First Bounty (Part 1)
The sound of birds chirping awakens the hooded man in the tree. He climbs down and walks towards the camp. After waiting for a while, he steps out into the clearing. The campsite was abandoned. The party had left at sunrise. He looked around and saw some tracks heading towards the town.
He walks into a tavern and approaches the Tavern Keeper to try and get information. He starts by describing someone who looks like Feng, but the man didn't know where he was. He also said that he hadn't seen Feng in a long time. The hooded man then describes Zoraya and Taru but gets the same response. He then describes the children but that only confuses the Tavern Keeper. He curses his luck and leaves the tavern. He decides to try the market place.
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Feng and Zoraya had told June and her new friends that they would be the ones in charge of tracking their target. Feng gave them a paper that had a portrait of a man with a scar on the bridge of his nose and his hard facial features made him look like he was close to fifty years old. At the moment, the only information they had concerning his location was a small town north of Gaoling.
"Can we ask why our client wants him?" asked Ling.
"The usual... He owes her money." Feng replied.
"Is it true?"
"No clue young lady. We trust that our clients are telling the truth especially when they have made posters all over the town."
"And what happens if she is lying?"
"Most of the bounty requests are done in collaboration wit the police. If she is lying then we will let them know."
It was decided that June would ride Kuai, her father's mount, while Shen rode Zoraya's and Ling steered the mount that pulled the carriage, which had all their supplies and room for all three adults. The children were more than willing to take on their respective tasks but soon found themselves wishing that they hadn't. None of them knew how far they had to go, and seating on a mount or wooden plank for long hours was proving to be an unpleasant experience. June felt like they had been given the sort end of the stick. Clearly the adults knew how painfully far the town was and had chosen to seat in the comfortable carriage.
Half way through the journey June realized that she knew nothing about tracking down people. Animals were much easier for her because she knew their behaviour depending on the time of year and whether the animal was a herbivore, carnivore or omnivore . People were not so predictable.
She turned to the twins and asked, "So what next when we reach the town?"
"What do you mean?" asked Shen.
"How do we track this man down?"
"We ask around obviously."
"I get that, but where do we go to get reliable information?"
Shen looked up and thought for a minute. "Honestly, I don't know. But I bet your dad would."
"But then why would they put us in charge of getting information when we barely know where to start?"
"Knowing sensei, she probably wants us to learn by doing it," replied Ling.
Taru opened the window next to Ling and said, "Let's stop soon and have a meal. I doubt we will have time to eat once we reach our destination."
His instructions turned out to be the best course of action. They arrived in the small town right before sunset. The children felt relieved.
June got off her mount. "My backside is on fire," she said as she gently rubbed it with both her hands.
"Same here," said Shen as he leaned on the wall of an Inn.
"Alright," said Feng. "Get going. By the time you all come back we would have arranged the lodging and guard duties."
The children looked at him with surprise.
"Did you forget that you are in charge of finding information? Get moving before it gets too dark."
"But we can barely walk right now," cried June.
"You are more than welcome to crawl around town," he replied with a grin.
"I hate you dad."
"I know my dear. I know."
"So where are we supposed to go?" Ling asked.
"The most common places are the markets, ports, taverns, inns and prisons," replied Taru. "Now move, before people start closing up or heading home."
"Wait!" said June as she walked to Ling and stared closely at her, which made her feel very uncomfortable.
"What's with you, June?"
"Why aren't you in any pain?"
"What are you talking about?"
"Its because she -" June cut Shen off. "AH! I got it!" she exclaimed. "Ling has a bigger rear than Shen and I."
This revelation caused Taru, Feng and Zoraya to explode in laughter while Shen's cheeks turned red. Ling hit June on the crown of her head with a fist. "Don't say such things!"
June rubbed her head and turned to Shen. "Don't you think hers is bigger than mine?". This caused Shen's entire face to turn red and for Ling to respond by placing June's head in a choke hold.