It was a bright sunny day in a small town in the outskirts of Hellas, the wind blew nicely and the townspeople walked through the streets going about their business. In a certain tavern on this small town Joseph sat in a table fit for four people, on the table where some papers and books that Joseph was looking over. On the other side of the table was his trusted helper, his canary Mel, who was also going through some loose papers gathering information. The reason Joseph was in such a remote area was to help this town with a certain situations.

The town was having frequent raids and robbery from a powerhouse clan whose only goal was to destroy and take whatever they wanted. Naturally the town looked for help from the Hellas Empire to send guards to deal with these evil men, but the Hellas Empire doesn’t want to risk guards over one town so they declined. Joseph got wind of this information and offered his services to the town, suggesting that he could talk to them and work out a deal to stop the attacks. The mayor of the town agreed to this and gave Joseph one week to deal with them, that was 2 days ago. Since then Joseph and Mel have been gathering information to deal with this clan, Clan Urdnot.

Joshua had spent a good amount of time with his new books and was only just beginning to understand the depth they were getting into. He had so much to learn now and had found a different purpose with his life, mainly the study and understanding of depth of the true nature of his magic. With this in mind, Joshua began seeking a secluded place to study these books.

He was planning on leaving Hellas and getting away from civilization as much as possible but with his enjoyment of travel Joshua would walk there. This took him to a small town not quite out of Hellas, though Joshua was unaware of the town's situation. He was planning on going there and restocking as many supplies as possible before the journey could be made. On this particular day Joshua was wearing a black shirt with red designs on the back, along with some blue jeans and his familiar black sunglasses that hid his eyes from sight.

As Joshua entered the town he noticed everyone was keeping about their business, though few people seemed to be travelers, at least at first glance. As Joshua walked further into the town he noticed a small tavern which he decided would be a start to finding out a bit about the town and perhaps the places to restock would be located. As Joshua entered the tavern and walked up to a man behind a counter, the man turned his attention to Joshua. "What can I do ya for?" The man asked in a gruff tone, fitting a stereotype almost to the nose of a burly barman. "I'd like just a glass of water for now." Joshua asked politely. Though the tavern keeper gave him a funny look, Joshua's demands were met and he took the glass over to a small table close to the wall and took out the book he had been carrying.

"Are you sure you understand the situation? We may only get one chance at this." Mel almost screamed at Joseph as he walked back and forth on top of the table. He was obviously nervous, this was their first big hurdle as a pair where he didn't know how things would go. The two of them were mostly secluded and weren't being a nuisance to anyone in the tavern.

"Yes Mel, we've gone through the info a dozen times. I know what I'm up against and I know what at stake. I'll admit it the plan would go a lot smoother if we had someone with battle experience on our side, but we got to make do with what we have, and we only have ourselves." Joseph said to Mel reminding him of their current situation. And almost as an act of God the doors of the tavern were pushed open and a young man with a black shirt and blue jeans came walking through it. Joseph had his back turned to him so he didn't realize who it was, but Mel saw him clearly and even though he had sunglasses on Mel could not forgot the face of a man he did not like.

Mel did not mention anything to Joseph, but Joseph realized that something caught his attention so he asked what it was. Mel felt obligated to tell Joseph and not hold out any information from him. "The hero from a few weeks ago has just walked through the doors. Joshua I believer his name was." Mel said with a tone of disgust.

Joseph turned around to try and spot the man to see if it was really Joshua from a few weeks ago and indeed saw a man resembling him, siting near the counter and ordering a glass of water. Joseph didn't have any proof that this was the same man that scared of a couple of villagers in the last town, but there was a way to make sure. Joseph resorted to using telepathy, all he needed was the name, the face of the person and for such person to be within a 300 meter radius. "What's a noble hero like you doing here in the middle of nowhere, Joshua?" Joseph said telepathically, with some sarcastic tone when referring to Joshua as a noble hero.

Before Joshua had much of a chance to continue to study his book a voice came out of nowhere. Joshua kept his cool and surprisingly didn't even react to the voice, though Joshua thought about it for a moment and the echoed voice in his head sounded familiar. "I'm surprised we are so close after such a short time like this again. Joseph, am I right?" He thought, though figured Joseph would be able to hear him anyways. Joshua closed his book and put it away, no one was paying attention to him so it didn't really matter what he did as long as he kept to himself. "I thought I saw that annoying bird in here, you still got that thing with you?" He thought, taking a drink of water as he replied. As Joshua thought about it, Joseph may be surprised that he caught onto his telepathy so quickly but Joshua was aware of many types of magic and learning telepathy was one of Joseph's magics was a good thing to keep in mind.

