There was a damp smell in the air as dawn arrived. Austin was already outside the cave, examining the map carefully. Looks like we're going to need to travel through some pretty dangerous terrain while we're in the Bandit Coast region. Judging from the map, the path runs right next to a cliff. Austin bit his lower lip and ran a hand through his shaggy brown hair. He glanced back at the cave entrance. It had been a rough night. No one had slept all that well.
Cody was leaning against a tree, looking down the path. "So we keep going this way to reach Westcliff? And besides the Crucible, what exactly is in Westcliff?"
"A port. We need to reach that port to get to Bloodstone." Austin answered.
"I still don't understand why we can't just keep going south. We would eventually run into Wraithmarsh that way, right?" Cody brushed a leaf out of his long red ponytail.
Austin shook his head. "Jean said that the road is destroyed. So we can't go that way. Besides Reaver takes the Bloodstone route when he visits his…friends."
"Oh good. I really hope we don't bump into those friends of Reaver. Whatever they are." Cody muttered, shaking his head. He turned toward the sound of a twig being snapped. "Ah, Jean. Out marking your territory, were you?"
Jean, dressed in her Reaver influenced outfit, rolled her eyes and sighed, "No. That would be a mistake. Remember, we're getting ready to head into balverine territory. And they are not friendly. Okay? Silverpines balverines are fine. Westcliff balverines are bad. So we need to be careful and behave in a manner that these balverines would view as unthreatening. So we will move quickly. We will not hunt. We will not sleep. In and out. Got it?"
Clarissa made a growling sound. "If they do try to attack, then we will not hold back. We will prove which pack is has the alpha. We have the black balverine, after all. We can't lose." She gave Jean a pat on the shoulder.
Austin sighed and looked up at the sky. Though it was early, he felt that they were wasting time talking. "Can we go? I can almost hear the waves crashing against the side of the cliffs."
With that, the band of four left the cave and headed back on the weathered path. Ancient ruins could be seen in the distance. Then the group began to notice the remnants of what appeared to be a base. Logs that once had sharpened edges lined the path. Now those logs were partially rotted. Austin could hear the sounds of waves crashing against the rocks. The smell of seawater was strong in the air.
"Hey, what's that?" Clarissa noticed something that had weeds growing around it.
Austin approached and pulled the weeds. An extremely old chest had been hidden in the weeds. "I know that my grandfather once came through here. Maybe he never found this chest?" Austin wondered, touching the wood on the chest carefully.
"Open it," Cody urged.
Austin pulled on the lid. The chest complained and opened slowly. Inside was a small bundle. "What's this?" He picked up the bundle with great care. Once the cloth that covered the item was removed, Austin could see that he held a rock that had a flame symbol on it. "What kind of treasure is this? A rock? Please. Who treasures a rock?"
Austin was about to throw the flame rock into the trees when Jean got a look at it. "Wait. That's not a rock. It's an augment. You can have a specialist augment a weapon for you. Looks like a flame augment. So that would mean that if you chose to power up a weapon, it would be given a flame upgrade."
"And that means?" Cody asked, looking confused.
"If Austin wanted to, he could have a weapon that inflicted fire damage. Like my katana, which gives lightning damage."
"So your sword could be used as an insect repellant?" Cody asked.
"Oooo…we could call it a bug zapper!" Clarissa chimed in.
"Shut up…" Jean muttered, shaking her head. Then she jerked. A slow snarl escaped her lips. "We're being watched. And we're only halfway through the Bandit Coast. Damn. Their territory is greater than I thought."
"Balverines?" Austin asked. He felt the great desire to reach for his crossbow.
"Yes. It's only a scout. Regular balverine. Not a threat. But he'll report back to his superiors about us." It was plain to see that Jean was uneasy. If she had fur, her hackles would be standing up and her tail would have been stiff. But at the moment, she was merely human. So her skin was pale.
