The last known location turned out to be a series of abandoned watermills in a wooded area called Greenwood. The region around Clivetown was strange and magical, with numerous rivers and waterways running through it, feeding into small stable portals that connected to other portals in the area. According to the information, all these portals connected to each other and created a loop, only no one could figure out why the water levels never went down; every now and then someone would try, but mostly they would get lost or give up. Thanks to the seemingly infinite amount of water, larger towns and cities grew up along the waterways; everything in the area is centered around the waterways and the very fertile farmland around them. It also meant that these Swords of Greenwood were more river pirates than bandits.

The trip to Greenwood was quick but lonely; the roads were well maintained and heavily traveled; the area near Patterson was also heavily patrolled. The closer Jaeger got to Clivetown, the more heavily armed the groups became. Greenwood was relatively close to Patterson, which was why the adventurers were sent there in the first place. Clivetown had its own guild of adventurers, but some jobs would be farmed out to Patterson if the distance was close enough, which the one they'd been on had been.

Since the ride to Greenwood was so peaceful, Jaeger took the opportunity to go over the bounty poster and the posters of the captured adventurers Lisette had given him.

Wanted: Swords of Greenwood

Expert ranked

Wanted: Dead or Alive.

Crimes: Treason, rebellion, zealotry, banditry, heresy, thievery, and murder.

Miscellaneous: The Patterson Adventurers’ Guild has offered a bonus payout for if adventurers: Emilia, Troy, Sivly, and Brad are brought back alive. If they are dead, the head of their murderer(s) or the murderer(s) themselves will suffice. The payout is less if the adventurers are dead.

Missing: Emilia, Troy, Sivly, and Brad

Group descriptions.

Emilia: Patchwork (human) – Female, above average height, slender build, numerous suture scars all over her body. Heterochromatic eyes - left: electric blue normal humanoid pupil, right: yellow with snake pupil. Black hair with white streaks along the sides. Unique detail: She has hidden strength and is very emotionless.

Troy: Star Elf – Male, average height, average build, pale blue, almost translucent skin. Eyes - Black iris/pupils with five white stars above each eye. [This was last count, may have more, check with other/available party members to make sure you have the correct elf]. Unique detail: Like all star elves, he has a compulsive need to be in direct starlight and easily fades into the background.

Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.

Sivly: Otterkin – Female, below average height, medium build, deep brown with silver-gray flecked fur. Eyes - small, round, black eyes. Unique detail: She's an Otterkin mage. Depending on where they're grabbed, she's either in her aquatic harness or her mage robes.

Brad: Human (Republic) – Male, above average build, combat scars all over his body, including along his chin, dark skin. Eyes - dark brown, almost black. Unique detail: I've never seen him without a smile on his face, he's very big, all muscles, and if he's alive, will be the first one you'll hear.

One elf, two humans, and two beastmen made up this party of adventurers. The one who returned, Verd, was a male tigerkin, and Verd had been the group's melee fighter, a kind of berserker. Sivly was an otter and a dual water/earth mage. Troy was a star elf and the team's rogue. The human Brad was a knight errant, or something like that.

The woman Emilia was something called a patchwork, with human noted second. As his thoughts wondered what patchworks were, his mind suddenly filled with the information. They were the result of necromancy and alchemy. Using parts of dead bodies and a mixture of alchemical solutions, a being was created. Most of them resulted in empty vessels that followed commands, but occasionally an amalgam soul was created.

A new life and soul born from the fragmented nature of their creation. When they first appeared, they were thought to be some kind of undead, devil, demon, daemon, or new evil, and they were hunted. However, it quickly became apparent that they weren't inherently evil or undead, just different.

They also chose whether or not to take on the racial aspect of their body parts. If they did, it was added at the end like Emilia's, if they didn't, that part was just left blank. Emilia was one such amalgam, created by a mad scientist who dropped her off at the nearest guild center as soon as she showed signs of sentience. Apparently that was 300 years ago, and since then she has become one of the guild's best mentors and some kind of an alchemical fighter.

Jaeger's mind filled more and more with information about the patchworks struggle for recognition, and vaguely about what Klangdor's alchemy looked like, but he didn't care about any of it. A person's background didn't matter to him, only their actions. If the woman was accepted by the guild, that was good enough for him.

“A rescue mission? Hmmm, I wonder what to make of that. Are you filled with big dreams of being a hero? Is this where I learn that underneath your hard exterior is a warm and soft center?”

At some point while he was going over the papers, Mischief had appeared. His weight settled only when Jaeger acknowledged his presence.

“I am no hero, cat. I accepted this bounty and rescue mission for two reasons. One, the Chaos Elf wants to see me fight. But I'm a bounty hunter, if my target surrenders and the bounty calls for them dead or alive, I have to consider taking them alive. ‘Capture by design, kill by necessity’, but with these Swords of Greenwood, I don't have to worry about that.” Jaeger held up their bounty poster, showing the Wanted: Dead or Alive. “They are wanted dead, so I don't have to worry about surrendering. I can kill them and not worry about breaking my code.”

Mischief wiped his paw as he replied.

“And the rescue mission? That is very heroic.”

“Back in Beseria, no one, and I mean no one, messed with bounty hunters. The invading armies, the mercenary forces, the ex-Beserian military, no one messed with us without a good reason. We weren't well liked, but as long as we didn't break any major laws, we were left alone. That's because everyone knew that if you attacked a bounty hunter, you opened yourself up to retaliation from all of us. We took care of our own because no one else would.” Jaeger put the bandit poster away and looked over the missing adventurers' descriptions again. “This isn't Beseria, but these are my guild mates, and I take care of my own.”

Mischief had turned to look at him as he spoke.

“Mrrw. Fascinating. I will be watching your progress.”

With that, Mischief floated off Jaeger's shoulder and disappeared like smoke. Jaeger just shook his head and concentrated on his ride, he still had a few hours before he would reach the small town Lisette had suggested as a resting place.

Unbeknownst to Jaeger, as he voiced his reasons for accepting and focusing on the bonus rescue mission, his eyes had lit up a brilliant silver that radiated order and a call to hunt. His magic was beginning to find its place in Klangdor.