Nino Sage was a middle aged game warden at private Alpine nature reserve, who worked on the staff with a seemingly ageless fellow who was always a bit of a John Doe, giving little details about himself, known only around the lodge as The Hunter due to his fanatical obsession with the sport. Now, the nature reserve was supposed to be a tranquil retreat for both man and creature alike, with only a brief hunting season merely for the purposes of population control. But as the years wore on, it started to lose funding from the local government, prompting wage cuts to low position workers like Nino. Because of this, he asked few questions when The Hunter first approached him about unauthorized access to the reserve, considering how well he paid. But as the autumn shifted to winter, weeks after the initial contact, Nino began to grow skeptical of The Hunter’s activities, as he seemed to carry more body bags into the park than out, far more than necessary for bait for the bigger game that lurked in the northwestern tundra. Despite this, Nino continued to turn a closed eye, until one day, The Hunter asked Nino to accompany him into the woods for help with catching an elusive target. Curiosity overcoming his wariness, Niino accepted and followed the Hunter deep into the tundra, until eventually they came to a large cave mouth. The Hunter claimed to have it led to a ridge that overlooked the nearby valley to the south, and that he had a small camp there. Seeing no reason to think otherwise, and with his life already in The Hunter’s hands anyhow, Nino continued onward. Strangely, the cave seemed to lead deeper into the mountain instead of upward, but as he had the thought, it was quickly erased by the shock of the scene he emerged into. The tunnel had led the pair to a large cavern, filled with intricate carvings of ancient runes leading first to an altar at its center, and a strange device against the far wall beyond it. But Nino struggled to grasp the significance of this, justifiably so considering the room stunk with the scent of decay, carcasses of various animals hanging in every crevice of the walls with the runes leading out from beneath the neck. And on the altar lay another set of bodies, human in shape, and…wait are they still moving?!
“My friend,” The Hunter began, “the privacy you have provided me has allowed me to create what you see before you, and with just one more favor, I promise to reward you far beyond those paltry sums you received in exchange for my passage. For you see, there is an ancient power that lies in this preserve, one far predating us and humanity as a whole. It is the spirit of nature itself, something that has gone by many names, but that you would likely know as the Druid, from Greek myth. It is a defender of this land, and for eons it has lay in a peaceful slumber, dormant in its power. That power being the ability to create life itself. Could you imagine what one could hunt with that ability?! No more weak game like dear, but elegant monstrosities, the chase of which would produce as many legends as the Druid itself! Alas, this power can only be achieved by…borrowing some from said Druid, an impossible feat in its dormant and incorporeal form. However, thanks to my defunding of those who guard this place, myself and others have been able to disturb its ecosystem, making it restless, desperate for the salvation of its deity. And through this, its spirit has concentrated still invisible to us here, but a potent force none the less. I have prepared as much as is possible, but for the transfer to be successful, I must be there”, pausing, The Hunter points to the device, “which means someone else must deliver the final sacrifice and spill the blood of our own. I could think of no one better than the accomplice who brought me this far already. In exchange for their lives, we shall possess the power to create countless more. So what do you say Nino?”
Face pallid with fright, Nino turned to retreat from the chamber, run, hide, anything to avoid this task, but an arrow striking the wall within an inch of his head froze him solid.
“Of course, I could place you on that altar, should you be uncompliant. It matters not whose blood is spilled after all.”
Appearing defeated, Nino nodded slowly, trudging forward to his task while The Hunter prepared his machine, believing his victory assured. Yet Nino charged The Hunter instead, attempting to end this chaos before it was too late with a quick blow to the head. But the axe was blocked by the left forearm of The Hunter, causing blood to gush from the wound.
Both men then fell to the ground in agony as a primordial scream filled their senses, and liquid dissipated into a fine mist that began to swirl, sucking in bits and pieces of earth from the chamber. Scrambling to his feet, Nino began to fled, stopping only to free the couple at the chamber’s center, the name of the husband he learned was Yamui. As their flight resumed, The Hunter now recovered, strangely glowing with a dark aura that had been sucked from the cloud to the machine, and he began running in their direction, all the mortals suddenly froze as a shape emerged from the mist, the world around them eerily devoid of sound. What they saw they still cannot describe today, only that it was comprised of earth and plants, tinged with red, and possessing an unnatural bloodlust, specifically for Nino, as he was the one who spilled the blood for the sacrifice. Luckily, it was impeded by a collapse of the tunnel, and all fled from its presence, differences momentarily set aside. Upon reaching the surface, Yamui and his wife ran from the scene, in fright of both the Hunter and the Druid, and the Hunter grabbed Nino, holding him over a ledge to a river rushing far below, frigid due to its glacial origin.
“I should drop you here and now for what you just did fool. But I suppose you served me well prior to this. Swear to me never to tell a soul of what has transpired and I shall let you live, but your life will be forever in service to my own in exchange for your survival.”
Faced with no other choice, Nino accepted and fled back to the safety of the lodge, voice paralyzed by fright forever onward, mute for the rest of days in fright of the Hunter’s vengeance.