I do not own claymore
The Warrior and the Wolf
The village innkeeper had just finished lighting the outside lanterns for his evening customers, he stood for a few moments with his plump hands resting on an ample belly, smiling and nodding at his regulars, exchanging pleasantries and beaming with satisfaction. His was a good life. The moon was low in the sky, its pale face still hidden amongst the trees it was rising through, he frowned slightly and thought; it was only a couple of more days until the full of the moon. The Wolf's Moon. Since anyone could remember, the full moon was feared. The foreign priests had once declared that their God on the cross, not the twin Goddesses Teresa and Clare, would drive the wolf away. Now they huddled in their church and prayed in vain, they too had felt the wolf's wrath and the wolf continued to have his way, despite their prayers to their ineffective God.
A movement on the narrow mountain road coming up from the plains below, caught his eye and while he watched warily, a hooded and cloaked figure on foot emerged from the deepening gloom; a traveler, a rarity these days. Rumors of the wolf had spread slowly, and occasionally a traveler would arrive, drawn here by the rumors of a wolf that stalked the hills by the moonlight and ate men. They were usually hard men, lean and battle hardened with feral eyes. Feared by the villagers almost as much as the wolf of legend, they would come asking,
"Where is the wolf?"
A villager braver than the others, would point out where the wolf was thought to hide and would lead the way. Their torn bodies would be found a day or so later and quietly buried in the church's graveyard, their mangled remains stuffed with wolfbane and the coffins chained tightly to prevent escape.
As the traveler drew nearer to the plump innkeeper, he realized the traveler was quite tall, possibly the tallest person he'd ever seen. Long fingered hands reached up and pulled the travel stained gray hood back and a woman's face smiled at him. She was a beauty! Her eyes were a silvery-gray color, rather unusual for these parts while her flaxen hair was parted in the middle and pulled back.
She spoke with a foreign accent,
"Good evening innkeeper! Have you any rooms free?"
He replied jovially,
"And a good evening to you, fair traveler. Yes we have a room free, meals are included!"
She grinned at him and replied,
"Good! I'll take it and a hot bath!"
She paused to stamp the dust off her boots then stepped up onto the tiled entryway and loomed over him.
The common room fell silent as the towering woman entered, she ducked slightly to clear the lintel of the doorway and her head seemed to brush the carved, smoke darkened beams supporting the ceiling as she approached the innkeepers desk. Eyes exchanged glances and lingered, looking the fair haired stranger over, beneath her cloak she wore coarsely woven trousers tucked into calf high boots and shouldered a long, heavy bundle. A fee was agreed upon and coppery colored coins changed hands while a key was pressed into her outstretched hand. Leaving the desk, she ducked her head again as she stepped into the hallway and disappeared from sight.
A collective murmur swept across the common room. "Did ya' see her eyes?" "How tall is she?" "Where is she from?" "Why is she here?" "Surely, she's not here for the wolf?" "She's so pretty!" "She's traveling alone?" This continued unabated until she reappeared nearly an hour later, minus her cloak and gear. Wearing only a long sleeved homespun shirt tucked into her trousers with a belt cinched around her waist and boots on her feet. Her flaxen hair still damp, cascaded down her back ending just above her butt. Seeing an empty table, she moved across the common room seemingly in two strides and settled into a slightly too small chair. The innkeeper's wife bustled in from the kitchen and set a wooden platter laden with roasted fowl, a hunk of buttered bread and a wooden jack of ale in front of the beautiful foreigner.
She ate as if she was unaware that everyone in the room was fascinated by her, she swigged at her ale as if she was oblivious to the fact that this tiny village nestled deep in the mountains had not seen an outsider in nearly a decade. Curious eyes noted her every movement, the way she took small bites and sipped at her ale rather than guzzling it like the menfolk did. Across the lamplit room, eyebrows went up when she finished her eating and pushed away the still mostly full platter. She finished her ale and asked for more, forestalling the wagging tongues of idle gossip, at least she drank normally.
The village blacksmith rose from his customary seat and approached the tall stranger. Standing before her with his powerful arms folded across his burly chest, he came right out and asked her, "Are you here about the wolf?"
She looked right at him and answered with her own question,
"Do you know where it hides?"
His eyes narrowed briefly and he replied gruffly,
"If we knew where it was, we'd have killed it by now. Others who've sought it now lie in the church graveyard."
" That's okay, never mind" she replied mildly, " I have an idea of how I can find it."
Looking puzzled, the blacksmith asked her,
"How d'you think you're going to find what we've sought for generations? My great grandpa was eaten by the wolf and so was my older brother, his wife and my niece."
He spread his muscular arms and gestured around the common room in a broad sweep of his thick fingered hands.
"Every one here has lost kinfolk to the wolf, and you, a stranger are gonna tell me, no us, that you've got an idea? Let's hear it!"
