Ch. 35: Hunter's Approach

The skies grew steadily brighter as the Hycross soared over vast meadows, heading for the strip of forest at the edge of the horizon. We had left the walls of the Capital behind, and with hardly any time to spare. The sun had emerged from under the earth, caressing the skies with a warm golden glow.

I felt exhausted. It was obvious the others were as well; when I looked around me, all of my friends save for Maceren were asleep. But even Maceren seemed dazed. He straddled the Hycross tiredly as he blinked repeatedly, trying to stay awake.

To my surprise he spoke. “Miss Aven?”

I yawned and looked up at him, leaning against Strubin’s side. “What is it?”

“I’m glad that you trust me… even after knowing where I came from.” He flicked his ears nervously. “I’ll have you know that I agree with nothing that my father stands for. Your Prince’s war against him is just as rightfully mine as it is his. But… I fear that some of your comrades may not trust me as readily should they know who I am.”

I nodded in understanding, glancing warily at Kirune and Zerhea’s sleeping forms. Suddenly a thought struck me. “Maceren, when you caught Azuhren, did he recognize you at all, being your father’s son?”

Maceren narrowed his eyes, then nodded after a moment’s pause. “...Unfortunately… yes. Yes, he did. Him and Zayex were controlled in such a way so that they would only seek their master’s prey. Any other aetyr would be meaningless to them unless they were accomplices of their target. And seeing as my father was seeking strictly myself, it’s only plausible that they knew who I was.” Then he hissed. “Ungodly incantations! Now he knows that his slaves have met their mark. This will be tricky.” Maceren adjusted his hood warily, keeping it from blowing back. “Miss Aven, when you met my father, did you see if he had any other slaves with him? Or were Zayex & Azuhren the only two?”

“They were the only ones I saw,” I answered slowly. “But there’s the possibility that he may have smuggled more into the palace that we don’t know about. I’m the only one here aside from you who has seen the Baron face-to-face.”

“You mean that your delightful brother here hasn’t met him?”

“He was in prison, remember? I had to break him out, and then you helped us at the bottom.”

Maceren laughed. “I was only teasing.”

To my surprise he scooted closer to me, a grin on his face. Yet when I looked him over, it wasn’t a closeness that Strubin or Illesior exhibited. Rather, he seemed playful; his presence exuded innocence.

He crossed his legs the best he could while holding onto the Hycross’ feathers and fixed me with an intense look of curiosity.

“Miss Aven, something has been on my mind,” He murmured. “Back when we were battling the golem Agalaus- yes, I had heard of him prior to your little escape mission- when you tapped into your magic, I sensed the presence of something… supernatural. Almost as if you had been in leagues with a Spectre.” As my fur rose on end, he leaned in closer. “Miss Aven, is there something you’re not telling me? Are you in actuality a Mage?”

Frantically I tried to contact Dukalis. He knows about us! Should I come clean?

For a moment, the spirit was quiet. Maceren raised an eyebrow, a smirk playing at the edges of his lips. “Why are you trying to access your spirit link? Now I know for a fact that you are an ally of the supernatural.” He leaned back, chuckling. “Just tell me who it is that you’re receiving help from. I won’t tell.”

“Can I trust you?” I blurted out, my face turning red with embarrassment. “And would you believe me?”

He raised his hands. “I have proof. And yes, you can trust me. You’ve trusted me this long, haven’t you? ‘Tis a terrible time to turn back now.”

I buried my face in my hands and groaned loudly. “Look. Just because you saved my life in the dungeons doesn’t mean I’m going to tell you anything. Who’s the Spectre you’re using?”

Maceren looked uneasy. “...You wouldn’t recognize his name.”

“Exactly. Hence why I’m not telling you.” I shuffled around and faced away from him.

He didn’t say anything else, but he looked hurt as he gazed off into the distance. Realizing that the conversation had come to a close, I decided to follow my friends’ lead and take a moment to rest. I laid down the best I could and shut my eyes, and almost instantly I fell into a world of darkness.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The sound of birdsong woke me.

I opened my eyes to find that the Hycross had settled aloft into the midst of a semi-dense forest. I looked around. Nothing seemed familiar.

Beside me, Kirune rolled off, standing unsteadily to his feet. Maceren, Zerhea, Strubin and Arius were close behind.

