Chapter 1-The Makings of a Hunter

The sun was just starting to set as Chase once again scanned the open plateau. After a moment he let out a sigh, nothing. Quietly he settled back into the crook in his tree and uncorked a hot-drink. Hopefully Eric would have better luck.

Eric and chase had grown up together and besides being best friends, they were also their towns hunters. Which meant they were responsible for gathering meat and hides for the townspeople. This time they were camped out in a forest at the base of a mountain range known as the Furehiya Mountains.

At the moment Chase was crouched down at the edge of the forest and a vast open plateau that ran right up to the mountains, hoping to spot a herd of anteka he knew to roam the area. Around noon, Eric had decided to go check out another area of the plateau closer to the mountain. Usually anteka stayed away from this area since the mountain was home to many creatures that considered them dinner, But the two of them had already been here three days and had yet to see more than one or two anteka since they'd arrived. So Eric had offered to go check near the mountains to try and find them.

Chase watched as the sun slowly dipped below the horizon and resigned himself to another night in the forest. Many more days like this and they'd have to return to the village empty handed. Suddenly he heard a twig snap behind him.

"Boo!" Eric laughed as he stepped into the fading light.

Chase grinned "It's about time. I was starting to think some anteka had gotten the better of you."

"Hey that only happened once. And anybody watching would agree it came out of nowhere."

"Yeah, those anteka are sneaky." Chase laughed "so, how was it up there? See anything?"

Eric shivered "C-cold. Mind if we talk at camp?"

Chase threw Eric a hot-drink. "Yeah, no problem. I was just about to head back."

They reached camp just as night settled on the forest. As Chase put their gear away, Eric gathered some wood and got a fire going. After a few minutes Chase joined him around the fire to warm up while the meat he had put over it cooked. Before long the campsite was filled with the rich smell of seasoned meat and the two were enjoying a tasty dinner. As they ate, they discussed how their day's had went.

"So how was your luck? Spot any more anteka?" Eric asked as he poured some water into an empty hot-drink glass.

Chase swallowed "No. Today was even worse than yesterday. I did see more giaprey though. Which is weird because usually they stay higher up in the mountains."

Eric nodded "I was gonna talk to you about that. I think their numbers are increasing. That's why I was late getting back today. The area was so overrun with giaprey I was constantly having to hide to avoid getting attacked."

"If that's true it would explain the luck we've been having this trip. If there's more giaprey attacking the anteka it'll mean less for us."

"I thought those slayers the town hired were supposed to be taking care of things like this.."

Chase wasn't surprised by the edge that crept into Eric's voice as he mentioned the slayers. He felt the same way.

The slayers were a group of people that went from town to town, offering to eliminate local monster threats. Most towns were too small to take care of the problem themselves, and without the slayers help, they would quickly become overrun with monsters. A fact the slayers took advantage of, charging the towns outrageous amounts for their services. This blatant exploitation often created an undertone of resentment toward them in the towns.

"Yeah, so did I." Chase replied as he gazed into the fire, lost in thought. After a moment he was back. " So I take it you didn't have any luck finding anteka either?"

Eric looked up from the piece of meat he was working on. "Actually, I have good news on that. I didn't see any anteka when I got there, but I did see signs they had been there. And from what I could tell, they were fairly fresh. I think they go up there early in the morning before the velociprey come out, then go somewhere else around mid-day to avoid getting attacked. So I think if we're up there by sunrise tomorrow, we'll have a good chance of finding them.

"Sounds good. Especially since we only have enough food for a few more days. Lets just hope the giaprey don't' have the same idea." Chase laughed.

The next morning the two were up early, and by the time the sun was up, they were staked out on a ledge at the base of the mountain. Waiting to see if the anteka would come. By mid-morning both of them were growing impatient.

"If we don't see something soon we'll have to go try farther down the plateau. I don't want to be here when the velociprey show up." Chase said, checking the sun.

"Yeah..." Eric sighed. "It's a shame we can't hunt popo instead. You never have to worry about finding them."

Chase laughed. "That's true. To bad they won't be back here for so long."

During the spring and summer seasons, the popo migrated from the lower lying plateau's farther up into the mountains, following the cold weather. They would only come back down once the plateau's were cold enough. Usually sometime in the fall.

