Eric walked beside Sophia and Clanker as they made their way to the Hall of Hunters in Bracharest. Bearick had stayed in the tavern to finish his meal and agreed to meet up with them at the hall later. 

Bracharest was much larger than Eric had anticipated for a city with full-height walls and in a world like Auron. The city couldn’t compare to modern metropolises on Earth, but Eric was impressed by the level of detail on the stonework for nearly every building they passed despite the city's size, even the homes of what seemed to be lower citizens of Bracharest. 

After a few moments of walking, Sophia nudged Eric down a side alley towards another road. The alley was a bit dirty, with trash piled up and a few people sleeping with blankets.

Reminds me of big cities back home, Eric thought. Homelessness even in the fantasy world.

After a few winding paths, the alley opened up into a more run-down part of the city, making Eric reevaluate his estimation of its beauty. The buildings and homes weren’t that run down, but the contrast made Eric second-guess his first impressions of Bracharest. 

A few more blocks down stood a squat building with a large sign that hung above the roof, which seemed to be leaning a bit more than it probably should have. 

“That’s the hunter’s hall?” Eric asked. “It’s–”

“A piece of hound shit?” Sophia said. “Yeah, a bit of a heads up for you. The hunter’s association, if you can call it that is, well, not an association. It’s barely an organized friend group. There’s a rough estimation of organization, but even in these larger cities, there’s not much to us hunters. But, people pay for monster hunting all the same.”

“So no one regulates the hunters?” Eric asked. 

“Technically, yes,” Sophia said. “But with how things are in the world and the ability to have coherent organization over long distances being very difficult, well, us hunters are just winging it mostly.”

Sophia pushed open the building’s door, which had seemed like it was knocked off its hinges more than most doors should. Even more than a tavern door. 

A stench oozed out of the opening and attacked Eric’s nose with a frenzy. Eric couldn’t help but cover his mouth and nose with his tunic. Even Sophia had a scrunched face, but she seemed to be more prepared for the nasal attack. 

Faces turned to look at them as they entered, but it was too dark to see much more than silhouettes. 

A voice called from deeper in the hall, but Eric couldn’t understand what the man was saying, or if it was directed at them. 

“Was someone trying to get our attention?” Eric asked. “My ability didn’t translate that one…”

“Yeah,” Sophia said. “He wasn’t really speaking. More like grunting. It’s kind of a thing that hunters do, like a polite head nod and all that. Not really any tradition to it or anything, but it is what it is. Hunters can be…weird.” 

“Oh, really?” Eric said, a sarcastic tone laid on thick. “I hadn’t noticed from all the other hunters I’ve known.” He got a light punch for the comment. 

Rubbing his arm, Eric scanned the room and saw a wide-open area of tables and chairs much like a tavern, even with a bar for a bartender to stand behind. A few hunters even sat at the bar sipping drinks but no bartender was to be found.

Farther into the hall was a recessed room set into the far wall with a large window that was open to the rest of the main open area. A thin bar protruding out of the window sill allowed someone to approach while the bar was at standing height. A few people sat in the room at desks inside, writing and taking notes to candlelight. 

On the wall next to the standing bar was a large board of nailed pages. 

“Is that where hunts are posted?” Eric said. “I can’t read them from here.”

“Well, let’s go take a look, then,” Sophia said. “You’ll need to go talk to those clerks anyway.” 

They moved through the hall and had largely been ignored by the other hunters. A few sat alone, but most were accompanied at a few tables, likely in their own parties. They chatted, played cards, and drank or ate as well. 

Good to see card games here, Eric thought. 

They walked up to the hunt board, most of the other hunters giving Eric the appraising eye while simultaneously giving Sophia the eye. Eric chuckled a bit, surprised by the unabashed stares at Sophia they gave her. With a bit of a start, Eric realized that she earned that attention. Her features were very petite but held a strength to them, a sturdiness bolstered by a difficult life lived. Her face especially was sharp, but soft around the cheeks as if hiding a dagger underneath a flowing and soft tunic. She turned just as he had accidentally let his eyes gaze downward. 

That punch was much harder.

“Don’t get stabbed while I chat with the clerks, alright?” Sophia said. Eric nodded, then walked up to the board to read some of the postings. 

