Band of the Raven

“Get off your ass and get some food before the rain takes hold of the pot!” Thomas cried out towards a large figure huddled beneath a broken tree trunk. The hulking man grunted and moved slowly with his cape over his head. He stood nearly eight feet tall and was said to be built like stone. “Are you that worried about being wet?” Thomas continued shaking his head as he watched. “You have killed countless people without any care or thought in the world. Yet when the gods cry you cower like a puppy.” He looked down at his already made bowl and began shoveling the sloppy stew of potatoes and what leftover meat they had into his mouth. The broth dripped down his chin while he nodded in approval of his own concoction. “I must say,” He exclaimed with a smile growing on his face. “I think I have outdone myself this time Garal!” The big ogre-like man grabbed the large spoon and poured his share into a nearby bowl.

“Don’t flatter yourself, Thomas.” He mumbled. “All you had to do was cook ‘em. Who was the one who killed them?” Garal dipped the spoon back into the pot after dropping a large serving into his bowl and proceeded to walk back under his tree trunk. “That younger one was a handful. She kept trying to stick me in the eye! If only they would realize if they don’t resist it will be less painful for them.” The rain began to pick up as thunder grew in the distance. “It’s bad luck to have a killing on a day like today. I hope the money we earn was worth the trouble.” Garal spoke out as he dipped his bowl back forward his mouth to consume the red tinted broth.

“You and your superstitions will get you killed one day. There is no such thing. If there are any gods out there, they have bigger issues than simple folk like us to worry about. They have ‘godly’ things to attend to.” He chuckled mockingly.

As they cleaned up their meal and dampened the small fire, a sense of unease swept over both of their bodies.

“Garal, did you feel that?” Thomas spoke hesitantly.

“Something is coming.” He replied. They both looked around through the trees inspecting every branch. “You just had to take a job that was in the middle of the forest. But not just any forest,” He whispered mockingly. “The forest on the border of Scarlet Kingdom.”

“Shut up you overgrown child! Be ready.” Thomas said with sweat mixing with the rain dripping down his face. Suddenly, a large animal burst from around a large oak and stood growling on four legs with eyes golden like the sun. Its fur was black, and its teeth were filed like small daggers.

“Thomas, a wolf!” Garal shouted as he reached for his battle hammer that was resting beside him. He swung it ferociously around his body to ready himself, yet the wolf had vanished back into the shadows before he could see it again.

“What kind of devil’s work is this? Where did it go?” Thomas shouted with his knife drawn and knees bent. The sound of horses began to thud in his ears over the rainfall. “They found us! Run you dolt!” They both grabbed their packs and rushed off frantically through the brush while the fine branches stung their skin. As they broke onto a small river filled with smooth rocks and a soft current, they turned to one another in a panic.

“Thomas,” Garal began. “If we cross this river you know what will happen to us.” His voice softened and his head bowed.

“You are right. I guess this is the end my friend. I was not made to be a prisoner to that king. I will take my chances with the guards. I wonder if that wolf got to them. Boy, wouldn’t that be our luck.”

“I thought you didn’t believe in luck?” Garal smirked and turned with his hammer across his body. The sound of horses grew louder until shadows of men in hoods pierced through the rain. Their capes flapped behind them and the insignia of a crow rested over their vests. The duo stood ready as they looked across the line of six Hunters. All that could be seen was their eyes. Their faces were covered by a silk mask stained in a dark violet hue. The six sat on horseback and stared at the pursued with an unbreakable gaze.

“What are you waiting for?!” Garal cried out anxiously. The hunters slowly parted at the center of their line to expose what was growing closer behind them. Golden eyes flared and the shine of fangs caught both their eyes.

“We have been following you for quite some time. For the murder of our people, we condemn you to death without trial.” A voice called out from one of the hunters. The wolf snapped its jaws as it grew closer. The two slowly moved back until their feet were dipped in the shallow end of the riverbed.

“Forget this!” Thomas called and turned to run through the water towards the other side. A sleigh grin formed on the wolf’s face as he gave chase. Garal looked back to his partner in disgust.

