《Forging The Beastmen》 Ch1 - Waking up Damn it''s cold out here, though it''s still better than the beatings I''d get back at home. But despite all their abuse, I''m still surprised they actually kicked me out the moment I turned 18. It''s rains heavily as I lay between some damp cardboard, resting in an alley I''m huddled between some dumpsters in a vain attempt to hide from the wind. I''m having trouble staying awake now though and my body trembles slightly, it''s a little painful but I don''t mind, I''ll just sleep it off. . * * * When I wake up and everything''s still damp, my wet hair plastered to my face. Although for some reason I feel like I''m about to throw up, and the ground seems as if it''s rocking back and forth under me. I have some trouble trying to sit up but I get there. I take a few breaths to clear my head and I''m hit with the distinct smell and sounds of the sea, that clear salty air and the sound of waves crashing against the hull of the boat. . "Wait, boat!?" I make to jump up but immediately trip and fall back down on my face where I get another good look at the floor; it''s an old mossy timber, slightly damp, checks out. I look down to see what tripped me and notice there''s a large pair of shackles locked around my paws. . Paws? Okay hold up there''s something clearly wrong here. What am I dreaming, or have I died and gone to purgatory? Reincarnation maybe? But I thought I''d have started as a baby again. Ah, but that might be it though. I''ve probably long since frozen to death in that alley by now huh. And as depressing as that should be I somehow don''t mind it, there wasn''t really anything there for me anyway. I check over the rest of myself and it looks like I''m some sort of small bipedal wolf-person. Hands, fingers, thumbs, it''s all there, but so is the fur, and the claws, some tiny horns behind my ears, and these cute little paw pads! At least my fur''s really nice though, light and dark brown, getting whiter on my front, and it''s insanely soft, except for this irritating wet patch I woke up on. Though I probably shouldn''t just sit here petting myself, it''s pretty addicting but I probably look like a huge creep. So I guess I''m a wolf person now, I can''t make any sense of that but I can cope. Better off than an ant or something. And it''s not like I''ve never played an RPG before. But how did I end up like this on some boat?The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement. I get up slowly, not wanting to fall again, and try to have a look around. It''s dark, real dark, but as my eyes adjust I can make out more of my surroundings. The first thing I notice are the bars. I''m clearly in a cell, so I''ve been kidnapped then? "Boo!" I turn around and nearly scream as I jump away, tripping over my shackles again and landing right back in the wet spot, and onto a tail I didn''t even realize I''d had. And wow that hurts, I think I''m gonna tear up! The woman chuckles. "So you''re finally awake? Though you still seem pretty out of it, you alright cub?" I look up at the woman, who turns out to be another wolf person, wearing some modest rags. Her fur''s a lot fuller and darker than mine, a beautiful mix of dark and light brown patterns. she''s a lot larger than me, too, very well toned and has some horns coming out behind her ears, yet she''d be impossible to see in this light if it weren''t for my eyes adjusting so well to it. "Uhm. . I''m not sure, really. But where are we?" I ask, still clutching my tail. "Hey? Well I guess you''ve been out cold since before they throw you in there ''til now, you must be hungry though. Here, you can eat as I catch you up." Just as I''m wondering where she''s about to pull this food out from, she suddenly roars out. "Hey warden!! The cub''s awake! Hurry up and bring some food before he blacks out on us again!" Well that''s woken everyone up. Though most roll back over to sleep, I can see other prisoners trying to get a glimpse of me through the darkness, though a human probably couldn''t see very much in here anyway. However light suddenly floods down into the room as I hear a door slam open. It takes a moment for my eyes to adjust to the sudden light, but they get back into focus and I can see the guard coming down the stairs with the torch. I sort of knew what to expect but I''m still fairly taken back by what he''s wearing I take a good look at him as he''s angrily marching over. He''s wearing mostly brown and red stained leather with some metal plates here an there, but what''s most striking is the big shiny sallet helmet he''s got on, real intimidating stuff. When he gets over he immediately starts yelling, clearly we''ve disturbed his nap. "You damn animals are lucky to be alive, you may be worth a slight more as pets but your pelts can sell just as well on their own, so don''t push it! Waking me up for this lazy mutt." He puts a tray on the ground and slides it into my cell before marching back off. It just looks like some simple stew, and a very large bone, not usually very appetizing but I''m already salivating, I really didn''t realise just how hungry I was. The wolf-like woman motions for me to start eating, which I eagerly do, immediately wolfing down the meaty stew. "So to answer your question, we''re pretty clearly on a slaver ship. Looks like the others here are bound for labour camps, but we''ll probably be going to the nobles, I''ve always heard they just love showing off their pet wargs. ." I''m chewing on the bone as I listen, and damn is it tasty, I can''t put a finger to it, it''s just so good! She seems to be telling the truth though, judging by the state of my cell compared to the others, and from what the guard said. "So that''s why they bother putting up with us, because we''ll be sold to nobles?" I ask, putting the bone right back in my mouth and breaking into the marrow. [Omg this stuff is the best.] "Well yes, though I wouldn''t say we''re much better off than the rest. As I said, the nobles like to use us a pets, showing us off to upstage one another, yet we''ll still be kept in cages like this for the rest of our lives." Now whilst I don''t like the idea of being someone''s pet, I''d at least get more of these bones, right? I say as much and she just laughs at me. "That''ll have to be all for tonight cub. What''s your name anyway?" she asks as she heads for her bed I fumble for some believable lie, I can''t use a human name here, right? I mean imagine meeting a wolf man named Steve. "Mars." I manage to force out. "And what do I call you?" "Hati." She mumbles back as she rolls onto a little mat covered in straw. I soon follow suit, not really having the energy to process all this at the moment, I look around for my own mat before I lay down, playing with my new claws until I drift to sleep, still chewing on that bone. . Ch2 - The Escape Kaboom! I jump awake to the blasting sounds of cannon fire cannon fire from above deck. [What in the hell is going on up there?] And almost as if to answer my question, I hear another cannon blast in the distance, soon followed by a large ball of metal tearing a hole right through our hull. The cell next to mine was demolished by that one blast, killing most of the prisoners inside at once, the humans. Well fuck. The rest of the humans are all stirring into a panic after having witnessed that, clinging to the bars and calling out for the guard, begging him to release them from these