Chapter 331: Please Buy Me Armor
Kill Clause waited inside a private room at the neutral exchange lodge, dressed in a plain shirt and trousers with no guild crest beneath her name. Only the black [Condemned] marker remained.
The lodge stood beyond Forest Hidden’s boundary and outside any academy’s direct control. Traders used it for unbound exchanges, temporary party meetings, and deals that did not need an audience. Cassandra had chosen it for the same reason she had asked Katherine to make the purchase.
Kill Clause still had access to ordinary markets. What she needed to avoid was attention. A public Auction House visit followed by an expensive Ranger rebuild would give observers another pattern to study, and she was not ready to connect Kill Clause to Cassandra Selfmore.
The door opened, and Katherine entered as Crimson Halo.
"You asked me to buy you armor," she said. "I bought you armor, a bow, emergency supplies, and several reasons not to disappear without telling us."
Cassandra opened the invoice and inspected the total. "You added a handling fee."
"I carried everything here personally."
"In your inventory."
Katherine smiled. "I still had to make the trip."
Cassandra transferred the actual cost and declined the invented fee. Katherine treated that as a partial victory, then locked the room and opened the trade window.
The equipment arrived piece by piece.
[Dawnless Pursuer Set (Orange)]
[Requirement: Level 44 Ranger]
The dark fitted armor favored movement over heavy protection. Flexible plates guarded the ribs, forearms, and thighs, while layered leather left Cassandra’s shoulders and joints free. Its effects reduced stamina use while sprinting or dodging, steadied her footing during abrupt stops, and softened the sound of ordinary movement.
The hood improved low-light vision. The boots and gloves helped her read disturbed soil, broken grass, displaced stones, and other physical signs left by a passing target.
The lack of any Dark Force effect mattered to Cassandra. She wanted equipment that supported her own judgment rather than solving the investigation before she began it.
The new weapon followed.
[Nightglass Longbow (Orange)]
[Requirement: Level 44 Ranger]
[Passive: Patient Draw]
[Maintaining a full draw steadily increases accuracy and penetration up to a fixed limit. Moving before release ends the buildup.]
Its limbs were made from layered black wood reinforced with dull silver channels. There was no dramatic glow, only a faint line along the string that sharpened as the draw settled.
Cassandra examined the weapon. "Veinstring’s Resonant Draw gave me more options."
"Then keep it," Katherine said. "This bow is strong enough for your current level. Veinstring remains useful when you need its deeper resonance, and Raven can judge whether its skill can be migrated later. We are not gambling both weapons on an improvised imprint today."
Cassandra stored Veinstring Longbow in a separate locked inventory slot and equipped Nightglass.
The Dawnless armor formed around her body. The undersuit tightened first, followed by fitted leather and narrow plates that settled along her waist, breasts, and hips. Cassandra rolled one shoulder, then drew the bow halfway.
The upper brace caught beneath her arm.
Katherine noticed. "May I?"
Cassandra looked back at her. "You have been waiting to ask that."
"I have been waiting for permission."
"Adjust it."
Katherine stepped behind her and slipped two fingers beneath the brace. She loosened it, smoothed the leather over Cassandra’s shoulder, and checked the fit along her back while Cassandra drew again. This time, the bow moved cleanly.
Katherine moved on to the waist straps. Her hands settled at Cassandra’s sides as she tightened the armor until it supported her without restricting her breathing. She took longer than necessary when checking the fit over Cassandra’s hips.
"Katherine."
"I’m being thorough."
"You are enjoying your work."
"Both can be true." Katherine borrowed Martin’s defense without shame. "Besides, Martin will stare the first time he sees you in this. I refuse to let him find a loose strap before I do."
Cassandra’s mouth curved despite her attempt to remain severe. "Finish the fitting."
Katherine adjusted the thigh guards, asked Cassandra to crouch, turn, and draw from three different angles, then finally declared the armor acceptable.
Only then did she place the remaining items on the bench.
Katherine had also brought a single-use Emergency Retreat Seal attuned to the lodge. Breaking it would raise a brief protective ward, alert their private party channel, and reveal the safest physical route back without carrying her there. Beside it lay a route beacon that would keep sharing Cassandra’s position until she returned.
"The seal stays on your belt," Katherine said. "Not buried deep in your inventory. If the route changes unexpectedly, break it and retreat. If you lose more than half your health before learning what attacked you, do the same."
"That is overly cautious."
Katherine did not smile. "You’ve had enough plans that depended on nobody knowing where you were. Humor me. Check in every fifteen minutes. Your combat log, system notices, and quest updates are mirrored to the private archive. You do not delete or hide anything because you think we might worry."
Katherine activated the shared route.
Cassandra’s fingers paused over the retreat seal.
She had intended to enter and test herself in the ravine alone, then return only after she had results worth showing. Last night, that had sounded responsible. Now she saw what she was actually doing.
She meant to hide the trip until she survived it, then pretend confessing afterward counted as accountability.
"Agreed," Cassandra said.
Katherine studied her face. "All of it?"
"All of it. If the Dark Force speaks to me, offers me something, or changes the quest, you will receive the complete record. I will not decide which parts you are allowed to know."
Katherine’s teasing faded. She leaned forward and kissed Cassandra’s cheek.
"Come back safely," she said. "Martin is worried about you, and so am I."
Cassandra touched the warm spot after Katherine withdrew. "I will."
Minutes later, Kill Clause stood at the entrance to Blackglass Ravine. Dark stone walls narrowed around a path littered with pale dust, broken branches, and claw marks left by something that walked on four legs.
She checked the retreat seal, raised Nightglass Longbow, and activated her route beacon.
[Kill Clause: Entering Blackglass Ravine now. Equipment stable. Route marker active. Next check-in in fifteen minutes.]
Katherine’s answer arrived before Cassandra took her first step.
[Crimson Halo: Received. We are watching.]
Kill Clause entered the ravine without turning the beacon off.