Hunter

Location: Vosa City; Kai

It took two days later that Regulus had told them they were going to Silver Wisp’s Guild Hall. Kai had figured that one of her fathers had to have gotten in contact with Guild Leader Einar because he would have been alerted, not just by the Guardian’s at the gate, but also by Ione’s annoying tendencies to announce to anyone who would listen about Hars being in Vosa. One of them had to have talked to him because neither Kai nor Hars had gotten a summons to talk to Einar about their prolonged disappearance act, and their lack of communication. Normally nothing would stop the Guild Leader from jumping down their throats about it, but then again, nothing in Vosa could be considered normal at this time. 

In those two days, Kai and Hars had continued on with life as normal. They went around to the Potion Master's Kai knew would give them the best deals on ingredients, after papa had gotten to pick what he wanted out of them, to sell off what they were carrying. Sold some of the tougher material that could be crafted into new armor to the Armories, and Kai had made sure to get someone to look at and fix the hilt to Hars main sword. They had made an excuse that one of the Daemon creatures from a Red Egress had destroyed the hilt since the claw markings were noticeable, and the Raven Shields’ Swordsmith didn’t question it at all. 

The most annoying part for both Kai and Hars was having to deal with their shadow, Ione, who would constantly follow them around the various Districts of Vosa City whenever she wasn’t working her shift as a Gate Guardian. Kai had to stop herself from doing anything about it. Both Hars and her didn’t want to risk setting off the powder-keg of tension within the City. Especially as they talked to more Hunters and learned about the gossip that they had to tell them. Kai was thankful that she had been rescued and trained by Regulus and Arroyo. A lot of their connections with other Hunters had been passed down to her, and there were very few Hunters that wouldn’t share information with her just by hearing her Hunter’s name. 

Things were a lot darker than the picture Regulus and Arroyo had painted for them when they first arrived. A good Hunter friend of Kai’s who went by the Hunter Name Crimson Feathers, told her that he had witnessed an entire circle in an outlier town named Fjoll, being forcibly dragged into cages by the awful Black Birds. Crimson Feather’s had been hidden in the shadows so thankfully he hadn’t been taken out by the Black Birds. They always did that whenever they were doing something unsavory. 

The Black Birds species name was actually called Torvak, and they had their own guild called MorningStar within the Capital City of Ullilan Kingdom. No one knew how so many Torvak’s had been dragged to Ullilan, but no one liked them even if they acted like they did. They were vicious Hunters. Took things to the extremes more often than not, and they were known to be very hostile towards any other magical beings. They hardly even tolerated the natives of Ullilan, treating them as if they were below the Torvak. 

Kai knew for a fact that the MorningStar Guild was the Crown Prince and Princess’s police force, so to speak. Whenever they needed something done, the MorningStar Guild was called. And she knew they did unspeakable things in the shadows for the Crown Prince as well. To hear that Torvaks, more than likely MorningStar Guild members, had kidnapped an entire circle of dragels that Kai had been friendly with whenever she was in Fjoll, made her sick to her stomach. She had a sickening feeling that the entire circle was dead. But she couldn’t understand why the MorningStar guild would have taken them, or to where. It did make her wonder if everyone who had suddenly disappeared in Vosa City, and other places, had been taken by the MorningStar Guild, but Kai didn’t share her thoughts with Hars on that one. Just made sure he was wearing his bracelet as she double checked hers before swiftly taking both of them back to their parents villa for the rest of the day. 

After all of that it really was a relief to both Kai and Hars when Regulus had told them that morning at breakfast that they would go to the Silver Wisp’s Guild Hall to talk with Einar and Marvolo. 

“You know Einar is not very happy with you.” Arroyo stated as the four of them headed out of the villa for the day. Kai, who had made sure both her and Hars had everything they needed to make a quick escape from Vosa City if needed, was double checking her pockets and humming as she looked up at her papa. 

“He’s never happy with us.” She shot back, rolling her eyes at the thought. “I thought that was why you two were so close to him, so you could bitch about your ungrateful children to each other.” Kai laughed as she dodged both Regulus and Arroyo who made to hit her, a wide smirk on her face. Well that and because Einar was like Kai, a Vefari. And Einar had helped Arroyo get citizenship for Regulus, and later Kai and Hars as well to hide the fact that they were from different Realms than the one Ullilan was in. 