death traps. It''s no use though, the guard doesn''t even open the door to check on us. Though it''s not as if he can let us out anyways, what''s he got to do but wait for this to blow over and assess the damages. "Mars!. .Mars!!" In the confusion I hadn''t even realised that Hati had been calling out to me. She''s pressed up against the bars calling me over, trying to snap me out of my stupor. I snap out of it and move quickly to her side. When I''m over Hati quickly grabs my hand and ushers me to sit down together with her next to the bars, trying to make ourselves a smaller target and hoping that they could shield us from some of the larger of the flying debris that took out the other prisoners. We just sit there as the cannon fire continues, explosions of wood and metal tearing through the ship from both sides, occasionally crushing a few unlucky prisoners nearby. But what makes things worse is that at some point smoke started seeping through the cracks in the floor, stinging our eyes and making breathing difficult. And I really don''t want to think about what a fire''s about to do to this old wooden ship. And as I''m watching the smoke and flames rise through the floor, the wall bursts open behind me. With a deafening crash a large cannon ball tears through room, smashing right into my cell door on the other side and tearing it apart. After a bit of jostling from Hati I recover from the shock of what just happened. [Here''s my chance, we''re not going to burn in here!] I make to run for the door but I''m stopped by Hati still holding onto my hand, she won''t let go. "Hati what are you doing!? We need to get those keys!" I ask, trying to pull my hand free.Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators! "You''re going to get yourself killed." She argues, and she''s probably right, but a sword is still better than burning along with this ship. "I''ll be fine!" I exclaim, still struggling against her grip. [Just how strong is this woman anyways!?] "Relax, cub. I''ll let you go, I just need to know you''re not going to get yourself killed first", she says. Hati finally lets go of my hand after showing me a few things and I walk over to the cell door, carefully stepping through the twisted metal frame. Gently headed towards the stairs the guard came down from, I''m not worried about making any noise since there''s currently an active battle going on, not to mention all the screaming behind me. I just really don''t want to trip over these damn chains again. As I''m about to peek my head up over the stairs another loud blast sounds off and several smaller cannonballs pepper the room, mincing the walls with blood. I hear a brief groan coming from the room and I finally peek up to see the guard from before, minus a few bits. I couldn''t describe the scene, those things are just too brutal. . I walk up to the guard quickly before another round comes my way, searching him for the keys without looking up at the mess. I find them tied around his belt and I try to use my claws like Hati showed me, cleanly tearing through the leather cord. I quickly snatch the keys and undo my shackles before turning back toward the stairs. I get down and smoke has filled most of the room at this point, the flames having made it to this level. Hati calls out to me and I rush to her cell, quickly opening her door and undoing her shackles. "you actually managed it, I''m honestly a little proud", Hati boasts. The other prisoners are also calling out at this point, "Hey little guy, let us out too, yeah?! Even just give us the keys since you''re done, please!!" I walk over to the nearest group, I throw the keys to them and they quickly get to work unlocking their own shackles. I run back over to Hati, she''s standing by the hole in my cell holding two large boxes. She shoves one in my arms, "Hold onto this for your life" she says. I hardly have the time to question it before she roughly pushes me through the hole, overboard. I hit the water hard but I''ve somehow managed to hold onto my crate. The wind''s been knocked out of me but luckily the box floats very well, and since im rather small it can support most of my weight, keeping me almost out of the water. I hear another loud splash behind me and as I look over I see Hati coming out of the water holding onto the other box and some rope. She calls out and paddles my way. As she''s paddling over I get a look at the ship we were on, and boy it was huge. Nothing too fancy or decorative, just very large. There are two other ships circling the one we came from, they''re much more ornate in design. The two ships are far smaller in comparison, but loaded to the teeth with weapons, and clearly much faster. I assume this is the local navy judging by the proudly flown matching flags. Most of the larger ship is on fire at this point, and on the upper deck I even see some soldiers stripping off their gear and jumping overboard. However some are less willing to take their chances with the sea and surrender to the smaller two, a flag is raised and the cannon fire stops. Some planks are set to get the crew off as the ship burns down around them, already half-sunken. Hati finally makes it over and pulls out a rope from somewhere, tying us and our crates tightly together so can we move better and don''t drift apart. "come on now cub, we can''t stop yet. We''ve got to get out of here before those ships spot us, and there''s a whole lot of paddling to do before we reach that shore." As we drift off I can see some of the other prisoners jumping through holes from the lower decks, some managed to grab a box on time, others weren''t so lucky. I think I can see a few fighting over one even. . From the screaming and the new holes in the walls I could tell there were a lot more rooms full of prisoners on that ship, they really had it filled to capacity; There''s no way they''ve all made it out, probably still in there, still screaming. . Seems like slavery would be legal in most places, but I guess these guys were trying to skirt around the rules somehow? Either way it''s bitten us all in the backside here. I try not to think about it as I paddle on my box, watching the coast grow closer. Ch3 - The Lapis Eels After paddling all night we''re almost to shore. There are no beaches to speak of, but large red cliffs banked by a shallow gravely shore-line. I can make out a few caves here and there that''s make good shelter. Motivated by the sight of dry land, and the prospect of being able to dry off my fur, I pick up the pace of my paddling. "Whoa settle down there cub, not so fast!" Hati exclaims, quickly staying my now turbo paddling. "I''m glad you''ve got your spirits up but we don''t want to be doing any splashing around here. Just make smooth strokes, like this." showing me her form. I mimic her motions with these small new legs of mine as I ask, "What are we worried about? Being spotted again? There''s nobody for miles and those ships even went and sailed in the other direction, so why the caution?" Hati looks hesitant to tell me, but she soon elaborates. "Well from the stories I remember there should Lapis eels around here; Big blue-scaled beasts, as thick as a canon and twice as long, packed with muscle and covered in sharp fins. They''re meant to live near the cliff-coast up here, and we really don''t want to get their attention by splashing around too much. " I immediately stop after hearing that much and move