The atmosphere in the inn was vibrant. Food and drinks were continued to be served endlessly. Guests from all around the world were present. A trader from Neffer, a renowned blacksmith of Huna, a hunter from Articaia and several other people with different professions gathered and shared their stories. The arrival of thieves, assassins and bounty hunters did not stop their banters; they were used to such scenes. A disguised Theo saw the faces of wanted criminals with huge bounties on their heads, go past him carelessly. The bounty hunters wore leather gloves, armour, a belt with pouches containing numerous potions, and a medallion that showed the guild they belonged to. They carried a longsword on their back, ready to apprehend or seriously injure anyone that had a bounty on them. Killing a target was prohibited in each guild. Such a law was passed in every kingdom because earlier, during the reign of Temjr, bounty hunters were used as soldiers. They were unstoppable and brutal, and Temjr only managed to capture Ember due to their support.

The bounty hunters surveyed the area full of targets, ready to be taken. But no one made a move. They sat at a round table, sipping their drinks. Theo knew that attacking a person in Haven after the sun had set was a grave crime. The centuries-old absurd tradition was maintained to that day. He saw the thief named Swifthands make a rude gesture from his finger towards the group of bounty hunters. In response, a grey-haired hunter unsheathed his sword started sharpening it with a whetstone that was taken out from the pocket.

Theo overheard the hunter from Articaia, ZeDol, boast about his exploits to the mesmerized crowd. The occurrence of an inhabitant of Articaia, the unknown, mysterious place full of terrible monsters, was a rare sight. Everyone in the inn, both good and bad in nature and work, joined in the conversation.

"The Garagan, a monster with three heads, a single mouth with sharp, pointy teeth and tentacles like that of an octopus..."

"You mean like the tentacles of a Kraken?", interrupted a rude face covered in a veil.

"Nay. Kraken has long tentacles, Garagan has short, octopus-like.", continued ZeDol, "It is because of his short, slippery tentacles that I managed to escape unharmed. He had me in a chokehold and was about to bite my head off with its fangs when I thrust my sword in its eye. Believe my words... my sword is made by the finest blacksmiths. But at that time, my silver did not pierce its eye. I was shocked. The creature however felt the blow and dropped me from its grip. I rushed towards my home to find some palm oil. Garagans are allergic to it. Turns out, my wife had given the remaining oil as a gift to her sister."

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

Everyone laughed, including the inn-keeper. The grey-haired bounty hunter smirked. Theo remained silent.

"So I ran for my life. Leaving my home. Thankfully, my wife had gone to her sister's cottage with the kids. But I still cursed her for taking the oil. I swore I would find a better wife next time I married... My house was destroyed along with some precious possessions. My most-prized trophy, a Death-Dancer's tongue, slithered back to its owner when the jar containing was destroyed.", the hunter said sorrowfully.

The conversations continued but Theo zoned out from them. He had spotted the person with four fingers in both hands. Surprisingly, it was a woman. She wore straps of black leather on her upper body, covering the nipples but not the bulge. Her back was bare except for the tattoo of a flower, which Theo guessed was an image of a Duranta. Her lower body was covered by a brown knee-length skirt. She clutched an apple in one of her hands and bit it sumptuously with blood-red lips. Her hawk-like eyes scanned the room; her emerald pupils scrutinised everybody. The judgemental eyes fell on Theo, who immediately fell uneasy.

The lady sat in the chair next to Theo. The initial busy, chattering crowd took a moment to gaze at the lady's catlike steps. A yellow-faced man fixed his eyes on the woman's bust and approached her. He flashed the most horrible of smiles with his yellow teeth. The woman avoided his yellow eyes full of malice. He stopped beside the woman and leaned towards her so that their faces were just inches away.

He spoke in a lusty tone, "My name's Lemon. A pleasure. Bit late for such a young woman to wander in an inn at night. Are you a robber like me? An assassin, maybe? Or just a girl looking for a good time?"

The woman glared. For a moment Theo thought she would break the guy's nose with her fist that had curled up to a ball. But she didn't. Instead, her glare turned to a smile. "Maybe later I can tell you what I want... in private."

Lemon returned to his seat satisfied with her answer. He raised his glass to salute the smiling woman. She winked, causing the lover to take a big gulp of his beer. He licked his lips in a lewd way. At that moment, Theo felt something on his thigh. He bent his head to find nothing.

He recalled Leon's plan. 'Lure' the assassin! He turned towards the lady in an attempt to strike a conversation.

To his amazement, she was gone.

Panicking voices were heard from behind. He turned in the direction of the chaos.

The body of Lemon was lying on the floor, curved like a sliced lemon. He was clutching his stomach while spewing yellow liquid from his mouth. The action continued. Someone shouted that he had been poisoned. Unfortunately, among the hunters and robbers and assassins, there was no physician.

Before his death, Lemon gave a large vomit on his hand which still clutched an empty glass.