Notes on Monster Hunting Read online

  Ten men were in the clearing, either at the fire or sleeping. One of them was placing a remigin into a cage. It was an incredibly thin remigin with scars running across its back. The spine could be seen from the skin stretched across. It looked like the only creature that hadn’t recently feasted. About twelve remigins were caged throughout the area.

  Kully tapped my foot and pointed across the opening. I could faintly see Orkin, who was trying to get our attention without grabbing anyone else’s. I stuck my hand up so he could see, but the remigin nearby sat up and hissed.

  One of the men at the fire stood and drew a sword and yelled something in a language I didn’t understand. Everyone else in the area drew their weapons and looked in our direction. The first man pointed straight at me and shouted again just as an orange ball flew through the air from the other side of the clearing.

  “Now,” I shouted. We all stood, but remained behind the trees as Trennor’s tellick bomb struck one of the men in the back. It erupted and tossed blood and flesh throughout the clearing. Shrapnel flew out and rang off the metal cages. We stepped out as Orkin’s squad rushed into the clearing. Several men were on the ground from the explosion, but six still stood ready to fight.

  I ran straight at a man and parried his thrust. Oitter stepped in beside me and slid his dirk into the man’s side. Kully chopped and caught a man’s sword arm. He severed the tendons, forcing the man to drop the weapon. Yutt kicked the guy to the ground and turned to defend against another. The other three had gone against Orkin’s squad and quickly fell. I sheathed my sword and helped Kully wrap the arm of the man on the ground. Orkin started looking through chests and checking the locks on the cages.

  “Who are you?” I asked the man.

  His hair was dark and his eyes were bright green. He was shaking and kept looking at the bloodied wrapping around his forearm. I asked again. A smile stretched across his lips and he looked into my eyes.

  “What now, hunter? You think we only have one camp?”

  Kully and I exchanged glances. He stood and went to talk to Orkin.

  “How many creatures are there?”

  The man was sweating. Kully’s wrapping slowed the bleeding, but it wasn’t enough.

  “Enough. More north in the woods.”

  “Why would you tell me?”

  His smile vanished and he wiped at his forehead with his good arm. Yutt was standing nearby with his sword still drawn. The man sniffled and kept his eyes locked on mine.

  Movement by Orkin grabbed my attention. I grabbed the pommel of my sword, but quickly realized it was Skrale with the rest of the company. I waved him over. Skrale looked disgusted. His face was red and his hand stayed on his sword.

  “Where are you from?” asked Skrale.

  “Etikstan.” The man took a deep breath. “You should’ve ran when you had the chance.”

  Skrale walked away without another word. I told Kully and Yutt to stay with the man as Lekk, Heff, and Teke walked over to him. Teke immediately started working on his arm with Kully’s help. He had some supplies with him and wrapped it with a thicker bandage and some ointment.

  Skrale stood next to a cage and stared at a hissing remigin.

  “You okay?” I asked.

  “This isn’t what our contract was for, but I’m proud of you for handling this so well. I should’ve never asked you to do this.” He wiped some blood from a bar on the cage. His eyebrows lowered as he wiped the blood on his trousers.

  “I’m okay. I don’t feel the same as I did back then.”

  He looked at me and placed his hand on my shoulder. “You did well. These men are responsible for all the dead families. I just feel sick about it.”

  “He said there is another camp just a bit farther north. I want to head there and hunt them down.”

  “They would’ve heard the explosion like we did.” Skrale looked around. “You think he was telling the truth?”

  “I believe he was, but I don’t know why he did.”

  “A squad will stay here. Everyone else will go for that camp with the man as a prisoner and guide.” Skrale took a deep breath and walked back over to the man. He had regained his composure and looked like the strong, unbreakable captain again. “I want Second to stay here with me to sort through the chests and everything. Jenn and Yutt, I want you to get back to town and let Krelik know what’s happening. Everyone else follow Beatrice’s lead. I want Teke and Orkin in charge of the prisoner. Avoid killing anyone else if possible, but don’t do anything to risk your own life. Kill any creatures not caged, if there are more. Be safe, everyone.”

