It was a warm spring evening as I walked down the street of that abandoned town. People looked at me with disgust on their faces. I can’t really blame them, as at the time I was mostly smelling of blood and sweat. I just hoped the blood was what was overpowering the sweat.

 

I had on my back a blood-dyed bag full of harpy wings. The wings were the materials I was paid to gather. It's rare to find hunters that kill monsters, and normally we charge less than the average inquisitor. So basically, what that means is that people like me are easy targets for penny-pinchers who want some cheap monster materials, such as my client for today.

 

I walked into an alleyway where I met the said penny-pincher. He was a fat, short man with a full beard that covered most of his face. He was wearing some expensive-looking clothes, but honestly, I wouldn’t know. It’s been some years since the last time I bought anything new to wear. This time, as opposed to the first time we met, he was accompanied by a tall bald man, which was certainly a bad sign.

 

As I approached him and handed him the bag with all the wings, he opened it to examine the materials.

 

- How many wings are here, hunter?

- Six pairs, as we had agreed on.

- Six pairs? But I heard from the locals there were about nine harpies in that nest.

- What we agreed on is six pairs. What I brought is six pairs.

- Well, luckily this will be enough for what I need. Here’s your money, hunter.

 

He handed me a bag filled with coins; however, as I counted it, there were 80 pounds, as opposed to the 100 we had agreed on.

 

- Hey! We said 100 pounds for six pairs! Where’s the rest of the money?

- Well, I was hoping you would bring me nine pairs, so I guess we both will go away from here disappointed.

- "That’s not how that works, you cunt. Listen here… - As I got closer to the client, the bald man got between us. As I thought, he was a bad sign. This prick was probably expecting to run away with my money from the beginning. - *Tsk* Whatever. Just get away from here already...

 

The man left, grinning and giving the bag of wings to the bald man to hold. I should’ve known this man was a deadbeat prick from the moment he told me he was a mage. All of them are bad, but it seems like the younger ones are worse. It’s not the first time I have had a bad experience with one of them, and if I’m being honest, it probably won’t be the last. But it doesn’t matter anymore. I already know that mages only come after hunters to kill monsters when they’re desperate or broke; anyway, it’s never a good deal for us.

 

I walked to the nearest tavern where I hoped I could get some cheap meal and a bed to sleep. However, due to my unplanned lack of money, I wasn’t sure I would be able to get both. I entered a small tavern hidden amidst the other, bigger, and honestly, better-looking ones on the street. The place was as good as abandoned; some parts of the wall were literally falling apart.

 

I sat at a table and ordered the cheapest thing on their menu: a tasteless and cold soup. I don’t doubt it was just water with salt and raw potatoes. After drinking that meal, I was going to talk with the barkeeper to ask if they had a place to sleep, but a slim man with a mustache approached me.

 

- Sir, you’re a hunter, right? - the man asked.

- Yes, I am.

I was tired and angry, so I wasn’t really interested in getting myself another job at the moment. In times like these, I’ve learned that just being rude and cold is enough to make these people lose their interest and leave me alone.

- W-Well, you see... I am the owner of a timber company, however, the forest in the city has been haunted by a spirit that has been ruining my business. None of the lumberjacks want to work there anymore.

- I’m sorry, sir, but I’m not interested in taking any job right now. If you have a problem with a spirit, a preacher should be able to solve it.

- Bu-But I can’t call a preacher. All of the ones in the city refused my offer. It seems the spirit in the forest is much too dangerous for a simple prayer to scare them away. We need someone willing to fight them away.

 

I let out a big sigh. I’ve already encountered many people like this before. They are immediately scared if a slightly bigger creature appears in front of them, but he was probably right. In my knowledge, preachers actually can only deal with a small portion of spirits; any one a bit older forms physical bodies, so a simple prayer won’t exorcise them. Unfortunately, it looks like the man here found out about that, and I won’t be able to run away from this job so easily.

 

- I’m sorry, sir. But I’m actually leaving the town tomorrow. So I really can’t accept your job.

- Please, good sir. This is an urgent matter. I’ll pay you five hundred pounds for the work as well as any expenses you might have.

 

Five hundred? This is the amount you would pay for an inquisitor to deal with a physical spirit. This man is either stupid or really desperate. Anyway, I can’t deny a good deal when I see one.

 

- Five hundred, huh? Okay, you got yourself a deal. I’ll meet you in the forest tomorrow. And I would like my payment in advance.

- Sure, good sir. I’ll pay you first thing tomorrow morning. I’ll already arrange your stay in the best inn in town.

 

Five hundred, and I get to stay in a good inn for a change? This might be the best work I had in a while.

 

- By the way, hunter, my name is James. What is yours, if you don’t mind me asking.

