Bie fretted a bit as displeasure streaked across his eyes, obviously annoyed at the turn of events he had come across. It would be hard to get around in Renthia, apparently, simply because of the virtue of who he was. He looked at the kind expression on Ulun's countenance and the pity that Uris looked at him with.
His lips twitched as he mentally grimaced, but he slowly nodded after coming to terms with how he would spend his time in this Path. He, Ulun, and Uris stood up as Bie pulled down his hood and shoved his hands in the small pockets in his chausses, following the father daughter duo as they walked up to the counter where a hefty yet pretty woman polished mugs with a wet rag.
"Oh, if it ain't fair Ulun and his nice daughter! Are you taking up a contract today?" The woman had a friendly tone to her voice as she broke her frown to reveal an even keeled smile while she pulled up her wetted shirt.
"No, not right now at least. We're here to register a new member, his mercenary name is…" He then turned to Bie quizzically, mouthing to him 'What is your mercenary name, anyways?'
Bie shrugged before speaking up. "Bie." He had offered his real name as the only nickname he had was the Weapon Breaker, which would probably be too pretentious for a mercenary…? Or at least that's what he figured.
"B? Like, the letter? That's interesting, yeah? Hook and Shield has quite the mystery man now hm? Or at least, he's a mystery for now…" She then took out a piece of paper and a pair of metallic dog tags that she handed to Ulun, who in turn passed them back to Bie. He unclasped the hook and brought it past his neck, noticing both the letter B on one tag and the date 4301 R.D, which he had no idea what that correlated to? And wait, why did the tag really just have B on it-
He wasn't able to ask any questions as Ulun and Uris had already crowded around him and brought him out of the tavern. The booze hub was rickety on the outside as an old sign was smudged until it was unreadable. He couldn't even tell what the place was named.
They were out underneath the heated sky, the sun's pressure bearing down enough on the world to make the heat waves it emitted visible. The man did not stop or rest underneath any of the shades erected to keep cool, instead venturing into his pouch and pulling out a piece of folded parchment.
"Uris, B, we're fighting for the Western Mages today out on the Drylands. We're going to buy some water before we set out in about 10 minutes. Uris, please go get a caravan."
"Yes, yes." She walked off into the busier end of the market as he and Bie made their way past the stalls, perusing the wares while looking for suitable packages of water.
"This'll do nicely. How much, sir?" A wide grinned lizardman played with the hoops that hung in front of the hood he wore, before rising up 3 scaled claws. Ulun fished through his pouch before pulling out 2 silver coins and a strip of 100 copper coins, before getting 3 sizable canisters of water that were bound together with wire fibers. He hung them from his back as he led Bie to the carriages, looking for his daughter.
"Here, father!" Uris walked over while patting the dust off of her iron lined slacks, waving the two over. A blindfolded man with wolf ears as he dumbly drooled sat at the reins, but his dubious appearance was juxtaposed by his skillful handling of the carriage as it pulled over. Ulun shook his head as he clicked his tongue, before he made his way into the inside of the rickety carriage.
"Another one. Those humans on either side are simply too inhumane!" Uris shouted as the carriage departed a bit away from the city, to which Ulun sadly nodded.
"It's the fate of some demihumans, sadly. He must've been way too bad at fighting, so the Renthics must have justified his 'repurposing'", Ulun whinged as he released the grimace he had been hiding. Bie thoughtfully looked at the two, before pulling his hood down and looking out the gap in the back of the caravan.
The tumbleweeds blew past the dusty, plant-less land, and dried up springs became more occurrent as they neared closer to the Drylands. He fiddled with the cloak he wore, actually appreciating the change of clothes and feeling happy about what he was wearing, before thinking about what he had to do.
Suddenly, a mental message came to the forefront of his mind.
-Kill the Decanthus.
There were no other words, no additional information. Three simple words was all he had to go on, and he didn't even know what the last one really met. He turned and faced the two informational guides that offered (threatened?) a place into their band, before making his thoughts known.
"Do either of you know the Decanthus?"
"Pfft-" Ulun had to spit out the water that was whetting his throat at the sudden question, his eyes incredulous. Uris looked at Bie with a knowing look as if she sympathized with him, shaking her head softly while Ulun recuperated his now sore throat.
"Your parents were either seized or killed by the Decanthus, weren't they? I'm very sorry, but it'll take something massive for them to show up even once…and it'll be hard for you to get your revenge. It's best to give up on that pipe dreams…" Streaks of sadness coursed through her eyes like falling rain, and Ulun patted her back while glancing at Bie.
He sighed, hoping the kid could fight well if he could aspire to take down the Decanthus someday…
—
The carriage had completely stopped, and Ulun walked to the front and left a single golden coin on the upraised seat where the drooling dog-man was sitting. He walked off towards the deep and dry gullies, taking the canes in either hand while Uris pulled her runic shield off her back.
They pushed forward despite the intense heat, as other mercenaries soon followed their lead and congregated on the deepest and drying gully, who's starved depths were like a cracked sponge.
They were on the southern end of the large spanning gulch, and magicians in robes and fine clothing descended from the sky with arrogant expressions on their faces. They took center field amongst the several bunched up groups of separated mercenaries.
"Attention, you penny scraping 'warriors!' You have been given an opportunity to see the truth for what it is, and devote yourselves to the cause of the Western Renthic Society! We will be smashing the brutish tools of the scientist rabble, and you will slaughter anyone who stands in our way!"
A man with an especially arrogant and mocking expression on his face spoke up, the leader of the group most likely. It was more obvious not because of his prowess or whatever, but by the ornateness of his raiment and the additional books and staves he had that the other mages lacked.
'What a waste of a good robe.' Bie inwardly shook his head while maintaining a small smile, waiting for the battle to start.