Maceren motioned to my friends. “Does anyone want to stay behind to look after the prisoners?”

Kirune coughed. “I’d like to stay and rest, but I need to show you where Sophi is.” He glanced over at me. “Aven?”

“I’m going,” I asserted. I caught Zerhea’s eye, and the sorrow in her eyes caught me off guard. “...Do you want to stay with your brothers?” I asked softly.

Her eyes briefly flashed with grief, and she nodded before anyone could dissuade her. “I’ll stay.” She waved her hand dismissively. “Please, return as soon as possible. I’d like to get my kin the help they need.”

“Anything for you, Beast Tamer,” Maceren assured, bowing deeply with a grin on his handsome face. “Believe me, I want to reach Meredith as much as anyone here.” He straightened himself and glanced at Kirune. “Well, blue one? Shall we be off?”

He nodded and led the way, and the rest of us soon followed, leaving the Hycross and the golden aetyrim behind.

As we strode through dense bushes, I stuck close to Strubin, who was rubbing his eyes tiredly. Behind him was trailing Arius, who surprisingly seemed well-rested.

I brushed up against Strubin and purred good-naturedly. “Morning, Handsome.”

His golden eyes brightened as he leaned down to nuzzle me affectionately. “Morning to you too, Beautiful.”

Behind us we heard hacking noises. When we turned, Arius shrugged, turning his head to spit into a nearby bush. “Can’t help that all this mushy crap makes me sick. Dial it back a notch, will you?”

To my surprise, Strubin grunted in annoyance. “Can’t help that you’ll be forever alone, Hot Topic. Not my problem.” Then he leaned over to murmur into my ear. “Don’t pay any attention to him, babe. He’s just looking for attention.”

“Don’t be so mean to him,” I replied. “He’s been through a lot. Be nice.” When he still looked dubious I added quietly, “For me, okay?”

Strubin’s eyes softened. “...If that’s what you really want, then I’d do anything for you, baby girl.”

“Thanks.” I intertwined my arm with his and we walked together, Arius sticking close by due to being tied to Strubin’s waist.

We walked in silence for a while, the verdant warm air feeling good on my fur and the occasional stray leaf tickling my nose. Dimly I realized that we were travelling upwards, pushing through foliage and stray branches.

Suddenly we heard a loud bellow from up ahead. Maceren instantly came to a halt and motioned for us to do the same. After a moment of silence a dry whisper was heard. “Arius… what can you see?”

Arius pricked his ears in surprise, raising an eyebrow at Maceren’s request, before nodding slowly. His eyes glowed a bright lavender and suddenly they widened in fear.

“Get out of the way!” He yelled, pushing us aside.

A low rumble echoed throughout the ground beneath our feet. It quickly became deafening, shaking the trees and sending rocks tumbling down the densely forested hillside. Pounding footsteps, like the sound of a giant’s footrace, quickly came nearer and nearer.

Before any of us could say anything, a huge, massive form burst out of the trees and came racing towards us. It had the appearance of a giant pig; it was easily twice the height of Strubin, stocky and heavily muscled, with a huge nose and massive tusks. It had four beady eyes that blazed with rage, and as it spun I saw that it had two tails.

It was a Gorhog.

It snorted when it spotted us and without a second thought aimed straight for our group. I could hear Kirune scream as he ducked behind Maceren. “If only Zerhea had come with us!” He yelped. Strubin’s eyes widened but he stepped forward, shielding me from the Gorhog’s rampage. To my surprise Arius stood beside him, his mouth trembling but his face resolute.

“First a golem, then some mind-controlled freaks, and now a giant pig?” Arius muttered as he faced the monster head-on, withdrawing his poison blade. “I’ve had enough of this crap.”

Strubin narrowed his eyes at the Gorhog menacingly, brandishing his fists and letting out a deep, throaty roar. His tail lashed behind him as he stepped forward, and for a moment I saw a flicker of uncertainty in the monster’s eyes.

But it only raced towards us faster.

Maceren pushed past Strubin and held out an open palm, and I saw a ball of pure energy forming within it. It was embedded within his hand, a spell cast in the shape of an eye.

“Final warning, foul creature!” He yelled. “Come any nearer and thou shalt be blown apart!”

