Lerris slowly opens his eyes as he heard some movement in their room, and when he moves around and look down from the top bunk, he saw his cousin, already dressed up, and tying her hair behind her with a leather cord.
"Good morning," Lerris said lazily as he watches his cousin move around the room.
"Sorry if I wake you up?" She said as she took her baldric from the nearby hanging rack and wearing it, before drawing her pistol and checks it.
"It's okay," Lerris said as he lazily sat at the edge of the bunk and stretching his hands out and yawns.
"By the way, are we staying for another night?" Lydia asked.
"We have to," Lerris casually replied as he carefully went down from the top bunk and into the floor, "our clothes won't be ready until afternoon."
"But are we going to that farm up north?" she asked as she looks at Lerris anxiously.
"Of course," Lerris said with a nod as he walks straight to where the washbasin is and began washing his face. "We still have to finish that quest." he added.
Lydia nodded as she took her bow case and slings it across her back, then she picks her half-filled quiver and clips it on her belt before she picks her saddlebag and slung it on her shoulder and picks up her musket.
"I'll wait for you downstairs and order our breakfast as well." Lydia told him as she started for the door.
"I'll have sausage and eggs if they have one, and no porridge." Lerris said to her as he picks up the towel beside the washbasin and started wiping himself dry.
"Sure," Lydia told him before walking out of their room.
Lerris place the used towel beside the washbasin and turn around to his bed, picking up his shirt that was hanging on edge of the top bunk and started donning it. As soon he was done, he quickly looks around for his boots, and after finding it, he started wearing it, and when he was done, he walks up towards the hanging rack and picks up his vest and wears it. He then picks up his baldric, first checking his sword, then his pistol, and lastly the cartridge inside the leather pouches in front of the baldric, after that, he slung the baldric around him, before going to where his saddlebag is and picks it up before going back to table and placing it on top of it. After which, he opens the left side and took out one of the leather pouches where he uses to store his paper cartridges and carefully took out a dozen paper cartridges and placing it on the leather pouches that was built in front of his baldric. After that, he puts back the leather pouch and closes his saddlebag and slung it over his shoulder before picking up his musket.
For a moment, he stood there and look around the room, making sure he did not forget anything. And when he was satisfied that nothing was amiss, he walks out of the room, and locking the door behind him, before heading straight down to the common room, where he saw his cousin, sitting on the nearby table facing the doorway. He then went to the bar, where he told the barkeeper that they would be coming back and stay for the night. The barkeeper agreed to it and asked for an advance payment, which Lerris promptly paid in full.
As he was about to leave, Lerris paused and looked at the barkeeper, "can I ask you something?"
The barkeeper leans forwards and smiled at him, "there are too many eyes and too many ears around young master, are you sure you want to ask me something?" she said quietly and cryptically.
Lerris smiled back at her as he walks back to the counter and leans towards the barkeeper, "Hagrid's farm" he said softly.
The barkeeper raised her brow as she gave him a wicked smile, before raising her hand and crooks her finger.
Lerris nodded and leans forward, and the woman suddenly grabs his head as she jerks him closer to her, before whispering something, after that, she pushes him away, while smiling at him. The woman was odd, but she told him where to find the Hagrid farm, and she also warn him that there are several people around who is watching them, among them were the baron's own men, as well as a couple of men who has ties with the bandits.
He fought the urge to look around after that and willed himself to act like he was offended and walks away from the counter and joins his cousin by the table who was by now looking at him oddly while she was eating her meal.
"What was that?" Lydia asked, "did you just try to flirt with her?"
"Sort off," Lerris said while he rubs his head.
"You're lucky she didn't take your head off," Lydia told him.
"Yeah, lucky," Lerris agreed. "By the way, I already arrange to have the room we got for another night" he told her as he began to eat his meal.
"Can we stay another day after tonight?" Lydia asked.
"Why?" Lerris asked before taking a big bite of his sausage.
"I'd like to check out the shops around here," she told him.
Lerris nodded as he kept eating while his mind was full of what the barkeeper had told him, that there are many eyes and ears around, so he discreetly looks around the common room, and true enough, he saw close to half a dozen men watching them closely. To his surprise, he also saw a watchman openly staring at them. He wondered as to how they had attracted that much attention, since there were not any people around when they arrive at the western gate yesterday, only the guards were there. So, no one could have known about the heads that they brought in. And surely, people will pay no mind if they bring in some furs.
"You're awfully quiet," Lydia asked nonchalantly as looks at Lerris.
"I'm just thinking of something," Lerris said with a frown as he tears off a piece from the wheat bread, and dunking it on his soup, before eating it.
"So, you noticed them also," Lydia said with a smile.
Lerris nodded as he suddenly drew his long knife and places it on top of the table, and that drew a mixed reaction from the men who were watching them, a couple gave them a worried frown, another openly glared at them, while the other two men just smiled wickedly. The watchman looks unperturbed as he contends himself on watching everybody.
Lydia felt herself tensing, but she just kept her silence, as she knew, if worse comes to worse, they could easily take out those men in a heartbeat. Nevertheless, she discreetly eases her pistol from its holster.
