Chương 43: Wolf's Rest
Nestled within a mountain valley that stretched on for miles and surrounded by a lush Evergreen forest stood the town of Wolf's Rest. Compared to Haldin, its size doesn't compare but it was still much larger than any of the villages that littered the countryside. Of course with the highway being the only safe path through the mountains, this town benefited from any travelers hoofing it by land to reach the rest of the continent. Unlike the other nations, Archipel's territory had a natural border protected entirely by a mountain range that ran circular from the western sea all the way to the southern tip of the continent.
It had been over a week since I left Haldin and started my journey towards Archipel when I arrived to this seemingly quiet town. Of course there were other villages along the highway but most were just small communities with only a dozen families but this place felt like a miniature slice of civilization. After inquiring about the local Guild Branch, I made my way towards the unassuming building that stood in some inconsequential part of the main road. Ignoring the occasional odd stare I received as I walked, I entered the town's guild hall. The place, however, was more of a bar than a guild hall compared to Haldin's. Kurtz had explained to me before that ancillary places like these were more of a simple gathering place than a full on administration building that the main branches were. Hell, even some of the inns in Haldin were larger than this.
It was here that I met Guildmaster Rhodes. After agreeing to answer her inquiries about who I was, she had asked me to stay and help deal with a bandit problem the town was having. Agreeing with her request, we set about at the dead of night to raid the fortress.
Now with that issue solved, our rather large group had finally returned to the village by the next day's evening. Traveling through the dense forest with so many injured, some of us had to personally ferry those who weren't ambulatory. As we neared the gates to the town, I personally carried two men in each of my arms. One was unfortunately in a state of shock, unresponsive to outside stimuli. Nothing but a blank stare appeared on his face. The other had lost both his legs from the shins down due to gangrene caused by untreated wounds. The only little ray of sunshine I had on our return was the wolf cub who had comfortably nestled on the top of my flat head.
As we reached Wolf's Rest, we were greeted by the town's militia; just over one dozen of men and women barely trained to fight off encroaching wildlife or a small band of goblins. A bandit army like the one we had fought would have been beyond their capabilities. In a town like this where the majority of people were either woodsmen or quarry miners, joining the militia was the least lucrative of either job. But it was needed nonetheless. Rushing towards us, they helped escort the survivors to an empty storage building were the local healers and whatever passed for medical practitioners in this world awaited. A few of our own joined to help usher them into the bivouac. The rest of us were greeted by Guildmaster Rhodes. The middle aged woman strode up to us with a relieved smile on her face.
"Everyone, I'm glad to see you all returned back safe." she said as her eyes shifted towards the storage building. Her voice suddenly became downcast, "...Is that all of the survivors?"
"Unfortunately yes..." Aaric somberly replied as he began to fish around in his bag, "After the captive merchants finished recovering their stolen goods, I had our group retrieve any pieces of jewelry found among the bandit's ill gotten gains. Hopefully this along with a written description of all the victims we've found will be enough to identify the dead."
From his bag, Aaric produced a large sack filled with the stolen personal items and handed them over to Rhodes along with some pieces of parchment.
"Thank you Aaric. Maybe with this, anyone looking for the lost will be able to find some peace." the Guildmaster replied with frailty. Unlike Kurtz, the guildmasters who ran the ancillary halls in towns like these weren't veteran adventurers. They were locals who volunteered for the position. I'd imagine playing nanny or uncle to a bunch of traveling roughnecks doesn't have people lining up in the streets for the job. Out in solitary places like these, you probably needed a big heart and patience miles long for it.
"Heh, at least the bandit trash is just ash in the wind now." Mateo states coarsely. The wolf cub yips in agreement, making the man grin deservedly in response.
It was then that the Guildmaster had taken notice of the cub sitting comfortably on my head case, "Wha-, is that...?" She squinted for a second before her face went into shock.
Aaric was surprised by her reaction, "Wait, Guildmaster. Do you know what she is?"
The Guildmaster scowled, "Fool boy! I was born here! Do you wonder why this place is called Wolf's Rest?"
The three of us, including the cub, jerked back at her sudden proclamation. When Rhodes noticed what she had just done, she cleared her throat and patted down her dress as a way to recompose herself before continuing, "W-Well, the middle of the road isn't an appropriate place to have this discussion. The three of you, we'll continue this in my office back in the guild."
Grabbing the cub from the top of my head back into my arms where I could keep her somewhat hidden, the three of us followed her back to the guild and up the stairs to her office. It wasn't as grandiose as Kurtz's was. It was more like the Village Chief's back in Haldin, serving more for function than displaying the achievements of the guild. Here at least we could have a private discussion and plan on what to do with this wolf child.
Pulling up a few chairs, we all sat down comfortably with the cub resting on my lap.
"Now then," Rhodes started, "Explain to me how it is you found her."
Taking up on her offer, I began to recount the tale of her discovery, "She was tucked away in a box nestled in the corner of the bandit's hoard room. When I first found her, she was malnourished and on the brink of death." I gave the pup a pat on the head as I was speaking, "She's still a bit weak but she's much better compared to when I found her."
The Guildmaster had a stern look on her face as I explained the situation to her but her face softened when her gaze turned to the cub, "Well... at the very least, the fact that she's amicable to you is a blessing. And there was no other's like her found as well?"
It was Aaric who spoke up next, "I'm taking you mean her father? No. The hoard room and the rest of the fortress was empty and picked clean when we left. Arlan made sure to collapse the fortress entirely as well."
