Darkness had fallen over the small elven village, campfires already blooming all over the space.
Although there were many fires, the flames were bare. There was no pot bubbling above them, or meat hanging next to the heat.
They had burned through their rations faster than expected, so to extend their food supply, Artie had ordered that the food be rationed.
From now till the hunt, they would have to eat once daily.
Artie had a new longbow about half her height in her hand. She raised the bow to inspect it, drawing the string taut before releasing it with a snap.
'It's strong…'
But whether or not it could pierce the hide of a magister mammoth was another thing.
They were two days away from the hunt, meaning they were two days away from confronting the monster.
Artie had tried to come up with countermeasures in case Eliron's grand plan failed, but so far, the only thing she had been able to do was design a new bow.
"Lady Artie, isn't that bow too big? It will be hellish to draw," said a woman next to her.
She was Terra, one of Artie's oldest friends. She was dressed up in plain white clothing, her blonde hair was decorated with forest leaves, and her hazel eyes seemed wary.
Artie grabbed the bow and strung an arrow on it, raising the bow to the sky. Then she pulled the bowstring until her arm was at its limit, the arrow begging to let loose.
Whoosh!
A gale of wind blasted forward as she released the arrow, dust picking up around them as the arrow moved at breathtaking speed, disappearing into the sky.
"It's apparently not big enough," Artie muttered.
Terra sighed, her voice dropping. Then she smiled. "It's soon isn't it, what do you think is going to happen?"
Artie shrugged and placed the bow down. "Who knows? He seems very determined, but the forest is no child's play."
There was a reason the elves starved while the forest was filled with animals.
Monsters were everywhere…
There were so many that you could not realistically hope to hunt without encountering one or two beasts.
That was why they only went out in small specialised groups. Eliron had never been a part of that group, and although he had awakened a divine ascension, five days was far too little for him to have made any progress.
"To be honest, and permit me to speak plainly to my lady," Terra began.
Artie waved her hand to give her permission.
Then she spoke, her voice cold yet stuttering in between. "I think the young lord will d-die soon."
"Terra…" Artie cautioned.
Terra sighed. "I'm just being sincere, my lady. He is going to charge into the forest and I admire his plans for the village, but what will happen if he is to meet an actual monster?"
"Ash will protect him…"
The blonde woman slowly shook her head and frowned. "Even our most experienced hunters lose their lives every now and then. Worse of all, the elders won't step in to help him if things go south."
Then Terra lowered her voice for fear of being heard. "You know they want him dead, right?"
Artie leaned back on her hut and stared down at her bow, twirling it in her hand as she contemplated.
Everything Terra had said was true. Eliron was very inexperienced when it came to monster hunting, and the elders did bear animosity towards him...
'Should I advise him against the hunt?'
It was indeed their safest bet. But his plan was the only thing that could keep them in the long run.
The truth was that Eliron was the only one thinking ahead.
If they were to hunt as usual, they would only gather meat that would last for a few days at best.
Artie pushed her hair back, her thoughts clashing against each other in her head.
'Such a small village, yet not even their united suffering could stop the brutal nature of power succession…'
Seeing her indecisiveness, Terra then added: "If you were to take my advice, I would advise you to retract your backing for the young lord and support another elder instead."
Then her voice became solemn as she stared at the ground. "I don't want to see anything happen to the young lord—"
Terra froze when Artie raised her hand to silence her. Her demeanour had completely shifted in the space of a second.
Her impassive but warm personality melted away, and all that was left was a cold mask of indifference.
And soon, Terra realised why.
Step!
A man stepped out of the shadows, a shallow smile on his face, his hands clasped behind him as he walked towards them.
"Good evening, Lady Artie. I hope I wasn't interrupting anything?"
Terra was visibly shaken by the sight of him and subconsciously stepped closer to Artie, her gaze locked on the dirt.
Drakili was known to be a vile man who was ruthless in dispensing his 'justice.'
As a chief, only few people could hope to challenge his authority, and so he threw his weight around, his targets usually being girls.
Terra had been a subject of his 'affection' in the past. Back then he had attempted to force her into marriage using vile means, and would have succeeded, but Artie intervened, and he had hated Terra ever since.
Artie barely nodded in response to his greeting. "Good evening, Chief Drakili. For what do I owe this pleasure?"
Drakili glanced at Terra, his eyes growing cold at the sight of the elf. "This is a talk between nobility, wench, excuse yourself at once."
Terra curtsied to Artie. "Please excuse me, my lady…" She was about to leave when Artie held her shoulder.
"I do not take kindly to you insulting my assistant." She smiled at Drakili, but it was hollow.
"Chief, please maintain decorum."
Drakili's fist tightened into a ball, his eyes filled with resentment. But he did not dare make a move.
He knew the consequences of offending Artie, as well as how much sway she had over the other elves.
He cleared his throat. "Very well."
"So, how can I help you, chief?"
A few seconds passed, then Drakili spoke in a calmer tone. "I am here to stop you from making a mistake."
Artie raised a brow. "Sorry, I don't think I follow."
Drakili smirked. "I hear you have been getting closer to the young lord as of late. Am I to believe this is a mere friendship, this close to the confluence?"
"Make anything you wish of it, Chief, your assumptions are not my concern, and they will never be."
Drakili clenched his jaw, the muscles of his jaw flexing as he contained himself.
'You will be concerned very soon, you wench! When I become lord, I will wipe that proud look off your face.'
'I will have fun systematically breaking that demeanour of yours, bit by bit, until all that is left is a hollow shell,' Drakili thought inwardly.
"Just a fair warning, Artie, do not even imagine in your wildest fascinations backing the young lord. The elders have already made their pick."
His words took Artie aback, but she did not let it show on her face.
'The elders have already chosen their candidate to be the next lord? They are moving faster than I expected,' she mused.
Artie then smiled. "Thank you for your advice, elder, I'll take it to heart."
Normally, her words sounded civil enough, but the way she said 'elder' was in a tone that made Drakili's blood boil.
Having said what was needed, he turned to leave, but after taking a few steps, he paused…
And glanced at her over his shoulder, a crazed look on his face, and a morbid smile on his lips.
"To be honest, I don't think the lord will make it through this hunting operation."
Artie frowned. "What?"
His smile widened as he spoke, his voice laced with poison.
"Well, accidents happen."
Artie's fingers tightened on the tip of her bow, her gaze growing colder.
For the first time since their conversation began, Artie showed a side of her she had never expected to exhibit.
It was not feigned anger which was cold and emotionless.
This was real.
Haaaa—!
She exhaled, calming herself before she could go too far, then she smiled politely.
"Good night, Drakili," she said in a strained voice.
'What was that? Why did I get angry over his petty words?' Artie thought.
Drakili began walking away but before he could leave, an elf ran towards them, moving so fast that he fell right at Drakili's feet.
He was stuttering, trying to put his words together but failing to do so.
Drakili lifted him up with one hand and gave him a dirty slap, knocking the senses back into him.
"Speak, boy, what is it?"
"I-it is Lord E-Eliron, he was attacked in the forest!"
Artie's expression shifted, her heart suddenly growing cold.
"No…" Terra muttered, placing her hand over her mouth.
As for Drakili… his smile couldn't be more overjoyed. "Is that so, I guess it's better sooner than later…"
..
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A/N
Sorry for the delay in updates, I will be doing a mass release now!
(1/5)