Hunter's Choice

by C E Keene

  Eadric beckoned them inside, gesturing to the table where the servants were busily pulling out chairs until he shooed them off. When he sat, it was after everyone else, and not at the head of the table, despite a higher seat existing there. He sat among them, Higrem to one side, Galen to the other, with Arheis, Mira, and Zindar on the opposite side.

  Most damning of all, he was open and friendly. Even his servants seemed more relaxed than Arheis would have expected. Many of them were even smiling.

  "I know you came here to discuss the crystals, but would you mind if we eat first?" he asked, his bright blue eyes almost pleading. "I've been in meetings all day, and I haven't had the chance to sit down and enjoy a meal."

  "I don't see why not," Arheis said diplomatically.

  No ability had activated, but even without it, he genuinely didn't think the prince was being duplicitous. He seemed almost giddy about the prospect of sitting down to a good meal, and his demeanor was almost contagious.

  "Bring the first course, if you please, Gretta," he said to one of the servants.

  She dipped her head in a bow and hurried off, returning with men and women in crisp white uniforms, each of them carrying a metal cloche on a tray. One was set down before Arheis, the cloche removed to reveal a steaming bowl of creamy white soup.

  He waited for the prince to begin eating, only for the man to gesture to all of them. "Please, enjoy. It's much better hot."

  So Arheis did, dipping his spoon into the piping hot soup. When that portion was finally cool enough to bring to his lips, he caught the taste of parsnips, and an amount of seasoning he suspected wouldn't have been found in the average home.

  It was amazing, and so were the courses that followed. A salad of greens and fresh vegetables, roasted quail that had been cooked with lemon and a bundle of herbs to give it more flavor, and a fruit and cheese plate for dessert.

  Throughout the meal, the prince asked them about themselves and their journey, seeming genuinely engaged with each of them. He followed along with rapt attention when they talked about the creature that ultimately sank the Lady Katherine, and when he asked after Treyous, he seemed to care about the man's prognosis.

  "I can have some supplies sent to De’shal," Eadric said, bringing his goblet to his lips. "They have refused the offer of trade in the past, but perhaps they will allow aid."

  "Seems doubtful," Zindar muttered, his ears folded back. He'd apparently not meant to say that aloud, because his expression turned sheepish soon after. "My people aren't too great at accepting outside help."

  The prince nodded at this. "Would I be offending them by sending anything at all, then?"

  "Probably."

  "Then I will--"

  Before Eadric could finish that sentence, a tremor rocked through the dining room. Plates had been cleared away, but the remaining silverware rattled, threatening to crash to the floor. Goblets teetered and eventually tipped over, spilling wine on the tablecloth. And the chandelier shook so precariously above them that Arheis found himself abandoning his chair and ducking under the table, along with his other companions.

  Everyone except the prince, who was still in his seat, a mildly perturbed look on his face when the quake ended.

  "I was hoping that would hold off until after we were done, but I suppose it is a good segue into the topic you came here to discuss."

  Arheis' nerves jangled together, unsettled by the strange phenomenon. He might not have been a complete stranger to earthquakes, but they'd happened rarely enough that they were still a huge deal to him, no matter how small.

  So much of a huge deal that it took him several moments to even remember what they'd planned to talk about. And when he finally did, he felt an odd sense of wrongness about the whole thing. They'd come here to get answers about why the Crown was involved with man-made crystals that frenzied beasts, but that didn't feel appropriate anymore. Someone like Eadric wouldn't be involved in something like that, Arheis was sure of it.

  Maybe it was a legacy project--something Eadric's father was involved in that stopped when he died.

  "You think the crystals are causing these earthquakes?" Mira asked, the last to rise from the floor.

  "In a sense." He turned in his seat and waved over a couple of servants, smiling at them as they removed the offending goblets and spot-cleaned the tablecloth. "The beast you came across in the tunnels near the coast? It feeds on those crystals."

