Grand Game 273: Hunters (Patreon)

I awoke a few hours later.

Rising from my bed, I walked over to the shuttered window and peered outside. Just as I thought, night had fallen, and I spent a moment studying the village below. At my request, Saya had given me a room on the top floor of the tavern, leaving me with an unobstructed view of the village.

Everywhere I looked, there were buildings bathed in light and scores of players hurrying about. It was a reminder—if I needed one—that the wolves’ valley was no longer the backwater it had been during my last sojourn.

Picking up my backpack and weapons, I made my way to the tavern’s ground floor. It promised to be a long night, and a hearty meal would not go amiss.

The sounds of gentle music floated up as I entered the common room. Shael, I thought. A quick count of the patrons revealed that they had doubled from earlier in the day. The tavern was still a far cry from full, but already things were improving.

Glancing at the small stage at the back of the room, I waved to the bard. Seated on a stool and playing his flute with a contented expression, he nodded back without interrupting the flow of music. I smiled. I’d made the right decision in bringing him along.

Turning around, I surveyed the room. The twins were stationed behind the bar, but of Saya and Cara, there was no sign. The patrons, themselves, were captivated by the music and gave Shael their full attention.

Or nearly all did.

Four men sitting at a corner table were ignoring the music entirely. My smile faded. That was not the only thing that marked them as different from the other patrons either. All four bristled with weapons. Nor were they doing anything to avoid attention. In fact, they stared straight at me.

More trouble? I wondered, stilling.

The oldest of the four, a grizzled dwarf with scars running down his arms and gray in his plaited beard, rose to face me. “You Michael?” he yelled over the music.

Scowling, some of the patrons turned to shush him but, on seeing the dwarf’s expression, quickly looked away. They were not the only ones to react. On my left, I sensed the twins leave the bar. Like me, they suspected trouble, but unlike me, they were drawing their weapons.

Idiots! What are they thinking?

I shook my head sharply at the pair. This was a safe zone. Threatening another player was a surefire way to get yourself killed, and besides, the four at the table looked like they would eat the two alive.

Reluctantly the siblings re-sheathed their weapons but refused to take their gazes off the newcomers.

The exchange did not go unnoticed by the dwarf. “Get lost, kids,” he growled, again with no regard for who heard. “This is a conversation for adults.” Drawing out an empty chair, he plunked it back down and scowled at me. “You need an engraved invite or what?”

On the stage, the music missed a bit, and turning towards it, I saw Shael look at me questioningly. “Keep playing,” I mouthed in response. Whatever this was, it was better I handled it alone.

Ignoring the patrons’ shooting glances and casting a second warning glance at the twins, I strode across the room and, with a nonchalance that was not entirely feigned, sat in the chair the dwarf had pulled out.

All four newcomers stared at me. Avoiding their hard gazes, I studied them in turn. Newcomers, I mused, is an apt term for them. Something about their demeanor led me to believe they’d just arrived in the sector.

So, how do they know who I am already?

The dwarf to my right was dressed in scaled leather armor that left his bulging biceps uncovered. Two long-handled warhammers were strapped across his back, and judging from the size of his arms, the dwarf wielded each one-handed.

To my left was a figure wrapped in cloth from head to foot, leaving only his eyes showing. If not for his garments being jet-black instead of bright green, I would’ve mistaken him for a mantis.

Two armor-clad figures sat across me. One was an orc, the other, a human, but that was the only difference between the pair. Their gear was identical. Their armor was the same shade of gray, they carried the same assortment of weapons, and even the inscriptions engraved on the handles of their broadswords were indistinguishable from one another.

Huh. Strange party.

“You don’t talk much, do you?” the dwarf drawled.

I let my gaze drift to him. “I’m still waiting for you to introduce yourselves.”

One corner of the dwarf’s mouth twitched. Was that a smile?

“I’m Beorin.” He pointed a fat finger to my left. “That’s Snake.” He waved at the other two across the table. “And those two clowns are Moarg and Mauser.” He slapped both hands down on the table hard enough to cause it to jump. “There. Now we’re all caught up. That make you feel better?”

