Hunters - Rising

by David Greer

  Chapter 9

  It was midday and the sun was obscured by dark clouds that had been building up all morning. The air was still and everything seemed shabby and gray washing out the usual vibrancy of the forest. The change in atmosphere made the hunter, on his way back to Quarry, concentrate all the more on his target. What would normally be a dark purple figure easily discernible against the green and brown of the trees now blended with the blandness of the air. The hunter narrowed his eyes, sighted on his target, and used the black curved marking on his forearm to adjust his aim. He exhaled and let the arrow slide away from his fingertips. In the blink of an eye a banshee fell to the ground.

  Leo smiled satisfied with the shot. He slung his bow over his shoulder and continued on his way.

  The journey to Thurn had proved to be a futile effort. The archives contained no records of ocean phenomenon that could wipe out an entire island. He only found mention that the town of Port along the southern coast had once been destroyed by a water surge. Hardly a lead. Destroying a town was very different from destroying an island.

  Northern Isle. Leo couldn't help but to keep replaying the memory of it in his head. He remembered sailing in his outrigger canoe with a small crew close to the Arlynd coast where the waters were too shallow for the larger sea monsters. Only giant eels occupied those waters and although they averaged twenty feet in length they were no threat to the canoe. Eels caused trouble to those who happened to fall into the water but Leo's crew consisted of experienced voyagers and not some clumsy bunch of sailors.

  As they sailed north along the coast, their course took them past Northern island before arcing west to land on the island's northern shore. The currents were friendly that day and the skies were clear. The canoe had just begun making a westerly arc when Leo saw something strange. He was glancing at the rocky mountains which lined the Arlynd coast and noticed part of the mountain chain was missing. It looked as if the Kraken had come to shore and tore away the mountainside. But the Kraken wasn't found here. The waters were much too shallow. Leo found it strange but didn't think much of it at the time and turned his attention back to sailing toward Northern. Little did he know that was just the first sign of bad news.

  A small dome-shaped mountain surrounded by lush green jungle came into view as the canoe approached the island's northern shore. Along the west end of the island rocky crags jetted up from the ground. Leo smiled. He enjoyed hiking through Northern's jungles and visiting each village. The island was small enough that he could hike around it in the course of a day. And the view from the top of the island's lone domed mountain was one of Leo's favorite sights. From there he could see lush jungles stretch across the land all the way to the white shores that outlined the island.

  His eyes shifted once again to the rocky crags on the island's west side. The ground they jutted out from was unique because the rock contained metal deposits found nowhere else. The Northerners mined it and found a way to forge it into a metal that was harder, sharper, and lighter than any other. It made the weapons and tools of Northern isle second to none. Northerners, knowing how limited this resource was, very seldom traded ore but on this day Leo was hopeful they would. He was going to offer up timber from the Oka tree, a tree unique to Southern Isle. The strong yet flexible wood was perfect for building boats, furniture, and many other things. Leo was confident that he could reach a trade agreement to exchange resources unique to each island.

  As the outrigger sailed through the channel of shallows the wind shifted and blew into the sails so the crew didn't have to paddle until they came close to shore. Things seemed to be going smoothly as though the seas urged Leo and his crew to the island.

  Wooden watchtowers were constructed along the shoreline to welcome approaching vessels. Watchmen would send word of approaching guests to the nearest village. In the years Leo had been visiting Northern Isle he had become familiar with the Northerners. He knew every chief of every village, along with the ruling chief of the island, and was on good terms with all of them. Whichever village Leo visited first, he would often be welcomed warmly and served fresh fruit and spiced meat, usually a fowl or fish. The seas had been friendly to Leo but he could still go for a nice meal. His stomach rumbled at the thought.

  Strangely though there were no signs of any watchmen. No figures scurried along the beach or waved them in from shore. In fact the beach was desolate. Even the watchtowers were gone, not empty but completely gone. Concern coursed through Leo. A quick movement in the water caught his eye and he spotted black scales gleaming in the sunlight. A giant eel swam next to the canoe. It nudged one of the outriggers but the canoe was too stable to be bothered. The eel's head breached the surface and its right eye looked directly at Leo. The eye narrowed and its mouth curled to flash razor-sharp teeth. The eel dove underwater and left. If Leo didn't know any better, he would say the eel was smirking at him.

