The stray Duvolf searched around the Creeping Hollow for a meal, with Valerie and Samantha watching from on high the whole time. It checked under fallen trees, crept up to noises in the underbrush and even snapped at a passing bird, yet every time it came up empty. After a few more hours of fruitless searching, it turned and warily marched back home, the pair of adventurers hot on its tail leaping from tree to tree. The sun had already fallen by the time all three reached their destination: the back of a mountain side with a jagged cave entrance hidden under an awning of toppled rock. Surrounding the cave entrance were numerous other Duvolf of varying sizes and fur colours that were busy tending to their young, some of which had patches of white although all featured the standard two heads. That was except for the enormous one who exited the cave entrance, a brutal and unforgiven creature of ghostly white who only possessed a single head upon its titanic body. Its humongous frame would put elephants to shame and captured the attention of all monsters in the pack who cowered in fear. Upon seeing the creature who was very clearly the Alpha, Valerie’s mind flared to life and she was suddenly made aware of the monsters chosen name.
“Whitebone?”
Although a regular Duvolf did not have the intelligence or need for a name, this Alpha had developed something of an ego and picked a moniker based on its favourite past time. That being tearing the flesh from prey to expose the pearly bones beneath. Whitebone strode into the middle of the open area and glanced around at its steadily growing family then settled its gaze on the scouts. The Duvolf the adventurers followed as well as five others sat, or more accurately knelt, before Whitebone. Half the beasts had some fresh kill either dragged behind them or clenched in their teeth, these the pack leader snorted at and allowed the offerors to leave its sight. The remaining three it stared at, judging them, searching for weakness. The Duvolf on the far left couldn’t handle the stress and hacked out a cough which brought its leaders full attention down onto the nervous monster. Whitebone stared directly into the eyes of the scared stiff beast before finally letting out a huff that sealed its fate. In a flash the other hunters descended upon their kin, biting and tearing at the skinny flesh like it was the first meal any had had in months. A not entirely incorrect statement given their emaciated frames. Whitebone did not stay to watch the slaughter and simply picked out the largest carcass offering which it dragged back into its den allowing the others to fight and argue over the scraps.
“Poor pooch.”
Samantha announced breaking the silence. Valerie sat back against their tree trunk with her legs dangling precariously over the edge of the branch she used as a seat with a single rope tether tying to the huntress to the wobbly bark.
“Don’t feel bad for it, they’re just dumb monsters.”
Was what she tried to tell herself, but that Alpha and the fact her aspect considered it a threat big enough to tell her its name worried the huntress. Whitebone didn’t share his brethren’s weak point with only one head and didn’t have to deal with the inevitable different directives two brains would have. Essentially it was just a big bad wolf but with a monster’s strengths, a fact that would appear inconsequential on paper, but Valerie knew the truth. That thing was all pros and no cons. She wondered how to beat it without the weakened neck area and turned to her comrade in arms for suggestions.
“Any ideas?
The huntress enquired of her teammate after explaining the monsters overwhelming advantages.
“We could always string it up and choke the life out of it while its family watched?”
A completely unhinged and absurd thing for anyone to say yet it was not even in the top ten weirdest statements from the shadow user. Valerie contemplated the idea but threw it out, Samantha’s shadow chains were tough but assuming they were stronger than that abomination was just asking for trouble.
“Don’t think it would work, any other ideas?”
“Fires good, everything’s weak to fire even fire. Let’s burn the big one down or… OH! Let’s trap him in his cave and suffocate him with smoke from the fire!”
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Well… it wasn’t a terrible plan and might be one for the playbook another day but the logistics of gathering firewood and somehow trapping the Alpha were another host of issues.
“Pass, next?”
“What if we… dropped a big boulder in front of the cave and starved it? Or maybe it would suffocate!”
“What is up with you and choking things?”
The shadow user shrugged, she didn’t have many options for killing monsters and the most effective means of helping was to tie them down while someone else finished the job. Wrapping some unholy beast in her chains and choking the life out of it was the best and only method Samantha had at present.
“Whatever, we can’t do that anyway unless you can pull a big rock out of your pocket. You did give me an idea though, one that just might work. Thanks Samantha.”
