Welcome to Gaia! ::

Neo answered, seriously "Well, it's been a long day. You should get your rest. I have some business to attend to, and after that I will sleep as well. Our first journey starts soon... Though that is, if you want to join me? Would you?" Neo wasn't intending to put her thrugh something that she didn't really want to do, so he asked her naively.

Meanwhile she slept, Neo was making transmutations down below quietly. Everything she said to him had very much warmed up his soul a little bit. He hadn't felt this warm since Angela, so he was determined to get the Dueye. He opened the barred door down below, and couldn't be heard of for a long while.

Neo then get out of the room behind the barred door, and sat on his desk looking at the computer, and getting a proper map made. After some long hours of searching, he fell asleep on the desk, and this time, for a long time, it wasn't a nightmare he was having.

Neo feels a tap on his shoulder, and wakes up, but without his eyes open. He has several maps under his right arm, which he had been almost all night working on them, and something else behind the barred door. He moves his head to the back where Mikka was touching his shoulder, and sheepishly opens his eyes , while cleaning them up with his left hand. Then he noticed it was Mikka, and said "Good morning!" still not even noticing the plates she was holding. Much less noticing the food that was on it.

Neo took the plate and started to eat. He answered her back, after the first gulp of food "Yes, I have various maps made for our journey. Once we leave, it will be hard to retrun back to this castle, so we'll have to know where we are going, and return here in less than a month at least." then he kept eating, and wondering how it would go. Of course it would be easier with her there, but the road was still not easy at all.

He complimented her food by saying "This tastes pretty good. Haven't had harsh browns in a bit. We'll have to pack light food for our journey as well. Bread will do."

"I can use alchemy to make seemingly large portions of bread, smaller. I have enough bread here at home." He answered while finishing the last of his food, and smiling. He then went quickly into the kitchen an back again into the experimentation room, and finally answered "Yes, we leave today."

Then Neo rested on the front opening from the hallway to the experimentation room, looking up and wondering. Soon... I'll have to show her that room soon then.

Neo stopped his wandering mind for a little bit, and said "Our first journey is to escape this castle without being seen. I already made an exit through the barred door over there" as he points toward the barred door. "There should also be an artifact on our journey deep, and then out of the mountain that door takes us through."

"Well, yes." answered Neo inquisitively. He then took the map out, and showed it to her. "You see, we are the the door in this map. We need to pass sector B, and get to sector C to get the artifact there. Once we get the artifact, we need to get to sector A and open the door there to get out of the mountains. The artifact is called the Cowl of the Thief. It allows the user's footsteps to be so soundless, even when running that no one can detect him. You can also see perfectly in complete darkness with that on you."

Neo took in a deep breath, and looked at the maps while putting them all in his bag, along with a loaf of bread when he stood up and walked back in the room, and some water. He then sat down on his desk chair again, and looked up, slowly whispering "I don't expect you to see me as a friend when you walk through that door. The area before sector B is the dissection, and true experimentation room. I made a door with alchemy that we should be able to open before sector B, and after that we will be officially battling."

(The map is this one:

Neo looked at her, and answered, "Well now. Don't get too excited. The artifacts are known to not work if they don't like their user." He then got up, and got the scalpel out of his pocket, and used transmutation on it to turn it into a 4-foot long sword. He finally explained "You see, this weapon contains a transmutation circle embedded within, so it can change into any weapon of choice that only takes 5.8 kilograms of steel. This is what my true weapon does."

He then checked his pants and checked everything he packed in his pockets. He looked at her and smiled "I'm ready. Are you?"

(Now the real action is about to begin)