Whatever he was about to say to the youma didn’t matter because Ryuji found he wasn’t in the office anymore. In place of the cramped office, he was in an almost wide open plain on the side of a hill. There were a handful of tall bare-trunked trees around.
As he turned, he saw that he was within the edge of a forest. Another thing that stood out when he looked to his right was the walled city in the near distance. He could tell that he was on a hill overlooking the city a bit. There was a road leading up to the edge of the city and the city itself sprawled across a river. There were lots of farms on either side of the city but the city itself was in the open plain with more roads running away from it in the distance.
Ryuji didn’t even have to think about what he would do, he began making his way down toward the city below. He could tell that it was early evening by the coloration of the sky unless this world worked differently than his own.
He had been walking for a good hour, watching his footing on the rocks and brambles so he didn’t stumble. It was getting a little darker so he was confident that it really was early evening. The city was about four or five kilometers away still but he knew he would get there in plenty of time to get himself settled in. just as the hill was leveling out and the forest was getting a bit thicker between him and the city, he heard a growl.
Ryuji stopped dead in his tracks and turned slowly toward the deeper parts of the woods. There in the deeper gloom of the trees stood a huge shadowy figure that looked to have fur all over it. He glimpsed a pair of golden-yellow eyes and they locked with his. His heart stopped and it seemed like he stood there unable to breathe for hours but it couldn’t have been more than a second.
As he was standing there fearing for his life the situation got even scarier. The form in the trees stood up, in Ryuji’s mind, this could be only one thing. It was a bear. He was now scared beyond reasoning. Just when Ryuji thought he couldn’t be any more terrified he was proven wrong.
Suddenly, the form that was previously just a vague darkness in the woods now took on a frightening level of definition. It was the definition of scary, as it lunged forward at him through the trees. It was no mere bear but something far more dangerous. Ryuji almost lost all reasoning capabilities as his mind tried to wrap around what he was seeing. It was a werewolf.
A sudden snapping of underbrush in the werewolf’s path brought him out of his catatonia. In a sudden leap of inspiration, he turned and did the most brilliant thing he could come up with. He ran like hell while screaming like a little girl.
He was dodging and weaving through trees and running flat out. If he had had the leisure to ponder it he would have realized that he was a little faster than he should be, but he didn’t have that pleasure. Instead, Ryuji was still screaming at the top of his lungs and running in a mad dash through the trees. There was a moment of sheer horror when he could not only hear the beast hot on his trail but could practically feel it breathing down his spine.
In a moment of insane good fortune, he slipped and as he was falling, he felt a set of claws rake across his arm. The next instant he saw the huge form of the werewolf go hurtling past him and try to come to a stop but it didn’t manage to avoid crashing through a couple of saplings. The werewolf began to get back up but he made it to his feet first and took off at top speed. It was then that he spotted the castle-like wall of the city through the woods and adjusted his sprint towards that.
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Ryuji broke through the edge of the forest and made a mad dash towards the road and the guardhouse that he could make out there. There was a wagon approaching a bit up the road but he paid it little mind. He glanced over his shoulder to see if he would reach the guards or if he was going to be eaten first. He almost fell over his feet but realized that the werewolf was nowhere to be seen. Slowly he came to a stop and caught his breath while scanning anxiously for the werewolf.
He stood there for several minutes hardly daring to take his eyes off the forest for fear that he would miss the monster’s approach. Finally, a sensation broke through his focus, and looking down he realized that the scratch on his arm was bleeding a little and stung like mad. He used the inside bottom edge of his shirt to hold over the scratch for a minute and then wiped the blood away.
Since the scratch wasn’t bad, he decided not to worry about it and just go to the guards and tell them about the werewolf. He started making his way there at a brisk pace but didn’t have the energy to run. Ryuji amended that thought to he didn’t have the energy to run unless he saw the werewolf again.
There was a short line formed up at the guardhouse awaiting entry into the city. Ryuji guessed it was the wrong time of day for a long line or maybe this was just the wrong gate. He simply waited patiently for his chance to enter the city like the rest. He noticed that some of the group entering the city now appeared to have animal-like features and he got very curious. Unfortunately, they were too far away for him to get a good look. Everyone else in line seemed to be human.
He was a couple of dozen meters away from the guardhouse when a new thought struck him. Perhaps he shouldn’t mention the werewolf. He couldn’t spot it anywhere and they might not believe him or worse they might believe him. If they did believe him there was a chance that they might lock him up for being infected, or worse, they might put him down on the spot.
His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the guard speaking to him. Fortunately, he could understand the man if he could be called a man. He certainly wasn’t human, or at least not fully. The guy was wearing a bulging, leather cuirass with a set of pauldrons that were dyed an orange color. The guard had a huge build with coarse bristly hair on his chin but his most prominent features started there. He had a pair of short tusks jutting up from his elongated lower jaw. That was nothing compared to his upper jaw though. That jaw sported a flat round pig-like nose and as Ryuji looked closer the guy even had the floppy pink ears of a pig.
Ryuji was so mesmerized by the odd features of the guard that he missed what he said until he repeated it. “I said, do you have your identification tag for entry? I know, people aren’t used to seeing an orc guarding the gate but I passed the tests to be in the guard just like everyone else. If you got a problem with it, take it up with the baron. In the meantime, either hand me your identification or go over there and buy a new one.”
For whatever reason Ryuji found himself reaching into his collar and pulling on a leather cord to reveal a small silver plate with a small gold inlay at the bottom. He didn’t even realize he was wearing it much less did he know what it was. He had no idea why he grabbed it as though he had done this a thousand times but it was the right response.
The guard took one look at it and bowed slightly. “My apologies, I didn’t expect someone of your standing to be walking out of the forest is all. My behavior was inexcusable but if you can overlook this transgression, I can assure you it will never happen again, ever!” his last words were accompanied by something like a pig’s squeal.
Ryuji had no idea what he was talking about but the guard was practically shaking, he figured he better play along. “Not to worry, I simply enjoy walking in the forest from time to time is all. Also, I wasn’t concerned that you were an orc, you just seemed a bit lax for a gate guard is all. I will overlook your behavior this one time but next time be more vigilant, there are all kinds of creatures lurking in these woods after all.” That much he could personally attest to, what was that youma thinking sending him here only to be attacked the next moment.
The guard seemed to deflate a little, either from relief or from being dressed down but he nodded nonetheless. “You are right, I apologize my lord. I do need to be more vigilant when posted at the gate. I thank you for your words of wisdom and your great kindness!”