Hunters

There are many wondrous things in this world. Of course there are the obvious things like magic or fiends. Yet they pale in comparison to nature itself. Both its beauty and its power. And no place better sums up both than the city of Everfree.

Located in the center of a forest Everfree‘s buildings stood proud. The buildings themselves were painted in a light green. A passerby may mistake it for being part of the forest.

Thick vines wrapped themselves around the bright green buildings. The vines seemed to pulse like veins. And from these vines tiny flowers bled out. These beautiful flowers hung over the sides of the buildings. As if they stood silent guard over the city.

The streets below were very occupied by its content populace. Like the forest around them and their own city’s buildings the people themselves chose to dress themselves in green clothes. Of course they wore varying shades of green.  Failure to note which shade of clothes your friends wore would practically guarantee you losing them.

If the green buildings and clothes weren’t enough there was another obstacle for tourists that hurt one’s sense of direction. In the town several of its citizens adored nature. So much so a majority of them placed their plants on their windowsills.

The plants themselves would vary. There would inevitably be more than one person placing a group of roses in a certain pattern. In order to differentiate these similarities the citizens would make their own unique touch to the plant. So if you failed to recognize the minimalistic difference between two groups of roses you could get lost.

Everfree is much like a forest. If one is not careful they could be lost in it forever. The town had a calming effect on the town. Many theorize it is because of its isolation from other cities but Everfree had no crime rate. In fact it was a rarity for any mission to concern the town at all.

Outside the gates of the city stood a pair of two young men. They were an odd couple of individuals.

One of the two towered a clear foot above the other. His fiery hair was short. His analytical eyes were a dark green. They’d blend into the city if he wasn’t careful. Freckles graced his face. And wrinkles laid on his black pants. His shoes were brown work boots. His shirt was a dark burgundy. Dark grey gauntlets covered his forearms.

The smaller of the two was completely enraptured by the city. His hot pink eyes were watery. He felt his long blond hair slap against his back. Like his friend he too wore a coat. However his had sleeves and was a dark shade of purple. On his head was a squarish hat that matched the color of his coat. His shirt, gloves, and boots were red. His pants were a light yellow hue.

“What a wondrous city!” the young man exclaimed. “A perfect stop for the two young heroes.”

The larger one stared at his friend. He silently grabbed his friend and entered through the gate of the city. They had no time to lose.

“M-mac! Why must you be so rough?! We should take this opportunity to bask in the glory that is this grand city!”

“We ain’t got time for that.”

“I am aware, but that doesn’t mean-”

“You got info on our guy, right?”

“I do.”

Mac said nothing more. The smaller man handed Mac a small card. Everytime he handed Mac one of his cards he’d carry Quick would hope his friend would never ask to play with him. After all Mac had an impenetrable poker face.

The outline of the card glowed white. As if some preschooler had spread paste to the perimeter of the card. Suddenly the card’s shape began to expand and stretch.

Mac rolled his eyes at this. Whenever Quick did this the card would sometimes get stuck in the middle of its expansion. Recognizing they had little time to waste Mac decided to do what he always did when Quick’s magic stalled. He shook the card as if it was a wet towel.

“Now I know that wasn’t necessary. I had it!” the smaller man said hurt by the actions of his companion. His eyes were starting to water.

“Calm down Quick,” Mac stated as he continued shaking the card.

In an instant the card shifted to the size of a poster. Mac steadied himself for the now added size and weight of the poster.

On the poster was a green haired man. The corners of the man’s eyes were covered in wrinkles. On these wrinkles were orange red streaks. His green eyes were full of joyous mirth. Mac knew that the man’s white jacket and pants were a facade. He knew this man’s past was drenched in blood. The shoes of the man resembled the color of the forest that protected the town.

“Bright Gleam. Wanted for theft, manslaughter, and dine and dashing. Hm. Quite the charmer, no?”  Quick asked dryly.

“Eeyup.”

“Credit where it’s due. Hiding out in a city without crime? Smart,” Quick asserted. “So where should we start?”

“There’s a bar in the town.”

“Oh the lively atmosphere of a bar. The two young heroes shall find themselves welcomed by comrades in the place they least suspect. Friends who will help them capture the vile villain.”

