Orn’s mood brightened when he realized he was the first to come back. Maybe Kao did not get the last word in after all.

As if hearing his thoughts, the goddess appeared sitting on one of the cots in the hut. “And then there was the cow that stepped on your foot.”

Orn blinked in confusion. “That cow is annoying, but it is not a monster.”

“Mrs. Baylell named it Monster,” Kao replied, grinning. “So it counts.”

“Says who, and counts in what? Is someone keeping score?” Orn rolled his eyes and placed his bag under the cot next to Kao.

“It is a figure of speech, but you make a good point.” The tone of Kao’s voice sent a chill up Orn’s spine. “I should start keeping score.”

Had Orn been less tired, he would not have given his best friend such an idea. Instead he could only groan and hope this new game of hers would pass quickly.

…

[Late that night at the fire]

“The boys did good.” The first hunter said passing a wine skin to his left.

The man took it and drank deeply before passing it on. “Would have been nice if the Lightfoot’s boy was not so cautious though. He missed a dozen opportunities to shoot the darn thing, waiting for the perfect shot. Dragged me around for miles.”

The others laughed and the next man passed the wine left without drinking.

A figure slowly came into view from the trees and took the wine skin before the last man could grab it. The two men jumped a bit at the figure's sudden appearance. “Darn it, can you not announce your presence like a normal person?” one of them said, as Uncle took a drink from the skin.

Orn’s uncle just smiled at the younger man. Then he sat next to him and passed the skin on.

The first man looked at Uncle appraisingly, “What took you so long? The boy was back ages ago.”

“I was looking over everything.” Uncle replied flatly.

“For half the night?” the second asked. “Are your eyes going bad?”

Uncle shot his brother in law a dirty look. “Wish they were, so I did not have to look at y…”

“Stop. Please,” groaned another of the old hunters. “You two can fight later. Tell us what has you wandering all over the woods at night.”

The two old men glared at each other for a moment longer, then Orn’s uncle started his story. “Everything started fine. He kept on the trail and paid a lot of attention to his surroundings. I had to hang back quite a way, to make sure he did not notice me. “

“That is pretty impressive, if even you had to work to stay hidden,” the third hunter said, suprised.

“He is getting better at moving silently, too. If I had not been keeping watch he might have surprised us like you did,” the fourth said, giving Uncle a sidelong glance.

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“That is my nephew for you,” Uncle replied smugly.

“Ha,” his brother in law barked. “you had nothing to do with it. If any one gets credit, it is that maid he is always sneaking away from.”

The other hunters glared at him. Olivia had become a sore subject for many of them. She had been assigned to watch over Orn after the goblin incident years ago. In the time since, there were few hunters who had not experienced the young woman appearing silently behind them to ask if they had seen the boy.

Orn’s uncle cleared his throat. “Moving on.” He waited for them to turn their attention back to him before continuing. “Orn tracked the hob to a clearing. Apparently the thing was hungry and looking to scare something out of the grass. Orn waited at the edge of the clearing until it turned to look at him. Then he shot it through the eye. Thing must have been dead before it hit the ground.”

The young hunter next to Uncle whistled, “I thought he was exaggerating. How close did he get to pull that off?”

“Fifty paces.” Orn’s uncle replied shaking his head, “The boy could barely shoot a bow a handful of years ago. At this rate he will be the best in the village before he is even an adult. “

“Ignoring your exaggerating for now,” his brother in law said, rolling his eyes. “That does not explain what took you so long.”

“I am getting there you old goat,” Orn’s uncle snapped back. “Once he was sure it was dead he started talking to someone.”

The group went silent, and instantly became serious. “Who?” asked the first man.

“That is the thing, there was no one there. I could see his lips moving, and the pieces I caught sounded like I was hearing half of a conversation. I swear he was talking to someone. But there was no one there. He talked to this person from the clearing until he almost made it back here.” Orn’s uncle stared at the other hunters. “I searched that clearing and the paths he took twice. There was barely any sign of his passing, and no sign of anyone else.”

“You do not think he has up and gone mad, do you?” His brother in law’s voice carried concern for the first time that evening.

“I do not think so.” He furrowed his brow. “Did he seem strange to you when he came back?”

The hunters shook their heads.

“No more than usual,” the third hunter said scratching his chin. “Hard to say anything is normal about a boy who’s eyes glow like a cat’s at night.”

A couple of the other hunter’s nodded in agreement. It had taken them some time to adjust to the change that had occurred after the goblin queen.

After he took the shaman mantle. Uncle pushed the thought away and sighed. “I was hoping his father was wrong. When Orn first arrived, his father said that the boy was not alone. I kept ignoring it and dismissing the signs, but today was too much. I cannot explain it away anymore. It all fits.”

“What fits? Do you think he has an imaginary friend he just never grew out of? The hunter leaned forward with concern. “You do not think he has another voice in his head like Gromer?”

“No,” Uncle replied, shaking his head and staring at the fire. “I do not think his mind split. His father said Orn was chosen by a goddess on his path day. He said they thought the goddess was spending time with him.”

Uncle then repeated what Ton had told him and what he had seen over the years as Orn visited. When he finished the other men silently mulled over what he told them. His brother in law was the first to recover. “You knew this all this time and did not say anything?”

Uncle looked at him, and for the first time since he sat down, replied to the man in an even tone. “If one of my boys told you his son was talking to a goddess, would you think it was true? Or would you think that he had an imaginary friend? I cannot make excuses anymore. I think Toln is right.”

“What do we do then?” another hunter asked rubbing the back of his neck. “If you are wrong he is mad, and if you are right here is a goddess following the boy like a puppy.”

“Nothing,” the oldest hunter said causing all the others to look at him.

Seeing their confusion he continued. “The boy finished his rite of passage today. He is no longer a child, and we have no right to meddle. Whether he is mad or is followed around by a goddess, it is not our business unless he asks us. Besides, shamans are supposed to deal with goddesses and be a little mad. If anything, it means the boy is growing into the mantle well.”