The young girl walked the murky streets of Talim, observing the town that looked all but friendly. Strange voices like howls of pain and cackling could be heard on occasion, adding further to the eerie note it carried. But Velvet wasn’t scared. She knew why she was here and what kind of people resided in this place. Still, she couldn’t help but feel intrigued by this new atmosphere she was faced with. As she walked across the market, all sorts of strange goods were being offered to her.
“Fresh wormroot! Fresh wormroot, extra wormy!” a man shouted from a stand.
“Bat eyes! Get your bat eyes here!” a woman’s voice screeched.
“Ursa blood! Very rare, freshly drained!” another man offered.
Looking left and right, Velvet ran into something and was knocked back, landing on her rear.
She pushed her pointy hat up from her eyes and looked up. The “thing” she ran into was alive apparently. It was a large man, dressed in a black coat. He turned around and seemed surprised at first. But then his face contorted in a twisted grin, crooked teeth poking out behind his grazed lips.
“Why hello there, little girl!” He spoke with a deep and menacing voice. Any normal girl would have peed her pants upon seeing this thing look at her. Velvet, however, got back up to her feet and smiled happily.
“Hello mister! How are you today?!” she chirped at the creature towering above her. This confused him greatly and for a moment, he didn’t know what to say.
“Aren’t you…scared of me?” he asked, baffled at the cheerful response she gave him.
“Scared? Why? Are you going to try and kill me?”
“Uhm…maybe? Maybe not. But you don’t know that, do you?” he looked at her suspiciously with his one eye, the other being covered by an eyepatch.
“No, I don’t,” she replied casually and extended her hand towards him. “My name is Velvet! Velvet Crow! What is yours?”
This interaction wasn’t at all going as the strange man expected it to go. He expected this girl to run away screaming at the sight of him. Instead, she is talking to him like he is her friend!
“My name…is Grogar,” the man spoke hesitantly. “Grogar Helsing.”
“Nice to meet you Grogar! Wow, that is an awesome name you have! I bet you are strong!”
She still held out his hand for him to shake it. In the end, he did. His hand alone was the size of her entire head, and he could probably crush it like an apple if he wanted to.
“You are strong!” Velvet quickly gathered by the strength of his grip. What she didn’t know is that the man was trying his hardest not to squeeze her small hand too tightly.
“What is a young girl like you doing in a place like this?” the man finally asked, his curiosity getting the better of him. This was a sight he hasn’t seen…well, ever!
“I am here to become a huntress!” she stated proudly. “Do you know where I can apply?”
He let go of her hand and leaned down, inspecting her closely from head to toe. Then he straightened himself up and burst into laughter. Velvet cocked her eyebrow as she observed him laugh his lungs out, his hearty laugh echoing across the market and making even the merchants uncomfortable.
“What’s so funny?!” she asked angrily after a few seconds of this.
Grogar stopped laughing and leaned down again, looking her eye to eye. “Listen to me, tiny girl. I don’t know what kind of joke you think you are pulling here, but you better get your pretty little face out of here before something happens to you! Where are your parents?!”
“Dad is at home on his farm and mommy’s dead,” she answered, not even blinking. “Why would I need to get out of here? I just got here!”
“Don’t you realize where you are!” the man shouted in her face now, the smell of rotten meat and onions filling her nostrils and making her wince.
“Phew! Your breath stinks!” she yelled back and held down her nose. “Wash your mouth!”
As soon as Velvet said this, the market fell dead-silent and a few distant gasps were heard.
“She’s badmouthing Grogar!” one of the merchants shouted in disbelief.
“Does this girl have a death-wish?” another voice said.
The hulking creature of a man furrowed his brows and straightened himself up, cracking his knuckled loudly. “You have some nerve kid, I’ll give you that!” his voice boomed.
“Are you going to hit me now?” Velvet asked with a deadpan face.
“I don’t understand.” He shook his head. “Does nothing ever scare you?!”
“I killed a dozen wyverns and knocked a dragon unconscious.” She shrugged her shoulders. “How scary can a man like you really be compared to that?”
