ã€ŠLegacy of Kailã€‹


 Prologue

    Levi Akugata, at home in his family¡¯s Keep, opened the door to his parents¡¯ quarters. He had been sent to grab his father¡¯s cloak and take it to him. The familiar smell of scented candles greeted him, and the sight of colourful fabrics filled the room. What grabbed his attention, however, was the unusual sight of a bookshelf out of place. It had been swung open like a door. Levi closed in to investigate and found a secret cove behind it. There was a ladder that descended down into the darkness. Curiosity overcame caution and Levi climbed down the ladder.

    Down and down he went, occasionally hearing sounds through the walls of the people working in the keep. Eventually he reached the bottom, although he couldn¡¯t tell how far he¡¯d gone. He couldn¡¯t hear any sounds from the Keep above, but he could hear a voice. He was in another tunnel, and the echoes of a voice, as well as a faint glow, was coming from the far end. He walked for a long time before he found that he recognised the voice, and the source of the glow came into sight.If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.

    He was looking at a large stone wall with glowing runes upon it. Sitting in front of the wall was his younger brother, only five years of age, talking to the wall.

    ¡°Oiy, little brother!¡± Levi called out, but his brother ignored him. Levi walked up to him and grabbed him by the shoulder. ¡°What are you doing here?¡± he asked. His brother turned to him.

    ¡°Levi¡± he said happily. ¡°I¡¯m talking to the demon.¡±

    Fear hit Levi, making his hair stand on end all over his body. ¡°Demon? What demon?¡±

    Levi envied the lack of fear that came with youth. He had explained without any hint of being afraid. ¡°There¡¯s a demon on the other side of this door, and he says if we can bring all the parts of his soul here, we can free him!¡±

    ¡°Door?¡± Levi looked at the wall. There were no signs of it being a door¡­ And he could hear no voice. Perhaps his little brother had gone mad. Perhaps all five-year-olds were mad. He hoped so. ¡°We¡¯re going.¡± he said, picking up his brother despite his protests. ¡°And don¡¯t come here again. It¡¯s dangerous.¡± He made his way back down the corridor, looking back at the glowing runes once and shivering.

 Chapter 1

    The spires of Yamato rose gloriously over the rest of the city, the signature landmark that all could see. They were home to the royal family, whereas the rest of the inner city housed nobility and the rich. The outer city was home to the average citizen of Yamato, still encompassed by the great wall that surrounded the capital. However, the capital city of Terra Deorum was a popular location. Terra Deorum shared dangerous borders with two neighbouring countries, and people wanted to live in Yamato for safety. Past the wall of Yamato the city still stretched on: the outskirts. Less impressive houses made of wood with straw roofs. The walls weren¡¯t big enough to house everyone inside, so those without the money to live within them lived just outside them.

    In one of these wooden houses a boy with long white hair opened his eyes that had strange white irises and pulled himself out of his bed. He looked over to the other bed in the room, of his friend that he shared his house with. It was empty. He prepared for the day ahead of him.

    The boy made his way outside, clothed in a basic loose tunic, with basic leggings and boots. It was a warm day, so he was dressed lightly. He carried a sword sheathed over his shoulder. It looked slightly too large for someone of his thin frame, but he knew how to use it and he never let it out of his sight. He locked the door to his house and made his way through the outskirts.

    He drew a few strange looks, as he always did, with his white hair and white eyes, but he reached his destination without incident: a large tavern with a wooden sign over the entrance that read ¡°Anima¡±. He opened the large double doors and entered, seeing some familiar faces and some unfamiliar. The main room of the tavern was huge. It even had a second-floor balcony overlooking the ground floor, although the staircase leading up had a sign that read ¡°Members Only.¡± He walked up the stairs.

    Along the walls on the second floor were many, many posters. Some were bounty posters with sketches of criminals and prices for their head. Others were job requests; some local to the city and some from the other end of the country. The boy looked through them, until he found the one he was looking for. He unpinned it from the wall, then took it to a counter. Behind the counter was an elderly man wearing glasses, with grey hair and an accompanying grey beard, leisurely reading a book. Kail put the poster on the counter and the man looked up at him.

    ¡°Kail.¡± he said. ¡°I take it you want this job?¡±

    ¡°Good morning, Quinn¡± Kail responded with a polite smile. ¡°Yes. I need coin, and they need help.¡±

    The man looked at the poster, then back to Kail. He coughed uncomfortably. ¡°You sure? They¡¯re not paying much.¡± he asked, seeming confused. The poster was from a village requesting help against bandit attacks. They were offering pay for anyone that went to help them, but they weren¡¯t offering a lot.

    ¡°Something about it spoke out to me. A poor village being targeted by bandits. I guess I feel bad for them.¡± Kail admitted.

    ¡°Fair enough¡± Quinn said with a shrug. ¡°Well, Yiannis has also gone there, a couple of days ago, surprisingly. He only goes after high price jobs. Maybe something ¡®spoke out¡¯ to him too. Don¡¯t expect any one else to turn up though, with the low amount they¡¯re paying.¡± he warned.

    Kail nodded in understanding. ¡°Anything else I should know about the job?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ll want to talk to the mayor once you get there.¡± Quinn said, standing up from his comfortable seat and moving to look through a shelf full of paperwork. He found what he was looking for; a single sheet with all the information they had been given. He took it and started reading from it. ¡°Thorpe¡­. Ah. The village is called Eastthorpe, and the mayor¡¯s family name is Thorpe. I guess it¡¯s named after him. Merek Thorpe. He¡¯s the one that sent the request. Tell him you¡¯re from Anima. It¡¯s a small village. Hell, there can¡¯t be more than a hundred people living there. They¡¯ve got a blacksmith at least, so you should be able to get any equipment repaired. Don¡¯t let them charge you for it though. Says here they don¡¯t follow the Order of the Eight. They worship the ¡®One God¡¯ it says. Strange¡­ Don¡¯t get caught up in that." He handed the sheet to Kail. "You don¡¯t own a horse, right?¡± he asked.

    ¡°No¡­ unfortunately not.¡± Kail answered.

    ¡°Your best way to travel there, then, will be to get a merchant caravan or some travelling troupe going to Francorum, which is the closest major city, then hope you can find someone going to the eastern outskirts of the kingdom. Eastthorpe is a small place, so I can''t imagine they''re that busy.¡± Quinn explained.

    ¡°Alright then. Thanks Quinn. I¡¯ll get on my way.¡± Kail responded. He left the inn and went back home to collect his belongings and change into more protective clothing, then went to buy supplies for the journey ahead of him.

    <hr>

    It took three days to travel to Eastthorpe. There were a lot of different groups traveling from Yamato to Francorum. Francorum to Eastthorpe, however, was tricky. He had asked around to no avail, but managed to spot a group of wagons leaving the city heading to Eastthorpe, carrying mostly food goods, and he''d convinced the people taking them to let him ride on one for a small price. He arrived in the village in the evening, and the person in charge of the wagons headed to the local inn, as some of the provisions was for the owner, so Kail joined him. Upon entering the inn and looking around he spotted a familiar face, looking relatively shady, just as he had when Kail had seen him in Anima before. The man was wearing a hat that cast a shadow over his face, and a coat with a colour buttoned to cover his mouth and chin.

    ¡°Yiannis?¡± he greeted awkwardly, walking over to him and setting his bag of supplies on the floor.

    ¡°Oh¡­. You''re...¡± Yiannis responded, unsure of Kail¡¯s name.

    ¡°It¡¯s Kail.¡± he responded. ¡°You¡¯re here for the bandit attacks job, right?¡±

    ¡°You could say that.¡± Yiannis responded. He motioned to a bag he was sitting with. ¡°Turns out the leader of the bandits was a wanted criminal. His head will be fetching me a much higher price than the mayor of this place was willing to pay for my help. I took his head during the night, and I¡¯ll be heading back tomorrow to get my money.¡±

    He killed their leader alone? Kail was shocked. ¡°How?....Did you kill all of them?¡± Kail asked incredulously.

    ¡°No. Just their leader, Would''ve been more risky taking my time to kill all of them. Even that would be too much for me.... Probably. It didn¡¯t take long to find their camp, and then I snuck in took out their leader. He¡¯s the only one with a bounty on his head. Ulric¡­ he¡¯s committed a fair few illegal deeds around the country.¡±

    ¡°But¡­¡± Kail objected, ¡°do you really think they¡¯ll actually stop their attacks?¡±

    ¡°Maybe they will, maybe they won''t. If they''re just a ragtag group of bandits they''ll at least be at odds with each other for a while until they decide who the new leader is. Maybe more help will arrive by then.... Like yourself¡± he answered, motioning to Kail.

    That didn¡¯t fill Kail with confidence. Yiannis was a lot more cutthroat than he had thought. Perhaps that is what a mercenary should be like.

    Then a thought came to him. He has their leader''s head with him... ¡°What if I can find out if and when they''re going to attack this place again?¡± he asked, not wanting Yiannis to leave this poor village with the risk the bandit group still posed.

    Yiannis laughed. ¡°Sure¡± he said. ¡°If you somehow find proof that they''ll come back, and can tell me exactly when, I¡¯ll stick around and help. Money is money, after all. You have until I leave tomorrow." He obviously meant it as a joke. As far as he knew, there wouldn''t be any way for Kail to come by this information other than finding the bandit camp and going in and asking them.Stolen novel; please report.

    ¡°Wait here. I¡¯ll be back in a bit¡± Kail said, and he moved to leave the inn, then realised he¡¯d left his bag. Yiannis watched with amusement as Kail returned to his table, took his bag to the bar and asked the innkeeper for a room, paying him and going upstairs, then coming back downstairs without his bag, and leaving the inn. Yiannis had a few more drinks before going upstairs to his room to go to bed.

    <hr>

    The next morning Yiannis came downstairs to find Kail sitting at the bar asking the innkeeper questions. Yiannis walked up to him, catching his attention. Kail looked excited to see him, although he also had dark circles under his eyes as if from a lack of sleep.

    ¡°It¡¯s going to happen today.¡± He said quietly, seeming like he didn¡¯t want to alert anybody else.

    ¡°Alright,¡± Yiannis said, sighing, ¡°and how do you know?¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t tell you¡­¡± Kail said.

    Yiannis sighed again.

    ¡°If I told you, you wouldn¡¯t believe me.¡± Kail explained. ¡°Look, it¡¯ll only be in a couple of hours. The people here go to their chapel today for a religious service. Everyone in the village will be there. The bandits know this and they¡¯ll be sending a very small group in to attack the village. They might kill a couple of people, but they mainly want to intimidate the people here. This was their plan before you killed their leader, and they¡¯re going to stick to it. But, now that we know this, me and you should wait for them and take them out one by one as they make their way to the chapel. Just a couple of hours. Wait with me to see. Afterwards I¡¯ll tell you how I know.¡±

    Yiannis¡¯ heart fell. He wanted to leave and get his money, yet the expectation in Kail¡¯s eyes was difficult to say no to. After thinking for a moment and realising that the person who tended to the stables where his horse was being kept would also be busy at the chapel anyway, he realised it¡¯d be easier to stay. ¡°Fine. But afterwards, when no one turns up, I''m going to get my horse and leave.¡±

    Soon afterwards, the people of the village started to make their way to the chapel. The innkeeper informed them he¡¯d be closing the inn for a few hours, and invited them to join him at the chapel. They politely declined and made their way to the edge of the village where the previous attacks had come from. The village did, to its credit, have stone walls, but at that time there was no one defending them or manning the gate. Yiannis and Kail waited upon the stone wall and kept watch.

    Yiannis couldn¡¯t believe his eyes. Just as Kail said, some people appeared in the distance, riding their horses toward the village. Yiannis had been to their bandit camp, he had snuck in and murdered their leader, so he knew they were coming from the direction right directions to be the very same group of bandits. They quietly made their way to the village. Yiannis looked over to Kail, who signalled to him to move down the stairs that led inside the wall and wait in hiding. Yiannis did so and waited below when he heard the sound of something clanging onto the wall above. He heard voices above him. Then he heard the thud of feet landing on the ground inside the village, and he chanced moving back up and looking. He peered over to the outside of the village to see their horses that had been left, waiting. Ten? Only ten? They have more than this at their camp¡­ And this village¡¯s security is nothing. Why haven¡¯t they come in force and taken everything already? He looked over to see that Kail had surfaced as well. Kail pointed inwards to the village. Yiannis looked them into two groups, six moving leftwards and four moving to the right, all making their way inwards. Yiannis and Kail exchanged a nod, and they made their way down from the wall to stop them.

    They were indeed making their way to the chapel. As Yiannis followed the group of six they split up even more. One of them went into a home to look around for valuable goods. This was where Yiannis excelled ¨C The bandit didn''t notice at all as Yiannis silently followed him inside and made his way to stand right behind him. He put one hand around the man¡¯s mouth to stop him from shouting out while with his other hand he swiftly slid a knife into the man¡¯s throat and pulled it out. He then pulled the man tightly to him. The man panicked, trying resist Yiannis¡¯ hold, but Yiannis was too practiced. As blood swiftly torrented down the man¡¯s throat, he quietly weakened and died in Yiannis¡¯ arms. Yiannis silently lay the man on the floor and moved onto the next one.

    Yiannis found the other five. One of them was lagging behind, and as the group moved around the corner of a house Yiannis ambushed him: moving with such soft and precise movements that no sound announced the arrival of his knife into the bandit¡¯s throat. The other four split up as well as each became distracted by different things.

    One gave into her greed and moved towards a house, presumably to loot it, so Yiannis quietly killed her in similar fashion as she reached for the door handle. Another one actually looked back, although Yiannis wasn¡¯t in sight. The bandit realised his companions weren¡¯t behind him so he went back to look for them. Yiannis decided to test the man¡¯s initiative and coughed. The bandit looked to him and nodded at him, then comedically frowned in confusion as he realised that Yiannis wasn¡¯t one of his companions. Before he could shout out in warning, Yiannis had thrown his knife, taking the opportunity to test his aim. The man looked confused and scared as his voice refused to come out. He grabbed at his neck and pulled out the knife that had been blocking his throat. Yiannis was there, a hand over the man¡¯s mouth as he tripped him to the ground and held him in place until the life fled his eyes.

    Two more.

    The fifth target had gone a different route to the sixth, and he stopped to have a drink as Yiannis followed him. He wondered about how he should take this one out. His put his knife away after wiping it clean on his coat and brought forth a short sword.

    The sword effortlessly sunk into the man¡¯s head, immediately killing him as the waterskin fell to the ground and causing Yiannis to congratulate himself on the effort he had taken to sharpen it. He wasn¡¯t a fan of long, drawn out battles. He preferred to kill his enemies as quickly and efficiently as possible.

    He hid behind one of the houses and glanced at the church. The last bandit was there, leisurely waiting for her friends. If Kail has taken care of his four, then this will be easy. Yiannis came out from hiding with his sword at the ready, then ran at the woman, who looked shocked but to her credit drew a crude axe from her hip, ready to fight. Yiannis threw a knife at her face, causing her to shield herself with her arm. She cried out in pain as the knife stabbed deeply into her flesh. The woman angrily swung her axe as Yiannis closed in, yelling profanities at him, but Yiannis came to a sudden halt just out of her reach. He then let his lethally sharp blade do its work. As the axe swung past him he cut at her hand, his blade slicing through her fingers satisfyingly.

    Yiannis stepped back as the bandit tried to bring her axe around to defend herself. The axe, however, fell to the floor, embedding itself neatly into the dirt as the fingers that were meant to be holding it rained down around it.

    ¡°What¡­?¡± she asked with confused frown. Then she looked at her hand and recoiled in shock and horror at the bloody mess that was left. She never had the chance to recover, though, as Yiannis immediately stabbed his sword deep into her chest without any hesitation, aiming for the heart.

    He then swept the feet out from under her and crudely slammed her into the ground as she gargled blood in her death throes.

    His work finished, he opened the door of the chapel to see that the procession had stopped as the people inside had heard the commotion. They all looked towards him fearfully.

    ¡°You¡¯ve been attacked.¡± Yiannis informed them. ¡°While you were all here¡­. worshipping¡­. A group of them invaded the village. They were coming here. Perhaps to kill you all. But¡­. I¡­. and Kail, hopefully, have made short work of them.¡±

    He heard someone walking towards him from behind and spun around, calming when he saw that it was Kail, looking flushed and out of breath. Yiannis closed the door on the hapless villagers and walked over him.

    ¡°I took my four out. Disarmed them and tied them up.¡± Kail said proudly.

    ¡°Tied them up?¡± Yiannis asked incredulously. ¡°We¡¯re not prison guards, Kail. Didn¡¯t you kill them?¡±

    ¡°No.¡± Kail answered, as if the answer was obvious. He looked at the blood covering Yiannis¡¯ clothes and to the woman on the floor that Yiannis had killed, unable to hide his shock and horror. ¡°Did you kill all of yours?¡± he asked.

    ¡°Of course. I don¡¯t take any risks. What if the bandits you tied up manage to break free and ambush us? Well, there¡¯s only four of them I guess¡­ but if they had broke free and ambushed you when you were alone, or me¡­ Well, better not to take that risk.¡±

    ¡°Well¡­¡± Kail said, looking down nervously. ¡°I knocked them out.¡± He offered.

    ¡°They¡¯ll wake up. The ones I¡¯ve killed won¡¯t.¡± Yiannis answered.

    An awkward silence followed.

    ¡°Anyway. Time for you to explain. How did you know?¡± Yiannis asked. ¡°How did you know they¡¯d attack now? You even said it¡¯d be a small group¡­¡± Yiannis couldn¡¯t figure it out. It¡¯s not like there was a possibility that Kail, from the same mercenary guild as him, who lived in Yamato, could have any contacts in the group of bandits. He had also only just arrived in the village.

    The door behind them opened. The mayor walked through, with two burly looking men by his side. They could be guards, but it was hard to tell when they were unarmed. Yiannis shook his head in disappointment.

    ¡°What happened?¡± the mayor asked, looking flustered. ¡°And who is this?¡± he motioned to Kail.

    Kail leaned in towards Yiannis so that no one else could hear him.

    ¡°I knew because I asked the bandit leader that you killed. I spoke to his spirit.¡± he said. Then he turned to the mayor and offered a polite bow. ¡°I¡¯ve come for the job you posted. I¡¯m from the mercenary guild Anima. My name is Kail. Nice to meet you.¡±

 Chapter 2

    Mayor Thorpe of Eastthorpe Village had invited Yiannis and Kail to his office in the guild hall to talk about the attacks.

    ¡°They only sent in ten people, which is a bit strange¡­¡± Kail started. ¡°They have a bigger force than that. If they wanted to kill you all they would¡¯ve sent everyone. It would make it easier to take back anything they loot from you too. What were the attacks like before we got here?¡± he asked.

    ¡°It was the same last time¡­ Yes¡­ T-they only sent a small group. They didn¡¯t take that much back with them. They also only killed the guards that stood in their way. Is that strange?¡± Thorpe replied.

    ¡°Yes.¡± Kail answered, looking to Yiannis who nodded in agreement. ¡°They also knew that you would all be in chapel¡­ defenceless. And they knew their way around the village. Is there anyone that could be leaking information to them?¡±

    ¡°What!? No! We¡¯re a very close knit community. When you¡¯re only a small village like us¡­ near the country border too, when the¡­ K-kingdom authorities don¡¯t want to bother with you, you learn to rely on each other. There¡¯s no way we have anyone that would want to harm the village!¡± He seemed pretty certain, but Kail had his doubts.

    ¡°Is there anyone that wasn¡¯t at the chapel?¡± he asked.

    The Mayor¡¯s eye¡¯s widened. ¡°Now that you mention it¡­¡± he started. ¡°H-him! The other priest! He came here a few months ago to try to convert us to the Order of the Eight.¡± He shook his head angrily. ¡°No one paid him any attention though. The One True God has looked after us well.¡±

    ¡°Evidently not¡± Yiannis interjected with a mocking laugh.

    The mayor glared at him, about to say something, but seemed to think better of it and simply looked at the floor sadly. Then it all made sense to Kail.

    ¡°Do you think it could be him?¡± the Mayor asked quietly.

    ¡°No, no, I doubt it.¡± Kail said, trying to dispel any suspicions. ¡°Even if he¡¯s of a different faith to yours, he¡¯s still a priest. We¡¯ll find out though. I think it¡¯s time to question our hostages.¡± he said, awkwardly patting the Mayor on the shoulder. He had never patted anyone on the shoulder before. It was strange. He motioned to Yiannis and they left, leaving the village¡¯s guild hall and making their way to the Blacksmith¡¯s, which is where they had decided to tie up the hostages.

    ¡°You know,¡± Yiannis said, ¡°that priest does sound suspicious. Makes sense, too, if there¡¯s an insider giving them information, that he¡¯d stay away from the church while they attack.¡±

    Kail nodded in agreement. ¡°It¡¯s almost certainly him.¡± he said, surprising Yiannis. ¡°But until we¡¯re completely sure, it¡¯s best not to let anyone here think it. Somewhere small like this¡­ away from any real authorities¡­ they¡¯d immediately lynch the man, even without evidence. We find out if it¡¯s true or not, with evidence, then we¡¯ll tie him up too and take him to Francorum or somewhere where he can be put on trial and put in jail.¡±

    Yiannis sighed, shaking his head, then laughed. ¡°You¡¯re really ¡®by the book¡¯, you know that? Sure, putting him in jail would solve the problem. But you know what else would? Killing him.¡± he said coldly.

