He had followed the faint smell of blood deep into a dark, wet, musty, cave, walking carefully so as to not make a sound, holding his satchel tight so the elixirs inside would not clank together. He breathed through his mouth providing him with as big a breath as he needed without making a sound.

The only sounds that he made came from the slight rustle of his clothes which his precise movement had lessened considerably but still posed a threat to alerting the monster that lived inside.

He made his way to the deepest part of the cave without alerting the monster he hunted. He heard something breathing coming from around the corner. He stopped moving and listened to it’s breathing pattern. 

Inhale for two seconds, hold for three then exhale for two seconds he listens to it’s breathing for an entire two minutes. The monster's breathing was wet sounding and slightly raspy sounding, not changing the entire time it was asleep.

He rounded the corner knowing the monster was asleep, making slow careful long precise steps making sure to not make a sound, as he did he studied the monster as it came into his eyesight.

It was a Quex, an agile creature big in frame standing at a meter tall with small arms and covered with a translucent mucus that secretes from slits along their bodies, helps them achieve their speed though their defining trait are their golden backs and extremely sensitive hearing.  They’re mostly known as rural creatures that live in damp environments making most caves a perfect place to set up home. They only go out to hunt when they need to, eating wildlife and only at night as the sun's heat dries up their mucus slowing them down considerably making them relatively easy targets to kill. Though, some eat not out of necessity but fun going out at night and taking sometimes multiple prey back to wherever they made their lair while upping their targets from wildlife to human life. 

This one, the one he was hunting was one of those. It had killed three of the villagers from the nearby town one of them being a child, another a woman who went for a midnight stroll and the third a man went through the forest to spend the night with a woman that wasn’t his wife, it maimed a fourth, a hunter, which escaped and ran through town screaming at the top of his lungs about a monster, blood from his leg trailing behind him staining the ground a dark red. Causing quite a scene, some people looked in bewilderment as he did and some gathered around him as he stopped in the middle of town amassing a small crowd, the town elder going at a slight jog (his running speed) from his house made way through the crowd shouting for someone to get the doctor, getting right next to the man who was now on the ground asking what had happened. The man on the ground slightly delirious from blood loss gave the monster's vague description and where he believed he’d been attacked to the town elder. 

Being in the town tavern during all of it he, a stranger to the town had sat down for a drink only moments earlier heard the screaming man’s run through town, he finished the rest of his drink in one swig slamming his tankard onto the wooden table he was sitting, begrudgingly getting off his stool and making for the man thinking time to go to work.

This specific Quex was one meter long, slightly smaller than average frame with less muscle definition than most fully grown Quex, less than five mucus slits, lighter shade of green and small golden back he searched his memories of the Quex from his stay at Plythorn and came to the conclusion it was thirty years old, young for a Quex meaning it would be slower, less sensitive to sound and less battle ready.

He crossed the distance in a matter of minutes coming to a halt when he felt he was close enough to use the elixir he had prepared for a range of monsters: a Quex, Sin, and a Sereh, all similar sounding to what the man had described. 

He opened his leather satchel covered with precipitation from the cave, wetting the tips of his glove, grabbing the small vial thin at the top rounding at the bottom into a small circle, filled with a light bronze coloured liquid and plugged tightly with a cloth. looping the thin leather strip filled with holes spaced at different lengths under a silver square with a metal prong on one end, pulling the leather strip tightly towards him and threading the metal prong through one of the holes in the leather strip letting the prong fall and rest on a small indent on the other side of the metal square then tucked the excess leather under a leather hoop that kept the leather strip that wasn’t held down by the prong from sticking up. 

Pulling the cloth it came out silently, wet at the end dripping small droplets of the elixir onto the wet stone floor. He lifted the bottle to his lips, the cool glass’s rounded edge pushing into his bottom lip as the strangely warm liquid filled his mouth, the bitter metallic taste of it attacking his tongue's taste buds as he held it inside. He made sure he only poured half of it in his mouth before removing it from his lips. He then poured the rest of the elixir on the cloth evenly and pulled a sword with an intricate hilt from its black scabbard covered with ancient elvish runes. 

One hand wrapped around the hilt firmly and the other on the scabbard he slowly pulled it out. The sword's metal rasped against the scabbard as he pulled it the rest of the way out causing the Quex to stir in it’s sleep he stopped dead making sure the Quex did not wake.

He waited for a few seconds before moving again, turned the sword horizontally, his fingers holding the sword facing the cave's wet stone and the sword tip facing the left of the cave. Using the cloth he rubbed the sword's steel with the elixir wet cloth making sure to not miss a spot. 

Like a sponge the sword absorbed the elixir until only a few drops were left on the blade. When he was done he put the still wet cloth in his trousers front pocket and grabbed the sword's hilt with left hand, both hands now on the hilt and ready to slay the monster.

