The first thing that Nic noticed when he woke up was that. It was so apparent that he wondered how he had slept through the night without noticing it in the first place. As he sat up at the edge of the bed, Aria reached out and wrapped her arm around his waist.
“Hrnnng… where you goin?” Aria’s groggy words were barely coherent as she tried to pull him back onto the bed.
Nic let himself be pulled in a bit and landed a soft kiss on her forehead. As he brushed his hand down the back of her head he whispered quietly into her ear. “Go back to sleep, I just need to relieve myself.”
Aria let a smile come across her lips as she quickly fell back asleep. Nic waited until he confirmed that her breathing had once again slowed before getting dressed. As he walked out of the room door, he grabbed the two swords leaning against the corner made between the wall and a small dresser.
While walking down the stairs to the first floor, he fastened the sword with the green gem to his back while the sword with the black gem hung at his waist. With no one downstairs to question where he was going, Nic opened the front door of the house, finding a translucent green suit of armor leaning against the front wall of the house, seemingly waiting for him.
“So where are you actually going?” An androgynous voice came from the suit of armor, despite no apparent mouth moving.
“Are you going to tell her, Aerial?” In reality, the suit of armor was the physical form that the Wind Spirit Progenitor Aerial took when they wanted to talk with someone. They also happened to be contracted with Aria at this current moment, and so could always pass along information to her through their telepathic link.
The suit of armor shook its helmet. “No. We both know that you didn’t tell her because you wanted her to get better sleep for once. Her sleeping has not been the greatest since M’Kara took her.”
Nic let out a sigh. Aerial was right in his assumption. Nic hadn’t told Aria about what he had felt because he wanted her to sleep soundly. The past few nights she had been waking up constantly, ever since she had been taken alongside Sarman by the ancient dragon M’Kara.
“I sensed Irradiation just outside of the city when I woke up this morning. I plan on checking out to see if it’s anything major before everyone else wakes up.”
Aerial was silent for a few seconds before responding. “I’m sure you don’t want to hear this from me, but be careful. I would rather not deal with Aria’s wrath if you get hurt.”
Nic couldn’t stop himself from chuckling slightly at Aerial’s main worry. “Of course. I’ll make sure to stay safe out there. But in case it gets bad, can you be on the lookout for any signs that I send you?” Nic wasn’t sure how dangerous things were going to get, but it never hurt to make sure that his allies were on alert just in case.
“Of course.” The helmet nodded before disappearing into a gust of wind that rushed past Nic. “I’ll be watching.”
The progenitor’s last words lingered in the air for a few seconds. Nic took a deep breath, smelling the salt from the ocean as he looked up at the slightly cloudy blue skies. The sun had been rising for a few hours, but it had some time before it hit the center of the sky still. If Nic had to guess, it was most likely around 8 or 9am.
As Nic made his way into town, a number of villagers in light garb ran past him towards the small docks where it was quite busy. Nic could see that two ships were being set up for a fishing expedition that day. Each ship was big enough to fit a handful of sailors and tens of fish easily.
The streets that he walked through were fairly busy as well. The villagers who weren’t going on the boats were just as busy setting things up at home. There were a couple of homefront businesses setting up their limited wares. Other houses were setting up wet clothes to dry in the heat of the sun. Nic saw a number of roaming guard groups, most likely looking for any wrongdoings happening in their city.
Nic finally made it to the outer wall of the city closest to where he had been feeling Irradiation from. At this distance, he was able to make out a couple strands of rising miasma in the distance over the wall. If he had to guess, there was a group of Irradiated Monsters nearby that would have to be dealt with before they became too much of a problem. Looking around, Nic noticed a gate through the fence not too far away.
The gate itself wasn’t as big as the one that they had come through the night before, but it was still big enough to easily fit two people shoulder to shoulder. There was a single guard watching this side of the gate, with another presumably on the other side to make sure nothing got too close.
“Hey there!” Nic called out to the guard as he walked up. “Is there any chance I can head through the gate?”
“No.” The guard responded curtly without giving an explanation. When Nic tried to say something else, he was similarly cut off and quickly told to leave the gate.
