Ainkards last memory was the mountain-like object blotting out the sky and crushing him. When he awoke, he sighed breaths of relief and hurriedly tried to get back up, but his heart rapidly palpitated as he realized he wasn't able to move.

He felt he was constricted by something, and panicked thinking that it was a monster. He struggled, trying to move in all sorts of different ways, and even tried to bite at it, but paused when he felt the hairs on the back of his neck slowly standing up.

His breathing had completely stopped, and he looked towards the dancing light slowly moving down from a set of stairs.

He didn't want to know what that was, so he quickly tried pushing out to break free again, but to no avail. And then, there it was, a creature standing on its 2 hind legs, with its bright glowing eyes that blinded him as he yelled with fear.

It circled around him as he actively yelled at it, trying to scare it away. His antics, of course, had no effect on the creature.

It just menacingly stared down directly at him, like a predator playing with its prey.

But, after a while, Ainkard had no choice but to resign himself, as he slowly felt mentally and physically fatigued. Tears slowly rolled down his cheeks. "Come on, just do it.." He croaked.

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But the creature only paused in front of him, unmoving.

It talked, or atleast growls that seemed like talking. Ainkard had flash back of memories of what his father had told him. That no one in his village had ever made it back alive when night fell, and no one knew what kind of many creatures there were out there. But now, he had a gist, just before his death, that maybe the monsters were intelligent. And that frightened him even more.

But, when the creature 'growled' again, his heart had almost stopped. He understood it.

"This should be working now, I assume?"

Ainkard stared at it with bulging eyes, unable to reply. Silence passed for a while, until the monster spoke again.

"From your silence, I'll take that as a yes."

Hope and relief sparked in Ainkards heart, 'It must be a hunter! He's here to save me!', he thought, and quickly gushed out a question. "Hunter! Are you a hunter?!"

"A hunter?" It replied back.

"Yes! Quickly, help me escape from this, we have to go before the monster..."

Ainkard was abruptly interrupted, causing a downfall of his emotions once again.

"I'm afraid I'm not a hunter."

Ainkard then felt confused, dejected, uncertain, but not as afraid as he was earlier. "What? Then... who are you?" He asked. Then, if it wasn't a hunter, it was most definitely a monster, an intelligent one at that. But being dumbfounded, he had no other choice but to ask, at least before his inevitable death.

"It's not who, but what. I am your employer."