《Fireborne: Lineage》 A FLAME EXTINGUISHED Cloud crashed. Thunder boomed. The sky was an ominous shade of grey. Rain continued to pour heavily. It felt as if the Gods were weeping at the sight of their deceased creations. On the battlefield, mutilated bodies howled in pain. Some clung to hope and started begging for mercy. Some ended their misery by plunging their daggers into them. Captured troops were executed by the sword as the rain prevented any torching. The whole area smelled of death and decay; a person would describe it as Hell itself. Inspite of this, laughter echoed in the nearby encampments. Inside one of these camps, a poet sang while bards supported the lyrics with fine uses of lutes, violins and harps. "Only the dead have seen the end of war, The Ferryman approaches to take them from the shore." The King sat on a throne made of mahogany. Despite his old age, he had a burly body. His strong arms and massive hands could wield the heaviest of axes. His red hair, a prominent feature of the Firebornes, matched the colour of his beard which covered him till the neck. A scar originated from his torn left ear to the lower lip. As for his armour, he wore a fire-emblemed golden chest guard with vambraces, spaulders and boots of silver. Lucius was renowned for his benevolence towards his people and mercilessness to his enemies. Moreover, being a successful ruler, he was arrogant and ignorant of his mistakes; be it during wars, while implementing worst policies or when he was caught sleeping with someone else by his wife. The arrival of a prisoner in shackles silenced the crowd. He was naked and had several fresh wounds and cuts that bled profusely. His body bore the markings of whips and lashes. Reeking of the smell of blood and urine, he stood before the King, held by two guards. The King gave the poor creature a scathing look while gulping chunks of mutton with beer. On the other hand, the prisoner stood with his head bowed and eyes lowered. His initial pride and ego had vanished, such was the torture he went through in two hours after the battle. Having gobbled the last piece of lamb, the King commenced his speech. "My brave warriors! Honourable men! I introduce you to Shunka, the midget sent by Karakan ruler Dahaka to capture our city of Ember. He is responsible for the deaths of our fellow brothers on the battlefield of Loa today."If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. The crowd jeered. Several men spit on the prisoner while some threw their jugs and cutlery at him, targeting his face. "Our ambush took his cowardly forces by surprise", Lucius continued, "and now he is at our mercy. We decide Shunka''s punishment. Should he go by the rope, the axe, by fire... or should he have privilege to be part of a small game?" The soldiers thumped their table in agreement. They wore smiles of contempt. A bard gave a sympathetic look while Shunka desperately tried to shake off his restraints. "Therefore it is decided. Shunka shall play a game of survival for our entertainment. He is to have his limbs cut off, bandaged with herbs and left in the wild at the mercy of the animals. Either he will fend off the beasts or surrender to them, it is entirely his choice haha. The game begins tomorrow at cockcrow. As for now, enjoy the evening and relish the victory!" No sooner had he finished, the troops hailed their noble King. Music and beer continued to flow. Shunka was dragged away by the guards. Drunk soldiers rambled and spilt liquor on the tables. Lucius, weary and sleepy-eyed, went to his private tent. He removed his armour and put a dagger behind the pillow made of geese feathers. Then he wrapped himself with a blanket made of bearskin. Once comfortable, he started at the ceiling and got lost in his thoughts. By the Heavens! Its been ten years since I last fought a battle with an army at my command. Ten years since I gave the battle cry, struck fear in the enemy''s heart and charged at them with my stallion and spear. Tempus Fugit! I lost track of time. I blame General Ironheart. His success has completely overshadowed my capabilities as a warrior. Now that I feel younger than before, I should lead the expedition in the East. Leon will pave the path for me by eliminating the barbarians that fled, Remus will govern the city of Tyle, while Ironheart shall... In his contemplation, he failed to realize that he was unable to move. He neither realized his time as a King was about to end nor realized that he saw his family for the last time when he left for Loa. In short, he did not realize he was doomed. Later when he finally realized his condition, he was unable to utter a word or move a limb. His breathing had become disturbed. He lay on his bed, helpless like a puppet with its strings attached to some master who had forgotten about him. The shouts of jubilation outside had been