Notes on Monster Hunting

by Chad Retterath

It swung one of its swords horizontally. Cremn ducked, narrowly dodging the blade, but it struck Palon in the back. The sharp edge dug into the metal armor and refused to move when the creature pulled back. I moved as fast as I was able. I went around the left, giving Cremn room to try wrestling the other sword out of its arm. I smashed the one with stakes for hands in the back of the knee while it was focused on Groose.

  Groose dropped his sword and kicked it to me between the creature’s legs. I tossed the club, and was surprised when he caught it and swung in a fluid motion. A mask smashed, but the creature stabbed at Groose again. It was disoriented, its aim off, but both left arms punctured deep into Groose’s right side in his shoulder and hip. The creature lifted its arms pulling Groose off the ground. His squeals deafened the fighting behind us. I forgot about the pain in my side and my broken arm. Groose was pouring blood like a strung up deer.

  I leapt onto the creature’s back and wrapped my right arm around its throat, forcing my broken forearm against the cold clay. My other hand reached around and smashed the pommel of my sword into the faces of the creature. Numbness dashed from my forearm, up into my shoulder, as the creature tried to shake me off. Its flailing shook Groose in the air, causing more cries of pain. I squeezed my legs around its waist to stay up. Clay broke after several more quick hits, so I aimed for another part of its face until I found the other mask. It broke and collapsed, dragging Groose and I to the ground. I rolled away, no worse than I was before, and rushed to Groose. My right hand wasn’t responding anymore, but Groose helped me get him off the spikes. He mostly pulled them out on his own, but he couldn’t move. Blood was everywhere.

  Palon and Cremn stood five feet apart facing the only standing creature. Palon crushed the already crumbling clay body beneath his feet as he shifted his stance to hold against the attacks from the creature, who continually attacked Palon’s shield.

  I held Groose as he tried to patch himself up with one arm, but my eyes couldn’t leave the fight. Palon’s shield arm was shaking, fatigued, injured, something.

  “Now,” shouted Palon as he pushed out with his shield, catching the creature mid-stab. The creature’s left arm that held the sword was knocked to the side, away from Cremn, giving him an opening to rush at the creature’s side. He attacked, smashing one of the two remaining masks in his first swing. Before he could react, the creature kicked Palon’s shield and pushed the man back. With his right arm, the creature shoved Cremn, then it stepped back and swung fast in a horizontal slash. The creature stumbled, losing its balance from throwing its whole body into the swing. Palon realized what had happened before me, so he dropped his shield and tackled.

  Blood ran from his neck. The stump. The stump where Cremn’s head should’ve been. My sergeant’s lifeless body fell to the ground while Palon punched at the creature’s head until there was only dust left.

  Groose was unconscious and every fiber of my trousers were soaked with his blood. Cremn’s head rested near his feet. I stared. I didn’t know what to do.

  “Beatrice.” Palon’s voice was sharp. It hurt my ears and startled me. “Stay here. I need to get Kully.” I stared into Palon’s eyes. His face was covered in clay dust. It was dark around his eyes, wet. I nodded and rested my head on Groose’s.

  I was awoken only a short time later from Palon lifting Groose off of me. I scurried out and stood, almost collapsing from a sharp pain in my side. Kully’s face was wrinkled and dry. He was focused, maybe more than ever before.

  “How can I help?” I didn’t recognize my own voice.

  “Remove his clothes while I get everything ready. Be careful and quick.”

  Palon got his pants and I cut off his shirt. Kully immediately began working. He applied some potion, something in a bottle, and sewed the holes shut. Palon and I stood and watched the entire time, which might’ve made Kully uncomfortable. When he finished the last stitch, he put on more of the liquid and wrapped a bandage around.

  “Will he make it?”

  Kully shrugged without looking at me. Palon grabbed my arm and pulled me away. I stumbled and followed behind him.

  “Let Kully care for Groose. You’re officially the commanding officer. What’s the next move?”

  My head grew fuzzy and my heart ached. I slowly nodded my head until a thought came to me.

  “The Mason. Let’s find the Mason.”

