The three of us walked on in silence for another half hour, seeing nothing but the occasional squirrel. Oh, there were signs of game, but nothing was fresh enough for us to follow. I knew that a herd of something was off to the north, but decided that it would be best for Piri-thak to find the trail, and teach Tren-sun.

“So, tell me, Ivor. How did you see the wolf?” Tren-sun asked quietly.

“My Seeking spell. I wanted to know what exactly I had been tracking, so I looked to see what all existed around us. That’s where I saw the wolf tracking you. It wasn’t easy to get to you. Not by a long shot. I’m just glad I downed it,” I said.

“And I appreciate it, Ivor. Now, will the both of you shut up?” Piri-thak said crossly.

Tren-sun and I shared a glance, and promptly shut up.

After another ten minutes of walking, Piri-thak found the trail. Motioning for a halt, she pointed at the signs.

“Tren-sun? Do you see what I see?” she asked.

Tren-sun inched forward, his hand on his chin in thought. He examined the ground in front of him, then the trees. Finally, he sniffed the air and closed his eyes, concentrating.

Eventually, he looked over at Piri-thak and said, “Nope.”

Piri-thak sighed, irritated. “Right here, Tren-sun.” She pointed to the droppings on the ground that he almost stepped in. “And here, the way these limbs have been rubbed?” She pointed at some limbs about eye-level with me. “There was at least one buck that came through here, and recently. Since there are multiple limbs like that on several trees, we can also tell which way they were going. There is likely fresh water nearby for them,” she said.

Tren-sun eyed both signs in embarrassment. “I suppose I should learn to look up, as well, huh?” he asked sheepishly.

“Yes. Especially since there are large cats that will ambush you from above,” Piri-thak said bluntly. “Let’s go.”

Tren-sun stood there, his mouth open in shock, as Piri-thak led the way down the trail. “And close your mouth!” she hissed back.

He shut his mouth, shaking his head. I chuckled softly at his discomfiture as we both followed the lithe huntress.

Piri-thak led us down the trail for a good mile before raising her hand for us to stop. She crouched behind a large boulder and pointed towards the north. Tren-sun and I crouched low and looked to where she was pointing.

In the distance, about a hundred yards away, was a herd of the elk-like creatures I had killed a couple months before. I counted two large bucks and seven does in the distant field. They were blissfully unaware of our presence.

Scooting over to Piri-thak, I murmured, “I count nine. Should I check to see if there are more hidden ahead, or if there are some other predators nearby?”

“Will it alert them?” came her almost inaudible reply.

“No.”

“Do it.”

I placed a hand on the ground and sent out a Seeking for our immediate area. There was one other, much larger elk hiding in the tree line to the west. Probably standing sentry. Interesting that they had evolved to do so. Searching a bit further out, I saw two more markers approaching slowly from the east. They were tracking this herd, as well. I was reasonably sure it wasn’t Liss-ran and Kilik-ma.

Returning to myself, I slipped a small piece of the dried meat into my mouth. I could feel the effects of the spells I had cast, and didn’t want to overdo it.

“There is one standing in the trees to the west. It’s big. I also saw two other creatures approaching from the east. They’re stalking this herd, too,” I murmured.

She nodded and began to creep from tree to tree to the east, edging closer to the herd all the while. Tren-sun and I followed, as silent as the grave. Thankfully, this creeping movement didn’t alert the deer or the other two creatures I had seen.

When we had gotten near to where I had seen the other two, I looked around for signs. Seeing none, I touched the ground and cast a Seeking for them.

As the image built in my head, I could see that we were very close to their location, about thirty yards behind and to the right of where I was. I returned to myself and slowly looked over, and what I saw shocked me.

Behind us stood a pair of Humans, armed with crossbows. One of them spotted me, and alerted his companion slowly. They both looked towards me, and I put my finger to my lips, then held up nine fingers. They nodded and crouched low, moving silently towards us.

“Do not move, guys. There are two Humans approaching us, armed with crossbows. I think they’re hunting, too. There is plenty for us all to take, and I can stop them, if need be,” I murmured to my companions, who both stiffened and nodded.

