Merrik was so thankful for Malum's interruption, unsure what to say about his gun. Stupid or not, it was his only his protection against these people. He'd have to think of a plausible excuse. Like...magic...magic was everywhere here. If he ended up having to use it, he would simply put it as a strange form of magic, and the gun focused his magic, like a staff.

He inched towards the pair, crossing his arms, and scoffing. "My woman skills don't need work! You are just...stubborn! And I don't need to be babysat. Just..." Merrik's shoulders slumped slightly. "A bodyguard. That's all." Were his seduction skills really that bad? Well, it didn't matter...weren't there brothels in Egypt? Yeah. He was totes checking one out! He brightened up a bit, happy about this. "And I am a lot of help in a fight! I really am in the top ten shooters in my city!" Otis coming didn't matter to Merrik one way or the other, although he was definitely gonna hit on Ro a little more. He would win her over.

Tamra nodded in agreement, "but first, it's always nice to take a job from the King." she smirked, "Because nothing pays better than that. You on this one to?"


Malum gave Merrik a look that pretty much told him to shut up, "then your city must have an abysmal army of archers" he quipped, "All you have to do is very simply Merrik. Show Ro what you need and then stay out of the way." he had no faith in the boy as a thief. By the sounds of his family and his personality in general, Merrik was likely just a commoner with decent mechanical skills. Mechanical skills that made the boy invaluable on the ground.

Malum glanced over towards Otis, taking no more than a moment to think on Ro's suggestion, "Ah, Otis. He is a good shot. I have no objections about having him along, though I did bring Virnu to back you up as well." he added, pointing out one of the expert thieves that he had brought over, a boy that was barely sixteen and yet had already earned his mark. He was twirling a gold piece between his fingers, he looked cocky and for good reason. He had been born to a pair of thieves and grew up in Frodan, learning the trade swiftly.

"Shall I send him home in favour of your friend? Or would you like to have them both?" Malum inquired. He certainly didn't mind changing things up if it meant an operation went along more smoothly. Clashing between personalities was something that could and often did cause lives, though people did tend to stay on their best behavior when they were on a mission directly from their King.
That said, the fact that he was asking Ro's opinion meant one exciting fact was clear. While he was going to be visiting the palace, he was putting Ro in charge of the group with Merrik.

Malum was giving her a choice? She liked this, but then, she had to consider how well the men would get on. Otis was a flirt, and Virnu was cocky, then of course there was Merrik, who so far had either made her laugh or made her cringe.

Rohesia thought for a moment, leaving Malum to wait for her reply. She bit her lip anxiously as she looked the two assassins over. If this went well, she would surely earn her own mark, yet if Malum returned to find Merrik dead and Virnu and Otis fighting over gold, she would surely be thrown to the slavers.
"One moment.." She said to Malum, walking over to Otis and Tamra.

"If i bring you with me and Merrik, can i trust you to keep us safe, and leave your jokes aside?" She asked.
"You should not have to ask Ro. I may be a joker, but my loyalties lie with the King, your King. I will do as i am ordered, and if you are giving the orders, then i shall obey." He said, bowing formally.
"Besides, you owe me half your share, how can i expect payment if you do not return?" He joked, winking at Rohesia.
"True enough, thats a deal then. I wish to take Virnu too, if that is alright with you. The more hands i have, the quicker we can get the job done and get back to safety." Rohesia said, turning back towards Malum and Merrik.

"Ok, We are ready. I will take both."

Malum smiled at that, she wasn't afraid to make him wait for the answer so that she could make the right choice. Good. Some people were just too quick to try and please and they were the sort that got people into the wrong kind of situations. "You have your team then, everyone else will be with me at the palace. Remember ladies and gentlemen, out of sight, out of mind means your target's dead before they even know it." he turned and began to lead the way out, "and Merrik, either get better at seduction or stop entirely before every woman under the mountain heads to a nunnery. It will get very lonely here without them."

Tamra and a few others snickered at Merrik's expense.

