"Brother," Xander called happily, spreading his arms wide, as soon as the doors to the sitting room burst open. A tall man walked in leisurely. He ignored Xander and proceeded to pour himself a drink from the decanter on the table.
"I know you come bearing good news," Xander said, walking behind him.
"Of course, you're going on a mission." The man said and Xander's face fell. "How's that good news? I just came back from another mission."
"Did you succeed?"
"No. They refused to collaborate with you. They don't trust you. Maybe if you could offer them something more.... tempting."
"Like what?"
"Like Malcolm's head," Keir looked at Xander like he had grown another head. "Not my words, alright." Xander said defensively.
"They feel like defeating the beast while in power is close to impossible, so they'd rather he stays like that." Keir's fingers tapped on the glass he was holding, letting the words sink in.
"What about you, did you find Malcolm?"
"No. He always slips away. Did you know he took in a student?" Keir asked and Xander shook his head. "A woman. And you are going on a mission to hunt that woman." Xander scoffed. "You want me to go hunt a woman?"
"Yes!"
"Why didn't you just bring her yourself?"
"It's not as easy as you think. She must be special for Malcolm to take her in. Delaney Palestine. A bounty hunter. There's no other information so you... you'll get the rest and get her close."
He didn't give Xander a chance to complain and just walked out, leaving Xander feeling like he had been wronged.
Hunting a woman? What kind of woman would not be 'as easy as she seems to be'? And the only information he had was a name and an occupation?! He dissapeared into thin air, then reappeared in Keir's office. Keir was sitting behind a large mahogany desk, with a glass of wine in his hands. The room was surrounded by darkness, to the preference of the dark lord himself.
"So where can I find this woman? And what exactly am I searching for?" He asked, without beating around the bush.
"Gatria, guild of hunters. Find a man called Erick. He's a blabbermouth so he might have information that could help. Find out why Malcolm took her in, if she's a tamer, her family her daily routine. Everything!" Keir explained then waved his hand dismissively. "And, don't bring her by force." he added before Xander dissapeared.
____
When Xander appeared at the guild of hunters, he captured everyone's attention. Unlike Keir who tried to be as ordinary as possible, Xander was flashy and commanded attention with his appearance. When he asked for Erick, he behaved like they were long time brothers and that was all he needed to win him over.
"A friend of mine recommended you to me." Xander said flatly
"Oh, I'm honoured. So how can I be of help?" Erick asked enthusiastically.
"The person I'm looking for is actually one of you. Delaney?"
Eric couldn't hide the surprise in his eyes as he laughed akwardly. "Hah! seems like she's on demand lately."
Seeing he was being hesitant, Xander took out a pouch of coins and stuffed it in his hands. Eric beamed and the hesitation he had earlier dissapeared in a flash.
"I need to know everything about Delaney. What she eats, where she sleeps, who she talks to, how she fights. Everything!" Eric listened carefully, then observed Xander's face, finding something wrong with his words. Xander raised an eyebrow quizzically and Eric chuckled.
"Have you met her before?" he asked and Xander shook his head. "So you're not actually looking for a hunter. You're interested in Delaney." Xander nodded, wondering what was so strange about this Delaney woman.
"Well, I wouldn't know why you're interested in her but I can tell you now, there's nothing interesting about that woman." They made their way out of the building and just in time to see Delaney approaching. Eric stopped and so did Xander. They watched as Delaney approached them and walked right past them not sparing even a glance.
"That is Delaney," Eric said, turning to Xander. The woman was like nothing he had expected. Dressed in a pair of brown trousers tucked under knee length boots, a white blouse shirt underneath a brown vest and a coat. Her chestnut hair was held up in a ponytail and her eyes had their usual frostiness.
"If you want information on her, then you'd better make sure she doesn't find out." Eric warned and Xander smirked.
"And that's why I came to you."
Eric first fed him tales about Delaney's fighting skills, her conquests, then moved to family. Her mother died while giving birth then she was raised by Mr Palestine, who married a woman called Angela after two years of mourning, then they had Elsie on the same year. He told him of how Angela was jealous of Delaney's stunning beauty and talent which led to the rumours of her mother being a witch and constant abuse. Then about Collins and his betrayal with her younger sister, then the wedding and how Delaney left them a curse because of how angry she was. Xander almost forced out the important information out of the hunter, when he suddenly piqued his interest.
".... until sir Malcolm took her in. He's the best fighter Gatria has ever seen. Everyone was shocked when he took Delaney as his student. He's a man who likes to be alone. No family, no friends, no acquaintance, just him alone."
"So why did he shelter Delaney?" Xander asked earnestly. Erick shrugged, "who knows. They're both very strange people. We don't know how long he trained her, but when she joined us, no one could beat her."
"What about her routine?"
"She really has no routine. Maybe a few things she loves doing."
Delaney suddenly walked past them, into the streets of Gatria, with a basket in her hands. She took a sip out of her hip flask, and this time she acknowledged them with a slight nod.
"She loves apples. You will always find her eating or tossing an apple." Eric told Xander, who listened attentively. "She also never leaves behind that hip flask. I once tried checking what is in there and she almost cut off my hand....I think she's a drunkard. She's a very strange woman."
The more Xander listened, the more he thought the hunter was making things up. A drunkard?
They both watched as Delaney handed the basket filled with apples to a woman begging on the streets, then quietly sat beside her.
"Does she has any friends?" Xander asked.
"Friends?" the hunter scoffed, "that woman treats everyone like walking trees."