The days following Guild Shiragiku’s discovery had been routine. Not necessarily “uneventful,” as explorers regularly face threats from wild beasts and the like. But routine in that explorations in the labyrinth turned up nothing of note, and requests at the Dozing Lamb were simple errands for materials and information about the Forest of Dawn. And so, it came as a surprise to Allouet when there was a knock on his inn room door early in the morning, and even more of such to find it was Dubhan waiting on the other side at this time in the morning.

Allouet raised an eyebrow. "Dubhan? What is it?"

Dubhan knew by now where Allouet was staying, but the two typically met at the Dozing Lamb. Dubhan announced, in his typical cheerful demeanor, “Guess what day it is?!”

Confused, Allouet looked at the calender in his room. "Um... The 7th of Lapin?"

"Well, okay, you're not from here so I guess you don't know. It's the Durian Hunt!"

“The... The what?"

“The Durian Hunt! They start growing in large numbers around this time of year in the Forest of Dawn, so the guild hall and the church organize a contest every year. Whichever guild kills the most durians gets a prize!"

Allouet was still having difficulty following. “Durians? As in the fruit?"

"Yes! Well, also the ones in the labyrinth are monsters and have nasty sharp teeth,” Dubhan explained. “The bigger issue is that titan arums eat them and then spit out poison. So it's good to stop them from having that big of a food source."

"That does make sense, then,” Allouet admitted. He wasn’t keen on more work with poisonous plant monsters, but the reward part of the equation would be better for the guild. “We're going right away, I take it?"

"You bet!"

And so, noon approached once the pair reached the entrance to the Forest of Dawn, where several other local guilds had already gathered. Some of the people here wore heavy armor and carried large weapons, while others had lighter equipment, some with large packs of supplies. Several guards stood at the entrance, and one stepped forward.

“Omaros thanks each of you for taking the time to join our annual hunt,” she announced, speaking loudly so as to be heard by everyone present. “Our rules remain the same as last year, for those of you who have taken part previously. The Durian Hunt lasts for twelve hours, during which time each guild will be accompanied by one of our guards. Each guard’s duty is to confirm the count of durians slain and not to interfere with the work of the guilds, outside of emergency situations. If a guild leaves the labyrinth at any time, your participation in the hunt will end and your count will be finalized then and there.”

Dubhan grinned at Allouet. "So, up for the challenge?"

“It certainly would have been preferable to have been informed of this earlier than today so that I could have prepared,” Allouet said.

Dubhan shrugged. “It slipped my mind.”

“Still, I think we should be able to manage this. If we’re handling more plant-based creatures, I would think fire would be effective so long as we can contain it and lure the monsters out into open areas."

“See, you’ve got a plan already, I knew I could count on you for this!"

“I think this counts as simple common sense, but I won’t turn down your appreciation.”

It was not long until Guild Shiragiku had set out into the labyrinth with a guard in tow, though Allister found that someone odd to think about. He was used to explorations in the labyrinth being between only him and Dubhan for the most part. Should he make smalltalk? Was this just as awkward for the guard accompanying them? The helmet he came down over his eyes and made his expression hard for Allouet to read. Dubhan hardly seemed to mind, on the other hand, as his attention was on the trees for any signs of the durians in question. There did not seem to be any present as of yet.

“Dubhan?” Allouet began after they’d been walking for some time. “I have been wondering about something.”

“Oh, yeah?”

This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author's work.

“Durians, as a fruit, are known for a rather… unpleasant scent, are they not?”

Dubhan laughed. “Uh-huh. The monster versions aren’t any better.”

“They’re really not,” the guard chimed in. Allouet groaned, knowing these twelve hours were going to be very long if their group managed to find the proper quarry.

“Hm?” Dubhan slowed to a stop then, looking down at something on the ground. “There’s tracks.”

Allouet paused to look as well. There was, just as Dubhan said, a set of tracks in the dirt that emerged from the trees to one sight of the path, and disappeared into the other side. They were from some quadrupedal creature, based on the number and distance between them. But, with three clawed toes on each foot, Allouet did not recognize them.

“Oh, geez,” Dubhan muttered. “Arums are around already.”

Allouet’s eyes widened. “The ones that spit the poison?”

"Well... Best to just keep on guard, right? Besides, if we spot it, it may lead us to more durians."

Allouet sighed, but Dubhan did have a point. He justed resolved to try not to think too much about their pair’s last run-in, and they continued along the path.

