Sleeping atop his hay bed, Zenor's mental alarm goes off as he stirs awake. Slowly Zenor lifting his eyelids as a state of weariness clouds his mind for a moment. The fog of dizziness soon begins to clear as Zenor pushes himself to his feet.
It's another day though today is different because Zenor has made plans with a certain green-eyed mystery girl. Pacing his breath for a minute, Zenor mentally prepares himself as he moves to bath.
With calm motion, Zenor fecthes water into a bucket with the process reminding Zenor of his limited water situation. 'I really should ask someone on how I can get some water.', Zenor thinks to himself. The town is likely to have a well of some sort for water supply but as for the little he knows, Zenor is oblivious about the location of such a source.
After going through hygiene routines, Zenor throws on a grey robe, preps his water gourd and bag and then he straps his axe over his back. The weight of the metal axe pulls squarely on Zenor's frame just as it should.
The chill of the metal against his back serves as a gentle yet constant reminder to Zenor that he is not alone.. Zenor's weapon is his most trusted companion.
Stepping out of his compound, Zenor looks at the sky. The sun is just rising and the clouds are light and friendly. The sight is just.. there. It isn't beautiful not is it wishful yet something about it puts a hum of thrill into Zenor's bones. Something about the morning air puts Zenor's heart in a new rhythm as his warms palms icthes for a grip on his axe's handle.
Suppressing the feeling, Zenor begins to walk forward. Today, Zenor hunts.. with a partner.
..
Walking calmly between trees, Zenor finds Danist waiting for him at their agreed meeting point. She is wearing the same slick armor that she had been wearing yesterday though her curly blonde hair is currently packed into a neat bun.
"Good morning Zenor.", Danist greets with a small smile that almost mirrors a smirk. Zenor nods curtly at Danist and then he speaks. "I have one more term to add to our deal. You can only have me for a maximum of eight hours a day.", Zenor says and Danist purses her lips before nodding twice.
"Fair enough.", She comments and then she turns to face the deeper regions of the forest. "How fast can you run?.", Danist asks and Zenor thinks for a moment before answering. "Faster than most others."- he says.
Danist observes Zenor's face and then she nods though more to herself than at him. "If during our contract we get into a situation where you see me running away, don't look, don't ask questions, don't even try to safe me if I fall be behind.. just run.", Danist says as she looks deeply into Zenor's eyes.
"I will.", Zenor says calmly. Not a single fiber in Zenor feels the compulsion to say anything heroic. As far as Zenor is concerned, his relationship with Danist is completely based on contract. If his contractor tells him to run then why should he argue with such valuable advice?.
"Good.", Danist says heavily with a part of her relived to see that Zenor is not one of the emotional ones. Zenor may not know it but Danist has a past where many have died for her to live, she is not ready to deal with that again.
Back to normal, Danist cracks a small smile as she begins to walk forward. "Let's go." Danist says calmly.
..
It's been over an hour now. Danist and Zenor have been walking at a relaxed pace with Danist taking the lead and choosing the direction.
Over the last five minutes, the duo have encountered a few beasts along the way but most of the time these beasts are just overgrown rodents or eerie insects that want no beef with them. Stepping over a thick tree root, Zenor breaks the silence between himself and Danist as he starts talking.
"You said that most of the beasts in the area are not above the 'mid-level initiate-rank'. What does this mean?.", Zenor asks and Danist turns to look at him with a brow raised as if surprised he asked such a question.
"It is a method of power ranking, it also applies to humans. The actual method of determining a beast's level and rank is rather complicated though it is simple in humans.", Danist says to Zenor as she keeps walking ahead with her back about a meter away from Zenor who is following her.
"How is it calculated?.", Zenor calmly asks and Danist pauses her steps for a moment and then she continues walking. "In beasts, the factors involved are.. bloodline, essence saturation, intelligence, physical strenght, magical abilities, poison potency, world's signature and so much more. Cores are important but they can be rather unreliable in determining a beast's power level. You don't have to calculate any of these yourself. There is already a library that describes the features of tens of millions of beasts as well as their respective ranks.".
"And for humans?.", Zenor questions as he looks at Danist who immediately replies. "For humans it is simplified though this simplicity makes is deceitful.", Danist says as she continues walking forward over overlaid roots.
"In humans there is only one factor considered when it comes to power ranking and that factor is your energy core.", Danist says and Zenor feels the need for more answers though Danist raises a palm to signal silence.
"We are almost there, that is enough information for today.", Danist says while Zenor swallows his words as they keep moving forward though with a more cautious bearing.
Walking past dry shrubs, Danist signals Zenor to hide and he immediately moves behind a tree for cover. Zenor silently watches Danist as she lowers her body before moving slowly towards an area with an unnatural spacing of trees.
Over fifteen meters square of land is filled with shrubs but not trees. At an edge of the open grounds is a more massive tree though it is dead. It's roots overlay the grounds wide and proud, its trunk is brown and pale, its dead branches are spread out above other trees like a testament of its former status though it holds no leaves or evidence of life.
It is a dead tree that is no different from a furniture though it has a peculiarity that puts a sense of tension on Zenor's mind. A cave, not the kind made naturally by abnormal growth of trunks or roots but the kind that looks dug. Someone or more likely, something has dug through the tree in other to hollow out it's insides and make it a home.
Danist approaches the dark cave and slowly pulls out her twin swords. Zenor knows what to do. Danist had given him instructions before, 'I fight and you only intervene if the battle looks grim or if my back is exposed to something lethal.'.
Zenor observes Danist for a moment and then he moves closer to the bare lands around the cave by rushing from behind one tree to another. If Zenor is to give timely intervention then being close to the possible area of action is necessary.
With steps too quiet to hear, Danist finally steps into the bare grounds surrounding the massive tree but she has been noticed. In the dark shade of the unnatural tree cave, a pair of eyes can be faintly seen to be quietly observing.
Danist does not tense. She calmly looks into the cave and stabs one of her swords into the ground with non-aggressive movements. Zenor does not know if it is an illusion of light but the edge of the other sword resting in Danist's right hand seems to shimmer a flash of orange. As for Danist's left hand, a small ball of white cloud begins to silently gather.
The creature within the cave flinches backwards for a moment and a second later a ball of fire can be seen dancing over Danist's palm. She doesn't hesitate, the ball of orange flames blazes a trail of dark smoke as it strikes into the cave.
RRRRUUUKKKGGGHHH!.. The deep growl of the beast makes Zenor flinch and the next second the beast comes walking out with its teeth bared in anger.
Observing that anatomy of the creature, Zenor's hand finds a grip on his axe handle. By no means does this seem like an easy fight!.
..
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