Claire Von Angea

I looked at the woman before us as she mentioned my name. A few seconds after her question, the green ripples faded from her body and revealed a new appearance. While her race remained the same, Claire was far younger than she was when we initially met her.

Her eyes were an aquamarine color similar to that of the crystals inside the Hidden Grotto, and her hair was like wet fettuccine. Her clothes seemed to have changed alongside the other features. They appeared to be finer in quality compared to the random civilians that we stumbled across on our way here.

While her clothing was superior to that of her neighbors, she wore a dark blue dress that covered only a small portion of her shoulders and flowed down into a fancy-draped neckline. Its loose fit gives the dress a relaxed yet graceful look. Her arms were covered fully. The sleeves broadened towards the bottom, allowing bracelets to be visible.

The dress' waist is broad, but it seemed to be a slim fit. A white bow has been wrapped around her and rests gently on her lower back. Below the waist, the dress fits snugly around her. The dress reaches down to the ground and is the same length all around. She's wearing shoes that resemble ballerina flats. To top it all off, she's wearing a gorgeous silver necklace and an embroidered bracelet.

A notable shift in her tone was also evident. Waiting for any social cues to proceed with our situation, I found myself once again taking the role of our mouthpiece in his encounter. I was at one time stunned by the radiance of the magical, green ripples of whatever spell was used to cloak her appearance.

That effect of surprise soon washed away from my mind for the time being. Instead, the idea that I was immediately deceived into following this individual so willingly irked me. Other than the Lynx, this was our second encounter with beings capable of performing magic. While I could assume that Arch-Captain Silvers and her compatriots also utilized some form of magic, I had no solid proof on which to base that reasoning.

"Von Angea.", I say sharply.

My eyes were as sharp as daggers as I bestowed them on the smaller female in the middle of the room. From my knowledge, I could only tell that there were only two others present in this room, excluding my own party. It is fully plausible that the woman standing before me could be using her magic to erase their presence.

Claire Von Angea was the name of the person standing before us now, and if we were to take her at her word, she would appear to be somewhat important. Ana Von Angea was supposedly the one who pulled the strings that permitted our entrance through the gates of Astana.

"I am not the biggest fan of being deceived so that I will ask you this once. What do you desire from us?"

"So that is a no?", Claire responds.

It took me a moment to realize what she was talking about, but I pieced things together. I had left her question about our status unanswered, which allowed her to speculate wildly. Doing so could very much undermine the story that the three of us were crafting here.

"I believe I have mentioned that we are indeed members of the Conscripted Forces. The Poor Man's army, so they call it."

"Members of the Conscripted Forces that do not know the background of the organization they serve?"

I could hear the skepticism radiating from her every word, but I didn't allow my emotions to portray themselves. In my attempts to once more talk our way out of tough questions, I would step forward to present myself as non-threateningly as I possibly could be. Upon further inspection of the room, the three tables that were there were shaped in two sizes. The one towards the center of the room was the largest of the three and had the most chairs.

While the decor of this bar wasn't anything spectacular, the appearance of these tables stuck out compared to the relatively barren establishment. It would make sense, considering that this bar was in the shadiest alley that one could unsuspectingly stumble into. They appeared to be made from some rather impressive materials. The other two appeared to be of equal size, and their material was considerably poorer in quality.

"Shouldn't that be normal? I am merely a foxkin, after all. Some fail to recognize our presence while others treat us less than dirt."

"Perhaps, but you have both an elf and human alongside you. It's a rather strange setup if you ask me. Especially when you seem to speak up before Bonner; that is uncharacteristic for a foxkin. Especially in this domain."

Her words caused me to hesitate in my following line, and that lack of action made the young woman chuckle in what I would assume was amusement. After all, she did appear to be correct in this regard. Elves seemed to be at the very top of society in this domain, so as I assumed earlier, Bonner would have and should have taken the lead in the dialogue. That was possibly an error that I just might have made.

"You didn't answer my question.", I reminded her.

Placing my unoccupied hands behind my back, I would slowly approach the larger table. I could hear the slight shuffle of the older male from behind the bar as he appeared to reach for my movements.

"Hmm. It depends, Mark. You seem different from the other Foxels that I have come across. The disturbance is just on the outskirts of Astana. I am assuming that three of you were behind it."

"I don't beli-"

"There is no point in denying it further, and don't try to sell yourself as a normal Foxel either. Your friend, Bonner, there is a Shadow Elf or perhaps…Moonlit Elf. Nonetheless, I think that he is the one that did it. I hear that those types of elves command impressive… firepower?"

Upon hearing his name, I would turn to face Bonner to see his reaction. My eyes were met with an immediate shrug. I had never seen anything like the Shadow Elves or Moonlit Elves when we played Infinity Unleashed. Elves were typically placed into two groups: Elves and High Elves.

These other newer subcategories must've been new to the update, much like the crystals inside the Hidden Grotto. Once again, we were flying into the dark, and that made it even harder to showcase this charade.

If I recall, Bonner was a High Elf. You could differentiate between the two by the length of their ears. High Elves typically had longer and pointy ears, whilst regular Elves had shorter and broader ears.

"It appears that you are a fan of throwing around uncorroborated claims, Young Claire. One must provide evidence if they want to be taken seriously by those around them.", I responded.

