The Eternal Assassin

Despite his desire to unlock the rest of his skills, Asher ended up joining Samantha on her hunts in the forest over the next few days. Now that he knew he'd be leaving the village and the two of them as soon as he'd sold his tusks, he decided he wanted to spend a bit more time getting to know the hunter.

The fact that he found fighting the heavy boars as more of a boring chore than anything exciting might have also played a part in that decision.

Samantha had been more than willing to let him join in on her hunts, and Asher quickly discovered that hunting animals was a far trickier task than fighting monsters. The moment one of the heavy boars spotted him, it was as if a switch was flicked in the monster's mind, and the boar would do nothing besides rush him again and again in a desperate attempt to kill him until he finished it off.

Animals, on the other hand, were the exact opposite. As soon as a rabbit or a deer spotted him attempting to creep up on them they would bolt, sprinting off into the underbrush as fast as their legs would carry them. He'd receive nothing for his efforts, but Samantha would get a good laugh out of his failed attempts at the very least.

Asher had been surprised to find that the Lavash forest seemed to be filled primarily with regular animals one would find back on Earth. He'd personally seen the awakened panther, and Brian had gone on about seeing a griffin flying overhead at one point, so he knew this world did in fact have more magical animals. But when he'd asked Samantha about them, she'd merely shrugged and said other than various small game, she primarily hunted deer, bears, and wolves.

One more thing to look up once he made it to Whikoga, he supposed.

Rather than continue scaring away all the animals, Asher decided to instead spend his time watching Samantha and doing his best to learn. He quickly realized the hunter had a knack for stealth, and it took him a while to pinpoint all the little things she was doing.

Every footstep was carefully placed, somehow avoiding dry leaves or small twigs without even looking down as she stalked her prey. Her motions were controlled, always at a constant pace with no sudden movement to draw the eye. Somehow, she even seemed to naturally shift from one shadow to the next as she got within firing distance, never alerting an animal to her presence until the arrow was already leaving her bow.

Time and time again he watched her transform from her smiling, giggling self into a silent predator whenever an animal was spotted. It was almost unnerving at first, but every time she took down her prey and the hunt was done, she'd turn and flash him a toothy grin, and he'd grow a bit more in awe of her abilities.

As thanks for letting him tag along, Asher even revealed his Personal Rift to her when it was time to lug everything back to the village. Samantha had been blown away by the skill, but didn't hesitate when he offered to carry the animals for her.

It seemed even just keeping things stored in his rift passively worked on the skill, because after a few days of hunting and lugging around all the heavy boar tusks his Personal Rift reached level 5. The amount of space he had was a bit more than the trunk of his car at this point volume wise, which was great, seeing as he was trying to shove entire deer carcasses in there.

They bagged over half a dozen deer and at least four times that in small critters like rabbits or birds across all their hunts, but despite their success, Asher couldn't help but notice that with each passing day Samantha grew a bit more subdued. She still laughed and joked around with him as they searched for their targets, but she seemed on edge, and it was only getting worse.

By the end of their third day of hunting she was barely talking, not saying anything unless it was a direct answer to a question, and even then her replies were short, never more than a few words. Once the sun had started to set and it was officially time to head back to the village, Asher could practically feel the weight pressing down on the hunter's shoulders.

As they entered the cabin and Asher retrieved that day's haul from his rift, he watched Samantha walk silently around the room, her hand trailing lightly along the rough grain of the cabin walls. She paused briefly in front of the portrait of her parents before sighing, heading into the kitchen to start on dinner.

Alright, enough of that now.

"Sit down," Asher said, grabbing Samantha gently by the shoulders and planting her down on the sofa when she didn't show any signs of hearing him. As though snapping her out of a daze, she looked up at him, confused.

"What's wrong?" She asked.

"I think I should be the one asking you that," he said, crossing his arms and raising an eyebrow as he looked down at the fidgeting hunter. "Something's clearly been bothering you, and seeing as it's been getting worse each day, I can only guess it involves the caravan we heard should be arriving tomorrow morning."

They'd gotten word yesterday from a traveler that the merchant caravan had been spotted in a nearby village. Asher hadn't missed how Samantha's smile had turned forced at the news, but she'd refused to talk about it when he asked. Even now, as she winced at his direct question, she turned away, doing her best to seem unbothered.

"It's nothing," she said. "Nothing you need to concern yourself with. Would you mind grabbing Brian? He's probably out playing with a friend, and you'll be able to find him much quicker than I can with your mark. I'll get started on dinner in the meantime."

"Samantha…" he started, but she shook her head, gently pushing him away as she stood up.

"I appreciate the thought, Asher, I really do… But trust me, this isn't like the wizard tower. Unless you have some magical way of changing the past, it's not something you can help with this time. Could you please just get Brian? I have a lot of skinning I have to get done before bed, and I don't want to be up too late."

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

Frowning, Asher watched the subdued hunter head into the kitchen and start prepping dinner. With a sigh, he focused on his Eternal Mark, sensing that Brian was at the edge of the village. The kid was most likely practicing his archery now that Samantha had helped him improve his homemade arrows. Deciding he'd just have to figure out what was plaguing Samantha on his own when they hit the caravan tomorrow, he turned and headed out to grab Brian like he'd been asked.

He did his best to ignore the quiet sniffling from the kitchen.

-----

Asher had never actually been to a flea market back on Earth, but he imagined they looked pretty similar to the village square right about now. The caravan had arrived at the crack of dawn, and by the time the three of them ate breakfast and headed into the village proper, the dozens of merchants had already set up their colorful stalls and were hawking their wares to whoever happened to be walking by.