  We gathered at the north side of the clearing and pushed the prisoner out in front. Someone had bound his hands behind his back. Teke walked behind him while Orkin walked on his right with a knife ready.

  The sun had set and the leaves kept the moonlight from reaching the ground. Our footsteps were loud, but there were too many of us to be silent. Orkin stayed close to the prisoner and held his dagger point pressed against his side. The prisoner talked in a whisper that only Orkin could hear.

  All the trees looked bigger in the dark. Like figures watching us pass. I felt uneasy as we moved deeper into the forest. Orkin stuck his arm out and stopped me.

  “He said it’s close.” Orkin’s voice was quiet, but it sounded loud in the silence of the forest.

  It was dark, but I could still see Palon, Kully, and Groose behind me. Widdy and Trennor were on the other side with Teke and Third filled the space behind everyone else.

  “Leave him here with Teke and Widdy. Groose, Wennel, and Trennor, get tellicks ready. Heavies in front with shields up.”

  Teke gagged the prisoner with a strip of cloth and forced him to sit beside a tree. Palon and Rexel stepped in front of me. I stayed behind Palon and Heff went behind Rexel. Wennel and Groose flanked the two of us and everyone else filled in. Palon and Rexel walked in sync. We followed their lead since I couldn’t see around Palon. Heff tried to stretch his neck up to see over Rexel.

  Metal armor clanked with the two heavies and their footsteps crushed leaves and twigs strewn about the forest floor in the otherwise quiet atmosphere. Everything was dark. It felt like we were alone After we walked past a couple trees, hissing filled the air and drowned out the armor’s noise.

  “Groose, light up a tree,” I shouted.

  Groose threw a yax bomb at a tree on our left. A small spark from the shell breaking lit the wet powder as it clung to the bark and quickly spread the fire all around the tree. It climbed higher and illuminated the area.

  Five remigins surrounded us in the treetops and ten men in leather armor stood as a group in front of Palon and Rexel.

  “Bombs, now,” I shouted.

  Trennor, Wennel, and Groose all had tellick bombs ready. Rexel and Palon kneeled and put their heads behind their shields. I crouched behind Palon and covered my ears. The bombs flew over our heads and struck the cluster of men. Explosions ripped through the air. Shrapnel ricocheted off the shields and hit trees.

  Remigins dropped from above with long metal sticks in their hands and immediately ran at our flank.

  “Heavies, Heff, and Orkin forward. Everyone else get the creatures.” I didn’t have a chance to see how many survived the explosions because the creatures were fast and nimble. A remigin jumped onto a tree and leapt at me. The collision brought us both to the ground. My head landed near the base of the burning tree. It felt like my hair would combust any moment. The remigin landed on top and stabbed at my head with the sharpened metal stick. It missed and went deep into the dirt. Ralet decapitated the creature and Groose kicked the body off me and we quickly moved away from the growing fire.

  During my fight, Kully and Wennel tried to fight off a vicious remigin. It repeatedly stabbed with the end of the stick and pushed the two of them backwards. They blocked and tried to push forward, but the creature’s long weapon kept them away. Kully tried to parry a stab, but the stick slid off his sword and pierced his thigh. The remigin pressed its
lips to the end of the stick and spit into it. Wennel took the opportunity to stab the creature in the heart. Kully screamed and tried to pull the stick out of his leg.

  Palon, Rexel, and Heff stayed in a close group and fought the Etikstan soldiers until they were all on the ground. Five had lived through the explosions and Heff was able to incapacitate four of them. The fifth was bleeding out too severely for even Teke to fix. Everyone else cleaned up the remigins without any serious injuries. Iliun and Prenn both had cuts that were bleeding heavily, but not dangerously.

  Teke left the prisoner with Widdy and ran as fast as he could to Kully, who still stood with blood pouring down his leg. The fire spread to the trees nearby and Teke yelled louder than ever before when Groose pulled out a torol bomb.

  “Keep that light if you want Kully to live,” he shouted as he and Lopuk helped Kully lie down.

