《Elbard's Uproar(Dropped)》 1. Glory of early rises Virvid fell. Each nerve in her body screamed desperately in the shadow of death. Fear pulsated in cacophony with the all encompassing blackness filling her eyes. It happened fast, fast, fast, yet, it was like lying still. Slowly, slowly, slowly, the panic was accompanied with... awareness. Virvid yawned, bruised by her sleeping position. After a few well needed rubbings to the eyes, dried up remains of slumber fell off. A dark forest took shape around her, faintly revealed by an orange morning light. She corrected her posture on the branch she was sitting on. A dozen of cubits below her, morning dew twinkled contrasting to the coniferous below. Virvid preferred not waking up to falling nightmares, especially those time then her night was spent high up in a tree. She muttered a few cursings to the demons of the night and their mischievous timing. By now, the muttering went smooth as skinning a rabbit. And strange it wasn¡¯t, she had soon had half a year to perfect her morning swearing Her muttering was disrupted by a compulsory yawn. There was something with sleeping half-seated in trees, you always got a sleeping right leg and a I¡¯m-about-to-die-now dream. Anyhow, the choice of resting place was well worth the discomfort. She took a deep breath of moist late-summer air and smiled. The air was cool, barky and filled with early birds¡¯ twitter. The itching sleep-ants was soon replaced by a stronger itching of anticipation. Virvid loosened the safety rope. It was a new day, the conditions were perfect; it wasn¡¯t possible to wake up closing to the hunting grounds. With a weak thud she landed crouching by the roots of the tree, her spear in the left hand. Nothing nearby gave the appearance of being animated. She¡¯d been aware of the lifeless environment before she left the tree, but somehow it felt different to make the same conclusion when standing at ground level. The hunt had started. With her vigilant eyes she silently moved against the wind. She had, again, covered a vast amount of her hunting area yesterday. But still she hadn¡¯t seen a single animal, hares excluded. No fresh deer spill, no tracks, nothing. she was spoilless. She had suspicions of sabotage. A cadet from another village could very well have decided to ¡®increase¡¯ his own chances of by decreasing hers. It was reasonable, especially since she first place currently belonged Virvid, if but by a minor margin¡­ She couldn¡¯t confirm her suspicions, but as soon as she returned to the barrack, she¡¯d ask Elbard and Renald if they had seen anyone pass through their areas into hers. The sabotage was a piece of gravel in the boot. She had never returned spoilless to the barrack, nor would she this time. She had run out of provisions long ago, and the nights were getting colder, but since when had that been enough reason to yield? - A trip to barrack master Oak would take a full day, and such time she didn¡¯t have. Sometimes she considered leaving her assigned area, but such a thing risky. Maybe too risky. Others might be doing it; her saboteurs definitely did, existed they. Virvid didn¡¯t participate in the Hunt of Three Years aiming for second place. In her plan, there was not room for unnecessary risks. The Hunt of Three Years was a service to the community as much as it was a trial in coming of age. During the Hunt of Three Years, younglings grow to become warriors, it was said. Those who fought to prove themselves would see rewards, and the one to prove herself the most would enter the pinnacle realm of glory¡­ For this chance, all youths seventeen years of age would participate. For this hunt, Virvid had since childhood invested countless of hours preparing. The Hunt of Three Years held a central role in each village Virvid had ever heard tales of. And weird it was not. There, legendary warriors began their journeys, and the killed beasts were put to good use. Amongst cold winters and meager soil, dried meat and warm pelts were always praised. The hunt praised strength, honesty and self-reliance. Dishonouring it was not an action ignored. Hunting outside one¡¯s own area was punished with little mercy. Caught cheaters would lose months¡¯ worth of points. But that was only if you got caught. As her own area failed her, she of course had thoughts of joining one of her childhood friends, Elbard and Renald, hunting. There was no chance what so ever that either of them would report her... was there? But it would¡¯ve been wrong. She didn¡¯t want to ruin their hunting luck, and foremost: she thought it was cowardly. On the other hand, there was the forbidden area, the area outside of any of the cadets hunting grounds. There, noone would notice her presence. The punishment for getting caught there was certainly extreme; if you got caught, you could forget about ever getting an impressive score. But what was the chance to get caught? To report someone hunting there one would need to first be there oneself. Who would be stupid enough to ever utter any such words? Small, the risk was very, very small. Besides, nothing could hardly be worse that stalking in a preyless area anyways. Virvid glared defiantly into the yet dark forest. Today, she definitely would slay an animal, no matter where it was. The others had probably slain several trips worth of prey already. Especially Renald. He might be weak with the spear, but the kid had crafted a bow which he was ridiculously skilled with. He was always boasting on ¡°how dangerous he would be if someone gave him a proper bow¡± instead of his homemade bow. toy or not, each time Virvid saw him at the barracks, his backpack was filled, inside and outside, with fresh hares. Under the twitter of more and more birds, she moved closed to a place never visited before, the forbidden one. She remained somewhat vigilant while marching, the lack of prey over had dulled her interest over the past week. She day dreamed of of returning to the village as a winner. The familiar scene was crystal clear. With a new spear with a tip of true steel in her left hand, she tapped at her ouch filled with enchanted stones. She was proudly greeted by Skyskred, the chieftain. He smiled at her, respectfully laying a hand on her shoulder. ¡°Well done Virvid! You are worthy of reading from the holy manual.¡± She loved to be spurred to become someone, someone powerful, someone not just accepted, but rather respected. Virvid wasn¡¯t there, not yet, the three most decisive years of her life was yet to pass. First later would she earn the right to be called by her chosen name. One day, none would be above her. She calmly stalked onwards. By this time, she was no doubt on forbidden waters. She stalked fluently as a silent stream, but abruptly she froze. A vertigo of adrenaline hit her chest. ¡°Psst,¡± a hidden source whispered. She turned her neck, the spear was already in its natural throwing position.Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. She took a couple of steps forward, ready to dispose of the person who had caught her trespassing. ¡°Stop, stop, STOP!¡± the voice sounded nervous. This time it was loud enough for her to backtrack the source. No reason to stalk anymore. She was ready to risk it all. All she needed was to get a little bit closer. ¡°FUCKSHIT! STOP! TRAP! There¡¯s a trap in front of you for fucks sake!