Presently, the hunters came alongside us. They looked at me, then did a double-take when they saw that I had a pair of Lizardfolk with me.

“Quiet. I’ll explain after we have either taken or lost our quarry. Understood?” I murmured, staring them hard in the face.

Both nodded, and I continued, “Piri-thak is in the lead here. Follow what she says, and we will all have a full belly.” The two nodded and waited.

After a few moments, Piri-thak began to creep out of the woods, angling herself such that the deer wouldn’t see us. The four of us followed suit, and we found ourselves within fifty yards of the herd. Piri-thak nocked an arrow, and we all did the same, each aiming at a different beast. I took aim at the big one in the trees, and once we heard Piri-thak’s bow sing, we each loosed our volley.

Three does staggered with kill shots, and I heard a loud crashing in the woods near the large buck. The other five scattered, and we knew we would never find them again today. The two hunters stood and turned to my group.

“I am Mikkel Franks, and this is Errod Markle. Who are you, friend?” Mikkel asked, extending his hand.

I shook his hand warmly and smiled. “I am Ivor Freyrsson, and these are my companions, Piri-thak, and Tren-sun. I never expected to run into any other hunters, let alone Humans,” I said quietly.

“Ah! Out for a hunt with your slaves, I see? Smart man. Yippers make the best hunters and sometimes bait,” Errod said jovially.

My companions hissed at the two, and I glowered at the men. “They are not slaves, and if I ever hear you refer to them as that again, I’ll split you from groin to gullet,” I said menacingly, a hand on one of my daggers.

“Hey, woah, woah, woah… Let’s not be hasty, now,” Errod said nervously. “Look, Ivor, was it? I apologize. I didn’t mean to offend you or your…friends, here. Let’s all just take what we have killed, and go back to our respective camps, okay?” Errod implored, his hands out in a placating gesture.

“Errod, you moron. You don’t just say those things,” Mikkel said to Errod. “I apologize for my cousin here. He was raised in Bostbo city, and his parents; my aunt and uncle, are not the kindest to their slaves,” he said. Looking down at my companions, he removed his hat. “I am sorry for the words my cousin has said. Please forgive us.”

Tren-sun growled softly and glared at Errod. “See that it doesn’t happen again, or he will be my next target,” he said.

“You heard the man, Errod. Keep your damned mouth shut. I don’t want to have to explain to your parents why you’re dead. You hear me?” Mikkel groused.

Errod nodded sheepishly, and stowed his crossbow. The five of us walked to the field, and inspected our kills. Two had the Haarthuu’s arrows, and one held a pair of crossbow bolts; one in its flank, the other had pierced the poor beast’s eye. I looked beyond, to where I had fired my arrow, and saw a trail of broken branches. I’d probably wounded the beast, at least.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

Piri-thak and Tren-sun got to work dressing and butchering their kills. I walked to the other hunters, and crossed my arms. “I’m assuming from the way you speak about the Lizardfolk that you’re from the country, Mikkel. Would I be correct?” I asked.

“True. While they may be slaves, there’s no need to be rough or cruel to them. This includes how you speak to them, Errod,” Mikkel said, glaring at his cousin, who looked ashamed. Mikkel shook his head and continued, “I’m from a small village near Cielb. Slaves are not common in my village, and I was raised to treat them like I would anyone else. Errod here is, like I said, visiting for the winter from Bostbo. We’ve been on hunts before, but we’d not ranged this far out before. How did you come by your…companions there?”

“I collapsed in their territory. They took me in, nursed me to health, and I’m here returning the favor. They aren’t bad people, and I’ve learned a lot about them in the past couple of months,” I said.

“I’d heard there was a city where they lived. No,” -he held up a hand in protest- “I don’t want to know where it is. I’d rather they live freely, as all of us should. The knowledge of its location would be too tempting, even for me,” Mikkel said, finally removing the bolt from the skull of the doe. “Huh. This one is yours, Errod. Good job. Let’s get to work, and leave these good people to their own kills. Incidentally Ivor, what were you shooting at? I saw yours sail off into the woods.” Mikkel asked.

