The Lions, The Ram, and the Boar

Chapter 11

//TW\\

//General Violence, Mention of Blood and Injury, Animal death (?)\\

"Techno, thank you for coming so quickly, I need you to do me a favor." Schlatt was stood up from his desk, greeting the mercenary that had just entered his office. "What?"

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"George!" Clay whined, not wanting to go join Darryl on his daily hunt. "Please? I don't want to go out today I'm all sore!" 

"I told you two idiots to take it easy, and you decided that it meant you could cut each other up while sparring in the front lawn." George scolded. "I had to use my magic on BOTH of you, even though I advised against it."

Clay frowned, looking down at the fresh scar on the top of his hand. 

"Okay and? I went with Bad the last time, I think its only fair you go this time." 

"Dream, you're better than George when it comes to hunting. No offense but he's loud." Darryl added, looking at the prince. "I am not LOUD." George snipped, looking at the shorter man.

"You know what, I'm going to prove you wrong, I will join Bad." George combatted, adamant on proving his point. Darryl groaned, while Clay smiled. "I'm blaming you if we come back empty handed." 

"But we won't, so no blame needs to be thrown around." 

"Have fun you two!" 

George rolled his eyes, knowing that he had given into the, already spoiled, prince. But he was determined to prove that he was just as capable out in the woods as his other two friends. He was handed an old wooden bow, and a couple of knives, even though he probably wasn't to skilled with the latter. 

Darryl attempted to hand him a quiver of arrows, but he declined, showing off the magical projectile he had managed to create a few years ago. Darryl looked surprised at the sheer white object, but decided that it was better than wasting arrows. 

They spent the early morning with no luck, only spotting a few rabbits that quickly darted away from their attempts. It was like that for a couple hours as they ventured through the thick brush, cutting up overgrown vines and avoiding the roots that had ventured past their intended home under the ground. 

They encountered a deer, but surprisingly, it was Darryl who startled the animal, after breaking a hidden branch. George of course giggled at his failure, glad that he wasn't the party member to ruin their chances at a lovely dinner that night. 

"So.." Darryl asked, keeping his voice down to make sure there wasn't any disturbance to a possible catch. "I try not to talk about it, but you guys have been preparing for it a lot and I think its relevant, but how scary is this Techno guy?" Darryl asked, keeping his bow loaded with an arrow in case he needed to shoot at a moments notice. 

"He hasn't been too threatening in out past encounters, but recently, in that burned down village, he was able to subdue me in seconds." George explained, fidgeting with the string of his bow to keep himself from getting too anxious. " I wouldn't say I'm the best in combat, but my magic is still pretty effective at defense, and yet he had me at the mercy of his sword before I could really even fight back."

George thought about standing around the burning buildings, and then hearing the approach of shoes on dirt. When he turned in that village, he saw a pink haired brute with a pigs mask strapped to his face, obscuring the familiarity. He was able to send a few spells in Techno's direction to at least throw him off course, but it barely worked, obviously, since George was the one who suffered from injury that night. They all had.