《The Wolf's Shadow》


 Chapter 1

    The Wolf¡¯s Shadow


    Chapter 1:


    ¡°What is immortality? It is a gift or a curse? These are the questions that man has pondered throughout history. Yet they foolishly pursue it in hope of becoming an existence similar to a god. Not knowing that something has to be exchanged to gain it. That something can never be returned, no matter how much you regret your decision.


    My name is Erik, and for better or worse, I had gained immortality. But in return, I have lost plenty for it. Many years have passed since that fateful day, but I do not age. Time has lost its effect on me, and I''m no longer bound to the cycle of life and death. For many reasons I had decided to travel to distant lands, wandering aimlessly. Like the wind, I travel all over, never settling down. I have done this for many years under different names and guises, but currently, I am a wandering mercenary in search of work.


    Though I call myself a mercenary, I¡¯m only willing to accept work as a bodyguard. In another life, I had my fair share of battle. Being a former warrior, I once believed it was honorable to fight and kill all enemies during the time of war. But with age and experience, I learned the error in that line of thinking and choose to avoid killing if possible. Of course, if I have little choice, then I will not hesitate to kill if need be, but if I can avoid it, then all the better. Currently, I¡¯m in the kingdom of Numidia. On a map, it would be somewhere southwest where the climate tends to follow the normal cycle of seasons with it now being spring.


    As it so happens, it¡¯s raining very heavily at the moment. Luckily I¡¯ve taken shelter under a huge tree. But I¡¯m almost out of food and hunting in this weather can prove difficult. I pull out my map and start checking the areas near me. ¡°There should be a town nearby. As long as I follow the dirt road, I should be able to make it there by tonight¡±. It was pretty late in the day and it doesn''t appear that the rain will let up anytime soon. Besides, I¡¯m almost out of food and could use a warm bed. With that in mind, I put on my cloak and hood and start walking towards the road. When I reach it, I follow it heading east. After about half an hour of walking in the rain, I can see a stone wall and several buildings, ¡°That must be the town¡±. Walking up to it I can see a guard at his post in a little guard shack made out of wood near the gate.


    ¡°Halt!!!, State your business¡±


    Before I could even answer, he already started shouting orders and pointed his spear towards me. Had this been in my warrior days, I would have cut his head off on the spot but that was another life. So I respond with ¡°I''m just a traveler looking for a place to rest¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t look like any traveler¡± As he looks at me suspiciously, which I could understand why. My dark cloak and hood which covers half my face give me the appearance of a thief or an assassin. It wouldn¡¯t help with the fact that I¡¯m armed with a sword on my hip and metal arm guards.Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.


    ¡°I¡¯m just looking for an Inn to rest for the night, and maybe a tavern to eat. I would appreciate it if you would overlook my attire and let me pass¡± As I said this, I hand him a Numidia silver coin which was the currency for that kingdom. He graciously took the coin and said ¡°Go on, you¡¯re free to pass¡±


    I nod at the man and walk through the gate, entering the town known as Breton. Not that the name is important since I¡¯ll be gone by morning. Soon enough I find a simple Inn that also operates as a tavern. As usual, I order a room for the night and pay the receptionist, who somehow always happen to be either old men or women. In my room, I use a nearby bucket and started wringing out my cloak and bag. I hang them up to dry and head downstairs to the tavern part of the Inn. I only have my sword and money bag with me as I¡¯m lead to a table. I order a simple meat stew with some wheat bread and watered down wine.


    As I eat I can feel the stares of those around me in the tavern. The other diners are staring out of pure curiosity at someone with features they''ve never seen before. I can understand why they keep gawking at me, after all, I had very pale white skin and black hair. My eyes are light brown similar to the color of honey, and I had a very tall and Muscular build. Someone of my complexion usually came from the north which is rare in this country. I usually cover myself in a cloak so that I don¡¯t attract attention, but I had no choice because of the rain. After I finished eating, I paid for the meal which came to a total of 7 Numidia copper coins.


    I then headed upstairs to my room and locked the door. After putting my sword and money bag down, I took off my boots and jacket. ¡°Maybe I¡¯ll ask around if any mercenary work is needed. After all, you needed money to stay and eat in any town you went to. With that last thought, I laid down on the bed and closed my eyes, letting my consciousness fade away.