"Hey, the whole trip is about me, don't I get a say?" Merrik had started, speaking to Ro. "And why do we need four people for a shopping trip? Seems like overkill-" The dead remark seemed to go right over the poor boy's head. He was cut off by Malum's remark, and turned a bright red. The boy bit off his retort and resolved to swallow his pride and ask that Otis guy for some tips. He wasn't fond of the other male, but Ro seemed to like him. Maybe he could learn from him. "Fine. Ugh. Anyway, before we go, where can I get a shovel to borrow?" Again, he spoke to Ro. Malum left her in charge, so it only made sense to defer to her.

"Shopping trip? Borrow? Malum, where did you get this guy?" Tamra giggled, "He's priceless." she came over and draped an arm around Merrik, "Alright kid, let me spell this out for you. We're assassins." she jestured to most of the group, her voice was slow and precise, like talking to an infant, "They're thieves." she pointed to Virnu and Ro, "We kill. They steal. You want something and we'll take it for you. Because there ain't no way in the nine layers of hell that I am paying my hard earned gold to some idiot street vendor who's gonna turn around and hand it over to that fat old Pharaoh of his who's done less than nothing to deserve it."

Merrik shrugged off the arm, glancing with a rather panicked expression to Malum's exiting form. "W-wait! Malum!" The lanky form darted after the King of Thieves. "W-wait! We are stealing the stuff? We can't steal! I have money! Some money! We can't steal all of that, those people work hard!"

"And we don't?" Malum looked at Merrik sharply, "I'm the King of Thieves, Merrik Felix Hawkeye and these are the resources at my disposal. You do not have the funds required for this venture" his voice dropped low so that the others couldn't hear, "and even if you did, you can't go spreading your marked coins all over the earth. So if you want to go home, you are going to cooperate." imagine what the people back home would do if Merrik started handing out his Atlantis stamped money? They might just throw him back over the edge for endangering their secrecy.

Clearly not happy with the King's answer, but resigned, Merrik looked away and nodded curtly. Clearly, the thought of execution entered his mind as well. "Fine. I need to bury Tonya. Where can I get a shovel around here?"

Otis and Rohesia exchanged glances at the mention of Tonya.
"Tonya?" Ro asked, inquisitively. Must have been who he travelled with..She thought.

"Sorry for the Loss Merrik, Me and Ro will help....won't we?" Otis sympathized, nudging Rohesia in the sides. He suddenly felt guilty for thinking so harshly of the kid, and he wondered what kind of relationship they had before she had died.

"Er...yeah. Of course. Sorry Merrik i didn't know. Were you close?" Ro asked, trying her best to be nice, as Otis left to find something that would help them dig up the ground.

Malum was trying really hard not to roll his eyes right now... and yeah, failing. It was all fun and games until someone died that somebody else cared about. And Tonya had already been sitting out for awhile, she was bound to smell, why not just let the beasts have her if they didn't already?

But no, sympathy, he reminded himself. Malum still needed this kid and the more they got along the better it would be in the long run. Though really, Merrik was far too much of a straight shooter to get into this sort of life... Malum would have to ease him into it a little better. Some light thieving was a good place to start for most. Take only what you need until you get a feel for it and start taking what you want as well. It almost always worked.

But until then, he needed to feel like Malum had his best interests at heart. "No need Merrik, I assumed you'd want as much for her so I took care of it before the mountain beasts would." these things had to be taken care of quickly after all if you didn't want your friends chewed apart after death. "did you want to see before leaving? We can catch up to the others if need be."


Tamra raised a brow but said nothing of Malum's kind offer. She, like most, was well aware of the King's indifference towards death. Still, he was so good at appearing sincere, even Tamra was questioning whether or not it was real.

Otis quickly turned and re-joined the group as he heard Malum say the burial had already occurred.
"Ah, thats...helpful." He said quietly, walking back up to the assassin he knew, Tamra, lifting his eyebrows as if to suggest she wasn't the only one questioning the truth.
"Well, if everybody else is ready to go, i certainly am" He offered with a grin, excited to finally get a job with the King personally. He knew it would pay well, especially if he was with Ro Merrik and Vernu, although he did secretly wish he was joining Tamra in the palace. As dangerous as it may be, imagine the treasures he would be walking out with!