Asher saw everything from common kitchen utensils to sharpened battle axes being offered throughout the impromptu market, and he couldn't help but be impressed by the variety of goods on display. Apparently the mark of a good merchant caravan was the variety of goods it offered, because it seemed as though each stall focused on a completely different type of good than the next.

After receiving a few shards from his sister, Brian ran off to join a couple of the other village kids as they went window shopping, pointing at and admiring all the shining weapons and gleaming jewelry they wanted to buy one day.

"Let me introduce you to Elaina," Samantha said, her smile almost enough to convince Asher she was doing fine. "She's the merchant covering monster-related goods. She's tough but fair, so I wouldn't worry too much about haggling."

Letting the hunter lead the way, the two of them made their way over to the edge of the square. Unlike the busier stalls, Elaina's stall ended up being rather small, constructed from a few large pieces of dark red leather. Peering inside, Asher was shocked by what was on display.

Jagged teeth the size of his hand. Sets of bones carefully aligned to recreate humanoid monster skeletons. Even glowing eyes floating in liquid that he swore were watching him as he moved. Just like he'd done at all the previous stalls they walked past, he made sure to look at everything he possibly could. Today was a day for power leveling Identify, it would seem.

"Why if it isn't little Sammy!" A booming voice erupted from the side of the stall, and Asher stared at the hulking woman that stepped out from behind what he thought was the hide of some sort of small dragon currently hanging from the ceiling. The woman had a nasty scar going down the side of her face and was missing an eye, but her remaining one was fixed on Samantha, and she flashed the hunter a wide grin. "Finally decide to start hunting monsters like your old man have you?"

"No, Elaina," Samantha sighed, giving the woman a quick hug. She had to be careful with her arms, because Elaina had two wicked looking axes strapped across her back. "And that was one time. You know he only did it because of that tradition you told him about. Mom said he figured it would be a fun talking piece to put on the mantel, and he wouldn't have to feel guilty about not selling it. When I asked him if he'd ever give monster hunting another shot, he told me you scared him more than the monsters, and that he'd never do it again."

Stepping back from the merchant, Samantha motioned to Asher, giving him her first genuine smile of the day. "Elaina, this is Asher. He's a friend of mine who has some monster goods you might be interested in. Don't try to cheat him too badly now, okay?"

"Oh, a friend, is he?" Elaina asked, her one eye twinkling.

"Elaina!" Samantha hissed, blushing at the woman as she huffed and rolled her eyes. "I think the two of you will get along just fine. I'll meet you back at the cabin when you're done, okay?" Not waiting for his answer, Samantha headed back into the heart of the small market, quickly vanishing amongst the crowd.

"Well now, friend of little Sammy's," Elaina said, fixing Asher with a very different look than the one she'd used with the hunter. "What would you prefer we start with? Taking a look at what you brought me, or a discussion about Samantha?"

"How about we start with the goods," Asher said blankly, not shying away from the large woman in the least. He had a feeling that even if he tried to explain that their relationship wasn't like that, Elaina wouldn't believe a word he said. Either way, the father of his first girlfriend back in high school had threatened him with a shotgun the first time they met. If he had been in a relationship with Samantha, the scarred merchant would have to do a little better than two axes and a stern gaze.

Pulling over the covered wagon Samantha had lent him so he wouldn't have to use his rift in public, Asher yanked off the covering and revealed the nine sets of heavy boar tusks. Elaina's eye widened just a fraction when she saw what he'd brought, but to Asher's surprise the merchant merely grunted, motioning for him to lay them on a nearby table.

Pulling out a few tools that Asher thought looked more appropriate for inspecting gemstones than bones, Elaina went over the tusks carefully, searching for any sort of flaw or imperfection. After a couple of minutes, she grunted again, putting her tools away.

"Not bad, kid," she said, nodding slightly toward him. "They all look like they're in perfect condition. Sharp as nobleman's spear, and not even a chip or scratch on them. How'd you manage to take down nine heavy boars without blocking or parrying the tusks a single time?"

"Got lucky I guess," Asher shrugged, not really wanting to get into the specifics of his abilities with the stranger. "So what are they worth?"

"A better question is, 'what will I pay for them?'" Elaina countered, grinning as she tapped one of the tusks. "If you want to get what something is worth, you need to travel halfway across the kingdom and know the right buyers. That's where I come in. I'll give you a thousand shards for each set. Nine thousand for all. Mind you, that's only because they're in perfect condition, and because you're a friend of little Sammy's. Don't be expecting to get this kind of deal anytime you try selling heavy boar tusks."

Well, I have no idea if that's actually good or not. Granted, it's not like I really need the shards all that much. I can just hunt more boars and take the fallen shards if I desperately need them.

Elaina seemed to misinterpret Asher's hesitation, because she crossed her arms and frowned at him. "Look kid, I don't haggle. It's more than a fair deal, and you'll have to trek to the nearest city to even find another buyer if I don't take them."

"Fine," Asher nodded, earning a grin from the merchant. But when she offered him a small violet orb filled with glowing shards that appeared in her hands, Asher stopped her with a raised hand.

"On second thought… I know you said you don't haggle, but I have a proposition for you. What if instead of nine thousand shards, you give me eight thousand… and tell me what's going on between Samantha and the caravan that's got her so depressed?"

Elaina stared at him for a moment, her good eye blinking a few times before she let out a deep, hearty laugh, drawing a few eyes their way and finally making Asher a little nervous as she clapped him on the back and gave him a crazed grin.

"Oh, you and I are going to get along just fine indeed!"