After what felt like the longest month Tim had in his entire life, he needed to get away from it all.
Tim resolved himself to become a proper mage after drinking with his buddies but never really followed through with it since then. The only reason he has been doing these mage-like adventures was because everywhere he went, it seemed like there was something compelled him to get dragged into the problems of his lineage. From his chance encounter with Timόtheos inside one of the Guildhall libraries to the incident with Talia, a girl who had recently awakened to Nyx’s curse. Tim felt slightly better about himself since his encounter with Talia. He had since been visiting the River village once or twice to check up on her, keeping her training to control the curse. The last relative-turned-monster he tried to save was a disaster. Talia had proven Tim their bloodline wasn’t a lost cause.
But it wasn’t without its share of nightmares.
Tim had saved the girl, but failed to save the first one he encountered because of a misunderstanding about what magic he had learned. That boy’s death was already fulfilled the moment Tim had used his new magic. It was a blindsided attempt at a rescue that went horribly wrong, and Tim could do nothing but live with his failure.
This guilt would leave the young man sleepless nights on end, and it had gotten worse after he had saved Talia.
If only I knew about how it all worked, I would’ve saved that kid too. The thought was suffocating; Tim would stare into nothing in the middle of the night in the guildhall café thinking how he could have saved the kid. A million ways, a million possibilities without him resorting to magic. He had grown complacent with everything, relying on the miracles of Gods and what they bring. Tim hadn’t lived a deity reliant life since he joined Silver Wolf, it was a change he thought he had adapted well. But it was a dangerously naïve assumption, thinking he was beyond influence. When had he became so illusioned to their sweet nothings?
The young man shook the horrible thought behind and decided to get away from it all for once.
Tim, again, ran away from his problems for the time being. He wasn’t going to do it without taking a job, though. He picked a job that felt nowhere near the ones he had taken before. Something to completely shake up his little comfort zone and keep him on his toes.
The job in question was a monster hunt, though the specifics was the reason Tim decided to take it. A ‘great beautiful’ Hind has eluded skilled hunters for centuries. The client in question wanted to confirm if the myth was true. For that, he requested a mage who has the capability to hunt down such an elusive creature. Tim, however, was surprised when he questioned his client as they rode a magic-powered carriage towards their destination.
“What!? No! I don’t
want the thing’s head on a platter.” He was dressed rather elegantly, even wearing an embroidered red coat and a suit. “The ‘Legend of the Elusive Astral Hind’ was a story I deeply admired as a child. I had that tale on my mind all my life and, now that I actually have the resources to spare, loved nothing more than to splurge a bit so I could actually see it with my own eyes.”
It was the most unnecessarily privileged motivation Tim had ever heard, but he did note the man didn’t want the creature dead.
“Oh, dear no, my good man. I want to capture a recording and pictures of it using my iLac.” He proudly exclaimed.
If that’s what he wanted to do in his free time, Tim didn’t care. Even if it ticked him just a little bit how utterly mundane they treat the thousands of jewels they spent in this expedition. They were riding a two-carriage convoy towards the forest the hind had been last seen. The carriages had been accompanied by five horsemen and three griffin riders who scouted the skies. The horsemen were a team of hunters. They had been the ones responsible of tracking down the creature. Tim role, specifically, was to keep the hunters safe and help with the capture. The griffin riders were reconnaissance; helping Tim with any trouble coming close to them. Tim had no idea who this man was, but there was already an air of importance to him. It reminded Tim of his father but without the urge from the young man to think ‘bastard’ every time they speak.
The entire ride Tim had been an article in the Lacrima-net about the basics of hunting, occasionally asking his client about the job as they went along. Tim had initially thought of looking for a book in one of the guild libraries, but instead tried getting his iLac a chance to show off. When the carriage stopped and they got off Tim visibly froze. They were in the same forest where Tim had fought the kid’s monster form!
Is this some God’s way of pissing me off? Tim was suddenly patted on the back by one of the hunters.
“Are you seriously reading a ‘hunting for dummies’ article on the road here?” He said mockingly. Tim’s iLac’s screen was in full display.
The young man was too busy looking around the forest, but he answered. “I’ve never hunted something without killing it.”