    Kail glared at him. ¡°You¡¯re pretty murderous, you know that? I don¡¯t think it¡¯s normal. I want to help these people with as little death as possible. Besides, if you¡­ or they¡­ did kill him, then we¡¯d never find out if it actually was him or not.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t shackle me with your morals.¡± Yiannis responded. ¡°I actually think your concern for life is what isn¡¯t normal. In our line of work, we have to kill. Unless you want to live out your life taking small, safe jobs. You know, searching for missing pets and the like.¡± Kail was about to angrily object but Yiannis held up his hand to stop him. ¡°In this case, though, I agree, your way is better, so don¡¯t worry. I wouldn¡¯t want to accidently kill an innocent man. Besides, if it really is him, the Lord of Francorum might give us a reward for handing him in.¡± Kail could see the greedy glint in his eyes.

    ¡°Well¡­ hopefully we¡¯ll learn something from the bandits we captured.¡± Kail said.

    ¡°Bandit.¡± Yiannis corrected.

    ¡°What? I tied up four of them¡­.¡± Kail frowned in confusion. Then realisation dawned on him. ¡°No way.¡± He looked to Yiannis for confirmation, but his face was unreadable. ¡°Surely you didn¡¯t?¡± He was shocked and horrified.

    ¡°Look, death is just a natural part of life. Besides, four bandits tied up together? That would be too risky. Better keep it to one. Did you know the blacksmith has an apprentice working for him? A young kid. It¡¯d be downright irresponsible to leave four very dangerous bandits near him.¡± Yiannis said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. He enjoyed watching Kail¡¯s expression as he confused his morals. ¡°Hell, if I believed your whole ¡®speaking to the dead¡¯ thing I¡¯d have killed all of them and you could just speak to their ghosts.¡± he said with a bitter laugh.

    ¡°I can speak to the dead¡­¡± Kail replied quietly and dejectedly.

    ¡°Well then we make a good team, don¡¯t we? I¡¯ll kill them, and you can talk to them.¡± Yiannis said dryly. He didn¡¯t want to be there, and he held Kail responsible for keeping him there. Although he was starting to have fun at Kail¡¯s expense.

    ¡°Killing is wrong.¡± Kail said with conviction.

    ¡°Then that means our country¡¯s noble knights who go around killing villains are in the wrong. Theirs¡¯ and the King¡¯s armies are wrong when they kill people to defend the country from invasion. I guess I¡¯m definitely in the wrong for killing these bandits that have been terrorising the village. The Mayor said they even killed some of the village¡¯s guards.¡± Yiannis replied. He didn¡¯t really want to defend his actions, so why was he? He wanted Kail to understand. Then he realised the reason. What if Kail couldn¡¯t bring himself to kill someone when it was needed?

    Kail wore a frown, deep in concentration, trying to think of a rebuttal. He sighed in annoyance.

    ¡°Well maybe it¡¯s not as simple as ¡®killing is wrong¡¯ then.¡± Kail admitted. ¡°Maybe in some situations¡­ people have to kill people. If their life is at risk, or if someone else¡¯s is. If there¡¯s no other way.¡±

    Yiannis nodded approvingly. ¡°Are you going to be able to kill someone to protect the people here?¡± he asked.

    Kail glanced at him. ¡°I¡¯m not going to just agree right here that I''ll murder someone.¡± he answered. ¡°If it¡¯s the only way¡­ then maybe¡­ but I¡¯ll try everything else first. If I can just immobilise them, tie them up, and hand them in to the city guard of Francorum then I will¡­¡±

    Yiannis shook his head in frustration but decided to let the issue rest. Did it really matter anyway? They had arrived at Brom the village blacksmith¡¯s smithy, and were greeted with the clang of hammer on heated metal. Yiannis waved at the man to get his attention, while Kail greeted him with a polite smile.

    ¡°We¡¯re here to see the bandit.¡± Kail said.

    ¡°Right, right. Go ahead, ye¡¯re welcome to the bastard.¡± Brom said.

    ¡°Thank you.¡± Kail answered. He had been surprised at how welcoming the villagers had been once they knew he was there to help them. The innkeeper had even given him his money back and insisted that the room, and any meals and drinks he wanted, would be free.Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

    ¡°Are you a knight?¡± came a young and innocent voice. Kail saw the boy who must had been Brom¡¯s apprentice staring at the sword on his back. Kail couldn¡¯t help but laugh.

    ¡°Oiy!¡± Brom shouted, giving the boy a shock. ¡°Back to work!¡± he said angrily. The boy dejectedly turned his attention back to what he was doing, while Kail and Yiannis made their way into the house.

    The bandit was sat against the wall, not that he had any choice. His wrists and his legs were tied up so he couldn¡¯t move.

    ¡°Going to kill me yet?¡± he asked bitterly, glaring at Yiannis.

    "You should be so lucky.¡± Yiannis retorted, smiling gleefully. ¡°We¡¯re here to get information out of you¡­ one way or another. But if you really do want to die¡­¡±

    Kail looked between them, not liking where it was going.

    ¡°Calm down¡± he said to Yiannis.

    ¡°Answer our questions and we¡¯ll let you go.¡± Kail said. The bandit scoffed. Yiannis looked at him incredulously. Kail continued. ¡°Who¡¯s your leader?¡± Kail asked. The bandit laughed.

    ¡°Ulric.¡± The bandit said. ¡°Didn¡¯t he tell you that?¡± he said, motioning with his chin to Yiannis.

    Yiannis laughed. ¡°We don¡¯t mean your dead leader. Who¡¯s pulling the strings? Who asked you to attack this village?¡± The bandit stayed silent.

    ¡°When¡¯s your next attack?¡± Kail asked. Still no answer. Kail sighed.

    ¡°Leave me alone with him.¡± Yiannis said, taking a step forward. Kail reached and grabbed him.

    ¡°No way.¡± Kail said. Yiannis turned towards him in annoyance. Kail smiled, thinking of an idea.

    ¡°Look, we already know who¡¯s pulling the strings anyway. It¡¯s that priest from the order. We don¡¯t need to get a second opinion.¡± Kail said, causing Yiannis to stare at him in confusion.

    ¡°W-what?¡± the bandit said, speaking out in fear. ¡°Err, what makes you think that?¡±

    It was Kail¡¯s turn to take a step forward, moving past Yiannis. He crouched down next to the bandit.

    ¡°We know he hired you to scare these people into abandoning their God to turn to his religion.¡± he said, taking a risk. If his hunch was wrong, then they wouldn¡¯t be any worse off. ¡°And we know what they¡¯ll do when they realise ten of their men haven¡¯t returned.¡±

    The bandit looked between Kail and Yiannis. ¡°So that¡¯s why you¡¯re keeping me alive? Using me to lure in the priest? You think he might come and free me? I doubt it. How do you know all this?¡± He asked.

    ¡°Your leader told me.¡± Kail said, causing more confusion. ¡°I can speak to the dead, you see. I asked his spirit and he told me.¡±

    The bandit laughed nervously. ¡°Yeah right.¡± He said. ¡°You¡¯re¡­ a shaman?¡± he asked.

    ¡°Shaman?¡± Kail repeated. ¡°Is that what people call us? I haven¡¯t met anyone else who can do it, to be honest. Think about it though, how else would I know so much?¡±

    The bandit nodded. ¡°That¡¯s what some people call you. But¡­ even if he¡¯s dead, there¡¯s no way boss Ulric would tell you all about us!¡± he said angrily. Then he calmed down with a thoughtful expression on his face. ¡°And shouldn¡¯t you be keeping an eye on the priest rather than me?¡±

    ¡°And why would we do that?¡± Kail asked with a smile.

    ¡°Well¡­ When our scout arrives to find out what happened they¡¯ll go to ask him what¡¯s going on first¡­ they might not even come for me.¡± He said sadly, looking down to the floor, a defeated look on his face. Kail sighed in satisfaction and looked to Yiannis, who couldn¡¯t contain his laughter. The bandit glared at him.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, your boss didn¡¯t betray you.¡± Kail explained. ¡°Even in death he is stubborn. And he was proud of his bandit group. I did find out from him about today¡¯s attack, but that was all. I only found out about that because he was as stupid as you are.¡± The bandit was still confused. Kail rose back to his feet and addressed Yiannis. ¡°Alright, now we know that the priest is guilty. And we know that a scout will be coming to visit him tonight¡­ well, hopefully. It makes sense.¡±

    ¡°First their leader was killed, then the ten people they sent here didn¡¯t return. I¡¯d send someone trustworthy to find out what was going on.¡± Yiannis said in agreement.

    ¡°If the priest is working with them then they¡¯d need stay in contact with each other. One of them must be sneaking in here to talk to him. It certainly wouldn¡¯t be difficult. I wonder how much the he¡¯s paying them?¡±

    Yiannis patted Kail on the shoulder in admiration.

    ¡°Well done.¡± He said. ¡°Although I could¡¯ve gotten just as much information with torture. Leave the priest to me. I¡¯ll break into his home and spy on him. It¡¯s something I happen to be very good at. If there is a scout, then I¡¯ll find out. Besides, we can¡¯t really decide on our next move until we know theirs. When they find out that nine of their people are dead, they might attack in force.¡±

    Then bandit realised what had happened.

    ¡°Hey!¡± he shouted at them angrily. ¡°You tricked me!¡± He started yelling profanities at them. Kail and Yiannis left the room and made their way outside.

    ¡°Alright. I¡¯ll see if I can get more information out of the spirit of their leader, and¡­ I guess I¡¯ll talk to the other ones you¡¯ve killed.¡± Kail said.

    ¡°Right¡­¡± Yiannis said sarcastically, giving him a knowing wink.

    ¡°I¡¯m not making it up.¡± Kail said with a sigh. ¡°Look, you do what you¡¯re gonna do and I¡¯ll go do what I¡¯m gonna do.¡±

    ¡°Sure¡± Yiannis said. Kail closed his eyes in concentration. Yiannis watched with amusement. Kail opened his eyes and looked beyond Yiannis, as if he was looking at something else. Yiannis gasped as he saw what appeared to be glowing symbols within Kail¡¯s eyes.

    ¡°See you later.¡± Kail said, walking off.

    <hr>

    Yiannis had been staying in his position for hours, watching as the priest went about normal activities in his home. The most suspicious thing he had been doing was writing letters. It was easy work for Yiannis, however. He had stayed on one position, pushing his body to his limits as his limbs went stiff and ached in pain, when he had been spying on the bandits at their camp, working out who their leader was and learning their routines, before moving in and assassinating him. If I had known I was going to get so invested I would¡¯ve found out more about them. Damnit Kail, I should be getting drunk in Francorum by now with my bounty reward. I could¡­ just leave. Right now. Who cares what happens to this village? Then a knock awoke him from his thoughts. The priest yelled out in surprise. It was night, so Kail wouldn¡¯t have been able to see who it was even if he chanced peering out from his hiding place, but his suspicions were confirmed anyway.

    ¡°Is it safe to come in?¡± came a quiet voice.

    ¡°Of course.¡± The priest said.

    Yiannis heard the window close, although he noted that it was done quietly and carefully.

    ¡°Ten came here this morning.¡± The voice said, still quiet. Yiannis really had to concentrate to hear him. ¡°No one came back. What happened?¡±

    ¡°T-the village managed to enlist some mercenaries¡­¡± the priest admitted.

    ¡°The same ones who killed Ulric?¡± the voice asked.

    ¡°W-what?¡± the priest asked in shock.

    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± came the response, slightly louder and angry. ¡°We awoke the other morning to find our leader missing his head. He has a high bounty, and he¡¯s garnered quite a reputation around the country, so it could¡¯ve been an assassin, but if the village has managed to find help then it adds up. I thought they didn¡¯t have enough money. In fact... you told us they wouldn''t be able to enlist any real help. And here we are; Ulric dead and ten of our men and woman killed. How many people have they got? Did Francorum send help? You assured Ulric that that wouldn¡¯t happen.¡±

    ¡°No¡­ None of the country¡¯s guard or army are here.¡± the priest protested. ¡°The Order have made sure of that. I¡¯ve been told the Mayor managed to send a request for help to some mercenary guild, but it was such a low price that I didn¡¯t think anyone would show up. But¡­ This morning there were two of them outside the church when your men attacked.¡±

    ¡°Two!?¡± came the voice, outraged and even louder. ¡°You expect me to believe they killed ten of us with two people?¡±

    ¡°S-stop¡± the priest pleaded. Yiannis heard a scuffle and could imagine what was going on.

    ¡°I¡¯ll tell you what happens next¡± came the reply. ¡°When I go back we¡¯re going to mobilize everyone and raze this village to the ground.¡± he promised.

    ¡°Please, don¡¯t! The plan is working! They¡¯re¡­ losing faith in their god. I swear I can get them all under my thumb, and then we¡¯ll hand you the two that killed your friends!¡± the priest said, his voice laden with panic.

    ¡°And the money you owe us.¡± the voice said calmly.

    ¡°O-of course! Just a bit more time, and it¡¯ll be done.¡± The priest assured.

    ¡°Two weeks.¡± The voice said. ¡°In two weeks we¡¯ll be here, in force. If you¡¯ve completed your job then we¡¯ll take the mercenaries and the money and leave this village in peace. If you¡¯ve failed, however, we¡¯ll kill everyone here, including you, and take your money for ourselves.¡±

    ¡°Two weeks?¡± the priest asked. ¡°Y-yes, of course! I¡¯ll be ready! You¡¯ll get everything I promised you.¡± He said.

    ¡°Yes I will. Tell me, did any of our men survive?¡± the voice asked.

    The priest hesitated before replying. ¡°No, the two here managed to kill them all.¡± He said with certainty.

    The voice of the bandit sighed. ¡°Even James? A shame. Well then, we¡¯ll see you in two weeks. We¡¯ll be here when your villagers are meant to be in their chapel, just like today.¡±

    Yiannis could just about make out the sound of the window opening and closing again. Silence followed, and then...

    ¡°Fool.¡± came the priest¡¯s voice, accompanied by the sound of him sitting down on a chair. ¡°Threaten me? Why would I tell you they have a hostage then? Two weeks? No¡­. there¡¯s no chance. You can have this village, then, but you won¡¯t be getting me or my money.¡± He said spitefully.

 Chapter 3

    Fendrel, priest of the Order of the Eight, awoke. The previous night he had been visited by a scout for the bandit group he had hired to terrorise the village. He¡¯d been tasked with converting Eastthorpe to the Order, but they had not been very receiving. He had been forced to resort to more drastic measures. Two mercenaries had rolled into town, however, and killed the last group of bandits that Fendrel had perfectly planned to walk into the church when the entire village was there, defenceless, to show them how foolish their religion was. It seemed like one of the mercenaries had also somehow managed to sneak into the bandit camp and killed their leader. Now the group was angry and wanted revenge.

    ¡°Two weeks?¡± he asked to no one in particular. He shook his head. It was impossible. He started to pack his things. He¡¯d be leaving the village as fast as he could. He would have to tell his superiors that he had failed¡­ but at least the village would be gone. That was a success in one way. The bandits wouldn¡¯t be able to reach him once he was in Francorum, a bastion of a city. Then there was a knock at the door.

    He opened it to see three faces he did not want to see. The two mercenaries and the Mayor.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Thorpe, I¡¯ve decided to leave. I¡¯m sure your head priest will be happy to hear it.¡± Fendrel said. The taller of the two mercenaries; the older one who wore a hat and a coat that obscured most of his face, pushed Fendrel back from the door and barged into his house.

    Thorpe coughed awkwardly, unable to look Fendrel in the eye. The taller mercenary pulled Fendrel¡¯s hands behind his back as the other one with strange white hair revealed rope in his hands.

    ¡°There¡¯ll be no need for that.¡± Thorpe said, trying to seem intimidating. ¡°We¡­ we know what you¡¯ve been doing. Y-you¡¯re the reason for these attacks!¡±

    How? How could they know? Fendrel wondered, panicking.

    ¡°Ridiculous.¡± He scoffed. ¡°What proof do you have?¡±

    The mercenary who was binding his hands together laughed.

    ¡°I guess you didn¡¯t notice that you had two visitors last night. I heard everything.¡± He said.

    ¡°Have you got the letter ready, Mayor?¡± the other mercenary asked. ¡°I¡¯d like to get him out of the village and formally arrested as soon as possible.¡±

    ¡°O-of course¡± Thorpe responded, nodding and revealing a letter with his mayoral seal on it. ¡°This should be enough to get him to a trial at least.¡±

    ¡°And¡­¡± the hatted mercenary started. He handed Fendrel over to the white-haired mercenary and walked to Fendrel¡¯s table. ¡°this should do the rest.¡± He looked through the letters that Fendrel had been writing.

    ¡°Stop that! They¡¯re private!¡± Fendrel objected.

    ¡°I wonder why. Here. This one is to the former bandit leader, and this one is to one of your head priests. I guess this corruption even goes to your superiors, huh?¡± he said. ¡°This should be enough to get him in prison. We can put him on one of the horses from the bandits that attacked yesterday, and I¡¯ll take him to Francorum. Do you think you¡¯ll be able to handle things here, Kail?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll try.¡± The white-haired Kail responded. ¡°I¡¯ve got a few ideas to prepare for their attack but¡­ we¡¯ll see. Are you coming back?¡±

    The hatted mercenary hesitated, then sighed. ¡°I guess so. Kin certainly wouldn¡¯t leave me alone if I left his friend to die¡­ Besides¡­ I¡¯m invested now.¡±

    ¡°Great.¡± Kail said joyfully. ¡°Well let me know when you¡¯re back and I¡¯ll update you on the situation.¡±

    ¡°It should only take a few days. I¡¯m just going to hand him in to the guard with the Mayor¡¯s letter, and this evidence, then I¡¯ll come back.¡± He said assuredly.

    Then Fendrel was being yanked by rope out the door. He was escorted to the stables and put on a horse then tied to the saddle. As the mercenary with the hat mounted his own horse Fendrel noticed a bag hanging from the saddle. It looked to be holding a suspiciously head-sized object, and there was a horrible smell coming from it. The mercenary then grabbed a hold of the reins on Fendrel¡¯s horse and led it out of the village. Fendrel thought about shouting out but he realised that the villagers weren¡¯t going to be his allies. He even noticed a few of them looking out their doors to see him tied up. They simply went back inside, seeming like they didn¡¯t want to get involved. However, if this man really was going to leave him in the hands of the city guard in Francorum, then all hope might not be lost for him¡­

    <hr>

    Kail stood in the blacksmith¡¯s smithy once again, talking to their prisoner.

    ¡°Your group is going to attack in two weeks. They didn¡¯t take well to losing their people.¡± Kail said to him.

    ¡°They came, then?¡± he asked, seeming disappointed. Kail realised that he had likely been hoping to have been freed by anyone that came to the village.

    ¡°If you help us prepare, then we¡¯ll let you go when it¡¯s all over.¡± Kail offered. The man laughed.

    ¡°I doubt your friend would let me go. Besides, you¡¯ll lose this fight. They¡¯ll kill you all and collect me at the end. I¡¯m sure of it.¡± he said, although Kail could hear a hint of doubt in his voice. Even so, Kail decided to leave the issue alone for the moment. He wasn¡¯t sure how to convince him. Perhaps Yiannis could be more convincing when he returned.

    He left the room to see the blacksmith, Brom, looking rather grumpy, staring at the pile of weaponry and armour that had suddenly taken up most of his smithy. The Mayor and the four guards that were still alive were also there, waiting for him.

    ¡°I brought what you asked for.¡± Mayor Thorpe said. ¡°These are all the arms we have in the village.¡±

    ¡°Alright. Next I want you to round up everyone in the village that¡¯s able-bodied enough to fight. I¡¯m going to teach them how.¡± Kail said.

    The Mayor looked doubtful. ¡°You really think you can do that?¡± he asked, eyeing Kail nervously.

    Kail knew his physique wasn¡¯t impressive, but he also knew he had a lot to offer.

    ¡°I was trained to be a knight.¡± he said, drawing a doubtful look from the Mayor. ¡°Get everyone together and I¡¯ll do the rest. Now who can tell me exactly what we¡¯ve got here?¡± he asked, motioning to the pile of weapons. One of the guards stepped forward, while the others followed the Mayor as he left to follow Kail¡¯s orders.Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.

    ¡°We got ten swords, two shields, five bows with plenty of arrows. Don¡¯t get much chance to use them. Also got two spears, and ten sets of armour, though we¡¯ve never had ten guards.¡± He shrugged. ¡°Oh yeah also the bandits, from them we got another four swords, small ones though, six axes, and each of them had a pretty nasty looking dagger on them too.¡±

    Kail nodded. ¡°That¡¯s a lot of weapon. Twenty eight melee, and five ranged¡­ But I don¡¯t know if it¡¯ll be enough.¡± He turned to the blacksmith. ¡°Hey¡­ Brom, is it?¡± he asked.

    ¡°Aye that¡¯s me.¡± He said. ¡°And I know what yer gonna ask.¡± He said, moving over and picking up one of the swords, inspecting it. ¡°Been a while since I made a sword¡­ If I had to guess I¡¯d say it¡¯d take me at least a day and a half to make just one.¡± He said.

    ¡°That¡¯d be¡­ maybe another ten, eleven if we¡¯re lucky¡­ ¡± Kail said, holding his chin in contemplation.

