Two adventurers were discussing the path ahead when two figures approached from not far away.
Split-fingered leather gloves, earmuffs, gray fur hat, sheepskin coat, ice picks, enchanted fire crossbow, iron-bone spear—they had it all, true winter huntsmen.
The two fake winter huntsmen were empty-handed and couldn't help but tense up. If they were discovered, they'd have to kill and dispose of the bodies, which wasn't something EeDechi wanted to do.
Barrett tossed a linen white cloth to EeDechi, telling her to wrap herself in it while covering her hair and face. The two of them sat face-to-face by the fire, hoping the passing winter huntsmen would hurry on their way.
But unexpectedly, the two winter huntsmen headed straight for them. Both looked young, with time and the claws of monstrosities yet to carve scars into their faces.
One tall, skinny winter huntsman squatted down by the campfire and said like they were old pals, "Hey, brother, mind if we warm up by the fire?"
The other winter huntsman casually pulled out his pipe, held it over the flames, then took a long, satisfying drag, exhaling curls of smoke that filled Barrett's nostrils with the scent of tobacco. From their easygoing vibe, it was like the campfire had been lit just for them.
Barrett and EeDechi traded a glance, puzzled inside. They couldn't tell if these two winter huntsmen were full of themselves or just didn't give a damn about anyone else.
"Hey, brother," the tall, skinny winter huntsman said, spotting Barrett's clothes drying by the fire, "what are you doing out here—fall into a lake or something?"
Barrett quietly slipped off his spatial ring, going along with the guy's words, "Ah, don't mention it. I'm a hunter too, got chased by a pack of winter wolves, jumped into the river to escape with my life, and all my gear got washed away by the current."
A spatial ring wasn't some everyday trinket; usually only nobles, mages, or top-tier adventurers had the coin and connections to wear one. EeDechi and Barrett's spatial rings both came as gifts from the Baharuth emperor and lords. An ordinary winter huntsman couldn't afford even half a spatial ring if he sold himself into slavery.
"You're pretty gutsy, huh? Just the two of you daring to hunt winter wolves." The tall, skinny winter huntsman patted Barrett on the shoulder, then suddenly raised his fist fiercely and snarled, "Can I punch your buddy?"
"Huh?" The shift was way too sudden, leaving Barrett totally baffled. He pointed at EeDechi with her head covered. "You want to punch my companion? Why?"
"I don't know why, and I don't even know him." The tall, skinny winter huntsman cracked his knuckles eagerly, "Anyway, he just pisses me off, and I want to sock him right in the face."
The pipe-smoking winter huntsman stood up, glaring at EeDechi bundled in the cloth, grinding his teeth. "I want to give him a good beating too."
Both winter huntsmen took EeDechi for a guy, so it looked like they hadn't figured out her real identity.
Barrett couldn't help wondering if these two had their brains turned to ice, or if this was some lowlife thug's way of starting trouble? He suddenly recalled EeDechi saying her Favorability Level had dropped by 66%.
He glanced at EeDechi questioningly. "Is it a Favorability Level issue?"
EeDechi nodded silently.
The two winter huntsmen looked fierce and menacing as they headed toward EeDechi. Before things could spiral out of control, Barrett quickly blocked their way. "Let's talk this out nicely."
"You trying to protect your buddy?" The tall, skinny winter huntsman glared at Barrett with malice in his eyes, as if the next words out of his mouth would be, "Then I'll beat you too."
"No, no, no, I'm protecting you guys!" Barrett pleaded earnestly.
The pipe-smoking winter huntsman said, "Yeah, if we kill someone for no reason, we'll have blood on our hands. Ronald, we need to cool it."
The tall, skinny winter huntsman, called Ronald, nodded. "Makes sense. Can we just make him scram? Looking at him bugs me, like a thorn in my eye!"
Barrett waved at EeDechi. "Brown, get your ass … go away, don't interrupt our grown-up conversation."
EeDechi kicked and snapped a pine branch on the ground as thick as an arm, then walked away grumpily, leaving only her lonely back view draped in white cloth.
