“I’m going out on leave tonight, don’t bother me,” said Wone standing over Taps as he paddled away at the terminal keyboard. He looked back at Wone and gave him a skeptical look then returned to the terminal. “What, not gonna say anything?”
“Nah,” said Taps. He finished up whatever he was doing then rose from the terminal desk. “I have some business to attend to myself tonight, I won’t be in town so stay out of trouble.”
Taps put his hand on Wone’s head and gave it a shake before walking out of the terminal room. The two of them were staying in an old apartment building in some suburb on the outskirts of the city limits. It was a thirty-minute walk from the city and had a beautiful view of the south Jie Sea. Besides Taps and Wone, four other hunters were taking residence in the apartment building along with thirty-three other normal citizens. It was a pretty looking light grey concrete block that shined pleasantly in the midsummer sun at this time of day.
The other two pairs of hunters in the outpost were Blast, Hiroh, Myra, and Swift. Blast and Swift were veteran hunters like Taps and oversaw Hiroh and Myra in the same way that Taps oversaw Wone. Taps told Wone that Blast has been in the business so long he’s forgotten his given name and barely remembers his own face. Whenever Wone saw him, he was reminded of the stories of elite hunters whose faces are covered in shifting black veils and travel the wastes with blind dogs searching ruins and abandoned towns for monsters. Although, in Blast’s case, it would be people since that’s what most of the jobs he and Hiroh took involved. It was a wicked thought that made Wone shake his head grinning.
Since he had returned from killing the arachnid, the only thing Wone had on his mind was Song’s offer and how he would go about bringing it up to the order. His current plan was to continue being an Order hunter as a mainstay while helping Song on the side until she offered him something serious. Then he would tell Taps he planned on leaving for a while and hope for the best.
“I gotta get my mind off of this,” Wone muttered as he walked to his room. He put on his leathers, pulled on his boots, then departed the apartment building. It was five in the evening, still far too early to meet Song but the anticipation was driving him crazy.
Wone set his mind on finding a nice outfit to wear to his meeting with Song. His purse was currently flush with coin, and he figured he ought to show out in front of Song, if only for his own ego. From his initial investigation of the city, the most expensive shops could be found in a portion of the city center called “The Silver Cloud” where the rich shopped. He figured if he were to find something extravagant to wear, it would be there.
He left his apartment building and caught a bus headed into the city center, quietly occupying himself with the scenery as the slow vehicle rolled its way along to his destination. It took the bus forty-five-minutes to drive from the neighborhood where his apartment was to the central station, which was a short walk away from the silver cloud. He watched as single-family homes, lone apartment complexes, and palm trees turned into tightly packed buildings, crowded streets, and bustling storefronts. From his window he could see regular people going about their lives, entering, and leaving the bus, working at restaurants and office buildings, policemen scolding children causing trouble on the streets, and well-dressed businessmen leaving their jobs to head home for the evening. Such a mundane way of life was certainly not for Wone. Even if he was able to fulfill his dreams of being rich and famous, he planned on continuing to take up work as a monster hunter or a mercenary, something that allowed him some action.
As his thoughts trailed off into visions of his hypothetical future, the bus came to a stop at the central station. He and everyone else on the bus rose to their feet and walked out into the orange concrete platform that made up the Hibiscus districts central station. Wone scanned his surroundings for a moment before turning towards where he knew the Silver Cloud was and strode off. As Wone walked along the sidewalk taking in his surroundings and daydreaming, he picked up bits and pieces of various conversations from passersby.
“This whole war hysteria business is getting out of hand, I hope the Families have a plan for the future,” said an older gentleman dressed in black and red.
“I hear the families are starting to draft up armies, apparently the Republic is about to kick Wei out of the Heina province and now they’re coming here! It might be time to head into the empire,” gossiped a wealthier looking woman caked in white makeup.
