Chapter 3: Chapter 3. Captured

Three people were striding through the Great Forest. One of them had a stout figure, whose half face was hidden behind his overgrown beard, and other one was lean but looked sharp as a sheathed knife. The third member of the group was not even twenty years of age, sprouting early buds of mustache. All of them had bows on hand, loaded with arrows and the remaining projectiles in the quivers on their backs.

"If we find a boar or a barghest, I'll be the one to deal with it. A nice training dummy for my first hunt. How about that?" The youngest one, Solan, said energetically, looking at the other two.

It was true. His parents were very affectionate of him and didn't want to send their child to hunting from early age like other families tended to. After all, there were cases even older and experienced hunters would fall upon accidents. Some were killed by wild animals and others by monsters that were stronger and smarter than ordinary beasts. And now his parents finally allowed him to go, he couldn't wait to prove himself.

His maturity wasn't the only reason that was preventing him from his potential glory. It wasn't the preys that would buy him fame either. Taking down monsters and extracting their precious cores at the very least was more suitable to his worth.

The reason was him being a mana user, warrior type. Very few houses produced capable warriors in this edge region of the Empire. For this cause, if he were to get killed, it wouldn't be just his family who would mourn, it would be a loss to the town as well. He could boost his strength and speed using mana, but not being able to control it in an adequate level, that would be risky to use this power. Getting crippled was easy matter if one didn't have decent control of mana. Therefore, he had waited until he learned how to use it properly, before testing his ability in real life.

"If a boar appears, you can try your luck, but a barghest is a little early for you yet," Said Randel. He was a mana user hunter too, but he couldn't strengthen his body, he could increase his vision and hearing using mana.

"Don't worry, Ran, it's just a barghest, the kid can handle it, trust me. We stand ready in case something happens, so no problem," Handor said, who taught him what he knew about mana control. He was the same as Solan.

Randel wouldn't have protested if he were to simply shoot a boar with an arrow. Solan's goal was to try his strength in a real situation, in which had the possibility of peril. He didn’t believe he would get a fatal injury, not when he was with these two, which were among the best hunters in the town. Though they were far below compared to town guards and soldiers, they were at least capable of protecting him and themselves even if they encountered a pack of wild beasts.

Randel took a look at his friend, but continued on his path, said nothing. After a few minutes passed, he stopped abruptly and stood still, motioning the others to halt as well. They trusted his instincts without a question and waited to be informed what was ahead of them.

"Two deer, behind them a barghest, running to our direction," He said, not severing his sight from the forthcoming creatures.

"Solan, you with me. Take one side of this rope and wait behind that large tree. Ran, you stay further behind, shoot the two deer when they fall, leave the monster to us." Randel nodded at Handor and disappeared to the ordered direction.

They didn't have to wait long; sounds of hooves were heard moments later, fast approaching. The passageway they had chosen was clear of bushes, so the likelihood of the deer would cross this path was considerably high. If they wouldn't, they had their bows ready. This at least should be enough to aggravate the monster.

"Wait for my signal," Handor said in a low voice to Solan, who nodded.

The two beasts were very close when Handor slowly lifted his one hand. Solan risked a peek behind the tree. They were running very fast. He was seeing a living barghest for the first time, therefore, he was nervous about the confrontation. But when the deer almost crossed the intended past, he thought it was the right moment and lifted the rope, causing the deer fall hard and roll on the ground. They pulled along the rope with them, causing him stumble and fall on his butt. He swiftly bounced on his feet and hid behind the tree again, hoping the monster didn't notice him. It did not, and darted straightly to the deer.

Before the barghest reached the deer, two arrows promptly quieted the animals that were struggling to get up, leaving the monster alone. It turned behind halfway and stared at Solan and Handor, causing the young man to tense up. Yet, when his eyes met with the monster's, he saw surprise and fear in them. It was not regarding them as preys, but hunters. This made him feel braver, and he readied himself in case the beast turned the tail.

"How big it is. Be careful. It looks even smarter than the others I have seen," Handor warned him. "We'll do this together. Let me give you some live training."

Solan nodded and put down his bow carefully, and unsheathed his dagger, preparing to kill his first monster using his mana. However, when they took two steps ahead, something happened that no one could've expected.

The barghest's body started shrinking, its skin changing color from dark grey to humanoid orange. Not only the skin, its frame was taking a humanoid shape as well. Its snout diminished to reveal a row of human teeth that were later covered with pale red lips with sickeningly rapid speed. Its reddish black eyes turned into pure dark color. Front paws twisted and became a pair of scrawny arms. In a few seconds, there appeared a naked male human.

