The Seredums led Hugo and Vincent into a room at the back of the house while the rest of the Zeta Squad remained in the lounge.
“What do you guys think they wanna talk about?” Ella asked, looking at the others.
A few shrugs flew around before Neil said, “Feels obvious.” He pushed a chair up and sat down. “They are companions of the Keeper,” he said. “Keepers are guardians of the scriptures, and Vincent has been stealing the scriptures for a while now.”
“O so they want to know why Vincent is rolling with us,” Marcus said. “They’re making sure we actually are who we say we are. Fair enough.”
“Pretty much…”
Camille and Gina pushed rubble off a sofa and sat down on it. “It’s still a little bit too much for me,” said Camille, with a smile.
“You can say that again,” Gina said in agreement.
Marcus sat down on the edge of a shelf lying on the ground. He too expressed his feelings but in his own carefree way. “About time we got into something a little more serious!” he said. “Been running around after fools for way too long, man!”
Everyone chuckled. “But the strangest thing is how Vincent knew about it all already,” Gina commented.
“Hmm, there’s something insanely fishy about that guy or my name is Neil Toothpick Baylis,” said Marcus, before exclaiming, “And it bloody is not!”
“Hey El,” Camille said, looking at her as she stood leaning against the wall to her left. “Do the Mystics tell you about these things? I mean, does the Parliament know?”
“Not really,” she replied with a shake of the head. “I mean they do tell us of ‘the other world’, but the specifics are never mentioned. Or maybe I’m just not there yet… I don’t know.”
“You guys learn a lot of stuff that we don’t, right?” Marcus asked.
“It’s not like we learn more. It’s more like our training is different, and our knowledge and expertise are of a completely different field.”
“And you’re not allowed to tell us much either?”
Ella chuckled, and the others joined her. “It is what it is,” she slowly said.
Inside, the discussion was not that casual. Once the doors were closed shut behind them, the Seredums removed the stale expressions from their faces and wore ones of stress and fear.
“Master Baylis,” Erina said with a narrowed gaze. “We as helpers to our Lord Keeper raised concerns over the Eye’s recent intentions and directives, but we are bound to our Lord’s will. We were always told to respect the defenders but now the stakes have changed.”
“I understand,” Hugo replied. “I am inclined to support you any way possible.”
“We feel the Eye has been leaking information.”
“What kind of information?”
“I think you know the answer to that. The Keepers rarely ever reveal themselves to anyone, and even more rare is that a trustee would give away their identity to someone else. In the rare occasion that something like that would happen, we would be sent in to deal with the miscreant and do away with the circulating information, but now it’s not that simple. The information is spreading like fire in a forest, and we have no leads to follow, Master Zaatsu. And before we can act, our Lords are being killed! We should not be having to remind you that this is not the first attack.”
“I understand your concern and if you will let me, I am willing to explain.”
“Please…”
Hugo took a deep breath and said, “Ten years ago, back when he was on top of his game, the rogue Martial Artist and terrorist, known as Ambris Ferrer, attacked the Eye’s Regal Palace and what followed was strange, to say the least. His brute strength was his greatest quality, and his followers, the Serpents of God, were also known for their brute strength and merciless attacking tactics.”
“Why the sudden history lesson? We were there, Master. We were there to witness the horrors Ferrer brought upon the arcane community. As a matter of fact, he too was your fault.”
“Will you let me finish?”
Erina looked away and Hugo continued. “Even they were never strong enough to attempt a break-in through the Palace’s defences and live to see the light of another day. But that day, something was different.” The Zaatsu shook his head. “Many believed the City Guard was compromised. The defences didn’t hold, and no one knows why. The Serpents infiltrated but didn’t stay for a fight. They left as quickly as they came.”
“Why?”
“They were never there for a fight. They came looking for a very specific target. They found it, took him out, and left.”
“What did they find?”
“There was a time when the Seekers used to be a movement of their own much like the Mystics.”
“Yes, we are well aware.”
“The last chief Seeker. They were looking for him. They killed him and took his personal journal. A record of secrets, theories… maybe even knowledge the Eye never knew.”
“But why would they do that? Why did they want the journal?”
“There are theories but no one really knows. That journal could never be recovered and to further the mess, Ferrer’s righthand man, Velho Zimmerman, or the Inferno, as he became known, has been in the wind since the rogue’s demise 8 years ago.”
“And you think he is the one selling information in the black markets?”
“Could be.” The Zaatsu looked at Vincent and asked, “Have you heard this tale?”
