There were many things that Hunter hated: the mosquitoes, the mud, the pouring rain, the too strong winds that unbalanced him from his staff, the too hot days in which he felt like he was in an oven inside his cloak, and ironically even those too cold since it almost always meant having to face a snowstorm. But the thing he hated most was when something didn't go completely according to plan.

And this time not only had something not gone completely according to plan, but rather, everything had gone wrong. He had finally found Luz, there at the entrance to the local school in Bonesborough, a place where he never thought he would see the puppet, and with her he had also glimpsed her arthropod friends as they peeked out of her pockets, which had given him a huge wave of relief since it meant that at least they had survived, even if for some reasons his mind seemed to concentrate especially on Willow... but accompanying her there was also a woman who Hunter's instincts had immediately identified as dangerous. A quick check with his staff and Flapjack's response were enough to confirm his fears: the woman in front who was accompanying Luz was a real concentrate of light magic. In lesser words, she was a fairy.

The situation couldn't have gotten worse. "This time my uncle really freaks out. He hates fairies" Hunter murmured as he watched the scene and mentally cursed the puppet's shameless luck: how was it possible that he always found an ally even more powerful than the previous one!? It almost seemed like she was doing it on purpose to make his life difficult! And above all, how had she managed to get into the good graces of a fairy in just two days!?

Hunter sighed and shook his head. If a fairy was present on the scene, completing his mission was practically impossible. His mind drifted back to the conversation he'd had with his uncle two days ago.

-‐-

"The puppet escaped from me"

That's what his uncle had said, and Hunter couldn't believe it. When he had received his master's call he had responded expecting him to tell him that they had gotten what they wanted and to come back. It was the first time he had ever heard of someone who had been able to escape from his uncle! Not even the most powerful monsters of the sea or the most famous heroes of history had succeeded in such a feat. How had Luz escaped once again?

He was seriously starting to think that the puppet was protected by some deity.

Noticing his dismay, his uncle explained: "She escaped from me thanks to the sacrifice of her companions and has a very great deal of luck. But it does not matter: now she is alone and the waves I have generated will surely push her towards Bonesborough". He let out a loud growl, "Go and find her! There is no one left who can stand between you and her, and she is no match for you. Retrieve her and bring her to me! No mistakes allowed this time!"

"Yes, my liege" Hunter had responded, turning off the call. Wasting no time he had jumped onto his staff and with it began wandering over Bonesborough trying to spot the puppet. Flapjack had intervened by chirping something, but he had replied: "Stop trying to dissuade me! You heard him, no mistakes allowed this time. If I don't complete the task, he will turn us both into fish food!"

Well, it seemed that the dire prediction was destined to come true, because now that a fairy was involved Hunter knew he had no chance of capturing Luz. The fairies had the magic directly opposite to his, the one that nullified all power of his staff, and without it he had no chance of victory. He was literally faced with an obstacle that he had no chance of overcoming. He couldn't hold back a growl of irritation and anger: he'd spent two whole days searching for the puppet, neither sleeping nor eating the entire time, and now that he'd finally managed to find her she was under the wing of Hunter's only enemy. he was sure he couldn't defeat! Marvelous, indeed.

He had no other choice; although he wasn't sure that once that conversation was over he would still have his head on his neck, or that his uncle wouldn't go completely mad and wipe out Bonesborough with a kilometer-high tsunami, he took his staff and activated the communication spell. After a few moments his uncle's face appeared in front of him. "Did you find her?" he asked him, but it was clear from his tone of voice that he expected a negative answer. After all, if Hunter had caught Luz he would have gone straight to him, not called him.

Hunter shook his head. "Some... complications have arisen"

"Of course. What's the problem this time?" his uncle grumbled.

Hunter gathered courage, then he dropped the bomb: "The puppet is protected... by a fairy"

There was a moment of silence, and then the storm arrived. "WHAT!?" his uncle roared, his voice suddenly becoming extremely hollower, and the communication spell seemed to almost falter. "A fairy!? One of those stupid overgrown birds has decided to get in my way again!? It's not enough for them to come every now and then to interfere with my experiments, now they're even protecting my prey! How dare they... if only I wasn't stuck in this prison of water, I would have taught them their place in the food chain centuries ago! Miserable feathered creatures... I will make sure to extinguish their pathetic species as soon as I have no more these damned restrictions! I will devour them one by one and slowly consume them by absorbing and converting every trace of their good magic into my evil power!"

