Darkness and Hellfire

Chapter 72 So Many Things I Don’t Understand.

As the pair walked out of the inconspicuous little building that held the Couriers’ Guild branch in Safeharbor Isaac remembered something. “I’m gonna get that monster encyclopedia while we are here.” He told Lenna. The Couriers’ Guild was right next to the Adventurers’ Guild after all.

“Alright.” She replied and followed him into the Adventurers’ Guild. They were only a few steps inside when Isaac stopped abruptly. “What’s wrong?” Lenna asked.

“Either I’ve gone crazy and nobody told me or there are two Alices.” He replied. She looked over to the receptionists’ desk and what she saw confused her. There were, in fact, sitting behind the desk, two Alices.

“Twins?” Lenna replied. Isaac just shrugged and walked up to the desk to find out.

“Hey Alice.” Isaac said by way of greeting to both of the small women sitting behind the desk.

They both looked up and gave him and Lenna two different greetings simultaneously. “Oh hey Isaac, Lenna.” Was one and the other: “Hello, I’m still working on finding a buyer for the wagon.”

“No worries.” Isaac told the one that had mentioned the wagon. “Twins or magic duplicate?” He asked directly.

The one Alice laughed openly and the other tried to stifle it. “It’s always funny the first time.” One of them said.

The other nodded her head. “Absolutely.” She chuckled. “Twins. I’m Alexis and she’s Alecia. When we first got the job we went by Alice so we only had to work half the week each.”

Isaac smirked. “That’s awesome. I applaud your cunning and ingenuity. That was definitely something I would try.” He commended them much to both of their surprise. He had never seemed the type of person to commend someone on anything, to them. He had been polite and slightly friendly but this was a bit more personal than he had ever been with them.

“Definitely something you would try.” Lenna agreed. She had been around him long enough and understood him well enough to know that this type of petty scheming could be a hobby of his if she didn’t help him stay busy.

“Thanks.” Alexis replied and looked a little sheepish.

“Yeah,” Alecia agreed. “Actually while I have you here. The chimera you too fought. We had it identified.” She told them. “It was a level twelve monster. Its magical enhancements must have been incredible. Level twelve is the upper edge of gold rank. Usually we would recommend a full team of level ten to twelve adventurers be sent out to handle something like that.”

“So does that mean we’ll get a nice bonus?” Isaac asked, more concerned about the money than the implications of a monstrosity like that just showing up. He knew that if they hadn’t had the wagon at their backs, they could have fought it while retreating and leveraged Kahtesh’s lightning and maybe a fireball or two from Lenna to slowly chip away at it. The fight would have been a chore more than a life and death battle.

“Yes. But it also means we will be launching an investigation to find out where it came from.” Alecia continued. “Can you show me on a map exactly where its corpse should be?”

Isaac looked at Lenna. She was better at not getting lost and keeping track of time and distance than he was. Part of it was from her training but most of it was really just from hundreds of years of living. Her internal clock had had centuries to hone itself and her stride hadn’t changed the ground it covered in almost as long.

“Yes.” Lenna replied.

“Great.” Alecia said while she dug under the desk for a map of the tunnel system they would have been in. “Alexis, can you get a scout or a tracker?” she grunted out while half bent over and elbows deep in whatever was piled behind the desk.

“Sure.” Alexis replied and stood up on her stool to get a good look of the Guild Hall. She smiled when she saw someone that matched what her sister was looking for. “Wo Lu!” (Pronounced Voe Loo). She called.

Isaac and Lenna followed her gaze to see a massive elvish man take a swig from his tankard, set it down, and slowly, gracefully, rise and walk over to them. His steps didn’t make a sound. He wore a worn pair of traveling pants and boots. Across his chest was a belt with a few pouches and glass vials on it. He had a pair of metal retractable claws hanging from a belt at his waist. They were like bracers with a slider and a hidden button or lever to deploy them.

He had olive skin and powerful, large, and defined muscles that were clearly visible with him not wearing a shirt. His hair was a mix of brown, gray, and some white. His hair was only a few inches long and was a mess, further leaning into the wild look. Around his neck was a strip of leather with a carved wooden wolf head on it. As he approached it was clear that not only were his muscles massive but so was his height. He stood at least six foot three and towered over everyone else in the Guild Hall.

“Alexis.” He said with a slight smile that reminded Isaac of an uncle talking to a niece or nephew. It was clear he cared for them, just by the look in his eyes, like an older family member would. “What can I do for you?” His voice was deep like how one would imagine a wild wolf would sound if suddenly gained a voice, which Isaac thought might not be too far off.

“These two fought a chimera out in the tunnels towards our neighbors.” She explained. The neighbors she spoke of were the drow cities.

Alecia chimed in as she rose with a map and laid it on the desk. “I would like you to go to where they fought it and see if anyone had come to collect the corpse.” She explained. “If it’s still there, wait and see if someone shows up. If they do, follow them and find out where they are camped. If you can, figure out what they are up to. If it looks dangerous don’t engage, just come back and report what you’ve seen. If nothing shows up before the wildlife gets the corpse, just let it go and come back.”

“What if it’s gone?” He asked.

“Track it and follow the rest of the directives.” She replied.

The large man nodded his understanding and turned to look at Isaac and Lenna. His green eyes bore into each of them before he stopped. He closed his eyes and sniffed quickly twice in rapid succession. His eyes opened and narrowed at Lenna but then his expression returned to normal like nothing had happened. “What’s the pay?” Wo Lu asked looking back at Alecia.

“Normal rate for an electrum level job. Double if you get any intel.” Alecia told him.

He nodded again and reached down to one of his deployable claws. He unhooked it from his belt, slid the bracer over his hand, and cinched it tight. He then did the same for the other arm. “Where?” He asked.

Lenna walked up to the map and found the section of tunnel where they fought the chimera. “There.” She told him and pointed to it.

He took in the map and the location before nodding. He turned to leave. “Fallen sister. Stay in the moon’s grace.” He said to Lenna who was still right next to him.

She was startled and momentarily speechless. After the brief moment of surprise she jerked her head to face him. “May the moon guide you.” She told him. Wo Lu smiled and started walking towards the doors to leave.

Once he was past Isaac, who was a few steps behind Lenna as she was at the desk, he leaned forwards. His body started to grow. Gray, brown, and white hair started to grow from his body. His gear was absorbed into his growing form and he quickly took on the appearance of a massive wolf. His shoulders, while on all fours, were five feet high. His steps were still silent. He shook to get his fur to settle.

“Be careful old man!” Alexis called out after him.

The wolf turned his head slightly and gave the twins a toothy grin before trotting outside. Once outside the building he stretched and then dug in his claws. A moment later he was bounding down the street towards the gate facing his destination.

“I only heard legends.” Lenna whispered once he was gone.

Isaac tore his eyes off the exit and looked at her. “About what?”

“A tribe of wood elven barbarians who live with wolves, worship them, and can turn into them?” Alexis asked. Lenna only nodded. “It’s true. Wo Lu said that he only left because he wanted to see the world. Apparently it’s basically a paradise.”

“Yeah if you don’t like furniture.” Alecia commented with a snort. “They are nomads.”

“That’s… how do they do that?” Isaac asked in bewilderment.

Alecia looked at him quizzically. “Turn into wolves?”

Isaac nodded. “Yeah.”

“I think they are druids as much as they are barbarians. They use nature magic to turn into animals.” Alexis explained. “Still, he only ever turns into a wolf so maybe there is another reason. Who knows? Maybe they are all werewolves or something.”

Isaac shook his head and whispered to himself: “This world is full of so many things I don’t understand.”