The hunters' castle had a tower, half carved in the mountain, half built from the same stones. At a window, an old man had been looking at Chalas's return. He saw the hunters kneel, shaking his head softly in silent rebuke. He watched with curiosity the young female his leader had brought back. "Another recruit," he muttered, then he added, "I hope she has some prior training. He frowned when the pair didn't enter the castle and went to the library. From a distance, he couldn't make out the words. When he witnessed the two young persons go get the carcass of a beast in the carriage, he scoffed, "Chala, did you find us another scholar?" He sighed, "Could it be you finally gained some wisdom?" The older man winced and turned toward the door, preparing himself for the confrontation.
The door was opened, and the hunter leader entered. He didn't knock. He stopped a few paces inside the room and simply said, "Vellam." The older hunter answered, "Chala." Silence stretched, like time and space warping from a predator about to pounce. Vellam rolled his eyes and scoffed, "I'm not saying the words, you know that. Is today the day you finally kill me and save me from the financial nightmare you keep me under?" The silence tensed, ready to unleash fury. But the hunter leader only had a low chuckle. "Come on, Vellam, things can't be that bad." The old hunter went toward his desk, where piles of papers were weighted down with crystals. "As your master of coins, I have to tell you they are not better either." He sat down and searched for a document. After a while, he found what he wanted and laid the sheet in front of him. He reviewed the numbers and then locked eyes with the leader. "In fact, our financial situation is on the brink of collapse."
Chala walked to the window and looked outside. His gaze lingered on the mismatched rooftop of the library. "Tell me, then, stop hiding things from me." The accountant rolled his eyes again, "It's just the same thing I've been telling you for years, except now we're there. The treasury is so low, we will soon be unable to function as a faction." Chala walked back toward the desk and sat in a chair. He drummed his fingers on the armrest and asked, "What seems to be the problem?" The accountant locked eyes with his leader, "Apart from your questionable recruiting methods?" Chala shrugged and waited. Vellam sighed and continued, "We've been spending more than we earned since the guardians' fall. We have been living on their treasure, and the coins are almost depleted." Chala nodded. "Then we just need a new treasure to fill the coffers." The accountant gaped, slowly closed his mouth, frowned, and asked, "What are you saying, Chala?" The leader had resumed his finger drumming on the armrest, eyes lost in the distance, he said dreamily, "We will exterminate the whisperers, and take their riches."
Vellam's fist smashed on the table, making the carefully sorted accounting sheet fall to the ground. The crystal holding them in place rolled, fell, and shattered on the stone floor. "What are you saying? This is madness! The whisperers are not a threat. Their ability doesn't drain the mist. We never saw any portal open because of them." Chala looked at the old man calmly, "Well, maybe we were wrong, even without the guardians, the number of portals opening increases. We have to be proactive and try to contain the situation before things get out of hand." The old man slumped in his chair, shaking his head, already defeated. "And who will lead this glorious charge?" Chala pondered for a while and then answered, "I'll send Dhorros." Vellam moaned, "Do you really have to do that?" The hunters' leader got up and walked toward the door. Before closing it behind him, he said, "It's overdue, and you know it." The old man was left alone in the cold office. Alone with loose papers and his failure.
Chala walked down the stairs and stepped outside. He barely blinked when he went from semi-darkness to daylight. Without breaking stride, he walked toward the training ground. A dozen hunters were training, all in their early twenties. A giant of a man was overseeing the training. Chala crossed his arms and looked at the mock fighting, his eyes calculating. The tall man walked toward him and faced him, arms crossed. Their eyes locked, neither of them backing off. Chala's gaze was all composed and calm, but the giant's was restrained fury. "You wanted to talk to me, Chala?" Asked the hunter. The leader nodded absent-mindedly, "Yes, Dhorros, but it will wait until tomorrow. I have an announcement to make, and I need everyone present." With those last words, his gaze had shifted toward the library. Dhorros frowned, "I'll be ready." Chala gave him a rare smile, "I know you will."
Both men watched the training in silence. "You're missing one," said Chala after a moment. Dhorros nodded, "He fell." The leader's mouth thinned. "We're losing a lot recently. What monster did he fall to?" The giant sighed, "Tentacles portal." Chala glanced at the tall man, "Tentacles? So soon?" He drummed his fingers on his crossed arms. "It only confirms what I thought, we must act now or the world is lost." Dhorros' mouth thinned, "Yes, I agree, now is the time to act." Chala walked away without looking back. "See you tomorrow, Dhorros." The giant didn't answer and looked at his student's progress, his face tense.
On his way back to the castle, Chala stopped at the library. His hand was almost on the handle, then he hesitated and finally withdrew. "Enjoy your time of peace, Jessica. Tomorrow you become a hunter." He looked at the sky, his face showing a rare expression: pain. "And there's no turning back after that." Droplets of rain splattered on his face, tracing mock tears on the leader's features. Ignoring the rain, insensitive to the cold, the hunter looked at his gloved hands. Small tendrils of smoke were wiggling, like they were trying to escape. Chala clenched his fist, and the shadow tentacles faded with a faint hissingsound. Then he walked toward the castle, and soon disappeared in the grey curtain of the coming storm.