Then to her surprise, she saw her cousin snaps his knife, and that cause everyone in the room to tense up, as all those men who were watching them had their hands on their swords. Lerris then twirled the knife on his hand expertly before cutting the sausage in front of him into several pieces and fluidly sheathing it.
Lydia wanted to laugh at that, when everyone looks as if they all felt relieved when they saw him do that. And after that, she and his cousin ate in silence, while everyone around them seems to be on edge, even the barkeeper.
After they done eating, they both pick up their saddlebags and stood up, casually slinging the saddlebags on their shoulders and picks up their musket before walking straight toward the door. Surprisingly, none of the men who were watching them stood up, as they all seem content on watching them go.
"Why are they watching us?" Lydia asked quietly the moment they step out of the chapter house.
"I have no idea," Lerris said truthfully as he and his cousin heads towards the stable.
"Why are we sitting in this flyspeck of a place again?" Azad asked irritably as he sat on table underneath the large parasol inside the main plaza, along with his trusted man Kint, who was sitting across him, while looking at the Hunter's Guild chapter house.
"Patience my old friend, I wouldn't ask you here to join me for nothing," Kint said confidently while eyes the doorway of the chapter house like a hawk. He would have preferred to be inside the chapter house, but he did not want to risk it, since the Hagrid clan still had that bounty on his head, and any enterprising Enforcer would find it hard to resist not cut off his head because of that bounty, and he had narrowly escape death twice because of that bounty.
"This is better be good Kint," Azad warned the man. The man may have caused him trouble to no end, but he was especially useful in his trade, as he was the one who either provides him the means to acquire the young women that he needs for his trade legally or the one who snatches them for him, which in turn he used it to sell them to old nobles and aristocrats. In fact, it is because of this trade that he was able set himself to be almost untouchable, that even the watchmen and town magistrates would walk lightly around him.
"I promise you this would be worth your time," the man grinned maniacally, "and speaking of which, would you look at the young woman coming out of the chapter house." He said as he pointed out at the young woman walking out of the chapter house, accompanied by young man.
Azad turn his head towards the chapter house, and his jaw nearly drops as he saw a young woman with a long hay colored hair that was tied behind her back, which to him, has a near perfect body, and even the way she walks was perfect, that he could feel his loins heating up just at the mere sight of the woman.
"See, I knew you would like her," Kint said.
"Who is she?" Azad asked.
"All I know is that she is hunter, both of them are," Kint answered.
"A hunter?" the man said musingly as he stared at the young woman. "That is interesting," he said with a wicked grin.
"Don't worry, my dear old friend, I already have men outside the gates waiting for them," Kint assured him.
"Bring her to me and I'll have you rewarded handsomely this time," Azad told him as he stood up. Soon after, two big men joined him as the man walks away.
"So where do we go from here?" Lydia asked Lerris after they rode out of the western gate.
"We should be turning north on the road not far from here," Lerris answered her as he pulls out his musket and cocking it.
"Road? What road?" Lydia asked as she drew out her musket and cocking it, following Lerris lead, "the only road I see is the one that we had already passed by, but that was heading south not heading north." she pointed out.
"It's just beyond this farm," Lerris pointed at the farm to his right.
"Are you sure, there is even a road heading north out here?" Lydia asked again.
"There is, the mistress of the chapter house told me so," Lerris told her.
"Mistress? What mistress?" Lydia asked again.
"Every chapter is ruled by a master or a mistress, and usually they were the one who acts like an innkeeper or a barkeeper." Lerris told her.
"And who told you that?" Lydia asked as she glance at her cousin.
"Oh, it's just something that I worked out," Lerris said with a grin.
"Well, I think your mistress gave you the wrong direction," Lydia said grumpily.
"Don't say that, I saw that road when we pass by this area yesterday," Lerris told her.
Lydia just grunted and ride side by side with her cousin while keeping a close watch of their surroundings, mostly out of habit.
They were riding for a while when she saw the road her cousin was talking about, it was smack between two farms on their right side. As they were turning to that road, Lerris caught a glimpse of man peering out from the small cluster of trees about 700 paces away and looking at them.
"Just pretend you don't see them," Lerris warned his cousin, as he knew she might have seen the man just as well as he did since she had a keener eyesight that him.
"So, you saw them," Lydia told him while trying her best not to look again.
"I did," Lerris nodded as he glances at his cousin, "now follow me," he said as he started to ride faster, as fast as his pack horse could allow him.
Lydia gritted her teeth as she rides after her cousin.
Pavle meticulously cleans his fingernails using his thin bladed knife as he sat down on the hard rocky ground and leans on the tree behind him. He and the men Kint had sent him had been waiting around these clusters of trees beside the Avery Road since first light, waiting for the two hunters to ride by. He had done several snatch jobs for Kint over the years that he lost count how many young women he had abducted for that man. And today's job was his most lucrative of all as he had seen them exchange substantial number of coins for the furs that they had traded with the hunter's guild's fur trader, and in truth, he was looking forward for this job not because of what Kint could give him, but how much coins he could take from these hunters.
