ADAD Chapter 22: Bounty jobs, here they come!

 Orestria, much like any other realm, had its own little towns and villages, where taverns with wanted posters could be found. Darius walked into one of them, apply named The Sharpshooter.

There were many targets around the tavern, but the demon thought that they were just decoration. Surely, no archers would shoot in a tavern?

Anastasios walked after him, and looked around. The place smelt of old beer, was dimly lit, and people crowded around a certain wall. All the people who did so, looked tougher than the two of them.

The vampire prince was walking into a tavern for the first time. The taverns of Gorgon didn't count, as they were more restaurants, and the locals were the regulars. 

The two walked to the wall with the bounties, and got in line. When it was their turn, they saw that there was only one bounty left. 

Warning: Code orange!

Wanted dead or alive. 

Extra pay for alive. 

Kilkreath- Necromancer of the Skull Order. 

Location: Nebula, Realms of the Forgotten Times. 

Reward: 1,000,000 gold coins. 

"Wow, that is quite a bit of money," Darius said, as he was about to take off the poster, and accept the job. 

"Wait, you don't know if we can tackle something like this," Anastasios said, and took a hold of his soulmate's arm. "Let us ask around. See why none of the more experienced bounty hunters took this job." 

"I suppose a bit of research won't hurt," Darius agreed. "Come on, if there is anyone willing to talk, then it must be the barkeeper." 

"Just because Tom back in Brukleon always told you everything, doesn't mean that all barkeepers are the same," Anastasios protested. Darius shrugged. 

"Let's just try, ok? If he doesn't want to talk, then we can ask the hunters," Darius moved through the crowd, and towards the bar. Anastasios took one last look at the gaunt figure in the wanted poster, and then went after him. When Darius reached the bar, he waved the bartender over. 

"We want to ask some questions about Kilkreath," Darius said, the barkeeper's face was just as stony as before. 

"Order first, get information after," he said, and was just about to leave, when Darius placed a big coin pouch on the bar. 

"We don't drink, but I think that all our friends in the tavern won't say no to a drink," Darius said with the same smile as before. 

The barkeeper nodded, and waved his two assistants over, so they could begin to pour out the drinks. A loud cheer went through the tavern, when people began to get their tonics. 

"Now, what do you want to know about that Lich?" The barkeeper asked, as he busied himself with a glass and a cloth. 

"Why doesn't anyone want to go after him?" Darius asked, and the man's frown deepened. 

"Orestria students?" He asked, and the two nodded. 

"You are so green, you piss grass. Hear my advice, go after missing dogs and hamsters. Kilkreath is not for you," the barkeeper made to leave, but Darius took a hold of his arm. 

"He is for us, and you will tell us how we can bag him. Alive," Darius added the last part as an afterthought. The barkeeper looked at the demon's hand, and sneered. 

"Not a blemish on that creamy skin of yours. You are just the type of jail bait that Kilkreath likes," the man then snickered. "But if you want to spend eternity in a dungeon, then this is your choice. Kilkreath is protected by a legion of undead zombies. His castle is always surrounded by them, but he keeps them out of it, or so the rumor goes. If you find a way to get inside the castle, then you will find a way to get him. That is easier said than done." 

"And why is that? Is he ranked calamity?" Anastasios asked, and the man snorted. 

"No, but he is so paranoid, that he has at least one hundred tattoo runes on him," Darius groaned at that. Now, his runes would work against him. 

"Does he use an armor rune?" The demon asked, and the barkeeper nodded. 

"Yes, titanium," he said, and Darius groaned. 

"Maybe we should search for another tavern?" Anastasios suggested, but Darius shook his head. 

"I made those runes, I can find a way around them," Darius said, and then nodded at the barkeeper. "Thank you for the information." 

"Thank you for the patronage," the man said with a snort, and the two went to the wall. Darius took the poster, and rolled it up. 

"How long before people begin to hunt us?" Anastasios asked, worried. He didn't like this rule of the bounty hunters, when it came to failed jobs. 

"If we stay in Nebula, then we won't be hunted. So, we have 150 years to get everything done," Darius said. "We must go there by the end of the month. I suggest we leave today."

"He will notice that we are squatting in his realm," Anastasios said, and Darius smiled at him. 

"Not with my new rune, he won't. It was Harvey's idea to use Egyptian hieroglyphs and Enchain runes, to create a masking rune," Darius took Anastasios's hand, and the two began to walk to the community teleport. 

"Enchain?" Anastasios asked, and Darius nodded. 

"That is what we call the writing we found on Gorgon. Remember those stone plates that were under the shack city? The writing was good enough to be made into runes," Darius said, and then they walked in silence. 

The teleport got them to Nebula in a short while. Darius took out two premade cloaking runes, and applied them at both himself and Anastasios. The place was dominated by fields, with fresh and vibrant grasses. Although the grasses were purple, and smelt of mint. 

"Cozy place," Anastasios commented, and Darius nodded. 

"Seems like it. We will need to camp somewhere, but we are now fully masked. If you want for people to see you, then just give out two mana pulses in a short succession. The zombies would be able to smell us, though, so we will need to get a teleportation array working," Darius said, and Anastasios gulped. 

"Without a crystal?" The vampire prince asked. 

"Sure, think about it, it will be fun?" Darius's idea of fun didn't excite Anastasios. Instead, dread pooled inside his stomach.