Third: The Invitation

"He's here."

From the narrow hallways, Jace led Kaizer to the said room where their target, Bum Pan, resided. As they stared at the door, sweet giggles were heard followed by a voracious laugh. Jace squirted as he heard it. He couldn't imagine what they were doing. Kaizer knotted his brows and without a warning knocked to the door. At first try, no one responded but giggles were stopped. Kaizer tried it again, and not a minute after an ugly face popped.

"I'm not in servi---" he was cut when Kaizer kicked him on the face, making him fly to the opposite side of the room. The door swung open but when the two men completely entered it collapsed by itself.

"Aaahhh!!!" Three women barely dressed shouted in horror. They ran out of the room helplessly covering their cornsilk naked skin. They were natives of this land, working to entertain. Jace, the gentle man, tried to calm them down but they just brushed through him shouting their lungs out of the room.

Jace just sighed. He blamed himself for not stopping Kaizer on making a grand entrance. They must have done it nicer.

"What the---who are you?!" The ugly man, they believed was Bum Pan spoke gurgling blood in his mouth. He was half-naked. Bald head, squared ears and pierced lip, Jace and Kaizer were not wrong. This man was Bum Pan.

Kaizer, before answering found himself a sofa to sit on. He rested there first his stout sword: the five-inch wide and a meter long sword known as 'Flagrare". Then he sat and slouched like he was on his own place.

 "Comfy, huh!  D'you have any booze in here?" Kaizer asked the man. The man spat blood from his mouth and stared angrily at Kaizer.

"Who are you?!"

"Tsk. I'm not good at introduction, okay?" Kaizer said annoyed then his eyes caught the bottles of booze under the side table beside the sofa where he sat. His face suddenly was delighted like a three-year-old-kid who found a lollipop. He opened it and drunk from it directly, ignoring the angry man on his front.

"Huh! You are bounty hunters, right? Young bounty hunters who want to play around the globe. Doing fancy magic shows? Running out wild to earn what? Money? Fame? Build a name? Hah! You don't know me kiddos. I know you're just little cutie novices who will run away from me with your tails on your asses. I am a big name y'know that? My Master will never forgive you if you lay a hand on me. Wait, you already hurt me. Okay, just pay me and I'll think that nothing from this moment happe--"

Bum Pan was cut for the second time around because he saw Kaizer's stout sword making its way to him. Kaizer threw it like it was a three-inch knife and now it was fast-approaching his head. He stopped breathing; waiting for the sword to be planted on his temple, but quarter a second after, the sword was strucked on his left side cutting a thin skin of his earlobe. His breathing came back. Deeper and faster than usual.

"Another word....and you're dead," Kaizer eyed him like a devil. His golden eyes twinkled dangerously under his red silky hair. The man was an instant mute. He nodded nervously, gulping a bunch of saliva that came out of nowhere from his mouth. His heartbeat was then his music background that mashed up with the noise of the busy street outside.

"I'll call Wink. We'll surrender this man now," Kaizer stated.

"Wait, I'll ask this man first." Jace drew a faded paper from his pocket. He unrolled it and looked at the man. He walked closer and read its content.

"Bum Pan", Elf, Slave Trader/Kidnapper/Rapist/Thief, 150,000 Zeros

ALIVE!

It said along with the client's contact seal, below the black and white sketch of Bum Pan's face. Jace eyed him again suspiciously. His green eyes were not as fiery and not as mad as Kaizer. Bum Pan, even though not asked uncontrollably shook his head.

"You've got a lot of jobs, huh!" Jace walked closer as Bum Pan pinned himself to the wall. "But you're still having yourself on such cheap hotel, cheap food, cheap booze…"

"Yeah. I hate this booze," Kaizer agreed. But the poor elf continued nodding like a mad dog.

"You told us a moment ago that your Master will not forgive us for hurting you. So you have a boss?" Jace voice was soft and genteel. Pleading for a same genteel feedback.

"Mmmm..." Bum Pan answered while shaking his head 'no'.

"Liar. Where did you bring the girls you kidnapped? To your Master, right? Then where is he?" Jace was losing his control but Bum Pan made no answer. He’s all redundant shake of head. Jace got really annoyed, he opened his coat and...

'Click.Clack.Clock. BUSHENG!'