The man was around twenty years of age to Solan’s estimation, maybe a little older. With dark hair and black eyes, along with fair skin complexion, he might be from The Empire. Solan stood there dumbfounded, having no idea what to do next when he heard Handor's whisper, saying 'a shapeshifter'.

A shapeshifter!

He had heard of them, of course. But he had also heard that they would rarely change in front of a stranger. Not because they were shy, but they would try to hide their original appearance. Many people said they were normally spies or assassins, and he had caught some rumors that there were some of them served as prostitutes in big cities.

Now, a shapeshifter was standing right in front of their eyes, naked and defenseless. It was unbelievable.

"Do something crazy and this arrow will be in your head," warned Randel, who was standing on the other side of the man. "It moves much faster than you do."

It was certainly a bluff. Shapeshifters could strengthen their physical abilities much better than ordinary inner magic users. His mere speed should be enough to escape from them unharmed. All needed was to be a little agile to dodge their arrows. At least Solan thought so when the shapeshifter slowly, very slowly lifted his arms and kneeled down.

The other two hunters were confounded by the man's action as well, but quickly became even more alert, assuming it might be a ruse to make them let their guard down.

"What purpose do you have to come here? Are you from the Azure Kingdom?" Hander inquired him.

The man didn't respond. Instead, he squinted at Handor with a confused and puzzled expression. After a little time of pondering, he started speaking. Then the problem became apparent. He spoke in a totally different and unfamiliar language that none of them had heard before. Solan glanced at his fellow hunters, but both of them had perplexed expressions on their faces.

Randel tried a few words he knew in other languages, but to no avail. Of course, the man could be just faking it, pretending as if he had no idea of what they were talking. In truth he could be perfectly aware of everything but in order eavesdrop their conversation, he might be playing dumb. However, they were stunned again after Handor carefully approached the shapeshifter with his net and tied him up. It couldn’t be a fake. Who would become a captive when he was a means to escape or attack?

"Solan, keep him in place with your bow. I need to discuss this with Ran," Handor said, his eyes on the shapeshifter. Solan woke up from his stupor and nodded to his mentor. He picked up his bow to load an arrow tightly, and stood even more vigilant as he tried to look threatening.

They walked several meters away, but not too far, in case they were needed. Their voices were too low to be heard as they kept glancing at the direction of their captive. The naked man didn’t as much stir under the direct supervision. The gnashing sound of the taut string of the bow made not to move an inch. A few minutes after, the two of his fellows came back, their faces, especially Handor's, showing some delight and greed.

"Solan, we are going to our secret place in the woods. You will tell no one about that afterwards, understood? Not the place," Handor glimpsed meaningfully to the tethered man. Solan nodded to him. "Good. Then I will go visit someone after that. You wait there with Ran."

"What about him?" Solan whispered.

"Don't worry. Just wait and be watchful of him. Your first hunt is going to be very beneficial to us," he responded with a chortle.

After that, the four of them set out. One deer was left behind, since it would be just hindrance, the other one was forced onto their captive's back.

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Two young women were standing on one side of the room, near the wall. They were meekly staring at the floor, silently avoiding the gaze of a woman sitting at a finely adorned table at the center of the room. Behind the woman stood guard a young man with a long sword on his hip. From the way the woman behaved herself freely despite his fierce demeanor, it seemed he was quite loyal to her.

The other women were dressed in identical navy blue attires. Although there were features on their faces and body that could be distinguishable from one another, provided that they were to use some make up and whatnot, they would look like twins.

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The woman sitting at the table was called Tsilonee. She seemed barely above thirty, though she was in control of the brothel they were currently in and was the highest-level prostitute at that. The two women standing were fledglings at this line of work. They were hidden jewels of their business she was currently nurturing. It hadn't been long since they were brought here, but because of her instructions to take special care of them, they were now barely identifiable from an actual woman of the brothel in behavior. However, they weren't presented to any guests so far, since there were other more important assignments for the two.

"Lina, by the end of this month, you will be sent to the fortress as a maid to lord Geelim," said Tsilonee to one of the women. "Don't forget what you were taught. Try to get to know other servants, cooks, guards of the place and other people who work there. But don't attract unnecessary attention."

"Yes, ma'am," the woman bowed her head slowly, expressing her obedience and high regard.

Next, Tsilonee faced the next woman. "You remain here and continue what you have been doing. After Lina leaves, you mustn't be seen by anyone else except the people in this room. No one can know you ever existed. Understood?"

