Eight 2: The Way of the Hunter, A LitRPG Adventure

The next morning, I found Inneioleia and Haol training in the courtyard behind the Hunter’s Lodge. The sun wasn’t up yet, and a fine mist blanketed the village, seeming to muffle the sounds of people readying themselves for another day in the fields. With ‘hups’ and ‘hahs,’ the two hunters struck at each other, the air around their spears distorted by Spiral Pierce.

Never had I wished for a video camera more. Their movements were beautiful—not quite at the level of the martial arts movies coming out of Hong Kong, but damn close. And more importantly, I wanted a record of their footwork, the way they moved their bodies, and the flexibility of their attacks. Instead, I settled for not blinking—for taking it all in as much as possible. Greed was a sucker’s game. It was usually better to remember one or two details than everything all at once, but I couldn’t help myself.

When the spar ended, Haol helped the lodge master undo the straps of the small shield prosthetic attached to his left arm. With his free hand, Inneioleia waved me over. “Our Eight is so early. Does that mean you have made a decision?”

I’d spent a long time debating the merits of all the spells. In addition to the guidance provided by Voorhei’s hunters, I had also asked for Billisha and Aluali’s input. Both children’s families tanned hides for a living, and they’d sat in listening to many of the stories told by their old village’s hunters. And then there was the uekisheile, who was quite struck by Spiral Pierce, but also interested in Scentless Hunter and all the attribute-buffing spells.

There were two criteria to be considered: combat power and everyday utility. Depending on a spell’s effectiveness boosting each, it’d move up or down my list. Bear’s Strength was a good example of a spell that did both. I was strong for my age, but not as much as a full-grown adult. The extra muscle power would be useful both in combat and in life.

Combat power could also be broken down to offense and defense. Bear’s Strength was primarily offensive, while something like Collaut’s Hide was purely defensive. Dog’s Agility was useful for both striking and defending. Agility wasn’t as helpful in life, but it was a decent trade off.

I’d originally thought to ignore the mana spells, as I already had three on which to spend my limited mana, but then I caught the uekisheile wondering if they could use Scentless Hunter to mask their presence in my body. The sudden realization that the uekisheile could potentially also learn spells opened up a whole world of new strategies.

Except that—after some quick experimentation—we discovered that the uekisheile couldn’t use the spell runes at all. They didn’t have eyes, so the idea of holding an image in their mind was alien.

That, in turn, got me thinking about the unideer. The buck had meridians carved into its horn in the shape of the Cold Snap spell rune, and that had let him make magic.

The uekisheile and I considered the idea for a good long time. Normally, they were eager to rush ahead and play with qi to discover what it could do, but moving my meridians around… well, that felt like looking over the edge of a tall cliff, and the uekisheile’s instincts flared in warning. It was weird to feel them being cautious, but I was glad they’d experiment slowly this time.

So, mana spells for the uekisheile were out for the moment, but the qi spells were all on the table. And I still considered Scentless Hunter, since I could use it to hide the uekisheile’s presence—not to mention the spell’s usefulness in hunting and ambush scenarios.

In the end, the spells on my shortlist were: Spiral Pierce, Dog’s Agility, and Scentless Hunter.

My original impulse had been to choose Spiral Pierce, and then hope for another shot at a spell if the Hunter’s Lodge in Albei accepted Anesthetic. But after discussing things with my family, I’d decided to choose Dog’s Agility instead. The boost to offense and survivability was just too enticing, plus it was a delicious opportunity to study the flow of qi through the human body.

The uekisheile hadn’t forgotten the taste when we condensed my qi. Was there more deliciousness in the works? We’d find out. And in the meantime, if my offense needed additional oomph, I’d rely on poison.

I couldn’t very well reveal my lichen tenant’s role in the decision making, but the rest of the criteria were fine. Inneioleia nodded along while I explained my reasoning.

“That’s why I choose Dog’s Agility,” I said, finishing.

