The Dreadful Hunt

by J. E. Thompson

  “Let’s find a better place to stay tonight, Vexx,” Kaylin insisted. “I need a good night’s sleep this time!”

  “And there we are,” Doctor Fansee said, finally ending with the last herb. He slid the pile of coins across the stall. Vexx swept them into his coin purse, beaming as it was filled to the brim.

  “Nice doing business with you, Doc. Maybe I’ll pick up some more potions tomorrow.”

  Doctor Fansee nodded, his white hair waving in the air. “Best place to spend your freshly earned coin is here, I would say. But I will be doing business quite briskly, so I figure you should come early. As it is, I’ll be working through half the night just to brew it up. At least I have enough spearmint for my signature flavor.”

  Vexx raised a hand in goodbye before merging into the crowd around them. Even though boatloads of dungeoneers had pushed outward to the islands around Oerchenbrach, the town itself was still bustling with both visitors and locals. They made their way through the evening market, knocking on the doors of a few inns until they came across one with two available rooms.

  “Well, they haven’t come back since yesterday,” the burly innkeeper announced with a shrug of his muscular shoulders. “Said they were chartering a fishing boat for Blackscale Island, and I haven’t seen hide nor hair of them since. Sold what they’d left in the rooms just before you came.”

  “Glad to hear it,” Vexx said, paying the exorbitant rate, barely managing to hide his grimace at the price.

  The innkeeper deposited the coins in a wooden chest which he then swiftly locked. “You’re glad to hear people may have died? You dungeoneers are a strange lot, and that’s a fact. But it’s good for business, at least.”

  “The elf and I will take one room,” Shy announced as they descended into the inn’s common room, setting a firm hand on Kaylin’s shoulder.

  “Sure, fine,” Vexx replied.

  “Oh…that’s nice of you, Shy.”

  A booming chorus of laughter echoed from the common room as a jester finished cartwheeling, sinking into a dramatic bow, the tinkling balls on his hat chiming out a tune as he whipped it off. The dungeoneers found themselves spots at a long table, calling out for stew and bread as those around them hammered their fists on the table and yelled a barrage of compliments and insults toward the inn’s entertainers.

  “And then the cave troll popped his head off just like that,” a man wearing stained leather armor exclaimed, his light brown hair whipping around as he gestured excitedly toward the group of adventurers around him. A few chuckles followed in the loud common room as the man uncorked a bottle of wine and poured himself a glass.

  “What’d you do then?” someone asked. The sounds of music could barely be heard over the chatter as Vexx looked over in curiosity, paying little attention to his rapidly cooling stew.

  “I got him with my spear,” a man at the other side of the table said. “Stuck him good, I did, though it broke when he thrashed around.”

  “Some other freelancers joined in and started hitting the troll from the sides,” the first man continued with a hint of contempt. “The troll grabbed one and pounded him face-first against the rocks. Took down a couple more, but all of us were cutting it down, and some sorceress was hitting it with shards of ice. Caught one in the back of my armor too,” he grumbled. “Hard to say who ended up killing it.”

  “Was there anything inside the cave?” Vexx asked in curiosity.

  The man looked over.

  “No,” he grumbled. “Just some smelly bedding and a lot of old bones. Those men died for nothing. Though I suppose we came out with a good deal of experience, eh?”

  “That we did,” the spearman said, nodding at his comrade. “That we did.”

  “We made it to the Central Island,” a dwarf broke in, sloshing a mug of ale and spattering those around him. He had a patchy orange beard and a stained bandage covering the left side of his face. “Bunch of damned Lizardfolk came out of a cave, damn near butchered us all! Well, I got out, along with a few of my other crew, but we were damn lucky!”

  “Do you think the egg’s there?” a voice shouted, and other adventurers craned their necks to listen.

  “Don’t know,” the dwarf admitted. “But I do know that everyone with a stick and a dream in their heart has already trampled every patch of grass in three of the five islands. There are only two left with any sort of danger: the Central Island and Blackscale Island.” He thumped the table with his fist. “And I’m going to Blackscale next. Does anyone want to join me for a cut of the winnings? Lost all me crew, so…”

  Vexx leaned back, staring into his congealed stew as a few dungeoneers pressed the dwarf for more details. Finally, he took a bite, mulling over the new information as he fed himself mechanically. The din of the common room faded into the background.

