Day Twelve - 19,442/50k

After their conversation with Spencer, Kida and Destiny had remained at the bar for the rest of the evening, watching as patrons came and went, sharing a meal when dinner time rolled around. Since their back was to the door, neither had noticed when Kiri and company had arrived. When Renee sat at the bar a few seats down from them, though, Destiny took notice. 

“Hey…” she whispered to Kida. “Isn’t that the angel that was with Kiri at the bar the other night? The one that started the singing…”

Kida shuddered, and Destiny knew why. The night had, after all, ended with her walking home arm in arm with her antithesis, the gun-toting mercenary. But when Kida glanced over, Destiny saw the glimmer of recognition in her eyes. 

“Yes, it’s her. What are you thinking?” Kida asked. Destiny smiled a catlike grin, baring her unnaturally sharp teeth. Kida was usually the crafty one, so it felt good to Destiny to finally have one up on her.

“I have a plan. But we should wait.” Destiny glanced over her shoulder and indicated Kiri with a nod of her head. “Her mercenary buddy is here too. Let’s wait till she’s good and distracted.” Now Kida was grinning as well. The prospect of having a plan that could possibly secure valuable information was more than enough to lift their spirits. They continued to act nonchalant, but Destiny turned around and leaned her elbows back on the bar casually - all so she could keep an eye on Kiri, without really appearing to. She watched the mercenary talk to Tomlyn, then move to the larger table. They had dinner - it struck Destiny that it was rather late to eat, but it wasn’t really her business - then started a game of cards. That was when Destiny decided it was time to move.

“Alright, let’s go,” she whispered to Kida. Moving slowly so as not to draw attention, they shifted stools until they were sitting one on each side of Renee. Destiny spoke first. “Hey there… don’t we know you? You were in Lumo Bay, right?”

Renee perked up at being addressed. Oddly, her eyes were slightly unfocused and she had a goofy grin on her face like she was drunk. When she spoke, her words were even slurred. “Yeeeeah! I ‘member you. Good buddy doesn’t like you much…” She giggled, then hiccuped. 

Kida and Destiny exchanged a glance. As impossible as it seemed, the archeologist had actually managed to get drunk off of nonalcoholic Discovery Beer. Well, this makes things easier, Destiny thought to herself. Out loud, she said “Now why wouldn’t she like us?”

“Not youuuu,” she said to Destiny. “Her,” she pointed at Kida, although her finger wavered so she was pointing more at that general side of the room.

“Ah, yes. Swords, right?”

“Mmmmmhmm.”

“Well… we were wondering if you might be willing to help us out a bit. Do you know what your good buddy is doing here in Blowin?” Destiny kept her voice carefully level, cheerful, friendly, and open. Not that she needed to, Renee was more than willing to talk.

“Yep! We’re lookin’ for someone… can’t ‘member his name… Michael… Middle… Jason… I dunno. Some’in like that.”

“Midas?”

“Surrrrrre… sounds right!” She leaned her head on Destiny’s shoulder and grinned blissfully.

“Why are you looking for Midas?”

“I dunno… Kiri was hired by some guy. Scary name, don’ ‘member it. Said we’re s’posed to find him. You knooooww… I used t’work for Midas. ‘E’s a nice guy.” She frowned for a moment. “Hope Kiri doesn’t want t’hurt him… can’t let that happen! ‘E’s the boss… well, not now. ‘M on vacation now!” She giggled and grinned again, her mood flipping as fast as a coin. 

Destiny was about to ask another question when an entirely unwelcome voice interrupted her.

“Renee, good buddy, whatcha doin’?” Kiri said as she arrived at the worst possible time, leaning on the bar between Renee and Kida, leaving Kida to glare impotently at the back of her head. Destiny, on the other hand, got to glare directly at her.

“Jusssss talkin’… these’re nice people!”

“No, they’re not. Let’s go, we need to get you home.”

A tall, well built man walked up behind Kiri, also carrying enough firepower to take down half an army. “Anything wrong here, boss? Need me to help get the drunk one home?”

“That would be great. Seems she’s managed to get drunk on beer with no alcohol in it. I think I like this girl!” Without another word or glance to either Kida or Destiny, the two grabbed Renee each by an arm and lifted her bodily off the stool. Supporting her between them like they’d done it before, they led her across the room, joined halfway by the hunter, Tomlyn, who’d tried to hire them earlier. Together, the party left the bar.

“Well… that was informative,” Kida said, only the barest trace of irony in her voice.

“Actually, it really was. We know that Kiri girl is after Midas.”

