The Primal Hunter

Sultan stood in the old ruins of what had once been Ambermill as he looked at the departing former citizens. Four large barges able to accommodate every person had been brought from the Fort and would help transport them all back to the settlement.

He had been asked by Miranda to go to Ambermill together with a crew of others to handle the situation. She had heard slavery was going on, and people had been forced into contracts, so she wanted someone with knowledge of slave contracts to go and hopefully help annul those already signed as well as track down potential leads. The first one he had gladly done, but the second job was a bit more… complicated.

“I did tell that idiot this was too close to Haven,” Sultan smirked as he shook his head. He had known about the operations going on in Ambermill for quite a while but had naturally kept quiet. It wasn’t anything that affected him, and he had already left the entire slave-trading scene for good. That didn’t mean others had, though.

As he stood there alone, a person slowly became visible as he exited the shadow of a nearby house. “Libra took it too far, attempting to take advantage of the gap in the market left by Haven and Sanctdomo, both cracking down on slavery. I do agree it was wise to take him down a peg.”

The shadowy figure soon became fully visible. He wore a dark cloak and was enveloped by shadow magic Sultan naturally recognized.

“I am surprised the Court of Shadows didn’t try to defend one of their clients,” Sultan said with a teasing smile.

“We are by giving him the advice to not fuck with this area and hiding all evidence of Libra’s involvement in this shithole,” the assassin sneered. “The other constellations have already requested an emergency meeting. Have you been informed?”

Sultan nodded. “Naturally.”

“Great, then my job here is done. Now for my pay,” the assassin turned instigator of town destruction said with a smile.

Returning his smile, Sultan transferred the sum as per the contract for a job well done.

If Carmen had been there, she would have recognized the cloaked man as the same police officer that had brought her to the town hall. The same man who had coincidentally chosen a house right outside the motel Carmen was staying in as a great place to round up potential slaves and the person who had “screened” Carmen as being part of the slums.

Sultan had predicted Carmen to raise a ruckus, but it had become a bigger issue than expected, more or less leading to the end of the entire town of Ambermill. It wasn’t really a big deal, though, as with the biggest asset of the town destroyed – the mill – it held no value anymore.

However, more importantly… he managed to toss out a competitor from his very own backyard and, if things went well, possibly get rid of him entirely in the near future.

“Pleasure doing business with you as always,” the assassin said as he slowly faded back into the shadows, his presence disappearing entirely.

Sultan summoned his small black book and circled a name in it as he nodded. With his work done, he summoned his ship to travel back to Haven – after a little detour and a covert meeting, of course.

“Do you seriously just do that every time?” Carmen asked Jake as the two were running leisurely through the plains. They had already returned to Haven, teleported a few times, and were now running from a small-ish Pylon city with a teleporter in it. It was the settlement closest to the port city, and thus they had to run the rest of the way.

The problem was that Carmen kept giving Jake grief over Miranda’s response. When they returned to Haven, Jake, Sylphie, Miranda, and Carmen had met up briefly for them to exchange greetings and for Jake and Carmen to explain the situation in Ambermill more in-depth.

Carmen found it hilarious how little Miranda seemed to actually care or be surprised. Miranda had then made it worse by telling her about all the times Jake had forgotten things, been late or nearly late to events, and how he just kept doing unpredictable stuff. Case-in-point when they went and said hello to Rick because Carmen really wanted to know if they were just pulling her leg when they talked about the “troll gardener.”

What was so weird about a troll gardener?

“Ree?” Sylphie asked with a confused screech, coming in with the clutch assist.

“As Sylphie said, I wasn’t the one who did anything this time. You did,” Jake shot back.

“She did not say that.”

“Ree!” Sylphie huffed.

Carmen looked at the bird. “Touche. How the hell do you even understand Sylphie? Like, I can get general intent and stuff, but not anything even halfway complex.”

I went to college. Damn those unrelated electives,” Jake

actual thing,” Carmen scoffed. “But seriously, how? We both got that language translation skill, but I don’t think it translates anything

Jake shrugged. “It helps when you spend a lot of time around the other person. Sylphie and I also have a weird contract and a connection of sorts due

looked sharply at Jake. “What kind

she was thinking about. Beast tamers – which Valhal had plenty of – used contracts or forced bonds to pretty much enslave beasts to use them in armies. Not that some beasts didn’t also willingly join these tamers, but the fact that

and it wasn’t even me who initiated it but Sylphie,”

happily flapped her wings and circled around the two running

sighed in

not surpassed him in level as he had thought. She was level 153, seven levels below himself, and the explanation for this was the same as his: she was consolidating her

– something she still did. She said that she had to take a

did mean Sylphie was the highest-leveled among them, and damn did she flex it. She flew around them in circles as she made noises to taunt them, and she sometimes sped ahead and then laid down on the ground pretending to be asleep until they caught up. All juvenile things that

now exceeded Jake’s

long-distance movement skills to travel with. Flying up in the air also wouldn’t be faster

with a tailwind and a refreshing breeze blessed their

came to one of the areas marked with orange and a P. Orange meant there were high-tier D-grades, and the P meant the

to ask, do you have a full key for that Seat of the Exalted Prima thing and the system event?” Jake asked Carmen as they took a small break before

and seemed oddly reluctant to talk

quickly caught on.

of his party died, and he was in shit condition. He would have no chance to get three fragments by himself, and I had easily gotten my key, so

focus on getting another one?”

head. “It just isn’t that important

eyebrow as he looked at her.

“Why

It seems we are going for four, so it may get a bit tight

about getting a key,” Carmen

Why are you afraid of the

not fucking afraid. I just don’t need

I will sure participate anyway for whatever rewards it may

I fucked up my life already and how I could have been way smarter

her and thought for a bid before he just shrugged. “You like

she said,

for choosing to use a bow, but I like my bow, so that event can fuck right off. I will instead just use

early C-grade if you even manage to evolve,” Carmen shook her

know Valdemar, right?”

purposefully being an asshole,” Carmen said, glaring

stuff, but he still ended up reaching godhood in a time where it was far harder than now. All he had

a glare. “Valdemar was a warlord who managed to lead countless battles and dictated the rise and fall of entire intergalactic empires. He was a hero who managed to unite the enlightened races and brought them recognition in a

dude who likes to

trying to

few moments. Jake

“What happened?” Jake asked.

were right on the money,”

Jake just said triumphantly. “So just do

like the god who had blessed Carmen – Gudrun – spoke to her again as she stood there with a blank stare. Jake saw a faint hint of gold in Carmen’s eyes and noticed