“You are very organized in your thinking. No wonder you are a Little Pot Full of Questions. The other apprentices should learn this from you. They are too impressed by raw power. They do not understand that speed is life.” Inneioleia gestured to Haol. “Show him.”

Haoleise bowed. And then his spear was in my face, an inch from my left eye. He’d waited for me to blink, then brought the spear there before I had time to do anything. Inneioleia grabbed a hold of my arm to keep from stumbling back.

Haol rubbed the hair on his head in embarrassment. “I’m sorry I frightened you, but it will help you remember.” He put down the spear and picked up his bow and arrows. “Watch again.”

This time, I felt the stirrings of qi coming from him. He drew and released, normally at first, but then he sped up. Like, really sped up. To Legolas levels of fast archery. And then he applied Spiral Pierce to the arrows, and it felt and sounded like a semi-automatic rifle being fired downrange.

After the last arrow, the qi dissipated. His face was covered in sweat, and he fought to keep his shoulders from slumping. “My skill is polished,” he said with a wry smile, “but my qi-well is shallow. Constitution is easy to train at first, but then hard, while Spirit is always hard. Very few have as deep a well of qi as you. You will be a little devil once you learn to fight properly.”

“Enough,” Inneioleia said. “If you keep talking like this, he will think his teeth are strong enough to chew rocks.”

Haoleise bowed. “Yes, master.”

Inneioleia gestured for me to follow. “Come, I will get you the spell. There is still some time before Dwilla arrives.”

The Hunter’s Lodge had two small rooms dedicated to meditation. Each was furnished simply with a rug woven with a pattern of interlocked circles, a cushion topped with beaver fur, and a candlestone set into the wall.

The air was musty and still. I could hear people moving and working on the other side of the door, but the little room felt like its own world. In my lap was a thin book.

Like the qi spell catalog, this book was covered in animal hide—rabbit, if I had to guess. Inside, the pages were vellum and contained illustrations of the human body’s anatomy and meridians. Golden arrows pointed the way for qi to flow, with the meridians in the body highlighted.

There were mental images and intentions to maintain as well. Those were harder to interpret, except there was a section of bone attached to the last page of the book. The bone was smooth and well-polished, likely from years of apprentices touching it. Faintly, so faintly, I perceived a thread of qi inside.

The uekisheile, impatient with my translations, sprouted from my hand and dove directly into the bone to experience the feeling for themselves. They hummed in happy surprise. Interesting-interesting-interesting!

Not-eat-qi, I quickly sent. Important-resource-use.

Understand-not-eat. Just-sense-fast. They amplified and transmitted the qi intent directly to my brain.

I don’t know what I’d expected. Maybe the jolt of a strong cup of coffee or the buzz of too much sugar?

The reality was single-mindedness. It was a kind of thoughtless instinct, purest action and reaction—the wind chasing after a leaf dancing just out of reach. The intent was the void, empty of everything, so that nothing weighed it down.

Good-to-live, the uekisheile said. Good-to-learn new-things-new. World-is-wide. We-are-happy.

The unencumbered nature of the qi stirred something deep within me. The feeling was freedom at its most essential, and it washed through my heart and brain.

I hadn’t woken up this morning thinking my mind would be blown. I certainly hadn’t expected a transcendental experience. And it wouldn’t have happened if not for the uekisheile. Their  connection to my consciousness made all the difference. The feeling in the rabbit bone would’ve been so much quieter without their amplification.

Together, the uekisheile and I started moving my qi in the patterns outlined by the book. We experimented, which really meant that I tried to keep up with their permutations of my qi.

We’d spent a few hours in the meditation room before someone clapped outside the door. “It is Inneioleia to tell you Dwilla is here.”

“I’ll be out shortly,” I called through the door. The extra time was necessary, because my hands were shaking. A small part of me watched in fascination, as they were almost moving too fast to see. But mostly, I was horrified to have them out of my control.

Much-qi-rampaging, I thought to the uekisheile.

Agree-we-agree. Needs-whole-body absorb-excess-intent.