a little bit further up my box. Hati just laughs, watching me. "we''ll be fine cub, they won''t come up so long as we don''t make too much noise." We soon get to shore without incident and start to dry ourselves off, Hati showing me how to properly shake to get rid of most of the water clinging to me. It''s dark but we can still see pretty well, so after the quick lesson Hati takes her time picking out a suitable cave for us to shelter in and we gather some driftwood to dry overnight, leaning planks and branches up against the cliff walls outside. After the work we''re both pretty tired and we settle down in a corner, sticking together for warmth as we drift to sleep. When I get up in the morning I''m almost reminded of Christmas with all my excitement, and the first thing we do is open the boxes we rode in on. The first one we opened had been full of hard bread, which would be the perfect traveling meal as it stays edible for weeks. Though unfortunately the box had gotten filled with salt water, and It''s all just a soggy mush now, completely inedible. When we cracked open the second box we saw that it was just as flooded with water, but was also filled with something called kento beans, which are now delightfully salty! We each take some of the delicious beans before sealing the box back up, and tear the other one apart for firewood, drying it with the rest. After a while we start to see some things drifting ashore from the wreckage, so Hati decides to take me up and down the coast to salvage what we can for the trip out of here. We mostly just find a bunch of firewood in the form of loose planks, and bit of linen in the form of a couple hammocks and one very large flag. I''ve also taken notice of a few bodies coming as well, you can always see a few here and there, just bobbing in the water, but I come across one that''s already been washed ashore and I can see the chunks missing out of them from where I''m standing. Something''s actually managed to take a bite right through this woman''s breastplate. Something I definitely do not want to meet.Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. In my search for stuff I eventually wander away from Hati and round a corner in the cliff and freeze at the sight. The water here is just littered with corpses and debris, there are that many bodies that I''d have expected the ocean to turn red if they hadn''t all simply drowned. I try to scan the water to see if anything stands out and I find a large bundle of crates not too far from shore, [What a huge haul though]. It''s all been tightly bound by some sort of cargo net, and there''s a man leaning on it. Looks like he actually tried to paddle that whole thing to shore himself, geeze, I''m kind of impressed. It doesn''t take long for me to decide to paddle out to the cargo, it''s too good for me to pass up, I shiver just thinking of all the goodies in there! As I get closer I try to call out to the man resting on the crates, not sure whether or not to expect a response. However he quickly starts awake and looks around, and I assume he''s spotted the sea of corpses he''s in as he immediately starts freaking out. But what I have a problem with here, is that in his attempt to escape this little hell he''s actually started kicking and paddling as hard as he can, trying to get away. I look around and I can see them coming already, the ripples in the water, the streaks of blue with their fins sticking out, almost like very long sharks. Some of the other bodies around us begin to disappear into the water, pulled under one at a time, but the man doesn''t seem to take notice. Remembering Hati''s warning, and the woman from earlier, I want to get away from here as fast as I can, but I''m already too far from the shore at this point. I make a judgement call and keep swimming toward him, I need to get on those boxes, now. Seeing it''s already too late at this point I pick up the pace, making it over and scrambling to climb up. The man tries to pull me off his boxes as he shouts, "Get off of there you damn beast! I brought this here and you''ll have none of it!", thinking I''m some sort of box pirate. But I really don''t care, there''s no way I''m going back in that water. I watch the streaks close in around us, and see the man stop and freeze as one brushes right between his legs, finally realising the trouble he''s in. He hardly has time to react as his body jerks downward, he grabs onto the net as he screams, trying to stay above the water, but they keep pulling on him so hard that the boxes are starting to tip, and I can''t let that happen. Not willing to be thrown in the water to share his fate I swipe at his hands, prying them from the net. The moment he loses his grip he''s pulled under without a splash, and the water is still. I''m so sorry, but I couldn''t die here. I try not to imagine what''s happening to him under the water as I wait for things to calm down, unmoving. After some time I inspect the boxes for something I can use as a paddle. Not finding anything I decide to try and work a plank loose from one of them, tearing it off and using it to gently push the cargo and I through the water. I finally make it to shore after a while and it''s time to take care of the loot. The cargo is way too heavy to drag in all at once so I carefully untie the net, making sure to keep it all in one piece, and unload the crates one at a time, piling them up on shore. When the work''s done I quickly rush off to go find Hati so she can help me bring it all back, and I find her already returned to camp working on a fire. I tell her about the pile of crates up the coast and we leave immediately, though when we get there she''s less than thrilled. "Mars, these crates, tell me you weren''t actually stupid enough to go into the water to get them with all these bodies floating around!?" Hati yells, gesturing to still numerous uneaten corpses. "Uhm, well yeah, kinda. ." I admit, rubbing my neck. And she really did not like that answer, "You''re damn well lucky to be alive!" she goes off, "What if there were some eels feeding on all of this? You think they would have hesitated to take a bite out of you!?" Oh boy. I hesitate for a second, but I tell her what happened and she calms down a bit. "Well you''re still a damn fool, but you made the right call out there, don''t let it eat you up." she says. Then all the sudden she pulls me into her arms, "I''m glad you''re safe, Mars.". I let myself sink into her and return the gesture. After a while we''ve finally managed to haul all the cargo back to the cave, Hati managed to get a nice fire going and we''re sitting by it as we eat some more of those amazing beans. After eating, Hati gets up to grab some of the wood to place by the fire. And that''s when I feel a blade press against my throat. Ch4 - First Blood I barely have time to register the blade at my throat before I''m roughly pulled back, my head being held tight in someone''s grip, completely exposing my neck. Hearing the brief struggle Hati turns around. "Mars?". Mars!" she calls out as the driftwood falls to the ground. "Well have a look at this. You know when we saw the fire we got our hopes up thinking it''d be some more of the crew who''d gotten ashore, but it''s just the beasts from below deck!" The man starts monologuing. "And would you just look at all that cargo they''ve gone and stolen from the company?" The man acts wounded, gesturing to