“Did you see in the paper that Lord Ngo was seen negotiating with Jiade officials? Traitors, the man will sell out all of the states for scraps from the warmongers table,” spoke another man in a stern tone.
Wone was brought out of his eavesdropping when a homeless looking man called out to him.
“Hey there mister, would you mind sparing me a match for my cigarette,” the disheveled looking man asked. His hair was greying, and his face was covered in a slivering unkempt beard. His faded blue shirt and grey pants were torn and tattered, but they seemed clean despite the man’s circumstances. Wone dug around in his pockets and belt to no avail.
“Sadly, I don’t have any matches on me my friend,” Wone replied with a shrug.
“Aw, c’mon don’t be like that I know you’ve got a match,” persisted the homeless man. “Everybody’s got matches on them.”
Wone laughed surprised at the homeless man’s boldness. “Well, if that’s the case, then ask someone else. See ya round,” turning from the man, Wone continued his way to the silver cloud, shaking his head at the gall of the homeless man. “Can’t believe that guy,” he thought as he walked away.
He was close now, the normal bright colors of Haino City architecture turned into fine wood, shining silver, and deep blue stone. Elegantly crafted signs and symbols covered traditional looking architecture, some of which even had pillars decorated with gold and silver tigers and dragons. They looked like miniature palaces, and the customers looked like royalty. Men and women walked about covered in the deep and rich blue gowns signifying their status as officials or nobles. Others not allowed to don the royal blue and red wore clothes that seemed to be made of shimmering silver and gold, embroidered with flowers, and covered and various different designs. Some stores even had holograms of their products projected from crystal balls and powered projectors. It was like Wone had stepped into another world; he was starstruck.
“Hey there friend,” came a voice from behind Wone. He turned and saw a young nobleman, donning the golden rooster upon his red chest; signifying he was a part of the So family, the martial power in Taipan. Wone eyed the revolver on his hip and the military braid he had dangling just below his shoulders, he was a soldier. “Is this your first time here?”
“It is, in fact,” Wone replied evenly. He hadn’t realized he was standing around gawking in the middle of the sidewalk. He gave the So soldier a skeptical look but maintained a polite demeanor.
“I can tell,” the soldier said smiling. He walked over to Wone and patted him on the back, “What brings you into the Silver Cloud, work?”
“Leisure. Uh, this is awfully forward, do you know me,” Wone asked backing away from the man. Wone knew that he was bad at reading social ques, but between being pestered by the homeless man and now being touched by this random guy, he was starting to think he was going crazy.
“No, but you look like an interesting guy, and I like to meet random people and pick their minds for a bit of fun, would you mind enabling my little hobby,” asked the soldier. “My name is Davita by the way,” he finished, offering his hand.
“Okay,” Wone drawled considering Davita’s outstretched hand. “I’m Wone, and uh, you know I work for the order, right?”
“Clearly,” Davita said with a “haha”. “I don’t know anyone else who dresses in leathers and has the build of an athlete with eyes like those.”
“You never know…” Wone replied skeptically. In Taipan there were all manners of different people, hunters didn’t stick out like they did in other countries.
“Here, to show you I’m serious how about I show you where you want to go,” Davita motioned toward the crowded storefronts and floating images that permeated the Cloud. Wone went back and forth about walking around with some total stranger but eventually relented.
“Why not,” Wone uttered ruefully. “I’m looking for something expensive to wear, something no one else would be wearing, but everyone would recognize as being expensive.”
“Hmm,” Davita stroked his chin in thought as he considered Wone’s request. What Wone was asking for would be difficult to find, because Haino fashion was Wei fashion, and Wei fashion was all about oneness and the hierarchy of colors, which mirrored the hierarchy of class. And Wone was not a part of the upper class, despite his own considerable wealth. Further, to find something fashionable that no one else was wearing on such short notice would be difficult. “I think I know of a store where you’d be able to find something like that, follow me.”
