Kona dragged me into a large building that looked very much like the one in Hemwick, but on a larger scale. We went to the job listing board to review contracts that we could accept. Funds were tight, and if we intended to stay here for a while, we would need money. I know Nigel said he would meet us at Eastwatch, but he probably won't be there for a while, perhaps a few weeks to a month, so we needed to bide our time somehow.
I watched as Kona glanced through the odd jobs listings. She seemed focused, was being a mercenary, something she wanted to do one day, maybe? She seemed really excited while coming over here, and back in Hemwick, she seems really knowledgeable about all this kind of stuff. Either way, I should probably look at some of these listings.
I turned to the bounty board and looked over the list of criminals. Two sections were split off, one smaller than the other. The smaller section all had the common trait of being issued by the church; this also included my own bounty poster. The larger section was general bounties. I suppose if you're in the smaller section rather than a bounty listing, it's more of a badge of honour from what Crovis told me.
I noticed quite quickly that all of the general bounties listed the reason they were wanted. Theft, murder, rape, arson, banditry. Even on the side of the church, they listed the reason for the bounty on all of them, all except mine.
I shrugged it off and looked at the general bounties with the largest amount of crimes listed. Several counts of murder and arson, mass murder, serial banditry and so on. I figured if I could get these people locked up, I could probably actually help the general population here. I wouldn't want to hunt someone down for theft if it turned out they just needed food. Better than trying to kill someone for food, at least.
I noticed that the higher the person was pinned on the wall, the bigger the bounty. I was quite surprised by how organised it was. Looking right at the top, I saw a bounty for 333,333 franks. A massive sum of money, and even yet, my own bounty in my pocket was higher. I reached up to try and grab the poster, but I was too short. Even jumping slightly, I could barely reach. Noticing my troubles, Kona stepped over and grabbed the wanted poster and looked it over.
"This one? You sure? Looks super dangerous."
She held the poster out to me; I grabbed it and read it over. Goran the Mutilator, wanted for serial murder and arson. All of his victims have been found only in pieces, and some defiled. Exercise extreme caution, recommended only for larger organisations. Location, unknown but believed to be near the Black Mountains.
"Yeah, maybe let's not do that one."
I held the paper back up for Kona to take and put back where we grabbed it.
"How about this?" She held out a listing.
I took it and looked it over. It wasn't a bounty but a merchant escort mission from here to Eastwatch for 12,000 franks. I looked up at Kona, who seemed excited about the idea. I guess being a mercenary is something she really wants. Though I didn't like the idea of leaving Ravens Rest with everyone outside of the city possibly knowing about the massive bounty on my head. But I would just hide in the wagon and only come out if I need to. And we've been hiding my identity decently enough up till now.
But then again, I don't want a repeat of what happened at the front gates of the city with an even higher bounty. It might be best to come clean.
"Kona, I have something I need to show you."
She tilted her head, and I reached into my shirt, pulling out the wanted poster. I held it out to Kona.
"Why are you showing me this? I've already seen…"
Her eyes locked onto the paper, and a small croak escaped her throat as her trembling hands raised and took the paper. She held it closer to her face before dropping it. The paper fluttered to the floor, and I quickly snatched it back up before anyone else could see it.
"Oh." She let escape her lips.
"Corvis said he won't distribute them in the city, but can't promise the same for outside here. So I'm a bit reluctant to leave."
With her hands still held out in front of her face like she was still holding the paper, she stepped towards me. Her hand gripped my hood and pulled it up and over my head, and then she reached down to lift the mask up and over my nose. I suppose she understood the gravity of the situation. But as I looked up at her, I noticed tears in her eyes as she muttered.
"I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Because of me, words got out what city you're in. I'm so sorry."
Her arms wrapped around my head as her words became strained. I hugged her back.
"It's okay, you couldn't have known about this."
She let go of me and stepped back, putting the escort listing back up on the wall.
"This escort is a stupid idea, then. Let's not do that. We need something we can do here. Maybe a bounty. People hide out in big cities, right? We could just get some high-paying bounties every so often."
"Well, I mean. We have to meet Nigel at Eastwatch anyway, right? We could take that escort mission, look around and head back. I'll just have to keep my face hidden. After all, we need the money. Who knows, he might already be there waiting for us."
I walked past Kona and grabbed that escort mission she had put back. Holding it out to her with a smile, though of course she couldn't see the smile due to the mask, but I feel like she could tell from the way she smiled back.
We met with the merchant near the town's entrance. Off the side of the gate before the main square was a large open area surrounded by stables for merchants and their horses and wagons. The man introduced himself as Jackson. Kona did most of the talking, telling him that we were taking the job. He was concerned that only two people might not be enough in case of bandits, but Kona assured him that the two of us were plenty strong. After some convincing and haggling over the details, Jackson decided to hire us, allowing us to ride in the open-top wagon the whole route.
We set off immediately since he had been waiting a few days for the contract to be picked up, mentioning that it was quite low, but all he could afford to spend on security. The wagon was filled with boxes in the front half, leaving only a small lip for Kona and me to sit on with our feet dangling over the back. The two of us would be watching the rear and each side, while Jackson, the driver, would call out if someone appeared up front. He expected little to no trouble, and more wanted to use us as a deterrent.
