Inktober 2025 - 4 - Murky

Smoke in the air, fog over the water, silt swirling under it; whatever creature they were hunting, it was well-equipped.

Since the founding of their Order, a couple of decades ago, they had taken trophies from pretty much every beast to ever be reported to roam the kingdom. They were mounted on the walls of the great hall of their headquarters, a testament to their efficacy. Their enterprise had first started as a service, pest control, if you will, before turning into more of a sport, for them anyway. Some kills were easy, because the target did not have any magical power, or none that could help it evade them, at least. Other quarries took more skill to bring down, because they did have some unconventional tricks up their proverbial sleeve. Those took them a little longer, required a bit more equipment, but they were still manageable. And then, there were the really tough ones to crack, those during whose track they did risk major injury and even death. And something was telling them that it was one of those they were on the trail of, right this moment. No matter, though: all the more glory for them when they would bring its carcass back to town.

The hunters had followed their mark to this swamp a while ago, and they had decided to follow it in. It seemed like a good place for a final showdown. They were slow-moving, now. Keeping their approach quiet was made difficult by the fact that they had water up to their knees, and that their boots kept getting sucked into the mud with every step. But if movement was laborious for them, surely it would also be arduous for the beast, would it not? And all the same, if visibility was bad for them, so it should be for the monster as well.

They had not yet gotten a good look at it. The villagers' description had been more than approximative, not to mention inconsistent. The hunters had confirmed its presence, and they had come up on its location, but that was about it. However, since it had been seen on land, they knew it could not be fully aquatic, which meant it was likely to make some noise in the water at some point. Magic or not, even full-blown sea monsters created ripples when they surfaced.

When the lead hunter felt something touch his leg, he thought for sure he had stumbled onto his prey. Before he had even finished taking aim, though, he could already see it was the floating body of one of his teammates, or rather what was left of it. Even if it had been day, he would have barely been able to see the water turning red with the blood of his people. He had not heard any scream, not even a splash.

As he died, he could not help but be a bit in awe of the creature's camouflage.