Private Tales The wrong place

[Baise]

Valthar thought back to that place of horror. Shapes of shadow dancing through the mist and dragging people into the darkness. It occurred to him that he didn't even know who had survived the event.

"I can fight well enough," he replied. "Went out with the warriors from my village to meet what was coming out of the mists. There was a portal stone on the other side and we tried to take it back. It took me back to the stone north of here. On my own."

As Valthar spoke he realised that it was almost comforting to speak to a coherent person. Despite what he had been through, Valthar hadn't been given the opportunity to try and explain what had happened. He was still trying to come to terms with it himself.

Valthar reminded himself how callously this hunter had skewered Mara through the chest.

"Where in the world is this town?" Valthar asked. "And do they keep livestock?"

 

[Maranae]

The tall man said nothing at first, and then shook his head angrily. "She wasn't supposed to be there," he said, but did not elaborate further on the comment. It was clear he was not talking about Maranae, though, whom he had never referred to as anything other than 'it'.

The sun continued to make its arc in the heavens, and it was no approaching evening, the sun like gold syrup pouring over the land, the brilliant orb hidden by the canopy of trees overhead. The trail had continued stradily onwards, never veering from side to side, nor changing in characteristic. The occasional drop of blood, the occasional overturned stone or broken twig. Talon very much doubted his unwilling companion could have tracked the creature through this arboreal landscape with any measure of success at all. It was the cold lands that he hailed from, after all.

"I should think they would," he remarked as the Norden asked his questions. "This is a long way from a city, and the people here live off of the land they work. There will be cattle, and sheep, and hogs, as well as crops." The flow of money from certain shady ventures would certainly help this town out, for all that the site was located at least two hours away. Talon wondered if the others had already arrived at the town, and had already found their target. It would mean he would not get paid, if the others found it first.

A sideways glance at his companion. The fellow insisted that the creature was no beast, but... Doubt.

"Not far, I should think. Tell me, Norden...have you considered what you will do after all this? No matter what happens with this monster, you will still have a journey ahead of you." The smell of smoke was faintly noticable now, wafting through the air, even as the land around them changed its character. More tamed, less wild, with the occasional crumbling remnant of a stone wall to either side of the widening, defining path.

 

[Baise]

Valthar had been trying to plan some kind of course of action as they followed the trail - or more accurately Talon followed the trail and Valthar followed him. He could not predict what Mara might do when she saw them together. She would be confused by the situation and possibly lash out at them both. Valthar would need the right opportunity to try and stop the hunter if he remained determined to see out his current plan.

Every minute was more time to convince him otherwise. It was also more time to study him and his weapons. And with each step he could feel his Svalen grow more prepared. The hunter could be tooled up to the hilt, but if he didn't have a heavy crossbow wound and pointed in his direction the. Valthar's Svalen form could smother him and his horse through sheer speed and weight.

Yet every minute also made Valthar feel less ready to try and murder him. Who was the 'she' that he referred to? There was nothing inherently evil about this man. He was trying to protect others.

"After comes the journey," he answered simply. "Find a port, somehow get on a ship and start making my way home. Is there even a major port in these parts?" he asked.

 

[Maranae]

"Honestly, I could not tell truthfully. There will be several fishing villages along the coast southward, but..." He shrugged. Who was to say how far away the nearest of those were? They were still a week out of Fal'addas, the closest major city that the bounty hunter knew of. "Even if you found one, their vessels are usually little more than skiffs. You might find a coasting vessel come close enough to flag down, but its unlikely."

Truth to tell, Talon had an appreciation for all the people of the north he had dealt with, even the Orcs. All of them had fairly straightforward mindsets and a kind of unapologetic honesty and commitment to values. He was sure that they, like anyone else, had their bad apples but...their cultures seemed to be stolid, predictable. This one in particular seemed loss and out of his depth, but he could not find any fault in his defense of a seemingly innocent woman. If only he could make the Norden understand the danger...

"Aliria is likely your best bet. Its probably weeks away from here across the forest and the edge of the plains...but from there you should be able to find a blue-water vessel that can make a more direct route to your home." Probably.