  "It wasn't acting frenzied," Arheis said with a frown. "At least I don't think it was. We weren't in any position to fight it, so we left as soon as we could."

  "Petravors don't react to the crystals as other beasts do. They're rock-eaters. Their entire digestive system is made to break down rocks and stones and derive nutrients from the minerals within. The crystals are just another part of their diet, but one that I'm told accelerates their growth and makes them more active than they'd otherwise be."

  "Told by who?" Higrem asked, leaning back in his chair like nothing had happened.

  "The Guild, of course," Prince Eadric said. "My father sent countless expeditions into those caves. They studied the creature and eventually killed it, but only because it’d become a nuisance."

  "So one of those beasts is causing the quakes," Arheis mused.

  "It makes sense," Zindar put in. "My people call it the World-Shaper because of the way it carves out new passageways and collapses others. You wouldn't think one beast could do so much damage, but…"

  "The crystals don't help, I'm afraid." Eadric took another sip of his wine. "Over the generations, they've developed an appetite for them. And though there is only ever one Petravor present at a time--they are all females, reproducing without the assistance of a male, and the mother dies immediately after giving birth--it only takes one to cause a significant amount of damage." He paused for a long moment, his lips pursed, brows pinched together. "I don't remember it being this bad when I was a child, but my father had only just started to grow crystals."

  Arheis tensed at that, Archie's words coming back to him. Prince Eadric admitted it as casually as he'd admitted preferring parsnips to carrots earlier in the night.

  "So the crystals are man-made," Arheis said, his tone cautious.

  "Oh, yes. My father hired a number of scientists--Archie among them--to create them."

  "The experiments backfired, then?" Mira asked hopefully. Evidently she--like Arheis--couldn't believe the prince would be involved in such a thing. "Obviously you didn't mean to make something that would frenzy any nearby beasts…"

  "We didn't, no," Eadric said with a smile, "and it's regrettable that it happened that way, but the actual effect has turned out far more effective than what we'd intended."

  For a second, Arheis let himself feel relief. That was immediately washed away when the prince's words sank in.

  "Some time ago, our enemies were using those tunnels to sneak into the city. It was becoming such a problem that my father erected barricade after barricade, but all were blasted through. So instead, he had his scientists and engineers create something that was impervious to that kind of damage. It wasn't successful, I'm afraid. When Havalish showed up again, intending to sneak a handful of assassins into our city, their sappers blasted through the crystals as easily as any other barrier. But they had a nasty surprise waiting for them."

  It was hard to believe what he was hearing. It sounded so normal, so understandable from a distant, unbiased perspective. Of course they wanted to keep their enemies out. But the cost of doing that…

  "There were Occasa living in the caves at one time--an entire cluster of them. The Guild would thin them out every now and again, just to make sure they weren't terrorizing workers with sheer numbers. But they began to find the Occasa were acting particularly aggressive, even when no young were present. It was too dangerous to keep sending Hunters down there, so when the Halalishi burst through, they were met with raw fury they hadn't been expecting."

  "You didn't know it was going to have that effect, thoug
h," Zindar reasoned, "and you can't really be blamed for trying to protect your city."

  It was easy to reason away what the Crown had done, even if doing so made Arheis feel a bit strange. Wasn't it like saying a company polluting the water and killing entire ecosystems wasn't to be blamed just because that wasn't what they'd intended to do with their massive factories? The responsibility was still theirs.

  "If the crystals were concentrated in those caves, how did they get to other regions?" Galen asked.

  A good question, and one Arheis mentally kicked himself for not thinking of. Something wasn't adding up here, and he could feel his suspicion overriding his fondness for Eadric's down-to-earth attitude.

  "Samples were taken from the caves, and the scientists working on the original crystals experimented in different regions to see if the effect was universal."

  "What?" The word came out almost reflexively, and Arheis scrambled to provide coherent thought. "You found out the crystals cause a massive surge in aggression, so you took them to other regions to affect other beasts?"

