The Earth's Bounty

Chapter 3


"Next!" some Noradian knights let a coach pass and then looked at Raguna and Camus, "Alright." he said and two other knights joined him.

"Your reason for entering?" another knight asked them.

"Tourism." Raguna responded, "We're going to Kardia." he said.

"Hmm..." the knights inspected the buffaloo, "Clear!" one of them said after inspecting the sacks around the beast.

"Alright... Welcome to the Kingdom of Norad, the cradle of Mankind." the main knight stepped aside and let them pass.

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"Hmm..." Camus muttered as the day started to die down, "Dang... Oh!" he exclaimed as he saw a light in the distance, "That's it! There's Kardia!" he pointed ahead.

"Good, we'll get there before nightfall." Raguna muttered, "Too bad I won't have time to sightsee." he chuckled and then picked up speed.

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The town was of moderate size, not too big or too small, and it seemed that it was a fully functioning hamlet.

At a first glance there was a lot of buildings, which signified that this town was of some importance, but a few more scans revealed that that was all about the area. Save for the large mountains at it's north west part, it was kind of... plain.

"Once you cross this river, it's a close drive to the Inn." Camus informed as the group went over a bridge, "Hey, look." he pointed to a run down house, "Man... I guess she didn't get anyone." he sighed.

"Who didn't?" Raguna asked as he continued ahead.

"Just a girl I used to know." Camus answered, "She was looking for someone to give that house to, but nope, I guess no one showed up." he said.

"Hmm..." Raguna looked at the homestead, "Perhaps... Maybe I can make a base?" he pondered, "Nah." he quickly shrugged the idea off as ludicrous.

"You might make a business here, actually." Camus said, "Heck, this is so close to the Sechs border you may be able to take contracts from the other side!" he exclaimed.

"Well.. that's true." Raguna said, then saw as they entered Kardia proper, "Wow..."

"The Inn is just to the right." Camus pointed to a fairly large building, "Then that will be your favorite place... the tavern." he chuckled as they passed the first building.

"I'll be sure to visit it." Raguna laughed and then parked his buffaloo next to the Inn, "Well.. it's getting late..." he looked up to the starry sky as he hopped off.

"Yeh... even now I don't want to go drink." Camus commented as he grabbed his pack from the beast's flanks, causing the monster to snort in relief.

"You rest, Buffomave." Raguna patted his beast's back and scratched its chin, "Heph!" he grabbed his pack and crossbow, then followed Camus, "Here, have this." he chunked his pack at him.

"Agh!" Camus growled, "Ugh... I guess... for the free ride." Camus grumbled and then walked in, closely followed by the bounty hunter.

The light inside the inn stunned them for a few seconds, then they looked around to see that the desk was empty.

"Hmm..." Raguna looked around, then saw a woman come out of a closet with a mop, "Ah."

"Ah! Hello!" the woman said, "I'm Lady Ann, welcome to my Inn." she introduced herself, "Are you staying the night?" she asked.

"Yes." Camus walked up, "Two." he placed a bag of coin on the desk.

"Well well well... if it isn't daddy's little fugitive?" Lady Ann grumbled as she looked at Camus, "How are you in the Sechs?" she asked.

"Good, on a vacation with my friend and business partner here." Camus smirked, "In fact... I have such a good business going on away from this bum town." he taunted.

"Is there anything I need to know?" Raguna asked Camus, who shook his head.

"Your rooms are at the far right." Lady Ann pointed to the two dormitories and gave them separate keys, "Here."

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Raguna sighed as he entered his room, shut the door, and then walked to his bed. "Huh." he exhaled when he sat down on the soft mattress, then took off his boots to reveal his tired feet.

The bounty hunter set down his repeating crossbow on the counter, as well as his helmet and armor, then removed his garments and exposed his wooly underclothing, and a scar running down his left shoulder.

"I'm ready to hit the hay..." Raguna groaned as he plopped on the bed like a brick and looked up to the ceiling, then turned off the nearby lamp.

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"Huah!" Raguna yawned as he woke up to the pounding sounds on his door, "What the-"

"Raguna! Get up!" Camus yelled from the other side, "You'll be late for the grand tour!" he joked.