the pile of crates we''d collected. "Grenin." another man speaks up, "It''s just some wargs, shut up with the theatrics and lets get it over with." "Alright, fine. Just trying to have some fun, we nearly just died you know? Anyways, we''re gonna be needing all of that cargo now, Beast. And I think we''ll be taking the both of you back with it." Says Grenin, smirking. Hati isn''t paying much attention to Grenin''s words though, as she''s just been moving slowly closer this whole time, looking for a chance to attack, but he''s finally picked up on it. "Now hold it there, beast! You''re really in no position to be trying anything when I''ve got the mutt here. Wouldn''t want my hand to slip now, right?" Grenin says, pressing the edge of his blade harder against my throat. [Damnit! Again with this familiar powerlessness, I''m in a whole different world and I''m still just going to be used and pushed around like this!? I can''t take any more of it, I refuse.] Hati meets my furious eyes and smirks, stepping back with her hands raised she flashes me her claws a few times, I don''t miss the message. "That''a girl. Go take care of her would you lads?" Orders Grenin And at his signal the two other men start walking over to Hati with some lengths of rope. Watching Hati quietly obeying, Grenin lowers his guard a little, "That''s right beast, you aught to know your place. Now get on the ground." And that''s when I feel his grip loosen. Releasing this rage inside of me, my body moves before my mind as I tear into Grenin''s hands with my claws, getting the blade away and trying to ruin his grip on the weapon. He tries to pull away but I bite into his arm, my teeth go to the bone and hold tight, but to maximize damage I try and shake my head around a bit, ruining his arm.Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. "Aagh! You fucking mutt, get off me!!" He cries out, still not dropping his sword as he tries to pull me off. But I''m holding fast, still tearing away at his arms. And on that queue Hati makes a move, suddenly leaping onto one of the other men who''s attention was on me. She catches him off-guard as she tears her claws through his neck, immediately dropping him, he''s out of the fight. Seeing this, the other two react quickly. Grenin stops trying to pull me off, swapping his sword from one hand to the other as he roughly bashes the back of my head with the pommel, knocking me to the floor and turning his attention to Hati, clutching his arm. I''m forgotten on the floor as I watch through blurred vision, the two of them closing in on Hati. But she doesn''t wait, not wanting the two of them to come at her together she immediately tackles the second man to the floor, tearing into his neck with her teeth. He''s probably dead. [Wow, how are the beast men walked all over with that kind of fighting strength?] The fight''s not over though as Grenin catches up from behind, roughly kicking her off his companion, a bit too late. He doesn''t stop there though, with his hands mangles he has no choice but to use his legs as he keeps on kicking her. As my head starts to clear I get to and see Hati clutching her sides, trying to defend herself under Grenin''s assault. Picking up one of the dead men''s swords I sneak up behind Grenin as he unleashes kick after kick to Hati''s sides, it''s sickening to watch. "you damn mongrel bitch! look what you''ve Done! Fuck''n beasts need to be put down!" he shouts as he uses both hands to get a grip his sword, about to finish her off. [Not happening!] I reaffirm my grip on the sword and thrust, pushing the blade straight through the bastards chest all at once. Grenin just freezes for a second before he drops his weapon, his hands moving down to the blade poking out his front, almost as if to check if it was real, then just looks at me sadly as his body collapses, tearing the sword from my grip. [I did it. .] I only stand there for a second thinking about it, then with my body still shaking from the adrenaline I step over Grenin''s bleeding corpse and make my way to Hati "Oh Mars. ." Hati looks up and sees me trembling, she quickly pulls me in tight and I wrap my arms around her, once again sinking into that soft fur as she winces. "Easy there cub, it''s alright. You only did what had to be done, nothing more." She comforts. She''s not wrong though, they were about to kill us both. [It was the only way to save Hati], I tell myself. But why do I still feel like throwing up? Maybe it was just the knock to the head. . After some time in her arms I calm down and get up, walking over to Grenin''s corpse I pull out the sword. I also remove his belt and sheath, hoping I can eventually learn to use it properly. "luckily they weren''t wearing any of their expensive looking armour from before, they must have torn it all off when they jumped ship so it wouldn''t drown them.", Hati mentions And it she''s right, if they''d had on those hard plated leathers from before then we wouldn''t have stood a chance. "But I guess we should get rid of the bodies now, cub. Don''t want to leave them rotting around camp" "Mmh", I stand and nod, grabbing onto Grenin''s heels, and pull. When we''ve sent the bodies out to the water we sit by the shallows to clean ourselves up, Hati showing me how to get the all blood out of my fur with some sand and water. It''s uncomfortable and feels really gross but it gets the job done, my fur coming out even cleaner than before. After we''re clean Hati throws some water on the fire to put it out, understandably wanting to be more careful after the whole ordeal And she suggests we get ready to leave in the morning after going through the crates, no point sticking around after all, especially not now. We lay down and I eventually drift to sleep, once again trying not to think about the things I''ve done. Ch5 - Running We get up early this morning and I''m struggling to open my groggy eyes as I stretch out my still new body, amazed by how flexible I am now. "Enjoying yourself there, cub?", Hati calls out. "Come on now, we''ll have to get going soon and we still haven''t touched those boxes" she says, pointing to our haul. "Ah, coming" I call back, slowly walking over, still rubbing my eyes. When I finally make it over to Hati she''s already gotten to work opening the crates, their tops simply caved in with a stomp to reveal the contents before moving onto the next, effective. Not wanting to let her do all the work however, I walk up to a box and pull out the sword, jamming it under the lid. After some pushing and twisting eventually the nails pop free and I can take a good look inside before, before moving to the next. It takes about an hour to break into all of the boxes, and not all of them were holding anything useful, but we did manage to get a few good things out of it. The main things being some carpentry tools, and a bunch of food along with some nice hemp sacks that''ve really boosted our carrying capacity here. The food it was mostly just more of the hard bread, and some strange blue scaly fruit that even Hati hadn''t seen before. I carefully loaded all I could into my sack, making sure to stuff in the rest of my salted kento beans in there too, whilst Hati carried the tools and some more food in hers. The tools weren''t that useful for us, but Hati wanted to bring them along, saying they''d be worth a lot to any clan. I''m surprised all of this was able to float so well actually. A few minutes later when we''re all packed we start moving south, following the cliff edge in hopes to find a way up. And we do, after a few hours of walking we come across some secure ropes hanging from the cliff, left by someone else while ago. Getting to the top of the cliff was easy thanks to the rope, and we were stunned by the change in scenery when we''d made it up. The dark and craggy cliffs giving way to lush forest, with the sun coming from directly overhead the large & dense trees, it was beautiful. "Do you know where to go from here?" I asked Hati. "Well I barely have a rough idea of where we even are.", she says. "But since we''re on the coast, all we should need to do is head east for a few days to see where we are". I hike my bag up at that, ready to get moving. We wander through the forest for the next couple days, Hati showing me some edible plants here and there. Though she gets especially excited when she sees a large pair of twin mushrooms growing straight out of a rock, and she eagerly cuts them free, stowing them in her bag.Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. "What''s with those?" I ask curiously. "Oh you''ll see soon Cub, these things are a damn blessing, just need to dry out for a while first". We walk for another few hours and the trees start to thin out suddenly, opening up to a small human village. And whilst I''m happy finally seeing civilization again, Hati immediately panics. "Mars, we need to go. Now." she says as she grabs my arm, dragging me back into the woods with her. "Hati wait, why all the panic? What could a few villagers do?" I ask, confused. "It''s not the villagers I''m worried about", she replies. "It''s the damn adventurers." "Border towns are usually packed with them, here to either clear monsters from the nearby forests, or to hunt wargs like us." She says, keeping her eyes forward as we walk "If even a single villager even spots us they''ll run right back to town and tell the lot of them. In which case we wouldn''t be able to rest until we get to a clan." "It''s how I was captured before." she admits. As we''re making our escape, we step through some bush and come out right in front of a man carrying a couple of rabbits and a bow. He freezes for a second as he makes eye contact, just staring at us, confused, before suddenly dropping his catch and running off for the nearby town. "Fucking Damnit!" Hati cries, Grabbing my arm as we run in the opposite direction. "We need to go straight to the north, now, and we can''t stop until we get there." she says in a panic. We''re running for the next few days, and I while I have a lot more stamina than I''d remembered, we still need to stop and rest from time to time. At one stop I pull out one of those large blue fruits from my bag, hoping to finally try one. I spend about 5 minutes fiddling around with the thing before i figure out how to actually open it. And peeling off the scales one by one, the soft fruit presents itself, smelling very sweet, almost overly so. I take a bite of it and the sweetness hits me, it''s so rich, there''s even a little sour coming through as it tingles on the tongue, I love these things. I peel open another and pass it to Hati, glad to see her enjoying it as well. It''s taken just over a week of traveling but we''ve finally made it to the north end of the forest, and without any sign of adventurers tailing us. Stepping out of the tree line we walk into a large golden valley, fields of nothing but long dry grass that seems to go on almost endlessly. Hati just looks at me and smiles, "Welcome home Mars" "Huh? What do you mean, there''s nothing here?" I look around for a village, or even an encampment, but I see nothing for miles except the grass, all the way to the mountains in the distance. However she just chuckles and replies, "This is warg territory now, we''re not near any clans yet but there won''t be anyone chasing us through here." "Oh, so you''re saying we can finally take it slow then?" I huff, completely exhausted from all the running we''ve been doing. [Oh please just let it stop.] I may have some insane stamina now, but even beastmen get exhausted. Hati notices my exhaustion and sighs, "We''ve got a lot of walking to do yet, Mars. No clan would even risk settling so close to the human border, that''d just be begging for a raid." [Nope, nope, this calls for drastic measures.] I look up at Hati and give her my best puppy dog eyes, really hamming it up with a whimper. "Ugh. ." She sighs. "But yes, I guess we can take it a little slower now." she finally relents. "Oh sweet release." I say out loud, immediately collapsing on to the grass to rub my sore legs. " You were an elder right, Hati? Where''s your clan?" I ask, watching the clouds. "Destroyed." she says curtly "It was raided by a far larger clan in the east, the Brey Horns. And I was caught by some adventurers as i was escaping, winding up in that ship along with you." She sighs, clearly not enjoying the memories. Suddenly she seems to think of something, "How about you pup? Do you even remember which clan you came from? You haven''t seemed to be able to recall much of anything since you woke up next to me on that ship. ." "Oh, ah, right" I stammer, "Well that''s actually it, I really don''t know anything. Not what clan I came from, who my parents were, or even who I am. I really have no knowledge of this world." "Damn. . " Hati sighs, "I''d suspected as much bit still, I''m sorry Mars, that must be painful for you." "Though I''m glad at least you remembered your name." She notes. "Ah, actually I''d just made it up on the spot." I admit, "Sorry. ." "But things aren''t all bad" I add. "I mean, at least I''ve had you looking out for me." Hati just freezes for a second, before pulling me right into a tight hug which I sink right into. Things really aren''t all that bad. Ch6 - Taro Clan According to Hati there should be a large clan by the mountains to the far north that''d take us, the frost claws. It''ll be a damn long trip but it should be safest for us, far away from humans and with little threat of being attacked by other clans. And so that''s the direction we''ve been moving in for the past three days, and after all the walking I can finally start to see some smoke in the distance. Hati says it must be one of the smaller clans if it''s this close to the border, and as good company as she is, I''m getting pretty excited to finally meeting some people other than Hati, hoping to learn some more about this world. After about another day of walking we spot the small camp, and although we''re still a miles off we can see it pretty clearly due to the flat profile of the plains. It''s by no means small though, made up of dozens of wide tents, which look to be roughly made of thick pelts, seems comfy. From the edge of the camp I notice a small group of beastmen departing, running straight towards us on all fours. I guess they saw us, too. [I did not know we could run like that though, really could have used that sooner. .] The party gets here pretty quickly though, spreading out in front of us. "Hold!" calls the one in front at he stands up; A huge silver beastman, he''s at least 2 metres tall and wearing some roughly stitched leather armour strapped around his vitals. "You''re both pretty far out alone, what''s brought you here?", he asks as he approaches. "We''re just coming home from human territory." Hati replies. "We got away just