replaced by the tolling of knells. Was it just his mind playing tricks on him or did he actually hear them? It was too late for him to ponder on that. Death had come for him; paralysing his strong body that suffered numerous injuries but never succumbed, his hands that once choked a bear, his legs that stomped enemies to death and finally his mind that made decisions to protect the people of the Fireborne kingdom. SURPRISES AND LAMENTS In Kara, nothing was going as planned. Leon Fireborne, son of Lucius and Pavetta, was given the task of eliminating the barbarians that had fled to the mountains. However, he did not realize he had marched into a trap. The retreating cavalry of Shunka''s forces had lured them into an ambush. The Karakas had kept reserve men on the summit of a mountain with loads of ammunition supplies. As soon as the Fireborne army were vulnerable, they started to rain death on them with arrows, stones and heads of their previous victims. On the other hand, the Karakan cavalry regrouped and charged straight at Leon with an echoing war cry. Leon''s forces consisted of 742 heavy cavalries compared to the 342 Karakan light cavalries. His main issue was the 1000 archers and slingers. The continuous volleys were thinning his forces. Leon felt a severed head smash on his right shoulder with a painful thud. He shuddered and looked at his bodyguards engaged in battle. Velpole was stabbed in the eye but he continued to fight. Remus was lying prostrate on the ground pinned by arrows. Rudolph, Vera and Theo struggled in holding back the charging cavalry. The 18-year-old Leon stared in disbelief. He knew he was in a lost position. He knew he had messed up. He knew that the hunters had become the hunted. "CHAAAAAAARGE!" The familiar voice escalated the hopes Leon. Fortune had come to rescue him in the form of General Ironheart. Ironheart''s reinforcements, consisting of 1500 armoured Chosen cavalry, charged towards the enemy. The experienced general took charge of the troops from Leon. Rather he started ordering the men without wasting any time. A bloody battle ensued! Ironheart threw a spear at an enemy''s throat. He unsheathed his sword. His stallion, Fury, rammed a Karakan''s horse and struck it down. Its rider gave a look of horror before his face was squashed by Fury''s hooves. Ironheart ducked. A lethal arrow that was aimed for his eye whisked past him. He raised his silver shield, the words "Vae Victus" glimmered on its edges and blocked a barrage of heads and stones. Ironheart tilted to the right. A sword was thrust at him but it did not find its target. Instead, Ironheart chopped the arm of the Karakan in a swift slash, sending it flying. He continued to slash and stab with his falchion, killing effortlessly with the Chosen cavalry at his side. In a separate area, secluded from the ongoing chaos of cavalry clashes and arrow showers, Leon faced the commander of the Karakan attack. The commander just wore a sheepskin with a belt holding flint knives. On his bare back hung a war hammer, its length the size of Leon. He dismounted his mustang and threw a knife at Leon at lightning speed.This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. Leon flinched but the knife was not meant for him. Instead, the knife struck his horse on its chest. It gave a sharp whine and crashed, sending its rider flying on the ground. The Karakan commander ran towards the dazed Leon. Upon reaching him, he raised the huge war hammer, its head the size of an anvil, and plunged it down. Leon rolled over, barely evading it. The commander aimed again. Leon reached for his scabbard but it was too late. With a loud thwack, the hammer came down. Leon was not so lucky at that time. Even though he managed to save his chest, the hammer smashed his left shoulder, sending a wave of pain in his body. He heard a crack and felt his shoulder throb and burst blood. He screamed in agony. The commander gave a menacing, blood-curdling laugh and aimed for a final strike. Leon closed his eyes. His right hand clutched the sword tightly but he did not have the strength to raise it. Rather, he lacked the will to defend himself. He braced himself for the strike, hoping to an everlasting end to the pain that wracked his body. But it never came. On opening his eyes, he saw an arrow poking out of the barbarian''s eye socket. He fell next to Leon with a visage of shock. Leon clutched his shoulder, stood up and looked around to find Velpole, breathing heavily, bloodied on the ground, with a bow in his hand. Meanwhile, Ironheart, having finished the enemy cavalries, focused on the archers and slingers on the summit of the mountain. They mocked and gestured rudely at him but he did not take notice. He understood it was tough to defeat them as they had the higher ground combined with large quantities of ammunition. Instead of engaging