Suddenly something caught chase's eye. At the far end of the plateau an anteka had appeared from a gorge that ran deep into the mountain. Then another one, and another. Within moments, the whole herd had made its way out of the gorge and was slowly spreading out onto the plateau.

Chase nudged Eric and pointed toward the approaching anteka.

"Finally" Eric whispered as he gripped his longsword.

Within a few minutes the anteka were spread out below them, grazing. Completely unaware of the hunters above them. Chase fitted an arrow and picked a target from the herd.

"How many you wanna go for?"

Eric thought a moment. "Six?"

"Six sounds good. Ready?"

Eric crept to the edge of the rock face, picking out his three targets.

"Always" he said with a grin. Then he was off, leaping from the ledge and plummeting toward his first target, his sword slicing threw the air beneath him. The anteka never knew what hit it as Eric landed, literally nailing it to the plateau.

Instantly it was chaos, spooked anteka running in every direction. Chase had already taken out his first target, and quickly switched focus to another one, downing it with a single shot.

Meanwhile Eric pulled his blade from his first anteka and rushed after a second, quickly closing the distance. Running up to it, he made a single slash across its chest as he spun around to avoid its large antlers and it was down. Just as he finished the attack he heard something behind him and rolled to the side, barely avoiding being trampled. Quickly Eric recovered and turned to face the anteka, which had come around and was charging toward him again. As it came closer he stayed rooted to the spot, ducking down at the last second and driving his blade into its chest. And with that he got his third kill.

Realizing he had only seconds before the herd would be out of range, Chase jumped from the ledge, landing right in the path of the last few retreating anteka. With unbelievable reflexes he fitted an arrow and fired before rolling out of the way of his target as it stampeded past him. Quickly he spun around and instinctively fired another arrow at where he knew it would be. But he was wrong. Instead of running straight past him, the anteka had turned to the left for another charge, and the arrow flew harmlessly past it.

As it came back, Chase noticed its size. It was considerably larger than the other anteka, and its horns were huge compared to the rest of the herd. That's when he realized what he had shot at. It wasn't just any anteka. It was an Androme. The leader of the herd.

Chase paused a second, stunned. Then he was back in hunting mode, letting loose two arrows at its chest as it closed in on him. However the Androme just lowered its head and the arrows bounced off its antlers harmlessly.

"Well that's unfortunate." Chase remarked, quickly becoming aware of his situation.

Thinking the two arrows would take care of it, Chase hadn't thought to move. And now it was too late. The Androme tossed its head as it collided with him, throwing Chase high into the air and over its back.

He tried to soften his landing by rolling as he hit the ground, but falling ten feet is falling ten feet no matter what you do. And chase felt every foot as the landing knocked the wind out of him.

Knowing Eric was too far away as the Androme came back for another charge, Chase pushed himself to his feet. Although he was sore, he knew he had to think fast. As the Androme drew closer he had an idea. Quickly he fired an arrow at its chest. Once again it lowered its head, causing the arrow to bounce off. Next he shot an arrow at the ground, just in front of its lowered head. Startled, the Androme threw up its head in surprise.

"Bingo" Chase said, firing two arrows at its now exposed throat, and a third into its chest.

The Androme slammed into the ground, dead, its momentum carrying it right up to Chase's feet. Even Eric had to admit it was an impressive sight. And just then he reached Chase. For a moment he just stood there looking from Chase to the Androme. Then he burst out laughing

"What's so funny?"

"That's gonna suck for you to haul back to town." Eric said, still laughing.

Chase couldn't help but laugh too.

It was slow work, but soon they had the carcasses piled onto the two miniature carts they'd brought and were headed back to camp. Once there they had a quick meal before packing up their campsite and beginning the long trip back to town. A trip made all the longer by the now eight anteka and one Androme that accompanied their gear. Although they had transferred the five anteka and the Androme from the two miniature carts, along with the three other anteka they caught earlier, to one large cart, it was still slow going.

"Next time, we bring a popo." Eric said as he and Chase struggled to pull the huge load through the forest.

Chase wiped the sweat from his forehead. "Agreed."

The two walked on in silence for a moment, each too tired to say anything.

"You know...I'm rreeally starting to miss Alexis about now."

Chase let out an exasperated laugh. "You and me both."

And with that, the two pushed on through the forest. Eager to get home.