Nic relented and moved away from the gate. He would just have to find another gate to get through if he wanted to check out the outskirts of the city. Since he was closer to the northside of the city, Nic decided to continue heading north till he reached another gate.
Nic barely moved when he ran into a familiar Tigerkin leading a group of guards towards the small gate behind him. The Tigerkin also recognized Nic and gave him a wave.
“Nic, what brings you out here? Exploring like Sarman was earlier?” Oz’s words were news to Nic. He hadn’t realized that Sarman had been exploring earlier in the morning. Nic had assumed that he would’ve slept in more after seemingly being sick the night before.
“Sort of. What’s this gate for? It seems smaller than the rest and the guard there refused to tell me about it.” Nic hoped that the small bond he had with Oz would get him to talk.
Nic was thankful that he was right.
“It’s the gate that our hunters use to go out into the forest between us and the Mountains. We don’t allow normal people to go through, as there is no set path past this gate. It’s much safer for normal people to go through the North or South gates.” Oz explained everything while the guards behind him stood awkwardly.
There were seven guards behind Oz. Two of them were raccoonkin, three were humans and the last two were a wolfkin and a catkin respectively. They were armed with a variety of weapons. The racoonkin both had spears slung on their back. Two of the humans and the catkin had bows and a quiver of arrows. The last human had a mace hanging at his waist while the wolfkin had a sword and shield.
The wolfkin walked up to Nic and Oz and leaned in towards the latter. “Sir, who is this human? And should we be telling him our city's secrets?” The wolfkin was speaking at a lower volume, but his growly voice was still loud enough for Nic to clearly hear what he was saying.
He couldn’t fault the man for being cautious around someone new.
“Quiet Akira, Nic is a friend of ours. He was one of the outsiders that we found at the southern village yesterday.”
The wolfkin looked at Nic, a splash of surprise apparent for only a second before he quickly bowed his head down. “I’m sorry, I didn’t know. Please accept my apology for being rude to you.”
Nic held up his hands as he felt uncomfortable with the apology. “There’s no reason you need to apologize. You didn’t know who I was, so it was right for you to question me. Besides, just because I was a part of that group, there’s no need for you to be nice to me.”
“No! You don’t understand. My sister lived in that village. While I am sad and angry at her sudden passing, thanks to you and your group, I know that her soul will be at rest.”
Nic simply nodded in acceptance of the wolfkin’s feelings. He knew that he would feel the same way if someone had laid his mother to rest before he knew that she was dead.
Finally, Nic turned back to Oz. “I take it you’re leading a group through to scout the forest beyond?” When Oz nodded in affirmation, Nic continued. “In that case, can I tag along with you?”
“What for?” Oz quizzically peered at Nic.
Nic told the tigerkin a white lie, one that was not technically false, but not the actual reason that he wanted to join them. “You see, my City only recently became a City-State free of Irradiation. It’s a tad smaller than your town. I figured it wouldn’t hurt to see how you all defend your city since mine is also near a forest.”
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Nic was being truthful in that he did also want to learn how Lyuku’s guardians protected the area around the village. This would also let him see how they reacted to the Irradiated Monsters that he knew were lurking out there.
Oz crossed his arm as he thought. The soldiers behind him were all sizing Nic up, wondering if he would be able to hold his own. Despite carrying two swords on him, many seemed to think that he wasn’t able to hold his own in combat. A belief that Oz clearly shared.
“Fine, but you must stay in the back. And if I tell you to run, you run.” Oz laid out his expectations of Nic. None of which were all that surprising to him.
“If I think I will be helpful, then I will join your men in fighting. But if I don’t think I can win against something, then I will stay back.” Nic stared down the tigerkin until the latter finally relented by holding out a hand.
When Nic shook Oz’s hand, the tigerkin spoke up. “Fine, but if you overestimate your abilities, I will do everything in my power to get you off the battlefield.”
Joining the group of guards, Nic made his way through the smaller gate, giving the guard there a wink as he got through. On the other side, there was a small stream immediately in front of them before it gave way to a dense forest. Nic wasn’t sure how large the forest was, but he wouldn’t have been surprised if it was a northern part of the same forest that had been down by the small fishing village.
