the Acromentulas part 1
Returning to Hogwarts from their weekend of training, Susan and Alex needed to wait till the end of the day class' to return to the forest.
Both exit the castle, under the curious gazes of students, without bothering about them. When they neared the edge of the forest, Firenze was already waiting for them, along with Bane and another centaur.
After vanishing inside the wood, it didn't take them long to appears in a clearing. At the centre, around 200 of centaurs, made of mare and foals, were surrounding a herd of Therstral and Unicorn.
Seeing that both herds didn't have more than 60 individual, each was worrying when knowing those were among the largest population group of those magical creatures around the world.
Without losing time, Alex took blocks of wood out of his storage, and start to construct, and start to build a stable enough to house three boxes on both sides. Each box had enough space to house four Unicorns or Thestrals, and be a little cramped. If one were to look carefully, he would be able to see the small lines of runes littering the construct.
~~~
"Alright, it small, but it the safest size I could make, while leaving the construct relatively open." Say Alex to the gazes that were on him. "Those stable work on the principle of a vanishing cabinet. Once the doors closed, everything inside will be sent to the one on the island. I would like for a centaur to accompany two Unicorns or Thestrals in each box, to keep them calm. It the first time they will be submitted to something like this, and I don't want to take the risk." Announced Alex, as much to assure the elders, then warning the centaurs.
The three elders share a world in private, before the mare step forth, leading younger mares, who themselves were leading a pair of Unicorn or Thestral.
Opening the door, Alex and Susan separate briefly, each taking a side, helping the centaurs and showing them how to secure the magical creatures.
"Sue, I leave the first transfers to you, show them the pasture, the enclosure and the stable, alright?"
"Hmm, I got it, Alex!" Responded Susan lightly, peeking on his cheek, before returning to the stable.
Once all Unicorn and Thestrals were securely anchored in the box, with a mare at their side, Alex close the double door of the construct, on the outside, all barely feel the pulse of magic, before everything stays quiet.
"Alright, all that left is for Susan to open the door from her side once all are out of the stable." Immediately say Alex, before any could start to panic.
While they had chosen to thrust Alex, he could still feel the undertone of unease at the closed doors, not knowing, and unable to act if something happens.
Two minutes later, the doors open from inside, letting exit Susan, along with four of the previous mares.
"Two had stayed on the other side to keep an eye on the Unicorns." Says Susan to the elders, who relax in seeing the nod of the mares behind her.
~~~
Now that the device had proven to work, a batch of twelve Unicorns and Thestrals where send, and twenty minutes later, the last batch quit the Forbbiden forest forever. Once the two race of magical creatures were sent to the islands, it was the centaur turns.
Even if more numerous, 126 mares, 49 foals and 30 warriors to keeps them safe, moving the centaurs turned easier. Each use of the vanishing stable was sending a group of 33 centaurs, along 12 others via House-elves.
Everything was taken care in three jumps, leaving the remaining 100 warriors who would participate in the Acromentla hunt.
Being already late, the centaurs accept to leave at tomorrow the main even, knowing it wouldn't do them well to hunt the creatures in the dark.
~~~
Returning to the Forbidden forest the following day, both had shed their uniform, and wear a light leather armour, made of Acromentulahide. Even if not as strong as dragonhide, it would be enough to protect them against the bite of the younger spider.
Rejoining with the group of the centaur in their old clearing, Alex took out small pouches from his pocket space.
"I know that the centaur race can craft its arrows, so I only prepared this for you all. If you dip the arrowhead in the pouch, they would be coated in venom. The venom is potent enough to need the smallest of scratch to poison the target.
It action it also shifts and would kill under a few second, so make sure to not it anyone else with those, as there is no cure know."
"We thank you for your gift, hunter." Say the youngest of the two centaur elder, who stay behind to oversee and confirm the fall of the Acromentulas.
At his word, each centaur took a pouch, securing it on their quivers.
"We will leave the preparation to you, hunter, as while centaur are proud warriors, we are too few to face head-on the eight-legs," Unshamfully say the centaur, aware of it race short-coming. Were it was any other centaur, none would have left the matters to him, due to their pride, but the old centaur wanted to see the day after the calamity deal for, and wasn't young anymore to suffer a blow to its pride.
"Very well, the best would be for us to entrap them, making sure they can only came and exit for a single point, while firing at them from height, is there a place like this in the forest?"
"Hmm." Thought the centaur, searching among his past century and half of roaming the forest for such spot. "The resting place of the Unicorns, a small body of water created by a waterfall. The place is well hidden for those not knowing of its ways. The tribe would be able to aim at the eight-legs from above."
"Let go then." Nodded Alex, already having an idea of the general structure of the place.
~~~
They need to run for ten minutes before attaining the place.
When Alex see it, he was pleasantly surprised to see it. Under the form of a clearing, the place was similar to a hole made on the forest ground. The waterfall height was rather consequent, around 25 meters high, but what pleases him was the large circle arc made in solid rock.
