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Naughtbeast

Chapter 2:

The light and lilting voices of the morning birds awoke the sleeping form of Holg from his slumber. His eyes slowly opened, the Half-orc feeling the heavy nature minimal sleep, then he sat up in his sleeping bag. Light was shining through the open windows of the cottage they were staying in and he honestly felt like slipping back to sleep… then he remembered the night before. He instantly purged the thoughts of sleep and jumped out of his sleeping bag, carefully moving over the still sleeping members of his group to get to the door.

He silently opened the wood door and the events of last night finally came back into light. Bodies littered the street and destroyed buildings could be seen around every corner. The stench of death seeped through the metal of his helmet, not a new smell in his line of work, but it was unwelcome all the same. He felt a pang of sadness for the villagers, they would be morning the dead for quite some time and it was lucky that the adventurers had come when they did… or he wouldn't have any villagers to think of.

Come to think of it, he still didn't know what type of creature had attacked the village. It was nothing like anything he had seen before and it certainly wasn't the creation of some insane wizard or he would have felt the magical presence. Wherever they were it appeared they were natural.

As Holg turned back to his resting companions he wasn't at all surprised to not see Frath lying among them, knowing that the thief had probably kept true to his word and robbed most of the deceased houses. Even though it might seem out of place for a Paladin to let his criminal actions go unpunished, Holg knew that he was far better off on their side and that Frath would never steal anything that would have sentimental value to the family, only taking anything that had enough gold on it to be worth his while.

As if summoned by his mere thoughts, Frath appeared right next to the paladin with a very confused look… one that told Holg that something was definitely wrong.

"We have a slight problem…" the thief began, his voice ridden with fear.

"One that would warrant our unbreakable thief pause during his morning activities? That would either mean another Lich or something much worse…"

"The people here… they have technology that is better than even the finest of Adrik's smithies could make"

This statement made Holg definitely pause in thought. People that could forge better than the best Dwarven craftsmen of the Byeor mountains was definitely something that could prove extremely useful.

"And how did you come across this knowledge?"

"I was looking through one of the abandoned houses when I stepped on a magical ward or something and turned on a strange stone box and it had MOVING PICTURES!"

"Surely that could only be the work of magic"

"That's what I thought! I checked everywhere but I could find no traces of magic at all! It ran off a strange power source and the pictures disappeared when I pulled a connection rope out of the back of the box!"

"Is this all?"

"No! They don't even use torches for lighting here! There are strange glass globes on their ceilings which project light like something a mage could summon"

"You're starting to sound as though they worked magic into technology…"

"That's what I'm saying! Everything her is like there are sorcerers working around the clock to keep everything working!"

"This is certainly a welcome revelation and I'm afraid we might have to prologue our stay here if your words ring with truth"

Holg broke the conversation and took a stroll through town, watching as lights came on within the houses as the townsfolk woke up to the horrors that had bequeathed them the night before. With heavy steps he walked towards the centre of the town where he had fought the monsters back, assuming that it would be the best place to find the town mayor. He was glad to find that he saw the man from the night before standing on a tall podium addressing a group of villagers that he assumed would be in charge of the clean-up.

When the mayor saw the paladin walking towards him he smiled and opened his arms wide in greeting.

"And here is our towns saviour to grace us with his presence once again! Three cheers for the White Knight!"

"HERE HERE HERE!" the villagers responded as Holg walked within their ranks.

"It is nothing to think of, anyone else would have done the same…"

"Don't be so humble! You and I both know we wouldn't be having this conversation now if you hadn't turned up"

"It is not in the right of a man to boast after such an event as what transpired last night, but I am here to see what me and my group can do to help you in the grim task of erasing the memory of the deceased"

"If you mean by picking up the bodies then that's fine, we were thinking of giving them a funeral pyre in the centre of time like always…"

"So this has happened before?"

