The Married Life Of Immortals

Up above, on the second floor, Dory and Lysia sat out on a balcony drinking tea. The two of them had been watching the entire battle, through a portal on the table and were shocked to see the level of combat displayed.

"That was a bit surprising," Dory said with a whistle.

"Bane has improved significantly. It was a good idea to send Ratrage down to test him," Lysia admitted.

"Still, he is nothing like he was a day ago. It's like he spent another ten years training overnight!" Dory exclaimed, but then sighed. "The man's fighting skills aside, what do you really think about the rest of him? His foul mouth is bound to get the two of you into a lot of trouble."

Lysia took a sip of her tea, looking out at the roof tops. "I am more concerned for the people that get on his bad side. He also just acts for the most part, but he is actually a nice person. He just has a funny way of showing it sometimes. He also treats people with the same respect that they show him."

"And yet, you still love him?" Dory asked.

Lysia nodded. "I do. His personality isn't the only thing that attracted me, but there are just some things about him that are very refreshing."

Dory nodded. "He is attractive, in a roguish way, but I don't think I could handle that knowing grin he always has. It feels like he has one up on you and he is not using it."

Lysia laughed. "I can't disagree there. It is more frustrating to me that he grows so fast, but he never really seems surprised about anything... Other than the rings! Ah! That is it!"

Dory felt lost and gave Lysia a puzzled look. "What is it?"

Lysia was smiling and looked over at her friend. "Bane is really interested in storage rings. Surely for nothing good, but it was the first time I had seen anything pique his interest. I know a lot about them, but can you go over them with me? I have a bad feeling that I know why he wants them."

"Sure. There is a lot to know about storage rings, but the basics are simple. First off, there are a few types. There are the common, rare, epic, legendary, and unique. These are the only ones that have been found. All others are myths and have not been discovered yet.

"Secondly, the quality of the items in the storage rings can only go down, never up. This means storing items in Rare or lower grade rings for more than a few days will cause the items to degrade and become less valuable."

"Third, the number of items stored in the ring is dependent on the size. There are 10 sizes, each a multiple of four, and the higher the number, the larger the ring is. The first size is only 1 x 1 foot, going up to 400 x 400 feet at size 10."

"Fourth, the capacity of the storage rings are dependent on the material. Each grade has a different limit. Common are 25, Rare are 100, Epic are 500, Legendary are 2500, and Unique are 10,000. Each increase material rarity doubles the size of the previous grade. This is the only part where you can store more if you have a better ring."

Lysia absorbed the information, but she had one more question. "How many different ways can you store things in a ring?"

Dory frowned at this. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, when you go to store something, do you have to touch it? If not, then how far away can you be for it to work?" Lysia asked.

"I am not sure. Most people can only use a few feet. Is there a reason you need to have range with the rings?"

Lysia nodded slowly, not sure how to explain this without it sounding exactly like it was. This should be Bane's thing, but for some reason she was now trying to learn about what was clearly going to be a way to steal things. Not really her finest moment, but she had picked the rogue, so now she would have to try and learn his ways.

"Bane was a criminal, and I don't think things are really going to change much. I need to know how these can be used to suck up other peoples stuff."

There was a tense silence as the two women looked at each other until Dory narrowed her eyes. "You are joking, right?"

Lysia shook her head no, making Dory put a hand over her face.

"This is why he is dangerous. Do you have any idea how valuable the storage rings are? What about the criminal part? Doesn’t that bug you?" Dory asked, and Lysia shrugged.

"No, and neither does he. He was only interested in the rings because they could hold a lot of things, and if they are expensive, we both can do things to make for a fair trade. You are one of the few people that can actually get off this island, right?"

Dory eyed Lysia, but then nodded. "I could make a portal, but what of it?"

"Send Bane on missions to collect things for you. Even if they are in other people's possessions, I am sure he will have no problem relieving them," Lysia explained, and Dory gave her a thoughtful look, but then frowned.

"Do you really think sending that loose cannon out into the world is a good idea? He is likely to get himself captured, or killed."

"I am more concerned about the others. As long as he doesn't run into a Demigod, Bane will be fine. Even if he does, I am more worried about his surroundings," Lysia said, but then noticed that Bane was no longer in the basement.

"Well, I will think about your offer and get back to Bane, since it is him that has to go. Nina is taking the day off, so Bane can do other training for the second part of the day, or you too can do something. She will be back tomorrow morning."

Lysia shook her head. "I have had enough of that man for now. I will set him loose in the village until it is time for him to come home."

Dory gave her a sideways look. "Do you think that wise?"

Lysia shrugged. "Enough stories have buzzed around that everyone knows what kind of person Bane is, even if he is not the best kind. He has his moments."

Dory just stared at her as Bane walked up the stairs, trying to stretch as he did, almost tripping on the last step up.

"Am I interrupting something?" Bane asked, feeling like he had just walked into an intense stand of, having no clue it was about him.

"Not at all. Go wash up and relax. I have a few things I need to take care of today, so have fun. Don't do anything I wouldn't do!" Lysia said, giving him a smile as he tried to read between the lines, but couldn't spread them far enough, and gave up to take a seat.

"Can I get a spot of tea first? All that exercising made me a wee bit thirsty," Bane said with an accent, making Lysia roll her eyes.

"Your fight's were annoyingly impressive. Your speed and strength and speed keep improving by leaps," Lysia said as Dory poured him a cup of tea, but it was Bane's turn to give her a sideways look.

"Do you want to do what I have been doing? Or would you like me to remind you of the scene that shall not be named? You know? That thing that never happened?" Bane demanded, making Lysia snort.

"That is how it will always have happened for Bia Xiao Meng."

Bane ignored his wife-to-be, and then turned to Dory, holding the cup of tea toward her. "Thank you for this, and for letting me train with the... I am going to take a stab in the dark and say, army? Was Borat a General or something?"

Dory just stared at him, and Bane nodded. "Figured you wouldn't say anything. His story to tell, blah, blah. I got it, and I get stronger the more I fight, so I do mind learning stuff from them all."

"Give it time. You are in no hurry, since you have 3 years, right?" Dory asked, and Bane nodded.

"One more thing before I make like a tree and leaf..." Bane said, and silence followed. "No? Alright, then I will stick with 'see you later'. Have a wonderful day, ladies!"

Bane got up and left, and the two women watched him disappear down the stairs.

"He is so strange," Dory said, but Lysia had her arms crossed and her cheeks puffed out. "What is wrong?"

Before Lysia could answer, Bane appeared with a grin, pushing both his hands to her cheeks, causing her to make a raspberry sound.

"See? Like a fish! Now, I am leaving for real. Have fun!"

He then kissed her cheek with a grin and was gone again. Dory burst out laughing as Lysia sat there with her hands in her lap, looking like a person that had just been hit with a stick, but was still trying to play it cool.

"He is an ass!" Lysia growled, and Dory laughed even harder.

"I can see why you want to keep him around. Not my type, but I get you now!" Dory laughed.