Life in a new Kingdom

A few days' ride from the latest town makes good time on the journey. The brand on my neck warned me of nearby dangers that we steered cleared away. Without the brand from Vyctor, the number of encounters we could have had would be pretty high. With mostly a smooth ride by the day, it didn't prevent us from stopping whenever any suspicion of a threat occurred.

"Lukia, can you scout ahead? If you find any tracks, report back. We'll set camp for today." Gale orders us to set down and prepare the camp. We use that time appropriately, with only a few hours of daylight left. In the back of my mind, I wondered what kind of dangers we could face when we reached the mountains.

"Hey, Gale, can you help me with this?" Herk calls him over to prepare the campfire. Ivian keeps watch as Yann prepares their bedrolls. I set my spot next to where the fire would be and grabbed my bow and arrows.

A hand reaches behind me and touches my shoulder gently. Gale looks at me and speaks. "Where are you going? Lukia should be back soon."

"There might be some animals nearby. Figured we might want some meat in our stomachs this time for dinner. Our provisions barely taste anything."

"I won't stop you, but head in the same direction as Lukia. If you spot her, tell her if she still has the energy to hunt, let her accompany you. We'll take it as a sign that everything is safe here without a ruckus."

"Sounds good, Gale. I'll be heading off." String the bow across my shoulder, the last patch of forest would house the last animal we would see for some time. The sun was just vanishing from the horizon, leaving the moon to dance in the night. The chirps of insects and birds filtered the air. This far south of Heistorm was still cold; possibly, the area near the mountains is colder than others. Thankfully, the last town provided us with heavy clothes in case we needed them.

Bushes directly in front begin to rustle. With no hesitation, I kneeled down with the bow drawn and the arrow pointed at it. I let out a soft whistle to signal to Lukia if it was her. I waited for a few moments in silence. My fingers slowly ease off the string and I prepare to fire. A slow whistle bellows from the bushes, Lukia moves them out of the way and approaches gradually.

"What are you doing here?" She asked while looking around cautiously. Her hands drew her bow tight. She'd seen something that had gotten her on edge. I walked to her, looking in the opposite direction.

"I thought I would hunt something for us. Gale wanted to know if you could join as long as the area is safe. Considering the anxiety on your face, you must have found something to be worried about. So, what did you find?"

"There were tracks of small animals and maybe a larger one, but all of them led to nowhere. I followed a set of rabbit tracks, bringing me to a small spring. Deciding to quench my thirst, I found evidence of a huge creature, bi-pedal, and possibly still around. There wasn't a body, but I saw a trail of blood next to the prints. It probably has eaten some of the wildlife around here."

"How big are we talking here? Ogre sized or what?"

"Bigger. Maybe a troll or something else. I don't really want to find out, but if we figure out that it left this area, we might be alright."

"It's still around. No option but to track this creature and find out what it is."

"How do you know Caleb? The last track I found was about twenty minutes ago."

"I got a feeling that we should still be highly cautious. Running back to camp would still take time at this distance and the creature might attack us while we are resting. It is still a high risk even with a watcher on duty." The mark on my neck was hot, burning hot. This was a severe situation in front of us. Coming up with a plan on the spot wasn't easy, but it came to me the same way.

"Your instincts are good, so I'll trust them. If this thing is as big as it is, I wonder why we don't feel the vibration in the ground." Lukia had a good point. If I knew it was close, why wasn't it moving? My mind pondered at ideas and theories. Chills ran along my back at the worst thought possible.

"Lukia... Where was this spring, you said?"

"Huh? Oh, the spring? It wasn't much farther away from this spot. Maybe the east of here, a good half mile. Why?" I held my breath for a moment.

The creature we might be facing has good stealth abilities for its size. It killed, ate, and dragged its food on the ground, meaning it either has long arms or short and stubby legs. But one thing doesn't add up.

I stand back-to-back with Lukia. Her body tenses and she draws her bow in response, thinking the foe is nearby. "What is it? Is it close? Let me know what you are thinking there, Cal?"

"Was the water in the spring clear, or did it look murky? Also, what did you call me?"

"Sorry, I said it without thinking, Caleb. E-Erm, the water was clear, but it looked like it was affected by some magic of sorts."

"Did you drink the water?"

"No, I saw the prints next to the spring before I did and stopped. Then I saw the trail of blood leading to the spring but didn't enter it. I thought it wanted to drink something along with its meal." My eyes widen. Looking back to the monster manuals and facts about the creatures that roam the world. I flip through the pages of my brain until I land on the page where all the information connects...

This passage is dedicated to this specific creature, which many have perished from trying to hunt such a creature. The ones who have lived to tell its tale call it "The Stalker". A beast that lingers on two large feet and lengthy arms, it is called as such for its tendency to stalk prey with no trace of detection. For such, its size would make it impossible, but this creature has the ability to reflect the surface of its skin with anything it can properly imitate. Magic powers the skin of this creature to allow it to have muffled footsteps to the point of having almost no sound whatsoever. The Stalker is a rare creature indeed that tends to be an amalgamation of sorcery and the offspring of Hags. Their heads resemble that of a troll whose skin is torn off. Their long ears give heightened hearing. A creature of this stature poses a problem to those who have no clue of its very existence and lack the knowledge to identify it. Their bodies were born from the twisted magic of a Hag, which grants them higher intelligence and the ability to cast illusion-level spells. Such spells as bodies of clean water, foliage, and other nature related environments. If some poor soul attempts to interreact with such an illusion, it will only fall into a trap and a quick death. The Stalker tends to crush their victims in their hands or if such a case, a victim of its illusion will playfully slowly lower its jaws and attempt to swallow them whole, making their mouth stretch wide open in horrific display. We don't know much more about these things as they are rare indeed; however, if you ever face one alone, just run and hope you escape. It probably already is too late...

"LUKIA!!!" I pressed my hands into her back, pushing her down with all my might. As I recalled the information about the Stalker, the mark on my neck had grown boiling hot, warning me of the imminent danger of the horror that nearly ate us with its elongated jaws. Rolling to the side, what seemed like part of a tree moved slowly from its base.

Lukia nearly died because of the illusion of the Stalker, which set that trap for her. But since it had left evidence of its presence, she trusted her instincts and got away before it could attack. It followed her to where she met me, using its magic skin to blend perfectly into the environment, it wanted us to panic so it could trick us into not realizing the danger of it being this close to us.

Looming over sixteen feet tall and several feet wide was the Stalker. The grossly visage of its missing face and skin left nothing but nightmares in our minds. The long tongue laid out of its mouth, and its massive hands stretched out fully. The creature turned its empty sockets where the eyes should be and stared at us from the terrifying void of the abyss... The Stalker had made us its next prey...