Notes on Monster Hunting

by Chad Retterath

  Skrale swung his head around and looked everyone in the eye. I nodded when he looked at me and he smiled as he lifted the axe. It was a big swing, more to decapitate than chop down a tree, but we don’t regularly fell trees.

  Broken bark landed at Skrale’s feet as the blade sunk into the wood. He pulled the axe out and swung again with all his strength. He missed his previous spot and created a small shower of bark.

  We kept our eyes locked onto the bases of the two trees until Rexel collapsed in the middle of Third squad’s section, which was directly across from me. They all turned to the small wood wraith standing behind Rexel. It looked like a child. A big, carved doll. There was no face, just a smooth facade. Everything was like a drawing without detail. There weren't fingers, just mitten-shaped hands. It gripped a stick, a sharpened stake, that was bloodied on the end. It was directly across from me and I didn’t see it sneak up behind Rexel and stab him in the back of the knee.

  “Squads circle, hold all sides.” Skrale rushed to stand over Rexel as Third squad chopped at the wraith.

  We circled. Shoulder to shoulder with our backs to the center. It was just in time.

  Wraiths stood around us. Not all holding weapons, but a few holding stones and sticks.

  It makes me wonder how intelligent wood wraiths are. Did they sharpen the sticks themselves? I think they left ghosts on trees as decoys. I never saw any emerge from the two trees we had surrounded. Creatures don’t make decoys or weapons. I’ll bring it up in our meeting. Theodore looked similar to the wraiths we saw, but he had rough surfaces and a worn, wooden nose and ears.

  The wraiths moved fast and didn’t fully commit to attacking. We were ready for them. I didn’t see how the other squads handled it, but I assume they did just as well, if not better. We chopped and swung and even dismembered some arms, but the wraiths didn’t bleed. None stopped moving. They were too short to aim for legs and Palon even managed to wedge his axe in one’s head. It started running away as he pulled the axe free. A chop like that would kill any other creature. It would kill any human. No blood, no sign of pain, nothing was accomplished. The front of my thighs were punched by the wooden hands. They managed to bruise me.

  People used to worship these creatures as gods. Theodore was there when my mother was growing up. Probably even before that. Have we considered that these might be immortal creatures?

  There were a few more injuries. A thrown stone struck Heff in the face and probably damaged his eye. Carner and Widdy were both stabbed, but they said it was minor and wasn’t a hindrance. They could walk and fight. Their trousers were badly bloodied by the time we returned.

  After they’d managed to cause some injuries, the wraiths scattered and disappeared into the forest. Fourth squad has some bruising, but nothing worse than that. A rock managed to hit Kully in the chest. He said he had some trouble breathing, but that’s the worst of it. We got off well.

  “Get back to town. We can finish the patching up when we’re safe.” Skrale’s voice was steady and confident. Teke ran to Rexel as soon as the wraiths scattered and roughly bandaged his knee. Enough to slow the bleeding. Skrale stepped in and picked up Rexel. Iliun grabbed Rexel’s legs to help the commander. Lopuk guided Heff, who couldn’t fully see or stand. Half his face was covered in blood and his eye was swelling quickly. Third squad got the worst of it.

  Since we were mostly unharmed, Fourth took flank and Second led. We put the injured in the middle and had First squad on the sides. If wraiths attacked again, they would have some angry hunters to fight against.

  The march back was long. Despite being in the afternoon with the sun high in the sky, it was dark in the forest. Not just shadowed from the canopy. There was some foggy, dark feeling around us. Something eerie. It felt like the middle of the night. Like we were being stalked by a predator.

  Members of First squad called out from both sides of the column that something was spotted on each side. They were never close enough to get a good look, so it looked like children walking along, following us. It’s happened before. Sometimes children from villages will follow us, either just walking or talking and asking questions. But the children of Tublin don’t play in the forest anymore.