This made Grogar flinch. He grabbed her collar and lifted her up, shaking her a little. “So you think you’re being funny, huh?! You think you can just run your mouth and talk tough!”
“I’m telling the truth,” Velvet said, still unfazed despite her feet dangling a meter above the ground. “I even got my mark of air while doing it!” she added, lifting up her right arm and revealing the two marks on the back of her hand.
The man looked at them closely, his one eye bulging out as he peered so close that it nearly touched her hand. “It can’t be…”
“But it is!” Velvet smiled triumphantly. “Do you believe me now?”
He immediately set her down and crouched in front of her. He was so large that even when in this position, his head was almost at eye-level. “How old are you, little girl?”
“I just turned fifteen,” she answered. “Why does that matter?”
“FIFTEEN?!” he exclaimed, making the merchants jump up in fear again. “How can you only be fifteen and have the marks of light and air?! That’s…it’s not possible!”
“They said I was the youngest to do so at the academy.”
Grogar scratched his chin and appeared to be in deep thought for a bit, before he put a hand on her shoulder, his arm so heavy that the girl’s knees buckled under the weight as he did so.
“Come with me…what was your name again?”
“Velvet.”
“Right. Come with me, Velvet,” he said before standing up and starting to walk.
“Where are we going?” she asked him, but after getting no answer simply started to skip after him, humming a merry tune.
The merchants and people on the street were all staring at this highly unusual sight—the monstrous man walking in silence and the little girl happily skipping behind him as they made their way across town to their destination – a tavern.
Velvet stopped for a moment and read the sign above the entrance. “The Howling Hollow,” she repeated the words out loud. “I like this name! It’s spooky!”
Her guide was already inside though and she only saw the door slam shut after him.
“Hey! Wait for me!” Velvet yelled, running in. As she burst in, the entire place fell silent, hundreds of eyes focusing on her.
“Look what the wolves dragged in!” a voice broke the silence and the room was filled with laughter and taunts the next second.
“Are you looking for mommy?!”
“Is the little girl lost?!”
“I didn’t order a sex slave with no breasts!”
“Don’t say such things guys! I think she’s about to cry!”
“Let’s strip her naked and have some fun!”
“She’s with me.” a deep voice spoke from the corner of the room. The taunts and laughter immediately died down.
Grogar was sitting on a chair that looked much too small for him, pulling out a large wooden pipe which he was starting to fill up with some dried herbs from his pocket.
“Come here.” He eyed Velvet, who walked over to his table. “Sit down.” He said, pointing at the chair across from him. As Velvet obliged, she watched him take out a live lizard from his other pocket and squeezing it. Flames burst from its mouth and lit up the contents of his pipe. Then he put it right back and took a few puffs, blowing the smoke into her face. She coughed and waved her hand.
“What do you drink?” he asked, catching her off guard. What does she drink? Usually at the academy, Arianna and her would either make themselves tea or get some pressed juice from the dining room. But she imagined that’s not something they would serve here.
“Apple juice?” she said, unsure if this was even a viable answer. Grogar chuckled, but still waved the bartender over and ordered an apple juice and a “smurgle stout.” The slender man quickly returned with the two beverages and set them down on the table, before swiftly slithering away from the huge man.
“So,” Grogar started, taking a large sip that emptied nearly half the glass, “you came here to become a huntress, is that right?”
“Yes!” Velvet exclaimed, her eyes lighting up in excitement. “I want to slay monsters!”
“You are without a doubt the strangest creature I have ever come across,” the man spoke, slamming his glass against the table to hard that the girl had to grab her own glass of juice lest it would topple over. “And I’ve come across a whole lot of strange creatures, mind you.”
This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.
He leaned over the table, as if he didn’t want anybody else to hear what he was about to say.
“One time, I even saw a fairy,” he said. “They’re real. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.”
“Fairies are real?!” Velvet yelled out, so that the whole tavern turned their way. Grogar facepalmed. “Be quiet!” he hissed at her.