As usual, Kint was the kind of man who hates taking a risk, and since these two were hunters, he wanted to play it safe and sent him seven men for this job, instead of the usual two or three men. Two of them were armed with crossbow, while the rest were big men who were more of a brawler than a sell-sword and were armed with an assortment of weapons, ranging from heavy axe, hammers to long swords.
The plan was simple, the crossbowmen would take care of the young man, while the rest would try to overwhelm the young woman. They have strict orders not to harm her, and these burly men would try to drag the woman down from her horse. And after that, they would ride south, cutting through the farms and head straight for Azad's own farm built close to the edge of the Graven Forest.
"I see them!" One of the crossbowmen shouted.
"Where?" One of the big burly men asked as he move to the edge of the trees and peered out.
"Are you two trying to give our position away?" Pavle growled at the two men.
The two men duck down and looked at Pavle.
"Just follow the plan," Pavle told the men around as he returns to cleaning his nails, and after that, they all slowly move into position. Deep inside, he could barely contain his excitement, as he kept on grinning while he slowly cleans his fingernails.
"Didn't they supposed to continue riding towards us?" one of the men blurted out.
Surprised, Pavle immediately got up and went beside the man to peer out into the road ahead.
"Where are they?!" Pavle growled as he could not see the two hunters.
"They turned north," the man responded.
"What?!" Pavle exclaimed, "get to your horses! Move!" He shouted as he ran towards his horse, while the rest of the men quickly scramble to their horses.
"Follow them! Follow them!" Pavle yelled as he wheeled around his horse and started galloping.
Within moments, all eight of them rode towards the North Road at a gallop.
Lerris found a thicket on a knoll just beyond the boundary of farm that they had passed by and decided to hide there. They hid their horse right at the northern base of the knoll, away from sight of anyone who might ride through the road nearby, while he and Lydia positioned themselves on the edge of the thicket on the top of the knoll, which has a commanding view of the approach coming from the south.
His original plan was to dismount on the middle of the road and wait for them, whoever they are, and shoot them if they came within range of their guns, just like they did the day before, when they stood their ground and picked off the bandits one by one as they charge them on foot. Lydia pointed out that his plan would be impractical and dangerous, especially if those men came after them on horses. She was the one who suggested that they should hide behind the thicket on the knoll beside the road, where they could be in a better position to ambush them. After some thinking, he realizes his plan was plain stupid and decided to go with what she had suggested.
It did not take for them to wait that long since after they positioned themselves behind the thicket, eight riders came into view, riding as fast as their horses could carry them.
"Where are they?!" the lead rider screamed at his men as they all slowed down to a halt close to where he and Lydia was hiding.
Lerris narrowed his eyes at the leading rider. These men are really after them.
"Find them! And get that young woman at all costs!" Lerris heard the man screamed at his men.
"They want me?" Lydia hissed as she flips the rear sight of her musket and took aim at the man who was screaming.
Lerris took a deep breath and raised his musket, taking aim at the man who had his crossbow out, "On my marked," he whispered to his cousin.
"Mark!" He hissed the moment he had the crossbowman in sights and pulled the trigger.
In an instant, both he and Lydia fired their weapons, with the sound of their musket fire was partially muffled by the thicket from where they were hiding, and within moments, the leading rider had his head snapped sideways as the bullet slams through his left temple and blowing a huge hole through his right temple before toppling down from his horse. The crossbowman jerked backwards as the bullet tore through his chest and blasted a huge gaping hole on his back, erupting in a crimson shower before he fell backwards from his horse.
Lerris and his cousin quickly reloaded their musket while the riders looked stunned at their fallen companions, while the rest frantically look around them, weapons drawn.
As soon as he and his cousin had reloaded, they quickly took aim at the riders.
"I got the crossbowman," Lydia whispered harshly as she aims her musket carefully.
"On my mark," Lerris whispered back as he took aim at the big burly man holding a huge axe, "mark!" he hissed.
Their two muskets bellowed again, and in an instant, both the remaining crossbowman and the mounted axman toppled down from their horses.
"Let's get out of here!" One of the riders yelled and frantically wheeled his horse before galloping back to where they came from.
The other surviving riders quickly followed suit, and within moments, they were all gone.
Lerris and his cousin waited for a while, and after they were sure that their pursuer had all left, they went back to their horses, and rode to where their fallen pursuer was.
After they reach their kill site, Lerris jumps down from his horse and took out the wanted posters, and carefully checked each man if they matched the ones on the poster, while Lydia casually jumps down from her horse and started looted the bodies of their weapons and equipment and any valuables she could find.
"Well?" Lydia asked as she goes through the body of the man who was screaming, taking off a slender knife, and a sword, as well as few silver marks.
Lerris grunted as he folded the poster and tucks it back on his vest, before giving the dead man in front of him a kick. "they're not on the wanted list."
"I wonder why they were looking for me?" Lydia asked as she move towards the fallen crossbowmen.
"I don't know," Lerris gave a shrug before he began collecting the dead men's horses and tying them like a pack train, with one horse tied to the tail of his pack horse, and the other horse tied to another horse's tail. And after that, he helped Lydia cleaning out the dead men of any values that by the time they were done, they had them all strip of their weapons and any coins in them.