“Which makes me much more inclined to be on his side,” Kida interjected. “Enemy of my enemy, and all…”

“Right. And we know that Renee worked for Midas, so probably knows way more than she’s letting on.”

“Not that we’re likely to be able to get any more out of her. Kiri will see to that.”

“Well, we’ll see. All in all, a good day’s work.” With that, she stood up and dropped a handful of gold coins on the bar to pay for their drinks and food. “I say we find a secluded place on the beach to sleep for the night. No need to pay for an inn.”

“I like that idea. Sleeping under the stars sounds… well, it sounds really nice.”

They left the bar together, navigating the now-empty streets back in the direction of the docks. It was a quick walk with no crowds to impede their progress. From the docks, they headed down the beach, searching for a suitable place to set up camp for the night. After about ten minutes, they found a cluster of rocks that formed a natural overhang, almost like a shallow cave. From the remains of the campfire outside, it was clear they weren’t the first to use the spot, but it was currently empty. Kida unpacked the small pup tent she carried in her pack and Destiny helped her set up. They agreed to trade off watches - Kida for the first half, Destiny for the second. As Kida settled into place on top of one of the rocks, Destiny crawled into her sleeping bag, pillowed her head on her pack and let sleep take her.

When Kida shook her awake four hours later, she was painfully reluctant to leave the warm comfort of sleep. But Kida was obnoxiously persistent - obviously wanting her own chance at sleep - and Destiny was soon walking down the sand to the surf crashing on the sand. She scooped up a handful of ice cold ocean water and splashed it on her face, gasping at the shock. It did the job, though, and she returned to the rocks feeling a good deal more alert. So alert, in fact, that within ten minutes she was bored. So she decided to explore the little outcrop of rocks they were camping under. She dug her claws into niches in the rock, and scurried up a crack in the nearest boulder. Once she reached the top, she found she could easily jump from rock to rock, with only a slight amount of climbing required to reach the highest point of the rocks.

She stood tall and allowed herself a moment of peace. The view was breathtaking. The ocean stretched out in front of her, the long, low shape of the mainland just barely visible above the horizon. Above, the stars were scattered across the sky like so many jewels, sparkling and winking. It seemed odd to her that she could not see as many stars as she was used to seeing from home. Perhaps it had something to do with being near a city, although she did not entirely understand why. Relishing the feel of the cool breeze ruffling her hair, she took a deep breath of the ocean breeze.

And froze.

There was something in the air. A scent. Something strange, unidentifiable and yet somehow familiar, and altogether unusual. What bothered her the most was that it was not a scent that should be lingering in the air on the beach in the middle of the night. It sent prickles down her spine, along with a strange sense of foreboding.

In half the time it had taken her to climb up, she had slid down the rocks to the sand of the beach again. Undoing the tent flap quietly, she poked her head inside and woke Kida with a gentle tap on her shoulder. Holding a finger to her lips to indicate the need for silence, she beckoned Kida to join her outside. Just as they both stood up and started to look around, Destiny felt a thin cold blade press against her throat. For the second time that night, she froze completely. Looking out of the very corner of her eye, she could see Kida standing stock still as well, a katana to her throat. What she could not see were either of the people holding the katanas. 

A quiet voice hissed in her ear. “We bear a warning. Keep away from the hunter and the mercenary. Do not speak to them about the man whom you seek, he who is known as Midas. Heed our warning, and you shall not see us again. Fail to heed us, and risk our wrath.” And with that, they were gone, blades and all. The moment the pressure was removed from her throat, Destiny whirled around to see a flap of cloak disappearing into the shadow. She lunged forward to try to grab at it, but it, and it’s wearer, had vanished like smoke.

Destiny turned to Kida and ran a hand through her hair nervously. “I have no idea what that just was.”

“Well…” Kida yawned hugely. “I’m pretty sure it was a warning. They seem to be gone now, so I’m going back to sleep. We’ll talk in the morning.” She ducked back into the tent and closed the flap, leaving Destiny standing on the beach in shock, her mind reeling. The only people she knew with the ability to vanish into the shadows like that were ninjas. Ninjas were, by definition, honorable. If Midas was allied with ninjas, that was definitely a point in his favor. Most people might not view a sword held to their throat as an honorable action, but Destiny knew full well they could have easily killed them before they knew what was happening. Night was the ninjas time, after all. 

She climbed up on the nearest rock and sat cross legged, letting her thoughts run where they would - occasionally in circles, but mostly forward - for the rest of the night.