Taking a long drink from her jack of ale, she paused to wipe the foamy mustache from her upper lip.
"My idea is to examine the site of his last attack and get the feel for this creature; once I have it, I can track him by that feeling."
The blacksmith rose one thick, black eyebrow and growled,
"If you're one of those 'fortune tellers', I'll thank you to leave tomorrow morning. We need help, not a 'feeling'; who're you and how did you find out about us anyway?"
" My name is Sheila, I heard tell of your wolf problem from someone whose father came here looking for the wolf and didn't return. Since I've dealt with this sort of thing before in a land to the north of here, a land called Thule. I thought I'd come see what I could find." She replied, "Once it's light out, I will examine the last attack site and begin scouting the area looking for signs of a den, or a cave he can hide in by day."
Glancing around the crowded room, she added, "I may need someone who can show me around." Seeing the villagers exchanging nervous glances with each other, she laughed and said cheerfully,
"Oh, Don't worry! I'll protect my guide. After all, I don't want to get lost up in these mountains!"
A low murmur wandered through the room as she tilted her head back and drained her wooden mug in one go. Setting the empty jack before her, she rose and said cheerfully, "G'night every body!" Then left the common room.
2
Entering her room, Sheila noticed at once the small, huddled shape in the darkened corner, it was hardly more than a bundle of dirty rags, too meager for even the rag pickers to bother with. Silently, she leaned over the shapeless mass, reached down with a long arm and grabbed the raggedy mass to hoist it into the air and get a better look at her visitor. Scrawny arms and legs sprang out from the mass and out popped a grimy little face topped by tousled black hair; bright blue eyes opened and the gap toothed mouth let out a piercing shriek. Holding her wriggling guest by the scruff of her raggedy garment, Sheila turned the small, wriggling mass from side to side, looking at her visitor closely, it shrieked again. Glancing at the floor, Sheila pointed out her visitor's plight,
"If you scream again, I might drop you and it will hurt, you don't want to be dropped do you?" The gap toothed mouth closed at once.
"Good! That's much better." Said the towering blonde to her tiny intruder.
"Now, how did you get in here and do you have a name?"
"Nadia... My name is Nadia." answered a tiny voice, and a bony finger pointed at the opened window, Sheila looked her visitor over and asked,
"Nadia? Okay, Nadia it is... When was the last time you had a bath, clean clothes and a decent meal?" Nadia managed a shrug in spite of being dangled high above a hard, wooden floor.
There was a knocking on her door and Sheila answered, "Yes?" the inn keeper's voice responded. "I thought I heard screaming, is everything all right?"
A glance at her visitor's face told her many things, the look of fear on the dirty face before her was not faked, it was genuine.
"Everything's fine, I was just letting off some pent-up emotions, it helps me sleep better."
She lied as she winked at her small guest. The inn keeper's voice spoke again.
"We've kept the rest of your order warm for you, you ate so little and we didn't want to just throw it to the hogs."
Sheila thought briefly and asked,
"Oh! Could you bring it to my room? And possibly some more hot water and a washboard? I feel like washing some of my clothes before bed."
" I'll bring the food up right away! I'll have my wife heat up some more water for you, It'll be a few minutes, is that O.K.?"
"That'll be fine, thanks!" replied Sheila, she heard the inn keeper's footsteps receding as he lumbered back down the hallway.
Setting her small visitor back down, Sheila straightened to her full height and looked the little girl over. Craning her neck upward, the tiny girl looked up at Sheila for a long moment before asking,
"Why didn't you tell them I was here?"
"I dunno" answered Sheila, "Maybe I felt sorry for you, or maybe you reminded me of myself when I was little like you, an orphan that no one wanted around."
The girl's eyes began welling up and tears trickled down her grimy cheeks, she stood silently weeping never uttering even a peep. Her hidden anguish silently trickling from her bright blue eyes.
A knock on the door interrupted the moment and Sheila pointed under her bed, the girl quickly obeyed and slid out of sight. Opening the door, Sheila was greeted by the inn keeper bearing a tray with the remnants of her original food order and a mug of cider.
"Here ya go missy! I added the cider 'cause its not good to eat without drinking something with your food. My wife will be along in a few minutes with some more hot water for the tub."
Sheila took the tray from his outstretched hands and thanked him,
"I appreciate this, I sometimes wake up in the night and want to eat something. "
The innkeeper smiled at her and backed out of the doorway, closing the door behind him.
Nadia emerged from under the bed and stood silently eying the food, her empty stomach growling. Sheila remarked,
"I wouldn't relax just yet, there's hot water coming any minute now."
A few minutes later, came another rap on her door. Nadia quickly diappeared under the bed again. Opening the door, Sheila found the innkeeper's plump wife and a maid standing in the hallway, she was carrying two large, copper water kettles emitting steamy vapors.
"Here's the hot water you ordered miss!"
