The Snake and The Bounty Hunter | Chapter 1
A glaring light and an ungraceful thud upon the loose, dusty soil was all that welcomed Tanya to this unfamiliar place. She remained where she lay for a few moments to allow the world to stop spinning. Well that meeting hadn't turned out like she'd hoped it would at all. The nerve of a pathetic cretin like that sorcerer - to cast her away as if he'd have no consequence to follow! How mistaken he would be once she returned from whence she came... She got to her feet, the ill feeling after having been thrown through that portal now but a scant trace of what it was a few moments ago. Headaches pestered her regardless of the severity, but this filthy sand was much worse. She brushed herself off, taking her first proper look at her surroundings. Dusty. Dirty. Large rock formations broke the otherwise bleak and boring horizon. The ground was not sand, she realized, but a gritty, irritating substance not unlike it nonetheless. There was an extreme lack of green within her line of sight, save for the odd half-dead bush here and there. She might as well be back in that forsaken desert in Outworld so many insisted on calling 'home', even though that place was even less 'alive' than these badlands were. It was at this moment she'd paused in her musings to notice something... the lack of something far more important to her than greenery: magic. The way the air hung heavy and did not resonate with her in the same way Outworld or Edenia had was troubling to her. Disturbing, even... she pulled up the cloak she'd been wearing previously and glanced at her shoulders. Her pyromantic markings had long since faded away, and not a faint trace could be seen of where they were. It was as if instead a great weight was placed upon her shoulders in their place. Tanya heaved a sigh at her deduction: Of all the places she could end up, she most certainly wished it wasn't Earthrealm. Yet, here she was, in the realm which she arguably hated the most. A dead realm, in a more mystical sense. It would cause far more problems than she wanted to even think about at the moment. It seemed that dueling out punishment to that wretched sorcerer would have to wait a while longer. Duplicitous, disgusting little creature. Knowing better than to simply stand around in the sun all day, Tanya did the only logical thing she thought to do: pick a direction at random to walk towards and hope for the best. Fortunately this wasn't a true 'desert', not at all. Sand was a nightmare to walk in, especially with dunes and wind taken into account, and she was glad the ground seemed solid enough for the time being. She was also most thankful for the cloak she donned to meet the sorcerer in the first place. A sunburn would only add to the steadily growing list of reasons to be rid of this realm that much faster. She walked on at a rather leisurely pace for another hour or so, taking in the dull surroundings as she went, until the sun was past the midday mark. She was beginning to lose what little hope of finding another soul all the way out here that she'd started with - no trails, no footprints... nothing. Just as she was about to mutter a complaint about the heat for what was probably the third time by now, she heard a sound in the distance, echoing but distorted by the large rock formations she found herself under. It almost sounded like a scuffle of sorts... what kind, she couldn't say, for it was too muffled to make it out. Now, normally Tanya would mind her own business and not stick her nose in the affairs of mortals of whom she could care less about than stepping on a bug unless it was extraordinarily interesting, but she was smart enough to know it was foolish to continue walking to Elder Gods' know where to when she had the possibility of trailing someone - the first signs of humanoid life since she'd arrived - back to potential civilization. She had not survived thousands of years and countless scenarios to die, unknown to anyone, in a place like this. In Earthrealm. 'Banish the thought! It won't be so simple... I'll make certain of that.' Thus she began her approach in the general direction the noise came from, albeit carefully. Though she did not fear anything this realm could possibly offer, she knew it was unwise to simply reveal herself to whomever - or whatever - this may be, and so soon. After all, this realm could hardly be considered 'civilized' in comparison to others, as far as she knew. The voices were growing louder with each passing step, though they seemed to be projecting them purposefully, and sounding increasingly aggravated. "...next target." "Think you can match us all, mercenary?" "... rich after this." "... full of yourself." She peered around a rock face to the open area below the shelves she'd climbed upon, preferring to be on the high ground in case things went awry.. Several armed men - about a dozen, she guessed - stood below, addressing another some distance away, presumably the mercenary one of them referred to. 