Twenty-five men stood in the courtyard. Under old, damaged armours, they wore the signs of hunger and abuse. Most of the hands gripped their rusty weapons with desperate vigour. A few of them could barely lift them. The hunters were in an adjacent room. Dhorros gave his final instructions. "Alright, listen carefully. Chala expects us to bring proof of the kills, so this must be done. You're hunters. You know we do hard work. If it makes it easier, remember you're fighting criminals, and they won't ever leave this place alive anyway." Talhios raised a timid hand. "Are we sure they are guilty?" The look his leader gave him froze him. "I let Matheon behind for a reason, and it was not for you to jump into his shoes." The young hunter looked down and swallowed the lump in his throat.
"Now, this is a battle, and it will be messy. I want it to be messy. We can't expect things to go our way and allow us to apply our usual battle formation." Dhorros looked at each of his hunters before continuing, "Here are your personnel assignments." He took a deep breath and stepped in front of the woman. "Elliana, I want each of your strikes to kill." Eyes set with determination, the apprentice gave a sharp nod. Then the older hunter moved to Talhios. "You don't have anyone to protect this time, and I don't want you to. Use your shield for offence and get kills." Thalios winced, he paled, but he nodded. Lastly, Dhorros gave his instructions to Ethios. "You fight alone; your challenge is not to get hit. At all. Focus on your defence and kill only when there's a good opportunity." The young hunter's face hardened. "Alone," he echoed.
Without another word, Dhorros turned toward the door opening on the courtyard and opened it. The three young hunters walked out, summoning their weapons.
Once on the open, they dispersed as their mentor had instructed and focused on their fight. Ethios walked on the left, swinging his mace and eyeing his opponents. The twenty-five criminals stood loosely in the courtyard, weapons unready: no formation or teamwork. "Here we go," he grunted. And he rushed in. He went for the frail ones, bashing three skulls in a geyser of blood, brain matter, and shadow. Dark flames hovered above his head, as two translucent white eyes danced in them. His enemies understood the signal; several of them closed in on him, rusty, damaged blades pointed at him.
Elliana went on the right. She focused on her stance and footwork, trying to close the distance to strike. But for now, the convicts avoided her, staying out of range. She couldn't find any opportunity to attack, and her frustration was building. "Fight me," she screamed, charging forward. She saw the opening, but she knew the thrust would not be fatal. Obeying her mentor, she restrained herself and continued working on her positioning.
Hidden behind his shield, Talhios advanced steadily. He let the tentacles of his beast weapon grow and twist hungrily in the air. Focus on offence. Get kills. He repeated the lines over and over in his mind. Trying to focus on his link with his shadow beast to let his intent be known. Three men charged him. He met them head-on. Slamming his shield forward into the closest one. The tentacles became straight and stiff as spikes and pierced his opponent's body. Side-stepping the dying man wriggling on the floor, he faced the next one. A nervous small man, holding a round shield and a short sword. They circled each other slowly. Then pain exploded in his head as a blinding light took his vision away. Stumbling on the ground, he tasted blood. Through blurry eyes, he saw the sword wielder approach, weapon armed to strike.
Don't get hit. You're alone. Ethios let his grief and anger loose, holding just enough self-control to avoid reckless manoeuvres. Seven corpses lay behind him, the cobblestone slippery with their blood. The survivors were keeping their distance. The one with the shield stood in front of their teammates. Small units started to move together, circling the hunters. You're alone. Forever. Moving through the battlefield, he passed a dying man moaning on the ground. With a flick of his wrist, he slammed his mace on the head. It exploded with a soft bursting sound, like an overripe melon. I'm alone. Ethion is dead.
Now she had to retreat. Four men were moving to flank her. She glanced at the corner of the wall. I need to cut their options. She rushed toward the safer place. An enemy tried to grab her. At last! She jumped on the side, mid-air, twisted her body and struck. The spear pierced her opponent's heart. The shadow weapon wailed with unholy joy. Tendrils spread under the skin of the wound. "Not now, you'll feed later," said Elliana, withdrawing the weapon from the dead body. The wail of the shadow beast turned into frustration. Glancing at her opponents, she saw they were frozen in place. Scrambling back toward the wall, she smiled. "You thought I was an easy prey, didn't you?"
Ethion is dead. One more corpse hit the ground heavily, his face a mess of broken bones. I'm alone. Something in the corner of his eyes caught his attention. His head snapped toward the scene. He saw Talhios kneeling on the ground; two convicts going for the kill. One with a heavy mace, the other with a sword and shield. He shook his head. I'm alone? Bullshit! He rushed toward his friend, throwing his shadow weapon toward the other mace wielder. It hit the man squarely in the back, making him stumble and miss Talhios.
