Hawk Hunt

The place was rather out of the way for the man to be there without reason. Tall, cold, snowy mountains. His muse beckoned him for ice cold inspiration. At first, he thought that he would get away with just stepping outside of the castle that became his home, but it wasn't satisfactory. Alas, it was necessary to find a suitable place which could satiate the gnawing muse who was looking for inspiration. Thankfully, he found it in a mountain range named Phoenix Mountains. Unfortunately, it was far away.

The road was indeed long, but somewhat eventful. Maybe not so much on his end, but he had overheard a piece of information that sounded interesting. A mercenary group going by the name of 'Stone Soul' was apparently running rampant along the Phoenix Mountains. However, from what V had overheard, it sounded more like just a band of murderers, rather than a group of people who were selling their swords as a service. That wasn't his concern, though. What truly intrigued the man was a subtle comment, saying that there were surely people out there looking for the group.

And as it were, by a chance, the tattooed man had come across a very verbal older man. He was constantly grumbling about this mercenary group, how they scattered evil wherever they went and left nothing but rubble in their wake. He was visibly agitated, but he also seemed to be worried, in a sense. Perhaps worried that the little town he was living in would be next.

When V questioned the man, he didn't get much information about the quarry. Predictably, it was the leader of the group, Warren Hawk. He was supposedly holed up in an old fortress in the mountains that served as a shelter for him and his band. The assignment focused more on the way the man in question was to be gotten rid of. Under the veil of night, in his own fortress, decapitated with none of his men suspecting a thing. Then, putting the severed head onto a spike in one of remaining towns. Gruesome, but it would most certainly send a message.

The tattooed man took a bit of time to refuel in the small town, where he picked up his essentially an assassination contract. The break didn't last for long. V needed to reach the fortress before nightfall, so as to take a peek at the place, after all. With heavy steps and help of his cane, the road was set for him.

It wasn't tough to find his bearings among the mountains. Snow and ice were V's second home. Eventually he would come across ruins of unidentifiable buildings. In the back of the destruction laid the stone fortress that he could only assume was 'the' place. The sun was setting swiftly, as the wind howled around the mage. A proper look at the layout of the building was first in order, though with his sight he could already see a number of moving forms, presumably members of the group, if it was indeed them.

The tattooed man was ready to observe the other sides of the mercenary headquarters. He noticed some movement to his side with the corner of his vision, but he didn't think much of it. It was most likely just a small animal that he managed to take notice of, because of his senses. As he took a step forward, however, he smelled something. The familiar and unmistakable, but very faint, smell of blood.

Strangely enough, it was coming from the same direction as he saw the movement just a short few moments ago. The smell of blood was enough for the mage to turn in that direction, to get a better look at whatever was happening over there. Instead of an animal fight, however, he was met with a youth who seemed to be waving. Most likely at V, as there was nobody else in sight, especially in his direction. The man hummed to himself. What was he to do? Did the group take notice of him already and sent a boy to dispatch of him? Or was it just a lost child in the mountains? He couldn't read minds, much to his dismay. With a sigh he walked towards the mysterious youth.

With the help of his trusty cane, V made his way to the stranger, the smell of blood becoming steadily stronger. The snow posed no problems to him, despite his condition. "Is there anything I could help you with?" The tattoed man would ask the mysterious youth, as he eyed the stranger. Somewhere behind the stranger there was a very fresh corpse. The true origin of the smell of blood. Was this a trap that he willingly walked into? "The mountains can be quite treacherous around these parts." V would say with his icy voice, as he slightly tilted his head to the side, exposing the part of his neck where the mark of his Guild was. It wasn't to intimidate the youth in front of V, but rather just to show his allegiance. He wasn't afraid to make it apparent to which spectrum of mages he belonged to.

It was certainly a surprise to hear what the youth had said. V did not expect to run into a fellow guildmate, out in the mountains. Though it was quite amusing to hear that his recitals were what was becoming something that others recognised him for. What was even more amusing was his guildmate's comment about the tattooed man's attire. It was true that a regular person would be quite freezing and opt to wear something to warm them up, but V lived most of his life surrounded by snow and ice. It became his home through Rhew's rather vigorous training. But before the man could go over some quick pleasantries, the youth spilled the reason behind him being there himself.

Even more surprising than the fact that V met a new guildmate on a whim, it seemed they were after the same bounty mark. The man was not sure what RK meant, but he would figure it out on the way. The guildmate also revealed his name among the one-sided conversation, Kien. V took note of it, for it would be a shame not to remember. At least the ones he had met personally. Though Kien did mention Dahau. The tattooed man certainly didn't have the most fondest of memories of that man.

Kien then described what he had in mind, which was quite the opposite of what V had in mind. Raw destruction versus scouting for a path ahead. It would be a dilemma. V was secretly afraid that following the scent of blood was a bad idea. The youth then enthused about the thrill of fighting, which V could relate to. To certain extend, at the very least. He didn't think of himself being that sadistic. Unless it came to Bellum and its denizens. Those made his blood boil.

The tattooed man would catch the scroll that was thrown at him with the hand that was not leaning against his cane. He was not sure why Kien tossed it to him, but he put it away into his leather jacket for safekeeping with a little sigh. His joints were starting to act up again, thus it was high time they got moving. And even that, the guildmate had in mind, proposing to track down the rest of the group that the man he killed belonged to, addressing him as tattoo man.

While it was technically a correct statement, the tattooed man very much had a name. "I am V, pleased to make your acquaintance, Kien." The mage would introduce himself. "And yes, I would be that weirdo with a book in hand." V would confirm what Kien may have seen or heard about him. "And as fate would have it, I, too, am after the mercenary's head, on behalf of a request from an old man." The mage would explain his presence in the mountains as he followed his guildmate, although on a little bit slower side, for his body was acting up again.

"While I am not comfortable with completely rushing in without any prior thought, I will provide whatever aid I can, to help your assault." Though silently hoping that whoever responded to their attack would jump on Kien instead of V. Then again, V could most likely get rid of the attackers quickly enough, provided he could see them before they engaged them. The smell of blood was thankfully becoming more faint the farther they got away from the corpse. The smell could be overpowering at times and his nose would have to endure more of it in just a little bit, he was certain of that.

Thankfully for V's joints, the group that Kien had mentioned would appear in their view, about five men. They didn't seem to get too far away. Perhaps they were looking for a missing mate? The mage couldn't speed up his guildmate, but he could slow down the group ahead of them. After he briefly gathered ice energy in his body, V quietly snapped his fingers, releasing a chilling mist that covered area around the mage. If the men of the group weren't cold, they most certainly were after the mysterious mist rolled in, also partially blocking their view, making it suitable for an ambush. "Well? Go get them, hunter." The tattoed man would verbally nudge Kien forward with a smirk playing on his lips. They had an upper hand, after all.