Colin's posts

"...." Vincent was silent as he saw the blade, before shaking his head.

"......right." he said.

"Come in." he told her, stepping into the house further.

"Shut the door behind you." he continued.

"And we're going down to my study." he then said. "I have some seriously thumbing through books to do."

"See you!" Jaden called to her as she took off.

Her flight to Vincent's manor was uninterrupted and uneventful, and she landed on the pad that was reserved more for her mother, but she was allowed to use it, too. There were also mana sensors on it that let those inside know when someone landed on the roof. Which meant she wouldn't be waiting long when she knocked to enter. She then floated down to the ground, near the back door, and knocked loudly on it.

She was only waiting for 5 seconds, when it was answered by Vincent.

"Oh, Kelly." he greeted her.

"What brings you-" he started to ask, before his eyes immediately focused on the sword she had.

"...let me guess, that?" he asked, gesturing to it.

"Yeah, sure." Jaden responded.

"I admit, I'm curious as to the behaviour of that blade." he told her. "I know there are enchantments to make a blade super heavy, but I've never heard of one that selectively does so." he said.

"And how it reacted with my portal is DEFINITELY something new." he admitted.

"Ordinarily I'd just assume it's protected against tainted mana or something, but the fact that it acted the same way, or at least similarly, with Lucas is... puzzling." he went on.

"So yeah, let me know when you find something out." he finished.

"Sorry I couldn't be more help, aside from identifying the type and general era of the weapon itself."

"If you want, go take a nap." Ryker said.

"It'll make the time pass more quickly." he reasoned.

"We'll only make stops for food, restrooms, and to sleep for the night." he told him.

"So nap all you want."

Jaden nodded in response.

"You're quite welcome." he told her.

"And last I heard, Vincent should actually be at his manor today." he then said.

"I heard from Mom that he's working on some things for his sister... like, Council things... and he'll be BEGGING for a distraction." he told her further with a light laugh at the end of it.

"Odds are he'll be super thankful to you for bringing that for him to inspect." he added.

"And that's about all I can tell you off-hand." Jaden then finished.

"It's certainly a remarkable blade. And a rare find, indeed." he told her.

"However, if you want something more detailed about what enchantments may be on it, you're barking up the wrong tree, sadly." he then said, shaking his head a little and sighing.

"Vincent might be a good person to go to." he then suggested. "He knows a lot about practically everything, it seems, and I think he's a bit of an expert in equipment enchantments. Or he knows more than your average person." he went on.

"...or if you want a specialist, doesn't Hal Sharp at the Unit in San Diego employ a weaponsmithing dwarf?" he then asked. "Kia's mentioned her to me a few times, imbues passive mana into the weapons she creates." he said further.

"So there's a good chance SHE might know." he reasoned.

"But yeah, Vincent or her would be good next steps."

"Hmmm." Jaden mumbled, as Kelly picked the blade up again, with ease.

"Well, I don't know too much about identifying enchantments and equipment mana." he told her. "I'm more of a buff on... well... blades, themselves." he chuckled lightly.

"However, that means I CAN tell you that the sword is a longsword, or bastard sword, whatever you wish to call it, and given the craftsmanship and various little design quirks that I can see... it's old." he told her. "Like... we're taking near the beginning of the Middle Ages, old." he said further. "Around the time of King Arthur, old." he added.

"And yes, that obviously means it's in remarkable condition, considering." he then told her.

"Beautiful gems on it, as well."

Jaden looked at the blade a little closer, and raised an eyebrow.

"...an underwater cavern?" he asked.

"Yep." she replied.

"Lemme see it?" Jaden asked.

"All right, but fair warning, Luke tried to hold it earlier, and it was too heavy for him." Kelly warned him.

"Duly noted." Jaden responded.

She then handed the blade off to him, and as soon as she let go, the sword fell straight down to the floor, taking Jaden with it, essentially.

"...holy crap." he said.

"It's practically immoveable." he commented.

"All right, lemme try this." he then said, as they saw a portal appear below the sword... but the sword just seemed to flip over on-end, away from the portal.

"See ya!" Luke called to her, before sighing happily.

"Man... I am thirsty now." he said, deciding to get a drink from inside.

---

After a few seconds, she saw Jaden poke his head out from the room he was in. Just the man she was looking for. He paused as he looked her over, notably, the blade she had with her, before making his way over and opening the large glass window.

"....hey." he greeted her.

"This is an unexpected visit." he commented.

"Looking for Darrell or something?" he asked.

"Maybe." Luke said as he climbed off.

"But yeah, lemme know when you know." he told her.

"As for today, we'll call it a wash." he then said.

"Make up for it at a later date. Maybe go somewhere for dinner or something." he reasoned.

"...or pick up where we left off." he then shrugged with a smile. "Was fun going swimming with you." he told her.

"Plus... you in a bathing suit. Already a candidate for the best day ever." he then finished with a small smirk.

"All true..." Luke admitted with a sigh. "...all true..." he repeated quietly.

The rest of their flight was in relative silence, with chit-chat here and there, and they soon saw Luke's house in the distance, below them.

"Ah, there's my stop." he said.

"Wonder if anyone's home..." he mumbled.

"Anyway, lemme know what you find out about that sword, if anything." he then told her. "Because that is one HELL of a curious weapon, to understate it massively." he said further.

"And my curiosity is burning inside me. Though it'd be better if I wasn't with you. Odds are I'd just be in the way, as a third wheel." he laughed.

Luke sighed again, but there was a contentness to it, as he looked into the distance.

"Got no intentions of dying before my time." he told her.

"I intend to stick around with you for as long as I can." he assured her further.

"After all, pretty sure we're the only ones compatible with each other." he chuckled. "I REALLY can't see myself with anyone else, funnily enough." he then admitted to her.

"And that's fine with me."

"...." Luke was silent for a moment, and then sighed.

"Well... yeah." he said.

"Yeah, I got nothing. We really make it work, and that's saying something." he agreed, shaking his head a little.

"I suppose it IS something of a minor miracle, but... I don't question it." he said. "I'm just grateful for it." he went on.

"I can't picture my life without you, Kells." he admitted.

"I consider myself the luckiest man in the world, because I have you in my life, the way I do."

"That's fair." Luke said in response, before smirking.

"As for what kind? The sexy kind." he told her.

"The kind that can be mistaken for a demon under the sheets." he added, and she could practically HEAR the smirk now.

"Or outside in a clearing in the woods somewhere..." he then went on.

"Wherever." he finished, chuckling.