¡± the voice rang. A heap of twigs rustled, and a leather clothed youth made himself visible, his hands raised in a mediating position. He had tousled blond-red hair, matching the fizz on his double chin in color. Just as wild as his hair were the freckles on his round cheeks. Virvid had never seen him before. An outlaw, no doubt! He wasn¡¯t from her barrack, nor had she seen him ever before. Skyskred and barrack master Oak had clearly condemned strangers like there. A hundred points! That was what you¡¯d get if you could bring one of their heads. She just needed to get a bit closed to get a certain hit. ¡°Sviish-TCHACK!! Someone hit her from behind sending her spear flying. She tried to duck and catch the spear, but someone held onto her backpack. She turned around, quickly drawing her knife. Stuck in her backpack was a rake-like device. She¡¯d never seen anything like it. Four sharp sticks were attached to the branch that had hit her from behind. Was it not for the thick hart hide in her backpack, she would no doubt have been impaled. She dove out of the backpack, somersaulting as she hit the ground. Before she stood up she already had her spear pointing at the the man¡¯s chest. His leather vest was somewhat pierced by it. ¡°Ouch...What are you doing, really?¡± the man said, frozen still. ¡°Give me a reason not to kill you here and now!¡± Virvid asked, after a second of contemplation. She hadn¡¯t been talking much for the past six moons. The fat outlaws¡¯ glanze jumped repeatedly between her face and the point of the spear. It had probably pierced his man-boob a bit by now. ¡°Whm, I did save you, didn¡¯t I¡­ Could you please remove that pointy stick of yours, it¡¯s awfully discomforting.¡± Virvid wrinkled her forehead. In the distance, a twig cracked softly. Saved her? If it wasn¡¯t for her own good luck, she would¡¯ve just died to the man in front of her. She was pretty sure he must¡¯ve done something horrible to end up in the forbidden area. If not, she almost had even more reasons to dispose of him. Either he was a lawless 100 points, or a potential snitch. Nothing spoke in his favour. ¡°Screw that, you didn¡¯t save me, come on, give me something better.¡± She didn¡¯t know why they were still speaking. Taking someone''s life apparently wasn¡¯t as easy as she had thought. ¡°Well, it might¡¯ve been my fault, but i did save you.¡± ¡°Look, you would¡¯ve gotten hurt, i still would¡¯ve helped you again. Why¡­¡± Virvid med a pair of momentarily empty eyes. Didn¡¯t the man understand that she asked for a reason to put her spear deeper inside of him and not the opposite? She stared at the man, trying to understand why her logic regarding the situation still hadn¡¯t been translated to action ¡°Listen, I don¡¯t know what¡¯s up with you, but can¡¯t we just walk in opposite directions and, like, not kill each other? There are no traps behind you, they¡¯re all¡­¡± he was interrupted by another snapping twig. This one had been close. ¡°Fuckshit!¡­ no wonder the deers were keeping their distance,¡± he swore, staring over Virvids shoulder. Slowly, he began stepping backwards. Virvid called with a quick glance over her shoulder, soon to spin around entirely. Three hairy figures had approached from behind. She gripped her spear firmly and made a lounge. Quick in, quicker back. The front beast whined and backed of slightly. Despite the surprise, her spear training didn¡¯t fail her as she kept distance.The creatures were similar to dogs, but bigger, and more muscular. A description of wolves instantly came to her mind. She slowly moved backwards. Despite the wolf which she had pissed off quite successfully, the other who seemed more interested in the fatter, less stick carrying, man at a few feet to her side. A regretful howl filled the air. Another trap had been activated. A wolf struggled as its pierced body was forcefully pressed to the ground. Its shout became a triggering signal for the others. The wolf in front of Virvid launched itself towards her face. The jaws opened as if in slow motion. At least to Virvid. She was high on the rush of action. She had kept eyes on the wolf and reversed as soon as she saw its onset. It still moved faster than her, but her back step had given her enough time to react. Its jaws opened up until they covered all noticeable field of vision. It was scary, but perfect if one planned to impale it on a big pointy stick. Virvid didn¡¯t have any time to come up with such plan, but she was pretty good at stabbing things in front of her which she could see. She rooted her feet to the ground and felt as the huge force of the wolf¡¯s movement was absorbed into the spear. She initially kept the spear inside of the wolf¡¯s throat, but soon realised that it was for naught, as it collapsed with a silent rattling. She reclaimed her spear, her eyes burning with excitement and fear. She quickly finished the trapped wolf, turning to the last remaining one. By this time, the last wolf noticed the unexpected danger. It turned away from the tree which the fatty had climbed and galloped away. Exercise number three: Throw towards straight line movement. It was one of virvids favourite exercises. Not because it was easy, but because it was pretty realistic¡­ and because she would always beat Elbard at it. The fleeing wolf made a painful somersault as it tripped in its gallop. The loss of balance was likely related to the recent addition to its gut: a pointy stick. The spear stuck pretty firmly, at least until the summersalt gave it a good stir. To little surprise the wolf made a loud sad cry as its newest body addition hastily left it. Virvid bent slightly, preparing for make a sprint to the beast. ¡°Wait, run to the right first, there¡¯s a trap in front of you!¡± Focused on the pray, not not deaf either, she rounded the trap mentioned. It was kind of hard to miss if you knew what to look for, at least if you also weren¡¯t obsessed with killing a literally bloody beast. By this time the wolf was whining sadder than the saddest dog Virvid had ever seen, but as it saw her approach, it began galloping away again, limply but fast. It probably wouldn¡¯t make it too far, but she¡¯d still need to track it until it slowed down. She reclaimed her spear. With simple tracking left, the intense part of the bloody scene had ended. THe took a moment to gather her thoughts. The wolf had stopped to howl in the almost visible distance. Virvid wondered if she should go finish it straight away, or deal with the fat man in the tree first. At least, before she heard new howls responding to the ones from the one she hunted. The answering howls were numerous. ¡°Crap¡± The wolves were probably the main packs hunting party of the day. She had to act fast. She crouched over the two dead wolves and pouched the lifember glowing above their heads. She decapitated one of them and and tied it to her backpack. If she made it back to the barrack, she would score in big time! Not that she dared to give it too much thought. She ran over to the tree with the outlaw. ¡°Climb the tree, if we sit here for long enough th.t.they should g.gi.gi.give up, right? I have about a stone of d.dried deer side. c.c.co.come up.¡± Perfect! Once again he said something that a regular person could just as well have said. Not at all like the stories of bandits she had hearad at bedtime as a kid. Well, no more time to shillyshally! She didn¡¯t like the thought, but she had never really had an option to begin with. She raised her spear to get it over with with the climbing outlaw. The noted the implications of a person pointing a pointy stick at him, and quickly spun to the other side of the tree. ¡°Crap!¡± She could easily hit one of his hands, but the squishy part of him was hidden behind the trunk. She only had one throw. She too rotated around the trunk, but not needing to take aim, the fatty was slightly faster. The branches spreading from the trunk weren¡¯t too helpful in virvids opinion either. A howl once again resounded through the forest. The injured wolf hadn¡¯t gone much farther away, but the responding howls, were they getting closer? Virvid grabbed her torn backpack and ran. ¡°You fucking¡­ YOU¡­! Hope part of your leg rotted away forever!