Private Tales [BOUNTY] Alef the Nightwalker

[Rhan Terrwyn]

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Bounty Hunter HQ
Arillia Outer City Branch
Dawn
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Rhan yawned loudly as she looked at the notice board in the office. A steaming hot mug of coffee was handed to her by the receptionist, which she accepted gratefully. Taking a long sip of the hot broth with an audible slurp, her gaze zeroed in on one particular piece of parchment that had been tacked to the board. She let out a content sigh as she read the parchment:

WANTED

Alef the Nightwalker
For Witchcraft, Cursing a Man
with hot coals under his skin,
Bewitching fair Maidens,
Summoning Hail &
Ruining Crops.

Preferably ALIVE for trial!
20 Crown reward

- Carloman von Hillstaff​

Twenty crowns wasn't a bad deal. Rhan reached up and tore the parchment from the board, handing it to the receptionist. "What can you tell me about this guy?" she asked. "I'm gonna bring him in."

The receptionist shuffled through the parchment piled on his desk. "Uhh... Alef the Nightwalker..." he murmured. "Ah. Middle-aged human, pasty skin, greasy black hair... kinda looks like a vampire. Real mischief maker, it seems. We booked him some time ago for similar shenanigans but he finished his sentence months ago. Local authority claims he is not to be found at his domain, nor his turf."

"Any leads?" Rhan pressed, eager for something to go by.

"A young lady came by last night, claiming to have been harassed by an individual that matches Alef's description," the receptionist said. "This happened in The Shallows."

"Great," Rhan said, finishing her coffee and placing the empty mug on the desk. "Won't be gone long, hopefully."

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The Shallows
Late Afternoon
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​

Rhan was at her wit's end. Hours of wandering around, questioning people and still she was no closer to finding Alef. For all she knew, he could be long gone from the area. She took a break and sat down at the end of a small pier after purchasing herself a meat pasty from a food vendor. Swinging her legs, the toe caps of her boots gently brushing the surface of the putrid swamp water, she watched a barge passing by as she pondered her next course of action. No one around here seemed to have any information about Alef, or if they did they were keeping very tight-lipped about it. She had already lost her patience and was contemplating just packing in and heading back home when a man came and sat next to her. "What's an enchanting lady such as yourself doing sat here all alone?" he crooned in a voice that made Rhan's skin crawl.

"Listen, creep," she began, directing an angry glare at the man and suddenly stopped herself.

The man looked at her expectantly, seemingly eager to hear what she had to say. Dead black eyes, pasty white skin and greasy black hair.... "Are you Alef?" she asked.

The man looked suddenly anxious. "Uh... depends who's asking," he said, raising an eyebrow.

Rhan leaped to her feet, pastry gripped firmly in one fist while pointing an accusing finger at the man with her other hand. "You're a wanted man!" she declared. "I've come to take you in!"

Without so much as a word, Alef was also on his feet and sprinting away. "Stop that man!" Rhan yelled as she gave chase, throwing her pastry aside.

A pair of factory workers who were on their break tried to intercept Alef, but he looked them dead in the eyes and waggled his fingers in front of them. Their eyes glazed over and instead the walked towards Rhan, obstructing her path. "Sorry! Sorry!" they kept saying as whenever Rhan tried to sidestep them, they'd also sidestep in front of her.

"Out of the way," Rhan growled, pushing through them and accidentally knocking one of them off the wooden walkway. She was fortunate to be taller than the average human, as she was able to spot Alef's greasy-haired head from over the heads of other people traversing the walkways. She slowly started to catch up to him when he looked ready to cause some more mischief to distract the bounty hunter. "Oh no you don't," Rhan said, clenching her fist and using her magic to create a fireball. She lobbed it with great precision, nailing Alef in the back of the head with it.

"Ngeeeaarrrgh!" he screeched as his hair immediately went up in flames. Evidently whatever it was that caused his hair to be so greasy happened to be incredibly flammable.

Patting at the flames in a futile and panicked attempt to put them out, he had to stop running and opted to leap into the swamp water. Rhan had finally caught up to him, however, and managed to catch him mid-leap, grabbing him by the ankle. With an evil smirk on her face, she dipped his head into the murky water, letting him thrash about for a while as he struggled for air. Then, yanking him forcibly back onto the pier, she aimed a hard punch to his face, feeling his nose pop with a satisfying crunch. Completely dazed from the savage blow, he was unable to put up much more of a fight as Rhan tied up his wrists and ankles and shove a dirty rag in his mouth as a gag. "If you make so much as one wrong move, or try any of your funny business, I will feed you to my pet," she hissed as she tied another rag around his eyes to blindfold him.

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Bounty Hunter HQ
Dusk
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Rhan enthusiastically kicked open the door to Headquarters upon her triumphant return. "Gods damn it, Rhan," the receptionist gasped, startled. "I was starting to think you wouldn't be back until morning."

"Yeah, he was a hard man to find," Rhan replied, patting the captive she held over her shoulder as if he was some kind of trophy.

"Funny, actually..." the receptionist said. "Carloman should be arriving any moment."

"Great!" Rhan exclaimed, dumping Alef unceremoniously onto the ground and making herself comfortable on the lounge chair. "I'll just wait here so I can collect my pay then hit the pub."

++++++++++++++
Ermengarde ​

 

[Ermengarde]

Carloman von Hillstaff Arrived an hour later. Dressed as any noble in lavish blue and white, followed by two bodyguards as his entourage. Besides him also stood his younger brother Ludolf, a cadet wearing a red jacket with white stripes. Both of Monterossan noble blood.

Carloman's narrow eyes were quick to spot the familiar face in Alef. Except..he didn't quite expect the new haircut on him. Even less so ho, he was quite amazed that Alef had run so far south. Perhaps to make a new name for himself in Alliria? Wouldn't be the problem of Hillstaff anymore, yet the people demanded proper justice. »Hmm, very well then. Is that Alef there, the little sorcerer gone mad.«
Carloman's voice was raspy yet cold as if he were dying from boredom any moment now.

He walked slowly over to the now reprimanded man, eyeing him over.
»So, « He turned to the receptionist. »Whom do I have to thank for.«
The receptionist pointed at the tall lass. Carloman tilted his head a little, but his face remained as stiff as a statue.
Ludolf appeared more curious but remained at the back of the scene.

Reaching for his pocket, he counted in twenty crowns and handed them over in a low flying arc in a velvet orange sacklett. »I hope Alef was not much of a bother. «

»- Now c'mon, take him. It will be a long journey to Hillstaff...« He eventually muttered to his entourage.