"Ding!" Alhen had just entered 'The Crying Halberd' and swept his gaze in search of something.

  His gaze landed on the girl from the last cycle in the corner, talking with a boy he supposed was her brother.

  Alhen approached the table where they sat and greeted them with a smile.

  "Hello! Do you mind if I join?" He asked, his gaze fixed on the girl.

  "Please do, we have been waiting for you." The girl pointed to a seat beside her, and Alhen sat on it without further delay.

  The boy narrowed his eyes at him, but other than that, he offered an introduction.

  "My name is Sloan, that is my sister Sierra, thanks for accepting our offer," Sloan spoke in a deep voice that took Alhen by surprise and held out his hand for a handshake, but Alhen didn't take it.

  Sloan narrowed his eyes even further, and then his gaze wandered to Alhen's missing right arm.

  "Sorry," he quickly apologized, offering his left hand.

  Alhen shook it, saying not to worry, although he could see that Sloan had become ashamed based on his expression.

  On this, Alhen could see the similarity between him and his sister; they were somewhat alike.

  Sloan took less time to compose himself; he seemed to be older than his sister, although not by a significant margin.

  He had light blond hair, a green jacket like Alhen's, light green gloves, and dark green pants, and his eyes were a light blue color.

  His hand was big and rough, with many callouses and a slight texture resembling sandpaper. Alhen’s hand was dwarfed and swallowed, and he could feel the strength in the grip.

  ‘If only I were a few years older…’ Alhen wished, he longed for strength like that.

  "Alright, now that introductions are over, let us talk about the objective," Sierra talked, "There is a wiht who is thought to be of a Lesser or Blessed rank terrorizing a village. Our mission is to go there and hunt it down, simple enough. Walking on foot will take us about two cycles to arrive. The sooner we head out, the better."

  "Do y'all have sufficient food and the like for the travel? I am sorry to say that I have no food nor many belongings; would it be alright for y’all to share with me?" Alhen asked, and the siblings nodded.

  “There is no problem with that; we always make sure to pack extra food and supplies just in case something goes wrong. It is never a mistake to be overprepared for a journey, especially through the forest where it is riddled with wihts and cultists,” Sloan spoke.

  “I understand; how likely is it that we can bump into cultists or have to fight wihts in these two cycles we are going to be walking through the forest?” Alhen asked, remembering his unfortunate experience dealing with this group of people.

  “You do not know? I thought you were a hunter based on your outfit and equipment,” Sloan asked.

  “I have only been an official hunter since the last cycle. When Sierra and I met, I had just gotten my license. I still haven’t headed out a lot or very deep into the forest, so my knowledge of it is rather limited,” Alhen explained.

  “I see… so, to answer your question, we will find many wihts during our walk. Cultists are rarer, and they only show up in the east most of the time, though it is not uncommon for them to show themselves to the west, where we are headed. If we are careful, we will not have to fight a single one of them. We need to avoid any confrontation until we reach the village,” Sierra responded from the side.

  Alhen nodded, and with nothing else to say, they checked their equipment.

  Sierra’s thul was a thin silver sword with a green handle, and Sloan’s was a thicker sword with the same type of aesthetic.

  After making sure everything was in place, they left the establishment, heading to the forest.

  Grey trunks with red leaves came into view once more after passing through the steel gates.

  The guards had surprisingly led them through with ease once they saw his new identification.

  As his boots stepped on the ground, he could feel a slimy texture even though it hadn't rained, and the smell in the air could only be defined as rancid.

  He covered his nose and looked at Sierra for clarification.

  “This strong smell indicates some wihts have passed over here recently. There are only a few types of wihts that emit this smell, and they are all lower ranked; we should be fine as long as we are careful,” she explained.

  “Thanks for the explanation,” he responded.

  There was a deafening silence around them; not a single animal or living being could be heard, nothing apart from their own footsteps.

  “Before we continue, I am going to apply this liquid to your skin.” Sierra took out a pale white liquid from her pouch and showed it to Alhen, who looked confused.

  “It is a scent masker, we are going to be hiding from wihts, but they have a keen sense of smell, this will help us be undetected for our travels as long as we do not draw attention to ourselves,” she explained before Alhen could ask.

  “Good, that’s probably a good idea. Does it have any side effects like itching or something like that?” He asked.

  “Nothing of the sort, just put it on. We will have to apply more every eight hours as the effect wears off; apart from that, you have nothing to worry about,” Sierra reassured.

  Alhen nodded and let Sierra apply the liquid through his neck, arm, face, and on his clothes.

  The fabric absorbed the liquid, and when he smelled himself, he couldn’t smell anything.

  “It’s working,” Alaran commented, and Sierra just gave off a small laugh.

  “Of course, let us head out, Sloan and I already applied some, we should not be too far from our rest point, only about eighteen hours, I believe.”

  ‘That’s not too far for y’all?’ Alhen thought, deciding against saying it out loud.