¡± the man shouted from afar. He was now another day¡¯s problem, if he survived that was. What mattered now was getting away from the approaching pack. If she could get a brimful day and night of running, she¡¯d be safe at the barracks. 2. Before the winter, before the storm ¡°FOUR MORE YEARS!? but dad, that¡¯s retarded, c¡¯mon we¡¯re already here anyways! If i could join right now, I swear to B?rnhild I¡¯d win anyways! Why do we keep doing boring stuff?¡± a youth wined to his dad. After tireless ¡°negotiation¡± with his father, the latter had gotten tired of it and agreed to let his son join. That immediate earsore had been dealt with, but the solution had not turned out to be a long-sighted one. Eskil would not give up this one of a kind chance to join the Hunt of Three Years. To the younglings disappointment, Skyskred, Eskils father kept coming with excuses. He ranted about Eskil not doing his chores. Whenever Eskil proposed an excellent reason as to let him on the hunt of treasures and glory, his dad was all rules yada, danger yada, magic backblow yada yada. Bullshit! Eskil had already slain his first deer, and that was more than two years ago! Well, he wasn¡¯t exactly on his own that time, but today, holding his own in the forest was cake. It always bothered him how he had to be old and boring before joining his father¡¯s ranks. Eskil had spoked with other warriors of the village, the hunt was obviously no biggie, so why did his father had to go all grandma whenever push came to shove? ¡°For the fourth time kid, stay within the palisade!¡± ...Seriously? ¡°Listen son, you¡¯ll get a sword... You¡¯ll get a proper bow if you want that too, and I¡¯m sure the elders will let you read from the manual. But not today, and not by freaking hunting in that forest! Now get done with the salt barrels, we ain¡¯t have all day.¡± His dad had been dry and formal all since they left the village. He didn¡¯t even call his son by name, which made Eskil even more irritated that he couldn¡¯t go make himself worthy of it. ¡°But¡­¡± The youth sighted, dejected. Today¡¯s travel was one of logistics. If Eskil would¡¯ve known that his father, the chieftain, seriously was going to deliver some salt and medicines, he would probably have thought otherwise about the expedition. But nonetheless, the butchery shack needed salt, enchanted equipment needed a check up, as did the medicine supplies. All for the sake of the cadets of the hunt. Apparently they weren¡¯t as self reliant as proclaimed. The salt barrels were emptied, next was the beer barrels, strongly worked to keep it from spoiling until spring. The summer was far gone and who knew for how much longer you could drive cart by horse? Eskil felt a bit sorry for the lone consumer of the beer barrels, the only permanent resident of the barracks, master Oak. Master Oak was cleaning his face, unprepared for the visit. ¡°Ooh, you brought some of the good stuff! Aah finally the last barrel can be emptied without remorse!¡± the older man chuckled with a grin. Ha emptied the bowl of cleaning water and filled it with the last drops from an old barrel.The concoction was murky to the eye and putrid to the nose. ¡°This lil¡¯ kid, is pure satisfaction! You¡¯ve got no idea how hard it¡¯s been, leaving the last drops of heaven all alooone like that. Wanna have a try of a true man¡¯s juice?¡± He held the bowl towards the frowning kid. ¡°Stay off my son, murkhand!¡± His dad rescued him from the vile liquid.¡± ¡°Sorry m¡¯lord, never told he¡¯s yours.¡± ¡°Fucking disgusting!¡± his father seemed disapproving with the geezers drinking habits. ¡°Kid, head outside, there¡¯s a candidate on the way,¡± his father said with a forced smile. ¡°Sure dad¡­ Finally! At the entrance of the facility, a ragged woman gasped for air. Her complexion was ugly and dirty. All over her clothes were splotches of white dried sweat. Even her face was adorned by layers of dried sweat. The only thing remaining a true color was her brown hair, tied in a loose horse tail. Eskil would¡¯ve taken her for 25, wasn¡¯t he told she was a cadet. ¡°Yo! Oak!¡± A a dog head was sent flying. It landed with a thump next to the man behind Eskil, following it was a leather pouch. When he turned back his head, the woman had already collapsed. ¡°Great job cadet! How was the hunt?¡± mr Oak praised. The girl gasped for air. The happiest of smiles was on her face. Eskil looked questioningly at this dad: ¡°A dog? Do they even get points for dogs?¡± ¡°That ain¡¯t no dog kid,¡± his father answered harshly, heading to the cadet. ¡°Well done Virvid,¡± he said praising. Eskil frowned with envy. This was the first time today his father had called anyone by name, and the receiver wasn¡¯t even qualified yet. A cadet didn¡¯t deserve such honor. ¡°Than *gasp* thanks!...Chieftain Skyskred.¡± ¡°*Gasp* Why the honor?¡± ¡°You lil rascal, you didn¡¯t think I¡¯d come check how the most promising cadet was doing?¡± The girl smiled, happy with the undeserved praise. ¡°Who¡¯s the kid?¡± ¡°Mine¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t know that *gasp* you had a kid that big.¡± ¡°Well... ¡°Skyskred got silent for a moment ¡°This... is my son, Eskil, or so will he be called after the hunt. Son, this is cadet Virvid.¡± ¡°...Pleasure.¡± ¡°By the axe of B?rnhild!¡± Master Oak shouted, opening the leather pouch thrown to him. He left and soon came back. crouching by the woman¡¯s side. With him was a bowl of water. Was it the same one as before? ¡°Here, fill yourself up and we¡¯ll talk later, you¡¯re staying for the night i suppose?...¡± ¡°What do you want to be put on the stove? This¡­ this achievement requires celebration¡­ and booze! The girl soon recovered, and began walking towards the mess hall. ¡°Seventeen years, and you return with wolves on your own¡­ you¡¯re amazing Skyskred! Get in get some proper food, be human for a while,¡± Eskils father once again praised. Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. Eskil was about to return to his duties, but was stopped by his dad. ¡°Eskil, wait a second.¡± In his father''s hand was the pouch from earlier. ¡°Check out these,¡± he said, handing over the pouch to his son. Ten bubbles of floating light flew out. ¡°Careful, don¡¯t let the wind catch em¡¯. ¡± Eskil eyed them excitedly. They were the biggest lifembers he¡¯d ever seen, about as small as a pinky. A feeling of intense comfort radiated from each, making Eskils mind wander to places far away. Lifembers had that ability. They were praised for their pleasantness, and was often used as tool of trades. ¡°Cheese, how much is one of these worth?¡± he wondered, pinching one of them. The feeling was pleasant. It was like squeezing a squishy eyeball in one¡¯s hand, but better. The harder he squeezed, the more intense the feeling. ¡°Poff¡± ¡°Fuck¡¯s sake son!¡± The bubble popped, bursting into ten regular lifembers, shooting out in every direction. Skyskred quickly grabbed his mantle, jumped ten feet into the air, and with a strike of the cloth a gust wa sent downwards, instantly pushing the lifembers to the ground. Eskil felt his hair move. Amazed by the inhuman display of his dad. After silently collecting the lifembers, his dad spoke: ¡°A secret, Eskil, don¡¯t tell anyone yet without name...¡± ¡°The jump I just did, is very much thanks to lifembers.¡± Eskil was at trance. It was impossible to not be amazed when watching the warriors of the village display the strength of B?rnhild. It took a while to realise that his father also had spoken. ¡°Eeh, whut?