“What are you filling her head up with nonsense for?!” a man shouted from the next table over. “Fairies are as real as fairy tales! They’re not! If they are, why haven’t you caught one?”
“I will catch one someday!!” the large man roared, slamming his fist on the table. “And when I do, you will all have to admit that I was right! Now shut your mouth or I’ll shut it for you!”
They immediately fell silent and Grogar turned his attention back to the girl in front of him.
“If you’re being serious about this, I guess I can show you the ropes a bit,” he spoke, nibbling on his pipe and making circular-shaped clouds as he puffed out smoke.
“Really?!” Velvet immediately perked up. “I’d love that!!”
The man sighed loudly. “I’m going to regret this, aren’t I…”
***
After having a little talk with Velvet, Grogar took her to the Hunter’s Guild, which was a large establishment on the edge of town. Needless to say all eyes were on them once again when they entered. There were all sorts of strange people here, each looking more dangerous than the last. And then you had this happy-go-lucky girl with a patched up pointy hat skipping around happily behind the monster of a man. They went up to the counter, where an old man who looked like he’s seen a ghost greeted them. His face appeared like it was in a constant state of shock, his skin pale and his eyes wide.
“What do you bring me here, today?” he said in a merry voice which starkly contrasted his appearance. “Who’s this little girl with you? Have you found her in the forest?”
“She would like to register as a huntress.” Grogar said.
The man chuckled in turn. “I didn’t know you were in a joking mood today, old friend!”
“It’s not a joke…” he said sternly. “She will be hunting with me.”
The man, who Velvet would later know as the guildmaster, turned even paler than he already was upon hearing that. “Seriously?!” he couldn’t believe his ears. “A girl like her…hunting monsters?!”
“She’s a tier two sorceress,” Grogar lifted the girl up by her arm, presenting the two marks on her hand to him. Velvet waved at him while dangling in mid-air. “Hello!”
“Well, I’ll be damned,” the man behind the counter ran his skinny hand through the bird’s nest on his head. “Where did you find this girl?!”
“She found me…” Grogar replied, setting her back down. “So…can you register her?”
“Yes! Yes, I can!” The guildmaster fumbled around a bit and pulled out a sheet of paper. “Let her fill out this form and I will take care of the rest! If you are sure about this…”
“I’m not,” Grogar shook his large head and glanced up at the girl who was bouncing up and down in excitement. “But well…she seems like she’s about to run into the Kamatayan forest herself if I don’t accompany her…and I don’t exactly want to find her body somewhere half-eaten…”
“I see your kind heart remains beneath those scars,” the guildmaster smiled at him. The giant man only grunted in response, handing Velvet the paper. “Fill this out…”
The form contained her name, profession, skillset and a bunch of other details which she had no idea what she should even put down for. After finishing, she handed the paper back to the man behind the counter. “All done!!”
The guildmaster pulled out a magnifying glass of some sorts and pressed it against his right eye, scanning over the details she wrote about herself.
“‘Name: Velvet Crow’….’Profession: Adventurer,’” he read and chuckled. “Not the weirdest thing someone wrote. Let’s see…’Skills: I can do magic!’...you don’t say... ‘Reason for joining: I want to go on adventures and kill stuff!’...alrighty then… ‘Experience so far: Killed some wyverns and fought a dragon’…” He looked up at Grogar who only shrugged in turn.
“Interesting…” he continued to read. “‘In the event of death, my belongings go to: Not going to happen!’…well, you are pretty damn confident, I see! Good. This all looks fine to me.”
The guildmaster put the paper away and pulled out a metal necklace with a tag on it, handing it to Velvet.
“What’s this?” she observed it from all angles. There was a number written on the tag.
“This is so we can identify you if we find your body massacred somewhere!” the man behind the counter smiled at her cheerfully. Every hunter has one!”
“Oh, I see! That’s smart!” the girl replied, shocking him. He glanced over at Grogar, as if waiting for an explanation from him. “That’s just how she is…” the large man replied.
