Just as Jed was shoving his way out of the Guild and the crowd, a blonde female grabbed his hands and pulled him out.
"Or else what?" cried she, as she intently stared at Jed's eyes.
"Oh! God! Sis Mesa, if you've got to scare me please do it before warning me."
Jed said to the blonde Lady. She looked like a Lady in her twenties with matted blonde hair and dark brown eyes. She was fair and was a westerner like Jed and even though, she was beautiful, she had a lot of scars on her face. She was Mesa, the only Silver graded adventurer of Mie City after the GuildMaster. She was about 7 ft tall with long thin legs and wore very composite adventuring dresses always. She had nice curves and a pretty busty a*s, but her wrecked-up face, cold demeanor and petite chest, doesn't make her much of a hot-celeb of Mie Adventure Guild.
Jed had known her since he started being an adventurer. She came to the City when he was only 8 and had just initiated with the Guild and as fortune turned out to be, he was assigned to be one of her disciples. Ever since then, Mesa had instructed Jed on how to kill various monsters, their weakness, habitats and habits. She had taken him along with many others on various hunts and quests, teaching them how to the world and the wild work. Unfortunately, most of her students didn't survive. Call it bad luck, but except Jed, Peg and she, none had survived long enough.
With time, Jed became one of the best local adventurers of Mie City. He didn't rise up in rank, partly because he was too young then and partly because rising up meant leaving the City to him. But he did rise up in rank in everyone's heart, especially Mesa's. You see, when he was just initiated, most adventurer saw him as some nutjob seeking wealth, while Mesa only saw him as dead meat. But as time went on, Jed started clearing one adventure after another, making the most of the least. His fame increased because of his deeds of kindness to the peasants and beggars of the District of Poor, from where most of the lower ranking adventurers came. He went on to become 'The Rookie' from 'Just-Another-Rookie.' But for Mesa, he meant more. Unlike what all thinks, Mesa wasn't a cold-blooded adventurer like most thought and everytime one of the 'rookies' died on her lessons, it would wreck her up real bad. It was only Jed, who had survived until now and she now, treasures him more than her own little brother. She didn't really tell him about her feelings towards, but Jed caught up on it and therefore he too, reciprocated the love shown to him, by treating her like his elder sister.
…
"Haha! Funny! Funny!" she mocked, "I've got a job for ya'."
"Oh! C'mon!" cried Jed. "Can't I just take a day off, sis."
Mesa looked surprised and said, "Well, that's surprising. Each and every day, you would come here and shout everyone's ear off for a quest and today, you're thinking of taking a break. Talk about strange!"
"Ah!" cried Jed tiredly.
'This sister of yours' a real deal, man. Oohlala!' said Peg within Jed's mind. 'Oh! Shut up, you mutt!' Jed replied back telepathically.
"Hey, Jed. Stop looking at your dog like he's talking to you! C'mon, what's the reason? Did someone bully you or something?" she asked clutching his arms tightly.
"Woah, woah, attagirl. It's not like that… its… those black-suited men."
"You mean those big players?" she asked frowning. Jed shrugged his shoulders and replied, "Yea… they are kinda spooky, don't you think?"
She rolled her eyes and said, "Whatever. But its not like they are stopping you from taking a quest, are they. C'mon, let's talk about your new quest upstairs."
"Wait! What? Why? Hey—"
…
She dragged Jed to the second floor of the Guild and sat on one of the distant chairs. Jed pouted and asked, "What's the meaning of this, sis?"
She rolled her eyes and replied, "Nothing. It's just that I too feel a bit spooky about them."
"You too?" Jed asked delighted like a kid having one of his wild guesses correct. She smiled and said, "Yes. Me too, but why does it seems to bother you? You haven't really known the royalties, have you?"
"Wait! Royalties?" asked Jed completely confused.
"Yep!" nodded she, "Those suits, called Royale Suit, that's only tailored by the most skilled tailor in the houses of royalties. They are made from the most expensive and rare silk available and are a symbol of wealth and status. I've seen quite a few myself and, to be frank, they spooked me a little."