¡± ¡°...It¡¯s thus a foundation of our village. . . . Day became evening and the sun began to set. The light from inside of the barracks was beginning to leak outwards, this to the dismay of Eskil, he was on duty to seal the holes in the wall. Eskil still decided to do his job well. No holes were to be left on his watch. Closely scrutinizing the wall, he saw a tiny stripe of light escaping a small cavity. The cavity was sealed with some some turf, an amateur¡¯s work at best. Eskil pulled it out to give the hole a proper sealing. Before he poured some of the filling into the hole, he gave it a quick glance, then another one, and a third¡­ On the other side of the hole was the bathroom. One of the few separate rooms of the building. Holy mother of¡­ this was nice! Onto the rim of a bathing tub sat Virvid, warming up the water with an enchanted heat stone. The water was beginning to steam. Eskils timing had been perfect! The anticipated climax was reached as the unknowing huntress unclothed. Eskil gulped, loud enough to scare a cat, but she didn¡¯t seem to notice. He stood silently, mesmerized by the eye opening scene. Best. Day. Ever!. First after awhile noticed he the scars, covering a majority of the body admired. Her back, her arms, everything was adorned with pink lines and spots. Eskil eyed them for a moment, but quickly got back to more important matters. And important things got. The girl in the tub rose up, eyes facing the opposite side. Eskil gulped again. The word ¡®behind¡¯ was just blesses with new meaning. Soon afterwards, he noticed a profoundly ugly set of scars, running down behind her right but cheek. Four horrendously pink dots sat on a line, evenly placed on her thigh. Holy shit, just how is it possible to get that many scars in half a year? ¡°Sup what¡¯s happenin¡¯? a way to loud voice sounded from behind. The youngling froze, standing straighter than ever. Before his eye left the hole, the girl inside made a clutter face. Next to him was an unknown man. He was huge. I..I..I.. I¡¯msealingholesinthewall, ofcourse. Dad told me to. Just found this, you know. The hole I mean. He fumbled after the wall filler. ¡°That¡¯s real cool kid, how¡¯s it goin¡¯?¡± the man asked, taking a casual look at the hole, then he too froze. He gave Eskil a ambiguous look. He soon left silently. ¡°Sup candidate Elbard!¡± the youngling could hear his father shout from the inside. He quickly sealed the hole, then went onwards. He had had about enough of the barracks for now. . . . The morning eventually came. When Eskil went up, the two candidates were already gone. Being done unloading of the wagon, Eskil and his father began loading it. Meat, smoked and salted; hides; and a casket of lifember was soon filling the wagon to its rim. ¡°Dad, why is master Oak living here all year? Can¡¯t the cadets preparer their hides themselves?¡± ¡°Well, kid. Long time ago, those palisades were raised for a reason, and the barracks used to have more than one watchman¡­ But more importantly, son: How would you have liked it if no one was around to look after you? If a single mishappening, like an infected wound, was enough to get you killed? ¡°...our candidates are important! We protect them, we provide for them and we warm their souls when we can. You can only du that if you¡¯re here, at the place. Mr. Oak does this, despite his loneliness, that¡¯s not a minor feat! Then, a breath later, he silently muttered: ¡°...he¡¯d better never set foot in the village again anyways.¡± *** Virvids jog was reaching a checkpoint. The sun was yet low but the barracks since long out of sight Lifember, a hare might leave a droplet of it if one was lucky... Not that she hunted hares, those were weak men¡¯s prey...and Renald¡¯s. Renald was stupidly skilled with bow and arrow, but Virvid still called him a coward, at least the times when he deserved some crap thrown at him. Virvid hunted deers, harts and other, bigger things. They were always a certain five plus droplets of lifember. Both body and lifember scored about ten points in total. But that was peanuts to what she had gotten from the wolves! Just those ten droplets had given her 150 points. -Her lead had gone from subtle to ridiculous. How many points did she usually score a week? 15? Thanks to her secure lead, she felt safe with taking a detour before heading back to the forest. Next checkpoint: The Victory Tree. The Victory Tree wasn¡¯t remarkable. It was a cherry tree, long past its glory days. Virvid had passed it by in her youth and made it her own. Its cherries were scarce and sour, but that wasn¡¯t the point about it: it was her secret tree, that was the thing.. Here, she had practiced spear throwing until her arms went sore. Here, she had retreated when she needed a rest from society. Here, she kept her very own highscore, a list of all kinds of beasts slain. She had sworn, that one day she would carve the name of trolls and magical beasts. Amongst all the things, the list, to her, was the most sacred thing about the place. It was also the reason why she came today. It was time to let her old tree know about her progress and wolf killing. As she was getting close, she saw a bunch of minor trees surrounding the Victory Tree. They all had their outside ruined from countless times acting as practice target. Virvid smiled, and threw her spear casually into one of them. The looked like it had aged even older in the absence of Virvid, but perhaps that was just her imagination. She hurled herself upwards. She could speed climb this tree with her eyes closed. Sitting at her favourite spot, she glanced to her list. On a piece of peeled bark, it read: HARE BADGER HART FOX DEER SWINE WOLF ¡°Wolf?¡± she had never slain a wolf before. She was very certain of that, because the first time she had done so was very much certainly two days earlier. She stared emptily at the list. It hadn¡¯t even ended: WOLF MOOSE WOLF WOLF MOOSE MOOSE GOBLIN MOOSE WOLF WOLF WOLVERINE WOLVERINE WOLF MOOSE MOOSE MOOSE WOLF WOLF WOLF WOLF MOOSE SCARLET LIZARD WOLF DIE MOOSE FUCK YOU MOOSE GOBLIN WOLF OUTLAW MOOSE WOLF SOMETHING WRONG MOOSE . . MOOSE Virvid stiffened. Surprise turned to anger. The most secret place in the world had been defiled, ruined! Besides her own carvings there was a disordered mess of carvings, ruining her sacred list like a stink bug would ruin a strawberry. They were on top of each other, written crookedly, completely disregarding the beautiful thing her list used to be. There were even deep cavities ruining the surface. The solemn calm of the tree was forfeited. She no longer felt comfortable at her own place and wanted to leave. She jumped down and began walking. She didn¡¯t do more than a dozen steps though. ¡°No fucker¡¯s gonna stop me from putting my own ¡®WOLF¡¯ on that trunk!