The cool, damp air of the Blackwood forest pressed in on them, a profound stillness settling over the trio as Roric led them to a small, mossy clearing. The ground was littered with fallen leaves, and the ancient trees seemed to lean in, as if listening.
"Right then," Roric said, turning to them. He knelt and pointed to a faint depression in the ground.
"The forest is full of paths. Not just for beasts, but for us. You have to learn to read them. A snapped twig can tell you a hunter was here. A boot print in the mud can tell you he was in a hurry." He explained that hunters normally marked certain places with flow and the more they passed through that area the more that spot would be marked. If course these markings weren't just visible to anyone so one would need to be trained to know what exactly to look out for. He then then plucked a broad leaf from a low-hanging branch.
"This is a 'Sunpetal'. Chewing it numbs pain So take note."
He held up a second plant, a small, leafy green with bright red berries.
"This is a 'Bloodberry' vine. The berries are poisonous, but the root, when dried and powdered, is a powerful clotting agent. Every hunter must know these basics."
For the next few hours Roric taught them the rules that governed the forest, rules that were more important than any law in the city. " We don't hunt for sport," he said firmly.
"We take what we need to feed our families and to trade. Nothing more. And if you see a beast—be it imbued or mundane—that is with child or has young ones, you leave it be. The same goes for plants. If possible plant a seed beside any you've extracted. Those are the rules. They're the foundation of hunting. You build on them from here."
The lesson continued until the sun began to dip below the canopy, bathing the forest floor in a soft, golden light, Roric rose to his feet. "That'll do for today," he said, but his words were cut short by the sound of voices and the snapping of twigs.
A group of hunters, their leather armor scuffed and their faces grimed with dirt, emerged from the treeline. They were all burly men, their hands calloused and their eyes sharp. They were talking amongst themselves, their voices low and serious.
"I'm telling you, it's a hoax," one of them said, shaking his head.
"A wraith this close to a node? The ambient Flow would dissolve its body faster than it could form."
"Aye," another agreed. "But what if it's not? We can't have unrest in Lord Alaric's lands. If we go and find nothing, we can at least say we looked and put the rumours to bed."
Roric stepped out of the bushes, with Aina and Elias following close behind.
"Hello there." He greeted.
The hunters turned, their hands instinctively dropping to their weapon hilts before they recognised him.
"Oh,Roric." they all said, their expressions breaking into grins.
"Didn't expect to see you out here."
Their eyes then fell on Aina and Elias.
"What do we have here? You didn't kidnap these young ones did you?" one of them asked jokingly. Roric playfully smacked his shoulder and the hunter laughed.
"Stop fooling around, Taron.These are Lord Alaric's wards," Roric said simply.
"I was giving them a lesson in hunting."
The hunters immediately drew closer, their initial curiosity turning into a respectful awe. Elias, nervous under their intense scrutiny, felt Aina step in front of him, her body a small shield. He saw their eyes, narrowed now, taking in his features: the blond hair that was a fiery red at the end, the gem-like eyes that were a strange mixture of amber and emerald.
"The young Lord," one of them breathed, a tone of excitement in his voice.
"It's a pleasure to finally meet you."
Elias, with Aina's quiet encouragement, bowed his head slightly.
"It's a pleasure to meet you too," he said, his voice a little shaky.
"Just like his parents, he has their features." another hunter remarked with a laugh.
"Humble and polite."
A third hunter glanced at Aina, noticing her blond hair and emerald eyes.
"And this one… she must be related to Lady Elara, then?"
Aina, with a bow, confirmed it. "Yes. I am Aina Mellou. Pleasure to make your aquauntance."
" What's with the maid outfit though?" One of the hunters asked causing Aina's eye to twitch.
" Ok,ok ,that enough. I heard you guys talking about a wraith." Roric said.
The hunters pulled back and nodded, and one of them, a man with a grizzled beard, spoke up.