Hunter had already witnessed moments when his uncle lost control, but still he felt a thrill hearing him speak like that. Perhaps it was because he knew that his uncle was not boasting but rather he had all the ability to do what he was saying. In fact, if there was one thing he was very good at doing, it was consuming anything he could find. "What do you wish me to do, my liege?"

That question had a calming effect on his uncle, who abandoned his previous anger and immediately began thinking about his next move. "Mh. If a fairy is involved, then we can no longer afford mistakes. From now on we must proceed with caution" he murmured. "Even if I send this fake body to challenge her, there isn't enough of my power within it for it to beat a fairy in combat, and you have even less of a chance. And since I physically can't come to the mainland and so I cannot fight with all my might, we can't hope to be able to catch the puppet by force. But... we could use the usual trick. She's still a pathetic kid after all... and all kids are nothing more than useless and listless parasites who just want to have fun. Make her take the bait wouldn't be that difficult"

Hunter tried not to show that he was sweating; he knew well what strategy his uncle was referring to and the mere thought terrified him. But fortunately his uncle seemed to have second thoughts: "Unfortunately, however, it is better not to joke with fairies. Once the puppet will be here with me, the fairy who protects her will not be able to hope to defeat me, but if she were skilled enough she might be able to get here in time and take her away from under my nose. Those crippled birds can fly, after all, and I can't lift my body too much from this prison of water. I'll have to carefully study a plan and make sure there's not the slightest margin for error. The fairies have managed to interfere in my experiments too many times, I can't risk one of them interfering now that I have found such a promising body". Finally he stopped talking to himself and turned to Hunter again: "You have failed in your task again, but I need a pair of eyes there and I don't have time to create another like you. Therefore, I give you one more chance. This time the assignment is simple: you just have to stay there and study the situation. Try to glean as much information as possible about this fairy or any other potential ally of that puppet. Whenever you discover something, contact me and tell me. For the rest, just wait for further instructions"

If it weren't for the fact that he had to show absolutely no emotion, Hunter would have done a somersault with joy. His uncle was basically telling him to stay in Bonesborough and not come back! It was the closest thing to a vacation he had ever had. He hoped that his uncle would take a long time to devise a plan and that he would then be able to enjoy the tranquility as long as possible.

But perhaps he had unintentionally shown some sign of contentment, for his uncle's voice suddenly became menacing: "Don't think of idling, Hunter. I warn you: if you won't bring me useful information before I complete a plan, your functionality will be considered totally concluded. I hope you know what this means"

Hunter's grip on the stirrup tightened, and he trembled slightly. "I know it very well, my liege"

"Good. Then go and get busy. This task is not difficult, but I expect efficient results". His uncle let out what sounded like the growl of a beast: "Don't disappoint me this time too, Hunter... because I won't give you another chance never again" and with that he cut off the communication.

Hunter stood still for a second, and then fell back against a wall and sat up, breathing deeply. Flapjack flew onto his stomach and just rubbed against it, chirping something. After a while Hunter's breathing returned to normal and he calmed down. "Thanks, buddy" he said to the Palisman, then his face darkened. "Flapjack, look... you should leave. You've seen the situation I'm in, how I live, what I'm... forced to do. If you stay here with me your life will always hang by a thread. If I fail this mission too what awaits me is a fate worse than death, and even if I manage to complete it... sooner or later my uncle will notice you, and when he'll do so he will turn both of us into his dinner. So... go away and find yourself a master who is not constantly on the brink of being consumed alive by a sea horror"

Flapjack jumped and let out a loud chirp. "What do you mean no!?" Hunter snapped. "You don't abandon a friend in difficulty!? Flapjack, this isn't a fantasy tale like the ones people tell, where good always triumphs over evil! This is real life! There are times when you have to put moral scruples aside and think about yourself!". Another chirp. "You don't mean to give up so easily? Are you stupid or what? This is not a choice! There is no such thing as giving up or fighting, there is only running away as far as possible or being consumed alive! I haven't given up, I'm just a realist and..."

"Hey, dude, may I know what's wrong with you?"

