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061 - The Great Hunt

***

"How boring. Brother Soo, boring, boring, boring!" Min chewed the hem of her robe, her feet resting on her brothers back. "Come on. You heard him, he is one of those barbarians, nothing more!"

Soo and Min were both on the upper branches of a tree within the woods near the hunters camp. Soo stared out, cupping his ears, a yellow light shone around his head.

"Brother Soo, come on. Don't ignore me!" Min kicked Soo's back. "Boring! Boring! Let's go!"

Soo said nothing back, his eyes entirely focused on the field and the people milling about.

The members of the Witching Road picked through the battlefield, gathering up all the trinkets from the dead hunters they could find. Waldemar had Carl Lang loaded into his carriage, at his signal they set off down the road. The agents from the Witching Road left back into the woods to the west.

Soon, the whole field was empty, silent except for the cawing of crows and other scavengers who had descended and were feasting on the bodies of the dead.

"Boring!" Min kicked again. Another hour passed, the sun rising up into the blue skies. "Has he gone? Is the boy you're following still even there?"

"He is." Soo replied. "I'm certain."

"What are we waiting around for now? Come on Soo . . you promised we'd go to Meridie!"

Soo sighed again. "Alright. Ok. Sister, you win. The formation is fascinating . . I can't quite place it . . it seems so familiar . ."

"Well brother, why don't you just go ask the barbarian boy?"

***

Magnus was sure he was alone in the field. Hours had passed since Waldemar and the others had left him in this field of dead hunters. He paced up and down within the formation. Should I go now? Wait a little longer? It still feels like someone is watching me . .

And where ought I go? Back to Kujata? Or should I go looking for the Shadow Bull . . ah hells, what chance do I have of finding that by myself? What about the Witching Road? They are fighting the Alchemists! But the plan . . Kujata's plan to get into the tower . .

The plan. The first stage - power. The second stage . . sneak into the Alchemists tower. Magnus was still a little fuzzy on quite how this could be accomplished, but there seemed to be a few paths open to him. The first was to be accepted as a disciple of the Alchemists, like he'd seen Byrant Tygis be accepted by that old Alchemist in Doohama.

They'd let Byrant and his father in at Festus’ recommendation . . right. So, all Magnus needed to do was be accepted as a student Alchemist, right. Ha. Haha ha ha. Magnus shook his head and laughed. Easy, right?

What other ways were open? Wait for the tower to appear and just jump in? Well . . they had their formations, he'd seen those . . and those didn't seem so easy to get into. There must be countermeasures, ways of denying outsiders entry . . it really would be no good to just force his way in, that was only asking for trouble.

Alright. The next way? Get on an Alchemist's good side . . . Magnus paled at the idea. The very thought of interacting with an Alchemist . . of having to suck up to someone like Festus made his heart quicken. Not a chance. Not a bloody chance. What then? If I can't even think of it, what chance do I stand once I get into the tower? That place must be full of bloody Alchemists . . you've gotta control yourself Magnus . . calm. Hold it in . . if it is the only way, you've gotta repress those feelings. If you have to kiss an Alchemist's arse to get in . . suck it up, think of the bigger picture.

The bigger picture . . what was the bigger picture here? Once I get into the tower, then what? Kujata had her own plans . . she'd never been too clear on them, said that Magnus would have his chance for revenge . . and then? What about after that? Would he be trapped in the tower, alone . . just himself and a tower full of Alchemists . . . ah. Well . . that wouldn't be so bad . .

Alright. Power. Strength. Then . . the best way to find an Alchemist? Hmm . . the same way I followed the hunters to find the Griffon, couldn't I follow the Witching Road to find an Alchemist? It makes sense . . join the Witching Road, follow them until they are fighting an Alchemist and . . and . . Magnus gulped . . save him. Then, go with the Alchemist because, you know, surely they would let Magnus be their follower and let him into the tower, right?

Ah hells, that's the best idea? What else is there? Maybe . . maybe I don't need to save an Alchemist! Maybe I only need to get in good with someone who the Alchemists have accepted as a student, right? Yeah! Lord Tygis was allowed into the Alchemists tower with his son, no? That makes a little more sense . . . so I only need to find someone who an Alchemist has recommended . . easy, right? So, what's the best way of going about that?

Hmm . . joining the Witching Road? Magnus weighed the token Waldemar had given him in his hand. It still seems like the best option. Surely, if they are hunting all those who collaborate with Alchemists, they have to be going after the students of Alchemists, right?

Magnus sat back down within the formation, consumed entirely by his thoughts. He didn't see the giant wolf as it bounded out of the forest and sped towards him, didn't even notice it gallop over the corpses and sniff around the woods for trees formation.

"Sif!" Magnus shot to his feet, dashing out of the formation. The giant white wolf sat obediently, dropping the wax candle on to the ground before Magnus.

Magnus picked it up, weighing it in his hands. It felt light, abnormally so, even for a somewhat stubby thick candle, it felt like it would float out of his hands with the slightest breeze.

"What's this Sif?"

"Awoo!"

"Ah. A candle. From Kujata?"

"Awoo!"

"Well . . what am I meant to do with it?"

Sif turned its head to one side. "Awoo?"

"A candle . . a candle . . I guess . . I'm meant to light it?"

"Woof!"

"Ah. Excuse me."

"I guess if big sis has sent it all this way she means for me to . . "

"Grr!"

"Ahem. Pardon, but . ."

Magnus spun around. Behind him was a young man and girl dressed all in white, short swords at their side. The brother and sister! Sif jumped up, growling at them both

"Look brother! Look how cute it is! Good wolf!" Min called out, delighted at seeing the giant white wolf. "Good boy! Or is it a girl? SIT!" Min commanded.

Sif instantly sat down, tongue lolling from its mouth.

Magnus mind went blank, his mouth falling open. His first instinct was to run . . . but the moment Min had commanded 'Sit!' he'd felt an almost irresistible urge to fall to the ground obediently.