    ¡°However..¡± Brom started, putting down the sword and looking at one of the spears. ¡°These spearheads are easy work. I bet even my apprentice, Dane, could make these. If you get old Hankins the woodcrafter to make the shafts then that could work. He makes all the furniture for people. He might need some assistants though.¡± He said.

    ¡°Spears are good.¡± Kail said, reminded of his friend that used a spear: Kin. If they could arm everyone with spears, then perhaps they¡¯d stand a chance. They would be a good countermeasure against the bandits if they entered the village on horseback.

    Kail set Brom to work on making spearheads, with his apprentice Dane. Kail and one of these guards started moving all the weapons and the sets of armour outside into a big pile to give Brom more space to work on, and to have them ready for the people Kail would be trying to teach to fight.

    <hr>

    Yiannis returned two days later, and when he found Kail he saw an unexpected sight. There was a large group of villagers, a mixed selection of men and women. Some looked young, and some looked to be in their later years. A lot of them held weapons. Some swords, and some axes. In the middle Kail was sparring with one of them while the others watched. He shouted out advice, but the person he was sparring with didn¡¯t manage to hit him. Kail didn¡¯t go easy on him though, he hit him multiple times with his own sword. Not hard enough to cut him through his clothes, but surely hard enough to bruise him. He even closed in and floored him a few times. Despite his seemingly kind-hearted nature, Kail seemed to be quite the strict teacher.

    ¡°Alright, that¡¯s enough for now.¡± Kail said, helping the man up. ¡°Who wants to go next?¡± he asked. No one responded. Then he noticed Yiannis. His face lit up. ¡°Alright everyone, go back to striking the dummies for now.¡± He said, motioning to some training dummies that seemed to be armour stands with hay tied to them. The villagers made surprisingly organised lines and took it in turns attacking them.

    ¡°Welcome back.¡± Kail said when it was just the two of them. He motioned over to smithy and they started to walk there.

    ¡°Impressive.¡± Yiannis said. ¡°How many do we have?¡±

    ¡°Forty-one. Some are around my age. Some between twenty and thirty. Some older. And we¡¯ve got about twenty-eight weapons, although I¡¯ve got the smith and a local wordworker working on spears.¡± Kail answered.

    ¡°Spears. That will be useful.¡± Yiannis approved.

    ¡°We¡¯ve also got five bows but no one that knows how to use them.¡± Kail sighed. ¡°And I wouldn¡¯t know where to get started with them.¡±

    ¡°Bows, huh?¡± Yiannis asked thoughtfully. ¡°No one in the entire village? Seems unlikely¡­ I¡¯ll ask around.¡±

    Kail shrugged. If Yiannis found someone who could use a bow then it would be very handy.

    They walked into the smithy to be greeted with the clanging of metal. The smith and his apprentice were hard at work. The small boy looked up.

    ¡°Kail!¡± he shouted. ¡°Teach me to be a knight!¡± he said enthusiastically. Kail laughed and shook his head.

    ¡°If Brom runs out of work for you then I¡¯ll teach you.¡± He said. The boy looked dejected and went back to his work.

    ¡°A knight?¡± Yiannis asked. ¡°He still thinks you¡¯re a knight?¡±

    ¡°Well¡­¡± Kail started. Should I tell him? I think he¡¯d make fun of me if he knew I¡¯d been trained by a knight. ¡°He¡¯s a kid.¡± Kail answered with a shrug.

    ¡°What¡¯s his story, anyway? Is he the blacksmith¡¯s son? I haven¡¯t seen him with a woman.¡± Yiannis inquired. Kail shook his head sadly.

    ¡°His parents died a few years back. Eastthorpe was attacked by bandits then as well¡­ Although they were better prepared for it then. They actually had guards employed from Francorum protecting the place. Seems like they¡¯ve been recalled over the years.¡± Kail explained. He wondered if it was because of Eastthorpe refusing to conform to the ways of The Order. ¡°His parents died in the attack, so Brom took him in.¡±

    ¡°What a nice guy.¡± Yiannis replied sarcastically. ¡°So how is our hostage doing?¡±

    Kail shook his head. ¡°I haven¡¯t had any luck getting information out of him.¡± He said.

    ¡°What about the ghosts?¡± Yiannis asked.

    ¡°They won¡¯t tell me anything either.¡± Kail replied without missing a step. ¡°We need to know how many people they have. If there¡¯s over a hundred of them, then we¡¯re done for.¡± Kail said.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think they had that many. If only I¡¯d counted them when I was there¡­¡± Yiannis said wistfully. Then he shook his head. ¡°Then again, I didn¡¯t think I¡¯d be staying here. Maybe I can our hostage to cooperate¡­¡± There was a dark look in his eyes.

    ¡°We¡¯re not torturing him.¡± Kail said defiantly.

    ¡°No torture.¡± Yiannis said. ¡°Just follow my lead. Agree with what I say in front of him. I¡¯m not actually going to hurt him¡­ Just trust me this one time.¡±

    Kail sighed and nodded in agreement. They went into the room where their hostage was. The bandit narrowed his eyes at the sight of Yiannis.

    ¡°Back to kill me?¡± he asked sarcastically.

    ¡°Maybe.¡± Yiannis answered. ¡°That depends on you. See, Kail here is far too lenient on you, but I¡¯ve convinced him to look at things my way.¡± he said. The bandit looked over to Kail, who nodded. ¡°Firstly, your name is James, right?¡± he asked, taking a gamble. The scout visiting the priest had mentioned the name. ¡°James¡± could have been any of the ones who had attacked, but the name had stuck in his mind. The bandit looked shocked and nodded. Yiannis continued. ¡°I know that because one of your colleagues did come to speak to the priest, like you said. The priest told him that you were here, but he didn¡¯t seem concerned. He could¡¯ve come after you, but he didn¡¯t.¡± he said. The bandit looked down in annoyance. ¡°Now I¡¯m not expecting you to jump sides, I¡¯m just going to give you a chance. If you won¡¯t help us, then you¡¯re useless to us. Just another mouth to feed, and a security risk that we don¡¯t need. So¡­¡± He glanced to Kail, who nodded. ¡°I will kill you. Right here. Right now.¡± He said. James¡¯ eyes widened in panic. He seemed to have a silent debate with himself before responding.

    ¡°Fine¡­ I¡¯ll¡­ help.¡± He said bitterly.

    ¡°Good, good.¡± Yiannis said. Kail was surprised at how easily that had worked, but he had felt the evil promise in Yiannis¡¯ voice. ¡°Now let me warn you. If you give us wrong information, then, on the day they attack, I will personally make sure to come here and kill you before they get in.¡± The bandit sighed with despair, realising the situation he was in.

    ¡°What do you want to know?¡± he asked.

    ¡°Numbers.¡± Yiannis said. ¡°Tactics. And weaponry.¡± James nodded.

    ¡°We had fifty of us¡­¡± he started.

    ¡°Before I took out your leader, then the nine of your friends that you came here with. And, of course, you¡¯re here. So that¡¯s thirty-nine left.¡± Yiannis responded.

    ¡°We outnumber them.¡± Kail said in shock, then breathing a sigh of relief.

    ¡°Some use swords, some uses axes. Everyone has a bow, and everyone has a horse.¡± James continued. Kail¡¯s hopes fell. Thirty-nine bandits on horseback is very different to thirty-nine bandits on foot. ¡°If we¡¯re planning on really attacking a village full force then we shoot flaming arrows in first to set their roofs on fire and cause panic, then sweep the streets on horseback, taking everyone out.¡±

    ¡°Do you think they¡¯ll try and rescue you?¡± Yiannis asked. James gulped.

    ¡°Depends who¡¯s in charge now. If it¡¯s¡­. Law¡­ Bate Law¡­ then probably not. He always wanted to take charge of the group. Me and him didn¡¯t get along¡­ and he was more violent than Ulric. With him in charge they¡¯ll burn these buildings down even if I¡¯m in one.¡± he admitted.

    ¡°Good to know¡± Yiannis said. ¡°Right, let¡¯s discuss tactics.¡± He said to Kail, motioning for them to leave.

    ¡°Wait!¡± James said. ¡°Will you really let me live after all this?¡± he asked.

    ¡°Of course.¡± Yiannis responded. ¡°Kail would never let me kill you anyway.¡±

    James sighed in relief. Then he thought about the wording Yiannis had used. ¡°Never¡±, he had said. He realised he¡¯d been tricked again. Yiannis was never planning on killing him if he¡¯d refused. He shouted profanities at them as they left, which was starting to become a habit of his.

    ¡°They all have horses.¡± Kail said.

    ¡°I think I know how we can even the odds. Besides, we¡¯ll have spears, right?¡± Yiannis said. ¡°Let¡¯s go over a few ideas.¡±

 Chapter 4

    The day of the scheduled attack had arrived. Kail stood alone on the wall, atop the gate they knew the bandits would come from. There was a staircase nearby leading to the inside of the wall, so Kail could quickly get to cover. They came, slowly and calmly riding their horses towards the village. Some of them held torches, despite the day being bright and clear. Kail realised they were for lighting their arrows. They stopped a safe but audible distance once they saw Kail.

    ¡°Where¡¯s the priest?¡± one of them shouted. Kail recognised him as the one James had told them about. The new leader; Bate Law. He had one eye and a huge battle-axe slung over his back.

    ¡°We have one of your men prisoner.¡± Kail shouted back, ignoring the question. ¡°If you promise to leave this village alone, then we¡¯ll return him to you.¡± Kail knew it wouldn¡¯t work, and he knew even if they did return James to them, they¡¯d likely attack anyway. But he wanted to offer them the formality anyway. Law ignored the question, and the group started to spread out. They¡¯re about to attack Kail realised as they started to light their arrows from the torches.

    He retreated down the stairs to the inside of the wall. Then he heard the whoosh of arrows flying over above. He rushed past Yiannis, who was also on the stairs, as well as a girl Yiannis had found amongst the villagers whose hobby it was to steal a bow and arrows from the guards and practice archery. Yiannis had asked around and found her, although her parents hadn¡¯t wanted to let her fight. Yiannis had managed to convince them¡­ although Kail had decided against asking how.

    ¡°Get ready¡± he whispered to them. He reached the bottom of the stairs and opened the wooden door. He glanced out and watched as the storm of arrows finished. Just like they¡¯d planned, none of the buildings caught fire. It had been a trick that Kail had learned from his father, who had also dealt with bandits in the past. It was simple enough. If something was wet then it wouldn¡¯t burn. They had soaked the roofs of all the buildings as much as they could so that no fire would spread. The village had a plentiful supply of water in the form of a well, so they had had more than enough. They must really be confused by now. He then knocked on the doors of the nearest houses to the gate, signalling to the people inside that it was safe to come out. The doors opened, and men and women flooded the main street, all of them armed. They then disappeared, like ants disappearing into an ant hill, except they disappeared up the side streets, lying in wait and hiding, weapons at the ready.

    At that moment the bandits should be regrouping in front of the gate, and James had told them that they¡¯d likely be attacking in one big group, rather than splitting into two and attacking from both sides. He was proven right, although Kail couldn¡¯t help but be shocked by the sudden sound of the gates being ripped off their hinges. Looking through the open archway Kail saw that they had tied the gate with ropes to several horses and charged away from it, ripping it off. Kail waited for them to gather together.

    ¡°CHARGE!¡± came the shout from one of them, and they rode straight through the arch where the gate had been. Kail was on one side of the arch at that point, and one of the villagers was opposite him on the other. They cut in tandem two ropes that were keeping down a trap they had laid. That idea had been from Yiannis. Up sprang a framework of wooden spears from the ground. Confused shouts filled the air accompanied by shrieks from the horses. Several of them rode straight into them, causing bandits to vault off their seats as the horses impaled themselves onto the spears and came to a sudden halt. They landed hard on the ground, past the trap.

    Then the villagers immediately ran out from the alleyways with their swords and axes to mob the helpless bandits, immediately and brutally ending their lives. Kail couldn¡¯t take his eyes away, surprised and sickened by the sudden violence from the people he was trying to help. He shook his head clear of such thoughts. Now is not the time. These people had been terrorised by these bandits. He couldn¡¯t be surprised at the way they acted when they had the chance for justice. Is this justice? He sighed. He¡¯d think about later. He needed to concentrate on the scene in front of him, although he almost regretted looking back as the first thing he saw was one of the horses rear up in fear as it came through the broken gateway and send its rider¡¯s head slamming into the stone wall with a sickening crunch. The man went completely limp and fell from his saddle.

    ¡°Fall back!¡± came a shout that Kail recognised as Law. The bandits retreated from the entrance. It¡¯s going on our favour so far Kail thought. That was when Yiannis and the girl he was with rose from the wall, along with four other people, each spaced out along the wall, that Yiannis had had the girl attempt to train to use the other bows. They started to shoot arrows into the midst of the bandits. With only five arrows at a time it wasn¡¯t too effective, with many of them unlikely to hit their mark, being fired by people who hadn¡¯t had anywhere near enough practice to get any good with them, but it did serve to anger and confuse them. Yiannis made a gesture with his hands and the archers crouched back down as arrows were fired back at them in retaliation. Kail was expecting them to abandon their horses and attempt to make their way over the wall using grappling hooks like the group that he had first encountered, but instead they found a much more intuitive use for their hooks. They rode close to the entrance and threw their grappling hooks at the wooden spear trap that had been raised to ward them off, then once several of them had a hold they rode away, tearing the trap to pieces. The entrance was open.

    ¡°Spears!¡± Kail shouted before retreating into one of the streets off the main road. He stood there with a group of villagers who grabbed the simply-made spears, wooden shafts with a metal tip, that they had left in position. The bandits rode through. Kail waited and waited¡­ then shouted ¡°Now!¡± and signalled for the group he was with to stride forward with their spears. The group opposite them did the same, and they speared bandits straight off their horses. The main purpose, however, was to split up them up. Kail watched as the group they had let through carried on riding down the main road.

    The villagers outnumbered the group they had surrounded more than two to one, and they closed in with spears, viciously stabbing at the invaders. They took out a lot of them, with some turning around and fleeing back through the entrance. Whilst this was happening Yiannis¡¯ group shot arrows over them, aiming for the bandits that had already made it past and were turning around to attempt to help their comrades. The arrows that fell around them caused them to split up even more, desperate to escape the main road.

    For that moment they had a reprieve. Yiannis called the archers together and took them along the wall, with the intent of shooting any bandits they found. Kail, meanwhile, took to organising the armed villagers left into two groups. They had grouped up the people who couldn¡¯t fight, or who were too young or old to fight, and had packed them all the houses closest to the gate, so that they could defend them. Kail knew they had to keep at least half their forces there, but that they also had to hunt down the bandits. He would take the other half to chase them down.

    As Kail scanned the faces of the people there he realised someone was missing: the blacksmith, Brom. Where is he? He rushed into the houses, checking with those inside. Neither Brom nor his apprentice, Dane, were there.

    ¡°Damnit.¡± Kail couldn¡¯t help exclaiming. ¡°Keep to the plan!¡± he shouted to the few om the group who were wearing armour, the ones who had the build to wear it and had taken well to learning how to fight. Most of them were the village guards. Kail then ran off towards the smithery, hoping to find Brom and Dane there. He looked up the side streets as he went, seeing some of the bandits trying to regroup. One of them saw him, alone, and a savage smile appeared on his face. Before he could ride towards Kail, however, some arrows rained down from the sky at him. They missed their mark, but they had caught the bandit¡¯s attention, and so Kail continued on.

    He arrived at the smithy to find the forge still blazing. Was he trying to finish another weapon? he wondered. He made his way cautiously inside, hearing voices from within. The door was ajar, and so he slowly pushed it open. The first thing he saw was James, untied and holding a sword that was still glowing slightly red. He was talking to another bandit.

    ¡°This will do.¡± James was saying, looking at his sword with a greedy smile. ¡°Do you think Law will win this?¡±

    ¡°Hell no.¡± the other one answered. ¡°These ¡®simple villagers¡¯ have already taken out half our number. We should¡¯ve stuck to mugging merchants and supply wagons. Grab the kid and we get out of here. I know some people we can sell him to. Remember that troupe that goes around trading slaves?¡± That was when Kail noticed Dane. He was tied up on the floor. Next to him was¡­ A motionless body. Brom. There was a pool of blood underneath him. He was dead. Kail froze.

    Then James noticed him. A malicious grin spread across his face.

    ¡°Kail." he said. "Thank you for keeping me alive, but it looks like I don¡¯t need your help anymore.¡± he said, brandishing his sword. He took a menacing step forward, but Kail''s mind was still blank. His hand unconsciously went to his sword, and he took a step back. Somehow the scene looked familiar. It reminded him of something. Something he didn¡¯t want to remember. James¡¯ friend looked at Kail, a thoughtful expression on his face.

    ¡°Maybe we should sell him instead. He has a unique look, with that weird hair. I¡¯m sure we could get more money for him.¡± he said.

    ¡°I reckon we¡¯ll have to kill this one.¡± James answered. ¡°He¡¯s one of the mercenaries. He''s the one who taught these villagers how to fight. More to him than meets the eye. Besides, the kid is smaller. Easier to carry. Selling any slave will get us a good enough price to last awhile.¡±

    Slave. The word echoed in Kail¡¯s head. It seemed to awaken something within him.

    Kill them.

    <hr>

    Yiannis was surprised at how well the plan was going. They hadn¡¯t had time to turn the able-bodied into full-fledged warriors, but Kail had managed to teach them the basic skills they would need to defend the village. Over half of the bandits were dead, thanks to surprise and strategy, but they weren¡¯t yet in the clear. He knew that one of the bandits could take out one of the villagers easily in single combat, perhaps even two on one, which is why they had to rely on traps and surprise to split up their main force. His group had a good view of the village thanks to the wall, and he took them along around it to attempt to pick off some of the bandits, or to at least keep confusion within their ranks. Yiannis had thought that someone, at the very least, had to have known how to use a bow in the village. Five bows. There was no way that no one had used any of them. Then he had found the girl who had been practicing in secret. With her he had managed to teach others how to at least shoot a bow, even if they weren¡¯t accurate.This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

    They kept firing arrows over the buildings at bandits they could see. Then Yiannis had seen Kail running along the main road alone. That didn¡¯t bode well. Then he had spotted a bandit that looked Kail¡¯s way and seemed to be about to head down there to attack him, so he had signalled for his group to shoot arrows that way to distract him. None of them hit their mark, but they caused the bandit to find cover. He then took his group along the wall so he could see what had become of Kail.

    Some of the bandits, however, started to use their grappling hooks to climb the wall and attack Yiannis¡¯ group. The archers shot arrows at them but none of them hit their mark; none except one. The girl who Yiannis had found managed to shoot an arrow into one of the ropes, sending the bandit falling to the ground. Others made it onto the wall, brandishing their weapons. It was Yiannis¡¯ turn to contribute the way he was most comfortable with. He ran towards the bandits, flinging knives at them, which hit true. He then unsheathed his weapons; one short sword and a dagger. He feinted a lung at the nearest bandit, causing him to swing forwards with his weapon. Yiannis held back, then jumped in, perfectly stabbing his sword through the bandit¡¯s throat. Then he pushed him off the wall.

    He didn¡¯t have time to see the poor man¡¯s fate. He parried the next bandit¡¯s axe, pushing it to the side and stabbing him in the eye with his dagger, causing him to yell out in pain and take a step back. The next bandit stepped forward, swinging wildly with his axe. Yiannis jumped back. An arrow flew past, burying itself into the bandit¡¯s shoulder, causing him to stop in surprise. Yiannis took the chance presented to him, slicing the man¡¯s throat with his sword before stabbing the now one-eyed bandit, then throwing both of them off the wall as well. Then his group were safe.

    ¡°Thanks for the assist.¡± Yiannis said to the girl with the bow. He looked down over the city, and the smithy caught his eye. Could Kail have been heading there? He had been heading in that direction. Then the question was answered as Kail emerged from inside, covered in blood.

    <hr>

    Kail and Dane walked up one of the streets. Kail needed to get Dane back to the houses, then join up with the main group. The sound of hooves from behind him caught his attention. He turned to see three of them on horseback, weapons at the ready. One of them was holding a deadly looking battle-axe. It was their leader; Bate Law. He saw them, and he looked angry.

    Kail grabbed Dane by the arm and ran as fast as he could, taking them around a corner as the bandits pursued them. There were more traps for the bandits, and Kail lured them into one. Kail and Dane jumped over a certain spot of ground and carried on running. The three bandits followed, not knowing what awaited them. The horses shrieked and fell to the ground as they ran over wooden spikes that had been stuck into the ground, stabbing into their legs. Amazingly, their leader, Law, managed to jump off and land safely. The other two weren¡¯t so lucky. One shouted out in pain and couldn¡¯t get up. The other went completely silent.

    ¡°This wasn¡¯t meant to go this way.¡± Law said angrily, pointing at Kail with his axe. ¡°Even if I end up being the last one left, I will kill everyone here. Starting with you.¡±

    Kail knew he would have to fight. He had his sword ready. ¡°Stay behind me¡± he said to Dane. Law towered over him. He was easily six feet tall, probably more so, and he had the frame to match it. Kail was sure he was strong enough to wield his axe with deadly proficiency.

