Chapter 3
Back at the bar a shivering patron has a chat with bartender…
"I tell ya Manny; I've never going after snow hare again."
"That's a shame, you know Gaston swears by it when it comes to a winter stew; what brought this on?"
"Though I'd set out me traps, as par usual; next thing I know a bloody great snowball nails me from out of nowhere. Once I'd got the snow outa me eyes I look up and see a snow hare the size of a friggin bear staring down at me! It looks proper pissed as well; and the reason? I can see the remains of one of me traps hanging off its foot; and I think it knows it was me that set them up."
"Normally I'd accuse of you nudging the mushrooms, but given all the other chaos we've had lately I'm inclined to believe you. Whereabouts did this happen?"
"There's a small area of patchy forest near the base of the Surtsei glacier; the snow hare seem to like it there so I figured it'd be ripe pickings; just my luck to catch the biggest, baddest hare in the valley. It sent me packing with another giant snowball; by the time I stopped rolling I was halfway back to Pieta; I swear me heads still spinning from it."
"That might be the booze; calvados doesn't exactly lack in the potency department you know and you've been putting it away since you got here."
"Warms ya through though, that it does. Need it mind, I was chilled to the bone. Not all bad news though; the highland elk herds have moved closer to town. If ya need a shank of venison; that I can get for ya."
"Now that is interesting. The elk normally stay well away from human settlement; there must some reason for them to move closer to Pieta."
"Might be that bloody big hare spooked em. I know I needed to check me trousers after me run in, and it was certainly big enough to do some damage to something the size of an elk."
"I'll add this to the list of incidents; where were the elk herds before?"
Manny pulls out a cloth map from under the bar.
"Lemme see…I'd say about there. They like the cover they get from the forest, and the being halfway up those mountains would be enough to keep em safe from any fair weather wannabe hunter."
"Whereabouts are they now?"
"I'd say here; they've still got woods for cover, but they're a lot lower down now; makes them easier pickings. Must be something real nasty moved into their old patch for them to just skedaddle like that; 'specially considering they gone and made themselves available to all the lowland hunters; man and beast."
Back at the warrior's table…
"Hey, did you hear that Kammy?"
"I…hic…ain't got those cute pointy ears…so…fraid not…"
"I did; sounds like we might have another lead on the mystery diner."
"S' not fair…I wanted…hic…pointed ears…"
"Aw come on, you've got that hairstyle to make up for it."
Kammy leans over and hugs Mai.
"…hic...thanks…you're too damn cute though…ehehehehe…it's like hugging a pixie…"
"Kammy, please refrain from molesting your fellow warriors; and how come you're completely shitfaced already? You haven't had any more to drink than either of us."
"Little trick…I figured out a while back Lena…supress your yoki…and the booze hits you harder… s' great cos' you can sober up…in a couple of minutes if you need to."
"You might need to soon; eavesdropping might not be polite, but as an information gathering technique it's certainly effective. We should split up; if we spread out it'll increase the chances we overhear something interesting."
"Okay, where do you want us to go?"
"Mai, you head to the back of the hall; where Rise said the forge was supposed to be.
"I'm on it."
Mai heads away from the table.
Kammy, you head for the bar and keep putting them away, but make sure you don't get too drunk so keep off the spirits for now."
"Hic…sounds reasonable; I'll keep my ears open. Where're you gonna go?"
"I'll head on over to the dance floor. I'll be able to pick out anything important over the sound of the music."
Kammy makes her way over to the bar; Lena notices she's walking in a straight line and appears to be completely stable.
"Guess she was just merry rather than completely steaming."
Lena makes her way to the dance floor. She notices that thanks to the widely varied dress styles worn she isn't going to stand out much. After a few moments mingling and picking up the dance she starts to single out bits of the conversations.
"…Damn straight; told that cheating bastard he could stick it where the sun don't shine!..."
"…Heh, this place is great! I wonder if they've got any jobs here?..."
"…Don't feel so good…where're the bogs…urp…gonna have to be quick!..."
