“Now where do we go, Flint?” Willow asked with a frustrated sigh. “Don’t tell me we’re lost!”

“I don’t think we are. We just need to look around this area to find a place called Echoing Mountains. It’s supposed to be very tall, according to the text below it.”

I scanned the surroundings, my eyes darting from one place to another. Willow's frustrated sigh echoed in my ears, and I understood her frustration. We’ve been searching for two days now, and it seemed that we were either not even close to it, or we headed in the wrong direction. As I had a very good sense of direction, I suspected that it was the former.

As I walked ahead, I examined the landscape, my gaze sweeping over the rugged terrain with rocky outcrops and dense vegetation. It was a challenging task to spot any clear indications of our destination.

It was Luna who spotted the cliff. She came running back after heading in front while Riley stayed by me, content in padding by me and sniffing at any curious object. Willow told me that Luna found a lot of tall mountains in the distance, so we went to investigate.

“Are you sure these are the mountains that we’re looking for?” Willow asked.

“I’ve checked, the map has blue next to it, which is probably the streams we see.” I gestured at the water flowing down from the side of the cliff. After checking for similar landmarks on the map and confirming that this is what we were looking for, we prepared to travel.

As we set off towards the mountains, the landscape around us changed. The terrain became increasingly challenging, with steep slopes, rocky paths, and thick undergrowth in many places, often laced with steel, though it was full of lush plants and trees rather than the metallic ones we used to see all the time. We had to tread carefully everywhere, to avoid slipping on the abundant rocks, and even that wasn’t enough. The ground would just randomly crumble beneath your feet, and we all slipped many times. Willow actually fell down the side of a steep drop twice, sliding down immediately after she just got up. Thankfully, nothing was broken, just a few scrapes here and there, and we laughed despite her pain.

As we continued our trek, the air grew thinner, and the environment was no longer welcoming. The once vibrant vegetation gave way to twisted and gnarled trees, their branches reaching out like skeletal fingers. Some of them were replaced by metal trees, and shards of sharp steel dotted the ground once again, though sparsely.

Suddenly, a low groaning sound echoed through the mountains, causing us to freeze in our tracks. The ground beneath us trembled, sending vibrations through our bodies.

A deep, guttural growl reverberated through the canyon, followed by the chilling sound of something massive moving and grinding of something metallic.

A pair of glowing eyes appeared right in front of us, materializing from nothing, fixing us with a sweeping glare that sent shivers down my back. I would have jumped, if I hadn’t been frozen by the shock.

Before us stood a towering monster, its dark red skin covered by black scales that adorned its muscular frame. Each scale reflected the light of the sun. Its imposing wings stretched wide, casting a sprawling shadow that engulfed our surroundings.

As the creature shifted its weight, its massive, clawed feet dug into the earth, leaving deep imprints in the ground and grinding a metal shard to dust. The claws themselves were like the sharp edges of Shadowglass, honed to perfection and glinting ominously.

Every slight shift exuded an aura of raw might, the power of its movements reminding me of my grandfather. When he rallied our soldiers for a fight, his speeches gave the same power, though significantly less than that of this ancient monster. The monster’s glares sent waves of discomfort through me, and I cut off my mental rambling and focused.

“That’s what the map meant by ‘beware the hunter’,” I muttered. We thought that the hunter meant people from Steel who came to this mountain to hunt. Apparently not.

The creature let out a deep roar that shook the very mountains, causing rocks to tumble down the slopes around us. I Conjured my bow and Willow pulled hers out as well, and we stepped backwards warily, drawing them. Riley and Luna stood in front of us, two shards of ice forming in front of Luna. One was launched at the beast, who caught it in one palm and crushed it easily.

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The beast snorted. It rumbled, the noise echoing around us. It was... laughing?

No need to be afraid, travelers. I do not mean harm, but I am quite curious. You two are not part of the ferrous tribe that dwells in this region, am I right?

Words sounded in my mind, and from the way my companions reeled backwards, theirs as well. The words of the ancient beast were delivered with a deep, rumbling voice. The words themselves seemed to carry power. I felt unable to meet the beast’s eyes.

“No, we aren’t from here.” Willow replied to it, much to my surprise. “I am from Water, as is Luna, and Flint and Riley here are from Fire.” She gestured to us in turn. “Do you want us to leave?”

No need. Your group does not trouble me much. Not often do humans visit these mountains, after I killed three parties that tried to hunt me down.