As Joshua finished his glass of water he walked back over to the tavern keeper and set the glass on the table. "I'd like to send a glass of whatever that man was drinking over to him and perhaps a glass of poison for his bird." Joshua said, motioning towards Joseph and Mel. He said it loud enough for Joseph to hear and was sure Mel would catch on too. The tavern keeper chuckled as he heard Joshua's request. "I suppose you know that man then?" He said with a hearty chuckle after. Joshua smirked as he replied. "Just a friendly gesture..." He said before dropping some money on the counter and beginning to walk out. He was sure if Joseph had any business with him somewhere more isolated would be preferred, if not he would be able to enjoy his free drink.

Joseph let out light laugh at Joshuas comment about poisoning Mel, though Mel on the other hand was furious and looked like he wanted to scratch Joshuas eyes out. As he left the tavern the man behind the counter brought two drinks to Joseph and Mel, not sure if he took the comment serious or not he wasn't going to stick around and find out. "Keep them." Joseph told the man as he stood up from the chair and grabbed the papers and books from the table, putting them in a small bag and walking out, followed by Mel.

Mel knew where Joseph was going and what he was going to do, so he protested to the idea as he landed on Josephs shoulder, but Joseph was not going to let some stupidity stop him from gaining help. As he opened the doors to the outside he saw Joshua on the sidewalk and walked to stand next to him. "You sure picked a hell of a place for a vacation." Joseph told him with a sarcastic tone. "If I were you I would not stay in this town for long." Joseph advised Joshua as he began to put a small plan in motion to try and get Joshuas help.

Joshua walked outside and found a place where few people were, not to his surprise Joseph indeed followed him. As he heard the obvious sarcasm, Joshua let out a small chuckle. "I'm only here to restock, I plan to be gone by tomorrow at the latest." Joshua informed Joseph, though he sensed a deeper purpose to this conversation. "Before I ask what you mean by not staying for long I'm going to ask what reason you are in a town like this. I'm guessing it's not for the drinks, judging from the papers you had scattered about your table." Joshua wanted to make it clear that he didn't really want to waste time, if it were up to him he would be examining his book in an isolated room but running into this man and his bird at such a time either was a strange coincidence or there was a reason for him being in this town. Not only that but he didn't seem to hesitate talking to Joshua when they were in close proximity so he sensed a deal of sorts coming up.

"Quite perceptive aren't you." Joseph said when he heard Joshua notice his work. "I've volunteered for a dangerous mission. The town here is usually raided by a clan called clan Urdnot. The villagers here aren't very well economically and they don't have the manpower to fight back. They tried to get help from the Hellas empire but they'll only send help if the town can pay them a large sum of money. So to stop this town from going and to stop the clan from getting utterly destroyed by the Hellas soldiers I plan to go to the clan and try to find a diplomatic solution." Joseph said revealing his and the towns current situation. He was giving quite a few details but this was information that Joshua could get from most people in the town.

"Even though I say a diplomatic solution the clan is filled with simple brutes who only care about strength, so I find myself in need of someone with battle expertise to help me in case things south." Joseph told him his own personal situation even though he didn't directly ask for help. "Speaking of things going south, if you do plan on leaving this place be sure to go back the way you came from, because the roads up ahead are filled with members of this clan." Joseph warned Joshua about his directions as he pretended to be a nice guy.

Joshua listened to the explanation he was given and it was indeed an interesting situation. The tone and way Joseph was wording things made Joshua catch onto where he was going with this. Either Joseph didn't expect him to be as observant or he knew Joshua was aware as to where he was going with this. Either way, he contemplated if this was worth his cause or not.

When warned about the road blocks ahead Joshua let out a quick laugh. "Boy am I glad you warned me. I don't know what I would do if faced with brutes like the ones you tell me about." He said with about as much sarcasm as can be, rolling his eyes in the process. The simple thought of people trying to attack him for no reason when he could probably walk right through them with his swarm made him almost laugh. He had watched strong magic users fight though any physical, close range attack could be easily thwarted by his defenses.