“Oh, there was a sentry in there. Big boy, too. Pretty sure I got him. Even if it wasn’t a kill shot, I have one of the best hunters with me. We’ll find him and bring the meat to the city. Of that, I’m certain,” I said.

“Sounds like you have it all planned out, then. You look strong. I hope you can carry three of the animals back. Or, knowing the Lizardfolk, there are several in the woods right now, watching. We’ll be out of your hair shortly. This girl here will feed us for a couple of months, I believe,” Mikkel said happily as he patted the side of the doe.

I waved goodbye to the pair, and walked back to my friends. Kneeling, I spoke softly, “The big one, Mikkel, is from near Cielb. He seems to have similar beliefs as I. The other one appears to be a young idiot from the city. Born and raised with slaves all around him. He knows no better. Let’s have them take their kill home before we stuff this into my Pack. I really don’t want to explain where they went. Once they’ve gone, we will need to find the one I hit. May need to butcher him before we can shove him in here.”

Piri-thak nodded, and Tren-sun looked hurt. “I’ve never been called that before. I knew it was a mean thing to say, but I didn’t think it would be this painful. Why do they do that, Ivor? Why?” Tren-sun asked, tears filling his eyes.

I sighed softly, and wrapped the smaller man up in a gentle hug. “I don’t know. I don’t know why some people are just casually cruel to others. It’s never made sense to me, either. You’re okay, though, right?” I held him at arm’s length, and looked him in the eye.

“Yeah,” he nodded vigorously, “Yeah, I’ll be okay. I just-” he stopped, as a bolt tore through his chest.

He looked down in shock and wonder at the new decoration. His mouth worked silently, and he fell over.

“Not again! Tren-sun!” I yelled, slapping one hand on his chest, ripping the bolt out with the other, dropping it to the ground. “Unfeeling flesh, make whole and healthy.” I said loudly, feeling the energy pour out of me and into the gasping man. “Watch him. Get him breathing again. I’m taking care of something.” I said angrily and stood.

“yessss. remove the taint. let me freeeee….” My Anger threatened to burst free and I struggled to contain it. I turned and faced the man responsible. Errod stood there with a satisfied smirk on his face.

“And now he’ll never speak to another Human like that again. Serves him right,” he said.

“Errod! What in the world did you do? Why? Why would you shoot him? He wasn’t a threat to us! None of them are,” Mikkel shouted.

Errod turned and addressed his cousin. “They must learn their place, Cousin! They are beneath us! They cannot be permitted to speak that way to a Human. If I had my way-” he cut off as I swept a leg and roughly shoved him to the ground.

“That was not a smart move, Errod. You’re going to regret that,” I said dangerously.

“How dare you! Do you know who I am? Do you have any idea who my father is?” he shouted indignantly.

“Nope. Can’t say that I do,” I said, my voice as calm as a frozen lake, kneeling to look him in the eye. “Nor do I care, Errod. You see,” -I unsheathed my dagger, and gently placed it in the hollow of his throat- “when people make the mistake of harming those that I care about, they have historically wound up dead. Would you like to die, Errod?” I asked quietly.

Errod looked frantically from me to Mikkel, who sadly shook his head. “You’re on your own with this one, Cousin. I warned you. I begged you to leave it alone. But what did you do? What did you do? You went and caused problems. Again. When my aunt, your mother, sent me the letter ahead of your arrival, I knew you’d done something terrible. It was either you winter with me, or get slapped into a cell for the next several years. If he kills you, I won’t shed a tear.”

“You sack of shit! You would leave your own blood to die at the hands of this, this….brute of a man? If I ever get out of this, I’ll tell Father, and he’ll have the Academy flatten your precious little village,” Errod spat.

“The Academy, huh? You really think some pissant mage of yours can hold a candle to me?” I asked, grinning evilly.

“His father is the head of the Academy in Bostbo. Errod here has no real affinity for magic, as it drains him terribly. Part of the reason he was sent to me. Just kill him and be done with it, Ivor. He isn’t worth your trouble. Or mine,” Mikkel said.

