Chapter 21: The Hunt Begins

*Snick…snick…snick…*

Anger radiated off him with every pass of the whetstone. Whenever the stone grazed the edge of his dagger, the huntsman imagined using the blade to slice off bits and chunks of that foul opponent that harmed his friend's puppy. The ranger paused for a second and admired the keen edge of his bollock dagger. Sharp enough to skin a bastard with. Or a werewolf. Whichever one crosses his path first.

Hastur and Freki sat across the room at a small table where the mage had her face buried in Mother Illisa's book trying to find any information she could on werewolves. Surely a magical approach would give her friend an edge in the hunt to come. The passing of the whetstone matched the ominous aura coming from her friend. Already adorned in his leather cuirass and bracers, the Huntsman was just killing time before the hunt.

*Snick…snick…*

"It says here that lycanthropy is a curse. You know I could try to find a way to break-"

"It wont work." Finally, Thaelin broke his brooding silence. His concentration stayed locked on his blade. "It's a pureblood werewolf, Hast. Its cursed from birth. Only way to 'cure' it, is to kill it."

"So only silver can slay the beast…Is your dagger edged with silver then?"

"Nope." He said pausing the sharpening swipes to look over the blade before turning the blade over to work on the other edge.

"Then how do you expect to kill it then?"

"Big Bob." He said pointing at that disgusting trap leaning against the doorway with his dagger. "Bob's teeth are lined with silver. When the Big Bad steps on Big Bob, he's stuck there and I go in and chop off its fucking head."

Hastur went back to looking at the etching of a werewolf fighting against several dwarves armed with massive axes. The drawing made her feel uneasy. Especially since four dwarves were drawn on the ground completely torn to pieces. A little arm was held in the werewolf's paw close to its mouth.

"What about your friend, Marie?"

"She's not my friend!" Thaelin declared trying to hold back a blush "She's just a fellow ranger…nothing more."

"Okay, but what if she gets hurt?"

"She's a big girl. She can look after herself." Thaelin said trying to focus on putting the sharpest edge on his dagger.

"…and that brute? He will be in the forest too." The thought of what that 'man' did to Freki made Hastur's nerves skyrocket. She leaned over and gave the puppy a protective hug.

"Well…" Thaelin said looking over the blade with a wicked grin "accidents do happen out there. No one will ask questions. I could always say that the beast did him in."

The mage closed the book and rubbed her sore eyes. She gave Freki a pat on the flank before removing her hood. "Promise me you will be careful. "

"Sure, whatever." The man said sheathing his dagger and tightened the lacings on his cuirass and bracers.

"Want me to bless your weapon?"

"Sure why not. But make it quick. I got to leave before dusk." He said placing his sword belt and freshly sharpened dagger on his bed.

Hastur took a waterskin from her satchel and wet her hands with it. She approached Thaelin's weapons and unsheathed them enough to touch their worn steel blades. With her wet fingers, she drew a mantra onto the blade's fuller while reciting a prayer. When she was finished she approached the wicked steel trap next to the door and placed a damp hand on the terrifying steel jaws with shining silvered teeth

"Oghma, lord of Knowledge. Bless this steel and grant the warrior the wisdom he needs to slay this monstrosity that threatens the land."

Satisfied with her efforts, the ranger strapped on the blades and hoisted his trap over his shoulder The rattle of the trap's chain announced his farewell. The second that door closed, Hastur tugged the edges of her cloak close. "Please be careful."

Mattias strapped on a pair of gauntlets to his massive hands and forearms. With a smug look, he smirked at the two-inch long silver spikes on the knuckles. For him, fighting this beast with his bear hands was going to send his glory into the songs of every bard in the Duchies. People will know the greatness that was Mattias Abner.

The large man followed the empty road by torchlight. The cackle of the flames sputtered as it followed his path. From behind the creature let loose a mighty roar as it brandished its dark claws.

"There you are." He said dropping the torch.

Mattias grabbed the beast by the arm and wrenched it into a hold. From there he moved to grapple the creature into a stranglehold. Using his legs. The brute sweeped his leg out from under the wolf and slammed it to the dirt. The light of the nearby torch shone the ugly and horrific face of the beast. Its elongated snout, snarling fangs, black fur, and bright yellow eyes.

The ranger rolled on top of the beast and started pummeling the creature. The spikes on his gauntlet pierced the thick hide of the beast and damaged the tissue within. The monster whined like an injured hound as it struggled to get free.

"Oh no you don't." laughed the man as he closed in to finish the beast off.

The werewolf used all of its remaining strength to break free of Mattias' grapple. It outstretched its arms and crawled away, its toe claws scratched scores into the dirt as it ran off into the dark.

"Get back here!"

The elk stalked through the north of the primeval woods. The elk followed the heed of its rider. But kept a watchful eye into the darkness. Marie gave her mount a reassuring pat on the neck and held her spear like a jousting knight gripped his lance. The two rode through the dark. The light of the crescent moon guided them.

The snap of a twig alerted the female ranger of the nearby prey. She twirled her spear overhand and flung it into the darkness. A second went by before the guttural growl of a black creature roared in pain before fleeing under the cover of night. Her spear hit its mark.

