As the sun rose the next morning, I was cresting yet another frost covered hill. My bag of goods slung on my back slowed me down, but I needed everything in it if I was going to make my way to the next town. I had everything packed up and a route plotted out just hours after Lin fell asleep, and I had taken the time to write a note for her. There was nothing else for me to do then but to leave as quickly as possible.

The problem there was how quickly I tired from my efforts since I had not slept since I had crawled out of the cave. I knew I’d not be able to find another safe place to rest until I hit Elysium, the nearest city, so I made sure to take every precaution I could to make myself not look like a target in the open. This proved a wise idea when I ran across the remnants of an animal hunter’s party that had been ravaged by local wildlife.

Near midday I could just make out the gleaming brass and bronze that made up a majority of Elysium’s buildings. I had another few hours of travel by foot before I’d be able to reach the town proper, but at least there was progress. Makes you think about how Elysium is called the City of Man’s Progress, I noted to myself.

Back about a hundred years ago, Elysium was the birthplace of the first airship. Now, in 150 After Etana, the city was a bustling burg of trade. It was places like that that the clan normally avoided, busy but no persons of wealth present enough to make a contract with. There were however persons of interest that may require a bodyguard or a housekeeper. That’s what I was after, no more killing humans for me. If I could avoid killing anything else for as long as I live, that’d be great too.

When I eventually arrived in town, I sought out a store where I could sell my survival gear and the excess weapons I had on me. What I ended up getting was just under market price on each item sold, so I had the coinage to not only get a room at an inn, but also a meal at a pub that wasn’t more jerky. Sleep first, food later.

A solid ten hours later I awoke from my rest, refreshed and ready to go hunt down a job. The first place you should visit when seeking information in a city is the local pubs or bars, it’s common sense and you’ll get a lot just listening to the local gossip. I found a place that was definitely a little seedier than a majority of the other pubs, I figured if anybody is going to need muscle... underdeveloped as it may be… I’d hear about it in a place like that.

I sat at a booth off to the corner, perfect view of every patron and worker in the joint, and flagged down one of the barmaids working the floor. I ordered whatever the special was here and put a few extra coins down as incentive for the girl to tell me the local buzz. It wasn’t long until I was brought a plate of something resembling meat and potatoes and a piece of parchment with writing on it.

Of the few pieces of information I was given on the note, one caught my eye a being important. Local daemon hunter seeks assistant, lodging provided… well that seems close to what I’m after. I mulled over the details of what to say and do upon meeting the local hunter, finishing my tray of food without really tasting it in the process. I silently made my way out of the pub just before a crowd could really amass, and I started my way down the street in search of the address that had been given to me by the barmaid.

It took almost an hour of poking and prodding around the slums before I found the house I’d been described. Sure enough it looked like it had weathered many an assault, but as it was still standing, I assumed that meant the local hunter was pretty decent. I tried knocking on the door, but as my hand touched the wood, the door creaked open. That’s not a good sign.

“Hello? Is anybody home?” I called, sticking my head through the doorway.

No response.

I pushed the door open a bit more and stepped inside and called out once more. “Hellooo.”

I started looking about the inside of the home as I waited for a response, but I couldn’t make out much. This place is a mess, I thought as I took in the piles of dishes and plates and discarded articles of nondescript clothing. I was almost about to go hunt for the hunter among the piles of filth when there came a loud bang from up the staircase. Stepping out onto the landing was a woman with shoulder length wet brown hair, around her torso was nothing but a sports bra that was the same shade of grey as the sweat pants she had on. She rubbed her head and face with a dingy white towel before she said anything.

“What the hell are you doing in my house you little bastard?” she asked, her irritation bleeding through her words. “A lady is trying to get cleaned up in here.”

I took a moment and again surveyed the room I was standing in. “Not very clean as far as I can see...” I muttered.

I then looked up and met her eyes, they were two very different colors, which was a bit of a shocker. One was a bright electric green and the other was a deep brown like her hair, talk about kooky. I thought about what exactly I was going to say as I watched her get more annoyed with my presence by the second.

“Um… is there a Mister Linger here? I was given information that he was looking for an assistant. I was given this address and not much else to go by…” I said loud enough to be heard.

“First off, there’s no mister in this house.” The woman said, holding up a finger. “second off,” she said holding up another finger, “I’m the one looking for the assistant, and that assistant ain’t going to be some scrawny little kid who I’m going to have to leave at home when the monsters come out at night.”

I balked at her reference to me as a child and I got a little irritated. “Look, lady, you’re underestimating me. Plus with a house in disarray like this, there is no way someone will show up and agree to help you if they’re not desperate. I’m here, I’m more than a match for most things that go bump in the night, and I don’t need a babysitter to keep me out of trouble.”

“Kid, you lack the minimum… pectoral girth… required for hunting the creatures I tangle with.” She said, picking her words as if speaking to an idiot. She leaned forward on the railing in front of her.

