The Tracker: Book 1 of the King's Hand Series

by B. A. Monaghan

  Roland was uncomfortable with asking what those magic’s were but he was curious. Maybe someday they would share what those gifts were.

  Roland had always thought the extra sense of smell was so wonderful and that there wasn’t much of a downside. But tonight it was different. Amelia’s smell was intoxicating to Roland. It was so hard to concentrate when her scent would distract him constantly. By the time the evening had ended he was sure he was infatuated with Amelia. He wasn’t in love or anything but he was infatuated. His mother warned him about this. He thought she was making it all up. Now, what exactly did his mom say? He had spaced out her comment because he didn’t believe her. Oh, how wrong he was.

  He left shortly after the dessert was served with his tea. The evening went better than he had expected. Shadow was sending him feelings of comfort and calm. Roland was sure Shadow was having a much better time. He could have done better but Amelia was so beautiful every time she looked at him his face burned as if he had a high fever. He left before it was too late.

  When they returned home he rechecked the pack to make sure he hadn’t forgotten anything. He laid down but it was a long time later he finally fell asleep. The images of the evening meal along with Amelia’s face kept him from falling asleep too quickly.

  Chapter 7

  The Orc Lands

  The next day Roland and Shadow met with the warrior Mateo. He was tall with a dark complexion. His hair was a dark brown, that hung down past his shoulders. His smile was what you would notice about his face. He had matching armor. It was a combination of chain mail, with padded leather covered in scale mail. He had a semi large shield. His arms, chest, and legs had more muscle than anyone Roland had ever known. He looked like a one man wrecking machine if it wasn’t for the big smile. Roland suspected that half the woman in the city would be after this guy.

  “You must be Roland, and Shadow. It’s good to meet you, my name is Mateo. The guild just doesn’t seem to have many good trackers at the moment. Imala said you had a mountain wolf with you but I will admit I doubted her.”

  “Shadow is a member of the guild too. So when you invite please invite him. He would like the experience. He doesn’t want a share of any coins. He thinks money is stupid.”

  “Well I’ll invite you then, and as the others show up I will introduce you to them. This group is my regular group except for you two. Our last tracker we had was over two years ago when he retired.”

  The group ended up having another warrior except he used a shield and spear with a hammer for close in combat. His name was Damari. He was shorter but much stockier. His armor was a complete mix. It did look very serviceable but even his gauntlets were different from one another. The next was the healer. Her name was Vena. She wore leather armor covered by a tabard with the symbol of the One True God. She had a small shield and a small mace at her side. Mateo invited everyone after introductions.

  “Please notice everyone that Shadow is part of the group. He is a member of our guild. How that happened, only Roland and Shadow know so maybe they will give us the story some night on this mission. Shadow won’t be taking any cut of the silvers we will get for this mission. However, he is in the group so he can gain experience. Are there any questions? No? good.”

  “The mission is this. We are looking for any proof that the elves are working with the orcs. That could mean providing armor or weapons or information with each other. We can attack and we can get 35 copper for every orc we kill. We cannot kill any elf unless they attack us first. The Treaty of Terex is still in effect. So we can defend ourselves but we can’t just out right kill the elves. If we find proof of orcs and elves working together the reward is 10 gold if we find something and 3 gold if we don’t. If there aren’t any questions let’s get our packs and get going.”

  Party Panel - Capitol

  Mateo Smithson Lvl 32

  Status: Healthy

  Roland Forestson Lvl 15

  Status: Healthy

  Shadow Lvl 15

  Status: Healthy

  Damari Wright Level 24

  Status: Healthy

  Vena Priest Lvl 28

  Status: Healthy

  The group was smaller than the group he had been with in Waterville. This grouped was much better prepared and they were all in a very good mood. This might have come from Mateo and his infectious smile. He was the eternal optimist.

  Shadow took out as soon as they left the city. Roland cast illusion on himself before heading out away from the group. He spoke very quickly with Mateo before scouting ahead. “Listen, Shadow and I will scout ahead. We are good at detecting just about anything that could be dangerous. If Shadow comes back to you by himself something is wrong so, follow him. As you can see I can camouflage myself. If you can’t see me don’t’ worry about it. I will let you know there is a problem before it happens.”

  Roland was off and heading out to scout. The land to the north of the capitol consisted of rolling hills with scattered trees and brush. This was a good farm land but the further they got away from the city the fewer the farms.

  The goal was to head due north until they hit the northern forests were the elves resided. They would then travel west until they were at the edge of the forest and the northern plains. If there was any cooperation between the orcs and elves the area along the forest and the plains is where they should find it.

  The first night Roland and Shadow were waiting for the group with a fire next to a small stream. They had four pheasants roasting above the fire. Mateo lead the group into the camp.

  “Roland why haven’t you been with us before now? For camp to be set up and food roasting as we get here. You are spoiling us and I’m not going to complain.”