recently, and have come to seek refuge in the north." They look us up and down for a moment before nodding to each other, waving us over. "Come then, you can speak with the chief, he may let you stay with our Taro clan for tonight" says the large beastman as we head towards their camp. It''s pretty boring as we walk though, and I''m still infinitely curious about the beastmen. So, "Are many beastmen as tall as you?" I ask the large one. But they all just go silent at that, glaring at me. Hati''s the first to speak up, quickly explaining on my behalf. "I''m sorry, kin. The cub''s lost his memories and doesn''t know anything since before waking up as a slave." Their expressions quickly soften at that, and the larger approaches me. "Well glad to be receiving ya then, cub. The name''s Huskar", he says, pulling me firmly under his arm with a friendly grin. "And if you ever need anyone to teach you how to use that sword around your wait, I''m your warg!" "But, try to just say wargs, boy. ''Beastmen'' is their word and it''s not something we use" he adds firmly. We walk like that the rest of the way like that, with Huskar and the others happily boasting about their clan.This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. Their camp is made up of dozens of large tents, made with stitched together We make it to their camp grounds after a little while and Hati immediately walks off with Huskar to speak with the chief, leaving me to roam the village and have a look around. "Make sure not to do anything weird!", she calls out over her shoulder. "Just how much of a lost cause do you think I am?" I yell at her back, and she just smirks at me over her shoulder as she walks off. Having just arrived at my first real beas- Er, warg camp, I couldn''t wait to have a look around. The smells were just unbelievable, and it seemed like every tent here cooking something different. After having eating mostly hard bread and beans for nearly two weeks I just can''t stop myself from salivating as I walk around the tents just sniffing the air with my new nose, losing track of myself. I''d been wandering around for about an hour before Hati finally caught up with me. "Mars!", she calls out as she approaches, "I thought I told you not to act weird?" "Huh? why, what''d I do?" I say with my nose still peaking into into some strangers tent "Ugh, nevermind." she sighs, rubbing her hand into her face. "Anyone can tell what''s on your mind and you can relax, I''ve arranged with the village chief to stay for supper, so you''ll be able to try some real warg delicacies!" I perk up at the prospect of food, immediately following Hati as she leads me to the chiefs house, catching all the scents from the tents nearby, I can''t wait to see what it all tastes like~ When we arrive at the large tent in the middle of the camp the clan chief immediately welcomes us in, sitting us down on some of the cushions thrown around a large pot gently boiling in the center. He and Hati talk for a while as I space out, just thinking about what''s in that pot as the steam wafts out to meet my nose. I''m salivating again. Eventually though they finish their talk and look at me with a pair of worryingly large grins. The chief quickly gets up and brings over a small pot full of black paste and some bread. "So I hear you''re a special case. Want to learn more about your culture, yes? Well I hope we can show you much here" he says. Hati hasn''t said anything but she''s still grinning at me like a madwoman as the chief spreads the thick black paste over the bread, handing it to me, he eagerly invites me to try it. "We call this Burmite, it''s our clans specialty." the chief says. I hesitate for a moment, watching their expressions. I take a bite of the bread and I''m immediately hit by the most intense flavour. The saltiness of it is overwhelming, and there''s an intense burn on my tongue. This is amazing! It even reminds me of the kento beans we pulled from the ocean. And then the second wave of flavour hits me once the saltiness mellows out, giving way to a wave of pure umami. [oh this stuff is just heavenly, I could eat the whole damn jar.] I quickly finish off the rest of the bread, watching the chiefs and Hati''s faces fall. "More please!" I ask. The chief just hands me the spoon full of the thick paste, dumbfounded as Hati just bursts out laughing, holding her sides as she rolls on the cushions. "Hah! with how much of those damn beans this cub''s eaten he didn''t even flinch!" exclaims Hati "well I''ll be damned", says the chief, "usually this stuff takes a lot of getting used to, most people would spit it out and run for water with their first tasting" he admits, clearly having expected this to go differently. He seems to realize something as he looks up and asks "You think try one of those beans of yours, cub?" I don''t see why not, "yeah, sure, I''ve just been snacking on these most of the way here, they''re pretty good" I say, handing him the pouch. The chief eagerly takes the bag, throwing a bean in his mouth. "Good, right?" I ask. But the chief just drops the pouch and starts coughing furiously, getting up and running for the nearest water jug. After the chief recovers from his ordeal we pass around some hot bowls of stew, eating as we talk. He invites us to stay for a few days before we move on, even offering us a tent to stay in, which we gladly take. I was getting pretty used to sleeping outside, but I''ll still happily take a warm bed any day. He also takes the opportunity to invite me to join their hunting party with Huskar tomorrow, which I eagerly agree to, wanting to take him up on his earlier offer. Finished talking, we say goodnight and take our leave, being directed to the tent set aside for us. When we get to the tent we settle in pretty quickly, setting our things aside and lying on the soft rugs provided. "So you''re joining Huskar on his hunt tomorrow, Mars?" Hati asks. "Well yeah," I respond, "I still need a lot of practice with this sword, and Huskar says he can teach me a few things" "Well get some rest then, you''ll need to be up really early for a hunt" she says, rolling over to sleep. And realizing she''s right, I quickly follow suit, not wanting to make a bad impression. Ch7 - First Hunt, and Old Tails It''s early morning and the sun hasn''t even come out, but somehow I''ve managed to drag myself out of bed, headed to the camps to look for Huskar. I manage to find him pretty quickly alongside the rest of the hunters, already strapping on some leather armours over their rough clothes. "Hey, Mars!" Huskar calls out as he waves me over, getting everyone''s attention. "I''m surprised you actually made it, most cubs your age don''t have the willpower to be getting out of bed this early". He says, roughly patting my shoulder as the others walk over. "So this is the cub that messed with the chief, huh?", "Hah, heard the chief didn''t stop drinking all night after that one", "Glad to have you with us cub, hope you can keep up!" a few of the others speak up, all just as roughly patting me on the back. After a brief exchange of introductions, Huskar tells them to go back to checking on their equipment and leads me inside a particularly intimidating tent; Twice as wide as any other, surrounded by wooden spikes with a warg standing guard by the entrance. The inside of the tent is filled with racks of weapons and leather armour, and although they looked relatively