The Bounty Hunter

A Guard-Captain’s POV

My name is Oram Likle.  I am a guard-captain of the Northern Residential District of Obsidia, arguably the most dangerous neighborhood in the queendom.  Crime is rampant here and I could randomly throw a stone in the street and hit a criminal who would kill my entire family because I hit them with a stone.  I have seen so many grizzly and horrific things while on the beat that nothing affects me anymore. Or so I thought until now.

The night shift tonight was like any other at first albeit it being somewhat foggy, with there being a healthy amount of traffic still entering the city at a leisurely pace.  But soon the amount of traffic decreased abnormally and the few travelers that were still coming came at a run.  After getting called out by the guards posted at the gate, I came to interview the most recent traveler: an elven peddler who had nearly collapsed from terror and exhaustion. 

I sat down across from him “So what in the blazes has you so worked up?”  And I received nothing but an eerie laugh “HAHAHAahahAhAHaHAAAHAHAhAH!  It’s coming for us! IT’S COMING FOR US!”  The peddler had gone completely over the edge.  His behavior was freaking out all the guards, myself included.  I slapped the elf across the face “WHAT’S COMING?!?” I shouted.  He just smiled and fainted.  The creaking and the rattling of a decrepit wagon reached my ears.  I looked towards the gate shrouded by fog. 

Coming out of the fog, in the intermittent moonlight, a horse pulling a wagon appeared.  It was covered in wounds that should have been lethal, but it appeared unaffected as it continued to walk in an uneven gait.  The driver of the wagon had no reins, his face was obscured by a tattered black cloak.  Both the wagon and the driver’s cloak were covered in bloodstains and in the back I saw a pile of severed heads with expressions of agony.  An old legend that was universally known claimed that Death likes to collect the heads of those who anger him and he always takes his collection with him in a blood-stained wagon.  My mind went blank as I thought that.  None of the guards made a move for fear of Death turning its attention to them.  

Without any signal from the driver, the horse had stopped and the wagon was right next to me.  I could feel the gaze of the driver and I started trembling in fear.  “Where’s the nearest guard station?” Death asked me.  “It’s just down the sst-ss-treet.” I stuttered.  Death didn’t respond and the horse started to move without warning once more.  As its back faded into the darkness, every guard at the gate collapsed.  Afterwards, we would all be plagued with nightmares. 

Terra’s POV

After hours of travel, I finally arrived in Obsidia.  During the trip I was able to think about what to do next.  I realized that keeping the severed bandit heads to show Kira that I had killed them all would be traumatic for her.  So I decided to go to the guard station and see if there had been any bounties out for them before discarding them.  Oblivious to my appearance, I headed to the guard station nearby and was promptly surrounded by a group of terrified guards.  I was unperturbed.  “Are there any bounties for these?” I indicated the heads in the back. 

One of the guards timidly came up and looked and stopped at the bandit leader’s head “Oh my goodness… This is Bandit King Burk!  And that’s Two-Faced Trin! And...”  The guard kept listing names and when he finally finished, everyone stood there dumbfounded.  “These are all the members of the Disaster Robbers. How did yo-” I interrupted him here, “Just give me the bounty.”  “Ah, yes! Right away sir!”  My total reward came to 20 gold coins and at this moment I realized how profitable bounties could be.  Apparently the Disaster Robbers were the queendom’s most notorious bandit troupe, with no one being able to stop them to the point of the rural villages treating them as the equivalent of a natural disaster, hence the unoriginal name. 

After claiming the bounty, I left for the southern district where Kira’s grandmother was.  I had been to her place a few times before when I joined Kira’s family on their trips to the city.  I brought Kira over from my room and placed her next to me.  Eventually I arrived at Grandma Kuma’s shop, and I took Kira in my arms and promptly used magic to destroy the wagon and horse, leaving no trace. 

I knocked loudly on the door and waited as I heard Grandma Kuma getting up.  Soon after, Kira was peacefully sleeping in a room while Grandma Kuma was pouring me some tea to drink.  After explaining everything that had happened, I handed over most of the bounty and left.  I was frustrated at my own helplessness and enraged at a world where something like this could happen.  I had failed those people, but I would do everything I could to make sure that Kira lived well. 

My pursuit of keeping that promise changed me.  In order to tutor Kira and make sure she became well-educated, I became the top student at my school.  In order to protect her and make sure she lived comfortably, I started hunting down the most vicious criminals and monsters to make money.  I broke dozens of bones, bled liters of blood, nearly lost several limbs and even came close to death a few times over those years.  I trained at a local dojo and even smuggled some guns from the US and became proficient in their use. 

The many experiences I had changed me, sometimes I wonder what would have happened to that goofy, carefree brat back in primary school had he never gone to the other world.  How much have I lost?  How different would my life be?  These worthless thoughts occasionally flash across my mind as I fight, kill, and claw my way through this world.