Arcadian Huntress ⚢

Chapter VIII Child

The day we were due to reach the village where the rumors came from, I spent nearly the whole afternoon puzzling over the enigma of my friend. What happened that day when Apollo came and asked to talk to her alone. He must have said something that made her upset. And when I had resolved to speak to Parthenos about it when we caught sight of the town gates in the distance.

Away from the outskirts of the village, we wasted no time into lodging in a tiny village perched on the banks of the river.

"The traveler speaks the truth. There seems to be a beast wrecking havoc," Artemis said as the rest of the hunt prepared the camp. "As a mistress of all wild animals, I am a slayer of beast and protector of young children. I will not tolerate monsters targetting children. Most of you will stay here while some of you must accompany to the village to slay the beast."

The huntresses nodded at her orders.

"I need a healer, so Parthenos, come with me." At the mention of her name, Parthenos nodded and prepared her bag of medicines. "We might heal some sick villagers. I also need Hyale, Nephele, and Callisto with me."

My heart fluttered in excitement at the mention of my name. Hyale gave me an encouraging smile. Lady Artemis accompanied me all the time. I got better at hunting and in the span of days, I still could not fathom that I became the best hunting companion for the Goddess and my name spread throughout the forest.

Built on an old crossroads, the village had once been home to a major marketplace. But now there was little to sell, and the town had fallen on hard times. Merchants were out of sight, traveling towards the neighboring towns and villages to find a stroke of better luck. There were not any signs we could find, but we know the monster resided here. Miasma surrounded the air, sickness and death hail all around.

The locals had glanced at the four of us when we first entered the village's lone tavern. But they made no effort to lower their voices to keep their gossip private. The strange creature was the only subject of conversation since we got here. Crowded with out-of-work fishermen, and farmers, and hunters, the dark, low-ceilinged room smelled of river water and spirits.

"The Gods must hate us," said one old man bitterly.

"Not likely to be so lucky." An old lady said. "We might have forgotten to praise them. But can they blame us? Our crops and our animals are dying, we do not even have food for ourselves to even appease them."

"Where did it all began?" Parthenos turned in her seat and joined their conversation casually, "We are travelers. We would like to know happened."

I kept my eyes down, but I was curious, too. The more we heard about it, the more I am convinced there was something there that I should see. My instincts were tugging on me in a way I had never experienced before. Turning slightly toward Parthenos, hoping she would ask the right questions.

The men and the innkeeper all swiveled around to stare at us. One of them—a man with a long, scraggly gray beard said, "You would be better off avoiding that place."

"Why?"

The men looked at one another uneasily before one of them spoke, his missing front tooth flashing like a dark eye. "It was little things at first—goats have gone dry, wells turning bad."

"That was bad enough, but now folks are saying that Tartarus' children are taking ours," said the old lady. Her voice was shrill and loud, and the common room fell silent.