Davita lead Wone to a smaller shop a little way off the main strip where the most popular stores were located. The store didn’t match the color scheme of the rest of the cloud and rather than the extravagant columns, engravings, and holograms of the rest of the Cloud, it simply had a jade fox statue set between the entrance and exit doors. Lettering on the bottom of the statue read “The Jade Fox”. Other than that, the building had no signage or advertisement, although its unique appearance served well enough in garnering curiosity from passersby if Wone’s own interest was any indication.
“This place looks like it came straight out of a history book,” said Wone in amusement as he took in the store’s appearance. The roof was tiled in red, green, and black; the walls were painted the same light shade of green as the tiling but textured like the scales on a dragon. Two windows beside both entrance and exit doors showed off mannequins wearing turquoise robes over bright red dresses, which was the style Taipan royalty used to wear when the country was ruled by one family oh so long ago.
“Yeah, it’s the oldest store in the district as a matter of fact,” said Davita from beside Wone. “My mother used to shop here all the time. I have fond memories of this place.”
“It’s certainly unique, and in just the way I like it, thank you,” said Wone genuinely. He was still skeptical of Davita and the suspiciously convenient find but it seemed to have worked out in Wone’s favor, nonetheless. Walking through the shop doors Wone declared, “Let’s see what they have for me inside.”
His eyes were immediately met with a mural depicting an old Taipan royal palace beneath a dragon filled sky, shone upon by a golden sun. Its rays pierced through beautifully drawn clouds and came down upon fields of various crops and toiling villagers. Inside one of the palace towers stood the small silhouette of a noble watching over the working men and women. It was a fantastic piece of art. On the far sides of the wall were entryways into the rest of the shop, Wone slowly walked down the right pathway as he continued to scan the mural, Davita followed silently behind him. Past the mural covered wall, Wone stumbled upon a gallery of gowns, shirts, pants, dresses, and accessories in a variety of unique colors and materials upon racks and mannequins. Chandeliers of gold, orange, and white lights illuminated the room, pairing well with all the different colored outfits. Needless to say, Wone was very impressed with the selection.
“Like what you see,” asked Davita from behind an entranced Wone.
“Yeah, I do,” he responded without looking away from the beautiful silks and fabrics. “Where do I even start,” Wone thought to himself as he felt the smooth materials hanging around the shop.
“So, Wone, if you wouldn’t mind, could you tell me a tale about monster hunting,” asked Davita. Wone nodded his head still engrossed in the Jade Fox’s product line.
Stolen story; please report.
“Sure, sure,” responded Wone running his hand through a fine light grey robe with golden roses trimmed into it. “My favorite story to tell is a mission I went on with my late master.
“He and I were tracking a man eater, or a vampire, as some people like to call them, and we stumbled upon an abandoned castle up in the mountains. According to the people in the town beneath the mountain, the castle was haunted by the spirit of some old warlock lord’s victims and the vampire was using the wayward spirits to grow more powerful. Well, my master told them that ghosts weren’t real and that warlocks eat souls anyway, so they had nothing to fear in terms of specters, but the vampire was a very real threat.
“Anyways, we tell the townspeople we’ll be heading up the mountain for a few days and if we don’t come back call the order to send someone else to clean up the mess. Me and my master then climbed up the mountain using an old path carved out by the army a few centuries ago. We get there and start to search the perimeter, checking for traps and signs of the man eater lurking around the place looking to ambush us. We found some signs of the monster dragging its prey into a side entrance of the castle and after some more scouting we headed in.
“The entryway was dank, dark, and wet from the mountain’s humidity and the blood of the monster’s victims. The smell was awful, mold and decaying blood filled my nose as we descended into the dark passageway. The passage led into a stairwell into one of the kitchens, which was where the maneater had been cutting up and cooking its victims.
