The Legend of the Hunter
A Meeting of Companies

The late morning sky had turned a steely grey and storm clouds were building by the time Juathlin and his team reached the gravel path in the Forsaken Forest. They were as astonished as Belac and Lathlin had been when they had entered the wide open space, and they were instantly on alert for any hidden dangers within the low growing vegetation along both sides of the path. It was fortunate for them that they were vigilant, for a colossal mreinik launched itself with lightning speed at Qarethlin. She had been closest to the camouflaged snake, and the intelligent reptile grabbed the opportunity to have an easy meal.

As so many other dead creatures, men and beings had learned too late, Qarethlin was anything but a soft target. As the serpent struck, stretching out to its full length and aiming for the Elf woman’s throat to wrap itself around, Qarethlin executed a stunning body twist, moving faster than the eye could register to the left of the striking snake. Consequently, the mreinik sailed past his target, his eyes opening wide in surprise, but that quickly turned into disbelief when the Elf threw her arms around his muscular body and slammed him to the ground.

At the same time as the male mreinik was attacking Qarethlin, his mate slithered from the other side of the dirt path towards her target: Gavurothlin. The mreinik was so intent on reaching the Elf standing in shock, looking at the battle raging between Qarethlin and the nightmare serpent, that she failed to notice Juathlin taking careful aim with his bow. The arrow hit her just behind her head, momentarily shoving her slightly from her trajectory, but it was enough.

As the arrow bounced harmlessly off her steel-like skin, Gavurothlin spun around to face her and fearlessly grabbed her by the throat as she flung herself at him. Her powerful coils wrapped around the Elf to start constricting him, but for some reason the serpent couldn’t fathom, her coils slid off him as if they were slick with oil. Gavurothlin had his hands full, literally. He had called upon his magic the second he had become aware of the other reptile, and he used it now to keep her futilely twisting coils from his body. His hands were clasped around the immensely strong snake’s throat, and he had to call upon every fibre of strength at his disposal to keep her triangular head from latching on to his face.

Borethlin came to his aid by flinging a ball of fire at the serpent. To his shock, the fire splashed harmlessly on the snake’s skin and fell to the ground, not even leaving a scorch mark. Instantly, he sent another ball of fire toward the serpent’s head, first calling out to Gavurothlin to move his head away from the snake. Once again, the fire had no effect whatsoever on the still struggling serpent.

Qarethlin was having a hard time keeping her snake pinned to the ground. She sat astride its enormous body, stabbing repeatedly at it, but the blade simply recoiled as if she were striking a metal drum. Without warning, the mreinik slipped from her grip and swiftly reared up to tower over the Elf. It hissed in victory and swept down to deliver a death blow to its victim. It once again overestimated the Elf girl. As the serpent head plunged towards her, Qarethlin back flipped off it, at the same time kicking the downward moving head under its chin. Before the snake could strike at her again, she looped a thin wire lasso around its neck and pulled tightly with all her might.

Juathlin was at her side in a flash, and the Commander embedded his long blade in one of the serpent’s eyes. It popped satisfyingly in tandem with the snake’s hiss of pain. As Juathlin pulled out his knife from the now bloody eye socket, Qarethlin continued to slice through the creature’s neck with her garrotte, only stopping once the snake was decapitated.

“You mess with an Elf girl and she will gladly grant you your death wish,” Qarethlin said as she meticulously cleaned the gory garrotte with a soft cloth.

“Messy but effective indeed,” Juathlin said and winked one of his golden eyes in appreciation.

Borethlin was still attempting to help Gavurothlin; the Battle Elf realised that the creature probably had fire-resistant skin, and he hastened to draw his short sword and started chopping mightily at the snake’s neck. This only enraged the serpent more and it thrashed like a wild boar, bucking and twisting in anger. Gavurothlin used his magic to enhance his hold on the snake’s head, but he knew it would take much more to subdue or kill the monster. He calmed his mind, emptied it of all the violent distractions around him, and sank deep within himself to reach the very core of his power. When he touched it, his entire body was suffused by it and he glowed dimly, as if light were seeping from his skin. This startled the snake, but it refused to retreat. It was its undoing.

