As the wolves snarled at their new targets that The Alpha had commanded for them, most of the nameless prisoners scattered to safety, disappearing into the trees. Most of the captured individuals were ordinary people who happened to have soul shards: villagers, farmers and tradesmen, and thus were not useful in a fight. Not even the Scalsan soldiers would be able to stand against a bog wolf, not without proper formation or arsenal, that is. Despite this, most would stay in the event the wolf’s targets fell, as the wolves would surely track the stragglers afterwards. The Alpha seemed the only obstacle between them and their freedom. A few of the prisoners had taken up arms and participated in the battle, but fled at the sight of the massive hounds.

Among these spectators, a man leaned against a tree. If the wolves were to cut through their current targets, he’d be able to at least buy the others a little time to escape. He may be a thief, but his heart was in the right place. He had been captured after robbing almost every Bogan convoy that he passed by in three kingdoms. He would’ve been strung up from a tree were it not for his soul shard, which gave them reason to spare him and send him to the Rind.

‘That’s alright.’ He thought to himself, ‘I already hid most of my new fortune, anyways.’

Suddenly the silhouette felt a small vibration. He pulled out a small disc like object and flicked it on, the hologram projector flooding light into his eyes. Malcolm’s bounty had been sent to every individual registered on the device’s digital board for bounties and odd jobs, connected through a world-wide web of sorts, of Bogan creation. How it worked, the man didn't know, for his technical expertise peaked at his ability to play online card games and argue with strangers online. Although many would ignore anything sent by a supporter of Cyber, there would always be some who put their own interests above any loyalties. And heck, there were probably some WITH loyalty to Cyber and the Liberation.

On the projection was a massive amount of money, a rarity for something as simple as a bounty. The man’s eyes lit up. He had his own device rigged to show any bounty with a set amount of cash reward, for even if he didn't embark after it it was still interesting to see the type of people that are worth so much. Must be a damn important person. Alongside the tempting cash amount was the face of… wait, that face was familiar. No… could it really be that easy? Whoever in the Dire placed that bounty must damn sure want that person for a reason. A score like that would set him… no, would set them up for a long time.

The silhouette now grew weary of his new person of interest, and sank slightly into his leaning as a smirk marked his face. If the bounty wanted her alive, it’d be an easy score if those wolves don’t mess her up. There’d always be another bounty if she did die, and there was no way he’d get in the way of a bog wolf and its newfound prey if it wasn’t after him anyways.

He slowly pulled his hat tight against his forehead as he watched the wolf charge towards the girl. A faint blue glow flickered from his twitching right hand as with his other arm he slowly pulled a small vial out of his jacket pocket. “This should do the trick…”

—————————————————————————————————————————-

Hellebore was the first to react to the wolf’s charge, quickly rushing in front of his thought to be damsel in distress while flipping his ax over to one side. “Fear not, for I shall slay this infernal hound!” He yelled before sinking into a battle stance, heavily leaning forward as he put the ax behind himself, his other hand reaching slightly forward as he prepared to charge.

The wolf growled before barking at the group with an unholy pitch. As the wolf leaped through the air, aiming at the girl, Hellebore matched its height, leaping before beginning to slash at it as he passed by. The wolf whined slightly before landing a few meters past Alice. It trotted a few steps before turning towards her, more pissed off than before as the gashes on its side bled. It was wounded, but the cuts didn’t hit anywhere that would hinder its attack.

The Alpha had not stood still while the wolf made its move, he had quickly found his way over the burning cart and was currently standing on top of it, silently drawing a weapon from its back. The only one to notice it was Lockheed as the others stayed distracted by the second wolf, which had circled around the left side of the rubble with its eyes locked on Knox. Knox and the wolf began circling each other, Knox yelling threats and obscenities at it in Scalsan and Anweos, the language most interspecies conversations went in as it was the common language. “Come on, you bloody swampwalker!” He yelled in Anweos.

As silent as The Alpha had been, Lockheed aimed his gun and took a pot shot towards the metal mask, using it as a target. The bullet ricocheted off his mask, the Alpha’s head jerking backwards before he finished his movement. A large crossbow now donned his left hand. The Alpha took a step forward before aiming and firing the bolt towards Alice, currently circling the first wolf. He wasn’t worried about Lockheed’s firing, as he was in a position where only his shooting arm and his head, and thus his mask, could be aimed at him from that direction.

