The walls of the northern gate were tall and nostalgic. Kira remembered patrolling the walls of Silverwind, a small city of the west coast of Asmir. It had long been her city’s duty to protect Asmir against threats that may come out of the Kingdom of Andor where savages were rumoured to live. Long before her time, there was a war between the people of Asmir and the Kingdom of Andor or Koa as some people liked to call it. Legends say that Silverwind was important to the victory of Asmir as they were able to spot and stop naval attacks. Being an ancestor of one of those brave warriors gave Kira pride.
The guards of Erend wore deep purple and gold as their kingdom’s officials colours. The halfling found this combination a bit tacky if not slightly garish. Guards continued to patrol the border between their way of life and the wildness, barely even noticing the Jellybeans. One guard stopped to ask their business but once he was informed they were on business for the Hunt, he backed down without hesitation.
A cooling breeze flicked Kira’s braided hair. If there would have been the scent of the ocean then she would have felt at home. In front of her were large fields that were used to grow crops or livestock. Beyond those was a forest with lush green leaves. The halfling ranger really took in the sight as soon they would change colours as the seasons would change.
Gene led the group to a farm that had livestock growing. Kira was starting to really admire Gene, not in a romantic way but in the way a soldier might admire his commander. Aliya had told Kira about the inspirational speech Gene had given on top of the tower when everyone else had given up. About how he had carried the halfling down the tower while she was fading in and out of conciseness. Apparently, he also stayed next to here while a church full of cleric used their magic to heal her before joining everyone else.
At the farm, the could see all sorts of animals including sheep. At a section of fence near the northeast of the sheep pen was a farmer trying his best to repair a broken section of it.
“Excuse me,” called out Gene. “Would you be the farmer with the missing sheep problem?”
“Aye, that would be me,” replied the farmer. “Are ye from the Hunt?”
“Yes sir,” spoke the leader of the Jellybeans. “Can you tell us anything about this beast?”
The older man put down his hammer and nails and walked across the pasture towards the party. “To my knowledge, the damned thing comes out at night, usually when it’s darkest. The time I got a glimpse of the beast, it looked like a giant wolf except it was slender and very strong. The bloody thing was so strong that it dragged my poor sheep away with almost no effort. I’ve lost four of my precious flock these past four days. I suppose I should be lucky that it’s only one a night but that is still a great problem for me, hence the substantial reward.”
“Don’t worry sir, we’ll protect your flock,” declared Kira. She felt like she had a lot to prove to her peers. It was an embarrassment to her that she was defeated by Shield and she was the in who suggested they do this job. The halfling wasn’t going to allow herself to be useless again.
“I’ll talk to the sheep and see if any of them can tell us more about the wolf,” said Fern before striding across the area to where the flock was most dense. Kira decided to go with Ciylia and scout around the fence and around the forest to look for tracks to see where it was coming from, where it was going, and it’s approximate size.
Around the fence was ruined if any and all tracks thanks to the farmer working in the area. The two rangers decided to spread out to see if they could find something to follow. Being naturally closer to the ground gave Kira an advantage when looking for things. While Ciylia had to bend and crawl through the grass to search, the halfling only had to walk and scan.
Not too far from the farmer’s murder of the crime scene, Kira noticed specs of dried blood on some blades of grass. She searched around this evidence and found a strange humanoid footprint with large claws. Perhaps it was a species of wolf she had never heard of before.
“Ciylia, I found some things,” called out Kira. “Get your butt over here and help out.”
Ciylia stood up and walked over to Kira’s position with a smile on her face. Ciylia’s green eyes were almost sparkling in the sunlight. The wood elf was very beautiful but Kira felt she was no slouch herself. She had a few men who were looking for her hand in marriage before she left in her journey.
“What did you find?” asked Ciylia
“I found some blood and odd-looking tracks. The gap between steps is also bizarre. I can only say for certain that it is large and can prance like a gazelle or run like a person.”
The thief could help but laugh, “This isn’t some fairytale where the big bad wolf can walk around. It’s probably just large like a warhorse.”
Kira’s cheeks felt hot. She gave an honest observation and was laughed at by someone who had similar skills like her. “Let’s see where the tracks go,” Kira finally said after a few calming breaths.
“After you,” grinned the slightly condescending elf.
The pair ventured into the forest after a few minutes of following the tracks and droplets of blood. The further the went into the forest, the thicker the trees became and the harder it was to follow the tracks.