  They began walking, and while they did, Sloan constantly checked his surroundings, looking almost paranoid that something would jump out of the bushes and kill them in an instant.

  Sierra made sure to cover his blind spot and cover the whole area with their gaze.

  Seeing their coordination and caution, Alhen started acting the same, being overly wary of his surroundings and keeping an ear out for any unusual sounds.

  He had to remind himself to take this seriously and keep his senses sharpened.

  If a wiht were to take them by surprise, someone could lose their life, and he didn’t want that to happen.

  They walked for minutes, hours, he didn’t know, losing track of time.

  Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  Sloan held out his hand and raised it in the air, staying completely still.

  Alhen and Sierra stopped, not daring to make a sound as they listened.

  It was a faint sound, but distinct nonetheless.

  A low gurgle to their left. They turned their heads to look, watching a group of wihts pass by them through some red bushes.

  The leaves hid their figure, but they could faintly see the outline of small gray creatures nearby.

  They stood still as the wihts marched right past them, being hidden by the forest around them.

  They only started moving again, a minute after the group had passed. Their tense bodies relaxed, but not completely, and they resumed their travel.

  They avoided talking until reaching their rest point, a small cabin in the woods, hidden by large, pointy rocks beside a mountain.

  From the outside, it looked like a solid square of wood, but the almost imperceptible door said otherwise.

  Checking his pocket watch, he noticed they had been walking for more than seventeen hours.

  His stomach grumbled, and his muscles were shaking from the strain of today’s effort.

  Thankfully, all the wihts they encountered along the way were not blessed; they had avoided confrontation without a hitch, although he had to say that he was surprised by the variety.

  Sloan walked to the barely noticeable entrance of the cabin and rested his ear against the door.

  The siblings wore serious expressions and stood in complete silence.

  Two minutes passed before Sloan attempted to open the door, moving slowly and carefully.

  He peeked inside, and Alhen wondered what he could see.

  After a few seconds, he saw Sierra reach for her thul on her hip.

  Alhen mimicked her action, drawing out his revolver and ready for a confrontation.

  Sloan placed his head inside, looking around for a few seconds before looking back at them and sending a thumbs-up their way.

  Sierra and Alhen visibly relaxed as they stepped forward and entered the cabin.

  Inside, he could see a sofa, a bed, and an empty desk, and nothing more except a door in the corner of the cabin, leading who knows where.

  Sloan and Sierra breathed a sigh of relief before sitting on the soft cushions of the sofa.

  "Hahh! It always feels good to reach the cabin," Sloan said while sinking onto it.

  He closed his eyes and let out a breath, stretching out his legs and arms.

  Sierra was about the same, stretching her body and letting it sink into the cushions below her.

  "Where are we?" Alhen asked, looking around the place with curious eyes.

  The cabin looked maintained and new, everything being treated with care.

  "I know that it is useless, but please do not talk about the existence of this place with anyone. Sloan and I found this cabin about two months ago and have been using it since then when we travel west of the kingdom."

  "Don't worry, I am not planning on sharing this information; it’s not like I know many people," Alhen responded.

  "Good, then we should rest. We will leave this place after sleeping for about five hours."

  Alhen nodded and took his place on the floor in the corner of the room.

  The passage of time had made them all tired and unwilling to talk. The siblings slept on the sofa, their feet facing each other, and they left their thuls thrown to the side.

  Alhen sighed as he felt the hard texture of the wooden floor pressing on his back.

  Without his pillow, his neck was in a weird position that bothered him.

  Having had enough of it, he took off his jacket and placed it underneath him, using it as a resting place for his head.

  He slept facing the siblings and with one ear open. Despite their looks and the amount of time that he’d been with them, this didn’t change the fact that he didn't know the group that well yet.

  He tried to maintain awareness of his surroundings, but he needed more practice.

  Fatigue overtook him, and he fell asleep in seconds.

  Opening his eyes, he woke up feeling disoriented.

  Sloan and Sierra were already up, discussing something on the sofa with hushed voices; realizing what had happened, he sighed.

  'I don't know these people; they could've killed me in my sleep. They might appear to be harmless at the moment, but you have to remind yourself that this world is unforgiving and hardly anyone deserves your trust,' he thought.

  Adding a mental note to his mind to be more careful in the future, he stood and approached them.

  "What are y’all discussing?" he asked.

  The duo turned around, looking at Alhen with icy eyes.

  The silence lasted longer than expected, causing Alhen to inch his left hand closer to his revolver.

  "We are heading out in about half an hour. We were just about to wake you up," Sloan said.

  "The dried meat we brought is in that pouch over there. Serve yourself and leave enough for about four more cycles," Sierra added.

  ‘What was that about?’ Alhen wondered, then nodded and relaxed his hand.

  He walked over to the pouch and took hold of some dried crimson meat.

  Eating his meal, he still felt hungry, but he couldn’t keep on eating to his heart's content.