"You take the lead," Lerris told Lydia as he hands her the reins of his pack horse. "I'll guard our backs."
"What?" Lydia asked as she look at him with surprise.
"Just follow the road north," Lerris told her as they both climb up to their horses, "until we reach a fork, then take the road that leads to the west."
"Just follow the road," she asked as she stares at Lerris.
"Follow the road north." Lerris reiterated.
Lydia nodded her head, and with that she rides on forward, setting their pace on a trot, or close to it, as the horses trailing behind her seems to fight her, that Lerris had to ride alongside the horses and urged them on, either slapping their hind gently or clucking at them. After a while the horses began to increase their pace until finally, they began to match the pace of Lydia's horse. After several hours they finally reach the fork on the road.
Lydia barely slowed down at the fork as she took the road heading west and kept on following the road, she did not even look at the peach orchard as she is too focused on the road. Lerris on the other hand, stared at the orchards as they rode on, as this was his first time to see an orchard, much less a peach orchard, and it reminded him of the photos that he had seen before during his past life, as they all look the same, with rows upon rows of peach trees that lines up across the field.
After an hour or so of travelling, they came within sight of walled settlement. The walls were a typical wooden palisade. As they rode closer, Lerris could see that the main gate seems to be well made, with a wooden block house built around it. And he could see several archers standing guard on the battlements, with more men guarding the gate below.
"Ho travelers!" One of the men guarding the gate leading inside the settlement shouted as he and several other young men, armed with spears and bows blocks them.
Lydia immediately slowed to a halt while Lerris rode on and stop beside his cousin while looking at the men.
"If you are a trader or a merchant, we have no need of you" another man, an older one, shouted at them as he steps out from behind the men guarding the gates.
Lerris and Lydia looked at each other first before looking back at the old man.
"We're hunters my good sir, from the guild," Lerris told the old man.
"Hunters?" The old man asked as he eyed them skeptically, "I've never known any hunters who had a need for so many horses." The man added as he gestured at the horses behind them.
Lerris chuckled while Lydia shook her head, "we got waylaid by bandits on our way here, and these are their horses, we took them as trophies."
"Bandits?" the old man asked, while the men behind him started talking to each other, half of them looking alarmed. "Bandits had some sense to keep away from our lands, hunters."
"Are you saying that we are liars?" Lydia asked indignantly.
"I didn't say that" the old man said as he raises both his hands in a placating manner.
Lerris took out the letter of request from his vest, "we came here to take on the request posted on the Hunter's Guild weeks ago," Lerris told the man as he handed the letter to the old man.
The old man steps forward and took the letter from Lerris and started reading it. After a moment, the old man frowns, "yes, we did send out this request at the Hunter Guild chapter house in Nysa, but that was months ago, not weeks."
"I Didn't get that on Nysa, I was given that letter back at the chapter house at Oren, in the Somme District." Lerris told the man.
"That's beyond the principality's border." The old man said, sounding surprised.
"So, does the quest still stands or did somebody already finish it?" Lerris asked.
"You're the fourth group of hunters that had come for it," the old man told him. "Are you sure you two want to take on this quest?" He asked while looking at them skeptically.
"Off course, we wouldn't have come otherwise." Lerris told the old man.
"No disrespect, but the last group who came to take on the quest had eight men on their group, and even they failed miserably on their task, and they even lost three of their numbers." The old man said casually.
Lydia gave her cousin a worried look.
"If we can survive a pack of dire wolves, I think we could fairly get through this." Lerris casually said to his cousin.
"Dire wolves are just a child's play compared to what you will be facing out there." The old man said with a smirk as he returned the letter of request back to Lerris.
"Is that why you are hiring outsiders instead of dealing with the problem yourselves?" Lerris asked as he took back the letter and put it inside his vest.
The man's face darkened. "We tried to deal with the problem stranger and paid the price with our men to no avail."
"Then let us deal with them, instead of stalling us here with your idle talk." Lerris told him bluntly.
"How do I know if you really are a hunter?" The old man asked.
Lerris said nothing as he took out his badge and gave it to the old man.
The old man took the badge, and when he looked at it, his eyes grew wide. "You're an enforcer?" the man asked politely as he return the badge.
"I am," Lerris said as he took his badge back.
"And your companion?" The old man asked as he glance at Lydia.
Lydia immediately took out her badge and tossed it to the old man.
The old man deftly catches Lydia's badge and looked at it, "my apologies mistress, I mean no disrespect," he said after seeing the badge and hands it back to Lydia.
"Are we going to stand here all day or what?" Lydia asked impatiently.
"Pardon me good mistress, but even though I am one of the elders of this settlement, I have no authority to decide on this," the old man told Lydia.
"Then kindly bring us to anyone who can," Lydia told him blandly.
"Off course," the man said, "if you please follow me" the man told them as he gestured towards the gate.
"Lead the way, elder," Lerris told the old man.
