Dev ran as fast as he possibly could. While he was normally permanently exhausted, he did store up a lot of energy due to his inactivity and if he really needed to, he could run like a maniac. Guards were chasing him now, some firing guns but missing wildly, intentionally or not. He ran into the desert, almost falling down a hole, retracing the route back to Mogic Industries. The guards left him alone once he was no longer close to the town - they obviously just wanted him out. He fell over in the sand, gasping for breath. He felt like throwing up, suddenly realising how little he'd eaten: one apple forcibly sold to him and the blue liquid, which wasn't even alcoholic.
"Are you okay, meow?"
"Hungry..." groaned Devon.
"I stole some food, meow, have it."
The cat dropped a loaf of bread and some apples in his lap. Devon didn't understand how the cat carried all those things but ate his food anyway. The cat curled up next to him and stared in the direction of Motavia.
"What was all that about?" asked Devon.
"That mark on your hand, meow... where did you get it?"
"I don't know..." Devon hadn't had it before touching that girl's hand in the desert. But that was just a dream... wasn't it? It felt like a dream. On the other hand, he was talking to a cat in the middle of a desert populated by angry owl people.
"That mark is only given to people who are banished from everywhere on the planet, meow. It means you can't enter any homestead."
"Banished?"
"I'm not even legally allowed to let you in Mogic HQ, meow."
Devon looked glum.
"But you'll still help me out, right? I mean... it's only a law. And I can't survive in the middle of the desert on my own."
"How will it look to my customers if I'm harbouring known criminals, meow?"
"It'll look like you're a nice person?" suggested Devon.
"We're not a charity, meow. Businesses can't be nice."
"I could make it worth your while." said Devon, thinking quickly. The cat's ears pricked up. "You said there are lots of people who just appeared here like me. If they're really from the same place as me, I might know them. I could act as a go-between. I'm very popular."
"Very popular, you say? Even though you've been banished from everywhere?" the cat swished her tail, amused. "I'm sorry, meow, but you must have done something terrible to get that mark and I don't want it happening to me. You claim to have lost your memory, but you might be lying. I'll get you some food, money and desert supplies so you won't die, but I can't help you beyond that. Besides..." the cat's eyes flashed green as she said this and he saw something familiar in them momentarily, "You can't hide behind me forever. You have to find out what's happening to you and why."
"I... guess you're right." he bowed his head, "Just let me sleep until tomorrow night. I've got to go and look for... whatever it is I've got to find."
It's that girl, he thought, I've got to find that girl.
"Don't get killed/ Hire a merc from the Hunter's Guild/ Hire a skilled/ Mercenary from the Guild!"
Che quaffed his flagon of ale as he finished the third verse of the Guild song. The Guild House was his favourite place to spend all his pay after a successful assignment. He had been tracking down a debtor who owed somebody 2 billion meseta and the pay had been lavish. It was well deserved - he and the fifteen other Hunters on the assignment had been sent all over Motavia to look for two people. There was a big celebration now and the bar was packed with mercenaries yelling, drinking, comparing weapons and watching dancers both male and female cavort on the stage.
Despite being new to the Guild, Che had quite a notorious reputation. He had won 'Hunter Of The Month' for the most successful assignments processed. He was skilled with the twin thrown blades he fought with and beat many other Hunters in duels. After only a month or so, he no longer felt like a foreigner, a stranger in a bizarre land he began to suspect was another planet. He had learnt the language and the many codes and rules that were so different to English behaviour. He enjoyed his life as a mercenary. It wasn't exactly a warlike place but it was dangerous, there was a high chance of being killed if you wandered around outside a town without a weapon or walked into a Motavian town and brought up the topic of Ragol. His sword training as a LARPer and a medieval re-enactor was actually useful here instead of being just a game. He got a lot more exercise now as well, he started developing muscle and his skin was bronzed in the Motavian sun.
Several of the Hunters turned around when the Guild secretary, a stern but pretty-faced woman, walked in and yelled the magic words:
"NEW JOBS!"
She was being followed by a tall, elegant, handsome man whose blonde hair was tied back neatly. Che had never seen another blonde on Motavia. He wore a black tunic and long red robes and radiated an aura of power as though he were more than human. A rapier hung at his ornate belt.
"Which of you is the greatest mercenary? I will hire only the best." he had a strong foreign accent.
"ME!" yelled a large black-haired man with a huge sword sitting by Che. A slicer flew across the bar and narrowly missed embedding itself into the man's head. It was thrown by a slim woman with long brown hair. Within seconds, a fight had broken out. Che ducked under the bar, not particularly wishing to be killed in a mercenary bar brawl. The secretary sighed and whispered something in the man's ear.
"Which one of you is Rune Walsh?" demanded the man in a voice of such authority that the mercenaries stopped fighting at once. There was a little shuffling and a tall, equally handsome man with long blue hair stepped forwards. He wore a white robe and carried a staff with green crystal inlay. He gave the customer a bored look.
"I've been on three jobs in a row. This better be good..." he began. Suddenly, he found a rapier at his throat.
"I challenge you to a duel." said the customer, "To see if you really are worthy of this assignment."
"You're a high level." noted Rune. Grinning, he warped a couple of metres back. Blue, green and red fields of arcane energy played over his form as he raised his arm and cast spell and technique. Taking a warrior's stance, the man cast Shift, letting waves of technique energy fill his body, making him stronger, then paced towards him. His rapier whipped across in a feint too fast for Rune to see and the man thrust at his chest. It would have been a serious injury if the rapier hadn't bounced off the three magical shields Rune had cast on himself. The wizard grinned and yelled "EFFESS!". A beam of pure light shot from the sky with a sound like the heavens themselves wrenching free and hit the man squarely. His robes charred and his hair dishevelled, he was knocked backwards. He gasped. Rune used the slight delay to strengthen his shields and barriers.
"You don't know the stat system very well, do you?" noted Che, "If you cast Saner, you own Rune's ass."
The customer glared at him, "You know how to beat this man, then?"
Che nodded, "He's at his most dangerous when he's grantzing. Never try and wack his client."
"You're obviously a very capable Hunter." said the man, "You're hired."
"What the... I never said I wanted to..."
"You will escort me to this place. I have heard it is dangerous." with an elegant flick of his hand, he threw a map at the Hunter. Che caught it. he gave his customer a funny look.
"Why on Algol d'you want to go there? Nothing there but monsters."
"I was told I could go back home if I did something there."
Che shook his head.
"Whatever, man. How much you payin'?"
"Fifty thousand meseta."
Che whistled.
"Meet me tomorrow at the Guild reception. Equip yourself well."
The customer walked out.
"Well, there goes my rest." muttered Che.
"Che, that man was from the same place as you, wasn't he?"
"He looked like it."
"Why don't you help each other find out what you're doing here? You might find a way back."
"I don't want to go back."
"You don't belong here. I'm a little worried about the balance of Algol, with all this data coming in from the outside world. This system is supposed to be isolated..."
"What the feeve?"
"Nothing. Er... wizard talk." Rune walked off.
"Don't belong here, huh? Like he belongs in the Guild. Stupid poncy esper boy..." Che muttered into his pint.