Chapter 1

Still as stone, Adam waited in the shadow of an old oak. For hours on end he crouched in patience ignoring the ache that scored throughout his body. His prey, a young boar ventured into the clearing and testing the wind for signs of danger. Finding nothing to fear it leaned forward and dug into the truffles Adam had laid out. As the boar ate, any normal hunter would have already nocked their arrow, and pulled the string to their cheek taking aim, and letting it fly. That or they would have rushed forward with their spears trying to battle the animal till it died from exhaustion. Adam though was unlike any other hunter from his village, as the boar ate he sat there and waited.  

The boar no older than two years had one missing tusk. A defect which made it surprising that such an animal could even live past being weaned by its mother. Typically a missing tusk was a weakness or a handicap for an animal. It could explain the various scars and still healing wounds that marked the animal’s body. Clearly it could not fight as well as the others. The poor thing looked starved to death as the normally fat animal, looked to be made of skin and bones. This all meant that the animal would not make a good trophy or a good meal.

Or so it seemed at first to the untrained or unobservant eye. Adam though was able to see a great deal more. The fat that normally slowed down a healthy boar was all but hidden behind lean and strong muscles. Most of the scars that covered the animal were all made by weapons not tooth, claw, or tusk. This miserable wretch was in fact faster and stronger than most other boars. So much so that based on its scars it had already escaped being hunted any number of times. If Adam was correct then this was the mysterious creature that had been causing havoc in the surrounding villages.

For the past few months hunters had been dismayed when what few boars they could find were slim pickings hardly worth the hunt. As each week passed fewer and fewer sightings of boars were made. Yet word of one boar, sly and mean came about as weird as such a thing was. It was said that this insane boar dared to enter into the heart of towns going so far as to eat fresh pies from the window sills. Running about it tore down laundry from the lines and chased the chickens from their coops. When hunters were sent after it they claimed that it was invincible and always knew when they were about to strike always dodging their arrows and spears. Mutterings of a foul curse placed on the beast by some wizard or evil creature had many of the village folk jumpy. Adam had thought it the silly talk of the superstitious when he’d first heard tale of it, but here lay proof.

Only moments after arriving the boar picked up its head from the meal, again testing the wind for any signs of trouble. Snorting in anger the boar picked up one more mouthful of truffles and bolted from the scene. Surprised by the quick departure Adam, who had been preparing to throw his net, made his way out from his spot by the tree narrowly escaping becoming the unfortunate pincushion of a series of arrows that flew right on past.

“Blast it boy you scared the thing away!”

Stumbling through the brush was a hefty man who maintained a well-oiled mustache. Running with all his might the fat man led a charge of about fifteen men carrying spears and bows. Slowing down slightly one of the men let out a brief curse.

“Seriously Adam? Jumping out of the trees like that what are you a ghost?”

Before he could answer the man continued on with his group shouting out a quick warning.

“Don’t you be thinking about going after that boar now, we saw it first and lay claim!”

As the men ran by Adam caught the scent of Tabaco mixed with that of onions and sweat. Shaking his head Adam grabbed his gear knowing that no more game would be found in the area. Not because of the hunters ability to hunt, rather the animals would be avoiding the stench and ruckus caused by them.

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There were plenty of competent hunters living in Adam’s village but Bradson and his men were not among them. While many took the profession of a hunter out of need of food or coin, Bradson sought sport and rarely ever ate what he was lucky enough to kill. He went out hours at a time rather than days, searching for where other hunters nested in wait. Whenever an animal worthy of note came along his men laid claim before the other poor sap could collect their bounty. Recently Bradson had been making it a practice to keep tabs on Adam when he went out and it was starting to hurt his stomach and wallet.

Abandoning the glade with a huff Adam took down the banners which were supposed to identify the glade as occupied by a hunter. Making his way back through the forest Adam quickly found the walking path so he would not disturb any of the real hunters who might have been unfortunate enough to be in the area. Clearly Bradson and his cronies were going to bumble along for the next couple of minutes clearing out the entire area. Frustrated that he was unable to get a kill, let alone the boar that had literally sat in front of him, he made his way out of the woods.

