There were few things I enjoyed spending my time on more than the entrepreneurial task of reaping the benefit my skills and proficiencies yielded. Though the pursuit of discovering something distinctly more than average in my daily life often took up my time â€" don't get me wrong, this is something I enjoy â€" engorging my already enormous nest egg was something I focused on, meaning that I worked more than I did anything else. Granted, work often turned into play, and play often turned into pleasure so there is very little I would have to complain about in my individual efforts; teamwork, though... That's another story. It was fairly frequent that I was assigned a case or job through the contracting agency that booked me for translation that required me to work as part of a team; I understand this is a frustrating necessity for work in the field of public affairs. That didn't mean I wanted to "share" my other (let's specify: my only other legal job) workplace, and it definitely didn't mean I was prepared to act as any kind of team player. I enjoyed the art of creating and designing weaponry or artifacts â€" the customers were a nasty side effect. Oh, and the increase in sales? Yeah. That was a nasty side effect that needed to be cured with a different medicine: other employees.

Originally, Arsenaal had been a bit of a recluse. It was dark, it was dilapidated, it was musty and dingy. The lack of TLC the establishment obviously had, had struck a chord with me that reminded me of home. The buildings there were often in trouble with their paint crumbling, their beams breaking, and their roofs unsteady. Arsenaal was filled to the brim with her contents pressing against the creaky wooden door. There was no method to the chaos (is there ever?) and immediately, I felt like home. I'd wandered in unsuspecting of anything to come from the experience save for a pretty penny coming from the knife I'd made, but the shop owner had been lurking and he'd noted something to the effect of 'powerful protégé' and let's be honest... that would have anyone's attention. Granted, he meant himself but from the conversation I'd had with him, we quickly established that his business needed my help. And so my romantic relationship with Arsenaal began as the shop owner handed me the keys and told me to take over the management of the inventory. Little did I know this meant he might disappear and leave me with the nasty infestation of customers and employees.

The slew of employees hired with my entirely, completely professional nature, were set to meet with me and one another in a particularly cherished haunt of mine, the Voodoo Room. While some days the complaints of a dress code and social manners might come from my lips, their selection of liquor hit my palate just right, rendering me a returning customer. As I entered the building, it didn't take very long for me to find Spencer Lombardo sitting in a less-populated area, accompanied by a clear drink.

"What, you didn't want to wait for me? Or is that drink to take the edge off of my arrival?"

My words were tinged with humor, but naturally he would feel the dark element hovering just below their surface. With the briefest of nods did I get the attention of one of the waitresses who sauntered over to take my drink order â€" single malt, on the rocks â€" before scuttling off, leaving Spencer and I to bask in the silence of her wake. That was, until I decided it was important to mention the impending arrival of the were-Crocadile.

"I hope you like amphibians."