As Brago trudged through the forest, he deeply thought about what a strange existence Leon was. It wasn’t enough that the kid had knocked him out in one hit when they had first met, but even the way he carried himself was beyond a standard villager.
He held his head high and proud, the way his king, as well as his former friend had prior to his death. His eyes were clear, if not troubled at times, but that was to be expected from someone who had amnesia.
Even his posturing denounced his ability as a warrior, with his eyes scanning his surroundings and constantly checking behind him, his right hand clutching his weapon tightly while the other lay next to his thigh, limp and ready to move at a moments notice.
Still peeking back, Brago watched Leon easily trek up the incline of the mountainous terrain, with the Cold-Steel scythe still perched over his back. Even his stamina was impressive, whereas Brago’s own breathing had started getting ragged, Leon was still playing it cool, and continued walking until he caught up with the aging man.
“So, what are we hunting for?” The boy said with a sparkle in his eye. Brago stopped and stared at him. Jane had worried that Leon would only be interested in learning about the city life of the Azure Continent, but it seems her fears were unfounded and his suspicions were proven correct. The boy was an apex predator, at the top of the food chain and with no one to threaten him, enjoying the hunt.
“Hmm, there are several things in this forest we could go for, but for food I would recommend Plateau species.” Leon tilted his head, and Brago mentally chided himself.
‘Of course he doesn’t understand, the damned kid has amnesia... how unfortunate.’ Brago coughed, and started to walk while talking to Leon again.
“Plateau species are animals native to flat plains in high altitudes. We’re already many megards above sea level, so that’s no problem. They have a special adaptation that allows them to absorb sunlight and process that into energy in the winter, when food is scarce. In a similar way to most plant life, their fur and skin turn green as a result of all the chlorophyll residing in their bodies.”
Brago glanced back at Leon again and saw the boy smile for the first time ever. “Interesting, I wonder how far back the divergent evolution goes.” Brago’s eyes widened at the boy’s suddenly talkative nature.
“Did you remember something?” Leon shook his head back and forth.
“No, this is- you know what, never mind. I’ll make sure to explain everything to you later. For now let’s just get on to the hunt.” Briefly walking ahead, Leon was stopped in his tracks when Brago grabbed his arm.
“Now hold on there. The only thing about hunting in the wild, is that we’re not the only hunters out there.” Leon tilted his head, which made Brago grin. It turns out the boy was still in need of his guidance after all.
“What do you mean? I thought that Bella and Jane were the only other sentient races out here in the countryside.” Brago frowned.
“Most races are sentient boy, even the animals here have the ability to perceive and feel emotions such as pain and joy. I believe the word you were looking for was civilized, even if it is a word with negative connotations.”
Leon held his chin in thought, then slowly nodded. “You’re right. That was insensitive of me. I should at least respect those in the food chain for their thought, right?” He smiled, but Brago frowned as the boy completely missed the point of the lesson.
“That’s not quite right either… but oh well, let’s continue. There are several other civilized species living in this forest that are not accepted by the Azure King’s mandate on which species can live, trade, and communicate with humans. Chief among those are the goblins, and their distantly related species, of the Oni.”
Leon tilted his head, “Then if those species are also living in this forest and are affected by the same decree, how come Jane or Bella haven’t had any communication with them?” Brago sighed, and pointed to his head.
“Think Leon. Whose fault was it that non-human species were outlawed from entering human societies? The goblins and the Oni hold a grudge against the humans for kicking them out, but their anger towards the demons who got them into this situation in the first place supersedes that.”
Leon sighed, “I guess that makes sense. Anyway, did you come out here just to talk to me Brago, or are you going to show me some of your fine hunting skills?” Leon spoke honestly, but his sarcastic tone lit a fire in Brago to upstage this young talent.
“Of course Leon! Come now, just a little further upwards until we hit the White Plateau and then we can begin the hunt!” Brago rushed forward, leaving Leon behind to shake his head and continue on without running, as it would just tire him out before they even began.