“The room was disgusting, filled with gored men, women, children, and discarded bones. It looked like it had killed dozens of people up until this point, feasting upon them after bringing them into the castle. Most of the victims had long since been eaten, but at least seven of the bodies lying about the kitchen were recent. We continued through the castle, carefully clearing out rooms in search of our monster. Finally, we happened upon him dragging around some young woman he had abducted recently.
“He didn’t realize we had found him since he was preoccupied with dragging around this kicking and screaming woman to heavens know where. My master drew his gun and fired off three shots at the monster’s head, but the monster had apparently learned some magic during his stay in the castle.
“His back erupted into multiple brown hair covered arms that caught the second and third bullets my master fired. He turned his head away from the horrified woman and smiled at me and my master, before hurling the girl at me and dashing away into the halls of the castle. I caught the woman, and we pursued the beast, the woman still in my arms-”
“You chased after the fiend with the woman in tow,” asked Davita with a puzzled look on his face.
“I wasn’t supposed to leave my master alone and leaving the woman alone would put her in danger,” replied Wone. “Hey, don’t interrupt me when I’m talking!”
“As I was saying, me, my master, and our newfound third pursued the maneater through the castle until we cornered it in the meeting hall. The beast drew some old sabers it had stashed there and charged me, my master intercepted with his own saber, and they began fighting. I asked the woman if she could manage to move around and after she said yes, I told her to wait in the halls while me and my master subdued the monster.
“The maneater had four sabres in its many hands and expertly managed to beat back both me and my master. I even fired a shotgun into the thing and its hands caught every pellet out of the air and tossed them back at me. We had to have been fighting for a few minutes until finally my master managed to lop off one of its sword arms and kick away the blade, making it much easier to deal with.
“Between me and my master slashing and stabbing at the creature from both ends, we eventually managed to cut it up enough to exhaust it, allowing my master to grab a hold of it and allow me to stab it through its heart. I remember it didn’t even make any noise as it died, its face just went blank as it slumped over and stopped moving. Its blood started to turn black and the spell that had given it the intercepting arms faded away, causing the arms to shrivel up and turn into dust.
“Afterwards we made sure the girl was safe and collected our reward from the townsfolk. All in all, it was one of the more dangerous creatures I faced during my apprenticeship,” finished Wone, examining a light blue sheet of silk.
“Amazing,” Davita said in astonishment from behind Wone who still wasn’t paying him any mind. “I’ve only ever heard of interception spells, but to think a mutant cannibal* would have access to magic like that.”
“When they are intelligent and live long enough, they become very dangerous,” said Wone seriously. “Some monsters, like the ones that rule in the nation of beats, have lived for hundreds if not thousands of years and require a considerable amount of manpower to take care of.”
“I thought that was all propaganda,” said Davita questioningly.
“Is this one of the reasons you wanted to talk to me,” asked Wone, now turning his gaze to Davita. He shrugged and Wone gave him a small smile, “Some in the Order and even in some of the higher positions of other countries believe that the nation of beasts is the greatest threat to human civilization. I personally think that they are a threat, but if they were as big of a danger as everyone makes them out to be then they would have invaded, but they have not.”
“That’s a fair assessment, but I’m glad our leaders have not counted all of our chickens yet, so to speak,” replied Davita. Wone silently agreed, turning his attention back to the fantastic assortment of fabrics on display.
“Hello gentlemen,” came a woman’s voice from beside Wone and Davita. The two turned and saw a middle-aged woman wearing an orange and yellow dress with blue sleeves. Her outfit was covered in a golden geometric pattern that spanned from her neck to the flowing hems of her skirt. Her jet-black hair was tied into a bun by a matching blue ribbon that draped down either side of her head and hung just above her chest. “How may I help you this evening?”
“I have a meeting with a noblewoman this evening and I would like something unique and extravagant to wear tonight,” said Wone. He eyed the well-dressed woman up and down, deeply admiring her outfit’s style.