The man gestured to the men around him, and with that, they all went to open the huge gate, revealing a wide cobbled street, with well-made wooden houses lining both side of the street. As soon as the gates were open, the old man started to march in, and seems to the heading straight to a plaza at the far end of the street.
Lerris nudge his horse forward and slowly followed the old man, with Lydia following closely behind him. And as the rode on, he cannot help himself looking at the architecture around him, they were not as old as the ones he had seen at Nysa, but the place has a look of age in it, several centuries old, but even so, all the houses on both side of the street looks well kept.
He could see people moving about the streets, men and women were busy doing something or clustered in a small group talking, children running across the streets. But they all pause the moment they hear the horses coming, and stare at them in silence as he and his cousin rode by, even the children would stop playing and would run towards the houses or behind their mothers, whichever the closest and would peek out. The young men on the other hand would stare at his cousin, mostly in awe. Not that he could blame them as his cousin was simply beautiful, and her outfit emphasize her curves more. The women's reaction was mixed, some were glaring at her, others seem to be admiring her while others look at her in awe.
Looking at his cousin, he noticed that she had been enjoying at being the center of attention, not that he could understand her, which he does not. Shaking his head, he simply focused on the man before them and followed him closely.
As they reach the plaza, the old man led them towards the large two-story building on the other side of the plaza. The building looks impressive as well as imposing, with four big men dressed in mail hauberk and armed with spears and swords stood guard at the large door, and from the looks of it, that building could easily be turned into a citadel if the settlement came under attack.
"You can leave your horses here," the old man told them while pointing at the nearby hitching post as they stopped near the stairs leading to the door of the building.
Lerris took a glance to where the man was pointing and climbs down from his horse before leading it towards the hitching post where he tied his horse. His cousin did the same thing, and after they were done, they joined the old man near the stairs, standing behind him.
"I came to seek an audience with the matriarch," the old man intoned.
"On what grounds, elder?" One of the guards asked.
"We have hunters that had come for the quest," the old man said blandly.
"Aren't they too young to be tackling that monster?" One of the guards, the tallest among them, said loudly.
"They are hunters, and that's what matters," the older of the four guards growled at the tall one, "now, go in and inform them about it," he ordered.
The tall guard scratches his head as he looked at Lerris and his cousin, before going inside the building. After a while, the guard came back and told them to follow him.
"I must leave you two to them as my duty lies at the gate," the old man said formally and left.
Both Lerris and Lydia gave the old man a respectful nod before going up the stairs and following the tall guard inside. The moment they walk inside, Lerris was astounded by the sight of the great hall before him, as there were wooden pillars on each side of the hallway, and it was illuminated on both side by the glass-stained windows, depicting some sort of a mural, he could assume to be the history of the clan.
"Introduce yourselves hunters," the tall guard told them as they stopped barely fifteen paces away from what looks like a throne, where a graceful old woman, in her early sixties, sat, and flanked by two women, with a man standing behind her.
"I am Lerris, son of Meinhard, a hunter from Westen," Lerris spoke loudly as he introduces himself.
"I am Lydia, daughter of Matilde, also a hunter from Westen," Lydia said in loud voice.
"Well met hunters," the old woman spoke, "I am Kasia, daughter of Renata, the current Matriarch of Clan Hagrid," she said as she introduces herself, "and these are my daughters Tamara," she gestured to the handsome woman who was standing on her right and wearing a simple long gown, with knife hanging on her belt, "and Ania," she gestured to the woman to her right, who was wearing a steel cuirass, bracer and greaves and sporting a sword on her left side.
"I've been told that both of you came here for the quest that I send out several months ago," the Matriarch spoke as she stares at Lerris.
"We did, mistress," Lerris said politely, "I have here a copy of the letter of request from my guild," he added as he took out the letter and hands it to the guard.
The Matriarch raised her hand, and the guard returned the letter to Lerris, "we have been visited by groups of hunters before, all of them number no less than six in their parties, the largest was compose of twelve men, and yet all of them failed, some even lost their lives."
"We are not them," Lerris told her in a straight face.
"You seem confident of yourself," Ania spoke as she glared at Lerris, "do you think that you can do what twelve men can't accomplished?"
"You want a wager on that?" Lerris asked as he looked straight at the woman.
"I don't gamble especially not with the likes of you," Ania sneered at him.
"Ania!" The matriarch calls her in a raised voice, and the woman turn and bowed to her and backs away.
"Forgive my daughter, hunter," the Matriarch said apologetically.
"Does the quest still stand?" Lerris spoke clearly.
"It does," the Matriarch.
"May I speak freely?" Lerris asked.
"You may," the Matriarch said as she gestured with her hand.
"Given that four groups of hunters had already tried to hunt down whatever is plaguing your farm, and some of them had lost their lives in doing so, I honestly think that the current bounty is not justified for the risk we are taking." Lerris told her.
The Matriarch simply stared back at him and said nothing, but her two daughters bristled like a cat, and even the man behind the Matriarch glared at him.
"You're being presumptuous, young man," Ania growled at him.
"Be careful, young man," Tamara warned him.