---
“Gods damn my lungs!” Brago lay on his back, breathing heavily while he lay underneath the canopy on the cold earthy floor. The entrance to the plateau had been a sheer climb up a 90 degree surface, for ‘almost 50 megards!’, as Brago had put it. Of course, neither I nor Brago had trouble with the climb, at least at first. However as we continued upwards, it was clear that Brago’s age was catching up to him. His breathing became more ragged and his grip on the wall became loose at some points. My mind was racing about how I could possibly save him on a surface such as this, but he managed to reach the edge of the plateau by himself.
Soon enough though, he collapsed and reached for the water in his flask while I plucked an oversized leaf from a tree and began to fan him. I surveyed the area while my guide was recovering and my eyes opened wide.
The forest was beautiful, and I could see how the White Plateau got its name. The trees has ashen-colored leaves with trunks whose bark was pale white. I decided to walk around a little, but Brago called out to me.
“Stop Leon. You shouldn’t walk the forest alone. I know you think you have high combat abilities, but that is nothing compared to the people who wander these outlands daily.” I cocked my head, but Brago refused to continue so I eventually conceded and sat down.
“How much longer are you going to be?” I turned to him casually and a smirk formed on his face. I’m all set now. You wouldn’t think it but age and confidence are the deadliest killers out here. Old men like me who overestimate themselves and then do something they can’t recover from. But enough of that.”
Brago stood up and took out a foldable bow from the rucksack that he brought along. Unfolding it, he slid compartments into place and took out a quiver of arrows, which he tied around his waist.
“Shouldn’t your quiver be on your back?” I commented offhandedly, but Brago gave me a very serious look.
“Why would it be there, what’s the thought process behind that?” His tone was very flat, not like the joking man he was only seconds before.
“I can’t remember the exact reason, but isn’t it easier to fire rapidly if you’re grabbing the quiver from a closer point of the arrow’s release?” Brago’s face was stiff, but eventually melted into a grin.
“Maybe from a war perspective, that would be more useful. However, Leon, we aren’t here to wage war on anyone or anything. This is simply a game played between man and nature, hunter and hunted. Patience is key, not spamming arrow fire and hoping one embeds itself into a Plateau Boar.”
I stood there in shocked silence. Brago’s response had made me realize two things. First, he wasn’t upset with me or my comment. That was just his tone when he entered teacher mode, and I expected I would encounter it a lot more often in the coming weeks, but especially today.
Secondly, I really knew nothing of efficiency, or the nuances of life aside from how to kill easier. My entire mentality was geared towards more efficient combat techniques and the art of war. It made me a bit depressed that even having amnesia, the only things I could remember of my previous life were violence and tragedy.
I sighed to signal the end of my melodramatic stupor and followed behind Brago, who had already left me a bit behind. I caught up just as he signaled for us both to stop.
“Look at that Leon.” Brago whispered and pointed to a circular indent in the ground that had to be a megard deep and just as big in diameter.
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“Did a boar uproot a tree trunk?” I asked, but was immediately shot an amused glance from the former knight.
“No, silly child. That is the footprint of a Plateau Boar, and a large one at that. From the slight curvature in the indents, it seems to be heading along the edge of the forest. Let’s follow it, a boar this size could give us enough meet to last a week!”
Brago ran off in pursuit of the beast, seeming to completely forget about his lack of stamina from climbing the cliff’s surface. Meanwhile I just shook my head and tried to come out of this thinking positively.
---
Several hours and a few breaks for Brago later, we found the boar. It was drinking at a stream, but the water supply was walled off on three sides by a cliff face, essentially trapping the animal.
Like it’s footprint implied, the beast was massive. Easily twice my size in height, its body lacked much fat, and it’s limbs bulged with muscles. Also true to Brago’s descriptions, the animal was a deep shade of green, and it had rust-colored stripes along its sides. Several arrows and a single lance with a white band around it protruded out of its hide. The beast’s tusks were a deep red color, making me think it had just used them to skewer its own prey.
