They asked around and located Torj and Kyt in a tavern. Torj and Kyt seemed happy to see them as Chuck and Tess sat down. After some greetings and small talk, Chuck got down to business. “Have either of you been near this area?” He asked, pulling out the map and placing it on the table. They both scrutinized the map and looked back at Chuck. “I don’t know of anyone that has gone to this particular spot but it is only about a days travel from one of our usual hunting grounds. We were going to find you and ask if you wanted to go on our latest hunting trip but you saved us the trouble.” Torj responded laughing. “A hunting trip huh. How dangerous is this area?” Chuck asked pointing to the mark on the map. “It isn’t far from where we usually go, which is in the outer region of the forest and relatively safe. All the larger monsters stay in the deeper regions for the most part.” Kyt responded, showing him about where they hunted on the map.

There were a lot of vague terms used but he supposed any trip into the Howling Wood was potentially dangerous. Chuck wasn’t sure if he was ready to risk going into the deadly forest or not. He was itching to hunt since he hadn’t been hunting since arriving in this world. It was one of his favorite hobbies, right up there with fishing. He also wanted to try out his new gun on actual moving targets. The only thing was not to end up like the last otherworlder to own the gun. He also didn’t want to put Tess in danger since she would insist upon coming along. “I‘ll think about it. When are you leaving?” Chuck asked, putting the map away. “We leave next week.” Torj replied. “Ok, I’ll have to discuss it with my family and let you know.” Chuck replied, getting up and saying goodbye to the pair.

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That evening he brought up the hunting trip. Raz and Maz immediately offered to go along which surprised Chuck. “Have you two been hunting before?” He asked. “Our dad used to take us when we were little.” Raz replied which shocked Chuck as he thought it would be too dangerous. They explained the outer regions were fairly safe for the hunters. It was the same as what Torj and Kyt had told them. This made Chuck think that maybe he could hunt safely as well. Next he wanted to hear what Tess’s opinion was. She didn’t know much about Axtol or the Howling Wood so would trust Chuck’s judgment apparently. Of course she refused to stay home and would go as well.

Chuck thought long and hard about it and finally decided to do it. He let Torj and Kyt know and they prepared for the trip that would take place the following week. They already had the camping supplies so just needed some food and some weapons for the family. In the meantime Chuck left the city for a few days in a row to practice more with his new gun. He was feeling pretty confident with it by the end of the week. It seemed everyone was comfortable with a bow so did some target practicing with Chuck to refresh their skills. Tess was surprisingly good and was on par with the hunter pair. If Chuck had know that, he would have gotten her a bow a long time ago. When the time came for the trip, Torj and Kyt met up with Chuck and his family at the South Gate. Raz, Torj, and Kyt would ride in the back. They would park the pickup and head into the forest close to the hunting ground. Chuck was looking forward to it.