Rhodes closed her eyes to take in all the information given and reclined back in her chair. She took a moment before speaking again, "Do you know why this place is called Wolf's Rest?"
"I can only assume its due to this one's parent who acts as the guardian of this valley," Aaric replied.
"Correct," she replied, "When settlers first came to these mountains this highway didn't exist. It was the Wolf Lord Hoektan who, out of his mercy, guided my ancestors to this valley those hundreds of years ago to save us from a deadly winter. Every new year, our town gives him thanks with an offering of food and drink at his shrine built at the tree line north of here. He never asked for it but we give it to him nonetheless."
She paused for a moment to look at the cub, "Last year when our town's Seer arrived to give the yearly offering, he appeared before her and proclaimed that he had found another Spirit Animal to help him create an heir. This new guardian would be taking over stewardship of the valley while he raised his newborn cub."
Aaric straightened himself up when he heard the news, "Are you saying another Spirit Animal has migrated over here?"
Rhodes nodded, "A fox blessed by the Pantheon as we were told by the Wolf Lord. But we've seen neither hide or hair of them. Or of Hoektan for that matter. Normally he wouldn't allow bandits to pollute his forest domain. But now he and the fox are missing and we have their daughter in our hands."
"So from what you are saying is that we have two missing beings blessed with incredible powers and their daughter sitting on our golem's lap." Mateo, who was quiet the entire time had finally spoken to sum up our conversation.
"And we can't release her back into the wilds either." I stated.
"As she is now, she hasn't manifested any of her abilities. Doing so would leave her defenseless to predators lurking about in the woods at night." the Guildmaster replied.
"The important question," Aaric began, "Is what had the power to take down two Spirit Animals and why she was in the hands of bandits in the first place."
A memory popped back into my head the moment I heard Aaric mentioned the bandits, "Before I... finished off Drevin, he was trying to bargain with me for his life. Said he had something stashed away in his vault. Said he had a potential buying who would pay much more than what he had in his hoard. You think he was talking about her?"
"You tore apart those bandits, Arlan." Aaric states, "A Spirit Animal would be out of their league, not to mention that there's two of them. How could they have taken down the Wolf Lord and this fox at once?"
Guildmaster Rhodes cupped her head in her hands, "I'm just as worried about there being a buyer. They were in contact with someone who could pay an exuberant amount of coin for the little one." she sighed in exhaustion, "Something terrible in brewing in these forests..."
A quiet descended upon the room. All these ill portents were weighting on everyone's mind. Even Mateo was shifting uncomfortably in his chair."If you don't mind, Guildmaster, I'd like to help find Wolf Lord Hoektan." I asked, dispelling the silence between us.
The Guildmaster breathed a sigh of relief, "To be honest, I thought I would have to beg you for your help with that. The cub seemed quite attached to you and I can't think of anyone better. Right now, you're the strongest person in town and the only one qualified to do it."
"I-If I may, Guildmaster. I'd like to help Arlan as well." Aaric squeaked in. "Communing with the Blessed Beasts is part of my ancestry as well and I can't sit by while they suffer by mortal hands." The elf seemed to be real passionate about this. From our conversation earlier, I can only guess he wants to feel a deeper connection to his cultural roots and this was his chance.
"...I might as well help too." Mateo chimed, "You're going to need all the help you can get right?"
"I can't promise any of you a monetary reward. You'd be doing this for the sake of the village." Rhodes declared, "I'm afraid we've already drained our budget financing the bandit subjugation and it won't be for a while until we get more funding from Haldin."
"Well, it's for a good cause right?" the man bellowed, "Why wouldn't I help?"
Aaric scoffed, "I've known you for a good year. Since when have you done anything NOT for money, Mateo?"
"It should be fine, Aaric. If he wants to help, then I'll take it." I stated, "There's a whole lot of wilderness to cover and we'll need all the help we can get if we run into a situation where we come into conflict with the Wolf Lord. Or even the thing that could take him down."
Even I'm not comfortable with the idea of fighting a Spirit Animal. Oracle had nothing new to tell me in the database that Aaric or the Guildmaster hasn't already said. I'd be going into a fight blindly. With a team at my back we can at least make something happen. Or we can all die horribly.
Guildmaster Rhodes clapped her hands together, "Well, if we're all in agreement, then I bid you all to rest for the day. I'll be making inquiries around town to see if anything out of the ordinary caught anyone's attention. Maybe our buyer has made an appearance somewhere here.'
With the meeting over, we all decided to meet up in the guild hall at first light. I decided to have a meal with the wolf cub downstairs in the hall. At least she wasn't bothered by my way of consuming food. By the time returned to the sole inn of the town, the moon had begun to rise over the horizon. Entering my quarters, I collapsed onto the bed as soon as I was able. The wolf cub deftly jumped up as well. I think this was the first time in weeks I had been able to sleep on something comfortable. Well, I can only assume so.
Moonlight streaked down from the window nearby as the cub gave me a quiet yip next to me, making herself a small spot to sleep on with the bed linens. I recounted the days events before I decided to go to sleep. It's true what the Guildmaster said; something terrible was brewing in these woods.
Something else has bothered me too. Just like that, I stopped one conflict only to find myself embroiled in another. What it just the nature of this world? Or is it just attracted to me? Sometimes I wonder if I'm just being strung along.
I shake my head and ask Oracle to wake me at first light. I think that's enough brooding for today.
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