  Being far away from the kingdom for the first time felt liberating and scary.

  He didn't know in its totality the dangers that lurked outside, and he could die any second now.

  Despite knowing this, Alhen had a small smile, thinking about getting stronger, eventually having enough power to kill Father Vincent.

  He clenched his teeth and fists before letting out a deep breath.

  After eating, he killed some time by wandering off with his mind before the time to head out arrived.

  Sloan and Sierra stood and signaled for him to follow them.

  They entered the forest once more and walked the same way to their destination.

  Having been walking for hours, Alhen's mind started to fatigue, struggling to keep looking around.

  Fortunately, the village came into view; it had wooden barricades on the outside and a wall that encompassed the whole area.

  Many purple flowers grew around the village, emitting a lavender scent.

  Sloan and Sierra lowered their guards, and Alhen kept it up until they reached the massive gates. When they got close enough, a shout rang out.

  "Halt!" From above the wooden walls, bows came out and aimed at them.

  Only the voice could be heard, growing closer to them the longer they waited.

  "Who is there!?" A man shouted.

  "We are hunters! We were told that there is a wiht attacking this village, and we are here to help!" Sierra shouted.

  Silence spread, and Alhen discreetly activated his blessing, being careful not to be seen.

  Noticing nothing, his body relaxed somewhat.

  A few seconds later, the bows lowered and the gate opened.

  An elderly man, who appeared to be the village elder, emerged.

  He wore a wooden dog mask that covered more than half of his face and approached them with a barely visible smile.

  "I am glad that you brave hunters have decided to hear our cries of help. This village needs your help, respected hunters. Come on in." The Elder guided them inside, where they saw everyone

  wearing masks in the shape of animals.

  'So this is what they use instead of the glasses,' Alhen thought.

  The mask had been designed to allow only a view of the ground; even if someone looked up, it would be impossible to see the moon because of the mask’s angle.

  ‘This means that they don’t have an idea of what we look like. If they were to take off their masks, they would see some kids supposedly saying that they would help protect them. I wonder if they will treat us the same then,’ Alhen thought.

  The men wore long white pants without shirts, and the women wore skirts and a fine piece of cloth to cover their chests.

  They followed the man in silence until reaching the center of the village. Onlookers gathered, curious about their identity.

  The Elder, with his deep voice, spoke out loud to the people.

  "Villagers of Drosrria, today, the hunters have arrived! Let us celebrate this occasion with 'Raghash!'

  The villagers cheered for the arrival of the hunters, whistling loudly and making what appeared to be animal noises.

  The villagers quickly gathered around them and started dancing, moving their bodies in a weird pattern and contorting them in ways that he didn’t know were possible.

  Sloan and Sierra were on high alert, including Alhen, who crept his hand closer to his revolver.

  All the villagers in unison started singing in a different language as they circled them.

  The man, who had brought them here, stood beside them, overseeing the process.

  He knelt on the floor and looked at the sky with his hands raised.

  After a few seconds, the singing intensified, and they approached the group.

  The villagers started touching their bodies, except for the most private areas, mostly the shoulders, the top of the head, and the back.

  Sloan looked at her sister with narrowed eyes, actively checking if someone had touched her inappropriately.

  He looked ready to unsheathe his thul and start swinging it without mercy, his discomfort and bad mood rising rapidly.

  Fortunately, this didn't happen, and they backed away in unison to end the singing and started jumping around joyfully.

  "This is a true blessing! Hunters!" The Elder stood and eagerly shook their hands one by one.

  The siblings frowned at this but went along with it anyway.

  "Dear hunters, you must be tired from your travels. We have prepared a house especially for your group. Follow me, it is not that far from here," the elder said.

  The Elder walked east of the village and guided them to a moderately sized wooden house.

  The only difference between the cabin and this house was that it looked more rectangular and had a thatched rooftop, with the inside having a few more decorations.

  "Alright, I will leave you respected hunters here. When you have rested, please let me know; we have discovered the lair of the wiht and will guide you there. I hope you enjoy what we have prepared!" The elder said joyfully.

  With those words, he left the house, leaving them alone.

  The inside had exactly four beds, and the lighting was plentiful, with many candles illuminating the area.

  Desks and places to sit were scattered, and it smelled of fresh wood.

  "Sister, remind me never to take a village contract ever again; that was the weirdest experience I have had so far," Sloan said.

  He looked tired, slumping on the bed and closing his eyes.

  "Yeah, I definitely do not want to experience that weird dance once more," Sierra answered, sitting down on a chair and taking out her pouch.

  "It's not that bad, no harm came upon us, and they were just expressing their gratitude," Alhen commented.

  Sloan and Sierra gave him a raised eyebrow.

  "You have a weird sense of taste. But let us not focus on that; we need to rest. The next cycle is when the action is going to take place."

  Alhen nodded his head and headed to bed.

  He threw himself on it before closing his eyes, preparing himself mentally for the hunt.