Category Archives: Hunter’s Lament

Victra glared across the room at the woman in the cage. She was too confident, too unbothered. She had mocked them, goading the others, goading her. It had to be a front, a facade she put on. It had to be.The conversation in the room grew heated, emotions rising. Victra blocked out the words, Murmur’sContinue reading “Epilogue”

Freedom. It washed over Heath like a river. He ran, feet silently carrying him down the cobblestone streets as the shadows streaked past him. Streetlamps cast long shadows, but he felt as though he could outrun the light. Heavy footfalls echoed behind him, his pursuers following through the night. Heath ran on, wrenching on his ownContinue reading “Chapter 30: Interwoven Threads”

Guild City of Aleria, Valir 24th of Enedron, Year 457 of the Fourth Age, Harvest Moon Heath didn’t sleep. When dawn finally broke, he rose from his bed and looked around his small room. The chair overturned. Scattered equipment. Discarded clothes on the ground. His dagger embedded in the wall. He sighed, and carefully set aboutContinue reading “Chapter 29: The Heist”

Heath barely slept, and what sleep he did muster was restless and troubled. He rose early, exhausted and emotionally drained. He sat on the edge of his bed, the crush of emotions from the previous day nearly paralyzing him. His anger had retreated, coiling deep until it was little more than a simmering coal. ThereContinue reading “Chapter 28: The Contest of Guilds, Day 2”

Heath woke before dawn, the hint of the sunrise peeking over the distant rooftops. He grunted, pulling himself upright and rubbing sleep from his face. He frowned, then stood and made his way to the stairs.The tavern downstairs was empty, the last patron having been escorted out hours before. Mo looked up from behind theContinue reading “Chapter 27: The Contest of Guilds, Day 1”

The party reached Aleria the following day as night fell. The others had all given in to better spirits despite the bloody melee of the day prior. Nambu was clearly more at peace following what he had referred to as a “balancing of the scales.” The sun was out and the day was warm, furtherContinue reading “Chapter 26: The Breath Before the Plunge”

The low rumble in the distance promised a summer storm. Heath kept his head down, his hood shading his face as he walked through the crowded streets as the lingering traces of the sunset slowly faded into the shadow of evening. Aleria had a different feel as its night life roused, especially during the warmContinue reading “Chapter 25: An Unpaid Debt”

As the days stretched, Heath found himself working even more closely with Kriv. While they both recognized they would likely never be friends, there was a mutual understanding that they could accomplish much more when they trusted each other and worked together. As was becoming more common, Heath and Kriv were coordinating their plans atContinue reading “Chapter 24: Roles and Goals”

The walk back to the mountain path was longer and more arduous, the weariness in Heath’s limbs and falling rain pushing him to move cautiously, though the fury of the storm had blown past. He reached the split where he had diverged from the others, looking up the wide trail to see them slowly approaching. FromContinue reading “Chapter 23: A Return to Aleria”

Heath stood idly patting his mare in the cool morning air as he waited outside the guildhall. The gates were open, and through the courtyard and in the street the others set about preparing themselves for their journey. Even as the morning sun broke the horizon and began to warm the city, a shadow hungContinue reading “Chapter 22: The Apex”