"Aye, especially in the last few weeks… the damn things are drawn to sadness and fear and death does a right good job of making that happen every time they come"

"If you require assistance with building defences then we are all too happy to build some form of protection for you"

'Oh no, we could never ask that of you, especially after you pulled that stunt… we have nothing to offer"

"On the contrary, material gain is something I do not seek…"

[30 minutes later]

"So you'll help us build defences and clean up our dead… as long as we tell you about electricity?" confirmed the Mayor, sounding very sceptical and untrusting as he sat in the large seat that was in the middle of his office. Holg was standing opposite the Mayor across a mahogany table, looking imposing as always.

"As I have stated before, that is the agreement…" Holg confirmed again.

"Well then, sign me up because that's the best damn deal I've ever heard of" cheered the Mayor, reaching forward to shake Holg's hand. The paladin looked down at the offending appendage in what could be considered contemplation more than anything.

Holg shrugged and parted the front of his cloak, giving the Mayor a quick glance of the shining silver armour beneath, then a massive arm came out. The forearm was covered in a gigantic gold gauntlet that was easily twice as thick as it should be, talons covering the fingers making it look like it was the hand of a dragon rather than a person. A massive inlaid ruby was coming from the centre of the hand and the Mayor could only guess at the copious amounts of money that it would sell for.

The parts that weren't covered in the gauntlet were armoured in shining silver platemail, radiating an almost blinding sheen, The Mayor reached out and shook his hand, feeling the immense power behind the gasp and released after they shook to confirm the deal.

"My group and I shall begin the clean-up as soon as we are all awoken, then we shall converse on the topic of building a suitable defensive structure"

"See ya soon!" cheered the Mayor, smiling widely and leaving out the door. Holg nodded as he left and snapped his fingers, hearing the soft patter of feet behind him.

"Anything to report Frath?" Holg asked, not bothering to look behind him as he knew he wouldn't see anything thanks to his cloak of invisibility.

"Saying yes would be an understatement… they are centuries ahead of us technology wise! They can communicate with these strange glass stones and they have managed to produce flintlocks far better than even the dwarves!"

It was well known across the lands from where the adventurers had dwelled from that the dwarves had pioneered the expansion of the arms race far beyond simple wood and steel. They had developed devices that could hurl balls of iron at enemies using gunpowder to propel the massive payload across battlefields and into whatever it was aimed at and reduce it to rubble. It was only through their relations with Adrik, who knew a fair amount of dwarven smiths, that they knew that a new weapon was developed known as the flintlock that was a hand-held cannon that proved devastatingly effective against armour…

"How so?"

"I don't know why but they made the shot smaller and more compact but they can fire it as fast as an orc can come up with an insult…"

"How did you come across this information?"

"That's not the point, the thing is that they have it and I can mock Adrik… are we done here?"

"Aye, we shall be staying here for an undefined amount of time until we can gather as much information on these new technologies, go and inform the others to begin body clean-up"

"Got it!" replied the thief, Holg not even hearing him leave but knowing that he had left already. Frath was never heard unless he wanted you to hear him. The paladin left the mayors room and walked back out into the sunlight, relishing the warmth of the sun's rays… today was going to be a long day.

[4 hours later]

"I think that's the last of them…" announced one of the townsfolk, wiping his hands on his shirt and stepping back to acknowledge his work. A massive pile of bodies was gathered in the centre of town, a monument to the fallen that would remind them of the atrocities of the night before. Adrik dropped the last body onto the pile with an unceremonious thump and jumped off to land next to the others. Nora was using her electricity to burn any remnants of the dead off her gauntleted hands, Morkai didn't really need to do that because he just levitated them all and Zwelious… well he was just kneeling there petting some random dog.

"Thanks for your help and everything, you really didn't have to!" added another villager, addressing the adventurers directly, everyone except Nora ignoring it because they had heard it a million times before or honestly didn't care.

"No problem! We're happy to help!"

She was about to continue when she saw Holg walking along the streets with a large map splayed across his palm and the mayor walking beside him nodding to what must have been Holg talking. She bid the villagers adieu and quickly jogged over to fall into step next to them.

"Yo Holgy, what you doing?"

Holg looked up from his mapping for barely a moment to acknowledge her before looking back down and sketching more crosses and dots onto what she assumed was a map of the village.

