A Hunter's Tale, goldfishlover [electric book reader .TXT] 📗

leg would never heal completely. To this day, I still had trouble with it; I couldn’t run without breaking into an awkward limp after a few strides. My disability seriously hindered my ability to chase down anything fast, but I seemed to manage. I was as fast as any human was, perhaps a tiny bit slower, and a good bit weaker than most elves, but I was still strong enough to kick ass, even on a bad day.
Samuel snapped his fingers in front of my face, bringing me out of my reverie, and said, “Victoria. I need you to focus. What I am about to say I very important and you must listen very carefully.” He spoke to me as though I were a mentally incompetent child. Even though I tended to zone out like one, it made me mad, seeing how little he thought of me.
“Go on,”
“Your mission, I won’t lie, is dangerous. I don’t think I can stress that enough. You will travel to the Isle of Dawn, where you must find Angelica, a healer and a soothsayer. She will heal you of all your previous wounds, scars, traumas- anything that will threaten to hinder you on your journey. She’ll read your fortune, and tell the odds of your survival, before and after your treatment. From there, you’ll travel even further North into the Bane Mountains. I’m not sure if you’ve been there before, but I warn you, once you set foot on the path, the Dark Magic will prevent you from leaving until you’ve completed your mission.” Samuel said. “Not only that,” He added, “but the magic will play tricks on your eyes. That is why I have given you my map. It will safely guide you to Lord Bane’s Citadel, where you will face the ultimate challenge.” I didn’t understand much of what he was saying. I was pretty good until he told me I’d have to travel across the Bane Mountains. I’d heard about them before, mostly in stories when I was a little kid. It was where bad people went when they died. But Lord Bane’s Citadel? Who was Lord Bane?
“Hold on a second,” I said, rubbing my temples as I tried to take in every bit of information he threw at me, “Tell me more about the Bane Mountains, and Lord Bane’s Citadel.”
Samuel cocked his head and raised his eyebrows in confusion. “I’m surprised you haven’t heard of Lord Bane. No matter; you’ll find out soon enough.” He picked up his nearly untouched glass of wine and took a long, deliberate drink.
I glared at him. “No. I don’t want soon enough. I want now.” I growled through clenched teeth. “You either tell me more about this Lord Bane and what’s so important about the mountains, or I won’t accept this mission. If you wish to hire me, you’ll play by my rules.” I was stretching them enough as it was.
Chapter 6