    Kail stepped forwards, wanting to keep Dane a safe distance away from the fight. Law raised his axe and stepped in, swinging his sword horizontally. Kail tried to step in, using his sword to block the blow, but the strength behind it immediately pushed him off balance, and he ended up on the floor. Kail heard laughter was Law swiftly raised his axe back up and swung it down towards him. Kail managed to get his feet beneath him and his sword up to attempt to block it again. He didn¡¯t fall to his feet, but he was forced to step back, and his hands were already going numb from the impact. With the wall behind him, he had to sidestep around Law, who had a confident smile on his face. Law was then between Kail and Dane, and Kail realised he was between Law and the bandit on the ground. He glanced behind himself, seeing that the bandit was still on the ground, holding his midsection in pain, seemingly in no position to help his leader, thankfully.

    Let me fight him came a voice. Kail looked around, but no one was there. Me, you fool! came the voice again. Kail vaguely recognised it, and suddenly the buildings around him dissolved, and the ground and the sky glowed a dazzling shade of blue. The distance was obscured by fog, and he recognised the person in front of him.

    Ulric? Kail asked.

    Aye. the spirit said. You¡¯re fighting Law. I¡¯ll help ya out. I¡¯m not surprised he ended up taking charge¡­ but he¡¯s the bad sort. Well I guess that¡¯s why I had him in my troupe, but he¡¯s the bad type. He shouldn¡¯t be in charge. And he¡¯s always fancied himself stronger than me. Gimme the chance to teach him who¡¯s better, even in death

    Kail didn¡¯t seem to have a choice. Before he even knew it, the world was back to normal, and he was looking through his own eyes, but he had no control of his body. He moved with a decisiveness that Kail had been lacking. He moved back to the bandit on the floor and turned to him.

    ¡°Sorry about this, Tybett¡± he said. Then he plunged his sword into the bandit¡¯s throat, to both Kail and Law¡¯s surprise. He took the axe from the man¡¯s hands as he died. He then took a confident step toward Law; sword in one hand and axe in the other.

    ¡°Law¡± he said. ¡°Time to show ye who the strongest really is.¡± Law furrowed his brow in confusion, perhaps recognising the accent, but the voice and most definitely the appearance did not belong to Ulric.

    ¡°Obviously me.¡± Law responded, and he stepped towards Kail. It was a surreal feeling as Kail watched an axe swing towards his head, unable to move out the way. He felt like he was certain to die, until his body moved at the last second, under Ulric¡¯s control. He lunged forwards with the sword, trying to stab Law. He manged to graze through Law¡¯s leather armour as he twisted his body to the side. Then he followed up with his axe relentlessly. Law, however, brought the pommel up into Kail¡¯s face. Ulric¡¯s axe did imbed itself into Law¡¯s side, but the force of the pummel in his face halted his momentum. Ulric kept hold of both weapons and jumped back, readying himself for the next attack. Law was wincing in pain but he stood tall still.

    Your body is small and weak, but I think I can pull this off came Ulric¡¯s voice. He raised both weapons up as Law came at him swinging his axe down. He caught the axe between his two weapons and brushed it to the side, then swung his axe into Law¡¯s arm, causing him to shout in pain and drop his battle-axe. Ulric then let go of the axe, holding his sword in both hands and bringing it up to decapitate Law.

    NO! Kail shouted internally. He could feel his body again, and he could feel Ulric¡¯s spirit inside him. It was a strange sensation, as if he was tied up and trying to struggle against it, but instead of a rope it was the soul of another person. He tried to will Ulric¡¯s control away, as hard as he possibly could, like he was pushing someone else¡¯s thoughts out of his own head. Fine. he could heard Ulric¡¯s voice say. Do what ya want. I proved what I wanted to anyways. Then the presence was gone, and Kail was in control again. A boot to his chest brought him back to reality. He went down to the floor and rushed back to his feet to see Law picking up his battle-axe, although he could only use one arm.

    ¡°You¡¯re a strange one.¡± Law said, obviously confused as to why Kail hadn¡¯t killed him. ¡°You¡¯ll regret wasting that chance.¡± He swung his axe again, but he lacked the speed and power he previously had. Kail managed to back away out of the range of his swing, then moved in and sliced Law¡¯s shoulder. Law swung again, but Kail was ready. He had a grasp of Law¡¯s range. He managed to move back just the right amount and raised his sword high, bringing it down with all his strength on Law¡¯s hand, cutting it clean off. The axe hit the floor with a loud clang, and Law dropped to his knees, looking at where his hand had been and screaming in pain. Kail took the opportunity to close in and hit Law in the head with his pommel, knocking him unconscious. The fight was won, and even though he had cut his opponent¡¯s hand off, he hadn¡¯t killed him.

    <hr>

    Not many villagers died, and a lot of the bandits were killed. Some were captured, and Kail planned to take them to Francorum on his way back to Yamato. Kail still regretted the losses, even those of the bandits. There was still a huge clean-up to do. They had to dispose of the bodies and remove the traps they had laid, as well as repair the gate. Kail and Yiannis, however, were forced to the Inn so they could celebrate, with the Mayor insisting they had done enough. He¡¯d given them more than the money promised. Having had kept the reward low so he could, hopefully, have gotten more help, and not having gotten any other than Kail and Yiannis, he insisted they take the entire amount. Even then it wasn¡¯t a large amount, but it would be enough to live on for a while.

    Yiannis had found the bodies in the blacksmith¡¯s. James, the bandit they had captured, as well as another bandit, and the blacksmith himself. He had asked the child, Dane, about it, who was very upset over the blacksmith¡¯s death. Dane had said that the bandits had killed Brom, and then Kail had killed the bandits. Yiannis had then asked Kail about this, yet Kail didn¡¯t seem to recall any of it, making Yiannis suspicious. White hair, white eyes, the ability to ¡°speak to spirits¡±, and an attitude against killing yet apparently being able to kill and then forget about it. There was definitely something at play that Yiannis didn¡¯t know about. Hopefully it wouldn¡¯t be his problem though. Yiannis quietly drank and kept to himself, although people kept thanking him. Kail was much friendlier and more polite, although Yiannis noted that he seemed more tense around the older people who came to talk to them, and only eased up around the villagers closer to his own age. Yiannis, meanwhile, felt like he had done more than enough. He didn¡¯t want to waste his effort being polite. He simply wanted to relax with a drink and then leave with his money as soon as he could.

    They would end up leaving the next day, with two of the guards from the village to help them take their prisoners, and a letter from the Mayor explaining what had happened. Then Kail and Yiannis left for Yamato, to finally go home. When they got to the city they separated, although they did exchange a handshake. They had learned a lot about each other during their stay at Eastthorpe. Yiannis still wasn¡¯t completely sure why he had stayed. Perhaps he was going soft. Kail, meanwhile, had become convinced that Yiannis could possibly be a good person, deep down. After dropping off his belongings at his home, and changing clothes, Kail went to Anima to report the success of his job.

    Quinn nodded in approvement upon seeing Kail at his counter again.

    ¡°Mission successful¡± Kail said joyfully, although there was certainly a sense of tiredness to his voice. He looked forward to sleeping in his own bed again.

    ¡°Well done¡± Quinn said. ¡°What about Yiannis?¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s not here yet?¡± Kail asked. Quinn shook his head. ¡°He¡¯s fine. Me and him both helped the village and defeated all of the bandits. He came back with me. They paid us. All went well.¡±

    Quinn nodded. ¡°Alright then. I¡¯ll make a note of it. Just let me know when you want another job.¡±

    As he moved to leave to get some rest, a thought occurred to Kail. ¡°Has Kin come back yet?¡± he asked, having not seen his elusive housemate yet.

    Quinn shook his head. ¡°Not yet. He¡¯s been gone a while, but then that doesn¡¯t mean anything.¡± he said, seeing the worried look on Kail¡¯s face. ¡°Any job could take a long time depending on how it goes.¡± Even so, Kail was still worried. Kin was the person who had introduced him to the guild, and was possibly his only friend. Unless me and Yiannis are friends now? he wondered.

 Chapter 5

    Kail walked his horse, courtesy of the village of Eastthorpe, towards the west entrance of Yamato, where traffic would be leaving and entering. He had his sword sheathed over his back, and he wore some new leather armour, bought with some of the earnings from his latest job. He had another one lined up, but this time he planned to sell his services as a guard protecting someone leaving the city instead of paying his way to his destination. He had his hair tied up as well to hopefully look more the part. He found a promising group. Three wagons being drawn, with people preparing to leave. He went over to the ones holding weapons and they pointed him to the merchant who was leading the group.

    The leader of the group was talking to a boy, shorter and younger than Kail, dressed in what Kail recognised as a squire¡¯s clothes. The clothes he wore seemed to be the high quality clothing that nobility would wear, but he also wore a tabard adorned with a knight¡¯s colours, although Kail didn¡¯t know which knight it was. Kail approached the merchant leader; a woman wearing extravagant and exotic clothing, displaying her profits, with a wild hair style too.

    ¡°Excuse me, my Lady¡± Kail awkwardly started. The woman smiled in amusement. ¡°I heard that you¡¯re heading over to Hombruck?¡± he asked.

    ¡°You heard right.¡± She answered. ¡°And what of it?¡±

    ¡°I have a horse and I have a weapon, and I¡¯m well versed in combat. I¡¯m from the mercenary guild Anima. Would you like an extra guard?¡± he asked. The woman¡¯s eyebrows raised at the mention of Anima, who were well known around Yamato. She looked at him in suspicion, and he showed her a necklace that he hadn¡¯t needed to show anyone in quite some time. It was a simple chain necklace that carried a tag representing Anima. It served as proof of membership. She nodded in approval.

    ¡°I have enough guards¡± she said. ¡°And I don¡¯t have enough money to spend on extra guards just for the sake of it¡± she lied. ¡°However, if you¡¯re going our way anyway you¡¯re welcome to travel with us and camp with us. You can lend us your protection and in return you¡¯ll have the security of riding with a large group such as mine¡± she offered.

    She really knows how to call it, huh? Kail thought. He wanted to head to Hombruck as soon as possible. He could head there alone, but it wouldn¡¯t be a smart choice. He¡¯d have to take this offer.

    ¡°Very well¡± he answered. ¡°I¡¯d be honoured to ride with you.¡± She smiled in satisfaction.

    ¡°Hold on!¡± said the boy. ¡°Who are you?¡± he asked, a frown on his face.

    Kail looked straight at him. ¡°My name is Kail. Nice to meet you.¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t look any older than me!¡± the boy protested. ¡°and you¡¯re a guard? Or a mercenary? I doubt it!¡± he said. Kail couldn¡¯t help but grin. He has the accent of those from the inner city. And the ignorance.

    ¡°Again, I¡¯m part of the group called Anima. And I am well trained with the sword.¡± Kail said.

    ¡°Well I¡¯m the squire of Sir Walter Day. I don¡¯t feel safe being protected by someone so small. I¡¯ve been taught how to use a sword. Have a duel with me. If I win then you¡¯ll be staying behind¡± the boy said.

    Kail looked to the merchant lady for help.

    ¡°Eh. I don¡¯t care either way.¡± she said, waving her hand in dismissal and walking away.

    ¡°Stay here¡± the boy said. ¡°I¡¯ll get my training swords¡± and he walked off to one of the wagons.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t agree!¡± Kail called after him. The boy ignored him, so Kail followed him. He came out of the wagon holding two wooden swords. He threw one to Kail and glared at him, standing ready with his weapon. Kail didn¡¯t want to make an enemy out of nobility, but he needed to travel with this caravan.

    ¡°Fine¡± he said. He didn¡¯t bother to take off the sword strapped over his back. He held the wooden training sword. It was light. He decided to hold it in one hand. The boy narrowed his eyes in annoyance and came at him. It was a simple attack, and it wasn¡¯t particularly executed badly, but he didn¡¯t have any real combat experience. Kail deflected it to the side and slapped the boy¡¯s hand with his sword. The boy shouted in pain but regained his composure and tried again. That time Kail hit him on the other hand and once lightly on the head. The boy was very angry. Kail was reminded of the many times he¡¯d been in the same position, when he had been trained how to fight. Despite being painful at the time, he looked back on the memory fondly. It brought a smile to his face. Then the boy tried again, this time flailing wildly, trying to be unpredictable, even though it created the biggest opening so far. Kail walked into the attack, guarding with his sword, and grabbed the boy, pulling him over Kail¡¯s outstretched foot and sending him tumbling to the ground. Kail then closed in and pointed his sword at the boy¡¯s throat. The boy looked shocked, angry, and¡­ scared. Kail withdrew his sword and offered a hand to help the boy up. The boy refused and got to his feet himself.

    ¡°Fine, fine!¡± he said. ¡°I guess you¡¯ve had a bit more training than me.¡± He looked around desperately, then his eyes lit up. ¡°Hey you! Come here!¡± he shouted. Kail looked to see one of the guards walking towards them, confused. ¡°Hey, I want you to fight this guy here!¡± he said, pointing to Kail. The guard shrugged as if to say Why would I do that? ¡°There¡¯s money in it for you. Just a practice fight, not a real one! I¡¯ll give you¡­ 500 caps if you can beat him.¡±This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work.

    He really is nobility. Kail mused. 500 caps? Ridiculous. The guard was shocked too, but he greedily agreed. The boy handed him his wooden sword. The guard looked at it dubiously.

    ¡°Don¡¯t think I¡¯ve ever used one of these¡± the guard said with a smirk. Kail threw his own wooden sword to the floor and unsheathed his real one.

    ¡°Let¡¯s use these.¡± Kail said. The boy looked at him, shocked. He seemed even more shocked when the guard agreed and unsheathed his own sword. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, your highness¡± Kail couldn¡¯t help saying sarcastically to the boy. ¡°We won¡¯t kill each other.¡±

    The loud clang of steel shocked the boy as Kail and the guard¡¯s swords met, deflecting off each other. Kail leaned forward, a feint, and the guard swung his sword at him, but Kail had judged his range and leaned back to avoid it, then swung his own sword at the guard, who hastily brought his sword back to guard against it. Kail tried it again, leaning in, but the guard was more careful that time and didn¡¯t take the bait. Kail leaned in and swung his sword next, the guard moving his sword to meet it, but that had also been a feint. Kail brought his sword back then hit the guard¡¯s sword from the other side, knocking it wide. He then swiped at him, narrowly missing him. The pattern repeated itself. Kail would draw the guard in then attack in a different way. After a while the guard lifted a hand in surrender.

    ¡°I concede¡± he said, sighing.

    ¡°What!? But he didn¡¯t hit you¡± the boy angrily objected. The guard looked at him in annoyance.

    ¡°He doesn¡¯t need to. He could have if he wanted to. If he had, then I¡¯d be on the ground bleeding right now.¡± he said. He shook his head in frustration and walked off. The boy was speechless.

    ¡°He¡¯s not bad¡± Kail said to the boy. ¡°But he¡¯s not quite as good as me. Sometimes you need to know your own strength.¡± Then he walked off, back to his horse, and waited until the group started to move.

    <hr>

    The journey to Hombruck was peaceful. The roads were dangerous for the unprotected, but having armed guards served as a good deterrent. During one of the nights, when they had set up camp and made a fire, the boy unexpectantly approached Kail and sat next to him.

    ¡°My name is David. David Dowden¡± he said. The Dowden family was a rich family, confirming Kail¡¯s suspicions.

    Kail nodded in greeting. ¡°Why are you going to Hombruck? Shouldn¡¯t your Knight be training you?¡± he asked.

    David looked down. ¡°He sent me to deliver some letters to some important people. He told me I should practice with these wooden swords as much as I can.¡±

    ¡°Doesn¡¯t he ever personally train you? Sparring?¡± Kail asked.

    ¡°No¡­ not really¡± David responded.

    A lazy knight, I guess.

    ¡°Can you teach me?¡± David asked. Kail thought about it, but it didn¡¯t seem like a good idea.

    ¡°No.¡± he said firmly. ¡°I¡¯m just a mercenary. And I¡¯m going to be busy with the job I¡¯m on.¡± he explained.

    ¡°What job?¡± David asked, his curiosity piqued.

    ¡°Well¡­. A friend of mine¡­ A mercenary like me. I guess it¡¯s his job really. But he hasn¡¯t returned, and it¡¯s been a long time, so I¡¯m going to join him, and make sure he¡¯s alright.¡± Kail explained.

    ¡°Is he also a good fighter?¡± David asked, seeming more like an innocent child than an arrogant noble.

    ¡°Yes.¡± Kail answered with a smile. ¡°He¡¯s actually a better fighter than me.¡± David seemed in awe.

    <hr>

    Kail found himself in Hombruck, standing before a large mansion. The owner of the mansion had sent the job. He had left the merchants on fairly good terms. They hadn¡¯t encountered any trouble, and the guards seemed to like him because he had beaten one of them. David had also warmed up to him, wanting him to teach him how to fight.

    Kail felt increasingly uncomfortable as he walked to the front door of the mansion. Nobility made him uncomfortable, but he pushed down his feelings. He was doing this to find Kin. He knocked on the door.

    The door opened to reveal and elderly lady. She looked at Kail in confusion. Whether it was because of his strange appearance, or his lack of expensive clothes, Kail couldn¡¯t be sure.

    ¡°I¡¯m here for the job.¡± Kail quickly said. ¡°I¡¯m from the mercenary guild Anima.¡± He revealed his necklace.

    ¡°Ah I see.¡± the lady responded. She indicated for Kail to move inside and she closed the door behind him. ¡°Follow me.¡± she said, leading him through the house. Kail couldn¡¯t help looking around. The high quality candles, the smooth walls, the expensive furniture. It all screamed nobility. Kail¡¯s skin crawled. He found himself becoming short of breath but he forced himself to calm down. The lady led him to what seemed to be some sort of waiting room and told him to stay. As he sat down on an expensive looking couch Kail heard the door lock, as if he wasn¡¯t nervous enough already.

    Soon enough the door was unlocked, and a middle-aged woman walked in. She looked thin, and haggard, as if she hadn¡¯t slept or eaten well in a long time.

    ¡°You¡¯re from¡­ Anima?¡± she asked, her eyes frantic.

    ¡°Yes. You must be¡­ Lady Bennet?¡± he asked.

    She nodded. ¡°Someone from Anima already came here¡­ a.. a young gentleman¡­ like yourself. Tall.¡± She said.

    Kail nodded. ¡°We haven¡¯t heard from him so I¡¯ve come to investigate.¡± he said.

    ¡°It¡¯s¡­. it¡¯s the monsters! No one will believe me! He seemed like he believed me¡­. But he never came back. Just like my daughter¡­¡± she said, tears welling up.

    ¡°Please tell me everything, so I can find Kin¡­ the other mercenary, and your daughter.¡±

    She nodded, hope shining in her eyes. She smiled kindly. ¡°Thank you¡­¡± she said.

    Then she explained everything that had happened so far. There was a forest nearby: Ookami Forest. There had been rumours about the forest, strange sightings. They were just that though, rumours, at first. Her daughter, curious, had gone to have a look, and she had never come back. That had convinced Lady Bennett that the rumours were true. There must be monsters in that forest. No one had believed her, however, and people had distanced themselves from her. So she had sent a request, to a certain mercenary guild that she had heard good things about: Anima. Then Kin had arrived, listened to everything she had said, and set off for Ookami forest. That had been a month ago. After hearing everything, Kail assured her that he would head to the forest as well, and that he would find her daughter, even though he himself was more concerned with finding Kin. He hurriedly rushed from the house and set off for Ookami Forest.

 Chapter 6

    He had never seen anything like it. He stood at the border of the forest. The trees before him were at least twice as wide as the biggest tree he had ever seen before, as well over twice as tall. The walk towards the forest had shown him how unnaturally large they were, and now that he was standing near them looking upwards he couldn¡¯t see the top of them. So this is Ookami forest. It was evening. It was still light but it wouldn¡¯t be for long. He had left his horse in a stable in the town, as the walk to the forest wasn¡¯t too far, and he didn¡¯t see the point of bringing his horse with him into the forest itself. He considered camping outside the forest until morning, but his caution was unfounded. He may as well make use of what light was left and journey into the forest before setting up camp. There was no reason to think it would be more dangerous at night, and if the monsters were real, and if for some reason they were more dangerous at night, he¡¯d have to deal with that eventually anyway.

    As he walked through the forest he found that other plants were also unnaturally large. He felt like a toddler walking through a normal sized forest. It was a strange feeling. He could hear sounds of birds and other creatures, and he caught a glimpse of a squirrel running up a tree¡­.. a¡­. normal sized squirrel. Thank the gods. He also noticed various insects, also normal-sized. It didn¡¯t seem likely that he¡¯d be eaten by a giant deer or any such thing, which had ran through his mind.

    Night came, and he carefully made a campfire. After eating some food from his bag of supplies, he leaned against a tree and wrapped himself in a blanket he¡¯d brought with him. He kept his bag and his sword nearby and waited for sleep to come to him.

    <hr>

    The sound of snapping twigs woke him. He could hear leaves rustling as something moved towards his camp. The fire was still glowing, so he knew he hadn¡¯t been asleep for long. He slowly and quietly grabbed his sword and moved into the shadows on the opposite side of the campfire to where he could hear the movement.

    It got closer and closer. It was definitely closing in on his camp. Then figure walked into view.

    ¡°David?¡± Kail asked. David jumped. Kail could see him trying to peer into the darkness, unable to see him. Kail walked over to him. ¡°What the hell are you doing here?¡± he asked.

    ¡°Well¡­. I finished everything I had to do in Hombruck¡­ and then I¡­. followed you here. I haven¡¯t given up! I still want you to teach me how to fight!¡± he answered. If it hadn¡¯t been dark Kail might¡¯ve seen a solid determination in his eyes.

