The tattoo on his right pectoral itched slightly as Xerxes departed from the parlor. He had joined Sleeping Calamity a few days prior and finally received the guild tattoo to officially signify his acceptance into the guild. Today, he set out to explore the streets of Orchidia and see just what all this place had to offer. He could not help but marvel at the buildings and the lust landscape as, for the majority of his life, all he saw was sand. To see the vastness of what the world had to offer only reinforced his goal: To become the ruler of the world. The prospect of having all of this beauty at his fingertips excited him to no end. As he continues his stroll, he hears a shrill scream coming from across the street. Quickly directing his gaze towards the area, he sees a boy running away from what looked to be a toddler at full sprint. The toddler, running at full speed as well, unfortunately could not keep up with the much longer legs of the boy. His curiosity piqued, Xerxes ventures over to the toddler. The toddler was dressed better than most people in the city. Black suit with matching tie and fedora. A small chameleon sat at the brim of the toddler’s hat with its eyes closed. As he reaches the well-dressed toddler, he voiced his thoughts. “I wonder why the boy was running away from this child. I wonder where his parents are.” “I need you to catch that boy.” The toddler says with the eloquence of an adult. Taken aback, Xerxes looks at the toddler inquisitively. “What? Are you deaf or something? I need your help in catching that boy.”

A small frown spreads across Xerxes’ face as he quickly forms a hypothesis on what has occurred. Scenario A: This is actually an adult but either through his own machinations or the machinations of someone else, he is stuck in the form of a toddler. Or Scenario B: It actually is a toddler that has been enchanted by someone or something. Either way, the answer to this was the same: Magic. Despite his feelings regarding magic, Xerxes decided to offer his assistance. “I’ll help you but it’ll cost you.” Xerxes says with a mischievous smile on his face. “You’ll get paid. Don’t worry about that. I just need you to catch him. Whatever you do, ensure that no harm comes to him.” “Of course.” Xerxes says as he quickly dashes off towards the boy with surprising speed. Even with the distance the boy had, Xerxes was able to catch up with ease. The boy looks back and sees the tan skinned individual racing towards him before pushing his body to move even faster. He desperately needed to get away. He had to escape this new and unknown threat. As Xerxes moves closer, the boy begins to throw anything and everything he can at him in a feeble attempt to slow him down. The man either dodges the items or calmly swats them away with the simplest of ease. The boy, unfortunately turns a corner, and finds himself stuck at a dead end. “Looks like the game has come to an end young one.” Xerxes says as he appears at the end of the alleyway with the toddler following closely behind. “I appreciate the assist. What’s your name?” he asks. “I am Sharyar Xerxes of Sleeping Calamity. The soon to be ruler of this world.” The toddler chuckles as he tosses a small bag of jewels towards Xerxes. “Riiiight. Leon Magamo is my name. If I require your help again, I may look you up Mr. Xerxes.”

WC: 612
612/500 Completed