"Tailored by Royal tailors…" muttered Jed, feeling more confused than ever.Back in Earth, it was kinda true that the first suits were made for the royalties and nobilities, but later it was for the common man, wasn't it? Maybe, a little rich.
'This world may have more than a few otherworlders like us, don't you think, Jeddie. These suits are living examples.' Cried Peg in Jed's head.
'Well thanks for the confirmation, mutt. By the way, they are just dresses. Not living being, you idiot.'
'Stop being fussy, idiot.'
'Don't call me idiot, a*shole!'
'You son of a—'
SNAP!
"Stop looking at your dog like you're cursing him, Jed." Mesa snapped her fingers at Jed and brought both him and Peg out of their little 'telepathic' argument. She smiled at Jed and said, "So, leaving those creeps. So, can we talk about the job?"
Jed asked quite shocked, "You mean … you seriously got … a job for me?"
She blinked innocently and replied, "Yeah! Why?"
"You seriously wanna know why. Cause each and every quest you give, is a freaking death wish. All the quests you've ever given me has cost me a part of me, do you know that?"
She shrugged and replied, "Nearly, dear. NEARLY. And by the way, it's a necessary for adventurers, especially young ones, to learn about hard things the hard way, don't you think so?"
Jed smiled mockingly. "I sure not, sis. So, what's the quest?"
"You still wanna hear it?"
"Oh! Hell ya! Cause I've nothing better to do other than go wherever you want to send me and sacrifice a part of my body. Maybe, my limbs this time or my head the next. But don't worry, I will return in one piece, albeit something missing but. BUT I'm pretty sure I can handle whatever you're throwing at me. After all, I'm your Little Brother."
"Haha!" she laughed sarcastically, "Should I take it as a compliment or a curse. Anyway, I don't wanna go over the 'over-confidence' ritual again, so here's the stuff. Last week, me and some of my old contacts hunted down a Chimera."
"Excuse me, what?"
"A Chimera. A mother Chimera, who has recently given birth to a young one and was quite weakened after it. It was hunting when we ambushed it and finished it in one shot. Feeling surprised?"
"More like shocked. I mean, how could you be so heartless to send your little brother to a deadly mission. You do know that a Chimera, even a young one, is nearly thrice as deadly as an adult wolf."
"It's only wolf. You've killed like hundreds of them." she said.
Jed smiled broader in sarcasm and said, "Yea! I've killed more than a hundred wolves, but I've never killed three deadly wolves who can spew poison from their tails and is excellent as camouflage. Oh! I would also like to mention that, this poison has no cure in and around Mie City, right!"
"Sigh…" Mesa smiled ruefully and said, "Look, Jed. I know this is not someone as your age would like to take on but—"
"Excuse me!"
…
Suddenly, a man interrupts Mesa. Mesa and Jed looked at the newcomer and found him to be one of the black suited men. At a close distance, Jed and Peg looked carefully at the suit and they were awed.This man was the pale-skinned one with long wavy black hair and black eyes, pitch-black eyes. He had pinkish-red skin with almost zero scratches or fault anywhere. He was more handsome than even Tom Cruise from Mission Impossible and was worth becoming gay for. But that was not all. Jed glimpsed at his suit and was again shocked. The suit was nothing like Jed has ever seen. Jed had always praised it eyes because it could accurately tell the price of ANY and EVERYTHING present in the previous world. And according to his eyes, these suits would cost around 400,000-500,000 USD or maybe more, but he wasn't sure whether suits of that price is even present or not. The abyss-like blackness of the suit seemed to draw both of them in and for a moment, he felt like snatching it away from him. But the moment it came to him, his heartbeat increased tremendously and he backed off.
Mesa looked surprised at the man and then at Jed, who had sprung up from his chair.
"What's the matter, Jed?"