  Kully still insisted he check our squad, instead of handing the job to Teke, despite the already purple bruise on his chest. I usually think of him as the weakest, but he’s good at proving me wrong. Kully has the most heart out of everyone here. It’s time for the meeting. Groose promised me that he has a solution. He’s angry and determined, and wildly creative.

  For the meeting we’ve gathered around Third squad’s camp because Rexel can’t walk. Heff is sitting with his arm over Rexel’s shoulder. They’ll both be okay. We’ve been reassured by Heff. His eye is swollen closed and all purple. Teke wrapped a bandage around his head for now.

  “How are you guys?” asked Heff.

  We’re all okay. We told him that. Sergeants can’t manage to stop caring about everyone else. Cremn’s been talking to Iliun over to the side while we wait for everyone else to gather.

  Record of the meeting:

  The scouts were the last to arrive. They don’t usually go out on hunts, but they’ll help in extreme situations and they like to be involved.

  Skrale discussed the failure of today’s mission. It was none of our faults. We learned a lesson and now have more information to work with. He still feels positive.

  Teke thinks Rexel will be able to still walk fine when he’s healed.

  “I had some thoughts while we were out there,” I said.

  Skrale gestured for me to share.

  “Creatures don’t ambush or sharpen sticks. As hunters, we’re sworn to not fight humans, but that seems like it should include all intelligent life. Are these wood wraiths really monsters or are they more?”

  “Seemed too coordinated,” said Urny.

  “I agree. Like the wraiths had communicated and planned something,” said Orkin.

  Skrale scratched his cheek and looked at the ground. We were all silent for a few minutes while he thought about it.

  “We’ve taken the contract and told these people we would help. There might be some intelligence to the creatures, but they aren’t humans. They’re dangerous and hurting others, so we need to follow through and complete this hunt. I won’t go against my word.” Skrale paused and smiled. “I am happy that you would still worry about this sort of thing even after what the creatures have done. So, thank you. Anything else?”

  I shook my head. He was right.

  “Nothing else. We trust you, captain,” said Orkin.

  Urny nodded his agreement.

  “I think we’ve come to the conclusion that the wraiths didn’t appear injured from anything we did today. Are there any ideas? We need something new to work with.”

  It was silent. I looked over at Groose, who was staring at the ground and picking at the grass. I elbowed him a couple times until he looked at me.

  “Share the idea. It’ll be good,” I said. He nodded.

  “I have some ideas,” Groose said while raising his hand.

  “Go ahead.”

  “Trennor, Carner, Wennel, and me all have some munitions we could put to use.”

  “Put to use?” asked Skrale.

  Groose shrugged. “Inside or outside a tree, they’re still made of wood. Wood burns and I have some incendiaries that could help. I have materials to make some more too.”

  “I have more firebombs than anything else right now. I was going to start using them to start campfires soon,” said Carner.

  “What’s the idea, Groose? You can’t just burn the forest down,” said Skrale.

  Groose stood up and carefully stepped around sitting men until he reached Skrale’s side. Skrale smiled and sat down, leaving Groose as the only standing hunter.

  “Burning the forest down would be the easy option, but I can see why they wouldn’t want us to do that. My thought is use the loggers in town to help us create a trap, like the wraiths just used
against us. I can make more explosives later, so we can use up our entire supply right now.” Groose breathed in deep and held it with his chest and cheeks puffed out. He released it slowly and rubbed three fingers against his forehead. “We can set up a regular explosion that’ll go off in one small area. The wraiths will run from the explosion and the fires caused by it. They’ll run straight to the rest of the company in another spot, where we’ll be waiting with all the firebombs. It might be brutal, but we could catch them in one area and burn them into ashes. We have torol powder to put the fires out after.” He stopped and looked at Skrale. We can bring them out by chopping at a tree. Then the explosives can go off when they’re exposed.”

  “I could be there too. Give him some support,” said Wennel.

  Skrale stood and gently patted Groose on the back. “I’ll grab Kendral.” He hurried off and came back shortly after with Kendral and some other loggers that I’ve seen wandering around town. “I’ve given them a quick summary of your plan, Groose.”

