The Adventure of the Light-Bearer

CH. 14 - The Rattacore

Levin ran out quickly, his leg muscles strong from birth swaying cunningly. Levin held onto his stomach which since yesterday had not found any food. He opened the door and found the three men waiting for him in a horse-drawn carriage.

"Hurry, ride!" shouted the red-bearded man, he sat in the carriage, while one of them sat in front to control the horse. Levin jumped on that train.

"You got any drinking water? I haven't had time for breakfast, my throat now feels like it's on fire." Levin asked the two next to him, while the train was already traveling at a fairly fast pace.

"of course. We brought our food supplies. Of course these supplies are now yours too, now you are one of us" said the man next to the red beard. He then opened a sack containing various types of food, he also handed a cardboard containing bottles of milk and water. Levin then brought and drank the water.

"I'll tell you everything, starting from the beginning. You eat while listening, we do need extra energy to do this work. I will first introduce the names of the three of us. My name is Gordon Slightre, and the guy next to me, his name is Erand Trollson, and the guy who drives this train is Don Forester. We are members of a great hunter clan called The Ratacore" said the red-bearded Gordon, who unscrewed the bottle and drank it to the ground, he kept the bottle back in his cardboard.

"Two days ago the three of us got a contract from the center to hunt down a bear that troubled the merchants in the forest of Libero, a large forest near the kingdom of Livermore. We went into the forest, and we asked the people who saw the bear first, where they last saw it, they said that after the bear attacked, they said, the merchants then shot him and the bear ran towards the Ico river, a river claimed to be a river of demons because many people were missing there." Gordon opened his mouth wide to stretch his muscles. He then continued.

"When the three of us went to the river, we saw the bear near a large waterfall, according to Livermorian legend, the waterfall is where the demons gather and kidnap a hundred people every year as a collision, many adventurers and treasure seekers go near the waterfall, and none of them ever came back. So that the waterfall was shunned by the people around because of its haunted. We hid behind the trees and watched them there, and I wrapped my arrows in scorpion venom to instantly paralyze the bear." gordon said as he took out a bow from his toolbox and pointed a bottle of brownish liquid at Levin.

"When I pulled the rope of my arrow and aimed at it from a distance, I was surprised to see a long black figure come out of the waterfall and pull the body of the bear very quickly into the waterfall. The figure was very large and disappeared in a very short time, at that time we then ran away in shock and fear that the figure would pull us also into the cave waterfall. We then returned to the center, in a panic we told the head of the Ratacore clan the incident, as a result everyone there laughed at me and said that I was just imagining and just covering up my inability to hunt the bear. At that time we were humiliated by everyone in the clan. After that my son, Harold, who was also a member of the clan then took the people in the clan who mocked us to go to the waterfall to prove it. I strictly forbade him, but he kept his composure and said he would hunt the figure down and clear my name, he took his group and went with dozens of people to that horrible place." Gordon then lowered his head, he held his head with a bitter expression.

"He's been there since yesterday, and he hasn't come home yet. I worry about the worst, I fear that the legend is true. But my son is not a weak man! I'm sure he's investigating the creature right there, a.. I'm sure he's..." Gordon then cried again, he rubbed his eyes and moved his mouth trying to hold back the cry.

"Then, what do you need from me? Why are you looking for someone like me to help you get to that place? You're gonna try to help the group and save him, right?" levin asked as he ate the bread greedily. Erand Trollson stroked Gordon's back, and he continued Gordon's words.

"We all lost our families in that group, I lost my brother Ander, Gordon lost his son Harold, and the Toabi lost his son too, Nara. The three of us then gave him a contract to hunt down the creature he called the great snake, even though I'm sure it wasn't a snake. He then begged us to save his son alive, he sent the three of us there because he believed that it was us who started it all and who knew more about the creature, although the fact is not so. We then asked him to write another hunter he contracted as a favor, but he refused, saying that this was a secret mission and he did not want to sacrifice another hunter. The obvious insolence! We can't believe it turns out we have a chairman who is so dazed!" erand said as he clenched his hand, while the coachman, Don Forester, focused on riding the horse he was controlling, it seemed like he could not hear the conversation of the three of them as the distance and wind that hit his ears made him deaf.

"The reason we hired you was to help operate a device that we installed at the waterfall. It was a trap that our clan had to hunt down Trolls who often hid in caves, it could only be operated by three people who had power. We've assembled the device in a waterfall by stealth yesterday. We waited for the creature to come out, but in vain, there was no sign of it. We lured them out by shouting and throwing chickens from the top of the waterfall, but still he didn't come out. We then thought of a bait, a quick man who could lure the creature out and run away with all his might. And that's your job, man, when we give you a cue, you run on the edge of the waterfall fast, you run, and when that thing comes out to catch you we'll pull the lever from three directions and the knife in the tool will split the creature in two." Erand continued.

"But if the creature still does not appear. Forced you to stay in the middle of the river a little close to the tunnel, however we must get the creature's head, even though it will kill us all" Gordon said firmly, saying, while Levin's face became tense, he did not expect that he would have to do so and endanger himself.

"What! You mean I'm just a decoy? Then what if the creature still doesn't want to get out? Do I have to get into that waterfall and scream there so he can get out?" levin said resentfully, he knew he couldn't cancel his contract.

"It's a good idea, but you have to jump out when you're done yelling" Gordon said.

"The.. Damnit. I reckon.. We have to go back and forget everything." Levin said with his heart pounding in fear.

"We have signed the contract, everything must be resolved or we will be the hunted clan The Ratacore. You know, it's a formality, a contract made with red paper has to be completed successfully at any cost, or our heads are the stakes" Gordon said.

end of Chapter :)