"My apologies if I offend Matriarch, but base on what you told me, what I could be facing was probably less dangerous than a Wendigo, that is now ravaging the northern districts." Lerris said with a straight face. "And sixty silver crowns are a poor payment for it," he added.
"Why you-!" Ania snarled.
The Matriarch quickly snap his hand up, forcing Ania to back down and simply glared at Lerris. "If you don't like the bounty that is offered young man, then why come at all?" The Matriarch asked calmly.
"I came for the bounty, good mistress," Lerris told her, "But not to be doubted by anyone, and so far, everyone that I'd met doubted our abilities as if what we are about to hunt was something as dangerous as Wendigo, which I heard is unkillable."
"It's a bear that people around here call a Reaper," the Matriarch told him calmly, "from what I've been told, it is the largest of its kind, towering almost five paces and unbelievable fast for its size. That creature had already taken the lives of five of my menfolk and injured four others when they tried to drive it away."
Lerris gave the Matriarch a knowing look. He had heard about the Reaper before, and even read about it on one of the books back at the Lyndall Abbey. Base from the drawing that he had seen as well as the description from various hunters that he had spoken to before, the Reaper resembles the prehistoric bear called Short-faced bear which could easily stood five to six feet on all fours and could reach as high as twelve feet when standing on its hind legs. The worst thing about this bear is that it could easily outrun a horse and it could slice up a man in half with its claw, and its highly territorial.
"A Reaper," Lerris said with a grin while rubbing his chin with his left hand.
"You found that amusing?" Tamara asked in a sarcastic tone.
Lerris wave his hand at the woman as he shook his head.
"Now that you know what you are against with, would you still accept the quest?" The Matriarch asked.
"It would be demeaning for me not to," Lerris responded casually.
"I like your confidence young hunter," Ania sneered, "I just pray it's not just false bravado" she added.
"Like I said before, do you like to wager on it, good mistress?" Lerris asked as he gave the woman a sly smile.
"And as I said -"
The Matriarch raised her hand, and effectively shutting her daughter in mid-sentence, "name your bet, young hunter."
"Mother!" Ania said aloud as she gave her mother an indignant look.
Lerris grinned at Ania before he looks at the Matriarch, "I wager four of my horses, if we fail, you can have it at no cost, but, if we succeed, you'll have to buy it off from us at a fair price." Lerris told the Matriarch.
"Done," the Matriarch simply said while her daughters were staring angrily at him.
Lerris slightly bowed his head to her.
"Is there anything else you wanted to ask, young hunter?" The Matriarch asked.
"We need a guide, good mistress" Lerris told her.
"Off course, I'll have someone show you where the creature is." The Matriarch replied before she turns to Ania and whispered something to her.
"Thank you, good mistress." Lerris said politely, as he watches Ania nodded to her mother before she marches out of the hall.
"If you have nothing else to add young hunter, you may now depart," the Matriarch said in dismissal.
Lerris and his cousin bowed their heads before they march towards the door, with the guard following them closely behind.
"Lerris, are you sure of this?" Lydia asked as soon as they were out of the building and back to their horses.
"What do you mean?" Lerris asked as he began untying the horses that they had picked after their encounter with the bandits.
"Do you honestly think we can be a match for a Reaper?" She asked as she help him untying the rest of the horses.
"No," he told her flatly as he manages to untie one of the horses and led it to the hitching post.
"What?!" She asked sounding all surprised as she stared at her cousin.
Lerris said nothing as he ties the horse on the hitching post and went back to fetch another horse.
"Then why go all that trouble with the Matriarch's daughter?" Lydia hissed while glancing at the guards standing by the door.
Lerris gave his cousin a weak smile but said nothing as he began untying another horse.
"Tell me the truth cousin, can we kill it or not?" She asked before she finally unties one of the horses and led it to the hitching post.
"We can, but it won't be easy." Lerris admitted.
"How?" She asked after she tied the horse and got back to untie the horse that was tied to their pack horse's tail.
"Normally, I'll aim for the head, the first shot should be able to crack its skull and stuns it, a second shot should be able to shatter it and kill it." Lerris replied.
"You make sound so easy," Lydia told him.
Lerris shook his head, "it's not, that is why we are trading musket, I'll use yours and you'll use mine, as I need you to shoot it at a distance of 300 paces."
"300 paces?" Lydia asked as she gave his cousin an incredulous look.
"My musket has a range of 480 paces, yours had maximum range of about 200 to 240 paces, while our pistols had a maximum range of 60 paces," Lerris explained as he finished untying the horse and led it to the nearby hitching post.
"But why trade guns?" Lydia asked, at the same time she finished untying the horse and led it to where Lerris.
"Because you are a better shot that I am," Lerris told her as he unties the reins of the horse on the hitching post, which she is, as he had seen her shoot a coyote at extreme range with her smoothbore musket, while he on the other hand could only hit a target who is well within effective range of his musket, and he rarely hits anything at extreme ranges.
"Ah, is these the horses you are betting with?" Lerris heard the familiar but annoying voice of the Matriarch daughter Ania behind him, and when he turns around, he saw her standing just a few paces away, flanked by several armed men.