  We walked the short distance to the burrow. Palon climbed in first, sword drawn. Clay lined the walls. It was textured all the way around with claw marks. It wound through and grew fairly dark inside.

  All we could hear was our footsteps and a high pitched whining. Palon nodded at a corner. I nodded back. We stepped around together and froze.

  Teke had explained what Clay Masons looked like, but his description made it sound like a gray mass with legs.

  He wasn’t entirely wrong, but he wasn’t right.

  The Mason was huddled into the corner, trying to hide from us. Its body looked liked a collection of rocks, leather bags, and leaves stuck together in a thick, sticky liquid. The skin was dark and bluish, maybe purple. Long arms and legs, much like a human’s, curled up against the terrified creature. His palms and fingers were thin and long and covered in dried clay. Its face was primal, different than a human’s, with a long mouth. The small eyes darted about, looking between the two of us.

  “Kill it,” I said.

  Palon took a deep breath and thrust his sword through its chest. The whining faded and the body slumped to the ground.

  My side aches and my hand cramped. I don’t know what to do other than write, but I don’t want to write about the hunt. Everything feels fuzzy, like I’ve just woken from ten days of sleep. Teke and Kully haven’t left Groose’s side. I’m not even sure if they’re done working on him. I heard them saying he should be in a bed, but bringing him anywhere is too dangerous. I believe in you, Groose. I’ve never met anyone like you. We have so many more adventures. You have so much left to do.

  Ralet is sleeping beside me. Skrale keeps going between checking on the two of us and seeing how it’s going with Groose. The rest of First went back to Gettleville to get Teke some supplies with Palon, who carried Cremn back to handle a burial. Kully was supposed to go, but he won’t leave. Not until he knows Groose is okay. I would switch arms to write and let my left hand rest, but my right hand won’t move. They splinted it for me and wrapped some bandages around it.

  “Just broken,” said Teke. I don’t know if that’s true. It was broken, then I kept fighting and hurt it so much more.

  Year 544

  Our company stopped in the small town of Dranelton to rest and resupply.

  While Cremn was collecting firewood in the forest, he stumbled across a woman sitting at the base of a tree. She looked like she had been crying and her knuckles were battered and spotted with dried blood.

  She was startled when she saw him, but calmed down when he kept his distance.

  “Are you here for me?” she asked.

  “I’m just here for firewood.”

  She looked confused, so he asked what she was running from and assured her that he wouldn’t harm her. She was still scared, so he told her about his old life and how he ended up in Dranelton. She eventually told Cremn her story and promised to keep it between them, with the exception of telling me. I met her and offered her an escape from the situation she was in.

  “Joining my company is dangerous, but it’ll give you a new family and a reason to travel the world.”

  Beatrice Trelore was happily welcomed into Cremn’s Fourth Squad.

  Day 123. 124? I don’t know the time or day. Everything is grey. If the sun is up, it’s hidden behind many clouds. Ralet woke me and asked how I was doing. I told him I was great and I checked his bandages. Someone must’ve recently changed them because they were clean. He knew I’m not great.

  I tried falling back asleep. I couldn’t. I can’t. This page, this unfinished page was like a lantern in the greyness. It looked bright and nothing sh
ould be bright right now.

  It was our mission to kill the mason. Killing the mason paid for food, new equipment, even new recruits. He killed my sergeant and severely injured two friends. And at the time, I didn’t even know if anyone in First squad had been hurt or killed. Thankfully, they were fine.

  “Palon, what if the Mason was innocent?” I sat against the wall outside the cave and buried my head in my knees.

  “Innocent?” Palon knelt beside me. “It killed Cremn, Bea. It wasn’t innocent.”

  I looked at him. His expression softened.

  “Its creations did all of this. The wraiths and now this. Are we doing the right thing?”

  Palon offered me a hand and helped me to my feet. He walked with me to Kully.

  “Don’t think anything else of it. It’s over,” said Palon.

  I nodded and wiped my sleeve across my eyes. “How is Ralet?” I asked. My voice was weak.