  I sent Oitter to go find Skrale to let him know the fight was over.

  The metal stick was still stuck in Kully’s leg, so Lopuk and Teke cut off his pants. Lopuk took off his shirt and soaked up the blood immediately around the wound.

  “Do any of you have yax or torol that’s not in a bomb?” asked Teke.

  “I can crack them open without detonating,” said Groose.

  “Are you positive?”

  Groose nodded.

  “Then get over here. Palon, come help.”

  Palon hurried over, obviously unsure how he could assist. He had some cuts on his face and his shield was horribly dented.

  “Groose, get me both powders. Do you have a way to light the yax?”

  “Yes.”

  While they talked Kully squirmed and shrieked in pain. The skin on his thigh was pale and looked like it was tinted purple. Groose carefully cracked the bombs and set half of each beside Teke like small bowls.

  “Palon, pull the stick straight up and out. Somebody hold Kully down.”

  Ralet and I grabbed Kully’s arms and held them against the dirt. The growing firelight cast our shadows all over, so the company backed away to allow plenty of light to shine on Kully’s leg. Palon pulled the stick out, causing Kully to yell even louder. Purple-tinted blood poured from the hole. Teke grabbed a handful of yax powder and pushed it into the wound. Groose lit the powder as Teke grabbed the bowl of torol powder. The fire quickly spread through the powder and covered Kully’s upper thigh. Teke dumped the torol onto Kully and quickly extinguished the flames.

  “Put the fire out before the whole forest burns,” ordered Teke.

  Groose walked over to the burning tree and stared at the light. He tossed a torol bomb at the tree and the fire vanished.

  Kully had passed out during the makeshift operation, so Ralet and I let go of his arms.

  Teke stayed with him as Lopuk helped dress the smaller wounds in the company. I joined Heff and Rexel, who had finished tying up the new prisoners. They started a fire to give us some light. Widdy and Skrale brought the other prisoner over to us and put him with the others.

  “Is Kully alright?” Skrale asked me.

  “I hope. A remigin spit into his thigh. I can’t imagine the pain of the acid inside.”

  Skrale wiped the sweat off his forehead and sighed. “Those sticks are man-made versions of the reeds remigins use in swamps. Reusable and sharper. I’ve seen people with dangerous animals as pets, but I’ve never seen something quite like this.”

  “Do you think that’s all of them?”

  Hunters had begun digging through the containers to find anything useful. Swords, food, and gold were all around at both camps and Skrale decided to let Krelik decide what happened with all of it. If the remigins were dealt with, our contract was over. Now it was the confusion of what would come next.

  “I think it is.”

  Skrale briefly touched my arm then walked over and knelt by Kully. When he stood, he ordered the corporals and medics to move the dead humans into a row at the edge of the Etikstan camp. The heavies moved the remigin corpses nearby. Iliun dropped a body and vomited, then picked it up and kept carrying. Nobody argued, but the discomfort was clear.

  I checked on Kully multiple times, but he remained unconscious and Teke thought he would remain so for some time. I still continued to ask about his condition regularly. Teke would’ve normally been annoyed by such persistent questions, but he gave me a real answer every time I asked. Eventually, Heff waved me over and helped me calm down with him, Rexel, and Palon. Skrale took charge of the prisoners with Orkin and Widdy.

  The four of us sat with some Etikstan chests behind our backs and watched the smoke rise from the fire. Darkness covered the forest with only hints of moonlight penetrating the canopy. Everything smelled strongly of smoke. Palon fell asleep while sitting, so his head hung with his chin on his breastplate. I yawned often, but remained awake until Tullinbran soldiers arrived. Second squad slowly followed behind the collection of soldiers and joined with us once the Tullinbran men stopped marching. Henli went to Kully’s side and received the same response from Teke that all of us have heard already.

  Krelik went straight to Skrale. He wasn’t wearing his official King’s guard armor, as he was probably sleeping when our scouts arrived. Instead, he wore some leather armor and plain cloth trousers with ragged boots. The two men talked and pointed and looked around. It was a lively conversation to see without being in range to hear the words. Lekk came and sat beside Heff and myself and leaned his head on Heff’s shoulder.