“Why would they want to hunt you?” The question burst out of my mouth before I could stop it. As the beast turned to look at me, I could only continue it. “Don’t they realize that it’s impossible to kill you?” The beast rumbled, apparently laughing.

Foolishness. People often attempt feats that they have no hope of accomplishing. The ferrous tribe ceased sending people after they realized it.

Though the beast didn’t know of our mission, I couldn’t help but wonder, is our goal one of the hopeless feats that we would fail? What would happen if we failed?

“If I may ask, what is your name?” Willow asked in a small voice.

I do not have a name, yet people and animals call me the Hunter. You may refer to me as that.

“But why are you here though? Do you want something from us?”

It is rare that I receive company from humans. I merely wish to converse with you. I shall accompany your group for a certain duration of your travels, then depart.

We relaxed as we realized that instead of having to confront an infinitely powerful beast, it would be travelling with us for a bit and possibly giving us very useful pieces of information. A small smile wormed its way across my face.

Where are you going, travelers? Have you travelled for long?

As we exchanged questions, we continued our way through the mountains. The Hunter wanted to know about many of our habits, such as what we eat and what we do. We answered most of them.

In return, we asked the Hunter about the dangers near these lands and where we could find food. It told us about all the possible dangers it knew, such as falling boulders, metal shards, slipping, most of which we already knew. However, it did tell us about packs of wild animals living near these mountains, like tigers and wolves. A few times, we spotted a few wild beasts near us, who were sent scampering away by a roar from the Hunter. It seemed that nothing wanted to mess with it.

When night came, we set up our tents on a flat piece of land, while the Hunter watched curiously.

What are these pieces of skin that you pulled out of nowhere? Are those portable dens?

I explained my Stoke to it, while Willow explained her hydrokinesis and “water compaction”, things that the Hunter found impressive.

I pulled out the remaining prey we had from my Stoke for our meal, much to the Hunter’s chagrin. It claimed that when it hunted, it never stored its prey anywhere. It ate everything that it hunted. We told it that we weren’t nearly as powerful as it to be able to hunt anything whenever we wished and couldn’t eat every animal that we came across. The Hunter didn’t appear to sleep anywhere near us or at all, maybe out during night.

When I woke up, it appeared in front of me, scaring me. My reaction, involving me leaping backwards and drawing my Shurkien, was somewhat amusing for it, letting out a rumble that woke Luna, who started barking inside Willow’s tent. Willow woke up as well, and groggily climbed out of the tent.

“Good morning, Hunter.” Luna, not having a good morning, leapt around the Hunter, biting at its armored body. Willow then noticed that my sword was drawn. “Did something just happen?” Its rumbling only grew louder.

Your coyote is certainly very amusing. She is complaining about her hunting dreams being interrupted by a roar. Your boyfriend drew his weapon because I appeared in front of him while he was partially asleep.

“I’m not her boyfriend, Hunter. We’re just travelling together. Also, how did you learn that word?”

I hear.

Not wanting to pry more out of the Hunter, I glanced towards Willow, whose face was red. Luna stopped her mock fighting and was looking at Willow, her eyes glowing and something like a smirk appearing on her face.

“Luna, don’t. We’re not... in a relationship.” The glow in Luna’s eyes subsided, and she curled around Willow’s feet with something that sounded like a snicker. That shouldn’t be a sound that she can make. I think it’s because Willow snickering in front of her that taught her how to make the sound. I wouldn’t be surprised if she started rolling her eyes soon.

You two are awfully close, then, if you aren’t.

“Hunter, please, don’t push it. We’re not quite comfortable speaking about this.”

Very well. It is just a matter of time. You two will realize eventually.

“Realize what?” The Hunter didn’t reply.

Riley nudged me, and I glanced down to look at him. “Knew it!” He exclaimed, before running over to Luna, presumably to chatter about these matters. I glanced at Willow, who wouldn’t even meet my eyes now.

After we finished packing up our tents and supplies, the Hunter spoke again.

I shall be taking my leave now. I bid you good luck, Flint of Fire and Willow of Water, and to your companions. I will not hesitate to approach and aid you if perils ever arise. For now, I must go.

With a few flaps of its mighty wings, the Hunter flew into the distance.

“Well, that’s that, and we better continue our travels – are you alright?” Willow’s face reddened when I looked at her again. “Was it that bad? It didn’t even say much.” Something clicked in my head. “Wait. So, you do like me?”