Hunter's Choice

by C E Keene

  "I, uh…" the guard stammered, looking between the two who accompanied him.

  "We'll be at The Eager Sow," he told them, already moving to bypass the group of guards so he could head that way.

  "We will… collect you in one hour's time, then," a female guard said, giving an awkward salute.

  Arheis' lips twitched. As much as he was hurting--as much as it felt like his heart had been ripped from his body and buried in a deep pit somewhere--he couldn't help the sense of amusement that flitted through him.

  > You have learned Renowned. Use your clout to curry favor and convince others to do as you wish. Requires high reputation with the city in question.

  "Well that was impressive," Galen said, catching up to Arheis.

  It was strange. He never would have called Galen "the happy one," but considering the mood that had settled over his companions since the funeral, anything lighter than absolute misery seemed downright chipper by comparison.

  "We need to make a plan. A new one," Arheis said.

  "Agreed." Mira walked at his other side, and this close he could see a redness to her eyes that he hadn't noticed earlier.

  Pain lanced through him anew. The bond they shared had been drowned out before--or maybe he'd closed that link somehow, even if he'd done so unintentionally. The floodgates threatened to open now, and he had to mentally jam them shut before that tide of emotion could overtake him.

  Leading the group toward the Sow, he found their usual table was cordoned off, along with half the common room. The ceiling looked mostly intact, but there was still damage to the floor and furniture.

  "Drinks on the house," the tavernkeep called out to them as they found another table to sit at.

  Arheis was tempted to take the man up on the offer. Getting shit-faced sounded like a good alternative to what he was dealing with right now. But Zindar hadn't died just so he could drink himself into a stupor.

  Galen sat down first, his hand moving across the table as he cast the now-familiar enchantment that would prevent them from being overheard by all but the savviest eavesdropper. Higrem sat beside the Naturalist, with Mira and Arheis on the other side.

  As he mentally prepared himself for this conversation, Arheis was surprised to feel Mira's hand on his knee. It was a brief touch--a simple squeeze before she returned her hand to the table--but it was far more soothing than it had any right to be.

  "We need to do this as safely as possible." Arheis launched straight into it, not giving Galen enough time to ask how their visit to De'shal had gone. "That means exploiting its weaknesses from the get-go, keeping aware of its movements at all times, and only attacking when we have an opening to do so."

  "I don't have any problem with that," Mira said, "but we should make sure everyone is on the same page as far as those weaknesses are concerned."

  The others agreed, and so Arheis began to list off what they knew as though he were compiling quick tips for a strategy guide.

  It moved more slowly in open spaces--though that one was up in the air now that it had evolved thanks to the crystals. Harsh sounds made its armor plating separate more easily, and once that plating was pried free, the exposed skin underneath was susceptible to critical damage.

  "You think the skin's still exposed from the armor we were able to pry off before?" Higrem asked.

  "I think we have to go into this believing it won't be," Arheis said.

  "So we'll need people working at it."

  Images of Zindar being thrown through the tunnel flashed through Arheis' mind. Closing his eyes, he drew in a breath and silently banished them.

  "At a distance," Arheis insisted. "Too much can go wrong when it's that close."

  Grim silence fell over the group, broken only by the sound of tankards being set down as the tavernkeep came over, oblivious to the current mood.

  Higrem drank, but the rest of the tankards stayed right where they were placed.

  "Where do we even fight it?" Mira asked. "So much of the ceiling caved in the last time."

  Silence again. Arheis didn't have an answer to that, and the thought of fighting the Petravor in cramped passageways made his stomach turn. They couldn't risk it. Mira and Galen would be crushed as easily as Zindar. And with enough cave-ins, the very foundation of Iskaral would crumble.

  Wracking his brain, Arheis tried to think of some way to get the Petravor safely out into the open. Bringing it into the city proper was a criminally bad idea. The plains outside of De'shal would give them enough space, but they ran the risk of putting Pruvari in danger. The only other place he knew that connected to the cave system was--

  "What about the beach?" Mira voiced the suggestion right as it came to Arheis' mind.

