WR-09

"From what I heard... some widow took the help of a bounty hunter to get his head." Terry said

"Looks like you were right kid" Walker complimented for Silas. "So who was it?" He said this time time to Terry

"What do you mean?"

"Names Terry! I need names!" Walker yelled. It caused the attention of some people to fall on him.

"I don't got any of those" Terry replied calmly. "I just know that the guys brutal with his steel magic. Kinda like the old torturing thingy....."

"What?" Walker asked utterly confused as to what he was talking about.

"Ya know that old torturing machine.... the.... the.. IRON MAIDEN! Yeah that ."

"What are you even talking about?"

"Just look for a steel control bounty hunter and you'll find him."

"What about the fire?" Silas asked, butting in.

"Kid you don't need gates for everything ya know?"

"Well I think we're done here" Walker announced as he stood up, stiff. "I think we'll be taking our leave."

"Be careful Walker. Master's pretty pissed with you for what you did.. you ain't gonna leave scott free if he finds ya'." Terry warned as Walker left the bar, not batting an eyelash to the warning.

"Who's 'Master'" Silas asked.

"We'll get to that later" Walker replied.

"What was that drink?"

"Nothing much"

"Was it good?"

"It was disgusting"

....

Ice and Levia made their way through the crowded streets of Nigra Forum. Levia looked around and found things she wish she hadn't.

"Don't buy anything here..." Ice warned. "I won't be able to save your ass if you do"

Levia simply nodded as they continued walking. They arrived at shop with the name Klein's armory written over it.

"Is Berges in?" Ice asked the shopkeeper.

"Yeah just at the back." He replied.

Ice held Levia's arm and made his way to the back of the shop where a man probably in his 30s sat. He wore a dark green hood and had a scar under his left eye. His body was well built and had faced a lot of battles before.

"Yo Berges" Ice greeted. He had no respect for the man sitting on the chair.

"Ice... Who'd you kill?" Berges asked. "And who's the girl?"

"Equus, he's dead.... and as for it doesn't really require your concern..."

"Is that so?"

"In any case, where are the others?" Ice said removing the cloak.

"They were out celebrating the victory." Berges said as he picked up a piece of paper from the floor. He stuck it onto Ice's chest and walked right past him. "Some guy came over..." He glared at Ice "He gave you another target..."

"who?"

"Some Baron of the West."

Ice tried to read the name on the sheet if paper. "Stul... Stultus Muta?"

"Something like that yeah"

"What's he do?"

"Forced labor and you know... the usual." Berges picked up a bottle of wine. "In any case, you should celebrate your first kill."

"Not really in the mood for it".

Berges looked at Levia and looked back at Ice. He revealed a wry smile and looked back at the two of them. " I get it I get it... Have it your own way."

Both of them never really understood what he meant and left the armory.

"Stultus.... dumb ass name" Ice chuckled to himself.

.....

"C'mon Wilde I've got families to feed!" The shopkeeper if a rare goods shop in the Nigra Forum pleaded.

"Oh really?" The teenager said. He had a highly accented way of speaking. He had an oval face with green eyes and blonde hair. "With the money you make from selling stolen goods? You feed them with this?"

"I'll sell it to ya' for 50% the original price, how's that?"

"Acceptable" He said as he handed over a bundle of cash. "Pleasure doing business with you"

"A**hole"

The boy continued his walk through the crowd biting an apple. "Alright then.... Now for the real mission - CI-07... Where are you?" He walked through stores that sold things ranging from body parts to illegal merchandise. "I heard from Master that you were a newly established bounty hunter..... Guess I'll be going to Moribus Est Domi....." He muttered to himself.

Moribus Est Domi was a very lively place even in Nigra Forum. The streets of the area were covered with assassins adventurers and Hunters alike. The place was nothing short of a paradise for them since it gave them a huge amount of money for the jobs they did. And the jobs they did included murder, theft, robberies, assassinations and so on. For a small amount of work a person would pay you about 100 Nix* and this was a good sum of money compared to what you would get in guilds like Magnus.

The boy, in particular was going to a place called the Tabulus or better known as the bounty board. The Tabulus was a large building, 4 - storeys high. The layout was mostly like that of Magnus with some minor details that were different.

Around the time the teenager had entered the area, Walker and Silas had reached the board.

"If he's getting his jobs from anywhere" Walker commented as his expression grew grimmer "It's from here"

Silas asked nk questions. He knew he could trust a man that had just talked rudely to an information broker In Nigra Forum and still managed to get the information, to guide him through the depths of this hell.

The two entered the edifice that had a 7x5 foot teak wood door. The walls were made if solid concrete and were painted shades of red. As soon as Silas entered the building he gasped at what he saw. He didn't know if he had to amazed at the sophistication that even Magnus didn't offer or ve pissed that they had this level of sophistication without being jailed for the illegal practices that they used to get this. But at the moment this was not what he had to focus on. They had tried not to grab anyone's attention and crept into the room slowly. A few eyes fell on them but went back to focusing on whatever they were watching earlier. The reception lay just ahead with a stoic and well dresses man standing to greet them.

Silas thought to approach first as he leaned forward but was held back by Walker.

"Hey Tony." He said with a friendly smile. The two looked like long lost friends.

....

Ice and Levia were not headed towards the board. In fact they had a completely different destination - the Eastern prefecture of Phaedra, Oerientem. However they unexpectedly crossed paths with someone Ice didn't want to meet.

"There you are CI-07!!" He yelled.

"Wilde Robert??" Ice asked startled.

"That isn't my name anymore! I prefer WR-09."