Gavurothlin’s magic moved from his hands into the snake’s body like water oozing through cloth, steadily spreading throughout the now panicked serpent’s body. The Battle Elf said two extremely lethal Words of Power, “Fyrish briyat,” causing the snake’s blood to catch fire and burn it from the inside out. The Battle Elf flung the serpent from him as it went into a maddened, agonising death spasm. It was all over in a matter of seconds.

“I truly hated having to do that,” he said, his voiced filled with rue and sorrow. “Even a vile creature as this did not deserve such an excruciating death,” he added.

“It was either it or you, Gavuroth,” Borethlin said and lightly slapped the Elf on the back. “It or you, and I for one am glad it was not you who lost his life,” he added.

Belac set a steady, nearly gruelling pace to put as much distance as possible between them and the Shrine, and by early morning they had arrived at the tree barrier leading in and out of the Shrine precincts. The Hunter was uncertain if they would be allowed to pass through it, and Talat was quite vocal about it.

“For sour pigs’ sake, not this creepy crock of horrors again! How in sweet mercy are we going to pass through it? The last time we went through here, it felt as if I were drowning in my own blood and guts,” the ex-Thug complained.

The Hollow Person previously known as Torment stepped forward to place a calm hand on Talat’s arm, startling the anxious ex-Thug and eliciting an involuntary “Yo!” from him. He had the decency to blush a deep crimson, but Belac noticed that he didn’t shake off the girl’s hand. Belac also mentally chided himself for thinking of her as a Hollow Person and using her old name. She had claimed that Zaherain had helped her gain a soul, and the Hunter himself had renamed her Release to signify her freedom from the tyranny of the Hollow People.

“Yes, my friend,” Lathlin said in his usual place next to Belac, “there is affection growing in the deceiving heart of the Thug, but his heart, just like the man, is no longer as duplicitous as before.” Belac smiled briefly at his friend’s observation. He was glad that the Thug was changing, for he had started growing fond of the man, as annoying and maddening as he was.

“I will get us through this obstruction,” Release now said. “Zaherain, place your hand on my shoulder, please. Talat, you place a hand on his shoulder, the Elf will place a hand on your shoulder. The Hunter will bring up the rear with his hand on the Elfling’s shoulder. In this manner, we will pass through easily, as we will all be linked to me,” the girl explained.

“Huh? Are you saying if we had gone through here like this the first time, the experience wouldn’t have been as awful as it was?” Talat asked, plainly irritated.

“I think that’s exactly what she’s saying, Talat, so let’s get moving, shall we?” Belac said curtly and placed Lathlin’s hand on Talat’s shoulder.

In this way, they all passed through the tangibly invisible barrier. Unlike the previous experience, this one resembled a leisurely stroll. They felt no resistance or unease, and walked through totally unscathed.

Release had shown the company an alternate route that had allowed them to avoid the area where the voracious frunx sat in wait on unwary travellers. Talat had been highly elated, but he dreaded what lay waiting up ahead for them. As if reading his thoughts, Lathlin spoke.

“We must be wary now. I am confident that we are close to mreinik territory; in fact, I sense them to be quite near,” the Elfling cautioned.Suddenly, he shouted loudly and in warning, “Belac! Behind you!”

Emerging from the tree barricade was a monstrously enormous frunx, heading directly for Belac who had been last in line. Although the Hunter reacted with blinding reflexes, the frunx was still upon him in seconds, bearing him to the ground. Hunter and frunx became a tangle of legs, arms, spiky hairs, fangs and daggers rolling around on the leafy forest floor. The rest of the company looked on in horror at the ferocious battle of life and death.

