Just after we lost sight of the farmhouse, I felt something... evil... enter my detection range. I knew it was hungry and it wanted food very much. It was also behind us and moving towards the farmhouse.
“We need to go back!” I said and grabbed Maylia's hand, activated Mana Presence Run, and we ran back up the road.
What we saw wasn't just the one thing that I had felt. Over a dozen of them approached the farmhouse at a steady pace. It kind of looked like an armadillo, except it was the size of a man and the end of its tail had several dark spikes on it. The farmer was trying to fend one of them off with a pitchfork and had stepped out in front of his wife and son.
“Get back!” I exclaimed and deactivated Mana Presence Run and let Maylia's hand go as I took my father's Light sword from my belt. When I activated it, everything froze still and turned to face me, both the people and the monsters. The people had wide open mouths of shock and the monsters eyes glowed with anger. I didn't let this opportunity pass and swiped the Light sword across the snout of the closest monster to me and it cut through the monster's face like a hot knife through butter.
It tried to scream in pain and just gurgled, because I had inadvertently missed the brain. I turned the Light sword and jabbed it into the exposed cranial cavity and swirled it a little, and the creature dropped to the ground, dead. Now that I knew it would work, I stepped up onto the back of the armored carcass and jumped at the next creature. The main body lumbered around because it was wide and heavy; but, the tails were thin and fast. The creature swung its tail at me and I used a Presence Hand to catch it. It turned its head in confusion to look at its captured tail and I severed the entire head from its neck as I landed on the ground.
The body dropped dead and I ducked as another tail swiped at me. I caught this one as well and cut it off with my Light sword, then rolled out of the way of the quick spurt of dark blood that came out before the wound cauterized. I felt that getting the blood on me was a really bad idea, so I didn't try to cut any more of the tails off. I kept using a Presence Hand to catch the tails and held them still while I decapitated each of the eleven remaining creatures.
When they were all dead, the little bits of blood that had escaped from the wounds I caused started to hiss and fizzle on the ground. I quickly used a Presence Hand to dig the dirt up and went around to all the spots and picked the blood up. I had quite a pile of it by this point and I wasn't sure what to do with it now that I had it.
After a moment, I realized that the creature's bodies weren't affected by the exposed blood, so I turned one over with a Presence Hand and carefully cut part of the soft underbelly open. I shoved the contaminated dirt and blood into the opening and pushed it closed, then covered it in a solid layer of Presence to hold it. I deactivated my father's Light sword and hooked it back to my belt.
“Does anyone know what these things are?” I asked and turned to look at the farmer and his family. They didn't say anything and just stared at me. “The armor is pretty thick on the back of these things. I'm sure they can be cleaned and used for something.”
The three of them still didn't respond and didn't move.
“Are you okay? No one was hit by the spikes, were they?” I asked and the three of them shook their heads. “Maylia, do you know what's wrong with...” I turned and looked at her to see that she had the same surprised expression on her face. “What's... oh.” I said when I finally clued in on why they were acting that way. “My Light sword.”
Maylia nodded and I saw her close her mouth and she tried to speak for a few moments, then she gave her head a little shake. “That's one of the ancient artifacts they took from you.” She said and glanced at the cut up creatures. “Now I know how you made those holes in the wall to get them back.”
I smiled. “Yes, now imagine if Nita had tried to use it, or if the elders in the sacred chamber managed to somehow activate it.”
Maylia caught her breath. “They would have seriously hurt themselves!”
“Or died.” I said. “What if they were looking down the end of it and figured out how to turn it on?”
Maylia looked down at the closest creature and she visibly shook at the thought of that happening.
“Now you know one of the reasons I wanted them back.” I said. “They are much too dangerous for anyone not trained in their use.”
Maylia nodded several times in response and I turned back to the farmer and his wife and son.
“We can't just leave these things here.” I said. “If they start to rot, the blood will seep out and contaminate the ground like you just saw.”
“I... ah... I've got an old cart that...” The farmer looked at the thirteen large carcasses. “Okay, I have no idea what to do with them.”
“Let me look at the cart and we'll figure out what to do after that.” I said, and he took me across the yard and behind the barn. A rickety old cart was there and it was pretty beat up.
“If I had some wood, I'm sure we could reinforce it and make it bigger.” The farmer said.