A large force hit Alice from behind as Daniel charged into her, knocking her from the bolt’s path as the wolf took its chance and lunged again. Daniel quickly rolled out of the way, the bolt staking into the ground next to them. Alice used the momentum to jump onto her feet from the ground while grabbing a rogue metal bar that had dislodged itself from its home cart. She quickly turned around and timed a punch, extending her fist out right as the wolf reached her.

The spikes dug deep into the front of the wolf as it tried to take a chunk of flesh out of her face. She used the friction of the wolf and her hand to slide to the left of it as it crashed downwards, making the wounds she had caused worse as the spikes dug through it to follow the fist they were attached to.

The wolf regained its footing, breathing heavily. It again growled as The Alpha finished loading a second shot with his crossbow. With the crossbow’s size, it was surprising to see him shooting it with one hand. His second shot was aimed towards Lockheed, who had exchanged a few more shots while The Alpha was reloading.

Although Lockheed didn’t move, it looked as though The Alpha had missed. The Alpha tilted his head again as the bolt hit a tree. He could’ve sworn the cowboy had been there.

The second wolf began galloping towards Knox as he antagonized it. “Come on, hit me! HIT ME!” As the wolf swiped at him, Knox pegged it in the face from a swing of his mace. The wolf’s head rattled to the right as it whined. As it opened its gaping maw and charged forward again, Knox hit the same exact place, the beast’s jaw now hanging open as it had been dislocated. A sound that was half laugh, half war cry escaped Knox’s mouth as his eye twitched. “That’s what ya get, ya freakin bitch-mutt!”

The wolf’s movements became more sluggish as it shook its head slightly, most likely attempting to close its mouth. As it regained its composure and again charged, Knox failed to swing again, and instead jabbed his mace forward into the beast’s open mouth.

The wolf stopped dead in its tracks, the mace’s spikes cutting through the inside of its mouth and gullet. The wolf slowly tried to back out of it to no avail, and as it tried to swipe with its claws Cymia jumped onto its back from a large barrel. She began stabbing it repeatedly as Knox held the monster in place, though doing little as his feet slid across the dirt path.

It tried to shake her off at first, before beginning to stumble around, as Cymia aimed for its vital spots. With one final growl followed by a whimper, the beast tried one final time to make a move on Knox, interrupted by Hellebore sweeping its legs from its right side with his ax. Now bleeding from its limbs, its head and its torso, the second bog wolf gave in to its injuries, its movements stopped after being swept. “Yea! The power of teamwork!” Knox cried out while raising his hand, mostly out of sarcasm as the other two participants rolled their eyes.

Cymia silently jumped off of the wolf as Knox began laughing. “How’s that, you mangy mutt!” Knox yelled as he kicked the side of the fallen beast. Hellebore merely dusted off his lapels before quickly turning to face where Alice was attacking the first wolf. As he took a step forward to intervene, Knox put a hand in front of him. “Deal with the shard user first.” He said, pointing to The Alpha as he continued to take shots at the cowboy distracting him. Hellebore grew a disgusted face. “The girl will die if we don’t-”

“She’ll be fine, take out asshole number one!” Knox barked the order as if he were a superior officer. Hellebore was taken aback, and without a word he and Cymia quickly began rushing up the hill of debris the Alpha now stood on, coming from his right side.

Knox crossed his arms, watching Alice’s movements. She was fighting a bog wolf. By herself. If the long told rumors about the Spencersons were true, then this was some damn good evidence...

The Alpha noticed his new intruders, taking a calculated step backwards before dropping below an opening between the broken bars of the overturned carriage. As Hellebore swiped where The Alpha had been, he peeked his head below. The Alpha had vanished.

Alice circled the beast while backing up, dodging swipes and bites while throwing a few punches. As she threw a left hook into the wolf’s nose, Knox’s yelling could be heard followed by running footsteps. “Behind you!” He yelled.

The Alpha caught the punch Alice had thrown when she whipped around, followed by him headbutting her with the metal mask. As she stumbled backwards the bog wolf lunged again, knocking her down onto her stomach as it’s massive paws stomped on her. Knox’s speed increased with the yelp that came out of Alice as Hellebore and Cymia both jumped down from the rubble and bolted towards the wolf and The Alpha. The Alpha slowly bent down to Alice as she looked up, desperately trying to fight off the wolf. The Alpha’s dead eyes pierced her farther than the wolf’s claws probably could. Suddenly, a voice was heard, but from where she couldn’t tell. Then she realized it was from The Alpha, but he wasn’t speaking. He was in her head.

A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

“You were never one to win… The first war was only a war of sheep.” “The Alpha’s voice sounded like a whisper in her ear.

