“So, the big man here gets into a wee tussle, starts a bar fight, almost loses-”

“I vas giving Russian handicap. I only break bones, not life.” Boriss adds.

“-only to get his butt saved by you two?” Cillian continues.

Irmgard and Emma nod. Both women look like they gave as much as they took, though Emma barely seems injured. The woman's skin makes for great natural armor against fists.

“And the only reason the fighting stopped is because some idiot pulled out a machete and crow-mask blasted him into a wall before he could even use it.”

“Using bladed weapons during a Bar fight is socially forbidden,” Auranta adds.

“Cowardly.” Irmgard nods.

“Like moose and vodka.”

All eyes glance at the Russian.

He returns their gaze, confused. “Vhat? Is true, yes? You give vodka to moose, and moose try to kill everything, even Russian mother.” He licks his lips. “Moose stew is good.”

Cillian snorts. He grabs his bottle and chugs the entirety of its contents. “Good thing I'm a happy drunk!”

“Why’d you even get into a fight?” Adriana and Myers ask at the exact same time. The two glance at each other, even share a smile.

“They hunt Myers and Clay. Barkeep say they are [Bounty Hunters],” He explains.

“Damn.” Myers glances at Clay. The child worryingly looks up at the old man.

“They know you are here,” Adriana exclaims. “Was there a leak? A skill?”

“There shouldn’t be.” Myers glances at everyone worryingly, taking a longer glance at Nepenthes- the newest member of the group.

“Is this a conversation I should be a part of?” Auranta asks. “I can leave and return later if that is alright.”

Myers nods. “That would be bes-,” the sound of a door squeaking open resounds through the ship, followed by the floorboard squeaking due to a heavy weight.

All turn towards the sound and watch as a Fenrimorph holding a glaive emerges.

“Fenrimorph!” Auranta warns. Her arms spread wide, causing the wind to pick up and rapidly swirl around her fingers, palm, and Forearm.” She extends her hand towards the monster, only to freeze as Nepenthes bladed claws wrap around her neck.

“If you harm the Matriarch, your death will be swift and your body will be consumed until nothing is left.”

“Auranta, lower your arms. That’s the [Captain]. He has the ability to transform.” Irmgard explains.

Hearing the explanation, Auranta reabsorbs her mana and lowers her arms. Only then does Nepenthes retract her claws.

Once the hostility is ended, the monster trudges to the table where everyone is seated. Lays the Glaive on the table, and then transforms into a kitten.

“Damn, sneaking in that form sucks. This city is far too damn lit and the ceilings of the buildings are weak. I think I left a good seven holes in various roofs. Also, the [Guards] we hired are kinda shit. They didn’t see the glaive I threw on the ship nor me entering as a bird. You’d think they’d have some skill to notice intruders.”

“Why would their skills activate if the [Captain] of the ship they are protecting returns to his ship?” Auranata asks.

The cat glances at the woman with a sparrow mask.

“That's a very good point. Also, who are you and why are you here?”

“This is Auranta. She wishes to travel to the towers.” Irmgard explains.

Quasi tilts his head up and down, examining the woman. “Right. What’s your class, what job can you do, and why do you want to go to the towers?”

Auranta nods. “I am a level 37 [Air Mage] and I have levels as a [Ship Mage Captain], [First Mate], [Squadron Captain], and [Scribe]. I am tasked with researching the towers from a greater authority than myself. I cannot reveal more than that.”

Quasi nods. “That’s very succinct. You seem to not be bothered by my previous form.”

“Skills that transform are extremely rare and uncommon, but they exist and are very well documented. Though, the ability to transform into a Fenrimoph is unheard of.” She tilts her head. “As is the form of a talking cat.”

Quasi grins. “I’m special like that. Also, you can join the crew.” He turns to the old man. “Myers, I dont have the [Ship Mage Captain] job- or even [Ship Mage] job. Why?”

The old man releases a breath. “Your level is too low to support a [Ship Mage]. We can construct a room into quarters for a [Ship Mage Captain] job. Though I doubt we have the time for it.”

Quasi frowns. “What? Why?”

Myers grimaces. “[Bounty Hunters] know clay is here and are actively hunting him.”

“Yea, I know.” Quasi taps the Glaive. “I went and killed their leader.”

“You killed her?” Adriana asks. “How? She isn’t someone to be easily defeated.”

