Chapter Five

  Brothers

  “It’s dangerous to be in the woods, it’s winter, monsters come out in the winter,” Luris said between bouts of looking over his shoulder as he followed the other boys, Dewman and Hurlorn, deeper into the trees.

  “Steel yourself, we’re going to be heroes when we bring a fat deer home, in the dead of winter and all,” Hurlorn said as he knelt down, “Look here,” he brushed some newly fallen slush and snow away, and revealed an imprint of a deer’s hoof on the ground, “it’s close, we’re in its territory,” Hurlorn had been tracking this deer for going on a few days now. Dewman was here because he was the best snare setter in Kilridge, and he brought Luris because, well, he was friends with Luris. The three orphans had grown up together, each having the other's backs through spring and winter alike in the port city life of Kilridge.

  “Here,” Hurlorn said as he patted his hand on a stroke birch tree, “Look at the way the tracks circle around this tree, it comes here a lot, Dewman?” He turned to the other two. Neither of the boys had the broad shoulders and well-worked shipman’s aid muscles Hurlorn had, and while Dewman was the same height, Luris was a bit shorter.

  Dewman slung the rope over his shoulder and approached the tree and grabbed and tied a snare, leaving the trap ready for their prey, “deers are heavy, I don’t know if this rope is strong enough for it,” he said as he set the trap.

  “We can take care of it as long as we catch it,” Hurlorn said, giving Dewman a pat on the back.

  “Right, it's set,” Dewman said as he took a careful step away from the trap that could snap at the slightest juncture.

  “I haven’t had deer in months, meats getting low, this better work,” Luris said, looking over his shoulder again, his eyes darting around worried that some monster of winter would jump out and make a meal of them as they tried to find a meal for themselves.

  “You have the bait right?” Hurlorn asked the skinny boy.

  “Yeah,” Luris reached into his belt pouch and pulled out a dried honeycomb, “This was a pain to get, next time you’re the one who has to stick your hand in the beehive,” he said as he leaned over and gently rested the sweet morsel in the center of the trap.

  While the town pitched in and gave the boys, and other orphans, respite in their formative years. The three were just on the cusp of being old enough to be expected to take care of themselves. And take care of themselves they would, if what Hurlorn said about this deer he had been tracking was true, they would net themselves enough food for weeks and enough leather and trophy from their kill to pocket gold that could, maybe, last them to the end of this unusually cold winter.

  Hurlorn, Dewman, and Luris took shelter in a ditch by the tree, where they would wait for their prey to cross paths with the trap and give them their bounty.

  “You’ve been tracking it, how big is this deer?” Luris asked with a hushed voice as the boys kept their eyes locked on the trap.

  “Biggest I’ve ever seen,” Hurlorn said, “The antlers alone will net us enough coin to get a beer every night for the rest of winter, and the leather so bountiful we can secure lodgings till the spring the comes,” he said.

  “Let's just hope the deer comes, and that the honey doesn’t attract a monster, I’ve heard stories of monsters getting more aggressive this winter, if we catch a Knife Wolf I doubt we’ll gain as much coin as this deer you keep speaking so highly of,” Dewman turned to Hurlorn.

  “We don’t have to worry about monsters, I heard that a Winter Hunter came to town. Heard that he’s come to address the Draganer in the lake outside the port,” Hurlorn smiled. He was hoping that the impressive kill he was seeking could get him an audience with a Winter Hunter, since he was a boy he would swear he heard the Hunter’s call. When you’re an orphan with no place to go, joining up with the Winter Hunters was as feasible a path to employment as any in the shifting world of Spring to Winter.

  Luris took a deep breath, “A Winter Hunter is here, good, he’ll keep the monsters out of our town,” Luris said, “You don’t seriously want to enlist as a hunter, do you Hurlorn?” he asked.

  “What else is there to do, I can make enough coin at the docks to get a room in Kildridge, but there's just so much more to the land, the Goddesses saw to just give us this little patch of earth, would be a waste not to see it all, explore it all,” Hurlorn sighed, “Next winter, I’m joining, I feel the call. I think I’ve felt it since I was a boy, and maybe if there really is a Winter Hunter here I could find him, ask him what I need to do, and how I do it, join the hunters,” he turned to Luris, “I think I already know the answer, but what do you say you guys come with me? We could do it together, Hunters get respect in this world, respect, coin,” Hurlorn smiled, “And if the stories are true, women,” he raised his eyebrows at the two boys.

  Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.

  “I don’t know, as many legends of Hunters like Duncan Hightower there are, there's another handful worth that fall, most in their first season,” Luris said, “I actually might be getting a job with the leather tanner, I was hoping the deer skin we’ll bring him can allow me to show I’m teachable,” Luris said.

  “Nothing wrong with port life, I think my father was a sailor, and my ma was probably a sailor wench,” Dewman said.

  “We’re orphans, for all we know, all our mothers were probably all sailor wenches,” Hurlorn said, “I’ve never seen someone as good as a bow with you Dewman, every Hunter has a weapon he specializes it, be it axe, sword and shield, great blade, I’m sure if you show off your skills to the Hunters they would love to take you aboard,” he said.