"Do you have my guide, mistress?" Lerris asked casually as he unties his pack horse from the hitching post.
Ania did not answer him, instead she raised her hand and a young man walk forward from behind them. The young man was a year younger than him, but he was clad in leather cuirass, bracers, and greaves, and sporting a short sword on the left side of his hip, a quiver on his right and a finely made crossbow with a steel lath and a metal string, which is unusual as most crossbow string that he had seen were either made of fibers or animal sinews.
"I'm Milos, and I'll be the one who will guide you to where the beast is." the young man introduces himself.
"Do you have a horse, or do you intend to guide us on foot?" Lerris asked casually as he walks back to his own horse.
The young man looked at him confusedly before he turns to look at Ania.
"Didn't you just bet all your horse?" Ania asked in a sarcastic tone.
"I said four horses, mistress," Lerris said emphatically, "I have seven, unless you can't count."
The woman snorted and walked away, leaving the young man behind.
"Can you ride?" Lerris asked as he and his cousin started to climb into their horses.
The young man turns to Lerris and gave him a nod.
"Good, then pick one and let's ride." Lerris told the young man.
The young man nodded and eagerly pick his horse from the ones that was tied on the hitching post, choosing the brown gelding. He then unties its reins and started mounting.
"Is there any place we could buy some traveler's food?" Lydia asked as she turns to Milos.
"There is a shop that sells meat pies down the street," Milos told her.
"Great!" Lydia said cheerfully, "lead the way then," she told him.
Milos nodded at her and took the lead. The shop that he was talking about was down the street close to the plaza, and it was a sort of bakery, that offers various pies and bread. And as they reach it, Lerris and his cousin quickly climb down on their horses and went to the shop to buy some pies. Lerris bought several meat pies and pastries, and he even bought something for their guide. And when they went to their horses, Lerris handed a small cloth sack containing some pies and bread to their guide before putting his own inside his saddle bag.
The young man was surprised when Lerris gave him small bag, and thanked Lerris after he peered inside the small cloth.
As soon as they were mounted, all three of them slowly ride towards the gates, completely ignoring the gaggle of people who had come out to stare at them. And as they neared the gate, Lerris could see several armed men mounted on horses waiting by the gate and they were all talking vigorously with the elder that they had talked to before.
"Are you sure this was Kint's man?" Lerris heard the elder asked the riders in an urgent tone, and when they got closer, Lerris could see one of the mounted men were holding a severed head on his hand.
"This is Pavle, elder, Kint's trusted man." The one holding the severed head shook the head in front of the elder as if to emphasized it.
"And you found them where?" the elder asked.
"Near the knoll, north of Boyan's Farm." Lerris heard another man spoke as he noticed the elder staring at him as they pass by the gate. He gave the elder a passing glance as he followed Milos out of the gate and turned west. His cousin on the other did not even look at the men as she seems to be in deep thought, as she is worried about their upcoming encounter with the Reaper or a short-faced bear.
"You know I hated it when somebody tells me 'I don't know'" Kint said softly as he watches one of the surviving men that he sent to snatch the female hunter as the man twitches on the ground, gasping as he drowns on his own blood while clutching his bloodied neck.
The men step back as they stared at the dying man before them with a horrified look on their faces. They had reason to fear him, as Kint was known for his speed with the blades and sword, as well as his sadistic temperament.
"Now tell me again what happen," Kint told them as he crouches down beside the dying man and casually wipes the bloodied blade of his long knife on the man's shirt.
"We tried to follow them when we saw them took the road leading north between Avel and Ignat's farm, but we already lost sight of them." One of the men said hurriedly.
"We tried to catch up with them, we did, but when Leon caught sight of them," another man said, "they disappeared before we even manage to catch up." He added.
"Pavle brought us to a halt when we lost sight of them again, he was screaming at us to find them, then all of the sudden, he and Leon falls down from their horses. Moments later, Arlo and Hugo fell down." The other big man narrated.
Kint glance at the three men as he stood up while sheathing his long knife. "People don't just drop dead from their horses." He told them.
The three men said nothing as they gave him a wary look.
"Apparently, according to what they told us, they did," the big muscular man behind him spoke. Kint glance at the man in irritation, but the big man just stood there and looked at him unperturbed, and that irritates him more.
"You three clean this mess," Kint snapped at the three men in front of him.
The three men started and quickly grab the dead man lying on the floor and started dragging it out of his cottage.
"Azad won't be amused if I told him you failed to acquire the girl," the big man told him calmly.
"Don't badger me, Paren!" Kint growled at the big man as he snaps his head towards the man. If this was any other man, he might kill him on the spot. But Paren was not any other man, he was a former guardsman and was one of their best swordsmen and fighter, but he heard he has a problem with drinking and always involved in drunken brawl, and he fled the Nysa when he killed six men during a brawl at one of the taverns, among them a fellow guardsman who was only there to stop the fight. From what he had heard, there was a bounty of 60 crown on his head.
"I'm not badgering you," the man said calmly, "I'm just stating the fact."
"Have I gone back on my word before," Kint said as he stared coldly at the man.