“Do you see any more signs of where it went?” asked the halfling. “It seems the trail has gone cold.”
Ciylia scouted further ahead since she moved slightly quicker than Kira because of her long legs. Kira waited a few moments before the wood elf returned. “I could pick the trail up again,” said Ciylia. “But I get the feeling it’s den is in this general area.”
“I was thinking the same thing. Let’s go report our findings to everyone else. Perhaps they can think of a way to find its home.”
The rangers returned to the farm in a shorter amount of time than it took to get to the middle of the forest. Upon returning, they saw Gene and Fern digging a hole near the broken fence. Aliya was gathering large sticks and Meowlynn was using the magical hand she summoned to tie the sticks together with bits of rope and twine.
“We believe the wolf’s den is somewhere in the forest,” yelled Kira. Her voice was naturally quiet and high pitched that she really felt like yelling was the only way they were going to hear her over the sound of displacing earth.
Gene stopped digging while Fern continued to dig as a giant mole. “We have constructed a plan to lure it,” claimed the Jellybeans’ leader. “And if we fail then we have you two. You ladies will be able to track it better now that you have an approximate location.”
It wasn’t exactly the praise Kira was hoping for but she also felt like she let the team down by not being able to find the wolf’s den.
“So,” Ciylia paused to make sure people were listening to her. “What is the plan? Are we making a pitfall?”
“An ambush, actually,” answered Gene. “The hope we are digging is for us to lay in wait until the wolf arrives. We are going to leave the fence broken so the beast doesn’t need to try to break it further and then surround it when it attacks our sheep.”
“Our sheep?” asked Ciylia in an extremely confused manner. “We don’t have any sheep unless you bought on while we were gone.”
“Fern is going to act as our sheep,” explained Gene. “Kira will assist him in herding the farmer’s sheep closer to his house and we’ll have Fern turn himself into a sheep. He’ll be by the opening in the fence the wolf made and be loud so that the wolf knows where his easy prey is. That is why we are building this hole. We are going to make something similar to that of a trapdoor spider and when the wolf grabs Fern we’ll all jump out to ambush it.”
“That’s a great plan,” smiled Kira. The halfling went to assist her best friend and Meowlynn with making the camouflage door. Using some of her natural magic she was able to make the grass on the top of the trapdoor looking very natural.
Once she was done helping with that project she went to assist the druid with herding the sheep. Fern transformed into a sheep to talk with them. Kira used some of her ranger magic to allow her tongue and voice box to make her capable of speaking to any animal. Then, the magic slightly tweaked her ears to be able to hear different frequencies. Finally, her brain morphed so she could temporarily understand the speech of many beasts. Though the magic looked harmless it was actually quite painful. The inside of her body, that was affected by the magic, had to rip and repair or expand to the point it felt like it would explode.
After the searing in her throat and throbbing in her brain had dulled a bit, Kira went to assist with the herding as well as having a chat with the half-elf posing as a sheep. “Are you okay with being used as bait? Aren’t you scared of being taken away by the creature?” bleated Kira.
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“I’ll be fine,” baaed Fern. “This is just a form I borrow. I was told that our animal shapeshifting was using the body of a creature that once lived. When this body dies, mine will return and then I’ll be able to defend myself against the beast.”
“Don’t you think we could have found a different way to lure it instead of using you?” Kira rebuked.
“I was the one who made the plan,” snorted Fern. “Do you really think Gene would suggest using us as bait? He protested when I suggested it but after I got everyone else to agree to my plan he surrendered.”
“Okay, just be careful.” She turned her attention back to the sheep that were trying to eavesdrop on their conversation. “Let’s go over here! Move closer to the house if you don’t want to be eaten!”
Once all the preparations were completed they waited for night. The farmer’s wife was kind enough to bring them all a hot bowl of stew so they could have some fuel for the night’s endeavour.
The moment darkness blanketed the sky, Fern transformed into a sheep and started chewing grass and bleating as often as he could. Every few hours he’d come into the trapdoor shelter to rest so he could regain his ability to become a sheep. Kira thought that using her magic to be able to talk with animals was taxing, she couldn’t imagine how draining it must be to change your whole body.
When the moon slightly beyond its apex, Kira and Ciylia both heard rustling from the direction of the forest. Meowlynn, grabbed her wand and pointed it towards Fern. “The beast is coming,” she whispered. Everyone got into position to jump out and defend their ally. Fern started crying quietly, pretending he didn’t know the predator was nearby.
