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"Lapdog, huh...?" you muse, looking down at the young man. Arousal and sincerity waft off of him like too much perfume on a tavern girl who trades special favors for coin out in the back alley. A thin smile crosses your face at the desperation in his eyes and his voice. The knight and the old man don't seem thrilled to hear you considering his offer, but after weighing it over... you think he deserves a second chance. "Well, I <span class="mu-i">did</span> promise a reward to all the good boys who surrendered. Yours shall the chance to atone for your sins through a life as my disciple, in pious service to the Queen of Dusk and Dawn. Do you have any objection to this lady knight, good sir?"
The knight and the butler share a glance with one another, their lips thinning as they wordlessly exchange their thoughts. It's the old man who speaks up after this moment of communion and says, "I cannot say it thrills us to leave a Blackhand in the custody of a stranger... meaning no offense, of course, young miss. The Lord of Order smiles upon the repentant sinner, but I think I'd rest easier if I knew you to be a woman of character. What guild are you with?"
You knew one of them would ask. The young man gets a glimpse of something very nice and shapely as you bend over to pull a pendant from your boot. A hidden compartment keeps it safe when you don't need it, as they're the least likely clothes to get shredded when defeating monsters by other means. A pewter token, stamped with a coiled rattlesnake that carried an olive branch in its mouth. "These days, I take jobs from the Iron Wall, but I think that old thing should ease your mind."
The old butler blinks at the pendant as he holds it up to the light, his black eyes narrowing before he pulls out a magicked monocle. Whatever the lens tells, him, he nearly drops the pendant in shock.
"Andras, what's the matter?" the female knight asks. She leans over his shoulder and squints at the pendant. "I don't think I've seen that sigil before. It's definitely not Iron Wall's token... what is it?"
After a moment of staring at you so intently that your new disciple begins to quiver in fear, the butler finally says, "This is the token of the Courteous Viper, Lady Enid. The guild my teacher belonged to during the 12th Dark Crusade, founded by Henry Walsh himself for the express purpose of slaying the Demon King."
She looks it over and asks him, "You think she got it from her grandpa or something?"
The butler shakes his head. "Oswald spoke of an alluring woman at Henry's side, who wore a red cloak into battle and little else but her boots. What did your name happen to be, madame?"
