Chapter 1: Book and Dagger
As the taxi drove through Lance City, Joan looked out through its grubby window at the many skyscrapers, shops, restaurants, and supermalls. Her leg bounced up and down in one spot, powered by nervous energy. She was trying not to miss her stop, though it would be close to impossible, not just because of the place's reputation but also its unique appearance. Soon, the yellow cab stopped, allowing Joan and her sister Ida to exit.
“Why, of all places, a nightclub?” Joan groans as she steps out of the taxi. Usually, she would be excited to do business to add another weapon to her collection, but the owner of the dagger insists that they do their dealings in his nightclub. A place where he said they can get more comfortable, but Joan firmly disagrees.
She was dressed up for the occasion, wearing a black jacket with a golden zipper, a red top, dark grey jeans, and black boots. Keeping her hair in a ponytail, she has her long red ribbon tied into a bow. Hanging from her shoulders is her black satchel with golden buckles, nicely complementing her jacket.
Across the street from the taxi, nestled amongst the restaurants and shops, was the hottest place to cool off, the Wizard’s Tower. This club sticks out like a sore thumb amongst the modern buildings of the city, for the Wizard's Tower is an actual tower made of stone, brick, and wood. Though medieval-looking, its additional features, such as neon light signs and fire escapes behind every window (to comply with the city's building safety code), give it a slight modern touch to its appearance. There was quite a line of people of different anthropomorphic species, dressed in their favourite brands and flashing their jewellery. When compared to Joan, Joan might as well have dressed like a peasant.
“Joan, you dive headfirst into dungeons and always come out more or less alright. I’m sure you can manage this.” Ida, although firmly, said in a way to re-establish her sister’s confidence. After paying the taxi driver, she pulls out her compact from her little black purse and retouches her makeup.
Seeing that they were going to a special place, Ida dressed as such. Draping her body is a long, black dress with a split on the side, showing off a bit of her left leg. Hanging loosely on her hips is a brown leather belt with a big golden buckle. Matching her dress are her black heels, which make her a little taller than Joan. Complementing her facial features was a light touch of makeup: dark blue eyeshadow, eyeliner, and a hint of dark grey blush. Instead of wearing her usual glasses, she wore contact lenses. After giving herself a nod of approval through the little mirror, she puts her compact away.
“I know, I know,” Joan said, rubbing her temples. “I just don’t like large crowds.” Joan then looked over at Ida with a half-smile. “Thanks again for coming along, E.”
“Hey, someone has to keep you out of trouble,” Ida replied, returning the smile by curling her ruby-red lips into a smirk.
With a deep sigh, Joan walked to the tower’s entrance with her sister trailing behind. Guarding the door from party crashers was a bobcat bouncer. He’s dressed in a nice, clean black suit. They would have had to wait for hours if they had gone to the back of the line, but their VIP cards, gifted by the club's owner, allowed them to cut right through.
After a quick pat down and search for concealed weapons by the bouncer, they were given the green light to proceed inside the club. Piercing through the darkness of the place were flashing lights of yellows, blues, greens, and reds. The loud techno music bounces off the walls, and the bass vibrates the insides of people’s bodies. Dancing as far as the eye could see are the people who have fallen under the spell of the music.
At the back of the club, beyond the party goers, was the stage, supporting the weight of the music equipment and the colourful spotlights. Nestled between two giant speakers and behind his mixer is the DJ. His head was nodding along to the beat, approving the music he was remixing.
To the right are a long flight of stairs. The last landing of the stairs ends at an interior balcony that completely encircles the tower, providing a great downward view of the stony dance floor from all angles. Hanging high above the ceiling is a massive disco ball, a little out of fashion but still quite a sight to behold.
To the left is a bar serving all who are thirsty with magically themed alcoholic beverages, as well as finger foods for those who are hungry. The drinks, which are poured into potion bottles, have a misty appearance and sparkle as if they contain glitter inside.
Joan felt dizzy from all of the living excitement in the place. She can’t hear herself think because of the loud music and the bass vibrating her brain. Her heart was threatening to burst out of her chest, and she felt that everyone in the club was stealing the very air that she desperately needed. At this moment, all she wanted to do was find a corner, close her eyes tightly, and pull down on her ears to block out the noise. But she won’t allow herself to break so easily. She had business to attend to. With one arm hugging the other arm, she was practising her breathing exercises, trying to ground herself. She scans the area and instantly spots the bar.