  “In and out of sleep. I’m not sure.”

  “How are you?” asked Kully.

  I just shrugged and rested my forehead on my knees. I drifted off into sleep and didn’t wake until Palon placed his hand on my shoulder. Ralet had walked down to check on us. I don’t know where he found the strength. We didn’t know what to do. We couldn’t move Groose. Kully and Palon walked off, not too far, and called out, hoping that First squad would hear. They did. Miraculously. Skrale and the others showed up some time later and began helping. Nobody asked or accused or cried. They just helped. Teke helped get Groose down without reopening his wounds. Palon carried Cremn by himself. Ralet and I helped each other walk. It all blurred past. It moved quick or my mind moved slow. Now we’re here. What could come next?

  Dreck Slider Hunt

  Second and Third squads traveled to Ioila and investigated a deep pit that suddenly appeared in town. Creatures, known as Dreck Sliders, that usually roam in swamps or sewage of large cities, were found underneath the town. Their tunneling caused the ground to collapse, which formed the pit. The collapse killed half the Sliders before our squads became involved.

  Freshly butchered animals were used to lure the Sliders out of the tunnels, where our hunters quickly killed them. No casualties.

  Payment: 250 coins

  Warning: Dreck Sliders only become aggressive when very hungry. Either dispatch them without directly engaging or hunt them while they’re full and sleeping.

  Clay Mason Hunt - Day 121-123 of the year 546

  First and Fourth squads separated and explored the mountains north of Gettleville. The information received prior to leaving for the hunt was not accurate and we encountered countless creatures built by the clay mason. Members of Fourth squad were severely hurt and Cremn, the sergeant, was killed. First squad had minimal injuries and only found a few small groups of clay creatures. Explosives and blunt weapons were used to stop the creatures. A member of Fourth killed the mason inside its burrow.

  Payment: 350

  Warning for the unlikely future occurrence of a Clay Mason hunt:

  Breaking the masks of the nonliving creatures stops/kills them.

  Never split up. Be prepared to fight an army.

  Don’t go on the hunt.

  Day 133

  We’ve left Ioila. Everyone’s back together. Traveling isn’t the same as it used to be. It’s never really been anything, but it’s less than that now.

  “I wish the circumstances were better,” said Skrale a few days ago. “I never thought we’d lose someone like him. You’re a sergeant now. You fully deserve it.” Skrale tried to smile. He wanted to say he was happy for me, but neither of us were. “Who should be promoted to corporal?”

  “Ralet, I think.”

  He nodded like he already knew. He’d talk to Ralet and tell him privately when we make camp. Skrale gave me Cremn’s prized sword. I sat with it for a long time and stared at the polished blade. It really was beautiful. After some thinking, I sheathed the weapon and gave it to Palon.

  “He would want you to have it,” said Palon.

  I shook my head and sat beside him in the grass by his tent.

  “Even if he did, I think you should keep it,” I said. “Keep it safe and use it to its full potential. It’ll be better that way. It’s too big for me anyway.”

  Palon pulled the blade part way out of the scabbard and watched as the firelight reflected off the steel. He nodded and watched the flames dance. We didn’t look at each other for a long time. Just the fire until it turned into glowing embers.

  “Would I have been able to save him if I did something different?”

  I leaned against Palon and hugged his arm. He stiffened for a moment before he let out a deep breath and leaned back against me.

  “It wasn’t anyone’s fault. We just need to help Groose now.”

  I felt Palon nod and lean a bit more against me. He fell asleep, so I stayed and watched the embers until I needed to sleep.

  Day 134

  The company has been marching in silence. Only the creaking and scraping of the wheels filled the air. We didn’t hold an official burial until the whole company was together. It wasn’t a good day. Groose is hardly awake and not able to move and nobody knew what to say about Cremn. There was too much to say. Everybody loved him. He recruited me and trained me. I’ll always follow Skrale, but it has felt like I was following Cremn more than anyone else for the last three years. Heff and Lekk have been spending more time with Teke as they talk about the old days. I wish I could hear some of their stories without intruding.