“Your ancestors fought against sheep… but you’re among wolves now. ” His head tilted yet again as the wolf prepared for another swipe. “...and these are OUR woods.”

The Alpha slowly cocked the crossbow before placing the bolt and tip of it against Alice’s head. Her breathing became erratic as the others around her panicked. Alice closed her eyes, at least a headshot would mean a quick end.

The crossbow never fired. As Alice closed her eyes the Alpha noticed Lockheed walking towards him to his left, calmy. Were he in an old movie, some guitar riffs would likely be playing with the bravado of each step. The Alpha was confused, as everyone else seemed so frightened, this man acted like nothing was happening. He was twenty paces away… fifteen...

Suddenly, Lockheed was two paces from the Bogan. Before the Alpha could even react, Lockheed whipped him on the corner of his head with the handle of his gun before slugging him square in the mask’s nose with his other hand. Impossible, the Alpha thought. His calculation failed him. The stranger seemingly teleported in front of him from so far away. Lockheed gripped the Bogan by its throat, lifting him as he slowly felt his toes rise into mid-air. He was strong, too.

The surviving wolf took its paws off of Alice as it tried to defend its handler, jumping towards Lockheed like a bat out of hell. As it lunged at him it landed on nothing, and felt four areas of pain on its back from where bullets had gone through. Lockheed had somehow dodged the attack and shot an entire chamber worth of bullets within the span of half a second.

Suddenly, it made sense to The Alpha. These carts were full of soul shard users, why wouldn’t this man have one of his own? This… Cowboy, as the targets had called him while still in their carts, was able to make time go faster for himself. By the looks of it, it was only for a few seconds at a time, but a few seconds was all that’s needed for a proper attack or defense.

The wolf staggered before turning, a limp as it snarled. As it charged again, Alice rose with a different weapon in hand. She hit the beast in the side of its head with the first guard’s electric stick, the Sambeasa. The wolf howled in pain as it was flung a few feet, the pink arcs of electricity constricting its muscles from all the movement it had done from the last few seconds.

As the Alpha quickly took aim at Alice from behind, he was tackled to the ground by Daniel, who had been observing the conflict from behind some rubble. He didn’t have any weapons, so when the Alpha rose he began taking swings at him. He landed a few blows before the Alpha punched his shoulder, then his leg. Daniel fell to one knee from the leg blow, followed by Alpha delivering a front kick square into Daniel’s face, launching him back. As he scrambled onto his hands and knees again, The Alpha wasted no time aiming for Daniel instead.

The Alpha’s crossbow yet again did not fire. Slowly the Alpha Stumbled a bit, the crossbow slipping from his hands. The pain now finally setting in, he looked down, seeing two smoldering holes in his chest from where Lockheed stood behind him. He sputtered a bit, a garbled sentence that would probably be hard for even other Bogans to understand as he sank to his knees.

Daniel scrambled up as Alice barreled towards the Alpha. She was beyond irate, and wanted to take her anger out while the wolf still convulsed, helpless to defend its Alpha. As she jumped for more momentum, her left fist cocked back for a punch. A single word echoed through her head. “...sheep.”

The blow from her knocked The Alpha onto the ground, the spikes from her hands scraping against the metal mask. She straddled him before punching every square inch of his body in a rapid fury of blows. The head blows did little, but the body shots only increased the damage the bullets had done. She shouted incomprehensible ramblings as the Alpha’s life left his body. Everyone around her watched in a combination of relief and slight fear at what Alice was doing. Alice’s grunting and ramblings were fueled by her pent up anger.

After about ten seconds of Alice’s fists hitting an unmoving body, Daniel put a hand on her shoulder, covering his nose with his other hand to prevent the bleeding from getting on his suit. “Princess… he’s gone.” Of the qualities the detective had seen of the Spencersons, he wasn’t expecting this to be among them. They were fabled as just, righteous… not bloodthirsty. It was something he’d have to keep in mind when discussing this incident with his superiors.

She paused before slowly rising from the fallen enemy. The other prisoners descended from the treeline, gathering around the still convulsing bog wolf. Based on how much it was moving before the stick hit it, it’d be like that for a long time. A few of the Scalsans lined up, muskets in hand to put the beast out of its misery. Not many watched, but the synchronized gunshots marked the end of the skirmish. The prisoners had won their freedom.

The Scalsans turned before aiming their guns at Cymia, exclaiming in vulgar language as they had not noticed her. They shouted something in Scalsan before Knox put his hand up

“Lower your weapon, she’s a friend.” Knox said in Scalsan. One soldier fired back.

“She’s not to be trusted! What’s to say she isn’t playing a long game!?”