  Only two islands, he says…and we’ve already been to Blackscale.

  “What do you think?” he asked Shy, who sat there thoughtfully, taking a long drink of her ale. Beside her, Kaylin was being chatted up by a tattooed elf, though she seemed to be fixated on the man’s food. He slid it over after a moment, and Kaylin dug in with wild abandon, sending bits of food flying through the air. The tattooed elf blinked, then rose from his seat and said his goodbyes.

  “It’s worth a try,” she said. “But perhaps we could team up with some others first?” Shy leaned in close. “They’d make for good meat shields, Master…”

  “So, you’re in?” the dwarf bellowed, looking around him and receiving a few nods. “What about you, magey boy? And you two ladies?”

  “Thinking about it,” Vexx replied.

  The dwarf scoffed. “Are you even up to the challenge? What have you even killed?”

  “Hah! How about a cyclops?” Vexx replied, staring down the dwarf. “And that’s just for starters. It was only the other day that we butchered a few minotaurs.”

  “You’re joking! With those muscles!”

  “Oh, Vexx!” Kaylin looked over excitedly. “Remember when we killed that knight?”

  A hush fell around their section of the bar. Other curious, scarred faces looked over.

  “Hah…” Vexx leaned over to slap Kaylin on the back. “She doesn’t speak so well. What she meant was that she’s killed in the night. You know how elves are in low light.”

  A few grudging nods followed, but Kaylin just looked confused.

  “No, we killed a paladin—”

  “A pal I didn’t know so well,” Vexx finished in a hurry. “Turns out, he was a bad sort. Had to go.”

  The dwarf scratched his patchy orange beard. “No offense, friend, but I don’t think we’ll be joining up with you.”

  “None taken.” Vexx leaned over to whisper furiously in Kaylin’s ear. “Don’t talk about that! We need to go!”

  “Ow!” Kaylin’s ears twitched as she backed away. “I can hear you just fine, Vexx! Elf hearing, you know?”

  “Right, right,” Vexx said as he and Shy rose to their feet. He helped the reluctant Kaylin leave the table, and they passed by another chattering group of dungeoneers eager to squeeze into the area they’d just left. “Don’t talk about that time we killed the paladin, alright?” he said in a soft voice.

  “Why not?” Kaylin blinked. “He was a tough fight. Probably our toughest. And the dwarf was asking—”

  “Never mind him. Just…people might get the wrong idea.”

  “Okay,” Kaylin said uncertainly as they stepped away from the common room.

  “Sir! Sir!”

  Vexx glanced over in surprise to see a red-faced gnome approaching them in a hurry.

  “Hey, friend, I don’t know what you think you might have heard, but—”

  “Are you in the market for fine magical goods?”

  Vexx blinked. “Uh…yeah.”

  “Great! Come on, then,” the gnome said, waving them out of the tavern. Glancing at the others, Vexx shrugged and followed him out into the cool night of Oerchenbrach. The traffic around them had thinne
d considerably as the long day had turned to night, but even so, the gnome kept to a surprisingly quick pace as he waddled over to an alley. Vexx approached warily, ready to douse the gnome in flames if he tried anything. Instead, the gnome simply approached a large locked box, knelt and produced a key, then stood back to display the goods illuminated by the nearby streetlight.

  “What do you think, sir? Some fine goods for a sorcerer, I would say!”

  Vexx whistled, gazing at a collection of mana potions, but he knew Doctor Fansee could beat whatever product this other gnome offered. He looked over a shimmering dagger and then stared at a silver staff with a wolf’s skull cunningly designed at the top.

  “What’s this?”

  “Oh, you have an eye for elegance, sir, you truly do!” The gnome smiled up at Vexx. “This is a powerful magical staff!”

  “Is it?” He felt that he could sense the power within, but checked with Shyola just to be sure.

  “That’s definitely magical,” she confirmed. “Although I can’t say what the effect of using it would be.”

  “What does it do?” Vexx asked.

  “Ah, the thing is…I am not gifted with the ability to sense magical items, my good sir,” the gnome explained. “I’m just a merchant, as it were.”

