Chương 22: Bidding War

Salzvir held up the Blessed weapon. A blade capable of returning back to one's hand in the blink of an eye. Ideas and scenarios flooded through his mind. Himself throwing the weapon like a projectile before launching at the enemy with his claw. Then, when they least expected it. The weapon was back in his hand, skewering their gut. The downside was nothing for him and his regeneration, and with his stature, it might as well have been a sword. He flashed a grin and tugged at Elenya's shirt.

She looked down at him, a few braids of red hair falling past her face, as she brought her head down.

"Is it good for me, the dagger?" Wretch whispered in her ear. She looked up at the weapon displayed in Salzvir's hand.

"It's too small for me, but for you…." Elenya rubbed her chin.

"It's a good fit. Fast and tricky. I could make you a terror with a weapon like that." Alright, he thought with a pounding heart. Let's do this. A hunter from the general's crew, a thin man with a curved nose and trimmed beard, raised his hand. Wretch snapped his head towards Astrid and Edmund. Astrid tilted her head and gave a questioning look while Edmund just nodded in approval.

"One hundred and eighty pounds," the man with the trimmed beard said"Can I take a loan? please Astrid," Wretch whispered.

"One hundred and ninety pounds." Dalynja, the female hunter with the dog, called out. Astrid gave a look of realization.

"Oh I see, sure. But I want a monthly interest and a payment plan." He shot his clawed arm up with enough force to make the chair groan. Catching the attention of some of the nearest hunters. Salzvir gestured to him.

"Make it big! He thought. People are probably running low on coin." Two hundred and ninety pounds." Wretch said in the flattest tone he could, still a faint stutter to his voice. The room went quiet. He could feel their eyes examining him. Wretch leaned back as casually as he could, his heart thumping in his chest. Dalynja, he realized, was staring at him, hands crossed under her chin. She was unblinking for a few moments and her dog sat to likewise peer at him with exposed fangs.

Then she leaned back and the dog quickly lost interest. That meant one out of the bidding-war. Salzvir turned to the General's crew. The hunter with the beard had his arm halfway up in the air but had frozen. Come on… The bearded hunter hesitated for a moment, then pushed his hand back into the air.

"Three hundred." Shit. Salzvir turned back to Wretch, and his heart skipped a beat. He didn't have many seconds to think.

"Greedy bastards," Elenya muttered, leaning over the table to stare down their opposition.

"Three hundred and five." Wretch said out loud. That was it, all the coins they owned. The General's hunter looked at his colleagues while Wretch's heartbeat thundered in his chest. The man must have been close to his breaking point, judging by the frown on his face. Had they won? Then the Hunter spoke.

"Three hundred and ten." Wretch and Elenya both deflated, slumping back into their chairs.

"Cheer up, We gave it a shot." Astrid said from under the brim of her hat. Salzvir gestured out to the room. It was quiet. Then a calm voice spoke.

"Three hundred and fifteen." Edmund said from the side. The Richters all turned with wide eyes towards their captain. He sat leisurely in his red-velvet chair as if enjoying his morning cup of coffee.

"Ummh, captain, I went through our finances, Three hundred and ten is our ceiling." Astrid stammered. The General's Hunter furrowed his brow. Salzvir held out his hand and waited for a long moment.

"And with tha—" He was cut off.

"Three-seventeen." The General's hunter said quickly. Pushing the words out of his mouth.

"Three-twenty," Edmund responded without a moment of delay. The man hissed and his eyes darted back to the General. For the first time, General Frederic met his gaze. The hunter and his superior exchanged looks. Then, their adversary slumped his shoulders, and leaned back. Wretch and Elenya looked at each other with wide eyes, both suppressing a shout. Salzvir's footsteps echoed and Edmund gave a nod towards Wretch. The caretaker got the message and stepped up to him.

"May this serve you well on your coming hunts," he said, holding out the weapons with both hands. Up close it was even more striking. The smooth, shimmering metal reflecting the torch-light in different hues of purple, its edge looked razor sharp. The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. Wretch clutched the weapon's handle with his ashen claw.

"Thank you," he said, as information sparked to life in the back of his head. Blinking Blade. Piercing your own eye and injecting flame will bind this item to you. If bound, the item may be charged with flame. The blade can be called back through visualization, returning to your person by expending the charge. He closed his eyes and reread every line. This was it, one step closer to becoming a hunter worth the name.

"And with that, ladies and gentlemen, this hunter's feast has ended. May you all succeed on the coming hunts." Salzvir finished in a polite bow. As they stood up, General Frederic cleared his throat, gathering their attention. He drew a hand through his combed back hair and his adorned uniform stood out among the hunter's dark attire.

"Dear Hunters. I wish to ask but one simple question," he began and Wretch saw Salzvir draw breath, face contorting.

"General! I remind you that you have taken an oath not to disturb the Hunters' feast." He said through gritted teeth.

"I did, Salzvir of Catalogs. And I think you said the feast has ended." The General said with certainty. The short man grew red like a boiler about to explode, but Frederic raised his hand, silencing him.