  The beach. It was open enough, especially if Galen could collapse the entrance to the cave. As far as Arheis knew, the cliffside was too sheer for the Petravor to flee, and the ocean would give them another natural boundary to keep the beast where they needed it.

  There was something almost poetic about it, too. Something that sparked the slightest burst of hope in Arheis. They'd been at their lowest point when they’d washed up on that beach. Perhaps now they could take everything they'd learned and turn it all around.

  "That could work," he finally said, and for the first time since Zindar died, Arheis felt a spark of hope.

  > Your quest Terrible Tremors has updated.

  Lure the Petravor to the beach and defeat it once and for all.

  Their hour was up quickly, and the royal guard came to collect them just as they said they would. Arheis and his companions were escorted to the castle under the watchful eye of the armed soldiers, and some part of him wondered if they weren't being marched to their death.

  It would've been a profoundly stupid decision on Eadric's part, since they were the only ones who seemed capable of defeating the Petravor. Even the Guild hadn't gotten in on it, with Guild Matron Ylsa safe in the ivory tower she'd built for herself.

  Unsurprisingly, the Prince-Regent wasn't waiting with some diabolical scheme. He received them in a large room with a war table at its center, several maps of Estalia laid out across various surfaces.

  "I apologize for the venue," he said once the door was closed. "I do not wish to cause any more panic, and this is the most private room in the castle outside of my personal chambers."

  Eadric was as charismatic as ever. He did the right things, said the right things, and looked genuinely sympathetic when he learned of Zindar's fate.

  Maybe Arheis had just adopted a healthy amount of skepticism over the past few days. Maybe the death of a friend was making him more paranoid in general. But even when the prince offered to send for the Guild, Arheis met the suggestion with shrewd skepticism.

  "With all due respect, Your Highness, we already have a plan in place," he replied, forcing courtesy.

  "Of course. The stakes must feel very personal to you now." Again Eadric's voice was filled with an almost tender sort of sympathy. "Very well. I will ask the Matron and her Hunters to stand by, but they will not be deployed unless absolutely necessary."

  That was an acceptable compromise, and at least if Arheis and his friends botched this, Iskaral might still be saved. He nodded, though he wasn't sure he'd been given a choice.

  It reminded him of another one-sided conversation he'd had with the prince--when the man pulled him aside at the end of their first meeting to "encourage" him not to destroy the crystals.

  He was surprised that hadn't come up yet, but he wasn't going to give Eadric the chance to corner him again. Funny how much he'd been willing to suspend judgment back then. Now as he looked at his friends--two of whom could very well be killed because of the Crown's desire for biological warfare--Arheis wasn't willing to take even the smallest of chances.

  "Once the Petravor is dead, we're going to do a sweep through the entire cave system. If we find any crystal formations, we'll destroy them."

  They hadn't specifically discussed this part of the plan, but none of Arheis' c
ompanions questioned it. They all knew it was what needed to be done. Leaving even the smallest shard behind was an affront to the memory of their friend. After all, Zindar might still be alive right now if the Petravor hadn't been able to gorge itself on crystals.

  To Arheis' surprise, Prince Eadric didn't try to negotiate. He didn't suggest a compromise. He didn't even state his case. He just nodded, his gaze casting downward as he seemed to process the full weight of Arheis' words.

  When he looked at them again, a sad smile touched his lips. "I understand. We all do what we must for the people we care about."

  Those words stirred unease within Arheis. There was every chance they'd all be branded as traitors to the Crown when they returned topside, but Arheis couldn't summon the will to care what an out-of-touch royal thought of him.

  For Zindar's sake, he was going to destroy every last crystal, even if it was the very last thing he did in Estalia.