Mac turned to walk to the bar. Quick followed behind. All the while he was telling of how they’d find shady characters with hidden hearts of god. Mac silently hoped his friend would stop his rambling by the time they reached the bar. Or else he’d need a very strong, possibly toxic, drink.

~~~~

The two Hunters started at the building before them. While the rest of the city presented a feeling of life and a powerful connection to nature this place gave the opposite.

The plants that surrounded it were a dark brown like a sick or dying plant. The vines hung loosely from the building appearing to be on the verge of falling off. The grass was equally brown and dried out.

Each step they took was accompanied with an audible crunch. It sounded like they were stepping on the bones of a decrepit hermit. It was as if the area in the town was forsaken by the rest of it. Quick shivered at that thought.

“This place certainly looks charming.” Quick spoke hesitantly.

“Eeyup.”

“Shall we then?” Quick said giving his friend a mock bow.  Mac simply walked by his bending friend into the bar. Quick slowly turned to watch his friend, eyebrow twitching.

“Really should have seen that coming,” the short Hunter said as he followed his friend inside. “Mac never got sarcasm.”

Once inside they took a quick glance. Rather surprising the inside of the bar was almost nothing like the outside. The place resembled the rest of the city.  The tables were very plain. Like the rest of the town they too were green. The plain appearance had a calming effect on the two Hunters.

“What a twist. The bar turned out to be more like a juice bar,” Quick observed.

Mac touched Quick’s shoulder getting his attention. Mac pointed to a counter where a young woman stood.

The woman’s purple eyes were glazed. Her purple hair was long and curly. A long white apron covered her upper body. Quick noted that she did seem to be wearing dark purple pants. Her skin was very pale.

“Ah so the hero has fallen in love with a beautiful maiden,” Quick whispered. “Now he must do as all heroes do and leave her in peace. But alas his heart compels him to speak.”

Quick’s hand went into the front pocket of his jacket he pulled out a mint and casually tossed it into his mouth. His hands went through his hair making sure each strand was in the ideal place for maximum waviness. Puffing his chest out Quick strode over purposely to the bartender.

“Greetings and Bienvenue, miss,” Quick said tipping his hat. “I must say, you look ravaging in this light. Like a rose blooming forth in a garden of weeds. I feel so much more at peace by merely being in your presence. Will you grace my ears with your name?”

“Did you just call my home a garden of weeds?” the woman asked her face contorting in anger.

“Um. O-of course not! I was merely stating how your beauty is matched by none within this bar,” Quick chuckled nervously as his cheeks became a bright red.

“Now you’re calling all my friends in here ugly?!” the woman snapped.

“No, no! I-I-I was merely saying. Um,” the Hunter said at a lost for words.

“Hello miss. My name is Mac,” the large Hunter said extending his hand to the woman.

“Berry,” the young lady said shaking the Hunter’s hand. “Haven’t seen you two before. You new to Everfree?”

“Eeyup.” Mac took a seat at the bar.

“Not much of a talker are you?”  Berry giggled.

“Nope.”

“I talk good!” Quick blurted out.

“So what brings you two to our city?” Berry asked ignoring Quick’s comment.

“A mission.” Mac said as he pulled out the poster. He held it up. “We’re looking for this man.”

Berry studied the photo closely. “Hm. Sorry, I haven’t seen this guy.”

Mac gave an annoyed grunt. He stuffed the poster back in his pocket.

“Perhaps we should rest for a moment. We have been tracking this man for several hours, Mac.”

“I’d really miss you, big guy,” Berry said winking at the large Hunter.

Mac sighed. He gave Quick a small nod.

“Excelent! Miss, could you bring us two mugs of...Whatever it is you have. Non alcoholic, please.”

The woman frowned. She stood there defying the short Hunter. Then Mac ordered the same.

With a happy smile Berry turned around for a few minutes. A loud slurping sound could be heard. She returned with two cups.

One was large enough to be called a barrel rather than a cup. And its contents were practically overflowing. How she expected Mac to finish that Quick did not know. She gave Mac a clear wink.

Quick looked at his own cup. Or rather his spoonful of the drink. He hoped that he would not spill the shallow amount. How she expected him to get full on this he did not know. He teared up as he realized that was the point.

“You can have my cup,” Mac said inching his barrel to Quick. “I’ll order another.”

“Thank you my brother in arms!” Quick shouted joyfully getting the attention of several bar goers. They were surprised at Quick’s face. On it was a huge cheshire smile

Mac shook his head. A small chuckle escaped his mouth. “No problem, partner.”