"What would you want me to tell Azad then?" the man asked as he looks at Kint with a hint of mockery in his eyes.
"Tell him that he'll get his woman either by tonight or tomorrow morning," Kint growled before storming out of his cottage.
Lerris crouch behind a low wooden fence at the side of the road and carefully scans the apple orchard around him, with Lydia and Milos kept a close watch on their flanks. From what Milos had told them, the Reaper made a den inside a storage barn about a league north of their position, but the beast was occasionally spotted out in the orchard by their scouts, often feasting on the apples or peaches around the orchards.
Milos told them that the Reaper first appeared last fall, just as they were harvesting the season's last fruits and attacked the harvesting crew, resulting to the death of two guards and one of the hired hands. The beast then decided to a make a den inside a nearby barn. The Matriarch after learning about the incident, sent out a hunting party of twenty of her guards, led by her first-born son, Mikel, to hunt down the beast, but the beast proved to be too much, as it kills three of Mikel's men while they barely escape with their lives. After that debacle, the young man told them that the Matriarch asked the local baron for help, and the local baron sent six of his retainers along with sixteen of the guards along with several of his own personal hunters to hunt down the beast, but even they suffered a bloody defeat, losing three of the retainers, seven guardsmen and one huntsman. After that, the Matriarch offered a bounty for anyone that could hunt the beast down. Originally, the bounty was offered at 30 silver crowns, but after the first group of mercenaries who responded the call failed, the bounty was increased to 60 silver crowns. Three more mercenary groups and hunters responded but even they failed to complete the quest, one of them even lost its entire force fighting the beast.
"I don't mean to demean you, master hunter, but are you sure with this?" Milos asked.
Lerris glanced at the young man but said nothing, instead he looks to Lydia who wore a determined look on her face.
"We're here aren't we," Lydia told the young man softly while keeping a close watch around them while hefting Lerris' rifled musket.
Milos stared at the two of them, especially at Lerris who looked deathly calm while the young woman with him had a grim determined on her face. Despite what he had told them, they never wavered or showed any concern.
"It's time to earn our pay," Lerris said as he stood up and walks towards the barn.
Lydia took a deep breath before she stood and followed Lerris behind.
Milos looked at the two hunters as he offered a silent prayer for the two and hunkered down behind the fence. According to their plan, he would stay on this spot and wait for their call, and if he did not hear from them before the sun was halfway down on the horizon, he is free to take their horses and go back to Matriarch to report their failure. And if he did hear their call, he would go back to where the horses were tied and bring them towards them.
Halfway towards the barn, Lerris and his cousin stumbled into what looks like a battlefield, with the stench of death was so strong that he and his cousin could not help themselves gag from the horrible smell. As they look around, he could see dead bodies lying around, most were in an advance state of decomposition, and some were bloated beyond recognition. Half of the carcass were either missing their limbs or their heads, and a couple were cut in half. Lerris counted at least nine corpses, and from the looks of it, these men died not less than a month ago.
Lerris and his cousin quickly left the site and trudges on towards the barn. Along the way, they stumble to another such site, thankfully, it was quite older, as most of the corpses were almost dried up and had their skulls expose, and the stench was a lot less compared to the first site. But like the first site they had stumbled upon, most of the corpses were savagely cut to pieces, and more than half had their armor torn apart. After that, whenever they caught of whiff of that stench, they carefully skirted around it and avoided the place completely.
After some time, Lerris and his cousin reached the edge of the orchard, and from there they could see the barn, which is 200 paces away. Crouching beside the apple tree, Lerris gazes around warily while Lydia guards his back.
Looking at the barn, Lerris could see that it was worn and weathered, and aside from that, it had an eerie look about it, with half of its huge doors was missing, and some section of the walls has a large gaping hole, enough for a man to walk through, with scattered debris laying near it, as if something blasted through it, or at least something broke through it from within.
"I don't like the look of that place," Lydia told Lerris as she stared at the barn.
"I know, I don't like it either," he agreed.
"So, what now?" Lydia asked.
Lerris grinned at his cousin as he took out a large wooden cylinder from the side pocket of his cargo pants. It was a large firecracker, with a 6x2 inch wooden casing, packed with gunpowder, topped with a clay stopper with a 10 second fuse, and for added lethality, he tied several dozens of nails around the outer casing with woolen thread, which in theory could serve as shrapnel.
"What is that?" Lydia asked when she saw what her cousin was holding.
"A 'grenade'," Lerris told her, using the modern German word for it.
"Grenade?" Lydia asked.
"Remember the little firecracker I made a month ago?" Lerris asked her.
Lydia frowned at him as she remembers those things. Lerris played with those things, lighting the fuse, and throwing it afar where it would erupt in a flash and puff of smoke as well as loud popping sound. Her twin tried to light one and placed it close by, and when the thing erupted, he was completely surprise by the loud noise and from something he could describe a forceful gush of wind emanating from it. Lerris told them that it was a shock wave created by the explosion, and he explains the bigger the firecracker get, the greater the explosion and dangerous the shock wave is.
"Are you out of your mind?" Lydia hissed at him when she realizes what her cousin is planning to do.