Publisher's Synopsis
Finally! ...An adventure novel for the insensitive reader. Cricket is a frustrated young Beasthunter. At least he really ought to be a Beasthunter. If he could find a Great Beast, he'd surely kill it. He'd kill it so hard...! Just as fortunate for everyone else as how unfortunate it is for Cricket, most are declaring the Great Beasts were hunted into extinction over six years ago. This was not long before Cricket's father (one of the last of the esteemed Beasthunters given the opportunity to make a name for himself) passed away from a mysterious plague. Since then, Cricket has done some pretty stupid things. He wound up trapped in an ambiguously indefinite service contract under the local gladiatorial champion, Talwaen. Although Talwaen's seemingly god-like strength and rumored invincibility landed him an implied formal role as protector of the city, Talwaen's ruthless disregard for the safety and comfort of others has his integrity in constant question. Local rulers are concerned that Cricket is in actuality a slave of Talwaen. At times even Cricket himself has trouble stating if Talwaen is his friend or more like a captor. Although Cricket makes a point to appear with Talwaen at social events, Cricket often finds himself hesitant during times when Talwaen is in danger; he is uncertain if it benefits him to help defend Talwaen or not. With this and other baggage in tow, Cricket and Talwaen set out to kill a banshee, a horror in the night, that creature what emits the call of death itself. By daylight the fiend vanishes, leaving them and their new swamp elf associate in confusion. What they come to discover will change Cricket's perception of what separates humans from demons.
