The Barrsons harbor was smaller than what people might see in big cities. There were more ships that were leaving than coming, mostly containing cargos of fish. I rode my horse down to the harbor, looking for a ship that was heading for Magicae. The people inside this harbor were mostly all fishers and sailors, and very few with weapons, most likely guards or mercenaries like myself. I would get strange looks wherever I went. I really needed to hide this ax somehow, but it’s not like I could just make it disappear into thin air. I tried to not make eye contact with the bystanders, as I looked for a ship that shared my destination. After riding for a while, a ship that was flying the flag of an owl standing on a book with a wand in its mouth came into view. I signaled my horse to walk there, and we stopped in front of a sailor.

“Excuse me good sir, is this ship by chance heading for Magicae,” I said as I got off my horse.

“Who are ye, what'd ya here for.” He asked me, squinting his eyes under the hot sun.

“ I need to board a ship towards the Magic Country.”

“And ya got money on you?”

“Will one Ursa be enough?”

His face distorted as he blurted out laughing. I looked away at him as people started staring at us. He was still laughing for quite a while later until I finally said:

“If I can’t pay, perhaps you would like my service? I am a member of the Quiver Mercenaries, perhaps you would need a sword for hire?”

Finally catching his breath, he took a good look at me. He mostly was staring at my battle-ax on my back.

“ Wait here, we might got something for ya”

He walked up the ship. I tapped my foot as I waited impatiently for his return. After a few minutes, he came back with a dignified man in neat clothes. He looked to be in his 40s, wearing a captain suit of gold and silver, with a small platinum medal decorated with owl wings on his chest. He stared at me with his seasoned face, and I could see a slight smile on his face. He quickly hid his smile away and put his hand out.

“I am Captain Stratford of the Magicae Ocean Defense. I heard from my trusted subordinate here that you would like to enter our kingdom?”

“Yes sir, even though I might not have the money, perhaps I could offer you a mercenary’s service?”

“Yes, yes, I heard. And I trust your services include keeping a client’s secret after a job?”

It wasn’t strange for a client to keep their involvement in an assassination to be a secret. Mostly because they did not want to have any drawbacks directed to them after the job. It was completely reasonable and understandable. So I nodded my head.

He put his hand out again, motioning me to shake it. As I touched his hand, I could feel a piece of paper. I held on to the piece of paper as he released his hands.

“Have it done by midnight, that is when we leave, and bring me something to prove his death,” He said as he walked back to the ship.

I got on my horse again and went into a dark alleyway with no one there, where I could read whatever he gave me in private without any prying eyes. I opened the crumpled paper, the only words that were written were: “Jonathan Milton.” No address, just a name. I wondered if this was common for Issak and Goodwin, they were the only ones that were getting clients. It was then I realized that this was my first mission alone. Strange, I had always wanted to work alone one day, but then, I frowned as I missed the days when I still worked with Vesper and Chelsea. As the memories of them were reemerging, I held my head higher and looked forward, as I reminded myself of the purpose of why I am here.

I started to look for a Jonathan Milton. I asked a few people around the harbor but the help that I got was as good as none. My patient slowly and slowly disappeared as I was getting annoyed that I was getting no lead, and my client gave me minimal information, something sent me to the ground.

“Watch where you are going” Someone yelled.

I looked up and I thought it was a boulder just talked to me. The man that was standing

was huge. He had the look of a warrior, but there were religious symbols on his waist. Is this man a priest? But priests don’t carry swords. Not one as big as the one on his waist. He must be a-

“Ren, what happened.” A voice called out from before him.

“Nothing much Mr.Wilton, just a little accident.”

“I told you, you can call me Johnathan, or John, no need to be so formal.” The voice replied.

I stood up to see a man in his middle age behind the warrior. I walked away from them, keeping my face down. Was that the man I was looking for? I thought to myself. I decided that I would follow them. They ended up at a small tavern. I looked around for a way in for them to not notice me, but there weren’t any visible ways to get in there without being noticed. As I was in trouble, I came up with an idea. I approached a nearby sailor with a bandana on his head and held out the one Ursa coin that I had.

