"Jus' callin' me dogs" the hunter smiled, after letting out a harsh, shrill whistle through his fingers. "What kin' o' 'unter would a be wi'out dogs?" he'd smiled, warmly. But Furley didn't feel warm. In fact, it made him feel colder, like staring into the eyes of a serpent.
There was a chill that shot down his spine, but as Daphnee reminded him, they had to get out there and quick. They weren't safe there, and he certainly felt vulnerable in the valley they were in.
"Hold there a moment" came a voice. Another man, with the same darkened skin as the hunter near them, had blocked their path. Amathlan, Ithilwe and Gisuna were standing in front of him, resolute, with Catrena just behind them. Daphne and Furley were stood next to one another, further up the hill, with their backs turned to the hunter. Why? Why did they have their backs turned to him...
"We were expecting a shipment to collect round here, and it seems you bastards have taken it. So, I'll ask again... where are my boxes!"
Furley's eyes widened, as likely they all did. That sense of foreboding turned into a hammer of imminent danger. He knew that by the way Daphne suddenly turned, pressing her back against his in her way of watching what was behind him, that the hammer was a real danger, and practically already making its swing for them.
"I'll think you'll find it was our shipment, that was stolen and has been retrieved" Cat told him, surprisingly calmly. But the man snarled, and despite him being ten or more yards away from Furley, he could feel the man's presence and it unsettled him.
"Go f*ck an orc" Amathlan told him.
"I'll have to wait in line behind your mother" the man responded.
Credit where credit's due... that's a great comeback. Wait, what? No. Concentrate, Fur. But it was at that moment where his concentration lapsed, he heard the man whistle again, and above them, there must have been thirty or so bows appear, pointed right toward them.
"Now tell me where those f**king boxes are!" the man snarled once more.
"What are you? Highwaymen?" Cat had responded. Fair question. "You're thieves!"
"Is it worth you all dying for?" the man replied, and the air seemed to creak as the sound of yew being pulled back by taut strings echoed around them.
Pure, unfiltered anger began to rise in him. Reaching slowly for his sword, he felt his trembling fingers twitch and that familiar monster within him slowly loosen the bolts and gently push open the cage door in which he managed to keep it.
"Don't" came the voice behind him. But it wasn't the hunter, it was Daphne. Instantly, he obeyed, and just like that, the cage door snapped shut once more in his mind. That was, until he turned, and saw the hunter holding a blade to her neck.
Suddenly, he felt so helpless, and seeing her in danger, the panic within him began to rise. And when he stopped being level-headed... that's when he made crucial and fatal errors. But seeing the sword pressed into her did something to him, and he found himself faltering and flapping. That cage slowly creaked open once more, and the first foot came through the door as he felt the darkness in his mind.
"You hurt her.. and I'll-"
"You'll what, kill me? She'll be dead, and you'll be breathing your last. And she's holding the rock. My archers know where their target is".
Suddenly remembering the rock the hunter had given her, Furley cursed. Reaching for his blade, Daphne shouted at him, through calm, clenched teeth.
"Don't".
And he obeyed again.
"Turn around and watch the other one!"
And he did.
Stood there, panicking, he had only half-turned, which was no good to anyone. And his rational side had become clouded with that familiar red haze. But he was trapped. Daphne at his back in mortal danger, the rest of them in imminent danger. His senses slowly being replaced by the growl in his mind, as the monster slowly crept from it's cell once more. And there was absolutely nothing he could do. They had been outmaneuvered, and they had lost.
"The goods are with the Commander!" Catrena told them, finally. Fool, he thought.
The man smiled at them. "Thank you. Well, then, we go to retrieve what is ours. I bid you good day" the man winked, as if it was nothing, before he and the hunter made their exit, still covered by a cohort of archers, above. He felt himself breathe, as if he had been holding his breath indefinitely as he slowly sank to the bottom of the Brandywine, and had found himself washed ashore.
But as he broke through the surface, so did the anger within him, and he felt himself trembling and almost foaming at the mouth.
"Furley! What do we do? We can't let them get away!" Gisuna had shouted to him. Staring at her fiercely, he responded.
"Go after them! Kill them! Flay them alive! Find them! Burn them! Kill them all! Make those f**ks regret the day they ever crossed this f**king Company!".
Gisuna growled... Amathlan smiled wickedly, and they rode off in pursuit. Daphne, meanwhile, was pulling at his arm. An arm which held a sword between his fingers, which he hadn't realised he'd drawn.
"Furley! We can't stay here, let's go! We have to go!" she told him, but he didn't hear the first time.
"No! I'll kill them all. I'll find that hunter and f**king tear him in half! HEAR ME! I'LL KILL YOU!" he yelled.
"Now!" she screamed at him, and suddenly he looked at her with renewed eyes. The beast within him retreated, and almost locked the door on its way back into its cell in the back of his mind, but very much stared at him, with big, beady eyes, making its presence felt.
As she pulled at his arm, he followed her instantly. And he ran with her, all the way back to the horses, and they rode frantically back to the Headquarters, hoping they weren't too late in chasing the goods back and nothing had happened to their friends who were transporting them.
