by Turbo Tyrannophonic » Mon Jan 13, 2014 3:46 am
Warren hung back, letting his companion hobble on. The man shrugged, but said nothing.
It wasn't long before the two parted. Warren was, admittedly, far too focused on the prospect of a good pay day to care about the other man's temper.
"You're back." As the Hunter approached, he could see a dark shape poking around in the recesses of one of the buildings. A moment later, a graying but nonetheless imposing man stepped out and hoisted a sizable pouch of coin onto the counter.
"In mostly one piece," Warren replied with an eager grin, eyeing the bag hungrily. The man across the counter nodded.
"I trust the 'problem' has been 'resolved'?" he asked, looking the Hunter over. "The hard way, by the looks of it."
"It's dead, Heinz," the younger man said plainly. "It wasn't the type to take advice, alright?"
"Fine, fine," the guild rep laughed, tossing the coinage into Warren's waiting arms. But as the Hunter turned away, the man spoke up again. "Warren, a minute?"
Warren hesitated. His body ached from the night's battle, and he was practically starving, and he knew what the old ******* wanted... With a sigh, he turned back.
"I got word a few hours before you got back. Something urgent," Heinz explained, resting his arms across the counter. The man was unusually serious.
"What is it now?"
"A village, not too far from here. They recently had an...incident, that ended with a nasty bit of fire."
"I'm not a carpenter, Heinz."
"I'm aware, lad," the older man replied, shaking his head. "The fire took out damn near all of their supply of Jahoyt hair. You're familiar, right? The Blue Death?"
Warren felt a little taken back. "Yeah...it's pretty bad in these parts."
"The other towns and villages - including Weywin - sent what they could to help them out, but they can only do so much without damning themselves to the same fate."
"And you want me to go out and get some more?" Warren asked, still rather irritable about the whole thing. "They can't just do it themselves? It's not like Jahoyt are hard to find."
"That's just it, boy," the guild rep began, frowning further, "the Jahoyt migrate before winter. They're hold up in the Darkwood, Warren."
An uneasy silence fell over the two men. Heinz, in years past, had been a Hunter himself before joining the guild. They both knew what this meant.
"You want me to go to the Darkwood?"
"Look, all you need to do is travel early, get there by daybreak, get the Jahoyt hair, and get the hell out before nightfall. Then It won't be an issue."
"You are going to kill me, Heinz. I hope you know that."
"Don't get your arse in a bunch. If this doesn't get done, then an entire village might be wiped out in a few months." Heinz looked uncomfortable about the whole thing, despite what he said. "It's a two man job, at least. The more you bring, the faster you get out."
"And I'm sure everyone in this soggy hellhole is just dying to go!" Warren looked away, rubbing his temples. After a few silent moments, he sighed. "I'll get it done. But I better get some hazard pay for this ****!"
"As soon as I get a vacation in the Ring, you'll get your hazard pay," the older man replied, watching Warren splash back down the road with a smug smile.