Notes on Monster Hunting

by Chad Retterath

  We found a blacksmith with an amazing shop. The weapons hanging on the walls looked like they should belong to kings.

  “Did we ever figure out why they searched us when we arrived?” I asked.

  Skrale shrugged. Okay.

  The blacksmith, a fat man with a bald head, came over and shook Skrale’s hand.

  “My name is Treik.”

  “I’m Skrale. This is Beatrice,” he pointed at me, “Kully, and Ralet. We’re monster hunters.”

  Treik’s gaze held on me and drifted up and down my body until Skrale walked between us.

  “So, what do you specialize in?” asked Skrale. He looked over his shoulder and rose his eyebrows a bit. I nodded. He’s the best.

  Kully and Ralet huddled around a large axe and took turns picking it up and setting it back down. I don’t understand why. I walked to a pile of swords and picked them up. The short swords were beautiful and balanced. I picked up a longsword and it was much heavier than I anticipated. It reminded me why I use a smaller blade.

  “Bea.”

  I quickly turned around and saw Skrale waving me over.

  “I’m covering the costs for your squad’s equipment. I’ll let Kully and Ralet know so they can get new weapons and we’ll tell Palon and Groose when we’re back.”

  “That’s amazing. Thank you, sir.”

  Skrale smiled. “I’d like to get you a custom sword. Treik will make you anything you want. Go plan it out with him and I’ll help those two find something great.” Skrale watched Kully and Ralet still doing something with the axe. “What are they doing?”

  “I really don’t know.”

  Skrale sighed and walked over to them. He put his arms around their shoulders and brought them over to the swords. I overheard him saying, “I don’t want to watch either of you try to use an axe that big.”

  “But it would make me look tough,” said Kully.

  “Nope,” said Skrale.

  Treik set out a stack of ingots on a bench and sat down beside them.

  “Anything special you have in mind?” he asked.

  “I need a moment to think.” I sat down on the dirt floor and rubbed my hand back and forth on it. I looked at my palm, which was covered in powdery dust.

  We talked it over and he made some sketches on paper with my ideas. It took some time before we finally designed something I’d really like.

  “I’ll get it done in a few days.”

  I met back up with the other three, who had found their way into the store next to the blacksmith. A lady sat behind the counter with her eyes closely following the three as they touched or tried on each of the fur products around the store. Her eyes met mine and all I could see was complete boredom.

  “Guys,” I said. Skrale, Kully, and Ralet looked over. “Let’s go.”

  ‘Thank you,” said Skrale to the lady.

  She grunted.

  Back outside, we watched people walking the streets while Kully and Ralet stopped into a general store. It looked cramped inside, so Skrale and I decided to sit and wait. Skrale checked the smelly animals in his bag periodically, ensuring they were still there.

  “This is an amazing city,” said Skrale.

  “It is, but there’s so much noise.”

  “There’s something about lying outside at night. Even in a tent. That night breeze, the stars, the sounds. It has always made me feel more relaxed than any inn ever will.”

  “Why are we staying at this inn? We could’ve geared up and headed off after a single night.”

  Skrale nodded his head. “You’re right, but I think we all needed the safety of the walls and the warm food. You, Groose, and Ralet all need to fully heal before we keep going. There’s no reason to march and look for work when your squad isn’t even ready for a fight.”

  “We’ll be fine. You saw Groose. He’s doing much better.”

  “He is. And I’m going to get him some supplies to make new munitions while we’re out. It’ll keep him busy until he’s feeling good again.” Skrale yawned and combed his fingers through his beard. “Groose had some terrible injuries, but he’s getting better quickly. It’s you and Palon that I’m concerned about.”

  “Palon just needs something else to focus on. He’ll be fine as soon as we get another contract.”

  “And you?”

  “I’m fine. I’m ready to keep going.”

  “Then why did you pass on the gaulmites?”

  Kully and Ralet appeared beside us, each of them carrying two bottles of liquor.

  “Ready to head back?” asked Ralet.

  I quickly stood and offered a hand to help Skrale to his feet. He smiled when he grabbed my hand, but it wasn’t his usual happy smile. Something about it hung in my mind.

  “Almost,” said Skrale. “We just need to stop by a place I saw earlier.”

  He led us to an alchemist’s, which had the appearance of a store I would normally avoid. Instead of a door, there was a faded blue curtain hanging in the doorway. Scents of all kinds of appalling things filled the air, even before I went through the curtain. The smells may have been pleasing to some, but they repulsed me.

  “Greetings,” said the alchemist.

  “Hello,” said Skrale.

  I stood near the door and watched Skrale pick up and look at each bottle on the shelf. Ralet and Kully shuffled over to a shelf of plants and stuck their noses on everything since their hands were full.

  Skrale set his bag of seafood on the floor and opened a wooden container. “What is this?”

  “Torol powder.”

  “Great.” Skrale set the container on the main counter. “Do you have any powders that burn? Oiled? Heetan?”

  The alchemist cocked his head. “What is your interest?”

  “I’m the leader of a company of monster hunters. We have a resident alchemist, a professional, that creates some weapons with the powders.”

