Belialthorn and Rota didn't eat as Belialthorn had promised, what they had was quick snacks on the way outside, they didn't get a weapon either because he wanted to see how Rota would do.
"Where are we hunting for the bounty?" Belialthorn asked, giving Rota a small distance, letting her trail behind him.
"We are going to a small sawmill at the foot of a mountain. The couple managing it hadn't turneded in for weeks now and somebody said there were some monsters sighted near here." Rota gave Thorn a weird look, why was he keeping his distance from her? She froze and flushed deeply when she got it.
She hadn't had a bath for a while now, living in the slums meant you had to choose between a meal and a bath sometimes. Rota knew which one she would always choose.
"And the monsters we are hunting?" Belialthorn navigated the flow of people leading to the gate as if he had been doing it for a while now.
Rota hurried to catch up. "I don't know, it just said they a low-level monsters."
At the gate, they were given a small disc that would guarantee their return to the city when they finished. Trees and mountains surrounded Havenbrook and that was one of the reasons why monster attacks were frequent here, and why there was lots of Hunters here too.
Havenbrook was a border town that served as a resting point for merchants going deeper into the continent, they employed Hunters to help them cross mountains and forests that stretched far.
"Sawmill, hum." Belialthorn mused. Wood was the second main source of Havenbrook's wealth and the lord of Havenbrook took his woods seriously, even have the city guards patrolling sometimes. "Are they high-level woodcutters?"
"I'm not sure," Rota said, picking her way on the rough stones of the forest and the old roots. Why was Thorn moving smoothly through all this as if his feet wasn't touching the ground.
Belialthorn doubted a high-level woodcutter would stay in Havenbrook, not when big cities would gladly accept them. Ideally, every class could be leveled and the higher you got the better the demand.
And almost every class was tied to the profession that people do, unless they were unclassified.
It didn't take long before they reached the clearing where the sawmill was located, logs lay on the ground randomly and the building itself was made of logs warped together with wires.
"Whoever was managing this place is long gone...inside a monster's stomach probably." Belialthorn looked at the blood stains on the wall, his disgust growing because he had caught the smell of the monsters.
They were Vores, filthy rat monsters the size of dogs with shaggy brown furs that ate anything their sharp fangs could break into. They were known for their breeding capability, a pair could produce hundreds of itself in a week, and there was no difference between male and female.
Belialthorn hated them because even with their population they were bad for consumption. The filth covering them is enough discouraged.
"Once we get close you will take care of the monsters," Belialthorn told Rota.
"Take care? How will I do that? I have nothing on me! No weapons." Rota looked at Belialthorn as if he was crazy, she was already regretting her decision to follow him.
Belialthorn frowned. "You choose this bounty. What are you expecting from it?"
Rota shrugged her eyes on the house where the monsters were already coming out as they heard voices. She hissed. "I did choose it! But I thought you would have a plan and not just let us rush to our death!"
"Relax, they are level 4 at most. You just have to hold them off while I kill them with my spells." Belialthorn said, already preparing his light beam spell in his mind.
"How will I hold them off?" She turned fearful eyes on Belialthorn as the Vores screamed and started running towards them.
"Are you not in the warrior class? Use your fists!" And with that, Belialthorn released his spell at the leading monster, blowing its head off its shoulder.
Individually the Vores were of no big deal but once they came together in tens or fifteens they might turn into big troubles.
They crowded together, their furs bristling as they raised towards them and Belialthorn wished he could just kill them all but he had to maintain cover, even in front of Rota.
So Belialthorn shot another light beam, it hit the Vore on its back and the sharp crack of spine breaking could be heard.
Rota started with wide eyes at the monsters, this was the first time she had seen any live monsters up close and her limbs had turned to rock. Maybe she shouldn't have been a Hunter, she thought.
Belialthorn looked at her. "You have to kill some monsters. Keep them off me!"
The Vores had gotten closer now, so Belialthorn did the only thing he knew could help her. He pushed her, hard.
Rota was jerked forward, straight into the incoming Vores, her grey eyes rounding in panic, she wanted to scream but the musty smell of the monster had filled her nose.
When the first monster got to her, she reacted with panic and without thinking. Rota bent and came up with a stone twice her fist's size, she stabbed the monster in it right in the eyes, straight through its brain.
Blood sprayed, and Rota stared at her blood covered right hand and then at the monster twitching on the ground. She grinned. They could die.
Belialthorn watched her from where he was, she was so underfed and thin, yet she possessed such strength. He blasted one of the two Vores headed for her with a light beam so she could bash in the skull of the second one.
Three Vores changed location from Belialthorn's place and headed straight for Rota, their movement swift as they dragged their tail through the ground.
They slammed into the unaware Rota sending her staggering, she screamed as she went down hard, her grip on the stone loosened and the stone rolled away.
Belialthorn cursed and expanded his spell.