"These walls shackle us, do they not?"

"Sure, our gates are intact, for now at least. But the land beyond is far from ours," he said.

"And for generations, our predecessors have tried to make it ours, have we not?" The entire room of seventy hunters watched him in silence. They were the rare Blessed of the city, a critical function of its survival, as they had been for generations. His voice became harsh.

"Then why expect to break those shackles by walking the same path as our failed forerunners?" He said in the halls adorned with reliefs of warriors' past. The hunters murmured among themselves, but no one dared to speak up against him.

"We need to take the fight to the creatures that pound on our gates. Just like in that call of yours. Make no mistake, in time our forges will falter, and our walls will crumble," he said, looking over the room.

"Find me if you feel the same," He finished, turning around on the spot and walking towards the exit. His entourage of hunters close behind him. What followed was a jumbled mess of loud discussions and Salzvir trying to maintain order.

"Captain." Astrid said and gestured to the Blinking Blade cradled in Wretch's arms, "how exactly are we going to pay for that?" Edmund gave a smirk.

"Did you bring more coin than you said?" Elenya asked. Edmund shook his head.

"Are we going to steal it?" Wretch asked, eyes flickering towards the nearest corridor of the massive hall.

"Saint no! Did you see the guards outside?" Edmund responded and looked out over hunters.

"You don't work this long as a hunter without giving a few favors." His smile grew wide and malevolent.

"I figured it was time to collect anyhow." A moment later the captain surged between the group of hunters, acquiring sighs and grunts of displeasure as they handed him a few odd coins.

"Ratty…" Elenya began.

"Huh?"

"If you ever find a girl that looks at you the same way the captain looks at money. Marry her on the spot." Astrid shook her head.

"He's as serious a father to the twins as a coin-collector. Perhaps he should retire and become a tax accountant?"

"Damn, that reminds me!" Wretch exclaimed and stormed off, leaving Elenya and Astrid awkwardly looking around.

"I should ask some Hunters if they'd seen my father!" he finished almost already out of earshot. A few minutes later, Edmund returned with a look of glee and Wretch with red cheeks.

"Look here." Edmund said and rattled a pouch in his hand. Astrid and Elenya turned to Wretch.

"Salzvir said the reliefs are nameless and the rest looked at me as if I was crazy."

"You are crazy." Elenya said, slapping him on the back with enough force to almost send him off his feet. An attendant handed the Richter's a large sum of coins from their sales. Before taking all of it back to pay for the Blinking Blade. Wretch clutching it in his arms throughout. As soon as they walked out of the halls and passed the two giant guards, Edmund put his hand on Wretch's shoulder.

"Well well, kid. you worked up quite the debt." He said with a mock solemn tone.

"But fear not, a handful of missions and you'll be clear." Elenya cracked her knuckles.

"The look on that bearded guy was priceless. Justice for hogging all the items, besides I think the price was fair," she said. Edmund had a look of feigned resignation and Elenya gave him a glare.

"There, there captain. We'll get more coin in the future. No need to be sad, If the rat dies, we can sell it again," Elenya said, playfully punching Edmunds arm while they left the hall.

"As if! I am very hard to kill," Wretch scoffed. Elenya sighed.

"Yes, you are. Such a cruel world."

"What do you think the General was trying to pull?" Astrid asked as they walked down the large stairs into the night, a breathtaking view of the city far below and the warm summer winds brushed against their skin.

"My guess is General Frederic is at odds with the other higher ups," Edmund said.

"He wants to employ a more aggressive strategy. This was a move in that direction," He continued. Elenya looked at Wretch. finding he was no longer there.

"Ratty?" She turned around, looking up the steps. Wretch stood on the stairs, hands holding the tip of his new blade. The pointed edge, mere centimeter from his eyeball.

"You really are plowed in the head," Elenya said with her jaw hanging open. Astrid turned around as he pressed the tip through the middle of his vision.

"By the Saint, Wretchy! Stop that." She yelled. The metal broke through his cornea with a burst of pain. He shuddered as he pressed in further, sending fresh waves of agony through his senses. Something wet ran down his cheek and the metal scraped against something hard behind his eye. That should be enough, he thought with gritted teeth, fighting the urge to vomit from the pain. He pushed flame into the blade just like he would a damaged body part. The weapon devoured it, and he yanked it out with a grunt.

A wet transparent liquid, mixed with blood, running down his face. The three of them stared with slack jaws and wide eyes, their skin paler than usual.

"For once you might be right, Elenya… there could be some latent brain damage." Astrid said. Wretch breathed deep, clutching his knees. After a moment he straightened.

"Sorry! I couldn't wait." He held out his hand while clutching the weapon in the other. Visualizing the blade in his free hand, the weapon sparked into flames from the edges. Burning away like ignited paper, the sparks were warm but not burning. In the other hand, the process happened in reverse. The weapon appeared from thin air to rest in his palm.

"Wow, at least it looks impressive. Right captain?" Elenya said with a grin.

"For that price, You better make him into a menace." He said with a sigh.