Save for the constant offbeat crackle of fire, the night was silent now. Meridia, Eira, and Lyne, all huddled around it for warmth and the sense of safety it brought. Despite the enduring trials they were facing, none could sleep. Though, with the occasional goblin approaching their camp in curiosity only to raise arms against them, none wanted to sleep.

When the sun still shone and they pushed into the forest from the river, the idea of sleeping in shifts had been floated. However, after several violent encounters as they put together a rudimentary camp, a silent unanimity shelved the thought. The environment was simply too unwelcoming to allow for even a single eye to leave its post.

The bizarre flow of aether from the river only strengthened as they headed further into the forest. Eira’s skills as a tracker proved to be of little use, as well. They had planned to return to the settlement they had departed from initially, but the usual tricks to determine any sort of cardinal direction proved fruitless. Whatever rules governed these parts were not something any of them had trained in.

Fear of the wilds or not, exhaustion was beginning to tighten its grip. Eira had steadied Lyne twice already, actions taken to keep her from tumbling into the fire more than anything. Secretly, though, she welcomed the excuse to do something. The hours were growing unmanageably long.

Secretly, she also hoped that her assistance in this would help to make up for her inability to help find the way out. Outwardly, she had been aggressively defensive, but she was disappointed in herself and worried. She had heard of such occurrences in her time before joining the Hunt Society. Trackers spun tales of odd encounters, the supposed best of the best getting lost in unfamiliar lands never to return. It was becoming alarmingly apparent that there was some truth hidden in these yarns.

The thought that she could not help, that she was effectively useless in this place was causing her to shake. She knew the others resented her. They wouldn’t say it outright, but Meridia’s silence carried a severity and blame. Lyne was all over, but she’s always like that. Eira could sense hostility radiating out of her though.

The shaking was getting worse. She could feel it in her legs. Meridia even lifted her head, face finally visible under the wide brim, staring at Eira. “Eira…”

“I’m fine,” she cut off the hyur before anything could go further. She especially didn’t want them to know just how frightened she really was.

“Okay… but the-”

Meridia was cutoff again, but this time it wasn’t Eira’s reply, but a dull thud followed by a rumble. The branches overhead rustled and settled as the ground below them tremored. Eira hadn’t been shaking. Something big was coming.

Eira raised a finger to her lips, then slowly grasped Lyne’s shoulder, gently jostling her. She had drifted off again. She would have yelped had Eira’s hand not shifted to cover her mouth as her eyes began to flutter open. Lyne nodded in understanding and Eira released her grip.

“We need to smother this,” Eira stated in a low, steady tone, gesturing to the fire. It was smaller now than it had been earlier, but it was still a dead giveaway to whatever was making its way towards them. The thuds were getting louder.

Eira began shoving dirt onto the flames, and the others followed suit, a frantic shuffling to snuff out the light that had until recently acted as a protection from the creatures in the woods. It was strange to all of them to find comfort in the dark. However, it was short-lived as the thudding grew louder still.

The three started to get low to the ground, lessening their presence. As they lay in the dirt, the rumbling suddenly stopped. For a few moments, they all held their breath, trying to keep anything from giving them away.

Perhaps the fire was lit too long, a beacon showing the world life was there. Perhaps it was their scent, wafting into the air for any creature to follow. Whatever it was, the thing had found them, and as the trees splintered apart as it broke through, all of them rolled as best they could to safety.

Arming themselves as they sprung up, the trio was as ready as they ever would be. A guttural roar bellowed out from the darkness and following it, a cough and two powerful strides thumped towards them. They could make out a long arm setting something down. Lyne, her eyes more suited to the dark, could just make it out. “It’s a lantern,” she whispered.

Her revelation to the others was unnecessary, though, as it turned on just a moment later. Before them, a troll meticulously flipped through papers in its briefcase. It wore business attire, accessorized with an expensive watch and horned glasses. It stopped at a page, coughed again into its sleeve, then pulled it out and peered through the frames at the group.

“Meridia, Lyne, and Eira, I presume?” The soft voice was almost as much of a shock as the appearance of the troll. The hunters lowered their weapons and looked at each other, then back at the troll.

“Yes,” Meridia replied, “that’s right… How do you know that?”

“I have been looking for you three all afternoon. My law firm has been tasked with putting an end to your little intellectual rip-off.” Meridia looked back dumbfounded. Eira and Lyne just shrugged at each other.

“W-what? What do you mean?” Meridia started with a stumble, but her words sharpened as she went.

“My client is very unhappy with your organization,” the troll retorted, matter-of-factly. “As I told Ellie this morning, you all need to stop activities immediately and disband. Otherwise, you will be subject to further legal action.”

“Legal action?” Eira scoffed. “You’re threatening us with legal action?”

Lyne chimed in as well. “You can’t just do that you giant geek!”

The troll’s long arm extended forth with the paper, stopping in front of Meridia. “Actually, we can. I think you will find my client has quite a solid case. I’ll give you a moment to read it over.”

The troll waved the paper, tauntingly for a moment before Meridia took it. She squinted at it then moved to get a better angle from the lantern. Lyne was getting anxious and couldn’t hold back. “Well?! What does it say??”

“The troll is right…” Meridia’s arm dropped, the paper following to her side. “We have to stop.”

“What? No way!” Lyne snatched it and began reading out loud. “Dear Hunt Society, It has come to our attention that blah blah blah… which bears significant resemblance to our copyrighted yadda yadda yadda… Failure to comply with this demand will leave us with no choice but to pursue legal action to protect our intellectual property rights?! What property rights?! We’re just hunters that hunt monsters!”

“Precisely.” The troll’s response was bright for being so cold. “Now, if you wouldn’t mind, we should head back to your Gathering Hub so we can formalize things. Ellie is already there with my associates, waiting to sign. We just need you three present and to return your equipment.”

And without another word in protest, they were led out, back to the Hunt Society. The papers were signed, and the Hunt Society disbanded, for all time, never to rise from the ashes of their shame and humiliation.

~Fin