    The Next morning I grabbed my bag and other items, and put my cloak and hood back on. With everything in order, I left the room and headed towards the tavern part of the Inn. I eat a simple breakfast and ask if any bodyguard or escort work is available. Sadly I¡¯m told no such services are currently required. But while I was there I did ask for food provisions to be prepared. After receiving them I leave and started heading for the gate. As much as I would like to say that no problems have occurred, I do not have such luck. After leaving the Inn, I started being followed by three men.


    ¡°Hey Foreigner!!!, We don¡¯t like strangers in our town, hand over the money and your sword and we might let you live¡±


    I turn around and look at them. They fit the exact description of common bandits. In tattered clothing, worn out leather body armor, and three short swords that haven¡¯t been maintained in a long time. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t suppose you could overlook this and let me go peacefully?¡±


    The bandits look at me and start to laugh and one of them replied ¡°You''re funny ain''t you, hand over the money and the sword, no more games fancy pants¡±.


    They put their short swords up facing me. I give a small sigh and say ¡°This is your last chance to walk away peacefully, otherwise I will take something from you that you¡¯ll never get back¡±


    The bandits start laughing again and all three lunge forward before any of them realized I was already behind them with my sword unsheathed with a bit of fresh blood on it.


    ¡°What the hell??¡± one of the bandits reply looking behind them. I flick my sword and the blood falls off and I start to put my sword back into its sheath. In the end, the sword makes a click sound as it completely closes in the sheath. At the exact moment, the click sound is heard, three hands fall to the ground.


    All three bandits start screaming ¡°AARRGH!!!!!!¡± as they fall to the ground.


    Seeing as they are distracted with the pain, I decide to leave before any guards show up. I make my way to the gate of the town and see the same guard posted there. He gives me a small nod so I do the same and start walking on the road heading to the forest.

 Chapter 2

    Chapter 2:


    It''s been three days since I¡¯ve left Breton and there have been no problems thus far. But yet again I¡¯m running low on food. I only bought about four days worth of food provisions from Breton Thinking they would last me. But I¡¯m down to one last meal, showing that their provisions aren¡¯t much. I feel like I¡¯ve been ripped off but oh well, I going to have to get more. Unfortunately, I don''t have a hunting bow anymore since mine broke a week prior to getting to Breton. But that won¡¯t stop me, after all, we all have to eat something. ¡°I should set up traps to increase my chances of catching something¡±.


    Thinking that I decide to use one of my skills to find an area with better chances of catching food. My aim is either deer, boar, or rabbits. My skill, in this case, is by smell. One of the perks from gaining immortality is my heightened senses. All of my senses are multiplied, therefore each one is better than that of any animal, let alone human. Sniffing in the air I try to track the smell of any nearby animals, but almost immediately I get bombarded by another smell. There is a very heavy smell of iron in the air, and only one thing can make that smell.


    ¡°Blood¡±


    From the freshness of the smell, it can¡¯t be that far from here. Maybe 10 minutes if I run as fast as I can towards it. Since my curiosity sometimes gets the better of me, I decided to track and follow the smell from where it originates. But like always, I make sure to be cautious so that I¡¯m not seen. I decide to walk through the forest away from the road to prevent my discovery. I walk towards the smell while looking at my surroundings. With each step closer, the smell gets stronger. After about 15 minutes or so, I find the origin of the smell, and as I thought it was from bodies. Crouching behind a tree In the near distance on the road, there is a stopped caravan and people fighting. It appears that one side is from the caravan trying to fend off against bandits.


    So far they are being overpowered by the sheer numbers of the bandits. There are about 7 guards against a group of 15 bandits. Two of which are shooting arrows from a distance near trees. Three guards have already been killed, meaning they won¡¯t last much longer. Logically I should avoid them and walk away, But there is the temptation of looting the bandits of supplies, especially their money and weapons. Hell, I could even ask for a reward from the caravan if I save them, after all, I was also running low on income. But even I have some morals, I wouldn¡¯t go as far as to demand money from them, but food could be an option. ¡°Screw it, the reward outweighs the risk this time around¡±. Saying that I slowly make my way around the trees and towards one of the archers. Using my sword would make too much noise so I instead kick the back of his leg causing him to fall backward. As he falling in my direction, I wrap hand on his mouth and at the same time, my retractable blade stashed in my metal arm guard comes out and stabs the back of the neck, coming out of his throat, he looks at me from above for the last for seconds as he gasps for air. He then slowly closes his eyes. I yank out the blade and clean it on his garments and retract it back, essentially stashing it away. This is a secret weapon that I only use on emergencies, in case my sword cannot be used.


