The Achievement Junkie 107 Conflict of Interests

"Roooaar…"

Suddenly, the cetus in front of Jack cried and fell to the side like a ragdoll.

Breathing heavily, Jack tried to calm his pounding heart. He looked at the now lifeless cetus. It had been stuck to the stone ground. In its neck was a harpoon that had embedded itself in the stone, showing off the strong force that was used to throw it.

Jack followed the path of the harpoon and saw a stout old man in a simple sailor's coat. The man was now on the edge of the battlefield and was walking casually toward the fighting.

The old man grunted loudly with plenty of audible disdain, "Hmm… I can't believe what rubbish the court's soldiers have become. If this is what they amount to, I'm glad I'm no longer apart of such a disgraceful group of cowards."

When the soldiers watching the on the sidelines noticed the old man and heard his words they were taken aback. Most didn't recognize him and didn't know what to think. The few that recognized his face lowered their heads and didn't dare lookup.

Fronks was furious. Hearing such blatant disrespect was too painful for him to swallow. Captain Prat opened his mouth but said nothing in the end.

Trevor, the old man's son, shivered. He could hear the disappointment in his father's voice and the old man looked directly at him as he emphasized the word "cowards." It was clear that his father was livid at the performance of the soldiers and utterly disappointed in his son.

"Zariff, I'll team up with the boy! Just kill, nothing more!" As the old man shouted to Zariff he ran to Jack and asked, "Are you okay, boy? Can you keep up?"

Jack nodded with a grunt and followed the man's lead. They hurried to help Rydel. 

Though Rydel was able to stall the beasts, he wasn't exactly a master of close combat and wasn't able to deal a killing blow to either of the beasts. In fact, he had already received some minor injuries himself and was only able to defend.

The two cetuses tag-teaming the hunter whined and one of them ran to take on the incoming duo of Jack and the old man.

There was no hesitation as the man retrieved a cutlass and fought the cetus head-on. "Boy, help your friend. Don't worry about me. Kill that one and then we'll be able to support the others together."

Leading with his red-hot blade, Jack flanked the cetus facing Rydel. It went on the defensive and avoiding the falchion, but was unable to avoid the knife that hurried past its neck.

"ROOAAARR!!"

It roared and tried to join its companions but was stalled again by Jack. As Jack kept the defensive, it didn't take long for Rydel to find a small window to finish slashing the beast's throat, letting it fall to the ground.

Without losing a beat, a bow appeared in Rydel's hands and began to launch an endless volley of arrows to those against Zariff, Maynard, and Brunar. Jack rushed back and bullied the cetus between him and the old man until it fell to the man's cutlass.

"Good work, boy! Now rest, we'll take it from here," said the old man with a smile. He looked back to the others and was happy to see Bowzer finish off his opponent and run to Jack's side, as well as the cleric girl who arrived with the adventurers.

Jack watched the old man dash toward Maynard with an excited grin. He dropped his flame body and some of the adrenaline in his system disappeared as more pain set in, causing him to groan.

"Jack, are you okay?! Let me help!" Slivia got to him as fast as she could and was already casting her best healing spells.

"I'll be okay, thanks Slivia." Jack smiled and chuckled. It felt good to see her so concerned about him.

Bowzer deactivated his flame body and jumped onto Jack's shoulders. 'Jack hurt again.'

'It's nowhere near as bad as last time. But I am lucky that the old man joined in. If not…'

'Jack rest, need rest now,' said Bowzer as he brushed his fur against Jack's neck.

Those three watched the others quickly pick off the remaining cetuses one-by-one and finish off the three surrounding Zariff together. They could finally let out a sigh of relief.

"Men, gather the corpses and bring them to the palace!"

Fronks' order sounded out for all to hear and many soldiers stepped forward, ready to follow his command.

"Hold up!" That yell reverberated throughout the area, making all soldiers hesitate and look up to the association chief. "We bagged all these without any of your men lifting a finger. They're our trophies, don't touch 'em!"

The men were unsure of what to do. They all meant to follow orders but Zariff was known to be a merciless man who wasn't afraid to act out if offended, and considering the strength they just witness, no one dared offend him.

"Men, I gave an order!"

"Shut up already!" This time it was Jack that retorted Fronks. "Our kills, our trophies. There wasn't a scratch on them by the time we showed up. Maybe if you captains weren't to chicken to join the fray we could share them, but your too shameless to admit that, aren't you?"

Fronks glared at Jack. "You…"

Rydel chimed in, "In the contract the between the Adventurers Association and the Royal Court, it clearly states that any and all materials that were the cause of the Adventurers Association's assistance in assigned work will belong fully to the Adventurer Association. What do you have to say to that?"

"You weren't hired as this was never officially assigned to you by a captain or commanding officer. So of course, those corpses belong--"

"I gave the order!"

An unexpected shout surprised everyone, especially Fronks and the old man. All eyes were on Trevor, who continued, "I send word for reinforcements. When I received so few men, I sent word to the association, isn't that right men?"

"Yes, sir!"

In unison, all of his remaining men instantly agreed with their captain, happy to see him finally stand against the other cruel captains.

"You! What are you talking about?! You never--"

"You've already heard the witnesses, Captain Fronks. I gave the order and made an official offer to the association. They shall receive full payment for each beast killed based on their levels and will keep all corpses and materials that resulted from their work. The contract will be upheld," explained Trevor, more stern than anyone had ever seen him before.

The old man smiled, happy to see his son finally show some backbone without his interference.

Zariff and the others were surprised but the didn't show it, going along with Trevor's story to make sure they get what they deserve.

"Rydel, Maynard, store the bodies. Let's hurry back and get out of this rain," ordered Zariff. He looked to the old man and gave a quick bow. "Thanks, old friend. Without you, the casualties would've been great."

"It's the least I could do for an old pal. To show your gratitude how about to treat me tonight?" The old man understood that it was well past midnight, but he had a lot he wanted to talk about after witnessing the Royal Court's bias against the Adventurers Association first hand.

"Of course, my treat!"

It took only a minute for Rydel and Maynard to gather the corpses. Everyone quickly hopped back on their horses and were joined by the old man, who had his own horse.

In the distance, the other adventurers came into view as they were running toward the pier at full speed. When they all saw their chief preparing to leave they came to a halt, confused at it all.

"Everything's finished here. Anyone who made the effort to come will receive a cut of the payment, with favoritism towards those that fought," stated Zariff as his group on horseback trotted past the confused adventurers.

That group shrugged and began walking back, not caring about the rain since they were already drenched.

While the adventurers were on the way back, the three captains were in the dock house in a heated argument.

"What order did you give! Nonsense! Do you know what you've done!" shouted Fronks.

"I've honored the Royal Court's contract with the Adventurers Association and maintained the court's honor," retorted Trevor, not backing down.

"'What a load of crap! I'll see you in martial court! After this, your title of captain will be as good as gone!"

"Impossible! It would be your word against mine," stated Trevor.

Fronks shook his head and smiled coldly. "No, it's OUR word against yours. Both Captain Prat and I won't stand for your foolish acts as captain. You're a dishonor to our title!"

Before Trevor could respond, Fronks turned and stated, "Prat, let's go! We've got a lot of paperwork to file and a traitor to report."

With that the two captains left with their men, leaving behind the twenty or so survivors of Trevor's men. Inside the dock house, Trevor was fuming mad, again unsure of what to do next.

Chapter end