Fate of Aorullu, A Warhammer 40K Fan Fiction

Post 17 - Pursuit

In an hour, three dozen of their best men were gathered in front of the Chief's house. There was a hushed silence among the group. It was almost noon time. Although the sun was at its peak, this early in the season, it was not suffocating hot, with the leaves of the forest rustling in a soft breeze and birds tweeting. "A nice day to live" thought, Nrell'har, "I hope I'm not taking these men to their deaths on such a fine day." Tosun had chosen the best of their warriors, mostly middle-aged and seasoned hunters, as well as several promising young lads, who had proven their capabilities more than once. Unknowing what awaited them, they did not take any chances with the quality of the band. They were each armed, with swords, spears and some with arrows. All were wearing leather armor and sturdy leather boots. Nrell'har addressed his fighters in a crisp and somewhat patriotic manner:

- All right, listen up ladies! I'm guessin' ya all seen our two boys mangled to death. Those were our boys, and did not deserve no such end. We all know that none of the beasts roaming the forest does that to anybody. So I'm guessin' we're facin' a different, an unknown foe this time. So we run together, stay sharp at all times and watch out for each other.  I'm guessin' that....

- Chief! Yo! We all know that we know nothing. So when you finish guessin' things, can we go and hunt those bastards who done that to our boys?

It was the blacksmith who had spoken, the burly, gruff but good old blacksmith of the village. Nrell'har saw the look in his eyes and then in the eyes of everyone gathered there. They wanted revenge, they wanted to find that bastard whatever it was and make it pay. 

- Yeah, who needs a speech, anyway? Let's hunt, then! roared the Chief.

With that, the band jogged into the forest, with Nrell'har and Tosunru leading, towards where the dead boys were found just yesterday night.

...

The members of the band were all no foreigners to the forest. It had been their friend and foe at times, providing food and game for the village. However, this time, everything had a more ominous feeling. They had delved deeper into the forest for the better part of the day and sun was already well past its apex. The afternoon sun cast longer shadows around the band and transformed the foliage into a reddish tapestry beneath their feet. For some time now, there was little and less small animal sounds surrounding them. As veteran hunters, they were aware that could mean only one thing: A dangerous animal was lurking in the vicinity, a predator.

They had reached the site where the dead bodies had been found earlier than they hoped. With a deadly intent and unwavering focus, the band had covered more ground than normally possible. The energy of their group was intoxicating, the excitement was almost palpable. Nrell'har felt much into his elements, doing exactly what, he thought, his people were supposed to do. For the first time in an unknown length of time, there was a threat, unknown yet but very much real and present. And he had reacted just as a warrior ought to. In such a presence of mind they had beached the site of the killing. The bushes and the undergrowth had been trampled in an area several trunks wide and long. And oh, there was blood, sprayed onto the leaves of bushes, smeared onto tree trunks. Nrell'har couldn't help imagine the gory scene, the bastard creature jumping cruelly on the bodies of their boys, crushing their bones, blood squirting from punctured arteries and spraying the greenery with drops of red; then the boys being thrown or pounded at the tree trunks, leaving blood smears on them. That was too much, he vented out his frustration by roaring his lungs out, till his breath lasted. Whatever creature did this, would pay. Even if it costed him his life, he would see to that. 

What was more intriguing was the boot marks in the ground. There were clearly boot marks, not of their boys', as they could not imagine someone having such a big size of feet. They were easily twice as large as a normal human feet. They had not heard of any giants in their worlds and surely no animal would be wearing boots. Then one of the young trackers, found the trace of boots leading away from the killing area. The prospect of a somewhat intelligent foe, able to stand on two legs added to their adrenaline levels. They should be more careful thereafter. It was no mere wild animal they were against.

Nrell'har voiced his thoughts:

- I'm sure ya all recognize that the threat's gotten more intelligent, I'm guessin'. Be double watchful boys. This is no wild, brainless animal we're runnin' after.

Fully alert, they trod along the path the booted foe had left for them.