It took more time than I previously thought to clear all the boulders. Just breaking them was easy but digging them out and then carrying them to a place they won’t cause problems was very time-consuming. Having destructive power didn’t help in those. Still, with my high Strength and Vitality stats I was able to finish it before the sundown.

“Thanks. I wouldn’t have done without you.”

Heryi wiped his sweat.

“No problem.”

He walked towards me and tried to put some coins in my hand.

“No, no. I didn’t do it for the money.”

“Take it. You are young.”

I tried to give the money back to him but it was futile. He was as stubborn as a mule.

“You’ll have to save money to marry and look after a girl. What I am going to do with money? That Börü, may the Ancestors protect him, gave me a house and this land to live in. Ahhh, I don’t even have the appetite to eat much. I don’t have a place to spend money.”

He sat down and breathed heavily. I tried to not leave anything to him but he kept trying to help.

“You can save the money for your kids. I am sure they will be found one day.”

He looked at me with a pained smile.

“I don’t think I will see my kids again.”

According to what I gathered, he and his kids were trying to reach Whifur after losing their home to a monster attack. They were caught by some slavers and Heyri was separated from them. While he hoped that they would reach before him, his kids were nowhere to be found.

“Don’t lose hope. I have seen a lot of people reunited with their families during my time here. Plus, members of Black Claw are working all around. One way or another, you will get your family back.”

He just smiled and nodded. Honestly, I also had difficulty believing that they would be reunited.

“You go. I’ll rest a little bit more here.”

“It is okay. I’ll wait. We can walk to your home after that.”

He frowned.

“Don’t you have things to do? Go, don’t wait for an old man like me.”

Old people were prideful. I should know, I am one of them. People offered help out of concern but that reminded us that our minds and bodies weren’t what used to be. We were now weaker, more fragile. While I didn’t get to experience it much, I could empathize with him.

“Alright. If you need any help don’t hesitate to call me.”

With a final nod and a kind smile, I departed, leaving Heryi to rest and reflect. The sun dipped lower in the sky, casting long shadows on the city. Gökbörü walked slowly behind my back, stopping once several minutes to sniff the air.

“Life is good for you.”

He was chasing butterflies while I worked.

“I need to train you more. You've gotten fat.”

“Woof!”

He angrily growled at me.

“That’s the truth. You should work more on mastering your ice control. I am waking you up early tomorrow morning.”

He let out a sad bark. He hasn’t grown a bit. At least except getting fat. He was still cute with his floppy ears but I felt kind of worried. Was it related to his race? Or perhaps he needed some other conditions to be filled to grow? Whatever the case I had to train him seriously. He sometimes joined me during my training previously but as his belly grew more, I knew that I had to put him through a strict training regime.

“It was actually true. Those Black Claw bastards really took a human to their city!”

Since I memorized the streets, I was walking on autopilot but that took me out of my trance. Hmm. The tone of the voice told me that they weren’t friendly. I looked in the direction and saw a group of beastkin looking at me with hostile expressions on their faces. They were armored and armed and I didn’t recognize them. Now, now what I should do? Ignore them? Call them out?

“Hey, bastard! Look here!”

I didn’t look at them. I turned to the right and entered another street. I found a shadow and sank into it. I watched as they ran behind me and entered the street.

“Where did he go?”

From my concealed spot in the shadows, I watched as the group of hostile beastkin ran past me, their voices growing fainter. It was clear that they were determined to find me, but I had managed to evade their immediate pursuit. But why? Beastkin here knew me. While not all were accepting, they weren’t hostile either. Also “Black Claw bastards”? This city was founded by Black Claw. No citizen of this city would badmouth them. They weren’t from here?

I Shadow Walked out of there. Even though there were 6 of them, I was sure I could take all of them but that didn’t mean I should. I was a guest of Morrigan here. Causing trouble can get her into trouble.

Emerging from the shadow realm in a more secluded area, I took a moment to catch my breath. Even with training Shadow Walking long distances I wasn’t familiar with took a lot of me. Gökbörü looked anxiously at me as I considered my options. They weren’t invaders as there wasn’t any chaos in the city.

“Let’s find someone. Morrigan, Aine, Börü, Arslan or Amaterasu. Can you lead me to the closest one?”

As the higher-ups of this city, they had a better understanding of the situation, probably. Gökbörü sniffed around us before running in a certain direction. Following Gökbörü as he led the way, I trusted the instincts of my loyal companion. After we ran for some time he stopped and let out a loud bark.