The arc form three-quarter of a circle around a small pond at the far end. The inside was devoid of trees and the ground uneven and full of rocks. While it wouldn't hinder the Acromentulas, it was an open space, easily oversee from above. The entry of the clearing, made of a soft slope, was large enough to allow a consequent swarm to pass through. That way, few of the Acromentulas would try to circle the clearing and climb down the walls.
The edge of the wood was nearly on at the edge of the hole, while the constant past passage drew a forest path.
"It good, but I fear that a part of the heigh-legs would circle the edges, to strike the centaurs who stood at the side of the waterfall." Mumbles Alex, before contouring the hole, and attain the small stream. Slapping his hands on the ground, the rocks around him morph, turning into a natural bunker.
Repeating the action under the awed eyes of the centaurs, he rapidly constructs a secure firing spot that would allow the centaurs, once inside, to snipe at the Acromentulas on a 360°.
"It will be a little cramped, and they will be trapped inside, but it will protect the centaurs and should prevent any loose. If perchance some were to be bitten, my elves would take them away to the island and cure the poison." Tell Alex when he turned back to the large group.
~~~
The elder looked with awe and a hint of fear at the prowess of the hunter. Never in the memory of centaurs had a wizard able to shift the earth on such scale with such ease. It was evident that he wasn't like the rest of his race, possibly something else altogether. What worried them the most had been that they had been unable to see his fate in the stars.
It was here but veiled, as if he wasn't entirely from those land, even though born on them. Seeing the construction didn't help to calm the elder heart, as once again, his brethren were in the hand of the hunter. Never before the centaur had felt such contradicting situation, free, but entrapped.
Steeling his heart, he led his brethren in the stronghold. Until then, the hunter had show kindness and trustiness in his action. While the wizards had all turned treacherous at the end, the old centaur would give his trust the last time, and seal his brethren fate alongside.
~~~
As the last of the centaurs enter, Alex seals the bunker, entrapping them in, while staying outside.
"My elves had spread blood from there to the nest; the eight-legs shouldn't be too long, be ready."
Once he sees that they heard him, he turns to Susan and nod. Both rapidly climb to the nearest tree branch and lay in wait. When he turned again to her, he could see Susan tremble a little. Taking her in his arms, hearing a small yelp from the girl, he warmly hugs her.
"Don't worry; everything will be fine. They will be at most only ten Acromentulas for each of us. The larger one wouldn't be able to climb to us, so focus on the smaller first. Our venom will turn each killed Acromentulas in dust so that the ground will be corpse free."
Snuggling in Alex's chest, Susan let a small sigh of relief when she feels his warm embrace, before breaking the hug. Looking at him in the eyes, she caught his face between her hand, before light pecking on his lips.
Alex was taken aback by the sudden event, and while it wasn't their first kiss, it was the first real one, other than the ritual. Until then, they had kept to cuddling and hug, still learning to know the other.
While he knows her bold for those type of thing, he would have never thought that it would be her who stole the first one.
~~~
I was broken out of my thoughts at the light shaking grounds, Snapping my gaze toward the entrance of the clearing, I could see countless Acromentulas the size of a labrador running in frenzies toward use.
"Be ready sue; we have incoming." Said I seriously.
As my mate, this would be my first true battle. It was funny that it only hit me now that there is a chance for me to die today. Other than Voldieshort, it was the first time in eleven years that I would face danger.
Leaving hidden on the island had dulled my sense of reality, making me forget about the danger that the wizarding world hid.
'Once everything is over, we need to get rid of Voldie soul shard once for all, and get out of this world; I did with it.'
-At least! I was starting to fear that you would pass the rest of our life holed on the island. While you have been alive till then, you still hadn't begun to live. Your too familiar and secure on the island, you need something else, a reality call. Otherwise, we may as well have been better to die the first time-
I could hear CS complain, and couldn't help but be agree with him. Living on the island had to turn my life in a dull dream. The luxury and lack of challenges were starting to killing me. While I'm proud of my upbringing, I didn't struggle to obtain my current lifestyle, all was a gift from my ancestors or stolen from others.
'You think that getting rid of the shard we have would be enough?'
-They might be a problem with the diary, but since we have the main fragment... I don't know, there only a single way to found, but for this, you will need to stay alive!-
Shutting the conversation, I took my bow from my pocket space. Pulling on the string, I aimed at the first Acromentula I lock my gaze on. Taking a deep breath, I held it and couldn't help but feel as if time had stopped.
Not a single sound reached I hear, the ominous wind of the forest seems to glide on my skin, and the vibrating tree turn still once again. On the other side, behind the clearing, the horde of Acromentula seems to have stopped.
The sight was astonishing and dreadful, a splotch of dark seeming about to engulf anything.
Without thinking, I let my arrow free, not able to see anything else than a white line bolting to them. Even without setting at my limit, the arrow had enough to bury itself half in the beast.
I could see that the second the one behind stomp on its body, it had already turned into dust.