7 A Hunter’s Power

The mountain laid in eldritch silence. Not a single stone crumbled to betray the presence of the unthinkable beasts hidden within the bowels of this nature's great construction. Deep trenches that cut the surface like hideous scars stretched out in sinewy paths that none dared explore. It was at the foot of one of these entrenchments where a group of three singular individuals waited.

One was Ichabod Hare. He stood with his arms crossed across his chest and was smoking his favourite pipe, which he had inherited from his father when he'd succumbed to disease. He stood between a man and a woman. The man was built like a mammoth, covered in thick black hair almost from head to toe. His face was hard and bore the marks of many bouts of pugilism. He paced around nervously and occasionally vigorously kicked a stone into the distance. The woman was beautiful in her aged beauty and though her stature was at least a head shorter than Ichabod's, she stood proudly with her chin held high. She was dressed conservatively, covering her hair with a silk cloth that denoted her position as a healer.

Both were siblings. Twins, in fact. But any foreigner would have been incapable of telling given their stark differences. Whatever the case, Lara and Loren Gaff held pivotal positions in the inner politics of Groamburk. Lara was in charge of the local hospital and bore the job of providing Groamburkians with medical care whenever the need arose. Which was often indeed. Loren was responsible for organising the labour in town, controlling both the quarry and the lumber mill; a task which he performed with admirable efficiency. Brother and sister were as different as night and day, yet they were the two most important and influential people in Groamburk in Ichabod's faction.

There were three factions in the small city of Groamburk. The first, and most powerful, was Ichabod's, as he was the wealthiest man in the city as well as a descendant from a distant noble family. The other two factions were the Calles and the Retrona families; both of which were enemies to Ichabod. As the proverb often says: two tigers cannot live on the same mountain. Let alone three.

"What's taking him so long!?" Suddenly burst Loren. He wasn't known as a patient man, and Ichabod had been able to tell that the outburst had been long coming. "We've been standing here for hours!"

"Calm down, Loren." Calmly chastised him his sister. "Ichabod says the hunter is capable and we have no other choice to sit and wait for him to come back."

"He's dead by now. Surely, he's dead. No one can survive long in there."

Ichabod grunted in disapproval. He considered replying Loren, but he knew that it would only serve to inflate Loren's ego and engage in a pointless argument that would end in more shouting. It was best to just leave Loren be for the time being. His sister, however, was not likeminded in the slightest.

"Will you shut up for the Divine's sake!" She suddenly shouted. It was exceedingly rare for her to lose her temper, but Ichabod had been privy to many such outbursts before and was not surprised to see how both siblings were proficient at getting beneath each other's skin. "Just because you're a useless sack of lard doesn't mean the hunter isn't capable!"

"Who's a useless sack of lard?!" Angrily replied Loren as a white glow began forming around his clenched fists; a sign of him being at the middle foundation realm. "I dare you to say that again… Do you want me to crush you into the ground?"

"I'd like to see you try!" Lara rebuked as a similar reddish glow appeared in the depth of her eyes.

"Stop it, both of you, or I'll have Leah come sort this out." Foreseeing a dangerous clash, Ichabod had no choice but to politely threaten them. At the mention of the strange chief of security under Ichabod's employ, both siblings immediately retracted their threatening demeanours and resumed their positions at either of Ichabod's sides; yet they kept flashing each other furious glares from time to time. "Although I trust the hunter and his capabilities, a hunter's profession is naturally a very precarious one. We cannot know what has transpired to him while we were waiting. Maybe Loren is right and he's dead. Maybe Loren is wrong. There's still three hours left until the Evening Bell tolls. We'll wait until half an hour before that time and if the hunter is not back by then, then we'll have no other choice but to assume he is, in fact, dead. What say you two?"

"Aye, that seems reasonable." Quickly said Lara.

"Fine, then." Begrudgingly agreed Loren. "But he's dead, I tell you. I hope you'll reimburse me for the costs of this trip, Ichabod. I don't know how you could allow yourself to be fooled by that guy, but there's no way he's coming back. I'd bet anything on that."

"Would you like to gamble on this point, my good Loren?" Asked Ichabod after a few seconds of not responding.

"What sort of gamble? You're not interested in money."

"You're right, I'm not. Tell you this: if you win, and the hunter doesn't come back then I'll give you one hundred silver coins and reimburse you for any costs this 'pointless' trip may have caused you. Furthermore, you won't have to pay for any services at my establishment for the next three months."

"Any services?!"

"Any services."

Loren was dumbstruck. Just the money he would get if he won would be an amazing sum that nearly doubled what he would earn in a year. Added to that was the promise of three months he could enjoy himself at the 'Wishful Hare'! He could already picture himself diving into the sea of pleasure his two favourite courtesans could offer him when he shut himself with them for three months. He would live like a king!