“Oh my, then this is quite the important occasion indeed,” she examined Wone up and down and pursed her lips. “I wish you would have come in and asked us for clothing sooner, I can already tell by looking at you you’re going to need something custom made,” the woman walked up to Wone and began picking at his leathers and pulling his arms and legs into poses that allowed her to get a feel for his size. After finishing her inspection of Wone she declared, “I can safely say that the only thing we have that would fit someone as big as you are gowns.”
“Are you calling me fat,” asked Wone jokingly.
“You most certainly are not,” replied the woman turning her chin up at Wone. “But you most certainly are not thin either,” she declared before beckoning Wone to follow her through the store. “I see you keep good company,” said the woman in reference to Davita who was following behind Wone.
“Oh? You two know each other,” asked Wone looking between the two.
“Why yes, this young man has been frequenting this establishment since I first started working here fifteen years ago. He was just a child then and I was still a young girl,” the woman seemed to become lost in thought after revealing this, reminiscing about her childhood. “It’s good to see you, Officer So.”
“Thank you Adara, it’s nice to see you too. I just met our friend here a short while ago. I had to bring him here, you and the seamstresses sell the best outfits in the city,” said Davita cheerfully. Wone rolled his eyes, it looked like Davita brought him here to give some old friends new business. Thankfully the selection was to Wone’s deep satisfaction, so he didn’t mind very much.
Adara continued to lead the two into another room filled with men’s gowns. Wone looked on in wonder at the various designs upon the luxury silken clothing. He sifted through the gowns, going through design after design until he found one that shimmered like a moonless stary night. He pulled the gown out from the rack and held it up. Little dots of light shimmered over pitch black silk that made it seem like the garment was covered in gleaming stars. He was immediately taken with the gown.
“I’ll take this,” Wone declared showing the gown to Adara. She nodded her head in approval, taking the clothing from his outstretched hands.
“That’s actually a special piece we’ve had on hand for a very long time. It was made by the original Jade Fox herself, you have a good eye,” said Adara. Wone took this to mean that she was planning on breaking his bank. “Will you be buying something to wear underneath?”
“Sure, but considering no one is going to be able to see it let’s keep it simple,” replied Wone still glancing off at the other gowns. His self-control was reaching its limit. He was even beginning to consider just robbing Adara of some of her goods, but Davita was here and messing with the So family was more trouble than it was worth, even for a hunter.
“I believe I have something that will do perfectly with that and luckily, it’s something we have that fits all of our customers,” replied Adara with the gown under her arm leading Wone and Davita to another room. She walked into a room filled with pants and shirts and pulled out a black long-sleeved shirt and some loose-fitting pants. “Here take these and change into them behind those panels over there,” Adara pointed to three black panels set up on the far side of the room serving as a changing area. Wone grabbed the clothes from Adara and walked behind the panels and pulled the outfit on. The shirt fit snuggly showing off his form while the pants fit loosely along his legs, ending just above his ankles.
“How do I look,” said Wone shuffling out from behind the panels and posing awkwardly trying to get an estimation of himself.
“You look fine, but we aren’t finished yet,” said Adara walking over with the gown in her hands. She pulled the silk garment over Wone’s head and stepped back to look him over. “Yes, this will do, now for some socks and slippers to finish the look,” mused Adara once again walking off to another room, this one filled with different shoes, slippers, and socks. Adara had Wone try on multiple different sets of boots and slippers until they settled upon a pair of unusual looking shoes that looked like feet. The shoes were made of a form fitting material that adjusted to the shape of Wones’ feet, with a silvery metal covering the toes and bottoms of the shoes serving to help with traction. “A most unusual choice,” huffed Adara after seeing Wone try them on.
“I am a most unusual customer,” replied Wone feeling his new shoes out.
“Well, they don’t look bad, they actually match in fact,” said Adara staring down at Wone’s feet. “Would you consider working here as a consultant?”