“You’ve hunted here before.” Another one who slid out of his horse said, it wasn’t a question. Tim frowned. The remnants of their battle was still fresh, Tim could see the location they had been fighting few dozen meters away from where they were. “Wild game?”
Tim snapped his neck towards the hunter, his face must’ve been glaringly honest to how he felt about the question. The hunter darted his eye a second after Tim looked him in the eye. “It was a monster.”
The next few hours were the hunters and the riders scouring ground to locate the Hind’s usual patterns. Any favorite drinking spots, trees or sleeping areas. Tim had little to help them with. Despite the awkward conversation they had earlier they were professionals through and through. But it was after a good three hours of covering an acre of hunting ground when the hunters finally talked with their client.
“This is no normal Deer.” Their leader finally said.
Tim had expected as much. The legends
did say it eluded hunters as good, or better, than them. But Tim didn’t expect the client’s reaction. And from the way the hunters’ eyes widened, neither did they.
“So it does exist.” He simply said to himself.
There was a childlike wonder in the man’s eyes that Tim didn’t help but respect. It was a genuine attempt at fulfilling a childhood wish. It was a very naïve one, yes, but he didn’t approach his goal without setting realistic prepartions: he hired hunters who tracked it on the ground, he hired riders who could see it flee away from the skies and he hired a mage who could let them do their job without any trouble. Not that Tim had done anything to protect them yet, there weren’t any danger around-
“Look out!” They heard one of the riders shout their way.
Tim didn’t waste time, sensing danger from on top of them, casted his spell in times of slight desperation. Tim summoned a crystalized wall of light between him and the attacker. “Wolf!” His trusty companion materialized between the attacker and the wall; with a short clutch of its body, it sent a howl up above! Tim, the five hunters and their client were shielded by the concussive howl. Tim’s wolf was able to send the attacker slamming into one of the forest’s titanic trees.
It was an owl as big as a man!
“Careful, mage. There are two others perching around us.” The hunter leader said as he commanded his team to surround their client. It wasn’t a perfect strategy, but it was the best defense they could do in such a short amount of time. “These things usually hunt at night, there’s something wrong with them.”
“You think they’re trying to protect the hind?” Tim suggested.
“We tracked a very irregular set of deer footprints earlier. Ethereal footprints, glowing a faint red.” The hunter supplied. “We know that was from our target, but straight up using magic to protect itself?”
“If it’s magic, we can’t rule anything out.” Tim noticed the two owls the hunter had been referring to was perching on a large branch, carefully studying them. “They aren’t doing anything.”
“They’re waiting for the perfect time to strike.”
“And they know about my barrier and wolf’s attack now.” Tim shrugged. “These things are smart.”
“Very.” The hunter’s tone betrayed admiration. “Be careful.”
Tim saw the third owl his Wolf sent flying earlier slowly recovering. Feathers were slowly falling around the dazed animal. “Hey, wolf. Finish it off before the other two make their move.”
But the mutt gave its usual prideful huff in response.
Stubborn mutt-!If Tim doesn’t make his move soon, they’ll be in a world of trouble. Tim could beat these things easily, but he couldn’t afford the hunters and his client getting hurt. So the young man summoned two magic chains. They glowed a faint orange as they snaked slowly on the ground, careful not to catch the owl’s attention. “Fine, I’ll do it myself.”
“What are you doing?” “Shhh, don’t disturb him.”
It was a painful quarter of a minute waiting game between the predators and Tim. But the moment finally arrived when Tim quickly balled one of the chain’s tips and practically uppercut the bird with his spell! The second chain pulled the staggered bird and was slammed into the ground. The third owl took the opportunity to pounce! Tim was on the opposite side of their formation, but easily dashed a few meters between the hunters and the owl in the span of half a second. The owl managed to rip his clothes and dig its claws half an inch deep on Tim’s shoulder and chest. “Arg-!”
In response, the young man pulled out his sword and nicked a would off the predator’s feet in a single stroke. Wolf suddenly jumped up and mauled the bird! It dug its teeth into the creature’s neck and wrung it till it let go of Tim. Wolf let the owl go, but it was convulsing uncontrollably. It must have broken part of the owl’s neck.
“We’ll take it from here.” The hunter leader commanded his men to split up and finished up the two ambushers. The first of the trio had escaped, unfortunately.