“Honestly, she was much easier than a buxon I fought- though I did almost lose my head. Anyway, she’s dead and I got her glaive as a prize. What do you think Emma, pretty good right?”

The Gemma is already leaning over the table and tracing a finger down the weapons shaft. She pauses a third of the way to the head. “The runes here were severed alongside the metal.” She frowns. “Someone soldered and re-runed the shaft.”

Myers brushes his hand softly on the cane at his side.

“Will that be a problem?”

“No. The [Runesmith] did a fine job on the repair.”

“Then that’s good enough for me,” Quasi says happily. “We’ll sell the weapon in another city where nobody knows the now deceased owner.” He shifts to Cillian. “Speaking of selling, how's the selling of the chests coming?”

“dey wills be placed ona auction in a week. We shoulda get da coin shortly afta,” Cillian slurs. The man is grinning and swaying while holding an empty bottle in his hand.

Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.

“We don’t have a week. Clay is still being hunted.” Myers explains.

Quasi waves a paw. “It’s fine. Egressa was making sure that only her guild knew that Clay and Myers were here. Now that she's dead, the threat is taken care of.”

The old man perks up. “You killed her and all her members, right?”

Quasi blinks at the old man for a moment. He Licks his lips and looks at everyone present. “Fuck me!”

Myers groans.

“It’s fine. It‘ll take a while before information spreads.” Quasi quickly assesses his crew. “Irgmard, restock the ship so that we can depart tomorrow.” The woman salutes. “Cillian, see what you can do about our chests. Otherwise, we’ll abandon the profits.” The Scot burps in drunken acknowledgement. “Nepenthes, fix Adrianas spine before we leave. Adriana, I-”

“-I’ll rush the delivery,” Adriana interrupts.

“Good. Clay and Myers will stay with the ship.” Quasi glances at the even newer member of the team. “I’m going to need you to stay here until we depart. If you wish to grab anything, Boriss can pick up whatever you need.”

“You do not trust me,” Auranta says.

“You’re new and a child's life is on the line. I can’t risk having you reveal anything. If you change your mind about joining my crew, you can leave when we depart.”

The woman glances at those present for a moment before returning her gaze on Quasi.

“Before I decide, why are you visiting the tower?”

The cat grins. “Let's just say that me and the towers have a unique interaction.”

Auranta stares at the cat for a long moment before nodding. She reaches into her cloak and produces a key. “I have many items of worth to retrieve from an Inn that I do not wish to depart from.”

“Talk to Boriss.” Quasi raises a paw to the Russian. “He’ll get it done.”

___________________________________________________________

[Guild Governor] Benedict Wickes sits at his desk with a stack of papers. A relatively large stack that details the day to day operations of Memphis. He is a very wealthy but also a very busy man. Running a city is not an easy job and is only possible on account of his expert class and job. Reading reports, shifting resources, adding or changing laws, making trade deals, and so much more keep the man very busy.

Thus, when the doors to his office burst open, anger and relief war within the man. Anger for the distraction that will delay his duties, but also relief from having to deal with the mundanity of his job.

Rushing into his office is [Guard Major] Travis Llord, another expert and probably the only person who has any right to rush into his office so aggressively. Anyone else, and Benedict would have them punished regardless of the news.

“[Governor], we’ve got a mass killing,” Travis exclaims alarmingly.

Benedict sighs. “What is it this time? A gang war? Pirates? I dearly hope it’s not a bunch of revolting slaves again. That was far too much paperwork for my liking.”

“[Bounty Hunter] Engressa Dleron has been killed alongside half her guild.”

Benedict's annoyance shifts to surprise. “Egressa? As in the [Guild Leader] of the sharks guild?”

Travis nods affirmatively.

“That’s not good. She’s level forty nine- has been for the last three years since she’s been hunting in my city. Do we know the killers?”

“The [Guards] on the ground are giving conflicting reports about what happened and injuries. The [Guard Captains] on site believed there was only a single enemy. The corpses are being moved to the morgue as we speak. I will go down to check the bodies and evaluate what's happened.”

The [Guild Governor] squeezes the bridge of his nose. “I’m guessing you’re going to need me to lock down the city.”

“That would be best.”

Benedict releases a breath. Then he gets up.

“I’ll go with you to the morgue, then I’ll decide whether to lock-down the city or not.”

