The soft tapping of the rain on the rooftop was interrupted by a series of knocks at the door. Kait rose from her bed, grabbed a frying pan for protection, and went to answer the door. A man wearing a black hood stood dripping in the rain. Despite the intimidating and dark appearance, Kait recognized her son.
"Kyle! Get in here out of the rain." commanded Kait. The man stepped forward, and took his hood off, while his mother lit a lantern.
"Sorry to wake you Mother." said Kyle.
"It's no problem, Kyle. I haven't seen you in years." she replied. At this Kyle's subtle smile tuned to a frown, and he decided to examine the ground.
"You didn't come to chat, did you?" sighed Kait.
"I went to Junior's vacation home, Sarai's, and even a few guild hotels." started Kyle. "I heard about Junior's success, and came to congratulate him. I'm worried about him now, though. It's not like him to be gone this long."
Kait laughed at this, and smiled her beautiful smile. "Kyle. I know the world has been rough to you, but you shouldn't be so paranoid. I happen to know he's safe and sound. Him and those other hunters were invited to a manor in Schrade."
"Any idea when he'll be back?"
"No, but I imagine it'll be a while. I saw the guild's carriage leave just this afternoon." replied Kait. Kyle's eyes glanced up.
"I'll let you get to sleep. I promise to visit after I speak with Junior." Kyle said. Kait hugged him, and then Kyle disappeared into the wet darkness.
"Let's go" ordered Kyle. "Get me to Schrade, as fast as possible."
"Of course, nya!" replied the felyne cabby. The chubby cat cracked his whip across the large plate atop an apceros. The beast released a low yell, and then began dragging the one-man carriage south-east.
The coach sped along the rocky road at speeds that made Kyle sick. He was now more than ever thankful for the existence of felynes. Without their keen night-time vision, Kyle was certain that they would be a puddle at the bottom of some cliff. Although the rain had cleared, the road was still wet, and very dangerous. Kyle tried not to think of this, fearing motion sickness would overwhelm him. Finally, the road leveled out, as they had reached the base of the mountain range Urbanius was built on.
"Only a couple miles to Schrade, nya!" shouted the chubby driver. Kyle sighed in relief, and began examining his equipment. Something inside him believed that he would need to be prepared for a rough night. He had a few flash bombs, which he always carried with him incase of a velociprey ambush. He had a sufficient supply of whetstones. They were months old, given that his beautiful blade rarely dulled.
At last he examined his katana. It was made of bones and fangs, and had a slight pink tint, where blood stains were unsuccessfully removed. The blade was given to him in his father's will, and Kyle kept its name and blue velociprey scale sheathe.
The katana was originally called 'wolf', being made of the pack traveling velociprey. Kyle's father, Katamar, and his friend Trevor upgraded it with piscine fangs, and called it "shark". After even more upgrading, Katamar gave it to Trevor, and he named it "dragon". Katamar received the blade after Trevor's mysterious death, and used it in the Great Lao Shan Lung Battle.
This battle held a dark significance to Kyle. Not only was Kyle on the front lines, but he was just a boy. He saw many soldiers die, and his mentor paralyzed for life. However none of that mattered much to Kyle. What sickened him was the thought of how it ended. What his father did to Haman, an experienced militiaman, tortured Kyle, but not as much as failing to forgive him for the deed. Kyle resumed his focus and continued examining his blade, now called "Supremacy".
Within minutes the simple carriage arrived within the town of Schrade. The town was dark and dreary at day, but even worse at night. Being near the volcanic region, the sky was always covered with black smoke, which could not travel northwards due to the mountain ranges of Urbanius. The result was an external appearance that perfectly matched the inner spirit of the city.
Schrade was an economic marvel. No city in Minegarde was as wealthy, but likewise no city was as corrupt. Politicians performed illegal activities daily, and because everything in Schrade was based on money, were able to pay their way out of trouble. But although white collar crime was popular, most people feared Schrade's sinister underworld. Thugs, murders, hoodlums, gamblers, and rioters seemed to rule the lower class, in the same way corrupt businessmen and politicians ruled the upper class. The city wasn't all bad, however. You could get high quality goods for low prices legitimately, and Schrades fashion experts were the best in all of Minegarde.