"Alright, I agree!" He replied without hesitating.

"Are you sure? You haven't asked what I want if you lose."

"Fine, then, what do you want if I lose?"

"Your Qi stone." As soon as Ichabod finished speaking the whole of Loren's body tensed up and thick beads of sweat appeared on his forehead. "But if you're not willing, then I won't press this matter further."

"Divines save us, Ichabod, you know I can't just give you my stone." Loren's hands were trembling. Not from fury or disappointment, but because he was genuinely considering accepting the bet. His words were more meant to dissuade himself from that rather than to chastise Ichabod.

"He's not telling you to give it to him for nothing." Seeing her brother's reaction, Lara couldn't resist from pressing where it hurt. "You said you'd bet anything on the hunter being dead. Well, are you a man who puts his coin where his mouth is, or are you just a coward that only knows how to spout nonsense?" A devious smile appeared on her lips as she finished speaking.

Lara's words struck a chord in Loren's heart. He was a proud and arrogant man, and he cursed himself for allowing his sister to humiliate him so. Clenching his fists until his hands grew numb, Loren stared at the sinewy path before him weighing as many different factors in his mind as he could. There was no way that the hunter could still be alive. If he were, he'd have returned by noon; that's what he said before venturing forth. Loren couldn't help but convince himself more and more that his was as certain a win as he was ever going to get. And the benefits were simply too enticing to ignore.

"Alright, then. Ichabod, I agree to your gamble." Having observed the troubled quarry leader, Ichabod couldn't help but be surprised at his decision in the end. "But don't back off from it when I win."

"Don't worry, I won't." Replied Ichabod, obviously pleased. "My good Lara, could you bear witness to this gamble?"

Lara looked towards her brother with a shocked expression. She had never imagined, even in her wildest dreams, that he would be foolish enough to actually agree to Ichabod's terms. Had it been her, no matter how she'd been provoked or how much greed the potential outcome could arouse in her heart, she would never accept such a wager. Losing such a treasure was unacceptable!

"Loren, are you sure you want to do this?" She asked after collecting her thoughts.

"I already said so twice. Don't make me say it again a third time!" Loren was beginning to lose his patience. He misunderstood his sister's concern with scorn.

"But that's our father's…"

"I said I agree to the terms! Will you be a witness or not?"

"Fine. If you want to be a boor, then so be it. I agree to witness this gamble."

Ichabod nodded contently to Lara and shook hands with Loren. It was always amusing for him to watch both these singular individuals who stood at the top of the region casually lose their temper when interacting with one another. Yet he said nothing and turned to the direction the hunter had departed earlier that morning. Even if he lost the bet, he wouldn't be unhappy, but if he won…

The trio stood in silence, the quiet only broken by Loren's occasional grunts and Lara's sighs. What each one was pondering, only they themselves knew. Ichabod bore them no mind. In his thoughts, only the hunter and his expedition mattered. Slowly, the Sun descended until it was half obscured by the horizon. The time when they left the mountain and returned to Groamburk was fast approaching. Loren kept impatiently eyeing the path before them and a grin grew bigger and bigger with each passing minute. He was about to say something deprecating to Ichabod when a sharp sound caught him unawares.

It sounded like a sword being sheathed.

Focusing on his surroundings with utmost attention, Loren adopted a defensive stance and let his gaze wander to the area he thought the sound came from. Lara and Ichabod noticed his demeanour and quickly became tense. Ichabod pulled out a talisman and was about to contact some of his troops when he started hearing footsteps coming towards them from the sinewy path. Instantly, his expression softened and a pleased smirk appeared on the corner of his lips.

From behind one of the treacherous bends of the mountain path appeared the shadow of a man carrying a large object. The man walked in a relaxed manner and allowed his pace to be far slower than it should have been. Before half a quarter of an hour had passed the trio could see him clearly. It was the hunter carrying something.

He wore a heavy cloak that concealed most of his body, except for a large sword hilt that appeared over his right shoulder. His hair was shortly trimmed, and his face seemed made of several circles juxtaposed on one another; the nose was small and curved, like he'd had it flattened at some point, and his cheeks were plump and surrounded with deep lines. It was too dark to see the colour of his eyes. Whether that was intentional or coincidental, none could know. He wasn't young, but overall he didn't look to be over forty.

At a distance of twenty paces from them he suddenly stopped. With a casual flick of his arm he flung towards them the object he had been carrying with him. It landed with a strong thud right in front of their feet. And the object, once obscured by blissful ignorance, became their sole focus of attention.

Lara gasped, Ichabod dropped his father's pipe, and Loren's knees shook from fright. It wasn't any object. It was an arm. A long, scaly, arm covered in twisted thorns that could rip a man's bowels faster than thought. Its girth was that of Ichabod's body and its full length was at least Lara's own height. At the end of the demonic beast's arm, for that was the only thing it could be, was a scally hand of sorts with four fingers ending in dreadful looking claws that curbed like a wildcat's. The creature that had its arm severed must have surely been a terrifying, and deadly, one.