Can-we-stop? Shaking-interesting-disturbing.

The uekisheile snorted, which was a first, but then, I wasn’t the only one learning from the villagers. They were too. You-need-control much-too-much.

Not-feel-safe, I said.

We-are-safe! The uekisheile struck the boundary of my heart dantian, and waves of qi rolled through my meridians. We-love-us! We-protect-us. We-will-grow strong-together-strong. We-protect-family.

The uekisheile’s outburst seemed to come out of nowhere, but I sensed its origins from the contours of their intent. This is about Billisha and Aluali, I thought. You’re angry because I won’t let you inhabit them. We talked about this already. Back at the Glen—

Not-not-angry. Want-respect-trust. They snorted again. Ollie/Eight-is-slow. Understand-you-will. Time-brings-understanding. Now-go-play. We-make-stronger.

I sat there, staring into space and coming to grips with… I think it was my first spat with the uekisheile. We’d had several long conversations before about their desire to send offshoots of themselves into Billisha and Aluali. I didn’t think it was a good idea without their consent, and in my mind that meant waiting until they were adults.

I hadn’t realized the uekisheile was still attached to the idea. No, hold on. It wasn’t the idea itself. It was—

I flashed back to my early ‘conversations’ with Helen. She’d drilled it into my at-the-time thick skull that it was sometimes less about the fight’s cause and more about the fighters’ attitudes toward one another. I’d always loved her, but my respect for her was slower to build. It needed me to let go of some of my born-family’s baggage.

The uekisheile and I had also had a small run-in when they’d taken over my dream. At the center of both of these fights was… the issue of control. Specifically, of my wanting to stay in control of our relationship-partnership-being. Of me not trusting the uekisheile.

This wasn’t Invasion of the Body Snatchers, and I wouldn’t be turning into a pod person anytime soon. I felt the uekisheile’s intent, and they didn’t want to take over, neither me nor the kids. What they did want was more authority-agency. They wanted to be true-family and not a family-dog.

I spaced out enough for Inneioleia to clap outside the door.

“Eight, are you well? The reeve waits for you.”

“I’m well. Just fine, really. I’ll be out soon.”

I stood to hurriedly put on my gear. My hands were still shaking, so the uekisheile absorbed the spasming qi, doing it without comment. A quick doublecheck made sure I was presentable before I opened the door.

Inneioleia gazed at my face, then he took my hands in his to examine them. He moved aside my chain shirt, and put his hand on my chest to feel my heart. He watched my pupils dilate as he moved my head toward and away from light coming from the open doorway.

With a grunt, he stepped aside and said, “Go.”

Beyond him, Mumu and Tegen squatted on the ground chatting. Dwilla stood with her arms crossed, and her face told me she was annoyed for having been kept waiting.

Tegen led the way, while Mumu scouted ahead. Our task this time was to escort Dwilla to Fort Sugar Shack.

We were a quiet bunch. Previously, Tegen had used Signed Diaksh to instruct Teila and me while we were in the forest, but this time, we were all alert and watchful, doing our best to be a calm presence around a tense and still-upset Dwilla. I apologized to her before we left, but it didn’t seem to help. Fortunately, it was only a relatively short hike.

Mumu had scouted ahead, and we found her looking through the ruined gate. “All clear,” she signed.

The place looked the same as it had before. From the outside, the defensive wall seemed untouched, but once we moved past the burned gate, we saw how the fire had blackened the stone walls.

Tegen stood guard at the gate, while Mumu and Haol roved the interior to hunt for anything interesting.

Dwilla sighed when she saw the damage. “This is worse than I thought.”

She walked over to where Bindeise had processed the maple sap. The equipment had warped in the fire, but all of it still looked usable. She tested each piece, from the vats to the boiler, and even the kettle Bindeise must’ve used to brew tisanes. Her thorough examination reminded me that she had the Detail Oriented talent.

When she finished her catalog of the equipment, she asked, “Where is Bindeise?”