    After killing the first archer, I grab his bow and his quiver full of arrows and walk a few feet closer to the next archer. I take an arrow from the quiver now resting on my back and place it on the bow, and pull back. I aim carefully at the other archer and start breathing slowly in and out. I do this for about three times and on the last exhale, I release the bowstring holding the arrow. It flies through the air, and as if picking up on the sound of it, the other archer turns to my direction. Sadly for him, at that exact moment, the arrow hits his chest hitting through his heart, instantly killing him. He falls to the ground like a puppet with its strings cut. I grab another arrow and aim at the backs of the bandits.


    With a faster pace, I start shooting arrows one by one at the bandits. I quickly kill five of them before they realize who was shooting at them. When they finally notice me, two of the bandits rush towards my direction, one with a sword and shield, and the other with a spear. Regardless of them rushing at me, I do not give them the opportunity to gang up on me. I drop the bow and quiver and rush toward them. I put my left hand on the sheath and right hand on the handle of my sword. When they were less than 2 feet away, the bandit with the sword brought it up intending to slice downward, while the bandit with the spear struck forward. But before they could even hit me, I drew my sword out from the sheath with one hand slicing horizontally. The amount of force and speed was so great that the sword and spear were both cut in half. Not only that but the two bandits heads fell to the ground, with their headless bodies spraying blood following soon after.


    The guards saw this and immediately yelled in joy, the bandits turned around and saw the headless bodies of their comrades on the ground. Noticing me, they screamed in anger and rushed towards me just as the last two did. Yet again I do not give them the advantage of ganging up on me and rushed towards them as well with my sword facing downwards in my right hand. What happened next was like a repetitive dance, with constant blocking and striking. One bandit would strike and I would parry it, striking vital areas. One by one, the bandits around me fell, within about 5 minutes or so, all the bandits have been struck by my blade. Not a single one of them had survived against me. It not only shows my skill in combat but their lack in it, like children holding knives, not properly knowing how to use it.


    As always I flick my sword and the blood falls off and I start to put my sword back into its sheath. When the click of the sword fully closing in the sheath is heard, I turn and look at the guards of the caravan. Most of them look dumbfounded of what they had just witnessed, not knowing what to do next. Unfortunately, the one who appears to be the leader of the guards steps forward drawing his sword at me. In a loud angry tone, he barks at me ¡°Hey bandit prepare yourself, you¡¯ll die by my hand for what your friends did to my men!!!¡±.


    I sigh at his stupidity, thinking of what I should do. There are a few things I could do but I decided to be honest as well as threatening to prove a point. ¡°I am no bandit, and they weren¡¯t my friends. They just had supplies that I needed, nothing more and nothing less. Therefore I shall take their belongings since I defeated them, but understand that if you try to attack me, I will take your life just as I took theirs¡±. I raise my head to reveal my eyes underneath my hood and stared at the leader directly.If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    As if sensing my malice and bloodlust he started sweating and slightly shaking with fear. We stared at each other for what felt like an eternity until another voice called out ¡°Hold it, no more fighting!!!¡±. The voice came from a tall man, similar to my height, strong build, brown hair, and lightly tan skin. He gave off the presence of a warrior, more so than the leader of the guards, but he wore much nicer clothing. He was hiding in one of the two wooden wagons.


    Stepping off the wagon, he walks towards me, ¡°That was quite amazing swordsmanship you demonstrated, I want to thank you for saving not only my merchandise but the lives of my men as well¡±.