"Patience Otis." Ro said. "All in good time, We won't get there tomorrow anyway, I'd expect. Do we have enough supplies, or do i need to get a few more?" She asked, pointing the question to the whole group rather than just their master, King Malum.

The next day in Egypt, Pharaoh Nemiah called Leisha to meet with him early in the morning. The pharaoh had been keeping a keen eye on their visitors since their arrival and the 'friendly' sparring matches had given him a little bit of insight into Eldonia that he hadn't had before. Not to mention with the news of Lakar...

Lakar had been instrumental in developing the treaty between the countries and to find out he was dead was going to make things a little rocky, especially with this socially inept replacement. Speaking of which, Hemset was quite a curiosity, which was what he had called Leisha about this morning.

"Good morning" Nemiah greeted the woman warmly, he held a great amount of respect for the mage, "Your display was quite spectacular last night" he commented, "Though I asked you here for another reason. I want to hear your opinion of Eldonia's new mage."

"My good King. I did wonder when you would ask. He is quite the curiosity isn't he?" Leisha replied, politely and yet, comfortable. She had a good relationship with the Pharaoh, and they could speak truths. He trusted her, and she trusted him, so he would no doubt believe what she said to be true.

"In my honest opinion, i do believe he shows skills much higher than many of our younger sorcerers. Even those closer to my age, before the war, that is." Leisha spoke, pacing slowly around the room.

"But, i think the boy does not have the confidence and control perfected as yet. He is still learning his true strength. I can only assume, from what i saw, that he knows what he is capable of, but not yet how to control it" She said, thinking back to their battle the previous day.

"Of course, that is just my opinion. The boy seems quite uncomfortable in his position. I think with some training and support, we will soon be shown his true self. I am convinced that Lakar would not have chosen Hemset if he did not feel him worthy. Perhaps a position of trust between myself and he is of the greatest importance." Leisha finished, turning back to the Pharaoh. With Lakar gone, the treaty was already fragile. There had to be trust on both sides, if all was to go smoothly. Nemiah most definitely had the upper hand at the moment, with more sorcerers and mercenaries than Eldonia, which worried him little, but his Kingdom had taken many years to heal, and he was not prepared to lose more good men and Sorcerers because of one nervous youth.

Of course, she did not know any of this for fact. But she had seen the nerves of the boy, and the surprise when certain spells were stronger than anticipated. She even noticed his desperation towards the end to defeat her super storm. He had powers, oh, of course he did. And Leisha was certain that once he knew exactly how to control them, and keep his emotions stable, he would be one to remember; one to fear; and one to even rival his master, Lakar.

"I could not agree more" Nemiah smiled, "he is an odd sort but with great potential. However most notably he is young... He could not have been with Lakar for very long, a year or two at most." he moved forward, lowering his voice even though they were most assuredly alone, "Leisha, I want you to establish more than just trust between you... I want you to become his friend. Asses his loyalties but do not question them outright."

He sighed, this situation was very... precarious, "I do not seek war, but I will be ready for it. Should the worst come, I would rather have Eldonia's only viable mage on our side." It would certainly do a number towards crippling the Eldonian forces. With absolutely no defense against Egypt's magic, the pharaoh would surely crush them. Lakar had been a major player, perhaps that was why the Eldonians had kept his death a secret for as long as possible?

Finding it rather hard to look at anyone, Merrik's icy gaze stayed on the ground, allowing his unkept hair to cover most of his face. It was his fault that she was dead. He couldn't voice that to all of these people, but, it really stung. And he should have done it much, much sooner. He just wasn't able to. "I uhm....thank you." Merrik muttered to Malum, and shook his head at the offer. "I want to be alone, when I do." He pointedly ignored Ro's question about Tonya, instead, his head bounced back and forth as people spoke. True to a young man, he fidgeted a bit, tugging at the uncomfortable clothes, and thought instead of home, his mouth watering at the thought of provisions. As long as they had some on that amazing meat, he would be so happy. In Atlantis, they had rabbits, and that was it for meat. The stuff he had shoveled in his face had tasted so different and amazing. "As long as we have enough food and snacks, I'm stellar."

