Chapter 162: Trials of Hircine II
"That'll be a simple matter, agreed. What is your other condition?" Hircine agrees with a dismissive wave of his hand.
"I would like to choose the location of the hunt. If I'm the prey, then I should be able to reside in a familiar den?" I say, hoping he'll agree to my second condition.
After several moments of internal debating, which I can tell by the fact he stopped leaning on his spear, he finally speaks up, "Alright, but in turn, it must be a location from your memory, and there will be no other people to aid you, so know that wherever you go, you must still overcome your hunters by your own abilities and the tools before you."
"That's fine by me. When do we begin?" I reply as I swear I see the deer skull give me a smug smile as Hircine raises his hand.
"Now." He says before twirling his spear and knocking me backward with its blunt end.
I'm shrouded in darkness as I hear his voice echo all around me, "You have one hour to choose your den and prepare for your first group of hunters."
"I won't disappoint you." I answer before thinking about a location I'm all too familiar with but am unsure if it will actually appear.
'Please work...' I silently pray as I focus my mind on the one place I spent the most time exploring because I loved the aesthetic.
I open my eyes and am greeted by the sight of the old Solitude I used to know. Exactly how it was in the game.
"Damn, the view's even better in person..." I say, admiring the view momentarily before remembering I'm about to be hunted. Returning from the cliff edge, I was standing on, I quickly discovered that the entire town was completely empty, without a soul in sight.
"Luckily, all the items were left behind." I say as I quickly search the nearby shops for potions, weapons, and armor.
I take the dwarven bow from the case in the Fletcher's shop, a few potions and ingredients off Angeline's shelves, and finish my looting at Castle Dour, getting a sword, shield, and some light Imperial armor before finding a perch on one of the ramparts that lets me see both central streets and I wait...
Motionless as a statue, I check my wait time and realize I only have a few minutes left.
I decided to set up a quick trip wire trap with some fire and frost salts at the door nearest to me before returning to my perch just as I was notified that the hunt had begun.
I look around but don't notice anything out of order. Until I see the main door open at the entrance to Solitude, and five hunters slowly make their way through the town.
Instead of waiting or firing at them, I decided to sneak from my perch and slowly approach them. Using my additional time to eat and set more traps around Solitude for later waves.
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"Fingar! I thought we were to hunt some rabbit? Why are we in Solitude, and where is everyone?" A dark-haired Nord man asks the blonde one in the lead.
"Fool! We are in Hircine's domain! It is simply the den to which the beast is most accustomed!" Fingar, a blonde Nord, says in exasperation.
"Holi, what does Fingar mean by that?" The dark-haired Nord man asks a dark-haired Nord woman.
"Ralgir, don't think too hard about it. The ritual worked, and we've been invited to the great hunt! Just focus on smashing what I tell you to, okay, brother?" Holi says compassionately.
"If this is the beast's domain... Does that mean we're hunting a man?" A Breton man asks.
"It doesn't matter what we're hunting, Lord Hircine promised a grand boon to whoever fells the beast, and I intend to collect." A grizzled, veteran-looking Nord man with greying hair declares.
"Stop talking!" Fingar shouts with a whisper as he holds up a finger to his lips to quiet everyone before drawing his bow.
"Why shou- Guh!?" Ralgir starts to protest before he finds an arrow sticking out of his throat.
"Ralgir!" Holi shouts, rushing towards Ralgir.
"Holi, wait!" Fingar shouts, trying to stop her but failing, as another arrow comes sailing through the air and strikes Holi in the back, making her collapse on top of the choking Ralgir.
"Take cover!" The veteran Nord ordered, diving behind a merchant's stall as a third arrow barely misses him.
The Breton dashes to a nearby pillar for cover as Fingar rushes to a cabbage cart, barely sliding under it before an arrow hits the cart's wheel.
"What in Oblivion is happening?! Aren't we supposed to be the hunters?!" The Breton shouts in a panic before launching a fireball in the direction the arrows had come from, setting a small inferno in an isolated shop.
This caused the arrows to stop firing and an eerie silence to fall over the remaining members of the hunting group.
"I think you got him, good job D-" Fingar says, standing up from his cabbage cover, starting to congratulate the Breton before an icy spear impales him through the heart from a different direction.
"Fuckin' idiot! Stay down, Denium!" The veteran Nord shouts as he tries to think of a way out.
He notices that all the shots are coming from the same street section. leaving just two ways out, going deeper into the town or returning out the way they came in.
"We need to get out of here!" Denium shouts as the arrows stop firing as he runs towards the gate.
However, just as he's about to make it to the door, he trips on a string causing him to fall to the ground as two small glass vials, each filled with a different powder, crash against his head searing him with frost, fire, and steam as the caustic mixture eats away at his face causing him to scream out in agony.
Until screams die out completely, leaving only the Nord still pinned down at the stall.
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