16 16. What The Heck!

Hunter knew what a Circuit Judge was, and if this world had the same definition, then this was nothing but a suicide mission.

"Apologies, but count me outta this one. I'm already marked as a wanted man. Kidnapping a Judge's daughter would just put a bigger price on my head."

"When did I imply you were to abduct her from the Judge? In truth, this job was requested by the Judge himself."

It turned into a very bizarre situation. Hunter looked through the sheets of paper again and found no such thing implied. "Why in tarnation would he want his own daughter abducted?"

"Because she was snatched from him. Judge Ethan's daughter was forcibly taken, and he seeks her safe return. You're to go to this address, retrieve her, and escort her back to the Judge's residence in Edge Town." 

As soon as Hunter caught wind of Edge Town, his jaw clenched. "That ain't gonna fly, sir. We had an altercation with Captain Arthur of Redcapes while on our way here." 

"Ah, him? You're lucky you still have skin on your bones. But Judge Ethan will handle it, provided you deliver his daughter before Captain Arthur apprehends you," Leonidas remarked, reverting his attention back to his table and casually sending them away. "You may take two horses from the stables after paying the required deposit."

Hunter fell quiet once again, clearly lacking the money to pay for anything. "Ain't got no Revs, but I got gold,"

"That'll do." 

Nodding, Hunter turned around and left with Kavius. Just being in Leonidas' sight made him feel on edge. The Xeldan Brotherhood intrigued him greatly, yet information about them was scarce. Even Kavius was in the dark about their name, which meant they were either new or came from outside the southern area.

The two soon arrived at the stables near the campsite's exit. 

It was just an open area where horses were tied to wooden hitching posts. At least fifty horses were there, all being brushed, cleaned, and taken care of by men at work. 

Soon enough, Hunter found the captain responsible for the upkeep of the horses, another Akursed by the name of John, a very introverted one from the way he constantly gave short replies.

"Will these coins cover it?" Hunter handed five Gold Coins from the magical book's storage.

John merely nodded, took the money, wrote their names on a piece of paper, and left without saying anything. A few minutes later, he returned with two sets of saddles and one roll of white bandage.

"Horse number ten and eighteen." John gave them two metallic tokens with the same numbers. "Return these tokens when you come back."

'They're running a pretty tight ship here,' Hunter liked it. At least there was discipline in the Brotherhood. 'But the bandage?'

"What's this for?" 

John raised his left hand, revealing the white bandages covering his fingers to his forearm. "I got a cursed mark too. Hide it."

'One good fish in the pond?' Hunter looked at the middle-aged, thin man with a new outlook. His pale face was so ordinary that the man could easily hide in a crowd. 

"Thank you."

Grabbing one saddle each, Hunter and Kavius located their assigned horses and began preparing them. Meanwhile, Brownie appeared to mingle with the larger beasts. Although it seemed the horses weren't giving Brownie much face, blowing their noses at him as if warning him to stay away.

Once ready, Hunter bound a bandage around half of his face and forehead, leaving only a tiny slit on the left side for vision. With their preparations complete, they set out for the provided address, not far from Divefall Village—a minor farming community.

"This feels great." Kavius smiled ear to ear, riding his black mare. "Not having to walk is the best. It'll take less than half a day to reach the address."

"Quite so, Sir. It feels absolutely splendid to pick up the pace," Brownie agreed with a grin; Or was it a grin? He galloped alongside Hunter and Kavius with ease. The black hair on his head fluttered in the wind like a shampoo commercial.

"Even more delightful that the Commander doesn't appear to be upset with you," Kavius remarked, taking in another calming breath of air.

Hunter shook his head, however. Things were definitely not as simple as they seemed. "They're too well armored and too well equipped to be a new mercenary group. Remember Kavius; If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is."

[New Kavius Favorability: 5/5]

Hunter smiled, knowing Kavius held him in high regard, taking his words of caution seriously at all times. "How old are you?"

"Just a year younger than you." Kavius blurted, "Twenty-three."

'No surprise he's still green around the edges,' Hunter thought, reminiscing about his old life. He was already two years in service by twenty-three. 'Gonna need some time to toughen him up.'

This time, nobody stopped them the entire way, and with their Xeldan Brotherhood-issued armor, they found no trouble from the Redcapes either, being ignored by them whenever seen. Of course, Hunter sadly couldn't wear anything on him. Otherwise, the damn magical book would scream warnings in his head.

Before sunset, they arrived at the edge of the farming village. This one was quite the distance from the main road, somewhere south of it. The village's name didn't appear on the book's map; perhaps it wasn't even an established village. 

The houses were spread so far and thin, with massive farmlands in between, that it was hard to make sense of any address. Small patches of greeneries, be it timber or pasture, boosted the beauty of the land.

