Interlude 2: The Hunter's Path

A lone man walked through the forest, leaves crunching beneath his feet as the rising sun peeked over the treetops. He was well built, muscles visible through his clothes, and nearly 2 mer tall. His messy flaxen hair was ruffled slightly by the weak morning wind flowing by him. A light brown jacket covered an even lighter tan shirt underneath. Black pants and shoes darkened the overall look of the man. At his waist was a knife hanging in a sheath on his right side. Small pouches covered his left. The sound of metal being jostled escaped every time the man walked.

The man had entered the forest from the road connecting the city-nation Sanum to the Rad-Town just about 20 ker North East of Sanum. He had set out in the dead of night riding in a carriage. He had ordered the carriage to stop and wait for him just a few minutes prior.

It didn’t take him long to reach his destination. A massive stone sphere protruded from the ground. Just the day prior, this structure had not been here. This was the work of someone deftly skilled in Earth based magic. The man, as a contractor of a greater Earth Spirit, knew just how impressive the feat before him was. Whoever created this structure had to have abilities equal to that of the Earth Spirit Progenitor, Peter.

“Hmm? ‘Nother visitor, ey?” Standing in front of the monolith structure was a stout man. “What’s your name, son?” A clear and concise voice betrayed his expectations, causing his voice to catch.

“Son? I’m not your son.” He could tell a scowl covered his face. People like this irritated him. They think they are so high and mighty that they instantly look down on others. “The name’s Jack Cariatel. I’m a Hunter from Sanum. Who’re you?”

“A Hunter? I assume then you are here about the two younguns that appeared overnight?” The man in front of Jack effortlessly spoke about his mission.

Jack edged one of his hands towards the sheath on the right side of his waist. He had no doubt that he had to be cautious.

“So you already know what I am? That should make this easy. Is Verilo still in that structure behind you?” While he never got the name of the man he was facing, Jack decided it would be better to fish for the information he needed rather than information he didn’t. This was more important to him than mere details on the future report.

“Do you really think that this was built to keep him in?”

“Huh?” The question caught Jack off guard.

“The newest Verilo to appear before me was a bit too spirited. I built this to keep him out, not in. Does that answer your question sufficiently?”

“How can I trust you about this?” Jack didn’t trust the man. At all. Even if what he said next was completely logical, Jack probably wouldn’t trust him. For all he knew, this man could be covering for Verilo.

“Hmmm. Well, I can’t make you trust me. But let me say this to you then. My name is Rust. I’m the caretaker of the Verilo stead that lay beneath this structure. It is my job to protect it until the Wind Progenitor, Aerial, makes his return in two hundred years. Does that work for you?”

The man, Rust, was very forthcoming with his intentions. So much so that Jack didn’t know what to make of it. His gut was telling him not to trust this man, but his brain was satisfied with the answers he had seen.

“Then where did they go?” Jack pushed for more. If he had more options, maybe one would work out the best for him.

“I would assume back to the Rad-Town they came from.” Rust gave a small sigh with a shake of his head. “I only watch the homestead behind me. If you want to find them, you will need to head there.”

That was all Jack was going to get. He could tell that already. Even if he tried to pressure Rust into talking more, if Rust truly was behind the stone structure behind him, then Jack stood no chance. But hearing the fact that they were heading to a Rad-Town didn’t surprise him. In fact, he already had a good idea of where they would be heading. After all, there was only one Rad-Town in the immediate vicinity of Sanum. And according to Casey, the other two Verilo’s were there as well.

“Alright then, Rust, I’ll head there. But after I’m done there, I’m coming back. When I do, I wanna hear about this stipulation to the end of your duties as the caretaker.” Jack turned away from the man and walked back towards the road.

He knew he didn’t have much time left. When Casey had originally told him about this last night, she had warned him that the Minister would be informed in the morning. She reluctantly had to as part of her Vision duties.

With how high the sun had gotten, Jack was sure that the Minister would be sending out more Hunters in the next hour. If he wanted the prestige of eradicating the Verilo’s, he had to act now.

A smirk played across Jack’s face as he neared the road. By the end of the day, the Verilo’s would be gone. Jack was sure of that. He would finally get that which he wanted most.