Chương 108: Arrival

A few minutes away from the Redigo headquarters in Ichoris… A huge gust of wind swept through the trees as a powerful flapping rang across the area. It came from a massive bird the size of a house in mid-descent, carrying a large wooden box on its back. It had a long head with a terrifyingly sharp beak and talons. Around its neck was a thin piece of red cloth, resembling a shoelace, which fluttered as the creature gracefully landed on the stone floor.

It leaned down, lowering its neck to the ground, and just seconds later, two figures emerged from the box. A smaller man rubbing his hands expectantly, and a larger man with copper hair and a towering stature. The copper-haired man took out a pouch from the bag he'd been carrying and tossed it casually to the other man.

"Count it if you want."

"I trust you wouldn't lie to me, Colton." The small man smiled widely and pocketed the pouch. Colton's eyes travelled to the massive beast.

"It's not mine," the small man snickered, as if having read his mind.

"I'm renting it."

"I see." Colton checked through the bag, ensuring all his things were still there.

"I'll have to get more familiar with Eminus' services. Thanks for making the extra stop for me."

"Of course! It's just good business! You know how to contact me." The man snickered and jumped back into the box, shutting the front door. The massive beast soared, and a sharp whistle pierced through the air. With a few powerful flaps, the beast had boomed into the distance at immense speeds.

"Glad to have you back!" A girl with curly orange hair waved. She had deep brown eyes and sharp features. Her muscles popped out in her skin-tight suit. Turning around, a smile grew on Colton's face.

"Good to see you, Corinne. How've you been?"

"Can't complain. I heard you have everything you need?" Colton signalled to his bag, which had a long copper rod attached to the side.

"Made the final purchases not long ago. Just need to bunker down for about a year." Corienne whistled.

"Not bad, not bad. Little Colton is finally joining the icewood badges, huh?"

"It's expected." He narrowed his eyes." Most people in the family are able to make it fairly quickly."

"About that," Corinne sighed, "we got some bad news."

"Oh?"

"Blake's dead." He remained silent for a few seconds. Finally, he softly shook his head.

"Disappointing. I figured he would have quit by now, but I suppose I can commend him for giving it his all, no matter how little that may be." She nodded, "He just really wasn't cut out for it… Vito's taking it pretty rough, though. Also, Graham threw a fit and left."

"The little one that always followed him around?"

"It certainly wasn't what any of us wanted." She shook her head.

"But he's getting angry at the wrong people! He also left you a note, by the way, that Vito annoyingly won't let me take a look at."

"A note? I don't recall having talked to him before." Corinne shrugged, "Hard to say. I figure when your advancement options are slim, they find other ways to keep themselves busy." Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Colton nodded.

"I was looking forward to meeting Vito anyway. Let's go see." Upon arriving at the Redigo headquarters, Colton saw Vito sipping some tea by the couches at the front entrance.

"Good to have you back, Colton."

"Corinne tells me Blake is dead?" Vito weakly smiled. Colton sat on the couch across from him and watched the Redigo Head of Ichoris expectantly.

"The Mayor gave him a task; he failed. The biggest shame is that his buddy Graham left as well. His ability was a great substitute for Ender Bags… We'll have to see if we can call in a replacement from another division.

""It's only his own fault for not being strong enough." Colton solemnly nodded.

"What sort of task was it?"

"We don't know." He raised an eyebrow.

"You don't know? Failing a task is one thing, but you don't know?"

"The Mayor kept it a secret from us all." Colton's grip on the couch intensified.

"And you didn't make any effort to find out? What did Graham say?"

"The Mayor likely commanded him to remain silent."

"Does he work for you or the Mayor? Who knows which shameful way Blake disgraced the family, y—" He felt Corinne's hand rest on his shoulder.

"Careful there." Colton kept his gaze on Vito for a while, then slightly lowered his head.

"We'll chalk it up to grief over your brother's death." Vito nodded and continued sipping his tea.