"Mooo~"

"Aye, that's a fine cow," Brownie suddenly commented, looking in the distance as a man grazed the herd of sheep and cows.

The village was serene and silent, with nothing but the whistling breeze and the cawing of crows in the sky. As they sat on their high horses on the edge of the village, they knew someone must have already spotted them by now. 

"The address said a large house surrounded by wheat fields with a mess of apple trees lining the boundary wall," Hunter read the paper out loud, scanning the area left and right for any sign.

Yet, they eventually had to venture into the village since each house was so distant. They aimlessly but carefully moved on thin trails made between the farmlands, matching details. 

"Hunter, are you sure we're in the right place? This place seems too picturesque for a band of kidnappers to be lurking," Kavius inquired, his brows furrowed.

Hunter hummed and took out his magical book. Tapping on the map feature, he pinched out the red marker that showed his position. In it, he found a very clean and detailed topographical imagery, albeit with no names. 

"Looks like there's a house off to the left, surrounded by fields," Hunter noted, narrowing his eyes in that direction. "The fields are too large; I reckon that's why it's hard to spot from here. This area looks plain, but it has gentle slopes."

Just as he was looking towards the left, Hunter caught a glimpse of something gleaming in the distance—a white flicker, like a reflection. But as soon as he fixed his eyes on it, the flickers disappeared.

"Someone's got eyes on us, likely with a telescope," he suggested, his tone cautious. "Stay sharp, Kavius," 

Sharp, but they hadn't wielded their weapons just yet. Carefully, they trotted on the horses towards the location. The closer they got, the more brazen the gleaming white flickers became, now not even bothering to remain hidden. 

'Something ain't right.' 

"There it is!" Kavius exclaimed, pointing his finger ahead.

Hunter remained silent, his keen eyes taking in every detail. The once lush wheat fields had been harvested, leaving vast expanses of earth stretching for acres in every direction around the imposing structure before them.

Could it truly be deemed a mere house? The boundary walls soared to the height of a mansion, painted white and forming a rectangular perimeter. Watchtowers crowned each corner, manned by sentinels who emitted flickering white flashes of light with the telescope.

"This ain't a thief's den," Hunter muttered, clenching his fist. "Don't make any sudden moves, Kavius."

With a careful, slow, and steady pace, they approached the structure. As they neared, its sheer size became increasingly apparent, and they couldn't even see any inner structure beyond the walls. All that loomed before them were two colossal steel gates flanked by two men standing guard.

"They're armed," Kavius flinched. 

"Don't you make a move," Hunter warned again. "Them's just sentries. Let's figure out what kinda mess we're walking into before we do anythin' rash." 

Hunter looked at the sky as well, noticing the sunset wasn't too far away. 'Not a good time to start a fight here.'

The two sentries stood before them, clad in formidable armor that didn't even leave an inch of their bodies exposed. The armor was all steel, with no leather in sight. Green capes adorned their backs, embroidered with a puzzling sigil. Each one held long spears in their hands, with one side of their waists holding sheathed short swords and the other a holstered handgun.

Clank!

"Stop right there!" The two sentries pointed their spears before Hunter and Kavius could even come ten meters closer to them. "State your business!"

'Fucking hell!' Hunter looked up at the wall and noticed readied arrows peeking out of the tiny arrow slits, directly aimed at them. 'This is a darn fortress!' 

Hunter slowly raised his hands, trying to sound as gentle as possible. "Pardon the interruption, folks. We're on the search for a fella by the name of Sylvester. Word has it he resides 'round these parts, but we seem to be lost."

The two sentries stared at them for a while through the tiny gaps in their steel helmets. 

"No such man lives here."

"Leave, or you will be arrested." 

'Arrested?' 

"W-Who lives here, Sirs?" Hunter asked, deliberately trembling and showing fear, "W-We just lost our way."

Seeing Hunter didn't even have a sword on him and appeared injured from the bandage on his head, the two sentries lowered the spears a little but kept them pointed. 

"Vacate these lands at once, or you shall be detained!"

As a third voice echoed seemingly from thin air, Hunter's gaze shifted upward, where a head emerged from atop the high wall. The helmet sported a strip of green fur at its top.

With a gentle nudge, Hunter urged his horse to retreat without turning, wearing a helpless expression.

Perhaps one of the sentries on the ground felt pity and answered Hunter in a hushed voice. 

"You're lucky you're not dead by now. This is the ancestral stronghold of Lord Summerster, Colonel of the Redcapes—leave now!"

"..."

'Fuck, fuck fucking fuck!'

He no longer tried to poke the beehive and urgently turned the horse around to gallop away. Kavius matched his pace, and Brownie followed suit, galloping back the way they had come without a word exchanged between them.

The mere word 'Redcapes' was a curse in their minds.

And this was the boss of those curses.