    Kail sighed. ¡°You¡¯re not joining me on this job. You¡¯re going back to the city.¡± He said. David looked around.

    ¡°Now?¡± he asked.

    Kail sighed again. He couldn¡¯t send him back in the dark. It would have to wait until morning. ¡°You can stay here for the night.¡± He said. ¡°But in the morning we¡¯re going back. Do you have any camping supplies?¡± he asked.

    Then a sound interrupted them. It was far away, but it pierced through the quiet night. A high-pitched shriek. It sounded inhuman. It set Kail¡¯s hairs on end. It reminded him of the frightening shrieks bats would make as they flew around at night.

    Kail automatically drifted into the strange blueish glowing world that he did when he talked to spirits. He looked around. He could see the trees and the plants and the ground beneath him, and David¡¯s glowing soul. He couldn¡¯t see far, his sight being limited to only a few metres, and beyond that being cloaked with mist. There was nothing near them. He realised that the sound had been far away. Of course he wouldn¡¯t have been able to see it. He returned to the living world.

    ¡°What¡­ was that?¡± David asked. Kail strapped his sheathed sword onto his back and left everything else. He grabbed David by the arm and led him away from the camp.

    ¡°We¡¯re leaving now.¡± Kail said. Monsters.

    Then they heard it again. Louder. Closer. They couldn¡¯t help freezing when they heard it. Only when it finished did they start moving again.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know what it is.¡± Kail said. ¡°But something tells me it¡¯s something we don¡¯t want to meet.¡±

    It came a third time. Very close that time. It sounded like a human screaming and a beast roaring at the same time. Kail unsheathed his sword. It was definitely closing in on them. Then he ran, pulling David along behind him. However, David stumbled. Kail turned around to help him when he saw a figure jumping towards them. Kail instinctively stepped forward and swung his sword at it. The collision sent them both to the ground. Whatever the creature was, it went over him. Kail quickly jumped back to his feet. David was behind him. He looked to the creature, as it screamed again. A blood-curdling scream that sounded too unnatural to be real.

    It looked humanoid in shape, but as it stepped towards him more details came into view. It was hunched over, and its head ended in a snout. It was covered in fur, and its feet and hands ended in deadly claws. It was big, not just taller but also wider than Kail. It looked strong. Adorning its head were two, demonic looking horns. Behind it a large, thick tail dragged along the floor. Kail couldn¡¯t help thinking that the woman, Lady Bennet, was right. There were monsters in this forest after all.Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

    It jumped at him. He tried to position his sword between him and it, but it ignored the sword. It grated against its chest but didn¡¯t go deep. The creature didn¡¯t seem to notice, and it swiped straight for Kail¡¯s chest. The impact sent him falling to the ground, and the creature stepped over him, moving towards David.

    ¡°Help!¡± David shouted, trying to back away. Kail tried to get back up but he couldn¡¯t rise. He looked down to see that he had deep cuts across his chest. His leather armour hadn¡¯t offered any protection at all. He managed to roll onto his front, blood pouring forth, but when he tried to push himself up no strength came forth. All he could do was watch as David turned to run. The creature caught up to him easily, swiping at him like it had at Kail, and David fell to the ground as well. Kail tried to shout out but no sound came forth. There was a loud ringing in his ears, getting more intense, blocking out all other sound. His vision swayed, and strange colours started to cloud it. He felt the cold floor meet his face as it became harder to breath. Then his sense left him.

    <hr>

    Kail was trapped in a metal cage. He had no clothes. It was cold. There should have been marks on his body, but there were none. Somehow his body was in perfect condition. It was dark. He tried to peer into the darkness, and he thought he saw movement, and then¡­

    Then the cage was gone. It wasn¡¯t cold anymore. It was¡­ hot. Too hot. He was in a town, and the buildings around him were on fire. He looked around. People were running past him in fear. In the distance he saw figures on horseback shouting excitedly.

    Then the flames died down, and everything went dark. Pitch black. He could see nothing, hear nothing. Then there was a light. Am I¡­ dreaming? Slowly and gently, symbols came to life before him. He was sitting in front of a stone wall. Behind him was a stone tunnel, extending into nothingness. He looked back to the wall with glowing symbols that he couldn¡¯t even begin to understand what they meant.

    Let me out.

    The words resounded in his head, but they weren¡¯t his own thoughts. There was nothing else around him, however. Unless¡­ He looked back to the wall.

    <hr>

    Kail¡¯s eyes opened and he sat up. He was in a bed, a comfortable bed. The room he was in was bright, sunlight pouring in from a window. Am I still dreaming? He looked to see a girl looking at him. She had¡­ two horns adorning her head. He froze. Monster? But there was no snout. She wasn¡¯t hunched over like a beast. And her face looked human. She had long hair, her horns jutting up from beneath it, and she had dark skin. She didn¡¯t look like a monster¡­ except for the horns. And, Kail realised, she also had a tail, just like the creature that had attacked him.

    ¡°You¡¯re awake!¡± she said joyfully. He calmed down. She had an innocent smile. He looked around the room to see someone else sitting in the far corner. The figure stood up. He didn¡¯t have any horns. His skin was slightly tanned from the sun, but not the same dark shade as the girl. He had unruly black hair kept out of his face by a headband that was positioned to cover his left eye. He was tall.

    ¡°Kin?¡± Kail asked. Was it really him? The person smirked, a familiar mischievous glint in his eye.

    ¡°Kail.¡± he responded. It was Kin.

    ¡°Am I¡­ alive?¡± Kail asked.

    ¡°You shouldn¡¯t be.¡± Kin answered with a shrug, moving towards him. ¡°But yeah, somehow you are alive.¡±

    Kail sighed with relief. Then he recalled what had happened. He pulled down the blanket covering himself to look at his chest. There were scars there, but the wounds the monster had inflicted on him seemed to have healed.

    ¡°You¡¯ve been asleep for three days Kail.¡± Kin said. Three days!? ¡°Only three days, yet you¡¯re all healed up. Strange, eh? When I found you I thought you were dead. The wounds on your chest¡­. The bleeding had stopped, as if something wanted to keep you alive.¡±

    ¡°The thing that attacked me¡­¡± Kail started.

    ¡°Oh aye, the wolf-like beast that tore chunks out of your chest? Don¡¯t worry, I took care of it.¡± Kin said with a chuckle, puffing his chest out with pride as if to show off. ¡°It¡¯s a good job I found you when I did, or it might¡¯ve finished you off. Dangerous beasts, they are.¡±

    He¡­ ¡°took care¡± of it? No way¡­ Kail felt a mixture of disbelief and admiration. They had fought and sparred in the past, and Kin had always been stronger than him, yet¡­ that monster was something else. Had he really killed it by himself? Then he remembered¡­

    ¡°What about David? The boy that was with me¡± he asked. Kin looked down, shaking his head sadly.

    ¡°Sorry Kail, but by the time I got there he was already dead. It¡¯s crazy that you survived.¡± Kin answered. Kail looked down. His hands turning to fists in frustration.

    ¡°Damnit.¡± he said. David¡­ You weren¡¯t really that bad were you? I¡¯m sorry. Why did you have to follow me? He shook his head. If only I were stronger. An awkward silence followed.

    ¡°You should lie back down.¡± the girl said. ¡°Your wounds might not be fully healed yet¡­ and you must be hungry.¡± she said worriedly.

    ¡°Nonsense!¡± Kin said, moving to Kail and pulling the blanket completely off him. Shock froze Kail until he realised he was, thankfully, fully clothed underneath. ¡°Get up, Kail, let me show you around!¡± he said happily. Kin grabbed him by the arm and Kail let him lead him to his feet. He felt exhausted, but he managed to stay on two feet. He looked around at the room in more detail. Something seemed strange. It was wooden but¡­ It wasn¡¯t made out of planks¡­ There were no nails¡­ It was as if the room had been carved out of a large chunk of wood. Kin led him to the doorway and moved aside the fabric hanging down like a door. He instinctively shielded his eyes from the sun as they adjusted, then looked around to see where exactly they were.

    They were in a tree. The room was inside a tree, and seemed to grow in such a way that they left the room and onto a platform that extended all the way around the tree. All around him were similar sights. The trees had rooms and platforms integrated into them. It was an astonishing network of branches, platforms, and rooms made out of the trees themselves. Moving around this tree village were other people like the girl inside. They had dark skin, horns atop their head, and tails. He watched as one of them climbed up a tree almost effortlessly. He realised they wore no shoes, as both their feet and their hands were clawed, helping them to climb around.

    Kin swept his arm out before them as if to dramatically present the sight to him.

    ¡°These are the tahke, Kail. That¡¯s right, ¡°tahke.¡± They aren¡¯t human. A completely different race. They live here, in Ookami forest. Welcome!¡±

 Chapter 7

    The room they were in, including the furniture, was all one large carving inside of a tree. It was a strange, surreal, and fantastic sight. Kail and Kin sat at a table, opposite a tahkean girl with blonde hair. Kail couldn¡¯t help but focus on her strange inhuman features. Her tail, her clawed fingers, and her horns. Even the teeth of the tahke seemed strangely pointed, giving them a bestial look. Kail had been given some clothes to replace the top that had been ripped apart; a tahkean tunic designed not to cover the body completely, to make it easy to move in and keep the body cool. The forest became very warm during the day, so Kail was grateful for it. Once he¡¯d been dressed Kin had taken him to see Ylva, the girl in front of him, who was mostly in charge of the village.

    ¡°We came under¡­ attack, if you can call it that, almost a year ago.¡± Ylva started to explain. ¡°Animals in the forest started to become hostile, attacking people. A few members of our village got bitten, and they start acting the same way. Eventually they¡­ became what you¡¯ve seen. Part wolf and¡­ very dangerous. Our doctor, Salomon, is working on a cure as we speak.¡±

    ¡°What about the human girl?¡± Kail asked, drawing a confused look from Ylva. ¡°Both me and Kin came here because we had a request from someone in the city of Hombruck. Her daughter went missing in these woods.¡±

    Ylva shook her head. ¡°Sorry but we haven¡¯t seen any human girl, but I doubt she¡¯d survive for long. She could be¡­ dead¡­ or she might have turned into one of them.¡±

    Kail looked at Kin, who just shrugged noncommittedly. Kail sighed. Then a wave of dizziness hit him. He grabbed the table and gritted his teeth. He felt sick. It passed. Then his stomach growled violently. He noticed that both Kin and Ylva were looking at him. Kin patted him on the shoulder.

    ¡°You haven¡¯t eaten for three days. Let¡¯s get some food.¡± he said. Kail agreed. As they left Kail quickly looked back at Ylva, catching her eye. She looked at him quizzically. He quickly turned back. He couldn¡¯t help thinking that she hadn¡¯t told them the whole story, but she didn¡¯t seem suspicious. Maybe she was keeping details from them that she herself didn¡¯t think were important.

    ¡°We should talk to the doctor.¡± Kail said.

    ¡°Sure.¡± Kin said unenthusiastically. ¡°Look, he¡¯ll probably come to check on you anyway once he hears that you¡¯ve woken up. He seemed especially interested in how fast you were healing. Should probably be wary of him. Either way, food first.¡± he said.

    <hr>

    Back in Kail¡¯s room, or the room he was staying in, he and Kin ate. A combination of meat and vegetables in a bowl. Apparently they had access to uninfected animals, which seemed strange to Kail, but he didn¡¯t question it.

    ¡°So have you found any leads about this girl?¡± Kail asked, now that he and Kin were alone.

    ¡°Nope. No one here has seen her. I think she¡¯s probably dead. So no reward for us. These people still need help though. If I can help protect them until their doctor finds a cure for this disease then I will. What are you thinking?¡± he responded.

    Dead? He had to agree, as much as he didn¡¯t want to. She probably was already dead. Kin didn¡¯t seem like he cared much about it though. Kail realised he¡¯d have to tell her mother that they couldn¡¯t find her¡­ if they survived. He couldn¡¯t just leave the tahke alone to deal with their problem, although Kail didn¡¯t know what their situation was regarding defence. Were they like Eastthorpe village, without anyone that could fight?

    ¡°I agree.¡± Kail said. ¡°I¡¯ll help. Maybe we¡¯ll find some kind of clue while we¡¯re here. Or maybe I¡¯ll ¨C¡° he was cut off as Kin looked to the doorway. The fabric was pulled to the side and a tahkean man walked in. He had short brown hair, a short beard, and, of course, two horns. He looked at Kail and walked over to him.

    ¡°The name¡¯s Salomon¡± he said. ¡°I¡¯m the doctor of the village. You¡¯re lucky your friend found you when he did.¡± he motioned to Kin. ¡°Even then, lucky to have survived. Show me?¡± he motioned to Kail¡¯s chest, where he had been attacked. Kail nodded, lifting up his tunic to show Salomon the scars left behind. Salomon shook his head in astonishment. ¡°Strange. Do all humans heal like that?¡± he asked. Kin laughed.

    ¡°Err.. Not that I know of.¡± Kail said sheepishly. Salomon rubbed his chin in thought.

    ¡°You haven¡¯t shown any signs of infection either¡­ You didn¡¯t get bit anywhere, did you? Didn¡¯t find any bite marks.¡± Salomon continued. Kail shook his head. ¡°You should be fine then.¡± he glanced at Kin before continuing. ¡°You should leave when you¡¯re ready. It¡¯s dangerous here. You don¡¯t need to be putting yourself in harms way for us. We¡¯ve got things under control¡­ Besides... we know how this thing interacts with a tahke when it infects them, but we don¡¯t know what would happen to a human.¡± he said. Kail and Kin looked at each other. Kin shook his head. Kail decided to be polite.

    ¡°We¡¯ll¡­ talk about it.¡± he said, with a polite nod. He then, as if inspiration had struck him, he activated his ability to see into the world of spirits. The world shifted around him to a glowing blue. The room around him glowed with life, still being a living tree, and he could see the doctor in front of him as a soul. He looked¡­ perfectly normal, although Kail was strangely pleased to discover that the souls of the tahke had horns and a tail too. His sight returned back to normal.

    ¡°Right, well, if you have any questions come over to my clinic. I hope, for your own sakes, that you return to your safe human city though.¡± Salomon said before leaving.

    ¡°Well, that seemed awfully suspicious.¡± Kin noted. He looked at Kail. ¡°Did something just happen that I didn¡¯t see? You seemed¡­ strange for a moment.¡±

    ¡°I looked at his soul.¡± Kail explained. ¡°Although his soul looked perfectly normal.¡±

    Kin nodded. ¡°Oh yeah, your ability to see the dead. I really can¡¯t tell if it¡¯s some joke of yours that you won¡¯t let me in to or not.¡±

    Kail shook his head. ¡°It¡¯s true. Ask Yiannis the next time you see him.¡±

    ¡°Yiannis?¡± Kin asked. ¡°How would he know?¡± Kail then told Kin about the job he had joined Yiannis on. ¡°I¡¯m surprised you and Yiannis got along.¡± Kin said.

    Kail thought to object but agreed. ¡°Me too. He seemed pretty¡­ well¡­ mercenary at first. But he ended up agreeing to protect the village so I guess he¡¯s not so bad.¡±

    ¡°I guess not. Maybe he¡¯s secretly a kind-hearted soul inside¡± Kin said with a laugh. ¡°You know, that girl Ylva, she¡¯s not the actual head of this place. Her grandfather is. Apparently he keeps himself isolated on an island in the middle of a lake. Also, apparently, he¡¯s like you. He can talk to spirits too. Interested in meeting a fellow madman?¡±

    Kail¡¯s eyes widened in shock. Someone else who could talk to the dead? He was definitely interested. He nodded enthusiastically.

    ¡°I¡¯ll talk to some of the people here and see if I can take you to go talk to him.¡± Kin said.

    ¡°Thank you.¡± Kail responded. He really didn¡¯t know anything about his ability other than that he could see souls and talk to them. He recalled what had happened at Eastthorpe village. It had seemed like he had been possessed by Ulric¡¯s spirit. Was that a part of his ability too? ¡°If he really can though¡­. please don¡¯t call him a madman. It is real.¡±

    <hr>

    When Kail next woke up it was dark. He could hear voices coming from outside. He looked to the door to see a familiar figure looking out the door. He got out of bed and walked over to join her, making her jump. It was the girl who he assumed had been taking care of him when he¡¯d been asleep for three days. The girl that had been there when he had first woken up.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Kail asked.

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure.¡± she responded. ¡°If we were under attack they¡¯d have sounded the horn.¡± Horn? Kail wondered. ¡°It looks like people are gathering on the forest floor for some reason. Maybe they¡¯re going out for a patrol?¡± Kail looked to see torches shedding light about, and a few tahke climbing down trees heading to the ground.

    ¡°Shall we get a closer look?¡± Kail asked. The girl looked at him in shock, but he could tell she was just as curious as he was. She nodded enthusiastically. Kail wondered if she¡¯d been told to look after him. Perhaps the tahke Salomon had assigned her to it. Was she his assistant? He looked around and realised how easily the tahke could get about. With their claws and tails they easily climbed up and down the trees. ¡°Erm¡­¡± he started. She realised his dilemma.Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.

    ¡°Here.¡± the girl said, showing him a rope tied to the platform they were on. ¡°Not everyone here is a good climber. I mean¡­ most of us, sure, but not everyone. Let¡¯s use these.¡± she said.

    ¡°Thanks.¡± Kail responded. ¡°I didn¡¯t catch your name by the way¡­¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m Siv.¡± she replied. ¡°I help out Doctor Salomon as much as I can. When he first got here he shouldered everything himself, and so I ended up kind of becoming his assistant. For everything he¡¯s doing for us he deserves some help.¡±

    When he first got here? So he wasn¡¯t always part of this village? He wanted to ask more but she let the rope drop down and started to climb down. Kail followed, although even with the help of a rope it was still hard work. He realised that there was another platform further down, and he found that every level had ropes so they could move further down, thankfully. Once they reached the forest floor they found a large group of tahke. Seeing so many of them together he realised that the tahke must be naturally a little shorter than humans. Most of them were around his height or shorter. The height difference was made more noticeable as a few of them carried torches which shed light on two figures in the middle of the group. One was Kin, much taller than Kail, and his height was a sharp contrast to the group of tahke surrounding him. The other was a tahkean that Kail hadn¡¯t met yet. Taller than Kail, taller than the rest of the tahke and only slightly shorter than Kin. His light brown hair stood out, made even more prominent by the horns on his head. Kail was confused. This person had five horns around his head, jutting through his hair like a crown. He didn¡¯t know much about the tahke, but everyone he had seen so far had only two horns.

    As he was in the habit of doing, Kail tried to look at the man¡¯s soul. However, surrounded by so many people, Kail couldn¡¯t make it out. There were too many people in the way. Kail tried to get closer, Siv following him, but he had difficulty pushing through the crowd.

    <hr>

    ¡°Your people are well trained.¡± Kin said, motioning to the large ring that had opened around them. Around the ring, holding people back, stood some tahkeans wearing armour, with longswords sheathed at their hips.

    ¡°Many thanks, I train them myself.¡± the tall, five-horned tahkean replied. ¡°I¡¯d much prefer them to be on patrol though, so let us conclude this swiftly.¡± He walked over to one of his warriors who held out a spear for him.

    ¡°Sure thing, Siegfried.¡± Kin replied. ¡°If I win then I want you to take me to the island, so I can talk with Soxolfr, and I want to bring my friend with me.¡± He walked over to a warrior on the opposite side of the ring to Siegfried, who also held out a spear for him. The spears looked worlds apart, however. Kin¡¯s spear looked like any average human spear; a wooden shaft with a metal, bladed tip. Siegfried¡¯s spear, however, looked to be completely made from metal. Kin had heard rumours about Siegfried¡¯s strength but¡­ he was sure that a metal spear would weigh him down, and he was confident in his own skill.

    ¡°And when I win.¡± Siegfried responded, pointing his spear at Kin. ¡°You will help me train my warriors, when we¡¯re not on patrol.¡± Kin sighed. He¡¯d been out on patrol with some of the tahkean warriors, although never with Siegfried. Word of his skill must had gotten back to him. Perhaps he¡¯d been told that Kin had slain the beast that had attacked Kail.

    ¡°Sure.¡± Kin responded. ¡°Although you won¡¯t be winning.¡± he said with a smile. Siegfried didn¡¯t respond, a look of utter concentration on his face as he assumed his pose, his spear held out before him. He waited for Kin to do the same. Kin waited for a moment, measuring Siegfried up. The weight of the metal spear didn¡¯t seem to bother him. He showed no movement, except for his calm breaths. Kin sighed and follow suit. They both calmly and slowly moved along the outer edge of the circle and slowly closed in, as if each following the pattern of a spiral intending to meet in the middle.

    When they were within each other¡¯s range their spears rose to meet simultaneously. The clash of metal on metal could be heard by everyone. They seemed evenly matched as their spearheads deflected off each other time and time again¡­ but they weren¡¯t evenly matched at all.