"…And he's just getting to the vinegar strokes, and then his mum walks in! Talk about an awkward way to come out of the closet…"
"…Buncha' claymores; never seen those girls let their hair down before…nah, cute; but a bit too scary…cracking pair on her mind…"
"…Yeah, we lost the honey, but the valuable stuff made it through…got jumped by a big fuck off bear, that's what…lost interest after it snagged the honey…twice the size of a normal one, and it was blue as well, and had some kind of carapace on its arms…"
("Interesting; bears aren't really our department, but a huge blue one? That's different; definitely not a Yoma if it just bagged the honey though…")
"…Was that a kid with those claymores? That sword's bigger than she is…"
"…She turned you down? I think she's goin' steady anyway…didn't you know she was part of the wrecking crew?..."
"…mmm, you've got a talent with your hands…you're a pianist? Let's go back to my room…do a few orchestral manoeuvres if catch my drift; hehehe…"
"…damn near shat myself…nah, didn't get a good look; it was too dark…cut the horse clean in half; if I hadn't stopped to take a leak it would've been me…glowing red eyes…no warning, it was silent; first thing I knew was getting splashed with horse blood…haven't ran that fast since the missus caught me with the neighbour…"
("Glowing golden eyes would've screamed Yoma; but that does sound like something pretty nasty all the same. Still; if he got away whatever it was must've settled for horse meat, and that's not yoma behaviour…")
"…Hell of an order, but they've paid up front…we'll figure it out; where there's a will there's a way…wrecking crew; sounds like overkill but they know what they like…even offered a bonus if we can do it quick enough...sounds like they're expecting trouble…"
"…Surtsei's gonna be the best bet…Dangerous; hell yeah, but volcanos have always got the best ore...heard about that, they went into the crater though…not a trace, trust me on this, fresh lava's hotter than molten steel…"
"…not much left of them…enough for me to get the bounty though…must'a had a hell of an appetite to scoff a whole bunch of bandits…no idea…best let the claymores handle it if that's the case…"
("Yeah, that does sound an awful lot like it's going to be our business in the not too distant future…")
"…footprints don't match any known species…way too big…about that sort of size, but they ain't fossils; they were fresh…thick enough forest to hide anything; some of the trees nearby had been knocked down though…"
("Awakened beings sometimes grow to an enormous size; but they tend to actively hide their presence. Huge footprints and smashed trees would scare away most humans, so unless it's a really dumb one I can probably rule that out. Okay, so that's four notable incidents just from this lot, one of which sounds a lot like yoma handiwork…")
Her train of thought is interrupted by a voice in her ear.
"Now you've got some seriously graceful moves on you girl; if you're interested there's a vacancy for a dancer here; and if you've can sing the band are looking for a female lead as well."
"Tempting; but I'm afraid I'm already a full time yoma hunter."
Lena turns around to face the source of the request. It belongs to slender but toned middle aged man with fairly dark skin and long red hair. He's wearing some kind of armour; made from reptile hide she doesn't recognise.
"Well the band are all members of the wrecking crew I'll have you know. Doing something creative can be a surprisingly good way of winding down after a particularly hectic job."
"I'm afraid I get relocated by the organisation pretty regularly so there's no way I'd be able to guarantee I'd be available."
"Ah well, never mind. If per chance your situation changes though and you fancy giving it a try just give us a shout."
"Are you a member of the wrecking crew?"
"Was. I'm still pretty handy in a fight, but some of my old injuries have finally caught up with me; I just haven't got the stamina for the more heavy duty jobs anymore. My skills are still solid though, so I can still make use of myself as a trainer; and as a bouncer now and again."
"Didn't catch your name."
"I'm Saul; and yours."
"Lena; number seven of the organisation."
Saul whistles.
"Nice to see I haven't lost my eye for the genuine article…"
The sound of breaking glass and raised voices suddenly cuts into the music.
"…ah bollocks; well, guess I'd better go and do my job. Hope I'll see you later."
As Saul makes his way over to the disturbance Lena is left to her thoughts for a few moments.
