Harbinger: The Four Knights

Trouble On The Hunting Grounds

[No wonder they knew about father, they are out guest after all. But how did father met them? And more importantly how long will they stay with us? Both of them left a huge mess at the training grounds. Those guys are so devastated but knowing them, they are definitely thinking of getting back at them and those guys will stop at nothing to get what they wanted. And now that I know that they are staying in our residence, we need to take care of it ourselves. Just thinking about what is about to happen in the next few days is making my head a little dizzy. What a load of trouble.] 

I thought to myself as I stare at the both of them indifferently and instead of staring at me like I did to them, they both just flashed me a smile which makes me a little guilty of my behavior. “It’s good that you have already met at the training grounds which brings me to a subject, Marcus, I want you to take care of them okay? They are quite new to the life here and they do not know much about how things work here so I want you to look after them, you are quite older than them so you need to be a big brother, you understand?” my gentle mother said with a huge smile on her face which makes me want to tell her what really happened for my sudden return from the training grounds but I don’t think it would be a good idea to be doing so otherwise she’ll look at me like I am not a reliable person that she hopes I would be. 

“I understand but I will not be returning to the training grounds tomorrow, I plan to go hunting. Are they going to tag along as well? If they want then it would be a great help.” I turned to the both of them and then lastly turned to my mother who is quite surprise of what I was planning to do. “Hmmmm- that’s strange, I thought you prefer training more.” Well, I do prefer training mom. But there are times that you should not push yourself too hard and have a break once in a while and besides, the situation  at the training grounds is quite chaotic so it would be better if I don’t go there for a while. It’s troublesome to deal with those punks especially when they both blatantly showed that they knew me.

  “So are you both going to join me? I think the animals here are quite vicious especially for kids like us but I think we can take care of them.” I went back and asked them and surprisingly the one who did most of the fighting earlier decided to come with me without a minute of hesitation with his face full of enthusiasm. “I’d like to go, I want to know what kind of monster there is in these lands. And it would be great if they are strong, that way we can train while hunting isn’t that right?” the mood immediately drop such a huge depth that we can immediately understand how his train of thought works. “I think there is no such thing as monsters here in our lands Amon, from what I can remember, the only animals that might resemble a monster, if our description of monster are the same, would be the great ox or the mountain lion, there are also a little number of animals that are below them which can also be called a monster but they are all considered animals. Therefore hunting them is quite a good way if you want to earn money since their pelt and meat sells for a hefty amount of gold and silver.” Mother said explaining that monsters don’t exist on our lands and looking at his expression, he is not happy. 

[What the heck? He got bummed out immediately?] just thinking of the things that happened just today, I have a bad feeling that tomorrow would be a lot of trouble. “Well, I can’t guarantee a monster here just as my mom said but what I do guarantee though is that the animals here are quite stronger than usual and that is what we have to look forward to. So if you think you came to train, then that place is the right choice.” I added so that he will not be as bummed as he is now. 

[But seriously, with the strength that you showed earlier. I doubt the animals here would satisfy you at all- would it even be called a challenge? But isn’t this great? If we hunt a low of animals we will get a hefty amount of silver or even gold. Hmmmmm- now that I see this in a new light, I think with them tagging along will not be as troublesome as I thought after all. With Abel as a healer, and both of us as hunters, we can hunt to our hearts content!] a smile on my face the moment the idea came popping in my mind.

               After dinner, Marcus surprisingly opened up to us and ask his mother if he can take us somewhere after dinner telling her that he is going to tell us something. Seeing how her son might have changed a little, aunt Kassandra permitted and Marcus dragged us back to his room like a kid who is excited to bring his friends to his room for the first time.

               A few moments later we are all facing each other with our hands placed on the table. [What’s with this serious atmosphere- is this what Marcus want to show us? That he is the leader of the house if his father is gone? I didn’t know there is a method for this!] I thought to myself as I write that down in my head then all of the sudden Marcus let out a sigh. “What are we doing? We didn’t come here just to stare at each other like some idiots who just had met each other when we had already shared a meal together.” He broke the ice but then Abel added. “My thoughts exactly! But wasn’t it you? The first one to sit on the chair and intertwined your fingers and look like a person who is deeply concerned about the situation of the world?” Abel added with a calm but harsh tone. 

Marcus did not take what Abel said easily and retorted back immediately. “That’s how I look if I am thinking of something, you bumpkin.” And it is then that I felt a fire lit between them so I had to take action and stop them before anything happens. “I apologize, I thought that I should follow you so I sat down and did the same thing as you did. And Abel did the same because he saw what I did that’s why this is my fault so please do not fight over it, you wanted to tell us something right?” I said that fortunately had an effect, Abel immediately withdraw his fangs and sat quietly like nothing happened while Marcus let out a sigh and even admitted his mistake. 