~~~~

Mac left a small handful of bits the counter as he and Quick left the bar. Mac noticed that a small paper was put in his hands. On it were scribbled a series of numbers. Mac could swear he saw the faint outline of a pair of lips on the paper.

“That could have gone much better.” Quick said walking from the bar Mac following quitely. Mac let out an amused sigh.

“You’d think someone like this would stick out somewhat! Or make some kind of mistake we could use to track him!” Quick huffed.  Mac gave no reply. He just kept walking along the road as his friend spoke.

“Did the poster list any of the magic he uses? Maybe he uses an invisibility spell of some sort?

Mac stopped as he pulled out the poster. He examined the poster. He grabbed Quick and motioned him to use his magic on the poster.

Once again Quick’s magic covered the poster. A few words glowed from the poster. The top word was abilities. Below included what he was believed to be which was a ninja. Mac scratched his chin. That was all the information given.

“He could be anywhere,” Mac commented.

“Have the brave heroes lost their way to save the day?!” Quick exclaimed.

Mac took a few steps forward. He surveyed the area as if he was looking for something.

“Where?” Mac said softly. Suddenly, Mac spotted something. Something that was off. The entirety of the city was green. Because of this the city appeared to be suspended in time. It was as still as a statue. However he found a place that seemed to be moving. Breaking into a sprint he dashed to a corner of a building.

“Mac?” Quick turned to see his friend chasing after something. This behavior was unlike his normally stoic friend. In fact the only times Mac would run off in such a manner was if he found something related to their present mission.

Quick Snap felted conflicted. While going after Mac was the obvious choice he had no idea where Mac was running off to. It could lead them to their target or it could be a wild goose chase.

“Yay verily the young hero finds himself in a predicament. Does he follow his ally into the unknown or hold the rear vigilantly? Tis the tragic decision of our young hero!  No, I must aid him! Whether We know what lies beyond or not, it is unbecoming of a hero to abandon his comrades! Tally Ho!” Quick soliloquized as he ran to a corner parallel to Mac.

Mac moved his head to see if the thing was still moving. He noted that it was. He leaned his head in its direction. Quick nodded his understanding.

“Right. So what is the plan?”

“You still got the cup?”

“Yes? I figured since we paid for it I might as well take it.”

“Good. We’re gonna need it.”

Quick cocked a brow. “For what reason?”

Mac reached his hand out to Quick. Mac gestured for the cup. Quick obliged him.

He was confused on what Mac’s plan was. Mac’s right arm became engulfed in red magic. Mac grunted as he tossed the cup far away from the Hunters.

The cup flew through the air like a torpedo. Quick’s jaw dropped. Had his friend just lost his marbles?!

Mac walked towards Quick as the cup flew. Quick gulped at the look in his eyes. It looked like Mac had come up with an awful idea. An awful idea he wanted Quick’s help with.

The cup spun in the air spilling its very meager amount of milk. The white liquid splashed as it hit something. It was then Quick noticed the white milk hovered as if in mid air.

Before Quick could comment he felt himself lifted up. He gasped as his friend lifted him onto his right shoulder.

Quick tried to speak but Mac tossed him in the air. When he returned courtesy of gravity Mac had grabbed Quick’s feet with his right hand. And then he threw the short Hunter at the hovering dairy liquid.

Quick had no time to react as he collided with the floating milk. It was at that moment he understood why Mac did what he did. The milk was not floating. A person, most likely their target, had become invisible.

Clever, Mac. Then Quick felt himself crash into this person. The two struggled as they found themselves in a little ball created by momentum. Quick noted that the man’s true appearance was revealed after he tackled. Most likely he had undone the target’s illusion magic. The momentum ended with Quick sitting atop their target.

“Greetings Mr. Gleam!” Quick said victoriously.  Gleam shot Quick a dirty look before kicking him off.

