Notes on Monster Hunting Page 21

  “It looks good,” I said. There was nothing negative about it. Just that we will receive the payment as long as the soldiers are being trained to combat creatures.

  “Send us your regulars tomorrow after the sun is fully risen,” said Skrale.

  “How many, captain?”

  “A few hundred. Keep them in their platoons or whatever you call it.”

  Krelik nodded and walked off toward town with the signed contract.

  “How are you?” asked Skrale. He moved over on the log he sat on to make room for me. They chopped it down in the morning and it still looked alive.

  I sat down beside him and stretched out my legs. “I’m good. We went to the market this morning.”

  “I can see that. Nice hood.”

  “Thanks. Can I ask you something?””

  Skrale yawned and cracked his knuckles. “Yes, always. What is it?”

  “Teke told me about your time at the university, and I was wondering where you went during your mysterious trips.”

  Skrale smiled. “I went camping and I traveled to the villages outside of town. I collected stories of monsters and hunters and people's relationships with animals. I wanted to know more about how and why animals became monsters.”

  “And you found something that made you want to start the company?”

  He nodded. “I met a child whose dog ran away. I helped the family find the dog, only to discover it had become rabid. I volunteered to put it down to keep the child or father from having to do it.”

  “That made you want to leave the university?”

  “What good was I doing there?”

  “What about Teke? He was still learning.”

  Skrale laughed and shook his head. “No he wasn’t. By the third year Teke was getting drunk in the morning and sleeping through lectures. He had nothing else to learn. He could’ve been teaching those classes.”

  “He didn’t mention that part.”

  “I can’t say I’m surprised.”

  I left Skrale and First squad’s fire pit and joined back with my people. Ralet and Oitter were cutting vegetables and Palon was cooking them while Kully and Groose poured drinks and set out bowls. It was a nice meal. The kind Cremn would want us to eat before a big day of training. Oitter hadn’t received a full answer from Skrale yet, but he still spent his time around us. Which we didn’t mind. I liked Oitter.

  After dinner I searched through Skrale’s journal just looking at names until I finally found Jerum’s sections. There were two of them a year apart. I collected them here to make it easier.

  Year 538

  I met a man named Jerum at an inn west of Callin. He was asleep against a fence post near the stable. His clothes were tattered and his hair was tangled and dirty. I asked about him inside and was told he was kicked out for trying to start a fight. I bought some bread and gave it to him. He thanked me and we exchanged stories. His wife died while she was pregnant, so he left home and wandered. He usually wasn’t so angry, according to him, but something a man inside said to him set him off. I offered him a place in our company and told him he would be kicked out if he tried fighting anyone else. He was hesitant, but he eventually agreed. He asked why I would offer a position in such a small, intimate company to a stranger and I happily told him we were all strangers and that nothing in the past matters when you’re hunting monsters.

  Year 539

  Our company accepted a contract to kill what is known as a witch. I had read about how dangerous the creatures can be, but I still took the contract because the creature had killed ten people in a small town. Everyone else in town had gone to the fields and a village nearby to hide until the witch was killed. We approached the hunt as carefully as we could, but the witch’s mind control took hold of Jerum. He turned on me with his sword. I defended, but he continued to advance on me rapidly and aggressively. Others tried to step in, but I accidentally cut Jerum’s throat when he sliced across my belly. Cremn and Lekk took the opportunity of the distraction to jump on the back of the spider-woman and plunge their swords into her head. It was too late for Jerum and it took Teke and the others the rest of the day to keep me alive. I do not know if I believe in life after death, but I hope there is something so Jerum can find his wife and child. The others have tried to convince me that I am not a murderer. I cannot believe them.

  Day 160

  Everyone in the company was awake before sunrise. We ate a quick breakfast and put on our gear like we were going on a hunt. We gathered at the big fire pit where Skrale was standing on a log with his hands on his hips. Teke stood next to him and looked more bored than usual.

  “Is everyone ready for today?” asked Skrale as he clapped his hands and almost fell off the log. His energy and excitement didn’t match the rest of the company. I would be fine once the sun was fully up and we started the training.

  Today will be different than other days. Skrale will talk to everyone and tell them who we are in more depth than they’ve been told. He’ll prove that we know more than they do so they don’t feel like their time is being wasted. We may not do much of anything today, but Skrale ordered us to be dressed for a hunt every day.

  We waited at the edge of our camp as soldiers came from within the city and from outside on the south end of town. It was the first of many groups that we would cycle through. Krelik and Hogreth had ideas of which soldiers should be trained, as we would not be able to properly train the thousands in their army.

  Skrale told them our story of how we came from so many places and backgrounds, but we travel and hunt together. Three hundred, or more, soldiers sat in the field and silently listened to the burly, bearded captain. Krelik stood in back with arms across his chest and a few higher army officials at his side. They looked annoyed and didn’t try to feign interest in Skrale’s stories. All of the soldiers were wearing plain clothes without any weapons or gear. Skrale had said the first step of training is to learn.

  “We are not fighters. We are not warriors.”

  He went on to say their experience in the army will benefit them and put them ahead of the normal training we hunters go through.

