PvP Dungeon Hunter

Hunting A Wolf

They had been walking for a long time. When Fowler came to a stop Akuji’s hand rested on the bark of a tree. From the distance, he watched and followed Fowler with his eyes. Fowler silently shifted from looking at the outline of footprints in the mud to moving towards the trees and examining them. The wind was blowing in their direction and upon its breath was an earthly smell as branches creaked and squirrels chattered.

Every now and then Fowler would come to a stop and gaze in the direction of the sun. It had been like this for hours now, he claimed that he had lost ground this morning looking after them. Akuji had mixed feelings about being here, but it wasn’t like he had a better solution. Fowler’s plan to keep them all safe, was for him to face everything but what if the wolves passed by him? There were so many of them that he had seen before, it wouldn’t be out of reason that some pass him and attack them. The dagger in his hand and Canta’s singing wouldn’t be enough besides that song even took a while to do it and might even have certain requirements.

“How far have they gone, Mr. Fowler?” Canta asked, as she dropped down next to him looking at what appeared to be deer skin.

“Wolves can run very far so it could be a good distance away, however, we are in the right spot,” he said almost like a whisper.

He pointed to the paw prints on the ground, the skin, and finally the trees. Akuji couldn’t make out what he was saying as the birds chirping was louder than his whispered words. He pulled out what appeared to be a book, Akuji despite being a distance away saw the drawings of plants in the book as he pointed to one. The system identified it for him with ?????.

Canta nodded her head when he pointed to the plant and when he shifted the page there was a smile on her face.

If they had waited by the camp and the bandits had not been detected earlier who knows what would have been their fate before he got back. Akuji scratched his chin as he realized there weren’t too many pleasant options. He watched them shifting from kneeling in the dirt while he leaned on a tree.

 Canta had been right next to him observing attentively and so too did Moonlight.  He showed her the signs of what he was looking for and she seemed a bit too excited for a girl to be playing in the dirt.  It was at this point when the birds chirping died down that the words became audible again.

“Wolves are hard to track,” he said, “they can sense us from a mile away and hear us even further than that.”

“Then how are we going to catch up to them?”

“Fowler smile and pointed. “You see that thick vegetation over there in between the rocks?”

“Yes.”

“That is, there den, they have been here recently. The wolf tracks got us here and the direction of the wind has also been in our favour.”

“So we will wait somewhere here?”

“Not exactly wait, we will set a trap, they are probably about fifteen wolves in this pack. We can’t take them all head on so we have to do it in a smart way.”

“Traps?” Canta said.

He looked at her and signalled for me to come closer.

“Don’t worry, we won’t be killing them.” He produced a bottle from thin air and showed it to her we will be using this along with rope and bits and pieces from the trees. The whole aim is not to kill the wolves, but to make it hard for them to fight back. So we are going to hide ourselves with this first.”

He produced another bottle for Akuji. As he approached both bottles held ???? marks.

“What is that?” Akuji asked as he looked at the two bottles.

“This is to mask our scent and the other is to put the wolves to sleep. It’s what I used to hunt with, humans all have a natural smell and animals can detect it.” He pointed to Moonlight. “The only way to get around this is by hiding that scent with natural scents.”

“So is this going to help? It looks like just dirt though.”

He chuckled. “It will and it is a combination of dirt and different leaves. We might have to take some more from around the area. We also have to ensure that we stay down wind.”

“What other animals live in this forest besides the wolf?”

He scratched his chin. “Besides the wolf, nothing really major hunts around here for miles. There are a few spider nests but they are at least two weeks distance from here. Other than that, prey mostly live in these parts. That’s because of the campaign against vicious monsters and a lucrative trade route that is nearby. Wolves are often seen as a nuisance, but aren’t outright killed either because they are needed to keep certain prey numbers down.”

“Campaigns against vicious monsters?”

“Yeah the Adventurers Guild, but the government has been funding it, unlike other locations where you have to provide the gold for help. They then take that money and give it to those under them depending on their rank. Which makes being a member of the Adventurers Guild in the Ceventia branch more profitable than anywhere else but of course it also makes it the hardest to get into.”

“How do you know so much about them? Were you an adventurer yourself?”

“Adventurer?” he laughed. “Nothing of the sort, I had maybe one or two run ins with some of their members and we had a conversation or two.”

“Oh, so like a friend?” Canta asked.

“Yes, sort of, a contact might be a better word or even an associate.”

“This trade route you mentioned is that far from here?”

“No, it’s actually quite close. He motioned his hand. “It’s in that direction it passes over most of the villages in the area as Ceventia doesn’t want to portray the other side of itself.”

“What do you mean?”

“The poverty, the thievery, and the corruption to everyone else, they must make themselves seem better than any other.”

“Where are you from?”

He chuckled again. “Sounded like a foreigner there, didn’t I?  I am actually from Ceventia. I was born and raised in the city, but...” He scratched his face. “Life happened, reality kicked in and I saw that the glimmer presented in front of me, the standard that was given to live up to was just that, just nothing more than a foolish standard. Do you pray to the old gods too?” He looked at me then shifted to Canta.

She nodded. “I pray to all of the gods when it’s their time. The village used to be the same as well.”

“That’s good, but if you ever travel to Cenvtia know this, that praying to any god is punishable by death.”

There was a pause in the conversation as Akuji turned his eyes back on to what Fowler had handed him. The ????? marks were moved and a new name popped up instead.

Animal Scent Masker

“You’re sure this stuff will work?”Akuji asked as he watched him rub it onto his exposed skin and his clothes before passing it on to Canta.

“It will, I have been hunting almost all of my life. Have a little trust Akuji.”

Canta placed it on herself, being just as thorough as Fowler had been before passing the last to Akuji.