I could feel the breath of the Gorhog fanning my mane back, and the ground trembled violently underfoot.

“It’s too late!” Kirune screamed. “Oh, I can’t look!”

Suddenly I heard a soft twang, and the monster snorted in surprise before collapsing, skidding along in the dirt before it stopped at Maceren’s foot. As he looked down at it in shock, I noticed something poking out of the pig’s hide: A silver arrow.

Strubin looked up after a moment. “Who’s there?”

Silence followed. Suddenly we heard an all-too-familiar voice echo from the trees:

“Strubin?”

A lithe form with fiery fur leaped down in front of us, and she stood, her eyes wide.

“It IS you!”

Sophi raced forward, lunging for the tall green aetyr. “I’ve missed you, pal!”

“Same here,” Strubin chuckled uncomfortably as she embraced him, shooting me a glance.

Sophi followed his gaze and saw me, then Arius and Kirune. “GUYS!” She held out her arms wide. “Come ‘ere! I’ve missed you!”

She nuzzled my face playfully. “Aven, girlie! I’m so glad you’re okay!” She took a step back and frowned. “But I… I thought you died.”

I shrugged. “Takes a bit more than falling off a Hycross to kill me.”

“I’m so glad!” She purred. Sophi then turned to Kirune, who was standing there awkwardly. “My broski!”

Kirune’s face became flushed. “...Broski? You’ve never called me that- ACK!” His question was interrupted by a bone-crushing hug from the fiery aetyr, and she grinned mischievously as she gave him a noogie, holding his head in place with the crook of her arm. “First time for everything, isn’t it? We’re chill, dude!”

Then she finally turned to spot Arius and paused, a flicker of something in her eyes before she smirked. “...Well, well. Looks like you’ve got the glow-up there, Grouchy.”

Arius narrowed his eyes. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

Strubin and I shot each other a look. It was obvious that Sophi liked Arius’ appearance a bit too much, but from his perspective it was likely that he thought she was making fun of him.

Sophi giggled and winked at him. “Oh, whatever you want it to mean.”

My brother raised an eyebrow. “...You’re acting weird. Like, weirder than normal. Cut it out.”

Sophi placed a hand to her chest, acting mock-offended. “OH! Well, I can be as… ‘weird’ as you want me to.” She purred, twitching her ears. “Maybe even… a bit like a freak.”

Arius looked horrified. It took all I had to hold back a snicker at his reaction. Before the two could say anything else, suddenly Maceren stepped forward out of the shadows, gazing down at Sophi. He did his signature bow.

“Greetings, Maiden.” He looked up and grinned. “I am Maceren Arrakhan, otherwise known as the Spectral Mercenary. I am accompanying your friend Aven Elsgard and her comrades on a quest to the God’s Headrest, and Prince Illesior himself requested that you come with us.”

“Oh?” Sophi stepped forward. “You’re new. You’re not from The Capital, right?”

He shook his head.

The fiery aetyr giggled. “That explains it. You’ve caught me at a bad time. I was just now hunting!” She waved her hand at the Gorhog. “Did you see my latest catch?”

“Yes, and a little too close for comfort for your friends here,” Maceren replied, chuckling. “But congratulations on your skills, Hunter. You’ve got a fine hand.”

Sophi giggled. “Aw, shucks. Thank you! I’ve been practicing all week. You wouldn’t believe the creatures I’ve caught! I killed a Zenatile, got the head of a Tauxer, and just now I was hunting that Gorhog!”

“Sophi, I hate to cut this all short, and believe me, we’d love to stay and chat,” I cut in, “But there’s no time. We have to leave immediately. Are you coming with us?”

“Does a Gorhog stink?” Sophi laughed, clapping me on the back. “Of course I’m joining you! We’re getting the gang back together!”

“Wonderful! Let us be off.” Maceren whipped around and led the way back down the hillside, but Sophi stopped him.
“Uh-uh! Here, we travel via the treetops.” She waved her hand to showcase the canopy, a grin on her orange face. “It’s way faster, and there’s less chance of getting eaten by a monster! These wilds are infested like you wouldn’t believe.” She ran to the nearest tree trunk and latched on, and suddenly she began ascending at breakneck pace. Within the span of a few seconds she was already ten feet in the air.

“Come on!”