Once outside the town, Max pauses to take in the scenery. Wow, even though it's still woodlands like when I first arrived here, it's less dark and intimidating. I think it is because the trees are further apart and there is a lot less brush. I guess that means I can spot game easier... well, and I can be spotted easier too... Shaking his head to clear the bad thoughts that snuck up on him, Max checks his compass.

  That’s strange, my compass works? I could have sworn that it wouldn’t. I mean, I hoped it would, but isn’t it supposed to work off magnetic fields or something that is specific to my world? I guess this world must have something similar, or something else is similarly affecting my compass. Max shrugs and turns until his compass says he is facing north. I suppose north is as good as any direction.

  He doesn't really have a plan but figures one direction is as good as another. He believes the cave the group had exited from last time he was here was somewhere in the southeast, but he isn't sure. If I can't find anything interesting by mid-day or so, I will start heading southwest until I am almost going directly west. It should be night by then and I'll have to camp outside. I really hope I don't get woken up in the middle of the night by another needleleaf like last time.

  Max shudders at the thought. I think tomorrow I can continue to circle about half a day's distance from the town until I make a full circle. If I find anything or not, I will head back and get more provisions and check in with the smith before expanding the circle and trying again, while I try to get more familiar with the surroundings. Nodding to himself, Max gets a rough idea of what his goal is before heading away from the town.

  The first half of the day is rather pleasant. Max wanders through the woods, keeping his eyes peeled for any sign of creatures or movement. He tries not to be too tense; he doesn’t want to be worked up the entire time he is out.

  A bush rattles not too far away from Max; he manages to find his first rabbit. He misses it, of course, having only thrown the tomahawk in practice a few times. It isn’t long before he runs into another one, or perhaps it is even the same one; it is not like Max would know. Throwing the tomahawk, he manages to hit this one with his first throw, surprising himself.

  He decides to change his plans; he is going to bring the rabbit back to the town and give it to the smith as a thank you. He would resume the journey the next day. He also decides on this course of action because he doesn't want the rabbit to attract any predators to him while he sleeps. As he turns to head back, on a whim, he chooses a less-than-direct path, hoping to try his luck on the return trip but without adding so much time that he couldn’t make it back before dark.

  On the way back, he doesn't let himself lose focus on his surroundings. He never knows when he might run into something aggressive or find something else he could possibly be able to catch. Unlike before, when he had heard them foraging, a rabbit literally crosses his path as if it doesn’t even notice him. He waits for it to stop moving and face away from him before he tries his luck again. Turns out luck is on his side, for he manages to get another rabbit, putting a spring into his step.

  This hunting thing definitely doesn’t seem too hard. Sure, I haven’t seen a deer or anything like that. Even the birds I only hear, but at least I got two rabbits! The smith and I won’t be eating that same porridge again, that’s for sure. I mean, it isn’t bad, but meat will be so much better. He is very happy with his choice so far.

  Even if I had decided to go with a spear, I doubt I could have done much better. The one I picked up at Martin’s shop seemed too heavy to easily throw. I am not even sure how you are supposed to hold a spear to throw it. The pictures of the Native Americans throwing one always had the spear raised over their shoulder before they threw it, and that just seems awkward.

  The bow is even worse. I didn’t have a chance to try it, but how do you even aim it? Am I supposed to hold it in my right hand since I'm right-handed and try to use my left to pull it back, or is it exactly the opposite? How do you keep the bow string on the arrow? Wouldn’t it just slip off? I mean, it seems so much more complicated than throwing a tomahawk.

  Even while Max is commending himself on his choice of weapon and thinking about the other options that he had thought about choosing, he keeps a lookout for anything nearby. He doesn’t quite know why he decides to take a detour and go in the direction the rabbit had come from, but he has been following his gut in almost all his decisions so far, so he isn’t about to stop now.

  I really need to find a hunter to teach me. Sure, I can make do for now with catching things like these rabbits, but if I want to learn how to use the spear and bow, I won’t be able to do it by myself. Maybe when I return with rabbits, it might prove to some of those hunters that I am worth their time. If all else fails, I can always try asking the smith. I mean, he makes parts of both those weapons; he must know at least a little about them. Well, maybe not. I also have been making them and have no idea, so that probably isn’t a safe bet. I’ll just ask him anyway, just in case.

  Something moves right next to Max as he passes a tree. Max nearly jumps out of his skin; he swings his tomahawk on instinct at whatever moved. It isn’t even a throw, just an angled chop, but Max’s good luck seems to be holding out. He almost takes the head off of a rabbit that he had probably scared just as badly as it had scared him. He looks at the dead rabbit, dumbfounded. Jumping up and down, Max’s mind whirls. Three! Three rabbits! That has to be some kind of record, right? Not even half a day on your first hunt, finding three bloody rabbits!