"Onward, Heorot!" commanded the ranger charging her steed after the injured beast. While the elk galloped along, Marie produced her bow and silver tipped arrows. She lined up a shot and let loose the red arrows.

A few of the arrows met its target. It was wounded by the pure metal arrows burning into its flesh, but still gave flight.

Marie put away her bow and steered the running elf to pursue closer to the beast. The running elk dove between small gaps in trees, and bound over shrubs. When her mount got alongside the running creature, Marie rose in her saddle, taking the reigns in one hand and a silver edged dagger she braced herself for her next feat.

She vaulted herself from her saddle and grabbed for dear life onto the matted course fur of the beast. She raised her blade high and thrusted it down between the shoulder blades of the werewolf. It let out a ravenous howl as the metal burned its flesh and caused the creature to lose its pace and topple into a mangled roll.

The huntress let go of the creature as she and it rolled forth, striking their bodies against all manner of obstacles. Marie skid to a halt. Her belly dragged through the mud and her body aching. She raised her head to find the maw of an enraged werewolf snarling. Ready to pounce.

"Heorot!"

Thaelin waltzed soft footed through the dark forest. He looked up at the moon and gave it a cocky smirk. Its crescent shaped light gave some lighting for the huntsman, but he didn't need it. The ranger then looked back at the dense wood and his eyes flashed with a dull blue light. The forest around him illuminated to a dim light in his eyes. He could see much better now. The outlines of large paw prints in the mud led his way.

"Marie wasn't lying." He thought when he traced his hand over the massive hind leg tracks. Roughly 14-inches in length. The heel resembled that of an ordinary man's, but the front pads were spaced out like a wolf's. Four long claws dug deep into the muddy floor. By the outline and the dew around the edges of the prints, he saw that they were fresh.

His steps followed the tracks over 100yards and next to a fallen elm, there it was. A mass of dark brown fur huddled around the carcass of its fresh kill. The sounds of teeth tearing at muscle and bones breaking sent a chill through his heart. He slowly unsheathed his short sword and attempted to approach the feasting monstrosity. He walked as softly as a puma on the prowl. Careful not to disturb any debris. He managed to move within 10 feet of the creature before he saw it's pointed ear perk up. The smacking sounds of chewing teeth stopped and a bloody maw snarled at him.

"Oh shit."

Thaelin swung his shortsword at monster's flank, spun on the balls of his feet, and bolted away. The gasp of the creature alerted the man that he had the monsters attention. A blood drenched maw of the beast let out a droning howl as it gave chase. Its claws dug into the mud and it lunged itself after the terrified huntsman

"Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit! Worst. Plan. Ever." Panted Thaelin.

His eyes glowed blue as he used his sight to dodge between trees in the dead of the night. His legs moved faster than he thought they ever could. Arms flailing in hopes that they could give him a little hint of more speed. And all the while, he tried to stick to his terribly executed plan.

He didn't look back. He didn't have to. He knew the werewolf was following, he heard its harsh pants for breath, its growls with every bound. Those red eyes that glowed in the moonlight. They followed its prey's every step. Whenever it zig-zaged through the woods, so did it. When it jumped, over a log it leaped to. Its fangs snapped at the air in hopes of sinking into the man's flesh. Thaelin's chest ached. His muscles burned and fresh air stung his lungs. But he had to keep going. The ranger made one last leap and slid to a near halt. He was tired. And it was about time he made his stand.

The beast followed in his bound, but when it made contact with the ground-

*CRUNCH*

Wailing howls broke the night as several steel and silver spikes tore into the werewolf's hide. The holy metal burned when the creature thrashed its front paw about trying to break free of the immense pain and pressure bearing down on its right arm. Faint wisps of steam could be seen in the moonlight coming from the fresh wounds.

As the monster roared, howled, and dug into the mud, Thaelin backed up against a tree. He dropped his shortsword and slid down the base of the tree taking a moment to catch his breathe. A sense of relief splashed over him when he wiped his sweaty brow.

"Oh god, worst. Plan. Ever."

He watched on as the beast flailed around and grew nervous when the beast stopped and stared at him. His greatest fear was about to come true. The Pureblood Werewolf, was intelligent.

The creature opened its massive jaw and bore down on its own arm, just above where the steel teeth were digging in, and began to tear at its own flesh.

Thaelin rolled his eyes as he rolled to his feet and retrieved his sword.

"Hey! Kibbles and Bitch!" he yelled drawing out his bollock dagger, trying to buy himself some time with a distraction.

The long snout opened wide and chomped towards the ranger. The chain to the trap and a nearby post rattled wildly.

"Play dead!"

He said thrusting his sword into the toothy maw and slammed the length of his dagger into its neck. The ranger yelled when the teeth started to clamp down into his leather bracer covered arm. Again and again he used his dagger to stab into its neck until the beast's body became weaker. And moved less.

The huntsman then used his dagger to pry the werewolf's jaws apart enough to free himself. In one panicked jerk he pulled himself free along with his sword. Its cursed blood leaked into the mud, making the ground more soggy. Thaelin stood over his dying foe one more time before delivering his coup-de-grace.

"Down boy!" he smirked bringing his shortsword down onto the beast's neck. Freeing its wretched head from its mangled and scarred body. A guttural roar escaped the ranger's lungs as he stood over the slain beast