“Good morning, Jamison,” said Arc, walking into the store with Jack and Julie in tow. The broken glass from the previous day’s shootout had been swept up and the window was boarded up with grubby planks. The shopkeeper’s peeved shopkeeper did not look overly pleased to see Arc back.

  “You know how difficult it is to get new windows these days, Arc?”

  “I do indeed,” said Arc, jingling a pair of keys in front of Jamison. “I can repay you with a used pickup truck that has a half-full tank of diesel. Its previous owner is probably having his eyeballs plucked from his skull by hungry birds as we speak so it’s yours for the taking and there’ll be zero repercussions.”

  “Son of a…” muttered Jamison, snatching the keys. “You took out Colt? You utter madman.”

  “How much for the rest of those spell cartridges?” Arc asked slyly. “I’ve got some money burning a hole in my pocket and I’d like to get rid of some of it before I hit the road.”

  Jamison chuckled as he walked over to the door and latched it before heading into the back room where he kept his best gear.

  “You gave him the truck?” whispered Jack incredulously.

  “Jamison is my main source of cartridges and I need to keep him sweet if that’s to continue,” said Arc. “And besides, I don’t have the money to keep that thing repaired and fuelled. Cartridges are more important to me.”

  The three followed Jamison into the back room where he had already flipped open his spell capsule suitcase. “One white, one purple,” said Jamison, sliding the case along the table.

  “Minor Shield, I recognise,” said Arc, picking up the white round. “What’s the illusion spell?”

  “Haze.”

  “Ah, of course,” said Arc, looking closely at the rune while Jack and Julie exchanged a confused glance. “Yes, I’ll take both.”

  “That was one of the old man’s favourites, wasn’t it?”

  “Yes,” said Arc, giving Jamison a stern look.

  Jack and Julie looked to each other. They silently agreed that they were best not asking what Jamison had meant.

  “Anything else you’re in the market for while you’re here?” asked Jamison, scratching his beard and eager to move along from the awkward moment.

  “Yes, rope,” said Arc before tapping his bag. “And I need to offload a few things I looted from Colt’s base. A few guns, some ammo, and the like. And would you mind giving the guns these twins have a once over to make sure they’re in good working order?”

  “What about your body armour, is that still in good shape?”

  “Perfect condition,” said Arc, lifting his t-shirt and revealing a thin layer of black armour that neither of the twins knew he had been wearing. “I got shot once at one of Colt’s outposts, but it didn’t leave a mark.”

  “It’s like I told you,” said Jamison with a proud smile. “Best armour on the market, made using the exact same techniques used half a century ago.”

  “Best on the market, bar the enchanted ones.”

  “Come on, Arc. I’d hardly call those widely available.”

  “Fair,” said Arc with a shrug. “In fact, give me two more small ones for these two. If I’m not here to watch their backs and more chaos breaks out in town then it’ll be nice to know they won’t die from a punctured lung.”

  “This has been my best morning in two months,” chuckled Jamison as Arc reached for his coin pouch. “I may have to close up early today to celebrate.”

  *

  “How did you two bozos not know about the body armour?” asked Arc. “You were planning to mug me and didn’t think to check? Did you at least look inside my boots for backup weapons?”

  “No,” admitted Julie. “Did you have any in your boots?”

  “No, but you should still have checked. You pair are hopeless crooks, so I’m glad you’re turning over a new leaf in this town.”

  “Thanks for the body armour,” said Jack, twisting around and stretching through the pain. “It feels flexible.”

  “It’s good stuff,” said Arc, rapping his knuckles on his t-shirt. “How do you think I’ve taken such a beating and still been able to walk around? If you were wearing that, Colt wouldn’t have done half the damage he did. Granted, he would have had the sense to check you if you were wearing armour.”

  “Alright, we get it,” said Jack. “Stop rubbing it in.”