“Right…well, there’s the board we post tasks on,” he pointed to the other side of the room where a bunch of people was already looking at the available ones. “When you find one that you like, just take the paper down and return it to me together with whatever the task instructs you to bring back! Then I give you your payment and sell what you brought to me to the merchants! That’s how this works! You will also get points based on the task’s difficulty.”
“Awesome!” Velvet exclaimed and ran right over to the board he pointed at, leaving the two men staring after her.
“…What are you doing, Grogar?” the guildmaster asked him after a short silence, cocking his eyebrow. “You never took on an apprentice before. I know you always work alone. What changed your mind?”
“I don’t know, Morgans. I truly don’t know. There is just something about this girl that intrigues me...I have never seen eyes so devoid of fear. Never.”
“So the great Grogar Helsing isn’t going to be working alone anymore?” his friend grinned.
“I guess not,” the large man replied. “I want to see…if this girl is all bark and no bite…”
Velvet pushed through the crowd, trying to get a view of the available tasks. After stepping on several people’s feet and apologizing about a dozen times, she fell forward, hitting her head against the board. Her pointy hat fell over her eyes again and she pushed it back up, glancing at the papers pinned on it.
There were many different assignments that ranged all the way from killing giant bats to bringing back the fangs of an Ursa Major. Velvet read about them. These were gigantic bear-like creatures that resided exclusively in the Kamatayan forest. They were extremely ferocious and deadly. Her eyes nearly bulged out at seeing all these endless possibilities of adventuring and a large smile painted itself across her face.
“Who the fuck are you?!” a voice yelled from behind her and she turned around to see a bunch of angry and confused faces of other hunters staring at her. “Beat it, little girl!”
“I’m a huntress just like you!” Velvet answered gleefully. “Nice to meet you all!”
“This is not a book club!” one of them shouted and they started laughing.
“You got that right, Spencer!” a bearded man replied. “I mean, I can’t even read!”
Another round of boastful laughter filled the room and Velvet looked utterly confused.
“Don’t waste our time, little girl!” another one yelled. “Move out of the way so us real hunters can pick our tasks and get on with them! Run back to your mommy and have her read you a nice little bedtime story, will you?!”
Velvet felt those words stab into her heart. Her mother indeed read her bedtime stories every night. But she could no longer do so after she passed away. She didn’t want to cry, but tears forced themselves into her eyes subconsciously.
“Mommy’s dead…” she said, her voice cracking.
“Awh, you made her cry!” the others laughed and started mocking the poor girl whose composure started crumbling under the weight of their taunts. Suddenly, their laughter died down as they heard heavy footsteps approaching.
“Do you have a problem with this girl?” Grogar asked casually. Before any of them could respond, he grabbed the man who commented on Velvet’s mother with one hand and slammed his face into the wall, making a hole in it. He tossed the man’s unconscious body halfway across the room onto a table where a few people were drinking.
“If you have a problem with my partner…” Grogar said, looking over the rest of them with his one crazy eye, “…then you also have a problem with me.”
They all scattered, him and Velvet left standing in front of the board alone, with the girl staring at him with wide, teary eyes. He put his large, bloody arm around her and pulled her in for a short hug, before letting her go and walking away. It was evident that this man didn’t really know how to show affection very well… But he tried.
Velvet stared after him as he sat back down at the counter and continued sipping a peculiar blue liquid from a large glass, unsure of what just happened. Then she turned back to the board with tasks on it. A little to the left of it, there was a scoreboard with all the top hunters on it, ranked by points. She hadn’t noticed it before because of the crowd. At the very top of that scoreboard was the name Grogar Helsing, with 120,420 points. A whole 50,000 more than the second person on the list.
Thank you for reading this part of the story!
[https://img.wattpad.com/42cc7a151c071ff546ed3f8770b378645fb91c37/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f52554b46345774716145564676773d3d2d313238353235363835362e313732363562346536313338393033643633333438303732353436392e706e67]
How will Velvet fare as a huntress? Read the next chapter and find out!