Woot! The first chapter has finally arrived! I can't help but think that this chapter will hopefully be written as well as I expect it to be; but who knows? I thank all my friends (especially Silver) who have supported me to create this story.
Disclaimer: The story and mentioned characters belong to Silver and I, but the original game belongs to the owners of Ragnarok Online.
Enjoy reading!
Princess Io
Job00: Hot Pursuit
It wasn't the crisp sunlight that penetrated the deep forest of Payon that had awoken him. In fact, he was quite used to the fact that the large forest had finally given way to the glaring white sun's shining glory. The soft breeze silently followed, making the young man shiver a little at the sudden chill.
"Looks like another typical day in Payon...I'm betting people are beginning to awaken." He thought, yawning casually and stretching out the small kinks in his muscles and joints he slept on during the previous night.
Strangely enough, Silver, a well-known sniper in the bustling town of Payon had slept where he usually does when he's too tired to go in his small cottage. Ruffling through his dark evergreen locks, he shook out remnants of twigs and leaves that had fallen into the small crevices before he woke up.
Yawning once more, Silver calmly placed a hand across his forehead to gaze intently on the warm sunlight that greeted him on this fine morning. Today was definitely going to be a good one, not to mention he was rearing to get some food and take a long bath since his recent reconnaissance work that seemed to have taken all night.
Grabbing his quiver and bow that hung lazily on a couple branches, the sniper jumped down from the treetop and onto the ground with a soft landing. Brushing off excess debris that flew into the air and mingled around him, Silver treaded toward the town of archers.
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Along the way, various creatures such as poring and lunatic had passed the young man by without so much as a peaceful humming or bouncing on the dirt road. Silver smiled at them, a small curt grin that passed his lips before it disappeared and was replaced with his usual solemn stature.
Sighing, he could already hear the loud noises of bargains and people asking for zeny to pay for things other blacksmiths or alchemists sold in their shops. Many people were kind enough to greet him as he arrived with nothing more than a simple bow and their routine phrase, "Welcome to Payon adven—oh! Good morning Silver! Safely returning from your journey?" and what not.
He returned the greeting and then went along his way for breakfast and the inn to wash up. As the sniper approached a nearby apple cart, something, rather, someone caught his keen eye. Acting discreet so as to not bring attention toward them, the figure appeared to be a native, just a traveler who had come for a pit stop or to leave again.
The only distinct characteristics however, kept Silver guessing. The cloaked figure wore a large tan overcoat with the hood shadowing their face from recognition. Their hands were also hidden inside the coat, and as they walked past the youthful adult, it only made Silver narrow his eyes in suspicion.
"Who may I ask are they?" Silver asked the vendor, who looked at the retreating figure, the small ends of the cape brushing against the flat grassland majestically. Silver held his gaze toward the mysterious person, and then turned his attention back to the salesman.
He paid the fare of 1,000z for a couple loaves of bread and a few cucumbers and bananas, until the vendor caught his shoulder when the young man turned to leave.
"From what I heard, they're a native, probably from the east. They haven't been here long, only about two days before we got word you were coming back. But, if I were you, I'd stay out of their way, you remember the last time we had a native pass through this peaceful town, the locals had their homes burned down and—" He started, but Silver rudely cut him off.
"I know…" He responded, bowing a small bow before turning on his heel toward the market for other good to supply on.
The market, as busy as usual, had people talking to others and shouting offers left and right. Silver was used to this however, and paid no heed to vendors and other travelers that came in need of selling or buying goods. Finally, he reached the nearby inn past the market and down south of the gate.
Unfortunately, someone else had burst through the doors, the owner of the inn shouting and throwing projectiles toward the agile escapee. "Stop! Thief!" The aged man bellowed angrily, stomping his feet like a child having a tantrum.
As the person ran out of range, Silver effortlessly pulled out a single arrow from his lightweight quiver and twirled it between his slender fingers. Without so much as a glimpse of what direction the cloaked thief had run toward, the sniper had released the slim arrow from between his grip and the sturdy Hunter Bow he had been using for years on end.
The arrow surged toward its target like a heat seeking missile, the skinny object gradually gaining speed and eventually glowing with its familiar distinguished shade of bright silver; like the title he wore. An egotistical grin graced Silver's masculine features as his hawk eyes watched the arrow soar without restraint, missing each civilian and other adventurer like it ran on its own sonar beacon.
