The Dungeon Crawler's Academy

"-Are Mirrors of Courage and Arrogance."

"How many heals did you get from Eophi?"

Argent asked, adjusting the straps and fasteners of the extra belts and holsters he had pulled from his pack. He geared himself from head to toe with everything he needed for the battle ahead, strapped securely onto his person. The combat to come would be no place for cloaks or packs.

"A half dozen. Two standard, four lesser."

Gauge replied, holding out three of the bottles spaced between his knuckles. Argent collected them from his companion and slotted them into the leather at his waist, before digging into his pack to retrieve every extra shell for his pistols that he had.

"Any surplus goods?"

"I didn't want to raise or answer any questions, so I didn't push the deal too hard. She was only willing to make the trade at all after testing that tincture you made– it worked by the way."

"I'm relieved to hear that, I hope it helps them.. Though maybe I should have kept some for us."

Gauge shrugged, situating the contents of his quivers and taking count of the remaining ammunition. Seeing as Argent had opted to leave his bow behind, the alchemist had passed his quiver over to the rogue, which Gauge had attached at his hip.

"It won't be an issue if we don't get wounded in the first place."

"That simple, huh? Why didn't I think of that?"

"You smart types are always over-complicating the obvious."

"Mm."

"Speaking of, I understand our time is short.. But mind telling me why we're going in now? Shouldn't we wait until morning?"

Argent shook his head.

"There's ups and downs to either move.. You benefit from the dark as much as these creatures do, and nothing we've seen has directly implied that sunlight damages or hinders them. The only true benefit to daylight would be easier visuals, and I don't think that alone outweighs the fact that the longer we spend in this forest, the more whatever is hunting us learns, and grows."

He flipped open the breach of a pistol, chambering a blasting shell before snapping it shut and into battery. Holstering it deftly, he repeated the process with his second weapon.

"I'm willing to make due with torchlight and glowstones."

"Fair enough."

With the last of the equipment situated, Argent allowed himself a moment to breathe. Exhaling in a deep sigh and sitting down, he looked over at the now lukewarm supper he had prepared for them earlier. Staring at it for a long moment, he ladled a portion into his mess kit and took a bite.

"You sure you wanna do that?"

Gauge questioned, raising a brow.

"I hate to see it all waste.. And you know what they say, an army marches on its stomach."

"Just keep it light. This isn't a winter siege, or a long march.. It's a skirmish. Hell, in a sense it's practically an assassination."

It wasn't entirely inaccurate to say so. The major difference being that 'assassination' was typically used in a more negative context, reserved for 'humanoid' individuals. When targeting a monster like this, it was really more of a slaying, or a hunt.. Though that begged the question of who was really hunting whom here, in the dark depths of the woods.

"Have you tranced yet? I had enough for two new arts."

"Kioku's tits, good call."

Gauge settled into a spot across from Argent, taking a few deep breaths and closing his eyes. He remained still only for a moment, before pulling back to the waking world with a click of his tongue.