Chapter Text
::Minho Pov::
Minho sneaks back into jyp finally back from his last mission. It was a hard one. The target had trained guards, and he only ate food he could scavenge himself. Thankfully after all that he should be able to rest, and heal up for a few weeks before he needs more money. As he walks into the building he shifts back into his usual human form.
"Ah there you are Minho I was hoping you would be back soon." Minho's boss, Park Jinyoung, said as Minho walked in. "I trust your mission went well?"
"I'm not dead, and they are so well enough. Also don't call me that." Minho replied.
"Good, here's your reward from your last job."JYP hands Minho a sack of gold. "100 gold"
Minho opens the bag, it looks to have the right amount in there he looks back up at JYP "Thanks. Now what do you want from me pdnim. The only time you ever want to see me is when you have something dangerous for me."
"I have a special mission for you if you'll take it. It is of a... personal nature so if you're interested I'd prefer to discuss it in my office." JYP answered cautiously.
"You know I'm always interested if there's money involved. Let's go" Minho followed JYP into his office.
~~~
They enter JYP's office, dark and dingy from years of candle smoke and if you look closely you can see a few blood stains and blade scars from long ago. JYP sits down behind his battered desk and gestures to Minho to sit down on the rickety chair on the opposite side.
"Alright Lee Know I want zero word of this to make it outside this room understood?" JYP asked.
"sir yes sir pdnim sir" Minho drawled sarcastically. "You know I never tell anyone about a mission. It's just asking for trouble now get to the point"
"Alright so you know I have a wife, yes?" Minho nodded "She has some family that she would prefer to stay alive. Specifically a cousin. He is unaware of me and my wife's uh business and has just recently become an adventurer. He's a good kid and neither me nor my wife want any of our enemies to try and use him for leverage. So the job would be to keep him alive until you deem him and his allies capable enough to defend themselves against someone of roughly your abilities. That won't cover everyone but you wouldn't help much if falconsbane decided to kill him. Any interest?"
" You forgot to mention how much I'll be paid for this." Minho said.
"Of course, of course. 5 gold a week, priority on short missions near you, and one enchantment a month at the price of ingredients." Minho stares.
Shit that's a pretty damn good deal no long missions which are unfortunately the ones that pay well but 5 gold is more than enough to live on and if he's careful he can probably get by on whatever he makes from the additional missions and save up the gold for new equipment and maybe even a retirement fund. Heck if he can manage to make this last for about 3 years he should be able to retire as a guard.
" One more question before I decide" Minho asks " Why me specifically for this mission?"
"Honestly Minho you are the only person I employ that is skilled enough to make sure my cousin stays alive for at least a little while, and will not turn on him the second you get an offer for his head. Well I guess you would if he deserved it but for you to abandon your mission it'd have to be pretty damn bad." JYP responds
That's true enough, Minho thinks. To JYP's usual disdain he has managed to keep at least a few morals intact despite his occupation. Which unfortunately has ment he's gone hungry a few times after rejecting a mission, but he doesn't think death should be taken lightly and only those who deserve it should meet theirs early. Thankfully there are enough assholes in the world that he's never gone hungry for long.
"Alright tell me the details. I'll do it." Minho decided.
"Good. I knew you'd take it. His name is Han Jisung. He is a bard. His current party consists of 6 people including himself. They call themselves the Stray Kids. The leader's name is Bang Christopher Chan, a knight. The others are a paladin, fire dancer, druid, wizard, and warlock respectively. Unfortunately I do not know each of the party members' names but I suspect you'll be able to find that out fairly quickly. They are currently headed to a job in Hardorn for minhyuk. They will be acting as caravan guards for the next month here is their town schedule" JYP hands him a piece of paper with dates and names. "Take this pouch. This is how you will be paid each week. Also feel free to take anything you need from the supply room. I expect you to leave by the end of the week."
Oh well there goes his two weeks off.
~~~
Well if he's going to be following an adventuring party he's probably going to be away from his cot for a long time so he should probably get rid of anything he can't pack on a horse.
He decided that he'd sell off his worse set of armor and save the money in case his current set broke. And sell off his trinkets, other than his cat pendants he can't part with sooni, doongi, or Dori.