She declared and bustled into the room, right behind her was the maid carrying a wooden pail and a wash board. The maid pulled the pail through the tepid water and threw the water out the window, taking the level in the tub down a bit. The landlady emptied the kettles into the large wooden tub while the maid laid out the wash board. Sheila gave each of them a couple of coppers in thanks and they both smiled at her, "Thank you!" said the maid as she pulled the door shut behind her.
Nadia once again, crawled out from under the bed and stood up; she eyed the platter of food hungrily and reached out a grimy hand for a roasted fowl's leg. Sheila lightly slapped the girl's hand away and said firmly.
"Bath first! You can eat later when you're finished. Now, off with those dirty clothes and into the tub!"
Moments later, Nadia's thin body shivered both from Sheila's searching gaze and from the evening's coolness. She was a mess, her ribs showed plainly and her limbs were gaunt, she was a starveling child. Sheila looked at her grimly and said softly,
"How long have you been like this? You haven't eaten regularly for a while now, have you?" Nadia looked at the bath water as if she had never seen hot water before and didn't know what to do next.
Sheila coaxed her, "Go on, get in, it'll feel good once your clean."
When Nadia continued to hesitate, Sheila doffed her own shirt and scooped up Nadia before she could react and dunked her into the warm water, head and all. Seconds later, Nadia came back up spluttering. Sheila grabbed the washcloth and soap and proceeded to give Nadia probably the first real scrubbing she had known in months. The layers of grime eroded away to reveal a young girl with fair skin, black hair and bright blue eyes. Sheila hoisted her out of the water, set her on her feet and handed her the towel before saying,
"Dry yourself off and then you can eat."
As Nadia toweled herself off, she kept glancing at Sheila's breasts until Sheila finally asked her,
"Haven't you ever seen breasts before? you keep looking at mine."
Nadia blushed and said quietly, "I first thought you might be a man 'cause you're so tall, I didn't mean to be rude."
Sheila chuckled and said, " Oh, I'm definitely a girl alright!"
Wrapping herself in the towel, Nadia perched on the chair and proceeded to demolish the remnants of Sheila's meal.
Sheila picked up the tattered rags that Nadia had worn and thrust them into the still warm water, she used the soap and washboard to scrub the ragged garments then plunged the soapy garments in the tub, swirling the clothing round and round, occasionally wringing them out and repeating the process until the rags were as clean as they could get.
"We're gonna have to get you some clothing, this is ridiculous! How did it get so bad for you? An isolated village like this should have someone who would take you in and what about that church I saw? They take in orphans don't they? " Sheila muttered half to herself and half to Nadia.
"My parents were killed by the wolf." Said Nadia in a small voice, "I thought I might have a curse on me or something. I couldn't ask anyone to take me in, not even my uncle. I lived by sneaking food out of the backs of kitchens and pulling vegetables from the gardens. I stole my clothes from wash lines and slept under the houses to keep warm. I prayed to the twin Goddesses, Teresa and Clare to send a warrior and you came."
She looked at Sheila and declared firmly, "I want to go with you to the wolf's lair, I want you to kill him like he killed my parents and so many others. If you won't let me, I'll follow you!"
The girl was so serious as she said it that Sheila felt a chill, would she ever feel loved or safe again? It was so strange hearing the names of Teresa and Clare after all this time.
Sheila asked her,
"You mentioned Teresa and Clare, where did you hear their names?"
"My gramma told me of the twin Goddesses that were once great warriors, they protected us from creatures like the wolf. We kept a silver statue of them in our house even though the priests told us not to." replied Nadia cheerfully.
Sheila stoked up the fire a bit and carefully arranged the girl's tattered clothes over the chairs to dry in front of the cheery fire. Pulling down the bedclothes, Sheila looked at Nadia and asked her,
"Care to join me? There is room for you in my bed." Nadia looked at the bed with longing and quickly slid under the covers.
Sheila laughed as she opened the window more, lifted the wash tub and heaved the bath water out the window to splash in the alley below. Setting the empty tub down, Sheila turned to see Nadia staring at her with wide eyes, finally she stammered.
"I... It takes four men to lift that tub when it's full of water and you did it so easily!"
Sheila smiled at the girl and stepped over to her belongings and lifted a long, cloth wrapped shape into view.
"I usually keep this wrapped up, so's not to attract too much attention from city guardsmen." Deftly, she unwrapped the cloth to reveal a great two-handed sword, a claymore, the sword out of legend.
"I come from a long line of sword-bearers, only the strongest of the daughters are chosen to be trained in the way of the sword."
It was all a lie. Sheila was one of the few surviving warriors from the old days when the yoma had terrorized the people and the organization ran everything from behind the scenes. She and her sister warriors had finally rebelled and threw down the organization, many had died on both sides and chaos ruled for years. The survivors slipped into the shadows and lived quietly, only when a yoma emerged from hiding did a warrior take up her sword again to do battle.
