Chapter 4: Rimuri

The two bounty hunters wasted no time in going to their next mission area. The journey from Prontera to Payon at that time felt almost as though the war was still on. The ravaged countryside made the travel by foot no easier and strict clearance by the border of the two nations that were at war so recently added to the travel time.

"The Sea of Eternal Forests, Payon," said Adrian as he sniffed the mountain air rushing up from the gully beneath the cliff overlooking the fortress capital, "The air here is really nice, ain't it?"

Primera's stare was lost in the horizon of deep thought, "The lingering stench of gunpowder has desecrated this place."

"Gun powder?" Adrian sniffed more air," I dun smell no gunpowder."

Primera turned her back and started walking down the path leading to Rimuri, "Never mind. Let's just get going before it gets dark."

Traces of war etched itself murals of madness all over the forest. Every now and then one would see sections of the forest burnt completely to the ground. Carcasses of animals littered the path. Acres of woods were blown in a outward circular formation with a large crater at its center - a reminder of the Gottenclaymoren, landmines the size of a house that could make an entire division vanish at a moment's notice.

The huntress stopped after a good three hours walk from the border clearance to examine a patch of shrubs.

"There's a shortcut down this trail. We can cut the travel time by an hour," Primera pointed to an narrow rive at the middle of a set of igneous rocks that couldn't have been identified as a path even by the more experienced rangers.

The sun was setting already and Adrian knew the terrain no better than an Obeaune would. He just nodded and followed the huntress into the dark pathway.

"Say Prim, Father Ayn was right, you really do know this place very well."

The huntress proceeded towards the narrower sections of the woods. "Like the back of my hand."

Adrian could only half-guess why. The most unique thing about their partnership is that they both knew nothing of each other's pasts. The trust they had for each other despite the dont-care nature of their partnership was rather unique. Call it a soldier's intuition - a gut trust for comrades that you develop with the radical nature of war.

"I used to complete runs using this path on a moonless night in under ten minutes back when the war was still raging," opened up Primera. It wasn't like her to mention anything about the distant past. In fact, for the duration of their partnership, it was the first time she actually mentioned something at least minutely related to her before they started bounty hunting.

Adrian silently looked at the place. Even with the sun still within the horizon the place was barely lighted already.

"Why don't we play a little game? I'll try to do this path as quickly as I did during the war and let's just see if you can keep up!" playfully challenged the huntress while looking back at the following assassin.

Adrian's heart beat faster. Forests weren't really his thing. As a full-blooded Morrocan, it was only natural to have distaste for the current surroundings. But it was too late. A blink of an eye later, Primera was running off into the thick jungle.

"Dammit! Wait up!"

It wasn't a boast to say that Adrian was faster than Primera. He had outrun her so many times before but somehow, the terrain worked totally for her this time around. She slipped from one path to another, almost swinging from tree to tree as she fluidly moved with the uneven terrain.

Before long, he could only hear footsteps growing fainter by the second. The path was starting to slope down dangerously. So much so that he was no longer avoiding the protruding branches and roots - he was dodging them.

"For crying out loud, Primera, I don't want to get killed before my assignment!"

And then, light.

A horizon of miniscule trees and looming mountains painted crimson by the setting sun exploded into his sight.

A firm arm stopped Adrian from his avalanching descent. And at the right time at that. Had he stepped any further, he looked down, he would have plummeted down a dark ravine like the loose rocks at his feet. Beyond the ravine was a small town amidst the sea of green Payon was famous for.

"Easy does it, desert boy. You dont want to end up like many a Pronteran ranger who thought it wise to pass by here," insulted Primera as she pushed the assassin back, "Anyway, that's the town of Rimuri beyond this ravine. You can use our supply vines to go down there. But I suggest we stay for the night here."

The young assassin looked around and found a clearing suitable for camping out. He was in deep thought at that time. He thought about his partner; come to think of it, he really knew nothing about her.

Adrian dropped his knapsack beneath a tree and started scouting the surrounding area. "This place looks safe enough. I'll go look for some firewood. Mountains can become very cold at night."

And although Adrian couldn't put a finger to it, he knew something was different with the huntress since they came to Payon. Well, he knew enough that she was Payonese but nothing else.

"No need," Primera replied. She took out her dagger and cut off a layer of vines around a dark section of the opening and revealed a wooden structure, complete with windows, doors and a straw roof," This place should be big enough for both of us."

"Could you please tell me what the hell is a cabin doing in a travel-forsaken place like this?"

Primera turned at Adrian and smiled warmly as she opened the door of the wooden dwelling. It was the first time he had seen such a smile from her since they started working together.

"Because this was my home away from home during the war."

End of Chapter.