“Sorry about that- its my fault that I did not say anything immediately. I apologize for my behavior just now. And right, I do have something to say.” Marcus apologized and then went on to what he wanted to say from the beginning. “You both heard what mother said earlier right?” I recalled what aunt Kassandra said and both Abel and I nodded our heads. It is then that Marcus returned to the serious expression again but this time he did not stayed silent. “There may be no monsters if you are looking for one to satisfy your hunger, basing on what you showed earlier at the training grounds. I barely think that the animals here will be able to satisfy you.”  I then got a little disappointed about what he said and that confirms that there is no monster here like what we have back home where father and I used to hunt. 

“But don’t get disappointed yet, you heard mom said that the pelts and meat are fetching a high price right?” we immediately nod our heads in response and then he ask us if we get what he’s at and shook our heads in response. “Then let me tell you what I am thinking. The pelts and meat are fetching a high price, none of the merchants want to miss an opportunity to buy a pelt and a meat from a large monster like the ox or mountain lion. Naturally there will be competition right? What do you think will happen if there is a chance that one of those said monsters came out? But even if they do not came out, there will be people strong enough that will plunder the weak of their meat and pelts. Isn’t that a great opportunity to fight the strong. It would not be considered as killing if you are hunting since it is known that something like that occurs almost frequently and father had already done something about it, he put a group of trained adventurers to oversee the situation, it has come down a bit but its not entirely eradicated. So what do you think? Not interested yet?” 

I did not hear the rest of what Marcus said since my mind immediately got blown away by the chance that I will be able to fight to my hearts content and put father’s training for those years into action. “I don’t think that this is not a bad idea but are we even allowed to hunt even though we are just children? Is there an age limit or something? If murders are widespread during the hunting by other hunters it would be logical not to permit kids our age is it not?” Abel raise as question that Marcus did not take long to answer.

  “The answer to that would be simple, there is no limit. Just as the gatekeepers from the training grounds told you earlier. Hunting has the same principle- its your own risk. Poverty is quite widespread in our land even thought there are no wars nor disputes from neighboring lands but because people are poor they turn to the most profitable but dangerous job, and that would be hunting. Not only that you can’t trust other hunters, the might of the animals are not to be underestimated, especially for a kid who barely even  got anything to eat. That is the reason why father who governs this land created a feeding center to feed starving children to stop them from hunting there are  still children doing it and it still boils down to poverty. A plate full of food will not last long in their tiny stomach and eventually they will feel hunger again. You will be surprised on how many children do hunting as their job, there are successful ones through hunting and there are others are just lucky to come back alive while others do not.” After what Marcus had said, Abel did not ask any questions again and then we proceeded to our plans. We discussed them till dawn, Marcus thoroughly told us everything that we need to do once we arrive at the hunting grounds.

               He told us that the hunting grounds is located in the mountains a few miles away  from us and after arriving and registering at the entrance, we need to immediately move away from other hunters and start our own hunting away from other hunters since there are those who will only wait for others and hurriedly steal other people’s hunt which is mostly the reason for the killings, there are those who blatantly show others that they are fearsome and make the others hunt for them and there are also those who will try to invite your party and combine but after hunting, they will immediately try to dispose of your party and take the hunted animals for themselves.

               After a few hours of thoroughly creating our plan that might flawlessly work in our favor, we took our rest for the trip the next day in Marcus’ room as he asks for two mattresses for us and a couple of pillows. “Will that really be alright? There are rooms for Abel and Amon after all.” Aunt Kassandra asked with a concerned tone and to her surprise just as we Abel and I are both nodding our heads, Marcus pulled the mattress of his bed and placed it beside our mattresses which surprised his mother. “What are you looking at mom? We are going tomorrow and probably spend a night there for a few days together and its not like this is not right do to. I was told that older brothers sleep with their younger brothers.” Aunt Kassandra stood there with a surprised expression as she covers her mouth with her hands but even so, I think there is definitely a smile on her face. 

“Oh! So you are acting like an older brother right now huh? You must be desperate to have a younger sibling that bad that you had to start practicing right away.” Aunt Kassandra said with teasing tone but it did not affected Marcus and instead shut the door close. “Sheesh! Mom can be so troublesome as well. She will be quite persistent if she ever gets on that stage that’s why I had to make measures.” Marcus mumbled to himself as he walks away from the door and the instant he muttered those words, we can hear a slight knocking on the door. 