Peeking out from the shelter, Kira could see the silhouette of the creature. It shared many similarities with a wolf except for a few things. First, it was walking on two legs like a person. It also had large humanoid hands and feet. The wolf-man then dashed at Fern and clutches the sheep form neck in its maw and bit down. Fern then appeared in his half-elf form, his neck still in the creature’s mouth.
The druid immediately shifted his form into that of a brown bear. His now large size was too much for the beast to handle and it had to let go of Fern’s neck. The bear then clawed at the wolf but they could cut into its flesh. After failing to hurt the creature, the bear moved to block off its path of escape.
The wolf tried to make it to the hole in the fence before the bear but was too late. It then slashed at the druid with its claws, ripping some of the flesh from the bear form’s face and then bit at an ear, tearing it off. It then stared at Fern brimming with confidence as it swallowed the ear.
The trapdoor flew open and the rest of the Jellybeans started pouring out. Ciylia released an arrow the moment she got out of the hole. The arrow soared through the air and bounced off of the wolf’s chest. It was as if she had just shot at a stone wall.
Meowlynn then conjuring a small flame at the tip of her wand and shot a bolt of fire at the beast. Its hair began to burn and its skin began to sear. The wolf-man screamed in pain, “You bitch! I’ll kill you for burning me!”
What was happening here?! How could an animal speak the language of people? During Kira’s confused state, Aliya said a small prayer and a tiny javelin of light materialized in her had. She threw it with all her might and it hit the talking wolf in its chest. The light rippled across his body, causing him to glow like a lantern at night.
Seeing the radiant target, Kira grabbed a blade of grass and held it against an arrow as she nocked it. She whispered in the ancient tongue of those who use to live on the Continent of Wildorn something that roughly translated to “may the magic of nature hold my foe” in plain speech. Kira released the arrow and it flew into the abdomen of the beast. The arrow was going to bounce off harmlessly as Ciylia’s did but as it was reflecting off the creature’s hide, vines shot out of it. Magical vines wrapped around the wolf-like being, entangling it and preventing it from running. Once the magical plants quit growing, thorns grew out of them and pierced the beast’s flesh.
It writhed in pain, it’s grey fur becoming wet with its blood. Gene then started punching the creature but his combination had little to no effect on the wolf. It was thrashing trying to break out. “Let me out of these, human, and I’ll show you what a real punch feels like!”
Fern then took his massive bear form and attempted to grapple the creature. The bulky bear body tried to wrap around the slender beast but it still had the strength to shove Fern back. Ciylia then shot another arrow at the distracted wolf-man but again her arrow bounced off.
The wolf tried to struggle free with all of its might but to no avail. It was stuck for the time being but Kira saw some of the vines snap.
While she was looking at her plants break she didn’t notice the bubble of acid falling on its head. The acid splashed on its face and began it melt away its skin. “I’ll kill you, you ugly bitch! You aren’t even worthy of bearing my offspring! I’ll rip you limb from limb and enjoy every bite of you!”
Aliya then produced her holy fire a hurled it at the wolf. The beast sprinted, trying to break the vines as it watched the radiant flame get closer to it. It pulled with all of it might, and a few more vines snapped but the thorns continued to pierce its flesh. That extra wiggle room was all the wolf needed. The light-based fire hit the vines instead of the creature the flame was intending. It slowly because to burn through the magical plant.
Kira readied another arrow, hoping to capture the beast again. After the arrow bounced off the time the wolf was ready and tore the vines before they could wrap around it. Panic began to creep in, the halfling’s magical supply was running out and this creature was about to dash away at incredible speeds.
Just then, she heard the beast howl in pain again. The dagger that Buddy gave Gene was lodged into the side of the beast. He pulled it out and kicked at the creature but it shrugged off the hit.
Fern seeing his opportunity lunged at the wolf and bite onto its leg. The druid then dug his bear paws into the ground, determined to stop it from running. Sadly, it was a trivial effort as the beast open the jaw of the bear with its two hand-like paws. The effort was strained though the creature was bleeding heavily out of its side and some major arteries the thorns punctured. It’s face was still slowly dissolving and it had a nasty burn on its chest.
The wolf dashed away from the group. Gene stabbed him in the leg and began sprinting after the creature. They both jumped the fence and it looked like the wolf was slightly faster than the monk. Gene then burst at a speed they had never seen before and cut beast off at the forest line. He impaled the beast’s skull with Buddy’s dagger and the wolf raked its claws into Gene's gut. Both participants fell but only Gene began to rise after a few moments.