“Uh, probably not,” Wone said softly, doing his best to pretend she had never asked him such a question even if it was in jest. “Is there a mirror around, I’d like to see myself before I empty my purse,” nodding her head Adara lead Wone to a full-sized mirror where he could look himself up and down. “Oh my, oh my look at me,” Wone smiled at his reflection in the mirror and ran his fingers through his hair. He looked good covered in shooting stars, the gown stretched down to just below his knees, and loose sleeves belnded in with his torso making it seem like his body was obscured in a star filled night sky. Just as Adara had said, his black pants and silver lined shoes blended in with the gleaming light of his gown.
“It’s definitely something out there,” said Davita inspecting the outfit. “But I think it works for you, especially since out there is what you’re going for.”
“You look like one of the royal astrologers from the old folk tales,” said Adara from beside Davita. Wone could see the two of them admiring him in the reflection of the mirror, giving him looks of approval as he continued to ogle himself. “You’ll definitely get more than a few looks wearing this.”
“That’s just what I’m looking for,” said Wone turning his gaze from the mirror. “Alright, let’s ring all this up and asses the damages,” Adara led Woen to the front desk where she pulled out a ledger with the prices of all the items Wone had bought. It all came out to 3200 credits, which Wone paid in thirty-two gold coins, a very substantial amount to be spent on clothing. Davita was taken aback by the casualness Wone used in plucking little gold plates from his purse and placing them on the front counter. Adara simply smiled at the considerable fortune she made from Wone.
“That was quite jarring,” said Davita as Adara inspected each coin to make sure they were real. “That gown alone was 2600 credits, and to think you’d pay the whole tab in gold, the order must pay well.”
“They do, but I’m also a very hard worker,” replied Wone pulling at the collar of his new threads, they were quite comfortable. “Nevertheless, 3200 credits is no small sum so I’m going to have to work very hard indeed to make it all back quickly.”
“And I hope you keep the Jade Fox in your thoughts when you do,” cut in Adara from behind the counter, finalizing Wone’s payment. “While you’re here, take this for your very generous patronage,” Adara handed Wone a small white Jade pendant of a fox head. He slipped it around his neck and inspected the small piece of jewelry. It was chained in silver and the jade itself was high in quality.
“Thank you, by the way I won’t have time to run home before meeting with the Lady, would you mind holding onto my leathers,” said Wone handing Adara the clothes he came in with. He pulled the belt out and fastened it around his gown. It didn’t quite match, but going out completely unarmed was not an option. His belt had his gun and his knives which were an important part of self-defense, from both monster and man.
“I can do that, and I can also have you wash up in the back, usually it is meant for our lady customers, but I will allow you to use it as well,” said Adara leading Wone off alone into a room with a mirror, a faucet, and a pale to be used in grooming one’s face. There were some beauty products to be used with makeup in mind but obviously Wone wouldn’t need any of that since his face was plain. After he had finished washing his face, applying some scents Adara believed would make him irresistible, and combing his curly hair, he redressed into his outfit and headed out of the Jade Fox, Davita and Adara in tow.
“I suppose asking to accompany you on your ‘meeting’ would be too much to ask, so this is where I say farewell,” said Davita once again clasping his arm over Wone’s shoulder.
“It was nice meeting you Mister Wone, I do hope you’ll swing by again,” said Adara. “I do believe the seamstress would love to meet you.”
I’ll definitely think about it,” said Wone turning to give the two a bow. “It was a pleasure meeting both of you, I hope our paths cross again under similar conditions,” Wone raised his head and walked off, waving the two goodbyes. It was around seven now and Wone knew the place he was meeting Song at was a little over a half an hour away. “Won’t hurt to be a little early,” thought Wone as he headed to the street to hail a ride. Normally he’d walk but he didn’t want to get his new outfit dirty. “I hope this isn’t a waste of time,” Wone muttered, his anxiety creeping back into his mind once again.
*A note: Human like monsters are generally considered mutants, and most consume humans. Hence why some people in Jie call them vampires