“It may not be enough,” he said, as he gathered some shrubbery and sniffed them. He rubbed them across Akuji’s arms before handing it to him. He did the same for Moonlight.

“This will put them to sleep and this,” he produced another rabbit, “will be our bait.” He placed the bait in the centre and poured the stuff on it. Don’t let moonlight come near,” he said.

“Ok.” Akuji replied.

Sleeping potion.

“Now then,” he pointed to a corner in the bushes. “That is where we wait.”

                                                                             #

Akuji’s leg felt as though it had gone numb from being stuck in the same place for so long. The sun’s gaze had dropped as the shadows crept around in the forest. Still, nothing had happened the wolves had not returned and he was getting restless hiding in this thicket that itched his skin. He wanted to stand up badly and stretched, but the urge to do that was resisted only by the fact that the others were there.

Then it came, a loud and proud howl, it was not far away. It was followed by wolves gathering around the den including the one he had seen before. It still carried the skull by its name. They wasted no time and dug into the food on the ground. Would it be enough to take them all down? One after another, the wolves tore into it bit by bit. After they were finished, they either lay around or played with each other.

Shortly after the sleeping potion took effect, their moves became sluggish and by their names, the words sleeping was read on the status effect. There was only one that remained unphased, her jet black fur more pronounced in the night.

“Wait here,” Fowler whispered as he drew his bow first and shot a single arrow aimed towards the wolf’s feet as a whimper rang out he got up.

A loud growl pierced the air at his approach, Fowler was looking at the wolf face to face. This was dangerous. Akuji had to check the two bars again, two skulls mean more dangerous than one skull but what if the others wake up? Fowler seemed not worried or bothered by this fact.

He seemed to be talking to the wolf, Akuji saw his mouth moving but the words he could not make out. His actions, however, seemed as though he was apologizing, he lowered his weapon as he approached with a rope in his hand.

The wolf snapped at him once, then again, but it didn’t deter him as with one simple motion of his hand the wolf’s body drooped over and he tied it up with the rope.

What was all of that about?

Canta and Akuji had stood quiet as they watched. Fowler signalled for them to come out.

Was he crazy? Those wolves could wake up at any moment, but before Akuji processed it further, Canta got up and walked across to Fowler and Akuji followed.

“We have to tie up the rest now,” he said, “otherwise they will chase after us and catch us in a single night.”

I have binders that can be used to hold onto a creature for an entire day, use them. They are magical, but cheap and they will disappear after a while. He handed Akuji and Canta some as he sat down next to the wolf. Akuji glimpsed again at him while he went around tying up the wolves. He knew with certainty that Fowler was talking to the wolf but why? It seemed as though he was talking to an old friend and there were what appeared to be tears in his eye when he poured the sleeping potion upon the animal.

When they were done Fowler nodded his head, the sun now was about to dip.

He placed the wolf over his shoulder and held it with one hand. “We have to keep moving through the night. Don’t worry, I won’t allow you to get lost nor will I walk faster than anyone else. We have a good distance to go and we might not make it there until two to three days, so we won’t be taking leisure stops.”

“Are you carrying her to the village?” Canta asked.

“No, I am going to a witch, an old friend of mine that might be able to help, like I mentioned earlier it’s a bit complicated. Take my hand and you hold Akuji’s hand, Canta.”

She nodded and they proceeded forward with Fowler leading us hand in hand. Despite what he said earlier Fowler’s pace was fast Akuji and Canta struggled as their feet stumbled, faltered and they even fell to the ground in the dark on some occasions to keep up with him. It almost seemed like there was more to the situation than he led on although his face did not show it.

Why was he not carrying the wolf back to the village? It murdered someone’s family yet he held it with so much care for a hunter and now going to a witch it was all too strange. It was very strange indeed.

How long had they been walking now Akuji felt his legs reaching their limit and he knew Canta had to be at her breaking point but Fowler kept pushing on and on. Not saying anything in return, it was so dark that Akuji couldn’t bother to force a complainant. He was afraid that he might be left here of all places with these surroundings and that kept him silent.

Then Fowler came to a sudden halt near what Akuji heard was the running of water.

“We rest here for a while,” he said, placing the wolf down on the ground before he sat beside it.

A little light managed to penetrate the thick trees and Canta produced a water skin for both her and Akuji. They both drank it quickly. Akuji stretched his legs and rubbed them and in the dark, he barely made out Canta rubbing her bare feet.

Moonlight whimpered a bit and he heard him quiet down after drinking from the river. Fowler on the other hand was quiet. He approached the bustling water. He cradled his hand and brought some of the water to his mouth before scooping it and washing it over his face.

When he was done Akuji saw him place the wolf on his shoulder. He looked around almost as if looking for his bearings and then he finally spoke.

“It's time to move now. When I get the time Canta, I will make you something to wear.” He held out his hand and Canta took it gripping mine in the process as we got on our feet. This process continued for a while over and over again.

Until finally daylight broke through revealing their tired faces. Canta’s eyes were half closed and the effects above her head spoke volumes.

Tired Minus two dexterity.

The wolf on the other hand seemed quite fine.

He still couldn’t see anything for Fowler’s level or the black furred wolf. He wondered if it was to do with their levels, how strong was he really? He wondered and had he been that strong this whole time milling around in the forest that only seemingly contained wolves?

He came to a halt raising his hand in the air.

“Trouble.” he said.

Moonlight started to growl.

“Guess we got too close but this time Fowler things won’t go the same as last.” The men from the camp that had been tied up revealed themselves but they now weren’t alone.

From the trees more figures made their presence known. They moved in to surround them. All armed with blades that they dangled in front of them. Akuji shivered. His eyes darted. Where they going to kill us?