Shadow Tracker

By Jonathan E. Barnett

Alcasia has been a hunter since a very young age. She hunts the most dangerous animal in the Great Forest of Rhent. The huge beasts skin hardens into a substance called brontum which is necessary in this world where iron is very rare. When taxes are raised, she ventures further than any other hunter to try and keep her family secure. This is when she accidently runs across an invading foreign army clad in steel. After escaping from this force she returns home to find these strange invaders have destroyed her village and kidnapped her brother and sister. As the village discusses rebuilding, Alcasia teams up with several friends to attempt a rescue.

Alcasia, Robyr and Trepuk lead a small band of villagers on this long mission to save their loved ones. The villagers head east toward the cities of the Plain. Alcasia will face the bigotry that people have to shadow trackers like herself as well the might of this great army of steel.

Alcasia and her band travel from the village on the edge of civilization and into the midst of a war. Alcasia moves among the armies to try and protect her loved ones. While she is known for hunting monsters, she finds herself facing a far greater monster.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Mar 17, 2021
• ISBN: 9781664163867

Jonathan E. Barnett

Jonathan E. Barnett is a retired Army Officer and attorney living in Central Wisconsin. He obtained a B.S. in History before going to University of Wisconsin Law School. Jon likes to read , fish and follow sports. He writes for some sports websites and hosts a Wisconsin Sports podcast with one of his Army buddies. Jon works in his writing while raising his five children with his wife.

Book preview

Chapter 1

She could feel every tendon tighten. The warmth of each muscle moving in a controlled, familiar pattern. She focused on each breath. She was so close to her prey and this hunt required every sense working at peak efficiency. She felt the slight breeze against her skin. The sun was at its height now and her sweat made the wind tinge a little more intensely. Alcasia wore her usual brown shirt that kept a loose fit at the shoulder. It freed her arms, but still kept her warm in the cool southern forest.

Alcasia did not feel the weariness that had plagued her just hours ago. The intensity of the hunt was all consuming. After spending the full morning walking along the trails cut through the forest by the large brontars, but that first sound of the mighty beasts had stirred her predatory spirit. She gripped the bow in her hands and readied her first arrow. She made sure to stayed downwind of the sounds. She listened. It was possible there was a single male brontar ahead, but the danger was finding a herd that had spread out. Getting spotted would ruin the hunt, but it might also mean a long run to safety from an angry brontar.

Although she was just seventeen, Alcasia was an experienced hunter. She was always quick, athletic. All the people in Green Point had seen it. The villagers had encouraged her father to bring her with him on hunts early on. More brontar skins would mean more money in the small village. Many generations of the village had been on this hunt. Brontar skin was hard, but when a brontar died the skin would harden within two days. Hunters could sometimes extend this by days by rubbing oil into the harvested pelt. In the end, the hardened skin would be so tough that even the rare steel blades would have trouble cutting it. Yet, if harvested quickly and cut properly, you could create weapons and armor that was intimidatingly strong. This final product was known as brontum.

The elites in Rhent would pay high prices for armor or the traditional cascar, an ornate ceremonial knife of the Old Families. The royal court would make sure to arm their military with these elite weapons. This money kept the poor villages on the edges of Great Forest supported. While the Great Forest could provide much to these villagers, the money made up for all the hardships of living on the periphery. The money came at a cost, a single mistake could lead to an injury or even lead to death. The brontar was not an easy hunt. Adult brontars were often 12 feet tall and could be two tons. A bull brontar could get up to 15 feet tall and approach three tons. They were pure muscle and anger. Taller at the shoulder than the hindquarters, the brontar had a dark brown skin. Hard to see in the dark parts of the thick forest, but the brontar were never hiding. Brontars browsed through the forest eating leaves, bark and even small trees. Their eyesight was fair, but not sharp. Still, gaining the brontar’s attention would mean a sure charge from the beast. While you would turn to run from the crushing steps of the brontar, your eyes would always be drawn to the large horns of the monster. The brontar had two horns, one on either side, protruding from large cheekbones.