"Let's keep moving. We need to get out of here." Austin urged the group on. They followed at a quicker pace than before. However, Austin could almost feel the balverine eyes on him. These balverines are not friends. So if it comes to a fight, then have no remorse. Kill them. It's the only way. His stomach felt like it was in knots.
Up head was a pillar that had been knocked over some time ago. "Westcliff is not too much further." Jean announced. Her tone was strained. She could smell the balverines in the area. It was almost overwhelming.
"Westcliff? Now why would you want to go there?" A smooth, silky voice came from the trees. On the pillar, three brown balverines appeared. A man stepped out from the trees. "Please. What is in Westcliff that is so important?" He asked.
"Who are you?" Austin had to beat back the urge to shoot this man.
He smiled, "Oh? Where are my manners? I am Alex. Or I was once Alex. That name has little meaning for me now." Alex was a man with blonde hair and blue eyes. He appeared to be in his mid thirties. There were several scars running down his arms.
"Alex. So are you the leader of this little band?" Cody asked, gesturing to the balverines.
He laughed, "Little? No, my dear. I am the leader of an entire pack. These are merely my scouts. They informed me that there was a little pathetic pack traipsing through my territory. So I thought I'd investigate. Normally I'd have them kill you, but I can see that you have two balverines in your group. I was curious."
Jean stepped forward and bowed her head. "Sir. If I may, we are embarking on a quest that involves saving the entire world from a threat that we haven't seen in some time. Not just human lives will be saved, but the lives of balverines as well."
"Please. What human cares about balverine lives? They see us as mindless monsters hell-bent on destruction. They even design weapons that give them an edge when killing us. The only time humans understand us is when they become us."
"But if you will, we are on a quest that will lead us to Wraithmarsh. All we ask of you is to grant us passage. We promise not to hunt or even sleep here." Jean lowered her head.
Alex barked out a laugh. "Grant you passage?! What a riot! So what pack are you from, little pup? I'm sure it can't be an intelligent one since you are asking me for a free passage."
Jean stood her ground and began to remove her jacket. She kicked her shoes off her feet and started to remove her pants. Austin looked away, feeling that it was wrong to watch. He heard Jean asked, "Would you risk your entire pack? Would you really sacrifice your entire pack?" Her voice had started to alter slightly.
"What are you doing? Stop that. Do you want me to kill you?" Alex growled.
Austin couldn't stop himself. He had to watch. Jean was almost all the way into her balverine form. Long black fur covered her body. "Please. You kill me?" Jean taunted. All of her weapons and clothes were on the ground next to Cody's feet. She stepped forward and her shaggy fur shook as her muscles flexed.
Alex moved backward slight. "What are you? You are not a normal balverine."
"No. I'm not. I am the Balverine Queen." Jean raised her head and howled.
The lesser balverines that Alex controlled looked at their master for direction. Alex raised an arm and shouted, "Kill the runt! She thinks that she rules us all! Lies! Only the white balverine controls the pack! She can't take all of us!" With that, Alex seemed to explode into something that had white fur. The man formerly known as Alex returned back to his white balverine form and screamed out a threat in the balverine tongue.
Austin backed up and reached for his crossbow. The balverines that had been perched on the pillar lunged forward. "Watch out!" He shouted, firing his crossbow at one of the attacking balverines. The bolt hit its mark in the forehead and the balverine fell dead at Austin's feet.
Alex screamed again. He began to circle Jean. Both had their tails low and were exposing their long fangs at each other. Alex snapped his jaws, trying to intimidate Jean. Jean snorted and raised an arm up. An evil smile crept across her balverine lips and a strange light began to glow from her claws. Lightning shot from her hand and struck Alex.
"What was that?!" Cody shouted, dodging a blow from Alex's minion.
Clarissa, who had decided to keep Jean's clothes safe, yelled, "Jean can still use magic?!" She was safely away from the battle.
Alex limped away from Jean, looking dumbstruck. A patch of fur was scorched. He growled deeply and roared, "What kind of monster are you?!" Once again, Alex leaped toward Jean.