Nadia was all eyes as she watched Sheila manipulate the heavy blade easily with one hand, her eyes trying to follow the gleaming blade as it swept through the air as if it were merely a willow wand.
Sheila smiled at Nadia and said,
"I think it's time we went to sleep, don't you?" Nadia was fading fast, the hot meal, warm bath and snug bed were all conspiring to lull her into slumberland, in spite of her efforts to fend off the inevitable. Through heavy eyes, Nadia half saw the candle wink out as a snapping sound came from out of nowhere. In the soft light from the fireplace, Nadia half saw Sheila slip out of her trousers and ease into the bed beside the fading girl, she dimly perceived a long, warm body holding her close and oblivion claimed her at last.
3
The gray predawn light showed two figures moving furtively away from the clothes line behind the house, the tall one had taken a few items and left a few coppers in their place. Pausing only long enough for the small one to don the purloined items, they passed by the cobbler's shop and left a few more coppers in place of the child sized sturdy shoes left within easy reach for a tall person. Slung over the small one's shoulder was a cloth sack, the freshly baked bread sticking out the top and other shapes hinted at fruits and cheeses carried within.
At the edge of the village, the small one paused and turned around, the dawn's early light showed a pale face topped by tousled black hair. The bright blue eyes blinked a few times, then the small figure turned away and they walked into the forest's gloom.
Nadia struggled to keep up with Sheila, even though she knew that the tall woman was taking it easy. She still had to be helped at times, especially when they came to a cliff. Sheila simply picked up Nadia, tucked her under her left arm and proceeded to scale the cliff in great leaps from rocky ledge to rocky ledge.
Within seconds, they were standing at the top of the cliff and Nadia could only gape at Sheila's mountaineering skills. Seeing the look on Nadia's face, Sheila chuckled and remarked.
"Don't worry, we won't be coming back down this way. I'm taking the most direct route to the wolf's lair. Afterwards, we'll take the scenic route."
Late afternoon found them stopping in a narrow defile to make camp. A small stream was trickling past the ancient gnarled pine tree they had stopped under. Sheila built a small fire by the fading light while Nadia collected enough dry branches, pine cones and twigs to see them through the night. Spreading her great cloak upon the leafy carpet, Sheila took out her great sword and went through a series of sword exercises while Nadia leaned back against the tree trunk and watched.
The girl had never seen or heard of a swordswoman, especially not one who handled a two handed sword with such ease. Sheila was neatly clipping the ends from the small dry branches of the old pine tree they had camped under, and in a dizzying display of speed, chopped the falling twigs into pieces as they fell.
The moon rose over the mountains, its vast, pale orb casting silvery light across the darkened land. The wolf's moon was upon them. Nadia shivered from her fears and shrank against the massive tree trunk, Sheila paused in her shadow fencing and said reassuringly,
"I won't let the wolf hurt you, he has more to fear from me than you from him."
Nadia gulped and said thickly, "I... I saw him kill my parents, my father fought with all his might to protect us. The wolf just knocked his sword aside and tore him apart… then my mom was killed and the wolf just looked at me like I was nothing… like I wasn't enough to bother with.
I…I.. I swear I heard the wolf talk… he said. 'Grow some more, get bigger and then… I'll eat you.' " Nadia's face was wet with tears as she looked up at Sheila and cried in anguish,
"My dad was a soldier once, he knew how to fight! He was not a coward nor was my mom, she put herself between me and the wolf and… and… now she's dead, they're both dead." Nadia curled into a ball and wept, her thin body wracked with anguish. She felt strong arms wrap themselves around her and Sheila's soft voice said,
"I promise that I will kill this wolf, for your parents and all of the other families who've lost someone to him. I will kill him or die trying!"
"Well, well, well! What have we here? A claymore and look! She brought a little snack for me, how sweet." Taunted the harsh voice from the darkness, Sheila sprang up, sword at the ready. Nadia shrank against the gnarled trunk, her white knuckled hands gripping Sheila's belt knife.
"You needn't bother with the sticker missy, 'cause after I gut the claymore… you're dessert!" Declared the unseen speaker.
Sheila spat and said grimly, "Ignore him, he's just trying to goad you into running. He won't make any moves while I'm here, nor will you see him, he'll hide in the darkness and hurl taunts. He knows what I can do and he's afraid of me."
"And what's keeping me from sneaking into the village and eating my fill, while you're up here, thinking I'm nearby?" Taunted the voice.
Sheila snorted derisively and retorted, "I've got your youki signature now, you can't do anything without me knowing about it, or go anywhere that I can't track you down!"
A loud cracking sound was followed by a large tree branch hurtling out of the darkness.
Sheila's sword flashed briefly and the branch fell apart into fragments, she cried out a challenge,
"Is that your best? Throwing sticks?" a scrabbling sound of small stones tumbling came out of the darkness.