Ethos pushed his body to the limit, gathering speed. Then he jumped over the defeated convict and kicked forward toward the sword wielder with both feet. The man gave a panicked swing with his sword, opening a deep gash in the hunter's leg, before being thrown back by the impact of the incoming body.
Still no opening for a kill strike. This is so annoying. Did I train wrong until now? Is that what Dhorros is trying to make me understand? I thought I was ready. She heard Ethios scream. Elliana moved slightly to see beyond the wall of flesh that blocked her way. She saw her friend on the ground, disarmed, bleeding. Talhios was crawling toward him, trying to shield him, while the remaining enemies were closing in on them. "Oh, the fuck with those rules." Her hand was a blur as she launched a flurry of attacks on all levels. Minor wounds appeared on her opponents' bodies. Black flowers bloomed from them, tentacles writhing and finding their way into the flesh. The men crumbled on the ground, their mouths open in silent agony. They clawed their own flesh, trying to get the corrupted flower out. Elliana's spear shivered with pleasure. "Yes, you can feast now." Leaving the dying men behind, she sprinted toward her comrades.
Surrendering control to his shadow beast, Talhios let the shield move his body. Each impact made the pain in his head worse. He tried to look around, but his vision was too blurry. He searched for his friend's body with his hand. "Ethios?" He asked, "You're alive?" The other hunter groaned back, "Yeah, just got my leg slashed." His friend urged him, "Get up quickly, we need to end this." He stumbled at a stronger hit that smashed into his shield. He felt himself lose consciousness for a second before snapping back to reality. "Get your weapon and fight, Ethios. I can't take that many more hits." The next onslaught made him lose feeling in his legs, his knees buckled, and he fell. Ethios rose at the same time, swinging his mace widely. He kept the convicts at bay, but he didn't do any damage. "May our name burn forever," muttered Talhios. A firm grip lifted him up. "If it hurts, we're not dead. Fight!" Yelled Ethios. The tall hunter groaned. "We need a miracle to win."
Six armed men remained, faces grim. Focused on the work at hand. The two hunters stood back to back, preparing themselves for their last stand. "Dying here is less glorious than the battles of old," said Talhios without thinking. Ethios' angry voice answered, "Will you shut up? I hope we survive so I can beat the shit out of you." Talhios chuckled. He rested his tower shield on the ground. He didn't have the strength to keep it up. He had to wait for the last moment to counter. He saw in the eyes of the three men closing in that the moment drew near.
Dark flowers bloomed on the three men's chests, arms, and legs. They had a look of utter surprise before their face took an expression of excruciating pain as they fell silently and writhed in agony on the ground. Behind stood Elliana, her spear undulating violently, like an angry snake. The sickening aura stronger than ever. "Hello there," she said, smirking, "Call me Miracle." Talhios grinned and groaned before calling his last strength to lift the shield and move in front of Ethios to protect him. "Push me as hard as you can," he whispered to his friend. The mace wielder obeyed without question and propelled the shield bearer forward, straight toward one of the remaining enemies. Talhios called on his last strength to summon the spikes on his shield. The pierced body was a corpse as it hit the ground. The hunter tried to roll on his back. But his last strength faded. He lay still on top of his last victim.
An axe drew a line of death toward Ethios. I can't really dodge that one. But you're going down with me. He moved his head to the side at the last moment, the dull blade slammed into his chest. He heard ribs crack. "You take my ribs, I take your head," he groaned. He swung his mace, and an almost headless corpse collapsed. Only one enemy remained. Ethios shrugged; he knew he couldn't dodge this one. No way he would be nimble enough to avoid the spear point wobbling in front of him. The last convict screamed and attacked. Then an undulating shadow spear flew through his head, taking off his jaw that clattered on the cobblestone.
Elliana walked toward her comrades. She was the only one not wounded. She winced. Talhios' hair was soaked with blood, and the gash in Ethios' leg was quite deep. Catching movement coming from the building, she looked up. Dhorros was strolling toward them, flanked by two figures in white robes so dirty they looked grey. So they have healers here?
She stood straight. Awaiting the appraisal from her mentor. And knowing they had failed their assignment. Dhorros looked at her and smiled. Elliana frowned; she didn't understand what was going on.
The next day, they rode on a cart back to the whisperers' settlement. Ethios and Talhios were lying on the back of the wagon. Next to them, a bloody bag contained their victims' severed thumbs. Proof of their kill to give to Chala. Dhorros and Elliana sat at the front. The woman spoke, "Master, we're sorry we failed our assignment. We will train and be worthy of your teachings." The older hunter scoffed. Then he turned toward the back and asked. "You're awake, boys?" Two groans answered his question. "Good, then I won't have to repeat myself." He locked eyes with Elliana and asked, "When someone gives you stupid orders that will kill you, why do you follow them?" The female apprentice felt her body grow cold. She grabbed the side of the wooden seat to avoid falling. Breathless, she muttered, "Master?"