Chapter 12: The Farmer and the Hunter

Asha was frozen for only a moment, taking the scene in. The spiders were as high as her waist, mottled skin, and dark black eyes. The man spotted her and yelled, “Hey! Look out!”

A spider turned and let out a hiss as it rushed her. Asha reacted on instinct, dropping the torch, pulling back the arrow, and releasing it into the creature's mass of eyes. It screeched as the arrow pieced an eye and its legs flailed about. Its charge continued as Asha drew another arrow and hit it in the eyes again. The creature collapsed, writhing in its death throes.

A spider charged the man with the ax and he swung at it, chopping off a leg and it hissed, toppling onto him. It’s mandibles went for his face and the man pushed it back desperately, the ax handle keeping it at bay. He screamed in panic.

Asha spotted another spider turning to rush at her but aimed at the spider on the man. She fired and hit it in the large thorax. It fell, thrashing on the man as he pushed it off. Asha fired again and hit its eye, killing it.

Out of the corner of her eye, the spider that had turned to her launched a stream of something from its mouth and she dove aside. She grunted in pain as her shoulder hit the stone floor. A splatter of web hit the wall behind her and stuck. The spider rushed her, its legs moving in a blur. Asha scrambled up, grabbing an arrow from her quiver and running across the chamber. As she reached a pillar, she turned, fired, and ducked behind it. She cursed, knowing she had missed the shot, a mistake Krosis would have scolded her for.

She peeked around the corner and pulled back as the spider leaped at her exposed face. It flew past the pillar and landed hard, making furious clicking sounds as it tried to turn. Asha fired off a rapid series of three arrows into its side until it fell dead. She emerged from around the other end to see the man, yelling, as a spider leaped at him. He drove his ax into a spider's head again and again as it hissed, writhed, and finally slumped to the ground. Breathing heavily, he yanked it out and scanned the room, looking for Asha. He spotted her and smiled. Then his eyes looked up and grew wide.

She looked up and screamed as a massive spider, larger than the rest, emerged from a web cocoon in an opening and fell toward her.

She dropped to the ground as its massive bulk landed on top of her. It was as long as she was tall, the bristles on its underbelly brushing her face and she gagged in horror. The creature shifted and its rear moved toward her, stinger held high. She rolled away desperately as it stabbed the ground. The creature overbalanced and it fell on her. She couldn’t breathe or move, feeling its weight bear down upon her and the horror of that bristling, rough skin press against her face.

She faintly heard yelling from somewhere and the creature screeched, pulling itself off her as the man attacked it. It charged after him, leaving a trail of green blood on her. She gagged but pushed herself to her knees.

The spider was on top of the man now, biting at him as he held it back with his poor ax. Its handle was beginning to splinter under the attack and he released one side to punch at the creature's eyes. The squelch that came was vile and the spider chittered, pulling back. The action yanked the ax from the man's hand and splintered the handle, sending both ends clattering across the floor. He was backed up against the wall, hands out, no defense as the spider charged again.

Asha’s arrow flew true. It struck the back of the creature's legs and caused it to stumble. The man leaped aside and Asha fired again, hitting another leg. The spider turned and struggled toward her as Asha emptied her quiver into the creature, hitting it in multiple places. Yet it still refused to go down. It seemed possessed by some manic power to keep it alive until it killed its assailant. Asha began to panic as it closed the gap, backing away and hitting a pillar behind her.

The man made a flying leap from behind. He held the broken head of his ax above his head and buried it into the head of the creature. It collapsed under his weight, struggling to move, its legs waving and bucking. The man held on, his face etched with grim determination as green goop spurted from the ax wound and sprayed his face. Still, he pushed the ax in further, yelling as he drove it completely into the creature's head. It finally gave a last shudder and fell limp to the floor.

Silence filled the ruin, save for the dripping of water from the ceiling. The man rolled off its body and collapsed with exhaustion into a puddle of goop. Asha slumped against the wall, the bow dropping from her nerveless fingers to clatter beside her. Both she and the man lay in their positions, breathing heavily and listening for the sound of any more assailants. A breeze came from the holes above, shifting the empty web. They were gone.