Nadia noticed Sheila visibly relaxing before she said, "He's gone, he must've gone back to his hidey hole. Oh well, he gave us plenty of firewood!"
"Sheila?" asked Nadia, "Why did he call you a claymore instead of a hunter? And what is a claymore, besides a really big sword?"
Sheila paused in her firewood gathering, looked at Nadia for a long moment then replied, "Claymore was a nickname given to warriors from the organization. The organization never had an actual name, it was always just 'The Organization'. The people called the warriors 'claymores' because of the swords they carried, the warriors never referred to themselves as claymores."
"What happened to the organization and the warriors?" was her next question. Sheila smiled at her small companion, the girl wasn't going to sleep anytime soon, not after the 'wolf encounter'. "I don't know everything about the organization, it fell long, long ago. It created the warriors by a combination of science and sorcery. The technique used to create them died with the organization. The warriors finally rose up in revolt and overthrew the organization, it was bloody and many warriors died along with the sorcerer-scientists, there was chaos for a long time afterwards. In time, the people learned how to protect themselves against the dragonkin and the warriors were no longer needed."
"Dragonkin?" came Nadia's query, Sheila sighed and continued.
"The dragonkin were a people who were related to dragons, the warriors were originally created to fight them and the organization kept trying to improve the warriors, to increase their power in battle. It wasn't until after the fall of the organization that humans developed weapons powerful enough to kill the dragonkin, the last of them died in a great battle one which the humans barely won, only because many of the last warriors took part in the battle and only a few survived."
Sheila paused for a few moments and Nadia glanced at her face, she looked as if she was remembering a terrible ordeal, the look quickly passed and Sheila smiled at Nadia.
"I'm sure all this history stuff is pretty boring…"
"No! Not at all…In the village all I ever heard about was what happened in the village. You're telling me things I've never heard of before, claymores, warriors, dragonkin, the organization. I've never talked to anyone who wasn't a villager." Nadia replied emphatically. Sheila could only laugh, the kid could talk once she opened up!
"The warriors, what happened to them? And how did you get one of their swords?" The sudden query surprised Sheila, Nadia had been quiet for a while and Sheila figured that she had finally fallen asleep.
"I'm descended from one of them, her name was Sheila too, in fact all of the first born females in my family have been named 'Sheila' and like her, we have been trained in the way of the sword, the strongest of us bear her sword until it's time for us to pass it on to the next bearer."
"Is that why you're so big and strong? Because you're related to a warrior?"
Sheila chuckled and replied, "Yeah, something like that, the women in my family tend to be tall and strong."
She thought to herself, "How could I explain to her that I am one of the warriors, and that I am centuries, no, millenia old. God, I wish I didn't have to lie about who and what I am."
The faint snores told Sheila that her small companion had slipped into dreamland as she had snuggled up against Sheila's side. She gently disengaged herself from the girl and wrapped her travel stained cloak around the child. Adjusting her body temperature, she lay down beside Nadia and slipped into a light doze.
Nadia awoke to the warmth of sunlight washing over her, sitting up as she glanced about, she saw that she was alone! Sheila was nowhere to be seen, fear gripped her, what had happened to Sheila? Jumping up in a panic Nadia grabbed her shoes, pulled them on and made ready to flee.
Then she noticed that Sheila's things were lying right where she had left them last night, the only things missing were Sheila and her massive sword. The smell of roasting meat reached her nose, glancing around Nadia saw the small animal roasting on a spit leaning over the fire.
"It should be almost ready! It's about time you were up, sleepyhead." Cried Sheila's voice from downstream, Nadia turned and saw Sheila striding towards her, her great sword in plain sight now, dangling from her left hand were two waterskins, their rounded shape indicating fullness.
Within seconds Sheila had reached the campsite, whereupon Nadia glomped on to her in a grip of surprising strength for one so thin.
"You scared me!" Nadia cried, "I woke up and you were gone, I thought I was abandoned again. Please don't ever do that to me, I was really scared."
Sheila smiled at her small companion,
"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. I have been up for a while now, and you were sleeping so soundly that I built the fire back up and slew an unwary raccoon," She pointed at the crisped carcass, "that's him on the spit by the way. We needed some water, and this little trickle would take too long to fill the waterskins, so I filled them at that last pond we saw and got back just in time to get scolded by you!"
By mid morning they had reached a high valley and were approaching some tumbled down blocks of cut stone. Once upon a time, there had been people living in these now ruined buildings. Sheila paused to set down her pack frame and travel cloak, she loosened her claymore in its holder and made sure she could draw it in a hurry.
Turning to Nadia, she admonished,
"Stay close to me, but give me room to fight. If you crowd me, I might hit you by accident, okay?" A very wide eyed Nadia nodded and swallowed her fear.