Eric’s translation abilities allowed him to read most of what he saw, but there were some other languages on a few postings that seemed out of his reach like they were locked behind a higher level. 

Most of the postings were simple hunts for either lost pets, farming protection, or investigative work. There were a few that caught his eye which referenced the same monster. The postings weren’t what caught his attention, but the monster name that did. 

“This world has golems?” Eric said to himself. “‘Kill and bring back the golem’s remains for a reward.’” Eric continued to read the other similar postings, realizing that around five children had been taken by this golem. His heart sank to imagine a family losing a child. 

A sudden memory oozed from the recesses of his mind, darkening his thoughts with old pain. Eric’s lips turned down, brow furrowing. The memory threatened to bring out tears, yet Eric managed to keep himself calm. 

It was fifteen years ago, he thought. I thought I was over this…stupid, stupid, stupid…

“You alright?” Sophia said, seeming to come out of nowhere. 

Eric started, noticing her and, fortunately, regained control of his emotions once again. 

“I’m fine,” he lied. “There seems to be a lot of postings that connect to and target the same monsters.”

“Yeah,” she said. “That happens sometimes. People have a monster attack them that has already done something somewhere else that forced someone to post another hunt in their hunter’s hall. You’ll sometimes run into other hunters trying to get the same monster as you. That can be annoying, especially if you’re strapped for coin and are confident you can solo the kill.”

“Makes sense,” Eric said, nodding. “But what about this many postings in the same hunter’s hall?” He pointed at the posts about the golem. 

Sophia looked at them and frowned. 

“That’s a bit unusual,” she said. “If people post multiple times about the same monster in the same city, usually the local hunters will get it taken care of before it generates this many posts.”

“The Iron Golem hunt,” a grizzled hunter a table away from them said. “Four hunters have died so far. That’s a nasty hunt. Not to mention that months go between attacks, so getting a chance to fulfill even one of those golem hunt posts is difficult. Most of us gave up on that one ages ago.”

Eric turned to the hunter, frowning. 

“What do you mean, gave up?” Eric said. 

“We’re not mercenaries, kid,” the hunter said. “We prefer to keep our skin on, thank you very much.”

“What’s the point of being a hunter, then?” Eric said, anger billowing from the resurfacing of that memory. Sophia put a hand on his shoulder, but Eric didn’t back down. “In a world of monsters, how can anyone feel safe, and have their basic needs met, if there’s a constant anxiety hanging over them? Hunters are a necessary part of life, and danger for a hunter is as much a part of the job as learning to farm or hunt for food is for any other person in this world.”

“Don’t lecture me, boy,” the hunter said, slowly standing from his chair. “I’ve watched seven of my own apprentices be torn apart one way or another out there, beyond a city’s walls. I can see it in your eyes. You’ve barely lived at all, without much to whine about. Piss off, brat.” He began to sit down, but Eric laid a hand on his shoulder, more forcefully than Eric had intended to.

“People need a light to travel the dark road by,” Eric said. “And hunters are that light.” The hunter looked taken aback, a dull shock on his face. He slowly sat, then turned away from Eric. 

“What was that about?” Sophia said. “Didn’t think you cared that much.”

“I just…remembered some things, that’s all,” Eric said. “And they made a few things clear to me.” 

“Well,” Sophia said. “It’s getting clearer that we might need to take a walk as soon as you’re done with that form. Not everyone was cowed by your comments.” She nodded to a few hunters giving them dark stares. “I have a form for you to fill out for official entry into the hunter’s association if you can call it official.” They turned to one of the empty tables to sit down and work on the form. 

“Where is the Hero?!” A young man said as he burst into the hall. “Where is the Hero of Splinters?!”

Eric looked up in surprise, then sighed as he heard the young man calling for the hero. 

“The Hero’s not home right now,” Eric said. “Please leave a message after the beep.” Sophia gave him a face, eyebrows raised. 

The young man rushed up to him and then unfurled a small scroll. 

“‘King Arelgore, the Bold, Liege of Bracharest in the Free Lands, hereby calls you, Hero of Splinters, to attend him in his court as soon as notified by messenger. Refusal may result in harsh treatment.” The young man rolled the scroll back up and then looked at Eric. 

He sighed, then looked at Sophia. She just shrugged. 

Great, Eric thought. Guess I’m not getting out of this one…