Chapter 2- Oeilvert
The man strolled out into the common early in the morning. The warm air of morning greeted him. The suns rays lightly shone on his back. He pulled his hat over his eyes per usual and began to wander around the dusty square to try and gather information. This central part of Oeilvert was the main common. It was a circle of houses and shops with four roads branching out to the outer parts of the town. He was ready to go to the trading posts toward the south of the town. He looked on either sides of the street he was on and especially where he had roped up his Chocobo. The big glossy bird was nowhere to be found. He didn't panic but was genuinely concerned. Where was his trusty fowl? He saw a boy come from around the back of the inn. He was almost as tall as the stranger and his dirty blond hair was cut rather short. He was tanned from being out in the sun so long and his jeans and shirt seemed to be wearing out very quickly. He grabbed him by the shoulder, not even paying attention to the violence of his actions.
"I roped a Chocobo here last night." He exclaimed in an agitated voice
The boy, startled, looked at the man in fear for a moment then realized the line of questioning.
"Fear not, sir." Explained the boy as he made a motion gesturing toward the back of the inn.
"All out patron's Chocobos are taken to the stable. Allow me to escort you."
The man nodded with relief.
The two trotted back behind the inn and saw a small stable. Three Chocobos in all were roped there. The boy untied the stranger's and handed him the reigns. The man nodded to what appeared to be 17-year old boy and flipped him a coin of forty gil.
"Thank you, sir." Said the boy
"No problem." Said the stranger as he put his saddle on the Chocobo.
The boy stood there for a moment and then stuck out his hand.
"My name is Colt." Said the boy
The stranger held out his hand and gave him a firm shake and a nod of acknowledgement. He finished preparing his bird and gave the boy a one hundred and fifty gil. He took Colt by the shoulder and looked at him.
"Now you listen… I want that hundred to go to the innkeeper and the fifty be for you. I want you to tell me if you see anyone not from around here. Anyone looking slightly suspicious."
Colt nodded with understanding. The man mounted his Chocobo, spurred it, and with some unsettling of the dust rode out of the stable area.
He rode down the southern road. He wouldn't have known this was the very road he traveled the night before because of the darkness. He saw many small shops and residences as usual but nothing or no one out of the ordinary for the small town of Oeilvert. He came to the trading post, a large building with garages for receiving and dropping off goods from Chocobo drawn carts, Chocobo-back, or any other mode of transportation. He walked around the mass of travelers, traders, and businessmen. He showed them all the same old sketch. The sketch of a bounty worth 30,000 gil. Nobody knew anything whatsoever about this man he so heartily wanted to find. He was alone. No one paid attention to such things as odd-looking men in Oeilvert. They just thought them another trader. Of course… if they weren't a trader and were there for some off purpose you would be sure to hear from the citizens something was wrong. You could always tell a man up to no good trying to fit in with the people of Oeilvert. It was the way they moved. They all moved different. They either moved like men with nothing to lose or everything to lose. Either was suspicious to the Oeilvertian people. None, however, remembered anything of such a man the picture described. No one remembered anyone coming in late last night. It was like this bounty-head didn't even exist.
The stranger was receiving strange looks every once in a while but he was not questioned by anyone. He tried his best to mingle but it was true… He moved different than a native of Oeilvert. He rode his Chocobo to the other four corners of the town. No one remembered anything of such a man. Could he have moved on? No… He needed a place to lie low and Oeilvert was perfect. He would not pass up such opportunity. Things still, nevertheless, ceased to look up for the stranger. When the sun was directly overhead shining right on the top of Oeilvert castle he had not found anything of the bounty. He took out a cigar from under his poncho and this time took the match and struck it against the leather of his saddle. He lit the cigar and puffed on it a few times. He kept it clinched between his teeth as he continued down the dusty path back to the inn. He stopped outside the entrance as he always did. Out of the building Colt came out and took the reigns from him. The man dismounted and then reached for the sketch.
"Boy…" He said unfolding the piece of paper "Do you recognize this man?" he asked
Colt stared at the paper for a moment. His eyes grew wide and he began to talk in his teenage voice.