"Yes, ma'am," the second woman said, in an exactly similar manner as the previous one.

"Until then-" the madam started, but was cut off by a knock on the door.

She frowned and glanced at her guard, who promptly got to the door to know what important matter it could be to interrupt them when they were informed not to. There stood a servant of the brothel, seemingly slightly in fear of the possibility of punishment.

"What happened?" inquired the guard.

"A hunter named Handor wanted to tell madam Tsilonee that he had something she would really want to buy, and is currently waiting in the lounge," the servant reported nervously.

The guard looked back at the woman inside, and after receiving a nod from her, he waved the servant away and closed the door.

"You two, cover your faces and go to your rooms," Tsilonee ordered the two women. She had to be careful from exposing what she had really been doing, otherwise, the higher-ups' instructions that were given to her would be for naught, along with her own plans. Although they hadn't yet fulfilled their promise, she had no other choice but comply.

"He must have encountered a pirate," the guard said once the two women left the room.

"Pirates of the woods can't come this far out of the Great Forest. Could be a slave escaped from her owner," she encountered with her own supposition.

"These days slaves rarely run away from their owners.”

"Then a surprise is waiting for us," she said with a smile, rising up.

Handor the hunter was talking with one of the woman of the brothel in a seat arranged for guests, laughing with a mug in hand, when Tsilonee arrived. Seeing her arrival, he quickly stood up with an excuse and approached her.

"Madam Tsilonee, you look as beautiful as ever," he said with his husky voice.

"Oh, please call me with 'miss' at least, madam sounds like I'm old," Tsilonee said with a false hurt countenance to Handor. "Why don’t we go upstairs and have some chat."

Without wasting time in pleasantries, they went to a specific room that was intended for meetings. Since the conversation might shift into private affairs of their trade, the room was made soundproof.

"What is it that you are going to share with us, Mr. Handor? I can tell you're quite happy," the madam wondered, occupying her seat.

After they had all settled down, the hunter began talking with excitement and partly greed in his eyes.

"Well, we were in the woods, looking for a prey for Solan's first kill. Then we saw a pair of deer, actually it was Randel who saw it, and..."

The hunter recounted what happened in the forest to the woman and her guard, not missing a single detail. When they heard what Handor confronted in the forest, they looked at each other, frowning. They were understandably doubtful for that, so they gave a few questions to the hunter to verify what they just heard was indeed true. After having ensured the hunter's words were genuine, Tsilonee sat silently, contemplating what she heard.

A Shapeshifter. They were not common that you could encounter every day, especially in a remote place like this. Even if you met someone who could change their appearance or shape, they would rarely show their ability in front of other people. And Handor said it transformed from a barghest into a human. If what she knew was correct, a shapeshifter who could turn into beasts were capable of taking other human appearances too. Truly, It was too skeptical and was hardly believable, considering shapeshifters were masters of disguise. And he had just exposed himself on the open place and even let himself be captured. Was there something going on secretly around the town? Or was the hunter lying to him? It couldn't be. She had known him for some time now and could tell he was telling the truth. But more importantly, if all of that was true, she had now an opportunity she could never have otherwise.

She had to act.

"Mr. Handor, have you told anybody else about this on the way here?" Tsilonee asked finally.

"Nobody. City guards or lords would maybe give a reward or so, but I don't believe it would be more handsome than the price you could offer."

He was clearly no fool. It was probably an attempt to not get intermingled with whatever would happen if the shapeshifter's existence was to be revealed. He wanted to get rid of the trouble as quickly as possible via contacting her, but not without empty hands.

How favorable.

"All right Mr. Handor. Let's go and see him. I'll be taking him in my care. As for the reward, don't worry about it," she said and started explaining him how to lead them toward their secret place. She told him she would send one of his men with him to locate the place, and visit there herself afterwards, in order to avoid causing suspicion from other people or the town guards.

Once their discussion was over and the hunter left, pretending as if he just came here to book a room in the brothel for a night, Tsilonee and her guard were the only people present in the room.

"What is the plan?" her guard asked.

"First, let's just know who this shapeshifter is and what he is like," she replied after a few seconds of silence. "But it could be the time to make our move we have been long preparing. Maybe we can help him, and in return, take help.”

“What if it’s a trap?”

“Then I’ll leave everything to the care of my protector,” she smiled at him, looking up. “Now prepare your most trusted men. Two is enough."

He nodded and got to work to carry out the given instruction. After some time, they both left the brothel toward their destination, to meet their potential ally.

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