"We're here for information on Mask," the mohawk man spoke through gritted teeth.
"Mask who?" Master Lanton narrowed his eyes.
"Of the Problem Solver Guild."
"Information like that comes at a cost," the guild master stretched out his one hand. The skinny kidnapper tossed a coin neatly onto his hand causing the guild master to smirk. "An entire gold. He must have pissed you off. Lana the information please."
The receptionist hesitated briefly before nodding her head and entering the back room. A tense silent minute passed before she returned.
"Would you like a private room?" Lana asked curtly.
"No, read it now," the mohawk man turned to her.
Lana began, "Mask of the Problem Solver Guild. True identify unknown. There is a total bounty on his head of 1,200,000g split among 13 different bounties. His net bounty however is minus 1,000,000g from numerous requests. He was last spotted three months ago from his involvement in the assassination of Count Rodrigues Von Tilos in the City of Ahn in the Kingdom of Art."
"And what about right now?" the mohawk man glowered.
"His whereabouts are unknown," the guild master answered in Lana's stead. "He's part of the Problem Solver Guild. I'd recommend you don't tangle with them."
"I don't fear the Problem Solvers," he spat back. "He's in the city somewhere. He has to be! Put a bounty on his head. 300,000g and any information will be paid for."
"Dead or alive?"
"Alive," the mohawk man's eyes glinted dangerously. It was clear that a part of why he wanted Mask alive was to punish him himself.
"You'll need a down payment," again the guild master offered his hand and this time a sizeable pouch was stacked on top. He felt the weight and nodded, "Your down payment is accepted."
"We're staying at the Bull Mouth inn in the Upper District. If you hear anything you let us know. Got it?"
"Well and truly," the guild master nodded casually. The three men left as quickly as they came.
Once the doors closed Lana grumbled, "Is it really alright to accept a bounty from people like them?"
"Money is money," Master Lanton smirked.
"That it is!" a new voice, thick and prideful, came from the staircase leading to the second floor. Showing himself was a short and round man. His clothes were finer than any Chloe had seen in the town so far and unlike the native wear, mimicked the designs of the central region that she was used to. At first she thought he may have been a dwarf but seeing the words that appeared about him, he was certainly human.
"Mr Bentz I see the jingle of coins has summoned you like usual," Lana scowled.
"That it has," the pompous man rubbed his hands and grinned. "And as you know all transactions of the guild must pay the city tax."
"Here," Master Lanton tossed him a bag of coins.
"Many thanks Mast-," Mr Bentz frowned as he tipped the bag in his hand only to find five silver pieces. He glared at the much larger bag the guild master still held. "By contract of the city lord the tax the guild must pay is 50%. I daresay that you are withholding-."
"Not on this one Bentz," Master Lanton held the large pouch of coins loftily. "This one is down payment for a bounty and therefore not a guild transaction. If you want to grub money go elsewhere."
"Hmph," the short and round man turned his head. "We'll see what the Lord has to say about this one." With those words he stomped out the guild door.
Several seconds passed before Master Lanton again smirked, "Here Lana use this money to bolster the reward for the most important jobs the city needs."
"But Sir it's a deposit," Lana spoke concerned.
"Don't worry. Those three may be part of some dark guild and experts in their own right but they're underestimating the Problem Solver's guild. Even if Mask really was in the city, no one could or would dare catch him."
"But sir, I've heard some rumours about Mask. If he was in the city wouldn't that be dangerous? Even in the Problem Solver's guild they say that Mask could twist a man's mind to betray his best friend."
"Shh Lana, a child is listening. No need to scare the poor girl," Master Lanton looked towards Chloe who had been watching and flinched.
"My apologies," Lana bowed her head. "I'll divide the money where it's needed." She removed herself from the front counter and disappeared to the back room once again.
The guild master moved closer to Chloe and Mask's table. Though the man appeared friendly enough, he bought the strong smell of alcohol with him. "I'm sorry you had to see that. I can see that you've barely touched your food due to the commotion. Let me ask our chef to prepare it again."
"No need," Mask replied amicably. "The food is lovely as it is."