"Why yessir. He should be upstairs right now. He checked into our inn last night. Room four." Colt replied
The man's eyes opened wide. He was in the same building as him? The bounty's Chocobo was even tied next to his own. He shook his head violently and stormed inside the inn. He quickly bounded up the stairs. He went over to room four. He busted the door down by kicking it in. He opened it to find a bed that was neat and maid, a small bag, and a gun lain out on the bed. He looked around… No sign of the bounty, however. He walked into the room a little ways. He then felt a large weight on the back of his neck that sent him tumbling to the ground. He fell on his back and he heard a grunt of pain other than his own. He got himself up and saw that the bounty had pounced on his shoulders. He was now lying on the ground where the stranger had fell and had a look of discouragement plastered across his face. The stranger grabbed him by the collar and pulled him up. He took a quick right hook to the face and then punched him back into the hallway. The bounty's head hurt but he saw the man coming at him again. He blocked his shot to the gut and then to the chest and gave him one of his own right hooks. It hit the stranger's nose and his head flung back. The man wiped the small bit of blood from his nostrils and smiled at the bounty. He came at him with a nice, solid shot to the chest and it connected. This was repeated by a few punches to the face and chest area again. The bounty retaliated by kneeing the stranger in the groin. As the stranger began to double over in pain the bounty evaded him and jumped out the window of his room.
The stranger felt the pain between his legs and it made his stomach tie up in a knot and he fell to his knees. He got up slowly trying to walk off the pain. It didn't help much but nevertheless he ran down the stairs into the common where the bounty was already running.
The fight upstairs had gotten to the bounty's head. He had run the wrong way. Not towards the stables but out in the open. He now was glad he had thought to quickly grab his gun off the bed on the way out. He turned to see if he could quickly dash back to his Chocobo but the man was already walking out of the inn. The people in the square were all quiet. Colt was watching with interest from around the corner of the inn. The stranger's spurs clanged as he stepped out into the dusty square. A light breeze was blowing up and the dust was getting in his eyes. He pulled the brim of his hat down and then smiled at the bounty. He pulled out the, now familiar, sketch and threw it on the ground in front of his prey. The bounty glanced at it and then returned his gaze back to the hunter. The breeze blew up again and blew the sketch away. Colt retrieved it and folded it up and put it in his pocket.
The two men were both facing each other. Their stance was wide. Their hands had dropped to their sides. One gave cold stares to the other. It was a standoff. Neither knew which would walk away. The people around them, the citizens of Oeilvert, were shocked at this. Nothing like it had ever happened in their small town before. These men had guns in holsters at their sides. They were both aiming to kill the other. The breeze blew again. The stranger's hat brim fluttered in the wind showing a glimpse of his cold gray eyes. A piece of paper flew between the two men and they both just kept staring into the other's eyes. The bounty moved his hand for his gun and the stranger did a mili-second behind him. The bounty had anticipated he was a fast gun so instead of actually drawing his gun and getting shot he quickly dove to the side. He felt the bullets whiz past him. He rolled to the side and drew his gun. He fired two shots in succession at the stranger. The man strafed out of the way and shot at the bounty's legs as he was crouched at the ground. The bounty, being a skilled in kung-fu and some sorts of gymnastics, did a back flip right as the bullets made small craters where he once was.
The bounty had four shots left in the chamber while the stranger had two more guns. This was not good. He was standing away from the stranger again. He shook his head and charged at him with a running kick. The man ducked under it and quickly turned and fired two more shots. The hunter had two shots left in this gun. One missed and flew past the bounty's body but the other connected and hit him in the shoulder. Blood from his wound dripped onto the dusty ground. He held his arm for a moment then got up. His eyes wandered off the field of battle for a moment and saw the thick, metal covering of a cauldron. He rolled to the side feeling a bullet just graze him and grabbed the lid. He put it at him stomach but he saw the man's gun rise. He put it to his head and the bullet ricocheted off. The lid smacked him in the face lightly however. He shook it off. Four bullets left.
