A/n: This is a Witch x Witch Hunter plot-line. All characters established are over 18 years of age :)
I picked up my sword from its place against the night stand, turning back to face the sleeping woman I was leaving in her bed, unknowingly that she would find herself alone when she awoke.
I willed the floor boards not to creak under the weight of my body as I snuck out of the door of the hostel bedroom, shutting it quietly behind me.
"Another one for the books, lad." My officer chuckled, taking another swig from his ale jug, his beard wet from the alcoholic beverage. Despite being older than me I was higher ranking, in fact, I was the one in charge of this sorry excuse of a group.
Between raids and manhunts, we chose to spend our leisure time in bars, brothels, hostels, anywhere that you could find ale and ladies to bed.
"I didn't even have to pay this one, said she liked my charm." I joked back, fastening my sword strap to my waist, my sword hanging from the side ready to be used.
The youngest in our group chortled in his chair, the alcohol swishing out of his cup and splashing his leg, unaware of his drunken demeanour. "Frederick The Merciless, I can see why women fall before your feet captain." He chimed in, swaying back and forth in his chair.
I had earned the name for my skills, not in the bedroom but on the field, but I enjoyed the double innuendo that could be used to pick up pretty women in places like this.
My men on the other hand, half of them weren't particularly the best looking bunch I'd ever seen, but they were loyal to me and our cause.
We were hunters, bounty hunters to be exact but we dabbled in the occasional pity call when we saw a crime take place, when the lives of innocents was threatened. But the world was plagued with vile mutants, worshippers of dark essence and the mud in the ground, spell casters.
Most of our targets were men, Warlocks were their common term, but rarely we got the off chance to hunt a female, a Witch.
Not that the job was any different each time, hunt the target, torture it for an extended period of time before finally taking its life and bringing the required body part to the client that they had asked for. But when it came to the women, we enjoyed a little cat n' mouse game with them, letting them believe we weren't a threat and then taking them out like a predator catching its prey.
That was because Witches were smarter, stronger and deadlier than Warlocks. The hunting community believed that they had their own society, somewhere hidden from our world that they would come and go from while causing trouble, but we were yet to find any clue that it existed.
And sometimes, we received clients that had specific purposes for these spell casters, enslaving them to do their own bidding, using their unnatural capabilities for their own advantage. But that was none of my business, work was just a way to keep the money rolling in.
"Where is the rest of you." I asked the men as a whole. We'd gotten a tip that our current target was seen a few hours south from here, picking mushrooms in the forest.
"They're not done yet." My officer protested, gesturing his thumb to the closed bedroom doors that lined the upstairs portion of the hostel, referring to the same antics I had just indulged in for myself in the other room.
"Go tell them to finish the job or shove it back in their pants, we can reach the location by daylight if we leave now." I ordered them, they got up instantly and shuffled away, each heading for a specific door to interrupt their comrades.
I took an empty seat and shifted my sword up into my lap, waiting for my men to come back so we could leave this damp building. It was gross to say the least, one the grossest we'd visited. I had found a woman decent enough to satisfy me for the night, but decent was an overstatement, I had to have her on her stomach when I ploughed her into a writhing mess.
My men came back out to me within a minute, a couple still fastening their armour back onto their bodies. Our armour had been made with a combination of cold iron, the metal that was able to repel a portion of a spell casters magic. I smirked at them with a light chuckle, realising some of them were still flustered and in a haze from their previous moment.
"We're heading south, get the horses." I ordered them, they nodded and followed one another away from me and down the stairs of the hostel, following my instructions.
===================
The witch was found by a small fire in the southern territory forest, potentially brewing a potion with the mushrooms she had harvested.
Her foot was strapped to the back of the saddle on my horse, the piece of proof that the king had asked for in order to receive payment for my services. Supposedly this witch had already burnt a few animal huts and taken cattle.
As the castle approached a few of my men whistled at the sight of the main city, this is where the king lived with the noble men and women of the country. They'd all been here before but each time we travelled to the main city of the kingdom they gawked in astonishment which amused me.
I was the son of a lord, I'd grown up within these walls and explored every inch of its confinements, everything except for the castle itself despite meeting with the king numerous times throughout my life.
The guards recognised us as we approached the gate, nodding their head to me as they banged on the door to be opened, allowing us entry into the main city.
When the large door opened you could hear the sound of a bustling society hidden within, market stalls lined the edges of each path walk, people spoke to one another and went about their business, all without stopping to glance at my men and our horses as we trekked through the cobblestone drive of the town.
A few of the women giggled at us, whispering to one another while gawking at the sight of us on our horses, I knew they were gawking at myself and my armoured men. My stature always obtaining the attention from the heavy bodice women of the land.
"Hello ladies." I greeted them as we passed, they giggled once more and hid their faces from me, I smirked and looked ahead once more, satisfied with the response I'd gotten.