The fat cities along the coast had tried, at varied times, to raise a domestic brontar herd. If you could manage to breed out the aggressiveness the skins were never as hard. It seemed the harshness of the Great Forest forged thicker, tougher skin. There were still small herds raised in the deforested portions of the eastern kingdom. This produced a weak brontum that was not good enough to military weapons, but impoverished Old Families would try to pass off these farm-produced cascar. It was believed that the quality of the brontum increased the further into the Great Forest you went. It was said that if you travelled beyond the great Forest Lake, you could get a brontum stronger than steel. It was a long, dangerous journey. Also, the brontars got bigger the deeper you penetrated the forest. Many hunters had chased this dream of riches to leave their villages with one fewer hunter.

That is the very reason Alcasia had traveled several days to get to this spot. Tired and hungry, she needed to finish a hunt today. She had to train her mind to avoid rushing. Slow is smooth, smooth is fast. She repeated the mantra in her head. Slow steps. Her soft leather moccasins allowed her to feel for anything that might make a noise. Keeping her eyes up. She needed to find a place to get a clear shot. She was looking for a tree where she could find a level spot about twenty feet up. The trees of the Great Forest had large, wide trunks. They could reach up 50 to 75 feet into the air, but sometimes you could find a branch above the brontars reach. She needed one of these branches now. Hunters had to pick their movements very carefully. Brontars would eat fresh leaves off the mature trees, but they would also eat the smaller trees, trunk and all. Brush could be patchy or sparse.

Just ahead, about twenty feet away, was a branch that was perfect. She took her time. It was noon now and the sun that broke through the canopy left her vulnerable to being seen. She grabbed the bow by the top, near the bowstring and ran the rest of the bow along her forearm. She got onto her stomach with the bow hand stretched out in front and her other arm grabbing the ground. She turned her head so that she kept her left ear to the ground so she could keep her eyes on the brontar. It also let her listen to the ground in case she had missed another one wandering nearby. She slowly crawled like this, using her right arm and right leg to slowly propel herself toward the tree. Deep breaths, slow breaths. She needed to control her heart. Quick breaths would just increase the stress and it would make more noise.

After some long minutes, she reached the tree. Alcasia moved the bow around her body so that the bowstring was across her chest and the bow was behind her. She would need both hands to climb the tree. This was a tankti tree. It was a very soft wood. It actually helped her grab on and grip as she climbed. The soft wood of the tankti tree was terrible for burning, but stable and would survive a charge from the brontar if it came to that. She tried to climb slowly so that she would not start running short of breath. She could still hear the beast moving through the forest. Good. Stay close. Don’t you wander off now. As her hands both reached the branch, she could move more easily now. She knew the brontar would be wary, but it would not be looking up for danger.

She settled into her spot. Deep breaths. She calmed her trembling body. She would not move her hands to the bow until she was ready to train in her shot. As she slowed her heart rate from the climb she judged the shot. The brontar was easily 30 yards away. She had a clear view from here and there were only a few trees that could get in the way of the shot. She started preparing her body by getting her feet in the right spot. She needed a sturdy base. She curled one foot so that it came directly underneath her, sitting on the ankle. This would keep her body still as the foot and leg created controlled stability in both directions. She let her left leg dangle. Keeping the one leg lower helped keep her center of gravity a little lower. It was as if she could hear the voice of her father. All the years that she spent at his side, practicing with targets, walking the forest. She studied the giant before her and gauged the direction it was foraging. She needed a view of the right shoulder. The brontar’s heart was much closer to the right side of the body. The only way to quickly make a kill was to hit the heart. Unfortunately, this one was moving away and to the left, showing the back and a slight edge of the left flank of the animal. She needed to bring it back around to get a clean shot.

There were tankti fruits hanging near her. The fruit was often called brick fruit, partly for the rounded rectangle the fruit formed, but also because the texture was difficult. The hard outer rind gave way to a grainy, pulp on the inside. It was only eaten in the villages along the forest and most frequently on the hunt. It was plentiful in the forest and very nutritious, but there was no way to cook it that was pleasing to the pallet. Alcasia decided to try an old trick from her father. She grabbed the closest fruit, careful not to let the plucking of this fruit make any noise. She grabbed one brontum arrow from her quiver and held both the brick fruit and the arrow in her left hand. She surveyed her terrain. There was an open patch, about eight yards across to her right. About twenty-five yards off, there were three thin trees growing. Alcasia measured the distance in her mind. Her plan was to hit the first tree with a glancing blow so the fruit would then strike a second tree before hitting the ground. A single noise in the forest might not stir the great monster, but three sounds in a rather measured rhythm would definitely draw a charge. She wiggled the fingers of her right hand before taking a tight grip of her bow. She gripped the arrow between her forefinger and middle finger and gripped the fruit with her palm and remaining fingers. She closed her eyes for just a second to give herself one moment of stillness before the fury. Alcasia let out a slow breath, opened her eyes, and threw the fruit.