The stranger saw this lid and wasted his last bullet on it. He threw his gun to the side and pulled his other out. Once again things slipped into slow motion. A bullet went right past his head as he raised his gun. He felt the heat coming off the small projectile. He pulled back the hammer and fired a shot at the lid. Bad shot… Another… Same place. This wasn't good. The impact of the bullets, however, pushed the man back. He was about to fall right on his buttocks. He was flying backward. He forgot about the lid and threw it to the side. As he went backwards it seemed as if he were sitting in midair. His legs were straight and up in the air. He too felt slower in certain situations. He pulled back the hammer on the gun as he fell. It seemed like it was taking forever for him to fall. He depressed the trigger once and the gunpowder explosion sounded louder than normal. The bullet exited the gun and hit the stranger in the shoulder. He saw him jerk to that side as it made impact. The blood came out slowly and in drops rather than all it once like usual. He saw things differently in this slow motion state. He pulled back on the hammer and fired once again. The man now jerked to the other side as the bullet made impact with his opposite shoulder. His last bullet… the bounty had to make this count. He fell on the ground with a thud. The stranger was still reeling from the previous shots. He pulled back the hammer one last time. He fired the last bullet. He saw it go out of his gun and penetrate the man's flesh right over his heart. A small spurt of scarlet blood came from the wound. The motion returned to its normal speed. The man fell to the ground on his knees. Blood trickled down his chest. He coughed a few times at the ground as he propped himself up with his now limp arms. He coughed out red. It made a mark on the sandy ground. He fell under the weight of himself on his limp arms.
He was blacking out. He felt searing pain everywhere. The man's mouth tasted of blood. He was breathing his last breaths and each was full of sand. Blood was trickling from his wounds. From his nose… He was dying. No… It couldn't end like this… He tried lifting himself up once more but failed. He coughed one more time. He closed his eyes. He moved no more…
The bounty shuffled over to him clutching his wound. He just looked at the man. The hunter had become the hunted. The prey had killed the predator. He shook his head. This man really was a good opponent. He gazed around the common. People were staring at him. Their mouths gaped open at the spectacle they had just seen. Small children questioned their wide-eyed parents.
"Mommy… Why doesn't that man get up?"
Children a little older cried. Men and woman all gaped in horror at the murderer before them. The bounty now walked toward the stables. Colt got out of his way in fear. He came back on his Chocobo and rode out of Oeilvert as quickly as he had come.
Colt went over and looked at the body of the stranger. He could smell the blood. He knelt down before the man. Why did he die? What kind of people are these that kill for no reason? He felt tears but he held them back. 'Men like that other deserve punishment!' he thought to himself. He clenched his fists. He picked up the two revolvers the stranger had dropped. He looked at the ammunition and firing mechanism. He went to the weapon shop quickly with a determined face in place of his usual grin. He walked into the weapons shop. Swords and melee weapons lined the walls as they do in most shops. Colt slammed the guns on the counter in front of the shopkeeper.
"Can you make ammunition and powder charges for this?" he demanded
"Well… I could try but…" the shopkeeper started but was interrupted by the innkeeper coming in and slamming the door
He glared at Colt with the two guns on the counter in front of him. His gaze then went from angry to sympathetic.
"Colt. Why are you taking the guns of that man and trying to get it to kill again. You can't go after that man."
He had seemed to read Colt's mind. Colt hung his head.
"But why can't I?!?! Look what he did to that man!" he yelled pointing outside the shop
The innkeeper, seemingly not affected by these pleads, gathered the two guns and walked out of the shop. Colt ran after him.
"Shouldn't the man lying there bleeding be given justice?!?" argued Colt
"Do not think of me as a cold-hearted man now, Colt. I am only saying that if you go kill that other man out of revenge you will be just as good as him… and that is not good." The innkeeper said with logic
He kept walking across the common back to the inn. He continued talking
"And in addition even if I were stupid enough to let you chase after this animal your place his here in Oeilvert. Your place is here with me."
"But I am now old enough to make my own decisions and that is what I shall do!" defied Colt strongly
The innkeeper turned toward him surprised. He bowed his head and shook it to and fro.
"You apparently aren't going to listen, Colt." The innkeeper remarked as he sighed
He lifted his eyes to the young man's. They were about the same height now. His green eyes just stared at him. His blond bangs were down in front of his face swaying in the breeze. He was quite a handsome boy. Why did he want to get himself killed? The innkeeper smiled.
"You know… Your father said you always had spirit."
Colt looked up in interest at mention of his father.
