Chapter 86 - First Hunt

Two episodes of filler left then we move onto the next arc, and I'm really hyped about it. I've got a lot of good stuff planned, and there's going to be more development on the world and magic system of the world. There is a lot of exciting stuff coming up but I don't want to spoil any of it.

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Samwell Dains sighed in contentment as he looked into the large fire in the middle of their camp. Laughing, cheers and even a few moans sounded from beside him as people celebrated the successful haul of today.

He smiled as he remembered the luck they'd had in stumbling upon supply carriages leaving the capital with money and food for the outlining towns and villages. They'd been well defended by soldiers but his group was made up of former elites from the army and not only did they know the fighting styles thought, but they'd developed ways to counter them, and combined with the ambush, they'd won with minimal losses and a whole lot of gains.

"Boss, come on join us," a redhead in her middle years said, shooting him a sly wink as she rubbed her body against another brunette that looked much younger. He recognized her as one of the new arrivals. The end of the war and defeat of Birohts forces had meant plenty of potential recruits roaming the kingdom wilds. Not every soldier had been with the army that had fallen at the capital. They'd run into scouts, groups of soldiers, and more.

They usually just killed and robbed them, but when they found someone with some decent talent and a pretty face, they invited them to join. He hadn't tried this one out yet.

He licked his lips and stood to move closer but froze as someone burst into their camp from some nearby trees.

"Boss!"

The man ran straight for Sam, who frowned as he noticed the blood staining the man's left side.

"James? What the hell happened? Soldiers?"

James fell before Sam's feet and looked up into his eyes, momentarily shocking him. James was just as old as Sam and just as tough, so when Sam saw the absolute look of terror in the man's eyes, he couldn't help but become nervous.

He knelt down as the others around them drew steel, and moved into rough formations, a few taking longer than usual due to the alcohol, and drugs.

Sam knelt down so he was at eye level with James.

"James? What happened, was it soldiers? Beasts? Damn man! Speak!"

"Pale skin and teeth... too many teeth, oh gods it's still out there."

James began shivering. "Sam, I don't want to die."

Frustrated with the lack of response from the man and unnerved by the way his friend was acting, Sam raised a hand and slapped James hard across the face.

"Snap the fuck out of it, and tell me what happened?"

James held a hand against the handprint on his face, and Sam saw some sanity return to his friend's eyes. "A monster, I was just taking a leak, and I heard a noise. It sounded odd so I went to see and... I saw it."

The last three words were just a whisper.

"What?" Sam asked. "What did you see?"

"A nightmare," Sam replied in a shaky voice. "It was playing with me, Sam. I tried to run at first, but it just keep pushing me in different directions and toying with me. I swear it was laughing."

Sam pressed two fingers to the bridge of his nose and sighed."James I'm only going to ask one more time. What was it? What did it look like? What type was it?"

Sam considered James a close friend, but his unease was starting to fade into frustration and anger at the way his friend was speaking. Sure he might have met a monster, but he was safe now. There were over three dozen in the camp, and all of them could use kor or mana to some degree. His friend was too worried, and it was starting to piss him off.

James gulped. "Ivory, its skin was like ivory and it walked on two legs. I think there was something else in the sky but I don't know. It was big, like a small giant, ya know like the ones we saw that one time when we crossed the border into Ventrin, but probably a bit bigger."

"Is that all?" Sam asked, not understanding why James sounded so scared. It didn't sound all that scary.

James nodded. "It was dark and I couldn't see much else."

"Go get something to eat, then rest," Sam said, standing and turning away from James.

"All right, listen up!" Sam shouted, getting everyone's attention. "In groups I want you to do a quick search of the area. Say about two-thirds of us, the others will remain here with me. If you find a beast with ivory or pale colored skin, kill it and bring me its head. The one who does will get a bonus from the haul we got today and the first pick of the next girls we take or men if you prefer."

His soldiers cheered and quickly got into four groups of six each, going in different directions.

No matter what this beast was, Sam was confident that his soldiers could handle it. In the meantime, he'd have some fun with the brunette who had stayed behind.

He sighed and headed over to the girl, once again calm and relaxed.

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If Sam had known what beast had attacked his friend, then he wouldn't have been so calm or relaxed.

Only a few feet away from the camp, hidden by trees, foliage, and its own natural ability to camouflage, the ivory nightmare, more commonly known as Rex grinned. Anyone who would have been near and saw it would have most likely run away.

Like its new allies, it had been hunting at its alpha's orders and what a fruitful hunt it had been. This group of prey was the last for today before he bedded down for some rest, so instead of finishing it quickly as he'd done with the rest, Rex wanted to have some fun.

He slowly backed away from the camp and turned in the direction of one of the groups. His steps made no sound and his form remained camouflaged, combined with the already dark night, he wasn't worried about being spotted.

He stalked into the night, his claws twitching with eagerness and his eyes full of malice

On this night, Sam and his soldiers would meet a true predator.