  33

  They made their way to the Trade Quarter, past the broken down forge and the dirty alleyways to the lift. Arheis half expected to find the royal guard waiting for them, ready to follow them into the bowels of hell itself just to ensure they didn't break any crystals, but when they stepped through the last alleyway, he found something even more unexpected.

  Three Pruvari waited in front of the lift--the Elder, along with the other two who'd first confronted them in the tunnels. All three of them were armed, their bracers glowing faintly. Beside them, Treyous and Bren stood at the ready, Treyous with his hand cannon and Bren with her spear.

  "What are you doing here?" he asked, directing the question to the Elder.

  "We cannot stand by while there is still work to be done. You have done an admirable job of fighting the World-Shaper thus far, and we have only benefited from your protection. Now is the time to contribute."

  Arheis hadn't realized just how angry he'd been in De'shal until this very moment, when that anger slowly fell away. The Elder hadn't said it directly, but Arheis knew they were doing this for Zindar, and that was more of an honor than any funeral rites could ever be.

  "We could use all the help we can get," Mira said, her gaze moving to Treyous and Bren. "Are you sure you're both well enough to fight?"

  "My dear, it's been at least twenty years since I felt as strong as I do right now," Treyous said with all his usual bombast.

  "And I'm going to lose my mind if I don't stab something soon," Bren grated out. "Might as well be something useful."

  Their skills would only help in the battle ahead, but Arheis was already thinking of specific ways to utilize their strengths.

  "We need to draw the Petravor to an open space," he explained to the Elder. "We'd planned to lure it to the beach, but--"

  "Say no more," the Elder said. "We know these tunnels as well as we know De'shal, and we can get the World-Shaper's attention from a distance. You and your friends head for the beach. We shall bring the beast to you."

  Arheis nodded, taking one last moment to tick a few boxes in his mind. Once they descended, they wouldn't have the chance to go topside again. Not until the Petravor was dead.

  At this point, they were as prepared as they were going to be, and so he stepped onto the center of the lift, joined by the others. It swayed and rattled violently, but made it to the cave floor without trouble. As soon as the cage opened, the Elder and his two Pruvari went one way while Arheis and his companions went the other.

  They moved quickly through near-darkness, only a single torch lighting their way. It wasn't surprising that Bren had an eye for navigation--even underground. She led them through the winding passageways with near-flawless accuracy, and eventually Arheis saw light streaming in through a distant opening.

  The sound of waves filled the caverns, marking the last leg of their journey. It would've been soothing if Arheis wasn't also able to hear the frantic snuffling of the Petravor deeper inside, its armor plates scraping against the cave walls, the occasional explosion breaking up the more natural sounds.

  "Get ready, everyone. We don't have much time to prepare."

  Arheis stepped out onto the beach, the warm sand shifting underneath his boots. He pulled his pack from his shoulder, fishing out another potion to slot into his belt and replace the one he'd used. He searched for anything else that might be of immediate use, his fingers brushing over light metal. A small spark--just barely more than a static discharge--leapt from the metal to the tips of Arheis' fingers and he pulled his hand back, only realizing what it was after the fact.

  Zindar's bracer.

  He could feel it calling to him, as though the Fulcorn attached to the device was trying to communicate, trying to force his hand. Arheis blatantly ignored the device and cinched his pack, dropping it into the sand so it wouldn't get in the way.

  Several other packs hit the ground, his companions taking what they needed and discarding the rest. Mira had a supply of bolts and compounds to use with them. Galen had a collection of multi-colored potions slotted into his belt and a pouch that contained the reagents for his spells. Treyous tied off a pouch of gunpowder, and Bren wasn't equipped with any extra items that Arheis could see, but she still looked ready for anything.

  "Galen, be ready to collapse the cave entrance as soon as everyone's clear," Arheis instructed.

  The Naturalist nodded, flexing the fingers of his right hand, shaking his arms loose as though he were limbering up before an athletic performance.

  "Mira, make sure the trap is ready to go first thing."