"He told me someday you were going to find a cause to fight for and never cease to fight until you won or died." The innkeeper reminisced
He shook his head as if ridding himself of these thoughts and walked into the inn. Colt followed now wondering what he had on his mind. The innkeeper trotted over to the closet behind the desk of the inn. He pulled out a chest. He reached around his neck and pulled out a key. He opened the lock and opened it slowly. Inside were many things of interest to Colt. He looked through them. A pack, with a small amount of money in it. Three boxes of ammunition and powder charges. A pair of boots, spurs and a belt. He also saw something else in the box. A revolver much like those of the stranger but only more beautiful. It had an ivory handle and polished steel barrel and chamber. It looked as if it had never been used and it gleamed in the dim light of the inn. This is what the innkeeper reached for first. He picked it up by the barrel and handed Colt the gun's handle. He held it and, though it felt heavier than the others, he almost felt he could use this gun with more effectiveness.
"That gun was your father's." stated the innkeeper "He told me to give it to you when you were old enough."
Colt was in awe by the gun's expert handiwork. He took the pouch and started putting the ammo and charges in it. He took the belt, which had two holsters, and put it through the belt loops of his pants and switched out his old, dusty shoes with the leather boots in front of him. He attached the spurs onto the heel. He put the two guns from the stranger's possession and put them into the holsters. The other he lodged in the waist of his pants. He looked at everything and made sure he had all that he needed. He walked out the doors of the inn.
As he walked, spurs keeping time with his steps, he heard the innkeeper's voice once more. He turned toward the old man. He had come and passed Colt. He walked toward the dead body of the stranger. He picked the hat off his head and bowed to the body (in Oeilvert it was a sign of respect to bow at funerals or whence someone had died) He took the hat and began dusting it off. He placed it on the top of Colt's head and stepped back a pace.
"I believe…" he began thoughtfully "That since you are continuing his quest… He would want you to have this…"
Colt smiled at the old man. He swung the pouch over his arm and walked back behind the inn to the stables. He quickly mounted himself on the stranger's Chocobo. It was a little jumpy for a moment but he settled him down. He soon trotted out from behind the inn on the glossy yellow bird. He saw the people of Oeilvert staring at him and wishing him good luck. He waved to them all and finally, without any further adieu, rode off into the horizon searching for the bounty. The bystander had become the predator. The prey would not be allowed to rest.
The man strolled out into the common early in the morning. The warm air of morning greeted him. The suns rays lightly shone on his back. He pulled his hat over his eyes per usual and began to wander around the dusty square to try and gather information. This central part of Oeilvert was the main common. It was a circle of houses and shops with four roads branching out to the outer parts of the town. He was ready to go to the trading posts toward the south of the town. He looked on either sides of the street he was on and especially where he had roped up his Chocobo. The big glossy bird was nowhere to be found. He didn't panic but was genuinely concerned. Where was his trusty fowl? He saw a boy come from around the back of the inn. He was almost as tall as the stranger and his dirty blond hair was cut rather short. He was tanned from being out in the sun so long and his jeans and shirt seemed to be wearing out very quickly. He grabbed him by the shoulder, not even paying attention to the violence of his actions.
"I roped a Chocobo here last night." He exclaimed in an agitated voice
The boy, startled, looked at the man in fear for a moment then realized the line of questioning.
"Fear not, sir." Explained the boy as he made a motion gesturing toward the back of the inn.
"All out patron's Chocobos are taken to the stable. Allow me to escort you."
The man nodded with relief.
The two trotted back behind the inn and saw a small stable. Three Chocobos in all were roped there. The boy untied the stranger's and handed him the reigns. The man nodded to what appeared to be 17-year old boy and flipped him a coin of forty gil.
"Thank you, sir." Said the boy
"No problem." Said the stranger as he put his saddle on the Chocobo.
The boy stood there for a moment and then stuck out his hand.
"My name is Colt." Said the boy
The stranger held out his hand and gave him a firm shake and a nod of acknowledgement. He finished preparing his bird and gave the boy a one hundred and fifty gil. He took Colt by the shoulder and looked at him.
"Now you listen… I want that hundred to go to the innkeeper and the fifty be for you. I want you to tell me if you see anyone not from around here. Anyone looking slightly suspicious."
Colt nodded with understanding. The man mounted his Chocobo, spurred it, and with some unsettling of the dust rode out of the stable area.
