Warwielder - Book 1 of The Evernoth Odyssey

Chapter 16 - The Huntress

The knife struck the target on the wall.

A celebratory roar suddenly erupted throughout the tavern as Lio raised his arms up to the crowd of Aethe'venar. He spoke up to them with the flaunting posture of someone who had tasted victory.

"I told you! I am a great hunter! Perhaps greater than all of you!" Lio pointed at the packed audience while they laughed and guffawed at his assertion.

Elyne was among the voices laughing at the young Venar while she sat up on her barstool.

She sat alone by the counter and breathed in an aroma of alcohol and sweat while the rest of her tusked hunters populated the rest of the tavern interior. The Aethe'venar were either grouped up in a ring surrounding Lio's performance or bunched up against the railing of the upper level. Elyne could hear the wood groan and creak beneath the occupants spectating from above. She could also hear the tavern's outside walls being battered by the howling storm wind. It was any wonder that the building still stood for as long as it did. However, with the establishment packed with patrons and the space illuminated with lantern light, Elyne counted herself lucky to be settled in the warmth away from the exterior chill.

The limber huntress continued to watch Lio parade himself around her tavern like a peacock with its feathers sprawled out. To her, the young Venar's dark braided hair was too tidy, his tusks too smooth and his clothes too clean to be treated as anything but a pup.

"The cub throws one blade," Elyne addressed her hunters with a grin, "and thinks himself an Alpha."

Lio's cheeks flushed red as the whole tavern burst into uproarious laughter.

"I hit it right on the mark!" Lio protested. "I can't see anyone else-"

Elyne chose this moment to pull a dagger from her belt and hurl it at the same target on the wall, eliciting a look of wide-eyed surprise from the young Venar. He stared at Elyne's blade sharing the centre of the target with his own weapon.

"Well, that's-"

Lio was cut off when another knife buried itself into the target next to his blade. And then another. And another. When the young cub turned around, he instinctively ducked as several more blades flew through the air and landed on the target. One after the other, the Aethe'venar in the room hurled their blades at the wall target until the area surrounding Lio's weapon was cramped with hunting knives.

With a cluster of blades sharing the target on the wall, Elyne couldn't help but grin at the cub's embarrassed expression.

"You're good," said Elyne before gesturing to all the hunters crowding the tavern. "But you're among the best here. You might have stood out back in the Valleys but in this tavern, you're only the benchmark, cub."

Lio growled at the insult. "Let me join your guild. I promise I will not disappoint you."

"Are you begging, cub?"

The young Venar straightened up. "No. I'm just saying. If you give me a chance, I can prove myself. I can be a more valuable asset than any of the other hunters in your guild."

"More valuable than my other hunters? You think very highly of yourself, don't you?"

"I was almost a champion of the Great Hunt."

Elyne couldn't help but scoff at the way the cub's chest puffed up proudly. "There's nothing quite as unimpressive as the word 'almost'. Half the Aethe'venar here were 'almost' Great Hunt champions." Her words earned a low chuckle from the other hunters.

To his credit, he still continued. "I once assisted the Aethe'tempus with tracking a bounty."

"So have I. And so have dozens of others here. It's not uncommon for the Aethe'tempus to ask for our help. They don't like asking for it, which is what makes it fun when they do," said Elyne, eliciting another bout of laughter from the crowd.