Hunter's Choice

by C E Keene

  Arheis didn’t bother to make the argument that some of his fans had wondered where he was. That didn’t seem like a huge consolation, and the one who’d contacted that paper even admitted Paul had an unusual streaming schedule, so nobody really thought twice about it.

  Instead he was left feeling empty and—strangely—like he could understand exactly what Higrem was saying. After his mom died, Arheis—Simon—withdrew from everyone in his life. He was an only child, his extended family lived in different parts of the world and couldn’t be bothered to send him a Christmas card, much less visit him, and he’d always had trouble making friends.

  Work had been the bulk of his social interaction, and those connections were shallow at best.

  But to just abandon the real world and live in a fantasy…

  “Why did you do it?” he finally asked, after a long stretch of silence.

  Higrem had made his way further down the beach and was pulling a crate of oranges onto the shore. Rather than just stand there and watch, Arheis moved to help, following the other man’s lead and discarding any that seemed inedible after their stint in the ocean.

  For a long time, Higrem said nothing. Then, “Because I had to.”

  It sounded like another half-assed, cryptic answer, but it didn’t feel that way. There was a note of sadness in the man’s voice that told Arheis more than Higrem was apparently willing to say. It also told him not to pry any deeper into the topic of who Higrem had stayed for. Not yet.

  There was something more pressing, anyway. A question that settled like a lead weight in his stomach.

  “And will I?”

  Higrem straightened with a sigh. Arheis expected annoyance, but when he looked at the man, he just seemed tired. “I can’t answer that. But I can tell you it doesn’t just happen, and it’s not something you do without thinking about it. You will be given a choice, and you’ll know when it happens.”

  “Like a system prompt, or…?”

  This time it was definitely annoyance. Higrem gathered up the things they’d salvaged and started walking back toward the cave. “No, not a system prompt, not a pop-up message, none of that other gamey bullshit. You’ll be given a choice by a literal person. Probably someone you’ve already met.”

  There were so many questions to ask, and yet Arheis already knew they weren’t going to get him anywhere. Not when Higrem was taking long strides down the beach. Not when he seemed so unwilling to volunteer information about himself.

  “We need to get moving,” was all he said.

  They did. Treyous needed medical attention. Everyone else needed a chance to rest and recover without having to be on guard constantly.

  And Arheis needed a chance to process everything he’d just learned.

  12

  As it turned out, wandering through a dark cave with two injured people in tow wasn’t really conducive to deep thought.

  They’d made a couple of torches before breaking camp, and Arheis held one along with Zindar. While the Pruvari had taken up post at the front of the party—since he seemed to have some vague idea of where these tunnels might lead—Arheis hung back with his to keep an eye on Treyous.

  Bren and Mira were helping the captain walk. She’d told Bren to take it easy since her own wound could be opened up easily enough, but Treyous’ first mate hadn’t listened, and no one had the heart to fight her on it when it was obvious she felt responsible for her captain.

  Higrem was up near the front, his sword drawn, ready to lop off the head of anything that came in range, apparently. The three sailors—Rollo, Harland, and Jevon, Arheis had learned—made up the middle of the party, with only one of them having any kind of weapon to speak of.

  They weren’t equipped to fight. Even Higrem knew that. But thankfully it didn’t seem like these caves were heavily trafficked. There weren’t any tracks or anything else Arheis might have been able to pick up. Just moss, mushrooms, and rock formations. Every now and again he saw bugs skitter by, including a very large centipede.

  It was uneventful… until it wasn’t.

  They’d been walking for a couple of hours already, by Arheis’ guess, when a tunnel in the distance began to emit a blue light. Zindar had hurried forward, thinking it was an exit. But when they’d all rounded the corner, they found themselves in the middle of a large chamber that was definitely still enclosed.

  Enclosed and absolutely filled with blue crystals.

  They grew in formations that sprang up from the ground, spreading across the chamber almost like ivy. Every cluster emitted a bright light, and when they got closer, it sounded like the crystals were humming with vibration.

  Galen immediately broke away from the group to check them out. “These are exactly the same as the one you found. And they’re all just… here.”

  That didn’t seem too strange. Crystals grew in areas like this, as far as Arheis knew. They’d found the last one in a cave.

  But it didn’t take much of a leap to realize that the presence of these crystals might mean the same thing it did in Lacerda.

  “We need to be on our guard,” he told everyone, lifting his torch to try and see to the far reaches of the chamber, as if he expected to find a group of slavering beasts just waiting to devour them.

  “I forgot these were down here,” Zindar said, frowning. “I don’t know that I thought much about them before. I definitely never saw them do what they did to the Nepondus Queen.”

  “It’s probably best to leave them alone for now,” Mira said, her gaze directed at Galen.

  The elf searched his robes for a notebook, but when he opened it, the pages were waterlogged, the ink smeared. A deep frown etched its way into his face. “I just want to get a sample. For comparison’s sake, and so Archibald knows exactly what I’m talking about.”

  "I guess a small sample wouldn't hurt anything," Arheis said.

  As if it mattered. Galen was already using his knife to try and break off a piece of the quartz-like crystal.

