The Earth's Bounty
INTRODUCTION
Perhaps my life could have gone a bit differently, perhaps it could have been better.
Alas, this was not the case.
The very moment I contacted civilization while I was struck with amnesia, the fortunes of my life turned away from me, they forsook me.
There was no welcome, no water, no food- for a while, at least. That was until I met them.
A small farming family took me in after I had wandered deep enough, and they showered me with the kindness that could heal a broken mind. I still remember the farmer, his wife, and their small daughter, sometimes I wish I had more time with them. These three took care of my weary and lost self, giving me shelter and sustenance.
However, this all changed.
One day, when the farmer was out in the field, at least from what I was told, since I was out in the village, someone struck him down. Later, when I returned to the homestead, I found that the house had been burned to the ground, and the farmer's elven wife and young daughter were nowhere to be seen. In haste, I ran back to the town, only to stop mid trail to find the quick and sloppy burials of those who had taken care of me.
The townspeople were horrified and tried to find the perpetrator among them, the local militia was rounded up and the search reached into the farms and the woods around the village.
However, in me, I knew that their search will end in vain.
So picking up a spare sword I had brought with me when I was a vagabond, I searched in the town, where none of the militia members were. Then, walking inside the base of the militia, I found the commander of the fighting force chuckling with a companion.
Their words boiled my blood, as their words were drawn like spears against the elven kind.
It was at that moment I found out that the spear-like words were the ones that drew the blood of the family. So, I stormed in, faced the commander and the companion, and charged.
Of course, it took the militia until the morning to figure out what I had found out hours earlier. They congratulated me for taking down the murderer and brought me to the tavern, where they praised my effort.
It was late into the night when one of the militia men came up to me, and introducing himself as a veteran of the Great War, he sat next to me. His gray beard showed experience and wisdom, yet his words showed cunning and shrewdness.
He told me that I had a natural skill for something he once was after the War.
He told me that my sense to punish those who have done wrongs to society will help me..
He told me I would be a great Bounty Hunter...
0000000
"Can I see someone?" a lanky young man told a tavern owner.
"Who will it be, son?" the old man asked as the young man pulled out a small paper, "Hm..." he grabbed it and looked at it, his face instantly changing expression.
"Can I see him?" the young man whispered.
"Follow me..." the tavern owner muttered and bobbed his head behind him.
The young man went behind the counter and followed the owner behind a curtain concealed door, where a long, barely lit hallway was found.
"Why do you need him?" the tavern owner asked as they walked down the dark corridor.
"I need someone to avenge my cousin." the young man muttered, "He was killed on the road to Surina." he informed.
"You know he doesn't do services cheap, boy." the tavern owner said as he turned a corner, "He will ask for a pretty coin."
"I will pay what is necessary." the young man grumbled, "As long as someone gets those bandits."
"Well, in that case, I'd also make funeral arrangements for those men." the tavern owner chuckled, "Because he's the best bounty hunter on the continent." he said and opened another door, where a smaller, secondary tavern was found.
All the men and few women inside turned to the newcomer, staring him down to death.
"Er hem." the tavern owner cleared his throat, "Raguna... you got a proposition." he announced, which made the entire bar go silent.
A young man at the end of the room stood up, then walked up to them. The air around him reeked of aggression and hostility, so much so that those who stood or sat in his way quickly parted to let him pass.
"Um... Raguna?" the young man asked, but was interrupted when the man raised his hand.
"What is it you need?" Raguna bluntly asked as he fixed his brown cape, "And you'd best have the money... I don't like people wasting my time."
"I uh... Need someone to get these men..." the young man handed him three wanted posters, "They... uh... killed my cousin..." he moved his blonde locks out of his eyes, "I-"
"Dead or Alive?" Raguna read the posters, "What's it gonna be?" he glared at the young man.
"Uh... whatever you prefer... sir." the young man stammered, "Just... tell me what it's gonna... be..."
"60% of the reward amount." Raguna told him, "Plus an extra 7,000 coin for logistics and food." he said, "That will be... 560,000 coin." he crunched the numbers.
"Well... I got the logistics for you..." the young man pulled out some maps and papers, which kind of stunned Raguna.
"My my... you sure did your research." Raguna looked at one of the maps, "What's your name, man?" he asked as he scanned the logistical information.
"Lukas... sir." the young man spoke.
"What do you do for a living, Luke?" Raguna read some of the files, "This seems like some heavy handed sleuthing here."
"I'm a traveling poet..." Lukas responded, "A minstrel... so was my cousin, which is why he was killed on the road to Surina- I study maps as a hobby... and read mystery novels..." he chuckled and rubbed the back of his head.
"You just made my job a whole lot easier..." Raguna put up the information in his bag, "You know what... I'm so impressed, I'll knock off that 7,000 coin." he patted Lukas's shoulder, "553,000 coin... You got a deal?"
"Deal." Lukas nodded and shook his hand, but was taken back by Raguna's strong grip.
"Is that another one in the books, Rag?" a man at the counter asked, a husky and fit young man with brown hair that stood up at the bangs.
"You got me, Camus." Raguna pointed, "But make sure to mark it down as a completed mission this time!" he growled.
"I gotcha, man." Camus chuckled and shook his head, then turned to the chalkboard and wrote a dash on Raguna's spot.
"Keep that up, and you'll leave us out of a job." one of the other bounty hunters chuckled.
"Give me two days." Raguna told Lukas, "I'll give you all of them..." he muttered and walked out.