The morning brought with it the sounds of birds, rousing Ryn from his previously peaceful slumber. He brought a hand to his face, rubbing his eyes before groggily sitting up in the small bed, raising his arms high above his head as he stretched out the stiffness in his back. He was alone in the shack, he came to realize after a few moments; Lupo had clearly risen a while before him.. Ryn traversed the few steps it took to reach the front door of the small shack and pulled open the door, expecting to step out into the tall grass of the farm pasture, but instead, he was met with neat fields of trimmed grasses, the property a far cry from the overgrown land it had been the previous day; however, before he could think too much about it, he heard the tell tale sounds of grass being hacked away behind the shack, and quickly rounded the corner to see the image of Lupo, a large scythe in his hands, swiping away at the overgrown grass. Glancing around, Ryn realized that nearly all of the overgrown grass on the entire property had been cut down, the earth beneath it ready to be tilled and prepped for crops. He felt a smile curl onto his lips as he watched. While Lupo certainly had quite the temper, Ryn was never surprised to see him doing such acts of kindness, while he worked hard to maintain his unfazed and calculated attitude, Ryn knew the other man cared deeply for the people around him, otherwise they wouldn’t have made such a good team. .
“You just gonna stand there or are you gonna make yourself useful?” Lupo shouted from across the field, pausing only momentarily to shoot a glance at his traveling partner. “There are broken logs all over the place, get rid of them would you.” Ryn merely smiled at the request and turned to begin moving the large chunks of wood off of the property, picking them up and hucking them over the fence one by one. It was still early morning, the sun only just having risen over the horizon, so the heat of the day hadn’t yet descended onto the farm, and the two men were able to work comfortably in serene silence, until the sound of a surprised gasp drew them both away from their tasks.
Standing on the edge of the porch was Panu, his straw hat placed firmly on the top of his head, dressed in his loose fitting farmer's garb, presumably ready to start the hard day’s work. He stood motionless, staring out into the once overgrown fields, seemingly unable to comprehend what he was looking at. “H-h-h-how?” He stumbled out as he stepped out onto the now trimmed grass to approach his guests. “It would take five men days to do this amount of work, and the two of you managed to do it in a single morning?”
Ryn gave a bashful cough at the sudden attention. “It was actually Lupo who did most of the work, I’m just lending a hand.”
“It’s best to let the princess sleep, he’s cranky in the morning.” Lupo said bluntly as he went back to hacking at what was left of the overgrown grass.
“I AM NOT!” Ryn shouted, though he made no comment on being called a princess, having grown used to such comments from Lupo. He composed himself quickly before once again addressing the farmer before them. “Besides, it was the least we could do, after your family has been so accommodating to us.”
Panu stood bewildered for a few moments more before he gave Ryn a look of gratitude, but there was also some sadness behind his deep eyes. “This is a great kindness you and your friend have bestowed upon my family, but I fear it was in vain, as there will be no way for us to maintain the field, let alone plant more crops once the two of you have taken your leave to investigate the ox disappearances, I’m afraid the grass will just once again become overgrown.” Ryn could understand where Panu was coming from, while Ryn and Lupo had been able to complete this massive task in a relatively short period of time, the reason they were able to was because they both happened to be quite efficient in ways that other humans simply were not, a task such as clearing an entire field of it’s tall grass was not a difficult request for either of them to do on their own.
“There will be no need for such worries,” Lupo cut in, finally finished as he leaned the large scythe he’d been wielding against the outer wall of the shack they’d spent the night in. “I’ve made some arrangements.” At his words, Ryn felt the approach of someone from behind. Turning around he saw the silhouette of a man approaching the farm, as he grew closer, Ryn could see he was a tall man with long black hair that reached about the middle of his back, tied into a loose ponytail at the base of his head, he donned workers garb, the fabric light and loose as it was intended to keep airflow steady and prevent overheating. His face was sharp and angular with high cheekbones and deep set eyes that were shaded from the rising sun by a large wide brimmed workers hat. He walked with a large walking stick in hand, traversing distance quickly as he approached, taking no time at all to be stood in front of the group.
“Greetings farmer Panu, I’ve come to provide aid in your time of need.” The man stated plainly, crossing an arm over his chest and bowing slightly in a show of respect and greeting, he spoke in a deep slow voice, one that Ryn could swear he’d heard before, but couldn’t place where he could have met this man. “My name is Baohe, please allow me to carry your burdens.”
