"How interesting. Why would you want to go there?" Artemis replied as she ran her hand up Nexus's abdomen, trying to grab his chest.
"Please keep your hands to yourself, Artemis." Nexus swatted her hand away before she could go any further. He was tired of her constant advances, acting like they were a couple and treating his boundaries like suggestions.
"Aww, how cruel, after you came to my house asking me for a favor," Artemis pouted as she spoke, her voice laced with a hint of sarcasm and a ton of seductive charm.
Walking over to the table, Artemis took a seat on its marble top, crossed her legs, and laid her hand on her cheek before giving another terrifying smile. "So, what have you come to offer me in exchange for access to our jungle? Gold? No, you know you can't bribe us. Maybe a rare artifact you found on your adventures? No, you give those to the church."
Artemis gave Nexus a little wink and held her hands out, gesturing for a hug as she licked her lips, her eyes now sharp enough to cut through steel. "Oh! Maybe you came to offer me what I've always wanted — the chance to bear your son."
Quinn's eyes bulged as he looked at Artemis, then back to Nexus, thinking to himself, This woman is freaky. Maybe coming here was a mistake after all, but it's too late now. I've gotta find a way to get Nexus out of this and get permission to enter that jungle.
"Excuse me, if I may—"
"Quiet, rodent. I want to hear my darling speak," Artemis cut Quinn off. She had no cares for whatever nonsense he could spout; her only concern in this moment was what Nexus could offer.
"Now go ahead, Nexus. What do you have to offer? Don't be shy now." Her teasing attitude started to weigh on Nexus. By now, he wanted to punch her, but knowing her, she'd like that. Plus, it wasn't in his nature to do such a thing, as tempting as it was.
"My offer is a dragon egg."
Artemis's eyes widened in surprise.
"Go on." She placed her hands on the table, excited to hear what Nexus would say next.
"I know your family's been looking for ways to boost their army's power, and a dragon would be perfect for just that. So my offer is that we'll deliver you a dragon egg of any type, with the exception of a true dragon."
Nexus's heartbeat quickened. He wasn't sure if Artemis would take the deal; after all, she seemed to have a one-track mind.
"Make it five eggs, and we have a deal."
Nexus froze as he heard Artemis. He was on the verge of walking out of the room, but he kept his cool.
"The most I can do is two. We both know finding five is ridiculous—finding one is hard enough." Nexus's reply didn't disappoint Artemis. The truth was, she knew five was pushing it, but a ridiculous demand like that was the only way she could get him to raise the reward.
"Well, I guess two will have to do. If that's the case, make it one Earth Drake and a Magma Drake. I'll let my father know that you'll be entering our jungle." Artemis stood up from the table, making her way to her father's office, running her fingers across the railing as her heels clicked up the stairs.
Reaching the top of the stairs, Artemis turned her head to the side, looking over her shoulder at Nexus. "By the way, Nexus, your negotiation skills are terrible. The only reason I'm taking this deal is because you're the only adventurer crazy enough to capture a dragon egg."
She turned around, putting one hand on the railing and another on her mouth, then blew a kiss his way. "And because I could never turn my darling away."
Nexus scoffed before walking away, waving her off as he made his way off the estate.
Quinn was baffled by the interaction that had just happened. He didn't know what to feel—glad that they got the deal, terrified that they had to steal dragon eggs, or proud of Nexus for pulling this off.
He looked to Nexus, leaning his head to the side. "What… what just happened?"
"Trust me, if I knew, I'd tell you." Nexus didn't bother to think about it too deeply; instead, he chose to focus on what they were going to do next, preparing for their mission.
He made his way back to the market street, now less crowded since it was later into the day, but still far too crowded for Quinn's liking.
"Hey, Nexus, you're planning to get supplies at Mrs. Coraline, right?" Quinn's eyes scanned the crowd as he spoke, taking note of how dense it was and how far away they were from their destination.
"Yah, that's the plan," Nexus replied while bumping into random people as he tried to navigate the crowd.
"Why don't we just take the rooftops? Getting through this crowd will take forever." Quinn sighed while looking up at the roofs, his usual way of navigating the market.
"Because I don't want to look like some random criminal. Now be patient—we'll be there in a bit." Quinn had to hold back the urge to claw Nexus. The thought of waiting that long made him restless, so he began making tiny ice sculptures of birds with his ability, manipulating them like toy planes.
After five minutes of constantly bumping into people—and them turning to argue with him even after he apologized—Nexus decided to go along with Quinn's plan.
He leapt onto the rooftop of a nearby building, then began leaping from building to building, heading toward the northeast side of the market district.
Quinn looked at Nexus with a smug smile, placing a hand on his head without saying a word, but to Nexus, that look was all too familiar. It felt as though he was saying, You see? I was right, as always.
"Quit being so smug," Nexus replied as he looked away from Quinn, clearly annoyed at his passive-aggressive stare.
"What in heavens do you mean?" Quinn answered, his voice riddled with sarcasm.
Nexus ignored him, not wanting to prolong an argument he knew he wouldn't win.
"There it is," Quinn called out as they approached the shop. Nexus leapt through the window on the top floor, avoiding the pointy equipment and landing perfectly on a table in the middle of the room, causing a loud thud.
"Zulin kun sha kaw kin!" A loud feminine voice hurled insults in Tal-Kan, indirectly calling Nexus things ranging from a maidenless loser to a man fit to eat with the dogs.
By the time the woman hurling insults had finished, both Nexus and Quinn had already started to regret taking this route.
The woman finally reached the top floor, holding a butcher's knife, ready to fight off thieves—only to see her favorite customers.
"Oh, Nexus, Quinn, it's you two," a woman with long black-and-white hair, wearing a pink short-sleeved dress with a black leather corset, replied, lowering the butcher's knife.
Quinn giggled as he leapt off Nexus's shoulder and landed in front of the woman. "Mrs. Coraline, wonderful to see you again."
Quinn held her left hand in his, pulling it close and kissing the back of it.
"Oh, Quinn, you're as charming as always," she replied with a smile before grabbing him by the waist and placing him on her shoulder.
"Now, can you two explain to me why you decided to enter my shop like thieves instead of using the door like normal people?" Coraline replied, with both hands placed on her hips, looking at Nexus like Quinn wasn't with him when he leapt through the window.
Nexus sighed. "The crowd was too much, and we needed to get supplies fast for a quest."
Coraline stared at Nexus, her brow furrowed in confusion. "What quest was so important that you would risk me chopping your head off, thinking you were thieves?"
Quinn looked at her, his smile as bold as ever, as he said, "Oh, you're gonna want to sit down for this one."
Coraline's confusion grew, but her curiosity grew even more. She followed Quinn's instruction and grabbed a chair from the corner of the room, placing it at the table as Nexus leapt off.
She took a seat, placing Quinn on the table, and replied, "Okay, I'm seated now. Tell me about this quest."
Quinn began explaining the events that took place, from the meeting with Rosefield to the negotiations with Artemis, not missing a single detail—causing Nexus to frown a little when he retold the events at the estate.
After listening to all that had happened, Coraline looked to Nexus, then back at Quinn, a bit confused but excited. "Boys, we're rich! Oh—I mean, you're rich. But you two won't forget little old me, right?"
The boys giggled at her reply, both answering in unison, "Oh, absolutely not."