  "I know how it sounds, but our intent wasn't to recklessly endanger Hunters and citizens. We needed to better understand what we'd made, and that required testing under a variety of conditions."

  That sinking feeling grew, Arheis' meal feeling heavy in his stomach. The entire mood had changed, and even without the bond, he could feel his companions' distress.

  "I can see I've set you on edge," Eadric admitted, his voice sounding sincere. "We can discuss solutions to the problems my father's research created. His legacy is not impervious to change, and I don't wish to put innocent people in danger."

  Some of that tension eased. Enough that Arheis didn't feel like he might be killed by a guard or two once he left the room. It was a crazy thing to think in the first place, when Eadric had shown no sign of violence, but people did crazy things when they felt their empire was about to crumble.

  The prince wasn't behaving like a wild animal backed into a corner, though. He wasn't even defending himself anymore, nor was he continuing to make arguments for use of the crystals. He genuinely seemed interested in doing better than his father before him.

  "I would like to deal with the more immediate danger, though." He nodded down at the lingering stain on the tablecloth and smiled almost playfully. "I think we'd all rest easier with fewer earthquakes. If we can stop this one before she has a chance to mature, we can break the cycle for a while. At least until a new Petravor takes up residence. They seem drawn to those caves, for whatever reason."

  The crystals. It had to be. If they just destroyed the clusters there, that problem--and lots of others--would likely be solved. But despite Eadric's friendly demeanor, Arheis was apprehensive about posing that solution.

  Best to just discuss that with his companions later.

  "I'd like to give you all the chance to slay it," he told Arheis. "You must be itching for a proper fight after what happened with that Exsetus."

  He was somewhat surprised by the offer, considering the existence of Iskaral's Guild Hall, but grateful for it nonetheless. They'd been caught in a string of underwhelming or just plain bad hunts lately. A victory would go a long way to restoring morale--in the abstract sense, and in the sense that his Morale rating would finally nudge upward a bit. So far he hadn't had a chance to perform any Redeeming Actions.

  "We'll need to prepare first," Arheis said after looking to his companions. "A lot of our supplies sank with the ship."

  They'd need to take on some smaller jobs, just as they'd planned. Maybe with the Prince-Regent's authorization, they could even collect a few Guild bounties.

  "I will of course provide a generous stipend," Eadric said. "You're doing this task on my behalf, after all."

  Or the prince could just take care of it that way. Arheis looked to his companions again, trying to read the room.

  "It does seem like the biggest problem right now," Mira admitted.

  Zindar nodded in agreement. "And it's only going to get bigger the more it eats."

  Galen and Higrem gave nods of their own, offering no further comment. As Arheis had apparently been elected leader of their little group, he posed a question he imagined they all had.

  "And we can discuss what to do about the crystals once that's done?"

  "Of course," the prince promised, with no guile in his eyes.

  "Then it's a deal."

  Instinctively he reached across the table to shake. Halfway through he realized how rude of a gesture it was in the presence of royalty, but Eadric was already reaching out to take his hand. He gave it a firm pump then released it, leaving Arheis stunned into silence.

  > Your quest Terrible Tremors has updated!

  Prince-Regent Eadric of Iskaral has given you more information about the cause of the quakes. Return underground and slay the beast before it becomes an even bigger problem for the city.

  They finished their drinks, discussing a few smaller points. Eventually the dinner was over, the prince claiming he had some other business to attend to before bed. He bade Arheis follow him to collect the gold for the stipend, and he did so without trepidation.

  Eadric brought him to an office that was tidy save for the desk. It was covered in books and papers, an inkwell placed near the edge with the quill still in it and a cloth placed below to catch the dripping ink.

  As Arheis watched, the prince produced a key and opened up a drawer. He withdrew a pouch, hefting it in one hand, then offered it to Arheis.

  "If you need more, don't hesitate to ask."

  > You have gained 50,000GC.