He rode down the southern road. He wouldn't have known this was the very road he traveled the night before because of the darkness. He saw many small shops and residences as usual but nothing or no one out of the ordinary for the small town of Oeilvert. He came to the trading post, a large building with garages for receiving and dropping off goods from Chocobo drawn carts, Chocobo-back, or any other mode of transportation. He walked around the mass of travelers, traders, and businessmen. He showed them all the same old sketch. The sketch of a bounty worth 30,000 gil. Nobody knew anything whatsoever about this man he so heartily wanted to find. He was alone. No one paid attention to such things as odd-looking men in Oeilvert. They just thought them another trader. Of course… if they weren't a trader and were there for some off purpose you would be sure to hear from the citizens something was wrong. You could always tell a man up to no good trying to fit in with the people of Oeilvert. It was the way they moved. They all moved different. They either moved like men with nothing to lose or everything to lose. Either was suspicious to the Oeilvertian people. None, however, remembered anything of such a man the picture described. No one remembered anyone coming in late last night. It was like this bounty-head didn't even exist.
The stranger was receiving strange looks every once in a while but he was not questioned by anyone. He tried his best to mingle but it was true… He moved different than a native of Oeilvert. He rode his Chocobo to the other four corners of the town. No one remembered anything of such a man. Could he have moved on? No… He needed a place to lie low and Oeilvert was perfect. He would not pass up such opportunity. Things still, nevertheless, ceased to look up for the stranger. When the sun was directly overhead shining right on the top of Oeilvert castle he had not found anything of the bounty. He took out a cigar from under his poncho and this time took the match and struck it against the leather of his saddle. He lit the cigar and puffed on it a few times. He kept it clinched between his teeth as he continued down the dusty path back to the inn. He stopped outside the entrance as he always did. Out of the building Colt came out and took the reigns from him. The man dismounted and then reached for the sketch.
"Boy…" He said unfolding the piece of paper "Do you recognize this man?" he asked
Colt stared at the paper for a moment. His eyes grew wide and he began to talk in his teenage voice.
"Why yessir. He should be upstairs right now. He checked into our inn last night. Room four." Colt replied
The man's eyes opened wide. He was in the same building as him? The bounty's Chocobo was even tied next to his own. He shook his head violently and stormed inside the inn. He quickly bounded up the stairs. He went over to room four. He busted the door down by kicking it in. He opened it to find a bed that was neat and maid, a small bag, and a gun lain out on the bed. He looked around… No sign of the bounty, however. He walked into the room a little ways. He then felt a large weight on the back of his neck that sent him tumbling to the ground. He fell on his back and he heard a grunt of pain other than his own. He got himself up and saw that the bounty had pounced on his shoulders. He was now lying on the ground where the stranger had fell and had a look of discouragement plastered across his face. The stranger grabbed him by the collar and pulled him up. He took a quick right hook to the face and then punched him back into the hallway. The bounty's head hurt but he saw the man coming at him again. He blocked his shot to the gut and then to the chest and gave him one of his own right hooks. It hit the stranger's nose and his head flung back. The man wiped the small bit of blood from his nostrils and smiled at the bounty. He came at him with a nice, solid shot to the chest and it connected. This was repeated by a few punches to the face and chest area again. The bounty retaliated by kneeing the stranger in the groin. As the stranger began to double over in pain the bounty evaded him and jumped out the window of his room.
The stranger felt the pain between his legs and it made his stomach tie up in a knot and he fell to his knees. He got up slowly trying to walk off the pain. It didn't help much but nevertheless he ran down the stairs into the common where the bounty was already running.
The fight upstairs had gotten to the bounty's head. He had run the wrong way. Not towards the stables but out in the open. He now was glad he had thought to quickly grab his gun off the bed on the way out. He turned to see if he could quickly dash back to his Chocobo but the man was already walking out of the inn. The people in the square were all quiet. Colt was watching with interest from around the corner of the inn. The stranger's spurs clanged as he stepped out into the dusty square. A light breeze was blowing up and the dust was getting in his eyes. He pulled the brim of his hat down and then smiled at the bounty. He pulled out the, now familiar, sketch and threw it on the ground in front of his prey. The bounty glanced at it and then returned his gaze back to the hunter. The breeze blew up again and blew the sketch away. Colt retrieved it and folded it up and put it in his pocket.