A frown formed on Kai’s face as she pulled out a loose potion bottle from the second side hip bag on her right side. It was a pale, light blue potion with swirling silver pieces in it. It was one of several of that particular potion in the bag. Her eyes widened in alarm as she came to a full and complete stop, stopping Hars as well since his arm was wrapped in hers. “Kai?” Hars questioned, giving her a questioning look which caused Regulus and Arroyo to pause in the walkway to look back at the two. 

“Everything okay?” Arroyo asked, his eyes narrowing in on the bottle in his daughter's hand. He knew immediately that it was a potion that fully cured magic wasting sickness, a terrible neurodegenerative disease which destroys nerve cells, particularly in the brain and if left alone, destroys one's magic core. He had been the one to help Kai make that potion two years ago when an outbreak of the disease was slowly killing the Guardians of the Town of Alabaster, leaving the town in a lot of danger. Thankfully it wasn’t something that could be transmitted from person to person, only by eating monsters that had the disease or animals that got the disease by eating dead monsters who had it. 

“Nothing wrong. Father, can I have leave for half an hour or so? I need to deliver this to the Outer District for someone in need.” Kai looked at Regulus with a serious expression, not willing to say much more on it when they were out in the open. She shifted her head back and forth in explanation at his questioning look before looking at Hars. “Alone, preferably. My contact is… Not keen on visitors.” She pitched her voice lower so anyone attempting to listen in couldn’t hear her. 

“You’ll explain later?” Regulus asked, though it sounded more like an order than a question to Kai’s ears. She nodded firmly, gently taking Hars’ hand off the crook of her elbow and replacing it onto Arroyo’s who accepted. Regulus waved her off making Kai smile as she replaced the potion back into her pocket and swiftly turned on her heel to head in the opposite direction, towards the Outer District. 

Kai hadn’t truly forgotten that she needed to deliver the potion. She had only finished brewing it late last night but when Regulus told them they were going to see Marvolo, Kai had admittedly gotten side tracked. She had meant to go first thing in the morning, before everyone else woke up leaving a note in case Hars woke up from a nightmare, but she had been tired from being up so late trying to make sure that no one caught onto what she was doing. Vosa City had a law about magic wasting sickness. If it was reported that anyone had it within the city limits, they were immediately brought into quarantine, but the city didn’t provide the cure. They let the victims of the disease die a slow and painful death simply because they thought it was too much of a hassle to ask Hunter’s to gather the potion ingredients needed. They would also need a special Potion’s Master to be able to create it. Kai may not have the certifications as a Potions Master like her papa did, but she had the skills to make that specific potion perfect. 

Kai barely was able to keep herself from snapping at the Guardian’s manning the Inner District Gate when they ordered her information. Instead, she plastered a smile on her face and told them what they needed to know, providing her Hunter’s Device with practiced ease. The newly implemented rules were really starting to grate on her nerves. Kai still had yet to figure out the reason that Guardian’s kept track of who went in and out of the Inner District. Surely, the Lost Prince wasn’t prancing around Vosa City knowing that he was being searched for. He wasn’t a complete moron. 

Kai paused briefly outside the Inner City Gates to activate the locking spells on all her bags, and especially on her katana’s on her back, so no one could steal her things as she pushed her way through the chaos that was Mid-District Market Day on a Sunday. People were everywhere, haggling with vendors. Children were running back and forth between different stalls, running small errands for pocket change or just seeing what was available. There was the occasional street performer trying to make a few coins through music or quickly done portraits. The scent of spices and smoke mixed with the smells of baked goods, roasting meats, and the more disgusting smells of potion ingredients and monster goods.

Kai made a quick assessment of her surroundings, finding the easiest way to get to the Outer District, before she began to weave her way through the crowds with the grace of a dancer. She was careful not to bump into anyone, keeping her right hand over the pouch with the loose potion vials to make sure they didn't break before she got to her contact. 

The crowds dissipated as she made her way into the Outer District of Vosa City. The architecture became more simple, though functional. Narrow alleyways lead off the main streets, some lined with small shops that were closed for the day in favor of setting up shop in the Market. Kai went halfway through the Outer District before quickly ducking into a very narrow alleyway that had her have to turn sideways to move through it. She put up illusion magic easily to make the alleyway seem empty as a pair of Hunters rushed past. 