Panu stared at his sudden guest in shock as Ludo began to explain. “Baohe is an old friend of mine and agreed to come help around your farm during the time it takes us to find the culprit who is stealing your oxen. Don’t worry, he can easily do the job of three working animals.”
“Where should we start?” Baohe asked as he stood up straight once more, moving past Panu and toward the collection of farming tools laying against the house, clearly ready to get to work. Ryn stared after him for a moment before Lupo continued.
“We hope to get this matter solved quickly, in the meantime, please do not hesitate to use Baohe as you see fit, he is happy to lend his assistance in such a matter as this.” Panu gave what seemed to be endless thanks, shaking both Ryn and Lupo’s hands vigorously before finally turning around to get to work with his new temporary employee, a new pep in his step as he began directing Boahe on when needed to be done the most urgently, and Ryn let out a light chuckle.
“Something funny to you?” Lupo asked, crossing his arms over his chest and beginning to turn away.
“No, just surprised is all,” Ryn said, folding his arms behind his head as he followed Lupo. “Didn’t take Lupo for being so kind hearted.” His compnaion bristled visibly at the comment, his shoulders hiking up before they relaxed back down.
“That’s hardly it.” He said bluntly. “I called Baohe here for a specific reason.”
“To help Panu?”
“Not only that, come with me,” Lupo ordered, leading Ryn back a few meters behind the shed. They approached what looked to be a large log laying heavy on the ground and when they reached it, Lupo gave the log a hard kick, rolling it over onto its side and allowing Ryn to see what lay underneath, and when he did, his eyes widened.
“Are those?”
“Yes.” Lupo confirmed, a dark look crossing his brow. Beneath the log, squirming in the dirt, clearly unhappy to be exposed to the sun were hundreds if not thousands of small black worms, thin enough to be mistaken for human hair, each scrambling to dig its way under the earth, but before they could get far, Lupo ignited a flame in his right hand, casting it down onto the unsuspecting worms, their shrieks and screams as they burned alive permeating the air. They were Black Curse Worms, a common creature and lowly in their standing, and wherever they appeared, it was never a good sign. “Black Curse Worms, and from what I found under this log and a few others, there seems to be an infestation of them. They’re a low level pest demon, they appear in places where there is heavy spiritual power, feeding off of the dark mana that seeps into the ground. With this many, the spiritual power in this area must be heavy indeed, and there are only two ways to get rid of them.”
Ryn chimed in before Lupo could finish. “Destroy the source of their spiritual food source… or scorch the earth.” Ryn was familiar with these creatures, he’d run into them numerous times in his three hundred years, and wherever they convened, usually it meant that there was a bigger badder creature near by creating their food source. Thinking about it, Ryn suddenly remembered his encounter from the night before and quickly turned to address Lupo, who was still burning the patch of ground where the worms were emerging from, pressing his palm to the ground, ensuring his flames penetrated deep into the soil.
“Lupo, I think I know what’s bringing the worms here, and I think it has something to do with the missing oxen.” Lupo looked up and Ryn recounted the events of the night before in detail. “Whatever that creature was, it was large and radiated wickedness, had I been someone else, I’m sure it would have made an attempt at me.”
“I’m starting to think the case of these missing oxen isn’t just due to some petty thieves, this is something not of the natural world.” Lupo supplied as he stood once again.
“Is that the other reason why you called Baohe?”
Lupo nodded. “It is. I’ve known Baohe for many years and he’s nearly as skilled as I am with the mystical arts. While we’re out investigating this case, I wanted him here to keep an eye out.”
Ryn still found Baohe to be quite strange. “It’s odd, I could swear I’ve seen him before but I can’t place where I recognize him from.” Ryn thought hard about where he could have seen the worker previously, and a complicated expression passed over Lupo’s face, but only for a moment before his typical frown was back.
“I’m sure it’s just your mind playing tricks, we don’t have time to focus on it, we should head into town, talk to this merchant that moved in before the first ox disappeared.” Ryn nodded his agreement and the two set off in the direction of the village, now finding it much easier to traverse the large farmland without all of the tall grass in the way.
Ryn’s senses were sharp, and it was easy to pick up on the feeling of someone watching him as they walked, the hair on the back of his neck standing on end. He stopped, turning to gaze into the trees. The world beyond the entrance to the forest was dark, the canopy above greatly obstructing the sun’s early morning light, but he could have sworn he saw the shadow of something quick and black dart behind one of the trees, with perhaps a flash of gold.