“Tsh. Just what I needed. A pair of Hunters on my back.”  Gleam spat coldly. As Gleam stood up he drew his weapon. It was a long sword with a slight curve to it.

Before Quick’s eyes Gleam’s body seemed to speed up. His torso twisted slightly to the right side. His left arm was raised up high. His sword was in this hand. His right hand was down as if he was reaching out to the ground beneath himself. He planted his right foot leaning on his body weight upon it. His left leg stretched forward towards Quick.

Quick produced a card and threw it at Gleam. Gleam side stepped the card swinging his sword at Quick’s neck. Before the blade made contact the Hunter summoned another card. He used it to block the attack as well as put distance between the two.  Quick brought another two cards out, both having a faint white aura, and tossed them at Gleam.

Gleam smirked smacking the cards to the sides. Quick’s jaw dropped as he saw his cards fall to the floor. The criminal’s body twisted as it moved forward.

Gleam’s blade graced the edge of Quick’s chin. If he hadn’t moved his head he would have lost more than some facial hair.

“Come on! Can’t you just let me be?”  Gleam asked bitterly.

“Of course we can’t! You’re a criminal!”

“So I killed a few dozen or so people. Its not like you Hunters don’t do the same.”

“Wedon’t!”

“Right. Whatever you say, Mr.Moral. I’ll just forget about all those stories about Hunters killing people. I mean it's like the incident never happened at all.”

“Incident?”

“Its easy acting like you have the moral high ground. Especially when you’re so ignorant of the world around you.”

Quick remained silent. What was this man talking about? What was this incident?

Taking advantage of the Hunter’s confusion Gleam stabbed at his chest. Noticing he had no time to dodge the Hunter pulled out a card. It glowed white like its brothers. However then it shifted into a bright light.

Gleam grunted as he was blinded. But that did not stop his thrust. He felt his sword plunge into something. He wondered since he cut the Hunter during this soul search if he’d see Quick’s soul exit his body instead of blood. He hoped so. Blood had begun to grow a bit stale.

Drawing his blade back he opened his eyes. He sneered at what he saw or rather what he did not see. He found no blood was on his sword. Instead what he found was another one of that Hunter’s cards.

The card glowed. The card let out a loud sizzle and exploded into a torrent of confetti. This was quickly becoming bothersome.

“I hate Gamblers. They’re the worst kind of mages,” Gleam grumbled. He tried looking around and could not find where his pursuer had gone.

Resisting the urge to grunt Gleam decided to walk away. Obviously the coward would not dare test his patience again.

Gleam heard the crunch of the ground as he moved forward. After a few steps however he stopped hearing it.

His eyes moved to the ground to find a card on each of his feet. Gleam decided to humor this Hunter and awaited to see the confetti once more. The cards glowed but instead of shooting confetti each of the cards sprouted water right into his eyes.

His eyes shut as he grunted in pain at the liquid invader. He walked away from the cards. Then that annoyance would be easily forgotten.

Once again he began to hear the familiar crunch of actual ground. But also once again he heard it stopped after a while. Unlike last time Gleam had no time to wonder why as he felt his body fall and roll.

Gleam felt a large pile of dust enter his mouth and nose. If he hadn’t had his eyes still closed he was sure he’d have been blinded a third time in less a minute’s time.

He confirmed his suspicion. He found himself at the bottle of a large hole. A large dusty hole. While it didn’t pertain to cards he was certain it was the Gambler’s doing.

Gleam clawed at the sides of the hole trying to grab hold of something. Nothing presented itself and the man slipped back to the bottom of the hole. The gambler would pay for humiliating him like this.

He then spotted a sturdy looking rock. Perhaps he could use that to escape.

“Ahh! When I find that Gambler I’ll skin him alive,” the embarrassed man groaned as he grabbed the rock.

With a grunt of effort Gleam lifted himself from the hole. He brushed any remaining dirt off his clothes. As he began to step forward he thought he should be more cautious.

It was at that very moment he realized he heard no crunch. He looked down to find he had found himself surrounded by many cards. Grumbling he closed his eyes. His eyes still stung from that water.

Gleam could feel the magic energy engulf the cards. The next thing he noticed was a foul smell entering his nostrils.