("Now I see why Rise said this place was different. Most people look at us with a mix of fear and revulsion, but Saul knew what I was and it didn't faze him at all. Maybe I should come back here when I get the chance.")
Meanwhile back with Rise…
"Thanks for the update Leona; if the organisation doesn't manage to kill me I'll make sure I call by more often."
"Looking forward to it Rise."
Rise makes her way back to the bar.
"Heya Manny; is Katrina about?"
"Isn't she always? I know it's pretty damn parky outside, but I'm not sure when the last time was that girl saw natural light."
"You know how she is when she warms to her element."
"If we didn't bring her meals I've got the feeling she'd forget to eat; but I suppose her work is for everyone's benefit in the end."
"You know how fine the line between genius and madness can sometimes be; once you look past her eccentricities she's got a truly brilliant mind. Plus she's a really nice person deep down."
"The number of times one of her concoctions has saved someone's life says it all. I reckon she'll be awake right now so you might as well head on down."
Rise makes her way down another short flight of stone steps; leading to another reinforced door. Rise knocks on the door.
"Be a minute…where'd I put those keys…"
"Bloody hell Katrina! What's with the security upgrade? You trying to create a golem on the sly?"
"Only if you can find me an assistant with both a lisp and a hunch."
"Easier said than done I'm afraid; besides, it's going to be a swine to get a lightning rod to run all the way down to here."
"Ways and means Rise, ways and means…ah…here we are."
There's a click and the door slides sideways, revealing Katrina and her lab. She's a fairly petite girl with slightly golden skin, black hair and noticeably pointed ears; her eye colour is obscured by a pair of darkened goggles, and her attire seems to consist largely of heavy robes so covered in burns and stains it's impossible to tell what colour they originally were. A moment later she flips up the darkened outer layer of the goggles, revealing her to have one blue and one brown eye. The lab itself has a rather noticeable divide; one side of which is exceptionally well organised, with carefully arranged books, bottles and notes; and surfaces that look clean enough to eat off. The other looks more like some kind of weapons testing site; covered in burns, pock marked with blast damage and strewn with debris. Along the divide the very top of some kind of retractable barrier can be seen poking out of the floor; presumably a blast shield.
"As for the security upgrade; let's just say some my materials could prove extremely dangerous if they fall into the wrong hands; not least the ones you provided me with."
"Not like you to get cautious all of a sudden; I mean, wasn't your catchphrase 'it's not like eyebrows take that long to grow back'?"
"Incendiaries are one thing; but that stuff…look, if you cut a chunk off a dead creature it shouldn't still be capable of…writhing…after an hour, let alone a month!"
"It was still alive?"
"Well…only in the loosest sense. There was still activity within the tissue, but it wasn't coordinated or anything; more like how a headless chicken sometimes keeps running around briefly."
"I guess that goes some way to explaining why yoma take so much killing. Decapitation generally does the trick though."
"That does make sense. I've heard how yoma can just reattach severed limbs and sometimes regenerated missing chunks of their torso's; but the tissue samples showed no sign of actually regenerating. I guess without the proper signals from the brain stem they remain in a kind of suspended state until they run out of whatever it is that keeps them going…what's it called…yoki?"
"Yeah that's it. Did you find any good ways of prematurely shutting it down?"
"It's pretty much immune to most standard poisons outside of absurdly large and potent doses. Burning works, but it is somewhat more resistant than most animal tissues; but corrosive fluids effectively destroyed most samples."
"That's worth knowing. Sounds to me that strong acid would prove to be an effective weapon against yoma."
"The delivery system would be tricky though, and that's not to mention the risk posed to the user. Mind you, I did find something that was in a league of its own, although I doubt it'll surprise you much considering you provided me with it."
"Ah, so the venom extract worked then."
"It stopped all activity in the tissues within seconds. I'm not sure how it would effect a living yoma, but it seems to interfere with whatever process is at work keeping severed yoma flesh alive."
"So it does cause yoki disruption."
