章 231: Unwanted Gift

Michael slowly climbs out of the cave passage, Hircine's words still on his mind... Not even a week in and he already had the attention of evil gods, was this a new record? Probably, but certainly not one he ever wanted.

He glances down at Hircine's reward in his hand. It was a tassel, a Stag Skull tassel that would hang not from threads, but some kind of gross-looking sinew that looked like it'd been freshly torn from an animal's corpse.

Hircine called it the 'Vessel of the Hunt', you needed to equip it on your clothes, armour, or weapons for it to take effect. As for what it did? Well, it basically enabled him to track his prey via 'scent'. He hadn't tried to use it yet, but he doubted he ever would, not only because Hircine would be very aware of him when he did, but because, like most things the Daedric Prince of the Hunt did, he'd made it 'fair'...

When using the Vessel of the Hunt you could track your prey, but, you would also be put at a similar disadvantage. You would become extremely visible, not just to your prey, but everyone else as well, ally or not. This might not seem so bad, until you consider that Michael's invisibility would be disabled, and his hard-worked stealth skills would take a massive hit.

Lastly, the Vessel of the Hunt couldn't be removed until the hunt was over... This meant, if he failed to kill or capture his target, he'd permanently be on the hunt for them, unable to remove the Vessel of the Hunt until his quarry was dead. Until then, he'd continue to be affected by the Daedric artifact...

It was quite powerful, being able to track anyone eventually, but that didn't mean Michael was going to use it liberally, if at all. Having a Daedric Prince looking over his shoulder constantly was the last thing he wanted, especially someone like Hircine who liked playing games with mortals for entertainment.

His last words still sent a shiver up his spine, making him anxious and his palms sweaty as he held the artifact. "Go now, mortal, but know this. I know your scene. Play fair and well, hunter, and this may be symbiotic, as opposed to parasitic."

Michael wasn't sure how to take being called a parasite, but it wasn't like he was wrong. In comparison, he probably did look like a parasite compared to Hircine... Still, he'd need to find a way to avoid attracting his attention any further.

He shakes his head, storing the Vessel of the Hunt in his inventory and making his way through the exit of the cave. The gathered people all tense up as they spot him, probably thinking that he'd been killed and that the bear was after them.

His appearance likely didn't help, being completely covered in blood and all. "G-great gods! What happened in there!?" Valdr exclaims, rushing forwards and examining Michael for wounds, one of his eyes still kept firmly on the cave entrance.

"You want the good news or the bad news?" Michael asks after brushing off his concern.

...

"Bad... Is Lohir-?" Valdr quietly asks, his voice straining as he forced himself not to choke up.

Michale nods, "I found him, Lohir. He's dead, with barely enough left of him to be buried." he says, causing everyone to look down sadly in a solemn mood.

"Is there really any good news?" Valdr asks in a morose tone, looking as if he was blaming himself for the situation.

Michael gestures at himself, "Considering that this blood is from the bear, I'd think so. That giant bastard jumped me, but I got the better of it." he says, obviously not letting Hircine's involvement known.

The group gape at him, their eyes now scanning the blood on his body as if it were the Ichor of the gods. The fact that he didn't have a visible injury on him only makes the situation more unbelievable. The fact that a teenage foreigner who hadn't even started to grow hair on his face yet had slain an animal that'd killed their most experienced hunter was slowly clicking into place in their heads.

"Lad, show us." Niels states, gesturing for the cave, both wanting to see the corpse, as well as recover what's left of Lohir.

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The subsequent shock, panic, and then adulation the group experienced once they laid eyes on the bear was almost tangent... And it only shocked them further when they discovered the severed limb and foot of the bear on the opposite side of the room from the corpse...

"Gods, what are you, Talos reborn!?" Ari exclaims, giving the bear a hard kick which doesn't even budge the huge corpse. "This thing's like a small mammoth! I don't even know who would win between this and a giant!" she says, beginning to send 'fight me' eyes at him... Or was it 'fuck me' eyes... Michael couldn't really tell.

Eventually, though, the shock of seeing the huge bear faded, and the group stepped past it to where Lohir's body laid, his mangle corpse causing some of his closest friends to cry out in sorrow.

Michael just stayed at the back however, letting the group grieve.

Thirty minutes later, Valdr walks over to Michael with a small, bitter frown on his face, "Michael, I have something to ask of you... I would like to have Lohir wrapped in the bear's pelt on the pyre, by rights it is yours, so..."

Michael glances at the bear and shrugs, "It's yours." he says. Sure, he could sell the pelt and its meat for a good sum, but what was worth more, good publicity amongst the folks in Falkreath, or some gold?... Usually, he'd pick the latter, but he was good on gold for now. Another couple of dungeon raids would have him living like a king, so he wasn't that bothered.

Valdr lowers his head deeply, "Thank you... We really owe you a lot,"

"Just buy me a couple rounds of drinks and we'll call it even." Michael remarks, patting the guy on the shoulder, "I'll wait outside, you guys can handle skinning the thing, after all, it's yours now!"