Leaning against the table, I appeared to make myself more comfortable in our situation. I would not allow Caire to see me struggle to form a lie, as that would provide evidence of our guilt.

While it was relatively evident due to our timing, I still believed that if we chose our words carefully, we might be able to spin into something else. That was my goal in this situation. Denial isn't just the largest river in the world; it is also an effective tool.

"Interesting defense, so you are saying that the lack of evidence exonerates you from being culprits of the disturbance. How interesting that you say that. It isn't what an innocent person typically would say. They would be pleading their innocence at every opportunity."

I hesitated in my response and narrowed my eyes toward the young woman. My hesitation appeared to be fuel for devious nature as her smirk occupied even more space on her porcelain face. It appeared that she was attempting to weaponize my own words against me. It was a solid strategy, but I was not going to fall for that.

"That doesn't always work. Overstaying one's innocence could also be seen as an indication of guilt as well. We have important matters to attend to, so I guess we should be leaving."

When my comrades picked up on my verbal cue, I would attempt to approach them when I was intercepted. The young woman's more petite frame seemingly blocked my way. I loomed over her as I met her gaze. I was not going to lie, but she was being a nuisance—a nuisance that was too smart for her own good, and that made her dangerous to us. I began to think that this might have been a trap after all.

"Wow. I guess you're gonna stand in my way now, huh?"

"I assure you that I am not your enemy. You three had no way of entering Astana alone. You are pretending to be members of the Conscripted Forces. Just after a loud explosion could be heard on the outskirts of our city, you three arrive from the same direction. That was after the guards were sent out to investigate."

I stiffened at the mention of guards as a single possibility popped into my mind. I would then speak on the matter immediately.

"Looks like that pesky habit of yours is rearing its head once more. Circumstantial at best. No, since you are blocking my path, I assume you must want something. Either that, or you are stalling for the guards to arrive. The second one would result rather badly for all those involved, by the way."

Hearing my warning made the older male behind the bar counter flinch, but his actions only served to escalate the situation further. Whenever he moved, Q responded accordingly.

"Nah, not a step more, Old Man.", Q warns the man, pointing towards the man. " Let's keep this civilized. I'm not too keen on holding back. I'll end up cracking your skull."

"Let's not get to that. I believe I mentioned that I am not your enemy here. There are no guards on their way."

I looked at the woman skeptically, and I guess she picked up on our untrusting gaze. Claire would move away from the center of the room and instead make herself comfortable against the bar counter. Returning to the side of my friends, I was planning on just ditching the situation. I thought this would be the best solution, but Claire spoke to us once more before I could act.

"If I did what you three did, I would also be jumpy. It sounded as if someone launched a second-tier magic spell out there. That type of firepower just so happens to be something that I need at the moment."

"Well, that almost sounds like you were trying to-"

"Offer a proposal to your party. Based on your attire- No offense, but you appear to be in dire need of funding. After all, neither of you appears to have proper weapons or armor. You may be using the cover story about the Conscripted Forces, but that falls apart with the smallest scrutiny."

She had hit the nail on its head with that analysis, and we all knew it. If she didn't want to turn us over to the guards, then now, based on her words, there was more to what she was letting on. Being suddenly thrust into this world without prior notice into the Hidden Grotto left us without many options. She was correct, as we had no money in this situation. Hell, I was even unsure if the way currency worked here was completely different than what I was used to inside Infinity Unleashed.

There were already fatal cracks in the previous knowledge of the game that didn't seem to apply to this world. I found myself in a troubling dilemma. My usefulness might not be as grand in that situation as I had initially anticipated. There is no positive to having knowledge that would not apply to our current situation.

" So I am guessing that you are mercenaries, or perhaps, on the run from something or someone. Either way, as long as your circumstances do not affect me negatively, I wouldn't mind looking the other way."

"You barely know us. In fact, you merely met us a few minutes at the gate, but here, you appear to have faith in our strength. Unearned faith is an indication that you may be attempting to deceive us. I have no desire to be a pawn when I see no benefit to myself. I am sure my comrades will agree with that sentiment."

Sounds of agreement resounded from the two men standing behind me. While it was confirmed that we didn't possess any money, this offer seemed too good to be true. It could lead to unnecessary hassles that I could not foresee further down the road. Since we were unable to fight at our most optimal, then doing so would be a foolish decision.

Brute strength and courage alone can only take us so far. However, there could be some upsides to aligning with this woman for the short term. Thinking back on her reveal, Claire seems capable of using magic. Without the status screen, we would be hard-pressed to do so effectively.

I would turn to the two men before calling an impromptu meeting there. While it was apparent that Claire could hear our conversation anyway, I considered the action necessary.

"Thoughts?", I question.

"We don't even know what she's offering us, Mark. There'd be no point in discussing this.", Q says.

"Hence, we get to make our own offer as well. We do need money. Doing even basic things in this world will be more difficult.", Bonners adds.

The male was correct on this exchange, so I turned to prepare to address Claire when she beat me to the punch. Her face still stretched with that devious grin as if she were the Cheshire cat. That, I may add, was a somewhat unnerving sight. It was as if she was always a step ahead of us, and I did not enjoy that in the slightest.

"I bet you are wondering what I can offer the three of you. I'll tell you, but first, please hear me out. My proposal should be well worth your time."