“I’m a trained assassin, not some imbecilic child off the street. I don’t need to be a big guy to kill things, I just need stealth!” I all but shouted back, not even realizing that I was talking about killing again. So much for living a more peaceable life.

“Who trains a kid to kill? That’s so stupid.” The woman said back as if my words hadn’t phased her.

“The proud members of clan Ymir begin training in assassination at the age of six. I’ve just passed my fifth year of study. I’m better at murder and killing people than most assassins on this continent!” I shouted back once more. I really need to work on my volume control when I’m irritated…

That phased her though. When you speak the name of clan Ymir, you’re speaking about the most deadly persons in the world. You wouldn’t dare joke about using their name unless you were intent on being killed in your sleep one night because one of them heard you had sullied their reputation.

“No kidding… that changes a lot… but just to be certain you’re not blowing smoke up my craw, why don’t you tell me about the current leader?” she said, her voice trying to mask the shock she had received.

“Currently, there’s ten elders who handle the process of running the clan. When the current heir comes of age, they’ll be taking over… or they would if they hadn’t just ran out the other evening. Granddad Miza is going to be pissed at me…” I replied, the later half of the explanations I said a little more quietly.

“Well crap, you’re the real deal. I was going to call your bluff, but your answer was way too… convincing.” The woman leaned back off the railing.

“Well I would hope so, I lived it!” I said exasperated.

The woman began to descend the stairs, “Alright kid, I guess if you’re the real McCoy I would be better having you as an ally than an enemy. Assuming your leaving has left you no place to stay, you can crash here. I’m going to set some rules down, so listen well.”

I nodded vigorously, I was here to stay.

“One; all cash is split 60/40. I’ll trust you to keep track of bills and costs we accrue, but I WILL check the math. Two; you’ll earn your keep doing the chores. That means you don’t pay rent and can keep your full 40% after your share on the bills. Three; I will do repairs and maintenance on gear, you will be my gopher and get tools or parts as I need them. And four; if you so much as try to sneak a peek at me when I’m undressed or in the shower, I WILL cut your danglies off and feed them to you. Are we clear?” the woman said, getting right up in my face on the last point. From where I was I could see a great deal down her top.

“If you’re so paranoid about that,” I began, trying to focus on her eyes instead of her cleavage, “why not set a bath schedule? We do that and I can’t rightly claim I didn’t know you might be in there.”

The woman blinked. “I… had not thought about that. Alright, we’ll draw up a division of shower times after you finish cleaning the kitchen. In the mean time… I’m not seeing weapons on you, so let’s get you outfitted. Follow me to the garage.”

She turned and waved for me to follow. I did so, keeping a few feet of distance. I started taking note about the layout of the house, hoping against all hope that I’d be able to get it livable again. Then she stopped, opened a door, and went through. I stuck my head in the doorway and saw the cleanest room in the house!

“What’s your dominant hand, kid?” the woman called as she approached a chest against the wall.

“Both. I’m naturally ambidextrous. All direct line Miza are.” I said quickly.

“Direct line Miza, huh? Well I guess I should count my stars, direct descendant of the Hero of Hell’s Flame shows up at my door step looking for work.” The woman muttered to herself as she rummaged through the box.

“He’d hate hearing that name… Retzer wasn’t much in the way for being called a ‘Hero,’ ma’am.” I said.

“Don’t call me ma’am. Or miss. Or lady, woman, bitch, or anything other than my name.” She called back, her upper half having gotten lost in the chest.

“Then what do I call you? You’ve not given your name, and all the people in the bar only refer to you by your last name.” I called back.

She pulled herself out of the box and stood up. In her hands were three weapons; a broadsword in the scabbard and a pair of claw gauntlets. All thing I was trained with, and all in really great condition. She passed them to me before speaking.

“Call me Xet. Daemon Hunter class 9, tinkerer, and all around badass.”

I took the proffered weapons, “You can call me Bex.”

Xet held tight to the sword, holding up a finger. “One thing I have to show you before you can take this baby.” She drew the blade and held it before her. She pressed a stud on the blade and it split into two identical swords. She then showed how to put them back together and sheathed the blade.

“All right, that should get you settled in and at least armed with something better than you might have had in that little pack of yours. I’ll show you your room, we’ll go grab something to eat, and then you can clean the kitchen.”

I nodded and thanked her for the weaponry. It was definitely better than my daggers, and I didn’t know how Xet would respond to my magic abilities, so I didn’t want to make it seem as though I was being ungrateful or anything.

“Oh, yeah, one last tiny thing. Say hello to Reina.” Xet said, rushing over to a tarp covered lump in the center of the garage. She ripped off the tarp and… I was in love. Before me stood a two-wheeled mass of chromed pipes and treated metal, a leather seat adorned the top, and the engine was a monster. Reina was a motorcycle, and damned if I didn’t ache to take her for a ride.