¡± she hissed. and once again ascended. Screw the other carvings, they were made by an idiot anyways. She put her knife to the trunk. All good and proper places were ruined beyond repair. After carving a mark at the most vacant spot available, she descended for good. 3. Things which escalate [1 gross = a dozen dozen=144] ( 2-3 moons later) Elbard breathed cloudlets, they got bigger as the moon rose. Next to him lied a deer, lifelessly. It was well hidden for the night. Exhaling contently, the last slit into the cave was finally sealed with some twigs. Finally he could face the inside safely. This cave was the greatest fortune he¡¯d ever crossed. It could barely house him, but it was enough. Its uniqueness was not its space as much as what that space had contained. The hunt of three years was rough, but fair. There was a lot regarding it which Elbard had opinions of, but its fairness of work-reward was impeccable. Fight hard, earn treasures for life, the logic was simple and straight, and had kept the society going for eons. For each second gross of points, one got to choose an item to keep for the rest of one¡¯s life. Save up four grosses of points, and you¡¯d get to choose a grand item from master Oaks chests. Grand items, those were good enough to make any warrior of his village envious. In master Oak¡¯s chests one could find arms of true steel, bows of the strongest sinews, and an insane amount of enchanted stones. As for the greatest prize of them all, the one reserved for the sole winner of each barrack, Elbard couldn¡¯t care less. If any of his childhood friends got it, he would be happy, if not...well, why cry about it. It still wasn¡¯t worth the insane amounts of effort people like Virvid expended. Superhuman strength , although impressive probably wasn¡¯t as rare as the village made it seem. How else could every warrior there be blessed with it? Anyhow, Elbard had always wanted a magical stone for himself. Emphasis on ¡®had¡¯. He did originally work the crap out of himself to get his hands on one. Everyone else did too. Getting one before winter was kind of paramount; when fires were out of the question it wouldn''t even matter if you¡¯d bring a wheelbarrow of pelts outside¡­ Not that it mattered to Elbard anymore. He had found one in the very cave he was visiting this night. It was no doubt the most valuable thing in his possession. A stone, an enchanted stone! With some well-deserved luck, he now was the richest dude around. Shivering, his hands fumbled for his puch. He soon grasped a white rock. The round piece of quartz stung him unyieldingly as it radiated the the first and last warmth of the day. Tays of faint light escaped his clenched hands like sunrays piercing clouds. Stone in hand, he crawled into the pelts layn down, the air within quickly got comfortable. Heat stones truly worked wonders. Enjoying the cozy sensation, a loud sight condensed in the air. Elbard chewed on a piece of deer jerky, wishing he had someone to share it with. The nights always were the loneliest. Why couldn¡¯t he hang around the others? The hunt was stupid. He sometimes went to join his friends. He loved it, but when it came to others visiting him they were always hesitant. He had asked Virvid to join him someday, but she refused, obsessed with saving time. Renald, on the other hand, wouldn¡¯t mind. But his area was far away and the fart didn¡¯t trust Virvid wouldn¡¯t snitch if he passed her territory. As soon as the others had their heat stones, Elbard would ask them again though. Spending three years alone was bulls, no matter how much a hardened badass you might become. As for the other cadets, Elbard didn¡¯t have enough trust capital to play around with. They were all from other villages. They met a couple of times at the mess hall, but they never had the time nor will to bond. Warm and full, sleep saved him from his thoughts. . . Stiff from coldness, he woke up. His hand had lost the heat stone for the tenth time. He quickly grabbed it, considering going back to sleep. It was still dark, but that didn¡¯t say much these times of the year. It was probably close to morning though, time to get up. He stretched under the pelts, careful not to let cold air seep in. It was pretty comfy, lying here, save for a minor bump in the ground. Since this was his special treasure cave, he decided to remove the bump. Make the place a bit more welcoming for the next time. No need to get out already, as there were probably still a veil of clouds blocking the moon. The dry earth obediently subsided, revealing a bone shard and a muddy cord. He pulled the cord up. ¡°Hah, this cave, I¡¯m tellin ya!¡± He had pulled a dirty medallion. Not too adorned, but kinda neat anyways. ¡°Funny, it¡¯s identical with Smedgar¡¯s. Pfftm that¡¯s that for ¡®this thing¡¯s mine, I made it myself¡¯.¡± The medallion resembled a stag horns. Its coppery surface glew in the light of the heat stone. Smedgar was one of his good friends. If there was anyone who knew how to handle the ladies, then it was him. At thirteen years of age, he had managed to get fresh craft mead from the maiden at the tavern. ¡°Mead and great friends, that would¡¯ve been something...¡± Thrilled to see what else was lying in the cave, Elbard began digging for real, but not for long. He soon jumped up, head hitting the ceiling. Below him was a very much real cranium. Disgusting! he was digging up an old grave! Disgusting, fucking disgusting! ¡°Heck, I¡¯m outta here!¡± He dragged his deer outside. It was bright enough to see a couple of feet into the dark morning. He swore, hating to have slept on a grave. A guilty thankfulness got mixed in with his disgust. Who was his dead benefactor? It wasn¡¯t unheard of cadets dying during the hunt. When back at the barracks he¡¯s ask master Oak about it. Maybe he would¡¯ve known him when he himself did the hunt? Light spread from the yet to arise sun. Screw the grave! Today¡¯s gonna be great. With this very deer, his score was going to reach precisely two grosses. ¡°Damn how nice it¡¯ll be, eating warm food at a warm place in the warm company of friends. He couldn¡¯t wait to get to the barrack. . . ¡°Ey!¡± Elbard shouted, closing the door behind him. A familiar aroma of beer and smokiness hit him, it was either of smoked meat, or of the tar sealing the walls. Next to the fireplace, an old man sat on master Oak¡¯s stool. ¡°Greetings, candidate! How fared the hunt?, ¡± the barrack master asked. ¡°Look man, with this one, I should be at 293 points, yeah?¡± ¡°Excellent! Do you want to save it or go for a treasure straight away?¡± ¡°Bring the chest old man, I¡¯ve been dying to get my hands something.¡± He knew exactly what he wanted. ¡°Ah, good, good, you¡¯re ready for a treasure, huh,¡± master Oak said, standing up. He left, soon to return. ¡°Bang!¡± A gigantic chest hit the floor. Elbard couldn¡¯t have lifted it with a dozen arms. ¡°Alright kid, take a good look, I¡¯ll bring the book to keep records on your score.¡± Elbard lit a candle, examining the chest. ¡°Let¡¯s see, purple sinew, fivefoldly plaited, hah¡± they¡¯ve got one! It was exactly as Renald had described it... Squinting his eyes at a book, master Oak said: ¡°Ah, a bow, the redwood one huh. Great choice great choice...You know, that bow was originally in the major chest. You¡¯re lucky we moved it to the cheaper one... It¡¯s real good quality. But its string, be careful not to ruin it. Similar ones have broken before, so don¡¯t say I didn¡¯t warn ya. Oh, and remember not to lend out the weapon to anyone during the competition. Against the rules y¡¯know. ¡° ¡°Sure!¡± Elbard smiled. Renald had only asked for a string anyways, not the whole thing. Elbard sat down, glancing at his purchase. It was indeed made of laminated pieces of redwood. He wondered how Renald could be so certain of his bow in making. Looking at the beauty in front of him he found it nerve wrecking to imagine its assembly. The old man brought two tankards of beer and had Elbard to grab one.Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. . . A longer period of time had passed by the fire. Elbard sipped content on his third filling of beer while master Oak gobbled down on his own. Elbard had lost count of how much the old man had had by now. They were playing krasse, a board game. Master Oak had insisted on the loser would empty his tankard. By now, Elbard was guaranteed a sober night¡­ He sighed, none of his friends had come yet, not even any other of the cadets. Sitting with master Oak was okay, but they did little more than getting drunk and listen to the old man¡¯s ranting. ¡°BANG!