“Where do I get wood?” I asked.
“I'm sure the neighbour has some.” Hoquan said. “I don't know what he'll want for it, though.”
“All right. I'll go see what he wants.” I said. “If he doesn't have any or doesn't want to give them up, where would the next place be?”
“In town, about twenty miles up the main road when you leave this one.” Hoquan said. “You'd probably have to pay good money for that, though.”
“Well, I have to assume the neighbour is going to want money, too.” I said. “Since I don't have any, I'm kind of stuck.” I stood there and thought about it. “Would anyone pay for the armored creatures?”
“Huh. I don't know.” Hoquan said. “I suppose you could ask the town guard if there are any bounties for the things.”
Bounties. I thought and smiled. “Well, I think I can carry one with me, so I'll go to the town instead of the neighbours.”
“How in the world are you going to carry it that far?”
“I'll figure it out.” I said. “I'll be back soon.”
“After a thirty mile walk carrying one of them things?” He laughed. “You might get back here by tonight if you're lucky.”
We left the barn and I rearranged the carcasses so that none of the cut parts were over bare ground. If by chance blood seeped out, it would hit another creature's body and not the ground. I chose the one with the cleanest cut and asked the farmer's wife, Margaret, if she had an old bed sheet. She came out with one and I put the carcass in it with the severed head, wrapped it up and tied one end of the bed sheet to make it into something like a sack, then twisted the other end closed.
I handed the backpack to Maylia and she put it on, and I knelt to pull the twisted end of the sheet over my shoulder. I used the technique to boost myself by using Presence and mana to let it seep into my muscles and stood up. I immediately created an invisible Presence box around my waist to rest the bed sheet on, made it solid to take the weight of the creature, and turned to the farmer.
“Make sure you keep Joquim from touching those things.” I motioned to the pile of carcasses. “We'll be back soon to get the rest.” I said and gave them a wave. “Let's go, Maylia.”
*
The farmer and his family watched the two adventurers walk away again.
“I can't believe it.” Hoquan said. “He lifted that thing like it was nothing.”
“He's really going to carry it all the way to town?” Margaret asked. “How can he do that?”
“He must be really strong.” Joquim said with admiration in his voice. “Did you see that thing he had?” He asked and took a stance as if he held a sword. “Ween! Weeen!” He swung his hand back and forth.
“The girl said it was an ancient artifact.” Magraret said. “Could that be true?”
“You saw her face. She was as surprised as us when he started waving that thing around.”
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“Ween! WEEEEN!” Joquim yelled and jumped towards the carcasses. His mother grabbed his shoulder and stopped him before he landed.
“You heard the adventurer. No playing with them.”
“But, mom!”
“Do you want to be poisoned and killed?” Margaret asked.
Joquim sighed and ducked his head. “No.”
“Then get in the house and be quiet for now.”
“All right.” Joquim said in defeat and tromped into the house.
“You can have one of the sparkly fruit halves.” Margaret said.
“YAY!” Joquim yelled and ran into the kitchen to get one.
Hoquam and his wife stood there arm in arm as they stared at the road for several minutes.
“We were lucky they showed up to ask for directions.” Hoquan said.
“We were really lucky that I forced them to stay for supper.” Margaret said with a smile.
“I probably should have asked how they appeared in front of us like that.” Hoquan said. “I could have sworn they were over the hill and more than ten minutes away when those things showed up.”
“Maybe it was another miracle like what happened with our supper.” Margaret said. “That was amazing.”
“I expected a prayer of thanks; but, invoking god at the dinner table?” Hoquan chuckled. “That's like asking for divine intervention when you stub your toe!”
Margaret had to laugh at that. Her husband had done that several times over the years and he had cursed and swore each and every time.
“Now that I think about it, maybe we should start adding a prayer or two to god.” Hoquan said.
“We should thank him for sending us that adventurer at the very least.” Margaret said, then she jerked a little. “Wait! He ate with us and then saved us, and we don't even know his name!”
Hoquan laughed. “I'll be sure to ask him tonight when he comes back.”
Margaret relaxed and put her head on her husband's shoulder.
“It's too late to go back to plowing the field, so I'll wait until tomorrow to get back to work.”
