The last villager was leaving the settlements. A small line of carts was slowly driving north, toward the wilderness. Kaelun stayed behind, standing next to Dhorros. The boy, Kaelor, hid behind him, the little dog at his side. The whisperers' leader's eyes didn't leave his people as they escaped death, only to be plunged into uncertainty and danger. His eyes were hard when he said, "Thank you, Dhorros, you did something brave by disobeying Chala." The older hunter rolled his shoulders, as if his back was hurting. He finally answered, "You escape today, but there is a greater danger coming." Kaelun scoffed. "Don't worry, we will stay away from the hunters." Dhorros winced. "If only it were that easy."
The dog barked once. It looked at the people walking in the distance, then looked at its human. It nibbled at the boy's ankle. Wasn't it time to leave? Kaelun's frown deepened. "What are you talking about, Dhorros?" The hunter cracked his knuckles, eyes lost far away. "History is repeating itself. There have been signs that a master anomaly will appear soon." The whisperer paled and answered, "There's nothing we can do then. It will be up to the hunters to defend the world." The veteran locked eyes with him and said, "The hunters are not strong enough to fight it. We didn't recover from the last one."
Kaelor asked timidly, "Shouldn't we leave now?" Kaelun ruffled his hair and said, "Go, I'll catch up soon." When the boy was out of earshot, he turned toward Dhorros again. "Then there's nothing we can do." The hunter's eyes grew even more intense. "There's not only the hunters. We're gathering warriors. This time, everyone has to fight." The long-haired blond man shook his head. "Whisperers are peaceful, and we don't have any fighting abilities." Dhorros smiled, "Then maybe it is time you learn how to fight." Kaelun scoffed and answered, "Who would even teach us? You?"
The hunter chuckled. "I have my hands full with the hunters. If you can't find someone to teach you, find someone who can tell me where to find a teacher." Kaelun looked at him, puzzled, then his eyes widened as he sighed, "Rodrigo."
He looked to the north and said, "I'd better catch up with Kaelor and say goodbye." Elliana intervened, "Take him with you. He needs that." The tall man looked at the woman pensively, then he nodded and walked away. As the whisperer leader left the settlement, leaving the five hunters alone, the tension dropped. Talhios took a deep breath and said, "God, that was nerve-racking! What do we do now, boss? We got the loot, we can go home." Dhorros looked at his apprentices; a dark light shone in his eyes. "Not yet, we still need bodies."
The tension came back stronger than before. It felt like the air was too heavy to breathe. Dhorros gave his orders, "Matheon, you stay here and guard the cart. Do whatever is necessary to protect it. The others, with me." Then he started trotting away to the west. The younger hunters glanced at each other. Ethios shrugged. They followed their leader.
Matheon sat on the cart. He buried his head in his trembling hands. "Oh god! Oh god! No! Thank you, Dhorros." Since no one was watching him, he let the tears fall.
The group of hunters ran through a forest. Dhorros yelled, "We ned to make haste, summon your shadow beasts." The hunters' skin erupted in dark, oily tendrils of smoke. Like they burned with a cold fire, eating away at their life. Their speed increased, and soon four blazes of darkness flew between the trees.
It was nightfall when they reached a small city, protected by crumbling walls. Guards in mismatched armour challenged them. But they quickly let them pass when they recognized the hunters' uniforms.
The streets were full of shadows and trash. Indistinct figures sat against mouldy walls. Dhorros walked straight ahead without breaking stride. "Where are we?" Asked, Talhios. The leader answered. "This is the antechamber of death." With grim faces, they continued toward the most prominent building in the city, a giant grey block of stone. Sentries could be seen patrolling up above.
The heavy wooden door echoed hollowly under Dhorros' mighty fist as he knocked. The door opened like the jaw of an old, sick animal. The young hunters covered their noses as the stench of shit and death assaulted them. A greasy, fat man, almost bald, wearing a uniform too small for him, appeared in the doorway. "Dhorros?" He said, "Long time no see." Glancing at the crew, he added, "Come in." Elliana and Thalios exchanged a worried glance, then they followed the others inside.
Feeble candles did their best to bring light and hope to the damp underground facility. They failed, but kept trying. Like a man lost in the ocean, refusing to drown, even when fate was already set on his death. The fat man led them through tunnels. Periodically, they had to stop as he opened and closed heavy doors. They reached an open square room with tiny square windows high toward the ceiling, letting in the tiniest sliver of light. A partially rotten table lay in the middle of the room. Their guide slammed five cups on the table and poured something into them. "The water is not good around here, so it's all I have to offer you," he said, cackling.
After carefully slipping on his cup and almost choking on the strong alcohol, Talhios carefully set his cup on the table again. The guard drank his in one go. "So how many do you want today, Dhorros?" He scratched his poorly shaven jaw before continuing, "I have five, no six, that are ready." The hunter leader slowly drank his cup and set it on the table upside down. "I need twenty-five," he said. Their host gaped. "Twenty-five? Are you mad? I couldn't ever hide that many!" Dhorros threw a heavy purse on the table. It opened enough on impact to let a few gold coins roll around. One fell from the table, the twinkling sound as it touched the ground echoed loudly in the empty room.
When silence claimed the room again, Dhorros asked, "Can you provide what I need? Or do I need to take my business elsewhere?" The man was staring at the gold, clenching and unclenching his jaw. "The best I can do is twenty, if you're looking for a challenge. The others are too frail." The hunter shrugged, "Add them in too, I don't care about their age, just about the number." The guard looked at the three young hunters. "It's not my place to tell, but are you sure about that? Your crew looks brand new. What happened to the old group anyway?"
After a moment of silence, Dhorros answered, "My old crew were hunters." The guard nodded and mumbled, "May their names burn forever." He waited a few seconds before glancing at the three other hunters and said hesitantly, "You have only three?" The hunter leader shook his head, "I had five, I have four now. One is not ready for this." The man poured himself another drink and said, "Alright, let's get to it. How do we do that? Duels?"
Elliana and Talhios didn't notice they had grabbed each other's hands. They tried not to understand what was going on. But it was getting harder and harder. Ethios, on the other hand, had a feral grin, like he was looking forward to what came next. Their mentor pondered for a while and then said, "No, no duel. A melee. Give them the best weapons and armours you can, and promise them freedom if they win." The guard shook his head and sighed, "You know we can't set them free." Dhorros brought up a fist and clenched it. Dark oily smoke emanated from it. "If they kill my apprentices, we will set them free. Then I'll hunt all of them down myself."