“Ryn?” Lupo had paused, looking back. Ryn shook his head, unable to find anything else in the trees. He turned away and sped up, catching up to his friend as they continued.
They passed the same tea house where they’d learned about the missing oxen on their way to the house of the merchant, passing multiple people on the street, women carrying their newborns on their chests or carrying buckets of water for the laundry, Ryn side stepped to allow room for one woman in particular who was carrying an especially large bucket of water. She greeted him with a friendly smile before being on her way. The village seemed to be mostly women and children alongside the elderly, the war in the north having pulled all able bodied men for the army.
The merchants house was large, easily twice the size of many of the other homes in the village, the front door adorned with a large brass knocker, which Lupo slammed heavily after the two had climbed up the few steps to get to it. They waited for a moment before the door opened to reveal a man, his hair, once a dark black, now mostly gray, a thick beard hiding many of his facial features. The man was short and stout and wore a loose fitting robe that Ryn could tell was made from silk without even touching it, a calling card for a man of his status.
“Good morning gentlemen, what can I assist you with today? If you’re looking for the shop, it’s next door.” The man boomed cheerily in a voice that carried well across the threshold of the open door, he spoke with confidence and authority.
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“I’m afraid we are not in need of any wares at the moment,” Ryn explained, and at his words the man’s face seemed to sink a little bit, his expression changing from welcoming to one that resembled more annoyance that he was being bothered by people who didn’t have any intention of lining his pockets further. “Actually we are investigating the cases of missing oxen in the village, and we were hoping to speak to the merchant who resides in this home.”
“That would be me, though I’m afraid I know little about the missing animals.”
“Does your shop sell produce?” Lupo asked bluntly, not bothering with decorum, arms crossed over his chest in a commanding manner. The merchant stared at Lupo for a moment, seemingly taken aback by this young man’s attitude toward someone who should be considered his elder. The merchant stood up straighter.
“I do hope you have not come here to accuse me of having something to do with the missing beasts.” He demanded and Ryn scrambled to soothe the situation, stepping forward to stand slightly in front of Lupo as he stammered. .
“No of course not!” He shouted, shaking his head wildly. “We just knew you set up your shop in the village shortly before it started and were wondering if you had noticed anything odd during that time.”
The merchant huffed, turning his attention away from Lupo and instead addressing Ryn, who he seemed much more inclined to be friendly to as his face once again relaxed. “I can’t say I did, though I don’t understand why some missing farm beasts are picking up so much traction, if it were me, I’d be more worried about the missing people.” Both Lupo and Ryn startled at this.
“Missing people?” Lupo inquired.
“Yes, around the same time the first ox went missing, a few villagers disappeared too, young men.”
“There is war in the north sir, could it have been they had simply left the village to join the army?” Ryn asked, suddenly much more concerned about this case than he had been before. What was going on here? At first it had just been a case about some missing farm animals, and now there was talk of some missing people too? What was happening in this village?
“No, the men disappeared in the middle of the night, one moment they were there, the next they were gone, all of their belongings still in their homes, of the ones who had wives, the women claimed that they went to bed and the next morning their husbands were nowhere to be found.”
“And it’s always been men?” Lupo specified.
“Yes, between the ages of eighteen and twenty-two, sprightly young men, not ones to be easily shaken or intimidated, and certainly not ones to leave their families so suddenly.” The merchant clarified, both Ryn and Lupo shared a glance.
“Thank you for your time sir, we apologize for interrupting your morning.” Ryn stated before he and Lupo descended the steps from his house and once again traveled onto the street. “Why did no one mention the missing people?”
“I imagine Panu and his family don’t venture into the village often, so I’m not surprised that they knew nothing of it.” Lupo explained as they walked down the road and toward the forest that surrounded the village. “This case is getting more and more complex, missing oxen, Black Curse Worms and now missing villagers, something truly malevolent is at work here.” Ryn hummed his agreement.
“I think we should investigate by the river, I’m certain whatever I saw last night has something to do with it.”
Lupo nodded as the two set off.
Ryn led Lupo down the same path he’d taken to get to the river the night before, occasionally checking under logs they’d find for Black Curse Worms, burning them if they found them, which they almost always did. The two of them easily leapt over the fence that separated the farm from the rest of the dense forest, landing on their feet on the other side before beginning their trek through the tall grass and weeds between the trees. The forest was thick and tightly packed, both of the men were high on their guard when traversing it, as it would be very easy for a person to hide themselves amongst the close trees, both ready to draw their swords at a moment's notice.