“I-I’m going to get myself a drink.” A drink is exactly what Joan needs to calm her nerves. However, just after taking the first step towards salvation, she was dragged away by her fizzed-out tail.
“Oh no, you don’t! You got work to do, remember?” Ida reminded her thirsty sister. Ignoring Joan’s whimpers of protest, Ida drags her sister further away from the bar and up a flight of stairs.
Now, as they made their way up the top of the stairs and to the balcony, Joan started to feel a little better, seeing that she was getting further away from the chaos below. During their ascent, they climb past landings with windows and doors. The doors led to bathrooms, supply closets, and private rooms.
At the balcony, there’s a thick wooden guard railing that surrounds it and separates the floor from the pit. Suspended over the centre of the pit is the mentioned disco ball hanging from the ceiling. Also, there are two doors. The last door of the balcony leads to the stairs to the attic of the tower. The first door opens to the club owner’s office, but really, it’s his personal private room. The guard in front of the “office,” upon recognising them, steps aside, allowing them to get to the door. He’s a black panther that looks nothing out of the ordinary for a guard, dressed in dark blue security clothes, a bulletproof vest, and a pistol in his holster.
“He’s waiting inside for you.” He said in a cool voice as he opened the door for them.
Entering the inside, the sisters found themselves in a dark, red room that was full of vice and sin. From head to toe, the walls were lined with padding that blocked out the sounds of the club, much to Joan’s delight. At the back of the room, in front of the only window, was a massive stereo system playing rap music. Joan felt relieved as she could hear that the rap music from the speakers was at a tolerable level. Facing the table in the centre of the room were two sofas: one with its back facing the door, the other with its back facing the stereo. On the table are glasses, bottles of alcohol, rolled-up bills, gold coins, and leftover white powder. Sitting on the sofa facing the door is none other than the owner of the club, the king of the jungle himself, Leon Bourbon the lion.
His mane is brown, loud, and proud, making him appear bigger than what he truly is. Planted on his face is the cockiest smile that Joan as ever seen, giving her the sense that he’s up to some dirty trick. His eyes, the facial feature that he’s most proud of, are so icy blue that they coldly pierce right through the soul.
He doesn’t just wear to flash his wealth, but also to show his status of wealth. He wears a big, fluffy white coat that rivals his mane. He has no shirt underneath, but rather a fishnet crop top, showing off his body. His pants are made of black leather that’s tight against his legs. His sneakers are whiter than his coat and look way too big for his feet. He has so many rings on his fingers (each with its shiny gems) that it looked almost impossible for him to bend them.
Snuggling him from both sides are two female cats in clothes that would make any modest woman blush. Standing by at Leon’s side with a serious frown is a lioness bodyguard with her arms folded.
“Welcome, welcome!” Leon said, his voice light and silky. “We already introduced ourselves over the phone, but you don’t know my sister. This is Nyla, and she works for me as my bodyguard.” He gestures to the lioness.
Unlike her brother’s massive mane, she has her hair done up in neat dreads, each with golden rings on them. Her clothes speak of serving and protecting. Her shirt and trousers are black with yellow pinstripes. On her feet are heavy-duty black boots. Protecting the vital organs in her chest is a dark blue bulletproof vest that matches the cap on her head. Hugging her side is her pistol. A standard black 9mm, as far as Joan could tell. Hanging from her leather shoulder belt on her back is a steel baseball bat. Joan was expecting her to have a baton as her choice of melee weapon; however, after some thought, she realised that this lioness doesn’t just want to defend herself and whoever she’s guarding, but also to inflict some damage back.
After the foxes quickly introduced themselves to Leon’s sister, Leon spoke. “May I say that it is an honour to have the Sword Collector and her sister in my club?” As he spoke, he shooed off his cat “friends” out of the room.
“The Sword Collector?” Joan said as she took a seat on the sofa opposite Leon with Ida.
“Oh yes! Everybody calls you that. You are the only adventurer who specialises in collecting swords after all. May I interest you two in a drink?” Without waiting for an answer, the lion started to pour each of his guests a glass of wine.