    As he says this only a few feet away from me, he bows his head, to which I respond ¡°There¡¯s no need to thank me. I¡¯ve already explained that I had different intentions from the beginning¡±


    He raises his head and looks at me, ¡°That may be so, but the fact of the matter is that you saved our lives whether it was intentional or not, so regardless I thank you mister?¡±


    ¡°Erik, My name is Erik¡±


    ¡°Erik huh?, that''s an interesting name. Allow me to introduce myself, my name is Dominic Barrett, and if it wasn¡¯t already obvious, I am a merchant¡±.


    I look at him and state ¡°Merchant? With that body type, you would fit more like a warrior, rather than a lowly merchant¡±


    The leader of the guard''s steps forward and barks, ¡°How dare you speak to Lord Dominic that way, I should cut off your tongue you insolent fool!!!!!¡±


    I yet again give another sigh and look straight at the guard, ¡°I would say that you¡¯re being rude, but I guess a dog with no brain can do nothing more than bark meaningless threats¡±


    ¡°I¡¯LL KILL YOU!!!!¡±, saying this he rushes at me with his sword, I for one, already had my hand on my sword to strike at any moment. But before he gets even near me, Dominic punches him straight in the face, knocking him off balance. He falls to the ground and looks at Dominic in surprise.


    ¡°YOU FOOL!!!!. You dare attack our savior when you almost faced imminent death. You¡¯re only here because of him, you should be thankful he didn¡¯t cut your head off for your foolishness. Understand that if he wanted you or anyone of us dead, he would not hesitate, show respect or you¡¯ll face not only his wrath but mine¡±


    The guard starts sweating heavily and slowly gets up and walks to one of the wagons. Dominic looks straight at me and says, ¡°I¡¯m sorry for his foolishness, can you forgive his arrogance. It appears being the leader of my guards has gotten to his head¡±.


    Dominic yet again bows his head, but I stop him before he goes all the way down, ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it, I should be the one to apologize for my insensitive question¡±.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it, It''s only natural that you¡¯d be curious. But I¡¯m surprised, you¡¯re quite perceptive, I¡¯m guessing you¡¯re a mercenary because of that right?¡±


    I give a small smile and say, ¡°Why yes I am, I¡¯m assuming you were once one yourself¡±


    Dominic lets out a small laugh, ¡°A very long time ago, but It¡¯s good to meet a fellow warrior, So tell me, what brings you here?¡±


    ¡°To be honest, I was hunting for a meal when I stumbled upon your little battle. Since I had also been running low on money and equipment, I decided to take advantage of the situation¡±


    Dominic gives out another laugh ¡°Quite the honest one aren¡¯t we, but I like that, and back in my mercenary days, I would have done the same. Speaking of which, I¡¯d like to make a proposition to you¡±


    ¡°A proposition?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I¡¯m guessing you¡¯re in search for work am I right?¡± I give a small nod and he continues, ¡°In that case, I want to hire you as an escort, just until we reach the city of Colmar. I¡¯ll give you fifteen Numidian gold, and even throw in free meals until we reach the city¡±


    When he said that, all the guards looked at him like he was crazy for offering so much, and I¡¯ll admit that his offer is quite generous for a mere mercenary. But in this business, you can¡¯t afford to pick and choose whenever you want, sometimes there are bad jobs and good ones. In this case, this would be a good job, so I should take it if anything, but still. ¡°You¡¯re very generous for a mere mercenary like me¡±


    He looks at me and says, ¡°A mere mercenary wouldn''t be able to take out fifteen bandits with not even a scratch on him. I already know that you¡¯re quite strong, and having someone like that escorting me and my goods would be of great help. So what do you say?¡±


    He puts out his hand for a handshake. I have no reason to reject his offer so I reach and shake his hand firmly. He gives a small smile and lets out another small laugh. After letting go of his hand I tell him, ¡°If it''s alright with you, I¡¯ll be taking whatever is of worth off those bandits¡±


    Dominic looks at me and says, ¡°It¡¯s fine by me, after all, you¡¯re the one who took them down, so


    anything of worth from those bandits are yours¡±


    With that, I received a job with quite the generous payout. I got to work looting the bandits, all in all, I was able to get 25 copper coins, 70 silver coins, and 4 gold coins from their corpses. I also took a bow and quiver full of arrows from one of the archers and four iron swords that were in decent shape. I took the liberty of dragging all the bodies off the road and in the forest. The three guards that were killed were buried by the others in shallow graves. After everyone finished with what they were doing, we immediately left since it would take another three days to reach Colmar. Fortunately, I didn¡¯t need to walk since all the guards rode in the wagons. I sat in the front wagon near Dominic since he wanted me too. And thus began my three-day journey as a bodyguard for a merchant who was once a mercenary.