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He walked sideways staying five feet from the monster, crossing his feet every step holding his sword held slightly to the right low by his hip the plow stance, the tip of his sword aiming upward at where Quex’s chest would be if it decided to wake up  until he was facing the monster's golden back. He approached slowly and carefully. He eventually made it to the monster’s back, it’s shiny golden back lay in front of him he readied his sword changing to a different stance. Holding the sword high till the hilt was a few inches away from his temple the sword tip was angled slightly pointing underneath where the Quex’s golden back ended the ox stance; he took another step forward still aiming the sword's tip just underneath the monster’s golden back.

It was one of the most vulnerable spots of the Quex, vulnerable but not very practical unless it was asleep or you had a Peregrine potion or if you were incredibly skilled. It’s where the Quex’s mucus glands were; if you managed to hit that spot it would destroy it’s mucus glands and cause its mucus to dry up, ridding the Quex of its ability of speed.

He took another step and prepared to stab where he’d been taught to then took another step. He was just about right where he needed to be when he got careless and kicked a pebble across the floor hitting the Quex.

The Quex instantly awoke mucus spewing from it’s slits wetting the Quex even more than it was as it whipped around to face where he stood, brandishing it’s sharp black teeth. He quickly twisted the sword moving his right hand just under the pommel of the sword and his left just beneath the guard. The Quex lurched, coming straight at him reaching his face in seconds when he spat the elixir he kept in his mouth spraying the Quex with the warm light bronze liquid it screeched in pain recoiling away to the right of him. He pivoted his body dodging the Quex as it flew forward, stabbing it in its side as it did leaving a deep slash across the side of its body. It let out another screech of pain as it quickly escaped the sword's grasp, moving away holding its side. Yuven turned the sword and returned to his stance waiting for the Quex. 

It came not a few seconds later rushing at his front again he gripped his sword a little harder as it flew straight at him coming just a foot away before turning sharply to his right, following with his eyes he predicted what it was going to do next and as it leapt at him baring it’s black teeth at him and spewing saliva. He stabbed upward hitting it in its chest where its lung would be and pushed with his right hand on the sword’s pommel falling backward with the monster as it screeched the loudest screech yet and thrashed around as it tried to escape his grasp, they hit cave’s floor with a loud thump as the sword penetrated all the way through the Quex it’s thrashing and screeching reaching a new high as it experienced a new terrible pain, keeping his left hand firmly on the swords hilt he grabbed the cloth from his pocket still wet with the elixir, removed the sword and thrusted it straight into the sword’s cut deep leaving the cloth inside as he removed his blue covered forearm and jumped away from the monster. The Quex let out more screeches and thrashed around for a few seconds before it’s screeches turned to silence and it’s thrashing turned to nothing. 

He leaned his sword on a rock and moved over to the Quex’s lifeless body, his dagger ready and cut out it’s two black teeth and turning it over precisely cut off it’s golden back, rolling it up and placing the teeth in his leather satchel. He took one last quick look at the Quex’s body as he wiped it’s blue blood off his sword and dagger, sheathing them before leaving for the town elders house.

He slammed open the door to the town elder’s house. The town elder looked up in surprise sitting behind an oak table worn with time writing something. Looking at the familiar stranger up and down noticing the slightly blue liquid running from the ends of his glove to the end of his forearm and the rolled up frilly gold also slightly wet with blue liquid before realizing what it meant.

“Don’t tell me you actually killed it!” he exclaimed to the stranger. Which responded by moving up to the town elders desk dripping drops of blue blood from his forearm onto the floor along the way. “There’s no way you killed that monster so fast!” He continued. The stranger unrolled the Quex’s golden back, wetting the table’s surface with it’s blue blood, the town elder twisting his face from the rancid smell of it assaulting his nostrils. Then opening his satchel and placing the two black teeth he removed from the Quex beside the Quex’s golden back.

“Now. I want my reward.” The stranger said. The town elder covered his nostrils with one hand, opening a drawer built into the table and grabbing a dusty thick leather book, placing it away from the golden Quex back and flipping the pages until he came to a page describing the Quex, using the tip of his wrinkled index finger to underline the words looking from the book to the golden Quex back it’s teeth multiple times with an appraising eye.

“I-I can’t believe it. You actually killed a Quex and this fast.” he stammered his face filled with disbelief.

“Yeah, I did. Now give me my reward.” The town elder put the leather covered book back into the drawer he got it from and closed it shut, opening another and grabbing a small leather pouch filled with gold.

“Here.” He said, tossing it to the stranger. The stranger caught it and pulled the leather strip that tied the pouch closed. Pouring the gold into his hand Yuven counted in his head then placed them back in the pouch and tied it up again. And turned to leave

“Thank you.” The stranger said, as he opened the door.

“Y-your welcome.” Yuven heard as he walked out.

Walking back to his tied horse he heard the smack of mud and metal clattering together he ignored it and started to mount his horse when he heard the smack of mud and metal clattering stop right behind him. He let out a deep sigh turning around.

“Yuven of Clamor!” A guard yelled. He studied their outfits. Red and gold. Noverian guards. “The king of Noveria has summoned you. You are to immediately make your way to the city capital of Noveria, Redmor. The King has sent us to make sure you make it there unharmed.”