“Who are you?” Guin demanded as the hunters approached. “What do you want?”
She couldn’t die, but that didn’t mean she would ever look forward to the pain of not dying. In fact, she was starting to wish that she could die.
One of the hunters with a sword stepped forward and removed his hood. He was very clean and quite handsome. She recognized him from the Hunters’ Guild but didn’t know his name.
“Little girl,” he started, holding his hand out. “Be good now and hand over the pelt that Dawl gave to you. We will let you live.”
Guin snorted at him. “I don’t know what you are talking about,” she tried to bluff. Neither Dassah nor Guin was very good at lying, and if there was a check, she failed it.
“Let’s not play that game,” the man said with barely a hint of a smile. “That pelt has great power—far too much for you to handle and certainly worth more than your life.”
“And this town?”
The man chuckled. “The price of that pelt would buy a mountain,” he said. “Now, hand it over.”
“... I don’t have it,” she told him, trying honesty.
“I said not to play that game!” he turned a bit red in the face. “Give it here!”
“I told you, I don’t have it,” she said, crossing her arms and staring him down. “I gave it back.”
“Gave it back?” Gave it back!”
“It was you, wasn’t it?” Guin said, narrowing her eyes, hoping that she would be right. “You were the one who killed the fox and threw her away to rot.”
But the man let out a laugh. “Of course not—Master Dawl killed and skinned the stupid animal—he just had no idea what it was he had, the fool. The pelt should go to me, not to you.”
Though her heart sank, she admitted it would be foolish to try and exempt the Master Hunter from all his faults. She would have to be satisfied with mere repentance.
“Are you thick? I’ll say it again: I don’t have it,” Guin told him, her patience wearing thin. “The pelt has gone back to its rightful owner—and if you missed my meaning, it should be safe to assume that you are definitely not that owner, asshole.”
It may have been reckless, but the whole situation made her angry.
The man pointed his sword at her face. “Are you saying that you are allying yourself with those godforsaken spirits, then? You would turn against the Lady?”
“Tsk,” went Guin, her stomach churning. “I don’t think that’s at all what I am saying, but if that’s how you want to interpret it, go ahead. I only did what I believed to be right—does the Lady teach something different? Does she say to steal and kill the forest?”
“Blasphemer!”
“... I don’t see how an ignorant ‘little girl’ like myself can be a ‘blasphemer,’” she wondered out loud. “But suit yourself.”
“Men! Bury this one with the others!” The men behind him seemed reluctant to do what the man said, but as he started to charge, they raised their weapons.
Guin fox formed, which caused the man to shout, smile madly, and shout obscenities.
Way to go, Guin. Getting ready to pounce, she lowered herself to the ground, trying to think of a scenario that would allow her to get out of this situation without getting shot or stabbed.
Or, she was ready— and then she saw the tip of an arrow come out from the man’s throat. Shrinking back, she watched as he fell to the ground. As blood dripped from the arrowhead, the man’s eyes rolled back into his head. Passed him, the other sword-bearer had also been slain, and one with the spear was going after two of the archers, covering for an archer standing behind him, lowering a bow the bow that had killed the leader.
“What is this?” A voice came on a rush of wind. Reili appeared next to Guin at the mouth of the cave. “Che-people... Oh?”
“S-Sorry,” said Guin. “I didn’t think I’d run into them...”
Reili gave a curious smile. “But it seems that the results of such an encounter are not what one would have anticipated...” she murmured in an amused voice. “That one, with the spear—he bears the mantle of the dragon.”
“The mantle of the dragon?” Guin wondered allowed and looked at the man with the spear. “That’s—!” The cloak he wore was blue with a curious pattern to it and shined when the light hit it.
It was the cloak Master Rew was wearing, the photo of him and Alta Noin.
The two archers that he had been fighting dropped their weapons and raised their hands in the air. The archer who had shot her attacker went over and, in a familiar voice, commanded: “Get out of here.”
“M-Master Dawl?” Guin said, shifting out of fox form. “Then... Pastor Jormund!”
The archer removed his hood and revealed the grim face of the Master Hunter, while Jormund removed his cloak, sulking as he walked toward the mouth of the cave where Guin stood with Reili.
Dawl stepped up to Guin and knelt on one knee. “Forgive me,” he whispered. “I have betrayed your trust and the trust of the forest. I knew of what you spoke of from the beginning.”
“He is not the only one at fault,” Jormund said, looking at Reili. “From the time Master Rew passed, I should have taken up this mantle....”
