Ghosts of the Five Realms: The Rabbit and the Dryke

Chapter 15

The Hunted

"Tell me what you see." said Fendrel.

"Blood." answered the boy.

"You only see blood because you aren't used to seeing it, Leomir. Look beyond the blood. We know these sheep are dead. It is the reason the order was called to this farm and by the look of them, that is quite obvious. The question is, what killed them. Describe what you see to me. Describe it as if I were blind. Tell me the story." said the old Ranger, sternly. He closed his eyes and breathed deeply.

The prince walked carefully around the scene. He wore the grimace of a person not used to gore. He tiptoed in the mud to avoid it.

Fendrel grunted in frustration. He bent down, picked up a handful of blood and mud and smeared it on the prince's pristine tunic.

"What did you do that for?" demanded the prince.

"To get it out of the way. Knights live amongst blood and dirt. It is part of our livelihood. Dark things live in the muck. We go willingly in and drag them out into the light. You will get dirty, my Prince." Fendrel took a deep, frustrated breath and rested his fists on his hips. "This temper of yours will and must be controlled. I do not know if it comes from the loss of your parents or if it is a sense of royal entitlement but know this. -You are entitled to nothing. The creature who slaughtered these animals will treat you the same way. It does not care if you are rich or poor, happy or sad, strong or weak. It wants to eat you. You must be able to control your mind and your emotions. They are the only things you are the master of. YOU must be the hunter. Now, tell me. What do you see?" demanded Fendrel.

The prince was taken off guard by Fendrel's tone. Leomir looked towards the scene irreverently but took a breath and focused.

"I see hoof prints in the mud." said the boy with disdain. He walked around the carcasses looking carefully. "Wait. I see more than hoof prints. I see paw prints; Large ones." Leomir walked some more, not taking his eyes off of the ground. "They lead to the fence, out into the pasture and towards the forest beyond that. The boy turned his gaze to the bloody sheep. He examined the scene for a moment. "There are claw marks around the wounds." The boy said with growing excitement.

"How many claws?" asked Fendrel, leading the prince.

"It looks like three claws." observed the boy.

"How did the sheep die? Where are their wounds? Were any parts of them eaten?" inquired the knight.

"It is difficult to know how they died, Sir." the boy's grimace returned. "All of their throats may have been torn out. Perhaps one was eaten, but I'm having a difficult time differentiating the parts of these animals." replied the boy. "It looks as if most were torn apart for the sport. But Sir what sort of an animal would do something like that?"

"Paws, four legs, large powerful jaws, three claws, insatiable hunger for blood, dwells in the forest. In this part of the kingdom, it must be a diametrys." deducted Fendrel.

"A what?" asked the prince

"A gremlion. It belongs to the category of Dark Beasts. Dark Beasts often kill for sport. It isn't uncommon for them to prowl farms like this for livestock this time of year." said Fendrel. "My good man has this happened before? said Fendrel to the farmer.

"Once before, Sire. Me and me boys, we built the fence up larger and stronger last time. We was thinking it would deter the beast." said the farmer wringing his hat in his hands.

"I see. And have any other farms reported any similar problems?" asked Fendrel.

"Why yes, Sire. It happened at 'ol Tomen's farm last month. Do you think you can catch the monster?"