Belac was pinned down by the weight of the frunx, but the Hunter’s muscular arms prevented the spider’s fangs from sinking into his body. The frunx, however, was determined to have its prey, and it redoubled its efforts, shaking its furry body in fury and releasing a number of hairs that were sharp as needles. These inflicted superficial cuts to Belac’s exposed skin on his arms and legs, but the Hunter ignored the minor scratches. Instead, he concentrated on keeping the frunx from injecting him with its venom. He stabbed upwards with his knife, sinking it deep into the frunx’s body with each thrust, maddening the creature with pain.

“We must help him! Sweet Spirits, he needs help!” Zaherain shouted in absolute terror.

Talat aimed a kick at the frunx, but he hesitated because he feared hitting Belac instead. Release had no such qualms and threw herself into the fight, landing on the back of the frunx and jabbing her dagger in successive thrusts into its abdomen. The frunx went berserk. It hissed nastily, spitting some of its venom at the girl, but it landed harmlessly on her clothes. The monster lifted one of its legs to swipe Release off its back, but she cut at it, causing the frunx to withdraw its appendage. The girl clung tenaciously to the spider’s back, stabbing it whenever she could.

Belac had managed to get out from under the frunx thanks to Release, but the creature still held on to his legs, dragging him back to its mouth parts. All the while, the spider was vocalising, making sounds that eerily sounded like words or expressions of glee. It appeared that the frunx was rejoicing at having caught Belac, and it was delighting in the anticipation of a succulent meal. But amidst the sounds of elation there were hints of torment, as Release continued to hack at the beast. With one final bucking of its back, the frunx flung the girl clear, causing her to smash unceremoniously into Zaherain, and both of them went tumbling hard to the ground.

“Enough of this crap!” Talat said and grabbing Lathlin’s staff from the surprised Elfling’s hands, the ex-Thug wielded it like a club and smashed it mightily onto the exposed back of the frunx. The spider screamed a very human-like scream when its spine cracked sickeningly.

Quick as an arrow, Belac was out from under the frunx and grabbed for his bow and arrows which had been sent flying off to the side when the frunx had attacked him. As if having anticipated him, Lathlin stood ready with what the Hunter required and passed him his weapons. Belac nocked an arrow, aimed and fired all in one elegant, smooth and deadly accurate motion. The arrow entered where the spider’s neck met its head and buried itself deep in the flesh. This time the frunx roared in agony, but it was not down yet. Turning around, it faced Belac again, its eight pitch black eyes looking with hatred at the Hunter. In quick succession, Belac loosed two more arrows, each finding its mark. Two of the monster’s eyes turned to pulp, and suddenly the frunx went down in a dead heap. One of the arrows had penetrated its brain.

“I am sorry, Belac,” Lathlin said, “I froze because I fear spiders. I dread them terribly!” the Elfling admitted in shame, still trembling with revulsion. Belac dusted himself off and went over to his embarrassed friend.

“It’s all right. You shouted a warning in time, and I know that’s the reason why I’m still alive,” he said in genuine gratitude and hugged the Elf. He didn’t know who was more surprised: him, or Lathlin. Just then Talat came over and hugged Belac fiercely, laughing in relief at the disaster they had all just averted.

“Thank you, Talat,” Belac said sincerely. “I guess I owe you one now, huh?”

“No, you don’t,” Talat said. “Friends don’t keep score, do they?” he asked slightly shyly, dropping his gaze to the ground.

“Indeed, they don’t,” Release said. She smiled at Talat and said, “You really whacked that monster, didn’t you? That stupid frunx never even saw it coming!” she added and laughed unrestrainedly. Talat turned scarlet and mumbled something unintelligible, but Release left him speechless when she pulled him into a rough hug before releasing him. Belac grinned at the stunned expression on the usually dour man’s face.

As a diversion to his embarrassment, Talat said, “I thought the frunx only stayed inside their territory, so how did this one get here?”

“Generally, they do, yes,” Release answered him, “but sometimes the larger specimens venture out of their domain and travel over great distances. I know of frunx having been spotted in the low hills of the Doondé, but they usually return to their habitat eventually,” she explained.

