then at his master. Darius was puzzled by what was happening, because as far as he knew, the procedure for opening a bank account did not require authentication, but he nodded to his apprentice anyway. Draco dropped a few drops of blood into the vial and handed it to the older man.
Erth placed the crystal container in another recess of the artefact, and they were once again plunged into silence, broken only by the humming of the device. After a few long minutes, the vial trembled and rose a few centimetres, and small columns of green runes appeared around it. The whole thing hummed louder and the vial was illuminated by several rays of emerald light. It didn't last long, and after a moment the device calmed down and returned to its original state. Julius took a deep breath and slumped back in his chair. He took a handkerchief out of his pocket and wiped his forehead, which was covered with tiny beads of sweat. It seemed that the whole procedure had tired the Hunter. Darius suspected that whatever the man had done required him to use a considerable amount of mana.
-Gentlemen, please forgive me, but I am no longer in such good shape as I used to be, and some things are more difficult for me now.- Erth smiled apologetically and slowly began to put the device away. He placed the vial of blood and the red-green crystal in a brass tube. The artefact disappeared back into the desk, and the older man was finally able to lean on the desk.- Age really takes its toll, even on tasks that used to be easy.- He added when he had finished his little task.- But you gentlemen didn't come here to hear about my problems, did you?- He adjusted his robe over his tight belly and looked at both of his guests.- Unfortunately, we cannot open a new account for the honourable young master. The Hunter stated in a professional tone. Darius had no idea what was going on, as he had never before encountered a situation in