[I never thought that he would memorize his mother’s behavior like that. Marcus is scary.]  I thought to myself as we get on to our mattresses. “Is that alright? It would look bad for someone of your stature to sleep with nobodies like us you know? Wouldn’t it degrade the name of your family?” Abel ask out of curiosity which I am pondering as well but Marcus surprisingly doesn’t care about it. “What degrade? If sleeping with nobodies is a crime then almost every nobility here in this place are guilty of the same thing since they even make children of every woman they sleep with and compared to mine, I am just sleeping with my little brothers and business partners.” Marcus replied with a calm tone as he told us to get some sleep. “You’re weird for someone our age. You know that?” Abel said as and Marcus responded immediately while I listen to them complimenting each other. “You’re one to talk- haha!” that night, they almost spent the entire time talking to each other in soft voices while I listen to them.

               Its morning and we hardly had any sleep because they both ended up talking to each other and Marcus is surprisingly talkative, he talked about his experiences in the training grounds since he was young. He even told us about the reason why he wanted to get beaten up for his training to strengthen his muscles though those guys did not know that they were being used by Marcus as tools from the very beginning. Marcus realize how effective the method that he uses and so from the moment he knew of it, he is constantly allowing them to beat him over the passed few years after coming to the training grounds. Now that I think about it, I feel a little bad for those guys. 

I didn’t know that it was his plan to get beaten up as part of his training and I nearly crippled them because they were beating him. I think I need to apologize when I meet them at the training grounds though they might not really like seeing my face after doing that to them. I was lost in thought that I forgot that we are already on our way to the site the moment I came back to my senses. “Hey Amon- you okay? You look a little off ever since earlier.” Marcus said as he pat my shoulder. “Where are we? We need to bid goodbye to aunty for the time being.” Is the only thing that came to my mind and the both of them just stare at me indifferently. “What are you talking about bid goodbye, we have already come a long way from home and we are just a few minutes away from the hunting grounds. Why were you dazed anyway?” Marcus asked me as I bow my head and look at the floor. 

“I’m just thinking of how sorry I was for those guys since I almost crippled them for something that you had already planned. I was thinking of apologizing to them when I meet them again.”  I replied with a sorry tone as Marcus buried his face under his palm. “So that’s the reason why you are dazed since earlier. Forget about apologizing to them, they somehow deserve to be humiliated and treated like that. They may not look like it but they are bullying other kids as well and not just me. I was just getting their attention so that they won’t bully other kids who are trying their hardest to be better. Two birds with one stone.” He said with a gallant tone. 

“Wow! I didn’t know you are that kind of a person big brother! So you are an unsung hero! You are a great person!”  I admired his deeds as he hides his shyness as he repeatedly rub his nose and turn to the windows. “Such flattery will not get you nowhere Amon and how dare you to realize that just now! I have been a great person from the very start.” He added with a shy tone with his cheeks turning red just like a tomato. “How great indeed, I am starting to see you in a new light as well.” Abel said with the same calm and indifferent tone. “But no matter how great you are, you should always bear in mind that you need to be humble as well.” He added and I immediately felt a flame lit up again just like last night. 

“Yeah- I think I need to get rid of that side of mine but why don’t I get rid of you first.” Marcus said as he roll up his sleeves and Abel on the other hand did not back down as well and rolled up his sleeves too. “Oh yeah? Don’t beg me to heal you later after I beat you up.” The tow of them are just like big cats fighting at each other every time they get while I was there, stuck in the middle not knowing what to do. “Bring it on-!” just as Marcus was about to start something, I cut in between them and told them that we may have arrived at out destination. “Stop it both of you. We might have arrived at our destination if your description is right from what you told us.” I said as I stare at the number of people walking inside the hunting grounds and it was then that I realized that we are in the right place.

 I marvel the sight of strong people entering the hunting grounds, the adventurers are also not normal as well. I feast my eyes on the people that I might be fighting later on but just as I was staring at them, Marcus dragged me out of the carriage to register immediately. “Stop day dreaming Amon, we need to act fast or else there is nothing for us left!” I was dragged to the registering office and were about to head off after registering under fake names when all of the sudden a group of adults a few years or maybe  8 years older than us asked if we want to combine, remembering what Marcus told us about the types of hunters and their common strategies, I asked them which one was them without even thinking so hard about it. 

“Which type are you?” a question that surprised both my party and the other party. “Hey Amon- its not something that you ask other directly.” Marcus whispered to my ear as the one who asked us responded with a calm tone. “Oh! Hahah! I understand what you mean but we are not those kind of people that you are referring to. You see, we have two members here who are quite the same age as you, roughly. And we don’t want them to feel a little uncomfortable so we thought ‘why not ask other people their age to join us’ is what we thought. It’s fine to be suspicious of everyone that you don’t know, we understand it. There are a lot of murders occurring in this place after all.” He responded with a smile on his face.

               [These people might be hiding it but their strength are quite different from the other around us, it feels like they are hiding their strength from everybody, the young master also realizes it. I can’t deny that these guys are strong, if they were to fight us right now, I don’t think we can survive with young master’s strength limited. My healing ability is not limited but if we were to sustain much damage than I can heal then things will not end well for us. Not to mention that we have not seen how Marcus fight nor these people, this situation had just turned differently as planned.] Abel thought to himself as he silently analyzes the surroundings.