Malum smiled and patted Merrik on the back, "good then. Off we go"

The company of bandits ventured forth towards Egyptian sands, the climate becoming steadily warmer and warmer as they went along. Malum however had added an off-white cloak to his attire, bringing up the hood anytime they happened across other travelers. His brilliantly white hair and mismatched eyes gathered far more attention than he liked and he would rather not be seen coming.

The King had gathered almost too much infamy in that regard. Any and all whispers of the white haired bandit or the evil eyed demon that spread across the lands had made travel outside the mountains a tad more difficult. He was just too recognizable. On the other hand, Malum knew how to use that to his advantage quite well because when people did happen to see him well... all he had to do was smile to intimidate most into what he wanted of them.

The fact that Malum was leaving the mountains at all was a bit bizarre, not that anyone openly questioned it. Ro was the only one aware of the reason really, with her news of Hemset that had prompted the King's curiosity.

Merrik enjoyed the walking at first. He learned how to juggle, until his items were taken away by another member of the group who was tired of being smacked with random objects. He nibbled some more, and noted many things, like Malum tugging his hood up whenever people passed by. The boy wasn't entirely clueless, however. Malum was a criminal. And the 'King of Thieves' title kinda meant he was a big shot, didn't it? So, hiding his unusual features was probably very needed. Still, it was strange.

It only took about three hours before his feet began to ache. Really...he wasn't used to walking long distances. He attempted, however, to keep his mouth shut and keep up with the group, however, he couldn't help the sulkiness that crept upon him, and fell very quiet in an effort to keep himself from snapping at an undeserving comrade. Even his horrible attempts at flirtation from earlier were stopped as he concentrated on the trip.

They passed through a few small villages along the way, pausing here and there for a break. Malum watched Merrik closely, gauging just how well the boy was doing and ended up calling them to stop and rest here and there a little more often than they would've otherwise. Oddly enough the villages closest towards the mountains didn't seem to be too badly off, but as they worked their way further into Egyptian territory, they passed through more run down areas. Now, it was entirely possible (and in fact true) that they were keeping to the less popular areas, the slums as it were, however the state of these lower areas were still worse in comparison the further they went.

They stopped at a rather shady looking inn for the night. The keeper being possibly the only person outside their group that Malum openly walked up to and embraced as an old friend. They set up each two to a room, Malum elected to share with Merrik though the King was the last to go to sleep and in the morning he was nowhere in sight though there was a jar on the table next to Merrik with a note written in Atlantian writing 'Apply generously to sooth aches'.

Each and every rest Merrik welcomed enthusastically. When they finally set up for the night, he barely paid attention to the innkeeper, or the interaction between the leader of the group and the owner of the inn. In the room, he was rather quiet towards Malum as well. What point was there in talking to someone you'd have to kill, anyway?

The younger male fell asleep almost as soon as his head touched the pillow, not even bothering to remove his clothes. He snored and tossed and turned, but felt amazing once he woke up. The sight of the jar made him even happier. He used it generously, before tucking the remaining bit into a random pocket, wishing he had his own pants. It had gotten hotter the previous day, however, the closer to Egypt they got. Or maybe they were already in Egypt? Nah...there totally be more...sand? And girls. Lots of near-naked girls.

Grinning, and his feet no longer throbbing, Merrik headed downstairs, glancing about for the group.

At first there wasn't much sight of them, but then there was a glimpse of that white cloak moving away from the inn and around the corner, the hood tucked well in place despite the slowly rising heat.

Slightly puzzled, Merrik glanced around before darting after the cloak.

He was carrying a bag alongside himself, pausing for a moment to purchase a few things from a vendor but not long enough for Merrik to catch up. The vendor looked away for a moment to get his change only to see his customer already taking off, "Sir? Sir you paid too... much?" he looked confused at the gold in his hand before he realized something with a suddenly wide-eyed expression at just how much the man had left behind without a care.