The HumElf eyes widen. Almost dropping his eyeballs. His head shook like a defected robot as he took a glimpse to the fiery black hole on his right side. The hole was smoking hot, a coin-sized burnt-mark surrounded the hole. He looked back to Jace. He was holding a small revolver still pointing to Bum Pan.

"I allow you to speak now," Kaizer said within chuckles. Bum Pan in a rush answered.

"Ye-yes! I am just a...a member of a large group of-of slave trader. Three months ago, there was a man who...who told us that he will buy all the slaves we could get. He gave us good money and so...so we-we..."

"A man? He gave you his name?" Jace asked, putting back his gun.

Bum Pan still scared, stopped for some seconds. He was thinking if it was alright for him to speak. The man he was talking about told them that he was a secret. "Tell my existence and I'll slash your throats", he still remembered that man told him on their first transaction. He was in a dilemma but as he looked again on his both sides – Kaizer’s shining sword and the bullet mark – he knew what to do. Then he spoke.

"Ye-ah. His name is… is -aack!"

A figure of a hand converged from the wooden wall and it held Bum Pan's neck to death. Jace and Kaizer didn't expect it to happen and so they were too late because Bum Pan fell on the ground. A deep laugh from everywhere in the room echoed and the converging wooden wall became more pellucid. It became a figure of a man. A tall, large man that made Jace stepped backward with his chin up. He quickly drew his stance and aimed his revolver to the man. Kaizer on the other hand stood and said:

 "Bum Pan's still breathing Jace. I can hear it." Kaizer informed Jace not wanting him to accidentally shoot their prey who they needed alive.

"Good. But, what is this creature greeting us?"

"Uhhm, so you've got a pair of sharp ears, Dragunflare," the deep voice spoke. It was busy forming its body from a wooden tactile to a human brown skin.

"You knew him, Kaizer?" Asked Jace.

"Ho, ho, ho, I knew you too! You're Jace Degunne, if I’m not mistaken? Prince Kaizer Dragunflare, the Red Emperor, is your Lord. You are this man's first knight," said the man. Now, his figure was clearer. An old tall man with a long hair like vine's tree stood weak in front of them. He has a cloak that hid his face under the shadow cast by the luminescent lamp of the room.

"Saturnio?" Kaizer blurted out.

"Good day, Your Highness," the old man said motioning his hands but as he did it, Jace reacted defensively.

"Try to do crazy things and you'll see your head like a mashed pumpkin."

"Woah. Ho, ho, ho...Easy, Knight-boy," after that, the old man smiled as he fade. Within a blink he was at Kaizer’s back. He froze the red emperor by pointing a wooden-like blade to his neck. It didn’t look as sharp and only few knew its deadliness – and both the young men knew it.

"Ho, ho, ho. So, slow."

"Tsk, let him go!" Jace shouted but Saturnio just laughed.

"So, you're a slave trader now, Saturnio. And you do hostaging too," Kaizer said then he laughed. "So lame," he added.

Saturnio rolled a growl exposing his annoyance.

 "Hold it, Saturnio! I'm gonna shoot your head if you move," Jace shouted again, always ready to fire his revolver.

"Ows... really? We both knew Knight-boy, how fast my blade goes."

"Don't worry Jace, he's not aiming to kill me, right? Vine Devil," Kaizer said in a usual unthreatened voice.

"Ho, ho, ho. You ...never disappointed me Red Emperor. Of course! I am not going to kill you. I don't want to be an enemy of the Dragunflare Clan. I… just have something to give you," the old man handed a piece of folded paper. Kaizer snatched it and the old man vanished again. Too hard to follow but he’s face is now on Jace’s right ear.

"He's not dead, but I don't think that you can get information from him. If you want information... get me,” he mocked Jace. And Jace is about to lose his temper. But before Jace could even take his stance, Saturnio vanished again, and this time, he didn’t appear to anywhere. Instead, his raspy voice enveloped the room for an inviting farewell.

“Red Emperor, my lord invites you to his humble abode. I’m looking forward for our next encounter.” 

The two men exchanged looks. Asking each other about what had happened. 

“Is it a party he’s inviting us?” Jace asked in pure confusion.

“Well yeah. A party,” Kaizer answered, his lips on an unhidden smirk of excitement as he roamed what’s written on the invitation.