"Oh, my wretched luck! More than half of the jars had demons sealed in them, and I didn't open any other than the one with the treasure", the hunter pondered to himself as he let out a long sigh.
"What am I going to do now to get rid of these incestuous offspring? And we only had that boy with us".
Then he scratched the back of his head while glancing with the corner of his eye at what remained of the boy's corpse: "Oh, my foolishness, I fell into the pit I dug myself. I was the one who asked them to bring just one child, what was I thinking for heaven's sake?... I must try my luck at running"
The hunter placed the jar on the ground and then squatted beside it, turning his back to them and pretending to pick up the fallen gold coins.
When he finally gathered a bit of courage in his legs to proceed with his plan, a sudden kick unexpectedly came from behind, violently knocking him to the ground and making his already blood-stained clothes become even more dirty with dust.
The pained hunter turned to see who was responsible for this heinous act against him, rubbing the spot of the blow with difficulty. Before him stood none other than Ser Declan, the clumsy 'knight of faith and the order'.
Blood was boiling on the man's face in anger, and sparks were flying from his eyes as he yelled:
"What were you thinking? Why did you throw that jar at me, you scoundrel?"
"Now is not the time for explanations; once that hungry devil over there finishes his meal, he will attack the rest of us. We need to get as far away from here as possible right now" ,said the hunter coolly as he stood up, brushing the dust off his clothes.
"He is right. First, let's get out of here alive!" the witch remarked.
Their faces turned instinctively towards the beast engrossed in its meal, as greed for the gold coins had distracted them from it. Thus, both the hunter and the guardian hurriedly bent down in the depths of the darkness to scoop up the coins from the ground, and as soon as they finished, the witch swiftly snatched up the jar. After that, everyone took to their heels, not daring to look back.
As soon as they came out the forest and met with the other guard and the horses, the hunter opened his cursed mouth and said with broken breaths:
"The night is still long; you must bring me another child so we can open the remaining jar... Should we return to that lord's stronghold, he must..."
Ser Declan did not give him the time to finish his sentence, and slapped his cheek with his thick, rough hand, the sound echoed from afar.
The hunter tried to escape, but he grabbed his arm tightly and began to rain slaps upon his cheeks while cursing and swearing.
The hunter did not dare to move or utter a word, so he stood quietly with his eyes lowered, receiving the knight's slaps one after another until a tear fell from his flushed cheek and blood dripped from his lower lip.
The witch shouted at the knight: "That's enough! The kingdom needs him"
Only then did Ser Declan release the hunter's arm and angrily move away to where the horses were tied.
"Let this be a lesson for you," the witch said to the hunter, then continued:
"What I know about the sons of Osman is that they are a proud people, who do not accept humiliation and will retaliate in kind... you left him hitting you as drums are beaten during the seven days of manfee's weddings"
Then she signaled to one of the guards, commanding: "Take the dagger he has; it doesn't seem like he knows how to use it against someone of his height"