  [This is bad, I did not expect this coming. I may not be as strong as Amon in terms of strength but I am very knowledgeable in calculating a person’s strength and I can safely say that these guys are monsters, suppressing their strength  and only letting out an enough amount to make them seem look weak, not to mention those two that they mentioned, they emit a dignified aura around them, who are these people?] Marcus swallowed his spit with the unexpected turn of events and took on their offer. “We accept your offer, it really is dangerous for a couple of kids to hunt, an adult’s guidance is needed.” I said as I turned to Amon and Abel who are contented with my decision. 

Unknowingly to them, I have already informed  Amon and Abel about the expression that I will make that will signal them to cover our backs if something suspicious happens and speaking of the devil, it happened earlier than what I imagined. [From here on out, we need to be more vigilant. I’m sure they can also tell how strong they are. We just need to watch our backs. What a terrible luck we have.]

               The group then thanked us for joining them and ventured out further into the hunting ground. “There are not much here since there are others that got ahead of us, we need to venture a lot further if we want to hunt something more valuable.” The group that we joined then agreed and followed behind us as I lead the way but there is one thing that is bothering me with their behavior. First is that they do not act like they are veteran hunters that hunted this mountain for so long which makes me wonder of their real identities. Second is the way they are clothed, hunters from this area of the land do not wear clothes that well, usually hunters use clothes that are tattered. 

That way they cannot easily be seen by animals and other hunters alike but these guys are different. Their clothes look like they have been bought recently that even our disguises are better than them while their clothes scream expensive. And lastly is the fact that they are always on guard from all directions, I may just be imagining things but the two that they introduced earlier seem to be in the center of them all, it looks like they are guarding both of them. These are the thoughts that came to my mind and did not make any conclusions yet until I confirm something.

               After a few minutes of walking, one of them introduced a part of the mountains that not have any footprints of people which give us the opportunity to stumble upon the side of the mountain that had not been touched by anyone else but that also gave away the thought of how one of them found out that there is no trail in this part of the mountain. [They are definitely not from these lands but how did he know something like this? I smell something fishy, I don’t have a good feeling about this.] I thought to myself as we continue to venture forward. 

And as expected, there are numerous animals that we can hunt but nothing of it was satisfactory to Amon as we expected, it all looks like a game to him with no excitement. We are able to hunt a large number of animals that would make a fortune just to sell the pelt let alone the meat but there is no sighting of those monster like animals at all. We decided to take a break and split the animals in half but they allowed us to keep them all to ourselves which raises a red flag to me. “You can keep them all, we are only interested in those big animals that others speak of.” The one who asked us to join said.

               After hearing what he said that they are not interested in something like this and their interest lies on the big animals that the hunters are referring to as monsters, a sudden feeling of danger occurred to me. “You know, I have been keeping it to myself for a while now but is it normal for someone to be interested in those animals to be leaking a bothersome amount of murderous intent?” I said as I stood up after checking the things that we hunted. My sudden remark left the one who invited us in surprise and tries to denies it when the two kids that they introduced to us looks at his direction. “Huh? There is no way that I am doing that. It is true that we are only interested in the large animals here-“ he defended as Marcus let out a sigh that sounded like he was disappointed. 

“Sigh! To think that our Amon here who doesn’t have any common sense of this land would understand the situation better than I do. I have to rethink if I get to be the little brother or the older brother.” He said with a smile on his face as he butted in. “I’m not dumb, I just don’t have knowledge in common sense that’s all.” I retorted back with a disappointed tone. “You purposely lead us all the way here to a place that had not been hunted by other hunters on purpose. Now it makes sense to me, that you are not people from here. Your actions and behaviors are not of a hunter and I heard from father that there is a lunatic that bought land in this part of the mountain  a few years back thus, do not allow other hunters to hunt here. By the looks of your clothes under that clothes screaming with expensiveness, the two in the middle are either royalties or children of higher positioned nobility.” Marcus pointed out completely shocking them by his deduction alone that it says on their expressions. 

“That’s impossible- there is no way that we can easily be identified like that.” The one who seem the leader muttered as Marcus added. “I initially thought that we are the targets but I was wrong, we are not the only ones who are supposed to die. You said that you are only interested in the monster-like animals right? Are you trying to use that excuse and kill those two as well to safely get away with murdering us all?” Marcus asked as the leader of the other group gets blown away by Marcus’ deduction once again. It was then that one of the two kids in the middle started getting agitated by Marcus’ remark. ‘Is that true?!”  the kid asked immediately and she was responded with a knife going for her neck.

               SPLATTER! KSSSSSSHK!