{Aside} Hunter - Kai
Report H1-2-A3
Account officially transcribed during interview.
When we took the job to hunt a troll we didn't expect the damn thing to be named. We had stocked up on arrows and healing salve. We bought a new cart and horse to transport it all on loan pending our successful hunt. People knew we were the best in the three small villages surrounding the Bleakwood so we never expected someone to leave out the important detail that this troll was smarter and stronger than any normal ones. Had we known our preparation would have looked much different. But we can't change the past and so I can really only report what happened.
Anyways, so we set out with all our gear, myself, and six other of our best hunters. We set out early in the morning after our preparation was completed to get through this hunt as quickly as possible. No one really wanted to think about the reality of facing down a troll even with 7 experienced guys. Things of course didn't go as planned the whole way through. Right as we passed into the Bleakwood we felt like we were being watched. Shadows in the peripheral seemed to dart away. The animals were eeriely quieter than normal.
There is an additional addendum to the report concerning this statement. Addendum follows:
Well of course the animals weren't silent. The only time a forest is quiet is when there's no animals around. But it was more like they were chattering to each other spreading a warning.
End of addendum.
Even our horse seemed uneasy. We had spent time with it to get it accustomed to us but it still seemed to be kinda spooked. Anyways, as we pressed on about a mile in we heard the trees creaking, groaning, and cracking as a massive form shot out from the treeline as us. The damn thing was miles outside of what we were initially told was it's last known. The thing crashed into the side of our cart and destroyed the wheels.
After prompting it was clarified by interviewee that it was the left side of the cart.
Well we scrambled as quick as we could to arm ourselves and take it down there. I think Pitney, our scout, might've gotten one good shot off on it, but then it must've used some kind of fear aura, because all of us suddenly felt dread like nothing we've felt before. 'Course that's not enough of a show of its force. Thing circles around the cart and pickes up our fuckin' horse. An honest to Gods Clydesdale. A fuckin' massive horse and picked it up like it was nothin. Right well it picks it up and the thing is neighing and struggling all helpless and the Troll rips it in half. Rips. It. In. Half. Like with it's bare fuckin' hands. Then it chucks half of it against the cart. At this point I basically black out in fear and just start running away. I assume the other guys do too, cause we are all still alive.
There is a pause for 27 seconds as the interviewee "gets their thoughts together"
Look I've got no idea how much time passed until I regained my senses, but I did know that myself and everyone else can do at least some basic tracking so I followed the path I took to where I got back to the cart on high alert the entire time. I wasn't the first or last one back, but eventually everyone regrouped at the cart. We didn't feel the same sense of being watched so we assumed it was after the horse more than us, but we decided we still needed to try the contract because the failure buyout was pretty steep at 5 gold pieces. I was taking a look around the inside of the cart for anything that didn't get busted to hell and had guys keeping watch and taking a break.
I had found a couple salvageable salves, a couple maps and a handful of arrows when our lookout Byrka came to get me. Apparently some girl was approaching and called out to us. At first I figured she was some bait for bandits, but she turned out... a lot stranger. She was completely expessionless the entire time we we talkin' and my guys tell me that she didn't even flinch when she had a bow drawn on her. So until I was told that I figured she might've even been some noble with how she never let her expressions show.
Interviewee is asked to describe the individual to which he obliges.
She was pretty. Pink hair and eyes. Bit over 5 foot. Walked kinda weird not quite a limp, but not normally. She wore leather armor that was battered on the chest and back, but the shoulders and sides were pristine. Uh.. her skin was almost white as porcelain.
Right well she said she needed a new map and directions to the nearest town. She admitted she wasn't alone, which put us all on edge cause that's usually a signal for an attack, she said her partner didn't want to show themself. Kinda oddly seemed to not know about bandits. And called us humans like she weren't one. Also was able to provide information on the Troll that jus' attacked us. Pointed to a place on the map where she said she saw it last in exchange for what she wanted.
After she left I gathered my boys up and shared the information of its last known once more and set out. Well this time our meeting was real different. When we got to where the marking was it was in that clearing alright. Dead. Now the contract didn't say we had ta be the ones to kill it, just the ones to bring it back dead so we weren't out anything. Yet when Pitney was looking around he said there was a battle here with the thing. We were all pretty scared at that point thinking that there's another monster gonna come back and get us. That's when Pitney spoke up again. Said the tracks by the one that killed it were way smaller and lighter than the Troll. That it almost looked like they were left by a young woman. Put that together with the damaged leather armor on the lady who told us where the thing was and we had its killer. She actually took a hit from that thing and survived. If any of us were hit our bodies woulda separated from our legs in a hurry. Well you thought that all is nuts? Well Pitney has the Identify skill and he was able to lift the girl's level. It was 4. Fucking 4. And the Troll? It was named. Basically was equivalent to a level 10 when it was level 5. And that pretty girl killed it.
Interviewee asked if they got girl's name
Yeah she introduced herself real proper-like. It was Amaris.
Interviewee allowed to leave if submitted to further questioning if asked.
Hate talkin' stiff anyway.