The boos and cheers of the crowd were roaring all around Ezhno, but he could not be bothered with his surroundings. It was as if he were encircled by a sound proof bubble and the words of the old man were all he could hear. The old man's story made Ezhno realize that he could now conceivably build a future that would not be filled with death, but one bright with many possibilities and opportunities. Ezhno knew in order to break the shackles of oppression and to free him from the cage of his little existence, he could not squander this lucky encounter that was bestowed upon him.

He said to the old man, "Since being in the military did not work in your favor, how does one go about getting picked in the hunting parties? How does the great beast hunt work?"

The old man sees that Ezhno has a strong yearning to know more about the great beast hunt. Gramps saw the same eyes on Ezhno that he himself had when he was a hot blooded young man. He did not want this youth in front of him getting himself killed before his time had come. "Boy, if you are thinking of joining the great beast hunt, I suggest you stay clear of it. You are still too young for starters. You do not even look like someone who has ever fought before let alone picked up a weapon! You still have a long life ahead of you, go appreciate the simple pleasures in life. You should experience the warmth and special touch of a few women before getting yourself torn to shreds by a wild beast," the old man jokingly howled in laughter.

Ezhno did not know what to say to this, he did not want to get himself killed, he was just curious and wanted to learn everything he could. His face was bright red, his words stuttered as he said to the old man, "Who said I wanted to get myself killed, I was just curious, that's all. You perverted old kook! Hmph, if I really wanted to, I could head back to the vendor area and get all the warmth I could possibly handle."

The old man gave a playful smile at Ezhno and replied, "Perverted old kook you say? At least this old man has never paid for a night of pleasure. I shall accompany you to the vendor area and see how a youth with no coins plays around with the ladies of the night." He continued laughing obnoxiously while slapping his leg at Ezhno's comment.

Ezhno's face got red with embarrassment, agitation set in and he said to Gramps, "Hmph, who said I will have to pay with coins? Hmph, I was told the only price I would pay was an insufferable itch. Many times I have had annoying itching on my arms and legs, so I don't see what the difference is. If being with a woman makes a man itch, why the hell would one want to do it all the time anyways?"

The old man fell silent, and looked at Ezhno. It was as if an ice cold breeze ran though him and froze him into a statue. The old man had never heard anyone utter such things in his entire life. He was baffled by the words that just came out of this youth's mouth. Not being able to contain himself any longer, the old man nearly fell off his chair, he hugged his stomach area while a roaring laughter came from him as if he was a wild beast being tickled to death. Many of those in the vicinity could not help but stare with agitation at this old man's hysterical laughing.

Ezhno could not help feeling annoyed by the old man's reaction, he was confused. Why would Gramps laugh hysterically at something that was the truth? Ezhno did not find anything that warranted such obnoxious laughter. He tried to calm the old man, "What's so funny? You are causing a scene and everyone is staring at us!"

The old man's laughter was slowly subsiding as he looked around at the crowd of people and said, "Sorry everyone! Sorry for disturbing you while you are trying to enjoy the fight."

He looked over at Ezhno and said, "Boy, I do not know if you are pulling this old man's leg or if you truly don't know what I am laughing about." As he said this, he could see that Ezhno still had a blank expression on his face. "You honestly do not know?"

Ezhno shook his head back and forth, with an innocent and confused look.

Lifting his hand towards Ezhno, Gramps gestured to come closer, he lightly coughed a couple of times and whispered in his ear to explain why the insufferable itch was not a good thing and clarified that this was not normal.

Ezhno grimaced and his face was bright red throughout the entire explanation. When the old man finished, Ezhno could not help but stare at the ground with an embarrassed look on his face, he said to the old man, "Gramps, can we pretend this never happened, I am truly embarrassed right now and wish to forget all that I have said. Please just drop the subject and go back to what we were talking about before."

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

The old man said, "Sure, what were we talking about?" Once again he started laughing and giggling like a little girl. Ezhno looked at the old man and then looked down to see the old man indiscreetly scratching his private area.

Ezhno was angry with a face bright red like a tomato, he yelled at Gramps, "You perverted old fucker!"