Margaret lifted her head and looked at his face to see his smile. “Uh uh. No.” She said and tried to step away. Hoquan held onto her and started kissing her face and neck. “S-s-stop.... stop...” She tried to fend him off for only a moment, then she gave up and turned to face him.
Hoquan felt her accept his attempted affection and he kissed her properly on the lips. She couldn't hold her moan in as he held her tightly and showed her how much he loved her. He broke the kiss and he saw in her eyes that she wasn't going to say no this time, so he led her inside and took her to the bedroom and locked the door.
Joquim sat at the table and ate his sparkly peach apple and was none the wiser about what was going on with his parents in their room.
*
I waited until we were past the hill again and were out of sight of the farm before I held a hand out to Maylia.
“You can't run with that thing on your back.” Maylia said.
“It's all right. We'll only be a little slower because I can't devote as much energy to running.”
“You're serious.” Maylia said, and I nodded. “Okay; but if you trip, I can't catch you.”
I chuckled. “I'll do my best to wait and fall on top of you later.”
Maylia opened her mouth to respond, then she thought about what I just said. Her face went red and she took my hand anyway. That made me smile and I pulled Presence and mana into myself and poured it into her as I activated Mana Presence Run. We took off and ran down the ten miles of the road, then took the turn and ran twenty miles to the town in only ten minutes. We slowed down when the town came into sight and we decided to walk the rest of the way.
When my detection range passed over the small guard post, I saw the two guards on top of the small building that was one storey tall and they were looking right at us. I also saw a slightly green bubble in front of one of them and I had to assume that it showed Maylia and me inside of it.
“We're being watched.” I said.
“We should always assume so.” Maylia said back.
I came to a stop and turned to her and she stopped and turned to me. “Maylia, before we go in, there's something I need to tell you.”
“I'm listening.” Maylia said in a serious tone.
“I've been calling myself Hunter for almost a year now.” I said.
“Hunter.” Maylia smiled. “Yes, you feel like a hunter.” She said. “It's nice to finally know your name.”
“I'm sorry that...”
“When could you have told me before now?” Maylia asked. “We've been on the move and discussed things, and even when talking to other people, your name has never come up.”
I blinked my eyes for a moment, then gave her a big grin. “You're right. It hasn't.” I said and stepped close. I still held her hand and lifted it to my lips. “It's nice to meet you, Maylia. You can call me Hunter.”
“Is that a ritual or something?” Maylia glanced at her hand.
“It depends. Sometimes it's required when meeting important people.” I said. “I haven't done it until now, though.”
Maylia's face flushed red and she ducked her head slightly.
“We should get moving before they send someone out to greet us.” I said.
“Or to kill us.” Maylia said with a smile.
“Now you're thinking properly.” I said with a chuckle, and we walked towards the guard post.
*
“What do you make of these two?” The human guard asked and showed the other guard his viewing bubble after it formed.
“They are definitely not farmers.” The other one said as he saw the two beings. “Their outfits say adventurer; but, there hasn't been any in this region for months.”
“Hm. Well, one of them is carrying something.” The first one said, then paused when the two figures stopped walking. “I wonder what they're doing.”
“Maybe we'll find out in a few minutes.” The other said. “Here they come again.”
The two figures approached with their hoods up. One looked distinctly female with a breastplate and everything, and the other had a really odd cloth outfit and looked to be male.
“Halt.” The first guard said as he dismissed the viewing bubble and then he leaned on the small railing. “Who goes there?”
“Adventurers looking to see if there's a bounty on this creature.” The male said in an odd accent.
“What creature is that?” The first guard asked.
The male knelt and slid the large sack around to rest it in front of himself and unravelled the top to open it and revealed the contents.
“By Black Laura's pale white tit!” The first guard exclaimed. “How in the seven hells did you kill it?”
The male smiled. “Does that mean there's a bounty?”
“As sure as the Ice Queen's ass is cold!” The second guard said and laughed. “The thing has been roaming the county for months and eating everything!”
“Where do we collect the money?” The male asked.
“Bundle that thing up again and I'll take you to the mayor.” The first guard said. “She's going to be so happy that you killed it!”
The man quickly tied the sack back up and slung it over his shoulder and stood up as if it didn't weigh anything. The first guard slid down the ladder at the back of the building and ran over to him.
“This way.” He said and he led the two adventurers to the mayor's office.