We were riding directly towards the castle, the king waiting expectantly for our arrival and our delivery of the severed foot from the witch.
It was only when we reached the largest building in the city that we dismounted our horses and tied the reigns, my men taking the opportunity to have a quick mingle with the ladies that approached us with curiosity.
I turned to face my leading man, the old bag that seemed to challenge my authority on a daily basis, gesturing for him to follow me inside to speak with the king, slinging the foot over my shoulder by its rope so I didn't have to look at it.
As we ascended the exquisite staircase of the entrance doors to the castle, we became joined at the hip with two guards. Despite our many encounters doing the dirty work for the king, he still maintained that we posed a threat on his behalf, probably because he was an old bag himself almost ready to hit the sack.
"Frederick The Merciless!" The king greeted me enthusiastically, a big smile gracing his face as he watched myself and my companion approach the stage, where he sat in his large golden throne surrounded by consorts and ladies in waiting.
I feigned an excitement of my own, a pep in my step as I knew payment was coming shortly after this encounter. "King Derrick of Reabolia Kingdom." I responded, dropping to my knee in respect upon reaching the bottom of the stage.
The king let out a belly chuckle and told me to rise, taking another bite from his seasoned rib piece that he was chewing on. "I can assume you got the job done?" He asked me, allowing me to rise to my feet once more.
I gave him a curt nod and brought the foot back over my shoulder, swinging it in my grasp and dropping it to the floor beneath my feet with a low thud. The kings eyes widened and he tossed the rib piece to the side, one of the women dashing to retrieve the piece of bone that still had small pockets of meat on it.
"She didn't put up much of a fight, no traps either." I informed him, he gestured for one of the guards to pick up the foot from the ground and bring it to him, gawking at the sight of the murky pale foot in his hands.
"But you still had fun I presume?" He added, raising an eyebrow to me.
I smiled and nodded my head once more. "I always do with this job, your highness." I reassured him.
He huffed and passed the foot back to his guard, ordering him to add it with the rest of the his collected pieces. A woman bringing him a new piece of rib to feast on.
"I have another task for you, if you're interested." He offered, taking a large bite out of the meat in his hand. "A wine merchant alerted me yesterday that there is a strange woman now living in the neighbouring village. No family, no name, but lots of money to throw around. Want to check it out on your way back to the nearest brothel?" He informed, peaking my interest once again.
This time I shook my head to his offer. "I hunt spell casters, your highness. I do not hunt women that live by themselves." I reassured him bitterly. It seemed to me that the king was more interested in finding out where this woman came from with all that money being used, rather than the prospect of her being a witch.
To this statement the king cocked an eyebrow up at me, catching my light refusal straight away. "The rumour is that she's very beautiful. A poor man was turned into a frog when he spoke to her, the merchant says he saw it with his own eyes. Take a look for me, if she's not a witch I'll let you do as you please with her." He pressed on, this time not giving me any room to refuse the offer, he wanted me to waste my time looking into this new woman.
"And if she is a witch?" I interjected, noticing the falter of his smile as I interrupted his instructions.
He sat back in his thrown and relaxed, tossing the half finished rib to the side like the previous one. "If she is one of those demon spawns, I would like you to bring her back to me, alive. I could use a fresh face around here to satisfy me, do my bidding and whatnot." He dismissed, waving for one of the woman on the stage to bring him another rib piece, to me that only emphasised that he did not need anymore servants. "I will pay you handsomely if you return with the woman." He reminded me.
The king always paid me well, he was one of my best clients on the list. The king wanted to rid the world from these magic users, but any that entered too close to his land was always first on his list, believing that if they got too close he would he in danger.
"And what about the payment for the one I just gave you?" I asked him.
He was silent for a moment, nodding to a different guard with a silent instruction. The guard approached the edge of the platform, and dropped a small bag of coins at my feet. My companion dipping down to pick it up eagerly.
"Get me the woman, and this bag will be much larger." The king attempted at persuading me.
But I didn't need any further persuasion on the matter, he had offered me another job and I was willing to take it.
"I will be back in a few weeks and let you know how it went." I confirmed with a curt nod of approval.
The king huffed in his seat, another pleasant smile gracing his lips as he got what he wanted, yet again. "My people don't lie, so I'm expecting that you come back with a beautiful witch for me to enslave. If you don't, you can kiss our partnership goodbye." He threatened light heartedly, but I knew his words held a weight to them that he was sure to follow through with.
I bowed slightly in respect, agreeing to his conditions.
"I will come back with the witch, alive." I confirmed.
With that I turned on my heel and walked out of the large hall, my officer following closely behind me with our earnings held protectively in his grasp.
Our next stop, the neighbouring village of the main city.
We had a "beautiful" witch to capture for the king.
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