“Somewhat,” he replied, speaking slowly. “But not quite like that.”
“Too bad.”
Hugo was now staring at the ceiling. “It really is a far bigger mess than anyone could have predicted,” he said as he exhaled. Then, looking at the Seredums, he asked, “Can I ask a question?”
“Yes, you may,” Erina replied, with a nod.
“What are the Keepers seeing these days? How are things in the other world?”
The Seredum smiled. “You have great knowledge on a vast array of subjects, Master Baylis, even things the Palace seems eager to bury.” Leaning ahead, she added, “Reminds us of the Outsiders…”
The Outsiders were a group of carefully selected individuals from the Eye’s ranks who would be sent out into the world to mingle with the general populace. Apart from keeping a keen eye out for questionable arcane, Ki charged activities, they had the job of observing the changing trends of humanity and help the secluded population of the Palace and its outposts stay up to date. From fashion trends to technological advancements, without the Outsiders, they would never have found a way into the Regal Palace or the City of Ayn.
Hugo rejected the claim saying, “Nonsense. I was never with the Outsiders.”
Formed around 5 centuries ago, the Outsiders also provided the Eye with a strong base to compete with the Order on equal terms. The Order, never having a single base of operations, was spread around the world. They would mould people over from all walks of life giving them a huge edge over their counterparts with just the sheer number of operatives. The Outsiders would do away with this advantage.
Due to their vast knowledge of different cultures and ways of living, the Outsiders had no trouble in opening doors to commoners which increased the number of people coming into the Eye’s circle drastically. After the advent of the Eye and Order, Cults had remained alienated and were sanctioned and cutoff from the world at large. The Outsiders helped, to some degree, mend this relationship by bridging the gap between many arcane communities and the Regal Palace.
After a pause, the Zaatsu added, “The Eye does not recognize any Outsider as a trustworthy operative. Once a careless arcanist, always a careless arcanist.”
When Ambris Ferrer, the Basilisk, rose to prominence, the Outsiders came under fire from the authorities. They had let a warmongering brute rise and create an evil Cult bent on destroying the peace within the arcane communities.
Seear Delun Yang paid with his life in the final battle which brought about the end of Ambris Ferrer. His successor Renekom and the majority of the decisive voices within the Palace decided to abolish the Outsiders and punish the operatives for their carelessness.
To some, their strict rulings were a bit too extreme. However, the casualties from Ambris’s reign of terror were so significant that no one argued much.
Erina looked at her sisters then back at Hugo. “May we know who your mentor was?” she asked.
“I have had three different mentors.” Hugo smiled. “But the one you’re looking for would be Warren Ford.”
“So, it is true then,” Eila said, with half a smile. “The spirit of the Outsiders still resides within the Eye.”
Few of the operatives found refuge within selected Cults after the abolishing of the Outsiders, while some remained absconding criminals to be later hunted and killed. However, a large contingent had to serve time in the Atramentum. Afterwards they joined the Eye as active operatives but with no hopes of ever gaining any meaningful ranks.
And then there was the large group which was simply hunted and put down with no chance of forgiveness or repentance. A tragedy in and of itself, but a necessity of the time. Seear Renekom Mujin stabilised the arcane world within just a few years and very quickly people forgot their grievances with his strict decision making.
One peculiar case from the Outsiders, however, was the movement’s last leader – Zaatsu Master Warren Ford. The strongest and most knowledgeable Zaatsu of his time and the strongest known arcanist of the modern era, Warren had served the Palace in many ways as well. But most importantly, he was the closest friend and council to Seear Delun Yang.
However, when the hammer came down upon the Outsiders, no one could find the legendary Zaatsu. Some said that he too had found refuge with a Cult, but nothing was ever confirmed.
“I am not sure how I feel about that statement,” Hugo said with a bowed head. “But I can assure you, I had nothing to do with the Outsiders, ever.”
Silence followed, for many moments. “What about him?” Erina eventually asked, pointing at Vincent.
“What about him?” Hugo reciprocated, looking at him. He then looked back at the Seredums.
“We were aides to the Lord Keeper. We have been hearing about a white-haired bounty hunter who seeks forbidden scriptures.”
“Yes. This is him.”
“WHAT?!”
Eila extended her right arm and within her fist a sword appeared. “You have some nerve bringing him here!” she exclaimed.
Erina put a hand on her sister’s shoulder and stopped her from attacking. “Then why is he here?” the leader of the trio asked, grinding her teeth. “Who the hell are you?”