The huntress’s mind was already grinding away trying to think of ways to implement her plan thus she did not notice the all too creepy smile of satisfaction her compatriot wore. If they wanted that mongrel dead and to completely eradicate its offspring at the same time, they needed a plan that would hurt all of the pack. If even one of those white patched puppies was allowed to live, then all their efforts would be for naught. There were also the five scavengers, fending off the Alpha while they backed it up was suicidal but if they were no longer an option then the entire pack would suffer without their main providers. Valerie grinned savagely; it was time for some good old fashioned siege warfare. If they couldn’t kill the Alpha, they would starve it and force the big white mutt to feast upon its own kin. Two birds, one stone.
“Get some sleep Samantha, tomorrow we’re going hunting.”
And so they did, at the crack of dawn, while still perched in their tree, they awoke to observe the Duvolf pack in their morning routine. The pups played and fed on leftover meat picked off the cannibalized scavenger. The remaining hunters plus a new young addition all left the den heading in different directions. Valerie and Samantha picked one at random and followed after using a series of tightrope chains that made no sound to pass seamlessly between trees. The Duvolf they stalked searched for prey using both of its powerful noses which unfortunately picked up on the pair of adventurers nearby. Looking up to stare at its pursuers, the Duvolf barked and howled as it clawed at the trees trying to find purchase to climb. The pair beat it to the punch however and descended, Samantha first as a distraction swinging on a chain towards the ground only to roll into a ball at the last second. The Duvolf’s two sets of eyes stared down the much smaller girl as it prepared to tear into her flesh. It never got the chance however, after the full weight of Valerie came crashing down into it, her knife poised and sinking deep into its exposed weak point. She dragged her weapon along the creatures back splitting it wide open like undoing a zipper. The scavenger barely had time to realize it was outclassed as it become food for Tiger’s Will, the hunger slightly satiated.
“One done, five to go.”
The huntress confirmed tearing her blade free and accidentally splashing her friend with the monster’s viscera. Samantha barely reacted, responding with a thumbs up and then quickly scampered up a tree. Looking down at the dead monster, Valerie got another heinous idea and decided to mimic her companion’s bloody style. Cutting as cleanly as she could, the Duvolf was skinned from duo heads down to the pair of tails. She then wrapped the disgusting and blood dripping pelt around herself using the leg fur as ties to bind it in place. Not only would this cover offer some protection but the smell coming off it would mask her own scent and allow Valerie to get the drop on the other monsters. All she had to do was ignore the horrid stench and feeling of blood soaking into her clothes. You would think she had grown used to the sensation by now especially having been coated in her own blood numerous times, she was not and some part of her hoped she never would be used to it.
The rest of the day was spent searching for, observing and ultimately executing the other Duvolf hunters, ending with the young one who hadn’t even known the huntress was near. Strangely, Valerie noted no change in Tiger’s Will from this or the last kill, it seemed it was full for the moment, what that meant she didn’t know. At least the pull at her mind was finally gone with the blade calmed down, although it only now dawned on her how draining that near constant hunger was. She felt a little bad for denying her weapon the sustenance it demanded and would be sure to treat the knife with a healthy serving of Alpha blood.
After a successful day of hunting, Valerie and Samantha ascended to the canopy overseeing the Duvolf camp to witness the damage they had wrought. Nothing happened the first night, Whitebone emerged, scowled menacingly at the absence of his hunters and then marched back into his cave, the hungry wines of his pack falling on deaf ears. Samantha was disappointed at the display and voiced her concerns.
“I don’t get it, why didn’t the siege work?”
Valerie smacked her forehead, dragging her palm down her face to exaggerate the motion. How many times did she have to explain this?
“Samantha, you know I love you, but for all that is divine shut up asking that. The siege IS working, we are going to wait out the Alpha until it kills and eats its people and then wait some more until its feeble and weak before we swoop in. Got it?”
Valerie read about the concept in a book and once asked Albert for more details on the idea. It was quite ingenious and cruel at the same time. How anyone could come up with the idea to combat other humans and live with themselves would forever be a mystery to the huntress. Doing it to monsters however, well that was fair game as far as she was concerned. Not to mention it was by far the safest option and kept both out of harms way while Valerie worked on her reckless behaviour. Samantha pouted, there were quite a few Duvolf still around, more than reported, if they had to wait for all of them to be eaten then this was going to take a while. She wasn’t concerned about the time taken really, more just how unbelievably boring it would be. In perhaps the greatest understatement of the century, Samantha concluded that sieges were no fair.