Hunter looked up and saw that a boy had appeared at the entrance to the alley where he was standing. He must have been around her age, maybe even slightly older; he had pale skin, golden eyes, thick black eyebrows, short emerald green hair, and a small mole under his right eye. "Um... what do you want?"

"I asked you what's wrong with you" the boy replied. "I thought you were arguing with someone, but instead you're talking to yourself. Do you have a split personality or...?"

Flapjack took flight and landed on Hunter's shoulder, and the boy finally noticed him. "Oh, now I understand! You were talking to him! Sorry, I thought you were going crazy" he said. "Anyway, I'm Edric. What about you?"

Hunter rolled his eyes. It was bad enough that a complete stranger saw him without a mask, he wasn't about to tell him his name too. "It's none of your business. Now, if you can excuse me, I'm busy and..."

"Edric!" Another person suddenly appeared next to the boy, this time a girl. The two were almost identical, which made Hunter think they were twins or something; the only difference was that she had much longer hair that she wore in a braided ponytail, and she also had a rounder face. "It's done! I gave Mittens up to one of her snooty friends, and no teacher has seen me yet! We can run away!". She looked at Hunter: "And who is he?"

"What a combination, Emira! I was just asking you!" the boy named Edric replied.

"I already told you who I am is none of your business" Hunter muttered. "Rather, what are you running away from? I don't think there are any dangers at the moment"

"Oh, come on, it's obvious! We are running away from school!" the girl, who apparently was called Emira, replied. "We are going to have fun on the beach! After the wave unleashed by Belos destroyed part of the port there are a lot of workers there who are repairing it, ideal for having some fun and doing a lot of pranks!"

Hunter raised an eyebrow. "So you two are skipping school? You shouldn't do that. Trust me, I've seen with my own eyes how kids and teens with little desire to study end up, and you wouldn't like it at all"

"Oh please! You talk like our mother" Emire muttered. "At our age we have to have fun, not waste time being good and polite guys like our parents want! We'll think about becoming dutiful when we'll be adults. Don't you think so too?"

Hunter was taken aback. "I just told you that I have good reasons not to think so! Why are you asking me that question?"

"If you don't think so, why are you out of school, and dressed like that on top of that?" Edric asked him. "You're skipping school too, aren't you? I bet you want to go to some theater!"

"Of course not! This is my work uniform! I'm not enrolled in this school, I'm working!" Hunter snapped.

"Pff, come on! You're probably our age!" Emira laughed, clearly not taking his words seriously. "Who would give a job to someone like you?"

In response, Hunter moved his staff and engulfed his two interlocutors in a bubble of red energy, lifting them three meters off the ground before dropping them back down. "Do these look like props to you?" he asked rhetorically.

He expected the twins to run away, but instead he got exactly the opposite effect. "This is legendary!" Emira exclaimed, grabbing his arm. "So you know how to use magic? Mind lending us that staff?"

"Absolutely no way! This is not a toy!" Hunter exclaimed as he took the staff away from the girl's hands.

"Well, if you won't lend us that staff, then you'll come with us!" Edric said grabbing his other arm and dragging him out of the alley and into the middle of the main street. "We'll have a lot of fun with that! Trust me, you won't regret it!"

Hunter was about to grab those two and throw them away, it would have been easy just using his physical strength, let alone his magic, but then he changed his mind. Even though he could have easily gotten rid of them he was now in the middle of the main road, which meant there were many people watching him; basically, he would put on a show and the whole town would know about him. News moved fast after all, and surely a strangely dressed boy throwing other people into the air would be something that would become public knowledge within less than an hour. For many it would have just been bizarre news... but those who knew at least something about him would not have taken long to understand what had happened... including Luz, who, despite not being very attentive to what was happening around her, had ears very subtle, and although Hunter doubted there was a brain in that wooden head, that was something even a newborn baby would understand. That could be problematic: he still hadn't decided what strategy to implement to discover the secrets of the fairy who was protecting the puppet, so for the moment it was better to keep a low profile and not be noticed. It was better, in short, that Luz didn't know about his presence... although he wouldn't have minded asking her for information regarding what had happened to her other friends or if someone else had been able to escape from his uncle, even if he could easily imagined the answer. In any case, for the moment it was better to stay in the shadows and think carefully about what to do: Luz, Gus and Willow already thought that he would not stay in Bonesborough for long, and were probably convinced that he had already left given the time margin he had said them, so it wouldn't be hard to hide... but if he wanted to stay in the shadow he couldn't show off his skills there in the middle of the street, so for the moment the best choice was to follow the twins and get rid of them as soon as there were fewer people around.