The smell was horrendous enough for him to open his eyes in pain. He hacked violently. That insufferable Gambler had struck again.

“I am sick of these games! Come out and fight me like a man!”

From a nearby tree a small square appeared on a string. That was new. He grabbed the small stamp and felt its edge cut against his fingers.

Gleam let out a small gasp of pain. He had never suffered from a papercut before.

Suddenly he heard some laughing. Gleam turned his head to find a figure in the distance. It had to be the Hunter.

A frightful grin formed on Gleam’s lips as his chased after the figure blade drawn. That Hunter would pay for all he had done. Heck maybe he’d actually like seeing the blood gush from him. The thought alone was enough to sustain himself for at least a century.

He closed in on the figure. He brought his sword down on them.  The figure vanished into a puff of smoke. When he brought his sword back he saw a single card.

“What? How can he just-” Gleam’s musing was halted when he heard an increasing aggravating sound. He turned around to find he was right near two cards on the floor.

Before he could breath one of the cards glowed. A large mass of a green gooey substance shot forth and hit Gleam in his chest.

It forced Gleam up against a tree. He struggled in vain against the goo. As he did he noticed the Gambler appear out of the words. An amused smile was plastered on his face.

“How?”

“Its simple really. I used illusion magic.”

“Illusion magic?”

“When you got that cut from the stamp  the magic in it was released. Having no where else to go it went into your wound. And it traveled all the way to your head.”

“But how could you tell I’d come back here specifically?!”

“The cards you swatted away. I imbued one of those cards with the same energy that the stamp had. That created a kind of link between the two.”

“Then why bother with all the joke cards?!”

“As a Gambler I lack forceful spells. We specialize in tripping up our opponents. I had no choice but to embrace them.”

“And you expect me to believe this?”

“If you’d rather believe I defeated you without one go ahead. Between you and me I’d rather this be an action story rather than a comical one.”

Quick closed his eyes awaiting the sweet sound of a surrender. What greeted his ears was a chuckle.

Gleam had held on to his sword with his right hand. With a yell of defiance Gleam cut the gooey substance from his person.

Quick fell on his butt. His breathing grew ragged. His eyes streamed forth a mighty river. His mouth trembled like an intensive earthquake.

Gleam enjoyed the view. He loved seeing his victims squirm. It was fun to see the life fade from them slowly. He raised his sword high in the air savoring every last second. He brought it down with a shout of victory.

Suddenly Gleam felt his attack was stopped. He saw a large arm had grabbed his. He followed the arm to find a large man with fiery hair.

Mac’s right arm was covered in an inferno. Without another word Mac punched Gleam to the floor. The target was unconscious.

“Ah! Thank you for the save, my comrade! However it was unnecessary. I had the situation under control.”  Quick spoke with false bravado.

“Right.”

“I did!”

“Course ya did.”

“I did, Macintosh!”

“Can we go now?”

Quick’s head fell down. He sighed. Then he gave Mac a slight nod. Only to see Mac had already put their target over his shoulders and was walking away.

“Oh the young hero has been abandoned by his friend! His friend who couldn’t have given him a little warning before he left!”

~~~~

The two Hunters returned to the Holy Sun. Quick decided Mac would cash their check while he would get the info on another mission.

Quick looked at the board searching for the mission he marked before they left to go after Gleam. He remembered what happened when he signed for this mission.

Mac’s sister had distracted everyone with her guns. Though personally for Quick her eyes were more captivating. And her hair. And her lips. He definitely had to get around to charming her. Heck maybe he could get Mac to talk him up to her.

Quick shook his head. He touched the board and created a card with the information for their mission.

After he was done he ran outside to find Mac waiting. He gave a puzzled look.

“We both have to be there for them to cash the check Quick.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?!”

“I did. You ran off.”

“Here it is!” Quick announced presenting the card to Mac. He hoped Mac would ignore his moment of idiocy.

“What’s that?”

“A new mission for us!”

“Can’t we wait a bit? I’m kinda tired.”

“Well, of course. I wanted you to see the data for this one. Rescuing a damsel in distress.”

Mach snatched the poster from Quick and gave it a brief scan. He smiled.

“Got a question Quick.”

“Yeah?”

“What size dress do you wear?”