55 Encounter 2 - Out for Revenge (1/2)
Outside the slave market was a luxury tent, its size was wide enough to accommodate a group of twenty or so people, the total pricing of such living space could only be afford by wealthy merchants.
Inside the luxury tent about four figure were inside, three were hooded figures with white mask covering their upper faces and a young boy with a rusted sword.
It was clear that the three were trying to hide their identities, and the young boy was Stigma, who had passed their test and became a new member.
So far Stigma had one overall impression to all these people - the were all heavy drinkers.
With the exception of the man, who sat in the far corner of the tent with a sobbing expression with several bottles left by his side; two of the girls took off their shoes and drank merrily with either a bottle or a glass at hand, showing of their aloof attitude.
Stigma had already removes the binding by doing some hand gesture, but he was actually silently ordering Dusk to release him slowly.
They, however, didn't take down the darkness as of yet; since they explained that it was a precaution and it was a secret so they can't tell him about it yet.
When they asked him what did he do to stop the man's movements, he played it of as a lucky accident when he almost hit the man's chin and planted a seal when he said 'Dusk', they almost believe didn't believe him. But Stigma told them that if they had secretes, then he was allowed to have his own, which they all reluctantly agreed.
The women had left all their weapons to the man so they were now unarmed, but Stigma believed they were still dangerous.
So far, they have yet to reveal who they work for, what is their organization they work for, why did they decide this profession, or how are they going to meet most of the time. And each time Stigma brought it up, they replied with the usual answer - we are afflicted to the underworld, that's all you need to know for now.
The petite figure was drinking in large gulps from an oversized bottle at hand, she was sitting cross legged on the couch showing of her short but smooth baby skin like legs; that had no signs of hair nor wrinkles.
Opposite to her was Stigma, who sat on another couch stunned from her drinking capacity. He had his mouth wide open while his eye continued to twitch, he had a hard time believing a small figure such as her was capable of finishing four to five large jugs in one take. It only proves that she was more experienced than she appears, from how she drank, she was regular drinker that can handle her alcohol intake[1].
On the other hand, the hourglass woman was sitting beside Stigma with a full glass of red wine and her free arm wrapped around his neck, as she patted his head from time to time, yet he was trying to get away.
The closer she got, the more her boobs were pressing against his face. Normally he would take his time to feel bliss from the softness of her embrace, but after a while, he felt like he could die if he stayed any longer.
It wasn't that Stigma was irritated by her clinging nature, but he had a hard time breathing with her arm blocking his windpipe, along with her chest blocking his face.
So it wasn't an exaggeration when he said he was going to die. Due to him being a child, the size difference between him and her breast was no laughing matter, especially since they were larger than they appear when she got closer.
Just one of them can be compared to his head, leaving him trying to gasp for freedom when he was being squeezed in between them, if he stopped struggling for even a moment, he would be under the pressure and weight of her large breast.
'Who the hell said 'dying from boob suffocation was bliss', that person is an idiot if he hasn't suffered it yet...[2], being smothered was one thing, but death by suffocation of breast, would turn the treasure of all men, into a slow way to die!'
”Oh my! Sorry young one, you seem so cute up close, sorry! You remind me of my brother when he was younger...”
After struggling for a few more minutes the woman finally let go, Stigma finally regained his freedom, but he somehow gained the scent of milk. He wouldn't mind the smell but he heard someone endless cursing from behind; when tried to he turn his head, he could hear Hilda trying not to explode.
'I hate that women, she should be roasted to death for what she did. I should cut off her ***** and *****, afterwards I should **** her with her arm and **** her with her ****. If that wasn't enough I would *** her ***** .... [3].'
Since Stigma was beside a person, Hilda could only vent her frustration in silent, but after he separated himself, Hilda finally let go a barrage of threatening scenarios that could make any women drain the color of their faces, if she ever had the ability to do so.
Eventually he told her to calm down and gave in to his thoughts, even if he had Dusk to help him, he wasn't sure he can take on two or three veterans at the same time. If he were to compare them to when he fought Wade, he would still lose since he still lacked experience.
In his current situation, they would be treated as guest. Since Stigma was sought out, they would need him for something, but they have yet to speak their demands nor conditions.
