Alcingeria

Chapter Twenty Two: Hunting With Ceberus

Chapter Twenty Two Hunting With Ceberus:

Friday June 25th 1690

It was Martha who broke the silence.

"Oh, dear me! I just remembered that I used the last of our meat in Tabatha's meal last night. Could you and Ceberus go out to the forest and bring back some game?" She asked me.

I briefly wondered why she'd choose me, but didn't dwell on it. Maybe she wanted to show that she trusted me.

"Sure thing, Martha."

"I'll get my gun." Ceberus said as he got up and walked out of sight.

"Mine is ready. I'll wait outside."

I got up and walked to the door.

"Good luck, you two!" Tabatha laughed. "Sorry for eating the last of the stuff."

"It's quite alright dearie." Martha rubbed her shoulder. "You've been through a lot."

I opened the door and stepped through. There was no one working the fields yet, everyone else was eating breakfast inside. Or was it lunch? I looked up to the azure sky and found that the sun was almost at its apex in the sky. It was just before noon. The sky had only a few clouds, and it was warm out. The sea of green crops that splayed out before me gave the atmosphere a cozy feel when mixed in with the warm weather and the perfect sky. The only obstruction to this was the grey stone wall that could be seen in the distance. Beyond that I could see trees poking above it in the distance.

"Are you ready to go?" Asked the older man.

I turned to look at him. I saw that he was dressed in a light, beige coat in spite of the warm weather with brown pants and brown boots. He had his musket on a strap slung over his right shoulder and he had a burlap sack slung over his left from another strap.

"Ready to go." I replied, showing my pistol.

"Great. We'll need to get to the gate, and go to the forest from there."

I began walking up the pathway that went from the fields to town. Ceberus followed me. We traversed the pathway quickly and made it to where the buildings started. We made our way past the various shops and inns that lined the grey stone street and made it to the town square, crossing it and walked past the fountain. When we came to the gate, a guard stopped us.

He examined the wanted posters and checked over a ledger, glancing up at us and asking us what our business was. Ceberus explained we were hunting, and he let us know we were required to report what we got, and were reminded that at the moment deer and boar were the only large game in season.

The gate began to open, and it slowly revealed the forest outside the wall.

Ceberus and I walked to the tree line where the forest began. Dead leaves crunched beneath our boots as we trudged along, and I looked around for game. My stomach grumbled as I imagined the meaty, succulent taste and texture of roast venison or boar.

"So, what do you think of Tabatha?" Ceberus asked absently as we walked along.

The question caught me off guard.

"Oh, she's, er... she's alright, I suppose. I mean, the fact that she's a witch is sort of off putting, and it makes me wonder if she can be trusted. Robert certainly seems to think so, I'd imagine Don does, too."

"And Macalister?"

"He doesn't do much thinking. Why do you ask?"

Ceberus shook his head.