  She held out the small, Pruvari-made device they’d used in the past. It'd come in handy both times, emitting a shrill noise that stunned the Petravor and began to separate its plates from its body. Arheis could only hope it would have the same effect this time.

  They'd find out soon enough.

  In the distance, he could hear movement inside the cave. Something thrashed deep within, preceded by smaller, faster movements. A muffled explosion barely registered this far out, causing the slightest tremor in the shifting sand. Arheis pulled his spear and shield from his back and assumed a defensive stance just as the three Pruvari leaped from the cave entrance, the Petravor following close behind, its trowel-like hands narrowly missing the Elder.

  "Now!" Arheis called out as soon as the beast's back limbs were clear of the entrance.

  Galen's hand shot out in front of him, all five fingers extended and then pulled into a tight fist. The very structure of the cave buckled, rocks crumbling in on themselves, pulled inward as though they were caught in a black hole. In seconds, the cave was completely blocked and inaccessible by man or beast.

  Mira didn't need his signal. She'd already set off the trap, and Arheis could feel the wave of sound pulsing through his body. It thrummed at his insides, too high for him to hear but still something he could feel.

  Fortunately, it had the intended effect on the Petravor, the creature staggering, its plates beginning to separate.

  "Galen, Treyous, aim for the plates!" he yelled out.

  Beside him, Treyous lifted his gun and pulled the trigger. Arheis' ears rang from the deafening blast, his nose burning at the sudden scent of gunpowder, but the musket ball struck true. It slammed into the weakened plates, deforming two of them like the front bumper of a car during a bad wreck. Galen had similar luck, using his ability to manipulate naturally-occurring materials to pry one of the plates apart, a distant force lifting it from the body.

  They managed to pry three plates up and away from the Petravor's vulnerable form, but those were the only plates removed. Every bit of armor Zindar and Higrem had taken off last time had been repaired, and Arheis was met by the staggering realization that it hadn't mattered. Nothing they'd done in that fight had mattered.

  No. He wasn't going to let himself think like that. It didn't matter that the creature had obviously healed. They didn't need to kill the Petravor within moments of its appearance. They just needed to chip away at it until it was dead.

  "Fuck, where's the damage from la
st time?" Higrem asked through gritted teeth, noticing the same thing Arheis had.

  "We'll get it back," he said. "Focus."

  "Damn right we will."

  Higrem was the first to press the attack, launching himself at the Petravor. His boot connected with the beast's shoulder and he pushed himself into the air, bringing his greatsword down on the creature's exposed back.

  The Petravor lurched, its reaction to the massive hit both visceral and satisfying, its blue, ichor-like blood spraying from the edge of Higrem's sword and crystallizing, shattering as it hit the beach.

  Another effect of the crystals. It seemed to Arheis that the thing was being poisoned by its own appetite, but he didn't have much sympathy for the beast. Even if he did, the result would be the same. At this point, he wasn't leaving here until he put it out of its misery.

  Bren ran at the Petravor, letting out a fierce yell as she charged. The time for unanswered attacks was behind them, though, as the beast sliced one of its hands through the air, determined to catch her en route.

  It might have worked had they still been inside the cave. It could have sought purchase with its other limbs to stabilize itself. Instead the sand shifted beneath the creature and Bren was easily able to slide under the strike, wrenching her spear into one of the panels like a crowbar and prying it off.

  Arheis could feel that sudden eagerness, that lust for battle rise in his blood. He hadn't gone into this wanting to act recklessly, but now every part of him was eager to finish this as quickly as possible. It must have been the same for the others, because Mira, Galen, and Treyous all attacked at once while Higrem sprang backward, preparing to go for another strike.

  Arheis took the side opposite Bren, jamming his spear into the crevice between plates and body before the effect of the trap faded completely. He slammed his weight against it, trying to pry up more than one piece.

  > You pierce Petravor for 28 points of damage. (+6 Crusher bonus)