Talon stopped in his tracks. They had passed a few empty houses, roofs in need of repair and yards overgrown. Abandoned. That was not made him stop though; it was the crowd of a dozen or so people gathered around a pair of men in light armor, swords at their hips. Several of the townsfolk had makeshift weapons in their hands.

"Well, this looks promising," the mercenary said in a voice so dry it might have blown off of a desert. He stepped forward.

 

[Baise]

"Which..."

Way, he had been about to ask until they saw the gathered crowd. Alliria was a name he was certain he had heard before. If he wasn't mistaken then it meant it was spoken around the harbour. They did not trade a great deal with the summer lands but ships came back and forth.

Valthar wasn't a renowned warrior, but he was good at getting his head down and completing a job. Once he had worked some second-hand nets for three straight days, repairing the damage until his fingers bled. If Alliria was weeks away he would simply put his head down and start walking.

Please, he thought to himself, don't be the monster they made you out to be Mara.

 

[Maranae]

"You need to drive it out, one of the townsfolk demanded, a middle aged woman with a small child clinging to her skirts, thumb in mouth. She looked worried, and given the age of her child, it was easy to see why. If there really was a monster of some kind running loose in the town, then no one's children were safe.

The two warriors made soothing gestures to the woman, who subsided. A man and a woman, one tall and dark haired, lean and fit while the other was a little shorter, lithe and buxom. She had pale hair the color of straw, long and faintly wavy. Both had hard eyes, regarding the crowd in the same manner a noble might regard peasant filth.

"We'll be happy to remove the creature, but the lot of you need to stay out of our way," the woman said, adjusting the light chain she wore over the softer leather. She wore a short sword at her waist, and had a light crossbow on her back as well. She stood with fists on her hips, face stern and unfriendly.

"We don't need the town torn up," said a balding, heavyset man. He wore slightly better clothes than the rest, clearly an official of some sort. "You bounty hunters-" he began, but was cut off by the man.

"We do what we need to. You want to keep your people safe? Keep them indoors. This creature is dangerous, and..." He stopped, looking over the people's heads, and scowled. "Ah, Talon. So good to see you."

The bounty hunter could hear the lie in his voice, and gave a grin that never reached his eyes. "Blake."

The woman cast a disinterested look at the pair of them, shrugged, and pushed her way through the crowd. She cast a single look back at the two men, fixing Talon with a rather venomous stare. In a few moments, she was gone, out into the town. With only a few streets worth of houses and businesses, it shouldn't take long at all to find anyone or anything here.

"You know this is my head, Talon. You got the last three, this one is mine." His voice was as hard as iron, and his eyes hard enough to strike sparks. The people around him were muttering, looking after where the woman had gone. The well-dressed man was trying to get people to clear the streets, to go back to their homes. Several were doing so, but some of the men remained, makeshift weapons gripped tight.

"You aren't up to this task, Blake. Push off," he replied, but did not wait for any response. He turned to leave, to go start his own search, grabbing the Norden by the arm as he went.

 

[Baise]

"Let me talk to her," Valthar hissed. His problems had just grown several times over and suddenly he was reliant upon Talon. He definitely couldn't deal with an entire group of armed bounty hunters. They were all trained to bring down monsters and dangerous men. If he became his Svalen then at least one of them would work out a way to do him serious harm before he could charge them down.

If he fled the town then they would follow. The best chance he seemed to have now was to have Talon find Mara. Then he either had to convince him that Mara wasn't dangerous or he would have to find a way to kill him.

He didn't know yet if Mara had already gone and hurt someone from the town. Talon would end up winning that argument if Mara couldn't stop herself from becoming the worst of what her creator had wanted. Valthar didn't know what he would do in that situation.

"You know them all?"

 

[Maranae]

"Some of the more prominent ones. Others I have just...clashed with before."

The bounty hunter did not sound too pleased with who he had found in this town. There seemed to be bad blood between him and the man, this Blake, at the very least, and likely his lady friend as well. "Blake is a lucky fool. He does not have half the skill this job needs, but he always seems to be in the right place at the right time. As for Vannessa..."