It was a fluid, practiced act. The arm pulled forward, rolling the fruit off the ring finger and pinky. As her arm reached the edge of her throw she released the fruit. Quickly she rounded the motion back to use the speed to draw the bow. She notched the arrow and drew it back in a single, powerful motion. She kept both eyes open at first, watching everything. When the brick fruit hit the first tree, the large animal’s eyes flicked to find the sound. With the strike against the second tree, the beast snapped its head around. At the instant the fruit hit the forest floor, the great beast wheeled around and charged at a sound.

Everything slowed. The brontar lifted its large front legs to swing around. The sudden turn exposed the right flank. Alcasia closed her right eye and followed the charging mass of muscle and horn. The uneven lope of the brontar made the shot difficult. A miss would mean a protracted struggle and maybe a wasted hunt if the monster just kept running out of sight. Alcasia found her mark on the beast, right where she knew the heart would be. She had been feeling the wind for hours, gauging the necessary adjustment. The beast broke through into the gaps i n the trees and Alcasia wasted no time. There was no mercy, no hesitation in her release. She listened for the whistle. The sweet sound of the arrow cutting through the air. It was a pure sound. Always the same. She could still hear her father’s voice, The arrow always flies straight, it is up to you to get it going the right way. She savored the whistle. Then the dark thud of arrow piercing skin, cutting through tissue. The force of the arrow was not enough to push the brontar, but she knew she hit the mark when the brontar continued for two more strides and then fell. It tried to lift its head and its leg twitched slightly, but it would not rise again. She heard the cough of the beast and then the slow release as the weight of the monster pushed out the breath in the lungs. Alcasia finally allowed herself to relax.

She touched her right hand to her chest. She felt for the brontum amulet and looked up to the forest canopy. The small carving was a semicircle with a line that crossed the semicircle. The ends of the line and the semicircle extended beyond the other shape. It was the symbol of Ipapug, the god of night and hunters. The image was both a crescent moon and a bow. The darkness of the Great Forest, the hunters of the western wilderness considered Ipapug their protector. He was often pictured with the hunter’s bow. The necklace was a way for Alcasia to remember to thank the gods for her success. A good hunt would mean her family would be well paid for at least a month. The Forest always provides, she thought of the old mantra.

There was a wave of relief. A journey this long needed something to make it all worthwhile. It would be a full two day’s journey back to Green Point and she had many things to do before she could return. As the adrenaline wore off, Alcasia could feel the absolute weariness. Her hands were sore from the climb and from the crawl. As her muscles slowly relaxed, she could feel the result of hours of tension as well as the stress of the journey. Her hunger finally started to make its presence known. She had stopped feeling the pangs of hunger as soon as she first heard her prey, but now it came back with renewed vigor. She would need to eat and rest before processing the skin.

All these were familiar rhythms to her. Old friends. Just a part of the hunt. The first thing to do was wait. All the noise would bring other brontars within earshot. She had not seen or heard anything, but as much as she had to trust her senses out here she could not risk being wrong. Especially now that the pain of the hunt was washing over her. Alcasia slowly turned and laid on her stomach. She secured her bow in a few branches and let her arms and legs dangle from either side of the large limb she was on. There was plenty of work to do, but she needed to rest. She needed to let the forest establish a new calm before she could safety climb down. In the meantime, she needed sleep.

Chapter 2

Alcasia stirred. It had been a short nap, but necessary. As she slowly opened her eyes, she paid close attention to the sounds and smells of the forest. She heard the birds around her. She could smell the brontar she had recently killed. There would be no way of knowing if there were more nearby by the smell alone. She felt the breeze. She could hear the wind through the leaves, but there was no tell tale sound of motion below. She opened her eyes. The light was dimming. Dusk is coming,. Better get going.

She took one more good look around before heading back down the tree. She needed to prioritize her work for the time being. It would be night soon. While there was always the threat of getting caught off guard by a brontar, but night would mean solvas. Solvas had long snouts and sharp teeth. They were very long with very flexible backs. They were only knee high, but were as long as a grown