“Would you sell me that bandana for one Ursa?” I asked him

He looked at me with his eyes and mouth wide open, as he didn’t say anything, as he just took off his bandana and gave it to me. I gave him the Ursa and went on my way. I was a little surprised. Ursas didn’t worth that much. One Hydra could probably buy a horse and was the main currency between nobles. Virgos were what they used to pay soldiers with. And Ursas are what commoners and the lower class mostly use. Some people go their entire life without ever seeing a Hydra coin.

With the bandana, I used it to cover half of my face. Some people noticed me when I entered the tavern, but no one cared enough to acknowledge me. I sat down at a table near the man I was following. The things that they were talking about did not seem to ring a bell on the reason why the captain wanted him dead. Maybe it’s just a coincident that they have the same name. As I was about to leave, they stood up and left the tavern. I also stood up and left the tavern, following their tail. As I walked out of the tavern, I felt a blunt force hitting my face. A man stepped his foot on my chest, keeping me down.

“Why are you following us? Depending on your answer, you might never get up again” The man named Ren said as he pointed his sword at me.

Most of the bystanders were gone, some were staying to watch the scene. How did he know I was following him? I grabbed his foot, but it would not budge. In response to that, he started to push his foot harder into my chest. I felt like my ribs were about to be snapped. I kept on trying to push his foot away harder and harder. Suddenly, my hand felt heavier as the rune on my battle-ax started shining. Because of that, I felt stronger, and I pushed his foot away, making him lose his balance. By the time I got to my feet, he was also standing. In my studies on the path of a Warrior, Issak would always quote: “The best warriors fight in the best battlefields.” I quickly examined my surroundings, one side was the ocean and full of ships, and the other side was full of shops and taverns and restaurants. I did not think that I was going to be able to defeat this man, so I did the only thing I could. I grabbed my battle ax and approached him slowly.

“Johnathan, stay close to me, this thug might have allies.” He said to my target.

I attacked him first with an overhaul, an attack from above. The battle ax felt really light as the runestone shined. However, he blocked it quite easily and hit me with his elbow as soon as he blocked it. His attacks burned, like getting roasted in the sun. When I came to it, he was charging at me with his sword. The rune on my battle ax shined again as I felt myself becoming much lighter. I managed to dodge the sword for that reason, barely, however. But now, he is facing the ocean with his back. I went for a horizontal slash, he blocked it again, but I expected that. As soon as he blocked it, I kicked him in the guts, the rune was shining as my leg became heavier, so I was able to exert a much larger force. I managed to knock him back, and while he was stunned by that kick, I charged him with all my might and pushed him into the ocean. The rune on the sword was shining again and my entire body became heavier like it was trying to stop me from falling down the ocean myself. After I had regained my balance, and successfully knocked the man into the ocean, I turned to Johnathan. He tried to make a run for it, but it was in vain, as I was able to catch up to him effortlessly.

“WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS?” He yelled at me, panicking.

I never replied to him. My mission was to only kill him. I held my blade against his neck.

“Please… I have a family.” He sobbed as he begged.

I felt sorry for him, I did not have anything against this man, but I was doing this for MY family, the people who took me in, so I slit his throat.

I reached into his pockets and found 3 Virgos. Afterward, I took one of his fingers with me, to show the captain that I have done my job. I did not stay at the scene for long, because the guards would have shown up eventually. I went straight for the ship afterward. Another reason why people hated mercenaries was that they could kill with no remorse, but I guess that was true. I did not feel anything. Was it because I was doing this to find my family? Or was I just so used to the killing? I did not know. The captain was on the deck, looking to the ocean. His long hair flutters with the wind, and he had a relaxed look on his face. I walked up to him and showed him the target’s finger. He smiled a very satisfied smile, put his hand on my shoulder, and said.

“Welcome to the Owl’s Wings”