Hunting

The next day they headed out to the farm called Tarnwood Mill. They walked up the path which led to the house which was built in the middle of a field. There wasn't anyone in sight, so Kayden knocked on the door. After a few minutes there was a crackle of light and the door opened revealing an old man with a short beard, wearing a brown waistcoat and trousers. His hair was tied up in a ponytail and had a long thin mustache.

"Can I help you?" He asked.

"Yes, we're here on the request you posted to the guild.'' Kayden said.

"Oh yes... I remember now. Come inside." He stepped aside showing them the inside of the house, it was decorated in a country style with wooden furniture and knickknacks.

After the introductions, the two sat down. The man began to tell them about his experience. He explained that he and his wife were farmers who lived their whole lives in this area. Recently however, the crops were being ruined. They thought maybe it was mice or other rodants but no matter how much they searched and set traps nothing came up. One night they heard some strange noises outside, so they went to investigate. After searching the whole place they discovered a small clearing with a large tree stump on the ground, there was a hole in it probably big enough for a creature, because they didnt know if it was an animal or monster they filed with the guild for someone to take a look.

He then showed them the map he made of the area which was filled with scribbles and drawings, he marked the location of the clearing onto the map and pointed out where he saw the creature. He also drew arrows pointing to the direction of the tree stump and a circle with a cross inside.

'What do you think, should we come back at night? it sounds like its active then' Kayden spoke with Gemini telepathically

'Mhm,' Gemini agreed. 'We'll come here after dark.'

Kayden addressed the old man while rolling up the map ''We will come back in the evening to see what it is''

"That would be good," the man replied. "I don't know why it's doing this, but it's been causing a lot of trouble lately. I'm hoping you guys can figure out what's going on."

Kayden nodded.

The two left the house and continued down the road until they reached the lake. The sun was high in the sky and the breeze blew gently through the trees. The woods were silent except for the rustling of the leaves and the occasional birdcall.

They made their way around the lake and past the swamplands where the fishermen were busy fishing.

Kayden had the rest of the day to hunt before tonight, he also wanted to try out his new weapons. Scopilos were getting too easy and Kayden felt like he was ready to take on a larger prey.

'We should go further towards Dreadwood Vale, there will be monsters at the edge of the forest. Lycott beasts roam in packs so it will be a bit more difficult, we can take its pelt to sell it in town later' Gemini suggested.

Kayden agreed.

They continued travelling until they reached the outskirts of Dreadwood Vale. Kayden suddenly stopped walking when he saw a pack of three Lycott beasts running in front of him. They were brown furred with long tails and sharp teeth.

'Lycotts?' Kayden asked Gemini telepathically.

Gemini nodded. 'Yeah'

Kayden scanned the area with his eyes and he saw three Lycotts approaching him, one of them jumped at his feet. Kayden raised his hand bringing down a wind blade on the Lycotts head. The head rolled off and landed on the ground as the other two attacked Kayden.

Kayden was caught flat-footed, one of the Lycotts brought its claws down on his shoulder and the other was biting at his legs.

Kayden quickly pushed the Lycotts away summoning the dagger out and slashed at the one near his shoulder and kicked the one at his feet.

As the Lycotts fell over, Kayden grabbed his dagger and cut the Lycotts open. As the Lycotts died, their pelt rained down on them. Kayden sighed in relief as the Lycotts didn't have any type of poison attacks otherwise he would be a gonner.

With the Lycotts dead, Kayden stood up and looked at the wound on his shoulder. It pierced pretty deep but the wound was healing fast. He also felt a little tired but that could be due to his condition.

He felt hunger again, It had only been a few days but using his stamina often caused him to feel hungry. He was glad he a fresh meal right in front of him.

Piercing his fangs into the Lycotts skin he drank its blood and after a minute or so he felt full. It was a lot better than his first attempt at drinking blood and it tasted much better.

After drinking the Lycotts blood, he went to collect the pelts.

It took him a while to do this as he had never skinned an animal before, after the first two he soon got the hang of it. With some effort and a couple of cuts, he managed to get all three of the Lycotts pelt.

''Alright lets keep going, by the time we are done I aim to get the title of 'Lycott Slaughterer'.'' Kayden laughed.