    Impressive he thought to himself. Every time their spears met his spear was swung away with unreal force. He regained control each time and brought it back, only for it to be deflected wide again. In comparison, Siegfried¡¯s weapon didn¡¯t move much. It stayed in front of him, slapping Kin¡¯s attacks away. Siegfried stepped forward and attacked; a straightforward thrust. Kin tried to deflect it but Siegfried was too strong. He had to sidestep, holding his spear in defence. Siegfried swung it sideways at him and he had to duck and use his spear to guide it over him. He had to wonder grimly if the wooden shaft would hold out. Siegfried swung back, this time aiming at Kin¡¯s legs, and he had to jump to avoid it. At the same time he brought his spear down from above towards Siegfried, forcing him to pull his spear back and deflect the attack. With Kin¡¯s spear out wide, Siegfried swung his down towards him from above. He wouldn¡¯t be able to deflect it. It wasn¡¯t just a matter of moving his weapon in the way in time; Siegfried was too physically strong. Even if he brought the wooden shaft up to block it he felt like it would simply break. For the first time so far, Kin had to jump back out of the way. He¡¯d been pushed back. Siegfried had control of the centre of the ring. The fact that his spear is made entirely of metal doesn¡¯t slow him down in the slightest. Siegfried¡¯s breathing was still calm. Meanwhile, Kin¡¯s breathing had sped up, needing to draw in more oxygen to replenish the energy he¡¯d wasted trying to deflect Siegfried¡¯s overpowering attacks.

    ¡°That¡¯s some unreal strength.¡± Kin said, laughing bitterly. He couldn¡¯t fight Siegfried as if he was simply another spear user. It would lead to his doom. He would have to try to outmanoeuvre him and hope he was faster and more skillful enough to bridge the gap between their strength.

    ¡°Are you strong?¡± Siegfried asked. The question shook Kin from his thoughts. ¡°I mean no disrespect. Some of my warriors are stronger than others, but when I spar with them I can¡¯t tell. Are you strong? I can¡¯t tell.¡± His tone didn¡¯t seem demeaning or judgemental. Kin could tell he was actually curious. For some reason that angered him more.

    ¡°I like to think I am.¡± Kin responded. ¡°I train to be strong, stronger than others. But your strength¡­ It¡¯s as if you¡¯re cheating.¡± he said with a laugh. ¡°But don¡¯t worry, strength alone won¡¯t beat me.¡± Siegfried cocked his head in curiosity. Kin wondered if Siegfried had ever lost a fight. He would be happy to sate his curiosity and give him his first taste of defeat. He would have to use everything he could to win. Siegfried had control of the ring, so Kin thought about how to use that fact to his advantage. Siegfried had no reason to move from the centre, and he didn¡¯t seem to be in a rush to finish the fight.

    Kin moved slowly and carefully around the ring, as if a predator circling its prey. Siegfried remained unshaken. Kin stepped in with an attack from Siegfried¡¯s left. Siegfried deflected it, driving Kin¡¯s spear down into the dirt, like Kin had expected him too. Kin jumped back then tried again, this time from the other side; to the same result. Kin moved around him once again, throwing in the occasional attack to divert Siegfried¡¯s attention. They were no mere feints, however. With each attack he tried to find a way past Siegfried¡¯s defence. His arms burned from overexertion as Siegfried deflected each attack with unreal strength. Once Kin was in the right place he repeated the attack pattern from earlier; an attack on each side purposefully aimed so Siegfried would deflect Kin¡¯s spear into the ground. Siegfried counterattacked, and Kin jumped back once more. Siegfried¡¯s eyes were on him the entire time. Kin smiled and stood upright, a safe distance from Siegfried.

    ¡°Giving up?¡± Siegfried asked, curious. Kin¡¯s eyes didn¡¯t speak of defeat, yet the stance he was in was defenceless. Kin removed a hand from his spear and pointed at Siegfried.

    ¡°Eamepeat!¡± he shouted. An unfamiliar word. Siegfried was confused. Even more so as a sudden light glowed from below him. Siegfried looked down and realised that each time Kin¡¯s spear had been driven into the dirt he had marked the floor. And the marks¡­ glowed suddenly. The ground beneath him was suddenly covered in ice. The ice rapidly moved to cover his feet. He was frozen in place. He looked back up to see a gleeful smile on Kin¡¯s face as he moved faster than he ever had to the side that Siegfried would be defenceless from. His eyes spoke of victory.

    ¡°Magic?¡± Siegfried exclaimed, shocked and caught off guard.

    Kin dove forward with his spear ahead of him. However, Siegfried was strong. Unnaturally strong. He pulled his feet free from the ice as if it was mud, sending shards flying about, and quickly moved to defend. For the first time in the fight it was a real defence rather than confidently deflecting Kin¡¯s attacks with ease. He defended with the metal shaft of his spear, not having enough time to bring the tip around. His feet were free, and if he could survive that attack than he planned to overpower Kin as fast as he could, knowing that he had magic at his disposal. He deflected the blow high, but Kin used all his strength to push down on Siegfried¡¯s spear. Siegfried offered a slight smirk. He wouldn¡¯t be overpowered. But then he realised his feet were slipping. He was off-balance. The ice below his feet offered no grip. Even with his strength, without a good foothold he was defenceless. He couldn¡¯t believe the outcome as his feet slipped from under him completely and he fell flat onto his back. The cold permeated through his clothes, causing him to shiver as Kin stood over him, spear tip pointed into his chest.

    ¡°Concede?¡± Kin asked, unable to hide the joy from his voice, as if the gleeful smile wasn¡¯t enough. He then noticed that Siegfried had let go of his weapon with one hand and was gripping the tip of Kin¡¯s spear. His eyes narrowed in suspicion.

    ¡°I concede.¡± Siegfried said. Kin breathed a sigh of relief.

    ¡°Eamepeat.¡± he said again, and the ice beneath Siegfried disappeared. He then removed his spear from Siegfried¡¯s chest and offered him a hand. Siegfried took it and let Kin help him to his feet. No blood. Kin noted. The hand he had grasped was the hand Siegfried had gripped Kin¡¯s spear tip with, yet it wasn¡¯t wet with blood. It hadn¡¯t pierced his skin at all. That¡¯s unnerving.

    ¡°Impressive.¡± Siegfried said. ¡°Magic?¡± he asked.

    ¡°A trick.¡± Kin offered with a wink. ¡°Used correctly, a fight-winning trick.¡±

    ¡°Well, you win. I¡¯ll keep my word. Tomorrow I¡¯ll take you across the lake to see our head, Soxolfr.¡± Siegfried responded.

    ¡°Cheers, Sieg.¡± Kin replied.

    ¡°Don¡¯t call me that.¡± Sieg responded.

    Then someone came forth from the circle. ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± he asked. It was a white-haired human with strange white eyes.

    ¡°Awake, Kail? We were just sparring, don¡¯t worry. I did manage to get you a meeting with Soxolfr though! Aren¡¯t I impressive?¡± Kin said.

    ¡°A spar? That was a¡­. Err, alright then. Thanks.¡± Kail responded. He looked to Sieg. Kin was starting to learn how to tell when Kail looked at someone¡¯s soul, and he realised Kail had done just that. Apparently a strange symbol appeared in Kail¡¯s eyes when he did it, but it was dark so he couldn¡¯t check. However, he was certain Kail had just done it, from the momentary pause as if he was trying to look at something in detail. ¡°Nice to meet you, my name is Kail.¡± he said to Sieg, awkwardly bowing. Kin laughed. Sieg turned away from him.

    ¡°Warriors!¡± he shouted, gaining the attention of the tahke wearing armour with swords ready at their hips. ¡°Patrol!¡± he said. With that the circle started to disperse, and Sieg left without a word. Kin approached Kail.

    ¡°You looked at his soul, right? Did you notice anything strange?¡± Kin asked, wondering about Sieg¡¯s unnatural strength. Kail nodded.

    ¡°It¡¯s hard to explain, but there was something strange there¡­ Something else.¡±

 Chapter 8

    Kin and Kail stood on the island in the middle of the lake. It wasn¡¯t a huge lake. Kail could even see the other side from where he stood, and he could see where the lake narrowed and snaked into the forest as a river. Siegfried stood by the boat he¡¯d used to take them there and motioned to the wooden cabin in the middle of the small island.

    ¡°Not coming with us?¡± Kin inquired.

    ¡°No.¡± Siegfried responded flatly. ¡°The old man is hard to handle sometimes. I¡¯d rather not. I¡¯ll wait here for you.¡± Kin shrugged and walked towards the cabin.

    ¡°Thanks.¡± Kail quickly said before catching up to Kin. Kin knocked on the door. There was no response. He held his ear up to it. Kail tapped him on the shoulder, giving him a disapproving look, but Kin gestured for Kail to do the same. Kail sighed and pressed his ear against the door. He could hear voices¡­ No, just the one voice. Someone was talking to themselves. Then Kin simply opened the door and walked in.

    ¡°For gods¡¯ sake, Kin.¡± Kail said, shaking his head in frustration, then moved to follow him. Immediately they were greeted by a strange smell. The inside of the cabin was filled with some smoke that made them lightheaded. Kail couldn¡¯t help coughing as he inhaled it. In the centre of what Kail assumed to be the living room sat an old man in the pose of meditation. He had long grey hair, and a long grey beard and moustache to match. His eyes were closed and he was smoking a pipe. He opened his eyes to look at the intruders. An intense stare. This isn¡¯t just any old man Kail realised. Does he think we¡¯re here to hurt him? The old man put down his pipe.

    ¡°I don¡¯t get visitors very often.¡± he said, his voice carrying a strange authority about it. ¡°Not so much anymore anyway.¡± He didn¡¯t move from his position, but he seemed as if he had no openings. ¡°Well, since you¡¯re here¡­¡± he said. An intense silence followed and then¡­ he burst into a coughing fit.

    ¡°Err, are you okay?¡± Kail asked.

    ¡°I¡¯m fine, I¡¯m fine, just gimme a minute will ya?¡± the old man said. He regained his composure and moved to his feet. ¡°You two are human aren¡¯t ya? What¡¯re you doing in my forest?¡±

    ¡°Didn¡¯t anybody tell you?¡± Kin asked, a tone of annoyance evident in his voice. ¡°I¡¯ve been here for the last month, helping your village against these¡­ well¡­ werewolves.¡±

    Werewolves? Kail had heard stories and myths about werewolves, and hearing the word spoke out loud made him realise how well it fit for what they were fighting. He hadn¡¯t thought werewolves were real though.

    ¡°Werewolves?¡± Soxolfr asked. ¡°Aye maybe that¡¯s what they are. Anyway, what have you come to bother me with?¡±

    ¡°Here you go, Kail.¡± Kin said, nudging Kail forward. ¡°Here¡¯s the person who can see souls just like you.¡±

    ¡°Hm?¡± Soxolfr responded. ¡°A shaman, eh?¡±

    There¡¯s that word again. Shaman Kail thought. Then something strange happened. Soxolfr¡¯s eyes glowed peculiarly. Kail stepped forward to look closer and he could see a strange symbol in his eyes. Was Soxolfr looking at his soul? Kail reciprocated, focusing on Soxolfr as the world turned blue. He was surprised. Soxolfr¡¯s soul looked normal enough, but there was a strange symbol marked on his chest. It might¡¯ve been the same symbol Kail had seen in his eyes. Did he have one too?

    Aye you are a shaman after all. Kail heard a voice say. It was Soxolfr, speaking to him in the world that they could both see. Although yer soul looks strange.

    What is a shaman? Kail asked.

    Ye don¡¯t know? Even though you are one? Soxolfr responded. Kail heard what could¡¯ve been a laugh. We are those that can interact with spirits. Hasn¡¯t anyone ever told you how to use your power?

    Power? You mean there¡¯s more to it than just talking to the dead? I mean¡­ it did feel like someone¡¯s spirit took over my body once¡­ Kail replied.

    Aye, possession. The same as me. How lucky. Soxolfr said. We can take spirits into our own body, and, depending how well you do it, gain their memories and skills. It takes practice and control to do it well, though. Ye¡¯re lucky you met me. Maybe I can teach you how to do it so they don¡¯t take complete control.

    That sounds¡­ like an amazing ability. Kail thought to himself, although he then realised Soxolfr could hear him. Talking to spirits was very similar to thinking, and it was hard to differentiate between the two.

    Yes. Soxolfr responded. It¡¯s why we ended up coming to this forest, from what my mother told me back in the day. It¡¯s this power that has allowed the shaman of the village to shape the trees to our will. The spirit of the forest gives us its power. The Ookami.

    Soxolfr pointed upwards. Kail realised that he couldn¡¯t see the walls of the house. Unlike the tahke village in the trees, this cabin was made from wood that had been cut and worked. There wasn¡¯t an actual tree on the island. The word used for the cabin was no longer alive. Kail looked up, not seeing any ceiling. Instead he saw a spirit looking down at them. A gigantic spirit glowing magnificently of white. It had four legs, seeming like they were connected to the ground itself. It¡¯s body and head looked like that of a wolf. It remained silent, simply looking at them. Kail couldn¡¯t take his eyes off it. It glowed like it was made from white fire.

    That is the Ookami. Soxolfr explained. It has been in this forest for a long time. It lends me its power in times of need, and in return we promise not to damage the forest and keep care of it. Although we haven¡¯t been able to do such a good job lately¡­

    It was a lot to take in. Kail glanced to Kin, his tall and human soul unmoving, made up of a light blue fire, not quite as impressive as the Ookami, and not privy to their conversation. Kail turned his attention back to the land of the living, and Soxolfr seemed to follow suit.

    ¡°It¡¯s strange that the Ookami seems to look like a wolf, and your people are turning into wolf-like creatures. Is there any chance this could be caused by it? Maybe someone angered it¡± Kail said.

    ¡°Wait, what? What¡¯s an Ookami?¡± Kin asked. ¡°Have I missed something?¡±

    ¡°Aye I agree, it¡¯s strange.¡± Soxolfr said. ¡°Some of my people have voiced the same concerns, but I commune with the Ookami regularly, and it¡¯s not the cause of this. It was distressed when the infection came to the forest. It could feel as the animals of the forest became rabid.¡±

    ¡°When exactly did that happen?¡± Kin asked, realising they had ignored his question. ¡°Seemed to me like we haven¡¯t been told the whole story.¡±

    ¡°Perhaps we might be able to look at events in a fresh light.¡± Kail added.

    Soxolfr sighed. ¡°Alright. Come with me, let¡¯s sit and drink some tea while I tell you.¡± He led them into a separate room with chairs and a table, and had them sit down while he boiled some water and made them each a cup of tea. It tasted different to the tea that Kail used to have, which is popular throughout Terra Deorum, but it didn¡¯t taste bad.

    ¡°It all started about a year ago.¡± Soxolfr started. ¡°The Ookami felt somethin¡¯. The animals of the forest crying out in pain. So I sent patrols to find out what it was. The animals of the forest everywhere were going crazy and attacking anything they could. People were wondering if we angered the Ookami, but it was nothing of the sort. Of course, eventually one of our patrols got attacked and infected. That patrol was made up of Siegfried, Edwin, and Torbjorn.¡±

    ¡°Wait a minute¡­ Siegfried doesn¡¯t seem like he¡¯s infected.¡± Kin interrupted, seeming dubious. ¡°And who are Edwin and Torbjorn?¡±

    Soxolfr waved his hand in annoyance to quiet Kin. ¡°I¡¯m getting to that, by the gods. Siegfried is unusually strong. Not sure why. He reported to everyone else that he didn¡¯t get bitten, but in private he told me that he¡¯d only said that not to worry people. The animals simply didn¡¯t manage to break his skin. His skin is like iron. We know now, thanks to Salomon, that the infection spreads through saliva. That¡¯s why Siegfried didn¡¯t get infected. Edwin¡­ well, he¡¯s not here anymore. Shame, really. He and Siegfried were good friends. Like Siegfried, Edwin didn¡¯t have two horns like the rest of us, he had three. And Torbjorn¡­ well Torbjorn was the husband of my daughter, and Ylva¡¯s father.¡± Soxolfr took a moment, sipping his tea, while he recounted the bad memories. ¡°So, they started showing symptoms. At first they just had a fever that seemed to be getting worse. Then they started getting violent. We had to tie them up for everyone¡¯s safety. That¡¯s when we sent a messenger to the mountain tahke, to see if they knew anything about it. The messenger came back with Salomon. Salomon had been around different tribes that had suffered from the same thing. He came to our village to help.¡±

    ¡°So your doctor, Salomon, wasn¡¯t originally from here?¡± Kail asked, curious.

    ¡°No, he is from a different tribe. But he told us he¡¯d seen similar cases and had helped before. He inspected Torbjorn and Edwin. He said he¡¯d never seen a case this far along, but that he¡¯d try to help anyway. He thought he had a cure, one he had used before, and we captured some animals for him to test it on. It worked. When he used it on Torbjorn and Edwin, however, it didn¡¯t help. He did use a medicine that kept them asleep though, so we didn¡¯t have to keep them tied up. But then¡­.¡±This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

    ¡°But then?¡± Kin pressed. ¡°It sounds like there weren¡¯t any werewolves at all to begin with.¡±

    ¡°Right, not until it happened. While Salomon was working on a cure, more of our people were bit by animals in the forest and infected. Salomon kept them unconscious too. But then, one day my daughter, Ylva¡¯s mother Bodil, she visited her husband. Not unreasonable. To be expected. But during her visit¡­ Something happened. Torbjorn and Edwin turned into what you¡¯ve seen there to be out there, as did the rest of the patients. They fled into the forest. Inside the room Salomon was using¡­. Bodil had died, killed in the outbreak. And now we¡¯re in this situation. Werewolves, if ye wanna call them that, out there in the forest. And while, over time, we¡¯ve killed some of them, sometimes they bite one of us and add to their numbers.¡± Soxolfr sighed, seemingly worn out by the story. And yet¡­ something didn¡¯t seem right about it to Kail.

    ¡°Were all the animals in the forest infected?¡± Kail asked. Soxolfr looked thoughtful.

    ¡°Not sure about all of them, but probably most of them.¡± he said. Kail nodded, then got to his feet.

    ¡°Alright, thank you for telling us everything.¡± he said. He motioned for Kin to follow. Kin didn¡¯t seem to have any more questions and followed Kail outside. They walked towards Siegfried, who was still waiting by the boat.

    ¡°I want to investigate something else, outside the village.¡± Kail said to Kin.

    ¡°As long as don¡¯t go too far and we get back before night, we should be safe.¡± Kin replied. ¡°Not sure why but they only seem to be active during the night.¡± Kail also found that strange. Perhaps they were on to something.

    <hr>

    ¡°Strange, don¡¯t you think?¡± Kail asked. They had looked around, but then it had started to get dark, so he and Kin had gone to doctor Salomon¡¯s house to ask him questions. They were waiting patiently for him to appear.

    ¡°You mean that we could find any infected animals? Yeah, pretty strange.¡± Kin agreed.

    ¡°If there aren¡¯t any animals infected in the whole forest then it means it was a temporary thing¡­ It wore off over time? But then why hasn¡¯t that happened with the tahke? It could mean that the initial infection and the werewolves are two separate issues.¡± Kail said. Then Salomon appeared from the shadows at the far end of the room. Kail realised there must be a staircase or another exit there, hidden away in the dark.

    ¡°What are you two doing here?¡± he asked. ¡°You should go and help Siegfried patrol the village in case it comes under attack.¡±

    ¡°Thought you wanted us to leave?¡± Kin asked with a smirk. Kail nudged him to be quiet.

    ¡°We wanted to ask you some questions. We got the full story about when the infection started from Soxolfr, and some things don¡¯t make sense.¡± Kail explained.

    ¡°No surprise.¡± Salomon said, tutting. ¡°That old fool is high most the time. Thinks he can talk to some wolf god.¡±

    ¡°Either way¡­¡± Kail started. ¡°He told us that at first the infection spread amongst the animals of the forest before spreading to the tahke- I mean the people here. Yet me and Kin went around to investigate the animals around the forest¡­ and none of them were infected. I think that the initial infection and whatever is turning people into werewolves are two different things.¡±

    ¡°They are linked.¡± Salomon responded, seeming adamant. ¡°Maybe the animals you found were ones I used an antidote on when I was testing different ingredients. Or¡­ perhaps the¡­.werewolves are because of that wolf god that Soxolfr worships.¡±

    ¡°Thought you didn¡¯t think the ¡®wolf god¡¯ was real?¡± Kin asked.

    ¡°Soxolfr assures us it isn¡¯t the work of the Ookami.¡± Kail added. ¡°But look, if the two infections are different, then you might be looking for a cure for the wrong thing.¡± Then the loud sound of a horn interrupted their discussion. Kail looked to Kin. Kin looked¡­ scared. Well that¡¯s unnerving.

    ¡°That¡¯s the horn they sound when an infected tahkean has been found.¡± Kin explained. The horn sounded again. Kin¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°That means they¡¯re under attack¡­¡± Then the horn sounded a third time. ¡°And that means the village is under attack.¡±

    ¡°Well you better get out there and help.¡± Salomon said. Kin nodded. Kail, however, wasn¡¯t convinced. Salomon walked towards the corner of the room, where he had appeared from. Kail once again looked into the world of spirits in case there were any secrets he might find. He could just about make out the structure of the tree. It seemed like it did turn into a staircase at the back and joined to a room underneath. And underneath them was¡­ a soul. A human soul. No horns. No tail.

    ¡°Wait!¡± Kail called. ¡°Is there someone downstairs?¡± he asked. Salomon¡¯s eyes went wide in shock. This is it! He is hiding something.

    ¡°Nothing you want to see.¡± he said, seeming to regain his composure. ¡°It¡¯s where we keep the bodies of the dead, to help me find a cure.¡±

    He could be telling the truth¡­. If that soul is her, then maybe she¡¯s dead. But surely they would¡¯ve noticed if a werewolf without any horns or tail had attacked.

