The Seeker | Volume 2

"I do want to retrieve it again, this time for its destruction." Admiral Kaelin said as he was sitting on the couch. Usagiyama, Mr. Westly, Jake, and I all listened with intrigue. Johnson and Isaac were removed from the house by their parents for so-called "afternoon festivities," when in reality they didn't want their children to hear about this. The parents didn't know either, Mr. Westly simply told them about the Harvest Gathering happening on Paling Street.

"But how could we possibly find its whereabouts? I can deduce sealed relics like that have anti-divination properties. If I were to track its location I'd probably lose control or be tortured for eternity." I said.

"That's why we'll also be attending the Harvest Gathering tonight. We'll look for anyone or anything we could use at our disposal. Since we know that The Errican Gang stole the artifact while I was sleeping and that not even Jake knows anything about their whereabouts, we could most likely deduce they fled to where land was the closest from The Katshin Empire while also being farthest from Seraphis Kingdom, here."

"And if we find nothing, and people think we're weird?" Usagiyama asked with some amusement.

"Trust me, we will." Admiral Kaelin said with a small smile. 

"The Errican gang is of pirates, not a cult; so they most likely don't have those shitty matching uniforms. And due to that and the fact that the cham has anti-divination characteristics, they'd probably want to spend the night looking for more people to rob. After all, crowds are always a gold mine for valuables."

After we all had changed into regular clothing instead of pirate affiliated attire, we all headed out the door. In the distance, we could hear noises of commotion and partying, making the location of the Harvest Gathering a beacon without the need of a map.

…

"Kraken characteristics have affinity with Routeways utilized by people near the sea, so I could surmise that it's either a characteristic of the Tyrant of Creator Routeways." Mr. Dwane said as he inspected the cube of flesh and squirming tentacles.

In the past when selling Seeker characteristics, Arden and Cosette would usually charge a hefty amount based on its Order and the Routeway it came from. It if really was a Tyrant or Creator characteristic of the lower or even mid Orders, they could receive an upward of 2,000 silver Lumin!

The older man's eyes suddenly narrowed as he flipped over the cube and saw a gaping hole in its bottom, the inside being completely hollowed out.

"You never told me it was damaged…" he mumbled.

Arden and Cosette's eyes widened as they took back the cube and noticed the gaping hole.

"How could this happen? Aren't Seeker characteristics nigh indestructible?" Arden asked as he studied the wound.

"If you've done the proper research you'd understand. Regarding Seekers and Routeways, major laws have been noticed and characterized. The law corresponding to the injury would be the Law of Repairment. Characteristics can be destroyed, but since their spirituality is on par with the Oldest Creator, they would instantly reform hundreds of not thousands of years later."

"You're saying this wound will be fixed long after we're dead?" Arden asked, his voice now taking a slightly annoyed turn.

Mr. Dwane chuckled briskly. "I only said if destruction was a possibility. If it's just an injury it'll take only a few days or weeks to repair. You can still sell damaged Seeker characteristics to certain circles, but it's their preference on if they would feel comfortable with waiting for the repairs." He explained.

"Are you what you've mentioned? Will you be willing to wait?" Cosette asked.

Mr. Dwane nodded. "Indeed. One of our members, Jacabo, is an Order 5 of the Tyrant Routeway, a new Routeway that we've welcomed with open arms; if this characteristic is suitable for his potion, I'm sure he'd be ecstatic to receive it."

He suddenly reached into his pocket and handed the duo two azure colored coins, diamond Lumin!

"You're joking…" Arden's voice was hushed with astonishment as he took a hold of the currency. Diamond Lumin was the rarest and most expensive currency in the north, only used by the richest of the rich. If Mr. Dwane got a hold of it, the Silver Serpent Society must have a lot more connections then they're aware of.

"How did you get these?" Cosette asked, her face replete with Arden's matching expression.

"The Silver Serpent Society has different factions spread across the northern continent. We're merely one of them, and we might be the strongest among them. Numerous rich families, noble mortals wishing to become Seekers, and money launderers who want more power all wish to join this organization."

"Then why tell us to keep it secret?" Cosette asked, her voice filled with obvious confusion and a little anger. 

Mr. Dwane laughed again before replying. "You'd simply attract too many targets on your back."