Ignoring his tone, I asked, “Who sent you?” It was clear to me someone had. What I wasn’t sure yet, was for what purpose.

Beorin pulled out a slim rectangular shape and laid it on the table. He nodded to the others, and they did the same. Glancing down, I instantly recognized the four cards.

They were BHG IDs.

“I’m a senior member of the guild,” Beorin added, “and these laggards are part of my squad.”

Snake snorted but didn’t dispute the dwarf’s words.

“I see,” I said, feeling some of my tension ease. The four were not assassins as I’d first assumed. I knew the IDs could not be faked, but it didn’t pay to be careless. Reaching out with my will, I analyzed them.

The target is Beorin, a level 181 hammer monk and dwarf.

The target is Snake, a level 172 fiend slayer and dark elf.

The target is Moarg, a level 155 armsmaster and orc.

The target is Mauser, a level 155 armsmaster and human.

“Satisfied?” Beorin asked, clearly having felt my inspection.

I nodded. “You appear to be what you say. Why are you here?”

He guffawed. “You don’t know? Hannah sent us, of course.”

I blinked in surprise. It couldn’t have been more than a few hours since she’d received my request. “That was fast.”

“The lass was always quick on the draw,” the dwarf replied, taking a sip from his tankard. “More to the point, she told me the guild may require your services shortly.” He belched loudly. “Until then, I’m to do what I can to keep you alive.”

I raised an eyebrow. “You’re bodyguards?”

“Nothing of the sort!” Beorin retorted. “We’ll do the job your factor—” he meant Kesh—“paid us for, but nothing stops us from helping out a fellow guild member in our free time, eh?”

I eyed the four skeptically, not buying it. Saying nothing, the other three stared back at me impassively. I couldn’t get a read on them, but they seemed to have scant interest in the conversation and appeared content to let their squad leader do the talking.

Beorin took another long draw from his tankard. “Speaking of the job—it true that all you want us to do is stand around town, looking tough?”

“In a nutshell, yes.”

Beorin stared at me for a moment, then shrugged. “It’s your coin.” He sipped his drink again. “Though for the amount you’re paying, if that’s all you want, you’re a rich fool indeed,” he muttered under his breath.

I was sure the dwarf hadn’t intended on me hearing him, but he had not accounted for my wolf-like hearing. “Are there only four of you?”

Beorin shook his head. “We’re just the advanced party. The rest of your bodies will get here tomorrow.”

“How many?”

“Two, maybe three score hunters.”

I whistled softly, amazed anew by Hannah’s efficiency. Sixty mercenaries were more than I expected the guild to supply on short notice. “Excellent. You’ve met Saya?”

“The little gnome? Yeah.”

“You will report directly to her and follow her orders. To the letter,” I said, stressing the last bit.

“No problemo,” Beorin replied casually. “Any other instructions?”

“Yes,” I murmured, thinking of the dwarf’s earlier words. “Rich, I may be, but perhaps not as foolish as you believe. There is something else you can do for me.”

Mid-drink, Beorin paused. Setting down his tankard, he looked at me with more cunning than his otherwise bluff exterior had suggested. “Go on,” he said slowly.

I smiled. The dwarf was not quite as simple as he was trying to make out. “It concerns the Marauders. I may need your squad to detain a few of them tonight.”

He eyed me askance. “Detain how?”

“Stop them from leaving the safe zone.”

Beorin snorted. “Lad, I’m not sure if you noticed, but there are only four of us, and from what I’ve heard, there are a damn sight more Marauders than that around. How do you expect—”

I cut him off. “They will be in newbie clothes. Unarmed and unarmored.”

“That so?” The dwarf’s eyes narrowed, and I could almost feel him reassessing me. “You’re planning on doing some killing tonight?”

I shrugged. “I might.”

Beorin grinned. “You’re going to the Marauder’s camp, aren’t you?”

He’s a shrewd one. Dangerous too. “Perhaps,” I replied casually.

“Want some company?” Beorin asked. “The four of us have done a bit of night raiding a time or two ourselves. We could—”

“No, thank you,” I said, politely—but firmly—declining his offer. Beorin’s squad might look handy to have around in a fight, but I didn’t know them.