Winter had already come and gone for the year. Even the remaining chill that came with the morning was gone. The spring fields now lush with the first sprigs of wheat gave the air a beautiful aroma as Adam made his way down the path. Flowers of every color and shape in the first stages of blooming covered the grassland alongside the walking path, greeting travelers and weary farmers as they leave their work for the day. It made the long trek back to the village more enjoyable to most who walked it.

Entering the edge of town, Adam saw children laughing and playing as adults yelled out to scold them to get back to their chores. No longer being one himself, Adam was proud that his sixteenth birthday had come and gone just three weeks prior. Seeing Adam, three kids squealed and ran over to tackle him.

“Uphh”

Landing on the ground in a massive heap Adam was stuck at the bottom of a giggling pile of children as more joined in. After a minute of wrestling and tickling Adam grabbed the youngest of the bunch and began lifting them off him one by one to each of their delight. Seeing the game was over most ran off leaving only the original three culprits. Puling himself up he checked himself and then looked at his younger brothers and sister.

Puffing his chest out to create a sense of intimidation he began to scold them.

“Jeclyne, Reap, Keith now why’d you go an do a thing like that? You know it hurts when you get tackled off grass.”

Reap a small thin looking boy no older than ten with brown hair seeing no game, put on a disappointed face. “Adam you knows how we greets you. Tis how you taught us to greet dad and mums who probably won’t be happy seeing you empty handed again.”

Avoiding looking at Reap; Adam looked to the side to see Jeclyne, his youngest sibling, jumping up and down in her ever abundant energy holding out her hand expectantly. Being only four she almost never seemed tired until she dropped. While Keith a slightly chubby six year old looked at the ground crying after being rebuked.

Exasperated and seeing no real harm had been done, Adam handed over some flowers and fruit he had collected on his way out of the forest and patted Keith on the head in reassurance. “Even so I taught you to do that to them not to me you ninnies.”

Turning to Reap he continued, “An, I can’t help it if Bradson goes barging through all the trees running all the game off. I’ve already talked to the mayor and the other huntsmen about what he’s been doing. An most of them are turning a blind eye to it as he an the mayor are kin.”

Looking his siblings up and down Adam picked Keith up and put him on his shoulders and led them on past the surrounding shops and the local inn. Looking for a way to put his disappointment behind him he diverted their attention back to themselves.

“Are you guys done with your work for the day?”

A resounding “yes” was heard by Adam and he was grateful that he didn’t have to get after them to go about their chores. The small village in which they lived was unique in that once you were old enough to walk you had a job to be doing. Adam when he was younger worked alongside his father making fishing nets and repairing the boats. He was even allowed to go out to sea every once in a while. Unfortunately after a certain incident, in which Adam fell off the boat and almost drowned, Adam’s father had been adamant in not letting him go out until he was of age.

Not being allowed to work alongside his father Adam was passed around from job to job until he was accepted as a hunter’s apprentice. For the first couple of months, Adam was taught the art of tracking and how to handle a weapon. What Adam found out for himself was how to blend into his environment. People said he had adapted to his new role like a mermaid takes to water. By the time Adam had turned eleven he had already surpassed the abilities of many other hunters in the area and was allowed to work on his own.

Walking through the streets with his siblings, Adam hearing a ruckus coming from Hershel’s tavern, turned left leaving the main road. Every once in a while some drunkard would start a brawl in this the quietest and most secluded of villages. While not an uncommon occurrence it always became the talk of the town how so and so broke this or hit them. Guiding them away from the commotion Adam couldn’t help remove his sense of curiosity and asked.

“Is dad in from fishing yet?”

“Yeah dad’s already in. Mum’s still working at the shop though.”

“That’s good… I’ll be heading over to the market to buy some supplies. I’ll be dropping by home after that so go ahead an get cleaned up before Mum gets home ta make dinner.”

Letting Keith down and patting Reap on the shoulder he pushed the three towards their house and turned back towards the sounds of fighting.