"You don't sound terribly surprised; where exactly does this stuff come from Rise? The venom's completely clear; and that means it was harvested fresh from a living venom gland. There's only two ways I can think of that you could have done this. Either you're breaking into the organisation's laboratories; or you've got some kind of monster chained up somewhere."
"I'm afraid I can't tell you the source; but I can assure you it's neither of those, and while I can only get hold of small amounts at a time, trust me, getting it's no danger to me."
"…Well…I guess I'll take your word for it. Just be careful; given the effect it had on the yoma tissues; I wouldn't be surprised if it proves distinctly harmful to warriors like yourself."
"Have you had any luck figuring out the active chemicals?"
"Funny you should say that; while I can't replicate it outright I think I can produce something with a similar effect; be it considerably weaker. I ran some tests on some more standard…what's the word…basically, stuff that wasn't yoma flesh, and noticed a similarity to a couple of other chemicals I'd previously studied. It shares some properties with dragonfell berry juice; but many, many times stronger. Even with the best extraction and distillation processes available it'd be hard to even reach a fraction of the potency though; and it'd take a hell of a lot of dragonfell berries to do so."
"Doesn't sound very practical; is there anything else?"
"Ground up dracophage bugs produce a similar raw chemical, and if properly refined could produce something a bit closer, but they're a swine to source in quantity and pretty expensive. I get a small batch delivered with some of my import shipments, but I can't get hold of any more than that. The closest match I could find was a chemical present in Deviljho adrenaline; it's still considerably more dilute though, and normally functions as a vapour the creature projects mixed with its highly corrosive saliva and stomach acid."
"So how many of these Deviljho things would we need to get enough for a good sample?"
"Just one…"
"Brilliant! All we need to do is put in a request with your suppliers for some Deviljho parts and we're sorted!"
"…Sigh…I take it you've never heard of a Deviljho before today."
"No; why, is it important?"
"Here, look at this…"
Katrina produces a book on species native to an overseas land. She opens it on the section covering the Deviljho. Rise reads through it quickly."
"Well….Shit."
"Yeah, that's what most people say when they read about it…and what they do if they run into one."
"That thing sounds like it'd be borderline suicide for one of us warriors! What kind of looney tries to take down one of those down?"
"Usually a large, very well prepared, and extremely experienced group. Either that or our very own Leona."
"Are you telling me she's hunted those things?"
"She comes from a long line of specialist hunters; the Vangis family are pretty famous on the other side of the ocean for taking down beasts claimed to be unbeatable. You've seen that fancy armour of hers right? That's made from Deviljho hide."
"I could tell she'd be a cut above the rest in a fight; but I had no idea she was that good."
"She's pretty modest about it. According to her as long as you survive your first encounter with one; and don't spend the entirety of it filling your pants with shit; you'll pick up on how it moves and attacks pretty quickly. Once you've got that down it's supposedly just a case of holding your nerve and not running out of steam; because they can soak up a lot of punishment."
"Is a Barioth anything like one of them?"
"I wouldn't take one lightly; but a Barioth is nowhere near as dangerous as a Deviljho. Put it this way; if a Barioth encounters a Deviljho it either flies away as fast as its wings can carry it; or it gets savagely devoured."
"That's a relief; we've found evidence that suggests there might be Barioth nesting in this area."
"So they've returned; according to what records I could find in this land they've been extinct for over a century; and if they've come back, I somehow doubt they'll be the only species to return."
"Leona did say there'd been an awful lot of strange events recently."
"Then we'll need to be prepared. Pretty soon it's not just going to be yoma menacing the lands."
Rise glances over to the damaged side of the lab.
"By looks of your lab you're already onto a good start."
"This? Pah; this is standard stuff. Thanks to this land being a bit backward when it comes to technology I'm having to do quality control on most of the local sourced materials. One particular problem we've got is gunpowder; on the other side of the pond we normally produce it with something called fire herbs and nitroshrooms. Neither of these grow here, so I'm having to resort to making mineral gunpowder instead. Problem is it's got a bit more kick and a bit less stability; especially if it gets contaminated, so I'm having to test the blends to make sure they only explode when they're supposed to."