  “Just pulling your leg, lad,” said Arc. “Truth be told, I’m glad his lackey, Benson, was more arrogant than Colt. The fool didn’t check me for armour. Not that it would have mattered much considering he had me behind bars and could have shot me in the head if he felt like it, but if I’d walked out the door of the outpost without armour and taken a bullet in the gut, I’d have had a much harder time making it back here.”

  “That’s a pleasant thought after a glorious victory against Colt the Scourge.”

  “Speaking of, we’ll need to pay Mr Millar a visit, but I don’t want to risk waking him. “Shall we get some breakfast first? After that, you two can tag along and then we’ll all get some much-needed rest. Tomorrow, I’ll pick up another bounty and hit the road.”

  This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  “To where?” asked Julie sadly.

  “Wherever the wind takes me,” said Arc, waving his arms like snakes before laughing. “Nah, I’ll see what’s on the bounty board and accept whatever takes my fancy. If there’s nothing, I’ll move along to the next town and see what jobs are going there. Don’t worry, I promise I’ll check on you both again.”

  “Do they sell spell cartridges in…wherever the next town is?” asked Jack.

  “I would say one in every dozen towns sells spell cartridges,” said Arc, cocking his head to the side and running his hand through his blonde hair. “I’m not joking around when I say that these things are rare, and the supply is dwindling. There are precious few wizards left in the world and precious fewer who can make them. With each passing generation, magic dies out that little bit more and these little gems become more desired by those who own spellcasters. Fifty years from now, spellcasters may be considered antique collector’s items with no usable bullets remaining.”

  “Speaking of,” said Julie. “Why didn’t you sell Colt’s spellcaster? You didn’t even mention it to Jamison and I could tell he wanted to ask.”

  “It may come in handy one day,” shrugged Arc. “I can’t replace mine easily, so if it ever breaks or I lose it, I have Colt’s as a backup. It’s an ugly and awkward piece though, so I’d prefer to stick with my own. Why he customised it in such a stupid way is beyond me.”

  “Yours is bright gold,” said Jack. “Isn’t that a bit garish?”

  “Garish?” asked Arc with his eyes wide. “The nerve of you, Jacky Boy. Garish…never have I been so insulted in my life. Gold is a classic colour that looks good on everything.”

  “Yeah, whatever, Golden Boy.”

  Arc winced at the utterance of that name, but neither Jack nor Julie noticed. “Come on,” he said. “I could eat everything left in the diner.”

  He sauntered ahead, leading the twins to Tina’s Diner. It was close enough to Jamison’s shop that he didn’t bother waiting for the still-limping Jack to catch up, taking the young man’s late arrival as a chance to put the orders in while the boy hobbled down the street.

  “Coming right up, Arc,” said Tina as she slumped over to the kitchen.

  “We’ve got our pick of booths today, kids,” said Arc, looking at the largely empty diner. “The perks of an early morning visit. Where do you fancy?”

  “Back corner,” said Julie, walking over first.

  “Need a hand, Jack?” asked Arc.

  “Nah, I’ll push through,” he replied.

  The three took their seats with Arc sitting opposite the twins and stretching his arms across the tatty leather. He basked in the glory of a job well done and with Colt finally dead, he eager to find out what awaited him on his next job.

  “Go,” said Jack, nudging Julie and looking pointedly at Arc.

  “You!” she said.

  “Something the matter?” asked Arc.

  “Well…” said Julie, looking for Jack to complete her sentence for her.

  “Don’t even think about it,” he said to his sister. “It was your idea. You ask him.”

  Arc’s eyes narrowed. “Ask me what?”

  “Well…” repeated Julie, this time looking at Arc.

  “Spit it out, Julie,” said Arc impatiently. “No need to be shy with me after all the madness we’ve been through in the past…erm, how long have we known each other now…two weeks?”

  “We were thinking,” she began before Jack shot her a foul look. “I was thinking that maybe it would be best if we came along with you and helped you hunt your bounties?” She looked uncertain as she spoke.

  “Really?” asked Arc with a raised eyebrow.

  “Really,” repeated Julie firmly.

  “With everything that it entails?”

  “Yes.”

