As I was wondering how to broach the subject of more people like me to Ozpin, we heard frantic knocking. I sighed as I had a feeling that something had just happened inside the hold without me knowing. As I walked to the door and opened it, I found Amber looking like she had just seen a ghost. She was jabbering and yammering about these two withered maidens that just appeared, and asking if she wanted anything.
I sighed, the Twin Maiden Husks. Sellers of anything and everything a Tarnished could want, if one had enough runes. After calming Amber down, I told her that they were sellers and doing that to mess with you. After all, I had the same experience with them the first time. After she calmed down and understood that they meant no harm, she headed back over to them, eager to shop.
Once that was handled, I talked to Melina some more and asked her to keep an ear out for any others. After everything was said and done, I walked out and headed over to the Husks. There, I found Amber browsing through their selection and noticed that they were selling some things from Remnant already. Mainly Dust and ancient weapons from the Great War on Remnant.
While Amber was going through the extensive stock, I picked out some high-quality dust and a rare item that they rarely sold: a sacrificial twig. The Dust was for experimenting since I hadn't had a chance to see how it would react with all the equipment, and as for the twig, I got it in case I ever needed it. The twig broke and disappeared when the wearer dies, and instead of losing their runes, they lose this instead. A handy little trinket.
Once I was done, I headed back to the roundtable with a cheerful Amber in tow. She, having bought a sacrificial twig as well, equipped it with a red brooch that increased her health regeneration. Nothing I didn't have, but it brought me slight joy seeing her happy. As we got to the table, I told her to think of heading back to the place we just left. And soon, we were back at Mt. Glenn.
When we opened our eyes, we found ourselves surrounded by Grimm. With a nod to Amber, we separated and dealt with the grimm. It took close to an hour for the horde to be decimated. Once we were sure that none were left, I summoned Torrent and held out a hand for her to ride behind me. She accepted, and as soon as she was seated, Torrent took off.
Little did we know that an odd-looking Grimm with tentacles was watching us as we rode off.
...
..
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Once we reached the walls of Vale, Amber was happy to be back in the city. After getting through the security, Amber all but dragged me to a small shop that sold armaments and armor. As well as clothes, which Amber told me that I couldn't live in armor all my life. When I told her I had normal clothes, she scoffed and told me that my rags were not clothes. And in the end, I was forced to buy a few sets of clothes. As we walked out, I noticed something that caught my eye.
Several people were eyeing me and Amber. My first thought was that thugs were thinking that we were easy pickings. But Amber snickered and told me that they were just impressed by how well I cleaned up and looked without the armor. Truth be told, I felt naked without some sort of armor covering me. However, I dealt with it the same way I dealt with everything else like this. I ignored them.
By the time we reached the lift to Beacon and ascended, it was growing dark. Both Amber and I were getting tired, so we separated and headed towards our dorm rooms. As I entered my dorm, I was greeted with the form of Ozpin waiting for me at the table that was in the area called the kitchen.
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"So, how did it go?" He wasted no time asking, as I just sighed.
"Everything went well," I told him, "However, both Amber and I were pulled to the Roundtable Hold. A member of the hold had called us and explained that the rest of the members were scattered around Remnant. So far, they were only able to find one other. A woman by the name of Roderika."
.
From there, I told Ozpin what Melina told me. He sighed and told me that he'll have one of his best go and get her. I told him not to do it anytime soon due to her being an important part of Vacuo's poor population. He understood and told me he'll get in contact with Vacuo's academy and see what they could do. I told him not to rush this, as she was a pacifist by nature but would defend herself if necessary.
We continued to talk for a few more minutes before Ozpin got an alert on his scroll. His eyebrows widened in surprise as he looked at who messaged him. From the picture I could see due to the scroll being transparent, it looked like a drunken old man.
As for the message, it was just a picture of a fair-skinned woman with raven locks and amber eyes. As Ozpin was wondering why the man was sending a picture of the woman, another message appeared. A few words, Pawn and Attacker.
It didn't take much to put together what they meant. Amber was attacked before she was put into that pod. However, she couldn't remember who or what attacked her. I would bet my Runes that this woman was Amber's attacker. I made a mental note to keep an eye out for this woman.
Ozpin saw that I had a similar line of thought as he did. We both nodded, and he headed out to gather information about this woman. As for me, I headed to bed and kept myself ready in case I was needed.