"N-nothing." Jed scratched his head and sat back onto his chair. 'Did you see that, Peg?'
'What? That suit?'
'Yea! That suit is definitely spooky. I think they are THE men-in-black.'
'Uh-huh.'
'Men-in-black of a fantasy world.'
Mesa smiled at the man, out of courtesy because Jed could see the sarcasm in her eyes, "So, what do you want? Sean."
A weird expression splattered on his face and he asked Mesa, "You know him?"
Mesa shrugged her shoulders and replied, "Well, he is one of my … old contacts. He was there when we were hunting the Mother Chimera, so … yea, I know him."
"You never told me that ONE of your old friends is a man-in—man from the Royalty."
She made a face and replied, "Well, kiddo. I don't suppose I need to tell you ALL about me, you dim-witted—"
"Let me handle this, Mesa." Said the man interrupting her. The man smiled at Jed and introduced himself.
"Hello, I'm Sean. Sean Delerado. I'm… I was one of Mesa's partners but we… haven't talked for a long time. We used to work together when we were 12 or 14, so you can say that I'm like her childhood friend."
"You worked for the Guild?" asked Jed, still feeling quite unsure.
He smiled and replied, "Well not really. I didn't quite work for the Guild but I did have some connections there. I work for the Emerald Dynasty and we are here for a certain item. And I've a feeling that you can help us in our quest, Jed."
Jed frowned. "How did you know my name? Did you tell him, sis?" he asked Mesa but she shook her head.
"Haha!" laughed Sean. "If I say so, little Jed, you are quite a celebrity in and around here. We've heard of you ever since we entered this place, you know."
"Ah… haha…" laughed Jed awkwardly. The flattery didn't make Jed even comfortable, instead a worrisome feeling was bubbling in his chest. He bit his lips and asked, "What's this thing you are looking for, Mr. Sean?"
"Oh! Ah… about that… um… I'm sorry, Jed but I can't give you the details until and unless you enter the expeditionary party."
"There is an expeditionary party?" asked Jed quite surprised. He knew at once that this quest was not simple because only two types of people would call for one. 1. A moderately rich idiot who wants to brag about his wealth by hiring some petty adventurer and going around the town 2. Rich, powerful and cautious man who wants to dig some really bad-a*s treasure. And Sean here definitely didn't not fall into the first option.
Jed bit his lips harder trying to decide on whether or not he should take it. Mesa noticed his deepening frown and sighed, "If you wanna go, just go. You won't know how dangerous it is until and unless you see it for yourself. And even if the quest turns out to be extremely difficult than what you can handle, you can always run away."
Jed rolled his eyes and replied, "You do know what happens to adventurers who abandon from an expeditionary party, don't you sis?"
"Oh! Don't worry about it!" interrupted Sean. He smiled and said, "We won't do anything like execution or file a complaint against you in the Guild. If you want to leave the expedition, you can happily do so, but I've to break it to you that if you do run away, you won't get the pay. Here, let me tell you which place we will be going. The map please!" Sean asked Mesa, who took out her pocket map of Mie City and the area around it.
"Here! It's right here." He pointed to the place which was named Black Lions' Gorge. Jed frowned at the place and asked with a queer gaze, "Are you sure that it's this place?"
Sean's eyebrows jumped and he asked, "Do you know something, little Jed?"
Jed smiled at him and said, "Yes, I do. But why don't we start by having you not calling me little. I'm not little, friend."
"As you wish, little lord." Sean said shrugging his shoulders. Mesa on the side, frowned and said to Sean, "Isn't there only insects and bugs there. Why would you want to go there?"
Jed pursued his lips and replied, "Not quite so, sis. Me and Peg once visited that place and were astonished by the things we found. For starters, that area show an unusual growth rate of insects. At a mile radius from the center of Black Lions' Gorge, the insects have an average lifespan of about 30 minutes. Do you know what it means?"
Mesa shrugged her shoulders and replied, "Humor me."