"I figured this would happen eventually," He sighed.

"Corinne told me about a note." A thin envelope flew over, and he snatched it mid-air. Ichoris Redigo's second in command sighed and walked over to sit beside Vito. He quickly ripped it open, and his eyes scanned through the page. Your brother is dead, and Redigo let him die. The Mayor had some sort of grudge with a man named Eth, so he sent Blake and me to take him out. Although he told us he was a low affinity man without much talent for combat, he lied.

He's got reddish-brown hair and is about as tall as Blake with a deep vertical scar across his cheek. Fairly muscular, fairly nimble, powerful throws with his cards. He also had some weird ability I couldn't discern no matter how hard I tried. I will send him a letter advising him to leave, because fuck what the Mayor wants, but if he's still around, then that's on him.

To be honest, I doubt you even care enough about Blake to seek revenge on his behalf, so I figured I'd at least cause him the trouble of relocating. Colton gave a satisfied hum. If Blake perished in combat, that was acceptable. As for revenge, why should he care? It wasn't him who lost the fight. He works at the red and white tent near central slums or sometimes at the new building near the east of Upper-Ichoris if he decides to stay. Maybe it's better that you don't get your revenge.

It wasn't really his fault, and you're probably too slow to beat him anyway. I don't think Vito will be reading this message, but I suspect he's waiting for you to tell you their contents. So go ahead, feel free to tell him and beg for their help. The Mayor will be dancing with glee, killing a Redigo soldier while using the other members of the Banner to clean up his mess. A group truly without any backbone, how useful!

I don't think you would have been able to beat Blake and me working together; we were quite the unstoppable duo. This guy did. So, in the unlikely event you are brave enough to get revenge for the brother you love so much all by your lonesome, I wish you all the best. Your good friend Graham.

"You alright there?" Corinne asked. Light sparks jolted around Colton as his breathing turned heavy.

"Where's Graham?" His voice rumbled as a small flame caught on the note. His aura expanded even further, sharp and unpredictable.

"Reign yourself in." Corinne's face darkened. Taking one long breath, the intense aura vanished. Vito ruffled his hair.

"He quit, and we didn't bother tracking him. What was in the note?" Gritting his teeth, Colton glared down at the ashes that had once been Graham's last message to him. He pushed to his feet and pulled the long copper rod from his bag.

"He asked for a short favour. I'll be back in a bit." Dory yawned. He'd been sitting on the second floor of a building near the central slums for the past three hours, binoculars in hand. Recently, the circus manager, Yuna, insisted there was always someone watching this area for a copper-haired man with slightly angry features. It was in pretty vague terms, and he'd seen a few people who'd fit that description run around, so he'd gone to tell her, but apparently that wasn't enough. It was just so boring.

At least he only had to do it once a week since the shifts changed regularly. It's just part of the job, I guess. At least I'm being paid decently. He yawned again before scanning through the streets one more time. Still nothing. He joined the circus a few weeks back and was working as security personnel during the performances. During the other days of the week, they didn't even let him watch the magicians practice. Those bastards didn't even trust him not to leak the secrets…

So what if The Oracle Hand was created in a lab in Ultor? He was still paying him, wasn't he? Maybe I'm just getting greedy; it's nice I don't have to work in the mines. He took a deep breath, and a few more minutes went by. This sucks. It was still so early, and he had most of his shift left. Hm? Walking along the street was a man who perfectly fit the description: copper-haired, slightly angry face, massive stature.

In his right hand, he held a long copper metal stick, and on his left hand was a strange white bracelet. Dory continued watching the man for a while. One of me probably isn't enough… but three of me could probably beat him up. If he's got an ability maybe ten… I guess it depends on the ab– Shit, I'm supposed to go warn Yuna. Scrambling to his feet, he jogged down the stairs and bolted towards the circus. It was probably another false alarm, but what did that matter to him? He just had to do his job.