basic, they could probably outfit about 50 or so wargs with all this. "well you''ve already got your own sword there, so let''s get you some armour fitted then." Huskar says, walking over to one of the racks of leather and pulling off a set for me to use. There''s one pauldron for the primary shoulder, a pair of vambraces for the wrists, and a large thick leather collar to protect the neck. He show''s me how to put it all on and makes sure it''s properly secured before we walk back out to the others. When everyone''s set we gather up and head out of the campsite at a jog to warm up, then it becomes a run, then we''re sprinting as we move through the long grass. Huskar comes up beside me as we''re running. "Mars! Do you remember to run on fours?" He asks. "Not at all", I quickly respond. "Great, just try not to land on your face or shoulders if you fall!" He says, suddenly pushing me forward. "Wait wha-", I don''t even get to respond before I tip over.You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story. [But why!?] I lose all sense of balance as I topple forward. my mind is telling me to pull my arms up to protect my face, but my instincts quickly takes over, throwing my hands down in front to meet the earth. I feel my claws come out and dig in as I spring right back up, pulling my back legs under me and doing the same with them. My mind soon catches up, taking over and getting me into a rhythm. "Hah I knew it! Even if you forget, your body never will!" Huskar''s shouting through the wind ad he laughs to himself. [Oh I''ll kill him.] Seeing me get into my stride the rest of the group quickly follows suit, throwing themselves forward to their fours as we race off to the tree line. The group''s a lot more organised than I''d thought they''d be, stalking unseen through the trees as they hunt, directing prey towards one another, and more often than not just slowly surrounding them completely. They''re a lot like real wolves this way. They make sure to get me in there too, as they demonstrate their techniques, often getting me to finish the kills as Huskar shows me how to use my sword. By the end of it we''d managed to catch about five large birds, a strange cross between a chicken and a cassowary. I help carry one back to the hunting tent and return the armour before another hunter shows me to a bloody table at the other end. I worry for a moment before he tells me to put the bird I''m carrying on to the table, and briefly teaches how to butcher it. I do mess up a few cuts but I get the hang of it; They even give me a few cuts to keep for myself which I happily take. When I leave the tent Hati is already waiting outside, chatting with Huskar as they laugh. She catches me walking out and waves me over. "Hey Mars! Huskar here was just telling me how you learned to run on four, huh? I didn''t think you''d pull that off so quickly, you did well." she chuckles, rubbing my head "Yeah, it was quite the surprise to me to.", I say, staring daggers at Huskar. He just rubs the back of his neck and laughs awkwardly, trying to act innocent. I pass Hati the cuts meat I''d just gotten and ask her if she could cook something from them, making sure to let her know I won''t be back until later before I walk off; Headed to the edge of the camp to practice what Huskar had shown me. * * * "Now what? We''ve already come to the border." "We can''t follow them through beastman territory, we should be turning back!" "Not yet!" I bark at my companions "That hunter assured us that these two were genuine high-pelts, describing them both as having the best coats he''d ever seen, you know how much money we stand to make if his story checks out!?" They both perk up a bit at that, easily tempted by the promise of gold. "Look, how about we just go a little bit further, these tracks aren''t that old and we could probably catch up with them before they get too far" "Fine" they consent, but we''re turning back at the first sign of trouble". We walk for another couple days, carefully keeping an eye out for any beastmen when we spot some smoke in the distance. "With only that many fires, must be a small clan, right? Do you think the two stopped here?" "Well I''ll try to take a look" I say, pulling out a telescope." I get a much better look at the camp like this but there''s not much to see other than tents. I''m looking around for a while before my eye''s drawn to some subtle glints at the edge of the camp, it''s a young beastman swinging around a small sword. "Well shit there he is. That hunter really wasn''t lying, the pelt on that thing looks top quality." "well yeah but it''s a bit late now." "Maybe, but at least we''ll still be able to tell one of the lords about the camp. They''re always paying for good raiding targets, but I''m sure they''ll be all the more interested in the two high pelts staying there." "That''s assuming we can make it out of here without being spotted, yeah." "shut up and mark the map." And with that the party changes direction, headed east for the border forts. Ch7.5 - Sleeping in I wake up in the morning to see Mars scrambling out of the tent as he struggles to tie his scabbard. I''m surprised he actually managed to get up this early, he''d always beg for more sleep when we were traveling. Well, I''m glad to see him motivated but now that we''ve finally got a chance to rest I intend to make damn good use of it, by going right back to sleep. It''s only much later in the day that I finally bother getting up, about mid-afternoon, and I figure I should head into the camps and find something to do. I adjust my clothes and head out the tent, asking around until I get invited to help out with some leather working. I spend the next few hours just sitting there stitching leathers with the other women before I spot the hunting group walking back through the camp. Wanting to check on how Mars went I hand off my work and thank them before moving to catch up with them at the war tent. Huskar spots me coming and waves me over, telling me that Mars is inside learning to butcher, and we get to talking from there. "So how was the hunt?" I ask, "Mars didn''t give you any trouble?"If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. "Actually not at all", Huskar says; "He''d just follow behind and patiently watch, always doing exactly as he was told with no complaints, which is pretty unusual for a cub his age." "Well I guess that''s not so surprising, Mars usually seems pretty innocent but he can be weirdly mature for his age sometimes, it''s almost unsettling." I admit. "I''m with you on that, his obedience and discipline aren''t that of a normal child, he didn''t even hesitate when I told him to make each of todays kills, he just went right in there and did it." "Ah" I sigh, "Well he''s already made a kill before, saving me." I admit, briefly telling the story to Huskar as I wait for the cub. We hold the conversation when we finally see Mars coming out of the tent. He looks rather pleased with himself as he hands me the meat he''d just cut, and tells me he wants to keep practicing what Huskar had shown him today, asking me if I could use the meat tonight for supper. I assure him there''ll be food waiting when he gets back and he thanks me, headed off towards the edge of the camps with his sword. Seeing him go, I head back to the tent with Huskar, continuing our conversation as he helps me get the food going. "Well he''s a tough kid that