…

The Harvest Gathering was replete with numerous colorful banners, signs, performers and tasty looking food. As me and the others navigated through the crowd, we noticed that the density of it seemed to falter the more we progressed. We soon came to the realization that there was something happening deep in the crowd. I could hear screaming, cheering and whimpering somewhere inside of it.

As I managed to weave through the people with Mrs. Usagiyama beside me, we both caught sight of what was happening. There was a large circle about ten feet wide and ten feet long. Inside the circle was a large brown bull, and it was chasing a group of performers who had flaming plates balanced on their heads.

Even in the midst of the turmoil, it brought me relief that it wasn't anything illegal like castration or anything you'd see in the Dark Market. The woman with ears resembling a rabbit grabbed me along, her arms pulling with sufficient strength. 

"The Errican Gang is very versatile and moves quickly, but I think I could catch them." She said with a snarky voice as the ends of her lips curled up. She soon approached a small booth and placed a few coins on the counter.

"I'd like to fire a few rounds." She said with an innocent smile, but her eyes flickered with an almost inhuman ambition.

The vendor let out a heavy gulp as he handed the bulky woman a rifle. Overhead I noticed the sign, it said that the rounds were indeed real, and they wouldn't hold themselves accountable for any injury.

"Don't you have a firearm yourself?" I asked in curiosity and a tiny bit of worry. 

Usagiyama smirked as she suddenly turned her head and scanned the crowd, her eyes narrowing with a predatory instinct. 

Suddenly, we all heard a yelp in the crowd, and Usagiyama fired her bullet, hitting a man with red hair in the arm, sending them to the ground. They held a hand stitched bag in his injured arm, and numerous valuables like gold, a pocket watch and a jewel rolled onto the dock. 

"Your senses are keen." I said with admiration as I followed Usagiyama into the crowd which has now dispersed to make way for the red haired man who was now bleeding onto the wood. 

She knelt down and grabbed the man by the collar, her face inches from his. 

"Do you know where your other buddies are?" She said with an animalistic smile, a smile resembling a tiger catching its next meal.

The man let out a small yelp, his body trembling as if he had been standing out in negative degree weather. 

"They're here…they're here!" He shouted. But before he could finish his sentence, strange illusory black cracks crawled up his skin, inching towards his face. He suddenly started to writhe, his face contorting with inscrutable pain.

The red haired man suddenly dug into his pocket and took out a small necklace with a black charm, The Black-Ember Charm! With a quick flick, he tossed it into the air. After doing so, the latters body fell slack, his skin turning a dull gray as the life left his eyes.

"Suicide?" Usagiyama asked gruffly as she dropped the man's lifeless corpse. When she scanned the crowd for where the charm had landed, she noticed it had completely disappeared.

"Maybe it's a beacon, a way that the other members of the Errican Gang know not to come here again because they know we're looking for them."

"We're not looking for them, we're looking for the charm." Usagiyma said as she suddenly leapt up and landed on top of the stall from which she had previously purchased a few rounds of the gun for supposed shooting practice. 

She watched as everyone in the crowd had their eyes locked on her, no one moving a muscle. "Ok, anyone have the necklace that the geezer threw?" she asked as she cracked her knuckles, a silent warning sign.

The crowd remained still and silent, almost like a group of corpses that had just been resurrected. 

"He went that way!" A man suddenly yelled, pointing right. Usagiyama turned her head quickly and noticed a man with blue skin and scales running quickly through the crowd, his left hand clenched and his eyes filled with worry.

Before he could round the corner, a punch was suddenly thrown at his head, causing him to stumble back and fall onto the dock. Jake emerged from a nearby alley and grabbed the blue man's left hand which was curled. 

The ends of the scaled man's lips curled up as he suddenly uncurled his fist and thrusted a dagger into Jake's shoulder blade!

Jake let out a loud scream as the blood ran down his clothing, he clutched his shoulder as the blue skinned man leapt backwards and descended into the depths of the ocean.

"Damn it!" Usagiyama yelled as she dived into the water, swimming deeper and deeper in pursuit of the scally man. His black eyes with green pupils flickered with fear as he turned around and was met with a powerful kick to the jaw.

With a powerful thrust backwards, he propelled himself away from the danger and continued to flee. 

"He can't fight…" Usagiyama surmised as she swam upwards, catching some air. When she dove back into the water and looked around, the figure had already vanished. Suddenly, a large tentacle slammed into her from behind, sending her forward into a large rock and knocking her unconscious.

The blue man with scales had transformed, taking the form of a large, indigo kraken!