Upon returning to town, we asked the gate guard what we should do with the two captured criminals. He led us to the town's jail, where they were taken, and a certificate of arrest was given to us to hand in at the guild to confirm the job was done. Though it had already gotten dark and the guild was closing its doors, we returned to the traders inn that we were staying at for the night.
Sure, there were cheaper places we could stay, but this one gave us the least chance of being recognised. Though I fear it's only a matter of time before word spreads from Ravens Rest or from the Black Hand mercenaries that I'm travelling with Kona, as she sticks out quite easily. Perhaps I'll have to make a statement sooner rather than later, to let everyone in the Black Lands know that I'm someone they shouldn't even try to target.
I wanted to return to Ravens Rest and ask Corvis about the bountys that they don't put out publicly, but we decided to spend at least a few days in this town looking around for Nigel to see if he was, in fact, waiting here for us.
The next morning, we went to the guild first thing in the morning to hand in the certificate of arrest to the old woman. As she was lugging out a large coin purse for us, Kona asked about the blond man she mentioned two days past, that asked about the million-frank bounty. Whether she had seen him since, simply saying he was a friend of ours, we have been looking for. She told us that he left as soon as she told him about where I was last seen and never came back. That seemed like clear evidence that he must have headed straight to Ravens Rest. But would that mean we walked right past him on the road? With how much Kona stands out, that shouldn't be possible.
"Do you remember exactly when he was here?"
"Ah, yes, about two hours before you two came in. That's the only reason I remembered it so well."
Two hours we had missed Nigel by two hours. Now it had been two days since then, so there was no doubt that he was in fact headed to Ravens Rest, and so should we.
"If we take a bounty here, can he hand it in anywhere, or do we have to come back to this place?" I asked, stepping forward after hiding behind Kona.
"You need to come back here, but I can write a note, and with that, you can hand it in anywhere. Looking to take a bounty that's further east?"
I nodded and walked over towards the bounty wall. Kona followed shortly behind me, leaning down to whisper in my ear.
"You want to head back to Ravens Rest? There's a chance Nigel is still here. This is a big town, and we've barely explored it."
I had considered that option, but we didn't have the luxury of time. Sooner or later, word would get around that Kona is with me and then we'll have a massacre on our hands.
I stopped at the bounty board and pointed to the one right at the top that I couldn't reach. Kona stood and reached up, pulling it from the wall, holding it down to me.
"Are you sure?"
I nodded, "The last one was easy; this should be doable for us."
I walked back to the counter as Kona stayed at the bounty board, looking at it. I placed the bounty on the table for the old woman.
"I want to turn this is and Raven's Rest."
"Goran the Mutliator, aye? Just the two of ye? I don't approve of this idea, but… your funeral." The woman brought out a pen and a small card as she started to fill in information. "Goran's been a plague for years; nobody can kill him. The Black Hand went after him once, twenty dead before they even saw 'em. Traps n' the like they say. Tread lightly or you'll be dead before you can blink."
She slid the card over that said I had taken the bounty here and intended to turn it in at Raven's Rest. As I turned around, she spoke again.
"Don't bring him in alive. The moment you see him, kill em, or e'll kill you."
Just what was this Goran? He killed twenty men without anyone seeing him. I can't even do that. Could he be a marked child that's gone mad, killing on sight? Could he be stronger than me? Maybe with just the two of us, this bounty might be a bit more than we could handle.
We returned to the inn to gather our things and head off, returning our key and tossing our trading license in the fire as we walked past. It expired in two days at the turn of the month, so it was little more than kindling now.
We walked towards the front gate and saw a man leaning against the gate, looking out of the town towards the road that I hadn't seen before. As we walked past him, he let out a loud, surprised yell, causing us to stop in our tracks.
"Kona? Shinya?"
I recognised that voice. Turning around, we locked eyes with a man, just a bit taller than me, with blond hair and blue eyes and a stupid grin on his face as he pulled his hood down.
"There he is, the million-frank man." He walked towards us; thankfully, there were no guards nearby to overhear him.
His walk quickly changed into a trot as he hurried towards us with his arms wide open, leaping up and catching each of us in half a hug.
"Nigel? I thought you left for Ravens Rest."
"I said to meet here, didn't I? As soon as I heard that you were last seen, I started standing at the gate every day waiting, I figured you would sssshow up eventually."
"But", Kona shook Nigel off. "We've been here for three days now"
"What? How? I checked every inn there was."