  “I will teach you how to defend yourself and overcome creatures that we’ve come across, but I have no knowledge of everything you could possibly come up against.”

  The current plan is to have First squad, led by Skrale most days, teach the majority of the army selected by Krelik. The regulars will receive general training and lessons on how to fight all types and sizes of creatures. The other three squads will train the elites to fight in the same multi-specialization squads that we normally operate in. The elites will come sometime in the afternoon to receive their speech and introductions.

  Day 161

  Yesterday evening I met with the twenty people Fourth squad will be training. They will make up two groups of ten people, so the roles will be more diverse or even have doubles, which is something we’ve personally never been able to do with our small company. Skrale spoke to them and the other elites before sending them to the three squads. I wasn’t sure what to say, so I introduced myself first, then Ralet as corporal, Palon as our heavy infantry, Groose as munitions, and Kully as the medic. Nobody spoke, and they stared at me as if they expected more.

  “Do any of you have specialties or roles you’ve previously worked with?”

  “We do not, ma’am.”

  “What makes you elites?”

  “We are some of the best fighters in the army. That’s all.”

  I nodded and looked over everyone while I thought. They sat silently and waited, so I didn’t feel like I needed to rush. Each squad was spaced far enough apart to avoid bothering each other.

  “You have some type of leadership in place already, right?”

  A curly haired woman in the front nodded her head.

  “Great, leaders come up front.”

  The woman and a gaunt-faced man beside her stood up, and two balding men in the back started walking forward.

  “I’ll t
ake volunteers first. So, volunteers to learn to be a medic? We need at least one from each group.”

  A woman in the middle rose her hand.

  “You,” I said as I pointed at her. “Go with Kully.”

  Kully stepped to the side and waved at the woman.

  “Anyone else?”

  “I’ll do it,” said a short, bald man.

  “Great. We’ll do munitions next.”

  Seven hands immediately went into the air.

  “Groose, you choose. You have a good eye for people. Two for each group.”

  He carefully stepped into the group of people and slowly walked to his four choices. He gently tapped each of them on the head like he was playing a game. They stood and followed him to the front to stand beside Kully.

  “Marksmen?”

  Two hands rose.

  “Perfect. Both of you come up and stand behind me.”

  “You’re training marksmen?” asked Palon.

  “No, Ralet is. Mostly just how to work with the squad. He’ll grab me if there are any questions. They train with crossbows in regular army training, right?”

  “Yes, ma’am,” said the woman with curly hair.

  “See, Palon? Problem solved. Heavy infantry is next.”

  “How many, Beatrice?” asked Palon.

  “Two for each, if we can.”

  Palon stepped in front of the eight remaining people sitting down. He squinted his eyes and slowly examined each of them. Nobody moved or rose a hand. They just watched the large man scrutinize them.

  “You two and you two.” Palon walked back and waited for the four people he chose to come up front.

  “The rest of you are regulars. Just as important as the other roles. Regulars will train with Palon during the weapons part of the heavy training and with me after.”

  We sorted them out and dismissed them. They would be returning in the morning to actually begin some of the training.

  Being in front of people all day was far more exhausting than I expected. Skrale gathered us around the central fire and said he appreciated our work for the day.

  “In many ways, this contract will be more exhausting than our usual jobs. Keep up the work and it’ll pay off. Each day is a countdown to the end of the contract, so appreciate not traveling while we’re still here.”

  We broke into our squads and went to eat dinner. Fourth ate fish and potatoes and drank some very bad wine.

  “I’m excited to see Ralet train marksmen,” said Palon.

  “Oh, me too,” said Kully. “I haven’t seen him hold a crossbow in years.”

  Ralet sighed and set his empty bowl on the ground. “I don’t need to train them to shoot. Just how to work with the other roles.”

  “But Bea is our marksman,” said Kully.

  “It’ll be fine. I’ll come help when he needs it,” I said. “Like he said, he just needs to teach the role. Ralet will do great.”

  Skrale cleared his throat as he stepped into our firelight. “May I join you?”

  “Absolutely, captain.” Palon moved over to give Skrale room on the log. “Wine?”

  “Please.”

  Palon poured some into a mug and handed it to Skrale. Our fire was small, but the moon and stars were unusually bright. I could still see everyone with perfect clarity.

  “How was dinner?”

  “It was good. Do you want any?” I asked.

  Skrale shook his head. “How were the elites?”

  “Unusual,” said Ralet. “They didn’t seem like they had much experience.”

  “They probably don’t. I’ve been trying to hear as much about this war as I can. It sounds like most of the veterans and elites and all that were sent to the front line when the war first started. Nobody we’re training has seen an actual battle before. Not much of it anyway. Not against this empire.”

  “Shit. Really?” Ralet finished the wine in his mug. “How is this training going to help?”

  Skrale shrugged. “I guess these monsters that Etikstan are using just slaughtered all of Tullinbran’s troops before. So maybe we help them take out these monsters. They’ll still have the rest of the army to fight, but defending a city against regular people would be much easier. It all sounds bad.”