  Max spins in a circle. He is just so excited, he had never thought something like this would happen. A part of him felt like, in a few days' time, he would be returning to the town empty-handed with just stories of how he couldn’t hit the broad side of a barn with his tomahawks or that he had simply not found anything living at all.

  A problem emerges for Max. With his newest kill, the weight he is carrying is starting to get a bit uncomfortable. He decides to just try and go directly back to the town as fast as he can while staying safe. Even with the added weight, he is almost skipping through the woods; he is so happy with his bounty. Suddenly, the sounds of someone shouting and cursing reach Max while he is celebrating. He crouches down in his best sneaking pose and pulls the hood of his cloak up. It isn't long before he finds the origin of the sounds.

  An older man stands on a rock that is four or five feet high. Blood runs down the side of his leg from what appears to be a bite mark. A little distance away from the rock lies a dead stag with an arrow sticking out of it. Looking closer, Max notices another wound on the dead stag.

  Next to the stag lies a bow, a quiver of arrows, and a spear. Looking back at the man, he notices him clutching a bloodied arrow in his hand and another bite mark on his upper arm. Below the rock, just unable to reach the man, are three needleleafs trying to get to him.

  The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.

  That doesn’t look good. I don't think he can reach or get to his weapons without them attacking him again, especially with that wounded leg slowing him down. He could try using the arrow as a dagger, but it would probably break quickly... Should I help? Biting his lip, Max takes the briefest of seconds to consider before taking a deep breath.

  Come on, Max, it’s just three needleleafs, you killed plenty last time with just a rock! Why am I hesitating this time? You've got this! Shaking his hands, Max firms his resolve as he stares at the monsters.

  Sneaking closer to the needleleafs, Max tries to remain downwind and to not make any noise. He draws both of his tomahawks and hefts them a couple of times to familiarize himself with their weight. He closes his eyes and tries to slow down his racing heart before opening his eyes and readying to pounce. As Max bursts forth and rushes the needleleafs, the man takes notice of him and tries to shout a warning, but Max doesn’t notice.

  Max rushes up to the first needleleaf and strikes down with the tomahawk in his right hand. The tomahawk drives through its skull, cleanly killing it instantly. The second closest one turns and moves quickly towards the new prey, who isn't up an unclimbable rock. Max sweeps the left tomahawk at the creature's eyes. He never intends to land the blow, and as expected, the needleleaf jumps back, dodging the blow.

  Unbeknownst to the needleleaf, his comrade rushes after Max as well, and when it jumps back, it crashes into its friend and both of them tumble to the ground. Max raises his leg and kicks the dead needleleaf as hard as he can, pulling his weapon free as it falls away.

  Before the two tangled creatures can sort themselves out, Max moves forward and slams the bloodied tomahawk into the top-most creature, killing it with one blow just as he did the first. The last needleleaf manages to get out from under its companion. Switching hands, Max moves the free tomahawk to his right hand and grabs the stuck one with his left.

  He swipes at the needleleaf, keeping it at bay before stepping on the head of the dead one and dislodging the stuck weapon. As the creature circles Max, he turns keeping it in front of him at all times. Waiting as he did back when he fought them before, he is going to let it make the first clumsy move.

  "Behind you! There are two more!" The wounded hunter shouts.

  Max finally registers the hunter's warning. Rather than turning and trying to see what the man sees and give the one in front of him an opening, Max rushes forward, jabbing the left weapon at the creature's eyes. It jumps to the left to dodge, and Max dives past it, rolling.

  As he comes to his feet, he sees the creatures that the man saw. Using all his might, he rears back and lets a tomahawk fly; it crashes headfirst into the gaping maw of the needleleaf. The creature seems to panic as the weapon lodges itself in its mouth, its small arms try to pull it out at an angle, but just manage to wedge the hook at the back of it into the roof of its mouth, causing it to scream out.

  Max once more moves the tomahawk from his left hand to his right, then quickly draws the dagger from behind his back. Seeing Max lose a weapon, the closest needleleaf pounces forward. Max moves forward, matching the creature's charge as the creature, using its usual attack, tries to dive mouth-first. Max jabs the dagger into its right eye and uses his weight when they collide to knock the creature down. He reverses the grip on the dagger and drives it down into the eye socket several times until the creature stops moving.

