He came back and escorted Baldric up another floor. There were only a few rooms up on the diamond floor where the most prominent clients were served. The dealer led Baldric into a room where there were fully armored knights in black and silver uniforms. They wore dark hoods and cloaks that covered their faces, while their armor was iron plated.

"This is Sir Baldric Faraday. He is the bounty hunter here for the contract." The dealer introduced him.

"Remove your weapons." One of the knights said.

"No." Baldric said plainly.

They prepared to block the door, but a voice from the inside allowed Baldric to come in. Inside, the room was filled with more knights that stood guard, while in the middle of the room, a man sat behind a table. He was an average-looking, fair-skinned, middle-aged man with a receding blonde hairline and sleepy blue eyes hidden behind thick round glasses. He wore a sleek black suit that was surprisingly plain.

"I have read your dossiers." The man said as Baldric sat in the chair opposite him. "They said you and your partner are the best of the best. Your guild has a perfect bounty record, specializing mostly in search and retrieval bounties. Very impressive."

"After all, you cannot argue with results." Baldric said directly to him. "And I have heard all about you, Asterion. Surely this is not a good place for the next contender for the throne of Silvus to be seen in?"

"Is that any way to talk to royalty?"

Baldric scoffed at him. "If you want me to bow on bended knee and treat you like royalty, then you are at the wrong place. The only thing that matters here is the money, not your rank or status."

Asterion smiled. "Indeed, I expect nothing from the famous Ablan bounty hunters. Let me just get straight to it. The dealer said you are the representative of the best bounty hunting guild in the brotherhood."

"Well, that is our selling point."

"And I heard your price is extremely expensive."

It was Baldric who now smiled at Asterion. "The price of quality is never cheap, but I guarantee you, your Excellency, it’s worth every cent."

"I will not be paying in credits. I know that when it comes to contracting the best, I should offer only the best." Asterion reached under the table. He brought out something covered in a fleece cloth. When he placed it on the table, he removed the cloth to reveal a shining, bright green metal ingot. He could see that Baldric’s eyes widened when he saw the metal shine.

"Cha. An unrivalled ore, a metal most people will never see in their lives. Go ahead, Mister Faraday, you can touch it." Baldric carefully reached for the metal and picked it up. The metal was slippery and cold as ice. It was polished so brightly and yet he left no fingerprints when he touched it.

"Imagine what it could do if it was given to the right person.” Asterion was clearly satisfied with Baldric’s reaction. "And that ingot is only a fraction of the offer. I am prepared to pay one hundred ingots upon completion of the contract."

Baldric carefully put the ingot down on top of the fleece cloth. "Very well, you have my attention, but for such a reward, I can imagine the contract will be just as difficult. What do you want done? Sabotage? Espionage? Assassination?"

"A simple missing person’s contract, that is all."

Baldric looked at him, clearly confused. "Permit me to question your spending habits, Asterion, but all this for a missing person’s contract? You can pay all the homeless in your country ten times over with this amount to go look for you instead."

Asterion leaned in. "I want them to be found safely and discreetly, and none can do it better than you and your guild. Or so I am told."

They stared each other down. Baldric felt a knot in his chest, but the offer was too good to pass up.

"Very well then. If we are to come to an agreement, then we need to formalize a written contract, simply for formality and documentation, of course."

"Unfortunately, this contract cannot have any form of record. This is very important that this has to be handled with the utmost discretion as my involvement or the involvement of Silvus cannot be known in this matter. I am only willing to reveal myself to you because they said you and your partner have guaranteed a hundred percent success rate even with category five contracts. A very impressive feat that not even most bounty hunting guilds can accomplish, made even more impressive when you consider that you are only a two-person team."

"As I said your majesty, if you contract us, you get quality and peace of mind." Baldric looked Asterion in the eye. "A very rare thing to find in this troubled world of woe."

"Indeed. So I ask, Will you and your partner accept the contract?"

"Who is the target?"

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"Two female mages."

Baldric huffed through his nose and raised his hands in the air. "Magic? That will complicate matters."

"Indeed. But I have full confidence that you and your partner can no doubt handle such a challenge. According to our sources, the two mages have been sheltered and possess little to no knowledge of how to wield their powers. I can provide you with their shackles and last known location from a week ago by eyewitness accounts, but that is all I can offer." Asterion signaled to a servant. He carried a silver tray on which two human-sized metal collars embedded with a bright red gemstone were placed.

The servant placed it in front of Baldric while he got some leather gloves from his pocket and put them on. Once his hands were covered, he picked up and inspected the collars.

"These shackles are unused." He said as he fiddled with the gemstone.

"The mages' blood has been registered on the shackle, so tracking them should be easy. One more matter is that they should be found immediately before the huntsmen find them, with their reputation for mistreatment of mages... It is preferable that they be brought in unspoiled." Asterion said as he watched Baldric place the collars back on the tray.