- Jonah. My name is Jonah.

 

The man walked with me to a big inn in the town square. It was as good as an inn could be in that city, where no one ever stayed unless they were desperate or hiding from someone. As I walked inside the building, that man named James talked to the inn owner to pay for my stay. He then said he would meet me the next morning before leaving. I slept for the first time in a long time in a comfortable bed in a room where the roof wasn’t smelling like blood and piss.

 

The next morning I went to meet the man in the forest as he said. There he was accompanied by two tall and strong men who were probably some of the lumberjacks that worked for him. He explained to me where the spirit usually showed up and how it looked, before giving me the money we had agreed on. He said it took the form of a young girl and walked around the forest bothering anyone who entered. Thinking I had gathered all the information I needed, I moved into the forest. As I strolled through the trees, I noticed how peaceful those woods felt, especially for a supposed haunted area. When I moved even further, I spotted what looked like a little girl walking alone. Although that fit into the description that James told me, it's always better to confirm before acting or I would end up just attacking some innocent kid.

 

I tried moving closer to get a better look at her, but as I did, I noticed something weird. Her skin was not pinkish like a human, or even pale like a spirit, but green. I didn’t really knew much about spirits, but I was sure they weren’t normally that color. I tried to sneak closer but as I did, the figure spoke to me.

 

- There’s no use in hiding, Jonah. I’ve felt your presence a long time ago.

- What the… How do you know my name?

- You’re a hunter but don’t know what I am? I am a nymph. We have a close connection to every living creature. I can probably tell more about you than you know yourself.

 

I’ve heard of nymphs before, but never saw one. Honestly, I always thought it was just a folktale to scare away hunters that would kill animals for fun, but seeing one so close in real life does bring a certain fear in me, even if she looks like just a kid. She certainly had a unique aura around her that I’ve never felt before.

 

- A nymph? So there’s no spirit here?

- Spirit? No, I don’t think there is. What made you believe there would be one here?

- Some man named James said a spirit was scaring his lumberjacks. But it seems it’s only you.

- You said lumberjacks? I have scared away some who tried cutting trees here, and I remember a certain James coming here trying to make me stop.

- So he already knew it was a nymph here… But why won’t you just let them work?

- The times are changing, Jonah. I remember when I was just born, when the first tree in this forest was planted. People used to cut trees down to build their houses, feed their fires and once they gathered all that they needed, they won’t cut another for a long time. But men like James would cut all this forest if he could make money out of it. Do you think once he cuts a tree here he will sell it in this town? Or do you think he will move out all of the wood from here to the big cities, where he can sell it for a bigger price? The need for profit would kill this forest and anything standing in their way. Why do you think they called you to come kill me?

- So he was trying to trick me into thinking there was a spirit here and kill you? Just for money?

- Money has changed humans, Jonah. Or you think I don’t know how you also don’t like your job? What other way would you have people doing things they hate every day and do nothing to stop it?

 

I was now being scolded by a wood fairy that looked like a little girl, and I thought today would be an easy day…

 

- Sure, I hate doing what I do, but so does most people.

- See? Your people could live a much more peaceful life if only you weren’t so dedicated to making more and more money.

- Things aren’t so simple. We only advanced as a species because of this way we work.

- Sure. Are you going to kill me, then? Are you going to complete your job and bring me to your client?

- … No. I won’t kill you. Because I wasn’t paid enough to kill a nymph.

- I can feel your emotions, Jonah. You are angry that you were tricked and you know that deep down you agree with me.

 

Unfortunately, she was correct. I’ve been tricked by many swindlers before, but never before has one thought I was so stupid as to just walk into a forest and kill a “spirit” that just happened to look like a kid. And as much as I didn’t fully agree with her idea of how humans should live, coming to this shit hole of a town and taking all of their wood is just an asshole move.

 

- There’s no use for you to lie to me, Jonah. I know that as much as you want to do what you think is right, you’ve been told to just act as people expect you to.

- And what would you know about this? You might know what humans think, but you don’t understand it. You’ve just been in this forest all your life. You don’t know how humans live, do you?

 

As I said that, she actually looked thoughtful for the first time since we started talking. Maybe I hit some nerve with her.

 

- You know what? I think you’re right. I’ve grown distant from the townspeople and many don’t even know there’s a nymph here. So why don’t I begin getting to know you better? Tell me a bit more about yourself, Jonah.

 

Shit… I just wanted to make her shut up, but now it seems like I opened a whole new can of worms, one that I never wanted to even talk about in the first place. But this might be a good way of making her understand my side for once, and maybe even the wood company guy.

 

- *sigh* Okay, I’ll talk a bit about myself. So… let’s start from the beginning.