Book 4 Chapter 5

“Three?” Dun asked in a daze, before standing up quickly… “The runners?”

“Ralo is leading one towards the hunting canyon but…” The messenger paused, his eyes dim, “Dra was caught… And the other two are coming towards the valley….”

“Shit…” Dun muttered to himself. He turned looking over towards where Tirr sat, “I don’t suppose you’d be willing to lend a hand huh? I know we haven’t discussed details yet but…” His tone was light as he tried to joke, yet his voice gave away the desperation that lied underneath…

Tirr got up as well, “We can finish talking afterward…” He moved to follow, motioning to the others, but stopped as he saw the mercenary standing still. He looked up at the large man quizzically, “Are we going or not?”

Dun let out a breath of relief, “Ah, yes…” They left the main tent moving out towards where the rest of Tirr’s honor guard rested. Their calm and confident demeanor stood out against the others moving urgently around the campground.

As the group approached, Dun probed the messenger further, asking about how three Beasts had managed to show up at the same time. The messenger grimaced, his expression pained as he went over the brief information that he’d been able to gather before leaving for help.

“I don’t know If I should call it unlucky or what… But from what we could tell, it started with two big cats hunting a Mountain Boar.” The messenger let out a sigh, “They must have been on it for a while and in the end drove it towards the lookout spot. Ralo and Dra both took off, trying to lead all three towards the hunting canyon, while the others did their best to provide support… But the cats were too quick, they caught Dra almost instantly…”

Dun let out a breath, making Tirr give him a questioning look. “The Bigs cats are one of the worst types of Beasts you can run into…” Dun Explained, “Doesn’t matter really what kind… But while other Beasts may kill you, big cats will enjoy it, it’s a game to them… And the result is never pretty.”

Tirr frowned and the messenger continued.

“In the end, the Boar was rampaging but Ralo managed to get it to follow over to the hunting canyon. The big cats started moving down towards the valley once they were done with Dra. The Hunting Team went to go hold them off but against two Beasts in the open… And with them there, there’s no one to help Ralo once she does lead it down there…”

Dun grunted, looking frustrated but Tirr nodded, “Okay, we’ll take care of this… And then we’ll continue our discussion….” Tirr finished right as they arrived at the honor guard…

Dun looked at him thankfully. “You…”

“Don’t get confused” Tirr said arrogantly, using his trick to look down on the huge man despite his small stature, “If I don’t like your answers once this is all done, we won’t hesitate to leave you and your people to whatever fate is waiting for you…”

Dun laughed. feeling like a large weight was lifted off his shoulders, “That’s fine, almost too good of a deal honestly…”

Tirr rolled his eyes looking back over the leaders of the Blessed and the rest of his honor guard. “Doron, Iesa, Lin… Go take the others to wherever this hunting canyon is and help deal with the Boar…”

Iesa and Lin agreed eagerly but Doron grunted his face full of doubt… You want us to take care of a Beast alone? The guards are one thing but I doubt most of them have even seen a Beast let alone fought one…”

“If this is going to be a common thing while we’re here I need to know that you’re all up to it.” Tirr spoke confidently, “As a leader, it’d be foolish if I didn’t know exactly how much I can trust you with. At worst you should be able to hold it off until I finish the other two off. And if you can’t even do that, then I’m not going to be able to let you do anything up here.

“Don’t worry my lord, it won’t be a problem…” Lin answered confidently, reminding Tirr of the apostle she followed. Iesa also seemed eager, making the old soldier’s caution seem unwarranted.

Doron sighed, “Alright, are you gonna be okay handling the other two?”

Tirr gave him a look, making Doron roll his eyes. “Alright, be safe…” He mentioned, looking over both Sera and Maria, they nodded back at him as he went off shouting for the others to move along as one of Dun’s clan moved to guide them.

That left Tirr, Maria, Sera, who was still carrying Garm, and Dun. Dun gave the group a worried glance before looking over to the little God. “Are you sure you’ll be able to handle two…”

Tirr frowned at the insult, “Garm could probably handle them both, but I’ll leave him one. Sera you can keep watch on him, don’t let him goof off…”

“Yes…” The teen girl answered, looking down at the pup in her hands with a stern look. Garm whined in complaint, feeling wrongly accused.

Tirr shook his head before turning towards Maria with a teasing look, “Should I let you and your new aspect deal with the other one?”

“Tirr!” Maria complained not too differently than Garm… Tirr let out a laugh as they started following Dun back towards the entrance of the valley. Maria had been experimenting with new aspects for a while now, and suffice it to say, it hadn’t gone well… Something Tirr had consistently teased her about.

Dun listened to them chatting feeling a little uncomfortable. It was his people’s lives on the line…

“Eh,” Tirr said to calm both of them, “Don’t worry, it’s been too long since I’ve been able to really get some exercise,” Tirr stretched, an evil look in his eyes, “Playing with a cute kitten sounds like the perfect way to warm up…”