The Aethe'eyllum were visibly cowed when the tavern started rumbling and vibrating from the bestial growl inside the casket.

Elyne dropped back down to her seat by the bar while she remained fixated on the monster's eye. She had only met the beast once.

Once was enough.

"I...think," said the huntress while eyeing the Aethe'eyllum, "we've all calmed down. Yes?"

Vayam and his comrades showed no sign that they had heard her and continued staring back at the beastly glare. When the creature in the coffin suddenly blinked, Muta involuntarily gripped his axe more tightly.

The huntress noticed the gesture and addressed the Lektus. "Surely that axe is not needed."

Muta glanced at Elyne who returned his frown with an arched brow, prompting him to avert his gaze and look down at his weapon.

Then he lifted his face to meet the monster's blue-grey eye studying him from within the coffin.

"Muta."

After the young Eyllum turned to the Raecetor's voice, Vayam gestured Muta to lower his weapon. The young Lektus didn't respond at first and seemed dangerously close to disobeying his commander's order. Eventually, Muta capitulated and reluctantly lowered his axe and returned it to his muscled back.

Elyne nodded and turned to address the Merdem being strangled next to his open casket. "Praesal."

Vaspallas Praesal stood there frozen, showing no sign that he had heard the huntress while the glowing rope continued to tighten around his throat.

"Praesal?" Elyne repeated his name only to be met with more silence.

That was when the creature's eye shifted inside the coffin and disappeared from view, revealing a pitch abyss where the beast used to be. However, Elyne and the Aethe'eyllum only witnessed the abyss for a moment before they noticed movement inside the coffin. They could hear a wet, slimy noise and a low rumbling hum similar to the sound of deep breathing. Sounds that the huntress recognized.

"Praesal!" yelled Elyne.

In response to his name being called out, the rope around Praesal's throat suddenly unravelled itself and fell to the floor beside the coffin. At the same time, the doors to the casket swung shut, violently, severing the realm within from the huntress' tavern.

Now that the threat was seemingly gone, an awkward silence filled the room as Vaspallas Praesal staggered where he stood with heavy breaths.

The silence broke when Vayam spoke hesitantly into it. "Despite...the reports that you've received...there is more to the story than what you've heard."

Elyne didn't bother to respond. They had already wasted enough time and the huntress was almost certain that the Raecetor's excuses would have been convoluted at best. She also wanted to avoid another heated disagreement, lest it be resolved by Praesal's beast. Elyne didn't need that mess in her tavern. It was bad luck.

"Raj," she called while she fixed Vayam with a glare.

"Hm?" replied the human.

"Can you bring Tulu to me?"

When she was met with a silent pause, the huntress whipped around to see Raj frowning at her from the back corner.

"Now," Elyne growled through her tusks which elicited a raised eyebrow from the human.

With the huntress' face devoid of expression, a few seconds passed before Raj eventually capitulated and stood up from his seat. On his way to the exit, the human brushed past the three Aethe'eyllum and offered them a brief but brazen glance. Elyne could see the challenge in his eyes and opted to address Vayam before they noticed it.

"When we first met, you presented yourself as an esteemed Raecetor venerated by your people back home. And you told me that this Paravellan was a criminal and a thief that had wronged your people. Now, it turns out that you yourself are no different from this human; just another prey on the run."

Vayam reacted with savage snarl. "I am no prey. Do not regard me as the same as that rat. I am doing what I'm doing for the good of my people."

"I couldn't care less about your people. But I do care about omitted truths." She forced herself to look down at Guis and Sitio. "Truths that might have made me think twice before sending two of my closest friends to their deaths."

A mistake that she would rectify. One way or another.

"I regret the loss of their lives," Vayam apologized. "But-"

That was when a young dark-haired Venar entered the tavern and delicately manoeuvred her way past the Aethe'eyllum, followed by a small cat-like creature. The beast companion would have once resembled a jaguar cub were it not for the green crystalline protrusions decorating its fur; an indication that it had reached its Apex state.

Vayam and his comrades watched the Venar child and her companion head towards Elyne by the bar.

"Is that...?" Muta asked.

"A Tamer," Proel answered his question.

The Raecetor looked up and addressed the huntress. "You're helping us?"

Elyne frowned at the use of the word 'Tamer'. But she elected to ignore the old Eyllum and focused her attention on the young Venar approaching alongside her Wildkin. When she reached the huntress, the child stopped and straightened up to gaze at Elyne with pale, blind eyes. Meanwhile, the Apex jaguar cub took his place and sat down beside the little Venar with its crystal-spurred tail curled around its paws.

"Tulu," greeted the huntress.

"Yes, Elyne," the child replied in Venari.

"I have a favour to ask of you," Elyne replied in the same language. "You are free to refuse if you wish. It might prove dangerous and I would normally never ask it of you. But unfortunately right now I'm in desperate need of your skills. Will you help me?"

The huntress glanced at the corpses still lying on the bar beside her. "Will you help me find the murderer who killed my friends?" asked Elyne.

Tulu's pale eyes lingered on the huntress' face before she offered up a curt nod. "Y-yes," answered the Venar child. "I can do this. Felis and I are ready."

Elyne nodded. "Good...good..." The huntress then looked down at the little Venar and sighed before reverting back to Naiye. "Alright. Go get ready. We'll leave at dawn."

With that, Tulu nodded before suddenly bolting off to the tavern exit, trailed by her Wildkin. When the little Venar and her companion brushed past the Aethe'eyllum, Vayam's eyes followed the child out the door.