This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

I ducked as the hammer passed where my head was just a second ago. I glanced around, trying to get a better look at my attackers. The hammer-wielding assailant was joined by several others, all of them displaying a menacing demeanor. However, they weren’t the six I first met. It was clear that this was no chance encounter, and they were actively hunting me with several groups.

I rolled on the ground and got some distance between us. I got up and dusted myself. Gökbörü growled at them.

“Calm, boy. They must thought I was here with malicious intent. Gentlemen, my name is Poyraz. I am in Whifur at the invitation of Morrigan Blackclaw. Captain Börü already knows that I am here.”

Despite knowing it won’t work, I tried to defuse the situation. One of them spat on the ground.

“Shut up, human scum. We are not like human lovers. We know your kind.”

The biggest one, the one wielding the hammer growled at me.

Maintaining a composed demeanor, I spoke firmly:

"I understand there may be mistrust, but I mean no harm to this city or beastkin in general. I have important matters to discuss with Captain Börü and Morrigan Blackclaw. If you have concerns, we can take this to them, and they can vouch for my intentions."

“An old geezer and a scared little cat! Of course, they would let you walk in their city freely after everything your kind has done!”

Oh. Were they rebels? Another beastkin faction? Whatever they were, I needed to take them down since they posed a threat to Morrigan.

“Very well, let’s dance! I promise I will be gentle.”

I signed them to come closer, causing them to get even more angry. He stepped toward me, swinging his hammer downwards to me. I took a half step back, causing it to hit the ground. It was a heavy hit, he was strong. However, not that strong. I stepped on his hammer. He tried to make me lose my balance by lifting it but it didn’t even budge. He looked at me with a shocked expression and I smiled slyly.

“You bast-“

He couldn’t finish his sentence as my lightspeed jab hit his jaw, causing his brain to shake in his skull. He fell down like an empty sack. The remaining ones looked at me with fear in their eyes.

“Guess his bark was worse than his bite. But we are different, aren’t we, Gökbörü?”

He exited out of my shadow. My would-be assailants frowned upon seeing him as he went into my shadow and then to theirs while the first one charged. They tried to move but their feet were frozen solid with ice before they realized, courtesy of Gökbörü. I cracked my fingers.

After several more punches, all of them were out cold. I stripped them out of their armor and weapons. Using the rope I found on them, I bound them all together and dragged them like a trash bag. Honestly, 4 of them were pretty heavy. I considered just letting them sleep in the middle of the city, naked with only their underwear. Maybe they would learn to respect other people then.

Despite the sun slowly going down, the city was bustling with people. It probably has something to do with beastkin having good night vision. I got a lot of concerning looks from civilians. They didn’t try to stop me instead they tried to avoid me. I guess if you saw a guy dragging 4 half-naked dudes behind I would be concerned too.

“What the fuck, Poyraz?”

Arslan ran toward me with Amaterasu close behind him. I easily recognized them as both of them even though the crowd started to gather. Someone probably informed them what I was doing.

“Oh, hi Arslan.”

Amaterasu covered her face with her hand.

“What happened?”

“These guys attacked me while saying some shit like “Human Lovers”, “Weak Black Claw”, “Old Geezer Börü” then I beat them up and took their armor and weapons. I was trying to find you guys. There are at least 6 more of them.”

Arslan crouched to get a better look at them. Arslan's brow furrowed as he inspected the unconscious assailants. Amaterasu shook her head, her expression a mixture of concern and frustration. I had a very bad feeling about this growing out of control.

“Shit. I know these guys.”

He stood up quickly.

“Poyraz, you need to go. Really fast. Go to Aine’s house and don’t go out no matter what.”

His tone was worrying.

“What happened?”

He looked away, his fangs popping for a second before he turned back to me.

“These guys are Grizzon’s man. He came here to talk with Captain Börü for an alliance. We should have known that he was planning something behind our backs!”

His voice was hushed, despite the anger in his voice. He probably didn’t want people gathering here to hear that.

“Are you sure you don’t need my help?”

Amaterasu put her hand on my shoulder.

“Poyraz, Grizzon isn’t like us. He hates humans. You or Lily being here would create unwanted tension. I am sorry but you need to sit still until he leaves.”

I see.

“Take Gökbörü with you. If you need help, don’t hesitate to call me. I’ll Shadow Walk as fast as I can.”

They nodded simultaneously. The reason I was leaving Gökbörü was simple: He served as a connection to me. Normally, one would need some kind of magical jumbo mumbo to receive telepathic messages but I could do it without them if Gökbörü was on the sender’s side. I also could sense Gökbörü no matter what.

I closed my eyes to sink into shadows but a loud voice cut my concentration.

“Look who we have here.”