It was almost—and only almost—a relief when Allouet noticed a foul, rotten scent in the air that forced him to hold back a coughing fit. It meant that Guild Shiragiku had found their quarry without needing to involve much more threatening monsters in this. Hanging from tree branches from small vine-like appendages were, indeed, a group of the durian monsters. Green, spiky fruit that seemed normal at a glance, until one spotted their eyes and the mouths that split across their bodies, or the small limbs that resembled large thorns on the lower half of their bodies.

Dubhan pointed to the unsuspecting creatures in the trees, and a plan was quickly established and enacted. Dubhan led the charge into the battle, drawing the attention of the durians and striking at them with his scythe while Allouet used his magic to attack from a strategic distance.

Leaving the guard to monitor the scene from the sidelines, Dubhan ran in first, cutting through a number of durians in a single swing of his scythe before the monstrous fruit were able to react. The opening attack already had their numbers thinning out with the battle only just beginning. Allouet followed up by directing a spell at the durians on the other side of the area. With the durians hanging from trees, he unleashed a large blast of piercing icicles to avoid excessive damage to the area. The icicles pierced through numerous durians, splatting them against the trees.

Many of the remaining durians scattered in a panic from the ambush, dropping to the ground to flee or running along tree branches. A few of the monsters retaliated, however, rushing towards Dubhan on the front line. Dubhan brought his scythe down on most of the attacking fruits, save for one which avoided the blade and leaped up straight at him. It rammed into the side of his arm, and Dubhan hissed in pain as the fruit’s thorns left a sizable gash several inches long. Before the aggressive durian could even land back on the ground after the attack, however, another icicle from Allouet’s magic flew through the air and struck the monster, splattering its death-scented juices over the ground.

Dubhan, ignoring the fresh wound on his arm, stood his scythe against the ground once all threats were gone. “There! I'd say that'll add plenty to our count!"

“Dubhan?!” Allouet had already run to Dubhan’s side to inspect the wound more closely.

“Wha—hey, I’m fine, don’t worry!” Dubahn took a step back from Allouet and smiled, then turned to walk back to the path while the guard accompanying them counted the dead durians. “C’mon, this place reeks, let’s get out of here.”

Allouet could hardly argue with that, as he’d been doing everything in his power not to gag even from the moment their bout with the monstrous fruits began. And that had been before their juices were splattered all over the scene. He followed after Dubhan in a hurry, but was not so willing to be brushed off so easily. He picked up right where he’d left off once the air was fresh enough to tolerate, “Dubhan, at least let me bandage your arm properly.”

“Seriously, Allouet, it’s not that bad—“

“At the moment, yes. But you have an open wound in a forest filled with all manner of threats, and the last thing we need is for it to become infected.”

“Well…” Dubhan’s eyes were drawn down to his arm. He seemed uncomfortable over the discussion, but as things stood, there was blood dripping down his arm and Allouet was not willing to debate this.

“Here, it will just be a moment,” Allouet said, grabbing Dubhan’s arm and pulling down the leather wrapping that acted as a gauntlet over part of his arm.

“Wait, Allouet, stop—“

Allouet blinked in surprise when he noticed, underneath the leather sleeve, a partially-healed set of claw marks along Dubhan’s forearm. They were long and thick, and Allouet frowned with concern the moment he saw them. “Dubhan? When did this happen?”

Dubhan pulled his arm back out of Allouet’s grip. “What do you mean?” he said, though he rushed the question just enough for it to be noticeable. “We fight monsters here all the time, I don’t keep track of which scratches come from what.”

“Well, I suppose, but I certainly would have recalled if you’d gotten a wound as large as that—”

“Allouet,” Dubhan snapped, suddenly shouting, “I said it’s nothing, so let it go!”

Allouet flinched, inching away from Dubhan in shock at the sudden outburst. He found himself unable to respond, at a loss for words. The guard, having just returned to the path from counting the durian corpses, took one step to the side to make some more distance between himself and the pair.

Dubhan’s face softened with regret. “I… I’m sorry, Allouet, I didn’t mean to…” He glanced to the side at the guard, his words trailing off as if made uneasy about something.

Allouet glanced back down to the blood on Dubhan’s arm. He asked quietly, “May I… simply tend to your wound, then? I apologize for pressing a topic I should not have.”

Dubhan shook his head, “No, that’s not… Go ahead, that’s a good idea. We should get moving after that.”

“I see,” Allouet said. “Very well, then.”