The old man slowly wiped the tears from his face and laughter subsided once more, "Sorry, sorry I could not help myself." With a smile from ear to ear he controlled his laughter, and carried on, "Every since the culling of the beast so many years ago, each kingdom decided they should put regulations on hunting the beast. In the Treherne kingdom, if you are hunting beast you can not have more than ten members in a party. If you are caught and reported to have more than that, the penalty is death on sight. They do not want a calamity to befall on the kingdom like they did in the old days. However, once every year they have the "The Great Beast Hunt". For two weeks you are allowed to have any number of party members to go hunt beast in the wild."

Ezhno had to interrupt the old man for a moment asking, "How is that any different than it was before? If you can have any number of party members to go hunt wouldn't that still thin the number of beasts?"

The old man was annoyed by being cut off, "Boy just be quiet and let me finish, or would you rather I start talking about..." as the old man laughed, his hand slowly went down itching his crotch.

Ezhno had a horrendous look on his face and shuttered at the thought of reliving those embarrassing moments. He nodded his head without saying another word and sat there quiet and obedient.

The old man pondered for a moment, "Now where was I?" Then continued on, "Those who are leading a hunting party have to register with the kingdom and then pay a ridiculous amount of coin per party member. Remember what I said before, enhancing is a game for the rich and powerful in this day and age. How much money can us poor people scrap together to form a party and even if we could, would it be worth it? Unless you are organized and have the resources, then the probability of coming home with the prized meat is low. Even if you are lucky enough to come home with the prize, there are a lot of rumors that are floating around that say one could eat the entire beast and see little gains to their bodies. Others have had significant growth and could lift 1,000 pounds over their heads after only ingesting one fifth of the beast meat. There are even some that say ingesting the meat could cripple the body and deaths have even been reported."

Ezhno again could not believe what he was hearing, he thought to himself, 'Cripple? Death? Only a possibility of becoming an enhancer? If beast meat was truly the only way and still not a sure thing, then how the hell did I become an enhancer?' He closed his eyes and starting thinking of the possibilities.

The old man saw that Ezhno had his eyes closed and was no longer listening to his explanation. He thought that Ezhno was day dreaming about being a mighty enhancer gaining fame and fortune throughout the entire kingdom. He sighed to himself 'Oh to be young and foolish, if I could only go back to those days!' He decided to let Ezhno be and continued to watch the fight in the middle of the arena.

While his eyes were closed Ezhno thought back to all the events that happened to him in the past year. His eyes were constantly rolling around behind his closed eyelids. He kept mumbling unintelligible words over and over again, then the memory of the master played in his mind as a sour expression now showed on his face. The kick to his mid section, being tossed in the large pile of horse poop by his neck, the foul smell.... His eyes suddenly popped open like large dinner plates and he yelled over to the old man, "GRAMPS, WHAT HAPPENS AFTER ONE EATS THE BEAST MEAT AND GAINS THE POWER OF AN ENHANCER!?"

The old man was suddenly startled and nearly jumped out of his seat, "Boy what the hell has gotten into you? That scared me half to death, did you forget that I am an old man, you could have killed me you know!"

"Sorry Gramps, but please answer my question, what happens to those that have ingested the beast meat, did anything strange happen to them on the day they acquired their enhancements?" Ezhno pleaded for an answer.

The old man thought for a moment and said, "Well now that you have mentioned it, I heard people say that after one achieves their enhancements that no one dares go near them. Maybe it has something to do with the special meat but the person secretes an oil, the smell is so unbearable and vile that many will vomit, including the person themselves. So those that hunt take a piece of fat from the beast and if the smell is horrendous then there is a good chance that the beast is the one they are looking for. Why do you ask, have you just realized that you have heard of the stories of an enhancer before? You could have saved this old man a lot of trouble..."

Ezhno once again interrupted Gramps from his speech and asked, "Is there truly no other way besides eating the beast meat to become an enhancer?"

Agitation set in on the old man's face, "Ezhno, why do you always cut me off when I am trying to say something to you? Youths these days... Whatever.. To the best of my knowledge this is truly the only way that I know of and I am almost positive that this is the only way one can enhance the body. If there is another way, then they are keeping this secret to themselves. I am getting on with my years Ezhno, if you know of another way to get enhancements this old man would be willing to try even if it cost me my life. I have fulfilled almost all of the things I have wanted to accomplish in life, the only regret I have so far is not being able to experience the world of an enhancer. If you do know of a way, please grant this old man's selfish wish and let me have a chance to fill the one void in my life. "