I spent some time and took in the sight of the magnificent beast, but Brago was already one step ahead of me. “Alright, here’s the plan Leon. Firstly, I’ll set some traps behind it and at our line of defense, and stay there to shoot the boar. Meanwhile, you sneak in the grass behind it, and as it turns to address me, you chop it’s head off with that scythe of yours.”
I looked at him as if he had just gone insane, a fact which wasn’t missed by him at all. “Hey, don’t give me that look! You’re severely underestimating the sharpness of that scythe. Anyway, just get in position and wait for my arrow to hit the boar, you should hear when it hits.”
I watched Brago take out a rolled up line of… spikes? He lay it on the ground at his feet and unfurled it to make a line of spikes acting as a barrier. He reached into his rucksack once more before noticing that I was looking at him.
“What, you’re still here? Get into that grass before I shoot this arrow or by the Gods graces the boar will be the least of your problems.” I exhaled and got low to the ground before stalking behind the animal and hiding myself in some grass to the left of the beast.
Getting myself into a crouching position, I heard a whistling sound cut through the stillness of the forest before landing into the boar’s hide, right above the tail with a sickening squelch. It roared in pain, and started going into a frenzy, pivoting it’s head and moving its body around in an attempt to find the attacker. It spotted Brago and a knowing gleam lit up its eyes as it looked at his bow.
The animal has just ground its hoof into the earth for a charge, when I sprung out of the grass and, to my surprise, cut through its head like butter. Green blood sputtered from both its head and its body as it fell to the side.
“Nice going boy!” Brago exclaimed, and moved to pack up the spikes on the ground. This left me feeling a bit unfulfilled and I couldn’t help but feel as if this entire encounter had been anticlimactic from all the hype that Brago had built around these beasts.
After folding his bow back up, Brago grabbed some rope from his sack and a knife. “Quick boy, roll the hog on it’s back. I’ll peel some bark off the tree to use as a sled so we can take it back faster, just give me a moment.” With those parting words, he threw the rope and rucksack to me and departed from the watering hole, abandoning me, our supplies, and the green pig with no remorse.
I looked down at the boar. True, it was going to become our dinner in the next few nights, but I figured I may as well have a look around the corpse to see if my hunch on divergent evolution was correct.
I resisted my dire urge to cut open the body, as it would undoubtedly make carrying the meat back infinitely harder, and settled for disecting the head, which would undoubtedly be used only for its tusks, and little else.
I perched the head on a rock and cut the tusks out of the head with the scythe, once more like butter and very cleanly, before opening the head vertically. To my surprise, its brain was much larger than I had expected, and the skin, while tender to the blade of my scythe, was very tough and could resist puncture wounds from more than a few of the arrows that Brago had brought along. In addition, its eyes were yellow, while its eyelids were a deep shade of red. This was just a theory, but perhaps both its eyes and eyelids acted as its reactants and processors for the energy consumption of photosynthesis?
Regardless, my thoughts were put on hold as a shrill, “LEON!” echoed it’s way from the forest in the direction that Brago went. As if conjured from my very thoughts, the former knight rushed back through the clearing entrance with smaller beings in tow.
“Leon, help me with the goblins!” Brago dove between my legs and reached for his rucksack, meanwhile I stared down the creatures that had stopped and all looked at the boar’s head behind me.
They were small, and only went up to around my waist. However, they were fully formed, with muscles that spoke of long days climbing up and down the valleys to get to the plateau. In fact, they appeared to be built just like humans, only having smaller limbs and bodies. If I remembered correctly, there was a word for them… they were…
Oh, that’s right! People who suffered from dwarfism! Wait, did Brago just call them goblins? Surely he was mistaken. “Brago… these are goblins?” The older man nodded his head vigorously.
“Yes, did you not hear me before!? They’ll tear us apart with their numbers, we should get out of here as soon as possible!” I viewed his meltdown with a detached coolness, which apparently made him calm down as well, as his breathing evened out. After that I then retreated back into my own mind.