  When Leo's canoe landed on the beach things were definitely out of place. The island was still. No sight or sound of people anywhere nearby. No smoke rose from fire pits, blacksmiths, or kitchens. It was an eerie stillness that sent a chill down Leo's spine. When he hopped out of the outrigger there was an obvious difference in the way the beach felt. The sand wasn't its usual powdery consistency but was thick and damp. Leo located a hiking trail that he believed led to the village of Hea. As he and the crew sloshed their way along the path they found most of the vegetation had been uprooted and littered the ground. Only the larger trees and a few shrubs remained rooted in the ground. Oddly, they all seemed to lean south.

  The islanders emerged from the jungle onto a wide, muddy clearing. Leo sloshed along the ground wondering if they had taken the right trail. He studied the ground. All mud except for an occasional stick and uprooted shrub. But then he found a stick unlike the others lying in the mud. Leo picked it up. The stick was smooth and clearly chopped to be a certain length with a rope tied to it like a lashing come undone. Leo examined the nearby area and spotted more sticks like it along with shrubs that had been lashed together.

  Horror struck Leo as realized what he had found: debris. He had taken the right trail and this was the village Hea. Or at least all that was left of it.

  There were only a handful of villages on Northern Isle and as Leo explored he found they were all destroyed just like Hea had been. Every hut was swept away and if it weren't for an occasional spot of debris there would have been no sign that a civilization ever existed on the small island at all.

  Another thing was missing. There were no signs of life. Any life. No people, no birds, no animals.

  At the west side of the island black rocky crags jut out of the ground from a natural depression. When Leo reached this area he found it was now a basin filled with sea water. It had been turned into a small lake with jagged rocks breaking through the water's surface. Leo slowly approached the water's edge and glimpsed something in the water. Floating face-down was a body, pale and bloated. A man had drowned. It was the only Northerner Leo found.

  “Ola will never be the same after this.” Said one of the crewmen.

  The words had caught Leo slightly off guard as he remembered that Ola was the actual name of Northern Island. Very few throughout Arlynd knew this and simply called the place Northern. The same held true for Pono, the actual name for Southern Isle. The reason was simple. Long ago when the map of Arlynd was drawn up it included the two islands. However, the islands were not yet explored so map makers simply left them unnamed. The only way to distinguish between the two islands was to refer to them as the one to the north and the one to the south. The names Northern and Southern were born and they stuck. Leo, with all his travels throughout the continent had grown accustomed to referring to the islands as Northern and Southern. He quickly shook the self-inflicted history lesson aside and his thoughts returned to the situation at hand.

  The island had been flooded and battered by a great force. There were no survivors. Everything was gone. After discovering the dead body, Leo, along with
everybody else with him, grew uneasy and headed back to the canoe to leave the island. They reached the northern shore where their canoe had been run ashore at sunset. The crew eagerly climbed inside and readied the vessel for sail. Leo followed but as he was about to climb aboard the outrigger, Leo spotted something on the sand. It was a sea-shell necklace. He reached out and picked it up. It was smooth. Its polish glowed in the fiery sunset. He tied it around his neck and climbed into the canoe.

  When they set sail back through the shallows the sun had retreated behind the horizon and the sky had darkened. Leo heard murmurs from the crew about island tombs and curses. Leo could not understand how an entire island, an entire civilization and culture could be wiped away. He resolved to figure out how it could happen. When he turned to look at his muscular companion who accompanied him on every journey, Leo saw the same resolve on his face as well.

  It was this resolve that had led Leo to the archives at Thurn but they found no answers there. Now the two islanders were traveling in the woods heading back to Quarry Town to decide their next course of action. There were two options, the way Leo saw it: set sail and examine the remains of Northern Isle in hopes of discovering something – knowing full well he was clueless to what that something may be – or head to Port Town to see if the water surge that destroyed the town all those years ago could relate to whatever had destroyed Northern Isle.

