When my eyes met the knell’s, it was not just fear that filled me this time. That was certainly still there, but it was slowly taking a back seat to anger. Anger at this animal that would dare to consider me its prey; its victim. I would not allow some mutated deer to attempt to intimidate me. I screamed out in rage, returning the knell’s call for battle, and the hunters flinched at my outburst. I went to take aim, but before I could, the knell bound to the side in an insane blur for fur.
Damn, he is fast! No room for error here, I thought. In that single leap, it had closed a good fifty feet of distance between us. I noticed the hunters were still frozen in terror around me, which further fueled my anger. “Well don’t just stand there, shoot the bastard,” I shouted at them. That seemed to be enough to knock two of them out of their daze. Maybe they were more scared of me at that point. Oruan and Taran, now back to reality, both moved to make their attack as I tried once more to take aim.
I took a lucky guess as to where the next bound would land the knell, and fired in the short moment I had before its next jump. My shot managed to hit, but it went a little wide and only ended up being a graze to the shoulder. This, however, was enough to slow it for just a second longer, and Oruan let loose an arrow. With a bit more time to land his shot, his arrow managed to lodge itself into the side of the knell’s throat, just barely missing the spine.
This apparently angered the monster, and its eyes started to transition to an obsidian black, akin to its antlers. Now mortally wounded, though, the knell’s movements were significantly slowed. At the same time, the rest of the hunters were released from their trance. Okay, white means it’s trying to scare us, black means… something else. No sooner than I had that thought did a ball of flame erupt from the thing’s antlers and shoot straight for us. Taran just barely managed to jump in front of the projectile and get his shield up in time, blocking the hit but knocking himself to the ground in the process.
Hanne and Deanok each loosed an arrow at the knell, while Lindrel took up Taran’s previous position to block and further shots. Hanne managed to score a hit in its rear left leg, but Deanok’s shot went high and missed entirely. With only about one hundred feet left before it reached us, the beast ceased its flanking maneuver and bound straight toward us. With only one chance left, I prepared my aim on where I thought it would land, and fired when its hooves touched the grass.
My shot hit it square in the chest, and it lost its footing, coming tumbling straight for us. The beast slid to a stop a mere twenty feet away, white eyes starting to turn black once again. “He’s trying to-” I started to say, but was cut off by Lindrel leaping forward and plunging his spear into the creature’s eye, putting an abrupt end to its life and my announcement.
“Is everyone alright,” Hanne asked as we were collecting ourselves.
“Just a little cut from a branch when I landed,” Taran responded. Everyone else gave an all clear. We managed to fare quite well, given the surprise nature of the attack.
“So… Guess you guys weren’t exaggerating about how fast they are, after all,” I offered. I was met with a unanimous look of “duh.”
“And you are as fearless as you said,” returned Oruan.
I gave an awkward smile, not sure what to say to that. “I, uh… I wouldn’t say I’m fearless. I just tend to lose my grip a little when I get mad, so I’m prone to lose some of my sense of self preservation. And the idea that what basically equates to a magical deer would consider me prey,” I said with a chuckle. “Speaking of prey, are monsters… edible? Deer taste pretty great where I’m from.”
“Most are, but there are exceptions. Knells, however, are quite delicious,” Oruan said. “We will definitely be bringing it back to the village.”
At that, Deanok pulled a large knife from his belt and began gutting the animal. It was quite a large animal, looking to weigh in at around two hundred and fifty pounds. Its antlers, up close, were even more fascinating, at least now that they were no longer weapons. They genuinely looked to be made of obsidian, their surface glossy, and glinting where the sun hit them. In stark contrast to a deer’s antlers which are smooth and rounded, the knell’s were jagged like they had been knapped. There wasn’t a single curve on them, with each point looking like a dagger protruding from the main line.
My observations were interrupted by Hanne putting his hand on my shoulder. “I’ve never seen a knell brought down like that before, what is that thing,” he asked as he pointed to the pistol in my hand.
