AcumenDarious: It isn't what you might think. Some of the scenes are slightly more bloody and there's stronger language involved, and I didn't want to take chances.
In truth, I wasn't sure if it should be T or M, so I chose M just to be safe.

Chapter four: Monsters

It does not matter. Not now. I will tell you that Jack Snyder is, in fact, alive; the circumstances I forced him into allowed for other spirits to take his consciousness and restore his body. Snyder is in the Aether—a world few know how to access.

Three weeks ago

Cupa led Jack to another cave in the wall. This one was larger than his bedroom, which was understandable considering what they were going to use it for. Mystia—the only other human in the Realm—was already inside. She was accompanied by a younger girl in silvery clothing—Sylvia, one of the mobs from Athena's group. Jack hadn't spoken to her much.

As Cupa and Jack entered the natural alcove, Mystia turned to see them. "Ah," the witch said. "Jack. Just the man I wanted to see."

"That can't be good," Jack said.

"Funny. Anyway, I just wanted to let you know I started my search."

"Fantastic. What search?"

"My research, of course. About world travel."

That caught Jack's attention.

"You think I just brought maps and potions?" she said. "I had some books with me when we came here, and Andr's little trips to the outside helped too. I asked her to look for any records that might relate to world travel."

"Earth?" he whispered.

"I'm working on that. Honestly, you look more surprised than you should be. Witches are supposed to research subjects that transcend the laws of physics, you know." She started towards the alcove's entrance. "I just wanted to let you know. Syl's going to help you furnish the storeroom. Have fun."

She left.

Jack watched her go. Honestly, he felt like he shouldn't be surprised. Andr had mentioned that Mystia might do something like this, and Andr knew more about the Overworld's magical theories than Jack did.

"Hey!" Cupa smiled. "That's good news, isn't it?"

"Yeah," he said absently. "Yeah, it is."

Present day

Jack jumped off an island's edge and onto the blue Aercloud that floated just below. Shortly after landing, he was launched several feet up as if jumping on a trampoline. He flew right into a purple Cloud and was redirected to the side, where another island was waiting.

He landed square on his stomach. He groaned in pain. That could've gone better.

He slowly got to his feet, his heart racing. He'd become a little less hesitant about using the Aerclouds, but still wasn't really used to it. Humans weren't made to soar through the air.

"How far is this Sanctuary?" he asked.

"As I said," Tristan—who'd materialized next to him, crossbow in hand—replied, "it should take at least a day to get there."

"Yeah, well, the day's halfway over. And I gotta find out if they like me or not."

"I doubt they will 'like' you, but they may tolerate your presence. We cannot expect much more from them."

Jack glanced at him. "You really have a beef with them, don't you?"

Tristan frowned. "What?"

"Every time they come up, you start acting all grim."

The Hunter hesitated. "It is…not something you need to worry about. It will not influence your quest."

"Alright, then." It was probably some rivalry between Valkyries and Overseers. These were worlds of spirits and immortal people. None of Jack's business.

"Jack," Tristan said, pointing to a hill with his crossbow in one hand. "Climb that hill."

"Why?"

"You will see."

Deciding to humor him, Jack did so. Once on the hilltop, he gained a view of the islands ahead, as well as a seemingly infinite number of Aerclouds.

In the far distance, however, he noticed something else. A group of big white Aerclouds that floated closely together, carrying…something.

Jack squinted. Was that a building?

"Is that it?" he whispered.

"Yes," Tristan affirmed. "That is the Sanctuary."

"So we found it, huh? And the day's not even over."

"We still have to reach it—and that will take the remainder of the day. Possibly longer. We cannot afford to get reckless now."

Jack fell silent. Tristan was right; chances were he wouldn't be able to get to the Sanctuary before nightfall. Right now, it was just a tiny speck in the distance. He'd still have to traverse many islands and Clouds to get there. Progress had been made, but it was still miles away.

"Let's not keep them waiting," Jack said.