Beorin laughed, not offended by my refusal. “Alright, suit yourself.”

“Good, that’s settled then,” I said and made to rise.

“They told me about you, you know,” he said abruptly. “Said you killed a whole bunch of mantises.”

I sat back down. “Who did? Hannah?”

Beorin sniffed. “Not Han; she won’t tattle on clients. Eyes was the one. You know what else he said?”

I waited.

“That you’re damnably stubborn, arrogant, and reckless.”

I rolled my eyes. “Look, if you don’t want to do what I ask, that’s fine, but I can do without the—”

“Eyes also said you’re bloody dangerous and crafty to boot. That true?”

I sighed, tiring of the conversation. “Who the hell knows?”

Beorin grinned. “Can’t argue with a response like that. Fine, we’ll do it.”

I blinked. “What?”

“You go out and have fun, laddie. And don’t worry about any of your slaughtered sheep returning to their camp. We’ll keep them nice and tender and waiting for you.”

“Uh… thanks,” I said and beat a hasty retreat before the dwarf could restart the conversation.

✵ ✵ ✵

Unfortunately, the bounty hunters weren’t the only ones to accost me. No sooner had I sat down at a nearby table, hoping for a quiet meal, than I was interrupted again.

This time by the twins.

“What did they want?” Teresa whispered as the pair slipped uninvited into the chairs across from me.

Folding my arms, I glared at her. “I want supper.”

Teresa waved a hand airily. “It’s on the way.” She glanced over her shoulder at the bounty hunters’ table. Nursing their drinks, the four did not look over.

“Saya said they’re bounty hunters,” Teresa said. “That true?”

Before I could respond, Terence chipped in. “You think they’ll apprentice us?”

“No,” I replied succinctly.

The pair exchanged puzzled glances, no doubt confused by who I was answering. I almost smiled but managed to keep my scowl in place. I did not want to encourage them to linger.

Unfortunately, the pair were not so easily daunted. “Saya has told us a lot about you,” Teresa said, changing tack without skipping a beat.

I said nothing.

“We want to come with you,” Terrence added.

That drew my attention. Did everyone know where I was going? “I’m not going anywhere,” I said mildly.

“Your backpack suggests otherwise,” he replied promptly. “You wouldn’t have it with you unless you planned to venture out. We don’t care wherever it is you’re going; we just want to tag along.”

I snorted. “You two don’t have enough levels under your belt. It’s too—”

“From what Saya tells us,” Teresa cut in, “you were much the same level when you first entered this sector.”

I glanced at her. “The valley was a very different place then. Now it’s a war zone. You will be in—”

“We know all about how dangerous the valley is,” Terence said, rolling his eyes. “We’ve died out there twice already.”

I stared at him. “Twice? How many lives do you have remaining?”

“Idiot,” Teresa hissed at her twin. “Why’d you have to tell him that?”

That answered my question. “You two are on your last lives,” I accused, “and you still want to leave the village—at night?”

How reckless could they be?

Teresa scowled. “Look, we’re both more than grateful for all Saya’s help, but sitting here, we’re not gaining any levels. It will always be too dangerous for us to venture out. Day or night.” She bit her lip. “But if you help us—just for a few levels, mind you—we’ll take it from there. “

I shook my head. “I won’t be responsible for you two dying out there. What I attempt is too—”

“Just once,” Terence said, staring at me beseechingly. “We won’t bother you again. Promise.”

I was drearily tired of being interrupted, but I let the interruption go unremarked.

“Take us,” Teresa pleaded.

“No.”

The girl clenched her hands into fists. “Why?”

I held back a sigh. The twins didn’t seem like they were going to give up, and once more, I recalled how much I needed allies to rebuild House Wolf. But tonight’s work was too grim for the pair. They deserved a chance, though, and my help, too, if only to repay the debt I owed them for aiding Saya.

“What if we—” Terence began.

I held up my hand. “You two can’t accompany me, not tonight. But I will take you out hunting tomorrow.”

The twins’ eyes lit up. “We’ve your word on it?” Teresa asked.

“You do,” I said, wondering what I’d gotten myself into. “Now scat and let me eat in peace,” I added, seeing my food approach.