. He has a tight grip on it. Solid. A puritanical insistence on never letting go, no matter the cost. That’s just what you need. 

You grab Ivory Crane by the blade and push it back into the man’s face, the blunt of the sword turning his nose into a red splotch as he recoils back, dazed. His foot stumbles and with a twist, you launch both of you and him off the Shelf, the cultist still gripping onto the package for dear life whilst your sword is in your hands. 

Your fingers catch onto the rim of the box-like package and you hug it against your body, its contact with your skin giving you a certain thrill as the wind whips in your hair and - 

The sound of bone cracking cuts your victory short, darkness blooming in your vision to take you away from the split-second agony. 

[hr]

You come to, a voice in the darkness fading in and out every second. 

“Hello?......Hello there?.......Pupils responsive…...Hello, can you hear me?” 

You make a half-hearted sound that you think is a yes. The man chuckles. 

“ You were out for quite a while.” Your vision returns in a blurry fashion. You can make out white hair and a set of reading glasses on his face.. “ Hard to believe you can speak right now in your state.” 

“ S-smiler - “ you croaked out to the blurred figure. 

“ Aye, don’t worry, lad. Bargain Hunters repelled them off the border. Rumor is that they pulled in favors from a nearby Dorfen Fort. Don’t know the specifics but it was enough to get them off our backs.” 

You notice something wrong. 

[X] - Why is half of your vision so dark? 

[X] - You frown as you flex your right fingers and grasp nothing but air.

[X] - It’s a relief to feel lighter at the waist but it’s uncomfortably lighter, almost as if you’re missing a leg.