Don't Pay Me to Kill, I'll Do it For Free

Trinket stopped in the entrance to the inn, looking around. Inns were boring. People sat around, eating. People sat at the bar, drinking. People sat in the corners, playing boring games of dice. They all looked dull. Listless. Tired.

She would make their day more interesting. But first, she had other things to do.

She glanced up at Sah, a few strands of dark hair falling over her glassy eyes. "Why are we here?" she asked. "Will someone here hire me to kill someone?"

The Abandoned had promised her that he would help her become a bounty hunter. That way, she could get practice at killing people. That was important. She needed to be good at killing people if she were going to survive the killing game. It would only be a matter of time before someone tried to kill her. She needed to be ready.

She stood silently in the doorway, paying no mind to the people coming to and fro. With her standing in the doorway, they had to step around her, and they all took extra care to step well around her, not touching her. She stood still as the dead, holding her doll dangling from one hand, awaiting Sah's response.

Sah

Sah questioned his life choices, "No. You need a place to sleep right? Inns are usually a good option." He'd thought briefly about taking the demigod home but frankly, he didn't trust her not to try and kill his family. And wasn't that concerning?

"Once we have you set up with a room to sleep in while you're in Halo, I'm going to then take you to one of the smaller taverns here where mercenaries and other similar people meet. They usually have a board of bounties on the wall. We can look them over and choose one. Then we can pack and prepare and head out. Sound good?" Sah outlined their plan as clearly as he could. From what he could tell so far, explanations were favored by Trinket. The simpler and more airtight he could make them, the better for everyone.

I think there for I am,
But what if all I do is bleed?

"I don't need a place to sleep," Trinket said. "I just sleep wherever I feel like, and I don't feel like sleeping here."

She looked around, finding the inn increasingly boring. "Let's go to the board of bounties now. That sounds like much more fun."

She turned without another thought and headed out into the cold, boots crunching in the snow. It was a good thing she had gotten boots. They made it so her feet wouldn't hurt.

She dragged the doll along behind her, its bare feet leaving little trails in the snow. The doll didn't have boots. Maybe she would get some for it.

"How do we pick out a good bounty?" she asked Sah. "I bet there's lots of them to choose from. But I don't know how to pick a person to kill. I hope we can find an interesting one." She didn't want her first time killing to be boring. It was a game, and games were supposed to be fun.

Sah

Sah sighed and shook his head, "Alright. Suit yourself." The Abandoned knew better by now then to try and force Trinket to do anything. But he also knew she was still too new to the world. "Just give me one second. " He went up to the host and quickly arranged a room for Trinket.

Taking the offered room key, he quickly returned to her side and handed the key to the demigod before she could run off and cause trouble. "Here. It's a room key. See the number on it, '12', that' the room number. The room upstairs with that number is yours for now. Even if you don't want it right now, if you change your mind, it's arranged." Just in case. Despite her oddities, Sah didn't want the child to get cold at night if he could help it.

He then led the way to the tavern and quickly made his way to the board, giving the bartender a nod as he passed. There were a few odd looks as to the child behind him, but weirder things had happened. That and even though Sah was well known to the citizens of Halo for his oddities, they trusted him.

The board had a few bounties on it and Sah grabbed one and showed it to Trinket. He recalled her saying that she could read so he simply pointed her attention to specific things. At the top he tapped, 'Dead or Alive', "This tells you the state that the client wants the bounty. Dead or alive means they just want the person caught and don't care what state the person is in at that point."

Sah then pointed to the drawing, "This is what the person to hunt looks like." Sah tapped the spot just beneath the photo. "And here is their name and crime. This one is Reston Crest. He's wanted for murder." The Abandoned paused, "Murderers are dangerous but they're good targets because they're less likely to be false charges. Thieves can go either way, but the rewards are pretty decent. Now, there are bounties that specify that the person must be brought unharmed or specifically just alive. I'm guessing you want to skip those?" If Trinket wanted to kill a man, such bounties weren't for her.

Sah then pointed to the bottom of the sheet, "This right here is the reward. This one for Reston offers a large number of rations as well as some valuable gems. It's a good reward. For you, a good reward is one that you personally think you can get use of. Food, supplies, etc. are all good rewards if they're offering a decent amount."

The Abandoned waited for Trinket to process the information. Sah had learned all of this just from hanging around the tavern and talking with the patrons. He'd only taken a bounty once, because one of them had asked for his help due to needing to pass through a particularly dangerous stretch of wilderness that the hunter was familiar with.

I think there for I am,
But what if all I do is bleed?

"I know how room keys work," Trinket said. She took the key without interest, having already dismissed the inn from her mind. She held the key for a short while as they walked, but after a bit, it simply fell forgotten from her hand. She didn't notice when it fell into the snow.

She listened to his explanations about the bounties, holding her doll by one arm, its porcelain feet dangling on the tavern floor. She tilted her head to the side as she studied the picture of the murderer. Curious.

"If this man has a bounty on him for killing someone, and I kill him, will someone put a bounty out on me? How is bounty hunting different than murder?"

Sah

Sah noted when Trinket dropped the key, hearing the sound of it hitting the ground, and used his telekinesis to return it to his own pocket for later. Just in case the demigod changed her mind.

Trinket's question was a valid one and the Abandoned hummed, "It's unlikely. But we can go with a thief if you'd like." Though Sah would be less morally comfortable with such a thing. It was easier to stomach killing a mass murderer then someone who might just be stealing to eat.

"The difference between murder and fulfilling a bounty is difficult to explain. Murder is for taking a life for your own motives. Bounty hunting can be murder but it's for the sake of your client as well as your own desires, such as the reward. That and bounties are usually placed on criminals, not innocent citizens. That and bounty hunting is legal, while murder is not." Sah glanced at Trinket, seeing if his explanation had satisfied her. She was a clever child, and her questions reflected that.


After taking a bounty for a horrific criminal, Sah helped Trinket fulfill it. They parted ways after.

I think there for I am,
But what if all I do is bleed?