Drawing her huge sword in one smooth stroke, Sheila grinned at her small companion and they started approaching the ruined town. They had not gone far when Nadia tripped over a broken skull half hidden by the grass, nearby lay the shattered rib cage and spine of the skeleton. Nadia stifled her scream, while Sheila looked at the broken remains and muttered,
"He's nobody you knew, from the weathering and the gnaw marks. I'd say these bones have lain up here at least five years."
Sheila sensed the youki emanating from one of the less ruined structures and headed towards it. To Nadia, the ruins resembled so many ancient grave stones tumbled and leaning at odd angles. The largest, a domed building vaguely resembling a huge skull emerging from the grassy slope, caught Nadia's eye and to her horror, Sheila was heading straight for it!
A swarthy man clad in buckskins, appeared in the entrance to the ruinous structure. He was the hunter who came to the village at times to sell furs and drink in the tavern, he rarely spoke and usually drank alone. Nadia was about to shout a greeting to the man when Sheila addressed him with a question,
"Whose body is this one? I know you have to occasionally change your appearance to remain hidden."
The man grinned and replied nonchalantly, "Oh, he was someone I ate a while back, he came right to me, it was so easy! Your girl tripped over his bones out there in the grass."
He idly toyed with a tuft of grass sticking out of a joint in the stone wall before asking Sheila,
"So, which one are you anyway? What is your number, and how is it you've survived all this time?"
Sheila gripped her sword hilt tightly and growled, "It doesn't matter who I am or my number, nor does my survival for that matter."
The man simply shrugged and replied testily, "I was just making small talk before we, y'know, get down to business. Sheesh! You claymores always get so serious, no sense of fun at all!"
Sheila grinned and replied, "I've always enjoyed hunting down and killing a yoma. In fact, I think you may be the last one left. Disguising yourself as a wolf was pretty clever, these mountain folk would be too scared to come up here and find your lair; if they thought a werewolf awaited them."
The man grinned and boasted, "Yeah, I'm kinda proud of that! The timid humans left me alone and the brave ones sought me out. It was always good sport fighting a brave one, and I always got a good meal after a bit of light exercise."
Nadia was very confused, Sheila was calling this man a "yoma" and he was calling her a "claymore". She was about to speak up when the man called out to her,
"Didn't this woman tell you the truth about herself? Didn't she tell you that she's actually centuries old, and that she's a claymore?" Seeing the confusion on Nadia's face, the man laughed and jeered,
"I didn't think so! That's a claymore for you, always hiding from the truth about themselves. Well, I am a yoma and I eat human guts! And I am gonna enjoy eating your warm guts after I've taken care of the claymore. But first, I'm gonna play with you for awhile, there's nothing sweeter than a young virgin!"
Nadia cringed in horror, she was old enough to know what the man meant.
Sheila cried angrily, "Enough! You shall not say another word." The man jeered, "Did I hit a nerve there? You mad now? Losing your cool? I heard old Dae was pretty fond of virgins!"
Sheila grimly advanced towards the man, her sword at the ready. He suddenly began doing the strangest thing Nadia had ever seen. His entire body began shifting and altering before her eyes, his flesh shifted and bones creaked and stretched as he took on a whole different aspect. His face and jaw elongated and his teeth grew horribly into a ghastly array of dentition. He groaned and fell to his knees as his limbs shortened and his torso elongated while a tail erupted from his rump, soon coarse gray hair sprouted all over his body and he burst out of his leathery his stretching and distorting jaws he cursed them,
"Damn all you claymore bitches! Always coming after me, hounding me. No more! I will fight you and I will kill you and then I will fu…" his voice became too garbled to understand as his transformation was nearly complete.
4
Nadia stood rooted to the ground as her worst nightmare replayed itself before her shrinking eyes. The huge wolf was right there, right in front of her! The wolf that had killed and ate her parents then mocked her for being too small to bother with. Shaking his head briefly, the gigantic wolf charged them, his great jaws gaping for the killing bite. Sheila swung her great blade in an arc aimed at the wolf's neck, the huge wolf averted his great head and her stroke only clipped a few strands of coarse gray hair and the tip of an ear, eliciting a snarl from the great beast
Doubling back on himself, the snarling wolf charged again as Sheila desperately brought her sword about to put it between herself and the massive beast. To Nadia huddled by a block of stone, it was all a blur of gray bulk rushing against a flashing sword, a roaring, bellowing whirlwind of violence. To Sheila, it was her skills pitted against an ancient enemy, the enemy her kind was created to fight.