  The group was in a good mood and the fresh meat helped. Everyone had guard except for Vena. Healers had privileges and no one complained because everyone wanted a healer in a group. This meant that the nights would be divided into thirds. Shadow and Roland would take the same time together. Everyone seemed to like Shadow but they didn’t think he was as capable of determining what was hostile and what wasn’t. Shadow didn’t mind one way or the other.

  The next day they started to see small herds of deer and antelope. These animals were prey, and prey means that there are predators. Shadow had found a few. There were centaurs, some lowland wolves that Shadow thought were cute, and probably the most concerning was a manticore. Roland had heard of this creature but had never seen one. Shadow didn’t know what it was but he saw the beast. The thing looked like a lion with a large man’s head and the hide was black. The tail was a scorpions and it had wings like a bat. The name Manticore means man eater in the old tongue.

  When they stopped for the evening they had a small antelope cooking. It should provide enough food for a few days. Mateo was concerned about the manticore. If the beast knew they were in the area it would defiantly come after them. They were hard to kill. They were magical creatures. The skin resisted most attacks and the tail was very poisonous. They were very alert that night in camp.

  The next morning, they split up the rest of the meat into everyone’s packs. Shadow and Roland were off before the group and things were looking good. That was until about mid-day and the wind shifted. The wind instead of coming out of the west it started to come out of the north. This wouldn’t have been a big deal but they were north of the manticore at this time and their smell might be detected by the beast. Roland headed back to Mateo to make them aware that an attack could come from behind them.

  Evening came and a storm was about ready to hit them. The wind had picked up and the sky was looking dark with lots of lightning. Roland had found a small rock formation that provided some protection from the wind. Roland was glad they had the meat left over from the previous night. The storm hit soon after they had made camp. They backed up under a small over hang. So they weren’t completely soaked.

  It was close to midnight. The storm had softened a bit. It was still rainy and windy but about half as hard as what it
was during the height of the storm. It was Shadow who jumped up first. Roland was up and stringing his bow. He kicked the others to get them up. Damari was on guard. He couldn’t see or hear anything. Shadow and Roland could smell the manticore. Even in the rain the smell was detectable. It must be close and the wind was swirling close to the rock formation or they might not have been able to smell it coming on a night like this.

  The group was up and preparing. They just about had their armor on when Shadow let out a growl. Roland’s hair stood up on the back of his neck. He knocked his first arrow. Mateo and Damari got their shields up while Vena and Roland stood behind the two warriors. Shadow went into the woods. Roland cast illusion on himself and on Vena. Then the beast came in running into the shields.

  Mateo slashed with his sword. Damari shoved the spear point into the chest of the animal. Roland fired into the neck of the thing. The arrow bounced off the hide and the slash and jab didn’t do anything either. The wings were beating the shields and pushing the warriors into the archer and healer. Shadow came out of the shadows and grabbed the tail from behind and began pulling the thing away from the others.

  The manticore became enraged. He turned his attention on Shadow. The arrows were useless. The only thing he had that might hurt it was his knife. It was so small compared to the manticore. The thing was bigger than the two warriors put together. It was off balance in the mud and being pulled backwards. It couldn’t get traction until it whipped its tail away from Shadow and faced him. The warriors ran forward bashing their shields into the back of the manticore but it ignored them. The tail was raising higher and was readying to sting Shadow.

  Roland told Shadow to keep out of range. He backed up and began dodging about. The manticore made three thrusts with its tail but was too slow to hit Shadow. Roland was running up behind it. The tail had come back after trying to stab Shadow. The tail almost came down straight behind the beast when it started back towards Shadow.

  Roland grabbed the tail with his left hand. The forward momentum wasn’t slowed to much because he was moving forward with the tail. The momentum helped Roland get up and over the monster. Just before he was over the head he let go of the tail and dropped on the manticore’s head. He buried the knife up to its hilt into the monster’s head. He struck two more times for good measure.

  The monster dropped where he stood. And all was going well till the muscles relaxed and the tail came back to rest behind the monsters. As the tail came back the stinger was dragged across Roland’s new armor. The stinger didn’t go through but it left a large gash in the armor. Boy was he glad for the armor. It didn’t hold up against a manticore’s stinger well but enough to keep him from being poisoned.

  Mateo, Damari, Vena, and Shadow all came running up to check on him. Shadow was sure he was fine but the stinger had come too close for comfort even for the Animal Bond. They pulled the monster away from their camp. They went back to their beds but no one fell asleep with their adrenalin running and pulsing through their bodies.

  The next morning the sun came out and it was about the nicest day they had since they had left the capitol. They looked at the monster and none of their weapons could cut the thing except Roland’s elven knife. He was sure glad his mother had given it to him.

  Roland spent the next hour skinning the hide. He salted the hide as best he could. He didn’t have enough salt. But he was hoping that the magical hide would keep for a while. He wrapped the hide in the wings of the creature. The skin of the wings was very thin. He was hoping they would be good when he came back for the hide. The wings might be good for making a good pair of pants and shirt. He dug a pit and place the hide inside. He would dig it out on the way back. It was too big to carry for more than a few days. He also took the poison glad and made some poison paste for his arrows.