“You coward!” he shouted as the wolf blasted past him with immaculate speed. By the time Thomas set foot on the other side of the river, he was crushed under the weight of the giant animal. He started to whimper as its snout brushed against his cheek and its sharp teeth grazed his ear.

“Do you enjoy how it feels to be helpless?” a voice echoed inside the man’s head. A loud scream erupted from the villain as the wolf opened his large mouth and engulfed his face, ripping into the soft flesh. His cries died off as his legs twitched. Blood slowly dripped down into the river and was drowned by the rain. All was quiet except for the skin continuing to be ripper from Thomas’s face. Garal dropped his hammer and dropped to his knees as he watched. One hunter dropped from their horse and walked gracefully towards the defeated giant.

“Do you know who we are?” the feminine voice spoke. The man dropped his head in acceptance.

“I do. You are ghosts.” He said, trembling.

The woman pulled down her mask to reveal tender lips and soft skin. She put her gloved hand on his head and spoke angelically. “Anguish.” Garal’s face began to strain as veins protrude through his skin. He went to cry out in pain, yet his voice was silenced. His darker skin turned pale and his eyes turned vacant blue and clouded. Within moments he dropped to the ground and his body began to spasm. The Hunter stood and gently nudged his shoulder. He rolled to his back and fell into the water. The current wrapped around him like a cocoon. She dropped her hand into the water and whispered, “Submerge.” The water gathered and rose above his paralyzed body and trapped him within seconds in a case. His body filled with water and expanded rapidly. He was filled until his fingers and toes were leaking under the nails. The Hunter rose to her feet and spread her arms to each side with her palms facing forward. With one motion she clapped them together and Garal’s body erupted. Shrapnel of his flesh floated where he laid. The water slowly fell back into the river and his insides with it. There was nothing left of him as in seconds the remains were washed away down the stream.

“Don’t you think that was a bit much, Harly?” a voice came from the other side of the river. A man stood over a torn carcass wiping off his face with a rag.

“This is coming from the wolf who just ate a man’s face.” She replied.

The young man smirked and flashed his golden eyes at her. “Fair enough. We will call it a draw this time.” He began walking back through the river to join his fellow Hunters. He wore a different type of outfit than the rest. He only wore a cape while his tunic only covered his chest and stomach, leaving his arms bare. The others revealed nothing of the flesh and concealed themselves with as much fabric and leather as they could.

“At least when I make kill, I don’t make a mess of things.” Harly smiled and pulled her mask back over her mouth.

“But you also leave nothing to be shown for it.” The wolf-man said as he extended his hand. In his palm he carried a bracelet covered in blood made of hair locks. “This one made jewelry from his kills. I am sure there is enough here to prove we were successful in our hunt. But with yours I don’t see how we can prove anything.”

Harly looked down the river and back at the piercing golden eyes. “You make a fair point.” She said as she quickly walked down the riverside. She stopped just short of a large stone breaking the river in two. She lifted her hands to the air and closed her eyes. The water began to pull up into her hands and collect into large orbs. They gradually increased in size until the river was bone dry and the remains of Garal were spinning within the water. “Alright!” she yelled back. “Will his eye do?” She dropped the water as she lowered her hands and left only a faded eye levitating in front of her. She reached out and quickly snagged it, placing it in a pouch attached to her hip. “So now we are back to a draw, wolf.” She spoke out. He looked over with his arms out in protest towards the other five hunters who remained covered and on horses. One shook their head and turned back to the trees while another approached the water and looked through the trees. His eyes resembled a vacant depth and glimmered in darkness.

We should probably turn back now. The Scarlet Knights are on their way. Considering Wolarian broke the border I doubt they will be happy a Hunter is trespassing. He spoke plainly into his group's minds as he straightened his back. We have what we came for. I don’t feel like fighting knights today, and I am sure Killian would agree. He turned and looked back at a man with bright green eyes and a scar over his left. Killian nodded and followed the other hunters into the woods.

“Wouldn’t that be fun though?” Wolarian called out jokingly. “We haven’t fought any knights in a long time. It would be better practice than these bandits we keep getting requests for.”