“Where is it?” Tim asked, but winced as he touched the bleeding part of his chest.
“Off to see the hind, if what you said earlier was right.” One of the hunters said as they walked towards Tim with a first-aid kit. “Sit down.”
Tim let the hunter clean his wounds. “It didn’t go too deep, but it would be prudent not to let it fester anymore than it already has.”
Tim waited for the hunter to finish; they were about to bandage Tim up when he casted his Aid spell. His wounds closed up naturally, but at an infinitely faster pace. It left two set of four scars, the first set was on Tim shoulder with one on the front and three on the back. The second dug through his chest, forming four holes close to how an owl’s claws are arranged.
“That’s a nifty spell to have.” The hunter muttered as they stood up. “And you’ve got a new set of scars. I say that little ambush was a success.”
Tim quirked his brow. “Right.”
They grouped up back in camp, two hunters and one of the riders kept watch to see if there was any more surprises. Tim sent Wolf out too. His client looked too happy about the incident, ecstatically looking at the giant owl’s carcass as the hunters make quick work carving out anything they could sell.
“I hired you only as a precaution, Sir Mage.” His client suddenly spoke. “My wife badgered me to add more to my security, you see. But you truly were worth every jewel I spent.”
“I’ll say,” The hunter leader grinned at Tim. “That spirit wolf of yours is a nifty pet to bring along too. Where’d you get it?”
“They just pop up around the phoenix mountains, that one just followed me around when I arrived. That mutt’s less a pet and more like a bored stray the stuck around.” Tim scratched his chin. “Thinking of getting one?”
He shook his head. “I’ve heard about those things in the phoenix mountains. If you so much as go in thinking of hunting one down, a pack of them will make sure to pay the sentiment back.”
Tim shrugged. “I got lucky with that thing, I guess.”
“Luck’s got nothing to do with the likes of them, kid.” The hunter muttered. “Both your wolf and this deer have an intellect to them. Instincts too.”
“We tracked it down.” One of the roaming hunters called. “Seriously, first you take out three of those things and now this spirit Wolf of yours easily tracked our target down.”
“What? How?” The hunter leader asked before Tim could.
“That owl that escaped? The wolf tracked it down easily. It led us to the deer’s little hidey hole.”
Wolf walked proudly in front of Tim. The young man shook his head and saw the mutt holding a feather by its mouth. “You could’ve just told me that earlier.” But credit where credit’s due. “Good job, Wolf.”
The wolf huffed again, triumphant.
With the new information, they all set out for the cave on top of a very large tree. To keep themselves from getting needlessly ambushed. The hunters scattered forming a perimeter, the two riders were on opposite sides outside the perimeter in case the deer escapes. Tim, the hunter’s leader, Wolf and their client were the ones waiting close. “I know I just jumped in front of an owl to shield you earlier. But this is a reckless plan.”
“I know.” The hunter’s leader grumbled. “But if this deer had any will to fight us off, it would’ve done it when the owls ambushed us.”
“Or it just wanted to keep us off its trail.”
“I’m a betting man, Mage.” He grinned. “I bet it doesn’t have the guts to attack.”
“I bet. But not with a client’s life on the line.” Tim muttered.
But when they actually initiated their plan, it was extremely anticlimactic how right the hunter was. The Hind bolted the moment they set foot out of their hiding spot. The hind suddenly transformed into a red-hued spirit Deer as it tried to get away. So this is how it eluded its hunters for so damn long.
“Wolf!” Unfortunately, Tim and Wolf had a similar ability.
The young man clad himself with a purplish light as he summoned a purplish crystal ball. He threw it over his already running companion. Wolf caught the ball with his mouth and crushed it. There was a quick bright light and Wolf was then clad with a flame with the same dim purple glow as Tim’s. Even with the centuries of experience running from mortal and mage hunters alike. Tim’s Bastardized Domain was too much for the creature. It didn’t expect someone who could literally ride the rays of light around them.
It was a foregone conclusion Tim had caught the mythical deer and his client had its way taking pictures and recordings of the creature. But what surprised both Tim and the everyone else, including the deer, was their client asked them to release it after he was done with his documentation.
Tim had changed his opinion of the man; he was a very impulsively childish individual. But his childishness did extend to his innocent desire to not harming the creature.
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