“I already told you who I am,” Hugo replied calmly. “As for this young man… well, he is who you think he is, but he is also the only one who can help us right now.”
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“What do you mean? Stop talking in riddles!”
“He can track your Lord.”
“Wait… What?”
The Zaatsu looked at Vincent. “Can’t you?” he asked.
The bounty hunter chuckled. “So,” he said. “This was why you brought me along…”
“Well, not necessarily. I could never have known for sure, but I did know your peculiar set of skills would come in handy.”
“Wait a minute,” Erina said, interrupting the two. “How exactly do you plan on doing that? We have tried every possible way. And when we can’t find the Lord, you most certainly cannot. What do you think you can achieve here?”
“This young man has been stealing Scriptures of Rasalhague,” Hugo said, and waited. “For himself,” he eventually added. “You do the math…”
“Dark Arts?” Eila asked wide eyed.
Eira added, “Is there a way to track an ambiguous Ki signature?”
“How do you think I’ve been finding the Keepers and the Scriptures so easily?” Vincent reciprocated. “When beings with Ki move, they disturb Ki in their path, leaving not just their own residue but also a chain of disturbances in the atmosphere. Light Ki disturbances fade within minutes. And we all know where there is Light, there is Dark. But Dark Ki disturbances last far longer, hours, sometimes even days. Therefore, in the words of Master Zaatsu here, you do the math…”
“Rasalhague was by all accounts an excellent tracker,” Hugo added.
All parties, thereafter, moved out into the lounge, where the Zeta Squad, waiting impatiently, got up and looked at them in anticipation. Hugo and the Seredums stopped a few steps into the lounge. “Alright, Vincent,” Hugo said, with an arm extending into the room. “Let’s see what you can do.”
“What’s going on?” Neil quickly asked.
“Vincent says he has a way of tracking the Keeper,” Erina explained.
The squad looked around at each other, and then at Hugo.
“I’m gonna need a little help here,” Vincent said as he walked to the centre of the room. Looking at the Seredums he added, “I cannot use too much Ki charge right now, so we have to make this go as fast as possible.”
“Agreed,” Erina responded. “Tell us what you need.”
“I need a personal effect of your Lord nameless, like a piece of clothing he frequented or something of the kind.”
“We must ask you to respect our Lord, bounty hunter. Her name is Suraiya Badawi.”
“Ah… right. My apologies, Lady Badawi...”
“Would someone please explain what the heck is going on?!” Marcus exclaimed.
“Vincent has a way of tracking the Keeper,” Hugo said.
“What were you discussing inside?”
“The Seredums had some reservations they wished to talk about privately. And they also had some queries which I was able to satisfy. They were also understandably worried about Vincent being here, but I explained that he is here because he can track the Keeper. Alright?”
“Is that really why he’s here?” Neil asked.
“Pretty much…”
“You never said that before?”
“Oh…?” The Zaatsu’s eyebrows were suddenly raised. “Must I explain everything to you, Neil?”
“A little explanation isn’t poisonous.”
“Shut up and let him do his job.”
Vincent took that as his cue and, looking at the Seredums, said, “Do you have anything useful?”
“Yes, of course,” said Erina. The trio went upstairs to look for the item required.
Marcus sat down again. Vincent came and sat beside him. Hugo joined Camille on the sofa, while Gina, Ella and Neil stood beside them. Marcus took out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket.
Looking at him with a grin, Vincent commented, “I thought you people didn’t indulge in such frivolous acts of self-harm…”
Marcus giggled and offered him one as well saying, “I thought so too, man. But turns out Master Baylis is alright with it, so who cares, right?”
Vincent took it and put it in between his lips. Marcus lit the index finger on his right hand on fire and with it lit up the two cigarettes. “Dibs on the cute one,” the red-haired Sokidu said as he exhaled smoke.
“Which one?” Vincent reciprocated with a chuckle. “They’re all cute, mate.”
Marcus looked at him and smiled. “You’re cool, bounty hunter,” he said and the two exchanged a fist pump. “Brown hair, tanned skin, white skin-tight onesie, and with the boots… I mean, bruh…”
“Tell me about it.” After a pause, he looked at Marcus and asked, “But seriously? Do you think you have a chance here?”
Leaning back, he replied, “We must never say never…”
The two laughed and smoked as the Seredums searched upstairs. Gina and Ella chatted in whispers while Camille and Hugo talked quietly as well.
“So, what’s the deal with Neil?” Vincent asked squishing the ashes under his feet.