¡± The door was opened and closed. No concern of given to its weak frame. ¡°Thump Thump¡± ¡°Whatsuup!¡± Two deers bodies put the floor dust flying. Virvid had come. The girls strength was impressive. Wasn¡¯t it for his extra feet of height, Elbard would feel intimidated at her side. ¡°Sschuwp! Hunt¡¯s goin ffine and cshutch!? The drunk man shouted, almost as loud as the newly arrived. ¡°Should be ¡®bout four grosses with these suckes, bring out the big treasures gramps!¡± the girl grinned. ¡°Hoooly¡­. four grosses!? Do you even sleep?¡± Elbard burst out. ¡°Sup Elbardinio,¡± she grinned, swiftly passing him towards the treasury. A short while later, she returned, grinning even wider. She was juggling a bright stone. Each time it landed in her hand a light enveloped her surroundings.. ¡°Holy¡­ is that a purple heat stone? ¡°Yuup! Ben staying busy lately you know.¡± She sat down and continued to juggle it. each time it landed in her hand it felt like sitting in a sauna, as the stones heat joined the fire. They admired the stone for a long while. It was way more powerful than Elbards; His was only good enough to heat up the air a foot around it. ¡°Wow! We don¡¯t even need a fire going with that thing around,¡± he said praisingly. ¡°Err, whut?¡± ¡°I said, Wow! We don¡¯t even need a fire going with that thing around¡± ¡°Whut¡­ oooh...¡± Virvid put her stone away. ¡°Sorry, could you say that one more time, I didn¡¯t notice how draining this thing is¡± ¡°... Well, I said that we wouldn¡¯t even need to keep a fire with that thing.¡± ¡°Really, you said that much? Wow! using this thing totally makes you a retard. You try it out!¡± She put the stone into Elbards hands. She was right. Using it made everything seem to speed up, everything besides the one powering the stone. They continued experimenting with the magical artefact for a while. It was awfully satisfying to play with it, Elbard though. At least with Virvid around. . . ¡°So, how¡¯s your own hunt going? Getting your own stone soon?¡± she asked casually. ¡°Yooo, he, eeewr, gouwt a bow juscht bot¡¯ nouw!¡±...How was the old man still awake? ¡°What? SERIOUSLY? Elbard, you¡¯re a serious hunter, what the¡­ What are you planning on doing when it gets cold? You¡¯re gonna stay inside all winter playing krasse and drinking beer?¡± She looked at him as if he had just grilled a fish without gutting it. ¡°Werrl, kid¡¯s preey sherious ynow,¡± master Oak mumbled. ¡°How maay winterch you been here any¡¯waysh?Shecond, chird? Which one ish it?...Whaait... is the FIRSHT!¡± The old man¡¯s words weren¡¯t much better than his memory. ¡°Eyy kiddo, yknow, you need a shtone. Got¡¯wha¡¯m¡¯sayn. Eeeugh can switch back the bow¡¯fya want. You... never pick that one firsht yknow. You alwaysh ike: ffirsht shtone, then the ...eeehmm¡­ mbow. Know wh¡¯am shayn, know wh¡¯am shayn.¡± The old man had walked over to Elbard, leaning over him. A smell of fresh and dry beer filled the air around him. It wasn¡¯t very obvious if he was speaking with Elbard or the floor. The questions from the old man, and even more, the stare of idiot declaration form Virvid made Elbards hand itchy. A humble light filled his hand as he grasped his own heat stone. ¡°You little!?...And you were asking me if I Spent any time sleeping between the hunts!? Virvid burst out, not subtle with her thoughts having others with scores close to her¡¯s. ¡°No fear, I fount this one, you¡¯re still number one,¡± Elbard quickly soothed. The old man stared at the stone, eyes absent as ever, but not for long. Life suddenly came back to him as he shook his head like a wet dog. The old man approached Elbard again and grabbed him with both his hands. To Elbard it felt as if being stuck between two mountains. With a deep tone he shouted: ¡°WHO!!? Who gave you it?... WAIT! You were ffirsht thish time!...¡± ¡°What, this? Nobody, I found it. It was in a...¡± ¡°YOUR PUCH!¡± master Oak thundered. Elbard could barely process the words before he felt his pants fall off. His leather pouch had been stripped along with the belt it was attached to. ¡°WHERE ISH HE!!?¡± The man shouted, seemingly even angrier. His eyes fell on Virvid, and with a single stroke, he knocked her unconscious. Already tipsy, Elbard felt incredibly surreal. ¡°WHERE ISH HE!!?¡± ¡°I..I¡¯m sorry. I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about!?¡± ¡°You little¡­ You think thish ish ffuckin¡¯ ffunny, do you?¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°If you shilent agian, I shwear I¡¯ll beat you ashunder! Undershtand!?¡± ¡°WHERE ISH HE!?¡± ¡°I..eeh.. I¡¯m sorry sir, I genuinely don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about.¡± The old man raised his fist, pushing it against Elbards face. In the fist lied a medallion resembling a stag horn. The material was copper. ¡°SHMEDGAR you little¡­ Don¡¯t fucking play games with me.¡± ¡°WHERE¡± ¡°HIDES¡± ¡°HE?¡± Distressed, Elbard glanced at Virvid. He breathed as fast as he could, yet he didn¡¯t enough air. The force restricting him was overwhelming, his periphery darkening. If it wasn¡¯t for mr. Oak holding him, he¡¯d have collapsed by now. The monstrously strong oldster grunted in his face. A smell of aged beer oozed from badly kept teeth. A screeching sound resounded in his ears.The smell, it was the last thing perceived before Elbard fainted. *** (An hour or so earlier) Soon before the fall of night, Renald arrived to the barrack. Tied to his backpack were eight hares hanging, to plentiful to fit inside. Others looked down on hare hunting. Everyone seemed to have some delusion about being the biggest, strongest, speariest and thusly best. Even Elbard would sometimes make puns on Renalds bow and arrow. The guy really was an idiot, but usually, he more than made up for that. Despite the ignorance of others, Renald kept killing the lil¡¯ small ones without remorse. They were way more convenient game than other animals. They almost always died instantly when hit, reproduced like nothing else, and didn¡¯t know to keep a stone throw¡¯s distance people aiming at them. They were perfect, save the buggers calling them ¡®the coward¡¯s game¡¯. Inside of the barrack sat master Oak, Virvid and Elbard. Virvid was juggling with something, the other two just smiling drunk. ¡°No reason to head straight inside,¡± Renald grinned. Girls didn¡¯t pass the barrack often Especially not Virvid. Renald had no idea for how long the oddball had been out this time, nor was he intending to ask her either, not for a while.... He headed for the other side of the building. Some kiddo had destroyed his peeking hole two-three months ago. It had taken weeks to restore it. One rule of thumb regarding sneaking was to be at the place of interest first...or outside of it. People usually went bathing after supper. The time was a little early, but waiting didn¡¯t have much backdraws. If anyone asked he had just arrived and was about to discretely empty his bladder before going in. . . He waited for a good while, maybe for longer than usual. Had be been to late, or was juggling really too awesome and captivating? A couple of restless thoughts passed his mind. That was when the screaming began. *** Elbard winked away the starred sky in his eyes. For a moment he was disoriented, but reality soon returned, despite Elbard¡¯s doubts of it; Old man Oak sat crouching next to Virvid, tying her to to a beam. How much time had passed? Not too much, right? What was happening? Why was master Oak so infuriated? Was it about the heat stone? Was there anything special about the skeleton, or did the drunk man think he had cheated?...But that wouldn¡¯t make any sense, would it? Elbard was pretty sure that he, even if not as awesome as Virvid, had been the first up to score wo grosses of points. How could the stone be given? The whole thing was a mess. Mr. Oak made quick work of the restraining. The girl was still gone. Rising up, he swayed to Elbard. ¡°Uh hmm,¡± Elbard cleared his throat whilst sitting up. The old man was now crouching in front of him. ¡°Please, I¡¯ve got no idea what this is about. The stone¡­ I found it in a cave, I swear! There was a skeleton in it, I think it could¡¯ve been his...I don¡¯t know...please.