"You're making explosives? Sweet! What'd you use them for?"
"Mostly in bow guns, gun lances and ammunition; but some of it does go in boring old demolition charges and barrel bombs I suppose. Still, since the mineral stuff has that bit more kick it would be damn handy in siege weaponry; but once again; thanks to this continent being a wee bit backward technologically there're none of the large scale smelting and casting facilities needed to make them."
Rise examines some of the weapons on the damaged side of the lab.
"You know, if we'd have had even half this stuff available we'd have sent the yoma packing long ago. When I find out who's been responsible for keeping this land isolated all these years I'm going to break my foot off in their arse."
"Wouldn't that be a bit inconvenient?"
"I can regenerate well enough; and I reckon it's going to be a lot easier for me to grow my foot back than it is for them to find a skilled enough proctologist to extract a size fourteen steel greave from their posterior."
"Well I can bet whoever it is I'm probably pretty high on their shit list, so if they're stuck shuffling around on all fours it's going to make it lot easier for me to deal with them as well."
"On the subject of dealing…"
Rise hands a small list to Katrina.
"Okay…yeah, I've got most of these to hand; the rest'll require enriching to work with your physiology, but that shouldn't take me any longer than a day to do."
"Cheers; to be honest I do worry a bit about what'll happen to you if the authorities ever find out about this."
"It'd be the least of my worries; I'd bet one look at my specimen set would be enough to get me put on trial for witchcraft if I ever get raided…although I suspect anyone stupid enough to break into my storeroom would find themselves unable to report their findings; largely on account of having their head reduced to a charred stump thanks to the traps."
"Ah, always planning two steps ahead eh?"
"Three or four actually; I've already bribed the local law enforcement and we've got some blackmail material on both the local nobility and clergy should they get particularly pushy."
"How'd you manage that?"
"I doubt you'd be all that surprised to find both contain more than their fair share of individuals with a penchant for both the exotic pharmaceuticals and the elaborate weaponry I specialise in."
"Hehehe…If there's one thing that's remained a constant throughout my life; it's that nobody does hypocrisy quite like the privileged. Well, I'd best go and see Mickel now, catch you later Katrina."
"Later Rise."
Rise leaves the laboratory and heads back up to the bar. She's greeted with the sight of Kammy slumped face down on the bar top.
"Uh, are you okay?"
"Fine and dandy Rise. I might look dead to the world but I can still pick up the conversations going on here."
"So why the comatose pose?"
"Just trying the process the booze a bit faster. I got a wee bit too plastered earlier; and keeping still ought to speed things up a bit. I take it you found out a bit more about what's going on then?"
"I've got a better idea now; and it sounds like things are going to get real interesting in the not too distant future. I think we might've figured out what beat us to the kill on our last job, and it's most definitely not something we were expecting."
"Oh? Gonna tell me about it?"
Kammy makes her wolf ear hairstyle twitch.
"Turns out the most likely culprit was a creature that's supposed to have been extinct in this land for over a century. Something called a Barioth; and much as that sort of thing doesn't fall within our job description, I think it might be worth our while to get more involved."
"A Barioth eh? So the demon snow cat's real after all."
"You've heard of them?"
"Read about them; Pieta's got a good library, and since the last few jobs I've had have been in this area I figured it'd be a good place to pass the time. Speaking of which while I've been here I've picked up some interesting nuggets of information. Apparently something big went down in the desert about a month ago; a caravan found itself in the middle of some kind of weird earthquake. From what I heard the tremors just kept getting stronger instead of weaker, and the horses went so crazy they bust out of their harnesses. Just as well they did, cos' that's what saved the caravan crew's lives; they went to round them up again, and then a huge tremor hit, and all the carts got swallowed up by the earth. The goods were a total loss, but everyone made it out alive; minor miracle all things considered."