  “That isn’t what those powders are meant for.” The alchemist inspected Skrale and looked over to me. “What you’re doing could be very dangerous.”

  Skrale placed his hand on the counter. “I’m aware. As I said, we have an expert. I would like to purchase the powders from you if you happen to have any.”

  The alchemist unlocked a chest behind him and pulled out three containers that looked nearly identical to the one of torol powder. The only difference was a layer of chipped paint across the top of the wooden box of a different color on each. “Yax, oiled, and heetan,” he said as he pointed at the three in turn. He placed his hands over the tops of the containers. “Are these what you are looking for?”

  Skrale nodded. “Indeed. I’ll take all of it.”

  “You say this expert makes weapons from these?”

  “We do. He created them himself and we’ve all seen them in action countless times.”

  “Would I be able to see him create these weapons?”

  Skrale looked to me. I shrugged. He shrugged. “Might as well.”

  “Thank you. I never imagined any of the alchemical powders would be used as weapons.”

  “We’re at the inn just up the road. The,” he paused. “The what?”

  “The Coconut,” I said.

  “Yes. That one.” Skrale handed the alchemist a stack of coins. “Come by during dinner tomorrow.”

  The alchemist nodded. “I certainly will. Thank you.” He stacked the wooden containers and placed them in a burlap bag.

  “Beatrice. Can you carry that?” asked Skrale.

  “Yeah.”

  When we reached the inn, Skrale immediately went to the counter and handed the seafood to the innkeeper while Ralet and Kully went upstairs. The innkeeper sounded delighted because I’m sure Skrale offered the food to the owners as well. I sat down with Groose and Teke who had cards scattered in front of them.

  “How goes the game?”

  Teke looked at me with the most depressing stare I’ve seen from him. His eyes were bloodshot.

  “I have no idea why I just spent so long pl
aying.” He threw the cards in his hand onto the floor. “I’m going for a walk.”

  “Did you win?” I asked Groose.

  He nodded. “I don’t even know what game we were playing and I won every time.”

  I laughed. He was being serious. Teke always wants to win, so he chooses games that he knows better than everyone else.

  “Well, here’s your prize.” I set the stack of containers on the table.

  He squealed with excitement. He set them in a row in front of him and took the tops off.

  “Okay,” he said, “which is which?”

  Shit.

  “I thought you would know,” I said.

  Groose shook his head. “Look. They’re all close enough the same color. Except torol. That’s torol.”

  “I thought there would be something that would make it obvious.”

  “The colors on the boxes show what they are, but I have my own colors for it. Torol would never be marked red. Yax is red for me. Torol puts out fire, so why would you want it the color of fire?”

  “Want me to go back and ask the alchemist?”

  “No. I can figure it out.” Groose licked his finger, dipped it in the blue container, and stuck the finger in his mouth. “That’s definitely heetan.”

  “You aren’t going to do that for all of them, are you?”

  He looked at me. There was a small drip of snot hanging on the edge of his nostril. “How else am I going to tell them apart?”

  I placed my face in my hands and sighed. And laughed.

  Skrale returned and sat down across from us. “Everything okay?”

  “Groose is tasting the powders,” I said, muffled by my hands.

  “I can just tell you what they are,” said Skrale.

  “Good idea. Last time I ate too much and got sick. Shit everywhere. It was a disaster.”

  “Red is torol, yellow is yax, green is oiled, blue is heetan. Is that enough?”

  “Absolutely. I can make enough so all four of us have a couple.”

  “Perfect. Do you want Trennor, Carner, or Wennel to help at all?”

  “Carner would be good. He’s better with the fiery ones.” Groose looked around, then put his hand beside his mouth. “Trennor and Wennel make terrible bombs,” he whispered.

  “I’ll let Carner know. The alchemist wants to meet you tomorrow and see you make some bombs, so wait until tomorrow to start.”

  “Yes, sir.” Groose looked at me and squinted. “Is it an appropriate time to start drinking?”

  I looked at Skrale. He shrugged. I shrugged.

  “Might as well,” I said.

  Skrale went to order some drinks and Groose was still excitedly fidgeting over his new powders.

  “Let Skrale know I’ll be back.” I stood, paused, and placed my hand on Groose’s shoulder. “Want me to bring those up to the room?”

  He looked at me, back to the powders, and then back at me. “Will you be careful?”

  I nodded.

  “Okay. Don’t drop them.”

  I stacked the containers and put them back in the bag. Upstairs, I set them against the wall right inside my room. I went next door and knocked. Only a grunt answered, so I opened. Palon was lying on the bed with his hands behind his head.

  “Skrale’s ordering some drinks for our squad if you want to join. It’s just Groose, Kully, Ralet, and Skrale. And me, obviously. Everyone else is still gone on that hunt.”

  “Okay,” he said as he stared at the ceiling.

  I walked over and sat on the end of the bed. Palon sat up and placed his back against the wall. He stared at me without saying a word.

  “I’m sorry,” I said.

  Palon moved over and hugged me.

  “Promise me something,” he said.

  I nodded, still in his embrace.

  “Always protect yourself first. Don’t let yourself die by saving someone else.”

