Red Hawk

Chapter Three: Halskin

Early the next morning, Kai and Jeremiah had set out towards Halskin. As a child, Kai had always wanted to go with Jeremiah and his son to Halskin, but his mother always forbade it. The countryside between the two of them was one of the most beautiful in this part of the kingdom. Rolling hills covered in a rainbow of wildflowers, ornate ruins of an old kingdom long forgotten, and crystal clear rivers running for miles. Jeremiah's son, Orus, was a rather muscular young man who kept his blonde hair tied in a short ponytail. He rode in the back of the supply cart, keeping his rifle close by encase of attack.

Jeremiah held the reigns, keeping the horses calm as they trotted through the vibrant grassland. Kai sat up front with Jeremiah, keeping an eye out for the highwaymen Jeremiah told him about. They had been traveling for hours, no incidents yet. It was nearing noon, and Halskin would be in sight soon. Neither Jeremiah, nor Orus seemed to relax from this. It was clear, they weren't safe just yet.

"We're coming up on them," Jeremiah swallowed the air in his throat. Kai looked out ahead, spotting a small group of men up ahead. Four of them, two with pistols while the others carried short swords. Just beyond them, kai could make out the skyline of Halskin in the distance. "Prepare yourself." As they got closer to the highwaymen, Jeremiah started to bring their cart to a halt. The four men started to circle them, inspecting their supplies. Mostly ore from Jeremiah's mines, but they were also carrying some of the farm goods produced by the entirety of Zesbel.

"Well, what a haul!" one of the highwaymen snickered aloud. "Someone is looking to make a mighty fine profit from all these ain't cha?"

One of his companions added on, "We'll be taxing a fair price for all this. Half your wares should cover." Kai stepped from the cart, causing the highwayman to chuckle, "No need to help, we can unload it just fine."

Kai cracked his fingers, causing the first highwayman to chuckle, "The kid thinks he can fight us by himself?" When he said that, Kai turned towards Orus, he was unmoving.

So, it's just me Kai thought to himself as a smile appeared on his face. One of the highwaymen touched Kai's shoulder, the instant he did caused Kai to spin on his heel, directly striking the man in his throat with a swift kick. Guns were now aimed at Kai, fingers on the trigger. Kai darted his eyes between the two with the pistols, one was in front while another to his right, distanced by the cart.

Taking the risk, Kai charged the man in front of him, the sounds of gunshots filled the air. Kai had been barely able to dodge the shot from in front, managing to weave just far enough that it struck his right shoulder instead of his head. However, the impact had been enough to throw him off balance and fall to the ground. The other shot had only grazed the back of Kai's right leg. Even still, he stood back up and continued to charge towards the highwayman in front of him. Once more they shot towards him.

He couldn't explain it, but this time Kai was able to clearly see the bullets coming his way. His body naturally moved around the bullets, moving back in line with his target. Crouching down, Kai leapt towards the highwayman, driving his knee into his chin. Falling backwards, Kai landed on his hands, driving both feet into the man's gut.

"W-Who are you?!" questioned both highwaymen as they dropped their weapons. In a fluid motion, Kai reached into his pocket to show off his guild certification. That prompted the two men to try and run away, not wishing to deal with an official guild mercenary. Orus finally acted, shooting down one of them as they tried to run away, a nonfatal shot. Kai went to collect the fallen man, Orus loading up the two knocked out closer to the cart.

With the three of them in their custody, Kai and his companions reached the front gate to Halskin. It was a rather large city built into the side of a cliff overlooking the sea. Upon arrival, Kai took the highwaymen into police custody while Jeremiah and his son set up their shop in the marketplace. A copy of his incident report was to be sent to the guild for their own personal records.

Unsure if this was a good or bad thing, Kai decided to remain silent on the matter. His injuries still caused a slight pain but were already starting to heal. He couldn't help but think about how easy it was to dodge the second round of shots compared to the first. "Something wrong?" questioned the officer who came to collect Kai's written report.

"Just, pondering," Kai replied as he handed over the sheet. He could see the officer reading it over, making sure everything was filled out right.

It was handed back to him, "What do you mean by something weird happened? When you mention dodging the second round of shots, you say something weird happened."

"I was able to see the bullets, as if they were moving slowly," Kai took the sheet back, wondering how he should word it.

"Why not just say you activated your Chi?" questioned the officer. That question received a confused look. "Eh?" grunted the officer, "You telling me you're in a guild and don't know about Chi?" Kai had heard about it, but he always thought it was something used for magic. So instead, he only shook his head. With a hand on his forehead, the police officer went on, "Within all living creatures there are two energies, Chi and Aura. One for physical enhancement, the other for magic. Geez, didn't anyone teach you this stuff."

Kai turned away, "The old bastard was always too busy with work to teach me anything. So can I get a new form to fill out?" He did his best to hide it, but Kai was highly frustrated and embarrassed at this moment. But he wasn't going to complain about it now, there was no point to it. Even without Chi, he had always been the best fighter in Zesbel. But it was something he was going to look into once he got back to Red Hawk, the guild having a large library inside. Surely there would be something about Chi and Aura in there.

Once he was done at the station, Kai started to wander through the city. He was unfamiliar with the city's layout, but wanted to learn it encase they were here for more than a day. It was much larger than Elrosa was, and even busier. Halskin was a major trade city, its ports used to transport goods across the kingdom, as well as to other kingdoms. He began to understand why highwaymen would gather on the road leading here.

A massive naval base had been built in Halskin to protect it from pirates or raiders from the sea. It would be easy to find the marketplace no matter where one was in the city, all you needed to do was head down towards the docks. Since he knew he'd be able to find Jeremiah at any time, Kai decided to grab a quick lunch. Everyone he asked about food suggested a small sandwich shop, but they told him to hurry since they sold out frequently.

Following the directions he got, he arrived at a small shop nestled between two large restaurants. The sign out front read "Starlight Sandwiches", a rather odd name for a shop. It was much larger inside than one would expect, and as everyone said, they seemed to sell out fast. All they had left were three lobster sandwiches on a dinner roll. They were small enough that he could eat them all by himself and still be hungry, but Kai was a nice guy. He purchased the last three in order to share with Jeremiah and his son.

The shop was far enough from the dock that Kai almost ate them all before arriving, but he held back the urge. Even in the crowded marketplace, he had an easy time finding his companions. When he arrived, they had just finished selling a batch of the honey butter his mom made. They seemed delighted he had brought them food, but like him were upset about the portion size. As they were about to enjoy their lunch, Kai heard a noise that was very unpleasant. In the crowd, he could still make out the sounds of a crying child. And sure enough, a young girl about 5 years was crying in the crowd, having been separated from her family.

Kai brought her over to stay with them, Orus heading out to try and find her family. Not only was she scared from losing her family, they could hear her stomach rumbling with hunger. Being a nice guy, Kai handed over his food to her.

As they sat there waiting on Orus to return, thehighwayman who had run away earlier that day caught up to them in themarketplace. He gave a sly look to Kai, "My boss would like to have a word withyou."