I led her to the residence, and the bedroom where I’d found the skeleton laid out.

With another sigh, Dwilla stood over him. “Such a waste of skill and talent. It takes great courage and endurance to live outside the village. Bindeise had both of those, and more importantly, he had stubbornness. He would not let the forest beasts drive him from his purpose.” She shook her head. “That he ended his own life and deprived the beasts of his meat and silverlight must’ve been a last act of spite.” A wry smile came and went. “He could be difficult, our Bindeise, even before he lost his family.”

After she’d translated the words I didn’t know, I felt compelled to add my two cents: “If it’d been me, and I lost my family like he did, I would’ve hunted every animal in this forest to extinction.”

Dwilla’s eyebrows rose. “So vengeful, our Eight. Such a sharp spear, and growing sharper every day, or so the lodge master tells me.” She nodded to herself. “All for the good of Voorhei, as it should be.” The tension she’d been carrying left her then, and she gave me an absent-minded pat on the head.

I ducked out from under her hand, but Dwilla didn’t notice—her attention was still on the skeleton. She looked confused, her eyes focused in thought or memory. Dwilla gently moved the skull so that the ‘face’ was turned toward us. The jaw swung open to show the corpse’s teeth rimmed in black where the lips and gums had charred.

“Bindeise’s teeth were not like this; there were some missing.” Dwilla turned to me. “Call Tegen and have Mumu watch the gate.”

I did as she asked and returned with a curious Tegen in tow. We found Dwilla examining the bones of the skeleton’s back.

“Bindeise, he had teeth missing, yes?”

Tegen nodded. “Yes, the whole family had bad teeth.”

“And these.” Dwilla gestured to where the bones were scored and chipped. “These were left by a weapon?”

Tegen leaned in to examine the marks. “Yes, a short knife or dagger. The marks a longer weapon leaves are different.”

“This is not Bindeise, and it was not a suicide.” Dwilla gently put down the bones and turned to me. “Take me to the other body.”

We gathered Haol and Mumu, and hiked the short distance to the other body. When we arrived, I noticed right away that the skeleton was missing some teeth.

“Is this Bindeise?” I asked.

Dwilla knelt for a closer look. “I believe so.” She turned over the bones. “And a knife was used to kill him too.”

“Then who does the other body belong to?” I asked.

Dwilla stood and wiped her hands against each other. She turned her gaze from the body to the hunters around her. “The fire was from the turn of the year?”

All the hunters nodded. That was certainly what it looked like from the growth of the plants in the fire’s aftermath. It’d taken place over the winter, about half a year ago.

Dwilla continued: “The only people missing from that time were Woldec, Akbash, Kiertie, Biaka, and Grunthen. We know of Woldec and his family. Grunthen’s fate is less certain, but he probably died to the kalihchi bear. However, he was the only person missing from the village then. It might be his body back at the sugar-making compound. But why? It would not make sense for him to be there.”

“Is there a way to make sure?” I asked.

“A cleansing fire was used on the body,” Tegen said, shaking his head.

“Probably to hide that it was a murder,” Dwilla said, “and not a suicide.”

“Grunthen was Lightning-Touched. Maybe some lightning qi remained?” Mumu asked.

This time, I shook my head. “I didn’t notice any.”

“The cleansing fire would have eaten the dead qi, as well as the silver and darklight,” Tegen said.

“Could someone…” I started to say, prompted by my paranoia. “Could someone have tried to hide Grunthen’s identity with the cleansing fire?”

The others frowned in thought.

“And maybe Bindeise saw it happen,” I said. “Then, when he tried to run away, the killer chased after him and killed him too.”

“Why not use cleansing fire on both bodies?” Mumu asked. “There would have been time to come back and do that.”

“Because the killer didn’t need to hide Bindeise’s identity,” I said. “However, something about the other person’s identity would’ve caused problems. I don’t know, it’s just an idea.”

“If it is Grunthen,” Dwilla said, frowning, “then it will cause a big storm. But how do we explain his presence at Bindeise’s house?”