 Chapter 3

    Chapter 3


    We¡¯ve been riding for about two hours now, and at that time no one had made any conversation. Of course, I didn¡¯t really want to talk either so I kept my head down and mouth closed the whole time. That is until Dominic started up a conversation, and as always, it was directed at me.


    ¡°You don¡¯t need to keep your hood on, after all, it¡¯s only us in this carriage¡±


    I look up at Dominic as say, ¡°True, but attracting too much attention can be dangerous¡±


    Dominic gives a small laugh, ¡°You¡¯re not wrong, but in this case, I think you can relax a little bit¡±


    I look at Dominic and give a small sigh, ¡°I guess you¡¯re right¡±. I take off my hood exposing my face to which both Dominic and the guard give off surprised expressions.


    ¡°You¡¯re from the North Lands¡±, Dominic says


    ¡°That''s correct, I think you can understand why I hide my face¡±


    Dominic replies, ¡°Of course, but I find it strange that someone of your race would be in a southern country. If you don¡¯t mind me asking, is there any reason for your travel? After all, your people tend to isolate themselves¡±


    I think carefully and reply, ¡°You can say that I¡¯m looking for something, but what that something is, I don¡¯t even know¡±


    Dominic and the guard looked at each other with a confused expression across their faces. They were at a loss for words, not knowing what to say. I decide to change the subject to keep things from getting awkward.


    ¡°So what type of goods are you transporting?¡±


    Realizing my intention, Dominic replies, ¡°I¡¯m glad you ask, as the owner and head of the Barrett Trading company, we handle a large variety of goods, from spices and labor materials to more expensive goods such as weaponry, coins, and slaves. Currently, we¡¯re transporting armor and weapons for a certain lord living in Colmar. Other than that, we purchased five slaves for which we¡¯ll sell at auction in Colmar¡±


    ¡°Slaves?¡±, I ask him


    He gives a slight smile knowing he¡¯s captured my interest. He replies with, ¡°Why yes, I¡¯ve only purchased them recently but I can assure you that they are all of top quality. They are young and healthy, ready for manual labor or sexual pleasure¡±


    Confused with the last statement, I reply ¡°Pleasure? Then they are all female correct?¡±


    Dominic continues smiling, ¡°Why of course, would you by any chance be interested in purchasing one?¡±


    ¡°Sorry, but I¡¯m not interested. They would only slow me down¡±


    Dominic gives a disappointed expression, ¡°It¡¯s a shame, but the offer is still there if you change your mind¡±


    ¡°I appreciate it¡±


    For the rest of the ride, I remained silent. Although I was curious about the female slaves, it was nothing more than mere curiosity about them. I had no want or need for a slave, and what I told Dominic was indeed true. A slave would indeed slow me down on my journey. We rode for another two hours before finally stopping for the night. A camp was set up and a guard began cooking in a large pot above a fire. It appeared to be a very simple stew made with preserved meat, cheese, and vegetables.


    There were also three guards on watch, walking around the perimeter of the camp. I had asked earlier if I should join them, only to be told that it wasn¡¯t necessary since the guards would switch throughout the night. Besides, ¡°I need you fully rested and prepared as my escort¡± is what Dominic said. As promised I was given a bowl of the stew for my meal. As plain and simple as it was, it wasn¡¯t half bad. The stew was filling enough to keep you full, but not enough to upset your stomach. At some point, a small portion of the stew was taken by a guard to one of the wagons. Watching him, he violently shoves the bowl of stew in the wagon before walking back to the fire.


    If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. It was probably for the slaves, not that I cared too much. After finishing the stew, I walk towards a nearby tree and sat down with my back against it. I have one knee up and the other down flat on the ground. I hold my sword with both hands against my shoulder. I slowly close my eyes and let my consciousness fade away.


