“Oh great. There’s more! Look’s like I’m going to have to teach all of ya a lesson!”
The hunter with a fire aptitude that I saw earlier in the mercenary guild is out here in the desert, most likely looking to get his hands on another Firestone to sell.
I walk closer to see him turn to me with a snide grin.
His slicked-back dark hair glimmers in the sunlight and muscles budge from his tight black shirt. He’s taller than me by a few centimeters.
This hunter may look strong, but all 4 of us out-level him by a large amount… He has no idea what he’s getting himself into.
The man scoffs, rudely pushing Abby to the side and puffing out his chest to walk over, making steady eye contact and beginning to ignite his right hand on fire.
“Aghh it’s you, from the guild! I remember you. Ya know what? I’ll beat all of you so bad you’ll never show your faces in town again, how would ya like-“
Before he can finish his sentence, the fire user stops in place and bites his bottom lip.
“H-Hey, what the-“
The rocky sand around his ankles begins to twist and mold up his legs, making him unable to step any closer to me.
I grin, as I see the angry Earth Magic wielder with bright green hair standing behind him. She has a stern expression across her face.
The rock she’s controlling slides up the man’s legs and starts to cover his torso as well. His expression turns grim and sweat falls from his forehead as he bursts into flames while trying to escape.
Abby walks over to the wide-eyed hunter, standing in front of the now half-petrified body of rock.
The man yells out again, with a shakier, but still confident tone.
“What is all this? You’re an element wielder? You-“
He pauses, gulps, then rolls his eyes while the corner of his lips begin to curl upwards.
“You all must be from the Association, that’s it. Right? Oh, you’re in for it now!”
He squirms, trying to break free, but the stone keeps rising up his body. It’s now covering half of his torso.
Abby now stands in front of the man, looking him straight in the face.
“I don’t like being pushed around. What was that you said earlier? You were… going to teach us a lesson?”
She smirks, stopping the rising stone just before his neckline.
He lets out an audible sigh of relief but also looks pale in the face.
Abby steps forward.
“Come on, at least start with your name. Who are you? What are you doing farming these dungeons without even trying to clear the breaks? The villages around here are clearly suffering from your actions.”
He gulps.
“Hey… It’s Issac. This… is just how it is around here. I didn’t start the breaks, I’m just taking advantage of an opportunity given to me. N- No harm done.”
He stutters at the last line, looking up in the air as Abby summons a thin spear of rock in her right hand.
“Also, what was that you said about the Association? How’d you know we were from outside the walls?”
He smirks, then makes a facial expression like he’s about to spit.
Abby doesn’t flinch for a second and kicks his left leg at the knee.
I hear a loud crack and don’t have to look down to realize it’s not only the stone that broke.
The fire user lets out a grunt, ignoring the pain and looking forward with the same dumb smirk on his face.
“I’ve got nothing to lose girl. I either live another day out in these flats, or I meet my demise just like everyone else that was abandoned by your leaders.”
Abby squints, unhappy with his reaction. The grunt continues.
“Ha! The four of you are heading north aren’t ya? You’ll never make it into DryRock looking like that… and without a guide to get you in? Who do you think you are?”
Abby tightens her lips, then looks down at the cracks in the stone around his left leg that gushes blood. She replies while reaching her hand into the item box around her waist, taking out our map.
She shoves the paper in Issac’s face, pointing to the middle section.
In between the next two breaks, there’s a small town noted down with 3 black question marks scribbled around it.
“Is this where you’re talking about? This… is this DryRock?”
He goes quiet for a moment, then responds.
“It is….”
After, he lets out a laugh. Danny walks over, waving at the Green Haired mage.
“I- uh- if you’re really going to DryRock, and- if you’re really Association Hunters- I- Well- He’s right. You’ll never make it inside those walls. Or- you may never even find the walls.”
I start to walk over now, curious to know what exactly is going on here. Maria follows and Arie takes a few steps forward as well.
We all crowd around the captured fire hunter and he lets out another bellowing laugh.
“Oh you four crack me up, the Association has lower standards than I imagined. Sending out clueless uniformed scouts like yourselves to fix the problems they caused.”
I raise an eyebrow, then walk closer to stand face to face with the grunt.
“Well… if we can’t get in without a guide, I guess you’ll have to show us the way.”
He rolls his eyes and throws his head back.
“What’s in it for me, I-“
He’s cut off by Abby kicking his leg again.
He grunts, gritting his teeth the staring straight ahead at me to continue after a slow inhale and exhale.
“There’s no worse fate than being outed as an Association’s ally out here you know. They have bounties on the heads of those who are known supporters of the Association. It’s even worse if you’re an actual partner of the Association like all of you. If you’re big shots, they might even have your face on the most wanted lists. The further into the wall, the worse it gets.”
I tighten my gaze, then respond.
“Sure. There are risks. But… you’ll do it for a price.”
His arrogant grin gets wider as he nods.
“I like you.”
I nod, not wasting a second.
“So, name it. What do you want?”
He pauses, looking up at the desert sky, then back down to me.
“Those two X’s on the map around DryRock. They’re breaks aren’t they?”
I don’t respond, but he continues.
“Let me collect the bounties on each of them. I heard one of the breaks is in the middle of the town, the other is further northeast. In return, I’ll get you into the city. I’m well acquainted with one of the guards at the west gate. We… do business.”
I give him a firm nod, then turn to the rest of my team. I shrug, letting out a sigh.
“I believe him. No reason for the guy to lie about something like this.”
While my teammates think of their responses, I turn to Danny.
“You won’t say a word will ya?”
I see the small hunter visibly gulp, then reply.
“Of course not- I- had my suspicions that you were from the Association, but you all seem to be fine people. I have no qualms with the government outside the wall. I’m… not one to judge.”
He looks over to Issac, then back to me.
“As he said, many of us further from Solara are very open to the idea of Association help. Or, well, not entirely opposed to it I guess. Once you make it to DryRock and beyond… this desert turns into a much different place.”
Arie chimes in.
“It’s a good idea.”
He walks closer.
“I was hoping the breaks were outside of the town, so we could camp out away from the sight. It seems we’ll need a guide if one of the breaks is really in the center of town…. I vote yes.”
Maria nods.
“Seems this is the only way. It’s a yes from me.”
I turn to Abby. She doesn’t say a word, so I speak.
“I vote yes, and you can keep him in line if you’d like. Just… heal that leg. There’s no need to torture him. He was just doing what he felt was right. The way of the desert I suppose.”
She rolls her eyes, but agrees, turning to Issac.
“It’s a yes from me. No funny business though, you’re under my watch.”
He gives her a look of fear for a split second, then reverts to his toughened care-free state.
“Fine by me. Now get me out of this damn earth magic. I’ll take the 4 of you to DryRock so I can get paid.”