"Now, I'm sure I know where you are going with this but unless you say exactly what you want I'm just going to walk right through the clan if they get in my way. I am looking for a place far from here so either get to the point or by morning I'll be long gone." Joshua said in a your-move kinda tone. He was giving Joseph a clear chance at asking for what he wanted but Joshua had no need to join the fray. This clan was not his problem, nor was the village and he had little need for money aside from what he already had. Joseph was going somewhere with this conversation and either he gets to the point or Joshua was done talking.

The fact that Joshua did not take his warning was pissed Joseph off, but he was able to hide his frustration behind a neutral face that just said "whatever". Mel was even more annoyed, but he turned his head to the side to not say anything, knowing Joseph might get mad at him if he does. The man was more confident in his abilities than he let on, but maybe this was the kind of person Joseph needed. 'Very well, I need help and I think your just the person I need. I'll help you pass through the blockades as we head over to their base." Joseph said as he began to walk in the direction of a flying taxi station without waiting for Joshua. "Now if you choose to help me then get ready to leave, you have 1 hour to restock before the taxi leaves to takes us their base." Joseph said as he contemplated whether bringing this man would actually be good or not.

Joshua could tell that the reaction Joseph got out of him was not the one he intended but to Joshua's surprise he kept his calm and was able to state exactly what he was after. "That's more like it. I knew something like this was hidden behind your warnings and information." Joshua said, pleased with the way things turned out. "I suppose I'll meet you in an hour after I get everything I need." He said before walking off, heading to where he figured he could resupply. Though it would only take him a couple minutes to get the supplies he needed, Joshua wanted to do some reading up on this clan they were about to face. More specifically what magic users where involved and what kinds of threats they may be facing.

In an hour, Joshua would have resupplied, found a good chunk of information on the clan and better understanding of the magic involved. The problem he now faced was Joseph was planning on going strait to their main base. If things went south then Joshua knew they would have the advantage. He could only sustain his defense for so long but maybe it wouldn't resort to combat. Only time would tell.

As Joshua would soon be walking up to where the meeting place was agreed to be, he would search for Joseph and more or less the bird that would be inevitably with him. It made Joseph stand out like a sore thumb which is why Joshua was occasionally tempted to just kill the damn thing but he digressed.

Joseph couldn't really understand how simple minded people could be where when someone ask for help they just dive in and help out. It worked for his advantage this time around, but Joseph had to wonder what went on through the mind of that young man. But those thoughts were for another time as for now he headed to a nearby shop where he bought he last minute necessities which weren't a lot. He returned to the taxi station only taking about 30 minutes, he went straight for a vacant shaded area and rested his eyes. To everyone he appeared to be asleep but he was thinking through his plan on how to take care of Clan Urdnot and how Joshua would fit in his plan. He had to give Joshua a slight rundown on the clan and how they worked. As Mel rested on his shoulder 30 minutes passed and Joseph taxi arrived. The taxi driver agreed to take Joseph up to a couple of miles away from the clan base but no more.

Joshua found where Joseph was resting and before approaching him thought about what he really wanted from this experience. He was sure there was a greater purpose for Joseph than simple democratic and convincing them to leave the town alone. What Joseph really wanted was a mystery to Joshua but whatever it was perhaps time would reveal his intentions. Until then Joshua was still trying to figure out what benefit there was to him, none came to mind. It wasn't too late to turn back and just walk away and as he thought about it perhaps that was the better thing to do. The clan didn't sound that strong or large for that matter as they focused their attention on smaller towns but that didn't mean they weren't recruiting. The nature of the clan was a mystery though Joshua read something that interested him in one of the books he found. Maybe that was the reason he pushed on towards Joseph, to see if his suspicions were correct.

As Joshua finally decided to go towards Joseph, not much more than a minute to spare he once more held back the urge to attack the bird. "Wake up. Time to go." he said, standing not more than a food away from Joseph.

