text: The Beast The beast had ransacked the village the past three full moons, it turns out the third one was not the charm as the beast had been wounded. This is all the information I had gathered when I had accepted to hunt this beast. I had originally come to spend my previously acquired wealth for my assistance in the sacking of a nobles fortress. I heard a group of nearby villagers whispering among themselves arguing who would be the one to approach me. A thin sickly woman stepped forward “You’re a knight with no Lord correct.” her voice shook, she looked up as she finished speaking the candle lights exposed her red and swollen eyes. “Whatever has left you teary-eyed and lion-hearted I can kill it.... If the coins are heavy enough”. A man stepped forward handing a sack of reasonable size to me, I arranged a carriage for myself and belongings back to the king’s capital with the Innkeeper. I told the villagers to take me to where the beast had escaped over the village wall. Stone laid scattered across the rooftops and roads of the village. The stone wall of the village stood 25 feet tall. I could tell whatever beast had leaped this wall did so in about three strides of its body. Judging by that I could tell the beast was at least 8 feet in height and had large powerful claws on all four extremities. I mounted my horse and galloped him to the opposite side of the wall. There it began the trail of blood. The excessive pooling at 12 feet from the wall told me that at this location he had removed the arrow from his body or at least broken the shaft of it. It was here I looked up at the village wall to see a gathering of people at one of the turrets. “I shall consider what you have paid me a deposit in good faith. I will hunt the beast that torments you and I will relieve you of his existence. Consider the time it takes me to do so and return with proof as an opportunity to gather the rest of my payment”. I yelled through clasped hands pressed to my face to amplify my voice in these winds. A tall frail bald man stepped forward and shouted back “Aye we can agree to those terms if you don’t return your other half could double as payment to the next mercenary”. I kicked my horse and brought him into a steady gallop towards the tree line. I followed my scarlet bread crumbs about 40 miles by sundown. The beast trail had gone cold the blood stopped as did the tracks whatever this was had vanished. I leaped from my horse and landed in the soft dirt. “What the fuck are you?” I said quietly aloud. A beast bleeding that was at least 8 feet in height with claws powerful enough to tear through the stone of a village wall. Just simply vanished. No more claw tracks, no blood. He must have reached this point by daytime I thought he must have rested here and cleaned up his tracks. But could an animal or beast capable of such savagery be capable of such awareness to clean his tracks? To clean and tend its wounds? I shook the questions from my head and began to set up camp. As I slept that night my mind stayed awake questioning exactly what it was I was tracking. I awoke the air felt crisp and stung my nose, as i rose from my tent I could see it had begun to snow in the early morning. I scurried my things into a pack and began to ride thinking ill follow the first tracks I find. I soon found tracks but something was startling about them. These animal tracks had no claws and there were only two. These tracks I had encountered were from a man no other animal could leave tracks like these. I rode for three more miles before I finally reached a man traveling. It was past mid-day maybe as I approached this man I realized he was walking shirtless an odd choice considering the constant snow since day-break. “Hello there,” I yelled from a distance. The man turned startled and said, “ My goodness Sir you frightened me. My horse threw me and I’ve been on foot for days.” “Seems your horse has better sense than you. There's a beast about my friend, I may escort you out the woods if you can afford that,” I said in a normal speaking voice as I had ridden alongside the man now. I could hardly contain my excitement of double-dipping payment for protection from the beast. “I guess its luck that you found me before the beast then Sir, I can pay you upon arrival to my home,” The shirtless man said “Hop upon my horse we will head for a clearing and make camp ahead I will try to hunt us some food,” I said confidently to the shirtless man. The man rode behind me until we found a suitable camping spot. I left him behind and managed to shoot two rabbits with my bow. We sat opposite each other as I prepared the rabbits for roasting. It was early evening the sky was purple and stillness had settled over the landscape as the creatures sheltered from the fresh snow that had fallen. I finally took the time to study this man and realized this shirtless man was not shirtless. His pants were lifted making them rise up at the ankles, and sit just below his chest and holding them in place his shirt was rolled and tied firmly enough to restrict his breathing.“Your horse he left you injured,” I said gesturing to his makeshift bandaging. “Oh this yes Sir I took quite a fall I had been walking for about a half a day before you found me,” The shirtless man said gleefully. “I promise to pay you as soon as we arrive at my home”. “Yes, I will take any precious items you can acquire as payment my friend as the circumstances are especially dire as a beast roams these lands. He stands at least 8 feet tall and ravages villages with ease destroying everything and everyone in its path”. I said in a low growling voice to really sell the value of my services. The man’s eyes widened “ I’ve heard such stories in my lifetime Sir a large furry beast who comes under the full moon. With the ability to eat a man limb by limb. Jump building to building. Even withstand strikes from blades and arrows. Surely you are scared of such an animal.” “Ha, I am a man of battle. I've killed beasts and men for no other reason than a payment. These coins I carry and kill to acquire are nothing more than souvenirs to me. I live for the hunt and the destruction of those in my way,” I stood and turned away from the fire staring at the sky, clouds had settled above us.“I’m sure glad a brave man like you had found an old injured man such as myself I would have never been able to hunt that beast. Surely I would become the hunted”. The shirtless man said his voice shaking with fear. “ Don’t worry my friend I will protect you and those who inhabit these woods from this beast. I will hunt it until its demise”. A gust blew past my face moving the clouds above revealing a bright full moon. “ I don’t think you’ll be hunting tonight my friend,” followed by a low guttural growl coming from behind me.