This yoma was special, he was the last one and he was desperate to live. He dodged, he feinted and allowed small bits of himself to get injured in the hopes of getting inside the steel curtain protecting his ageless opponent. Sheila briefly caught her foot on a tuft of grass and the wolf at last, slipped his great jaws through the momentary gap in Sheila's defenses and clamped down on her left forearm while he dug in his paws and pulled backwards. Without hesitation, Sheila pulled back and clipped her own left arm off right at the elbow, causing the great wolf to tumble backwards. This was the opening she had been seeking! She leapt forward and swung desperately, her great sword flashing in a glittering arc that ended at its ancient foe's neck and sent the wolf's head rolling and spilling purple blood away from the gray furred body. It was over, the last battle between a warrior and a yoma. The centuries long war had finally ended.
Sheila stood over her opponent's corpse while it morphed back into the hideous form of a huge yoma.
Sheila? Did you know he took off your arm?" asked a small voice at her side. Sheila glanced over at Nadia's trembling form and smiled at her, "Well kiddo, we won! We did it, we killed the wolf."
Nadia drew a great breath and suddenly shouted, "YOUR ARM! LOOK AT YOUR ARM!" and pointed at the yoma's head with Sheila's left arm still locked in its jaws. To Nadia's astonishment, Sheila stepped over to the severed head, removed her limb from the jaws, held it up and pressed the severed end against her bloody stump. Sheila grimaced for a few minutes until the color came back into the limb and the wounds closed over; then she flexed her fingers experimentally.
Holding up her now healed arm she smiled at Nadia and said,
"There! All better, see?"
Nadia shrank away from her in alarm and cried, "People can't do that! People can't put their limbs back on like that! What are you?"
Sheila looked at Nadia sadly and said,
"What the yoma said is true, I am a claymore warrior and I am centuries old. I lied to you about my family and inheriting this blade. I have no family for I cannot bear children, so I have carried this sword, this claymore; across this wide world for centuries. I have never known real rest or a real home, a place to hang up my sword and lay down my burden."
Sheila gazed down at the sprawled corpse and half to herself said quietly, "Now it is over and I have no more yomas to fight, the long campaign is finished and humanity is safe from the yoma now. My sisters and I can lay down our weapons and fade into the ages and become myths."
She stooped, picked up the yoma's grisly head and placed it in a net bag, she glanced at Nadia, turned away from her and began heading back down from the mountains, as she walked away she called over her shoulder,
"I'll take you back to your village, once they see this head, they'll take you back. You have nothing to fear from me." Nadia stood for a long moment as Sheila's towering form drew away from her, the hideous head bouncing and swaying in the net bag, the purplish blood staining the grass as it dripped behind her.
Nadia hesitated, she had just witnessed something that ordinary folk had not seen in centuries, a battle between a yoma and a warrior from the organization. The tales told by the old folk suddenly carried real meaning, they were true! Such things had really happened, the legends had truth to them. Her prayers to Teresa and Clare had been heard and they had sent her a warrior! This warrior slew the wolf and freed her village from its ancient terror. Throwing her fears to the wind, Nadia shouted anxiously, "Hey Sheila! Wait up! I'm coming with you!" She started running after Sheila, her hand outstretched to catch hold of her tall savior's outstretched left hand. Joining hands, the two spent the rest of the day and part of the next, hiking back down to the mountain village.
5
It was well after dark as they approached the inn, several patrons were standing outside, puffing on long stemmed pipes and quaffing ale in the smoke scented evening air. The wolf's moon had passed and no one had died, a cause for celebration. The village blacksmith spotted Sheila's blonde hair first, then he recognized Nadia and cried out,
"My God! Look who's back!" He turned his head and hollered, "Hey everyone! The tall foreigner is back and she's found Nadia!" He ran towards them and wrapped his massive arms around Nadia, squeezing her tightly until she squawked, "Gah! Uncle Viktor, you're hurting me!"
Viktor released her and with tears welling up in his eyes he cried, "Where have you been? We thought you were dead, your aunt has been frantic."
"I...I was hiding... I thought the wolf was coming for me next." Nadia stammered, her eyes also welling up with tears, as Viktor pulled her close and held her while she wept
Several patrons came out of the inn to see what the commotion was about, and milled around talking amongst themselves. Without ceremony, Sheila opened the net bag and dropped the yoma's head on the ground, it thudded and rolled over to lay facing the crowd, its gaping jaws filled with gleaming white teeth.
"Your wolf is dead, I killed him yesterday afternoon, and young Nadia here witnessed it. I couldn't have found his lair without her help, you people owe her." Sheila announced firmly.
A voice called out, "Bring a lantern! We need a better look at this." Several lanterns appeared and were brought to bear on the grisly remains lying in the dirt. In the glow of the multiple lanterns, the inhuman nature of the head was quite apparent to all. Several voices spoke all at once. "Did'ya see the teeth?" " Look at those eyes!" " Purple blood?" "What big jaws!" "God save us!" The blacksmith stood up and raised his meaty hand for silence, then he spoke, "If this is indeed the wolf, we all owe you a great deal. How is it that you two, a woman and a girl, were able to slay the beast that ate men, when so many hunters had perished in his jaws?"