I scratched my head. “Yeah, that’s a good question, and I honestly don’t know.”

On the way to Voorhei, I felt a chill run up and down my spine. It was my responsibility to watch our backtrail, yet I didn’t see anything following us. When I asked Mumu to investigate, she turned up signs of a giant javelina moving through the area, but the tracks were at least four or five days old. I couldn’t shake the feeling of being watched, though, and it trailed me all the way back to the Hunter’s Lodge.

The hunters waited while Dwilla talked to the lodge master. Mumu must’ve noticed my anxiety, because she ruffled my hair.

“Be easy, Little Pot. Without their light, the dead are dead and will not walk again. You will not have to fight them like you did Woldec and his family.”

“It’s not zombies I’m worried about,” I said, muttering.

“Then what—”

Inneioleia held a hand up to get our attention, then gave each of the hunters five taak for their service that morning. I also received an extra three of the small silver coins for leading the party to the second corpse. The initial cost to join the lodge was high, but the return so far had been good. So far, I’d earned two eltaak, eight taak, and a qi spell.

Mumu grinned at her second payout in two days. She laughed when I dodged her attempt to pinch my cheek. “You are good luck for me.” Suddenly, her hand shot forward, faster than I could react, but instead of a pinch she gave my cheek a light pat. Her grin spread. “Have a bright morning, Eight. Call for me if you find another body in the forest.”

With a wave she left the lodge, and Tegen and the other hunters followed soon after. While Inneioleia and Dwilla continued to discuss the events at Fort Sugar Shack, I went back to the meditation room. I still had a lot to learn about Dog’s Agility.

The uekisheile’s qi still felt troubled, but the time passed uneventfully.

It happened that night. After the kids and Bihei had gone to sleep and I was slumbering myself, I dreamt of looking up from the tangle of the children’s bodies to see a man watching us from the foot of the bed.

He was thickset, with broad shoulders and big hands. He had red, angry eyes and hair in disarray. There weren’t twigs snarled within, but it looked like there ought to be.

I got up and left my body sleeping with the children. When the man saw I was ready, he turned to leave the longhouse—that was when I saw the back of his white tunic was stained with two bright red circles.

Through the sleeping village we traveled, the three-quarter moon limning the earth with a soft white light. When we passed through the village gate, I recalled my weapons and armor to me, just like in the spirit journey where I’d met Helen and my grandparents.

We walked under the dark night and the bright stars. The trees stood as silent witnesses, and the wind quieted where we passed. Time flowed as it always did, but my sense of it was distorted. I felt like I walked for days, yet I also felt like we arrived in a flash to the place where we’d left Bindeise’s body. He had no family left, so Dwilla had performed a simple ritual over him. Otherwise, she had left the scene untouched.

Bindeise’s ghost looked down at his remains. I noticed that an animal had rooted through them, looking for anything left over, so I knelt to put the bones back in order. It wouldn’t be enough to satisfy the ghost, but I hoped the gesture of goodwill would be well received.

He grimaced, and the expression made it look like he had a rake for a mouth. Dwilla was right—Bindeise had teeth missing. The grimace faded as quickly as it’d come. The ghost lifted his hands, palms up, and recalled a small chest to himself. It was only about nine inches wide and six inches tall, but when he opened it I saw the inside was full of coins—a mix of taak, eltaak, and a single glimmer of gold in the moonlight.

The ghost’s angry eyes glared down at the body, then at the chest in his hands. I wanted to sign to ask what he wanted, but something interfered with my ability to communicate. It was like that part of me was blocked off—I was just as mute as the ghost.

Back and forth his eyes traveled, and I could feel the will in him to make me understand his intent. Was his death caused by the treasure in his hands? Was the treasure a reward for finding his killer?

With a snap, the chest’s lid closed. The wind blew, harsh and stinging. My eyes closed to protect them, and when I opened them again, I realized was in my bed, awake for real this time.

“Damn ghosts,” I said to the still-sleeping household.