Next up is making sure his favorite mare wasn't taken while he was on his last mission. Charmer is just about silent in a forest and can eat just about anything. She's a beautiful shin'a'in mare bred for traversing rough terrain and battle. He only managed to get her after helping a shin'a'in merchant find an idiot who tried to steal one of their horses.
Minho walked up to Charmer's stall in the stable "Hey sweetie are you in here? No one bothered you while I was away did they?"
He checked her hooves to make sure her shoes were replaced with the Lightfoot shoes he had made for her. They won't erase tracks but they will make her silent in the forest.
Just as he was about to feed her a treat for being good while he was gone he heard someone approach.
"Hey man what's up? Did you just get back?"
Ah shit Skif found out he was back. Skif wasn't that bad but he's just so... friendly for no reason. "Hi Skif, yeah but I'm just about to head out again at the end of the week."
"Ah man, we gotta hang out before you leave. It's been too long, my guy." Skif leans up against the stall door.
"Ah yeah maybe. But I mean I gotta get all my stuff together. This is going to be a long one so I'm probably going to be busy until I have to go." Minho deflected.
"I made sure the blacksmith put on the good shoes since you weren't here. He tried to cheap you out but I don't want the lovely charmer getting hurt on your next outing." Skif went on "By the way I don't think you ever told me you said you were a mercenary right? What kind of work is there for a solo merc like you."
"Eh, you know guarding the occasional merchant, bodyguard kind of stuff." If Skif found out what he actually does he's pretty sure he would report him to the guard.
"Oh cool. Where are you headed off to this time?" Skif did not seem to be picking up that Minho did not want to talk.
"Not sure. Starting off in Hardorn and after that I don't know." Hopefully that would get Skif off his back.
"Isn't that kind of dangerous? What if they just want to lure you away or something." Skif kept trying to find something to talk about. At this point Minho felt kind of bad for trying to blow Skif off but they are both better off if they stay strangers. Skif just doesn't know that. yet.
"I trust my source" Minho snapped a little more than he meant to.
"Okay man. Let me know when you get back though"
"I will" he won't.
Now that Minho has managed to leave the stable he went to the enchanter to get his tent and some arrows enchanted. Thankfully the enchanter is nowhere near as talkative so he just told them to put a camouflage enchantment on the tent and divide up the arrows half silence and the other half divided equally between flash bang, stench, fire, and ice. With that out of the way he should be able to leave by the end of tomorrow, assuming the enchantments are done by then.
He goes through his packs one more time and makes a list of the last few things he needs to buy. And with that all that's left is to go to sleep and wait for tomorrow to come.
~~~
The next day Minho buys some rations and a few small things from the morning market and picks up his enchantment order. Fortunately his order was completed in time so he can head off before traffic becomes too bad. Unfortunately that means that last thing to do is saddle Charmer up. Hopefully Skif is off today, or at least on an errand.
He is not.
"Hey man, I thought you were leaving at the end of the week." Skif said from outside the stall
"Oh yeah sorry Skif the job got pushed up so I needed to leave today." Minho tried to explain
"Oh damn. Well when you come back you owe me lunch okay?"
"Okay" Minho sighed. "I should head out now. See you later."
"See ya"
~~~
Thankfully the journey to Hardorn was fairly uneventful. He did run into some idiots in one of the taverns he stayed in along the way who tried to pick a fight with him. They were so drunk all he had to do was get behind them and they were so confused he just walked away. In fact the journey was so uneventful he managed to get to kata'shin'a'in almost a week before his target was supposed to arrive.
As he approached kata'shin'a'in he read the papers he had unfortunately they didn't say where to find minhyuk. All it said was that he was a shin'a'in weaver and in the city of the shin'a'in there were a lot of those. He is very glad he got here so early now. He might actually have a chance of finding this minhyuk before jisung's party gets here.
First things first he needs to find a place to stay for the next week or more depending on how long the stray kids stay in town.
He checks his outer belt pouch and finds about 5 gold and 30 silver. He probably could get a pretty nice room with that money but since he's in kata'shin'a'in anyway he figures he should get some better camping gear so he'll just get a room that is likely to keep his stuff safe and that's about it. And of course a nice stall for Charmer.