The man was the first to move, turning himself onto his stomach with a grunt and leaning up to stare at Asha. His face was distorted through the gore and he wiped some from his face. When he stood, he was much taller than her, by at least a head. His muscular frame shook with an involuntary tremor and he moved toward her. “Are you alright?”

She took his offered hand warily and stood. “Yes. Were you bitten?”

“Scratched, bruised, but nothing major,” he responded. “Luckily I spotted them before they got the jump on me.”

Asha looked down at her arms, covered in gore, and felt the guts in her hair. He was in worse shape, his face still sticky and green. She shivered as well. “Well…this is disgusting.”

The man pointed to the other side of the chamber to a pool of water lit by the sunlight. “There’s a pool of water. I don’t know about you, but I’m washing everything off in it.”

Asha followed him hesitantly to the pool where he began to strip himself down. Though Asha was used to being open in dress with others, living in a commune with shared sleeping areas before her time in Summer Falls, she was unused to strangers being so free. He stripped to his loincloth and lowered himself into the water. He sighed with relief then beckoned her over. “The water is warm. It must be a natural hot spring.”

Asha finally followed suit, stripping to her undergarments and lowering herself in. He was right, it was pleasantly warm and surprisingly clear of any moss. “This pool must be running water,” she said.

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He didn’t hear, his head under the water as rubbed his hair vigorously. Asha followed suit and they spent the next few minutes cleaning themselves off thoroughly. As the man grabbed his clothes from the bank and began to wash them, Asha finally took the time to study his features.

The man couldn’t be more than a few years older than her. He was handsome, well-built, and muscular with familiar Atmoran pale skin. Unlike the men from her home, like Wulfin, he was built more sturdy, was much harrier, and had a tanned hue to his skin. His hair was a short dirty blonde, a small beard hid his strong jawline, and his eyes were a shining brown. She noticed those eyes were studying her now and she quickly looked away, grabbing her clothes to wash them and leave them out on the edge to dry in the sunlight.

They both sat in silence for a moment in the shallow water. The man lifted his arms onto the sides and leaned back, sighing. “This is not how I expected my day to go.”

Asha gave a nervous laugh at this. “Nor I.”

He smiled at her. “Thank you, by the way, for saving my life. I would be dead if it wasn’t for you.”

“You are welcome,” she responded. “Thank you for saving me as well.”

He nodded graciously. “What is your name and where do you come from?”

“I’m Asha, originally from Shriekwind Bastion in the southern forests. Currently, I’m an initiate hunter of Lord Krosis at Summer Falls.”

His eyebrows lifted. “I didn’t realize I was bathing with one of the legendary hunters of Summer Falls.”

“I’m not that yet,” she said, blushing, “What about you?”

“I’m Hakon from the Kendov Tribe of the plains.”

Asha shook her head. “I've never heard of them. I remember from the old tales that there are many tribes on the plains. Do you know the tribe that lives around Jorvaskr, the hall of heroes?”

He smiled, rubbing his neck with embarrassment. “That is my tribe.”

“Really?” Asha sat up with excitement. “You must have so many tales to tell! I’m dying to hear some. The hunters of Summer Falls don’t tell any. Krosis forbids it and they don't seem to care.”

Hakon put up his hands to stop her flow. “Well, first off, I’m not a warrior from the hall. I’m a farmer. But there are warriors in my lineage. My grandfather was a warrior from Jorvaskr. But after a battle that he would never speak of, he retired to the peaceful life of a farmer.”

She noticed the defensive tone and decided to back away from the topic. “What were you doing down here?”

“I was looking for food.”

“In a cave?”

“Well, no, not in a cave. I was trying to reach Lake Ilinalta. I’ve heard it has plentiful fish within and I was hoping to bring some back to my home.”

“I didn’t even know this pass existed,” she said, looking around at the cavern and its ruins.