Athena had her bow in one hand, an arrow in the other. She let her gaze glide around, occasionally throwing a glance towards the Hunters. Aside from Kai and Rayallv—who kept watch—most of them were asleep in tiny tents that blocked out whatever sunlight made it into the cave.

Mystia and Blazette were asleep too, lying on dirt and grass they'd taken from outside. The other three didn't need as much rest and could keep watch all night.

She glanced at Andr. The tall mob hadn't moved from her spot in the corner, and her purple eyes intently observed everything and everyone in the cave. With the way she acted and without her hat to counter her unsettling behavior, she somehow managed to make Athena uncomfortable. Andr had always been quiet, but she had barely even spoken a word since they started the journey. And the look in her eyes had grown more…distant than usual.

Athena redirected her attention to the humans. One reason to keep watch was to wake the others when hostiles got too close. This time, it was mostly meant to ensure the Hunters wouldn't try anything.

"Should we do something?"

She glanced over her shoulder to see Minerva sitting down next to her.

"What do you mean?" Athena asked, keeping her voice down.

"The Hunters," Minerva said. "Should we do something about them?"

"Like what?"

"Ditch them, of course. Take their weapons, beat them up and leave them here."

Athena paused. "We need them…"

"We just need Raulyn."

"Who isn't going to help us if we start picking fights with his friends."

"Unless we make him help us. We can't trust them. Maybe Andr can teleport those grunts back to Ironhand, and we give Raulyn a choice—either help us get to the Aether, or watch us level his town."

"You're going to destroy Ironhand?"

"No, I'm bluffing. But he doesn't know that."

Athena shook her head. "We made a deal with Raulyn. I'm not going to blackmail him."

Minerva frowned. "Do you have any idea how many mobs died because of these Hunters?"

"I just want this to go smoothly. I don't want to cause any problems."

"They'll stab us in the back once we get to the Aether."

"If we blackmail him, he'll lead us into a trap."

"Come on. He's barely older than Jack. He can't be that good."

Of course she'd think that. With how long Minerva had been in the Nether, she couldn't know what Raulyn was capable of. She and Athena had stayed clear of Ironhand in their travels before they split up.

"You underestimate him," Athena said grimly. "Besides, Jack's been through a lot by now too…" She trailed off when she saw Kai get up and walk towards the cave entrance.

Minerva immediately rose too.

"Minerva…" Athena said, standing and following her.

Minerva stepped in front of the Hunter, blocking his way. "And where do you think you're going?" she hissed to him.

Kai looked at her. Athena detected some nervousness, but only a small bit. "I need to urinate," Kai dryly responded.

"You need to urinate—and spring that little trap you set up for us, right?" Minerva bluffed.

"I know nothing about any trap," Kai calmly—and, by the looks of it, truthfully—said, "but this is something I will not do in plain sight."

"You're not leaving this cave."

Apparently noticing something was going on, Rayallv stood up, but Kai gestured for him to sit back down. "Then we will be sitting in the stench of urine for the night," Kai told Minerva, still not losing his composure.

"I'm fine with that."

That made him hesitate. "Very well." He turned and calmly started towards the other end of the cave room, where a rocky tunnel branched off and took a turn out of view.

"Stop," Minerva said.

Kai turned to her.

"I still don't trust you."

"And we do not trust you," he said. "But we still work together to reach the Aether."

Minerva shook her head. "Someone's going to have to make sure you don't run."

Kai paused. "You are not serious…"

Athena sighed. "Minerva…"

"No, you know what?" Minerva said. "I've always wanted to see a mob hunter with his pants down."

"Merciful Kervan," Kai muttered. "I guarantee you that I will not run. There is nowhere to go in this cave system."

"Well, someone needs to watch you."

"Quiet," Athena hissed, not wanting to draw any more attention from the Hunters. "If you need someone to stay with him, I'll go."

Kai hesitated. "Now, hold on…"

"I won't look," Athena told him. "If you don't run."

He sighed. "Very well—so long as you do not put an arrow in my back."