"Aye, a rumour started by some strange lad. Came running out of the woods one day and started warning everyone about 'evil spirits'."
Elias, unable to hold his tongue, piped up. "We met a young man as well talking about evil spirits this morning."
Aina shot him a quick look.
"It's impolite to interrupt when adults are talking," she whispered, but the hunters just smiled.
"It's alright, lass," the grizzled hunter said. "Did he have prayer beads around his neck and arms?" he asked, and Roric nodded. "Aye, that's him. The one who started all the trouble. He just appeared one day. At first, no one paid him any mind, but the people started to listen to him. It's surprising, you know. Even though they have no place of their own, those Itinerants have a lot of power when it comes to these things."
Elias heard the word again and his mind latched onto it, a new question forming.
"I'm surprised you don't know thisRoric?" one of the hunters asked.
"By the way,why don't you come to the Bureau office anymore?"
"I've been… busy." Roric answered.He paused for a moment, thinking.
"Tell you what. I'll join you. We'll find out what this is all about."
The group agreed immediately, excited to have a Tier 2 hunter on their side. But one of them looked at the children.
"What about them?" he asked, concerned.
Roric glanced at Aina and Elias.
"Aina, Elias, point out the trail that leads back to the city."
They both did so, pointing to some bushes that wer marked as the path back.
"Your first assignment," Roric said with a wink.
"Go home. Don't stray. I'll see you tomorrow."
The other hunters looked at each other, confused, but Aina, with a small bow and a firm grip on Elias's hand, said, "Alright." She then led him away, their small figures disappearing into the bushes.
The hunters looked at Roric.
"Are you sure you want to just let them go on their own?" one of them asked.
Roric smiled.
"Those kids are very sharp. Besides…" He held up two fingers, and two faint, silver threads of Flow appeared, extending from his hand and disappearing into the very bushes where the children had just vanished.
Aina and Elias walked home in silence for a while, the rhythmic crunch of their shoes on the packed dirt trail a comfort in the growing quiet. After a time, Elias broke the silence.
"Aina," he began, "what do you think about all this? The wraith business."
She scoffed.
"Naturally, I don't believe it. The boy was probably startled by a wild boar or a stag and hit his head. It's nonsense."
"And what about the 'Itinerants'?" he asked. "What are they?"
Aina sighed, her tone taking on the familiar cadence of a scholar.
"They are a tribe of nomads found all across the continent of Aerthos. They are considered to be walking history books, carrying the oral traditions of past eras. They can be identified by the beads they wear and their pale skin. Their origins remain ambiguous, with a lot of speculation surrounding them. Even they themselves don't seem to know where they came from."
As they passed through the city gates, they noticed a commotion. The itinerant boy was there, arguing with two guards, holding single, squashed The owner gripped him by the collar,a deep frown on his face.
"I'm telling you,I went to the forest to exorsise the evil spirits when that man threw that rock and I came flying in. It's not my fault!" he shouted.
The guards, bored and unimpressed, simply shook their heads. The boy's eyes, desperate for someone to believe him, landed on Elias and Aina as they passed by. He immediately pointed a finger at them. "There! The children! They saw!"
Aina, without missing a beat, simply pulled Elias's hand and moved him along, her face an unreadable mask. The guards didn't even glance their way. Elias's last glimpse of the boy was of a lonely figure still arguing, his voice fading into the growing sounds of the city.
>Journal Entry
Today was my first day outside the manor. It was… different. Roric taught us about the rules of the forest and the plants you can eat. I learned that my father is a very powerful man, and that the world is a lot bigger and more complicated than I thought.
But the strangest thing was the boy we met. An 'Itinerant'. Aina says they are walking history books, and that no one knows where they came from. It makes me wonder. Maybe their knowledge of the past could give me some insight into the past. I want to meet one. I want to speak to one. I'm not sure what for, exactly, but maybe they know something that everyone else has forgotten.<