The two men were both facing each other. Their stance was wide. Their hands had dropped to their sides. One gave cold stares to the other. It was a standoff. Neither knew which would walk away. The people around them, the citizens of Oeilvert, were shocked at this. Nothing like it had ever happened in their small town before. These men had guns in holsters at their sides. They were both aiming to kill the other. The breeze blew again. The stranger's hat brim fluttered in the wind showing a glimpse of his cold gray eyes. A piece of paper flew between the two men and they both just kept staring into the other's eyes. The bounty moved his hand for his gun and the stranger did a mili-second behind him. The bounty had anticipated he was a fast gun so instead of actually drawing his gun and getting shot he quickly dove to the side. He felt the bullets whiz past him. He rolled to the side and drew his gun. He fired two shots in succession at the stranger. The man strafed out of the way and shot at the bounty's legs as he was crouched at the ground. The bounty, being a skilled in kung-fu and some sorts of gymnastics, did a back flip right as the bullets made small craters where he once was.
The bounty had four shots left in the chamber while the stranger had two more guns. This was not good. He was standing away from the stranger again. He shook his head and charged at him with a running kick. The man ducked under it and quickly turned and fired two more shots. The hunter had two shots left in this gun. One missed and flew past the bounty's body but the other connected and hit him in the shoulder. Blood from his wound dripped onto the dusty ground. He held his arm for a moment then got up. His eyes wandered off the field of battle for a moment and saw the thick, metal covering of a cauldron. He rolled to the side feeling a bullet just graze him and grabbed the lid. He put it at him stomach but he saw the man's gun rise. He put it to his head and the bullet ricocheted off. The lid smacked him in the face lightly however. He shook it off. Four bullets left.
The stranger saw this lid and wasted his last bullet on it. He threw his gun to the side and pulled his other out. Once again things slipped into slow motion. A bullet went right past his head as he raised his gun. He felt the heat coming off the small projectile. He pulled back the hammer and fired a shot at the lid. Bad shot… Another… Same place. This wasn't good. The impact of the bullets, however, pushed the man back. He was about to fall right on his buttocks. He was flying backward. He forgot about the lid and threw it to the side. As he went backwards it seemed as if he were sitting in midair. His legs were straight and up in the air. He too felt slower in certain situations. He pulled back the hammer on the gun as he fell. It seemed like it was taking forever for him to fall. He depressed the trigger once and the gunpowder explosion sounded louder than normal. The bullet exited the gun and hit the stranger in the shoulder. He saw him jerk to that side as it made impact. The blood came out slowly and in drops rather than all it once like usual. He saw things differently in this slow motion state. He pulled back on the hammer and fired once again. The man now jerked to the other side as the bullet made impact with his opposite shoulder. His last bullet… the bounty had to make this count. He fell on the ground with a thud. The stranger was still reeling from the previous shots. He pulled back the hammer one last time. He fired the last bullet. He saw it go out of his gun and penetrate the man's flesh right over his heart. A small spurt of scarlet blood came from the wound. The motion returned to its normal speed. The man fell to the ground on his knees. Blood trickled down his chest. He coughed a few times at the ground as he propped himself up with his now limp arms. He coughed out red. It made a mark on the sandy ground. He fell under the weight of himself on his limp arms.
He was blacking out. He felt searing pain everywhere. The man's mouth tasted of blood. He was breathing his last breaths and each was full of sand. Blood was trickling from his wounds. From his nose… He was dying. No… It couldn't end like this… He tried lifting himself up once more but failed. He coughed one more time. He closed his eyes. He moved no more…
The bounty shuffled over to him clutching his wound. He just looked at the man. The hunter had become the hunted. The prey had killed the predator. He shook his head. This man really was a good opponent. He gazed around the common. People were staring at him. Their mouths gaped open at the spectacle they had just seen. Small children questioned their wide-eyed parents.
"Mommy… Why doesn't that man get up?"
Children a little older cried. Men and woman all gaped in horror at the murderer before them. The bounty now walked toward the stables. Colt got out of his way in fear. He came back on his Chocobo and rode out of Oeilvert as quickly as he had come.