Kai watched them go with disdain, seeing the emblem of the MorningStar Guild clear as day on the back of their armor. She wasn’t sure if they had actually been following her, since they seemed to be on a goal oriented mission as they moved past the alleyway she had ducked into but Kai wasn’t going to take any chances after she had heard that the MorningStar Guild had kidnapped non-human magical beings. She also couldn’t take the chance of them following her to the person with magic wasting sickness. 

After watching the MorningStar Guild members head straight towards the gate and leave after several harsh words to the Guardian’s manning it, Kai looked down the alleyway and carefully shuffled sideways down it until she came upon a hidden door. It looked exactly like the rest of the stone building. The only way she was able to see it was the fact that she could feel the magic hiding the cracks. With a small smirk on her face as she knocked in morse code “Secrets keep who enter”. She could feel the magic lock onto her and knew she would be forced to keep the secrets of anything that happened inside. Kai had known that was part of the deal when she had taken the desperate call for help from a dear friend. Once her knocking was done, Kai moved back so the door could creak open the little bit it could.

She slipped inside, quickly shutting the door behind her. The cool air of the underground hideout hit Kai like a welcome sigh. Her eyes adjusted to the small landing at the top of the stairs leading downward. Once she could see fully again, Kai headed down those stairs without a single ounce of hesitation, mentally checking the time to see how much longer she could stay before she had to quickly make it back to the Inner District and to Silver Wisp's Guild Hall.

It was darker the farther she went down, but Kai didn't mind as the moment she stepped onto solid floor instead of stairs light broke through that darkness. Standing in the entrance way of the underground base was the figure of an old woman. Her skin was wrinkled and dull with age and her hair was long and pure white in color. Two clear blue cloudy blue blind eyes stared blankly at her. She was holding herself up only by clutching a very old silver staff that looked like wood.

"Kai," the woman greeted, straightening up as much as she could as her face tilted up to look at her. "You came."

A small smile formed on Kai's face as she walked over to her, the sound of her boots on the stone floor echoing through the small room. "Of course I did," she said, shaking her head at the thought. "I promised I would."

"And you have what we need?" The old woman croaked out, her eyes falling on the second pouch on Kai's right hip. Kai knew that the woman was fully blind but somehow she always knew where the stuff she asked for was.

"Yes. I'll need to see the person to figure out what dosage he or she needs." Kai answered honestly. Depending on the sex of the person the dosage changed, and if they were a different species Kai would have to use a spell to make sure that none of the ingredients would react badly to them. The last thing she wanted was to poison the person she was trying to save. Mother Moira hadn't told her any of that information when she requested the cure just like all the other times Kai had done this.

"Follow me," Mother Moira stated, turning on her heel before hobbling towards the door at the end of the small entrance hallway.

Kai followed closely behind the old woman into the hallway beyond it, trying her best to keep her footsteps as quiet as possible. She could hear the sounds of kids giggling and running about or quiet adult voices discussing various things in the rooms they passed which was confusing. The last time Kai had been here was just over six months ago when there were several injured magical beings that had been rescued by a sympathetic Hunter who knew about this safe house. None of them had anything as serious as magic wasting sickness but they needed medical potions that were hard to come by and very expensive. Kai had brewed those up with her papa's help and made an excuse about how she had seen a request from a neighboring town so he didn't ask more questions. Even Hars didn't know about the safe house for magical beings.

Finally, they reached a small room at the end of the hallway. The room was sparse, with only a single bed and a wooden chair. A male laid on the bed, his skin was very pale and clammy. He had long light blue hair that laid dry and brittle in a halo around his head. His breathing was fast and raspy, and his strange fluted ears were drooping. The male seemed to be around his mid-thirties but he was severely underweight and was drooling everywhere. Pale, clammy skin, dry and brittle hair, fast breathing, drooping ears, underweight and drooling were classic signs of magic wasting sickness.

Kai’s eyes fell on the slightly younger male who was wiping away the drool from this unknown male’s face and instantly narrowed. “Nicholas? What the hell are you doing here?” Kai asked, making sure to keep her voice quiet although harsh in her want for answers. Nicholas, The Lost Prince, turned around with a sheepish grin on his face. “Don’t even try to lie to me, Nitch. I didn’t think you were this stupid to be in Vosa City, or any city and town within the Ullilan Kingdom, when everyone is looking for you!” Kai didn’t have to worry about censoring herself since she knew that no one would be able to say anything with the secrecy spell in place. 