Master Lanton nodded and faced Chloe, "I'm sorry if that scared you."
Chloe shook her head, "I was fine." Had Mask not been there with her however, she would have been terrified.
"You're a strong girl. Perhaps one day you'll join the guild, though maybe not this one," he laughed boisterously. "We've definitely seen better days."
"I could tell," Mask stood up to shake the man's hand. "Corvis Kane. I'm an adventurer here for the winter and this is my niece Chloe."
"Pleasure to meet you Corvis," the man took Mask's hand and smiled. "I'm Master Lanton. I may just be a washed up, old has been but regardless it would be a real help if you could assist us. Not many adventurer's here with the blatantly high tax."
"Shouldn't that tax be going back to support the requests?" Mask asked.
"If that were the case you'd at least see this place a quarter full. We're honestly broke. I can barely afford the cost of a sharp whiskey to indulge in. Though with those three miscreants, hopefully we can pass on some extra earnings your way. And don't mind the rumours of Mask being in the city, the guy is pretty decent."
Chloe's eyes lit up, "You really think so?"
Master Lanton laughed, "Yep. People with his notoriety usually have plenty of bad rumours. Mask has more good ones than bad. He's a real steal from the rich give to the poor kind of guy. There's a reason his bounty is net negative, he's helped more people than he's pissed off."
"Like Robin Hood!" Chloe exclaimed and turned to Mask cheerfully. The man himself kept a neutral expression
"Hmm haven't quite heard of him but probably. Anyway I've wasted too much of your time. When you want work come here. Just be careful of any offers you'll get from Mr Bentz or the city Lord, they're not as good as they sound. Though good enough to steal most of our regulars." He smiled, though this time empty, and headed to the other side of the counter, "Enjoy your meal."
With the guild hall empty, Chloe relaxed and resumed her eating. The food had indeed gone cold and in the already chilly weather, that wasn't quite the best type of food to eat. Mask however spread his hand over the meal causing a sudden warmth began to permeate the table. When he removed them the food was back to steaming. The brief use of magic threw Chloe's emotions into a strange disorder. For one she was excited at the sight, but on the other a grim jealously and annoyance at herself seeded into her mind.
"As I said before, comfort is key," Mask smiled and Chloe shook off her thoughts. "Now as we eat, did you see anything about them?"
"Ah right!" Chloe nodded and placed down her cutlery politely. "The three men. The big one's name was Lars Duntoff, age 45, human. The skinny one was Migter Aren, age 46, human and the one with the mohawk was Rector Reece, age 38, half-vampire half-human. They all looked much younger though...."
"You may not have seen it before but those who progress in the martial arts or magic age slower than most. It's the reason the First Emperor of the Central Empire is still alive. He's human but over two hundred years old."
"About their Titles," Chloe frowned as she tried to recall the list. Though she could recall the first part of the words, the section of their titles was mostly blurred together. "Umm, I remember they all had bad titles like Murderer and Thief but...." Seeing Mask stare at her, her face began to heat. This was meant to be her first job helping him but the words refused to form as her memory struggled. "P-please wait, if I try to picture it again in my mind-."
"It's okay Chloe," Mask spoke gently.
"No. I-I can remember, just- Rector, he had... he also had the Opportunist Title and Practitioner of Martial Arts. Actually all of them had that one. I mean the last one. The Practitioner of Martial Arts."
"Chloe that's enough," Mask again spoke gently.
"No I-."
"It's okay," Mask repeated. "I expected that you wouldn't get everything."
Chloe froze, the words dug into her heart, "I'm sorry. I'll study so please-."
"Chloe, I think you misunderstood me," Mask began softly to calm her anxiousness. "What happened is my fault. I didn't expect those three to appear so suddenly. In fact I thought my magic would at least last till tomorrow. For you to be able to memorise their Titles and spout them back is something I shouldn't have asked for. Right now however, let's finish lunch." He pushed Chloe's cutlery towards her. "I don't have enough mana to reheat your food if it gets cold again."
For a moment Chloe said nothing but seeing Mask begin to eat, so did she.