"Very well, any other details you can share?"

"I have been informed by the dealer that you have a specific rule. That you do not deal with contracts involving children or animals." Asterion brought out another ingot covered in a fleece cloth. "I am willing to let you keep both ingots as down payment, and I will double the reward specifically for you and your partner if you will look the other way."

"The mages are children?"

"A mother and her daughter, actually. If the huntsmen get their hands on unbound mages, well, I do not need to continue, do I? They are far safer if a bounty hunter finds them, and you can guarantee that they will not be harmed excessively in any way."

Baldric exhaled loudly. "This is a very tempting offer. But unfortunately, I must decline."

Asterion was quiet for a while, but when he spoke, there was coldness in his tone. "Are you declining an offer from me?"

"As I said when we started, your excellency, the courtesy I have shown you so far is merely out of the kindness of my own bleeding heart." Baldric said mockingly. "Your authority has no power in Ablan or with its bounty hunters; we have the right to decline our services to anyone, even if the client is a contender for the blood throne.

If you want, I can ask the dealer to refer you to other bounty hunters or hunters' guilds who can hopefully provide you with similar services." Baldric was preparing to stand up when Asterion stopped him.

"Wait. Let’s change the terms of the contract then. How about only for the mother? I can contract someone else for the child."

Baldric pondered his proposal. "May I ask how old is the child? Or what do they look like?"

"It is said that bounty hunters do not ask questions regarding the contract."

"A popular but wrong misconception, your Excellency. We can ask questions, especially if it will affect the nature of the contract or the reputation of the brotherhood and its hunters."

The two men stared down at each other, waiting to see who would speak first.

"The child is six years old. As for the mother, she is twenty-nine. As for what they look like... Do you really need a description when you have the collars?"

"It would help, actually. I mean, how will we know what to look for?"

“Unfortunately, the only description I can share is that the mother is a cripple. And yet it is impressive that both of them have evaded the church for so long. But if you deliver the mother, no doubt she will want the child to be kept safe as well." Asterion smiled at Baldric. “Also, you will have possession of the collar. With that in hand, you don’t even need to know what they look like, do you? No disguise, no magic, and no place in this world will they be able to hide from you."

"You are riding on the technicalities here, your Excellency. I’m impressed, annoyed but impressed."

"So you will accept the contract?"

The knot in his chest felt tighter. A voice in his head told Baldric to just walk away, but the offer was too good to pass up.

"We will, with one exception. If the child does not want to go with us, we will not force her or act in any way that would harm her." Asterion wanted to say something, but the look on Baldric’s face clearly said it was not negotiable.

"You do know they are both mages? They are a danger to themselves and others."

"These are our terms. If you do not accept, then I shall fetch the dealer so he can refer you to other bounty hunters."

Asterion caved in. "Agreed. As proof that you have accepted the contract, you can keep the cha ingots."

"Agreed. But I want to state this here and now that this will be an exclusive contract. Only our guild will be the sole hunters allowed to work on this contract, and only my guild will be in possession of the collar of the mother."

"Agreed."

Baldric then picked up the Cha and the collar with a much darker gemstone. The prince picked up the other one with the brighter gem.

"I will give the dealer the point of contact so you can update me there." Asterion said to Baldric as he held on to the collar. "And I hope you remember that this is a matter that requires absolute haste and discretion. The longer they are out there, the more they possess a danger to the world around them."

"Don’t worry, your Excellency. Discretion, speed, and peace of mind are our trademark guarantees." Baldric smiled and Asterion extended his hand, which he shook.

“Fulfill this contract and I promise you that you will have friends in very high places." Asterion was the first to let go.

"On that, we can agree." Baldric replied.

=0o0=

"Prince Asterion, he is here."

It had been a while since Baldric left, and his knights allowed Treese to enter the room. When he entered, he immediately bowed in respect. "I greet his Excellency, Crown Prince Asterion-"

"Mister Batts. Your promised deadline is over. Where is she?"

Treese did not speak for a while as sweat beads started to form on his brow. “Well, your excellency, we had an issue. My team said they found a child that looked like her, but they vanished on the way to Yeten. "

"Mister Batts, I have given you a prime opportunity and yet you have failed."

"Prince Asterion, let me-"

"Silence!" His yell echoed throughout the room. The tension in the air was so heavy and yet the one feeling all the weight was Treese as he knelt in front of the prince.

"I am now opening the contract to another hunter, and I have already hired an actual professional shadow on this matter. It is clear you cannot deliver any form of result despite your assurances." Asterion said as he looked down on the man who could not even look him in the eye.

"Crown prince please, this is only a minor issue. Rest assured, I am tracking them and have put my top men on it. I will bring them to you personally."

"For your sake, I hope you do. And next time, don’t bite off more than you can chew." Asterion walked past him.

"Yes, your excellency." Treese said, his gaze still on the ground.

"Outside of this room, address me as Alpha."