Expanded Horizons: Beyond the Blue

The Hunt

The hunters crouched-walked through the tall grass slowly and deliberately, keeping their steps in the softest patches of dirt to minimize noise and trying not to rub against the plants as they moved. They couldn't afford to make any extra noise as they closed in on their target's supposed location. Wretches could hear extremely well, and even in the light of day, they stood to be easily killed by the creature in a head-on fight.

David moved a handful of tall grass aside and laid eyes on the target location, an abandoned manor up on the hillside, surrounded by bushes and trees that were rapidly overtaking the grounds. The doors to the manor sat wide open, large enough for just about any creature to easily come in and out as it patrolled the grounds.

David held up his hand and stopped his team as they came close. They grouped up on David's spot and huddled up, each team member looking over the grounds to figure out a plan of action.

"There it is, guys," David said. "Dimitri, you got anything by spell?"

"Nothing," Dimitri replied, holding up a scroll and pointing it at the manor. "I can't see any movement. The property isn't nullifying, is it?"

"No, it should be good for spells."

"Sir, what should we do?" Koryn asked. She looked up past the manor up onto the hillside, searching for any sign of their monster. "Do we wait?"

"We might have to," David replied. He turned to his team. "Everyone brought food?"

"Only the best," Dimitri said with a grin. Koryn shook her head with a grin. "What? Just because we are out of town working doesn't mean I can't eat well."

"You're just talking up your wife's cooking to get us to let you host a cookout," Koryn said teasingly.

"What? She makes good food."

"I won't argue," David said.

"See?" Dimitri said.

"You're a goon," Koryn said.

"Well, good thing he is, otherwise this wait would be boring," David said.

The team sat back and made small talk in their spot just outside the property perimeter as they waited for the Wretch to show up. They had pretty good intel that it would be here, from both the client and the guards who had initially investigated the property for drug runners. They spotted the Wretch right when they first arrived and panicked, scaring it into the manor, and then they ran off.

One of the wealthiest citizens of Rainier; a reclusive Piasa dragon named Mitexi; had just inherited the property and wanted to turn it into a business catering to people seeking meditative or silent retreats. The hope was to draw in Waldgeists peacefully and interact with them naturally and more frequently. While the Eradicators weren't all about seeing monsters more often, Waldgeists were harmless when unprovoked, and it could be helpful to the city.

After several hours of sitting and playing quiet games amongst each other, the group froze when they heard the sound of heavy footsteps and a dragging tail maybe twenty meters away from them on the other side of the wall. Cautiously, David sat up and turned around to leer over the edge of the wall and looked for the source.

Sure enough, there it was, in its hideous, terrible glory. As they are wont to do, the Wretch walked sadly with its head slumped forward, like it was recalling long lost days in an eternally pained existence. It was David's first time actually seeing one, and just looking at it made him feel bad for it.

"Sad sack," he whispered.

The creature spun its head around and pointed its heat sensors in the team's general direction, desperately searching for the source of the voice. It hadn't reacted to the natural movements of grass and gravel, but the moment a living, intelligent sound echoed its way, it knew something was up. David stayed low on the wall as the creature relaxed and trudged on inside the manor.