A Friend in the Sunlight

The first peach rays of dawn crested the treetops as Ghen dragged himself into the clearing where his small cabin was built. Dragging behind him was a large leg of the slain condor, its beak and several feathers hung in a bag clutched in his hand with the bloody shaft of his moon spear. Its runes had long since faded and eventually disappeared with the dwindling moonlight.

Several times Ghen had rested, sleeping for an hour or two at a time on his way back. Stepping through the doorway he set the spear against the wall With an iron poker he coaxed the dying embers of a fire into new life. After carefully rebuilding the fire he used a sharp knife to slice bits of meat into a small stew-pot suspended over the flames. A few handfuls of herbs sprinkled into the pot before he was satisfied with the taste. Next he pulled out a notebook and a few rough pens made from feathers which resembled those spilling from the pouch which sat discarded by the doorway. Taking an ink bottle he recovered the monster pieces from its place and began to sketch in detail the shape of several of the feathers, each carefully catalogued where on the beasts body it was taken from. Its beak followed the same fate, as did several talons from the large leg which provided him breakfast.

Huddled over the notebook Ghen forgot he still had his now ruined armor on, and only once he was finished with his work did he remove the pieces and begin to repair them. There wasn't much he could do about the scale mail shirt until he could return to town. Perhaps the sturdy bones of the condor could be traded to a blacksmith for repairs. It would still be a week or more before he would go, and in the meantime he would have to make do with another piece of armor. With the coming winter his more modified coat would be better suited to his hunts than the shirt anyways.

The fragrant aroma from the cook pot made his stomach rumble with hunger, and he ladled some soup into a small clay bowl. A night of hunting and his brush with death made him devour several more bowls before he was satisfied. The meat was stringy from being cooked slowly, and without adding more than herbs and meat it was mainly just broth and meat bits, but it still put something in his stomach.

With a contented sigh he leaned against the wall and began to doze off. Before he could drift off to sleep a voice broke the silence.

"So, the victor returns!"

Cracking his eyelids open Ghen glared at the weathered smiling face illuminated by the bright sunlight shining through the open door.

"What do you want, Forn you cheeky bastard."

Forn ignored the quip and prodded at the remains of the condors leg. From the white feathers tinged with a bright crimson he knew what type of creature it used to belong to.

"What subspecies of condor does this come from eh? How'd ye kill it?" Forn was no stranger to the birds speed and ferocity, though he had never had such a close encounter when alone.

Ghen pointed to the bloody spear he had yet to clean standing in the corner and replied: "Crystal, was a hell of a fight too."

At this he gestured to the battered shirt lying laid out on a table, its broken links dulled by the stains of blood, dirt, grass and leaves. Forn whistled in admiration.

Ghen attempted to stretch to relieve a pain in his neck but the stretch ended with a wince, as the skin around his wounds pulled tight, reopening them with the force.

"Let me 'elp."

Forn stepped forward, pulling a small container from a satchel at his side. The lid popped open and his rough hands dipped into a smooth green poultice which he applied generously to the gashes on Ghens chest and stomach.

"Next time try to stay away from the claws and beak, else ya might not get so lucky kid."

"Thanks," Ghen replied, "I dont feel lucky."

With a murmured prayer from Forn the poultice grew warm and Ghen groaned as the wounds knit painfully back together. The healing was better than waiting for the wound to naturally heal, but the low throbbing pain he would have felt during the process was instead forced upon him all at once in a few moments.

"Thanks for that. Does it need to hurt so much though? You really ought to speak to your god about that." Ghen grinned and wiped away the beads of sweat from the pain.

"I don't have a god and you know it. Perhaps I'd try a little harder to find a way for it not to hurt if you weren't so damned whiney about it, and you call yourself a hunter! I never heard o' no hunter groanin' and moanin' as much as you do. Whatever happened to hunters with guts?! With determination?! None o' this sissy 'Forn it hurts, Forn make your instantaneous healing better' They used to thank me with a bit o' grog and I'd be on mah way." This tirade was accompanied by magnanimous hand gestures and several hard pokes at Ghen's ribs.

Ghen stood while the older man still went on and pulled from one of the many cabinets along one wall a small leather wineskin, filled with a sweet liquid which smelled of raspberries and walnuts. He tossed it to his friend and it only took a moment of deliberation for Forn to decide drinking was much better than complaining.

With a small chuckle Ghen took the spear from where it leaned against the wall and began to clean the sticky gore and feathers from its silvery point. After a moment Forn wiped his ruddy hand across his mouth.

"Yer getting more bold Ghen, ye should be more careful." Forns voice was quiet and thoughtful. "Yer father wouldn't want you taking such risks ye know."

Ghen was quiet. "It's alright Forn, I am not my father. I won't leave this place before its my time."

Forn grunted. "Well, I best get back to me chicks, its feedin' time soon and they aint fun to be around if I keep em waiting."

"I almost forgot, I found the birds nest on my way back. There's a present for you in the bag." Ghen pointed to where the beak peaked out of the opening.

Forn made his way over and with a tenderness unexpected from the large man he pulled back the mouth of the bag and lifted from it a small egg. The shell was made of a porcelain like material, and in several places crystalline structures marred the pristine plane. One particularly large crystal gave a glimpse of something alive on the inside.

"Is this what I think it is?" Forn asked disbelieving.

"If you think its a small version of the beast who almost ate me last night then yes." Ghen knew Forn would be overjoyed at this finding, and he smiled at the awe filled gaze of his friend.

Ghens approach to researching the creatures of the forest was through battling, dissecting, and drawing these fearsome beasts. Forn had a much different method. A herbalist by profession Forn catalogued and studied the flora found in the region, but as a hobby Forn raised any and every animal he could get his hands on young enough to raise. The most successful animal was always birds, as eggs were much easier to transport without them biting you on the way back. He had several of the more common Condor species, but few ventured into the forest at night, and even fewer were able to kill a Crystal Condor. Its nests were in caves and in the day it guarded its eggs viciously. At night it left to hunt.

If Ghen had been more fortunate he would have come across the nest first and been able to snatch one and avoid almost being fileted alive by the angry mother. Nevertheless he had made it, and was able to provide his friend with something he never thought he would get to behold.

"You know you'll have to have meat to feed it don't you?" Ghen attempted to pull Forn from his thoughts.

"Yes of course. There are plenty o mice and other small critters for it to hunt around me cabin once its big enough. And in the meantime I can jest steal some o' the meat you bring back for it eh?" Forn said questioningly.

"I suppose, though you probably shouldn't use any from my most recent hunt. I've never heard of Crystal Condors being cannibalistic, though I suppose it wouldn't be all that surprising to discover."

Ghen responded wryly.

At this Forn chuckled "Well ye'll have to find another way to test that theory out, it wouldn't do to feed somethin' it's own mother. No matter how vicious the beastie. I best be going, like I said this ones older sisters do no like to be kept waitin'. May yer steps be ahead of the forest's"

"And the forest be scared by their impact."Ghen finished the last line of the old hunter saying and returned to cleaning his weapon as the older man waved farewell and disappeared into the woods.