Mountain Serpents

It was the next day, and Marcus felt good. Once he'd gotten into bed, he just concentrated and that sped up his recovery substantially. After a good night's sleep, he was as good as new. Marcus even suspected that he was better than before he'd gotten stabbed. He wasn't sure, but it felt like his body remade itself stronger than before. He cracked his joints and stretched his muscles, then hopped out of bed.

Clair was still asleep. She came to bed after she closed the store for the night. She was exhausted as from the last two weeks. Not only did she take care of Marcus, she had to run her store as well, it took a toll on her physically and mentally. He didn't want to wake her, so he left a note on the nightstand and quietly left the store.

He had a lot of things to do, one of which was to find out who had tried to kill him. He really didn't even know where to start. He was no master spy, able to get in and out of places to gather information. So he had to do it the most simple way he could think of, just wait until they realize that he was still alive and try to kill him again. He would have to stay on high alert, but that was the only way he could think of.

He took in the dusty air, thick with the smell of people and animals, and smiled. It was great to be alive. Although he was being hunted, he never felt better. After his brush with death, he knew not to take any moment for granted. Not that he did before, it's just that your perspective changes after going through something like that. Walking with a pep in his step, he made his way to the Mercenaries Association to collect his reward from his last mission, he was long overdue.

Stepping through the threshold, he took in his surroundings. It was a little past noon, so there were many people going about inside the Association. Some were at the counters, others checking out the mission board. He hadn't been in Jakarta for very long, so not many people recognized him, so he still got some strange looks from some of the people. Marcus thought that once people got to know him better they wouldn't stare so much. Sometimes he felt like an animal in a zoo.

Walking up to the counter, he stated his name and handed the clerk his I.D.

"We were starting to think that you were dead." The old man behind the counter stated plainly, as if he didn't care if Marcus was or not.

"You're lucky we hold onto the payment from missions for a month, otherwise you would have forfeited it."

"I'll have to remember that, thanks. I was a little occupied, so I hadn't had the time to come and pick it up."

Not caring in the slightest, the clerk shrugged his arthritic shoulders and went to the back. He returned with a leather pouch, heavy with coin.

"The merchants added a bonus to the pay. So the total for the mission is two gold coins. Any issues?" The clerk said, with a grumpy undertone.

"None." Marcus replied, reaching out to take the pouch.

Marcus pocketed the money and turned to leave. Behind him the clerk was already shouting "Next!", already forgetting about the very large man that he just helped. Marcus decided to just go about his day as usual, not knowing when they would strike. He didn't think it would be too soon, it would take some time for them to notice that he was still breathing.

He walked up to the mission board to peruse what was posted. He pushed aside some other mercenaries that were taking up too much space. He was done with trying to be polite most of the time, life was too short to try to please other people so why bother. He would still act accordingly in certain situations, but not when he didn't have to. The offended mercenaries were about to say something when they realized who had pushed them. A mountain of a man was standing before them, unmovable, their words stuck in their throats. They held up their hands and backed away, apologizing for bumping into Marcus.

For a moment Marcus felt like a bully, but quickly shrugged it off. He didn't do anything over the line so he forgot about it. Looking over the available missions, he soon felt like he needed to rank up as fast as he could. A mission was posted that required the extermination of a nest of Mountain Serpents.

Mountain serpents were large snakes, about thirty feet long. They weren't poisonous, they were constrictors, squeezing their prey to death. They were known to be solitary creatures, until they gathered to mate. Then they would find a dark, damp place to lay their eggs. Instead of laying their eggs and leaving them, they would actually stay by the eggs until they hatched, protecting them. That set them apart from the reptiles that Marcus knew of back on earth.

The mission was a gold ranked mission. Requiring a team of at least ten to take it on. The rewards were substantial, each member would take home ten gold coins, if they survived. Mountain serpents had rock hard, black scales. They were surprisingly fast considering their size. One by itself was a challenge, the missions said it was a nest, so the number could be in the double digits. Marcus took a moment to think, then made a decision.

He walked back up to the counter, the old man wasn't there, probably on break. There was a young girl in his place. She looked like she was in her teens, with short brown hair and glasses. This was the first time Marcus had seen someone with glasses, he thought that maybe they hadn't developed them yet. She had brown eyes and a mousy look, like someone who loved to spend their time in a library.

He walked up to the counter, put a pleasant smile on his face, and asked the question he was wanting to ask.

