The Hunter : Chapter 4

                                  Chapter 4

 

                               "HERD THE COWS IN WHENCE HE COME,

                                                FOR HIS BLADE SEES NOT HOW SWIFT YOU RUN

                                           YOU BETTER HOPE AND BETTER PLEAD

                                                 THAT THE HUNTER THINK YOU DON'T BLEED"                       

                                                                                                  -AN OLD CHILDREN'S TALE.

                                   The elder heard the clattering of hooves. A mysterious aura  surrounded the woods. He felt unease biting deep within his frail bones. As the hooves came closer he could make out a horse. A mustang bound in black armour. It's dark skin glistened in the sun as the horse came into clear view. He could see it's armour now. It had the insignia of the hunters of the vatican. A line was etched onto the saddle, it's colour was crimson red. The elder turned his gaze towards the rider. He saw a majestic figure garbed in black. He wore a top hat and covered his face with a large mask.He was dressed in a black coat and a dark undercoat. His silver cross was swinging from his neck across his coat. There was a french rapier sheathed on his belt. and a knife in his coat.The blade had an engraving on it. It read "moartea este un mod laș de scăpare" which meant "Death is a coward's way of escape"in Romanian dialect. 

 His arsenal didn't stop there. There was a crossbow fastened on the horse's saddle.It was made out of special Fir wood. The figure got down from his horse."I am a hunter of beasts , yet I no longer serve the Vatican. You said you had a wood spirit problem." he spoke in a deep and muffled voice due to his mask which he didn't take off even though he was in the burning sun."Y-yes, good sir. This beast has been in our woods for the past six months yet it still has shown no signs of stopping". The elder was smaller than the hunter yet the hunter wasn't buff or muscular but rather he was a tall and lean person.

 

  

                                      "That will be five hundred and twenty coins." said the hunter as he fastened his horse to the stables."Isn't that a bit too much though?" said the elder.

The hunter turned towards the elder and gave him a stern look of disdain. "I think i spoke clearly without stuttering. A wood spirit is worth eight hundred florens yet as I saw your shaman's hut I felt....piteous towards you so I reduced it". The elder was hesitant to hand the hunter his money still."Three hundred now and two hundred after the job" he said in an adamant manner. The hunter looked satisfied , "As you wish, your money after all". The elder told him  about all the events from Tom's death to the formation of a botchling in their nursery. The hunter soon set off to finish his job. He mounted his horse and before heading off to the river he told the elder "The lines of salt you've used are off no good, use juniper berries instead." The hunter gave his horse a tug and bolted down the beaten path towards the river where the elder said the events have been occuring.

                                         

                                      As soon as the Hunter reached the river he felt a chill biting deep into him. Yet he was sure this chill wasn't natural. He could see an unnatural fog spreading across the river and a murder of carrion crows."Thick fog, a murder of crows, this is the work of a wood spirit all right. If this beast stalks this land then it must have a lair as well." He recalled his memories about reading about this beast in his glossary.

The hunter reached into his pockets and took out a small pouch. It had a brown and a surprisingly distinguishable scent. He placed his hand and uttered an elvish chant. He then proceeded to sprinkle the insides. The pouch contained the ashes of an ancient elven plant known as En Bliedhe, a flower which had certain magical properties. The dust scattered yet somehow it gathered together and blew in a certain direction , deep within the woods. "It's too thick for my horse to traverse, I need to go on foot." The hunter stepped towards the dense forest.The friendly chirping of birds grew into a monotonous whistle of the cold unchained wind. As he stepped more closer towards the lair his gloves started gathering frost.

 

                             The trees seemed to grow more twisted as he proceeded deeper into the heart of the forest. He saw that the trees grew more crooked and taller as he proceeded.

In every monster guide by the Vatican it was stated that every forest monster makes it lair somewhere within the forest. However to keep itself hidden the beast takes this place outside the boundaries of reality. This lair is then known as a Colta-a place which exists in the same location yet cant be seen on a map. To create this location a monster must use a lot of energy and doing so, it creates an abundance of mundane geographical and physical distortions such as crooked trees and the formation of interdimensional flora and fauna.

One can't end up escaping this place and ends up running in circles. The only way to escape this place is by using the help of a teleporter or using En Bliedhe dust. Getting to this place is easy for it's the equivalent of a mouse trap. Every monster lures you in through a bait which may differ, and once you reach the Colta , you get trapped and even though you try to escape, you're as helpless as a rodent.

                                  The dust stopped abruptly and fell to the ground. The hunter looked around and he saw right in front of his eyes , a huge cave and on top of the cave was the carcass of a kid and carrion crows surrounded the carcass."Didn't know the wood spirit was so artistic!" As he approached the cave an ominous feeling of dread crept over him.

This was an awfully familiar feeling for him for this meant that his job was going somewhere. He took out his satchel and ruffled through it. The hunter then proceeded to take out a small  bottle. Roughly the size of his thumb. He then uncorked it and applied the liquid inside on his blade. "Good, this will make sure my blade stings more if the beast decides to get impatient and attack." He then stepped into the cave.