"Most weird events in the desert get put down to unreliable testimony; sunstroke and dehydration can play havoc with your senses; but something that serious isn't going to be ignored."
"Yeah, and since the whole caravan crew survived there's plenty of people to corroborate the events. Still, doesn't sound like Yoma related mischief given the lack of deaths."
"Hmm; headquarters is on the edge of the desert though. I doubt they're going to ignore something that serious practically on their doorstep."
"I think they might've done something already; just before I got the last job I had a look at the general assignment manifest for all the warriors that were double digits. They keep assigning number 47 jobs in that area, and I think her travel route seems to criss-cross the event site each time."
"So they're using the poor girl as bait then. Did you find out her name?"
"No, but I got the next best thing; her symbol."
"Good; we should warn her if we happen to run into her."
"I dunno how much that'd help her mind; it's not like she can go against orders."
"If she knows somethings up she'll at least be on her guard; and it's not like her orders state how she has to travel and what route she has to take."
"If she's smart she'll give it a wide berth, but still; I wonder what could've caused something like that? I've heard about a few legends of the desert, but nothing I've heard of sounded like something that could take out a whole caravan in one go."
"I take you're referring to those sand sharks we hear about every so often."
"Yeah, that and the twin horned screamer. Both of those sound like they could trash an individual cart, but a whole caravan? Unless those fables serious understated their strength I somehow doubt it."
"It's normally the other way round with such tales. Still, for all that the desert's on the organisations doorstep it's still pretty poorly mapped; so there's nothing to say those shifting sands aren't hiding something really nasty; we have had the occasional warrior disappear without a trace over the years."
"That…actually makes a lot of sense. If a warrior awakens we find out about it very quickly; and as far as I know every single deserter there's ever been has been hunted down. I know there're are a couple of specialised warriors who can pretty much track and trace by yoki sensitivity over extensive distances."
"As hard as we might try, our yoki can never be hidden completely. It's only ever truly extinguished with our passing…"
Rise and Kammy are alerted by something.
"Hey, Can you feel that? You don't think a Yoma's sneaked in here?"
"No; that's actually Mai."
"Oh, good; I thought I'd…hang on, why the hell's she releasing her Yoki?"
"If I had to guess; someone around here's asked her to help out with some kind of physically demanding task."
"Our job's hunting Yoma, not donkey work; and what've they got her doing that could require her to tap into her Yoki?"
"It feels like she's in the area of the forge at the back of this place, so they've probably asked her to shift an anvil or something."
"Well, you'd better make sure nothing funny's going on. I get the impression she's a bit naïve, and there's no shortage of bastards about who wouldn't think twice about using someone like her."
"If they do they'll probably find themselves ending up with an appointment for a thorough kicking in the not too distant future."
"You know if you keep bending the rules like that it might come back to bite you."
"I didn't say anything about who'd be delivering the actual drubbing. See that bunch of lads over by the private rooms? That's The Boys. They might look like a simple bunch of thugs, but they work by a pretty strict code of conduct. They won't beat the shit out of just anybody, but if you present a good case that the would be recipient of said beating clearly deserves it then they'll be more than happy to apply the necessary corrective physical measures to the individual or individuals in question for a reasonable fee. Think of them as vigilantes for hire."
"Now that is worth knowing; but you might want to hurry; I'll bet Lena's already headed over to see what all the fuss is about."
"Will do; see you shortly Kammy."
Rise hurries in the direction of the forge; the crowd obscuring anything that might be happening there. The crowd gets denser as she approaches the forge itself, and she overhears a few of the people talking.
"…Is…that real? That's gotta be a prop or something…"
"…Guess that kid eats her spinach…"
"…She's a Claymore, look at her eyes…"
"…So they really are that strong…"
"…Didn't know they came in fun size…"
"…Seriously ambivalent mate; scary and adorable…"
Rise manages to get through the crowd and get a clear view of what's going on. It's the somewhat surreal spectacle of Mai assisting at the forge by lifting a mechanical power hammer into place, that judging from its size weighs several hundred kilos. An exceedingly large man in blacksmithing gear appears to be fixing it into its mountings.
