The Hunting

Chapter One: Fear

1837

"You've never seen anything like this before."

Tempest shrugged carelessly and leant back in his chair. Monsters were all the same. Beasts preyed in the night or snatched children from their beds. They all were evil, they all had weaknesses. He had been hunting far too long to care about how impossible to kill the creature appeared to be.

He regarded the man sitting opposite him, Priest Jacob by name, and wondered how a humble man-of-god thought that he knew anything of the real world. The Priest was subconsciously wringing his hands, glancing around anxiously as if the beast would jump out from the shadows at any moment. He had one of those distractingly long noses, which did wonders to draw the eye away from the deep lines on his face which made him look older than he was. Tempest was bored, he had met far too many Priest Jacobs to care about the old man's nerves.

"Where can I find it?"

The Priest narrowed his eyes, "You have no idea what you're up against."

Tempest smiled scarcastically, "Because you get too scared to tell me anything."

The Priest's eyes blazed, clearly upset by his remark, but Tempest only smiled. Oh, how people were so much easier to toy with than monsters.

"Now, mark my words." The Priest spat. "That thing builds it's power. It started with mere livestock, then offenders of Lazarus' rule, but now - dozens slaughtered, our defense rendered useless. The Lord knows if our souls will rest before the beast is killed."

"Lazarus?" Tempest could care less about the villagers.

"Yes, the immortal lord who controls the beast. She seems to obey him but we formed a treaty- Lazarus would protect us from war and we would send offerings to sustain him. The treaty had no mention of his pet."

Finally, information that was useful.

"I'll handle the monster, but only for the price that was agreed."

"Yes, and you'll be paid when the monster is dead."

Tempest let his eyes wander around the empty tavern. It had taken some convincing to persuade the Priest to enter the "unholy ground of sinners" but Tempest was tired from traveling and wanted to rest, Jacob could put his petty perceptions aside.

The only other people in the room were the bartender and some grizzly-faced man who was well into his fourth cider. This tavern was definitely a good retreat. It was near the church, which stood proudly in the city center, and it would be quiet when he needed to be there.

Tempest had been a hunter for almost twenty years and he couldn't remember much of how he lived before it. You wander around, doing the same thing everyday until you die and hoping that someone else will save you to extend the meaningless life that you have. Not Tempest, he always wanted to do something extraordinary with his life, he just chose to do something extraordinarily dangerous.

Sometimes he wondered why he hunted and why he let himself be pulled into these situations. Revenge? Seems plausible but his work had gone far past the point of mere revenge. He didn't think he could stop though. What would he become if he did?

Besides, someone needed to vanquish evil.

"Father," said a young boy, bursting into the room. He could not have been older than twelve but he was clearly the town's messenger. Maybe the monster had gotten to the old one. "I bring news from Father Jeavas, he asked me to tell you that it was ready and that you were to come right away."

He gave Priest Jacob a gap-toothed smile, clearly proud of himself for being able to remember the message. The Priest grinned back and leant forward to whisper to him.

"How would you like to be part of an adventure? We need someone with us to carry all important messages in case of emergency. But be warned- it might be dangerous."

The child jumped in delight and grabbed the Priest's hand to pull him forward.

"I'll lead you to Father Jeavas and don't worry I won't let you down on this quest. I'll be the best messenger ever."

Tempest sighed and followed the pair outside, he wasn't sure they had time for this. Surely they would be very aware of what day it was.

The boy led them down cobbled streets, away from the Church and the tavern, towards the Palace of Justice. Of course the Church wouldn't want to be associated with it, it was a place of cruelty. Criminals would be sent there to be punished along with non-believers and those against the church. It was sickening.

The Palace of Justice was tall and intimidating and ironically, reminded Tempest of the church. There were bars on the windows and the walls were made of stone. Hundreds of rooms held screaming prisoners whose suffering wouldn't end until death. Unholy in the holiest of ways: in the name of God.

They reached the side gate and Priest Jacob started speaking to a man that must've been Father Jeavas, leaving Tempest with the messenger boy. The boy was staring at him and he didn't know what to do. Children just made him uncomfortable.

Across the road about a dozen men were crowded around the back of a wagon, Tempest couldn't see what they were doing. A young man walked up to join them, a woman on his heels. She was crying and pleading and clinging to his arm but he just shrugged her off and left her behind to cry over him.

"What's going on?" Asked Tempest.

The boy frowned for a moment, looking from the group of men to Tempest and back.

"Well you see, sir, they go out of town to the castle. No one knows what happens to them 'cause they don't come back. My father went months ago and we still don't know what happened to him. He signed his name, just like they are and just after full moon the wagon leaves with them in it."

"Where are they going?" Said Tempest.

"Oh, they go to the castle where the monsters live. They usually go with our sacrifices to make them happy. Mother says they go up there to change but I don't know what into, I just hope they'll come back soon."

Tempest glanced back to the heartbroken woman just in time to see her friend lead her inside a cottage, the man that left her didn't even look back. What was he thinking? Did he seriously think the monsters would let them turn? It was far more likely that they boasted of their trickery and fed on them in glee.

One thing the boy said had really gotten Tempest's attention. After the full moon. Did Lazarus just want to make sure he wouldn't receive a foe? Surely it would be better to trick him to your doorstep. The beast would also feed during the full moon, so why send sacrifices afterwards? Just how many monsters could be found in the castle?

Tempest had a bad feeling about this hunt and his concern grew at the fading of daylight, he chose a poor time to arrive at the melancholic village.

"Come now, Tempest." Interrupted the Priest, "You have yet to comprehend our situation, but you'll understand after this encounter."

Tempest strided ahead into the Palace of Justice whilst the Priest peered down at the messenger boy.

"You wait here, we'll send for you later."

Once the Priest had caught up with Tempest, he grabbed a torch and immediately began descending a dark stairway at the corner of the vast entry room. As they descended, Tempest could feel the eyes of morbid statues following him down into the abyss of darkness.

It was extremely cold and Tempest had to resist the urge to rub his arms. Occasionally they passed branches of corridors but they had yet to enter one. On the way down they passed a woman, she had worked there for years, resulting in pale skin and large, red eyes. She flinched every time there was a plea for help.

Eventually they reached their destination. A large metal door that had both a lock and a silver bar across it.

"Be prepared." Said the Priest

He clicked open the door and Tempest stepped forward. What need had he to be afraid? The bar was hoisted up and the door slowly creaked open.

Tempest peered into the dark and silent room and his eyes adjusted to the light just in time to see the sharp, yellowed fangs flying towards his face.