He trailed off. They rounded a corner and the big man stopped, turned and faced the Norden. "We have to find this beast quickly, and get it out of town. Before it kills anyone here, or..." Before those two drive it from whatever hole it's in, or start the rampage we all know is coming. He looked at the ground, shook his head. "Harder to track something in town. You Nordenfiir are known for your senses...can you smell this beasts' blood?"

 

[Baise]

Valthar came to a stop. There was a rather definite nature about the way he came to a halt. His lips pursed as he formed a truly stubborn visage. It was a trait that his people were good at wearing.

"It's faint, but I can pick it up." It would be easier in his Svalen form, but he expected the townsfolk would all join together to fling forming implements at him if he changed.

"But we are going to get her away and give her a chance, yes?" Valthar didn't go as far as making a blunt demand. It was obvious the answer had an impact on whether he decided to stay rooted to the spot.

 

[Maranae]

The bounty hunter stood silent for a long moment, considering the question. Unlike many swords for hire, he liked to consider himself a man of principle, even if he did do some unsavory things for money sometimes.

He could not blithely answer Valthar's question with a 'yes' just to have an easier time finding the monster he sought. It was tempting to do so, but if he did it once then he would do it again until he was nothing but the kind of man that would do anything at all for money.

Did the creature deserve protection? He did not know, but Valthar seemed to be a man of honor, if simple. And he thought the creature deserved a chance, and did not believe it would harm others. He did not know what to think, personally. It had not harmed anyone here, yet, but he had seen the inside of that research facility. Seen the horror, the unbridled, animal violence.

He looked into the Nordenfiir's eyes, trying to see some glimmer of the man within. Finally, he came to a decision.

"A chance. So long as it does not hurt anyone, I will stay my hand," he said with a sigh. He did not want to fight if he did not have to, anyway. And it seemed to him that this man would fight for the creature he sought, though he had only known of it briefly.

 

[Baise]

Please, do not have done anything terrible, he silently prayed to Mara. He didn't have time to imagine different scenarios for what would happen. If they found her crying in a pile of human bodies he wasn't sure he would stop Talon from putting Mara out of her misery.

"Fine," he said sternly. He sniffed the air as he turned his head from side to side.

"She passed through here, keeping to the outskirts of the town." It wasn't easy for him to track dried blood on clothes. He didn't know if she was just one form or many again. Valthar held the sword at his side, never having picked up a scabbard for it. If those hunters went for him, he knew it wasn't going to do him much good.

 

[Maranae]

The pain was intense, but the hunger was even more intense. If that was even possible, and the trembling girl couldn't scarcely begin to know the truth of that matter.

Mara lay curled up in a ball, her whole frame shivering. Blood still leaked from the wounding she had received from the Talon, although given her unique set of abilities it was probably not enough to kill her. Only weaken her, and cause acute pain and ever growing hunger and weakness.

The straw was prickly, and poked through her thin, ragged clothes. The sounds of concerned people had drifted away after she had ducked into this building, shared with hard-footed four legs that whinnied softly, either out of concern or possibly fro mfear at what was now in their shelter.

The pain was great enough that the claws that tipped her fingers drew blood digging into the flesh of her palms.

Tears streaking her face, cutting through the grime, the woman trembled and dreamed of a place she could not remember clearly, a place of belonging and love and welcome. A hazy memory of a kind hand, tenderly touching....

--

"Thank you," the mercenary replied, and then followed behind, keeping an eye out for any trouble. None presented itself.

He tried to think of where he would go or what he would do if he were some beast that had never been in the presence of people, at least not in the numbers here. He did not know if it understood it was being pursued, but had to assume that was the case. Where would he hide?

Honestly, if he were it, he would have fled back into the woods. Failing being able to do that without being seen, there were doubtless numerous barns and stables, as well as sheds or cellars to crawl into. "Lead the way, Valthar. I will watch your back."

 

[Baise]

Valthar didn't like the sound of that. He couldn't help but imagine that heavy crossbow pointing at the space between his shoulder blades. He wondered if he would even hear the click of the trigger before he died. Unlike Mara he couldn't crawl away from a bolt passing straight through the chest.

He followed the scent, sticking to the outskirts of the town. She hadn't delved into the centre of the town. As he followed the scent Valthar wasnt surprised to find it leading into livestock paddocks.