He finds one of the inns that was probably very nice at one point, maybe a hundred years ago, but still. He boarded Charmer with the shin'a'in. They were very well known horse breeders and ran most of the good stables in the area. Any stable not run by them in kata'shin'a'in we're just as likely to feed your horse sawdust as oats.
He spent about 25 sliver on his room and 1 gold on charmers stall for two weeks. So he should still have more than enough to get a better bed roll and water resistant cloak. Maybe some spices and dried vegetables so he isn't just eating whatever he can catch or forage on its own. Yeah definitely some dried vegetables.
~~~
First up on his list is trying to remember where everything is. Then he should be able to find minhyuk a little easier. He has been here but it's been about 2 years. Last time was probably around the time he got Charmer.
Closest to his inn seems to be the food vendors after that glassworkers and jewelers. Then clothing and woven goods, which should be where minhyuk's tent should be, after that weaponsmiths and leather workers and finally the animal markets. Minho decided to get his things first and start actively looking for Minhyuk later.
~~~
He got the last of his things days ago and has been searching for Minhyuk since. He walks up to what has to be his 15th tent today. So far no one has appeared to know anything about the shin'a'in much less minhyuk specifically. It was starting to get frustrating.
He walking into the tent and pretended to browse the wares. Hopefully he'd overhear some useful conversations.
He feels eyes on his back he looks up. Wait he thinks that's Tarmei he hasn't seen them in years. Tarmei talks briefly to their fellow merchant and then gestures at Minho to follow them. Tarmei walks out of the tent; Minho waits a few seconds and follows them out. He stays about 20 feet behind Tarmei as he follows them weaving in and out of the crowds so hopefully no one else can tell Minho is following Tarmei.
Eventually they enter what is very obviously a Shin'a'in encampment and head towards what is presumably Tarmei's tent. At this point he is walking with Tarmei it would be stupid to pretend he isn't with them now. That would probably get him kicked out of the encampment with not so much as a "are you lost?".
Once they enter Tarmei's tent Tarmei faces Minho and hugs him "My friend, it has been a long time since I have seen you last. Sit sit I will make us some tea. How have you and Charmer been doing?" Minho stands their awkwardly for a minute and then realizes what they said and sits down opposite Tarmei on some cushions in front of a small fire with a pot resting in a stand.
"I've been as well as my line of work allows me to be particularly with my uh restrictions. Thankfully I've been fairly busy. Charmer has been doing very well once we got to know each other a little better she became the best mare I ever rode by far. How have you been, anymore idiot would be horse thieves?" Minho replied.
Tarmei pulled a pot off the fire and poured some of the water into a kettle with some leaves or herbs in it. "I've been well, business has been good I went far on my last outing and some of those outlanders will pay outlandish prices for the simplest of shin'a'in goods, particularly those sold by a real life Shin'a'in. And also thankfully no more idiot horse thieves, not that they would last long. Before we get to whatever has brought you all the way out here I have something to give you."
Tarmei gets up and gets a small wooden chit attached to a loop of braided leather out of one of their bags. "This is a uh well 'ally token' is probably the closest translation. This will let any Shin'a'in you may meet know that you are a friend to the clans. I do not give you this because I know you personally. There are many that I know and like that I would never give one of these tokens. I give you this because I know you will always help someone in need and you would never use a show of trust for ill."
Minho's eyes widen and he shakes his head "Gestena, Tarmei. I can't imagine what I've done to deserve this but I'll keep it safe. If I didn't know you as well as I do I'd try and give it back but I know I'd end up with it anyway." [Gestena= Thank you]
"It is not whether you deserve it, it is whether you earned it. Anyway I am not the one to be thanked" Tarmei replies. "Now what brought you here in the first place?"
Minho sighs "I'm looking for someone. One of yours actually although not for the reason your thinking. I'm looking for a woven goods seller who goes by Minhyuk. Although really I'm not looking for him, I'm looking for someone in a mercenary troupe that is contracted to guard him for the next leg of his journey. Some rich worry wart parents contracted me to watch over their young adventurer until they can 'handle themselves'. It's easy money and if the kid deserves it I can uh loose focus enough for the kid to either get sent home or go to his preferred afterlife."
Tarmei nods "I see. I do not think Minhyuk is here yet but I will let him know if I see him. He should be arriving soon."