'A lone mercenary? How foolish of he to come alone to a gathering like this...' She did not dare step out of her cover just yet, not when tensions were broiling between the two 'factions', if she could even call it such. She was, however, now within earshot and could make out everything they said as she eavesdropped. "We're givin' ya one more chance to reconsider yer stance, Black. You don't wanna do somethin' you'll regret." This man seemed to head the larger collection of men, she observed. "You'll regret showin' face here at all when I'm through with you." The lone man was confident in himself... perhaps he had an ego? His voice seemed odd, however... like it was muted somehow. "Twelve of us here 'slingers, an' one of you... an' ya think you have a chance? Yer bluffin'." "You obviously don't know me that well, then." There he goes again. Not an ounce of fear in him. Or tact, it seemed. "No need. Yer inexperienced in comparison, boy. I won't warn ye again: back off, an' we'll let ya off scot-free. A generous offer..." The man with the mask - she now noticed the source of his muffled voice was this false face he wore - cocked his head, elevating it slightly as if he was taunting them. His hands hovered over his weapons strapped to his thighs, his fingers twitchy and ready, "This discussion's over. Let's go." The inevitable firefight broke out as the mercenary - 'Black', as the other referred to him as - shot this one in between the eyes in one fluid motion, as if he'd done it a thousand times before. He probably had, to be fair. Tanya, now interested in the outcome of such skewed odds, watched the skirmish erupt as the other eleven men readied their own weapons and held their ground against the mercenary. These weapons of theirs seemed effective and dangerous... perhaps Earthrealm was not as helpless as she had interpreted it to be? She caught herself admiring the skill the mercenary showed, though she tried to stay unbiased as she could. It was as if the strange weapons in his hands were an extension of himself - not unlike her own kobu jutsu or naginata... how she regretted not bringing one or the other with her, now. 'What poor planning, on my part. Not that it would help me any, being in a realm seemingly devoid of magic.' He was skilled, but not overly arrogant in his skills, as shown by his lack of 'flair'. Many fighters she'd faced could learn from that. He was doing exceedingly well, his shots deadly accurate as he barely suffered a scratch. The final opponent finally fell with an awful crunch as he was stuck with the butt of the mercenary's weapon and consequentially shot dead. Capable and dangerous. Perhaps there was another way... she bought her time, waiting for the man to clean and reload his weapons and nudge one of the bodies with his boot, before making her approach. She'd hoped he wasn't over-cautious, or this would be a very short conversation. She dropped down from the rock ledge to the level the battlefield had been on. Purposefully avoiding stepping in any of the blood that'd been spilled - the last thing she needed was disgusting mortal blood on her boot - she slowly approached him until stopping several meters away, not wanting to overstep her boundaries, but close enough he'd know she was there. She decided to play her cards carefully still, just to be safe, "You're quite proficient with those weapons of yours." He turned in her direction and gestured with one of the firearms in hand almost carelessly at the collection of corpses that scattered the ground, "Friends of yours?" She scoffed, "Hardly. I don't associate with such brutish figures, usually." He clapped the revolving chamber of his gun closed and holstered it, "Good for you." His drawl irritated her, and her expression scrunched up to match, "I don't like your tone." "I don't care." So that's how this was going to be. 'Best get to the point, then.' "Listen.. since I know nothing of this place nor where to go, perhaps you could be of some assistance to me?" "I ain't a guide, lady. I'm a hired gun." Yes, yes, she knew that already. "I was not asking for a 'guide'," She mocked his tone, "I was asking for capable assistance with something... substantial, to me." He'd visibly had enough of this discussion, "Need someone dead?" She shook her head, "No, I-" He cut her off with a sharp tone, as if scolding a fool, "Then go find someone else to bother, lady. Got better things to do." She stared daggers at his impertinent tone. No one interrupts her like that, "Well excuse me if there's no one left to ask, considering you've done a thorough job slaughtering the only other people around!" He was already walking away when he replied without even bothering to look over his shoulder, "Tough luck." With that, he left her behind and went on his way, ignoring her haphazard attempts to re-engage in conversation. So that's how it was going to be,indeed. She refused to let her one chance at getting to 'civilization' just walk away. Not this time. After a moment to collect herself, she opted for the next best thing: tailing him. Surely he'd head back to a settlement at some point for payment. That was how mercenaries worked, wasn't it? With the foundations of a plan in mind, she set off after the nameless mercenary.