one, I''m sure he''ll turn out alright." Huskar says as he turns some steaks over the fire. "Yeah, he''s adjusting pretty well." I say. "So, have you thought about what you''re gonna do when you finally get to the north?" Huskar suddenly asks. "what do you mean?" I ask. "Well, are you two going to stick together when you settle in up there?" "I actually hadn''t thought that far yet, but I''d like to keep taking care of him for now. But ultimately it''ll be up to him." I say, spotting Mars already walking back to the tent as the sun comes down. Ch8 - Decrepit The sun''s barely up by the time I''m out of bed this morning, there''s no hunt planned for today but I still want to go to the forest on my own and practice what I can as I learn the area. Grabbing a sack and my sword I sneak my way through the tent as I try not to wake Hati, and as soon as I''m out I start running, dropping to my fours and sprinting the moment I''m out of the camps. The forest is about five miles away but with this body''s speed and stamina, I make it there in about fifteen minutes. From the tree line I find the path the hunters took me on yesterday and start from there, moving slowly north. I don''t see a lot of animals along the path, and that''d be why there''s no hunt today, they''ve got to wait for the new beasts move in and make their homes. Eventually though I hit the end of the trail as it fades into the brush. I guess the hunters don''t usually come out this far then, but I don''t intend to stop any time soon so I just keep on walking north, keeping an eye out for anything to hunt. It''s about twenty minutes of walking later that I''ve finally found some tracks, little hoofprints just casually meandering through the trees, and I start to put to use what the hunters showed me, how to not just track but to hunt, keeping silent and down-wind as I trace their path. The tracks lead me north east and after a following for a long while I finally spot something up ahead of me. It''s a large boar just nibbling on some mushrooms, orange and black fur with some streaks of white on its sides, and many, many sharp tusks coming out of it''s mouth, almost like overly-large teeth. I try to move closer as I step through the trees, watching as it eats, but just as I''m drawing my sword I step on something that crunches, Oh shit. I look straight up at the boar and it''s looking right back at me. Well fuck. . The boar immediately darts off into the bushes, but I''m not giving up so easy, breaking out of cover and charging through the bushes behind it. It gets away from me surprisingly quick though, and I''m left trying to track the damn thing again. After another ten damn minutes of chasing the boar''s tracks I''m lead right up to a stone house, old and decrepit. It''s a bit weird to see it standing in the middle of the forest, the yard long since overgrown by the trees, but the boar''s tracks lead straight through the front door, so I guess I''m following it inside. I''m just walking up to the house when I hear something crashing around inside, It''s still here!If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. I rush into the building as I draw my sword, wanting to catch the boar before it gets away again. It''s pretty empty inside, not much lying around other than old iron pots and loose stones. There aren''t any tracks in here but it couldn''t have gotten far, and I''m just poking around as the boar lets out a loud panicked squealing from another room. Did something just attack it? is there another animal? A person? I raise my guard as I search the building, moving carefully towards the room the sounds came from. "Who''s here?" I call out Nobody responds, but I can hear something shuffling about in the next room, and I carefully peek around the corner. I see the boar bleeding out on the floor with a sword in it''s chest, and standing right above it holding the sword, a skeleton!? It''s aged to hell with moss growing on it''s yellow bones, and most of it''s sword and armour has practically been eaten by rust, just how old was this guy? It somehow notices me peeking around the corner and pulls it''s sword from the boar, pointing it at me, which is weird since it clearly doesn''t have eyes. With the boar dead and the skeleton already having noticed me I drop all pretence of stealth and step into the room with my sword forward, beckoning the creature to attack, which it does, rather quickly stomping towards me with it''s sword raised to attack. It''s a predictable swing at least, and when it reaches me I just raise my sword to try and block it, which turned out to be surprisingly easy. The skeleton''s actually pretty feeble, which is about what you''d expect from a creature with no flesh on it''s bones, but still, what''s with that? The skeleton swings again and I block it just as easily, but this time I follow up with a kick to it''s chest. It fell apart. The skeleton just fell to bits with that one kick? what the hell is that?? It''s bones lie scattered across the floor, and I''m glad to see they don''t start magically recombining or anything as I step over them. Well that was weird but at least it''s dead, I hope. Was that it though, just one skeleton? Surely there has to be more, and where''d it come from? Is there an ancient cursed graveyard nearby or something? I head out of the building to have a look around and there''s actually quite a few of these old houses. I spend the next hour searching around them, eventually coming to an old town where the trees haven''t been able to grow into. Old cobbled streets and the ruined houses that line them, all leading up to a massive stone wall. What is that, a fort? Out in the middle of the woods, how long has this place been here? Wanting to take a closer look I walk into the town, and as if having been stirred by my presence a few skeletons walk out of the buildings to meet me, weapons ready. They''re a lot stronger than the first one and it takes more than a few kicks to clear them out, knocking them down and stomping on their chests until they stop clawing at me. When it''s clear, I head over to the walls and try to climb the jagged stones, which takes some time, but I make it up eventually. I hop up and have a look at the other side, and the walls aren''t crumbling at least, but there''s still skeletons everywhere. I don''t get a lot of time to look around though as a few of them head my way, looking a lot cleaner than the rest with their clean pale bones free of any moss. They come at me fast though, and I barely have time to bring my sword up when one swings down on me, almost buckling my knees. These ones are so much stronger than the rest, stronger than me even! And with so many of them on the walls with me, there''s no way I can fight this. I quickly break away from the fight and scramble back down the walls into the town, and luckily they don''t try to follow beyond the wall, not caring now they''ve chased me away. What the hell was that, why did they get so much stronger near the fort? There has to be something there , strengthening them, keeping them alive, but I can''t really guess, and I don''t intend to leave it at that. I''ll have to come back another again to have a proper look, and maybe I can bring Huskar or the hunters with me to help clear them out. I head over to the first building to collect the boar and haul it onto my shoulder, slowly walking it back to the clan as I think about it.