Zaherain walked with a slight limp over to Belac and asked, “Are you hurt, Rachmin? You must ensure that none of the poison gets into your blood, and we need to see to those cuts on your arms and legs,” the Weaver said with concern.

Predictably, Belac dismissed the man’s anxiety with, “They are only superficial scratches. Nothing to be concerned about.” Lathlin wouldn’t hear of it though and ordered both the Hunter and Release to submit themselves to a full examination. After passing his hands carefully over each one, the Elfling nodded in satisfaction. “Yes, you are both a bit ruffled but unharmed, a miraculous thing indeed,” he declared.

Belac smiled at the Elfling and moved off towards the clearing in the forest. The others followed him and soon all of them stepped out of the dark recesses of the tree canopy and onto the gravel path. The open sky looked leaden, and far off to the south, enormous black clouds were clearly visible as they gathered above Warlock’s Woe.

The Hunter stopped abruptly as he emerged from the forest, Lathlin nearly colliding into him. Belac waited for the rest of his group to join him and stared silently at an unexpected sight: there was another group of people midway down the path, and they all looked to have only minutes before been in a fierce battle. The body of a decapitated mreinik lay along the right side of the path, while the remains of a second mreinik was still smouldering in front of the group. There were four strangers, and they all appeared to be Elves.

Qarethlin noticed the newcomers first, and she quickly signalled their presence to Juathlin. Then her eyes lit up and a rare smile danced on her lips, making her beautiful face even more exquisite.

“It is Lath,” she said simply and walked towards the hesitantly approaching group.

“Qareth,” Lathlin said in a heartfelt tone of affection and picked up his pace.

“Wait, Lathlin! Who are these Elves?” Belac asked and placed a light restraining hand on his friend’s arm, but Lathlin kept walking towards the Elf woman coming towards them.

“This is not going to turn into another hostage situation, is it?” Talat asked nervously.

“No, I doubt that, silly man,” Release said. “I think these Elves are friends of the blind Elfling,” she surmised.

“In spite of all your wanderings, despite the vast distances you have crossed that took you far from me, here we are again, Beloved, facing each other, as if no duty had ever thrust us apart,” Qarethlin said with feeling as Lathlin stopped in front of her. The Elfling reached out his hands to her and clasped hers warmly in his.

“I may have left you to help ease the pain and suffering of others, forgetting that I was causing you what I wished to remove from others, but you know I speak the truth when I say I left my heart with you, as it is eternally yours,” Lathlin said and embraced Qarethlin warmly.

“Smack me up the head and call me a lump!” Talat commented as the other three Elves joined the assembled company.

Lathlin stepped out of his embrace with Qarethlin to meet the other Elves, but he still held on to one of her hands as he greeted Juathlin, Gavurothlin and Borethlin. He quickly introduced Talat, Release, Zaherain and Belac to the Elves. Then something remarkable happened as Juathlin met Belac.

The Commander’s golden eyes blazed brightly and started to pulse rhythmically, emitting a slow, steady glow that illuminated the immediate surroundings and forced the gloom of the late afternoon to retreat. He gazed at Belac as if thunderstruck until his eyes gradually lost their inner glare.

“The Hunter of Truth: Rachmin. So the time of the Drakheen is upon us,” he intoned cryptically in a resigned but firm voice, surprising everyone except Zaherain, who also made an enigmatic remark.

“The Sentinel has served his purpose.”

“Can nobody ever speak plainly? Does everyone around me speak only in riddles?” Talat asked of no one in particular, but Belac echoed his sentiments.

“It seems I’m the only one at a disadvantage, the only one not knowing anything that apparently everybody else does, and yet ironically, I’m the one who’s this supposed living legend.”

“Commander,” Lathlin said calmly, “I think we need to get off this path and offer some explanations before we can go any further. I would feel far more comfortable if we left this area immediately for a slightly safer place, especially since I can see more of the mreinik showing an unhealthy interest in us.”

“My thoughts exactly,” Talat said and moved off towards the forest.

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