Inside the forest, Oz’s guards spread out in a predetermined pattern, with Nic being left behind the three archers in the backline. They quickly and deftly made their way through the forest with the ease of seasoned explorers of the area. Nic was forced to move much faster and louder than he expected to keep up with them.
“It’s too quiet.” That was a sentiment that every single guard from Lyuku was sharing right now. They could still hear birds, but there were no sounds of even insects around them, let alone land-dwelling animals. Nic was the only one that knew that it was getting quieter as they got closer to the dark miasma floating up into the air. Nic was barely able to make it out through the forest roof.
“Maybe a monster made it’s nest in the forest?” One of the human archer’s quietly posited a theory. Nic wasn’t sure if the guard was new or something, but her words caused a ripple to go through the rest of the party.
If a monster had caused this, how much of an alpha predator had they become?
A little while later the catkin hissed at the archer that had spoken up. “You just had to open your big mouth didn’t you?”
“What is it, Li?” Oz turned and looked at the catkin archer kneeling on the ground.
“There are Dire Wolf tracks here. From what it looks like, there’s one adult and three or four cubs.”
Things were far worse than anyone had expected them to be. Not only was there a monster, but it was a territorial mother beast. They would attack anything that came close to them and their cubs.
“Tch.” Oz clicked his tongue before quickly reorganizing the party. “Everyone, formation beta. Be on the lookout for any signs of these monsters. Nic,” the tigerkin looked at him in particular, only to find a determined look on the human’s face. “You won’t leave, even if I ask, right?”
“That’s right. So where do you want me?”
“Guard the archer’s. They will be the key to defeating a monster of this size.”
Nic had a feeling he knew what the strategy was as he watched every non archer create a circular wall around them. Every melee guard would be the wall that the Archer’s could fire past to safely take out their opponents.
In their circular formation, the group slowly continued their trek towards the mountain range beyond the forest.
Soon, they came upon a clearing, and as they left the treeline a ferocious howl came for them.
“AWOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!”
Standing on a massive boulder in the center of the clearing was a deranged looking Dire Wolf.
“What the hell is that?!”
This Dire Wolf didn’t look at all like a normal Dire Wolf. It was as big as Oz, maybe even bigger. It was at least twice as large as Dire Wolves were supposed to. Its fur was patchy and barely held together. Blood was dripping from its gaping mouth as it stared hungrily down at the group.
“That black smoke…” When Oz said this, Nic realized that he wasn’t the only one seeing the Miasma anymore. It was so concentrated when it came off the Dire Wolf’s body, that even a normal person could see it. The miasma was coming from every part of the wolf’s body. Every place that the fur was patchy was an opening for the Irradiation to come off. With each heavy breath, more Irradiation was being loosed from within.
“This ain’t no Dire Wolf anymore.” Oz looked back at the group, worry painted clearly on his face. “That’s a Shadow Wolf now.”
“A Shadow Wolf?” One of the racoonkin spoke up.
“Dire Wolves that become so inundated with Irradiation, that it becomes a part of them. They can attack at distance using Irradiation, but to us, it would look like it’s attacking with a shadow. We can’t defend against it, nor can we hope to get near to the wolf to attack physically.”
Oz’s words shook the guards to their core. Their entire strategy had hinged upon the outer circle being able to defend the archers, but at this rate it would instead be a suicide mission to protect them.
With a fierce roar, the Shadow Wolf interrupted the group's stupor. It raised a single claw and slashed down, sending an attack straight into the center of their group.
“Watch out!” Akira, the wolfkin from before, jumped into Oz, knocking the tigerkin out of the way of the strike. Instead, Akira was the one who took it. The hit tore open his right shoulder as he was sent flying into the middle of the group.
As he landed in front of Nic and the three archers, the latter all moved away quickly. It was clear that Akira was already showing signs of Irradiation Sickness. The veins all around the wound were black.
Nic stood there, looking at the wolfkin below him, as Oz shouted for him to get away. Nic knelt down next to the wolfkin and reached out his hand. He felt the Irradiation just beyond his fingertips. A sickly sensation that he hated to this day.
“Nic!” Oz yelled his name, yet Nic simply held up his free hand to cut him off.