“I’m the one who brought Kylo here after finding him and asked Mother Moira to request the cure from you.” Nicholas answered. He didn’t seem at all bothered about him being wanted for treason and inside a hostile city that would quickly give him up for the bounty on his head or to save their own loved one. “It’s fine. Mother Moira and the others know who I am and they won’t say anything.”

“Can’t say anything,” Kai corrected, her eyes narrowing at the Lost Prince. “How do you plan to get out of the city with the Guardians and Hunters looking out for you?” 

Nicholas gave a boyish smile in response, chuckling. "Same way I got in. Through the tunnels." 

Kai blinked at his answer before pushing the immediate questions she had about tunnels under Vosa City that could get you in and out of the city away. She wasn't here for small talk and it was extremely rude for her to stand here and ask questions when there was someone literally dying in the room with them. Kai quickly moved towards the bed looking over the male. With the fluted ears he had to be some kind of water magical being. Yet another one pulled into Ullilan’s Realm. It seemed these days more and more were being pulled to Ullilan that weren’t monsters. 

“Merrow? Half Merrow?” Kai asked hesitantly. For a brief moment as she stared at the male, Kai remembered a beautiful rich, navy blue scaled face of a woman with flecks of cream-colored scales accenting curves and highlighted the slope of her cheeks, with clear blue-green eyes, and flowing strands of wavy hair. A long elegant tail that could turn into long-reaching tentacles wrapped tightly around a child Kai with blue-gold magic flickering around her like starlight. Kai blinked a couple times to push that image out of her mind. Was that my mother?, Kai couldn’t help but ask herself. 

“Half-Merrow, Half-Fire Dragel.” Mother Moira answered. Kai blinked once before looking back at her wanting confirmation. Hars had told her that Merrow and Fire Dragels did not get along at all. He didn’t remember why the Water Dragels hated the Fire Dragels. Just that it didn’t only have to do with the different elements. “Don’t give me that look, young lady, I asked him myself. Fire Sire. Merrow Mother. Shadow Third” She snapped.

Kai put her hands up in the universal surrender position before she turned back towards the half-Merrow, half-Fire Dragel, mentally calculating his weight and height. She grabbed out three vials of the cure. “This should do it for the first dose, Nitch. He’ll need two for his next dose in twelve hours exactly. One twenty four hours after that.” Kai told him, handing the Lost Prince the first dose before grabbing out five more vials. 

“Thank you for doing this for us.” Nicholas stated as he opened the vials and forced the dragel to drink them. 

“Where did you find him?” Kai couldn’t help but ask as she closed her side bag and leaned up against the wall watching the male, Kylo, carefully. It wasn’t an instant cure but already she could see that his breathing was less raspy. Kai allowed her mage sight to take over and winced when she saw how much damage had been done to his significant magic core. It was obvious to her that Kylo was a Mage. That much magic in one person only meant one thing. But his magic had been damaged by the magic wasting sickness. Honestly, if Kai had been even a couple hours later, he wouldn’t recover from it. But with the cure inside, Kai could see that his magic was slowly starting to fix the damage. It was a good sign. It meant he was still strong mentally to be able to pull through such pain and not waste away so quickly like others had.

“Halfway on the shore of Aracha Lake.” Nicholas stated, leaning back in his chair after recapping the potion vials. “I had seen a flash of a Yellow Egress forming and then quickly disappearing and figured it was another of the Lost. Thankfully I got him out of the water and to the nearby cave I was using because the MorningStar Guild showed up not too long after and seemed to be looking for something.” An ugly scowl formed on his face.

Kai frowned, glancing at Kylo again, watching his strange blue-red magic swirl around his body like a typhoon, washing away the black dead magic that was caused by magic wasting sickness. “Please tell me you aren’t insinuating that you think the MorningStar Guild knew he was going to show up there and were waiting for him.” Kai begged. The implications of that were astronomical when put together with the missing magical beings that had all been pulled here. 