"I appreciate it Tarmei. If he wishes to speak with me I'm staying at the rusty grain if he doesn't want to talk with me if you could let him know I'm watching one of his guards and not him I'd appreciate one less knife against my throat." Minho replies.
"I will tell him what you have told me. I do not know him well enough to predict what he may do but I suspect you will meet him at some point." Tarmei responds.
They continue to chat for a few hours about other matters until eventually Minho heads back to the rusty grain in the early hours of the morning.
~~~
After a few uneventful days of gathering better supplies minho decides to search for Minhyuk's tent. He figures at this point either he has not arrived yet or he has decided not to talk with Minho. If he has decided to not talk with Minho that is his decision however he still needs to find the man in order to find his target.
As Minho walked towards the weavers section of the market someone bumped into him. The man looked at him and didn't move.
"Sorry sir I was wondering if you could show me where the rusty grain inn is?" The man asked.
He was about to brush past him but something in the man's face told him he should probably pay attention to this man so Minho replied "Follow me"
He did however take the man one of the less efficient routes to the inn. His excuse is this way takes them past the most recognizable parts of kata'shin'a'in so it's be easier for the man to find the inn the next time but in reality he doesn't trust this man yet. He senses the man has some ulterior motive and isn't at all lost, yet he doesn't sense danger. So his best option is to keep an eye on him and keep his guard up.
Eventually they made it to the inn. "Here's the Rusty Grain is there anything else you need to find?" Minho asked.
"Gestena kind sir, I should be able to make my way around now. However I was hoping I could buy you some food for your troubles." The man asked. [Gestena= Thank you]
Damn it this guy is either shin'a'in and knows who he is or trying to trick him into thinking he is shin'a'in. "Of course my friend, I was wondering what your name was again?" Minho asked.
"My name? My name, Lee Know, is Minhyuk." Minhyunk turns and walks in to the inn.
Ohh that makes sense now. He follows Minhyuk inside the dingy wood paneled, dirt floored inn.
~~~
Unfortunately despite finally finding the key to his target the shin'a'in are notorious for taking ages to get to the point. They have been talking about trade routes and mutual friends for almost two hours now, with their watered down under seasoned soup and stale bread a very disappointing and distant memory, and Minho is starting to get frustrated. If it wasn't for his previous experiences with Tarmei he'd have assumed that the man didn't want to talk business at all. Also thanks to Tarmei he knows that until Minhyuk brings it up himself Minho isn't going to get anything out of him.
So far he knows that while Minhyuk is currently working as a woven goods trader he's actually a horse breeder but since his sister is having a child he promised his sister he'd sell his brother-in-law’s goods this season so she could be with her clan and life-mate when she gave birth.
"Actually Tarmei mentioned that you have a shin'a'in riding mare right?" Minho nods "Would you be willing too take me to see her?" Minhyuk asks
"Uh sure do you want to go now or..." Minho trails off.
"Now is perfect" Minhyuk stands up from the table in the dimly lit inn and let Minho lead him off to the stables he is keeping Charmer in.
After a few minutes they make it to the stables Charmer is in. Minhyuk heads straight to Charmers stall without asking which one is Minho's. Which is a little unnerving but as Minho knows the shin'a'in tend to be a little unnerving.
Charmer comes right up to them with her ears forward and tail flagged when she sees Minho. She then proceeds to try and use her special combo of nudging his hand and puppy eyes to get a treat out of him. It usually works but unfortunately Minho doesn't have any treats on him. "Sorry girl I don't have any treats right now. Ill come back later. I promise."
"You really care about her don't you and she you" Minhyuk asks
Minho pauses for a minute as knowledge is power but he thinks the truth may give him an advantage in this case so he says "I like to believe so yes."
Minhyuk looks at him for a second then says "I do not know when your target arrives but I will be leaving kata'shin'a'in in a orange and red enclosed trade wagon with black detailing and a falcon painted on the side. We will leave two weeks from today just after the sun rises above the tree line on the north eastern trade road. Feel free to stop by before then I just set up shop today in the rug market, but that should be enough for you to find us hai?" [Hai= yes]
"Thank you; kestra" [kestra= casual friend/trusted acquaintance]
"Do your best not to scare them too much they seem like nice kids. See you soon, kestra." Minhyuk replied as he walks off.
That was easier than Minho expected.
~~~ End Chanter 1~~~