"I was wanting to know more about the gold ranked mission posted, the one with the mountain serpents."

The mousy girl returned his smile with her own.

"Yes, of course. As you know it is gold ranked, it requires a minimum of ten people for safety reasons. A nest of mountain serpents is extremely dangerous, so at least a silver ranked team is recommended. The nest is said to be located about fifty miles north-west of the city. A ruin was discovered, and when a team was sent down to explore, they found the nest. A wealthy individual would like to explore the ruins, thus the high reward. Now, would you like to register your team for the mission?" She asked, fully expecting a man of his size to at least be silver ranked.

"Well, that's the problem. I have no team, and I'm only copper ranked. I was hoping to convince the Association to let me take the mission on." Marcus said, with the pleasant smile still plastered on his face.

"As you know, only silver or gold ranks can take this mission." She said plainly.

"May I speak with the head? I think I can convince them."

"Hmm. I'll go check. What was your name so I may tell them who to expect?" She asked, only doing this because of Marcus's pleasant attitude.

"Marcus."

"No last name?"

"Oh no, just Marcus. I've no high status."

"Very well, I'll be back shortly." The mousy girl turned and walked up the stairs to the head's office.

Marcus thought it was strange that she just headed up to ask him directly, he thought that he would have to make an appointment, or at least go through a secretary. It wasn't long before the girl returned.

"You can head on up, father will see you now." She said with a business smile, opening the counter swing door.

Marcus thanked the girl, and walked up the stairs with heavy steps. At the top of the stairs was a short hallway. At the end of the hallway was a single oaken door. It was stained dark, and was polished. He knocked on the door twice and waited.

"You may enter." A deep voice came from inside.

Marcus turned the knob and went inside. There he saw a large office, twenty square feet in total. It had mounted heads of several different magical beasts hanging on the walls. A desk was in the middle, the same dark stained wood as the door, with two chairs situated in front of it.

Sitting behind the desk was a middle aged man, with black hair, combed neatly. He had a strong jaw with stubble growing out of it, not in an unkempt way, but trimmed to perfection. He was wearing high quality clothing that looked a lot like a business suit. It was dark grey in color and suited him quite well. He motioned for Marcus to sit down in one of the chairs.

"So, I hear you want to take on a gold ranked mission all by yourself. I'll just ask this bluntly, do you want to die?" The man asked, with an annoyed look on his face. He only agreed to take this meeting so he could see who was dumb enough to want to throw their life away.

"Not at all sir. I truly believe that I can complete this mission." Marcus said with conviction. He had no doubt in his mind that he could, he also wanted to take a look at the ruins they had turned into a nest. He would still check it out, even if he didn't get approval to take the mission. He was just wanting the reward from it as well, it was a lot of gold coins.

"What makes you so sure about yourself?"

"Do you remember the forest bear that was killed about a month ago?"

"Of course, you don't see one of those every day. I remember when I was still doing missions, we had run into one. It took me and my team of six to kill it, only after an hour of fighting." The man said, reminiscing about the past.

"I killed that bear, in one swing of my warhammer." Marcus stated matter of factly. He wasn't bragging, just stating a fact. Although at the time he was terrified of the bear, he didn't need to know that.

"My daughter said your name was Marcus right? That name did come up with the bear if I remember correctly."

The man paused, taking a drink from a crystal glass. It was just filled about halfway, and smelled like it might contain high proof spirits.

"Look, I really don't care if you take the mission. If you want to die that's your problem, who am I to stop you. The rules state that you must be a certain rank to officially take on the mission. But all the client really cares about is clearing the nest to get to the ruins, me as well. So this is what we are going to do. The Association will look the other way if you want to risk your life. If you happen to live, and complete the mission the rewards are yours, but the mission will not be accredited to you, at least not in an official capacity. I don't want to look like I bend the rules, not for you at least. Are we clear?"

"Crystal clear." Marcus said, eyeing the glass in the man's hands. Marcus liked to sip on whiskey sometimes and was curious about what was in the glass.

"Good, and this isn't for you. You may leave now." The head said, protecting his glass like a hen her chicks.

Smiling, at the man's antics, Marcus stood and left his office. He had a mission now, and the unknown made him excited. The ruins may contain treasures beyond belief, dangers as well. Marcus had to do some shopping in order to be prepared. He also had to show his face around the city, hoping to draw out his enemies. He had a lot to do, and the money to do it. He would need to upgrade his equipment before he set out.