How much of a sense of betrayal had these people felt to be classed as something other than human and subsequently driven out of their own societies and into the wilds? They didn’t have pointed ears, fanged teeth, or even horribly disfigured noses. I shook my head and once again cursed that royal decree.
I was lucky they had been talking amongst themselves and had given me time to think, but I was brought out of my thoughts by a shift in movement. One of them pointed to the boar, then to me and spoke. I cursed myself inwardly as I was still in the phase of learning Azurian where I understood more than I could actually speak.
“What are hunters doing here? That boar, our prey. We mark it with band so others know to stay away.” This wasn’t going to go well. Especially since it seems like they had given me a chance to explain myself while I couldn’t readily do that.
“I-” A sound came out of my mouth as I started to speak my first Azurian word outside of the Clairborne’s mansion, but was cut off by Brago’s nervous laughter.
“Leon, as much as I trust you in a fight, your diplomacy skills are something else entirely. Especially when it’s in a language you don’t fully comprehend yet. Would you mind if I acted as your translator?” I shook my head and let him take the reigns.
As much as I may have thought poorly of Brago’s combat abilities and overall strange demeanor, he is still the King’s right hand man and that had to be for a reason. With much finesse, and a deep look of concentration on his face, he asked the goblins about themselves and their relationship with this boar.
As Brago relayed it back to me, this tribe of “Goblins,” known as the Cor’muk, had been chasing this boar since before the winter. During the previous year, it had rampaged through their settlement, destroying their crops and killing 16 of, at that point, a 60 person tribe.
As the frost started to roll in, they realized their days hunting it would be numbered. In a mad frenzy to exact revenge on the beast, their tribe had changed to a nomadic one, but to no avail. They had lost its trail when the snow started to settle and planned to resume the hunt in the early stages of the next year, but by the time spring rolled around, it was nowhere near its last known location. Enraged, the Queen of the Cor’muk sent an expedition party to follow the beasts trail around the outer areas of the forest.
Apparently the four large hoofprints we found in the ground was where the boar had planted its roots to hibernate for the winter. It had just come out of its slumber and was groggy when we ambushed it, explaining the disconnect between its intellect and how easy the fight was.
“They called it Blood Tusk. Apparently when it ran through their tribe the blood of the victims was left on the tusks, and still remains there to this day. I shifted my scythe, causing the hunters to move back in wariness, but they relaxed as I dug its tip in the ground.
I pulled the tusks out of the rucksack and presented them to the tribesmen, which they accepted happily. “They want to thank you Leon, now they can hold a proper service to cleanse the spirits of revenge from their tribe. However…”
I glanced back at Brago, who had a complicated look on his face. “Their revenge and their desire to hunt the boar are two separate things. They’ve agreed to leave the meat to us, but only if you can best their champion in a one-on-one duel.”
This was such a shock to the calm atmosphere that had settled over us and the others that I reeled back and exclaimed, “Why!” in protest, but Brago only shook his head and gave me a defeated expression.
“In their culture, strength is respected above all else. However, the penalty for stepping on someone’s honor-bound duty is steep, and unless you want to lose a finger I suggest putting up with it and showing them what you’re made of. Also-”
Brago stepped in and whispered in my ear, “Between you and me, I think you hurt their champion’s pride since you killed the monster before they could get a chance to.” I scratched the back of my head. So what if I hurt their pride, pride doesn’t matter for shit, and has no monetary value, not here at least.
“They want us to go back to their base camp and meet with their queen. After that she will be the officiator of your sanctioned duel with the Goblin champion: Zeek. I’d be careful of him if I were you. We’ve heard tales of his battle prowess from the adventurer’s guild in the Capital.” I gave Brago a dirty look. How were you supposed to properly judge a person if all you measured was their battle prowess?
Finally, I resigned myself and nodded, conjuring a cacophony of hollering from the tribe in front of me. Finally, they started exiting the clearing one after another, and after a moment contemplating how my life had gotten to that point, I followed them back from where they came.