He was surprised that there was no furor, no animal remains spread across the pastures. Valthar stopped, placing his hand on an ageing wooden beam. There was a smear of fresh blood across the top. As if Mara had climbed over it.

 

[Maranae]

He touched the blood, noted its freshness, and nodded to the Nordenfiir. Mara was definitely close by. This looked like a part of town reserved for livestock of some kind, but the animals were not present. No horses, no cattle, no sheep. The air smelled faintly of musty hay and old manure, dried in the summer heat.

"The beast is probably hiding somewhere near here. You know it better than I do, but perhaps I should take the lead and you keep your senses sharp." The bounty hunter climbed over the fence with a grunt, stepping into the dusty yard beyond. The yard led into a network of chutes, alleyways, and pens, all wood fenced to force the animals in a certain direction. A large building at the back of the lot could have been a barn, but judging from the smell coming from it, was more likely a slaughter house. Certainly explained the lack of animals, though it did not explain why the monster would have come this way.

Hunger? Surely it would have eaten some of the people in the streets before going after offal though. It was perplexing to him, anyway.

The trail of blood drops, steady but not numerous enough or in enough volume to indicate an animal fatally wounded, led over the fence and into a well maintained yard in front of the shop. A sign swung over the door of the place, a cleaver charred into the wood. The door to the shop stood ajar.

"It must have gone in here," he said, then stopped.

A blurring in the air, the scent of burned tin and a subtle warping of the world, and then the woman mercenary from before was standing in front of him, a blade drawn.

"Talon," she said coldly. She gestured at the door, a feral grin on her face. "Bounty. Mine." Her words were a rasp, and it was apparent why - a great scar marked her throat, as though someone had tried to slit it and failed to kill her. The sound was unlovely, even if she herself was apart from the scar. "Leave."

She took a step forward, supreme confidence echoed in every inch of her body despite the fact she was outnumbered two to one.

 

[Baise]

Valthar took a half step back. He was no swordsman but he still lifted the point of his stolen blade to put it between him and the bounty hunter. His fear felt very different. It was liquid ice running down his spine, but his determination seemed to galvanise it into something hard. His father had never baulked at a battle that needed to be faught. Perhaps this was how he had felt.

"Can you take her?" he asked Talon. The woman seemed effortlessly confident. Her magic, or the magic of some trinket, had kept her from sight whilst shadowing them. There might be more tricks ready to be used.

Talon's answer to that question mattered. It would be weighed up by the experienced hunter in deciding how he acted. What did his contract hold him to? Would he risk a fight with this rival over its value?

 

[Maranae]

"Maybe," he replied as the woman drew up short, just out of reach of either of their blades. The confidence never wavered in her lovely blue eyes. "She is dangerous. Dangerous enough to have been brought in for this contract."

He honestly did no like the idea of competing for coin on a project like this, but the lucrative offering had naturally attracted more aggressive hunters. Ones unlikely to work together. He was very much on the fence about what do do about the beast, especially in the face of such a fine fighter as this woman, and in deference to a man who thought they beast he and she sought was worth saving.

What a mess.

The woman took the initiative suddenly, the slender blade in her hand licking out. Talon reflexively deflected the blade, and it was well he had. Valthar might have felt its strong across his throat had he not oarried by instinct. The feral grin of hers deepened, even as Talon readied himself for the onslaught that was to come.

And come it did. She was a whirling dervish, working her sword with a finesse that he himself could never match. There was beauty there, like a coiled, colorful viper; such grace, speed, and precision could not but be admired.

Still, Talon was immediately put on the defensive. He was not built for fights such as these, where speed was more important than skill or brute strength. A staccato of steel on steel as he parried, parried, backed up a step at a time before her savage assault. Despite repeated attempts to drive Valthar back delaying her attacks on him, it was not enough to allow an opening to attack.

A sting to his face, shallow furrow opened beneath an eye. Another across the shoulder. She moved like a viper, and all he could do - and barely at that - was stop the killing stroke.

When did she become so deadly? This was not the woman he recalled from oast interaction. The promise of her ability had always been there; it would seem she had achieved it.

"Do something, Gods damn it," he hollared at Valthar as she managed to nick him again. The hail of blows continued, neither letting up nor slowing down.