¡± The old man grunted loudly, occasionally hocking a loogie. His gaze was firm and full of anger. It wandered between and Elbards face and the ground. Following the gaze, Elbard noticed his beltless pants being down to knee level. He quickly dragged them back up. ¡°DON¡¯T LIE TO ME!¡± The man raised his fist. ¡°I swear...I swear I swear I swear, I found it, I truly did, in a cave, please, p-please¡­¡± Master oaks eyed the floor again, then he stood up, wangling right and left, then he bit his lips and hissed angrily: ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter..." Then the frowne molded into a lewd smile. ¡°IT DOESN¡¯T MATTER!¡± His bizarrely strong hands grabbed the sitting young man, raising him to eye level. Elbards pants dropped again, but the man of the barrack didn¡¯t seem to care. ¡°You wanna end up like her, boy?,¡± he asked madly. ¡°...no¡± ¡°Good,¡± the man whispered back. ¡°Mister Oak, I don¡¯t know what to say. What do you want me to do? This haft to be some kind of misunderstanding¡± ¡°Pfft, What I want you to do? What I want you to do.... It doesn¡¯t matter. It doesn¡¯t matter. You won¡¯t remember shit, will you? He grabbed Elbard, like a little lamb, and dragged him to the other side of the room, through a door and into the bathroom. ¡°There you go, clean yourself!¡± ¡°You fucking idiot, off goes the clothes!¡± If the evening had been absurd, Elbard didn¡¯t know how to label this. If it wasn¡¯t for the adrenaline he definitely would¡¯ve taken it for a dream, a very, very bad dream. And worse it got¡­ . . ¡°Bend over!¡± the demon commanded. Refusing to yield, yet hopeless to the demons strength, Elbard grew even stiffer. You lirrle rat! I shaid fucking bend over! You wanna get knocked out...ash ushually? Elbert''s heart pounded faster than ever. It didn¡¯t matter how strong the monster next to him was, he had to make a run for it. Behind the old man¡¯s coarse wheezing got heavier. It was horrendous, and got even worse. The sound consumed the entire world. I was inhumanly disgusting. Elbert didn¡¯t want to look back, but he had no choice. He turned around towards the door as fast as he could. On the ground lied barrack master Oak, breathing heavily, his throat pierced by an arrow, his body bathing in blood. ¡°Holy fucking shit you pervy fucking sick pervert fucking...fuck!¡± a familiar voice cursed from the outside. 4. Burdens ¡°Fucking perv shit!¡± Renald swore through the peeping hole. The old man had finally stopped breathing, took fucking ages. If it wasn¡¯t for the battle rush, Renald would¡¯ve been freaking out already, royal style. There was no way easily getting out of this one. ¡°Renald?¡± Elbard asked from inside. ¡°Err.. put on some clothes, I¡¯m coming in.¡± The bathroom door was shut. Elbard and Renald were enough aware of him as it was. ¡°What are we gonna do Elbert, the fuck we¡¯re gonna do now?,¡± Renald cried, emptied of battle spirit. ¡°I dunno, calm down a bit! You weren¡¯t even the one getting¡­ you know. Virvid¡¯s all tied up, let¡¯s do something about that first.¡± ¡°You crazy? Calm down? I fucking killed someone. What if she¡¯ll run and tell?¡± ¡°Calm down, we can solve this. She¡¯s Virvid for B?rnhilds sake! For long have we known each other?¡± Elbard said, walking over to the unconscious girl. ¡°Besides, what would she think if she woke up shackled with us two looking?¡± ¡°Shit, what if others come. It¡¯s bloody full moon outside. We gotta leave Elbard, you coming with me?¡± ¡°Calm...down! If you leave now I¡¯ll lose you. We¡¯re not rushing things. Not until Virvid gets up.¡± ¡°Elbard, you¡¯re with me right, you ain¡¯t leaving me for this, are you? People are gonna come looking. They¡¯re gonna come for me. It¡¯s ok if you stay...You did nothing wrong man¡­¡± ¡°Please say you¡¯re coming with me!¡± ¡°It¡¯s gonna be alright Renald! We¡¯re gonna fix this somehow. We¡¯re not separating, I¡¯ll go with you. Screw this hunt anyways. Screw that fucking grandpa Oak!. ¡°I need a beer.¡± . . ¡°Ey, you¡¯re not snitching about the hole right? I shot from inside the place!¡± ¡°No probs, you¡¯re my freaking savior, remember. Virvid won¡¯t know. Wait, you didn¡¯t see anything anyways¡­¡± ¡°Weird, I thought that hole was sealed way back...¡± ¡°Yeah, found it when I heard the screams.. I told ya bows are better than the stick you idiots walk around with.¡± . . ¡°We should probably¡­ you wanna open the door, get the keys.¡± ¡°Fucks sake, you were the one who shut it!¡± ¡°Well, I¡¯m not touching him, you do it¡± ¡°Fine.¡± They emptied the treasure chests onto the floor. ¡°You know, this is pretty much hitting the jackpot¡­ Besides the fact that we¡¯ll probably never set foot in society again.¡± ¡°Shut up¡± ¡°Guys, what¡¯s happening?¡± a weak asked. ¡°Err, I feel bad...HUUUURGGEHH.¡± ¡°Shit, let¡¯s get her some water¡± ¡°You do that, I hate puke!¡± ¡°Virvid, you there?¡± ¡°What the heck just happened! Why am I lying here?¡± ¡°Well¡­¡± ¡°Old man Oak knocked you out, then he tried to ra¡­¡± ¡°AHEM!¡± Elbard cleared his throat, very loudly.¡± ¡°... Then the fucker went all crazy, attacking Elbard too! Luckily I came in just in time through the main door and shot him in the face.¡± ¡°...Pretty much, yeah.¡± ¡°This is crazy! I need to sleep.¡± Virvid muttered, drowsy. ¡°Shit, Virvid you can¡¯t sleep now. We gotta get out of here!¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Gosh, we fucking killed ol¡¯ man Oak and others could come at any time! We need to grab our shit and leave!¡± Virvid eyed weirdly at Renald. ¡°Chill out Renald, nobody¡¯s gonna come. It¡¯s night already!¡± Elbard said. ¡°Fucks sake! Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯ve never walked back during moonlight! ¡°Well, yeah, but just once or twice. We¡¯re pretty much safe for now. Look, I¡¯ll keep guard for the night. We can¡¯t leave Virvid with the ¡± ¡°C¡¯mon Ellie! You¡¯re strong! Tie her to your back or something.¡± ¡°Renald, look at her, It wouldn¡¯t be good for her, she needs rest!¡± ¡°Ellie, I¡¯ll tell you what wouldn¡¯t be good for her: people getting here poking us with stupid... spears. How can you tell that there won¡¯t be anyone from the village comming? You think we can beauty sleep our way outta this!? You¡¯ve seen what village warriors can do. Unless you can fucking break stone with your hands and jump ten feet into the air, you better get her on your back, now!¡±Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more. ¡°Rennie, the final visit was months ago, but you¡¯ve got a point. We shouldn¡¯t force risks on her. How ¡®bout this? I¡¯ll load myself full with stones, spears and whatnut. You get Virvid, she¡¯s lighter. ¡°Fuck man, she¡¯s all covered in puke¡± ¡°I¡¯ll clean her up. Pick out what you wanna bring while I¡¯m at it.¡± ¡°You¡¯d better clean her good, ¡®hear me? *** The world spinned, but also bounced. It couldn¡¯t be both, so Virvid opened her eyes to decide which one it was. She wasn¡¯t sure why the world bounced up and down and span at the same time, but apparently she was also flying. She felt sick. ¡°HUUUURGGEHH¡± ¡°For fucks sake! She puked on me¡± ¡°Suits you, I didn¡¯t rant about leaving straight away.