Colt went over and looked at the body of the stranger. He could smell the blood. He knelt down before the man. Why did he die? What kind of people are these that kill for no reason? He felt tears but he held them back. 'Men like that other deserve punishment!' he thought to himself. He clenched his fists. He picked up the two revolvers the stranger had dropped. He looked at the ammunition and firing mechanism. He went to the weapon shop quickly with a determined face in place of his usual grin. He walked into the weapons shop. Swords and melee weapons lined the walls as they do in most shops. Colt slammed the guns on the counter in front of the shopkeeper.
"Can you make ammunition and powder charges for this?" he demanded
"Well… I could try but…" the shopkeeper started but was interrupted by the innkeeper coming in and slamming the door
He glared at Colt with the two guns on the counter in front of him. His gaze then went from angry to sympathetic.
"Colt. Why are you taking the guns of that man and trying to get it to kill again. You can't go after that man."
He had seemed to read Colt's mind. Colt hung his head.
"But why can't I?!?! Look what he did to that man!" he yelled pointing outside the shop
The innkeeper, seemingly not affected by these pleads, gathered the two guns and walked out of the shop. Colt ran after him.
"Shouldn't the man lying there bleeding be given justice?!?" argued Colt
"Do not think of me as a cold-hearted man now, Colt. I am only saying that if you go kill that other man out of revenge you will be just as good as him… and that is not good." The innkeeper said with logic
He kept walking across the common back to the inn. He continued talking
"And in addition even if I were stupid enough to let you chase after this animal your place his here in Oeilvert. Your place is here with me."
"But I am now old enough to make my own decisions and that is what I shall do!" defied Colt strongly
The innkeeper turned toward him surprised. He bowed his head and shook it to and fro.
"You apparently aren't going to listen, Colt." The innkeeper remarked as he sighed
He lifted his eyes to the young man's. They were about the same height now. His green eyes just stared at him. His blond bangs were down in front of his face swaying in the breeze. He was quite a handsome boy. Why did he want to get himself killed? The innkeeper smiled.
"You know… Your father said you always had spirit."
Colt looked up in interest at mention of his father.
"He told me someday you were going to find a cause to fight for and never cease to fight until you won or died." The innkeeper reminisced
He shook his head as if ridding himself of these thoughts and walked into the inn. Colt followed now wondering what he had on his mind. The innkeeper trotted over to the closet behind the desk of the inn. He pulled out a chest. He reached around his neck and pulled out a key. He opened the lock and opened it slowly. Inside were many things of interest to Colt. He looked through them. A pack, with a small amount of money in it. Three boxes of ammunition and powder charges. A pair of boots, spurs and a belt. He also saw something else in the box. A revolver much like those of the stranger but only more beautiful. It had an ivory handle and polished steel barrel and chamber. It looked as if it had never been used and it gleamed in the dim light of the inn. This is what the innkeeper reached for first. He picked it up by the barrel and handed Colt the gun's handle. He held it and, though it felt heavier than the others, he almost felt he could use this gun with more effectiveness.
"That gun was your father's." stated the innkeeper "He told me to give it to you when you were old enough."
Colt was in awe by the gun's expert handiwork. He took the pouch and started putting the ammo and charges in it. He took the belt, which had two holsters, and put it through the belt loops of his pants and switched out his old, dusty shoes with the leather boots in front of him. He attached the spurs onto the heel. He put the two guns from the stranger's possession and put them into the holsters. The other he lodged in the waist of his pants. He looked at everything and made sure he had all that he needed. He walked out the doors of the inn.
As he walked, spurs keeping time with his steps, he heard the innkeeper's voice once more. He turned toward the old man. He had come and passed Colt. He walked toward the dead body of the stranger. He picked the hat off his head and bowed to the body (in Oeilvert it was a sign of respect to bow at funerals or whence someone had died) He took the hat and began dusting it off. He placed it on the top of Colt's head and stepped back a pace.
"I believe…" he began thoughtfully "That since you are continuing his quest… He would want you to have this…"
Colt smiled at the old man. He swung the pouch over his arm and walked back behind the inn to the stables. He quickly mounted himself on the stranger's Chocobo. It was a little jumpy for a moment but he settled him down. He soon trotted out from behind the inn on the glossy yellow bird. He saw the people of Oeilvert staring at him and wishing him good luck. He waved to them all and finally, without any further adieu, rode off into the horizon searching for the bounty. The bystander had become the predator. The prey would not be allowed to rest.