  “Sniping a rabbit when your hungry is markedly different than trying to feel an Ursaling or Knife wolf, they say arrows just bounce off monsters, I wouldn’t be any good in a fight if that's what we come across today,” Dewman said.

  “Not if your arrowheads were Bronze,” Hurlorn said, “Winter Hunters use the old metal, kills monsters,” he said, “What about you Luris,” he turned to his friend, “What weapon are you going to use when you’re a Hunter?”

  “I never said I had any intentions of joining, give me a simple job and a simple life and that will be enough for me,” he said.

  “Just a thought, I can’t think of two other men I’d want by my side if I were to join the ranks of the Hunters, we could be a party, go on hunts, I’d feel safer if it was the two of you who had my back,” he said.

  “Just give me a shield, let me hide behind it,” Luris said, humoring his friend's lofty ideas of joining the ranks of the most respected men in all the land.

  “I heard a shield is just as much a weapon to a Hunter as a sword is, they sharpen their edges, I’ve even heard stories of a Hunter slicing the heads of monsters with a sharp edge shield.”

  “Maybe a spider folk or a knife wolf, but I doubt such a feat could be done against a Tree Scraper or an Ursaling, from what I’ve heard only the most seasoned and well-trained hunters can take down an Ursaling. Takes more than a sword, shield, axe, halberd, or arrow. Only a true Hunter can kill an Ursaling, they’re the most dangerous beasts that Winter subjects us to,” he said.

  “Could you imagine how much meat and leather you could get from an Ursaling?” Dewman said, “Would be an even bigger bounty than this alleged deer you keep talking about,” he turned to Hurlorn.

  “You know, I heard about the Winter Hunter who came to town, they say he wears an Ursaling coat, this Hunter killed an Ursaling, he must be one of the greatest warriors on the land,” Hurlorn said, “I’m going to kill an Ursaling one winter,” he smiled.

  “Let’s just focus on catching this deer,” Dewman said, “Wait, I hear something,” the boys got close and looked over the ditch to see the mighty creature trot its way through the snow-laden ground and towards the clearing they had set the Honeycomb on. It was a full-grown buck, antlers that would fetch a high price be they sold in chunks for tonics and medicine, or as a full trophy to a collector. The antlers were sharp with stiff points as most bucks' antlers were in winter. The sharp points gave these regular residents of the forest their only defense against the monsters of Winter. The buck leaned in and began to lick and nibble at it.

  “Pull it now,” Hurlorn hissed as Dewman wrapped the line around his wrist and gave it a yank, tripping the snare and closing it just as the deer leaned down to take a bite of the treat. The snare closed perfectly around the animal’s neck and whipped it across the snow and slush to bash into the great birch tree. The boys heard a loud crack as it hit and saw it try to flair and work its way out as they climbed over the ditch and approached it.

  “Damn, was hoping for a clean kill,” Hurlorn said, watching the Deer twitch and hearing it faintly mew as it bucked against its restraint.

  “Well, one of us has to finish it off, if we hope to drag it back to town by sunset,” Dewman said.

  “I’ll do it,” Luris said, feeling a bit out of character. He reached into his back pocket and pulled out a tanning knife he had been keeping since he heard that Hurlorn had some damn quest that would have the boys venture into the woods in the dead of winter. He approached the animal and took a knee by it.

  Dewman and Hurlorn followed him, “Are you sure you’re up to it,” Hurlorn said, he was a bit surprised by Luris taking point on this. Here was a boy who when growing up in the orphanage was afraid of the smallest spider or lizard that crawled its way inside their bedroom.

  “I’ve got the sharpest knife of any of us,” Luris looked at his blade, it wasn’t a tool for killing, it was a tool for an honest day's work. But with its curve and its sharp point, it would do the job much better than that bronze dagger Hurlorn had been carrying since he found it while sweeping up the pub after a Winter Hunter visited many seasons ago.

  Luris got on his knee and reached to take the Stag’s antlers. It was too weak and immobilized to put up a fight as Luris turned its head up and exposed its neck. With the blade in his other hand, he brought it up and made a quick slice across the creature's throat. He knew where to make the cut as the Leather Worker in Kildridge had been teaching him the proper ways to kill and skin an animal. The Stag fell limp and Luris moved to undo the snare as the stag's blood stained the white snow and slush on the ground under it.

  “Let's get it back to town,” Hurlorn said, “We’ve got some coin to collect, I can’t wait to see the butcher's face when we show him a buck like this,” he smiled.

  Dewman grabbed one of the buck's hind legs with Luris as Hurlor went to lift the front ones, “You’re still on about the Fiona girl?” he asked.

  “Hey, if I’m a Winter hunter, any father would be proud to have his daughter fancied by such a warrior,” Hurlorn smiled then turned to Luris, “It’s your pick of the ladies when you’re a Winter Hunter,” he said stressing his shoulders as the boys carried the stag back to Kildridge.