"It's over there." Nocturnis trotted forward, following his Master's shadow energy. They had entered the forest, again, and were now wondering down a rough slope. The trail of shadows was mixed with blood and sporadic hoove prints.
"It's this way." Arin motioned to Rolan. He carefully moved down the path while Nocturnis moved ahead of them.
"A Beast and his Beastlord are keeping up with the elusive Great-Elk. I didn't think we would be able to keep up with it after we spooked it but here we are still on the trail." Rolan commented.
The three slid down to the bottom. Arin looked behind him, taking note of the hill and returned his focus onto the path ahead of them. The shadow energy seemed to be infusing itself with the Great-Elk's blood the longer they went on.
"Noct, is it normal for shadow energy to mix with blood?" Arin asked.
"It normally doesn't, but seeing as it is mixing, that must mean the Great-Elk is being affected by the Shadow energy. Let's continue to follow it!" Nocturnis replied.
Arin nodded and moved faster while Nocturnis sped up.
The three followed the trail until they hit a large serene lake. In the heart of Eldergrove Forest was said to be a sanctuary where Beasts came to rejuvenate themselves - the Pools of Calia. The Pools was a small pool of mystical water that was said to heal any injury and it seemed like they had found their elusive Beast collapsed inches away from the water, trying to take a sip of it.
"The Pools of Calia?" Rolan whispered. "Could this be it?"
"Mr. Rolan, take the shot." Arin stepped off to the side. "You wanted abundance and luck, right? I can feast on your hunt and gain the effects of vitality that's said to come from it."
Rolan sighed and pulled his bull out. He began to notch the arrow but something stopped him.
"I can't do it." He plucked the spear out of Arin's hand and pushed the bow and arrow into Arin's. "We only came this far because of you. What kind of Scout would I be if I took someone else's hunt?"
"Are you sure?"
"Hurry up before it sips from the pond and heals. Who knows if those stories are true?" Rolan hissed quietly.
Arin shook his head, understanding Rolan's words and notched the arrow and lifted the bow up. He pulled the drawstring back and aimed for the Great-Elk's head. He would end the Beast's suffering in one last effort.
Here, Rolan didn't pay attention to the Great-Elk, but to Arin. He watched shadows coalesce around him and infuse the bow and arrow. Arin's eyes turned yellow like Nocturnis's and although Rolan could see Arin, it felt like he had lost Arin's presence almost completely!
Arin let the arrow sail and fly straight into the Great-Elk's head as its tongue started to lap the water. It's wound started to heal, but was quickly ended as the arrow flew straight through its head, spilling blood into the pool and ending the Great-Elk's life.
[Great-Elk has been slain! Due to the stories centered around the Beast, first-time XP has been given! 1,000 XP has been added!]
[Level 5 > 7: 2,200/2,700!]
[+2 Stat Points!]
[Skill Unlock: Fortune of the Wilds: Increases luck slightly, possibly affecting loot drops or chance of favorable outcomes in random encounters.]
"OH, I DID IT!" Arin jumped in the air. He turned to Rolan, happily jumping and tackling the scout with a hug. "I DID IT! I KILLED THE GREAT-ELK!" He pulled away and handed Rolan's bow to him. "Thank you for letting me take the shot! I didn't think I would ever get to hunt a Great-Elk nor get the kill on one!"
He scampered over to the Great-Elk with Nocturnis. The small pool of blood in the water, quickly faded away as Arin studied the Great-Elk. It was a large Beast with magnificent horns.
"How much would those horns sell for?" Arin asked as Rolan moved over.
"Let's move this out of the water." Rolan motioned. The two men pulled the large Beast away from the water and studied the Beast. "Hm, you did a fine job, kid. Not too much damage to the Great-Elk. It'll serve as a wonderful meal for the next couple of weeks. We'll need to move this thing back to Tessa. She'll freak out when she see's this!"
—
"By Ferrowilde, that's a large Beast!" Tessa covered her mouth as Arin and Rolan set the Great-Elk down. "What kind of Beast is this? It seems to be either a deer or an Elk - something of that nature."