People saw in amazement, the arrow closing the distance in each passing second. Many thought it would instantly penetrate the thief who was attempting a smooth getaway. Unfortunately, the arrow, though throw with perfect precision and aim, had been…caught!
Silver's eyes widened slightly, a thin dark eyebrow curtly rose up. This wasn't an ordinary person, but someone who may have the potential to put up a fight against him.
The arrow had been wedged in between the cloaked figure's hands like a sandwich. While still in the air, the figure smirked out of confidence and smugly sent the arrow screaming back toward its original owner. The projectile and flown itself against its master unwillingly, but Silver flawlessly dodged it. For a few seconds, Silver's own dark amber pupils gazed into the moonlight depths of the cloaked person's.
One gaze burned into the other, as if talking telekinetically without anyone interfering from the sidelines. Just as they had appeared, the refugee disappeared as a few leaves had come across their body. Blinking a couple times, the sniper narrowed his stare when he noticed that everyone surrounding him had gone back to business.
He quickly realized that what he had seen was only an illusion, nothing more than a simple figment of his imagination. Or…was he the only one with such skill and ability to?
Later on that day, Silver began contemplating the mysterious identity of the opponent he faced off for a brief moment. He began thinking about what the perpetrator may have intended to do in the first place. Certainly no common thief would just sprint in and out of an inn empty handed…
He turned back toward the owner of the inn, sheathing his Hunter Bow onto his back where it belonged. "What did that person steal from you?" The aged man still looked like he had suffered from severe exposure to the sun, as if he were looking to fight someone.
"That damn thief stole my priceless jewels! It's a precious family heirloom! Please, get it back from him." The man begged desperately, getting on his knees on the dirt ground to demonstrate to Silver just how much he really desired their return.
The sniper said nothing, instead turning his gaze to the sun that perched upon the curtain of see-through clouds. He then made his way past the man and into the inn, still set on washing up and taking a nap before going after the cloaked thief.
After preparing his long awaited bath in his temporary residence, Silver finally had time to himself to think about a plan to take this common thief by surprise. It didn't take long; he would simply chase or ambush them and ask a few choice questions.
Of course, knowing "thieves" these days, they have a high tolerance for intimidation; it's their profession after all. But, if this cloaked man had a weak mind, then this would be as easy as tracking down people oblivious to the environment…even sometimes royalty who have lived their entire lives in a castle they described prison-like.
However, this time of tranquility was shortly interrupted. The candles began stirring, warning Silver of the dangers from outside the bathroom of his rented room. His meticulous hearing caught light footsteps creaking gently against the finely polished wooden floor. The young adult judged the footsteps' distance, pressure and consistency.
Silver couldn't help but smirk out of confidence again that day.
"This guy doesn't know when to quit…kleptomaniac." He thought, holding back a small chuckle so as to not break the silence between the two opponents. Without enough time to completely dress, he reluctantly had his small Fenrir Damascus at hand near the moist wooden counter top.
With only his underclothing consisting of a light tunic, leather slacks, a pair of socks and his trademark goggles adorning his still wet locks of Eden shades, Silver looked nothing more than a person just living in the secluded forest town.
Walking carefully on the balls of his feet, the sniper could expertly make out the faint outline of the thief from earlier that day the moonlight that peeked in through the curtains. Like any other unskilled beginner thief, Silver's target had their back to him, who seemed to be searching through his belongings for something useful.
Before they could search even further in his small pack, Silver held the dagger to the shadowed figure's neck. "Couldn't help but come back for a second helping I see." He informed in a mocking tone. A small 'humph' and Silver could instantly tell the mysterious person was devilishly smiling at his empty remark.
With reflexes like a feline's, the concealed perpetrator spun around at a perfect angle and parried Silver's Damascus with their own personal weapon. It was at first something he hadn't seen before, but then remembering one of his travels toward the east, he recognized just what the weapon was.
The two began to clash metal against metal in an epic battle for dominance. Each blade crushed so harshly on one another, friction began to reveal itself between the sharpened edges. The clanks were so loud, it began to awaken the other residents and owner late in the night.
Today was just full of surprises for the adult sniper, not only did the shadowed man prove himself worthy of fighting back with just as much skill, but that he wasn't an ordinary thief.
Silver narrowed his gaze in a bit of frustration, each slash and forward stab he initiated, the man before him parried or reflected with exact precision and grace. Finally, one drew blood and stopped all action for a few seconds of realization.
