A piece of thought from Aristotle swirled in Bave's head whilst he was galloping into the piercing veil of arrows. 'Proper Function'*, that was the chapter he remembered it by when he attended his philosophy classes back at school.
Take a shepherd, how one could tell it was a bad or a good shepherd? If one said that a good pen was one which fulfilled its duty of writing, and a bad pen was one which did not write – it was pretty simple.
A good shepherd cared and looked after his flock, reared the sheep, and fulfilled his duty of a herdsman, opposite to a bad one who neglected and beat the flock.
Bave always wondered about his 'proper function' as a captain. Besides, he was not one to boast but many knew him by the title – 'The Inviolable One'.
Lords and kings from all over the world wanted to hire Bave as a personal guard or appoint him as an army general. After all, he was the best captain the Association Hunters Bar had.
However, in the small hours of the night or in the ear-deafening clashes of swords in battles, when no one looked, Bave always wondered what distinguished a good leader from bad one?
An arrow flew close enough and scraped his left cheek. A thin trail of blood slid down to his defined jawline. Rather than worrying if the arrow tip was poisonous, Bave was still bothered by his choice to leave his teammates.
What if the real danger was beyond the river and their captain was not there when they needed him the most? He grumbled and deterred another arrow with the swing of his sword. Maybe his choice to bring additional horses was wrong after all?
Rather than acting as an auxiliary, it became an obstacle. An obstacle he dumped on Kal and Koh, nonetheless!
He flexed his right arm and pulled the bridle as he directed the horse to take another turn. Should he abandon the horse? If he did, he could hide and later whistle-call his stallion.
However, what if they killed the horse just to void him off of "quick legs" and trapped him in here? Moreover, the attacks so far were consistent and distance-ranged. Was the enemy a pack of archers?
It was hard to fight them but not impossible. Bave just had to find a way to bring them out in the light but unfortunately, he had just a few daggers he could try his luck with.
It was not a guarantee it could gain him the upper hand even if the enemy revealed himself. In fact, he was pretty sure that it wouldn't work. But what could he do when he was outnumbered?
To the hell with all the stories about what splendid of a captain he was! He was too tired to carry the title as if people expected him to become a sort of general in the future and some even cracked the joke a bit too often.
His left hand gripped tighter around the handle of his sword as he cut through some low-leveled branches that otherwise would whip through his face.
The young hunter noticed a shadow jumping from a tree to another – the arrows offense also dropped in frequency which made him wonder if that wasn't the foe's captain who was re-positioning.
Then again, it could be anyone. Just like how Kal took over Bave's rank upon command, or in any dire situation that required so. Despite having no solid proof, and no plan in place, the young man pulled the horse bridle and directed it in a gallop after the jumping shadow-figure.
If two predators were hunting each other – they had to be equal in every way. The slightest hesitation would turn either one into a prey.
Bave knew the basic law of how hunting worked and he was pretty sure that whoever was hunting him right now, was trying to become his equal. However, it made him clench his jaw – anger was drumming in his chest.
Him? Hunted? What a joke!
If he were hunted here, his teammates would be next. God knew what stories could be fabricated if they were left alive. From conspiracy trash stories to even being executed in accusation for his murder.
As if he would let his men die!
The captain pride, although he often refused to accept it or show it, took a hold of him. What a failure would he be, if a bunch of archers hunted him down! The male withdrew his sword, instead, he uncovered his daggers that were neatly aligned against his belt.
Bave's sharp eyes followed the silhouette as it skillfully led the hunter into a narrow pathway with no clear pattern of rows and columns of trees. Every trunk was at random! This part of the forest hardly allowed the horse to run, so Bave was forced to slow down.
The arrows have by now ceased the offense, but instead, an eerie silence took over.
What were they waiting for? He halted, it was easy to send an arrow or two and take him down. The man started to catch up – were they trying to actually capture him alive?
How cheeky! He chuckled low; the adrenaline pumped into his bloodstream.
"How much?", his voice broke the silence, "How much am I worth?"
His question referred to the price they were to be paid if they successfully hunted him. Moreover, he was still not sure whether his enemy was sent from the Association Bar or was a privately hired group that used the Association Bar logo as a way to deceive the trio.
Moreover, he was not sure whether they did it on purpose or it has been a pure coincidence. However, if it was on purpose, they knew that such a strategy was used by hunters from the Association to hunt their own. Which meant that there has been an insider involved.
"Surrender yourself!", a deep voice echoed through the woods.
Surrender? They must have been joking. If they got paid for this, they had to work for it. Bave was not going to drop on the ground that easily.
His keen hearing sense knew the direction which the voice came from, and judging by the echoing – the man could not have been further than five-hundred meters away. That was not so far but he could not use his dagger yet.
Could he stall it and make them approach slowly by thinking he was bluffing? The bluff was to let them know he was bluffing and not dangerous at all. That was quite the concept, he thought.
He relaxed his shoulders and lifted his chin slightly up. The wound on his cheek had been bleeding for the longest time – they surely had mixed some herbs and dubbed the arrow tip in it.
The scratch wasn't that deep, so it had to stop bleeding by now – unless the herbs were preventing his blood from clotting. The young man was thankful that he was spared from being poisoned but wasn't that happy that a drug was used nonetheless.
"Surrender? I believe I am outnumbered and you don't have to ask me to surrender….Unless you all are distance-ranged fighters. What? Afraid to approach me?", Bave cracked a half-honest joke.
He hasn't thought of it before he actually said it. Could they really be just archers? If it were so, he couldn't think of any guild from the Association Bar that was purely made of archers. Besides, archers did not usually engage in 'hunt your own' missions.
It was in a way a precaution from the Association side. One couldn't imagine what would happen if an archer decided to ditch that mission. Distance-ranged hunters were not fit to be included for SS-rank missions. They usually went after B-rank or A-rank ones.
His arrogant remark was punished with an arrow shot right next to his horse and it startled the animal. The stallion stood on its back legs and it nearly threw Bave off.
The hunter lost balance briefly but his hands flexed to hold firm. Thank god he had his sword sheathed. If his hands were occupied, he'd surely have fallen off.
"Arrogant as ever!", the voice echoed once again, "Just give in, Ver! Your teammates are probably captured by now."
The man sounded convincing and even more by using Bave's first name. The hunter glanced from side to side.
The area looked clear although the trees barred the land and it was obvious that however they have been hiding was thanks to the advantages of the forest – the trees and shadows. The young captain's expression changed. It was a well-executed mission, he had to admit.
However, he knew better.