The tall, skinny winter huntsman rubbed his eyes and said, "Hey, brother, forget being a winter huntsman. You don't know about this yet? There's a sweet gig going around lately."
"What sweet gig?" Barrett asked, a bit uneasy.
"The Sorcerer Kingdom put out a notice, offering a reward of ten thousand gold coins to find a girl named EeDechi, black hair, black eyes, not too tall." He pointed at EeDechi in the distance, "About as tall as your companion there."
Barrett: "..."
The pipe-smoking winter huntsman puffed away, exhaling clouds of smoke, and pulled out a sheet of papyrus from his backpack to show Barrett. "Here, looks like this."
The papyrus prominently featured EeDechi's realistic oil portrait, including front view, side view, and full-body shot, along with the bounties:
Provide real traces, reward: three thousand gold coins;
Provide real whereabouts, reward: six thousand gold coins;
Provide exact location, reward: ten thousand gold coins;
Provide false information, reward: death.
The bottom right corner of the papyrus bore the emblem of the Sorcerer Kingdom, as well as the official seal of Re-Estize's local sheriff.
Barrett mused to himself, so there's this much money right next to me.
"This girl looks decent, black hair, black eyes, dressed in black like a nun—just don't know about her figure." The tall, skinny winter huntsman critiqued, "I heard there was a massive magic explosion in a town near the capital, and she's tied to it."
"I really dig that nun vibe." The pipe-smoking winter huntsman said, "Sometimes I wish I could become a priest, hanging out with the nun ladies forever."
Barrett stole a quick glance toward EeDechi and saw the ten-thousand-gold-coin nun lady had already balled up her fists.
"We're both heading into the mountains to try our luck, see if we can spot EeDechi's trail. If we find her, we'll hit the jackpot!" The tall, skinny winter huntsman extended an invitation to Barrett: "Hey, brother, wanna join us in the mountains? Strength in numbers."
Barrett politely turned them down. He pumped the two winter huntsmen for more info and learned that beyond the mountains, in towns and villages, EeDechi's wanted posters were plastered everywhere, while undead armies and Re-Estize's cavalry were stationed all over the place.
The pipe-smoking winter huntsman walked to the lake's edge, unbuckled his belt, and started taking a leak. The tall, skinny winter huntsman also headed to the shore, pissing into the frigid lake water, the splashing sounds echoing loudly.
"I heard that David from Mist Tower Town spotted a black figure falling from the sky. He reported it to the knight order, and the knights passed it up to the lord. The Sorcerer Kingdom handed out three thousand gold coins as a reward, but most of it lined the lord's pockets. Poor David only ended up with two silver coins."
The two winter huntsmen chattered about random nonsense while they pissed.
"If I found EeDechi, I wouldn't report her to the nobles straight away. I'd blackmail her, make her cough up the same amount of gold to me, and then I'd turn her in to the Sorcerer Kingdom."
"I'd threaten her to put on a nun's outfit..."
"AH!"
The cheerful chatter cut off suddenly as the two winter huntsmen launched into the air and crashed into the cold lake, kicking up splashes as high as a person.
Swimming was a required skill for winter huntsmen; they thrashed around in the ice-flecked water, blaming each other:
"Why'd you push me?"
"It was obviously you who shoved me in!"
"Still trying to weasel out of it..."
Once the winter lake water had soaked through their clothes, the two winter huntsmen finally quit splashing each other and scrambled desperately onto the shore. They looked like a pair of drowned rats just pulled from icy water, shivering all over, their upper and lower teeth chattering "clack clack."
Barrett hadn't moved from his spot, but he saw clearly what sent the two winter huntsmen flying into the lake. It was EeDechi, who had drifted up behind them like a ghost from the distance, landing a high whipping kick that booted both of them in.
Luckily, EeDechi had held back, or they definitely wouldn't have hit the lake in one piece.
"Why'd you kick them?" Barrett asked. "The lake water's freezing cold in winter, with ice everywhere."
"They were pissing in the lake, polluting the water source—they had to face justice!" EeDechi said with a righteous look on her face.
"Let's get out of here." Barrett shrugged helplessly and pulled out the map. "Looks like our only option is to climb the snow mountain."