She laughed at him, seemingly inexhaustible on the offense. Sweat stood out on her brow, cheeks flushed with a mixture of exertion and anger. "Call to another," she rasped low, then like that viper lasged out and kicked him in the gut, following it with a vicious overhand blow, stepping sideways to evade any attack of opportunity Valthar might offer. "Abandon him, like you did me," she hissed. "You die now. Then the beast. Best day of my life."

 

[Baise]

"No," Valthar replied. He tossed his blade down to the ground. She was exceptional with the sword, moving to neutralise any attempt he made to turn the tide before he had even settled on it.

She looked over her should at him briefly with cold eyes. The hunter managed to convey an indifferent shrug with the most subtle movement of her shoulders. Her attention returned to Talon.

Then she fell into shadow.

She was exceptionally well balanced, a fantastic duelist. The Svalen whose shadow she now occupied cared for neither of those things. A row of spears or a precise shot from a heavy compass drawn with a crank could hurt a Svalen.

His left paw swung out at waist height. Deceptively fast and with enough power to cut her in half.

 

[Maranae]

The swipe of the great bear saved his life. Unbelievably, the scarred swordwoman sensed that incoming attack, and broke off her own attack on him to make a wild defense of herself. Maybe not entirely wild, for it was with expert skill that she turned that attack. Edged steel met the bear's pay, but the force of that blow was too much for her to withstand.

So she didn't. The blow sent her flying, and the space she had occupied moments before suddenly found a sword in it. Talon cursed aloud at the misfortune,but had to appreciate the skill she showed.

The woman hit the ground hard,rolling and coming back up on her hands and knees, albeit twenty feet away. She spit a mouthful of blood, and gave the best a feral, bloodstained grin. She bore minor scratches and a busted lip.

"Njordenfiir," she rasped, then blew a piercing whistle. "Know not what you do, northerner. Not your concern. Leave."

She stood slowly, but did not rush to engage again. Instead, she dabbed a finger in her own blood, tracing some sigil on her ample chest. It seemed casually done, but the shape seemed precise. Meticulous even.

She whistled again, just as shrilly, but did not advance, and neither did Talon.

 

[Baise]

Fucking magic. Everywhere he went there was demons and blood magic and witches and chimera. Every day he longed more for a home that seemed even further away. He felt the warmth of his own blood working it's way through his fur.

Mara was here somewhere. Valthar considered searching her out, but was sharp enough to have seen that Talon had been on the verge of being forced into a fatal mistake. If he ran she would not be far behind.

The bear glanced at Talon out of the corner of his eye, looking for guidance. Lips curled back, revealing teeth that could bit clean through a human's chest. He pawed the earth, trying to decide who had time on their side.

 

[Maranae]

Talon climbed back to his feet, sword back in hand. Blood trickled from a slice above his right eye, but he paid it little attention, instead focusing on the threat before them.

"Thank you," he said to the bear as if it were the most natural thing in the world. "I do not know what she has done, just now. She did not know any magic back...back when I last knew her." A pause, a shake of the head. "Glad to see I judged her right, though."

The woman straightened, the sigil on her chest glowing faintly. The effects were not visible; she was not healing, and no terrible sorcery was striking at them, either. "You are a traitor! A cheat!" Her anger came through clear as she hissed those words at him. She did not seem to be intimidated by the bear in front of her, anymore than she had been intimidated by Talon.

"Go to the left," he said in a low voice. "I will go to the right. She cannot face us both at the same time." He did not sound particularly convinced of that.

She lifted her blade as Talon started forward, shifting right, movements precise and measured.

 

[Baise]

The great bear could not do precise. With a casual gait he circled around to his left. There was no point charing in. She could change direction quickly enough. His great paws gave him much greater reach. If she stumbled, slipped or chose incorrectly then he would have her.

Valthar wondered what the cost of this would be. It was not just magic that demanded a price. Everything you achieved in this world did. Driving this hunter away would cost him. Probably more than the slim cut on his leg, potentially everything.

Valthar took a swipe, pulling it short and low just to see how she would react.