“I’m not insinuating anything, Kai. I’m telling you they knew. They always have known.” Nicholas turned to look at her with the most serious expression Kai had ever seen on the Lost Prince’s face. “I left Arx City when I was younger not just because I wanted to help my people against the monsters, though that was a big part of the reason, but because of these Egresses. They aren’t normal, Kai. It’s not normal for these monsters to appear. It’s sure as hell not normal for these Egresses to pull citizens from other Realms here. Especially not one like Nevarah, which is a Nevermore Realm, with no gates anchoring it to another Realm.”

“How would you know that?”

“Because the people who are masquerading as my brother and sister aren’t who they say they are. They feel exactly like the two old Mages that used to work with my parents. All I know is one day, I had my loving family, and the next my parents were dead and the people who said they were my siblings weren’t.” He explained, a pleading look on his face. “Because I used to read the old tomes of magic that were saved from Heavan’s Reach when the Ullilan Castle was destroyed and it talked about other Realms with a specific section saying how what is happening here is impossible. It had been theorized but disproven without massive amounts of magic to support it. Like several Immortals amount of magic, Kai. Well, the opening gates to other Realms that have no easy way to them. And these monsters, they aren’t in any known Realm that were in those books. I don’t know if someone is making them and these Egresses but it isn’t natural at all.”

Kai’s mind raced with the implications of Nicholas’s words. If what he said was true, then it meant that there were forces at work in Ullilan’s Realm that were beyond their understanding. Forces that had the power to manipulate entire Realms and the lives of its inhabitants. It was an absolutely terrifying thought. She couldn’t believe that any Immortal would be doing this willingly. The Immortals were… mostly neutral. They kept the balance of the world and tried not to directly interfere with the lives of mortals. But Kai didn’t believe in coincidences. She didn’t believe it was just a coincidence that Hars just so happened to ask to go to Nevarah while Nicholas was in Vosa City trying to save this Fire Merrow. A chill went down Kai’s spine as she stared at him for a couple minutes before nodding.

“Nicholas, if what you’re saying is true, then we need to do something about it.” Kai stated, her voice firm. “We can’t just sit here and let these unknown forces do as they please while we’re left in the dark and people's lives are being ruined. We need to find out who’s behind all of this, and how to escape to get help if we can’t solve it on our own.”

Nicholas nodded in agreement. “I’ve been trying to find out the truth for years or a way out of Ullilan’s Realm, but every time I get close, something happens that sets me back. And now with the Crown Prince and Princess knowing I’m alive and well…” He trailed off. 

Kai bit her lip, thinking about her father, papa, Marvolo and Einar. They were all trying to find a way out of this Realm as well. “You aren’t the only one trying to leave Ullilan.” Kai finally said. At the very least she knew that no one would be able to betray anything she said in this safe house. The words quite literally got stuck in the person's mouth and they started talking about something completely different if they tried. Mother Moira’s magic was too strong for anyone to break if they realized there was a secrecy vow placed on the person. Even more powerful than Marvolo, who was the most powerful mage Kai knew. 

“Someone else is trying?” Nicholas asked, shocked. 

“My father, papa, our guild leader and Marvolo. I was on my way to go meet with Einar and Marvolo with my family when I remembered the magic wasting sickness case and rushed here.” Kai answered, sighing. She still didn’t like that she had forgotten about Mother Moira’s request. Kylo would have been dead by the end of the night. 

“Is there any way that I could talk with them?” He questioned. Kai simply shrugged as she blinked back her mage sight seeing Kylo’s magic was still slowly repairing itself from the damage. 

“I’ll need permission to tell them about you. They already know that you are trying to leave Ullilan too. Honestly, they might ask Hars and I if we know you. There was apparently something risky we might be able to help with that father and papa were going to ask Marvolo and Einar about, and this morning we were headed towards the Guild Hall so I figured they had something to tell us about.” She told him honestly. 

“If they ask about me you can, so long as you are certain they can be trusted.” Nicholas stated, nodding firmly in his decision. His eyes were a darker blue than normal as if the weight of everything was pulling him down. 

“Then I should go. I only bought myself half an hour and we are getting dangerously close to that.” Kai said, looking back at Kylo. “Two vials in exactly twelve hours. One twenty four hours after the second dose.” She repeated her orders for the potions. Nicholas nodded as he grabbed the five potion vials Kai held in her hand. Kai bowed her head to him, and then again to Mother Moira before swiftly leaving the little room heading back the way she came as her mind swirled thinking about what she had learned.