Jean hissed and leaped at Alex. The two collided. Fur and blood appeared as Jean and Alex fought. The clash happened for only a few seconds before the two fell back from each other, panting. Alex had come out the worse between them. Patches of fur had been tore out, revealing pink skin underneath. Blood oozed from several wounds on his body. Even his tail seemed to be dripping blood. Austin had to squint to see why the tail was bloody—Alex's tail had nearly been torn off. All that kept the tail on was a few strands of muscle and skin.
Jean growled again and could smell the life seeping from Alex. The white balverine would fall. Jean would make sure of that. She tensed up her muscles and began to channel her will toward her legs. It would be an insane burst of speed, but she knew that she could handle it. "Assassin Rush!" She bellowed, allowing the magic that she had been building to be released. Her body propelled forward, almost teleporting behind Alex. She opened her jaws and clamped down on the back of Alex's neck.
"ARRRAAAGGGHH!" Alex wailed, trying to buck Jean off of him. She continued her death clamp on the back of his neck. The more Alex struggled, the more blood he lost.
It took a few minutes, but Jean finally got her footing back underneath her. With her jaws still locked on Alex's neck, she twisted her head, making Alex's neck twist with her. SNAP! Alex's body went limp and his tongue rolled out of his mouth.
The balverine scouts stopped trying to kill Austin and Cody. They turned to Jean and approached her, bowing their heads. Jean shook her head. "No. I am not your leader. He is." She pointed to Austin. The balverines looked confused.
Austin looked confused as well. "What? Me? Why me?" He asked.
"It makes sense. I mean, the Hero of Oakvale was your ancestor. Your grandfather saved Albion from Lucien. And your uncle saved the world from the darkness. So I think that it goes without saying that you should be the Hero in this. Not me. I mean, I do have Hero blood, thanks to Reaver, but you have heroic blood. Your family has done some pretty amazing things, Austin. All mine has done is turn a peaceful little village into a scene from hell." Jean lowered her head toward Austin. The other balverines followed her lead.
Austin hesitated, "But I'm not a balverine. I can't be a leader of the balverines. That's just crazy."
"Maybe not, but you can be the Hero of Balverines. That has a pretty good ring to it, don't you think?" Jean turned to the balverines. They barked in agreement.
Cody shook his head, "Well, why not? We may as well have as many mangy mutts on our side as possible. When the Sword of Aeons is unleashed into this world, we're going to need firepower. And who better to have on our side than a massive pack of balverines. I agree with Jean. I can't believe I just said that." He looked disgusted with himself.
Austin sighed, "Fine. I'll be the Hero of Balverines. The title sounds terrifying. I mean, the Hero of Brightwall sounds harmless. The Hero of Balverines would make someone run for the hills."
Jean smiled her fearsome smile and turned to the balverine scouts. "I want you to report to the blooded balverine in the pack. Tell them that there is a new alpha that controls the Westcliff pack. And tell them to report to the Silverpines pack for a briefing. I'm sure Brittany will want to hear about this."
Clarissa approached Austin and nudged his arm. "So, fearless leader, how much longer until we reach Westcliff?"
One of the balverines grunted an answer. Jean nodded, "I see. Well we should be able to see the Crucible entrance at the top of the next ridge. So we're nearly there. We will need to stop for a bit while I return back to human. I can't go into Westcliff like this. The townspeople would be terrified. Not to mention the guards. "
Austin nodded. He felt foolish. A leader? A Hero of Balverines? Am I really the leader of this little group? Does the entire state of Albion depend on me? He looked at each of his followers: Cody, his lifelong friend; Jean, Reaver's daughter and the expert on most things battle related; Clarissa, the heart of the group. They really believe in me. This strange group of the most mismatched people actually believe in me. My followers…my friends…
"Uh, Austin? You're starting to scare me. You've been staring off into space for a while. Did you eat any strange blue mushrooms by chance?" Cody asked, looking mildly worried.
Austin grinned, "No. I'm fine. Let's go." With that, the group of four returned to the path and continued their way to Westcliff.