  Seeing Max's back to it, the unhurt needleleaf rushes past the one still trying to get the weapon out of its mouth and dives at Max. Max turns his upper half, still straddling the dead needleleaf, and throws his other tomahawk at this one's gaping mouth. Both the force and angle are off, but he still gets it into the maw. Just like the first, it panics, biting down as the axe touches its tongue and manages to wedge it into its gums.

  Howling in pain, it loses focus and stops its rush. Max pulls the dagger out of the fallen beast and moves to the closer needleleaf. While it isn't in as bad a shape or as much pain as the first one, the tomahawk seems to keep it from using its primary weapons, the needle-like teeth. As he approaches, he grabs the tomahawk's handle, risky with how close it is to its teeth, and jerks it toward his chest.

  Apparently, the creature has wedged it in pretty good, and it loses balance, stumbling forward. Seeing it almost defenseless, Max drives the dagger into its small neck, making sure to avoid the flailing arm. Every time the creature tries to regain balance, Max tugs again, pulling it forward and stabs it again. Soon it lies dead at his feet.

  Once again, Max uses his foot and pulls the tomahawk free and swaps the dagger back to his left hand. The last Needleleaf doesn't even seem to remember Max exists, as it keeps trying to pull the now very stuck tomahawk out of its mouth, only making its wound worse. Max approaches as its back is turned to him and kills it with a single blow to the head.

  Using his foot, he frees the tomahawk again. Max pants as the adrenaline starts to fade. He looks around the area for a moment to make sure nothing else is deciding to try and eat him before rolling the needleleaf over and trying to remove the very stuck tomahawk. He ends up putting the free tomahawk back in its loop, even though it is covered in gore, and lays the dagger next to its body and uses both hands to try and free the stuck tomahawk.

  "Oh, by the way, thanks for the warning. Those two might have gotten the jump on me if you didn't warn me." Max glances up at the hunter before looking back down, trying to figure out how to get the weapon out of the beast's mouth.

  The hunter stares at Max in disbelief. He has never seen someone fight the way Max just did. Even a hunter wouldn't rush headlong at three needleleafs and wind up throwing his weapon not once but twice. "Uh, yeah, no problem." He finally manages to get out.

  Max decides to kick the tomahawk twice, once up toward the top of its head, trying to pry it back out the way it went in, then straight down, forcing it back out the carved path and deeper into its throat. Then, with both hands, he finally pulls it out.

  "Urgh, that's nasty. I see the stag, you a hunter? If my guess is right, they ambushed you as you were retrieving your arrows. Given how many there were, you got to the rock instead of going for your weapons?"

  "Yea, I am a hunter, and that is just about how it happened." The man says, climbing down from the rock, trying not to aggravate his wounds.

  "You from Briargate? I haven't seen you around the staging area." Max uses dirt to dry the blood on his weapons and then tries to get the bloody mud off.

  "I used to visit there when I was younger. I live outside of town now. Not too far away to usually be in danger, but far enough not to be bothered by anyone." The man limps over to the stag and pulls his other arrow free before beginning to gather up his gear.

  "Ah, that makes sense. Hey, you wouldn't happen to be willing to take an apprentice, would you?" Max offhandedly asks as he finishes cleaning his weapons and puts them away.

  The man pauses and looks over at Max. "You, I take it?"

  Max nods, moving closer to the man and inspecting his kill. Subconsciously, he reaches out and touches the large antlers attached to the deer's head. Finding the points sharper than expected, Max pulls his hand back, rubbing his fingers.

  "Why would you need a teacher? You just killed five needleleafs who almost killed me, might have even, if you hadn't come along." The man asks, sizing up Max.

  "Needleleafs are one thing, hunting is another. I don't even have a spear or bow yet. I got these axes because I figured at least I could use them halfway decent. I have no idea how to use a bow or spear, and since no one would teach me, I could at least use these to catch rabbits and maybe some birds." Answering honestly, he looks at the wounded hunter before looking back at the dead needleleafs.

  "When I first fought these guys, I didn't even have a weapon and fought them with a rock, and then later a torch I used like a club." He takes his vambrace off and holds up his bare left arm. "You learn quick how to deal with them if you want to survive out here."

  The man looks at Max's scarred arm and understands. He thinks for a minute before nodding to himself. "I don't know how much I can teach you, but I will try to show you what I know. It is the least I can do to repay you. Would you mind helping me bring his stag back to my cabin? It isn't too far from here." Max and the man work together and start dragging the stag in the direction the man indicates.

  "I am Max, by the way, Max McIver."

  "Stephen Conwell, nice to meet you, Max."