    Kin nudged him, rousing him from his thoughts. He saw Salomon disappearing into the staircase. Kail moved to go after him, but Kin grabbed him.

    ¡°We should go help.¡± Kin said. Kail sighed. It would be easier if Kin could also see what he could see.

    ¡°There¡¯s someone down there. A human. Or at least a human soul. If she is dead then it likely means her body is down there. If she isn¡¯t. Then¡­ It means Salomon has something to do with all of this.¡± Kail explained. Kin was shocked but nodded and moved to follow. Then they heard a nearby scream from outside the room. They both look to the outside and rushed to investigate. A little tahkean girl was standing on one of the platforms coming from a separate tree. She was staring in horror at a horned, tailed, and clawed werewolf. It was growling at her and closing in. A woman, presumably her mother, then grabbed the girl and jumped to a different tree, amazing Kail at how easily and at how far the tahke could jump. However, both Kail and Kin knew that the werewolf wouldn¡¯t have any trouble following her. They both drew their weapons, although Kail wasn¡¯t sure how he was going to fight so high up in the trees without falling to the ground below. Kin, however, threw his spear straight at the werewolf. It moved back at the last second. Kin¡¯s spear embedded itself into the tree. It then looked at them as the woman and child ran away.

    ¡°You¡¯ve got this, right?¡± Kin asked, now weapon-less.

    ¡°Err¡­ No?¡± Kail responded. The werewolf leapt effortlessly onto the platform they were on. Kin and Kail both moved to opposite sides of the werewolf, effectively pincer-ing it, although Kin was unarmed. Kail couldn¡¯t help but peer over the edge, looking down into the darkness below. He did not want to fall off the edge of their platform. The werewolf seemed focused on Kin, so Kail swung at it with his sword. His sword pierced flesh, but it didn¡¯t go very deep.. The werewolf immediately turned around with enough force to send Kail¡¯s sword out wide. He grabbed onto the tree so that he wasn¡¯t thrown off the edge, and he managed to keep his grip on his sword. The werewolf howled at him; an all too familiar sound that made his blood run cold. It reminded him of the first one he had seen. He had almost died. He carefully backed away. The werewolf looked like it was about to pounce on him, but when it tried it fell down as if something had tripped it. Kail looked to its feet and saw that they had been frozen to the wooden platform.

    ¡°No problem!¡± said Kin from behind the creature. Then, seemingly in reaction to his voice, the werewolf¡¯s tail whipped up, hitting him in the face. He fell over as he yelled in pain and shock. He got to his feet to retaliate, then seemed to remember that he had no weapon as the monster¡¯s tail lashed about threateningly. Then, as Kail watched, he ran and jumped to the other tree. He hit the tree just above the platform and with enough force that Kail was sure he was going to bounce right off and fall in between the trees, but he stuck to it instead. Kail then saw that he had created ice, freezing his hands to the tree so that he wouldn¡¯t fall. Then the ice vanished and he dropped down comfortably to the platform and retrieved his spear.

    Kail¡¯s attention was brought back to the werewolf as it growled at him. It struck at its own feet with its tail, breaking the ice. Then it moved to jump at Kail again. Its horns looked even more deadly, seemingly like it could simply skewer him onto its head. Kail looked around him. There was another platform, but it was too high up. The werewolf was between him and Kin¡¯s platform, and he doubted that Kin would easily be able to get back up to him. As the werewolf jumped at him he reacted on instinct and fell flat to the floor. The werewolf went over him, its own momentum against it, and off the platform. Kail quickly rushed over to help Kin back to his platform.

    ¡°Well done!¡± Kin shouted, but there didn¡¯t seem to be any easy way for him to get back. Kail¡¯s platform was above Kin¡¯s, so jumping back was out of the question. Then Kail spotted a rope. He remembered how Siv had shown him that each platform had ropes, to make travelling between them and between different levels easier. It was firmly tied to the platform, so threw it over to Kin, who gave him a thumbs up. Then his eyes focused on something behind Kail. Kail turned to see that the werewolf hadn¡¯t fallen all the way to the ground. It was climbing up another tree that it must had grabbed on to. It then turned its head to Kail threateningly and jumped easily onto his platform. Kin had swung over on the rope by that pointed and had his hands on the platform, trying to pull himself up. Kail could see the spear safely sheathed on his back. He positioned himself between Kin and the werewolf, and realised he had to attack to buy him time, as much as the creature scared him. So he did. He swung his sword at the creature, who caught him by surprise by deflecting it with its horns. Kail didn¡¯t lose focus, however, and brought the sword back, and the werewolf actually moved back to avoid Kail¡¯s attack. Relief spread through him. He¡¯d actually made it momentarily retreat.

    ¡°Don¡¯t lose focus.¡± Kin said, appearing at his side, spear brandished before him. Despite it being two on one, Kail and Kin had barely any footing as they presented a united front. ¡°We have to finish this fast.¡± Kin said. ¡°I¡¯ll try to create an opening.¡±

    The werewolf moved closer to them, eyeing the spear warily that Kin had pointed towards it. Then it swiped at the spear. Horror struck as its large claws swiped through the wooden shaft, sending the sharp end of the spear flying through the air. Then werewolf closed in, focusing on Kin. Kail realised that it had actually served well as a distraction. He could stab it¡­ but he remembered that these creatures were the tahke of the village, albeit infected. Maybe they could be saved? The werewolf swung a claw towards Kin. Kail reacted in time to cut into its. It roared in pain, pulling its arm back, and Kail with it, his sword firmly embedded. As it did so Kin closed in, grabbing onto Kail as he stabbed above him at the creature¡¯s face. In his hand was the broken half of the spear that he¡¯d kept a hold of. He jammed it viciously into the creature¡¯s eye. He then grabbed onto the creature¡¯s horn to stop it from retreating and forced the shaft deeper and deeper until¡­ the werewolf halted. Kail pulled his sword free and moved back to see that it had stopped moving. Kin let go of its horn as it fell to the floor lifelessly in front of them. The sound of Kail and Kin¡¯s breaths were all they could hear as they stared at its body as if they were in a trance . Then shouts in the distance brought them back to reality, and Kail pushed the brutal sight of the creature¡¯s death to the back of his mind.

    He ran back into the room they¡¯d come from and looked to the world of spirits once more. He couldn¡¯t see anyone. Salomon, as well as the human spirit, had gone.

    ¡°They¡¯re gone.¡± Kail said. ¡°Salomon and¡­ whoever was in the room below. They¡¯re gone. Where is he?¡± he said angrily in frustration. ¡°If that was the girl then why would her soul go with him? Unless she¡¯s alive and he took her with him! We should¡­ go to Soxolfr.¡± he said. Kin nodded in agreement and they made their way towards the lake.

 Chapter 9

    Looking across the lake, Kail could see a boat coming from the island. Hopefully that meant that Soxolfr was already on his way to towards them, perhaps to help defend against the attack.

    ¡°You really think that old man will be of any help?¡± Kin asked.

    ¡°Well, he¡¯s a shaman like me, and he says he can use the Ookami spirit. The Ookami is¡­. well¡­ something else. It must be of some help in a fight. He should be good to have around.¡± Kail answered.

    ¡°Hmm¡­ Still, I feel like we¡¯d be better served hunting down any werewolves that might be attacking people.¡± Kin replied.

    ¡°Maybe¡­ But I¡¯d like to tell Soxolfr what we found first. Besides, Siegfried should be about, as well as those armoured fighters he trains with. In the forest, up in the trees at least, me and you are at a huge disadvantage.¡± Kail said.

    ¡°True. I¡¯m much more confident here where there¡¯s more of a clearing.¡± Kin said. ¡°Although¡­¡± he looked at his broken spear. They hadn¡¯t taken the time to try to find the end with the spear-head¡­ so all he had was a stick with blood on the end. He sighed.

    ¡°I guess I¡¯ll be doing the fighting if one of them comes here.¡± Kail said, unable to keep the uneasiness from his voice. The boat was near the shore now, heading for them. And then¡­

    A roar came from the forest behind them. It was louder and somehow different from what they¡¯d heard so far. It was somehow more inhuman. The picture of a lion came to Kail¡¯s mind. He¡¯d never seen one, only read about them and looked at pictures drawn of them, but the lion was known as the ¡®king of beasts¡¯ in the land it was from. It was said to have a mighty roar that would alert all nearby creatures that the one who stood at the top of the food chain was there. That was the effect the roar had on Kail. Just like the werewolf he had met before, it was as if there were two sounds he could hear un unison. One; the loud roar of a beast, and two: the pained scream of a man in pain. A grim reminder that these creatures were once tahke.

    They could see red eyes glowing from the shadows of the trees. Then creature stepped from the shadows towards them. This one was larger than the others. Even Kin looked small compared to its height. Two magnificent and deadly horns crowned its head, and a strong and powerful tail followed it as it silently approached. It smelled the air and looked around, finally settling its glare on Kail, who held his sword ready, yet felt unarmed before the gigantic beast. The most unsettling thing about it was not its size compared to the other werewolves, nor its calm demeanour nor its red eyes. It was its fur. Unlike the other werewolves, its fur was a stark white, waving around its frame in an almost ghostly fashion. It truly set it apart from the other werewolves Kail had seen, which had had much darker fur, more animal-like. Then it opened its mouth which Kail was sure was big enough to bite his entire head off, and it roared at them again. The same fear-inducing roar they had just heard. Then its body tensed, ready to attack, drawing Kail from the almost dreamlike stupor he had been in from looking at the creature. He gripped his sword tight.

    The werewolf burst into a sprint toward Kail when a piece of wood hit it in its face. Kail looked to Kin in shock, who looked equally shocked at his own actions. He had no weapon, and he must had realised his stick wouldn¡¯t do anything in real combat. Kail looked back to see the werewolf change its target to Kin. It growled threateningly and closed the distance almost instantly. Kail swung his sword at it, hoping to catch it off-guard, but it swung its arm at Kail¡¯s sword to intercept the strike. The strength of it sent Kail¡¯s sword flying out of his hands, and the beast turned to Kail. Then there was a flash of light from the creature¡¯s feet.

    ¡°Run!¡± Kin shouted. Kail didn¡¯t need to look down to realise that Kin had frozen it to the ground. He ran towards his sword, and Kin also took the momentary distraction to run after him, not wanting to be stranded by himself without a weapon against the werewolf. ¡°I¡¯ll support you with my magic.¡± Kin said. Then they heard the sound of ice shattering. The werewolf had broken free effortlessly, and it turned its attention toward them again.

    ¡°Right.¡± Kail answered. Then, suddenly, loud sounds attacked his eardrums, causing him to drop his weapon and cover his ears. Kin looked at him, confused and panicked, but picked up Kail¡¯s sword as the werewolf slowly and calmly walked towards them. Kail could still hear it though. They were voices. A lot of them. Shouting at him. He felt his vision fade, and realised that the spirit world was coming into view without him willing it. He looked around and saw the ghosts of tahke yelling angrily at him.

    Kin stepped in front of Kail, sword held at the ready, and slowly and calmly crouched down and put his hand onto the ground. The ground froze where he touched it and spread from his hand towards the werewolf. The werewolf noticed what was happening and growled in annoyance.

    They must pay for what they¡¯ve done to us!

    Kail tried to differentiate between the voices and quiet them down.

    Turned us into monsters!

    He realised these were ghosts of the tahke that had been turned into werewolves.

    It¡¯s his fault!

    The werewolf in front of him was the ¡®leader¡¯ of the werewolves. He was the alpha of the pack.

    The werewolf roared at Kin once more, then pounced from his spot, jumping to the side of the frozen ground effortlessly, running around it and then jumping at Kin. He held the sword out in front of him but he wasn¡¯t confident it would help. Then he was rolling across the ground. Something other than the werewolf jumping at him had knocked him away. He slid across the frozen ground he had made and looked up. It was Kail. He had knocked Kin out of the way and taken the werewolf¡¯s attack. They tumbled across the ground together. Amazingly Kail stood back up, but he didn¡¯t look like the Kail that Kin knew. His eyes glowed red, just like the werewolf¡¯s eyes, and he growled a similar growl to them. He held his hands ready as if they were claws and he actually jumped at the werewolf to attack first. They locked hands, and somehow Kail didn¡¯t get effortlessly pushed away, although he did slowly get pushed back.

    Kin took the chance to join in the fight. He ran towards them, sword ready. As he did so, however, the werewolf lifted Kail off the ground and threw him away, but Kail twisted in midair and landed on all fours. He then jumped once more at the werewolf. The werewolf held out its arm in defence and Kail grabbed onto it, attempting to bite it. It then swiped its arm with such force that Kail couldn¡¯t hold on. Kail went flying into Kin, sending them both to the ground. Kail jumped to his feet to get back to the werewolf, but Kin grabbed a hold of his legs from the floor. He had no idea what was going on with Kail but he realised that their best chance would be to attack together. Kail ignored him, growling and trying to shake him free. The werewolf approached.

    Then a torrent of water came from seemingly nowhere, assaulting the werewolf and sending it tumbling to the ground. Kin looked around and saw Soxolfr walking towards them without hesitation. Close at his heels was Ylva; his granddaughter. Soxolfr moved his palms forward as if he was attacking the werewolf and water jettisoned out of the lake and slammed into it. He made it to them and grabbed Kail by the shoulder. Kail immediately stopped struggling against Kin and fell down to his knees.

    ¡°W¡­what just happened?¡± he asked. He looked to Soxolfr then down to Kin who was still on the floor, grabbing his legs. Soxolfr then strode away from them and towards the werewolf. It roared at him, although its roar seemed more quiet than before. It also seemed like the werewolf had become smaller. It jumped at Soxolfr but more water slammed it into the ground, and it stopped moving. Soxolfr stopped a safe distance from it. Ylva helped Kin to his feet.Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.

    ¡°I¡­ think I got possessed¡­¡± Kail said. Kin handed him his sword back. ¡°Thanks.¡± he said as he struggled to his feet. They all looked to Soxolfr and the werewolf. The werewolf was getting back to its feet, but it was the same size as Soxolfr, and its fur was falling away to the floor.

    ¡°Its¡­. you.¡± Soxolfr stated in confusion. The fur fell away completely to reveal a tahke that neither Kail nor Kin had seen before.

    ¡°That¡¯s definitely not the doctor.¡± Kin said.

    ¡°No¡­¡± Ylva said, dread clear in her voice. ¡°That¡¯s¡­ my father.¡± Kin and Kail looked at each other in shock.

    ¡°Torbjorn.¡± Soxolfr said. The man looked around, shock and confusion clear on his face. Soxolfr slowly approached him. Torbjorn grabbed his head with one hand and held the other before him, signalling for Soxolfr to stay away.

    ¡°Stop!¡± Torbjorn said, although no one could tell if he was speaking to Soxolfr or someone else. Soxolfr didn¡¯t stop, however.

    ¡°So the transformation can be reversed¡­.¡± he said. Then Torbjorn screamed in pain. His body contorted, and he started to grow in size. Soxolfr held his hands up and water moved through the air from the lake towards him, but before it reached him Torbjorn jumped forwards and kicked Soxolfr to the ground. The water fell. Torbjorn stood with one foot atop him and transformed into the werewolf that had instilled fear in them all. He then, as they watched, swiped his claws across Soxolfr¡¯s chest. Ylva screamed out, and Kail and Kin both shouted out in shock. Kail ran forward with his sword, even though he realised he wouldn¡¯t be a match for the beast. It locked its eyes onto him, stopping him in his tracks. It then looked past him to Ylva. Time seemed to stop for a moment. Kail wasn¡¯t sure how long it went on for, but afterwards the werewolf turned away from them and ran into the forest.

    ¡°Wait!¡± Ylva shouted. Thankfully he didn¡¯t turn back. Kail walked over to inspect Soxolfr. He was¡­ dead. There was no movement, and the wounds the werewolf had inflicted were undoubtedly fatal. There was not much of his chest left. Kin and Ylva moved to join him, Ylva notably hesitant. ¡°Grand¡­father¡­¡± she whispered weakly. She crouched down next to him and started to cry over his body. Kail didn¡¯t know what to say. He realised it would probably be best to say nothing.

    ¡°Well, that didn¡¯t go so well.¡± Kin said. Kail turned to him to give in a disapproving scowl, but then he heard a voice call his name. He looked around in confusion. There wasn¡¯t anyone nearby.

    Hear me, damn ye. Came the familiar voice. His sixth sense activated, and he saw the ghost of Soxolfr standing before him. There you are. Soxolfr said.

    Soxolfr¡­ Kail started. What could he say to the man he had just seen die?

    Stop right there, alright? Soxolfr responded. I don¡¯t need your sympathies. Nothing that can be done about it now. But one thing I DO need you to do, is I need ye to awaken Ylva¡¯s shaman powers, alright? See, neither me nor her are like you. Our family has always had a shaman, but we pass down our shaman power to our child when they take over charge of the village. But¡­. Well I died. To be honest I didn¡¯t see that coming¡­ Torbjorn¡­ Knew he was still out there¡­ But didn¡¯t realise we could turn them back! Even if it¡¯s only temporary, this could help.

    So what do you want me to do? I don¡¯t know how to turn someone into a shaman. Kail responded.

    All I need is to possess your body, and I¡¯ll do the rest. Soxolfr said.

    And¡­ how do I do that? I¡¯ve never done it on purpose before. Kail replied.

    Just keep a clear mind and relax. Soxolfr said. He reached a ghostly hand towards Kail. Kail prepared himself. Suddenly he could feel Soxolfr. Their thoughts were one. He turned to Ylva, seeing her both as his granddaughter and as the tahke girl who he didn¡¯t know much about that was mostly the head of the village. It was a strange sensation. Then he held out a hand and grabbed her shoulder.

    <hr>

    Kail awoke in a familiar room; the same room he had first woken up in in the tahkean village. He lay on a bed once again. As he looked around, however, he noticed that another bed had been put in the room, with someone sleeping in it. Kail then saw Siv, who noticed that he had woken up.

    ¡°Good morning.¡± she said. ¡°How are you feeling?¡±

    Kail checked under the blanket to make sure he had clothes on, then rose to his feet. He felt¡­ perfectly fine.

    ¡°Good.¡± he said. ¡°The last thing I remember is¡­¡± Soxolfr took over my body. Everything came back to him.

    ¡°Ylva told me to fetch her when you woke up. Stay here. I¡¯ll go and get her.¡± Siv said. Kail didn¡¯t respond, deep in thought, so she left the room.

    ¡°Kail.¡± came a voice. He looked over to the other bed to see that they had woken up its occupant, whose identity surprised him.

    ¡°Siegfried?¡± he asked, stunned. ¡°How did you get injured?¡± he asked. The five-horned tahkean pulled down his blanket to reveal a¡­ missing arm. Kail was speechless.

    ¡°I met my match yesterday.¡± Siegfried said in a grim tone. ¡°One of the werewolves¡­ it wasn¡¯t like the rest.¡± he started. Kail thought of Torbjorn. Had it taken out Siegfried on its way to them? If even Siegfried couldn¡¯t match it, then did they have any hope?

    ¡°Did it have white fur?¡± he asked. Siegfried looked at him in confusion.

    ¡°No¡­ I haven¡¯t seen one with white fur. This one¡­ it was¡­ a lot bigger than the others, and stronger, but it didn¡¯t have any horns, which was the most strange thing about it. No tail either. But it... somehow managed to bite into my arm. So¡­ To be safe I had to¡­ cut it off. I don¡¯t want to become one of them.¡±

    A werewolf that can bite Siegfried? And it¡¯s not even Torbjorn? Kail¡¯s stomach sank.

    ¡°That¡­ doesn¡¯t bode well.¡± Kail said. Then he thought back to when he had looked at Siegfried¡¯s soul. He looked at it once again. Just like before, it was different to anyone else¡¯s. While most souls glowed a light blue colour, just like most living things, Siegfried¡¯s had black lines running through it like vines on a tree. Kail had no idea what it meant, but he imagined it had to have something to do with Siegfried¡¯s unnatural strength and toughness. The thought of Siegfried turning into a werewolf¡­. It was not pleasant. Then he wondered¡­ If Salomon was behind this¡­ what could he be after? Could he be after Siegfried? A super-strong, super-tough werewolf. But why? Could he control them? Kail thought back to Torbjorn. If Salomon could control them, then what had happened would make more sense. Torbjorn had seemingly, against his will, turned back into a werewolf and killed Soxolfr. He went back in his mind over what he had learned.

    The first ones attacked had been Torbjorn, Siegfried, and Edwin, but Siegfried wasn¡¯t infected because his skin was unnaturally tough. Then Salomon had shown up and the infected had turned into werewolves. The night just gone, Kail had seen a human soul in Salomon¡¯s downstairs room, which Salomon had disappeared with, and then Siegfried had been attacked by a werewolf unlike the others. Bigger and stronger, and able to bite through even Siegfried¡¯s flesh. And it had neither horns nor tail. It had to be the human Kail had seen. The girl that had gone missing. It seemed to Kail like Salomon, if he was behind everything, was trying to infect Siegfried.

    ¡°I think¡­ they might be after you.¡± Kail said. Siegfried looked at him suspiciously. ¡°Think about it¡­ There is suddenly a new werewolf that can injure you. A new werewolf. Also¡­ your abilities are¡­ unnatural.¡± Siegfried nodded grimly. ¡°If they turned you into one of them you¡¯d be the strongest creature in the whole forest.¡±

    ¡°Perhaps.¡± Siegfried responded, nodding. ¡°But why do they want that? How would that help them?¡±

    ¡°I think they¡¯re being controlled¡­.¡± Kail explained. A flash of concern crossed Siegfried¡¯s face.

