V2Ch169 The Hooded Woman

I looked at myself in the mirror this morning. I was properly covered for the day. My special makeup. My hidden weapon was at my side. I traced along the edge of my right ear. The dark elves' ears were not nearly as long as mine. I covered my head with my hood. With it in place, I was ready to go out again.

I left the Inn and started for the pawnshop. I liked to stop by and see if there are any rare finds. Particularly, parts from strong animals.

"Welcome! It's been a little while since you stopped by."

"Anything?"

"No. I'm sorry. I just haven't been getting visitors as of late."

"That's okay. Remember. Anything out of the ordinary. I still have that 25 platinum for any information on rare animal parts brought in. As long as I like what it is you have for sale and any info on who brought it in."

"Oh, don't worry. I do keep my eyes peeled."

I left in a hurry. I needed to go stop by the barracks and make sure my subordinates were not causing trouble.

On my way out of the pawnshop, I bumped into a stranger. He was wearing a hood, too. I hope that isn't some kind of fad. It would make things harder for me if everyone was wearing a hood and I couldn't see their faces.

The walk to the barracks was quick and brisk. The morning cold had not yet dissipated.

"Capitan!"

My title was called out as I entered. I interrupted at least two of my subordinates. Probably personal gambling with card games of some such.

"At ease."

"Capitan!"

They all called out in unison.

"Kide, Reily. Come here."

The gamblers took front and center.

"Remind me. What was the policy for gambling?"

"See? I told you. We shouldn't have..."

"Stop whispering and answer my question."

"Right!"

"Capitan! Gambling is not allowed in the barracks and not on military time!"

"That's right. And when do you get off of military time?"

"When we die or get discharged from duty!"

"When we die or get discharged from duty!"

"Good. What were the winnings today?"

I wanted to make sure they knew I wasn't messing around.

"Uh, 67 silver, Capitan."

"Show me."

I held out my hand. 67 silver was placed into my hand.

"Good. This is going toward the unit's rations. Thank you for the donation."

"What? I won that fair and..."

"SHUT IT! You recited the rules to me on the spot. Don't expect me to feel sorry for you when you don't follow the rules. If it happens again, I expect double the winnings in my hand. That goes for everyone here. Got it?"

"Capitan!"

The room roared with my title. It wasn't an exciting role, but it was the only way to get stationed here in Tian Ret. I've been to every corner of Missing Star. What I wanted to find is no longer there. I guarantee it. I had to expand the places I could go.

While it's nice to be able to be here, I was still limited to the places I could reach. I might have to wait another 50 years before I can convince someone to let me travel north. But then, we would have a time expectation. I wouldn't be able to just take a leisurely stroll north. Every stop would have to be for the health of the troops or preparations for a fight along with a fight itself.

I won't stop searching.

I left the barracks and went to my office before heading out for lunch. It was too late for breakfast at this point. I had a decent sandwich. Something caught my eye as I was eating. A poor local boy was harassing the hooded man that I bumped into earlier. Though, he seemed to be able to handle himself. I decided to follow him for a little bit. If anything bad were to happen on my watch, It would be my fault for not stopping it.

The man sat down for a bite to eat. He ordered a lot. I've gotten a lot before but this was a ridiculously sized meal.

"The local is back."

I muttered under my breath. The local was attempting to confront the man in the hood. I took a step forward when the confrontation seemed to suddenly fizzle out. I watched as the boy took a handful of food and ran. The man seemed unbothered. The boy came back and they seemed to talk for a bit. The boy stuffed his face, and then his pockets with food. The man even handed him some coin. Was that the plan for all that food in the first place?

A lost sentiment. That food and that small amount of coin will only go so far. Even if his heart is in the right place, all that does is make life harder for the boy when the food and money run out.

I lost interest in the man and moved on to other daily chores. I was called to deal with a shoplifter and a breaking and entering incident. Because I am not a dark elf, I only handle incidents that involve non-dark elves. They have their own guards for dark elf-only incidents. The denizens of Missing Star are slowly coming here in small droves. They spread out fast and move away. A few remain. I am here to police them to prevent anything from breaking our treaty with the dark elves.

While our ships can get out of the Missing Star waters easily, the path back is left to someone who has sailed the waters relentlessly. Locals are not told the location nor the method in order to keep our nation safe. As it stands, I am expecting another ship sometime tonight.

The thought of the incoming ship with more passengers triggered my curiosity. Sometimes a troublesome boat docks itself in the wrong location. I should check on that to ensure a smooth transaction when the boat arrives.

The docks weren't far from my current location. A few minutes and the water was in sight. And somehow, the hooded man as well. I walked past him and proceeded to yell at the idiot captain of the Never Away. He likes to dock here but his permit is for the other side of the pier.

It took nearly half an hour of needless arguing to get his crew awake enough to move the ship. A waste of my time. It was early evening. The light was still abundant.

Yet again, I saw the man in the hood. He was following one of the top adventurers of the local guild to the eastern forest. It's unusual considering the Tracker's Guild is the popular place to be. I wonder what he is up to?

Unsurprisingly enough, the adventurer chosen to assess the man's rank was lazy. That meant that the hooded man had no real protection out there.

I let out a sigh.

"I guess I'll follow him to make sure he is okay. The wild boars out there can get pretty hostile."

I told myself. I kept at the furthest distance I could. If I don't need to help, I won't.

I watched him carefully. He seemed to know what he was doing. He found a rare flower. Even I have trouble finding those. A salve plant he found was covered in dire caterpillars. He collected them and then harvested the salve plant itself. Did he know the two were commonly in a nearly symbiotic relationship like that? If so, he has some smarts to pick tasks that work together like that.

The man seemed more interested in the ground and the fauna closer to the ground now. He was tracking. Maybe he is from the trackers guild and got bored of the competition. It seems like he is on the hunt for a boar. I hope he can defend himself.

He quickly found the boar's feeding grounds and then its den. I can't believe how good he is. Maybe I should try to hire him for myself.

"As if that would work."

As I muttered to myself once more, there was a commotion up ahead. It seems he found the boar. Will he be alright?

It looked like it scared away. That's good. No... Wait. It's circling.

"HEY!"

"SQUEEEE"!

Shit! Its squeal overpowered my call out. Please stay safe. Just see it. Please dodge it!

"AAHHHG!"

NO! FASTER! Maybe I can save him. Maybe it's not that bad.

I pushed through the final brush and pulled out my hidden weapon. I clapped my hands together and a sword emerged. The blade made a clean cut along the beast's neck. The body flipped over and landed in front of the hooded man.

Those wounds...

"I'm sorry. I got here too late. I can't save you from a wound like that."

From what little I could discern from his face through the edges of his hood, he seemed more flustered at the sight of me than worried about his condition.

"S... Sophie?"

What did he just say?