Mathew watched as Ophelia swallowed. Her expression was neutral, but her hands were clenching tightly on top of the table.
Argus maintained a smile as he continued to question the barmaid. "A bounty hunter? Is he local to Arlem?"
The barmaid shook her head. "He's actually from Elysium." Ophelia let out a short breath at this. Mathew caught her quickly closing her mouth when she noticed him looking at her.
"So he hasn't been in town very long?" Argus continued.
"No, sir. Only a few weeks, most of it drinking here."
"And this bounty hunter… He gets his jobs from the outpost you spoke of earlier?"
The woman nodded, but as she did so, her eyes kept dancing around the saloon, and she had started unconsciously tapping one foot.
"I am sorry, I know you need to attend to the other customers," Argus said, "But before we order our meal, can you give us some directions to the outpost? We would like to look for work as soon as possible."
The woman sighed before complying.
Mathew found the exchange very interesting. Where was Elysium, and why had Ophelia reacted to its mention? What was so important about the bounty hunter?
He had asked many questions about this land back at the temple, but no one had much to say about anything outside of the local area. He hadn't found a map of the continent or country anywhere either.
He was missing so much knowledge about this new world he had found himself stuck in.
How could he ever hope to change his situation when he barely even knew where he was?
…..
After a meal mostly eaten in silence, though Mathew did no eating of his own, the group left for the outpost. Mathew was so lost in thought that he didn't even notice his companions getting up until Ophelia snapped at him:
"Dread, get up, you useless creature. Is there nothing in that iron skull of yours? We are leaving."
Mathew mumbled under his breath, but allowed the power of their contract to move him. She was an uncaring slave driver after all.
It was only a short walk through town before coming to their destination.
The outpost was a large wooden building, with a low fence surrounding almost a quarter acre around it, and creating a sort of storeyard.
Stacks of assorted materials were piled everywhere, covered by cloth and tied together with cord. In one corner was a large wooden carriage. No horses were tied to it at the moment, but Mathew heard the sounds of animals coming from around the back of the outpost.
Did they have a whole stable back there? Surely they only needed a couple of horses for the carriage.
A man out in the yard was holding out a finger, counting items, and marking numbers on a tablet with a stick of charcoal. He was too absorbed in his work to notice the three walking up to the door, so they ignored him in kind.
Argus opened the front door, allowing Mathew and Ophelia to file in.
Mathew half expected the bounty hunter to be there, but instead, they were met with the antics of a teenage boy.
The boy yelped at the sight of Mathew, jumping back, accidentally kicking the sign he was painting and sending it skittering across the floor, as he threw his arms up in the air. He was holding a paintbrush laden with red paint in one hand, and his sudden motion set the substance everywhere, including his own face.
A slightly chubby man at the back stood up from the stool he had been sitting on and yelled:
"Stringa! You damned fool, what are you doing? I told you to paint prices, not my floorboards!"
"B-but… It's a monster!" Said the boy, pointing at Mathew. The man let out a bellowing laugh, waving a small pocketbook he was holding in front of him like a fan.
"Boy, he's a right ugly bastard, but in this line of work you have to get used to seeing creepy faces like that. Now go grab some rags from the back and clean up this mess." The boy, Stringa, nodded with a quick apology and then scampered off to the other room.
The man sat bag down on his stool, and shut the pocketbook in his hands.
"What's your name?" He asked Mathew, and Ophelia cut in:
"This is my monster, Dread."
"Dread, huh? That's a fit."
"Uh… Thanks?" Mathew said uncertainly. Ophelia shot him a glare.
"I'm Theron." Said the man, "To who do I owe the pleasure?"
Ophelia scrunched up her face, and Mathew would have raised an eyebrow if he had one. What was she so upset about?
She gestured to Argus, and he stepped forward and cleared his throat. "My name is Argus, and this is the lady I serve, Ophelia, daughter of Polonius."
Theron nodded, a flash of recognition in his eyes. "Ophelia, you say…" The corner of her mouth turned up ever so slightly at this, as if in triumph.
Had she… been upset that Theron had asked Mathew's name before hers? How childish was this woman?
"So, Lady Ophelia, what can I do for you?" She looked to Argus, and he continued to speak for her:
"We are in need of replenishing our supplies for our travels. Also, we are running low on coin. We heard that most in this town can be traded for, but we have nothing to trade. Is there work we could do in exchange for goods and money?"
"Well… What kind of work can you do?" Theron asked.
"The creature, Dread, and I could make do with any simple physical labor. My true skill, however, lies in combat… Perhaps a bounty?" Argus emphasized the last part.
"A bounty? Well, we have a few kinds of bounties, but most of them wouldn't get you the profits you are looking for. Search quests in town, like looking for lost pets, don't pay well at all. I guess there are also collection quests, like gathering ingredients from magical plants and beasts from the land around town."
"Ingredients?" Mathew asked, "Magical beasts?"
Argus answered him: "There are many creatures that trace their origin to divinity. Creatures equivalent to the Infirmus or Annum Tier can be killed, and their parts can be crafted into charms or concoctions of Tier 1 or Tier 2. People are willing to pay high prices for those ingredients."
"Right, right." Theron cut in, "But there are not enough creatures like that around here, and no real demand for them. You would have to do quite a few of those quests for it to amount to anything."
"So what would you suggest?" Argus asked. Theron held his hands up in defeat.
"Unfortunately, the real money in bounties comes from criminal bounties: Bringing in wanted individuals, dead or alive. Here's the problem: I only have two of those, one of which is a joke, and the other is one I can't give you."
A joke? What did he mean by one of them being a joke? It was Ophelia who decided to ask the next question:
"The second bounty. Who is the target, and where are they hiding?" Theron looked at her and leaned in as if to tell her a secret.
"There are two targets, and they happen to be living right here in Arlem like ordinary townsfolk." His voice got lower as he continued, now barely above a whisper:
"The kicker? They aren't even humans… They are monsters in disguise."