Mick And Blue (1)

"Mick, are you sure it's a few kids we're chasing after?"

Blue blinked to get rid of the water drizzling down his forehead and into his eyes. The brim on his hat had done a great job keeping away the rain from his head at first. But after it got soaked, which everything did since they were walking through a wet forest in the middle of a rainstorm, it had only become a funnel and led all the water straight into his face and hair.

The bad weather and the rain creeping down within his mostly effective oilskin coat made Blue want to get done with this assignment as quickly as possible. And considering the details of the assignment, they should already have made quite some headway with it. But here they were, he and Mick, in the middle of a forest on the border to an enemy kingdom.

"The details are in the assignment we got. All the knights and witnesses that survived the fire agreed on who killed the Baron's son."

Mick didn't even look at Blue as his gaze pierced through the leaves and falling raindrops, looking for and finding the traces of their targets.

"I know, but shouldn't we have caught up by now? They even said one of them was injured."

"..."

"What if they died in the fire, and we're chasing a spy or something?"

"Stop wasting your words with nonsense and focus on the assignment. The Baron promised a decent reward if we could catch them alive."

"Urgh, transporting them back alive is going to be such a hassle."

Mick glanced at Blue with a cruel smile.

"He didn't specify how intact they had to be. He only asked for them to be alive. We can just say they lost a couple of limbs while resisting."

Blue frowned.

"Fuck, man. You get so brutal so quickly. Besides, you noticed how those townspeople spoke of the kids we're tracking."

"What are you trying to get at? Hey, it looks like they've started getting hungry. It also seems like these footprints are getting clearer. We must be closing in."

Blue and Mick bent down to inspect the traces they had found. The freshly torn stems and leaves showed where Ritzy and Gerhart had plucked and eaten berries.

"Mick, what if…."

"'What if' what?"

Mick didn't care too much about Blue's hesitation and stood up to continue tracking their prey. Now that the prints were getting clearer, even if only slightly, they could tell that they were nearing their targets. It wouldn't be long until they were at the closest town, celebrating a successful capture with a steaming hot meal, a refreshing beer, and maybe a girl or two.

"What if they didn't do it? Don't you think the townspeople could have blamed the kids for it? They said it themselves. No one except one or two could tolerate them. And you know what the Baron's kids are like. What if the townspeople killed Baron Michmond's son and are pinning the blame on the outcast orphans, who no one would defend or protect?"

Blue's clear concern and worry did make Mick slow down a little. They also knew what it was like to be shunned by others.

"So what?"

"What do you mean so what?!" Blue couldn't understand why Mick acted like he didn't care.

"So what if you're right? What changes, Blue? Are you going to go back and tell the Baron that you think the kids are innocent? When the entire town claims the opposite? When there isn't even a shred of evidence?"

Blue couldn't respond. He only watched Mick in stunned silence.

"Stop thinking up unnecessary conspiracy theories, Blue. Just do what we're told. We get the money, we have some fun, and we do what we want. That's what we've done so far. Is there any reason to change that now? For the sake of some random kids that we've never met, who, let's be honest, probably did kill that rotten noble?"

"I suppose not."

Blue trailed behind Mick, downcast.

"You know what, Blue? I'll treat you to a night at Madame Holburry's when we get back to Mokond."

"Really?"

Blue spoke with hints of disbelief, but Mick's words had succeeded in raising his spirit at least a little.

"Yeah. I promise. Now put that nose to use. I think something happened here."

Mick pointed at the ground where the pair muddy of footprints they had been following trailed all over the place. They were uneven, both in placement and depth. It was as if they had scurried around in a frenzy after benign scared or attacked.

And the cause for that was also apparent when they noticed the third set of footprints, which didn't match the other two.

"Hey, don't these look like the footprints that led the other way?"

Blue pointed at the footprints that were a little off to the side when compared to the other two. Mick came close and knelt down.

"They do. I told you they were trying to mislead us."

"Well, yeah. But why do these kids have an adult man's shoes? And what's with these handprints? What happened with the other pair they used to try and fake a fourth set with?"

Mick shrugged at Blue's questions.

"No idea. I thought you were the detective. What does your nose tell you?"

Blue didn't bother responding to Mick's sarcasm. He closed his eyes and focused on his nose. He ignored the sound of the rain falling on the leaves. He ignored the feeling of the cold water trickling down his blue hair and the nape of his neck. But he didn't ignore the mana coursing through his body, which he guided through his body in an intricate pattern and into his nose.

He opened his eyes after a while.

"Alright, something's weird."

"Stop beating around the bush and tell me."

"I was pretty sure I got a good whiff of the three kids we're chasing from outside the wall and the cabin. I mean, those three scents I picked up should belong to our targets. I also picked up that burnt fourth scent along the way, but that should be someone else that's after them, right?"

"Yeah. Get to the point already."

"One of the kids' scents is missing. But these footprints are filled with the smell of smoke and something else, something musty? I can't really tell. It's like the smell of a tomb or something."

"Internal conflict, maybe?"

Mick looked at where two footprints continued deeper into the forest while the third returned from where it came. He thought about what Blue had said and considered splitting up to go after the adult man but then decided not to. Their target was the kids.

"It would explain why the scent was weaker after the dungeon. They killed one of their own inside the dungeon with the help of an accomplice from town. They might have tried to get provisions from the dungeon if they hadn't prepared properly?"

Blue voiced his ideas as they continued walking.

"It's possible. But why was the man putting his hands on the ground? And why is there a burnt smell?"

"Barely escaped from the fire, maybe."

Mick tilted his head in thoughtful agreement.

"Well, it's not our job to figure out what happened. We only need to capture as many kids as we can and bring them back."