“Oz, I agreed to your rules while we were in your domain. Now we have entered mine, so please, trust me.” Nic’s words came only a moment before he dipped his fingers fully into Akira’s wounds.
Nic felt that sickness, the Irradiation, within the wolfkin’s blood. It wanted to enter his. It was coming for him. He had given it a door to his body, and Nic would hold it open for the Irradiation to come through. He could feel it enter his fingers, then run up through his hand, and finally enter his arm.
A couple of the guards surrounding them gasped as they watched the blackness transfer from Akira to Nic. All of them then gasped when the black veins in Nic’s arm disappeared as his internal magic attacked the Irradiation, purifying it.
“He’ll need more traditional medical treatment now, but he no longer has any Irradiation in his body. You’ll also want to alert the rest of Lyuku, Oz. There may be more Irradiated Monsters nearby. I’ll take care of this guy for now.” As he was talking, Nic slowly made his way past the stunned tigerkin.
As he drew his two swords, Nic held the black jeweled blade in his left hand, while the green jeweled blade was in his right. The Shadow Wolf, sensing that the human standing in front was her true opponent, leapt down from the rock.
The two stared at each other, neither daring to make the first move. Nic knew that if he made even the smallest mistake in this fight could cost him his life. He had to use everything that he had learned from Yuuki to stay alive.
The Shadow Wolf was the first to make a move. A swipe filled with Irradiation was thrown at Nic. Raising his left arm, Nic quickly absorbed the Irradiation before channeling magic into the sword in his right arm, creating a wind blade that struck the Wolf on it’s shoulder, creating a gush of blood.
The wolf closed the distance between the two of them, bringing her claws down on Nic from above, forcing him to use both blades to block them. His legs quickly buckled under the weight, forcing him to jump backwards. His right leg burned as one of the claws tore into it. Seeing the weakness in it’s enemy, the Shadow Wolf stood up on it’s hind legs, preparing to fall straight down onto Nic.
Thwip! Thwip! Thwip!
Three arrows lodged themselves in the Shadow Wolf’s face. Two had landed in the eyes, blinding the monster, while the third was sticking out of its nose. As it came down, roaring in pain, Nic took the opportunity to thrust the sword in his left hand straight up through the Wolves head. Nic was pulled out of the way by two people as the Shadow Wolf nearly fell on top of him.
When they stopped pulling him, Nic looked back to find Oz and a racoonkin breathing heavily. They had been the ones who pulled him out at the last minute.
“Help me up, Oz.” Nic called out to the tigerkin who reluctantly helped him up and let him lean on his shoulder. The wound on his leg was going to stop him from walking properly if he didn’t get it checked out quickly.
Before they went back, however, Nic retrieved his sword from the underside of the Shadow Wolf’s head and absorbed any remaining Irradiation in the area. Oz and the guards were thankful that it was now safe to go near the beast’s body.
Once they got back to Lyuku, Aria was waiting near the gate and ran to Nic as soon as she saw him. The entire time that they walked to a local healer’s house, Nic was getting an earful from Aria. An earful that he believed he deserved.
Nic spent the rest of the day inside the healer’s house, getting his leg healed. Lyuku was home to a Water Magic user who specialized in healing others. Because Nic’s wound wasn’t fatal, it was practically healed to new by the time he was set to leave that night. She had even been able to heal the leftover wound that Oz had given him two days earlier. Akira, on the other hand, would be staying with the healer for a while longer.
And so, as the sun was setting that night, Nic found himself standing next to Aria, Sarman, Yuuki, Sara, and Kiara as they said their goodbyes to Zi and Oz. Zi was mainly talking to Aria, Sarman, Yuuki, and Kiara as they had all spent time with the city leader that day. Nic and Sara were saying goodbye to Oz. While Nic had been out of town, Sara had apparently spent a lot of time in the town’s barracks herself, talking and socializing with the guards there.
“‘Lright! E’ryone get o’er here!” The captain of the boat behind them called out to the group. It was time for them to leave Lyuku. The sailors had all been switched out with rested sailors, and now it was time to leave.
“Take care, all of you.” Zi bowed his head to the group as they walked away. Oz didn’t leave them with any parting words. Nic had a feeling that they would see him again.