Miriam

We travelled around in a pattern, hitting villages and towns. Tommy said that the monster-hunting was more lucrative than animal hunting. I understood this, but I started to miss it. The simplicity and lack of danger in hunting deer was a comfort that I could no longer afford.
 
It surprised me initially how skills used in hunting could be so useful in hunting deadlier beasts. Stealth and ranged combat allow for a safer way to hunt these beasts without too much risk.
 
Tommy started to go on his own jobs. He claimed I was more suited for simple beasts, while he believed that he could take larger bounties on his own. He said that I would only hold him back.
 
A job that stands out to me most would be the ogre job. Bandits had run through a popular road and stole merchants. They stole the carts and the people, presumably to sell as slaves or to get a ransom. None made it to the village successfully. A scout traced the people back to a cave. I was hired to rescue as many people as I could, the murder of the kidnappers was optional.
 
I snuck into the cave under the cover of night. I can see in the dark, perhaps the bandits could not. The cave rang out with squelching and groans. I prepared to shield my eyes from what I presumed was a celebration after their recent raid. The sight of the ogre mashing the corpse of a man with a boulder will be hard to forget.
 
The pens of captives were nearly empty, only two were left, a beautiful woman with white-blonde hair, and a man in a long coat and a bandana. An ogre went and collected the man. They run his head and then started mashing the corpse with the boulder.
 
As the ogre was distracted by the corpse, I snuck into the cage and released the woman. To celebrate her new freedom, she invited me to a walk in the forest. I hunted dinner and we talked over the fire. That started our relationship.
 
From that day, I loathed to leave her. Tommy didn't approve of my attachment to this woman, she was just another burden. I disagreed with him over this. Miriam was becoming like family, I needed her.
 
Miriam was one of the merchants, she wasn't from this village and had no home. I spent my gold to set her up in a safe tavern for a few weeks until I could come back with more. Miriam took a job as a chief in the tavern. She was able to rest there on credit while I was away.
 
Seeing her after my travels was always a pleasant sight. It wasn't long before we saved enough to marry. I took a small loan from Tommy to afford a small house, I couldn't let my wife sleep in a dirty tavern, she needed better.