Marcus chuckled. “He’s a toothpick,” he faintly said, but then added, “He’s passionate but aggressively passionate. It gets in his way a lot. The guy’s the best fighter amongst us, after Master Baylis, of course.”
“Hmm… he doesn’t have a brain worth a dime, does he?”
“Yeah… you could say that. So, what’s the deal with you? Been a bounty hunter all your life?”
“All my professional life… yes.”
“How long has that been, man?”
“Suffice to say, it’s been longer than the Eye thinks.”
“What’s your asking price?”
“Anything that fits the mood of the day. It’s more about the job than the price.”
“Oh, so what kind of job do you usually look for?”
“Something challenging. Look at our situation right now. This is the kind of job I’d take any day. I mean, tracking an ambiguous Ki signature is impossible right?”
“Obviously.”
“So, I will have to chase Ki disturbances. Now, the signs here are clearly telling us that there was a struggle here, which means it will be terribly difficult to identify which disturbance was from the Keeper.”
“And the personal effect will help with that?”
“Yup. Regularly worn clothes usually have a residual Ki signature on them that lasts for days. Matching that with the disturbances will probably give me the trace we are looking for.”
“Probably?”
“I’ve never tried this before. I think it should work but, can’t say anything for sure.”
“So, how do you track Keepers in normal conditions like when you steal the scriptures and stuff?”
“Normally, the black markets sell the locations. If I am able to pinpoint an area, for example a city, I sit in a nearby place and sift through Ki disturbances to see where they lead me. It takes anywhere from a few hours to a few days to then locate the target, assuming the initial location information was accurate.”
“So, why not just do that?”
Vincent showed him the rope on his wrists. “Remember this?” he asked. “With this limited amount of Ki charge, I’ll die before getting far. Also, you guys seem to be in a rush.”
“Use someone else’s Ki.”
“If the need arises, I’ll let you know.”
“Sure.”
The Seredums came out at the gallery whispering amongst themselves.
“Found anything?” Vincent asked, looking up.
They looked at each other for a moment before Erina said, “Yes. We will be right down.”
The bounty hunter looked at Hugo who was also looking confused.
“It’s panties, ain’t it?” Marcus muttered with a crooked grin and the room fell into half-choked laughter. Even Hugo looked away to hide a reluctant smirk.
Quickly thereafter, the trio walked down and handed the piece of clothing to Vincent. He looked at it, then at Hugo. “Perfect,” he said.
The Zaatsu gave a nod, and the White Bolt moved to the centre of the room.
“Everyone,” he said. “Move to this corner of the room behind me.”
Everyone moved and the bounty hunter, facing the opposite direction, began charging his Ki.
“Remarkable,” Erina commented, wide eyed. “Laminar flow.”
When Ki would be forcibly charged within a body and it would begin to flow at faster than normal rates, there would be nominal losses. In beings with greater amounts of Ki, these losses would be significant enough to escape the body and become visible, giving them a faint glow all over the body. But with Vincent, the Ki moved with perfect laminar flow - like liquid inside a glass tube, without resistance, loss, or glow.
“His control is flawless,” Eira said as she slowly shook her head. “The efficiency is beyond belief. He isn’t losing one bit of it in the flow!”
The entire room took notice of it. This was no ordinary skill. Only the most skilled Zaatsus and Mystics could ever achieve a successful laminar flow. But at the time, there was no one within the ranks of the Eye with such mastery over Ki Manipulation. It was intimidating but enviable at the same time.
“How do you think he is doing that?” Eila asked, smiling at the stunned Zeta Squad.
When no one responded, Vincent looked at her and said, “Ki cluster training… or drilling, I should say. And the fact that I started training at the age of 9.”
Jaws dropped and eyes fell wide open as the youngsters stared at him in utter disbelief. According to the traditions followed at the academies of Ayn, a person was not allowed to train or be trained in the art of Ki manipulation until the age of 15, at which point basic training would commence. More advanced training would begin a year after that. This was because tampering with Ki clusters at a young age in most cases would result in terrible physical impairments. It could even result in complete body paralysis because Ki, running out of control, would form stagnant clusters at different spots in the growing body.
“No one can manage that at such a young age,” Hugo commented downplaying the bounty hunter's claim. “Even the greatest teachers of Ki manipulation in history agree with that.”
Looking back ahead, the White Bolt smiled and calmly said, “Just because it is difficult for the tutor does not mean it is not useful for those being taught…”
“It’s flowing quite rapidly now,” Eila commented. “And there’s still zero losses. Beautiful… isn’t it?”