directly with them, he ordered the troops to retreat. "Disengage! All units. Move away from their line of fire. March towards the Pakoret bridge. Make haste!" The Karakas understood their plan. The Pako bridge connected their homeland Kara with the continent of Pelseum. With the bridge destroyed, they would be stranded in the mountains with no food supply. Plundering or looting was out of the question because there were no villages or towns nearby. They took Ironheart''s bluff. After descending the mountain as quickly as possible, they ran North-East. However, the Fireborne army was waiting for them. Disorganized and without their commander, they fell into panic. A single charge by the Chosen cavalry ended their misery. The result of wars is casualties and mourning. The dead were buried by the troops. Remus was buried separately under an oak tree with his unique sword: it had the emblem of a wolf on its hilt. Leon, Rudolph, Velpole and Theo took a moment to grieve and remembered their days with Remus. "Gone too soon Rem", Theo said sadly. Vera and Ironheart remained unfazed. Their stony gaze unsettled some of the troops. After everyone had gathered themselves, Ironheart resumed his mission of destroying the Pako. He wanted to put an end to the Karakas'' offences. His plan was interrupted, however, by the arrival of a messenger. Gasping for breath, he blurted out the words ''King''...''suddenly''...''Gods have mercy'', as soon as they were in earshot. Ironheart took him by the collar and forced him down the horse. "Speak properly" he stated coldly. "Our noble King Lucius, the scion of Temhir, is dead. He has been poisoned." THE PAWNS OF PELSEUM Pelseum is a continent of many myths and legends. According to a famous oral legend, Pelseum was cursed by the demon Mephosto which made the land devoid of rivers, lakes and other waterbodies. It is due to this reason that the oceans surrounding Pelseum are the main sources of water for all the kingdoms. The Pako Ocean surrounds the land from the East while Frigat Ocean surrounded the land from the West and South. The city of Pamyra lay at the very centre of Pelseum. It was captured by Julio The Lame, the great grandfather of Leon, after defeating King Darius of Tuyi Empire. He renamed it Ember and laid the foundation of the Fireborne dynasty. Temhir strengthened it by defeating invaders, squashing rebellions and plundering nearby villages. South of Ember, at approximately 310 miles, lies the second city controlled by the Fireborne empire. Tyle was and still is a prosperous city. It is the home of the famous Amphitheatre and Chosen Barracks. Art and trade flourish in this city. Scribes, physicians, musicians from different regions gather here to share their knowledge and experience. Even though Ember is the capital of the Fireborne Empire, it is Tyle which is more famous and resourceful. Further south in approximately 485 miles, lay the city of Dario of Stark empire. It was established and named by Darius. The city has seen major conflicts between the Starks and Firebornes. After 28 short and long battles, numerous sieges and thousands of deaths, the region was still in the hands of Stark. In a famous battle, some 72 years ago, Lucius had lost 5000 of his men as compared to only 1400 Starks; the reason being the defences of the city of Dario. The walls were 300 metres long with watchtowers after every 30 metres. The Gates were made of an alloy of Iron and Carbon, a new invention at that time called Steel. There were also towers inside the city which had numerous marksmen. The Stark army was famous for its Tigermen, monstrosities with the head and claws of a tiger and the body of a human. Some people thought it was a myth, propagated mostly by dumb foreign writers to instil awe in their works. Nevertheless, no one knew if those works were fictions or reality. The Starks also controlled the cities of Respel and Huna and the fertile region that lay midway, the Doab. It is in this area, the Doab, that all kinds of crops such as wheat, rice and cotton prosper. In order to get the benefits of the Doab, a general must seize Dario and use its roads to navigate to Respel because the land surrounding the region was filled with wild carnivorous plants along with unknown beasts. In the case of the Eastern region, the settlements of Topia, Rania, Neffer and Xerta were controlled by the Tuyis. The empire was founded by Temhir''s half-brother, Osmalim Tuyi. He was a foreign invader who had his kingdom usurped by his beloved queen, and then forced into exile. He arrived in Pelseum with some of his loyal army in boats called triremes. Slowly, he gained the loyalty of mercenaries in Pelseum, eventually ending the rule of the Snows in the East. The huge availability of Silver and Iron in Topia as well as Rania, made both the cities prone to attacks from the Starks. Xerta is the site of the famous ''Pit To The NetherRealm'', a hole in the ground that supposedly took people to Death''s Kingdom. Since disputes regarding the distribution of gold from mines in the region of Midas, cordial relations between Lucius Fireborne and Abdul Tuyi had ended. From that moment onwards, both had stopped trading and sending tourists. Even though Tuyis were not a powerful empire, they were not to be underestimated.Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. The North has huge snow-capped mountains that cut off Pelseum with the region of Articaia. Only two villages, Yettun and Rimsakh, lay 620 miles and 670 miles northwest from the city of Ember respectively. The ruler of these cities, Jhora Espana, was an ally of the Firebornes. The people lived off the meat of mountain animals such as yaks, bears and snow leopards. Hunting and Blacksmithing were their primary occupations. The region was renowned for the Yetu, a legendary giant guardian that protected the North from any horrific beasts that entered from Articaia. It had white fur, the muscular body of an ape and wielded a huge icicle. The 9 feet tall monster had somehow developed a close relationship with Jhora. East of the city of Yettun, lay the Pakoret bridge, which connected Pelseum with the island of Kara. Kara was disconnected from the whole world. Its inhabitants scoffed at the notion of development. Men and women behaved like insane savages: they ate corpses, sacrificed their first child to God Hanabaal and participated in mass orgies. Dahaka, their King, pillaged small villages, killing the men and keeping the women as slaves for future procreation. The Western side is dominated by the Frigat Ocean. It is the main source of water for Firebornes and Starks. Frigat is home to deadly water creatures like the Kraken and its nemesis, the Megashark. The Kraken is similar to a giant octopus, with tentacles that can smash the hulls of ships and catch and pull people towards its sharp teeth. The creature is said to be the first octopus that was created by nature, hundreds of years ago. On the other hand, the Megashark is a huge, primordial shark. The brawls between the Megashark and the Kraken cause deadly tsunamis and earthquakes in Pelseum. Various other aquatic monstrosities can also be found in the Frigat ocean. As compared to the Pako Ocean, which is the home of nymphs and mermaids, the Frigat is much more terrifying, deadly and devoid of beauty. All this description of cities, regions, myths and scribbling of history has exhausted me. I will continue the story later if only I am lucky enough to evade the manhunts. Who would have thought that a Fireborne would have to live like this? Hiding in caves, reminiscing and writing the past as a cure for loneliness, eating rats and worms for survival... I can''t even take a piss without having constant vigilance! FIRE TO A FIREBORNE I have evaded the manhunters for the time being. Initially, I thought the guard would catch me while I hid in the bushes. They have found the cave in which I resided and as a consequence, I have come further north searching for a place to live through this winter. Fortunately, I have found an abandoned, thatched hut to spend some nights. The sudden news of the King''s death made Leon fall deep into sorrow. It was the worst day of his life. A dead friend and bodyguard, a broken shoulder and now the assassination of his father. The fact that he was not able to save his father tormented him. He was not by his father''s side when he had taken his last breath. Leon moved towards the messenger and coldly told him to repeat the information, unable to believe and comprehend it. The royal messenger did what he asked. The troops fell into disarray. They murmured among themselves as to who would have sent the assassin. The future of their kingdom concerned them, so did it concern Leon and Ironheart. On hearing the news of Lucius'' death, Ironheart did not change his expression, behaviour or demeanour. He waited and watched Leon succumb to emotional pain. After physicians had done treating the wounded and consoled Leon that his shoulder would heal, Ironheart ordered an immediate return to Loa. The bloodline of Ironheart is unknown. Some say he has descended from God, from the womb of Power itself. That would explain why he never got injured in any battle whatsoever. Some say he is from the lineage of Clement and Claudia. There are also rumours that he is the bastard child of Pindar the Great and Queen Pavetta. Either way, Ironheart was the favourite of Pavetta and the go-to general of Lucius. It was no surprise when Lucius publicly conferred his own title of "Ironheart" to him. As for his real name, only Lucius and Pavetta knew and they decided to keep it a secret. Nobody dared to ask the aloof and callous Ironheart. "You alright kid?", asked