  Arc laughed and looked out the window. He would be lying if he said he hadn’t expected this to be asked of him—it wasn’t the first time—but he didn’t want to put the two young ones in danger. However, he also knew that they were smart enough to make their own decisions and that he would enjoy having company on the road again. He’d grown fond of the pair of them, even with Jack being as irksome as he was. He jumped back and forth in his mind a few times, trying to convince himself it was both a good idea and utterly ludicrous at the same time.

  He looked back over to the twins as Tina set their drinks on the table. “Julie wants to come with me through the treacherous wilderness and be there when I’m getting shot at by marks while their minions are swinging swords at me. What about you, Jack?”

  “I’ll do whatever Julie wants to do,” said Jack. “But if helping you out ensures that we can get enough food, water, and money to survive then I’ll serve you without question. Well, maybe some questioning, but I’ll still do what you tell me to.”

  “Even after our narrow escape from Purdue, you’d be willing to follow me?”

  “Yes,” the twins said in unison.

  “Even after we were shot at outside Jamison’s shop?”

  “Yes.”

  “Even after—”

  “We get it!” snapped Jack. “The answer is yes to whatever you say next.”

  “Alright,” said Arc, picking up his cup and blowing on his tea. He wanted to take a sip to give himself more time to think, but he didn’t want to burn his tongue like he did the previous week.

  Julie cocked her head to the side. “Does that mean you’ll take us or that you understand Jack’s point?”

  “The latter,” said Arc. “If I were to say yes to bringing you along, you understand the burden that would place upon me? I would be your guardian and have to put your lives before my own. That’s how it works when you’re looking after children.”

  “Not if you train us up,” said Jack. “Julie’s already shown you what she can do and now it’s my turn.”

  “Honestly, I have full confidence in you,” said Arc. “After you ran out to distract the goblins, you showed remarkable courage. And the fact you didn’t just keel over and die after Colt and his boys beat you to a pulp, well, that’s an admirable demonstration of your fortitude, Jack.”

  “Then why are you so hesitant?”

  “The pair of you don’t fathom the kind of responsibility this requires. I’m working to feed three mouths, not one. That means I can’t just take whatever job I feel like because I know I’ll be able to scrounge enough food for myself. I’m watching all of our backs, not just my own.”

  “And that’s why you train us along the way. We can pull our own weight. We can fight, we can hunt, we can do whatever you teach us to do. Please, Arc. Take a chance on us.”

  Arc closed his eyes and sighed. It would not be the first time he’d been out in the wastelands of Nuvaria and lost travelling companions. And not only had former companions lost their lives, but he had been forced to walk away from others. Then again, Jack and Julie had nobody else looking out for them and even remaining in a relatively safe town like Pembroke gave no guarantee that trouble wouldn’t rear its ugly head eventually.

  “Fine,” he said reluctantly and the twins’ faces lit up with glee. “We’ll be a merry little trio of bounty hunters, but I’m keeping the bulk of the coin, alright? Seeing as I’ll be funding our whole operation and doing most of the work.”

  “Deal,” said the twins together.

  “Don’t expect us to call you dad,” said Jack snarkily.

  “Shut up, you little worm,” said Arc, giving him a light slap across the side of the head. “You were born when I was ten years old so we’re from the same generation. I’m not as old as you like to pretend.”

  “I can’t wait,” said Julie, clapping her hands.

  “Remember those three words when we’re all tied to fenceposts and being used for target practice.”

  “Your dissuasion isn’t going to work on me.”

  “Alright, alright,” said Arc, praying he wouldn’t regret agreeing. “We’ll stick with my original plan for today and then all three of us will take off in the morning.”

  “You won’t regret this,” said Jack confidently. “We’ll prove to you that we’ve got what it takes to keep up, Arc.”

  The spellslinger smiled and nodded slowly. “See to it that I don’t when I give you your trial.”

  The twins looked at each other nervously. “Trial?” they asked in unison.

  Arc flashed them a cocky side smile and started laughing to himself.