  “Soldiers took charge of the other camp. We don’t know what Krelik plans to do with the remigins.” Lekk yawned and adjusted his head’s position.

  “They should kill them,” I said.

  Lekk, Heff, and Rexel looked me. They were surprised since they expected me to be the advocate of saving all creatures possible. I didn’t look at them. I continued to watch the fire.

  “Those soldiers controlled them. Couldn’t they be given a normal life?” asked Rexel.

  I shook my head. “They’re trained to eat humans. And there aren’t swamps anywhere near here. If we let them out in the wild here, they would either die or kill and upset the food chain. It would be better to kill them quickly.”

  “Beatrice,” said Skrale loudly as he waved me over.

  “Excuse me, gentlemen.”

  Heff pushed me to help me stand, but it nearly knocked me over instead. I walked around the fire and stifled a yawn as I approached the commanders.

  “Great work, sergeant, “ said Krelik.

  I nodded and remained silent.

  “Skrale tells me you utilized your company’s explosives to win these fights.”

  I looked at Skrale. I wasn’t sure if I was supposed to respond or if he was just stating something. Skrale gave me a tiny nod.

  “Yes, sir. We ambushed the first camp with a single tellick bomb, then quickly finished the others off. The second camp ambushed us, but our munitions experts had bombs ready that quickly turned the odds in our favor.”

  “Can you explain how you defended against the ambush?”

  “I put our heavies in front with their shields and armor. Munitions were on the sides to avoid accidents with the bombs. We heard hissing from the remigins, which I had already heard and recognized. Groose lit a tree on fire to use as an enormous torch, then the element of surprise was gone because we could see the enemies. Then bombs, and fighting.”

  Krelik looked at Skrale and smiled. It looked like an unfriendly smile to me, but I was tired and having trouble focusing. I told Skrale my opinion on how to handle the remigins. He thanked me and agreed with me and said he’d talk to Krelik. Our company was dismissed to return to camp where Krelik had chefs making dinner. Skrale promised we would talk in the morning to decide the next step for the company.

  Palon, Teke, and Rux carefully carried Kully back to camp. Krelik had offered to bring him to the medical wing of the castle, but Teke refused without any sign of politeness. They brought him into Skrale’s big tent where Teke had his full bag of supplies. Everyone else ate the warm st
ew that was made for us, but Teke remained in the tent with Kully. I wanted to check on them, but I knew Teke would need the privacy to do his best work. Orkin stayed close to the tent and promised he would assist Teke through the night.

  “You need some sleep, Bea. I’ll wake you if Teke or Kully ask for you.”

  I thanked him and crawled into my tent and quickly fell asleep.

  Remigin Hunt - Day 175-176 of the year 546

  Unknown creatures, later discovered to be remigins from a distant land, feasted on seven families in the farms surrounding Lamberg. After a failed attempt to protect all twelve families, a hunt took place with Oitter as our lead tracker. We came across an Etikstan camp in the woods with the remigins in cages. After a quick clash, we took the last remaining soldier alive and moved on to the next camp, where we were ambushed by creatures and people. Our company won the fight with one serious injury to Fourth squad’s medic, Kully.

  Note: Not a normal hunt, as the creatures were trained and far away from their natural habitat.

  Part of an ongoing contract with the Kingdom of Tullinbran and his majesty King Hogreth.

  Day 177

  Orkin woke me early in the morning. It felt like I hadn’t even slept yet, but the sun had risen. A few people were awake, though most of the company was still asleep.

  “Kully’s awake and moving. He asked for you right away.”

  “Did you sleep at all?”

  Orkin’s eyes were bloodshot and his face was pale. He looked ill.

  “I did. Teke woke me just before I came here.”

  I followed Orkin through the camp to Skrale’s tent. Inside, Skrale sat on the ground beside Teke. Both of them looked infinitely worse than Orkin. It was obvious they hadn’t slept at all and they were both drinking something from mugs. Kully had a collection of bags and pillows behind him to prop him up. His leg was covered in clean bandages.