"That means that the insects are expending their lifespans quickly in return for strength and agility. It makes them hard to kill and us, very close to death. In the scale of humans, it's like people are using their life force within a few years in exchange of tremendous strength and super powers. The result of such is the generation of new species of insects and bugs. More dangerous and more lethal and the cycle goes on. Even normal species have much greater strength, for example, a simple mosquito there is powerful enough to suck the blood of an infant in a few minutes. You understand that? Normal people don't stand a chance against them."
"That's almost like black magic." Replied Sean. Jed nodded.
"Absolutely. It's definitely black magic and I've got to say that whoever thought of it, is quite a genius. Black magic would be very bad to humans in even the remotest village but completely inconspicuous to insects even in big capital cities let alone this small town. Therefore, the caster will be able to easily amass a large number of 'soldiers' before invading any nearby City or town, which in this case happens to be Mie City. Currently, it feels like that the alleged black-magic caster is increasing his armies by going through the same procedure of 'Eat and Evolve,' to strengthen the insects."
"If that's the case then we should warn the GuildMaster immediately, before it becomes a threat." Said Mesa in a relaxed mood. Jed rolled his eyes at her carefree attitude and replied.
"Yes. It would, but that's not what is actually is there. First and foremost, I've never really seen the person in person, so I've no way of identifying him. Secondly, there's no black magic castor there and I'm 90% sure of it."
"Why so?"
"Umm… let's just keep the reasons to myself, shall we. I don't wanna spill all of my juices to someone whom I barely know."
"Huh!" cried Sean, surprised and disheartened. He bit his lips and asked, "You don't trust me?"
He smiled apologetically and replied, "No… not at all."
"Pfft!" giggled Mesa from the side. It was she who taught Jed to never trust anyone. Neither his partners nor his employers.
Sean sighed and said, "Very well then, young man. You may not have confidence in me, but I do and you may not believe it but I'm not doing it because Mesa is my ex-girlfriend. I'm confident in you because my eyes, you see, they can distinguish geniuses from common folks. Now, I know that the quest about baby Chimera is very addicting but I can promise you that the compensation I'm willing to give … is absolutely worth it. Worth it for you to deny your sister."
"Oh!!Then, why don't we hear it, sis? It outta be great if it's coming from some royalty guy." Jed couldn't hide the glee on his face. He always liked to hear about compensation. POTENTIAL compensation. Compensation which he MIGHT get but … may not. You know the drill.
Sean smiled and replied, "Well, I won't disappoint you. My normal compensation to anyone participating is 3 Gold. But for you, I can make it 6 Gold, nearly double. Also… I have a present for you. As it happens to be, I've got two spare Royale Suits here and magically, one of them looks like it will fit you perfectly. So, if you agree to go, I will give it to you as a gift from your brother-in-law."
"Whoa… You're marrying Mesa!!!!!" cried Jed, panicked. He couldn't hide the shock and smirk in his face. Mesa, who clearly had no such plans, face-slapped herself and said sternly, "There's no such thing. I'm not marrying anyone."
"WHAT!! Damn! False alarm…" Jed's excitement waned away like a depleting balloon. Mesa gritted her teeth in anger, but stealthily so that both Sean and Jed couldn't see it. Jed sighed tiredly and said, "Anyway, tell me one thing, Sean. Are you paying before or after the quest? I wanna know whether or not you want to take me down with you."
"Don't worry about safety. We are pretty keen on making back alive and … as it happens to be, you've piqued our interest. So, no matter what happens, we'll make sure that you make it back alive. My partner will pay 3 Gold before going to everyone today and after returning, I will personally pay you the rest of the money and the suit. How does that sound?"
Jed pursued his lips and counter-offered, "Okay, but I wanna make another deal. You will pay me the entire thing after returning, but I want another suit for my dog."
"You want another suit? For your dog!" asked Sean, astonished. Jed made a crying face and replied, "If I don't, he'll tear mine apart. And I don't want to turn against my own partner for a damn suit. Wuuuu…"
….