¡± The confusing motions were reduced to just spinning as Virvid was dropped to the ground. The place felt familiar. Around her were trees, trees with deep etches. ¡°Alright! We¡¯ll take a break, gotta clean you up a bit. How do you feel, can you sit up?¡± Virvid looked up. Elbard was holding a water skin to her mouth. Funny, she had just had the weirdest dream about him. ¡°Yeah, yeah. I¡¯m just, the world doesn¡¯t wanna stay still.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve had a pretty bad concussion. Don¡¯t exhaust yourself.¡± Do you have anything you wanna say about...well this?¡± Virvid took a look around her. They were in her glade. The glade of her Victory Tree. Why were they here? She didn¡¯t want to see this place ever again. Someone had ruined it. Wait, Elbard was speaking to her. What was the thing he was talking about. virvid felt sleepy. ¡°We¡¯re halfway to Elbard¡¯s area. Hopefully, we¡¯ll make it there before dawn. Then we¡¯ll take a proper rest. There should be about a week before we¡¯re noticed missing, at best two.¡± These words, they sounded disturbingly familiar. Wait!? ¡°You¡­ what have you guys done!? How..? The hunt! My score! Why did you, why did you bring me with you? I didn¡¯t do anything wrong. This ¡­ AAAWWR *sight*.¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine, you can still go back. There¡¯s no evidence, well, besides the arrow stuck in masater Oak¡¯s throat. Renald¡¯s fucked for sure.¡± ¡°Fuck you, that was totally uncalled for!¡± ¡°... but you can get back if you want to. I¡¯ll leave with Renald.¡± ¡°I.. want to to rest. Can we stay here for a while.¡± ¡°I¡¯m afraid we¡¯ll leave in a short while.¡± ¡°No, stay! Don¡¯t leave me.¡± ¡°No problem, we¡¯re bringing you with...¡± ¡°This time you¡¯re carrying her¡± ¡°...we¡¯ll bring you with us. Can¡¯t leave you like this...Ey, Renny, don¡¯t come bitching half way! You agreed to carry her.¡± ¡°Bloody hell... Then bloody clean her properly this time and hurry. People might come. *** Getting to the forest had been easy, but once they got there, carrying Virvid got difficult. A two day trip had taken four, but eventually they made it to the end border of Elbard¡¯s hunting area. Beyond lied the forbidden forest. Elbard had never gone there, he¡¯d never needed to. If the score penalty hadn¡¯t kept him away, then the tales of deep forests definitely had. There was no great distinction as to where the forbidden forest began, but as they entered it, the trees gradually became bigger, their shadows longer and bigger. ¡°You sure? You really don¡¯t have to.¡± ¡°Yeah, I guess I am,¡± answered Virvid. For days she had considered getting back to the barrack, but as she started walking on her own again, her mind set on joining them. Elbard was happy to have her in the group. He felt guilty about it, but being together with two of his childhood friends was just so much better than his days usually was for the past seven moons. He wondered how the other were doing. Smedgar, Belsemin, Sven, ¡­ He hoped their betrayal wouldn¡¯t affect the others. The night was arriving and they were looking for a suitable place to sleep. If they didn¡¯t find one they¡¯d have to head back to one of Elbard¡¯s old ones, far back. ¡°Hey, over there, I might see a cavity!¡± Renald pointed at a hill. He seemed to be right, but as they headed towards it: ¡°RAWR¡± Holy shit, is that a bear!?¡±Renald shouted, readying his bow. Hearing his cry, the bear ambled towards him. ¡°Shit!¡± Renald shouted, running to get between the bear and its meal. He screamed as loudly as he could, trying to draw its attention.. The bear stopped, surprised of seeing a snack actually charging it. It had originally set off for the small snack, but since big snack insisted on getting eaten first, the bear didn¡¯t mind helping him. It switched target, but then someone hit him close to his neck. A small twiggle had stuck to his hide. It hurt, making the bear furious. Where was the attacker? It turned a bit, but found nothing. Moving its head sent shivers of pain through its body. As soon as it had mauled the snacks, the mysterious attacker would be torn asunder.. The big snack ran in front of small-snack as if it could defend it. The bear cared little, but as it charged, the stick stuck its hide, piercing it. It hurt, not as much as the unknown attacker, but enough to make the bear wary of the stick. As it tried to push it to the side, small-snack made a weird motion behind big-snack, and¡­ ¡°Thud¡± ¡°RAWR¡± The mystical attacker had struck again, but this time he had revealed himself. So it turns out the little snack¡­ The bear was mad. These little bees dared to sting it... It smashed big-snack¡¯s stick flying and rushed for little-snack, but¡­ ¡°Chuck¡± ¡°RAAAWR¡± A pain threatening of death struck it below the ribs. The bear immediately turned, its ancient instincts taking over. Behind it was a snack, even smaller than small-snack, but it too carried a stick. ¡°Chuck¡± ¡°RAAAWR¡± The new snack had thrown its stick! Who could have guessed? The bear had never seen a snack throwing sticks before, but the danger was insane. The pain, it was the only thing there was. This was no longer about eating and helping others getting eaten, it was life and death. Instinctively, the bear charged its true enemy. New-snack grabbed a third stick. The bear¡¯s limbs were beginning to falling asleep, it had to finish this quickly. As it charged, the prey ran straight for a tree. With decades of experience, it prepared to round it on the right side. It didn¡¯t matter which one new-snack would take as it was still moving forward anyways. Defying the bears world, this didn¡¯t happen. The snack ran upwards the tree, making a weird flip, instantly changing direction. It had been fooled! ¡°Thud¡± ¡°RAWR¡± Small-snack had made another sneak attack, but it didn¡¯t matter. New-snack ran for the the others. The bear ran after it as fast as it could, but its legs were weak and its body was getting heavy. Just cutting the distance to the unsnacky snacks would be an achievement by now. Luckily, new-snack didn¡¯t know its own good. It turned, sprinting towards its death. Furious and not willing to leave the world just yet, the bear opened its jaws, preparing to reap its last life. Still charging, it prepared to meet new-snack half-way, but new-snack abruptly stopped, sending another stick flying. The bear crashed to the ground, skewered through its mouth. ¡°Wooh, holy shit! Guess the cave¡¯s ours now!¡± Renald said, first to breathe normally. Wary of other bears, it took awhile to get off the edge. ¡°Those spears, holy shit, they¡¯re insane! Just what¡¯s in its steel, really? My arrows didn¡¯t do shit to it,¡± Renald complained praisingly. It was quite obvious that the remarkable thing had been the one throwing them. ¡°Ey Elly, you had one of those too, how comes you did shit for damage?¡° ¡°You little fuck, if it isn¡¯t obvious enough, I had to spend it all protecting your lil¡¯ ass! Besides, I Only had one spear, had to throw everything when running for you.¡± ¡°Yeye, let¡¯s keep saying that, shall we,¡± Renald followed up, determined to set the spirit of the evening. Virvid smiled. ¡°Guys, check out this lifember, it¡¯s huge!¡± A huge lifember had condensed above the hairy giant kebab.Virvid grabbed it and passed it around. It was big and almost fluorescent. The ones dropped by wolves couldn''t compare to it. An immense feeling of comfort radiated from it. You could even feel it without touching. They kept it, despite it being useless now when there was no way they''d score any more points in the hunt. Virvid grabbed a heat stone, and rolled open a pelt. Renald stood first guard, letting the others get to sleep. A slight light shone as he admired a heat stone of his own in the dark.