Athena nodded. "Minerva, why don't you go back to keeping watch? We'll be right back."

Minerva agreed.

Athena followed a reluctant Kai to the tunnel ahead. As they rounded the corner, Athena glimpsed Minerva looking at her before she disappeared from sight.

Kai removed the wrap from his glowstone lantern, bathing the area in its bright light. He and Athena wandered through the tunnel for a while, glancing around. Finally he found a narrow, dead-ended branch in the side that went downward at an angle. Placing his lamp on the ground behind him, he went inside, his shoulders all but scraping the side walls.

Athena stayed just outside the branch's entrance. He glanced at her, looking a little embarrassed. Feeling awkward, she turned away.

A silence fell as Kai did his business. Athena hesitated for a moment. There was something she'd been wondering, but she wasn't sure if she wanted to hear the answer.

"Why'd you give me that water?" she finally asked. "This morning."

Kai didn't respond immediately. "We cannot have any of you passing out. We do need your help, after all."

"You looked pretty mad at Galen. And Raulyn didn't seem to like how you handled things."

He remained silent.

"How long have you been with the Hunters?" asked Athena.

"About four weeks. After Drake and Tristan died, Raulyn began a more active search for recruits. Flamma and I were mob hunters in Slaenone at the time."

Her eyes widened. "You're from Slaenone?"

"I know what you are thinking: Slaenone's mob hunters are as harsh as its laws—and you would be right. Among them, that is seen as a virtue."

That was exactly what she thought, but Kai wasn't all that harsh. For a mob hunter, anyway. She wasn't sure if her own observations on that were reliable though; Rayallv had mentioned how vicious Kai used to be. Then again, that might just have been a rumor.

Judging from the sounds, Kai seemed to be done. Athena glanced back to see him reemerge from the short hallway and retrieve his lamp from the ground.

"It is also the reason why I moved to Ironhand and joined the Hunters," Kai mentioned. "I knew of Raulyn and his men even before then. He is quite famous."

"Yeah, I know."

"Humans fear him too, sometimes."

She glanced at him.

"No one knows how he does it," Kai softly said, staring absently to the end of the tunnel. "Bernard is not just stubborn; he is also several years older than Raulyn—maybe a decade—but he admitted that he felt intimidated when they first met. I suppose with how young Raulyn was when he started hunting mobs, he gained a reputation."

"I guess he's kind of a role model for you."

Kai didn't respond.

"If you don't mind me asking, why are you his second in command?" Athena asked. "I would've expected someone…"

"Taller?"

She paused, realizing he just made a joke. A joke! "Harsher," she said seriously. "Someone who wouldn't even want to talk to a mob." Neither of them had moved from their spot this whole time. Any other Hunter would've returned to camp as soon as possible.

Kai gave a nod. "Raulyn claims my skill and intelligence match his."

That wasn't a joke. "He does?" Athena said, surprised. Kai was as good as Raulyn? Why had she never heard of him until now? "Then…why do you worship him so much? If you two are on the same level, why does he lead the Hunters? From what I gathered, Raulyn never outranked Drake and Tristan; they followed him out of respect because he was the best at what he did."

"The Hunters have a different system of hierarchy now. One that has only one leader. Raulyn was already a Hunter when I moved to Ironhand—the last one, at the time. It was only fitting that he was given the rank of captain. Maybe I would have been in a similar position, had I moved to Ironhand earlier. Their Hunters are legendary for a reason; mob hunters from other towns are not as famous."

Right. Ironhand wasn't exactly the biggest town in the Overworld, but its Hunters were well-known. From what Athena had gathered, they were believed to be the very first actual mob hunting group since the Kingdom's fall, centuries ago. Whether that was true or not, the story seemed to contribute to their fame.

"Their numbers have decreased greatly over the years," Kai said, raising his hand to lean against the wall. "Just seven years ago, they—"

A light 'click' sounded from where his hand met the wall.

Kai stopped.

Then the floor beneath their feet shot down.