Surprised and thrilled, Guin smiled at both of them. “What matters now is that you are both here!” she said excitedly.
“I don’t see how that matters,” Reili muttered. “Unless that one is a true Servant of the Dragon, neither of them is useful to us now.”
“... I am sorry,” Jormund looked at his feet.
“Oh, shut it,” Dawl growled. “You didn’t do anything wrong.”
“I wasn’t talking to you,” Jormund glared at him.
“You certainly didn’t do anything to Guin—other than baby her.”
“I wasn’t talking to Guin either.”
Dawl opened his mouth and then closed it. “O-Oh,” he went. “S-So... Ehem...”
“We have one who would be a Servant, but who is this stranger with the familiar scent?” Reili asked, sniffing at Dawl’s face. “This idiot cannot see me, can he.”
“No, my lady,” Jormund said. “If it please you, I can relay your words—”
“I do not know you nor trust you, fool,” the fox spirit said. “Guin shall do just as well as any other. Guin. Help the fool and be my voice.”
Nodding awkwardly, Guin told Dawl who was before him. His face visibly paled, but he bowed his head. “My lady,” he said, breathless. “I have done wrong. It was I who slew you, took your skin, and left your body to the wolves. I should have known better than to court the corruption of the forest. I understand my fate in this. It was a Servant who taught me of the woods. Though I could not comprehend the spirit world, it was not beyond me to understand one’s role in keeping the laws of the forest. I have caused all this unrest, and for that, I know I must die.”
As Reili grinned widely at his words, Jomund’s jaw dropped as he fell to his knees. “No!” he shouted, his voice echoing in the depths of the cave. “No—My lady, please, have mercy on him! He knows his wrongs, and he can fix them! He can change! If a life must be had, then take mine!”
“Shut up, Jormund!” Dawl hissed. “This is my lot, not yours!”
“Yes,” the fox spirit said dryly, her face still in Dawl’s. “But it’s up to me what each of your lots is to be.”
Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.
Dawl, of course, noticed nothing, but Jormund brought his head up quickly. “My lady?”
Seeming to be bored now, Reili flicked her tail and looked at Guin. “Perhaps this fool was the one who killed and kept my pelt, but it is as he says if he ‘left my body to the wolves,’ then no law has actually been broken. He could be lying, though, so I won’t let him off just yet,” Reili turned to Jormund. “I shall give you a chance to save your lives...”
“Anything!” Jormund exclaimed, but Dawl only lowered his head.
“Master Dawl,” Guin said to him in a soft voice. “Please raise your head. The fox spirit will give you a chance.” The Master Hunter raised his head, revealing tears that silently ran down his cheeks.
“To gain my mercy, there are three tasks you much accomplish,” went the fox spirit, sitting by Guin’s side. “Priority will be to cleanse this cave. This quest has already been left to Guin, but I will ask you to aid her. If you could not guess, it is not my spirit that serves as a catalyst for the corruption. This cave is filled with countless restless souls—some of which have been festering for many moons. My power and anger only fed the existing corruption; there is no way to know how long the minor souls have been cultivating it.”
“D-Dozens?” Jormund repeated. “How long has this been going on?”
Reili shook her head. “I do not know,” she said. “I merely awoke here after I died, and I have little concept of how long ago that was as the corruption keeps bodies from properly returning to the earth. These bodies may have been here for years.”
Guin furrowed her brow. “Wait,” she said. “Then... Master Dawl, when did you take the pelt?”
“About six months ago,” he told her. “I had been watching the area where I slew her in case there were signs of corruption, but there was nothing, I swear.”
“Here?”
Dawl shook his head. “I left her in the woods, a good mile to the west of here.”
“Then,” Guin went. “The corpse was moved to this cave? Why?”
Reili tilted her head. “Now, that would be odd,” she said. “Perhaps it is connected to my second task. Of the bodies left here, most had died in traps. Your second task is to determine who is responsible for setting all those confounded contraptions. More than likely, they, and not this fool, are the true cause of the corruption. The culprit must be punished and the traps destroyed--and my third requirement: Bring them justice. Will you accept?”
Nodding enthusiastically, Jomund answered, “Yes! Of course!”
“And him?” Reili nodded to a confused-looking Dawl.
“He accepts too!” Jormund vouched quickly, but the fox spirit growled.
“He is capable of using his own voice, idiot!” she said.
Guin relayed Reili’s message to the Master Hunter, who nodded.
“I understand,” he told her, his voice sounding a little faint. “I shall do as requested. I thank you for your mercy, lady.”