A voice suddenly called out, "Hey everybody! Have you seen the sword this lady is carrying? It's huge!" Sheila stood still while the crowd looked over her great sword and debated behind her. "It's a claymore! She's a claymore? Impossible! That was centuries ago, no claymores could be still living!" Viktor folded his great arms across his deep chest and scowled. Nadia spoke up. "Don't you believe us, uncle Viktor? He was the wolf! I saw him transform before he attacked us, the biggest wolf ever. By day, he was the fur trapper who'd come down from the mountains to trade furs for drinks at the inn, I swear on my parents graves!" She was almost hysterical by this time,Viktor looked deeply uncertain.
"Never mind them, Nadia." Spoke Sheila, "Clearly, they don't believe us!"
Nadia looked up at Sheila and smiled, " It's okay, but we know the truth, don't we."
"That's right Nadia, if you like, you can come with me when I leave here in the morning." Replied Sheila.
Viktor suddenly spoke up, "Wait a minute here! Nadia is my niece and was my brother's only child, you can't just take her!"
He knelt and said to Nadia pleadingly, "You vanished after your parent's death. We had no idea where you were or even if you were alive, and now you turn up; only to leave us again?"
Nadia's eyes filled with tears and she began crying, through her sobs she said thickly,
"I, I don't know what I want…The wolf took my mommy and daddy and told me I was too small to eat…Sheila killed the wolf, I saw her cut his head off…an…an… he turned into this... this thing…"
A sturdy looking woman came rushing up, her face flushed with emotions, she cried out. "Nadia? Where's Nadia? Where's my niece?" Shouldering aside the crowd, she swept the unhappy girl into her ample bosom and they both wept freely. Rising to his feet, Viktor stood for a moment watching his wife and niece, then he embraced the both of them and the trio wept as the crowd watched.
Sheila stood impassively, watching the emotions flowing freely; her placid face betraying no emotion, even though her own heart ached for the family. The village had lived under the wolf's shadow for generations and now he was dead, a great weight had been lifted from this mountain. The village church's bell began ringing furiously, rousing the villagers from their homes. Men bearing torches went from house to house, shouting,
"The wolf is dead! His head is at the inn, come see it! The wolf is dead!"
The village square in front of the inn filled quickly with chattering folk, each one taking a turn spitting in the dead face of the yoma they had called the wolf. Even the village priest took his turn. After all, hadn't the wolf made a mockery of his God? During all of this festivity, Sheila quietly slipped away, back into the darkness from whence she had come.
"Let the villagers have their celebration, they deserve it." She thought as her long strides carried her further and further from the mountain village once haunted by the wolf.
Epilogue
It was the height of the summer tourist season and the little Romanian town of Wolfsberg was enjoying the brisk sale of souvenirs and trinkets. Deep in the town's past there had been a legend of a werewolf and the misshapen skull and great jawbone on display in the town's ancient hall was reputedly its skull. The tall blonde was browsing through the marketplatz looking over the antiques for sale there. She stopped at one stall that caught her silvery gray eye, the fair skinned black haired young woman there had several very interesting items on her table.
One in particular was a small silver statue of two women standing back to back, their heads bowed with their hands pressed together and eyes closed in prayer, seemingly wrapped around them and sweeping forward were two great wings. Stooping slightly to get a better look, the tall blonde smiled to herself and asked the salesgirl,
"How much for the little silver statue?"
The girl looked up from her video game and squinted at the statue first, then she said,
"That's a statue of Teresa and Clare, the twin goddesses. It was a warrior priestess cult, the priestesses carried big swords called claymores. This has been in my family for centuries."
The tall blonde smiled and said,
"That's very interesting, I'll take it!"
The girl sized up her towering customer. She saw a tall, flaxen haired, beautiful woman wearing tailored clothing and expensive shoes, her every aspect cried 'money!' the girl said without hesitation, "That'll be 3,500 Euros please!"
The tall beauty smiled and reached into her handbag, pulled out a plastic card and handed it to the blue eyed girl with a smile. Minutes later, the woman was slipping her purchase into her bag, she patted the bag and thought,
"Wait'll Teresa and Clare see this!"
A tall, well dressed man approached the tall woman.
"Hi! I couldn't help noticing you, you probably get this a lot, but I'm gonna try anyway! Can I buy you a coffee or a drink or something?"
The woman took off her sunglasses and smiled at him, her silvery gray eyes twinkled and his heart skipped a beat before she replied,
"Only if I get to buy the next round."
As they walked away, the salesgirl heard the man ask, "I didn't get your name?" the tall blonde said, "It's Sheila." The salesgirl resumed her videogame, the rest of her great, great, great grandmother's things would sell later, she'd just scored 3,500 Euros. Her cellphone rang, she answered it, "Nadia here."
15