"I am developing an effective defence plan for the buildings so they will not be worried by the creatures from before"

"You don't know what they are?" the mayor almost shouted, thinking they were insane or something.

"We're not exactly from around here…" Nora answered, seeing the man's face contort in confusion.

"But the Grimm are everywhere, no matter what continent you are on… how have you not heard of them?"

When Nora and Holg heard this they both turned to one another, sharing the unspoken words of 'Oh crap' then Holg tried to smooth things out.

"When we say we are not from around here we mean that we don't even know where we are from… we awoke in the forest with amnesia and could barely even remember our names"

"So that's why you want me to tell you about electricity! AH, I get it now… wait, so how do you guys fight so well?"

"Muscle memory rather than actual memory, it is just natural…"

"Hmmmm… ok then, well we better get back to getting the plans done because everyone will be a bit restless after the bodies are finished burning"

"Understood, I shall work as fast as possible… Nora, could you inform the others to collect as much wood as possible for the fortifications, give me at least 200 stacks by nightfall and we shall work through the night"

"Sure thing boss!" chimed Nora, saluting and running off back to the group, briefly noting the massive pillar of black flames that was starting to fill the clear sky.

[3 hours later]

"HOLD!" shouted Holg to the workers holding a massive log straight up. It was literally a 10-foot high tree that had its branches cut off, held by five villagers who were definitely struggling to keep it straight judging by the sweat dropping off their brows.

"MORKAI NOW!" shouted the half-orc again, watching as the wizard nodded and used magic to throw Adrik up into the air well above the post, the dwarf coming back down with warhammer in hands and smashing the top of the pole and pile-driving it two feet into the ground. The villagers let go and the large pole managed to stand upright with little sway at all.

"Well that's the fencing posts done…" muttered Holg, looking around to see the hundred or so poles that were standing upright in a morphed circle around the outskirts of the village. A massive pile of wood was stocked in the centre of town thanks to Nora's massive sword managing to slice trees down in a single swing and the fact that Morkai could carry about ten trees at once thanks to his magic.

"Now, get the other logs and place them horizontal and then lash them to the posts…" instructed Holg, the villagers groaning in effort as they straightened out their backs and headed off to the centre of town, the paladin staying where he was and observing the posts. He had devised a defensive plan that basically rested on them being able to build a large wooden wall around the town to ensure that they could work in piece through the night.

He was just about to walk away when he felt a small tugging on his cloak and turned around to see Genevive tugging meekly on the hem of his cloak while rubbing her eyes. He smiled and reached down, picking her up and hoisting her onto his shoulders, the girl being about to easily sit there thanks to the massive pauldrons underneath his cloak. He started slowly walking down the halls and got outside before Genevive actually said anything.

"Daddy, where are we?" she asked, yawning through her words while still rubbing her eyes.

"We were teleported far away from home honey… everything is safe so you don't need to worry"

"I won't! Is there something I can do daddy?"

"Well, I think it would be safe if you wandered a bit… just remember to blow the horn if trouble comes" he chastised, turning his head to see her roll her eyes.

"You don't need to keep telling me! I can look after myself thank you very much!" she pouted, frowning at him.

"I'm sure you can, have fun now and try not to get hurt"

Holg took her off his shoulders and she smiled before running off towards a group of the local village children who were all whispering wildly and pointing at him then nearly soiled themselves when he looked their way. He was under no illusion that Genevive wouldn't be able to hold her own in a fight but he still didn't want her getting hurt.

"Frath, would you make sure nothing happens and remember the rules" Holg spoke to what seemed like thin air. He didn't receive any response other than feeling the air around him rush a bit faster than usual, knowing it was definitely not the wind.

He nodded to himself and continued heading to the centre of the town, intent on helping out with the construction. A minute later he saw Zwelious standing on a large podium instructing the townfolk on where to take the post and he walked up the steps to join him. He saw that already the entire East side of the village a 9-foot high wall erected and the North and South were already half-way done.