“Very well,” Reili stood and began walking back inside the cave. “Now, leave. I am tired, but I will quell the souls for now. Begone from here.”
<
This is a “Crossroads Quest” and will only be ended at the discretion of the assigning NPC. This quest is optional. >> < < For now, Jormund’s only aims are to save the forest and his friend, Euen. In order to do so, the fox spirit Relli has assigned them three tasks: [Ritual Cleansing], [The Trapper], and [Put to Justice]. These quests have been upgraded to, or are now assigned as, [Crossroads Quests]. This is a “Crossroads Quest” and will only be ended at the discretion of the assigning NPC. This quest is optional. >> < < < < She has asked you for three things: “First, gather some wood; we need to make a great bonfire to burn the corpses in this cave. Fire shall cleanse them all. Next, we need some flowers of [Spirit’s Tears]. I can sense some on you now, but we shall need quite a bit more. There are some that grow not far from here, on a little brook that runs through the forest. Lastly, we shall need a scale from the Dragon King,” she said. “...you should go to the Dragon King’s Grotto and pray to his alter. Tell him that I, Reili the Che-Bound Spirit Fox in the employ of the Lady Amikavi has made this request of you, and all should be fine.” UPDATE: For now, Jormund’s only aims are to save the forest and his friend, Euen. In order to so, the fox spirit Relli has assigned them three tasks: [Ritual Cleansing], [The Trapper], and [Put to Justice]. These quests have been upgraded to, or are now assigned as, [Crossroads Quests]. This is a “Crossroads Quest”, and will only be ended at the discretion of the assigning NPC. You have (6) Days to complete this quest. This quest is optional. It can be skipped.>> < < UPDATE: For now, Jormund’s only aims are to save the forest and his friend, Euen. In order to do so, the fox spirit Relli has assigned them three tasks: [Ritual Cleansing], [The Trapper], and [Put to Justice]. These quests have been upgraded to, or are now assigned as, [Crossroads Quests]. This is a “Crossroads Quest”, and will only be ended at the discretion of the assigning NPC. This quest is optional. It can be skipped.>> < < UPDATE: For now, Jormund’s only aims are to save the forest and his friend, Euen. In order to do so, the fox spirit Relli has assigned them three tasks: [Ritual Cleansing], [The Trapper], and [Put to Justice]. These quests have been upgraded to, or are now assigned as, [Crossroads Quests]. This is a “Crossroads Quest” and will only be ended at the discretion of the assigning NPC. This quest is optional. It can be skipped.>> < Inwardly, Guin sighed. It was certainly a laundry list. The good news was that there were three of them. In theory, the quests should go several times faster than if she were to attempt them on her own. Jormund bowed deeply to the spirit fox and pushed Master Dawl’s head down in the right direction. “Thank you, lady,” he said. “We shall do these things post haste!” Her nose in the air, Reili spared them one last glance, then trotted off. Guin faced the two men with her hands on her hips. “Well, now,” she scolded. “This is a fine mess, isn’t it?” Dawl straightened up and said, “I am sorry, Guin. Perhaps if I had told you earlier...” “Yes...” she murmured. An image of Tik-Tak’s body in the trap appeared in her mind, but she shook her head. “We cannot change what has already happened,” Jormund’s voice was firm. “For now, we should focus on the things that we can do to fix the mistakes that have been made.” “Right,” Guin said. “First thing is first: Let’s summarize what we need. Wood, flowers, a scale from the Dragon King, break all the stupid traps, find the person setting the traps, and punish them.” “The wood and flowers are a simple matter,” Dawl told her. “The traps as well, if you know how to deal with them. The scale...” “I suppose that that will depend on me,” Jormund rubbed his chin. “Maybe. The investigation...” “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves and focus on the gathering quests,” Guin said. “If we work on those together, you two can help teach me the ways of the forest. If I am to see the spirits and perhaps help talk to the Dragon King, I’ll need to know at least the basics.” The two looked at each other and nodded. While it would have been easy for her to assign them jobs, she would have gained nothing for it. The quest was originally hers, and she figured that she would have to gain some kind of skills or knowledge to complete it—and meeting the Dragon King seemed like a very important aspect of that, even if Jormund was a key figure in the quest line. “I’d say we should head to where the flowers are first and find some fallen logs to cop up along the way,” Dawl said. “We can also break any traps we might find. It should be simple enough.” “The Dragon King’s grotto isn’t far from there either,” Jomund said, nodding his head in agreement. “Alright!” Guin explained. “Then, let’s work on finishing the corruption once and for all!”