"All good Mai; you can relax now."
There's a brief creak from the frame as Mai releases hammer.
"Yeah, that's lined up nicely; all that's left now is the drive gear."
"Can I help with that too Mickel?"
"Sorry, but I'll have to do that bit myself; it's a pretty complicated set up."
"Aww…"
Mickel pats Mai on the head.
"Now, now; no need to wear that kind of face. I've got jobs lined up pretty much every night so I'll be able to give you a proper forging lesson next time."
Rise approaches the conversation.
"Heya Mickel; what happened to the lads you normally use as extra muscle?"
"That bunch o' lily livered bastards threw in the towel; said the work was too brutal. No great loss mind; I could see them bloody toerags eyeing up the stock. Reckon' if I'd let my eyes off of 'em they'd have nicked anything that wasn't nailed down."
Mickel turns around to reveal himself to be clean shaven with long dark hair, golden tinted skin and slightly pointed ears. He rises up to his full height, and towers almost a clear foot over Rise; and absolutely dwarfs Mai. While his blacksmithing attire covers most of his physique, it's clear he's exceedingly well built as well.
"Still, I have to say this little lassie's an absolute lifesaver though; I know me limits, and getting that hammer in place on me own would've given me the mother of all hernias. And while we're on the subject of favours; sorry to be a bit cheeky but I could ask for another?"
"If it's what I think it is; not a problem. In fact, I'm pretty interested to see what you've rustled up this time."
"They're just over here."
Mickle escorts Rise and Mai over to a weapons rack.
"For all that the ores of this land are derided somewhat…"
Rise lets out a snicker.
"Sigh, I said ores; get yer mind out of the gutter. Anyway, the locally sourced iron might be just fine for farming tools; but I wouldn't call it weapons grade; and I can't exactly get the good stuff shipped in every time so I've figured experimenting with alloys might be worth a shot. I think I'm onto a winner here; but there's only so much you can do to test the stuff here in the forge, so I was wondering if you'd be kind enough to put some of these through their paces."
Mai's already viewing the contents of the rack with sparkly eyes. She takes hold of a hefty looking axe.
"Please may I take this one?"
"Of course you can love; but just so you know that's a switch axe. See the little lever by the base of hand guard? Give that a yank and it'll transform."
Mai pulls the lever; the axe head slides down the shaft and stops just above the handguard, followed by a previously concealed blade emerging from the shaft and swinging into place; its base locking into a notch at the top of the axe head, effectively forming a large, single edged sword.
"Oh, now that is clever; you are gonna have to show me how to make one of these!"
Rise takes note of Mai's elated state.
"I never took you for a weapons nut Mai."
"Well; it's not just weapons; metalwork's in my blood. Pretty much everyone in my family was some kind of metal worker; everything from classical blacksmithing to jewellery work. If it hadn't been for the yoma I'd probably be an apprentice by now…."
Mai's radiant grin shifts to something more reminiscent of a slasher smile.
"…but this bad boy ought to help me get a little payback. Hehehehe…"
The noise of another weapon sliding out of the rack interrupts the conversation. Everyone turns to see Lena drawing a great sword fully twice the size of her claymore out of the rack.
"Nice balance; I'll give this not so little beauty a whirl."
"Heya Lena; I guess I'm going to need to do some explaining."
"No need to be concerned about me or Kammy Rise; the way I see it our job might be yoma hunting, but the organisation doesn't dictate our actions between missions. Besides, there's a good chance there's something out there that considers yoma a menu option; so I'm figuring whatever it is, it's poked its nose into our business; and that's not something we can ignore."
Kammy enters the conversation.
"Yeah, and sitting on our arses of waiting for the pint sized cue ball to show up isn't my idea of time well spent. We only found the one body; and I'd bet money that bastard wasn't running a solo operation. If his cronies are still out there, then we've got unfished business."
Kammy casts her eyes onto the weapons rack and then turns to Mickel.