Too bad Edric and Emira must have thought the same thing, and in fact they never left the crowd so that he couldn't escape them. And so Hunter found himself spending the whole day near the port using the magic of his staff to move the objects of the workers who were repairing it following the twins' directions. Even though he found this behavior rather childish, after a while he had to admit that he was having fun: it was exhilarating to see the workers going crazy because every time he moved the boards they had to carry. Edric and Emira knew how to prank the right way, and Hunter just had to provide support with his staff. And so they spent the whole day together having fun doing the most disparate pranks, all without anyone ever being able to realize that it was them thanks to the fact that these pranks had been implemented through spells. Towards evening Edric and Emira headed towards a large manor marked 'Blight Manor', which they said was their home. "Well, now we have to part ways" Emira said when they were at the gate. "Admit it, you had fun with us"

Hunter wanted to shake his head, but he decided it was worth being honest for once. "Yes, I admit you're funny" he said. "But I still remain of the opinion that you shouldn't take school lightly. Trust me, I have my good reasons to believe so"

"Believe what you want, the important thing is that you don't bother us too much like Mittens does" Edric replied. "Be that as it may, will you be staying here in Bonesborough much?"

"Huh? Yes..." Hunter replied, but quickly realized he had made a big mistake.

"THAT'S PERFECT!" both twins exclaimed at the same time. "Then tomorrow we'll come look for you! We'll have fun together again!"

"Hey! I had fun today, but I have a mission to complete!" Hunter said.

"And when does this mission have to be completed?" Emira asked him.

Hunter scratched his head. "Well... I don't really have a time limit..."

"Great, then you can start this mission in a week! Or maybe a month, why not?" Emira seemed quite convinced of what she was saying. "You can spend some time with us, and you're too interesting for us to let you go so soon!"

Hunter's eyes widened. "What? But..."

"Too late, man, too late!" Edric told him, then he remembered a detail: "By the way, you haven't told us your name yet. I don't feel like calling you 'friend' forever, so... what's your name?"

Hunter was tempted to deny telling him again, but after all those two had proven that they weren't dangerous, so it wasn't worth keeping it a secret... also because he knew that otherwise they would have pestered him for days. "My name is Hunter"

"Great! So, Hunter, get ready to have fun with us for a long time!" the twins exclaimed.

Hunter decided that he had had enough for one day and that he didn't even want to argue anymore, so he said goodbye to Edric and Emira and hurriedly ran away before they could stop him. In the meantime it was already evening, so for that day he could give up the prospect of gleaning information. "Well, I'll start tomorrow" he said to himself. "After all, I needed a day's break, but I can't afford to disappoint my uncle, so starting tomorrow I'll get busy"

Flapjack landed on his shoulder and chirped something. "Yes, I also agree that it's not bad to take a vacation, but you heard my uncle, we can't afford to be idle". Another chirp. "Huh? Of course I heard those two tell me they'll look for me... but come on, Bonesborough is big! How high are the chances that they'll find me any day?"


Hunter: "I must work hard to make sure my uncle is not disappointed, since my uncle is a sea horror who enjoys committing the most unspeakable cruelties and if I made him wait too long he would reduce me to an amoeba and condemn me to a horrendous death amidst atrocious suffering! There is no one that could convince me to do otherwise...!"

Edric and Emira: "Allow us to introduce ourselves"

Oh, and just to clarify: Belos isn't afraid to fight Eda. Belos is the most powerful creature in the world and no one can defeat him; entire armies of magical creatures couldn't do it, how could Eda do it? The reason why Belos is cautious is that Eda has light magic (magic capable of partially nullifying his) and that she knows how to fly, and therefore if she were skilled enough she might be able to save Luz and take her away from him before he can do whatever he plans to do with her, and so he wants to find a way to get her out of the way before implementing his plan. But if Eda went to Belos (in his real body) and challenged him openly, Belos could defeat her with one finger. In terms of power the ranking is Hunter Belos (fake human body) Eda Belos (real body)