The river was easy to find, the sound of its flowing waters echoing amongst the trees, Ryn figured this river fed into the large lake that many of the villagers used for their drinking water and laundry, he wanted to find this evil and exterminate it before it got the chance to infect it.
“The creature stood just over there, behind the trees; I could only see its eyes in the darkness.” Ryn pointed to a spot beyond the opposite riverbank where the densely packed trees made it difficult to discern what was behind them. Without a word, Lupo leapt across the river to the other side, followed closely by Ryn, the two venturing into the trees. Sticks and leaves all crunching under their light footsteps, it would be difficult for anything of any significant size to sneak around out here.
There was something clearly different about the land across the river, the second their boots touched the ground, a wicked aura emanated from beyond the trees and it made Ryn tense, prepared to defend himself against whatever resided in the wilderness. Lupo kicked away fallen debris on the ground, and underneath the thick layer of leaves and sticks they found more Black Curse Worms, all squirming to get away from the sunlight. This was the largest infestation Ryn had ever seen, and he feared the creatures would eventually migrate into the village. Black Curse Worms emitted a toxic aura, it would contaminate the air and water if left unchecked.
“Do you think the encroaching Black Curse Worms could have driven the men to madness and caused them to flee?” Ryn asked as Lupo once again scorched the ground where the worms attempted to slither below..
“It’s not impossible,” He said. “But if it was an effect of the worms, it wouldn’t just be men, and it wouldn’t be exclusive to the middle of the night. I think someone is taking them.” Ryn had really hoped that hadn’t been the case. He took a deep breath as the two continued on their way.
As they walked, they began seeing signs of the creature that had been there the night before, small trees were toppled to the ground and crushed under what must have been extremely heavy footsteps. Meters above the ground the trees that still stood had large, long gashes marred into their bark, but that begged the question: Why would something so large and so heavy choose to flee from Ryn instead of charge at him? Ryn was by no means larger than this creature… unless the beast wasn’t fleeing from Ryn, but from something else that Ryn hadn’t seen. There was suddenly a cold sweat over his skin, what in this forest could frighten a creature of that size enough to scare it off? He turned to look behind himself, gazing out into the trees to look for anything out of place.
“I see something.” Lupo blurted out as he quickened his pace, stealing Ryn’s attention. He followed close behind, and before long he also saw what Lupo had noticed, something big and black laying on the ground about fifteen meters away, the two rushed over to it, slipping past trees and jumping over rocks and logs. “No way, is that?”
“An ox.” Ryn supplied, but it wasn’t just any ox, it was massive, at least twice the size of any normal one, and it was clearly dead, lying on its side on the ground, its belly split open with large gashes and punctures all over its massive body. An animal of this size would not have been easy to take down.
“It radiates a demonic aura.” Lupo said as he covered his nose with his arm as if he couldn’t stand being so near to something that felt so evil. “This thing was not born naturally, someone made it.” Ryn approached the corpse to inspect its wounds. The gashes were clean and the cuts precise, far too precise for it to have been done by another animal.
“A person did this,” Ryn observed, lifting one of the ox’s legs to get a better look at some of its wounds. Flies and other insects had already converged on the carcass to devour it from the inside out. “These cuts were made with a blade, and a sharp one at that, someone who was a skilled swordsman.”
“Whoever made this thing perhaps?” Lupo suggested.
“Why would they kill their own creation? Animal demons of this magnitude are no easy task to birth, it would have been a lot of hard work just to kill it.”
“Maybe it became unruly and they had no choice.”
“Perhaps.” Just as Ryn finished speaking there was a rustling in the trees, something moving. Immediately the two men shut their mouths, both listening intently, sharing a single look, whatever was moving through the trees was big, and it was coming closer. Just then, what had sounded like walking previously, suddenly transformed into the sound of sprinting, a loud inhuman wail strong enough to shake the earth ricocheting off the trees. Immediately Lupo jumped into action.
“Ryn! Behind me!” He ordered, Ryn didn’t have to be told twice, understanding Lupo’s intention. Immediately Lupo raised his hands and a translucent white wall surrounded the pair on all sides, a ward, whatever was out there wouldn’t be able to pass it.
Out of the trees emerged a massive black shape, the blackest black Ryn had ever laid his eyes on, its eyes the same deep shade of red as he’d seen the night before. The creature stood well over three meters high, and it glared at them with a hatred that permeated their bones. It was an ox, the same type that lay slaughtered on the ground before them.