Harly spoke up behind him with a rebuttal. “But in order to do that we would have to break an agreement with the Scarlet Kingdom made by the guild. Besides, what are you practicing for? You turn into a giant fluffy monster. What else do you do?”

“For your information, witch,” Wolarian turned with his finger pointing at her and a stern look. “I am the last of my kind so if I get rusty or slow my race dies with me.”

“Wouldn’t that be the day? No more Changelings.” She spoke with an ear to ear grin.

“I will rip out your throat!” The golden eyed wolf shouted while growling behind his voice.

“That is enough!” Another woman shouted from the front of the group. “I will turn both of you into weeds if you continue to argue like children!”

Harly quieted herself and bowed her head. “I apologize, Kiara. I got carried away.”

Wolarian shook his head with rage and a scowl on his face. “She started it so why am I the one who gets yelled at?” he said softly to himself. A soft voice crept into his head like a whisper. Say one more word and I will make sure you can never turn into a wolf again. Wolarian stiffened himself up and began walking quickly in line with the group as two other hunters followed behind him.

Harly quickened her pace as the rain began to slow. She reached Killian who was second from the front in the line of horses. “So how are you, Killian?” She asked while looking up at the man on the horse.

“Just ready to get back home, Harly. I need a good drink and some sleep.” He said with a sigh as his eyes remained forward.

“Would you mind if I joined you for that drink?” She asked, looking up with her bright violet eyes.

“I don’t mind at all. I’m sure Kiara will be happy that you are joining us as well. There is much she would like to discuss with you.”

Harly’s shoulders dropped slightly and her eyes fell forward again. “That is great.” She said with little excitement.

“How are things with you and your other half?” Killian asked as his eyes dropped down to glance at the young witch.

“Things are quite well, actually. He is a true gentleman and takes care of me.” Harly replied as if trying to convince herself she was being truthful.

“Well I am happy for you, then. Not all of us can find love like you have. Does he know about you and who we are?”

“Not yet. He still thinks I work as a traveling entertainer for the high lords and you all are my caravan.”

Killian looked forward and nodded his head. “It should stay that way. You know what will happen if he finds out you are a Hunter.”

Harly tilted her head in annoyance. “Yes, I know. But it is hard to keep things like that a secret from those you care about. You and Kiara have it much easier. You two are destined by legend to be together and you happen to both be Hunters. There is no need to hide anything from one another.” She looked forward to Kiara, who was several feet ahead of them.

“Oh, don’t you worry, Harly. We have our secrets that we keep to ourselves. You have been around us long enough to pick up on a few things, I have no doubt.” Killian remarked.

Harly quickly snapped her eyes back up to him. “What do you mean?” she asked.

“Just know you aren’t the only one who has problems with the ways of the heart. Just be thankful that is the only secret you need to keep.”

Soon the tree line broke as the sun dipped beneath the hills and the moonlight lit the valley heading into town. It was small with only a few buildings and a tavern in the center.

“We will rest here tonight and set out for Arugoth in the morning.” Kiara called back to the group as they trotted slowly toward the first row of houses.

“I can’t wait to get out of this tunic!” Wolarian shouted as he rushed towards the front of the line impatiently. “I keep smelling the blood and it’s throwing my senses out of sorts”

“Maybe that’s because you decided to eat the man instead of trapping him and letting Harly dispose of him. You shouldn’t be complaining about what you chose to do when we had agreed on a plan before hand.” Brendiel spoke with his ruby eyes glaring at him.

He has a point, Wolarian. Maybe if you listened to us once and awhile you might be able to lead a hunt one of these times. A voice whispered into the young man’s head again. Wolarian turned quickly and stared hard at the hunter in the very back who’s eyes were shrouded in black. Don’t look at me that way, boy. The voice said.

“Darin,” Killian called back. “Come here. I have an idea I’d like to speak with you about.” The dark eyed rider sped from the back of the line and gestured that Harly moves back to make space. She bowed and fell back next to Wolarian.

“What do you think they are talking about?” He asked the witch quietly.

“Well considering Darin doesn’t talk at all I would imagine they aren’t talking.” Harly snarked.