“

L

ord Bane,” Samuel began in a voice so low I could scarcely hear him, “is the master of all evil. A living devil, so to speak. Thousands of years ago, when Ageria was still a virgin land, untouched by men and the path of destruction they left in their wake, there were two brothers; one of good, Albion, and one of evil, Bane. Depending on where you go, the brothers are of different races. Humans say they were the fathers of man, Bane the father of evil; Albion the father of good. Elves, those acquainted with the story, believed the brothers were a combination of the different types of elves.”
I did not like interrupting a person when they were telling a story, but I wanted to make sure I was getting everything correctly. “Hybrids? What you mean, their mother was A High Elf, and their father was a Dark Elf?”
“Precisely. I believe you know where this is going; Bane inherited more Dark Elf blood, making him evil and corrupt; whereas, Albion inherited High Elf blood, making him good and pure.” Samuel said. He spoke louder now, but his voice was hardly above a whisper.
“Hold on; you said, depending on where you went, they were of different races. Tell me the human version as well.” I liked to believe I was smart, and that I didn’t much apply myself, but the sad truth was, I was about as dumb as a bag of rocks and needed to take things such as history lessons slowly for all the ‘equipment’ in my head to function properly.
Samuel gave a quick nod and continued, “Very well. As I was saying, Bane inherited more Dark Elf blood, making him evil and corrupt, while Albion, in stark contrast, was good and pure. Like all brothers, they argued and bickered amongst themselves like children. And despite Bane’s evil nature, Albion thought he could turn him around, and teach him to be good. No matter how willing Bane was to change his ways, Albion could not purify his black heart. Despite their differences, the two were inseparable… Until another race came into Ageria. As you know, humans are by far the youngest race living in Ageria. They arrived some seven hundred years ago, just when the dwarves sealed themselves inside the mountains of Kor to protect themselves and their riches.
“Having that been said, the brothers were inseparable until another race, the dwarves, came to Ageria. They were funny creatures, no doubt in my mind, only four feet tall, but wide as barrels! Riding in on their miniature ponies, which were just as muscle-bound as they were. Both of them, eager to prove their worth in conquering another race, went head to head; to see who would turn out the winner.
“Bane, with his dark magic, was certain he would first conquer the dwarves and devised a plan to further insure Albion never interfered with him again; if ever another race came to Ageria. He said to Albion, ‘Let’s make this fun. Whoever first conquers these nomads shall live in a glorious palace and rule Ageria. The loser must retreat north, to the mountains where he can train himself for when another race arrives. How about it, brother? A friendly competition?’” Samuel lowered his voice when he spoke as Bane and I bit back the urge to laugh at his failed attempts at acting.
Samuel paid no mind to my stifled laughter and continued, “‘Feeling cocky are you? Fine I accept your challenge. But let’s make this more interesting; neither of us can use magic of any kind. Magic infused weapons, yes, but no wards or spells. What about it, brother?’”
Samuel had my undivided attention, and like a small child, I called out, “What happened? Did Bane accept the challenge and loose?”
“Calm yourself, Victoria, calm yourself. I’ll get to that.” Samuel chuckled, “As I was saying, Albion wished to make things more difficult on Bane. Reluctantly, Bane agreed to Albion’s challenge. The two failed miserably in trying to conquer the dwarves and as a result, they sealed themselves away in the mountains of present day Kor. Humans were just starting to settle in Ageria at that time, but the two paid no mind to them. They were busy trying to declare the winner.
“Ultimately, it was Bane who retreated to the Mountains, hence the name, Bane Mountains. While there, he built a massive citadel, held together and protected by Dark Magic. Anyone stupid enough to venture out into the mountains unprotected never came back and those who lived, well… they weren’t much better off...” Samuel ended his story abruptly as it had begun.
“So you want me to travel to the Bane Mountains where I’ll be mutilated more so than I already am, only to be mercilessly killed by hands of a dark overlord?” I didn’t like to sugarcoat anything.
Samuel snorted. “If you wish to be a blunt pessimist, then yes. I prefer to look at things in a more positive manner. Not to mention when you find Angelica, she will heal you of all your previous wounds. I am not so foul to send you into the Bane Mountains in your crippled state. I like to think of myself as having some heart. Your mission is to travel to the Bane Mountains, find his Citadel, and destroy him. Do you accept?”

Chapter 7

“

Y

ou are just as crazy as they say! You need an army, not a mercenary! I’m hardly the person for the job. Look at me, are you blind? I’m deformed, crippled, hobbled!” I pointed to the scar that ran across my face. “I have one eye. A demon took my other.” I pointed to my left leg. “My leg is deformed. A demon threw a rock at it the last time I visited the Isle of Dawn. I can’t run without breaking into a limp. Even if she manages to heal me of my wounds, how do you expect me, a cripple, to travel into the Isle of Dawn to even find this Angelica? And for what? So that Ageria will no longer face war? Man brought that on himself. There is nothing I can do to stop a war, if that’s what you’re hoping to gain.” I spat. “You can keep your map and all your money. I’m not risking my life for a sack of gold coins and a map I don’t need. Find someone else to take on your suicide mission.”
Samuel placed his tanned hand on my shoulder. “Please, Victoria. Please. I can’t tell you why. I just can’t. Believe me, I’d love to stop war, but I do agree; man brought war apon himself. This is a more personal matter, one that, I will tell