"On my way..." Raguna groggily rubbed his eyes and stretched when he sat up, then lifted his legs off the bed and onto the ground.

The bounty hunter stood and washed his face with a bowl and water atop one of the counters, then dried himself off with a towel and walked to his clothing.

First came the thick garments, which seemed to be designed to lessen the effect of sword blows and stabs. Then came his armor, which looked to be strong enough to withstand arrows but light enough to allow quick footed agility.

"Hurry up! I'm getting old already."

"There we go..." Raguna muttered as he placed on his boots, then his gauntlets, and finally strapped on his repeating crossbow, "Coming!" he said and grabbed his helmet.

"About time." Camus grumbled as he saw Raguna open the door, "Come on, you'll miss all the things." he said, "I already bought the next night so it's ok to leave your things here... unless you like lugging that." he chuckled.

"I like to be prepared." Raguna informed, "Now, show me Kardia." he directed his friend ahead.

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"And this is the park." Camus said as the two strolled down the large open space, "Sometimes kids like to come here and play, but I guess they're not." he saw that the park was empty.

"It's pretty plain, to be honest." Raguna commented, "Unless you got something else to show me that won't get sand in my boots." he sighed.

"I told you not to stand to close to the tide." Camus grumbled, then continued walking, "But I'll show you the best view in all of Ka-" he paused when he saw his friend was not following him, "Hey-"

Raguna was looking the other way, towards a young woman with long, dark brown hair who was walking about with a parasol.

"Well... I guess that's a sight he enjoys..." Camus mumbled to himself and shook his head, "Like what you see?" he said as he ran to his ally.

"Mhm..." Raguna nodded, "Who is that?" he stared at the woman.

"If memory serves me... That should be..." Camus squinted, "That's Felicity, the Mayor's daughter." he informed, "And no- She is not married, at least from what I remember..." he added.

"I guess I should go find out." Raguna smirked and strutted off, his armor klinging as he did so.

"It's not even the first day and he wants to equip his spear." Camus shook his head, "That's typical of him... huh..." he stood there looking.

"Excuse me there, miss." Raguna walked up to the young woman, who turned in surprise.

"Ah. Hello!" Felicity responded, then looked at the young man, "And who might you be?" she asked.

"My name is Raguna Fetth." Raguna answered her, "May I say, you do look very lovely today." he complimented her.

"Oh... thank you." Felicity mumbled, "Such a charming man are you, but I prefer that the flattery be put away, please." she told him.

"I see you are a simple girl." Raguna replied, "Well, I'm a simple man myself, I used to work in the fields and such... just down to earth things..." he muttered.

"Doesn't look like it now." Felicity looked at the man's clothing, "Looks like you're a knight or soldier.." she guessed.

"Why yes, you can say that." Raguna said, "I have sworn my life to punish the bad and those who attack our statutes." he clenched his fist, "Please, if it is not much problem, may I invite you for a bite to eat or-"

"I'm sorry, I have to work." Felicity informed, "I'm about to finish my break, perhaps another time, ok?"

"Hmm..." Raguna frowned, then thought up another plan, "Well, before you go, want to see something amazing?" he asked, catching the woman's interest.

"What could it be?" Felicity asked, then saw Raguna pull out a strawberry from his pocket.

"If I hit this strawberry midair, and then hit the turnip behind it while blindfolded... would my fair lass give me a kiss?" Raguna asked as he pulled out a turnip.

"Well... if you can do such a thing, that is an amazing enough feat." Felicity blushed, then received the strawberry and turnip from the man.

"Haha." Raguna pulled out a blindfold and wrapped it around his eyes, "Double check." he placed his face near Felicity.

"No peekholes." Felicity inspected his covering, "Very well, what do I do?" she asked as she saw Raguna step back.

A few meters away was Camus.

"The good ol' Blind Shot..." he chuckled, "You never cease to confound me, Raguna."

"Am I facing you?" Raguna asked Felicity as he stood a few meters away from her.

"Yes." Felicity responded, then saw Raguna turn away, "What do I do?" she asked.

"Just throw them up." Raguna responded, "Easy as that."