Ironheart when he saw Leon immersed in his thoughts. Leon was annoyed by such a question. He considered Ironheart as a big brother rather than a general but such a question from his mouth made him fall from his graces. How could he be ''alright''? His father was dead. Assassinated! He has to be a king now and manage an empire of which he barely had any knowledge. He wished he had not spent his youth with young maidens and learned administration and war tactics instead. Pavetta said he will "buckle up" in time. But she never told me when will be that time. He longed for the comfort of his family at such troubling times but his main pillar of comfort and support, his father Lucius, had gone to the afterlife leaving him bereaved and helpless.Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. Their journey back to Loa was devoid of any action. Leon and Ironheart barely spoke. Similarly, the wearied soldiers conserved their energy as much as possible by not initiating any talk. Their pursuit of Karakas, their fending off the ambush and then their way back to Loa, had exhausted them. The silent procession reached Loa early morning. Decomposing bodies lay on the ground with vultures feasting on them. A dead silence hung over the battlefield. Lucius'' pale face could be seen from the pyre. Although the Firebornes and their subjects buried their families, it was not the case when it came to assassinations. According to their belief, immolation is the sole way for a person who has been assassinated to find heavenly peace and salvation. Else, his soul would wander in search of its killer and will never rest until justice is brought to the assassin. Leon spurred his horse towards the funeral pyre of his father, scaring all the vultures away from their buffet. The troops moved away in haste, making way for the galloping horse. Enraged, he unmounted, unsheathed his sword, and declared:- "I challenge the heathen that killed my beloved father. I challenge you, cur, who was too afraid to face my father, taking the cowardly act of poisoning him instead. Come out of hiding and fight me. End the Fireborne lineage if you can! Show yourself, assassin!" Nobody came to the front. Ironheart had halted his army. There was no noise except the gushing of the wind and the shaking of the trees. The royal bodyguards hung their heads in shame. They had failed in their duty. The cook was already taken into custody for interrogation. His yelps, which was the effect of lashes on his body, came from a nearby tent. Leon calmed himself. He unmounted and approached the pyre. With tears in his eyes, he took a stick of fire handed to him by a soldier and set the pyre on fire. He watched the flames engulf his father''s deceased body. The soldiers stood silently with their heads bowed. After the funeral ceremony had been done, Axel, the torturer, approached Leon to tell what the cook had chirped to him. He informed him that a different person had made the King''s meal that day, as the cook was sick. Unfortunately, the person responsible was nowhere to be found. On the other hand, fortunately, Axel revealed that the cook had seen only four fingers in both the hands of the runaway individual. Leon processed the information. Assembling the quickest cavalry in Loa, he set out to hunt for the person. He knew that the escapee would have not covered a long distance on foot. Ironheart shouted for him to stop but did not take any action:- "The people of Ember need you, Leon. You can''t risk your life away at such a moment!" Leon turned a deaf ear to Ironheart. He was done taking orders from a general and wanted to take independent action. With vengeance in his mind, he spurred his horse to race. Following his intuition, he advanced in a specific direction. THE HUNT Leon travelled 20 km southwards, to the nearest village from Loa. He understood that The Haven would have been the first stop of the assassin if he were to escape. In all likelihood, the assassin would have wanted to get a fast horse from the best stables available there. Theo had accompanied Leon in his chase for the assassin. He persuaded Leon to let him navigate through the village and seek informants. The Haven did not live up to its name. Its inhabitants consisted of crooks, thieves, murderers and black merchants. It was disconnected from the world, like Kara. People lived there to survive rather than serve. If a person who did not belong to the village went there, he or she would be robbed naked and abused to death. The last law-abiding man in the area was a lawyer named Brian. He was lynched a year ago by the village mob for being "unjust" and "criminal" while all he did was prosecute a case without a bribed jury. On the day of the execution, Brian was skewered with a pole that passed from his mouth to the rectum. His execution was publicly displayed to prove a