  Arheis' eyes widened slightly as he glanced at the many rolls of credits in the pouch. That was far, far more than they needed.

  "This is more than enough, honestly."

  The prince clapped him on the shoulder. "I'd rather you be over-prepared than under. I'm sure you would rather that, too."

  "Thank you, Your Highness. We'll get this done as quickly as we can."

  He started to bow, but Eadric waved him off. He gestured toward the door, escorting Arheis toward it. When they'd nearly reached it, the prince stopped him with a hand on his arm.

  "Do be careful. And Arheis? I expect you to preserve as many of those crystals as you can."

  Before he could say anything in protest, the prince smiled, nodded to a servant, and closed the door.

  18

  That night, they met in the common room of the The Eager Sow, with Galen placing his trademark spell on the table to lessen their chances of being overheard.

  "I don't like it," Mira said almost immediately.

  Before that, Arheis told his companions about the exchange he'd had with the prince. There'd been no malice in the man's voice, no threat that he could detect. But it was something that stuck with him and seemed worth discussing with everyone.

  "He seems really nice," Zindar countered, "and you know how those sorts of people are. We saw it in Dalhurst. They're usually ignorant of what the common people go through."

  "Willfully ignorant," Mira muttered. "Don't forget Dalhurst was hiring new Hunters and sending them after contracts they knew they couldn't complete, just because they could pay them less than veterans."

  Arheis' brows rose at that. Sounded like the corporate world, honestly. Why hire a senior programmer when you could scoop up a bunch of entry-level grunts and pay them peanuts just for the privilege of being there?

  "I think you're right that he doesn't see how devastating these crystals can be, Zindar," Galen mused. "I didn't truly come to terms with it myself until the Nepondus Queen attacked Lacerda."

  Arheis looked down at his drink as a somber mood fell over the table. They'd triumphed--eventually. But lives were lost and Lacerda was forever changed, all because of that single crystal. What would happen if whole formations were allowed to exist unchecked?

  "The guy's a prince,” he said. “He's got enough people working under him to know the risks, he's just decided they're worth it."

  Higrem had
n't said much since they left Lacerda, and when he did speak, it was usually something contentious. Now was no different.

  "You can sit here and damn the guy for putting people he doesn't know in danger, but he's protecting his city. His people. His family."

  "You can't just trade life like that," Mira said, giving him a hard look. "You can't say one person is more important than another; that they deserve to live more than someone else."

  "Can't you?" There was something rough in the man's tone, and he even leaned forward, as if challenging her. "You're telling me if it came down to either me or Arheis, you'd treat our lives as equal?"

  Arheis heard her draw in a breath, felt her tense in the booth beside him. She glared at Higrem with a fury he thought was going to break out in a fight.

  "If that happened, I'd find a way to save you both."

  "You can't, Amira," he said firmly.

  "I'd try!"

  Okay, he needed to step in before Mira leapt across the table and stabbed Higrem in the throat. Considering the man was a PC, Arheis was almost tempted to let it happen, but he needed to make use of his Mediator ability yet again and keep the peace.

  "It doesn't really matter why Eadric is doing it. He needs to realize the consequences."

  "He can't be held responsible for things that happened an ocean away," Higrem argued.

  "No, but he'll be responsible for anything that happens here. We need to find out how the crystals are affecting the locals, and maybe then we can get him to see it's not worth the cost."

  "Or we could just… destroy the crystals while we're dealing with the Petravor." Zindar sat beside Galen, his mug of ale as of yet untouched.

  "I fear they'll just make more," the elf said.

  They might make more regardless. The prince could claim to sympathize with their reasoning and swear to destroy the crystals that already existed, then turn right back around and order more.

  Then there was the fact that they hadn't disposed of this many crystals before. "We also don't know if it might have any adverse effects," he said with a frown. "I think we'd better hold off for now and talk to the prince. But if a few crystal formations are damaged in the scuffle…"