“It’s called a gun. More specifically a pistol. Essentially, it uses explosives to shoot a lead bullet through a tube, or what we refer to as a barrel,” I explained. “And it’s not likely many people ever will see me use it. I have no way of getting home or making more ammunition, so I must use it sparingly,” I said with a sigh. I holstered my pistol again and noticed that Deanok was just about done field dressing the knell. He put the meat and a few bones into the pelt and tied it off with some rope he had in his bag. He handed me the antlers to put in my backpack, and I stowed them away.
With everything worth harvesting packed away, we headed back for the village. We did leave a decent amount behind so other animals could scavenge the corpse, but still had quite the haul. The return trip took a third less time without the need for so much caution in our travels. Once we returned to town, Deanok delivered the spoils of the hunt to the building that drew me here. Oruan accompanied me to the barracks to brief Captain Edran on the results of the hunt, while the other three went off to go about their own business.
Upon our arrival, we located him in the armory upstairs, polishing his spaulders. He greeted us happily as we entered. “I take it from your quick return that you were successful,” he asked.
“Indeed, we were. Taran got a small cut, but other than that, there were no issues. The knell will no longer pose a threat to the village,” Oruan reported. “My only concern is that we found it on this side of the mountains. I’m not sure what would drive one to travel this far North, but I don’t like it. I will be accompanying Zachary to the capitol, so I can report” he finished.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.
“I will make sure to help keep everything in order while you’re away,” Edran said with a smile. “I think it would be wise to bring Aniel with you, as well.”
“Who’s Aniel? Is he another hunter,” I questioned.
“No, she is one of the priestesses. She is capable of some healing magic, and may also be of use in educating you on some of the members of the pantheon. You should find such information beneficial to you here,” Edran explained. “You three can head out in the morning, but for now, go have some dinner and get some rest.” Dinner definitely sounded like a good idea by now. Satisfied, we said our goodbyes, and Oruan and I headed to what I previously deemed the restaurant.
Before we even reached the building, the smell reached us. It was heavenly, and my mouth immediately started watering. I still had yet to get a hot meal since arriving in this world, and I was excited to see what was in store. When we entered, the smell was overbearing and my stomach called out in search of the source. Oruan spotted the rest of our hunting group and we made our way over to their table. My guess of the building being a restaurant wasn’t all too far off. It was an inn. Dinner tonight was a thick, hearty stew, using the knell meat we brought back from our hunt.
Knell meat is, in fact, delicious. Much like I assumed, it tasted largely like venison, only sweeter. The rest of the contents of the stew complimented it well. There was some sort of root vegetable that was akin to a yam, a few variants of the peppers I spotted in the gardens, which added a pleasant heat to the dish, and some tomatoes. To top it off nicely, it was perfectly seasoned. Included on the side was a thick slice of sourdough wheat bread. The whole meal was incredible, and left my stomach bursting at the seams. Whoever prepared it would qualify as a master chef back home.
After relaxing and digesting for a little while, I turned to the hunters. “Is there a bath house here in the village, or is there some other way you guys clean up,” I asked. “I haven’t exactly had the opportunity to bathe for a few days by now.”
“The rooms here each have a bath inscribed with runes that can be used to adjust the water’s temperature as needed. Just put more energy into the runes to heat the water. To let the water cool, just don’t touch the rune for a while,” Taran responded with an odd air of pride. Hmm, maybe accommodations like that aren’t very common in areas like this, I wondered.
“They’re quite relaxing, I must say,” Lindrel added. “We should make sure to get a room for you. I’d offer to host you for the night, but my wife would not be pleased with me,” He said with a chuckle. That comment elicited a laugh from a couple of the others.
“I, uh.. I don’t think I have any way to pay,” I mumbled. The USD likely didn’t hold any value in this world, so my cash wouldn’t be of any help.