“I watched her kill her own kind today. What more proof is needed?”

The soldiers stared blankly at her, before slowly lowering their guns. Knox walked past Cymia, winking as he walked towards where Alice was now sitting next to The Alpha’s brutalized body. He had returned the favor she indebted him when she killed that Bogan.

The young noble looked down at her bloodied hands that were now shivering, even though it was unusually hot this time of year. Alice’s face seemed distant as Knox brushed his hair like feathers on his head before breaking the silence.

“You may not have a soul shard… but only someone with the potential for one would’ve lasted that long against a bog wolf.” Knox said, staring into the forest she was looking at. “These Bogans definitely broke a few treaties doing this. By the Dire, when the Queen finds out one of her own was taken, she’ll be scarier than the wolves.” He chuckled, trying to lighten the mood. After more silence, he sighed before saying the words that would change Alice’s life forever.

“Welcome to the Maxim Alliance, I suppose.”

The surviving prisoners decided to separate. The Scalsan soldiers would escort the townsfolk back from whence they came, and then return to the Motherland and inform the Scalsan emperor on what had happened here. Alice would return to Merla and expose the wrongdoing of the Bogans to her family. A few familiar faces decided to stick with her.

Daniel was a no-brainer, as he lived in Merla and would likely have to report his own disappearance as well as Alice’s, which he found humorous.

“Eh, I got nothing better to do with my life, anyways.” Knox shrugged, packing a bag.

“The Queen must know, you’ll need more witnesses.” Cymia slung a pouch on her side. Even if it was her kin who she would stand against, justice demanded penance.

“You may need extra protection against whatever else may come after you on the way!” Hellebore said extravagantly as he held one foot on a rock, staring into a proverbial sunset.

Lockheed said nothing as he twirled his revolver and holstered it. Him not leaving with the other signaled that he’d be staying as well.

As they prepared their journey to Merla, a figure broke off from the stream of farmers and civilians. He trudged through broken wood and a combination of red and blue bloodstains as he made his way towards the rubble that was once his imprisonment, where Alice was currently rummaging through one of the supply barrels that had been littered about in the conflict. The others did the same in different areas of where the battle had taken place. As the figure approached Alice, her head perked up slightly, as if she felt something was off.

The footsteps walked to her left, the individual brushing past her. She stood up, rocked slightly by the presence, as well as her arm catching on one of the buttons of the man’s jacket, slightly scraping her hand. She figured it was one of the villagers who had either forgotten something or went back in hopes of finding more of their lost items.

“You’re gonna have to hurry up if you’re looking for something, I don’t think they’d wait for you very long.” Alice’s attention was kept on the wooden board she was lifting up. The presence she felt behind her didn’t move. After she moved the board, she rose and turned to face the man.

“Like I said, if you’re looking for something, I’d be glad to help, but we don’t have much time before your friends are gonna get a little rowdy about having to stay.”

The man shrugged, a sly look on his face. “They already left, I said I'd be fine without them.” he said, his eyes resting on the small cut on her hand. “Besides, I already found what I was looking for.” he shuffled through his coat pocket before pulling out a small hologram device, flicking it on as it whirred to life and brought an image of Alice onto the screen, along with the amount for her capture.

Alice’s eyes grew wider as the man explained. “You must have pissed off a fairly powerful person, I must say. There’s a lot of smackeroos on your head, which I’m guessing you didn’t know, judging by the look on your face right now.”

Her gaze was indeed more of confusion than anything, part of it being the bounty. Who wanted her so bad? She didn’t make very many enemies from her time in Anweon, at least she didn’t think so. Maybe there was something else going on.

In her state of mind, she did what she knew best, she challenged her new enemy. “If you’re here to take me for some reward, you’d better hope it’ll cover your hospital bills!” she yelled out, balling her hands into fists. The blades of her gauntlets were still speckled with blue.

It was now that the second part of her confusion took hold. As she took a step forward to confront the man, something felt… wrong. She felt heavy, her knees wobbling slightly with each step she took. Her eyes darted around, even more confused. Did she lose her energy fighting that wolf? She could’ve sworn she had enough to kick this guy’s ass if he tried anything. She went to take another step, this one even heavier than the last. Seems that running her mouth had gotten her into more trouble than she asked for.

Soul Spell: Judge & Jury

Spell Type: Aura

Spellcaster: Lockheed Irons

Shard Color: Purple

Shard Stats:

    -Offense [5/10]

    -Defense [6/10]

    -Range [2/10]

    -Spread [2/10]

    -Utility [8/10]