“Few do,” he said. “I only found out from an old tale. Fjori the Huntress used it to escape the warlord Holgier but he followed her in here alone and they fell in love.” He paused, considering the story. “They don’t give details on how that happened.”

Asha blushed deeply at this and sat lower in the water. “I’ve heard of them. I didn’t know this was the pass they spoke of.”

He studied her with interest. “You know a lot about stories, don’t you?”

She nodded. “I’ve loved them since I was a child. My parents died when I was young and so our storyteller Orin helped raise me. I learned as much as I could from him. Tales from our founders, the gods, heroes, villains, nature, even the dragons…”

She noticed his smile had grown larger as she went on. She faded out and he gestured for her to continue. She shrugged. “I learned a lot.”

He nodded. “I’d like to hear you tell a story sometime. My mother died when I was young and my father is getting on in years.”

“You said you were trying to find food, I heard there was famine in the plains. Are your people starving?”

His face changed instantly from a smile to a scowl. “We are, but not by the will of the gods…well, not all of them.”

“What do you mean?”

He shook his head. “The dragon priests are taxing us heavily and taking most of our food. They say it is the wish of the dragons…but we’ve not heard from them. We have reason to doubt the dragon priests have our best interests at heart.”

“What?” asked Asha, her breath catching in panic. She had never heard anyone openly criticize a dragon priest before. “How can you say that? They work to our betterment.”

He stared at her, his cheerful demeanor suddenly more hostile. “What have they done for us? Take our food? Treat us like inferiors? Extort us by force if we refuse to obey them?”

“They protect us from the evils of the world, like the Reachmen.”

He shook his head. “We haven’t seen them in generations. We do not need protection against them.”

Asha struggled to organize her thoughts. “Well…they speak to the gods. They act on the will of the dragons. They ensure we maintain our power against…against the elves.”

She knew her argument was weak the moment she said it. Elves hadn’t been seen in over one hundred years at least. Hakon knew it too and gave a cold smile. “What have they done for you, Asha?”

She remembered everything with Rukil growing up. He had always been cold. Cruel. Uncompromising and uncaring. But then she remembered Krosis and clapped back, “My master, Krosis is a caring ruler. He wants what is best for the hunters and had taken time to teach me personally when he didn’t have to.”

She neglected to mention the instant with Krosis the day before. Hakon looked unconvinced but shrugged. “This is also the master that discourages telling tales of our ancestors, the lifeblood of our people.”

Asha didn’t respond and they sat in silence. Hakon was the one to finally break it. “Look, I don’t know where you are from. Maybe they are kinder where you are. We aren’t ruled by dragon priests but by Jarls in the plains. They have done nothing but take from us for years now.”

Asha didn’t know how to respond but considered his statement. He lifted himself out of the path, his hair dripping with water as he sat on the sulit, rocky ground. She joined him and finally had the courage to speak. “I’ve never been anywhere outside my home until a few months ago. So…I am unused to the world and what…what happens.”

He shifted, his chest rising and falling in a deep sigh. “I haven’t either. This is the farthest from home I’ve ever been. As I’ve said, my people need food.”

“I am here because we were ordered by Alduin himself to collect more food for the capital, Asha said. “Thus, I hunt further afield. I only discovered this cave by accident.”

He nodded and a small smile returned to his face. “Well…I’m glad you did.”

She nodded, smiling in return. The silence stretched again as she pondered this meeting. What she had learned was…confusing. She was glad to have met him but his world view on dragon priests was so wrong…or at least different from what she knew. But the more she discovered in the world, the more she realized that many of her views were potentially incorrect. All except the lessons from her stories. A strange feeling crept over her, one that she would have dismissed in the past with embarrassment but now, she seized with pleasure. She wanted to know more and she wanted to know him more.

She leaned back, “You know, I could show you a thing or two about hunting and fishing. I could help you…maybe catch something to bring back to your people? What do you think?”

He paused and cocked his head, his body still wet, glistening, and distracting. He smiled and bowed. “I accept, hunter Asha. It seems fate has smiled on me today in more ways than one.”

His smile was more charming than she would have liked to admit.