A thin girl stood at the edge of the crowd, eyes flicking quickly across the posted bounties.
Her posture was tense, almost panicked, and she looked down every time she finished reading.
Brown hair tied back in a frayed ribbon, grey eyes that carried more fear than confidence. Her white tunic was stained and dusted brown, her trousers patched and full of holes.
Kaedros smiled.
Not because she looked pitiful, but because she was perfect, low stage, rank one, and likely a warrior class.
Weak. Unnoticed. Exactly what he needed.
He approached her calmly. "Hello. I'm Kael. Are you rank one?"
She flinched at his voice, startled. Her eyes, widened as if she'd just spotted danger in the form of a man. She stepped back instinctively. "I... Are you talking to me?"
It had been weeks since anyone had spoken to her, especially here, low ranked bounty hunters were ghosts in this hall, ignored, unneeded, forgotten.
She looked him over. He was taller, his short black hair neat, his blue eyes sharp. His skin was smooth, his clothes clean and practical, too well-dressed to be associating with someone like her.
"Of course I'm talking to you," Kaedros said, lowering his voice into a soothing tone, as if taming a frightened beast.
Hope flickered in her eyes. Maybe... today would be different.
"Yes, I'm a rank one warrior."
Kaedros nodded. Just as he suspected. "What's your name, rank one warrior?"
She flushed. Her head dipped shyly. "My name is Taria."
"Good. Do you want to partner with me, Taria?"
Her eyes widened in disbelief. Was this a joke? Had he not noticed her rank? The very beginning of Ascendants? "I... don't like jokes."
Kaedros frowned slightly. That cold tone, where had that come from? He hadn't mocked her.
"Why would I joke? I need someone to help with a bounty."
Taria gasped, heart skipping. Could it be true? She had shown up every day for weeks hoping someone might give her a chance. But then her momentary excitement dimmed as she remembered something.
She looked down again. "I don't know... I have no weapons. I don't think I'd be useful as a warrior you need."
Perfect, Kaedros thought. Someone new and clueless.
"That's not a problem. I'll handle everything. You just need to follow my instructions. But you can decline if you want. I can look for another..."
"Of course! I'll do whatever you say," she said quickly, and then as if on cue, her stomach growled, loudly.
She flushed deeper. "Um... sorry. I didn't eat breakfast."
Taria looked like she hadn't eaten in days, but Kaedros didn't comment on that. "We'll eat after this. But first, let's make something clear. This isn't a partnership. It's more like a 'you do what I tell you kind of thing'. You listen to me."
Taria nodded quickly, too fast, Kaedros thought her head might come off. "Yes! I'll listen to everything you say!"
"Good." Kaedros rubbed his chin, thinking. "Go to the bounty board. Get us a low-level mission. Something nearby, around Solmere or one of the surrounding islands. Avoid forbidden zones."
She turned on her heel and hurried to the board. She scanned each posting with care, her fingers tracing the lines, pausing, muttering.
Finally, she pulled one down and brought it back to him.
Kaedros accepted the paper and pretended to read it. "Good. This will do."
Taria smiled faintly, a rare and fragile thing that didn't come to her this days.
She was the most obedient human he'd ever met. And now that she was part of his cover, he had to make her look the part of a real warrior.
That meant two things, a weapon... and food.
"Come on," Kaedros said, turning toward the exit. "Let's get started."
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Kaedros and Taria didn't have a proper meal, as he had said.
Instead, they grabbed some snacks on the way out. He hadn't bought her a weapon either. He wanted to see what she could do first before he invest.
Dragons won't put their energy into unless things.
"Where are we heading for the bounty?" Kaedros asked, walking a few paces ahead, keeping deliberate distance between them.
Taria glanced at him, puzzled by the gap between them. Then she caught on, and flushed in shame.
She hadn't bathed in days. Living in the slums meant choosing between a meal and a wash, and she always chose food. She hugged herself a little tighter.
"We're going to a small vineyard near the base of the mountain," she answered quickly. "The couple who run it haven't reported in for weeks. Someone said monsters were seen around that area."
Kaedros didn't respond right away, skillfully weaving through the crowd as if he'd been doing it for years.
"And what kind of monsters are we hunting?"
"I don't know," she admitted, hurrying to keep pace. "The bounty just said they were low-level."
At the city gate, the guards handed them a return disc, standard protocol to ensure safe re-entry into Solmere. A pass when they're returning.
The city was nestled between dense forests and jagged mountains, was frequently under threat from roaming monsters that are on the island.
And Solmere island itself is surrounded by forbidden zones, although they were a bit far from the island. It's what makes the island important for merchants and bounty hunters, Ascendants in general.
The island provides stops for merchants to restore their stock while bounty hunters have constant supply of monsters and forbidden zones.
"Hm. A vineyard," Kaedros mused. "Wine is the second major export here. The lord takes it seriously, sometimes even deploys city guards to patrol the forest to keep monsters away from the different vineyards."
"Do you think the couple were Ascendants?" Taria asked, carefully stepping over rough stones and exposed roots. She couldn't help but notice how Kaedros seemed to glide across the uneven ground, barely disturbing the earth.
Kaedros shook his head. "Unlikely. Ascendants wouldn't stay here just to tend to vineyard when they can hunt. The island is good but it's just an island. There are far bigger cities other there."
Soon, they reached a clearing.
The vineyard was in wreckage, with the plants destroyed. A shed that was in the middle of it was covered in marks. Blood splattered across the wooden exterior, and Kaedros's nose wrinkled in disgust.