  Everyone wanted to know what happened, but none of us wanted to tell the story. Skrale, with my permission, passed around my journal and let the literate ones read it.

  No contracts for now. Skrale wants to travel. Find a big city. Somewhere to buy new equipment. My sword is broken, Palon’s armor and shield are ruined. All our reserve axes are dulled or broken from the wood wraith hunt. He said, “Just enough time off to find some energy and heal up.” He doesn’t want anyone getting comfortable. But we also can’t take on anything until Groose and Ralet are able to fight again. If Groose is even willing to keep being a hunter.

  Day 135

  Ralet bled through his bandages last night and had to wake Kully early. A small infection had taken over the shoulder. Kully woke me and had me go grab Teke, who got up silently and grabbed two jars. One filled with liquid and one with powder. The sun had just started to rise and nobody was moving around camp. Teke jogged over to Ralet’s tent and immediately knelt beside Kully. They were sitting outside in front of the tent.

  “Thanks for coming, Teke. I don’t have anything for it.”

  Teke pulled the new bandage off Ralet’s shoulder. It was discolored and bleeding. Teke pulled the corks out and poured some of the liquid onto the wound. Ralet flinched, closed his eyes, and clenched his jaw. Teke waited a moment and poured some more liquid. Ralet swore.

  Teke dabbed the wound with a piece of cloth and pulled a wooden spoon out of his pocket. He scooped some of the heetan powder out of the jar and sprinkled it onto the wound.

  “Fuck. What are you doing, Teke?” asked Ralet.

  Teke grinned and wrapped a bandage over the wound.

  “You’ll be fine, Ralet. This should stop the infection and slow any bleeding or oozing. Kully will keep the jars if the infection returns. The pain should fade soon.”

  Ralet nodded. “I still hate you.”

  Teke handed the two closed jars to Kully.

  “Check it three times a day and rebandage. It should all be fine.”

  Kully thanked him and put the jars with his other supplies. Teke patted me on the shoulder and walked back to First squad’s camp.

  Groose woke up for a bit as the sun rose higher into the sky. He used his strength to thank me and Kully, then went back to sleep. Palon got up later than everyone else and hasn’t talked to anyone. He’s just eating in silence and keeping his distance from the rest of the squad. We made eye contact, which he held for some time before walking away. He’s spent
most of the day at Groose’s side. Just sitting silently. He cares a whole lot. I think that’s why he’s alone. Cremn was tremendously important to every one of us. Palon specifically was always very close to Cremn. The company found Palon as a worn down, beaten veteran from a small war in the kingdom just east of where I grew up. I’ll look for Skrale’s entry about Palon when I settle into camp at the end of the day.

  Groose is awake. The two of us have been sitting with our backs against a tree trying to make up a new game with cards. We have no idea what we’re doing. He winces every time he reaches forward, and he’s been sweating a lot. Kully and Teke check on him all the time and watch from a distance.

  “How is everyone doing?” asked Groose as he dropped his last card onto the pile.

  A small breeze blew the deck of cards over. We both watched the cards move without trying to stop them.

  “It’s rough. Palon isn’t talking much anymore and Ralet has been in a lot of pain.”

  “I want to help.” Groose took a long drink of water and poured too much. He coughed and spit water onto his legs. He laughed and handed his waterskin to me.

  “I’m okay. I have my own.” I reached over and grabbed his hand. “You don’t need to help with anything. Just focus on healing. That’ll help Ralet heal and Palon will feel better when you two can argue again.”

  “I’ll get better soon. I promise. Look, it’s hardly bad.” Groose lifted his shirt and revealed the terrible, stitched gashes along his side.

  I shook my head. “It’s pretty bad. I don’t want to see that again.”

  Groose tried leaning over to look at his own side.

  He flinched from the pain.

  “How bad is it?” he asked.

  “It doesn’t look great. Just keep it clean and stop bending.”

  He dropped his shirt and grabbed my hand again. “I’ll be better soon. I promise.”

  It only took me a moment to find Palon’s entry from Skrale’s journal. He wasn’t far after my own.