"We stayed in the traders' inn." Kona said, almost embarrassed.
"And I stayed out here every day till dark."
"We always returned after nightfall." It's true that when we first got here, it was getting dark, also we left first thing in the morning yesterday, so we just missed him both times.
"Well, never mind that, I found you two, finally! Where are you going?"
His demeanour seemed different from what I remembered. He was so laid back and casual now compared to before. What happened? I wondered. I pulled the bounty from my pocket and held it out to Nigel.
"We were going to do this on the way back to Ravens Rest."
Nigel looked over the bounty and handed it back. "If you're that strapped for money, I have a few hundred thousand franks I stole from Dad's treasury as I left. Come on, let's go grab some breakfast."
He grabbed me by the wrist and dragged me into town again. Kona shrugged and followed along.
"I know this really nice place that gives you private booths, eating with a mask on must be a pain in the ass. And you can tell me all about your journey here over food and about Wrath."
I felt as if I was about to get into a fight, but my little brother came along and dragged me along to show me something he thinks is cool.
We went into a restaurant that looked far too fancy for mercenaries to even set foot in. Over breakfast, Kona and I told Nigel about what we had gone through after leaving Red Beach. Our trip through Hemwick and the assassination attempt there. Going past is family castle and into the Ironwoods, the Black Hollow and up the coast. I explained to him and Kona my understanding of what Wrath was doing to my body; the subject alone made his eyes light up, and he leaned in close. He asked about the Hemwick massacre and if it was that which caused the colour of my eyes to change, something he asked with a bit too much eagerness.
"So what happened with you? You seem different."
Nigle's excitement faded instantly. "I suppose you're owed an answer, especially after telling me about Wrath and the massacre."
He stopped talking once the food we ordered arrived. The meals were immaculate and divine in taste, but Nigel didn't eat a bite. Once the waiters left, he continued.
"I was transported to Vilta and released from my service. I was sent back home, where father was very upset with my actions. Claimed I brought shame upon the house, so he beat me for a few days straight. Then I got sick of it and fought back. It was strange, like I could see every single swing before it happened. I was able to dodge every one of his swings, but he wouldn't stop. I kicked his leg, broke his knee in two and fled. I raided his treasury and left the castle. I figured if that's how he treats his son, then he can frankly go fuck himself. So now, I don't care. House Fenring can burn to the ground, and I wouldn't shed a tear."
He let out a small huff and then grabbed his utensils and started to eat. Kona and I had stopped eating halfway through his story. After he chewed and swallowed, he pointed down to his plate, "This is really fucking good."
As breakfast went on, I asked if he was going to join us in hunting down Goran.
"Hell no. No, we're going north to the imperial city across the border."
"Border? It's closed ever since the war."
"Then how did she get in?" He said, pointing to Kona.
"Okay, what's the plan?"
With a mouthful of food, Nigel replied, stopping to check every few words, "We walk… to the border… then cross it… with her as… our fucking…" he waved his wrist around as he tried to think of the right word before giving up "you know what I'm trying to say."
"Okay, when do we leave?"
Nigel grabbed his drink, downing the last of it quickly. "Now."
We left Eastwatch behind and headed north towards the great plains, the largest area of barren land in the world. Crossing took a long time; there were no trees, no lakes, no towns or cities for at least a week. Thankfully, we stocked up on supplies before we left, and now each of us had a travel pack on our backs; mine mostly consisted of food and water.
As we travelled, we spoke about the same thing as we did over breakfast, but in more detail. We spoke about my strange inhuman abilities and what I was capable of, though in truth, I didn't even know what I was capable of. What is the limit of Wrath's power?
He explained that he had heard about the Hemwick massacre while passing through, though by then it was old news and only whispered about here and there. He heard that the church had found the bodies, and shortly after, my bounty increased to a million.
We spoke briefly about the relationship that had formed between Kona and myself. About my mother and her ongoing condition, and that the church was there and about how I think the Black Hollow might be a sin.
"The Black Hollow is a fucking WHAT?!" Nigel turned and yelled excitedly.
"I think it is, I'm not totally sure. Just a feeling I… a feeling Wrath had."
"Well, we'll get to learn more about that soon." He turned around and continued matching.
"How are we going to learn more about it? We're going the wrong way for that."
"Because my possessed friend, we're going to Balim!"
Balim, I had heard of it even from back home. The gathering place of knowledge, a library the size of a city.