Legend of Fire: Book 1 of the Alrymnian Chronicles

Chapter 2: On the hunt [Raynen]

Some hours later, I was perched on a cliff overlooking part of the forest below, looking over my handiwork for one last time. You see, hunting down a climenth on its own terms would be suicide regardless of how well I prepared, but thanks to my quarry being a mindless beast, that wasn't necessary. 

Now, climenths are known for being drawn to the smell of blood (even more than a shark or a wolf), so a dead animal served as perfect bait. The cliffside itself served as one of the "walls" for this trap, and to fully box the climenth in, I'd gone to the effort of cutting down a couple of trees, which I proceeded to cover in some of the oil I'd bought earlier. The distance from the top of the cliff to said trees was almost out of range for my sparkshot, but considering the sheer size of my target, that wouldn't be an issue.

However, although a roaring blaze and a cliffside were perfect for trapping the climenth, it wouldn't exactly kill it. For that, I needed some of that blunt force Brandon had mentioned... a lot of blunt force. So let me ask you, what natural disaster results in extreme amounts of blunt force and can be caused by one man?

If your answer was Kevin, then I applaud you on your ingenuity, but that's not exactly what I was looking for.

On the other hand, if you were thinking along the lines of an avalanche, you're absolutely right. I'd placed the blasting powder at strategic points along the cliffside to quite literally blow it to pieces, and the fuses ensured I'd be able to light them all at once, while giving me enough time to get out of the blast radius. The resulting rockslide would completely bury the climenth without ever letting it get near me. In fact, I'd actually brought too much in the way of supplies, and there was an entire bag of blasting powder left over. All things considered, there was only one thing I'd forgotten to take into account.

When you're planning on spending an extended period of time outside in mid-autumn, particularly in the evening... bring a blasted jacket. Leaving wasn't an option, and I couldn't risk lighting a fire anywhere near the fuses I'd set. Between the nervousness of waiting for the climenth and the cursed wind that had decided to torment me, it was one of the most miserable hours of my life. I never thought I'd be happy to see a murderous beast thirsting for blood, but when the climenth finally came into view I was relieved to just get it over with.

Leaping over one of the trees blocking its path, the climenth jumped onto the dead deer that I'd left in the middle, and began tearing it to pieces. Smiling at its predictibility, I whipped out my sparkshot, sending out a pair of flares to light the trees behind the climenth. As flares hit the oil coating the tree, the entire construction burst into flame, trapping the climenth against the cliff and causing it to roar in anger.

Unwilling to try and get through the fire, the climenth leaped up against the cliff, trying to find purchase against the slick rock. After a couple of tries, it found a foothold and leapt up. My breath caught, as I realized I might have to abandon my trap and run for my life. However, I'd chosen my ambush location well, and after a moment's hesitation, the beast roared in frustration and jumped back down to the ground, unable to climb any further up that part of the cliff. Sighing in relief, I fired a third flare with my sparkshot, lighting the bundle of fuses at my feet.

Much as I'd have loved to see the finish, staying close enough to actually see it would have been suicidal. Instead, I ran away from the cliff's edge, hiding behind a tree as I ticked off the seconds in my mind. Roughly five seconds later, several incredibly loud explosions sounded out in short succession, followed by the ground shaking and a deafening noise as half the cliff face collapsed. 

I'd like to claim that I was completely unphazed by this, that it's what I expected and things were all proceeding according to plan.

To be honest, I was absolutely terrified that I'd misjudged something, and that the explosions or the rock slide would take me with it. When things finally calmed down, I took a few deep breaths, counted to thirty, and prepared to look at the results... before deciding it was too soon, counting to fifty this time, and unsteadily walking out to look at the damage.