“You know you are probably the worst witch I have ever worked with. Why are you always so sharp with me?” Wolarian asked sincerely.

“You act like a child and say things that are stupid so if I come off rude it is only because you force me to be less intelligent when speaking to you.”

Wolarian reached out his hand and grabbed the witch’s forearm to stop her. “Can we please just talk like equals for just once in our lives? When we first joined the guild, we trained together through all the gauntlets. Now you are acting like none of that happened. What changed?”

Harly looked forward and brushed off his question. “We are almost to the tavern. Be sure you clean yourself up before dinner. You smell like death more than usual tonight.” She proceeded forward towards Kiara who was slowly approaching the stables next to the lodging area of the tavern. “Kiara, may I ask you a question?” She spoke.

“Anything you would like.” Kiara responded with a comforting smile.

“Why did we need to leave my horse behind? I mean, I don’t have a problem walking the distance, but there was nothing wrong with my stead.”

Kiara dropped to the ground and pulled the reins over her horse’s head. “We had to leave a horse behind so that it looked like a stray horse walked over the border and dragged Wolarian’s kill with it. We cannot have any suspicion that we were ever there.” Kiara put her arm around Harly’s shoulders and hugged her. “You did very well today. I am proud of how you have grown in the short time you have been with us.” A smile grew across both their faces as Kiara handed the reigns over to the stableman. “Take care of this one. She has been through quite a lot today.” She said with here clear white eyes sparkling in the moonlight. The stableman smiled and bowed as if in a trance and proceeded to pamper the bronze coated horse.

Once everyone was inside the lodge and taken to their appropriate rooms, they removed their Hunter marks and fitted themselves in clothing to blend in with the town’s folk. Their pants were worn and patched together while their shirts were stained and old. Darin and Killian were the first to meet at a table for dinner and already had spirits waiting for them. They sat in silence as they spoke to one another without noise. Slowly the others joined them and the silence was broken.

Mira was the first to speak as trays of food were handed around. “Although it didn’t go as smoothly as planned, I feel that today was a success. Wouldn’t you all agree?” She spoke as her pink eyes shifted around the table.

“It was nice to finally sink my teeth into someone again. It has been too long in my opinion.” Wolarian spoke with a large grin as he eyed his leg of chicken in front of him.

“There is nothing humble about you, young one.” Killian spoke out with a loaf of bread in hand and a bowl of soup in front of him. “You need to be more subtle. Your actions forced us to leave a horse behind and almost alerted the Scarlet Kingdom we were there.”

Wolarian snapped back quickly against their leader. “Well if Mira held him in place he wouldn’t have ran!”

“Mira wasn’t a part of the plan this time! She was there to observe the surroundings, so we weren’t seen. She has been doing too much on these hunts lately and needed a rest. You were the one who didn’t attack them as planned on your first encounter.” Kiara snapped back and raised her voice.

“Not so loud.” Harly butted in softly as she looked around. “People can hear us.”

Kiara sat back and calmed herself. “You need to remember you aren’t alone in these hunts, Wolarian. There will be a time where you will not be with us. You need to be a part of the plan.” Wolarian sunk in his seat and continued to rip into his chicken leg.

“Mira, you did exactly what you were supposed to do so do not let his words upset you.” Brendiel spoke as he reached next to him and put his giant hand on hers. “He will soon learn the hard way what happens to those who fall out of the Hunter’s Guild.”

“Brendiel, that is enough. We have more pressing things to discuss.” Killian spoke. “I have been thinking about this for a while now and this hunt has been on the board of the guild for a long time now. I feel it is time we take on a more challenging adversary for the young ones. Darin and I have been working out the details and we have decided it is time. I will let Darin explain.

Darin leaned forward and bowed his head. His voice filled their minds at once as they all closed their eyes to focus. The hunt is for a king’s head. He usurped the crown to the north and has been oppressing his people. They have no food, nor water to live and their livestock is slowly dying off due to the harsh winter they are under. The challenge we face is not the king, however. The true challenge are his men and there is a rumor of a beast disguised as a man among them. It has been said he can manipulate fire and grow wings.

