It seems many Hunters will be participating of the meeting today.
The Golden Hope is here. It’s a little weird seeing them walking around smiling, since we know they were about to try to kill us and Anna just one day ago.
Not that they would be able to do it. But they would try, nonetheless.
On their left, we see the Knights of Spring. Amelia is the only one truly dangerous, with her lightning manipulation. But her brother, Samuel, can also be a bother. He is strong enough to carry a war hammer, and is surprisingly fast with it. They have Jane, that’s not just a decent Healer, although way weaker than Daniel, she’s also a small Booster. With Douglas, Mateus and Talia as skilled swordfighters, they form a balanced group.
Not Shinning Siblings level, but quite good.
Besides them, we also see the Sharpest Sword, the Iron Will and half-dozen people we don’t recognize. Probably one new group and some solo Hunters.
That’s at least five whole groups stationed here at the same time.
With the way things have been going lately, there’s no doubt that was intentionally.
Lucas waves at us, smiling, so we go to his direction.
Anna is with him, seeing bored, but she gives us a small smile too. Diego and Lucas are not close to them, but we know they are here too, talking with others. The only one still not present is Rosa, but she soon would arrive.
She always was present when she was needed.
“- Raiv, you should have gone with me to The Fastest Cut. You missed a hell of a night, fella.” Lucas says as he pats our shoulder.
“- I was too tired after all the travel. I wanted to be alone” We answer.
“- You are always too tired, my friend. There was a guy there capable of juggling knifes with one hand, almost as good as me. We performed quite a show”.
We actually saw that. We watch everything that happens inside our radius. It had been indeed quite a show.
“- Next time, maybe”.
“- Yeah, of course” He says with a smile.
All of them treat us fairly well, but the others eventually accepted our private nature. Lucas, though, still tries to include us in his activities, and we have to keep finding ways to decline it.
Ever since we joined the group, Lucas had tried to make us join him in his “adventurous nights through the city”, as he called them. We had never accepted, but some of us always observed.
Would make him happy to know we were there with him the whole time?
He would probably get scared shitless.
We sit with and keep having small conversation with them. A few minutes later, the meeting finally begins.
“- Hunters. As always, we would like to show our gratitude for what you do. It’s your strength that holds civilization together. It’s your courage that allows so many to live without fear. For the risks you take in order to protect others, we thank you all.” Says Tanan, one of the senior members of the board of hunters. Then, pointing two fingers with their right hand, all of them cross their arm in front of their chest, and give a slight nod.
Everyone, we included, repeat the gesture.
An old manner of showing respect. We never really understood it, but it would be rude to not replicate it.
“-Now, we fear that another big excursion is needed, as well as your wisdom is setting some matters”. Says Rodrigo, with a stern face. He has a big scar across his face, which goes from his left eye until his chin. One that, because of its nature, couldn’t be healed. It was a mark of the years when he was knew for being a ghoul exterminator.
All of the members of the board had been strong hunters before. They had stopped going deep into the Wild for some reason or another, but they had done their share.
This is not a profession that makes a lot of retirees. It means something, being able to survive this long.
“- First, we shall present to you with what we know. Have any of you found a similar objects during your huntings?” Asks Rodrigo, showing the red stone to the group.
“- We had.” Says Amelia. “Some weeks ago, after fighting a few Trolls. Their leader was carrying the same thing. We tried to analyze it, but couldn’t find what it was for”.
“- What it is for?” Asks Samuel, raising an eyebrow.
“- We don’t really know. But we have reason to suspect it means cooperation between monsters.”
“- Between monsters? Are you mad?” Asks one of the lone hunters. “Are you implying that somehow Goblins were communicating with Trolls?” He looks around, as if expecting some laughs, but he receive none.
“- No. We are implying that, somehow, Goblins were communicating with Trolls, Orcs, Centaurs, Vampires, and many others.” Replies Tanan.
The hunter that asked stares at him incredulous, and a lot of murmurs start between the crowd.
“- Alright, let’s say you are right. What is this excursion that you have in mind that needs so many of us here?” Asks Rosa, standing near the entrance.
We noticed her arriving at the beginning of the meeting, of course. We notice everything.
“- A pack of werewolves has been spotted ten days ago, dangerous close from crossing the borders of the Wild. It was heading towards some fishing villages, so we sent two groups of hunters to stop them. Both failed to report back. We sent a search party, and no one was seen again.” Says Tanan, giving time to everyone to process.
“- Do you think they were ambushed?” Asks Diego.
“-Unfortunately, it seems likely”. Tanan replies.
“-That’s not all.” Says Rodrigo. “Some Cyclops had been causing trouble those past days, East from here. Roughly twenty feet each, if reports are correct. They’ve been attacking farms, killing everyone. Eating everyone. We warned the cities, but we still didn’t send any official team after them. Resources have been scarce.”
“-It’s rare for Cyclops to come so near cities. Many regions of the Wild are dominated for some monster population, and the majority of the Cyclops stays close from the mountains. It’s a long travel. They would have to pass through Ogre’s swamps, Girallon’s dominated forests.”
“-You think the other monsters let the Cyclops pass.” Says Samuel, in an affirmative tone.
“-It’s the best explanation, knowing what we know.” Rodrigo confirms. “We assembled you here today with the intention of forming two major excursions, one to stop the Cyclops, and one to find out what happened with the werewolves. Considering the circumstances, we didn’t want to take any risk. We must guarantee the extermination of both threats. We can’t afford to waste more lives.
“-We volunteer to go after the werewolves.” Says Sasha. “With two groups as backups, it should be enough to deal with them.
“-We’ll be one of them” Proclaims Diego.
“-I don’t think that’s wise” Says Sasha again. “You party is, by far, the most equipped to deal with the Cyclops. We should be careful to divide our forces accordingly.”
We stare at the leader of the Golden Hope. Was she purposefully sending us to a different direction? Now that the creature from yesterday had left, is she still under its control or is she acting on her own free will? We need to be careful.
Diego nods, though.
“-Alright. We go after the Cyclops”.
“Then the Knights of Spring will go with you.” Says Amelia.
“And so will me, if you don’t mind the company. I fear my skills wouldn’t be much effective against werewolves.” says one hunter.
“I’ll go as well” says another one.
“We’ll help with the werewolves.” Says the leader of the Iron Will.
One by one, every group or solo hunter present offers to go in one of the excursion, and strategies are discussed. Mostly the leaders talk, until a formation is finally formed.
“- So if everyone agrees, it’s settled. The Shinning Siblings, the Knights of Spring, Ronaldo and Kevin will take care of the Cyclops, while the Golden Hope, the Sharpest Sword, the Iron Will and the Saviors will find out what happened with the werewolves, and deal with them.” Says Rodrigo.
“-Monsters are already dangerous by themselves. If they’ve started communicating, uniting, they become mortal threats. We can’t let it happen. You must stop them. You are the heroes of this world. It’s your duty to protect it. Do not fail.
With that, everyone repeats the gesture from before and the meeting ends.
“Mortal threats”.
We wonder how many teams they would send against us, if they knew what we are. If they knew how easy it’s for us to mingle with them. To watch, listen and track their actions.
At least four or five, we think.
Well, it wouldn’t be enough to stop us.
very noice