  “Really? And how did you come across this?”

  “It came into my hands.”

  “Are you a thief?” Kaylin growled at the gnome, who bristled at the accusation.

  “Not at all! Look…I may have scavenged loot from fallen dungeoneers. There are plenty of brave souls around here who met their end on their adventures. Well, I came across them before they were properly buried. There’s nothing wrong with that. It’s fair game, as we all know.”

  Vexx had to admit the gnome had a point. “I don’t suppose you’ve come across a bow and armor fitted for an elf, have you?”

  The gnome shook his head. “It’s all here, barring a wand and a crossbow I sold earlier.”

  “Sorry, Kaylin,” Vexx said, to the elf’s indifferent shrug. “Alright, how much for the staff?”

  The Central Island

  The first rays of dawn illuminated Vexx’s new wolf-head staff as their fishing boat drifted toward the Central Island outside Oerchenbrach.

  Kaylin sniffed as they approached.

  “I can’t believe you spent all that money on a staff when I don’t even have any armor or a bow,” she grumbled, adjusting her purple robe.

  “I found most of the herbs,” Vexx insisted. “I can spend my herb money however I want.”

  Kaylin frowned but made no reply as the fishing boat ground along the shore. To Vexx’s mild surprise, they hadn’t even been the first landing that morning, and the party of dungeoneers had watched as another boat docked into the Central Island’s tranquil cove and trailed into the depths of the island. Most of the rafts here were clearly unattended, and it wasn’t long before Vexx and the others noticed the fallen bodies strewn along the beach.

  Their deaths were markedly similar to the ones along the beach at Blackscale Island. This time, Vexx recognized the burn marks.

  “It isn’t from fire,” he observed, squatting by a fallen spearman. “It was caused by caustic acid. Keep in mind that the Lizardfolk can spit acid if you get too close. Or some of them can, at least.”

  “Did you find any bows?” Kaylin asked hopefully as she knelt by another one, rummaging through his pockets in disappointment. “Oh, he’s already been picked over.”

  “Nothing here,” Vexx announced as he rose to his feet. In the distance, he saw the recent boatload of dungeoneers walking uphill and opted to go somewhere else. Fortunately, it didn’t take long before Kaylin spotted a cave entrance.

  “Let’s go in here,” she said, waving for the others to join her. “These Lizardfolk like their caves. I bet it’s connected to somewhere good!”

  “Works for me,” Vexx said, feeding a little power into his wolf-head staff to light their way. “If we just—”

  A fireball launched outward, slamming into the cave ceiling and pelting the dungeoneers with shards of rock and falling dirt.

  “Dammit, Master!” Shyola snapped, raising her arms to shield herself. “Careful!”

  “Uh, sorry,” Vexx stammered in confusion. After a moment, the rumbling had settled down, and a sputtering flame emerged from the wolf-head staff. He briefly considered feeding more magic into it but opted to keep it as it was, raising his staff as if it were a torch. “Must be the growing pains of getting used to a new staff.”

  “I understand,” Kaylin said, taking the lead. “I’m like that with new bows.”

  “And old bows,” Shyola muttered.

  Kaylin glared at her but kept walking.

  The dungeoneers proceeded onward at a steady pace on the path. In one side room, they came across a festering stench as a few flies buzzed around a pile of filth in the corner.

  “Lizardfolk feces,” Shyola observed dispassionately.

  Vexx grimaced, and the dungeoneers continued along the increasingly narrow passageway. At first, it seemed to be heading down into the depths of the island, but soon after, the elevation changed again, heading upwards.

  “I hear water up ahead,” Kaylin said, darting forward, and the others hurried to keep up with her.

  “Careful, Kaylin,” Vexx huffed as he joined her. “We don’t want to get into an ambush.”

  “Oh, I’d hear them,” she said in what she seemed to think was a reassuring tone. Vexx and Shyola were unconvinced. “Look up ahead, though,” she said, making a final turn and pointing to where a steady stream of water was falling.

  “Ah, we’re inside the exit of a waterfall,” Shyola observed. “We must be well into the interior of the island by now, unless my senses are gone completely.”

  “It’s been a pretty straight shot, more or less,” Vexx agreed, hesitating at the falling water. A few stray splashes fell on his robes as he smelled the damp air around him.