“Does that mean we are fighting a dragon?!” Wolarian spoke out loud. A large hand came and smacked him on the back of his head. Killian turned and gave a stern glare as his eyes changed from green to bright red, only to quickly fall back to green. He rested his hand back under his chin and closed his eyes once again. He is not a dragon by nature. Darin continued. He has been made by a darker force of magic. Only a handful of wizards can create such a thing. Luckily for us, we have some form of that within our ranks in Kiara. With her gifts it should restrain the beast from growing to full power. The reason this has been on the guild board for so long is because this hunt, if done wrong, can set off a war between the guild and the northern kingdom. Which means this needs to be discrete with no issues. They all opened their eyes and looked at one another around the table.

“Why are they even posting this on the guild board if there is such a high risk?” Harly asked quietly.

“The guild is not allowed to turn down requests for the board. It is up to us leaders to decide what is right for the guild and for our hunting parties. But for us, I believe we can make this work and move up in our rankings before the games.” Killian spoke.

“Do you think this is something you want to do just for a ranking, Killian?” Mira spoke out softly with concern in her voice. “No offense to anyone, but we aren’t on the same page when it comes to simple hunts like today. What makes you think we can do this mission without causing an all-out war and being exiled from the guild?”

Kiara moved in slowly. “We will not be leaving for some time. We have the forest around us, and Mira can shroud us for small increments at a time. We can utilize the time to train and grow. We should pair ourselves with the ones that counter our skills in order to maintain balance and sharpness.” She looked around the table as they all nodded in agreement.

“If needed I can hold a cloak over the ones training for two days at a time with a few hours of rest between sessions.” Mira spoke softly.

“If you need anything to help please let me know.” Brendiel spoke with his hand still on hers.

“So, who will be the pairings?” Wolarian asked as he sat back with his plate licked clean. “I personally think none of us match up well against myself or Killian. I feel our traits are too unique and could very well lead to issues with the other partner.”

“That is why you and I will be partners.” Killian interjected. “You need to grow and learn humility. The only one here who can do that while you are in your wolf form would be me. Not because of your strength but because of your ego. As a few of you know when I was younger, I was the same way and it took a very wise man and years of training to learn what I know now. Lucky for you I have a kinder heart than that old hermit and I will do what he did for me within days, not years. Truth be told if trained correctly any given soldier in any army would be able to defeat you in your current state. We are going to remedy that.” Wolarian folded his arms in disapproval and looked around the tavern in protest.

“I will train Mira.” Kiara spoke. “Since Mira is needed to cloak the others, with our skill sets being so different I believe our pairing will not need as much to be hidden.” Actually Kiara, I trust that Mira and Harly should be paired together. Between the two of them they should grow the most out of this training. Mira can control time and space, while Harly can control and manipulate people’s aura and the world around them. In theory Mira can train with Harly for decades without a day going by in our time. It will drain Mira more doing this, however, so they should be the last ones to train. Darin implanted.

“Does that mean I will be training with Kiara, then?” Brendiel questioned.

“Kiara will be training on her own while the rest of us use each other. Her skills alone are best matched internally with herself.” Killian ordered. “Not many of you may agree but this is the safest and smartest way to do this if it will work.” Kiara nodded in agree at Killian as they locked eyes. “The only person able to train with her will be myself and even Mira wouldn’t be able to hold her veil for that amount of time.”

“Why do you say that? Kiara would benefit all the same while training with one of us or Darin for that matter. Wouldn’t you all agree?” Harly asked. The table grew quiet and everyone looked around at one another.

“Sweet child, Killian is right. Darin and Brendiel will be a better pairing for this. Do not worry. I can train myself just as well.” Kiara said with a smile.

“Then it is decided. Once the morning breaks I will go into the woods with Wolarian and we will begin. We have a few weeks before we set out north. Our training will be two days at a time with a break between so Mira can recover. All agree?” Killian called out quietly. Everyone nodded and eyed down their partner. “Good. Now everyone go to your rooms when you are done and reflect on today’s hunt. Get some rest.” He stood and proceeded up the stairs to the lodging and vanished above the wood.