Then he jerked back slightly at the sight of Raj leaning on the doorframe with his arms folded. The small grin on the human's face made Elyne sigh as Vayam visibly struggled not to tear Raj's face off. Unfortunately, the Raecetor's restraint was not a virtue shared by his Lektus.

In response to Muta's guttural growl at the idiot human, the huntress interceded. "I was talking to you as well." The Aethe'eyllum turned to her voice. "We leave at dawn. You and your army should go get ready. We have a long road ahead."

"We have arrived late in the night," Muta snarled. "We won't have that much time to sleep let alone-"

"As you wish, Huntress," Vayam cut in. "We will be ready by the sun's rise."

Elyne didn't expect that response from the Raecetor and was surprised when Vayam offered a small nod and backed out towards the exit. Not too long after, Proel and Muta reluctantly followed their commander through the tavern doorway. But not before the Lektus stopped beside Raj and glared down at the human, who remained unperturbed with his grin never wavering.

"Why do you keep this pet?" Muta snarled.

The huntress didn't answer straight away.

"...He makes for good bait on my hunts."

She smiled at Raj when he frowned back at her. An exchange that put a sneer on Muta's face as he resumed his exit out of the tavern.

With the room now emptied of Aethe'eyllum, Raj continued to watch them moving off while still leaning on the doorframe.

"You should've let me kill them," said the human with a passable grasp on the Naiye tongue.

Elyne arched her brow while Raj faced her.

"All of them," the human added.

"And have you destroy this town in the process?" Elyne replied. "We're lucky that the humans here are more amiable to Aethelin than most other places in this region."

"I'm not Aethelin." Raj grinned.

"I don't think that distinction would have any sway on their treatment of us."

The human shrugged before turning to Guis and Sitio on the counter.

"Can we move them?" Raj asked. "They're not slabs of meat."

Elyne glanced at the brothers and moved closer to peer at them. After holding her gaze with their lifeless eyes, the huntress felt forced to look away.

"They deserved better than this." Elyne shook her head ruefully and gently closed their eyes.

She then took a deep breath and headed to the stairs.

"So, you're really going to help them?" Raj spoke to her back.

Elyne stopped and turned to face her human friend.

"I want to know who killed my hunters," she answered. "I want to see his face."

"Revenge."

Elyne could hear the slight question in Raj's voice.

"Yes. Revenge," the huntress clarified, meeting the human's eyes with a hard stare. "You of all people should understand."

"I suppose I do," Raj shrugged. "It's just that-"

"It's just what?"

"Look at them." The human gestured at Guis and Sitio with a glance. "They were exceptional hunters. And they're dead. It seems like their throats were crushed."

"Your point being?"

"My point being that maybe there's a reason why those war elves have been having a hard time capturing this target. You can't afford to underestimate this one, Elly."

She growled and ignored the elf comment. "Are you suggesting I should abandon this hunt? If so, I will gut you right here. I don't care how long we've known each other."

"I wasn't..." Raj struggled for words until he seemed to eventually resign himself to a softer tone. "I just want you to be more careful."

Elyne only maintained her hard stare on the human.

"Your concern is noted," she stated, coldly. "But it's not needed. I'll be fine."

"Of course you'll be fine."

The huntress didn't like the jubilant edge in his voice.

Raj smiled. "Because I'm coming with you."

Elyne shook her head. "No. I need someone here to look after the guild."

"Have someone else do it. Put Vonend in charge. The other hunters respect him."

"You'll be of no use to me out there."

"That's...harsh."

"You have little control over your abilities."

"I've improved."

"Not enough. You could cause more harm than good."

"I will also accompany you," Praesal chimed in.

Both the huntress and Raj whipped around to see the Merdem with his case strapped back over his shoulder.

The human recovered first and faced Elyne. "Well. That's settled. We're coming with you."

"What?" The huntress jerked up. "No. I need you to-"

Raj rushed right past her and headed towards the stairs before she could finish her sentence.

Elyne stood there awkwardly, thinking to herself. Could she afford to bring him along? Or was there a greater risk of leaving him here?

She turned to Vaspallas Praesal and approached him.

"Why are you helping me?" asked the huntress.

Elyne stood there waiting for a response only to be met with silence. She eventually nodded when it seemed evident that he wasn't going to say anything. It wasn't until she moved did Praesal speak up.

"My Mistress...suspects something."

The huntress faced the Merdem and waited for him to elaborate further.

But Praesal fell silent once again. When she understood that he had nothing more to say, Elyne moved off and also headed for the stairs.

But not before stopping in front of Guis and Sitio's motionless bodies.

She placed a hand on Guis' arm, closed her eyes and lowered her head.

"I know this is a sad day," the huntress whispered to Guis' corpse. "But...I'd be lying if I said I wasn't excited for this hunt."

A small grin formed on her lips.

"Don't make this too easy for me, prey," said the huntress as she gazed down at her dead friends.

***

Marschal admired the green scenery while he trotted through the field on his horse. When he reached the foot of a small hill, he beckoned Penelope to carry him up the slope.

After he reached its peak, he looked down to witness a landscape of wild, grassy hills bordering a southern sea. The dark blue expanse reflected a sky that welcomed the rise of the morning sun. Marschal saw the light of dawn illuminating the city port positioned next to a winding river. Despite the city's diminutive size in the distance, he could tell that he would be nothing but a speck if he entered the metropolis. He could hear the city waking up from where he stood on the hill. The Paravellan sighed as a fresh, northerly wind gently nudged him towards the city.

"So this is Ciper, huh?" he murmured to himself, studying the city. Then he nodded.

"Now what?"