Chapter 2
Astran lets out a breath. "True. But it is out of our hands. If we keep the child, the church will make an example out of The Hellcats." His statement hits everyone present with great concern, their eyes widened, but he then continues, "And just like that, The Hellcats become hunted by the church."
Oblea speaks with anger, "Curse a god that damns a child." The rest of the group then gets close, the thirty hunters surrounding the fire. One says "We should at least give the child a chance", another adds "That is the least anyone could do, the child deserves at least one of those", yet another says "If we help the child, we risk complete destruction. All of us hunted down." The members of the guild discuss this throughout the night.
The next day the group finishes their repairs. They burn the bodies, including the wolves. A cleanup crew will handle the rest. The group of hunters is ready to leave.
Eventually, everyone departs, except for a solitary hunter, Oblea. Concerned about the outcome, she was unwilling to take her eyes off the girl. It would take approximately two days at the caravan's pace to reach the closest town.
By that time, Oblea and the infant will be far from any civilization.
Oblea walks into the forest, she carries the child on her back with a makeshift carrier made from blankets found in the village, the baby couldn't be older than eight months. The floor is clear of snow, but the entire place is dark due to the snow covering the treetops. She picks up a few herbs and wild vegetables while she traverses the dense trees around her. Soon the sound of water can be heard and she arrives at a wide river. The trees give way and light is finally seen after several hours of walking.
Snow covers both sides of the river and some animals can be seen around. They seem to resemble boars, though they are thin and have twisted horns leaning backwards to their backs. Their fur is dark and covered in dried blood. They must've come out of a fight some time ago. Oblea notices them as she closes to the river to pick some water in her canteen, she also takes this chance to clean and fill up one of the bottles for the child. The boars seem nervous as they drink from the river, never breaking their line of sight with Oblea, but she doesn't seem to pay too much mind.
She takes the child and feeds her the bottle, though the baby doesn't seem to drink the whole of it. She places the child on her back, and once again cleans the bottle and fills it up then makes her way up river.
The only things she carries are some basics of survival. Her canteen for carrying water, a metal pan, a small knife, a sword resembling a gladius, a bow and a few arrows. She doesn't stop, but recognizes the many steps following her on the other side of the river. The boars seem to be following her, though not out of malice but of curiosity. She again doesn't pay it mind.
Soon she arrives to a cliff and a small waterfall. The cliff could not be any higher than ten feet, covered in both sharp dark stones and gravel. The area around seems to be clear of trees, though the constant noise seems to bother the child as it starts fussing. She begins fidgeting around and whining. She's been calm the entire trip even if it has been several hours.
"Yeah yeah, it's too noisy here" Oblea whispers slightly annoyed. She effortlessly takes a leap, takes a hold of the cliff's top and pulls herself upwards. The boars seem a bit confused at first, but then walk into the nearby tree line as they are unable to climb the cliff.
Oblea keeps walking, heading back into the forest Her eyes seem to shine as she enters the darkness. She walks for a few minutes and stops, spotting something on the ground. She leans down to take a closer look and seems pleased at what she finds, then begins unpacking the few things she has. She places the baby on the floor, finds a few dry rocks and sticks and begins building a fire. Oblea then takes some water with her pan and places it on the fire itself.
She begins to cut some of the herbs and vegetables she had picked up on her way, creating a dark liquid from it. She then pours the concoction into the baby's bottle, and lets the river cool it before giving it to her.
The baby seems to fight her at every turn. "Come, eat. You will be hungry for a while until we settle. You must eat while you can." Oblea says in a calm voice. The child turns every direction as they both seem to do battle with each other. The baby refuses to accept her words. After a while Oblea gives up and lets out a sigh.
The baby seems to be displeased with the situation and Oblea decides to bring her near the fire. The baby stares at the fire in amazement, she even crawls near the fire on her own. She gets closer and extends her hand towards it, Oblea smiles at the sight. Then, the baby flinches at the heat and begins crying.
"It burns, little one." Oblea says, chuckling. She picks up the crying baby, and then gives the bottle once more to her. The child drinks from the bottle as if looking for something to console it. Oblea looks down at her with a smile.
Four years go by. Oblea and a child are walking around the forest. The small child walks behind her, her tiny hand clutching onto Oblea's cloak for security. Her white hair is as bright as snow and gives contrast to her slightly darker skin color. Even though they walk in the darker parts of the forest, her bright yellow eyes seem to absorb the darkness around them as they dart around, almost like a predator looking for its prey.
Oblea points to her right side next to some stones laying at the base of a tree. The child's small eyes quickly align to her objective and after a second she says in a small voice
"Wua..wuu. Wrath cap-"
She struggles to say the words, then Oblea gives some guidance "Wraith Cap" Oblea stops, then points in the same general direction.
The small one notices this and peers into the abyssal darkness ahead. She squints this time, making an effort to spot whatever Oblea is pointing at. After a few seconds her face switches from focus to happiness. "Eko Stak!" She says cheerfully. "Stalk" Oblea corrects her then continues, "Good, What does that one do?" She continues.
The child moves her eyes to the side, thinking. She seems to struggle to remember, then Oblea attempts to give her some guidance, but all she says is one word. "Echoes". The four year old thinks for a few more seconds then says "Echoes is magic?". Oblea turns around and bends her knees, lowering herself down to the child's stature.
"Yes, Eska. It enhances magic chanting. Now what is the difference between the Wraith Cap and the Echo Stalk?" Oblea gives Eska a followup question. Eska thinks a little further, and answers with "Not sure, I'm sorry." Eska says in a voice mixed with frustration.
Oblea gives Eska a hug and says, "Don't worry too much about it, just remember. We live tomorrow so we can learn today." Eska seems a bit confused but seems happy from her words, then gives her a hug back.
They keep walking into the forest. Oblea keeps pointing at the many different things in the forest, sometimes flora and other times fauna. Every time Eska is encouraged to think and answer, while Oblea gives her guidance to finish her answer. After a few minutes of walking the sound of the river begins to get louder until they come out into a clearing. It is covered with grass, a small hut made from wood, sticks and leaves sits next to the river. The hut's entrance faces down the river.
They go inside, and there is enough space for the both of them. Two beds made of wood and leaves, a table and a specialized spot for a fire.
Eska runs around the hut, playing with the different things. She looks under her bed, and pulls some sticks and rocks and begins playing a bit with them. Oblea pulls a leather bag from inside of her cloak, and brings out a few mushrooms, vegetables and a few small animals she had caught during their trip to the forest.
Six years pass. Eska runs through the forest, she seems out of breath. Several boars are pursuing her through the dark. She runs, dodges, jumps and switches her direction. Her sprint is seamless, as fluid as water running through the river. After a few seconds of this she makes a mistake, twisting her angle on a root she had not seen prior to landing her next step. She trips, tumbles and lands on her face. Not even a half a second passes before she quickly picks herself up, drawing her knife and readies herself for the beasts that charge at her.
One boar comes out of the darkness, charging at full speed and rams its body on her. She raises her arms and the knife barely scratches the beast as it runs over her, but she's unhurt as she pushes herself away by using the boar's force. She quickly looks at the darkness from where the boar came, but nothing comes through. She then reverts her gaze towards the one boar in front of her. The boar shakes its head around as if in confusion, as if it had hit its head on something.