"Okay." Felicity said, "Ha!" she threw the strawberry and turnip up into the sky.

Raguna concentrated, and once the two objects entered a certain plane, he quickly turned and fired one crossbow bolt, striking both of the items cleanly.

TLONG! The bolt vibrated as it hit a nearby tree and became stuck there.

"Wow!" Felicity was amazed by the feat, then saw Raguna remove his blindfold and look at his success.

"What did you think?" the man chuckled as he walked towards his real goal, "Duty calls." he leaned towards her.

"I did make the bet." Felicity giggled and kissed him, but was taken back by the fact that Raguna brought her in deeper.

"Phase 1, complete." Camus commented as he saw the two break away.

"Wow..." Felicity gasped as she was overwhelmed by emotion, "I... that was..."

"What can I say?" Raguna spun his crossbow and slung it on his back, "The things I do for beautiful women..." he grabbed her hand.

"I-I-I need to get to work." Felicity stammered and grabbed her parasol.

"Perhaps you can save time for another amazing feat?" Raguna asked the young woman, making her turn.

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"Raguna?" Camus walked inside the inn and saw it was silent, "Agh... I leave him alone for a few hours and I lose him by evening." he grumbled and walked to his room, only to stop by his friend's door.

"I wonder." he muttered and used the spare key he got from Lady Ann to open the door.

"Ha..." Raguna exhaled as he got off of Felicity and rolled over on the bed, exposing his bare chest to Camus.

"Well, I know where you were, now!" Camus yelled, shocking both of them greatly.

"CAMUS!" Raguna growled as he covered himself.

"Can't even leave you in this town without you becoming a tomcat." Camus sighed, "I'll be out at the tavern if you need me." he shut the door and locked it.

"How embarrassing..." Felicity muttered as she exposed her bare body to grab her clothes, "But... how thrilling..." she purred at Raguna, who was sitting up at this time.

"I guess being so down to earth makes you want more things that take you out of this realm." Raguna coyly told her, "I told you I'll show you an amazing feat." he said and brought her down again.

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"Two more." Camus told the blue haired tavern owner, "Oh, and Emmett, don't hold back on the hard stuff." he told the old man.

"At this rate, you'll knock yourself out harder than an orc struck with a hammer." Emmett chuckled as he pulled out an orange colored bottle of mead, "But the customer is always right." he poured in a glass.

At that moment, the doors gave way to Raguna, who caught the attention of those inside the tavern.

"Hey... that's that bounty hunter..." Emmett muttered, "What's his name... Raguna Fetth?" he asked Camus.

"Yep." Camus nodded.

"I hear he was the one that took out the man who killed the Nobel of Laera..." Emmett said as he saw Raguna walk towards him, "You think he's back to work for the crown?"

"More like, to work with the womb..." Camus grumbled.

"Bounty Hunter!" a Noradian soldier in the pub stood up and pointed to Raguna, "I request your assistance!" he told him.

"Hmm?" Raguna turned to face the soldier, who held a wanted poster in his hand, "What is it you need?" he bluntly asked the man.

"I need you to find this man." the soldier spoke and showed him the paper, which had the picture of an old man with glasses and a poofy hat, "He's been stealing magic books and fire crystals from local magic shops in the county." he informed, "If you find him, you keep the bail."

"Do you know the last location he was seen?" Raguna asked the soldier as he looked at the poster, which said WANTED ALIVE.

"My cavalry squad last got the report just a bit north of here, before hitting a hamlet called Kiora." the soldier reported, "He's an old man so he probably stayed in the area waiting for sunrise."

"How far is Kiora?" Raguna asked.

"You just go north for about an hour and a half." a blonde man responded, "Just a small hamlet, you can't miss it, it's literally on the road to the provincial capital."

"Thank you." Raguna said, "Enjoy your drink, Camus." he told his friend, who waved him off.


SM's Time:
To my Guest Reviewer(s?): Yes this story will have "lemons", but they will be very tame and will be entirely related to the plot- not freelance writing. As you have seen the "lemon" scene here, it will be of that kind of tame magnitude.

Please Review and I hope you enjoy!