Kyle hated the city with a passion. He knew the hunter's guild had headquarters here, and although there was no proof, he knew they had to be crooked. The guild was a towering financial figure in Schrade, and all big money in Schrade was crooked, no exceptions. Despite his despise, Kyle exited his carriage, and entered a popular tavern.
"Good'ay bartender!" chirped Kyle, faking a smile. "I'm looking for a friend of mine, took a carriage to a mansion on the outskirts. Seen him?"
The bar tender examined Kyle, then responded. "I've been advised by the guild not to talk to you, ever since your little tangent in their Hall up in Urbanius."
"Ah, so you know who I am. If that's the case, you probably know that I'm looking for a guild owned manor, as well."
"I don't know anything." grunted the bartender, who turned to pour some beer for another patron.
Kyle grabbed the bartender's hand across the bar, and inserted a small coin. The bartender examined it, and his eyes widened in excitement.
"500 zenni?!" he gasped. Kyle motioned him to be silent, and then the bartender whispered to Kyle. He told him the location of a manor, in which a aptonoth-driven guild carriage was heading towards.
Kyle nodded his thanks, then left the tavern. The manor was supposedly only a few miles east of Schrade's southern tower, which wasn't too far. Kyle decided a cab was unnecessary, and began walking southeast. It was almost dawn as the mansion entered Kyle's vision.
"Only a few miles. Hah! Incompetent bartender." Kyle mumbled under his breath, as he knocked on the main door. He was a bit surprised the main gate was open, but it didn't stop him. Kyle waited for at least a few minutes, knocking every now and then. Noone came to the door. This troubled Kyle, who knew that even an empty mansion had a butler to greet misinformed guests.
Kyle went to knock again, when he finally realized that the lk on the door had been broken. Wasting no time, Kyle bashed the door in. He was now standing in the main room. At first, Kyle wasn't sure what to do. The room was completely empty, and not even the sound of busy staff could be heard. Then he noticed the wet patterns in the carpet, almost looking like footprints. It was raining last night, Kyle remembered, and some intruder must have left the footprints. Then a terrible thought struck Kyle. What if he was too late. If the rain was last night, then the intruders would be long gone by now. Not wanting to waste anymore time, Kyle followed the footprints.
He ended up in a large room, full of targets and dummies. Kyle assumed it was a sort of practice room. The air was thick, almost foggy, and had some faint foul smell. Kyle noticed a piece of debris, and went to examine it.
"Smoke bombs..." he muttered, realizing the debris was actually shrapnel from one of the devices. He searched further, and found casing from tranquilizers and poison shots. The only thing he couldn't find to prove conflict were bodies. "What on earth happened here?" he muttered again, convinced the munitions weren't part of a practice session.
"Sir! Over here, nya!" screamed a small voice. Kyle rushed towards the creature that made the sound. A small felyne, obviously a disciple of Treshi, was nursing an injured paw behind one of the dummies.
"What happened? Do you need medical attention?" inquired Kyle
"Me, no. I'm fine. Helen though, she needs help." he said, pointing to a limp figure in a corner. Kyle frowned, realizing he was too late to help the dead maid.
"What happened?!" Kyle changed the subject.
"I heard Helen scream, and I came here." said the felyne.
"And...?"
"There were three men. There hats were almost like chapeaus, but I couldn't see their faces. There was just too much smoke."
Kyle's eyes widened at this familiar description. "What kind of weapons were they weilding."
The felyne rubbed his whiskers, trying to recall the traumatic event. "I only saw one's, but it looked like an ordinary umbrella."
Kyle cursed rather loudly upon hearing this, and the felyne jumped back a bit. "I'll send for help, but I need to leave now!"
Trenya tried to follow Kyle out of the manor, but was unable to keep up given his injured paw, and the hunter disappeared as abruptly as he had vanished. Kyle couldn't waste time, he had to get to Junior before he, and likely the other hunter's met a terrible fate. The frantic hunter darted toward the city gates, and immediately flagged down the first cab.
"What can I do ya for?" asked a large man, driving a carriage with two aptonoths, and an apceros in the lead.
"Take me to the industrial district. I'll pay triple if I'm there before I realize I left." ordered Kyle, as he entered the back seat of the large carriage. In seconds the carriage was gone. Kyle rechecked his equipment, knowing that the industrial district held secret headquarters for the guild, and that they wouldn't be happy to see him.