  “Let’s go!” Kaylin said mischievously, grabbing him by the arm and hauling him out along with her. Vexx felt an icy shock as the cold water drenched him, chilling him to the bone as he staggered out and nearly over the rock ledge directly in front of them.

  When he inched closer to peek over the edge, he saw that there was a significant drop below into a patch of rough jungle. Vexx muttered to himself, raking a hand through his hair before squeezing out his robes. Shyola joined them, grim-faced and sopping wet, but Kaylin just grinned.

  There were hills all around them, encircling the thick jungle below, although a well-maintained trail clearly led into the jungle. It even turned at certain places in switchbacks, cunningly built into the slope. Vexx wondered just who had created it, and how long ago it had been. Out of habit, he sent a trickle of mana into his wolf-head staff for a small flame, but a fireball streaked upward into the sky like a flare.

  “Master!” Shyola sent him a reproachful glare, shaking her hair out and splattering him with droplets of water. “Do you want us to be detected?”

  “Uh, I’m sorry,” he stammered, letting go of his magical energy entirely and snuffing out the flames immediately. “That doesn’t usually happen!”

  “You can play with your staff later,” Kaylin said, already making her way down the path.

  “Fine,” Vexx grunted, joining her.

  I’ll just dry on the march, I suppose.

  But even with the bright sun beating down on them from above, his robes remained stubbornly damp as they continued along the winding jungle path. Then they were among large plants and a few towering trees of verdant green that had vines draped from their limbs. The dungeoneers continued in silence, now shaded from the sun, slowing down as they scanned the trees around them for signs of threats.

  It was on one winding turn that they caught a clear look downhill. In a morass of muddy, algae-filled water, they made out the tower of what must have been an old Imperial guardhouse. It had sunk into a pond, or perhaps a moat had flooded after many centuries
. Even in the distance, Vexx could make out two or three Lizardfolk wading through the murky pond.

  “That must be their lair,” Shyola whispered as they crept closer, though the Lizardfolk were still too far to hear their approach.

  “Did you know there was an Imperial garrison here?” Kaylin asked. “You know, because of how old you are.”

  The succubus snorted. “The Empire had a presence just about everywhere. I went to many garrison towns, true enough, but I can’t be expected to know wherever one legion or another planted their flags. Besides, that hardly matters now.”

  “A dragon wouldn’t lay an egg down there, would it?” Vexx asked. “I mean, if any really exist out here.”

  “You think those are all rumors?” Shy asked with a chuckle. “Well, I can’t say that I really know what life is like these days. Even back in my day, dragons were rare. But I wouldn’t be surprised at anything we come across. We ran into the frost wyrm that kept itself in a state of stasis, after all… perhaps a dragon really has remained unseen.”

  “Maybe,” Vexx said doubtfully.

  “Either way, we’re dungeoneers,” Kaylin cut in with a gleam in her eye. “And I mean to get some loot! I just know there’s going to be good stuff in there!”

  “That means a lot of fighting ahead.”

  “Worried, Master?”

  “Not worried, but…” Vexx scratched his head, staring at the wolf-head staff in his hands as he walked along. “Not sure why I can’t quite get the hang of using this.”

  “Maybe you shouldn’t have sold your old staff,” Kaylin suggested.

  “You say that now,” Vexx replied with a frown. “What did you say at the time? ‘That could buy us dessert,’ I believe?”

  “Yeah, well…” Kaylin pouted. “I was right. And it was delicious.”

  “True enough, for mortal fare,” Shyola agreed as they continued working their way downhill.

  “Yes…yes, it was,” Vexx admitted. “Who knew ice mages could freeze chocolate-flavored cream and make it taste so good?”

  A flash of motion from above was the only warning they had. Vexx leaped to the side just as a burst of acid sailed through the air, burning into the trail where he had just been. Kaylin had dodged as well, and Shyola charged, her spectral whip carving an arcing path that sliced clear through the nearest tree. Vexx caught the briefest glance of the startled Lizardman that had been perched in one of the tree limbs before the entire tree toppled to the ground. He collapsed in a heap just as Kaylin leaped forward, stabbing him three times in quick succession.