*
Well, that went a lot better than I expected. I thought as the man practically skipped with happiness as he led us to the mayor. Several townspeople watched us as we passed, and the guard told them what we had in the sack and that it was dead. Some of them shook their heads in disbelief, others gave us a little clap of applause, and others followed us to the two storey wooden building.
This looks like an actual medieval town. I thought and looked around with Detect Mana Presence. I didn't see any electricity, or lights, or anything even close to resembling technology of any kind. This... is not looking good, especially if this is the most populous country. If there's no technology here, then I think I'm screwed.
“Right in here!” The guard said and opened the door with a glass pane in it with 'mayor' painted on the front of it. We entered and he shut the door on the crowd outside, so they looked in through the door and the other windows. The guard walked past the woman that sat at the desk and knocked on the mayor's door.
“Gill, you can't do that!” The secretary said. “She's busy!”
“Busy, shmizzy!” Gill said. “Andora! Open up! I've got a surprise for you!”
“Gill, you idiot!” A woman's voice said loudly from behind the door, then it opened to show a woman about five and a half feet tall with her dark hair up in a tangled mess and an angry face. “You know I'm busy after supper!”
“You can make yourself look pretty for your secret lover later.” Gill said, and her face burned a deep red. “These two killed the brocchula.”
“Actually, it was Hunter that killed it.” Maylia said and pointed at me.
“Wh-WHAT?!?”
“Step back and they'll show you.” Gill said.
“All right.” The mayor looked at Gill with murder in her eyes, then she sighed and stepped back to let us into the office. “Show me the proof.”
I knelt and slid the large improvised sack off of my back and onto the floor, then opened the bed sheet and pulled it back to reveal the armored back of the creature and took out the severed head to show her.
“You really killed it.” Andora said, surprised. “How? We've sent groups of trained solders after it and they couldn't hurt the thing!”
“It doesn't matter.” I said and put the head back inside the sheet and tied it. “How much is the bounty?”
“It's been causing havoc all over, so the local businesses agreed that ten silver would be given to the one that killed it.” Andora said and took out ten silver from her desk and held it out to me.
“Thanks.” I said and took the silver coins and put them in a pocket. “What are you going to do with it?”
“We're going to gut it and hang it in the town square to show everyone.” Gill said.
“I wouldn't do that.” I said. “Its blood is poisonous, just like its tail spikes.”
“You're kidding!” Gill said, and I shook my head.
“I had to dig up where the blood hit the dirt and had to put it inside the belly.”
“Then we need to get a priest or a wizard over here to cleanse the poison out of it.” The mayor said and sat down behind her desk. “What a relief that it's been killed and won't bother the farmers anymore.”
“You do realize there's more than just one, right?” I asked, and she gasped, as did the several people listening at the door and through the windows of her office.
“There's more?” She asked, surprised.
“I counted twelve besides this one.” I said.
“A dozen more of them?!?” The mayor exclaimed and stood up. “Great adventurer! I beg you to do an urgent quest for the townspeople!”
“You want me to kill the rest of them.” I said and held in my smile.
“Yes!” The mayor said and dug out ten more silver coins from her desk, then ten more, and kept going until there were a dozen stacks of ten silver coins. “Ten silver coins for each of them upon delivery.”
“How will I get them back here?” I asked. “Carrying them one at a time will take...”
The guard took a one foot wide sack from his belt and pulled out a short sword, a bag of corn, and three pieces of wood that were eight feet long.
“You can have my bag of holding.” Gill said and handed it to me. “It cuts the weight down to almost nothing and the opening can fit anything you want to put in it.”
“What about after I deliver them?”
“You can keep the bag.” Gill said. “If there's a dozen of those monsters around, I'm willing to give up having a small convenience if it will mean the safety of the farmers around the town.”
“All right.” I said. “I'll accept the quest.”
The people cheered and Gill smacked me on the shoulder.
“Good luck, my friend!” Gill said. “I'll walk you out to the end of town.”
“We look forward to seeing you back here soon, Hunter.” The mayor said and sat down, then she whispered. “Thank Black Laura you've shown up to save us from this menace.”
“Actually, you should thank god.” Maylia said to the surprised mayor. “Hunter does.”
I held in my laughter as I took Maylia's hand and we left the mayor's office with Gill.