"You've been wanting this ever since I told you I saw one the other day!" Rolan barked. Tessa's face lit up.
"No way!"
"You think I would ignore your request? I've been searching for this damn thing for over a week and this kid managed to snag it in two shots!"
"You were the one who killed it, Arin?!?" Tessa gasped. She was filled with excitement and shock.
"Y-yeah. The first shot allowed Nocturnis and I to track it and the second shot I managed to kill it. Mr. Rolan's actually nice and let me—"
"Yeah, yeah, yeah! We struggled to bring it here and night will be here soon!" Rolan threw his bag down and pulled the skinning knife off his belt. He turned to Arin and pointed at him to help him. "Let's see your skinning and butchering skills since you're from Thornwood!"
"I'll get the fire ready!" Tessa stuck her hand up and turned to grab some logs from the stack of wood in the corner.
Arin set his spear against the wall and knelt down. Rolan handed the knife over to him and watched as Arin made work of the Great-elk.
Rolan's expectations were higher than he would like to admit when it came to Arin. While he excelled at hunting and tracking with his Shadow Panther, he absolutely sucked at skinning and butchering!
"Let me take over!" Rolan nudged Arin out of the way, grabbing the knife and working with Arin's horrible work. Arin pulled away, awkwardly laughing as he glanced at the blood on his hands. He watched as Rolan meticulously carved, skinned and butchered the Great-Elk with ease.
"Unfortunately, this is the one area I don't have experience in because I was never put on the Hunting team." Arin said.
"Here, let's wash your hands." Tessa motioned. Arin stood up and moved over to Tessa who conjured some water and washed Arin's hands with ease.
"What magical attributes do you have, Miss Tessa?" Arin asked.
"Oh, no need for formalities. You can just call me Tessa." Tessa pointed her finger at the unlit campfire and shot a small flame out, igniting the wood. "I have Stone, Flame and Aqua. I'm unable to use Gust. My specialty is potions, so the Elements I do have are very handy for someone in my field."
"Oh, you're an alchemist?"
"Mmhmm. I specialize in medicinal potions. Healing potions, ailments, I'm your gal." Tessa smiled, sitting down.
"How long have you been doing this?" Arin asked, sitting on the other chair.
"Since I was… sixteen? I left home when I got my Class as a Mage and decided to specialize towards becoming an Alchemist. I studied underneath an Alchemist in a larger town not far from mine. She taught me all I know and I've since wandered place to place, helping wherever I can. Along the way, I bumped into Rollie and we've been stuck together since."
"Stop calling me, Rollie! It's embarrassing!" Rolan shouted. Tessa chuckled and stood up. "Are you done with the parts we'll use today?"
"Yeah, I'll give you these since it's so hot. Make something simple and nice with some stuff I found in the forest while foraging. We can make a salad and a nice piece of cooked meat to go with it."
"Alright, I'll get started. Arin, you want to help me prepare the meat and cook it?" Tessa asked.
"Sure!"
With Tessa's guidance, Arin helped Tessa make dinner while Rolan finished butchering and packing away the extra meat. He managed to save some of the elk's hide to turn into leather later. By the time Rolan was almost finished, dinner was done.
The three gathered around the table with clean hands and began to dig into the food. Arin's eyes lit up at the first bite of the salad.
"I can't believe you managed to forage all of these while we were hunting the Great-Elk!" Arin complimented the seasoned hunter.
"I'm excited to try some Great-Elk meat! I wonder if it'll give you a vitality boost like people have said." Tessa cut a piece of the seared meat and lifted it up and took a bite. Rolan and Arin watched in anticipation and her face lit up. "It's so good!"
With that, Arin took a bite and felt himself energized. The three ate and chatted, finishing their meal with a surprise waiting for Arin at the end.
[Eating the meat of a Great-Elk has increased your vitality! +10 to Endurance!]
[Trait Unlocked: Resilient Spirit - Passive skill - Grants +5% to stamina regeneration!]