“They may escape-”

“-Then we send [Bounty Hunters] after them,” Benedict interrupts. “The last time I locked down the city, the [Guild President] himself threatened my job because of the loss in profits. I’m not about to risk my job unless the risk is worth it.”

“Then we rush,” Travis orders.

The two experts run through hallways, down stairs, and eventually arrive at the morgue where the bodies are being brought in.

“[Mortician] Travis rushes in first. We’re here to see the body of Egressa and her members.”

The [Mortician] is an elderly looking man that is younger than both of the experts in the room. The old man turns. “They’ve just arrived.”

He leads the two deeper into the cold-runed morgue until they arrive at a dozen tables with bodies on them. The [Mortician] extends a hand to one of the larger, muscular specimens.

“I believe this is her.”

The two walk up to the body.

Benedict grimaces at the sight. “Damn, that’s her. I’m going to have to start hiring the other [Bounty Hunter] guilds going forward. That’s going to get expensive.”

Travis ignores the [Governors] annoyance. The man shouldn’t have favored solely the shark guild for city contracts- regardless of how cheap and effective Egressa was. His hand brushes across the woman's chest, feeling the shattered armor. Applying a bit of pressure, he finds that her chest gives out easily.

“Odd. She has non-lethal cuts across the rest of her body, but what killed her was a singular impact on the chest. I’d wager something like a Maul could do such a thing.” Travis turns to the Mortician. “You have the [Final Sight] ability, correct? Have you used it yet?”

“I have not,” the man replies.

Travis takes a step back. “Then do so and tell me what you see.”

“Of course.”

The [Mortician] places his hand on the woman's head, specifically with each finger touching her eyes. He closes his own as he sees the final thing the woman saw.

“This woman lies dying and unmoving with a glaive at her knees. Her hand is raised with a single middle finger extended upwards. Across from her, there is a kitten.”

“A kitten?” Benedict asks.

“A very fluffy one, yes.”

“The killers probably went out of view prior to her death.” Travis explains. “Smart and experienced. Though gouging out her eyes would have had the same effect.”

The [Guard Major] crosses his arms. “Something doesn’t add up. I feel like I’m missing something.”

Benedict sighs. “Well, until you figure that out, I’m not going to shut the ports down until I know exactly what we’re dealing with.”

Travis frowns. “I don’t like it, but fine. Just be ready to move quickly if new information comes forth. Half a guild branch dying in a single night isn’t something that can stay hidden for long.”

The [Governor] perks up. “Half? Not all are dead?”

“No, and my men are currently hunting the survivors down for interrogation. I’ll get to the bottom of this soon.” He stares at the destroyed chest cavity once more. “I just hope the killers don't leave the city until then.”

______________________________________________________________

Sitting on her wheelchair, Adriana watches the Timbergrove departs. The ship, though frigate in class, is a frankenstein of beauty. Cannons built for destroyers, a siege weapon to attack castles, and enough armor to withstand a barrage from a cruiser. Not to mention the rather colorful assortment of crew.

“You’re smiling, mom,” Her daughter says from behind her.

She chuckles. “I’m just thinking how much fun Myers is having aboard that ship. I’m a bit jealous.”

“Did you want to join him?”

Adriana sighs. Her thoughts return back to what Alistair said in the tunnel. Words that even now resonate so well within her heart.

“I would have- but I’d just be a burden until I get the strength to move my legs.” Adriana flexes her muscle atrophied foot slightly. “Also, I can’t very well abandon my daughter to travel with my former commander. Who’se going to run the tavern, then?”

“What do you mean who?” Mentara growl. “I can run the tavern fine without your help. I’ve got the levels and I don’t need to rely on your information brokering to pay the bills. As for your legs, didn’t the [Head Physician] say you’ll have a full recovery so long as you exercise your legs?”

“Yes, but-.”

“Then exercise, become mobile, then go hunt the man down. I’m sure you know where to look.”

Adriana looks back at her daughter. “I thought you didn’t like Myers.”

“I don’t, but I’ve never seen you smile more happily than when you talk about him. Plus, he’s made amends and I can’t fault his reasoning three years ago.”

The mother returns her gaze back to the departing ship for a long moment. Then she sighs. “Mentara, let's go home. Seems I’ve got a lot of exercise to get to.”