"I thought you might want to have a look at this." Suddenly whispered the hunter. As the trio had been concentrating on the arm, he had made his way to them in absolute silence. Now they could see him clearly.

He towered over them and surpassed Loren's height by at least half a foot. His strong, muscular frame only served to further accentuate the sheer difference in size. The hunter wouldn't have looked out of place in the thickest of forests, as his legs seemed to attach themselves to the ground as if they were the roots of a great maple tree that no person could ever hope to budge. Across his back, and completely contrary to what warriors typically did, he carried a curved sword almost long enough to reach his lower thighs. If it weren't for his imposing body and strong frame, Ichabod would've had trouble believing he could swing it effectively.

"Divines guide us! What vile beast did this come from?" Lara had paled upon looking at the arm and her knees nearly buckled beneath her. She had never felt as much fear as she did at that moment and she was sure she never would again. Somehow, the hunter's next words managed to do exactly that.

"One of the small ones."

After that short exchange, the hunter turned silent and refused to answer any queries regarding his day trip into the mountain. Truth be told, no one truly wanted to know the details of what had transpired. The group began trekking back to Groamburk. The hunter carrying his trophy led the way and both Lara and Loren kept a careful distance with him. It seemed they had quietly agreed to disregard any feud between them for the sake of avoiding the terrifying existence that was the hunter.

Upon arriving at the Hare, Ichabod bode the twins farewell and entered the premises of his establishment with the hunter. Neither acknowledged the shocked looks of guests, workers, and Groamburkians alike as they made their way up to the office on the top floor. As soon as the heavy door bolted shut behind them, Ichabod, who had looked calm and serene the whole way there, suddenly burst into a light trot as he reached a flask of unknown liquid in his pocket and proceeded to take three large gulps of the substance in rapid succession as he let the panic he'd been repressing take over him.

"What in the name of the Abyss is that thing?" He asked refusing to glance at the arm as the hunter placed it on the ground.

"You don't want to know." Calmly replied the hunter.

"Are there more of them? You said that that arm belonged to one of the small ones… Will the others come looking for it? Are we in danger?!"

"Calm down, Ichabod, there's nothing to worry about anymore."

"Are you certain?"

"Yes. The reason I took so long was to make a thorough job of cleansing the caves in the mountain."

"The Divines have certainly brought you to me at this critical time." Upon hearing the hunter's confirmation, Ichabod finally felt at ease and dropped into the chair at his desk. "I would never have imagined such fiends hidden that close to us…"

"That's only natural."

"Aye, it is. I owe you a great debt of gratitude, nonetheless."

"Ichabod, we've known each other for many years, you know I'm not driven by your gratitude. Will you agree to my request now?"

"Aye, I will. First things first, though, I need you to give me a full account of your previous mission. It's been a month since you departed to follow Naliam and his men, and you've been back for three days and you have yet to tell me what transpired during that time. A month is too long a time for it to have been a simple mission, especially with you being the one taking care of it."

"Very well, then." Reluctantly agreed the hunter. He moved towards one of the chairs in front of the desk and was about to take a seat when Ichabod interrupted him.

"Before that… Could you- Could you cover up that thing there? It's making me uneasy just looking at it." Pleaded Ichabod.

The hunter nodded and took off his heavy cloak and tossed it over the beast's arm covering it completely, revealing himself fully as he did so. His well-defined muscular body was protected with an armour made from a mixture of strange metals and dark leather that no doubt came from some particular type of beast. This kind of armour was exclusive to hunters and was well known to be of the highest quality and afforded near-perfect protection. One couldn't simply buy this kind of armour with money, no matter how much was offered.

What most caught Ichabod's eye, however, was the bright green stains covering the ornamented runes streaking across the armour which offered its wearer protection. It was clear the hunter had been previously drenched in the substance -perchance the demonic beast's blood- and had only wiped his head before revealing himself to them. On his left arm the vantbrace had been sliced and blood was slowly trickling down from a cut so deep you could almost see the bone.

"You're injured!" Exclaimed Ichabod. "I'll have a gifted healer come up right away"

"It's nothing" Shrugged the hunter as he took his seat propping his large sword against it. Ichabod knew he never parted with it; even in his sleep. "I'll appreciate the healer, but it's not urgent. It can wait."

"I see. In that case, please tell me what happened with Naliam and his crew after you left."

Taking a flask of his own from an unseen pocket, filled to the brim with Divines knew what strange liquid, the hunter sonorously gulped down a large portion of its contents before beginning his tale of the events that transpired the morning he set off from Groamburk in the pursuit of the sketchy mercenaries embarking on a clandestine mission.