Out of curiosity, he tried to check their status and was stunned to find out the hourglass woman was watching him the entire time with a smile, so he gave up for now.
The so called 'guest', were in fact some people who all claimed to be assassin. Unfortunately, they have yet to properly introduce themselves much less their profession, and immediately the women indulged themselves with the alcohol, and the man crawled away on all fours and cried in the corner.
”Hey...about the assassin thing...” It was almost midnight and Stigma was getting nowhere with them goofing around and ignoring him for the past hours of drinking.
”Hmm, ah, silly me ,I should say this first!” The petite figure pointed at Stigma with a drunk expression, yet she didn't stop her smile.
”When we found you, we had the thought of seeking you out as a new member, based on your skill, you pass. At the same time, we were in need for a place to stay, so when we found you, you had a place to stay, it was hitting two birds with one stone if I may say. So in accordance to the master servant relation, we'll live here for now and you handle the expenses. We'll do the introduction another time. OK!”
With another swig of the jug, she had finished about her twentieth second under last hour, but she didn't stop and grabbed another one.
”Ah wait, that would be three birds with one stone, if we include the expenses.” The man cut in but was ignored, which lead him to tending to the weapons such as the arrows and knives.
”...Want me to only give you horse feed for meals from now on, you pedophile...”
”I TOLD YOU I AM NOT A PEDOPHILE! SENIOR PLEASE TELL HIM, I ONLY FANCY WOMEN!”
”Mmm, well I could tell you the general idea for the mission, since he already agreed to paying for our meals. Just so you know, most assassination missions we go through all have a general motive from most clients, so it's fine to tell you this since it's always the same contents.”
”The mission we are going through is to find and execute a certain man who had been placed a bounty, the reason for the bounty is simple - the client is out for revenge. Also, bounties are not easily made unless three to four criteria are met.”
”Be it the name, physical description, affliction or even the last known location must be needed to be known, namely information should be the first criteria met. There had been cases in where multiple assassins had died or failed on their missions, since the clients kept hiding information.”
”Second, an appropriate sum of money has to be placed, the underworld places big emphasis on accurate information. So if they believe antagonizing the target in question would be placing their agents to a situation where the danger out way the price or the other way around, they would put the request on hold. You see before they agree on the price on an assassination request, they would do their own investigation and adjust the price, if the client doesn't agree to it then the bounty is considered obsolete.
”Third is the additional pricing, this normally depends if the said target has a criminal record or some strange heritage, so the pricing varies. We once did a similar quest where we had to bring the targets corpse, and they added a huge bonus for bringing it back in one piece. Though other may only need items and pay a higher sum than the original market price to buy it. Once a bonus price is made, all assassins risk their lives to try and do a perfect job so if you finish one, many would think you are special.”
Stretching for a moment she played around with a jug and tossed it in the air, grabbing it the last moment by her finger.
”The fourth one is optional and rarely used, clients placing a deadline. Only a handful of those are finished in time, so there's not many who know about it, so don't bother asking anything if their not afflicted to client in question, since they are the ones who want a deadline you should ask them.”
If you want more details get me something good to eat.”
Without waiting for Stigma's reply, the petite figure grabbed another bottle from the bar and drank directly from it.
The hourglass figure then let him go and gave an apologetic gesture by patting Stigma's head. If one looked at the scenario, she would appear like an elder sister comforting her younger brother to understand her dilemma.
”I'm sorry, she was the one who picked out the job so she is technically our leader. So even if I wanted to, I can't tell you without permission. Please understand, we are in a mission and you just recently joined. But don't worry, this elder sister, will personally explain everything to you in details later on. O.K.”
'...Why do you need permission though, it's just answering a question?'
She continued to pat on Stigma head and gave him a big hug, only to have Stigma suffocate again, seeing the scene only made the petite figure laugh out, while the man in the corner was crying tears of blood.
”Enough already boy and get away from my sister! Your just fresh meat in my eyes, therefore your not ready yet. So go to sleep and let the adults handle their business[4]!” The man stood up and gave a loud cry from the side as he stared at Stigma with a serious expression.