A clawed hand closed onto the man's ankle, and with a curse he stumbled . The beast grabbed the man's arm with it's other hand, and the both of them tumbled through the edge of the forest and onto the hill beyond. In a flurry of claws, fur, and torn clothing, the two rolled down the hill onto one of the many muddy paths that wound through the country side. With a thump, the two crashed and separated on the path. Shakily rising to his feet that, the man turned to the beast. Stalkers, being creatures of darkness, despise intense lights of any kinda. The beast lay, moaning on the ground, faint whiffs of smoke rising from it's body, as midday sun beat down upon it.

"You've escaped this time, little man." The beast snarled, crawling on all four towards the trees. "But, know that when night falls, I'll be coming for you."

"Wonderful." The man said in an exaggerated tone, as he slipped his empty pistol into its holster underneath his jacket. "So, I guess I'll have to use what little time I have left. I'll be seeing you then in, what, six or so hours?" Turning away, the man began to walk down the path, followed by the shrieks and curses of the stalker behind.

This is the man's job, and the man's name is Tib, short of Tiberius. Tib is part of the Arbiters, an organization dedicated the elimination of the various monsters, demons, an spirits that inhabit the world. Tib just nearly got killed while doing a routine job, which was supposed to have been finding and putting down a rabid dog or wolf that had been attacking the villagers of this little nothing-town. The problem is, the creature behind him is neither a rabid dog nor a rabid wolf, it's a Stalker. Despite the Stalkers appearance, there are several key differences between it and a normal animal, namely they are a lot harder to kill and a lot easier to be killed by.

The previous month, Tib had woken up in his tiny bed, in his tiny quarters, on the forth floor of the dormitory, in the east wing of the Rock, the Arbiters fortress and head of operations.