 

[Maranae]

Her eyes darted between her two opponents, and for the first time Talon could sense the uncertainty in his seemingly implacable foe. She did not think she could face these two threats on her own. It made him wonder why, then, she would persist in this charade.

He came in high on her right, blade licking out in a swift cut. She parried the blade, smooth and precise movements with little wasted effort. She hurriedly sidestepped the bear's great paws, backing away a few steps, and then Talon came in for a series of quick, powerful stroke.

Steel on steel, ringing again, and again, and then a softer sound, and blood flying.

She staggered back, blood running from a cut just beneath her eye. Pale pink showed briefly in that wound before blood filled the gash. Her grasp of pain was the only acknowledgment of the hit.

"Give it up, woman. The beast is not worth your life," he said, and she spit a mouthful of blood to one side in a crimson stream, planted her feet, and stood ready for them to come on again, blood dripping from her chin.

 

[Baise]

Valthar lacked the killing intinct of his father. The simple fisherman was starting to find that part of himself with his Svalen. Ardul's name had been known across Eretejva for his skill and ruthless efficient. Valthar was not that man, but half his blood flowed through his veins.

Svalen meant soul and Valthar had found his. He had discovered his own bravery, the rest would come if he was forced to keep fighting to return home.

He should have pressed the attack. Instead he only saw the other bounty hunter bleed and felt hope that she might retreat. The bear kept low, swiping suddenly for the back of her calf to try and keep her off balance or trip her. Not that there was much difference between a trip and having your leg torn off when it came to a bear.

 

[Maranae]

She effortlessly avoided the bear again, leaping back and to the side, blood pattering to the ground. The scent of it was sharp and unpleasant in the air. Valthar was no fast enough to hit her without luck, and she was not strong enough to face the bear on her own. Not even close, not armed for such an encounter either. His presence forced her to contend with two threats, bot that could kill her swiftly if she let her guard down even a little.

As she leapt to the side, Talon came in for another attack. He did not want to kill the woman. Vanessa. The image a naked body streaked with sweat, the scent of sex heavy on the air, was a haunting image that he had only managed to push aside after many years. This was not the woman he had known all those years ago...and yet, he could not bring himself to deliver a killing stroke, assuming he could even make one.

With her newfound skill, she turned aside every attack, blood flying as she moved with precision. She circled warily and quickly to put Valthar behind Talon, so that she only had to deal with one threat.

There was only a moment of warning. Vanessa cocked her head to one side, obviously indicating Valthar, and a moment later a second bounty hunter was there, tall and built like a brick shithouse. He carried a long lance, steel tip gleaming brightly, and immediately went on the offensive without so much as a word, driving that lethal point towards the Svalen with, if not as much finesse and precision as the swordwoman demonstrated, then with a degree of power that she could not hope to mimic.

She herself knocked Talon's blade aside, and went on a wild, desperate offensive, blade little more than a flash of light as she struck rapidly. And it was all that Talon could do to keep that seeking blade from finding flesh, and it was not a contest, he realized, that he could maintain for long. "Behind you, Valthar!" He only had a split second to notice and call the threat out. Is this worth saving that damned beast's hide?

Valthar apparently believed it so, but Talon was beginning to doubt.

 

[Baise]

The bear turned its great head, maw wide open. Valthar hadn't expected another one of the hunters upon them so soon. He certainly hadn't expected a new arrival to join the fray without warning.

He turned his head away from the strike, but steel speared deep into his flesh. Only his thick hide and layers of fat and muscle stopped it going to deep. Valthar roared in agony.

He reached for the weapon, only to find that he had paws rather than hands. He had no way to grip the shaft of the lance as it was pulled back. It was coated in his own blood. Pulled back and then thrust forwards again. Valthar was still learning how to fight like this.

Valthar managed to bound backwards, his paw swiping to knocked the tip aside. The pain started to creep out from the wound.

He could not defend forever. Eventually Talon would fall and then he would be forced to flee or die. Doubt started to creep in. Through that, came the semblance of an idea. He stopped backing away and swiping to the side. His paw came down from above onto the top of the lance. The tip skimmed under his arm, opening a new shallow wound. The steel tip was drive into the ground and Valthar threw his weight forwards, trying to bend the lance as his teeth snapped at the hunter.