Joseph opened his eyes to spot Joshua standing in front of him telling him it’s time to go. “Good, you’re on time.” Joseph said he stood up and noticed the taxi in front of him and a chubby dolphin man waiving at him. He had already met the driver before and knew where they were going beforehand. Joseph walked over to the whale looking taxi which was quite large compared to the old automobiles in the old world, but it relatively small compared to other transportation in the magical world. As Joseph took a seat in the back and waited for Joshua to board he ordered Mel to give both of them one last rundown on the information they gathered on Clan Urdnot. Joseph closed his eyes again as he went through the information in his mind.

“Sigh, alright. As you both know our objective is to infiltrate Clan Urdnots base, and locate their leader.” Mel said as he took out a picture from Joseph small bag and pointed at someone in the picture with his feet. The man was 8 feet tall with a heavy muscle build, the hair on his head was shaved on the sides and he had a ponytail that reached to the end of his neck, and he had two red lines coming down from his eyes through the cheeks. “This is the leader; his name is Mikael, age ranging from 30 to 33. Rumors say he has never lost a battle and he can break stone walls with a single punch. Even though the clan is faced with ruthless idiotic brutes this man knows some strategy, which is why I believe they haven’t destroyed the town yet. But even if he is smarter than all the other members he strongly believes in talking with your fist, so I don’t know how well your talking plan is going to work Joseph.” Mel said strongly concerned.

“It’ll work out just fine. Now tell me about the population.” Joseph said with his eyes still closed as he meditated on the situation.

“Right, the population is said to be almost 2,000 clan members, 85% are adult males, 10% are fertile females, and 5% are children. Approximately 60% of the clan members live in their head base while the other 40% is scattered around in smaller bases. Every single adult male is a fighter, once a boy turns 14 they start fighting, if they’re too weak to fight then they are thrown out of the clan. And the female are only used for “house chores” and sex to breed more members for the clan. Most of the men here use buff techniques to increase their muscle strength and endurance, and a couple of demi-humans are around the clan which can also use elemental magic. I still believe that it would be wise to sneak around and avoid any confrontation with the warriors, other we might have to fight hundreds at the same time.” Mel tried suggesting a different plan. “I agree with the bird. Confronting the clan is a suicide mission.” The taxi driver said from the front seat.

“No, there is no need to sneak around. We’ll enter right through the main gate.” Joseph said with a neutral tone not bothering to reconsider his plan.

“Well that all the information I gathered on the clan. Do you have anything to add or any question emo boy?” Mel said with a superior kind of tone to Joshua. Joseph was interested in hearing what Joshua had to say about all this.

Joshua was hesitant to enter the taxi but this was the quickest way to get where they were going so he followed Joseph and sat down. As Joseph closed his eyes the bird began to speak and say all the information it knew on the clan. It was a little larger than his research showed but that didn't concern him. As long as they were nothing but brutes he could handle it. It was the other magic users that he was focused on. The leaders description also intrigued him. At the end of the explanation Joshua also understood the plan was to simply walk in. He wasn't sure why this is what Joseph planned but he was just along for the experience so there must have been a reason.

As the bird finished explaining things, Joshua as silently for a bit to go over the plan in his head. What was Joseph planning? Time would tell but as the question was turned on him Joshua wondered what to say. "From what I hear and have read re only thing Im questioning is what you are really planning to do. I don't think this has anything to do with the village but I doubt you'll tell me strait out. The clan doesn't worry me, explain to me what you intend to do once we get inside because I can guarantee that much."

Joshua was correct in questioning Joseph’s motives, but in a way they were exactly what Joseph said they were. “My intentions are to get rid of the villages’ problem. My plan when we enter is to talk and negotiate with the leader. There is a possibility that things might go south, but I can be quite persuasive sometimes.” Joseph tried to reassure Joshua and Mel with a light smirk. Those were the last words he said as he remained in silence for approximately 30 minutes as the cab reached their destination. The cab stopped 5 kilometers away from the clans’ base, as it came to a stop Joseph didn’t waste time in getting out.

“Ok this is as far as I can get you. Just follow the dirt road and you’ll reach the base, but there are sure to be clan members along the road so be careful, we’re counting on you.” The taxi driver said before going his way.

“Thank you sir. Get back to the village we’ll take care of the rest.” Joseph said as the ship elevated and made its way back the way they came from. Joseph looked to direction of the base and ordered Mel to fly ahead and inform him of anything dangerous, to which the little bird complied by flying forward. Joseph then looked over to Joshua, “Let’s go.” Joseph said as he began walking to the base,