“Oh, I’ll gladly kill him. However, I think there is something else that can be done. You see, I’m actually going to Bostbo once the winter is over. He will come with me when I leave. He’s really not going to have a choice, you see. He will, however, have a rather comfortable ride with me and my lady,” I said.

“I’m not going anywhere with you! When I get up, I’m going to kill you and the other yipper, and leave your corpses to rot,” Errod threatened.

“Shut up, Errod. You’re the cause of your own misfortune, and I hope you drown in it!” Mikkel shouted at his cousin.

“Piri-thak! Is Tren-sun okay?” I shouted.

“He’s fine, Ivor. Terrified, but fine,” came her reply.

“Good. Both of you, get over here, please,” I said.

My two companions trotted over, their faces a blank mask.

“Good. Hold him. Try not to kill him. I need to think for a moment,” I said, watching as they took hold of Errod’s arms, their claws digging painfully into his flesh.

Errod cried out in pain, then looked at his new captors. “You! I killed you. I’m sure of it! How are you still alive?”

“My friend over there is much more powerful than even his massive form would lead you to believe. You’ve made a grave mistake, Human,” Tren-sun said viciously.

I sat on Errod’s midsection, sorting through my memories of spells. After a few moments, I smiled. Reaching into my coat pocket, I pulled out my bundle of dried meat. I walked over and offered some to Mikkel, who took it with thanks and ate it appreciatively. I stuffed piece after piece into my hungry mouth, and ate, hoping that I could put enough potential energy into my body to withstand what I was about to do.

“Mikkel? What is the first town on the way to Bostbo?” I asked.

“Bostbo? Uh, that would be Klearm,” he answered, scratching his head.

I nodded as I walked over to Errod’s head and knelt, placing my hands on either side of his head. He attempted to twist out of my grip, to no avail. Leaning down, I whispered, “Geas.” and then spoke to him.

“You will go home with your cousin. You will obey him in all things. When the Spring comes, you will then go to the town of Klearm and wait for me. Find whatever lodging you need. When I arrive, you will offer to direct me to Bostbo. You will only remember that you had a successful hunt today. Do you understand me, Errod?” I commanded in a quiet voice.

Errod stiffened while I gave him his command, then nodded. I motioned for my companions to back away, and we all stood.

“Mikkel? He’s all yours. You’ll find him much more compliant now. He will be leaving your care in the Spring, and coming with me to Bostbo,” I said, shoving Errod at his cousin.

“What? Errod? Are you okay?” Mikkel asked. Errod nodded, looking glum. “Well, go get us a stout limb to tie the doe to so we can carry her home,” Mikkel said to Errod.

“Okay, Cousin. I’m sorry,” Errod said as he headed off into the woods to find what Mikkel requested.

“What did you do to him, Ivor? I’m not complaining, but…” Mikkel said, trailing off.

“Don’t ask, Mikkel. You don’t want to be a part of what will be happening over the next few years. Or, if you do, come find me. I guarantee that I won’t be hard to find. Just treat him as you’ve always treated him, and everything will be okay. Don’t ever ask him to do something that might kill or harm him, though. He’ll start acting normal in a day or two, once his mind adjusts,” I warned.

“As you say, friend. As you say.” Mikkel knelt down and extended a hand to Tren-sun. “I am deeply troubled by what my cousin has done, sir. Please don’t harbor hatred toward the lot of us. Some of us are just dumber than others,” he said softly.

Tren-sun hesitantly took the proffered hand and shook it. “I understand, Mikkel. If Ivor hadn’t been here, I am certain I would not be alive,” he replied.

Errod returned, dragging a stout limb. “Here we are, Cousin. Let’s tie the doe and get her home,” he said.

“Farewell, Ivor. Farewell, Tren-sun and Piri-thak. Be safe, all of you,” Mikkel said to us, then walked away to take care of the deer.

I walked over to our kills and knelt, miming an inspection of the does. Finding the crossbow bolt laying next to one of the deer, I picked it up and dropped it in my Pack.

We waited while they took care of their animal, and watched them retreat into the forest. Once they were gone, we hurriedly stuffed the two does into my Pack, and turned toward the woods, intent on finding the sentry.