    ¡°Controlled? How? And by whom?¡± he asked.

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure how, but it would make sense. The werewolf we came across last night was¡­. Torbjorn.¡± Kail said. Siegfried¡¯s eyes widened in shock. He had been there when Torbjorn had been infected, after all. ¡°Soxolfr found a way to turn him back.¡± Siegfried raised an eyebrow in interest. ¡°But¡­ Then he turned again, and the way he acted was as if something was forcing him to do it. And then¡­.¡± Does he know about Soxolfr? Kail sighed. Siegfried looked at him expectantly, but Kail didn¡¯t want to go over the event again.

    ¡°If he¡¯s being controlled, if they¡¯re being controlled, then who could be controlling them?¡± Siegfried pushed.

    ¡°Salomon.¡± Kail said. An awkward silence followed, as Siegfried struggled with the idea.

    ¡°What makes you think it¡¯s him? He¡¯s been trying to look for a cure.¡± he asked. He then held his chin as he ran through events in his mind.

    ¡°Me and Kin went to ask him questions yesterday¡­ I saw the soul of a human in the room underneath his main one.¡± Kail responded.

    ¡°A soul?¡± Siegfried asked doubtfully.

    ¡°I¡¯m a¡­ shaman. Just like Soxolfr¡­ That¡¯s why me and Kin wanted to see him.¡± Kail explained. Siegfried nodded. It made sense. ¡°When I asked Salomon about the infection I noticed that he had another room below, and I could see a human soul. When I asked Salomon about it we were attacked by a werewolf. By the time we killed it¡­ he had disappeared. And the human soul had gone too. You said the one that attacked you didn¡¯t have horns. That means it¡¯s not a tahke¡­¡±

    ¡°It could be a human.¡± Siegfried finished for him, his eyes lighting up in understanding. ¡°The werewolves didn¡¯t appear until after doctor Salomon arrived¡­ Have you told anyone else about this?¡± he asked.

    Kail shook his head. ¡°Only Kin. I¡¯m not so sure anyone else would believe me. After all, I¡¯m not one of you, and it would be his word against mine. I have no proof¡­¡± he said. Siegfried nodded in understanding.

    ¡°If you can find proof, then I will take him down.¡± Siegfried said, determination clear on his face. Kail thought then that Siegfried was a good person. He simply wanted to end the werewolf affliction and keep his people safe.

 Chapter 10

    It was the day after the attack on the village, and night-time had come once again. Salomon knew he had to act fast. The two humans had been suspicious of him, and if they convinced Ylva to let them investigate his testing room, they would find damning evidence. He needed to get to Siegfried while he could. He had managed to sneak into the room that the injured Siegfried was resting in. He held a vial with him that would secure his plan. It was the updated version of his serum. The only problem was¡­ he wasn¡¯t sure how well it would work. The first serum worked well enough, but for the modified version he should have to prepare the person¡¯s body first. But for now it would have to do. If he could bring Siegfried under his control then he could fix any problems later. He moved over to the bed and whispered the words of a spell to keep Siegfried asleep. Then he pulled back the covers.

    Siegfried wasn¡¯t there. Instead there was a human. The tall, dark haired human who always kept one of his eyes hidden was there where Siegfried should have been, sound asleep thanks to Salomon¡¯s spell.

    ¡°It is true then.¡± came Siegfried¡¯s voice. Salomon quickly chanted a spell to create a small light in his hand. Standing at the back of the room was Siegfried, bandaged up due to his missing arm. If only he hadn¡¯t been quick-thinking enough to cut his own arm off, he would already be infected and under Salomon¡¯s control. Also standing there was the white-haired human, as well as¡­. Ylva. Salomon¡¯s heart sunk.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t want to believe it¡­¡± she said. ¡°But it really was you after all wasn¡¯t it?¡± she asked. ¡°We all thought you were working day and night on a cure¡­ but instead it¡¯s you that caused all of this isn¡¯t it?¡±

    ¡°Believing what the humans say?¡± Salomon asked, his mind working fast to try to make an excuse. ¡°I didn¡¯t do this! I¡¯ve¡­ made an antidote. I thought it¡¯d be best to give this to Siegfried just in case he was infected.¡± he said, brandishing the vial, thinking on the spot.

    ¡°How about you let us look into your secret room before you give him that, then?¡± Kail asked.

    ¡°We¡¯ve caught you in the act, doctor.¡± Ylva said, her expression stern.

    ¡°Don¡¯t believe them.¡± Salomon pleaded. ¡°Look, Siegfried, just take this, just in case. Honestly!¡± he said, but he knew he was in trouble.

    ¡°The animals were afflicted with a disease.¡± Kail said, stepping forward, sword in his hand. ¡°The animals attacked and infected some of the people here, causing them to become ill and increasingly violent. But they didn¡¯t turn into werewolves¡­ Until Soxolfr reached out to the other tahkean tribes for help, help for this unknown disease. That¡¯s when you turned up and starting caring for the patients. It was only after you took them in that they turned. There have only been werewolves since you came here. In fact¡­ over time the disease that had afflicted the animals disappeared. Then a human girl wondered into the forest. You found out about this because you can control the werewolves that roam the forest, right? I don¡¯t know how, but they¡¯re under your control. You found her, kidnapped her, and started experimenting. You wanted to infect Siegfried, to make some sort of super monster, I guess, but the monsters you¡¯ve already made weren¡¯t strong enough to infect him for you. So you experimented on this girl, creating a new type of werewolf that could pierce Siegfried¡¯s flesh. This is the werewolf that he came across last night during the attack. I found the girl in your secret room, and when I did a werewolf conveniently attacked me and Kin at the time, so we couldn¡¯t get to her. By the time we killed it, you had taken the girl and gone. Then you transformed her and set her after Siegfried.¡± Salomon was starting to panic. Had he really worked all of that out? ¡°And because you realised I was on your tail¡­ so to speak¡­ you thought you¡¯d take a chance and try to infect Siegfried now, before we caught you. Am I right?¡± Kail finished. Siegfried had also stepped forward, his metal spear held ready. Salomon sighed.

    ¡°So what?¡± he asked. ¡°Even if you know now, you can¡¯t stop me. The disease that spread through the animals was my doing as well by the way. A simple but effective disease that spreads fast, it causes animals to become violent and infect each other¡­ but it wears off after a while. I just needed some of the people in this village to get infected, so I, who have made a name finding and curing these diseases, could get here, and already have the trust I needed¡­ This village has been a good testing ground¡­ all to perfect this.¡± he said, brandishing the vial.

    ¡°Why?¡± Ylva asked. ¡°Why are you doing all this? My¡­ mother¡­ my grandfather¡­ Why did they have to die for you to¡­ what? Create some horrible disease that turns people into monsters?¡±

    ¡°There is no need to answer you¡­¡± Salomon answered. He¡¯d have to use the serum while he could and infect Siegfried that way. He uncorked the vial and drank it.

    <hr>

    ¡°No!¡± Kail shouted, stepping forward. He was too late. Salomon immediately started coughing and grasping at his throat. His body contorted and his limbs swelled, gruesomely growing larger as his skin stretched to keep up and hair sprouted all over his body, while his clothes ripped apart. He was becoming much larger than any they had fought so far. He had already grown bigger than Torbjorn.

    ¡°We need to move outside!¡± Ylva shouted. Kail took a step towards Salomon, realising that Kin was still on the bed behind him, but he couldn¡¯t see a way through. The monster Salomon was turning into violently swiped around it with claws that had already turned into deadly weapons. It stepped towards them and they had to leave or be eviscerated by its claws.

    They moved outside and Ylva effortlessly jumped over to a separate platform, as did Siegfried, even though he had his spear in his one hand. He landed gracefully onto his feet. Kail just looked at them, realising he couldn¡¯t jump far enough to follow. So, instead, he moved along the platform away from the entrance and waited with his sword held high.

    Its head emerged from the room. Even its horns had changed, splitting in different directions like the horns of a stag. It roared a roar unlike the others. It didn¡¯t sound so bestial, but instead more¡­ demonic. Kail couldn¡¯t think of a more fitting word. It didn¡¯t sound like it was from this world.

    Kail brought his sword down, making sure not to get blocked by the horns, and his sword cut into the monster¡¯s head. It didn¡¯t slice very far though. Like the werewolves he had fought before, it seemed to have an incredibly tough body. His strike did interrupt its roar though. It turned its head slowly to Kail, growling threateningly. As he watched he noticed saliva dripping from its mouth onto the wood below. When the saliva touched the wood it started to sizzle and Kail realised it was burning the wood as if it was acid. Then the monster pulled back into the room, almost taking Kail¡¯s sword with it, and an arm came out to try to grab at Kail. He retreated further along the platform and watched as its claws sunk into the wood as if it was clay. He could hear it struggling against the doorway as it tried to get out of the room. It was too big, luckily. Then it withdrew its arm and Kail advanced again to see its head remerge. It bit at the doorway and its saliva burned away at it, allowing it to easily tear a chunk free. Its saliva dripped down, burning away at more of the wood, and the creature burst its way through. Kail noticed something unusual then. It was bleeding from its mouth.

    Then a horn sounded. Kail looked to see that Siegfried had blown it. It was the same sound Kail had heard when the werewolves had attacked the night before. The sound, however, also drew the attention of the monster.

    ¡°Its saliva is acid! Don¡¯t let it touch you!¡± Kail shouted to them. The monster then roared in their direction, sending bits of saliva and blood from its mouth flying towards them. Ylva jumped to safety. Siegfried, however, jumped away with his spear still in hand, and couldn¡¯t grab onto the tree he was heading towards. He slammed into it shoulder first and fell down into the darkness below. The monster turned back to Kail.

    Its arms were abnormally long, although there wasn¡¯t anything normal about its body. Certain bones like its ribs jutted out as if they were too big to be contained inside its body. As saliva dripped down its body it burnt at it. It seemed like it wasn¡¯t resistant to its own acidic spit. It took a step towards Kail but there was a flash of light and ice crawled up its legs, freezing it in its tracks. It looked down then turned its head to the side, as if trying to see behind it. Then its tail whipped around and grabbed hold of something. Kail watched in disbelief as it brought Kin from behind it, firmly held with its tail, and held him over the surely fatal drop below.

    ¡°Well¡­ this doesn¡¯t look too good.¡± Kin said, looking to Kail and offering a shrug. It dropped him.

    ¡°Kin!¡± Kail shouted, outstretching his hand even though Kin was too far from him. Then an armoured warrior jumped to the rescue. He caught Kin and together them slammed into a tree, but the warrior grabbed onto it with his claws, keeping them safe. Kail breathed a sigh of relief, then he remembered when Kin had killed a werewolf with his broken spear. He had aimed for the eye. Kail did the same, bringing his sword up ready, but the werewolf whipped back around to glare at Kail, stopping him in his tracks. It snarled at him. He was sure the ice wouldn¡¯t hold it back for long, like it hadn¡¯t held Torbjorn back for long.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.

    Then something hit it. Something flew threw the air and hit it in the back, causing it to lurch forward and scream in pain. Its tail whipped up and pulled out a sword that had been impaled into it. It was a smaller sword than Kail¡¯s. Thinner too, with a silvery shine to it. He recognised it as the swords the tahke used. The werewolf threw it into the darkness below. Kail looked to see the owner of the sword; a tahke wearing armour perched on a branch high above them.

    ¡°We heard the horn.¡± came a voice from behind Kail, surprising him. He turned to see another of the tahke warriors that patrolled the forest at night. ¡°Although we also heard this creature roaring and screaming anyway.¡± she said. Somehow Kail had forgotten about them. They had been fighting werewolves since before he¡¯d arrived, after all, yet he hadn¡¯t seen them in action himself.

    Kail looked around to see several of them arriving, swords at the ready, perched among the trees. The monster looked around too, and tried to roar, but it stopped as if something was stuck in its throat. More blood came forth from its mouth. Its like its own acid is killing it. Kail surmised. It went down to all fours, with its legs still frozen to the platform.

    Then Kail saw a strange sight beyond the werewolf. Siegfried was making his way back up a tree by using his spear to stab into it and then to pull himself up.

    The werewolf rose back up and pulled its feet free of the ice, almost effortlessly like Kail had feared. It looked around, noticing the armoured tahkean warriors appearing. Then it turned back to Kail, snarling, and took a step towards him and the tahkean next to him.

    Siegfried had stabbed his spear firmly into the tree and pulled himself onto it so he was standing precariously upon it.

    ¡°Throw me a sword.¡± he commanded of the nearest warrior, who did as they were told. He grabbed a hold of it in his only hand and crouched upon the spear. He then jumped as far as he could, which was far enough to reach the werewolf. Sword first, he landed upon its head, going over its body and impaling it through the head into the platform it was on, so that it never reached Kail. It slammed hard, and with the impact the werewolf¡¯s body fell off the platform, threatening to take Siegfried with it. The sword held it in place however. Siegfried remained calm all the while, glaring down at the monster.

    ¡°He turned himself into this. He had a choice, unlike everyone else. Even this is better than he deserves.¡± he said.

    There¡¯s a chance we could¡¯ve turned him back to normal. Kail thought, recalling Soxolfr using the water of the lake to turn Torbjorn back into a tahke. Maybe we could¡¯ve ended this without another death. He chose not to say anything though.

    Then came an audible crack. Kail realised that the creature¡¯s saliva was burning through the platform where its head had been impaled. The platform broke, and the creature fell with Siegfried still on top of it. Kail reacted immediately, jumping forward and reaching for Siegfried, who managed to extend his hand and grab his arm with a tight and painful clawed grip, but Kail gritted his teeth and didn¡¯t let go. Siegfried was heavy, however. He was more worried that he¡¯d be pulled over the edge as well. Then the women who had appeared next to him earlier was at his side, helping him pull Siegfried up as the body of the werewolf hit the unseen ground below with a loud thud. Kail looked at his arm. There were indeed claw marks where Siegfried had pierced the skin.

    ¡°My apologies.¡± Siegfried said, seeing what he¡¯d done. ¡°Sometimes I don¡¯t know my own strength.¡±

    It hurt, but Kail hid the pain. ¡°It¡¯s fine.¡± Kail responded. ¡°A small price to pay. We should probably go down there though, to check the body just to be safe.¡± he said, changing the subject. Siegfried nodded.

    <hr>

    ¡°How can this be?¡± Ylva asked in shock. Kail, Kin, Ylva, Siegfried and the tahkean warriors had made their way to the ground. The body of the werewolf had transformed back into a tahke on death, although it lay broken and covered in blood. Thankfully the sword wasn¡¯t still lodged in its head¡­ but it was still a gruesome sight. What was wrong with the sight, however, was that it wasn¡¯t the body of Salomon. It was the body of a girl. Kail¡¯s stomach sank as he thought it resembled the girl who had kept an eye on Kail when he¡¯d been recovering.

    ¡°Siv?¡± Siegfried asked in confusion. It didn¡¯t make any sense to him. He had killed the monster, believing it to be Salomon. They had all seen Salomon transform into it, yet here was Siv¡¯s dead body in his place. He fell down to his knees next to her, looking at her body in horror, unable to remove his gaze.

    ¡°Kin¡­.¡± Kail started. ¡°Could magic explain this?¡±

    With his words everyone turned to Kin for an answer. He looked fearful, putting his hands up in helplessness.

    ¡°I¡­ don¡¯t know.¡± he answered. ¡°There is a lot to magic. I only know what I know. Changing people¡¯s appearance? Maybe¡­ maybe¡­ but I couldn¡¯t say for sure. I¡¯m not an expert.¡±

    ¡°Changing people¡¯s appearance?¡± Ylva asked. ¡°You think he could have changed her appearance to look like him?¡±

    ¡°Again¡­ I don¡¯t know. This is out of what I know.¡± Kin said.

    ¡°He didn¡¯t just change her appearance¡­¡± Kail said, earning a questioning look from Ylva. ¡°The way he¡­ or she¡­ was talking. It was as if he was controlling her as well.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve¡­. never seen her wear this.¡± came Siegfried¡¯s weak voice. In his hands was a broken amulet that had presumably been around her neck. Kin gasped, gaining everyone¡¯s attention again. He looked around and sighed, then stepped forward.

    ¡°Well, you see, magical items¡­ like amulets¡­ are definitely a thing when it comes to magic. I¡¯ve¡­ seen a fair few of them.¡± he said.

    ¡°Like this?¡± Siegfried asked.

    ¡°Err¡­ let me take a look.¡± Kin answered, carefully taking it from Siegfried. ¡°Well¡­ it has a crystal of some sort in it¡­ I think they¡¯re meant to be good for holding magical power¡­¡± he trailed off as he inspected it. ¡°I can¡­ sense magic in it. There are runes engraved upon the crystal as well, but they¡¯re too small for me to try to read. And even if I could¡­. Like I said I don¡¯t know about magic to change your look or control someone¡¯s mind.¡± He looked up from the amulet. ¡°Anyone want to try it on?¡± he asked with a mischievous smile. No one said anything¡­. ¡°Err¡­ Nevermind.¡± he said, looking down at the ground.

    ¡°His clinic¡­ We should have a look inside.¡± Ylva said, taking the spotlight off Kin, thankfully.

    ¡°He¡¯s¡­ still alive.¡± Siegfried said. His hand curled into a fist. ¡°He will pay for everything.¡± he promised.

    What¡¯s¡­ going on? whispered a ghostly voice. Kail noticed Ylva look around in confusion. She had heard the voice too. He caught her eye. He nodded towards Ylva¡¯s body. She concentrated on it and Kail realised she must be looking at her spirit. Is this what people see when I do it? Do I just¡­ space out all of a sudden? Then he joined her. As he suspected, what they saw what the spirit of Siv.

    Am I dead? she asked.

    Kail didn¡¯t know what to say.

    Yes, Siv. came Ylva¡¯s voice. What is the last thing you remember?

    It was a strange situation, seeing the spirit of someone who hadn¡¯t experienced their own death. Soxolfr had known he was dead, but Siv hadn¡¯t been herself when she had been killed.

    I remember Doctor Salomon¡­ he was acting strange. He wanted me to put on a necklace. He was really insistent about it and¡­ then nothing.

    It really was the necklace then¡­ Kail said.

    What was it? Siv asked.

    Well¡­ Ylva started. We think Salomon is behind the infection that¡¯s been turning our people into monsters¡­ and he did the same to you¡­ I¡¯m sorry Siv. We will stop him though.

    I see¡­ she responded. Did I hurt anyone? she asked.

    No! Kail said emphatically. We¡­ we stopped you before that could happen¡­ But it wasn¡¯t you. It was him. He was controlling you.

    I see. she responded. Thank you. For stopping me¡­ So I became one of them¡­ because of him¡­ And I thought he was a good person. I wanted to help him¡­

    As did we all. Ylva said to reassure her. He tricked all of us. It was all part of his plan.

    Why? What does he want? she asked.

    We¡¯re not sure. Ylva answered. We think he¡¯s after Siegfried, but we¡¯re not sure why.

    Siegfried? Siv wondered. Don¡¯t let him take him. Siegfried is a good man¡­ Will you tell him I said that? And thank him for protecting the village? Don¡¯t let Salomon turn him into a monster too.

    Kail¡¯s heart sank. He couldn¡¯t tell her that Siegfried had been the one to kill her. Although¡­ would it matter? She seemed like she would forgive him, especially considering the circumstances. And wouldn¡¯t knowing she forgave him help him with any guilt he might be feeling?

    Siv¡­ Kail started.

    Kail. Ylva said firmly. We should go, and leave her in peace. We still have a lot to do. There was meaning in her voice, as if she was intentionally stopping him from continuing. We¡¯ll tell him. she said to Siv.

    Alright then. Kail answered. Perhaps he should talk to her about it later. Would Siv¡¯s spirit still be around? There was still so much he was unsure about. He knew spirits didn¡¯t stay forever, but he didn¡¯t know how long they lasted for, or what happened to them. If Soxolfr¡¯s spirit was still within the forest then maybe he could tell him. Then he returned to the world of the living, and saw the focus return to Ylva¡¯s eyes as she did the same. Kin was giving Kail a questioning look, whilst Siegfried was still kneeled next to Siv¡¯s body.

    ¡°I just talked to her.¡± Ylva announced, gaining Siegfried¡¯s attention. ¡°The last thing she remembers is putting on that amulet. Salomon made her wear it.¡±

    ¡°Damn him.¡± Siegfried said angrily.

    ¡°She said¡­ thank you, for stopping her.¡± Ylva said, directing it at Siegfried, whose eyes went wide in shock. Technically she wasn¡¯t lying, but it seemed like she wanted to be misconstrued. ¡°And she said she doesn¡¯t want us to let him have Siegfried.¡± she continued, making a point to address everyone, especially the tahkean warriors who trained with him. ¡°So that¡¯s what we¡¯ll do. We¡¯ll defend Siegfried from him, and any more werewolves that might come. And when we find him, we¡¯ll kill him and end all of this.¡± She received nods from the people around her, a sad but determined look going around. ¡°I don¡¯t want any more deaths in this forest¡­ except for his.¡± she finished coldly. Kail got a very different feeling from her than from Soxolfr, although he had to question whether Soxolfr wouldn¡¯t be similar if he was still alive and Ylva had been the one who died.