"Did you say you were looking for someone to give some of these a test run?"
"Aye; that I did."
"Well, I can say I'm happy to oblige you in that regard…"
She removes a pair of matching blades from the rack.
"…always did like the feel of a sword in each hand; pity the organisation were too stingy to let me have a second claymore."
Rise takes a paired lance and great shield out the rack.
"Guess I'll be handling the defence then. How soon do you want to move out Lena?"
"Might as well get a good night's sleep first; but tomorrow morning we make our move. I might be being a little bit optimistic here, but I reckon we should head for the trashed hideout first; if we're lucky a stray yoma or two might've decided to try and resettle the place."
Meanwhile, somewhere in the highland woods…
Undine was starting to suspect she'd been given a bum mission. Word had reached someone in the organisation that something weird had happened in some forest miles from civilisation and she'd been assigned to go and check it out. The thing was, warriors were almost never assigned a job unless it had been all but confirmed a yoma was in the area; but her brief didn't indicate that. In fact, she'd been tempted to check she wasn't being trolled by one of the other warriors when she'd first gone over the details, which at this time she felt needed checking again.
"Sigh; 'Strange light display reported in remote forest by a small group of merchants, followed by a very loud roar. The light display sounds similar to the effect caused by a substantial yoki release; possibly indicating a yoma'…Yoma my arse; those merchants would've been a smorgasbord if it was. I'll bet this whole thing's someone's idea of joke…Hang on…"
Undine stops talking and starts to listen carefully.
"…what happened to the background noise? The bats, birds and insects have all shut up…something must've spooked them…can't feel and yoki though so…"
The distinctive sound of wood splintering underfoot emanates from a patch of dense bushes nearby.
"…heh…you ain't getting the drop on me pal; and if you've got the skill to hide your yoki that well, then maybe you're gonna make hauling my arse all the way out here worthwhile!..."
Undine carefully moves away from the direction of the noise, draws her swords and takes up a fighting stance. There's another crunch, but quite a bit louder.
"Heavyweight as well eh? This ought to be fun!..."
The bushes part and a large creature emerges from them.
"What the hell? That's…well; I've never seen a wolf that big before…"
The creature steps out into the moonlight, revealing it greater detail. While it has a roughly wolf like shape, it's much larger, and it appears to be covered in a mix of fur, scales and chitin, with a bright colouration of vivid yellow of turquoise. Its tail is somewhat odd, being long and having a flattened shape; and it's claws are much more pronounced than a wolves. It also has a pair of distinctive serrated horns.
"Oh great, a supersized, psychedelic wolf…"
Having accidently raised her voice, the creature notices her presence.
"Rats; so much for stealth. Now, what are you really? I can't sense any Yoki from you, but I've never heard of a creature like you before; so let's see what you make of this."
Undine releases a little of Yoki; sending out a small pressure wave. The creature stops in its tracks and stares her down, before giving her a small growl.
"Most animals flee once they figure out I'm no human; but you're holding your ground. Okay, let's see what you make of this."
Undine releases more of yoki; she emits a stronger pressure wave, starts to glow slightly, and her eyes turn golden. The creature gives her an indignant huff in response.
"What, not impressed? Well let's see you do better!"
As if in response, the creature performs a stretching motion and starts to howl. Moments later electricity arcs across its body, and spots of glowing light appear in its fur.
"Okay; that I did not expect; but I guess you were the one who gave those merchants the light show. I still can't sense any Yoki from you though, so I'm pretty sure you ain't a yoma; which means my business here is done with."
Undine starts to back away slowly; the creature responds with what sounds like a mix between a growl and a chuckle, but doesn't make any attempt to pursue her.
"You're just protecting your territory. Okay, I get it; you're top bitch around here."
After Undine has backed away to quite a considerable distance the creature turns around with its head held high and makes its way back into the denser parts of the forest.
"Ah well, that was technically waste of time; but somehow I don't feel disappointed. I wonder what the organisation's gonna make of this though?"
Bit of long chapter there; and next time there'll be some real action.