    ¡°Clank!!!, Clank!!!¡±


    My eyes spring open from the noise. What woke me was the sound of metal chains hitting against each other. Looking around, the sun had barely begun to rise. I stand up and start walking towards the origin of the noise. For the most part, I slept pretty well, but it was still too early for anyone else to be awake. The guards keeping watch are walking around the perimeter and don¡¯t seem to have noticed the noise.


    Getting close to the wagon, I start to hear small whispers. It was obvious that all the noise came from the slaves, but my curiosity got the better of me, so I wanted to see them. Getting to the back, I open the flap covering the entrance, letting light in. In Front of me sat five female slaves, each bound by a set of chains and collars. Three of them had tan colored skin with black hair and dark brown eyes. One had lightly tan skin with blonde hair and what appeared to be blue eyes.


    The last one, unfortunately, couldn''t be seen because she was turned around facing a corner away from the other slaves. But she appeared to be smaller than the rest. The other four were considerably older, my guess was late teens, early twenties.


    ¡°So you¡¯re interested after all?¡±, Dominic says standing behind me. He seems to have gotten up early and saw me.


    ¡°Good morning Dominic, but no, I¡¯m still not interested, only curious¡±, I reply without much thought.


    Dominic gives a small grin, ¡°Well then, we should satisfy that curiosity, shouldn''t we?¡±


    Before I could give a reply, he orders a guard to come and bring the slaves out.


    ¡°Quickly, line up shoulder to shoulder¡±. Just as Dominic ordered, the women stood next to each other facing us.


    ¡°There you go, have a better look at them¡±, Dominic said to me as he gestured to go forward.


    After seeing them earlier, my curiosity was pretty much satisfied until something caught me completely off guard.


    ¡°It can¡¯t be???¡±, one slave immediately caught my attention, and it was the smaller slave that I couldn''t see before. She was smaller because she was younger, but what stood out to me the most were her features. She had very pale white skin like snow, small pink lips, long chestnut brown colored hair, which hung down her back. Her eyes were big and bright. They were the color of a deep red tea. They were the most beautiful eyes I¡¯ve ever seen, yet they appeared very sad and fearful. Even though she was extremely dirty and her hair wasn¡¯t properly taken care of, you can still tell she was quite the beauty.


    But her features could only mean one thing, ¡°She¡¯s from the North Lands¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m glad you noticed¡± Dominic replied.


    I turn to face him as I spoke. ¡°But how, there''s no way you got her up north. Was she captured?¡±


    ¡°From what the man that I bought her from stated, she was traded from her family for supplies. They willingly treated her off, and appeared happy to have gotten rid of her¡±


    How can that be, was her family so desperate for supplies that they traded her off, or did they intentionally do it. Whatever the case may be, she must have suffered. Judging from her appearance, she must be fifteen or sixteen years old. Much younger than the other girls.


    ¡°Does she speak?¡±, I ask Dominic


    ¡°Yes, but very little. The problem is, whenever she does speak, we can¡¯t understand her. She speaks the language of the North Lands. I was hoping that you could talk to her and translate what she says¡±


    ¡°For what purpose?¡± I ask sternly while releasing a bit of bloodlust.


    Dominic stares back and says, ¡°I want to teach her to speak Numidian if possible. She¡¯ll be easier to sell that way. In return, I¡¯ll add another four gold coins for your services¡±


    I give an immediate stern reply, ¡°I refuse¡±


    Dominic gives an unsatisfied expression, but as if an idea popped in his head, he asked, ¡°Would you perhaps be interested in purchasing her? I can guarantee that she¡¯s healthy, and more importantly, she is innocent a virgin. I¡¯ll even give you a discount¡±


    ¡°Not interested¡±


    ¡°So you say, but I can tell you¡¯re interested, tell you what, I¡¯ll wait for your final reply in two days time when we reach Colmar. Give it some time and think about what you want to do, remember I¡¯m willing to give you a discount¡±


    Before I can refuse, Dominic walked away. I decide to walk up to the girl to get a better look. Standing in front of her, the girl looks up and gasps at my appearance. She gives off a terrified expression. I can¡¯t blame her, my attire doesn¡¯t scream friendly, and my hood covering half my face doesn''t help either. The guard eventually tells all the slaves to go back into the wagon. As I stand there, I give a long sigh while thinking to myself that this is going to be a troublesome situation.