  I looked at him. He had tears in his eyes.

  “Why?”

  Palon wiped his sleeve across his nose. “You’re as important as Cremn was to this company. And to me. I know you can handle yourself, but I’ll always try to protect you.”

  I hugged him again, then stood and wiped my eyes.

  “Come join us for a drink.”

  “I’m not thirsty.”

  “I know.” I watched him lie back down, hoping he would say something else. “Join us later. That’s an order.”

  “Okay.”

  The rest of the company returned covered in sewage and blood. It was a gruesome sight. The innkeeper yelled at them and chased them out before they tracked anything in. He suggested they go jump in the ocean. There’s a chance he was joking, but they all went swimming. A whole group of guys covered in sewage jumping into the water.

  They all changed clothes and washed up more just in time for dinner. The lobster and tayley were cooked by the innkeeper and served with roasted vegetables and toasted bread. I was the first one eating with a full plate. I made sure I was first in line. Before I finished eating my first mouthful, Palon sat down with a plate and two mugs of wine.

  I already had some ale, but he held out one of the mugs until I took it from him.

  “Pretty great dinner, right?”

  Palon stared at me with the faintest hint of a smile. “You might actually enjoy the food more if you take smaller bites. You know, so you can actually taste some of it.”

  I shook my head. “This way, I can taste all of it at the same time.” I shoved more food into my mouth.

  “That’s hard to argue against.”

  Groose sat down across from us like he was dropped from the sky. He almost fell off the bench from landing on it too hard.

  “Sorry,” he said as he righted himself. “I haven’t figured out how to sit down easily without bending.”

  Palon and I both sighed. Kully set plates down for himself and Groose and gave me a look that said he wanted to stop caring for Groose.

  “Thanks,” said Groose. He immediately ate the entire piece of toast he had. Probably three bites worth for most people.

  “It didn’t pus today,” said Groose.

  “What?” asked Palon.

  I choked on my food.

  “My side didn’t ooze at all.” Groose smiled.

  “That’s great.” Palon shook his head and laughed.

  “It wasn’t a joke. There was no oozing at all.”

  Kully nodded. “He’s right. It’s a great day for me. I didn’t have to clean any wounds this morning.”

  Ralet sat down beside Palon and leaned into the conversation. “What’s going on?”

  “Groose’s side didn’t pus at all today,” said Palon.

  Ralet let his head droop until his forehead rested on the table. I couldn’t tell if he was laughing or crying.

  “Anyone want to see my side holes?”

  “No, Groose. Nobody wants to see your side holes.”

  “What about you, Bea? Want to show us your side hole?”

  “Definitely don’t, Groose.”

  Day 146

  While I was shoving food into my face, the guardsman Teke and I had talked to walked up to the table and tapped my shoulder.

  “What?” My mouth was full of food. He probably had no idea what I said.

  He was in full uniform, probably on duty. “I wanted to let you know that the body you and that gentleman found had been noted as missing a few days ago. We had searched around and didn’t find him, so thanks for helping.”

  I swallowed, coughed, and wiped my sleeve across my mouth. The guard wasn’t impressed.

  “Do people go missing often?”

  He shook his head. “Not at all. Being a guard is actually a terribly boring job here. The most exciting part is usually exterminating gaulmites, but your company handled that this time.”

  “Well, I’m happy I could help. I’ll come to you if I find any more bodies.” I smiled.

  The guard laughed. “Please do.” He excused himself and went back to doing
boring guard things. I went back to eating.

  The alchemist arrived earlier than we thought he would. He appeared and sat beside Fourth squad without saying a word. It took any of us a moment to even notice him. I walked over and leaned on the table beside him.

  “Need a drink or anything?” I asked.

  “I do not need one. I only wish to see your expert, then I’ll be off.”

  “Groose, want to get your things?”

  His smile stretched across his face as he ran past me and disappeared up the stairs. I heard him mumbling the whole time about how running hurt, but he kept going.

  “Anyone know where Carner is?” I looked around, but couldn’t see him.

  “I’m over here, Beatrice.”

  He was sitting with the rest of Second squad at the next table over.

  “Oh. Hi, Carner. Are you ready to work with Groose?”

  “Yes. I’ll run up and help him carry everything.”

  “Thanks.” I looked at the alchemist. “What should I call you?”

  “The alchemist.”

  “You don’t have a name?” asked Palon.

  The alchemist sniffled and ran his hand through his hair. “It’s nothing to worry about.”

  “Weird,” said Kully.

  Ralet shushed Kully, then smiled at me. Corporal Ralet finally showing his authority. Skrale came in the front door without drawing much attention. I was already looking towards the door, so I saw him carefully open and close the door while carrying two bags of something heavy. He wore a hooded cloak, so only his beard was fully visible. After setting the bags down in the corner near the innkeeper’s counter, he tossed his cloak on top and walked over to us.

  “Alchemist, nice to see you,” said Skrale.

  The alchemist nodded.

  “Excuse me,” I said and walked over to Skrale. I grabbed his arm and pulled him away from the squads’ tables. “This guy is creeping me out.”