  “Where will we go when we’re done?”

  “Maybe north. Maybe back west. I’d like to get out of Tullinbran.” Skrale took a drink of wine and wiped his sleeve across his lips. “We’ll make enough money by the end of the sixty days to travel for a long while without needing to work. We could travel to the north and see if any of those fire-breathing creatures really exist.”

  “I’d like to see something like that,” said Ralet. “Sometimes I think about how nice it would be to just watch animals and not have to kill any.”

  Skrale smiled and nodded his head. “I feel the same way. It’s a rough job. Although, I think we’ve always made the right choices.” He looked at me. “Even if it costs us something. Our company has always moved in the right direction.”

  Skrale spent some more time with us before returning to his camp. The night died down and we went to sleep since we had to do it all again tomorrow. I kept my tent open to let the dying embers and starlight inside. It was a nice night with a small breeze and I fell asleep quickly.

  Day 162

  Ralet woke me this morning. It was unusual for me to be the last awake and I still felt exhausted when I sat down to eat. My eyes itched and I could tell my hair was tangled and messy before I even touched it. I knew I would have time to bathe tonight, so I just put my hood on and drank some strong tea Kully made. It’s bitter taste woke me up.

  Palon made roast peppers and oatmeal. It was an odd breakfast, but he had just cooked what he found when he was stumbling around in the dark. The sun’s light was coloring the sky, but it hadn’t come over the horizon when we finished eating.

  Palon was going to start with swordwork and Groose was going to start with explosives safety. Both required targets, so we carried some uncut logs out to the field. The other squads were doing something similar and we all noticed each other after the first trip, so we used the cart to bring the rest out to a center point that was closer for all of us.

  I had no idea what Skrale would be doing with the group he was training today. They were farther from our camp. Basically against the wall of the city. Before he went to the soldiers, he called over the scouts and gave them some orders. Three of them ran off in different directions. I later learned he had them go tell the farmers and anyone else nearby that there would be explosions and that there was nothing to worry about. Oitter walked over to me and waved as he stepped over logs.

  “What’re the logs for?”

  “Targets.” I pulled my sword out and stabbed it into a log at my feet. “See?”

  “Oh, yes. Just like a monster.”

  I removed my sword and sat on the log. I patted beside me.

  “What brings you over here?”

  Oitter sat and smiled. “Skrale agreed. He said it can be permanent if you can find a use for me.”

  “I’m sure I can. You interested in helping with the training at all?”

  He looked at Fourth setting up and saw the trainees standing nearby. A few drops of sweat slowly crept down his forehead. The heat of the day was quickly growing.

  I patted him on the shoulder and stood. “You get to help Groose today.”

  Oitter groaned. “I should’ve answered faster.”

  Ralet walked past and said, “Good luck. Don’t let him start you on fire.”

  Ralet and I dug into the back of the equipment cart to find some shovels, which we haven’t needed it ages. They were dirty and a bit rusted, but they would still work well enough. There were only five, so we used all of them for Fourth squad first. We dug fast and fit the logs into the ground so they stood on their own, then passed all five to Third squad.

  I leaned against an upright log until the twenty soldiers were fully prepared. They all looked like confused children when they
came out of the gate. They wore cheap leather armor and they all carried swords. As instructed, the heavies in each group had shields, but they were cheap and dented.

  “Is this your actual equipment?” I asked.

  “No, ma’am. This is training equipment. We were told we can’t wear our battle gear.”

  Palon loudly sighed. “How are you going to learn to fight in real armor if you can’t wear it while training?”

  “We’ll talk to Skrale tonight and see what we need to do,” I said. “This’ll be fine for today. Today we’re going to focus on swordwork. All roles need to know how to fight. Groose will be doing some other stuff after we finish the initial sword training, so munitions need to practice with us for now.”

  The curly haired woman raised her hand.

  “Yes?”

  “We already know swordwork, ma’am. It would help to train in other things.”

  Palon walked over to Groose and pulled his shirt off. Groose flinched, but managed to catch on and turned to show his side. Ralet noticed and removed his shirt as well. I lifted the side of mine.

  All the wounds were healed, but none looked nice. Groose’s whole side didn’t look like skin at all. Mine didn’t look bad. Mostly like a normal stab scar. Ralet’s shoulder healed well, though it was noticeably a different color and looked bumpy on the edges.

  I let my shirt fall back down and cleared my throat. “Those are all from one monster hunt. Creatures without minds. One of those things decapitated our old sergeant. If a small, normal clay mason could construct things that killed someone and nearly killed three more of us, I can’t imagine what these other monsters may do. From what we’ve been told, Etikstan has monsters that are trained only to kill their enemies. No animal exists that would kill whole armies just to kill. The mason’s constructs fought to protect their creator, who was a small, scared creature hiding in a hole. Your comrades in the east have died fighting something terrible, so you’re going to learn to fight how we fight.

  The curly haired lady nodded.

  Groose took a few steps backward and gently set his bag of bombs on the ground, then walked forward and stood back in line beside Kully and Ralet. He put his shirt back on and poked at his scars a few times.