The hunting party out on this quest was smaller than the group that had been in Eachtach’s feasting hall earlier that week. Only a few hundred men, still an overwhelming number.

Eachtach had spent the last few days trying her best to meet them all, Fianna hunters, and members of Fionn’s household, and druids and healers and poets who accompanied them. Each new name was quickly matched to a story Diarmuid had told her once. They were all kind to her, telling her stories, or challenging her to games, or letting her play with the hunting hounds that ran alongside them.

One person she hadn’t had the chance to meet yet was an advisor of Fionn’s. He was old, older even than Fionn, with dark gray hair and battle scars and lines of age on his face.

When Eachtach ran up to him and introduced herself he crouched down to her height before he responded. He introduced himself as Goll mac Morna.

Eachtach recognised the name at once, in stories he was an old leader of the Fianna, a worse one who stole it from clan Bascna. He was supposed to be reformed now though, and the Fianna were above clan loyalties, so Eachtach figured it would be safe to keep talking to him.

“Are you excited for the hunt little one?” It made sense that he would just try to talk, he seemed too old for games and the like.

“Excited yes, and a bit nervous. I know you all wouldn’t let anything happen to me, but I have never seen a monster in person before.”

“Your father said you have killed animals of the same type before though. Even if it wasn’t a proper hunt back then, you are probably just as prepared as half the young hunters here.”

“I’ve hunted deer and wild birds and a few other animals before, and a boar once, but never anything properly dangerous.”

“A boar from our lands and a boar of otherworldly size will act the same, and can be killed the same. From what your father said you faced the last one with bravery. I think you will be able to do the same now. You seem to have the makings of a great hunter.”

They were hunting a boar then. Fionn hadn’t mentioned that back when he first invited Diarmuid and Eachtach. As she thought back, none of the others she had spoken to so far had mentioned that either.

That made sense. She had been convinced the animal she saw was monstrous at first, one of a large enough size could easily be a creature worth a hunting party of this size, and could easily be spoken of only as a monster.

Diarmuid had mentioned once that he wasn’t supposed to hunt boar though. Some geas on him or something. Eachtach struggled to recall exactly what he said, about how killing a boar would bring destruction on him and his entire clan. Every story she had ever heard painted the Fianna as good and noble people though, so this could not be deliberate deception. They had to not know about the geas. That must have been why Diarmuid was invited. It would be best for Eachtach to find and warn him in case he didn’t already know.

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

“You won’t ever actually be in danger though.” Goll must have taken her silence as fear for herself about the coming hunt. “You’re still young, and can prove yourself in other hunts. With Fionn and Diarmuid and me nearby you likely won’t even see it alive.”

Suddenly a noise like thunder echoed over the horizon. Eachtach reached up and plugged her ears. A hunting horn, she recognised the sound. She had only heard them as distant echoes across the horizon before, never this close.

Everyone around her began to run. Someone had seen the monster, or some hound had scented it, and they were all running towards it.

Eachtach began to run with them. She wanted to find her father, to warn him not to go after the beast. She also wanted to see it alive, to see what a monster looked like in person.

She was fast and was able to run her way to the front of the pack, where she saw the monster ahead.

Diarmuid was brave and unwavering. He had to see what it was but he still wasn’t backing down from it.

Eachtach was too far away to do anything other than watch. He stabbed it in the gut at the same moment the beast attacked him with one of the great spears mounted on its face. Diarmuid fell to the ground.

Eachtach stopped running.

The rest of the Fianna finished subduing the creature. Diarmuid still didn’t get up. Blood started to pool around him.

Fionn walked towards him. With water cupped in his hands. Eachtach knew from stories that Diarmuid had told her that Fionn could heal people with water from his hands.

When he got close to Diarmuid, the blood touching his shoes, Fionn’s face did something odd. It contorted in a strange way, he ceased to look like a hero. He said something to Diarmuid. Eachtach watched as Fionn opened his hands and the healing water fell to the ground.

Eachtach was still too frightened to get close to Diarmuid. Someone, Eachtach couldn’t tell who, told her to go talk to him. She tried but she couldn’t make her feet move. Time passed, Eachtach could not tell how much.

Diarmuid grew still. The shaking rise and fall of his chest stopped.

More time passed. Eachtach could not move.

Fionn walked up to her. Whatever had happened to his face was gone, replaced with tear trails and the signs of guilt and weeping. He tried to talk to her.

He mentioned her brothers, Eachtach’s ears were ringing too much to know what about them. He talked about fosterage, about “making sure she would be taken care of.”

He talked about Grainne.

When Eachtach finally got herself to move again she was not peacefully following the Fianna back to Grainne’s house.

When Eachtach finally was moving again she ran away. Like Diarmuid had once.