  “We like it and we’ll do everything we can to help,” said Kendral. He looked happy for the first time since we arrived.

  “What if they get through the fire?” asked Jenn.

  “Then we catch them and burn them,” said Groose.

  Everyone grunted and nodded.

  Skrale said, “Trennor, Carner, Wennel, and Groose, come here before you head off.”

  “I’m here,” said Groose, still standing beside Skrale.

  Skrale just sighed and didn’t acknowledge him. “Beatrice, I’d like to talk later. Head to my tent when Groose returns.”

  “Yes, sir,” I said, far too loudly.

  Ralet and I started a fire when we got back to our tents.

  “What are we eating?” asked Palon as he sat on the grass beside me.

  “Sorry. You’re on your own tonight.” Cremn held a small pot of vegetables and pulled the cork out of a bottle of wine. Cremn only eats meat when we eat as a squad or a company. I wonder if he has a reason. I could ask, but he’s fully relaxed right now. Stretched out and enjoying the hell out of his broccoli, carrots, and celery.

  “What are you eating tonight?” asked Ralet.

  “Haven’t decided. I don’t have much for food. What about you?”

  Ralet smiled. It was his wicked smile of a scheme being put into place. “How much of that beer do you have left?”

  I sighed, but I had to smile. “You have a deal. What are we eating?”

  Ralet squinted. “Wait here.” He scrambled into his tent and loudly foraged around. When he popped out, he held an armful of small, round potatoes and a single large tomato. “How’s this?”

  “What are you going to do with them?”

  Ralet looked at the food and squinted again. “Something.”

  “Just let me know when it’s ready.”

  “Yes, sir. Ma’am. Sir?” He looked confused. I just shrugged. It didn’t matter to me. I poured a drink for Ralet and myself and sat beside the fire. Ralet has been fumbling with the potatoes, dropping them almost constantly, as he tries to decide how to cook them. I could help, but this is plenty entertaining. The bottom of my stomach aches and has gurgled at me, and the beer is only making that ache feel worse. Meanwhile, Cremn is lounging, slowly finishing off his dinner, and Palon and Kully are eating oats with some fruit. It makes me wonder what Groose will eat. He probably has something really great hidden away.

  Groose doesn’t often talk about his past. He told me privately when we first grew close, but others in the company aren’t as familiar with it. Luckily, Skrale had written about it and I found the section a few days ago.

  Year 545, Day 337

  Cremn suggested we stop in a town called Hendulen. It drew his interest because every building was constructed entirely from stone, apart from a few piles of ashes from burned houses. There were at least fifteen buildings surrounding a cobblestone square with a pond in the middle. More of the squared stone buildings spread out to the fields and hills outside of town. We hadn’t seen a quarry on our journey there and I’m still unsure where the nearest lay, which made the amount of stone impressive. Some locals carried crude spears and shouted someone’s name in anger. Teke stopped a woman and asked what was happening.

  “The alchemist did it again,” she said as she turned and kept shouting.

  Teke looked at me and raised his eyebrows. Cremn approached from behind and informed me that other locals were constructing gallows with the noose already made.

  I asked Heff and Lekk to try to ask around while Teke, Cremn, and I went to the executioners. The gallows were nearly completed and the builders seemed satisfied with their work.

  “What’s going on?”

  “Who are you?” they asked bluntly.

  “Monster hunters. Need anything hunted?” asked Cremn.

  One smirked and nodded to the other.

  “Yeah. Get that alchemist for us and we’ll pay you a few coins.”

  I stepped forward and cleared my throat. They both looked at me and quieted.

  “What did the alchemist do?”

  “He’s lived here for years and we’ve tolerated him the best we could. Whatever he does in there keeps starting his home on fire or blowing it apart. We figured he’d eventually take care of himself with those explosions, but he’s still around and hiding from us now. A while back we rebuilt most of the town with stone to stop him from killing us all. We thought the inn and the tailor’s shops would be fine with everything else around, but he somehow managed to burn them both down. He’s reckless and going to get somebody killed.”