  "If we're attacked by some frenzied beast, I'm blaming you two," Mira muttered.

  Fair point. They weren't in any shape to fight right now. Arheis wasn't even sure he could defeat something that was well below him in level.

  He held his breath as Galen tapped on the crystal formation, breaking off a small chunk. The elf slipped it into his pouch and slid his knife back into his belt.

  "That should be enough."

  Arheis waited for something to happen. A howl to echo through the caverns. The screech of some winged creature racing toward them. The rumble of a subterranean slug. But there was nothing. Just the drip of water, the hum of the crystals, and the occasional skitter of bugs that were too small to be an issue.

  "Be on your guard," he said to Higrem, one of the few who had nothing else to occupy his arms.

  Higrem nodded, and they resumed their trek through the cave system. It was a good thing they'd been able to make a fire and dry their clothes somewhat last night, because the deeper they got into the cave, the colder it was. Arheis' fingers began to go numb despite his gloves, his lips were painfully chapped, and his nose was practically frozen.

  It was worse for Treyous, though. He was only barely conscious, unable to walk on his own. Mira and Bren were supporting almost all of the man's weight, and it was easy to see when he started to shiver uncontrollably.

  "Hold up," Arheis said reluctantly. "Are there any coats or cloaks in the supplies we managed to get from the beach?"

  "I'll check," Rollo said, letting down the pack he'd been carrying, undoing the drawstring, and searching through it.

  Even from the back of their group, Arheis could see there wasn't anything of the sort. It likely would have been too wet to use effectively, anyway.

  "Maybe we can keep the torches near him?" Zindar suggested. "We'll have to move slower, and everybody will need to stay bunched together, but it'd keep him warm."

  Arheis nodded and fell in closer to the captain, holding his torch up to perform that dual purpose.
The rest of the party formed around the small group, and Arheis had to hold the torch up higher than before to cast any light down the passageways. It wasn't the most effective way to travel, but slowly Treyous' shivering eased.

  It took another half hour or so before they began to see something other than rock walls and the occasional cluster of crystals. Shining the light down a tunnel that Zindar pointed out, Arheis saw a pair of columns that didn't look like any architectural style he'd ever known.

  They were made of a glossy metal, with panels set on each side and intricate designs that seemed like they'd been inscribed in the metal, or possibly even burned into it.

  As they moved through an archway made of that same metal, the cave changed from something natural and familiar to what honestly looked to Arheis like the inside of a space ship or some kind of futuristic bunker.

  Ribbed metal lined the walls, the same panels marked with characters he couldn't read. Above them, more panels, these inset with crystals that functioned like light bulbs, casting a glow so they could see exactly where they were going, even without the torches.

  "What is this?" he asked, no small degree of awe in his voice.

  "Pruvari architecture," Zindar said.

  There was pride in his friend's voice, and why shouldn't there be? This was absolutely incredible, especially for a world that utilized what Arheis would have otherwise thought a medieval level of technology.

  "Wait, Treyous mentioned there was a settlement near here. Is this it?"

  He asked the question before remembering the brief talk he'd had with Zindar. His companion stiffened slightly, but then explained, "It's leading up to one. These tunnels were built to give us easy access to the beach."

  "This is very impressive," Galen said with the same sense of wonder Arheis felt about the whole thing.

  It was impressive. As they continued on, Arheis felt like he was walking through some old Sheikah ruins in a Zelda game. The advanced tech was so startling, so surprising, and yet it fit perfectly with the cave system.

  There were even stairs built into a particularly steep walkway, with a platform that met the cave floor. He climbed up with ease, along with all of his current companions.

  The sound of several pairs of boots walking over metal filled the cave, bouncing off of the walls and making everything that much louder. Some stones shook free, and for a moment Arheis thought the noise was causing it. He held up a hand and halted everything, lifting his torch up to better examine the affected area.

  This time when it happened, he felt a tremor beneath his feet. A quick look at his companions was enough to see that everyone was still.

  "I don't suppose the Pruvari have some kind of machine that might cause that shake?" Galen asked hopefully.

  Everyone knew the answer, even before Zindar shook his head. There was something in this cave system. Something big. Something they wouldn't survive if they had to fight it.

  Higrem took the lead, pulling his sword from his back. "We can't be in this tunnel. It's suicide."

  He was right. Even if the cramped quarters didn't make it impossible to fight, there was a very real chance the creature could send everything crashing down on their heads.

  "It should open up soon," Zindar said, and so they pressed on as a group, sticking close together.

  The tremors became much more violent, with larger stones shaking free instead of just pebbles and rock dust. One of the crystals used to light the walkway was even wrenched from its socket, shattering on the ground just behind them.

  "There's no way we can fight this thing," Arheis said to Higrem. "The best we can do is hold it off long enough to get Treyous to safety."

  "Speaking of suicide," Mira said, giving him a look that spoke volumes.

  "We don't have a choice. I'm the only one who has a shield."

  "And I can do enough damage to it to make it think twice about closing in," Higrem asserted, the flat edge of his blade resting against his shoulder.