“Oh, that’s not a problem. We just have to make sure there’s room, there’s no cost,” Taran said. He then waved a hand in the air and called someone over. It wasn’t long before a slender woman walked up to the table. “Hey Rea, do you have any empty rooms tonight? Zach here needs a place to stay,” he said cheerily.
“Absolutely, we have a few. I can show you to one if you’d like,” she offered, motioning for me to follow her.
“Sounds good,” I said. “Night, guys. I’ll see you in the morning, Oruan.” The others offered their goodbyes and I followed Rea to my room. She brought me up the stairs into a hallway that spanned the entire top floor. Stopping at the halfway point, she gestured toward a door on the left.
“This will be your room, if there are any issues, feel free to find me in the office downstairs,” she said.
Thank you very much,” I replied. At that, she headed back down the hallway and I entered the room. It was quite spacious. One large room, with a door to what is presumably the bathroom in the back corner. As far as furnishings, the room contained a roughly queen sized bed, a small desk and chair on the back wall with a window above, and a beautiful armoire off the foot of the bed. Venturing into the bathroom, I was blown away by what I saw.
More than just a bath, there was also a toilet and sink, complete with proper plumbing, as well as a small shelf, containing a few towels and washcloths. The appliances were made of a polished granite that looked to have been sourced from the mountains to the South, which all had brass fixtures and piping. The bath wasn’t huge, but it looked to be plenty large enough for me to fit comfortably. On the side, was a brass plate that contained intricate engravings, likely the runes to heat the water. Excitedly, I hopped back into the main room and stashed my gear in the armoire.
I brought my clothes back into the bathroom so I could give them a wash once I was done with myself. The faucets for the bath and sink were just a simple valve and spout combo, so they were easy enough to operate. I turned the valve for the tub to start filling it and stripped off my layers. The odor that greeted me was quite strong, so I was glad to finally get a chance to wash off. The tub filled up shockingly fast. Whatever they were using to pump the water was strong.
I touched the rune on the side and… nothing happened. Dipping my hand in the water, it was still definitely cold. Not sure what I was doing wrong, I tried closing my eyes and focusing harder on the plate. Still, there was no change in temperature. Just heat up, damn it, I thought, mentally cursing the runes. Suddenly, I felt a gentle tingle in my hand that was touching the plate. Opening my eyes, the entire bath was emitting a very faint glow, and the water gradually started to warm. Once I was happy with the temperature, I took a look around the bathroom and managed to find a lump of soap sitting atop the sink, and hopped in the water.
It was a beautiful feeling, after all that had happened. The temperature was perfect, and I instantly felt the tension in my muscles easing. After a moment of just relaxing, I began to scrub all of the dirt from my skin. I was deceptively filthy, and the water was quick to cloud. Once I was squeaky clean, I hopped out and drained the bath. I dried off with one of the towels and hung it on the corner of the shelf. Inspecting myself, my stomach dropped a little.
Previously hidden by grime, the markings on my hand progressed significantly. They were now covering my entire hand, and had traveled all the way up to my elbow. I panicked a little, not sure what to do about the situation. Closing my eyes, I took a moment to steady my breathing. I opened my eyes again and took another look at my arm. Looking back at the bath, then to my arm again, I realized the markings were runes spread across the surface like a sprawling tribal styled tattoo.
Okay, it’s magic related. The question is, is it from the crystal? It’s only on the hand that touched it… Or could it be a curse of some kind? I shelved the issue for a time when I had someone I could question about it. Refilling the tub, I quickly washed my clothes in the cold water using the same lump of soap. I drained the bath once more, and laid my clothes on the edge to dry.
All done with my cleanup, I walked over to the sink and realized two things. Number one, I failed to notice the lack of a mirror. Number two, I didn’t have a toothbrush. Sighing in defeat, I just walked back into the bedroom. I looked out the window onto the river and admired the view. As unbelievable as this world was, it was certainly beautiful. Thoroughly spent, I finally retired to the bed. As I thought about how comfortable it was, sleep quickly took me.