The sniper gleamed a cocky smile, he observed his opponent's movements and withdrawals in order to find the perfect moment to attack; and he completed his motion successfully.
Rich ruby blood dripped in small quantities onto the flawless floor from the man's left hand, the limb he had been using to defend himself from Silver. The injury turned out to be deep, and stretched from in between his forefinger and middle finger. The open wound had stopped abruptly where the bottom of his hand and wrist met.
The gash continued to bleed profusely, and the thief didn't seem to care or notice at all. Silver basked in the interesting sight, slightly letting his guard down by the distraction of the enigmatic moon rays that hit the person's figure at certain angles.
However, their battle had ensued once more, their blades pivoting and complimenting each step they took. A dark tone of ice began to paint itself a colorful image of light and shadows. The aura emitting off the two fighting classes skyrocketed spontaneously, the noise rising louder in volume.
--
Soon the entire town was awake, stricken dumbfounded by the unwanted dispute.
The owned had made an appearance, his eyes widening in utter surprise and acting as if he were taken aback by this event. "Kill him!" He waved his fist in anger, ignoring the fact he was only worsening the fact he was "disturbing the peace".
Ignoring the old man's demands to have him killed, Silver lunged forward again with his shiny dagger and had torn a piece of the cloak. The small shreds had fallen to the floor like feathers belonging to a raven's wings. They had mixed themselves with the crimson blood that had spread itself upon the wood, scarring it with a shallow puddle of lost life.
Predicting this battle should come to an end, it was inevitable Silver would be victorious in this battle. The sniper could tell his adversary was glaring an indefinite expression, basically spelling out, "We'll finish this later." As a lasting memory, the man before Silver brought out an object unfamiliar to identify and flung it before disappearing out the open window.
The projectile swirled at an unbeatable speed, and Silver attempted dodging it before deciding to chase after them. The old man was in shock, fallen onto the ground and clutching his chest as if he were suffering from a heart attack.
The object that had been thrown had imbedded itself into the wall just a half inch from where the aged owner's face was currently positioned mere seconds earlier. Turning and looking over his left shoulder, Silver sighed and placed his Damascus back into its hilt.
He calmly pulled out the object that impaled the wall with little effort to examine it closely. It was something he hadn't seen before, but since the darkness of the room wasn't helping, he told the old man to light a candle and then get out.
He complied, pulling out a match and then placing the oil candle so he could go back to sleep. "You had better catch him…" Those bitter words of vengeance had passed his lips, but were quietly swallowed up by Silver's hard stare.
No matter how many times he had turned it over and over again, the sniper just couldn't figure out what the weapon was. It was metal, with worn bandages that had faded to a light tan shade around the handle. There was also a circle that was shaped just above the handle, possibly a place for a finger to be comfortable in. Just below the end of the handle, was a diamond like blade with a fine point at the very tip.
Silver just brushed his finger against the tip, and saw a tiny trail of blood leaking out. "Hmm…" He exhaled a breath he had been holding, safely shifting the odd looking dagger as it turned out to be. The cold metal seemed to be biting unknowingly at his skin, as if it was unhappy the sniper was wielding it.
He clenched the dagger-like object with a new plan of attack. Before grabbing his outer wear and packing up, Silver decided to leave a small fee of zeny for the owner, courtesy of permitted his stay. However, something didn't seem quite right when the youth returned to the nightstand adjacent to the unused bed.
The entire pack was missing!
"Dammit…" He muttered underneath his breath, tucking the dagger that had gotten left behind in his vest pocket.
Without any rational thought, Silver quickly made his way toward the opened window and jumped out. His light jog progressed quickly into a long sprint toward the dark forest, in search of one thing only.
Minutes later, the owner had entered the vacant room to find a stray note placed neatly on top of the plain bed.
"Hopefully my debt to you will suffice in place of the fee I must pay. I'm unsure of when I will return the favor of giving me a temporary place of rest, though I will make it my mission to gather your missing jewels. Please be patient. Thank you."
At the bottom signed to perfection were of two letters that belonged to the traveler that called Payon his home. It was written with intricate strokes, like the ink had flown out of the quilted pen he used. The letters shined proudly like a reflection in a mirror, with another trademark arrow shot right in the center of the double "S" 's.
A word from the author…
I know there are mistakes. So, I hope to catch those sooner or later. If you find any, let me know, I'd appreciate it. Review please!