point to the people. From that day, everyone knew: ''This happens to honest people.'' Leon was disgusted at the sight of the village. There was no proper drainage system. Filthy water flushed directly on the paths. Lack of privies caused faeces to be on every corner. The natives stenched of beer, blood and sex. The natives of the village looked at the small army with curious yet menacing eyes. Theo halted his horse near a shack. He asked Leon for his permission to go inside the building and meet an informant to which Leon obliged. Theo disappeared inside the doorless shack. It was thatched with wood and mud. Looking around, Leon saw similar types of huts. Some were dilapidated while a small number of huts were in good condition. Leon understood that the well-kept huts were the residing area of well-known killers and bandits. The village''s main source of food was chickens. Some hencoops were visible to him. With regards to the amusement of the villagers, there were women near fancy huts made of wood and decorated with flowers that had withered. Some brutes did not have time to go inside a hut so they started humping women in the open. Moans were heard in the distance followed by screams of dying people. Leon turned to see Theo had returned with a man. The informant introduced himself as Shadow. Amusing as the name was, it was perfect considering his physical features. He was slim, gaunt with a pale face that supported watery grey eyes. He wore a black cloak, like that of a priest, and a necklace made of pearls. Theo confirmed that Shadow was the best spy they had. An amazed Leon asked the spy about the assassin. Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. "A resident of our village had disappeared for a week. He returned yesterday to this cosy place. Bernard''s Inn should be your next destination. Follow that road and turn right to find what you seek, prince.", replied Shadow. Just then, Leon''s eyes flittered in the distance to see a panicking individual with a box going inside a hut. Without his knowledge, he was followed by two men with knives in their hands. After some time, the screams of the man could be heard coming from the hut. None bothered to help him, let alone wander their eyes on the scene of the crime. The natives completely ignored the situation. Leon was about to move towards the killers and teach them a lesson but was interrupted by Shadow. "I wouldn''t do that here, Sire. Refrain from playing the hero. Don''t be the saviour. You might create a lot of enemies otherwise. Enemies that will plague your life. Even for a person of your stature, you will live in constant fear." Bernard''s Inn "Whatcha paying if I have some informason about the person you looken for?", said the man in a silly Southern accent. Bernard, the owner of the Inn, had a lot of qualities. However, tall hose qualities were negative. Lazy, arrogant, greedy and miserly; he asked the question as a reply to Leon''s questioning of the whereabouts of a visitor. "Fool! Can''t you see the fire emblem on my armour? We are the guards of Fire. Here with honourable Leon Fireborne, son of Lucius Fireborne and the soon to be King of Fireborne Empire. How dare you ask such a question to him?", said one of Leon''s troops. "I have a business to take care of. Talk money or go away, y''all noble people.", said the owner. Theo spurred his horse forward. He pulled out a bag of coins and jingled them in front of Bernard. "Ohhhhhh. Now we talking. The purson you all looken fo'' comes to spend the night in my inn. A nasty lad, that wuon, says he killed a big target the other day. He matches yur description of four fingers, both hands." Theo approached Leon. He insisted on kidnapping the assassin discreetly with a gang. Then they would take him to Ember for questioning and execution. Leon was excluded from the group of attackers due to safety reasons. However, Leon was adamant to be a part of the kidnapping. He shunned Theo''s insistence on him being a spectator during the proceedings. "Tonight, I catch that menace. If I am old enough to rule Ember and Tyle, I am old enough to carry out plans. Theo, you will lure him outside the Inn. Avoid a direct fight, you know that. When the assassin is alone, we will be ready to pounce on him. Giovanni and Petro... make sure that no one sees us during our act. Bribe them to stay away from the Inn." Leon finished conveying his plan. He looked towards the sky. The evening sun cast long shadows on the ground. The slanting rays gave an orange tinge to the sky. However, Leon least cared for such aesthetics. He waited for darkness to descend on this rotten place. Then would he finally avenge his father''s death. DURANTA 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 story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it 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.