  It wasn't much of a plan—especially when he had no idea what they were up against—but it was better than nothing.

  Moving quickly to avoid being penned in, Arheis passed off his torch and drew his spear and shield once they reached an open chamber. Had the tremors stopped, he might have taken a moment to appreciate the fact that this entire room was filled with panels so smoothly polished they reflected like mirrors.

  But in addition to the shakes, he could now hear the sound of something scraping against rock, and a shrill chittering that seemed to come from every direction.

  Arheis raised his shield, his gaze moving from passageway to passageway as he tried to sort out exactly where it was coming from. It was no use, though. The closer it drew, the more the sound traveled all around them. It was like a train rushing through an underground subway, drowning out any other noise and filling the entire cave with the certainty of its arrival.

  "Behind you!" Mira called, and Arheis spun on his heel, planting his boots with his shield held out before him.

  What he saw almost defied explanation.

  It was a large beast, taking up almost half the tunnel it was moving through. Wiry, pale yellow hair covered a plump body, tapering off near the head and feet to reveal pink, wrinkly skin. Long, sharp claws extended from its forelimbs, the edges of them covered in dirt and debris.

  But by far the strangest part of the creature was its… face? Arheis could only guess that based on the positioning of it, because it certainly didn't have any of the features normally associated with a face.

  There were no eyes. No ears—at least none that protruded. No mouth he could see, and the nose was a pink, fleshy thing that was shaped like some kind of sea anemone. It twitched and expanded, and Arheis shuddered, feeling like he'd suddenly been set upon by a thousand of those centipedes he'd seen throughout the cave.

  He opened his mouth to tell the others to take Treyous down a separate passageway and get as far away from the beast as they could, but Zindar clapped a hand across his face.

  Arheis looked at the Pruvari in surprise, but his brows were lifted meaningfully, and he raised a finger to his lips. So Arheis remained quiet, even when Zindar's hand dropped.

  He tried not to move; tried not to even breathe as he watched the creature. It seemed to be sniffing, which defeated the purpose of being quiet so it couldn't hear them, but Arheis wasn't about to make himself even easier to identify.

  As he stood there in that clearing, every muscle taut with anticipation, the beast pulled itself through the tunnel with its trawl-like claws.

  It took an unbelievable amount of time to even reach the clearing, and once it was there, Arheis could see why. Its back legs looked unformed, like a baby bird's wings. They were bony and covered in very little muscle. No hair, either. Just that wrinkly, pink flesh. Both back legs just dragged uselessly on the ground, scraping along, making the sounds he'd heard earlier.

  Even though it didn't have eyes, Arheis tensed when the creature's head "looked" in their direction. It opened its mouth to reveal two long teeth with a blunted edge, and he finally had something to compare the thing to. A mole. It was some kind of giant alien mole beast. Definitely not the sort of creature he'd ever want to encounter in the dark.

  But it also seemed… incredibly ineffective. Its nose feeler thing twitched some more, it let out a shrill sound, and then it just turned away from their group and made its way to another tunnel. Slowly. So slowly that it was almost painful waiting for the thing to leave.

  Once it reached the tunnel and had something to grab on to, it was faster, but even then Arheis was positive they could have outrun it if need be. They just… didn't need to. It was leaving, and when the sound of it passing through the caves grew distant, Zindar finally spoke.

  "I don't know what its actual name is, but my people call it the World-Shaper."

  Arheis could see why. The passage it had come from was carved out, deep gashes cutting into the walls. It was almost like some kind of terraforming machine, only he
suspected at that speed it would take a few centuries to actually shape any worlds.

  "Is it supposed to be so…" Mira began.

  "Slow?" Zindar asked.

  "I was going to say 'gross,' but sure, slow works."

  Bren snorted and a smirk tugged at Arheis' lips. He'd fought other creatures in past Apex games that were higher on the gross scale, but that one definitely had a firm hold in the top five.

  "They spend their lives underground, so everything about them is affected by the lack of light, and how cold and damp it is down here."

  "I'm surprised your peoples' architecture is still standing," Arheis mused.

  "We built it to ward off the World-Shaper, and to reinforce these caverns," Zindar explained. "It doesn't like the feel of the metal, or the light from the crystals."

  Looking at the passageways that were lined with Pruvari architecture, Arheis could see that none of them had been touched. It was fascinating, and the Hunter inside of him wanted to learn more about it, and sketch out some of the marks the creature had left behind so he could better identify it in the future.

  But the practical side of him knew that they didn't have time. Treyous looked pale again, and he was babbling incoherently. Mira held a hand to his forehead, frowning.

  "He's feverish," she said, searching through the pouch at her waist—the one she'd put some of the cave plants into. "I'll give him something to bring it down, but we need to keep moving."

  Arheis nodded, putting away his spear and shield. With the World-Shaper gone, they were back to having only one goal, and it was a goal he would see through. He owed Treyous that much, at least.

  Zindar was leading again, walking with more certainty as they traveled down a Pruvari tunnel. Mira treated the captain while they were walking, slipping something into his mouth and instructing him to chew. His jaw worked weakly, but he managed it.