"I must commend you Zwelious, I never thought it would progress at such a rate"

"Well, it's mostly thanks to the fact that Nora and Adrik can both arm-wrestle a giant and that Morkai… well I don't need to explain that, but I also want to talk to you about something"

"Aye…"

"To put it plainly, they do not have any form of magic here"

"Do explain" Holg asked, his interest piqued.

"They have never heard of any of our probably most mundane spells but they do speak about some specially trained warriors known as Huntsmen who can utilise very specific magic sets…"

"The mayor did mistake us for these Huntsmen so I assume they must be very powerful"

"Aye, the villagers think they're like gods basically although I highly doubt they would know since I haven't seen a single holy symbol since I got here"

"Noted, so you say that these Huntsmen can use magic?"

"The villagers say they call them Semblances and each individual is unique in their casting… they only speak of very simple spells such as teleporting and Haste spells yet the Huntsmen appear to be able to use them as cantrips"

"So they are expert mages?"

"The villagers speak of them as expert blade wielders and they don't seem to use much combat magic, only that which enhances their weapon usage"

"Such as elemental attacks?"

"Strangely enough, the inhabitants of this plane have found crystals that can be used to imitate the elements to great effect and many weapons here incorporate that so they can basically have Elemental Weapon active without casting"

"Definitely interesting, I will need to inquire more into this with the mayor tomorrow, for now I will help with the building as best as I can, is there anyone that requires assistance?"

"Well, you could help the villagers over their lifting that pile of logs because they can really only move one at a time from the weight and… well you have those gauntlets so I assume you'll put everyone else to shame the second you use them"

"I shall endeavour to make them feel appreciated" Holg announced before he left the podium, walking over to a particular group who was having trouble moving a thick log. As he approached, they let it drop to the ground with a massive thud and stepped back to wipe the sweat off their brows.

"Do not worry about this tree my friends, I shall transport it so you can move onto another" Holg addressed them, drawing a laugh from all of them.

"If you think you can lift it then go ahead, we won't stop you!" the lead one spoke through an amused laugh. Holg walked straight up to the log and sized it up, moving so that he was next to the balance point. He pushed aside his cloak so that it was sitting behind his pauldrons and didn't obstruct his arm movements. When the villagers saw what laid beneath, they were awed into silence.

Shining silver platemail covered almost every part of his body, all of it at least an inch thick, anything that wasn't covered having a layer of silver chainmail beneath it. Etchings and symbols all made of pure gold adorned the armour with the symbol of Kord emblazoned directly on his chestplate, made of hardened demon blood. His hood was still kept low but he saw the looks of complete awe on all their expressions at the sight of his battle-plate.

He stretched his arms before grabbing the centre of the massive log with his left hand, the taloned fingers digging into the wood and providing grip… before lifting it into the air with almost no effort. The villagers nearly soiled themselves as he was literally holding a 10-foot tall tree that was at least a foot thick… with one hand.

"I suggest you collect another log and follow me" Holg spoke before walking over to the pile and taking another log in his right hand and walking off like they weighed nothing.

One of the gifts that he received on his journeys were his artefact gauntlets known as the Earthshakers… named so because they gave the user strength that could literally put the Tarrasque to shame. He found them extremely helpful in any situation he could think of and he could cast Earthquake once per day without needed to use any of his stored magical energy.

Clearing his thoughts, he left the stunned villagers on their own and went off to the North of the village to drop off the logs, finding Nora helping three other villagers to lift a log roughly the same size as one of the ones he was carrying. When she saw him she didn't really seem that phased at all but sent a look that said 'show off' to him.

He dumped them on the pile they had gathered that were going to be attached to the standing posts, drawing more than a few dazed looks from the villagers. He took the time he had to observe the wall that had already been built. It looked sturdy enough to definitely give a giant a run for its money but he was sure it wouldn't stand up to one of the larger scorpion 'Grimm' he had killed the night before.

But he wasn't focused on building wooden fortifications… he would indeed introduce the villagers to the world of magic when they saw what he had planned. But that was for another time, for now… it was time to build a wall! (No Donald Trump at all!)