The Jellybeans ran to the aid of their leader. Aliya quickly began administrating healing magic to the monk abdomen. Peering into the darkness of the forest, Kira swore she saw eyes glistening in the trickles of moonlight passing through the leaves. “Ciylia,” whispered Kira. “Are we being watched?”
The elven ranger stared into the darkness where her smaller counterpart was pointing. “Yes,” replied Ciylia. “There are about two wolf-like creatures watching us.”
The group placed the body of their hunt on Fern as Gene stood up. “Let’s get going,” said Gene. “It’s too dangerous for us to be here. I’ll be fine until we get back to Erend. It’s not far. Meowlynn, Aliya and Kira, watch our backs. Only you three seemed to do any harm to them.”
The party began to slowly make their way to the city. The two creatures appeared in the tree line but didn’t give chase. Once they were halfway to the city, dawn’s first light was crawling its way through the black sky. Kira went to inspect their quarry so she could better prepare for the ones in the forest. She knew Gene wouldn’t let those beasts roam so close to the city and as far as the halfling ranger was concerned, they hadn’t finished their hunt just yet. Those wolves would attack the far tomorrow night to get food and therefore they haven’t helped the farmer yet. Perhaps they have made things worse if they act too slow because those beasts are starving and probably livid.
She touched the head of the dead beast on the back of Fern’s bear form and immediately jumped back. It had lost its wolf-like face and had a more human face. Its nose and jaw protruded out of the face a bit but it just looked like a man with a face deformity. “Gene,” whimpered Kira. The shock almost took her breath away. “We have a big problem. Our wolf has turned into a man.”
The whole group stopped so they could see the truth for themselves. “What are we going to do?” Meowlynn asked.
“We can’t march a human corpse through the city!” yelled Aliya.
Gene took off his shirt and covered the head of the wolf-man. “It still looks mostly like a monster if we cover the face. We’ll enter the gate with our contract in hand and then take the back streets. We’ll try to rest at the church for a bit and deliver the beast to the Hunt. After, we’ll explain the situation about the creatures living in the forest.”
“No offence, Gene, but couldn’t we at least use a blanket to cover it more? I think I have a small blanket in my bag.” Kira’s suggestion made people nod in agreement.
“Excellent idea,” agreed the monk. Kira rummaged through her pack and produced a blanket. They readjusted the body so its face wasn’t hanging off to the side and covered its head and torso with the blanket.
They made their way to the gate and with help of the Hunt’s contract they made it through without much difficulty although they were wary of letting a bear into the city. The guards didn’t check more than the semi wolf-like appendages before letting go through. The Jellybeans went through the alleyways and found their way to the church. “We are sorry but we can’t allow you to bring a corpse into the church. We need to understand.” Cleric Jorne was very stern as he looked at the human-shaped body. Fern had run out of magic so he had reverted back to himself and the body was just lying on the steps of the church.
“Can we leave it out here and rest inside?” pleaded Aliya.
“No, child, you may not. You can seek refuge here when you aren’t carrying a body with you.” With that, the cleric slammed the door shut and locked it.
“I guess we are waiting outside the Hunt,” shrugged Fern. Kira grabbed the feet of the beast and Gene grabbed the shoulders. The two of them lifted the body up and began to walk in the direction of the Hunt. Fern and even Ciylia went to the sides of the creature to try and lift it so they could take some of the weight of the others.
Conveniently, as the Jellybeans got to the Hunt, someone was exiting the building. “Hold the door,” shouted the group almost in unison. The dwarf walking out heard them and held it. Thanks were given to the woman as the party made their way through the door.
“Meowlynn,” called out Ciylia. “Could you open the office door for us?” The wizard let out a sigh before summoning her magical hand to open the door. It took it a few attempts though.
Sitting in her comfortable chair in front of a glowing fireplace was Astrin. She was enjoying a hot beverage whilst thumbing through some sort of cookbook. “You work fast it seems,” she said while closing her book. “I appreciate ze effort. Just ze kind of people we are looking for. Put ze creature on ze table.” With a loud grunt, the Jellybeans lifted the beast into the table.
“Let’s see what we ‘ave.” Astrin then stopped to inspect the creature’s face. “I aven’t seen one of these in a long time.”
“What is it?” asked Kira.
“This beast is called a werewolf,” replied Astrin. “Where there is one, there are more.”