Malum moved down a few streets into a more residential area. As he moved along no one really seemed to take notice of him but there were random looks of shock and surprise as several people he had passed by suddenly found themselves a little better off. The beggar on someone's stoop suddenly had a loaf of bread. A boy who had been counting the meager coppers in his hand suddenly found himself several gold richer. The King moved so swiftly that no one seemed to be able to track down just who had done it before he had moved on to the next.

A few choice houses would wake up to find food tucked up on their window sills and gold hidden in the grass around their steps. Malum didn't seem to notice Merrik and why would he? The way the King moved, no one noticed him, which meant no one should be following him so he never bothered to look.

Except when nearing the end of his route, while tucking something under a mat a child came barreling around the corner and right into him. She couldn't have been more than six but the sudden impact sent Malum's reflexes in hyper drive and he turned sharply, pinning the girl against the wall with a knife to her throat-which of course gave her a full view of the face beneath the hood.

Damn children, always running into things far over their heads and after being so careful to allow no one to see his face, so that no one would know he was coming... Would he have to kill her?

No one else was up on this street yet and Malum clamped a hand over the girl's mouth to stop her from screaming as he carefully removed the blade from her vulnerable neck and tucked it away. The poor girl looked mortified but Malum just pressed a finger to her lips, telling her to be silent as he slowly removed his other hand from her mouth.

"What's your name?" Malum whispered to her gently.

She stared at him, too afraid to move, "s-susan..."

"Hello Susan. Is this were you live?" the King inquired, gesturing to the house he had been planting things at. She nodded shakily and Malum sighed, "So you're Tully's girl. Your father's a drunk, you know that?" he eyed her up and down for a moment, "does he hurt you like he does her?" no response from the girl this time but Malum frowned a little as he suspected, "Well then. Maybe you can convince her, cuz she's not listening to me." he reached into the bag and brought out a little doll handing it to the child, her eyes lit up at the sight of it, "How would you like to come to a place where you can be anything you want? And no one will ever hurt you or your mum." a nod, good, that was better, "You know which way is west?" another nod, "just keep going west, west is safe, I promise. And there's all the food and water you'll ever need." he rose up to his feet and tugged the hood lightly to assure it was in place, "don't tell your dad though alright? Our little secret." he backed away and took off once more.

Did he know everyone around here? It was hard to think he had become close with this many people but everyone he seemed to meet he addressed by name and treated more or less like family.

Soon Malum was heading back to the inn to meet the others once more.

Following Malum took a very long time. He seemed to stop everywhere, passing out trinkets, or leaving people richer. Even food was left behind. It was very confusing to Merrik-Wasn't Malum supposed to take things from people? Why was a thief giving them things? It was nice, and Merrik wasn't gonna argue, but it was certainly strange.

It was probably a good thing Malum wasn't really paying attention, otherwise, Merrik certainly would have been seen. He tripped over people, knocked over things, got his foot stuck in a bucket. It was really a relief to return to the inn.

As everyone got ready to go, Merrik moved close to Malum. After they were moving, he finally spoke up, curiosity getting the better of him. "So, uhm. Thanks, for the ointment..." Merrik hesitated, glancing uneasily at Malum. He wouldn't be mad that he had been followed, Merrik hoped. "So, earlier...why'd you do all that stuff?" He finally finished rarely lamely.

"You looked like you could use it" Malum commented, "be glad we're walking though, I somehow doubt you'd do better on a horse" he chuckled at the thought. Would Merrik even know what a horse was?
At the mention of earlier however Malum shot the boy a look that pretty much told him to be quiet about it, though it was quickly followed by a slight smirk, "I'm sure I have no idea what you're talking about"

Of course Malum had known Merrik was following him but he certainly made it seem like he might have not. Merrik needed to trust him and everybody felt they could trust someone who did good and tried not to take credit for it. As far as Malum saw it however, the good deeds were an investment. The more the poor learned to love him, the more recruits he'd gain from their ranks and there was no chance that little Susan would be able to keep her mouth shut about it. Children were such terrible secret keepers.