  “But he hasn’t killed anyone?”

  They shook their heads and said, “No. Just burned everything down.”

  It was none of our business, but we were interested. Heff and Lekk came back and told us the man’s name was Groose Leptin.

  “He disappeared when the tailor and inn started fire. They’ve been hunting around for him. A bounty has even been put on his head,” said Heff.

  “His shop wasn’t anywhere near those two buildings. He would’ve had to go out of his way to burn them down,” said Lekk.

  I’ll add the rest of the story later. Groose came back and managed to trip several times despite the firelight. He was covered in dirt by the time he sat down at the fire.

  “Your turn,” he said.

  I weaved my way through the tents and fires, stopped to check on Rexel and Heff, who were both asleep, and eventually made it to Skrale’s. All I could think of was how Ralet probably finished cooking and he might forget to save half of it for me. I was hungry, but I wasn’t going to ask Skrale for something to eat. He was sitting outside with First squad. Their fire was low, almost embers, and everyone was quiet. Skrale’s eyes flicked up to me when my footsteps grabbed his attention. The glow of the fire reflected in his eyes and he smiled.

  “Could you give us a couple minutes?” he asked in his kind, yet commanding voice.

  Teke, Orkin, Widdy, and Trennor all mumbled and pushed each other as they stood and walked to Third’s fire. Skrale stood and brushed the dirt off his trousers.

  “Please, sit.” He gestured to his side. After I sat, he poured and handed me a mug of dark red wine that clung to the sides.

  “Thank you.” I took a drink. The bitter taste flowed over my tongue and made my jaw clench briefly.

  “You don’t like it?”

  He surprised me. I didn’t realize he was still watching me. “No, no. It’s good. I’m just used to beer.”

  Skrale poured himself a mug and scratched at his nose as he sat down. “I wanted to have a one on one talk about what you brought up earlier.”

  “About the wraiths?”

  He nodded and took a small sip of his wine.

  “Are you familiar with the creature?”

  “I am. There was a very old one that lived near my home. The children called him Theodore. He would sometimes play with us in the forests.”

  Skrale grabbed a stick and moved the embers in the fire
. “Did he ever hurt anyone?”

  I shook my head and looked at the commander. He was focused on the fire, so I smiled and said, “No. Not that I ever heard of. He would collect berries and give them to the children or their parents. Theodore scared me when I was young. I began to cry when I first saw him, so he went into a nearby tree until I relaxed. He was around when my mother was a child too, so she helped me see that he was safe. I saw him less as I grew up, but we could always find the tree he was living inside.”

  Skrale’s eyes flicked to me. The firelight reflected in them and he smiled.

  “I see how this could be confusing.”

  “It is.”

  “We need to help these people.”

  I nodded and rested my head on his shoulder.

  “I believe the wood wraiths are more intelligent than most people would believe,” said Skrale, “but we offered to help and our company has a code. Theodore sounds like a beautiful creature. These wraiths are not. I’ll find a way to help these people, but you aren’t required to take part. I’ll never make you do something you don’t want to do.”

  “Thank you, Skrale. I do agree. It’s just complicated.”

  Cremn quietly approached and knelt beside me.

  “Hey, Bea.”

  “Hello, sergeant.”

  Skrale gently squeezed my arm, then stood.

  “I’ll give you two some time,” he said as he walked away.

  “Are you okay with this hunt?” asked Cremn.

  “Yes. I just needed to say something. It’s just different than other hunts.”

  “I know. I’m glad you spoke up. Everything else alright?”

  “I think so.”

  “I remember our promise. I’ll never ask you to harm anyone, okay?”

  I nodded and tried to smile.

  Cremn hugged me and let my head rest on his chest.

  “We’re family. I’ll keep you safe.”

  Day 104