Well this isn’t going to go well.

In my close vicinity was a blur, a grey and silver blur of a [Beowulf] streaking in between the bushes. It’s behaviour was that of a hunter slowly cornering its prey; flitting in between the shrubbery waiting for me to lower my guard.

You would thing I would be terrified; my pants soiled already. But all I could think about in this harrowing moment was back to when I was taking the request to hunt this beast back at Maystead Inn.

“It’s an easy request.” they said, suppressing their snickering.

“Definitely within your capabilities they said.” they said, amidst a sea of jeering laughter.              

However, my thoughts were interrupted as [Beowulf] burst out of the undergrowth behind me, claws ready and bared to tear flesh. Detecting the subtle rustle greenery behind me, I swayed my head to avoid the blow - but it was too late.

The sharp claws of the beast ran their destructive course along the side of my head, hair and flesh being torn apart; blood pouring down my face.

“Come here you little...” I muttered, swiping pathetically at thin air. The loss of blood was making me delirious.

Sensing weakness, the [Beowulf] lunged for the kill, this time fangs bared and mouth agape for the kill. Gritting my teeth, I drew my ground and steadied myself for the inevitable - it was do or die. But as the speeding beast approached me, its eyes full of murderous, primative malice, everything disappeared into a void of black.

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

2 days later...

I awoke to a well-furnished room, a box of brown surrounded by various chairs, tables and lamps, not to mention the suprisingly soft bed which I lay upon. And then it hit me - the searing, burning pain in my head - like my skull was torn asunder.

“So you’ve woken up...good.” A hooded, darkly-dressed figure emerged from their sitting position in the corner. Their attire was as if they were enveloped in the void , the cloak itself dyed black as the bleakest night; serving to hide the individual underneath.

This stranger was the epitome of ‘mysterious’. As the hooded person approached, I could feel a steady uneasiness emerging from within me. ‘It’ extended an open palm.

”What’s this? An extortion? Sorry, but I’m fresh out of funds.” I replied tiredly. Better to be witty than reveal weakness.

“Hmm...I was planning on asking you to compensate me, since the [Beowulf] pelt I brought in didn’t fetch as high a price as I had hoped.” The figure spoke nonchantly, with a sort of artificial voice. It was similar to a soap-gargled whore - I couldn’t decipher it.

“Well since you don’t need me, I’ll be on my way.”

“Not so fast. You still owe me, but what to do...” the figure pondered inquisitively, scratching their head as if was a ‘mind-boggling’ question. Finally, after a short eternity of internal questioning. “I’ve been hired to exterminate some ‘anomalies’ that have been occurring surrounding the Central Citadel as well as throughout Astoria.”

“What exactly is in it for me?” I tried to retort in a confident tone, despite not in a position to demand anything.

“Well first of all, you’d pay off your debt to me and perhaps may recieve a hefty sum for your troubles. How’s that sound?”

Truly a tempting offer, suspiciously so. What could be their motive? A lure into slavery? A literal suicide mission? It couldn’t possibly be a genuine offer from such a shifty looking person.

“So when do we start?”I stumbled forward clumsily - my body has betrayed me. All it took to fall was a stray foot from stranger for me to collapse forward and knock myself out.

“As soon as you’re able to properly stand.” the figure whispered, as my consciousness faded to black.