  The two had stopped for a rest and found a sheltered area a little ways from the road they traveled on. The clouds had been growing darker all morning and threatened to rain. A fallen tree made a welcomed bench.

  “So what shall we do?” Leo asked. “Shall we see what we might learn in Port?” Leo looked at his fellow traveler, who simply shrugged and shifted to a more comfortable position on the log. “I think we should head to Port. See if anybody remembers what happened. But let's have a short rest in Quarry first.”

  Leo's companion had leaned back onto a tree that grew at an angle next to the log. He looked rather relaxed with his eyes closed, legs stretched, and hands clasped behind his head. It only took a moment for his breathing to become rhythmic and relaxed.

  Then something caught Leo's attention.

  “Did you hear that?” Leo asked only to realize he was talking to himself.

  There was a rustling in the brush and Leo reached for his bow. He spotted movement in the bushes and in one fluid movement he raised his bow and nocked an arrow ready to fire. Out from the brush emerged a small creature. It hopped on two hind legs and its shorter front legs were raised near its chest, paws dangling freely. It had pure-white fur with a brown patch covering one of its eyes. Its fur was fluffy, clean, and looked invitingly soft. A stubby tail wiggled sporadically as the small creature sniffed at the air. Its nose followed a scent and turned toward Leo. It looked at the islander with large glassy eyes. Leo's gaze was fixed on the small furry creature, which Leo had determined was a harmless forest animal. The animal stood up slightly on its hind legs and continued sniffing toward Leo never releasing him from its gaze.

  Leo eased his grip on his bow and took a step toward the furry animal. The large glassy eyes seemed to widen ever so slightly. Leo took another step forward. The islander, now with his bow lowered, let his arrow slip through his fingers and fall to the ground as he stood in front of the small animal which barely came up to his knees. It let out a slight purr. Leo reached out to pet it. He felt his hand against the soft fur and indulged in the sensation of the softness running through his fingers.

  And then a sharp pain. Leo snapped out of his daze and saw the once cute, furry creature had turned into a scowling little beast with its teeth sunk into his hand. He tried to free himself but merely dragged the small monster along the ground every time he tried to reclaim his hand. The small creature had a remarkably strong hold on Leo's hand. There was more rustling in the bushes and more of the small monsters hopped out with teeth bared and eyes narrowed on Leo.

  The pack of furry monsters closed in. One tried to nip at Leo's ankle but he was able to kick the little monster away. With his free hand Leo drew his dagger but at the same moment another fluffy monster bit at his already caught hand. More pain and now there were two small monsters latched onto Leo's hand and they were able to yank him off balance. Leo kept his footing but in doing so he brought his weapon-hand to the ground and two monsters quickly latched onto his wrist. Both hands were caught and his dagger was rendered useless.

  With his hands controlled, the monsters were able to keep Leo stumbling off balance. The rest of the pack closed in and one furry monster jumped onto Leo's arm and climbed onto his shoulder. It bared its teeth and lunged for Leo's neck but a large hand caught the little monster and hurled it back into the brush. Fully awake, Leo's companion kicked at the pack and sent two fur-balls flying. He grabbed one of the monsters that had Leo's hand and squeezed until the monster released. He squeezed a little more and the monster went limp. The other monsters that had a hold of Leo's hands let go and began to scatter. But they didn't get far. In one deft motion Leo lunged with his dagger and cut down two of the small beasts and kicked the third into the trunk of a tree. It laid still on the ground. The rest of the pack had scattered away.

  Thankful, Leo gave a nod to his companion, who nodded back and returned to his seat on the log. The furry beasts were unknown to the two islanders despite the many times they had traveled through the Woodlawn forest. Odd, Leo thought, how harmless the first one seemed and how mesmerizing its gaze had been.

  “What were those things?” Leo asked. He turned to find his muscular companion relaxing against the same tree as before, diligently catching up on his sleep.

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