“I think I know what’s been happening to the missing oxen.” Ryn said through a stiff jaw, a hand on the hilt of his blade, ready to strike.
“Someone is making beast demons, that would explain why the dark aura in this area is so potent and why the Black Curse Worms have infested so severely.” It all made sense, beast demons were extremely difficult to create, they required an immense amount of power, it wasn’t something a novice would be capable of, and not only that.
“Lupo, do you know how you make a Beast Demon?” Ryn asked as he stared into the eyes of the ox, he knew Lupo was well aware of the answer, the same as he was.
“You need a human soul.” That would explain the missing villagers as well, especially the fact that all the villagers who disappeared were spry young men, their souls would have been strong, certainly strong enough to merge with the soul of an ox and create such a formidable beast. “But why are they being made? There’s no way someone is creating them just for the hell of it.” At that moment the ox charged, sprinting the last few meters toward the two men, toppling trees as it went, it’s massive horns tearing gashes into the bark of the ones who withstood its massive body until it rammed head first into the barrier that surrounded Ryn and Lupo. Lupo grit his teeth and dug his boots into the ground, strengthening the ward. Ryn drew his sword, a long blade that shined in the sunlight.
“We need to dispatch this beast before we can continue, we can’t risk it running into the village.” He said, Lupo nodded in agreement before spitting out a demand.
“On three leap away… one, two… three!” Once he finished he dropped the ward, the two of them leaping away from each other just in time for the giant ox to charge again, narrowly missing Ryn, one of its horns catching the edge of his sleeve, tearing a small gash into the fabric. The ox rammed into a tree, the giant timber cracking where the beasts skull met the bark and falling over, landing heavily on the ground. By this time, Lupo had also drawn his own sword, ready to fight this ox demon. All at once, the ox turned with its sights set on him and charged once again, but Lupo was ready for it, leaping up as the beast approached, slamming a heavy kick to the top of the ox’s head, hard enough to shove the creatures face into the ground, rearing back his blade, he plunged the sword deep into the ox’s back, surely puncturing straight through the creature’s heart, the beast went still. Lupo pulled his sword out of the ox’s back, the blood that coated its blade a sickening black oil, and he huffed out a breath before jumping back onto the ground. “That wasn’t too hard.”
Ryn was about to congratulate him when his eyes widened. “Lupo behind you!” He shouted, but just before Lupo turned around, the ox had stood back up and charged, his skull cracking against Lupo’s spine, sending him hurtling into a tree, the tree itself snapping under the pressure and falling to the ground, Lupo with it. Ryn readied his weapon, prepared for a fight. The ox charged again and Ryn quickly dodged, swinging his sword down to catch one of the beast's legs, though the ox hardly seemed to feel it as it just skidded to a stop and turned around once more, its murderous desire clear in its eyes. It charged once more, this time Ryn used his own sword to block its attack, the blade catching on the beast's massive horns. Ryn’s boots dug into the hard dirt to slow the creature’s movements. The ox huffed, rearing back and attempting to spear Ryn with one of its horns, his blade coming up for the block. The ox used its horns as if they themselves were swords, and Ryn was locked in a vicious battle. Ryn gritted his teeth as his blade collided over and over with the horns of this beast, each thrust of its head pushing the man further and further back until his back was nearly pressed against a particularly large tree. Glancing up, he got an idea and steeled himself for the ox’s next attack. The second the beast lunged forward, Ryn ducked low, the ox’s horns locking themselves within the bark of the tree, and using the moment, Ryn readied his sword and plunged it up through the creatures chest, straight into the heart before he remembered the state that the dead ox had been in. With determination, he shoved his sword further forward, splitting open the ox’s belly, spilling black oily blood onto the dirt and Ryn’s previously pristinely white vambraces and sleeves. With that the beast finally fell to its side, truly dead this time. Ryn took a deep breath before lifting himself from the ground, resheathing his blade just as Lupo hobbled over, a hand covering his ribs and a pained look on his face. He took his sword and gave the corpse one last stab.
“That’s for all the grief your kind have given me.” He grumbled before yanking his sword out and also resheathing it.
“Are you okay?” Ryn asked in a worried tone as Lupo stood a little straighter.
“Yeah, I’ll be fine.” He huffed. The two looked around their surroundings. “Let’s keep moving, we need to find whoever is making these things before they let one loose into the village.” Ryn nodded as he and Lupo once again resumed their trek through the forest.