  The stinger was amazing too. The stinger was about as wide as his broad head arrowheads. The center of the stinger was a small tube. They looked like he could put an arrow shaft into the tube. If he could knap a few arrowheads out of the stinger it might be effective against magical beasts. His elven knife might be able to do it. The stinger cut his armor like a hot knife through butter. If he could make arrowheads out of the stinger, then they might pierce through magical hides. The stinger was long enough to get about six arrowheads from it. That was if he could knap it with his knife.

  He took the stinger with him and they headed off continuing north. He did a quick check and found that he and Shadow had gained a level. Killing the manticore must have given him some good experience. Even Damari gained a level. He cast illusion on himself and almost disappeared completely with camouflage. He was getting better at his illusions.

  That night as they were having some more antelope he began trying to cut the stinger into 6 equal pieces. He got one piece cut before he went to bed that night. The stinger was tough but if this worked it would be worth all the effort. He worked on the one arrowhead for a full week before he had his first arrowhead. He took off one of his iron broad head arrowheads and placed the manticore arrowhead on the shaft. It was blacker than the black cedar wood.

  He had taken all the poison out of the gland and made a paste just like he did with the Forest Asp Poison and put that in the small tube going through the arrowhead. He took a piece of skin from the antelope and made a covering for this arrow. He didn’t want to accidentally poison himself. It would cut like his knife did. Sharp as ever and it would go through just about anything. That was his go to arrow when things got bad.

  The night around the campfires were going well. After the manticore incident the group completely accepted Roland and Shadow. Stories were told about old adventures and Roland even told them about how Shadow had been able to join the guild. They were amazed that he could communicate with a wolf. They knew he could communicate but they didn’t know the extent of the bond. They didn’t even know about the bond but he must be really good with animals.

  As they were working their way north the animal bond did begin to change. Roland started to get hints of the other animals near him. He could calm them down if needed. He could encourage them to move out of the way. This was helpful when they came across a small heard of giant rhinos. They might have been dangerous but the animal bond allowed him and his group to pass without incident.

  He opened up his status board that night and looked at his Animal Bond Panel and it had changed. It now said that he had an active status of interacting with other animals. It didn’t show that it cost any mana to do it.

  Animal Bond

  Blessed with magic from the Elves you are able to bond an animal to your life. The two you will complement each other even through death.

  Passive Abilities

  Share Attributes

  Increased Healing +.005/Second

  Increased Stamina +.05/Second

  Increased Strength +1/Per Level

  Active Abilities

  Cast Heal on Bonded Animal (50 mana)

  Interact with other Animals

  He would work on interacting with more animals. The rhinos didn’t want to move but they didn’t want a problem either. He had encouraged them to go over to some better vegetation to eat. There must be some type of give and take with the animals. It wasn’t like what Shadow and he had. In fact, since the bond with Shadow they had been spending more time close to one another. A touch seemed to be necessary before they began the day and at night they would sleep close to one another. Shadow was his comfort and according to Shadow Roland comforted him too.

  As he worked on the second arrowhead that night a mouse did climb up on his lap. He was looking for bits of food Roland had dropped while eating his dinner. He knew Roland and Shadow were safe. The bond made life a bit strange at times. Shadow said the mouse was just too small to eat. The smaller wolves might eat a mouse but he was a mountain wolf and they didn’t eat mice.

  They were up early as usual. Before they headed out a raven came by and sat on Roland’s shoulder. Roland gave him a piece of jerky. Roland
wanted to know what was ahead of them. The raven took off and headed out. Shadow took off and Roland cast illusion. The team was right behind them, and all Roland heard as he was jogging away was, “was that a raven?”

  The bird came back about an hour later. There was a large saber tooth tiger with cubs straight ahead. They had made a kill earlier in the day and the raven was hoping to get back to the kill for a few morsels before it was all gone. Roland directed the team to the west away from the cats. Shadow notified him of the cat too but the raven was a bit quicker. Shadow was irritated.

  The trees were getting thicker and the amount of meadows were decreasing. They were getting close to the northern forest. The northern forest would be filled with extraordinarily large trees. So when one of them spot one of the large trees they would know that the elves would be near. They continued throughout the day but they didn’t see any of the large trees but Roland was sure they were close.

  Mateo was the first to talk with him when they got into camp that night. “Roland was that a crow that landed on you earlier today?”

  “Yes. He was wanting some jerky so I gave him some if he would scout ahead for us. He was kind to do so. With him and Shadow we easily avoided a confrontation.”

  Vena was interested now. “So are you blessed with the gift of speaking with the animals?”

  “Well I don’t know if you would call it speaking to them or just understanding them. They don’t communicate like you and I are now. Find out what they want and you can make an exchange. He got some food and I got some information. Simple really.”

  She chuckled. “If it was that easy we would all be doing it. Maybe it is easy for you.”