Joan’s mouth began to water slightly at the sight of the ruby-red liquid. She was about to reach for it, but Ida’s hand was quick to slap Joan’s away. Ida then began to speak. “As much as we would love to have a drink, we...” Ida then gave Joan the side eye. “...are strictly here for business.”
“More for me.” Although slightly offended, the club owner just shrugged it off as he took one of the glasses and drank it. After sighing with satisfaction that made Joan envious of his drink, he placed the glass down.
“Since you two are strictly here for business, I will cut to the chase.” Leon reached behind the sofa and pulled over a small case. After making a place for it on the table, he placed the case down and opened it to show his guests what was within. “The Doctor’s Scalpel, as promised.” As he leans back on the sofa, his crooked smile returns.
Despite its name, the Doctor’s Scalpel is actually a steel dagger. The handle has circular engravings from top to bottom, is plated in silver, and has a blue sapphire fitted on top. It has no handguard. The blade is thin, light, straight, and double-edged.
“May I?” Joan asked, her hand hovering over the case.
“Go ahead,” Leon said before taking a sip from his glass.
With his approval, Joan gingerly picks up the weapon and studies it with a keen eye. While Joan was inspecting the dagger, Ida went digging in her sister’s satchel. Joan felt her satchel become significantly lighter as Ida pulled out a book.
This thick book looked as though it had come straight from an ancient library, for it was bound in old, cracked leather. The pages, though yellowed, had not frayed at all. Imprinted on the cover was a flame with two open palms upholding it; resting on top of the flame was a royal crown.
“So, what’s so important about this book?” Ida asked, the book resting on her lap.
“Everything,” Leon replied, his eyes glowing upon seeing that the book was the real deal. “My sister and I are the descendants of Morlon, the king wizard.”
“I don’t think wizards had their own monarch,” Ida said questioningly.
“He wasn’t actually a king of wizards. He was called that because he was so powerful and well-respected by all wizards across the world.” After explaining, Leon continued with the original conversation. “This lovely tower we’re in was Morlon’s. It became a sort of family heirloom, just like how that book should have been.” He grins widely as his eyes go back to the book. “This is the Highborn Book, Morlon’s book of spells. It was stolen from him while he was on his deathbed. Where did you manage to find it?”
“I found it amongst the treasures in a dragon’s den while I was looking for the Midas Blade,” Joan said. Her eyes were still scanning the dagger. Leon’s eyes went wide, Nyla raised an eyebrow, and Ida’s jaw dropped. Not many can say they left a dragon’s den with a piece of its loot, let alone their lives. “Sadly, I didn’t find the sword, and it was the only thing I could snatch before the dragon returned.” Joan continued.
“You never told me you stole from a dragon!” Ida said with a glare. She absolutely hated it when Joan did something life-threateningly stupid and did not tell her.
“Technically, it’s not stealing if the dragon stole it in the first place.” Joan countered with a smirk.
“You know that’s not what I meant!” Ida growled quietly.
“Regardless.” Leon interrupted. “The dagger would make the perfect substitute,” Leon said with a confident smile.
“Other than the book being an heirloom, is there another reason why you want it so much?” Ida asked as she lifted the book and looked over its cover.
Leon rubbed his chin, taking a moment to think out his answer before replying. “Having the club is the life. I get to have all of the money, drinks, and women I want. But I want something more… meaningful in my life. And what’s more meaningful than magic? Especially the potential power behind it.”
“It’s a bit outdated, though,” Ida interjected. “Technology had already replaced magic in everyday life. It’s very accessible and doesn’t take years of practice to use. There’s honestly no need for magic nowadays.”
“Maybe so. However, there are things that only magic can do. With enough practice and experience, a mere man could summon fire, command storms, and move seas. That’s something no amount of technology could do easily.” As he spoke, Leon was smirking. Ida had to resist the urge to roll her eyes. She did not come here to debate, so she left the conversation at that.
Seeing that Joan hadn’t spoken, Ida assumed that the dagger was good and was about to pass the book over to Leon. “Regardless, here’s your book.”
Just before Leon could hastily seize it, Joan quickly pulled Ida’s hand away with the book, preventing the exchange. Joan looks up from the weapon. Her eyes were staring daggers of their own at the lion. “It’s a fake.”