So, not even a single day in the city of Ravens Rest, we left it. The plan was to go to Eastwatch, check if Nigel is there yet and accept more contracts on the return trip to Ravens Rest. Hopefully, by then, we will have enough money saved to live somewhat comfortably for a month.
The road was long, with merchant rest stops in between that we took full advantage of. We had casual small talk with Jackson, even asking about his name. He explained that a lot of the people in the black lands are originally from the empire, mostly fleeing criminals. With the lack of government here, it was seen as ideal since the war started, so over the past twelve years or so, the common language has slowly started to shift towards Imperial. Many people spoke Imperial here anyway, even before the war, simply due to the state being on the border.
As we travelled, Jackson provided us with food as well, meaning we could save the food we had, as that would last a month. We lived without spending a single frank until we arrived at the town of Glenumbra. The small town between Ravens Rest and Eastwatch marks the halfway point.
The whole trip, I kept my hood and mask up just to be safe. Especially when at rest stops and especially in this new town. It seemed similar in size to Hemwick, but we would only be going into the town a little. There was an inn near the entrance reserved for people with trading licences. I remembered the entry permit we got at Black Hollow that I kept shoved deep in a pocket. I took it out and looked it over; it was actually a temporary trading licence with a one-month expiry.
Jackson pulled into the town gates and off to the side, where, like in Ravens Rest, there was a spot just for traders to store their wagons and horses. We disembarked the wagon as I still held the trading permit in my hand.
"So, with a trading permit, I can stay in this inn, but unfortunately, you guys will have to go to a different one further in town. I wish they would make exceptions for guards, but they're really strict."
As he was freeing the horse from the wagon to walk him to a stable nearby, I approached, holding up the permit.
"Can we use this here?"
He looked over his shoulder, spying the paper. He took it and examined it front and back before returning it.
"It's still valid for a few days technically. You should be able to use it. In that case, you'll be with me."
The three of us entered the inn and presented our trading permits to the innkeeper. Jackson's permit listed him as an individual trader, while mine listed a party of two, Kona and me, as traders. With that, Jackson paid for a room with three beds. I was just happy that we could avoid going near the guild hall of this town, staying at a traders inn like this, there was less chance someone would recognise me.
The next morning, the three of us descended from the second-floor bedrooms and into the dining hall of the inn to eat some breakfast before heading off to Eastwatch. To eat, I of course had to lower my mask and reveal my face. Jackson commented on my Metonym appearance and assumed I was mixed race, but didn't recognise me as a wanted criminal. Seems my assumption was right, why would traders bother themselves with looking at wanted boards?
Now and then, I glanced around the dining hall where other traders were scattered about, eating their food. Some of them were glancing around as well, some made eye contact with me, and we both quickly looked away. Though as we were leaving, I noticed the volume in the dining hall increased suddenly. Was our presence unsettling them? Maybe it was Kona, actually. She was the largest person there, and being a woman, a person who looked like that was still a rare sight anywhere you went.
We managed to leave the town and continue towards Eastwatch without issue. I was expecting something to go wrong, but it's been surprisingly uneventful. Hopefully, we would make it there, get paid. Meet with Nigel and be on our way shortly with whatever he has planned.
The third night after leaving Glenumbra, while about halfway to Eastwatch, the rest stop was rather a small inn with a small wall around it off to the side of the road, with about three buildings total. I wish all rest stops were like this, with an actual roof over our heads.
Though as we entered the building, the small dining hall, out here in the middle of nowhere, was completely packed with men staring at us. All of them wore the same black metal plate chestpiece as if part of some uniform. A few of them glanced at each other and back at us a few times, exchanging whispers here and there. There was an awkward tension, like we had just intruded on somewhere we clearly don't belong.
I leaned over to Jackson and whispered, "Who are these people?"
With a stuttery voice, as if filled with fear, he mumbled "Black Hand".
One of the armoured men stood up, towering tall above the rest, almost the same height as Kona the giant. He was older looking, bald and with a large beard. He walked over towards us.
I felt Kona's hand grip the back of my shirt subtly as if ready to pull me back. The giant man stood in front of us and looked at Kona, glancing up and down her body before giving an approving nod. He then leaned down and looked closely at the face of Jackson, who shivered and turned away. Then he turned his gaze to me. Examining the only part of my face he could see, my red eyes.
"Red eyes, huh? Never seen that before."
He stood up and looked at Kona again.
"Your eyes are blue. Opposites attract, I suppose, little red and big blue."
He leaned back down, bringing his face even closer to me, placing his lips right next to my ear as he whispered.
'I didn't think the Akame clan's eyes would literally be red. I can't decide if I want to stab you or ask for a signature."
He recognised me from my eyes? Did he understand Nishigo and assume my name was literally talking about my eye colour? Either way, this man knows who I am, even if by chance. How much does he think the bounty is? 250,000 or a million?
He stood upright and turned around, walking back to his seat as if nothing had happened. Everyone in the room watched him, confirming that he was their leader. He sat and grabbed his tankard and drank from it. After a large gulp and pleasurable sigh, he wiped the foam from his mouth and looked around the room. He looked down at his beer once more.
"Every man for himself."
Suddenly, everyone in the inn stood up, drawing their blades and facing us, ready to kill.