Hunter, or hunted? Chapter 1
"Hello Thomas, you still have some fish left?"
The face of a man in his late fourties peered out from behind a stack of empty crates.
"Ah Ray, I thought that voice was familiar. There's always something left for you my friend"
The broad, tanned fisherman went over to Raymond, who was rather small compared to the muscular fisher, and embraced him warmly.
"How's your wife?"
Thomas knew it was a difficult issue, but his curiosity and his anxiety about the family wouldn't let him just sit there silently.
"Hmmmmm..." Rays expression darkened. "She still has a fever and she feels worse day by day. The doctor says if this continues, she wont survive the birth."
Thomas first looked into the sad and worrying eyes of the hunter, then into the slowly darkening sky. Some stars could already be seen, as the sun slowly disappeared beyond the horizon.
He took a deep breath and sent a prayer over the young family.
Ray woke up in the middle of the night, he had slept badly but was suddenly fully awake.
He got up and ran to his wife's bed, which was specially set up for her for giving birth. It was only a matter of hours, until the baby was expected, and Ray dreaded the moment that he might lose his wife. He thought a lot about all sorts of outcomes, but he knew that it wouldn't matter. The life of his unborn baby and his wife wasn't in his hands any more.
flashback
He remembered, when they first met. He was on his way to slay a Monoblos, for a 30 year old (263) Titled Supreme Hunter this wasn't really a big deal, but the quest was a bit weird. The client rewarded 10'000z witch was a lot of money for a G-Rank Monoblos, and the quest was hanging on the quest board for quite some time now.
So he searched for a partner to have a backup while hunting. Rule Nr.1, -if you'd like to survive the encounter with the various types of monsters- stated you'd better be safe. Get yourself some fellow hunters to help you on the quest.
After an hour of wandering about in town with no luck of finding a partner, he went back to the "Gathering Hall". He sat down at a table, pondering over how to find a hunting buddy. He propped up his head on his arms and stared empty faced into his glass of Ale. Suddenly someone tapped him on the shoulder. "Hmm..?" oh god, please don't let it be one of those drunks asking me to buy thembeer again, He thought "Hi, I heard you were looking for a hunter to take on a Monoblos", a cheerful and feminine voice said. He lifted his head, and in front of him was the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen in his life. Blue eyes, long blonde hair, that were held together by the headpiece of her armor, so it wouldn't get in her way while fighting and Dual Blades being strapped to her back. "I'm Kamy, (099) Titled Advanced Huntress. This would be my promotion to a (100) Expert Huntress. I'd be glad to join you". "Uuuh H...Hi, I'm Raymond (263) Titled Supreme Hunter" he said, still startled by the woman standing in front of him.
"Oh,..Ray.. so, what's the deal with that quest, that a (263) Titled Supreme Hunter seeks assistance for?" she asked.
"You see, it was on the Board for 2 weeks. Normally such well paid missions don't touch the bulletin board for even 10 minutes." He handed over the piece of paper with the quest information.
"Hmmm… true, there seems to be something fishy about this. Well, we'll see"
And so the two of them made their way out of the Guildhall to start their adventure...
presence
A tired smile crept over his face, as he remembered the past.
He knelt beside the bed, and listened to her breathing.
But there was something wrong.
Her breathing was irregular and flat. Horrified, he stood up and ran into the living room where Nora, the villages midwife was asleep on the couch for exactly this case. "Nora! Wake up, some thing's wrong with Kamy"
The woman's eyes shot open and she ran to the bedroom.
Kamy lay awake in her bed, a painful expression on her face she was too weak to cry, but Ray knew she would if she could.
"notgood,notgood,notgood" muttered the midwife to herself as she put her utensils on the small table beside the bed, knocking over some meds in the process.
Ray bent over Kamy and looked into her eyes. He saw pain and fear in her eyes.
"Stay with me my Love" he pleaded.
"Listen Kamy, you have to press as hard as you can now." Nora instructed.
Kamy pressed, pressed with the last bit of her strength and love for the man bent over her, him being the reason for her happy life and all the beautiful moments they shared.
"You did it Kamy" the midwife said as she put the child on her chest. Kamy smiled at the sight of her son. Then her eyes went back to her husband, "Ray" her voice was weak, and barely audible. "This is your quest now. Please take care of our son." Then she closed her eyes, forever.
"No," whispered Ray. "No, No! No! Kamy don't leave me alone. Please." He tried to swallow the chunk that built itself up in his throat. As the lump in his stomach was getting bigger, he felt helpless and weak.
Then he began to cry, he wept bitter tears of sadness.
His sobbing united with the cries of the child to a lament over the lost mother.
AN (Authors note)
Yo. after re-writing the first chapter I'm a lot more satisfied with how it has become. The native form of this story was written in German, but with a little help from google and reading the chapter about 5 times I finally managed to get this to a point where it is no longer so bland.
So :) I hope you liked it.
Peace