Erina and Eira nodded in agreement. “I would love to see him do a one hundred percent charge,” the former added.
The Zeta Squad was annoyed, understandably. Hugo, looking at the Seredums, said, “Isn’t he the bad-guy you all were hating on?”
“Bad-guy or not, Master Zaatsu,” Erina said. “You have to admit he is a very talented manipulator of Ki.”
Suddenly, Vincent’s figure began to fade. Gina said, “Master Baylis? Are you seeing what I’m seeing?”
“Relax,” replied Hugo as the bounty hunter kept fading. A dark silhouette of his figure began to take his place as he remained completely motionless.
Zeta Squad’s captain looked at his team and said, “That, ladies and gents, is the Dark Ki trying to latch itself onto the light Ki within his body. If it were to succeed, he would die very quickly and very painfully, but he is keeping it at bay at a very nominal distance away from his skin.”
“That’s why he is standing motionless?” Camille asked.
“Yes.”
Standing in the middle of the room, Vincent appeared like a silhouette, pitch black. On lookers were having a hard time focusing on anything close to him or behind him. The visuals were being distorted and bent.
The squad, mesmerized by the view, then heard a voice, “GRIERNUM-HOSTIFANA-XALUM-OCANA-RASALHOGUE…”
It was Vincent, casting a tracking spell forged by Rasalhague himself. Very soon, a complex web of both moving and stagnant Ki started to reveal itself, eventually becoming bright like traces of current. One by one, then, many of them began to disappear.
“What’s happening?” Marcus asked, looking around. Everyone in the room was well versed in the art of Ki manipulation and was observing Vincent’s magic as well.
Hugo responded by saying, “He’s trying to match the residual Ki signature from the cloth with these Ki trails.”
For almost the next ninety seconds, tracks of Ki kept disappearing one after the other until only half a dozen remained. Each became bright for a few seconds before three of them vanished. A few moments later, another one vanished and Vincent began charging his Ki down.
“Two traces?” Erina asked as the panting bounty hunter sat down on one knee resting his head on a forearm resting on the other. He did not reply, and the last two tracks disappeared as well.
Eira rushed to Vincent’s aid. She put a hand on his shoulder and asked, “Are you alright? You’re burning up!”
“Water,” he replied in a near whisper. Gina brought him a bottle. He gulped it down and proceeded to lie on the ground. “Remind me never to do that again,” he said with a chuckle. He was breathing heavily and sweating profusely. “With 40 percent charge you can only do so much.”
“Where did they go?” Hugo asked, standing at his shoulder.
Vincent extended an arm. Grabbing it, Hugo pulled him up and smiled. “Nice,” he said.
“It’s faint,” the bounty hunter said nodding. “But it will last for quite a few hours.”
“So, what now?” Camille asked. “The tracks have disappeared.”
Vincent put his hand out and said, “Give me a clap.”
“Excuse me?”
“Would you rather if I said, ‘touch me’?”
“Yup, he’s cool!” Marcus said, nodding with a grin on his face, moved ahead, and gave Vincent a strong clap. Upon contact, a link between the Sokidu and the trail was forged making it easily visible to him, just as it was done with Hugo earlier. Everyone else quickly followed.
“Alright Vincent,” said Hugo. “What’s with the two trails?”
“I have been hunting for a while now,” he replied, wiping sweat off his forehead. “I know a freaky Ki residue when I see one.”
“What freaky Ki?”
“Several remnants of the Xoitique Diamond were here.”
“Are you sure?” Hugo stood arms akimbo, wide-eyed and surprised.
“Positive. Those things leave a peculiar trail and track. I have handled many of them and the biggest problem in taking them from one place to another is the covering of the tracks. Dark Ki or not, they can be picked up and tracked.”
“Like the other one visible here?”
“Hmm, that faint spiral trail is the Keeper’s. But look at the other one… floating like a liquid in mid-air. That’s the remnant’s.”
“I can sense a mix within that,” Erina said. “What does that mean?”
“More than one remnant was here… more than one.”
Hugo exhaled slowly, taking in the web of vanished trails. “This complicates things,” he said. “We will have to split up.”
“We must go after our Lord,” Erina quickly said.
“Of course. And my team will accompany you. While I will follow the remnants’ track with Vincent.”
The team was shocked to hear that, but orders were orders. Hence, the Zeta Squad, accompanied by the Seredums, was off on the hunt for the Keeper, Suraiya Badawi.
