Chapter 4 - Arcane Trapper
Rushing through the forest to escape the encounter near the cave, the scouting party took a curved path back to Oberi village. The leader mentioned doing this was for the case if they were being tailed. It would bring attention to the other villages and have the patrollers to attack the pursuer or deter them away. Passing the neighboring villages and continuing down the travelled dirt path, their home base was in sight. Seeing the post guards notice them from a distance, one went to inform the chief and guards. Passing through the first huts and slowing down, they drew attention from the villagers.
"Haaa...haaa...," the scouting lead said laboring for air. Putting down Sonic, he and the other two plopped themselves on the ground. Seeing a few people start to crowd towards them, Chief Oberi and the patrol captain were heading towards their location.
"I told you that giving the prize of forest exploration to a child was a bad idea," the warrior mentioned walking next to the village leader.
"The boy was known to wonder too much...if the boy won the race, his punishment for breaking the rules would be removed," Oberi stated with a stern face. "And now that he couldn't not take respons-"
"Oh my gosh!" a female dog villager gasped in fright.
"Holy smokes," a fox man said out loud with a very concerned face.
Pointing his hand toward what he was looking at, both officials focused on the blue hedgehog. Instead the intent to scold the child, they saw how bloodstained he was. The mild lost look with dark circles around his eyes gave the impression that Sonic went through a terrifying ordeal. Dropping the need to discipline, Oberi called for the medic. The patrol captain told the other villagers to give space as he went toward the scouting party.
"Everyone alright? What happened?" he asked seeing that all the adults were fine. Only the lead had blood markings from holding onto the child.
"...yeah...everyone is alright...just spooked out real good," the man answered getting his breath and standing up. "Probably should send a wire to all the neighboring villages to not go near the southern area."
"Which part?"
"Where the obstacle course and the cave are located between Clam's and Zorn's village," the head scout stated. Hearing movement nearby, the group turned to the village doctor. She went toward the hedgehog and kneeled down with her bag.
"Hi there...are you okay?" the anthropomorphic deer spoke softly. Seeing how much crimson was smeared on the kid was a bit unsettling.
"...hi...I think I'm okay," Sonic answered uncomfortable from everyone staring at him.
"Do you know if you are bleeding anywhere?"
"...I scrapped my knee on some rocks yesterday..."
"..." she replied looking at his limbs. Despite how much of the iron-scented liquid was on him, the doctor could not find any signs of lacerations or wounds that would keep blood coming out. Getting out an instrument that was of a scanner, the deer-woman pointed towards the boy.
"Okay. I am going to do a short scan just to make sure there aren't any more injuries on you."
"Yes ma'am."
"..." the patrol captain replied turning his head toward the scouts. Looking at each of them, they had recovered a bit from running but still had a ragged look to them. Clearing his throat to grab their attention, he noticed the village chief walking toward them.
"Give me a report on the incident when you recovered the kid."
"Yes sir," the lead responded. "We traced where the last signal for the wrist ban that the boy had. It was between the obstacle course and the cave south of here."
"Were there any patrol robots over there?" Oberi asked tense. "There have been reports that their movements were active last night."
"..." all three scouts shook their heads.
"No chief. We did not find any robots or evidence that machines were there. What we found was a slaughter of primal predators. A pack of them."
"Hmm," the warrior commander replied and crossed his arms. "Those tend to be seen at nighttime and further away from the villages...unless they did not find any food for the day. How did they die?"
"Savagely sir," the fox male scout spoke. "Limbs ripped out...decapitated...impacted skin...broken bones...sever gashes...blood thrown everywhere."
"..." both official reacted with small frowns.
"Once we examined the grounds, we heard movement in the cave. Sonic came out of it looking like that and his fur was standing on end. Once he was with us where we stood, the killer appeared," the lead of the trio continued then gestured to the other scout. "She detected it before anyone else did."
"What did this being look like?" Oberi asked looking at the birdwoman.
"I did not get a good look at him...I just saw a dark figure that moved in the cave," she described. "But it did something that made all of us freeze...it had a crimson ring for an eye and was staring directly at us."
"A red ring for an eye?" the warrior chief repeated confused. "But only robots have those eyes. Are you sure?"
"Quite positive sir," the fox scout confirmed with a short nod. "I did not hear it make mechanical movements when it threw something at us."
"A weapon? An explosive?"
"...a decapitated primal mountain lion head..." the head scout answered which made the feathered colleague quiver a little. "Its face had lacerations on it that said...run...on it...all caps."
"God...that gave me the willies...eee," the vulpine man commented quietly and shook his head. All three lookouts observed the officials' behavior and expression. Both of them looked uncomfortable from the detailed report.
"Keep this under wraps for now...I will inform the neighboring villages of this development," Oberi informed then looked at the patrol captain. "Have an extra guard or two during daytime and nighttime shifts for the time being."
"Copy that Chief," he stated with a nod. Walking away, both continued conversing.
"What do you think the killer could be?"
"Possibly a turned hunter that went savage."
"No possible being over our race would have the strength to do those feats...maybe the large sized races, but none here could."
"Maybe it had a robotic arm Chief...there is still a lot of unknown factors."
"..." the scouts commented seeing the two walked away. Turning back to the hedgehog, the doctor closed her medical handheld scanner.
"Well, you do have some small cuts and bruises along with your scrapped knees," she mentioned putting her device away. "Taking a medical herbal bath will help heal them along with rest."
"..." Sonic replied with a head nod. Watching the doctor close her bag and stand up, she held her hand out to him.
"Let's go to your house."
"...yes ma'am..." the hedgehog replied with a small frown. Grabbing her hand, both walked away from the gathering of villagers. Reaching the orphanage building and knocking on the door, one of the caretakers opened it.
"Yes? How can I-!?" she began then flinched from seeing the condition that the blue child was in. She covered her mouth while her eyes widen.
"S-Sonic, what happened to you!? Why didn't you-"
"You can ask those questions after I give instructions and setup a medical bath for him," the village's medicine head spoke. "Where is the washroom?"
"R-Right. This way," she stated. Turning around, she led them into the building.
Walking through the main entrance area, the three saw a group to the right. Seeing that a school session was taking place, all the children and teacher turned to them. Seeing that Sonic had returned, a good handful of them began to stand up. About to go to him, they noticed that something was very wrong. Hearing the caretaker teaching gasp in fright, all the youngsters froze from where they were.
"..." the hedgehog reacted feeling uneasy. All the lost, bewildered, and scared look on their faces was because he was missing and covered in blood. Following the doctor and the staffer, there was a sound of someone clearing their throat.
"Come children. Let's go back to the lesson. We are done with the main lesson with still some left over. After that, we'll be done for today."
"...okay..." a murmur wave occurred from the group of children. Seeing them shift around to face toward the caretaker, a majority watched the trio from the corner of their eye.
Once the three reached the door to the washroom, they went inside. The doctor instructed to see if the blood can come off the boy's fur. Watching the caretaker grab a rag and ring it after wetting it some solution, she began mildly scrubbing on the child's arm. After doing so several times, the towel was now tinted red, but most of the crimson stayed on. Stating that it will probably have to be the medicine bath to get rid of them, the staffer stopped. Helping the village medic draw a bath and adding the herbal remedy, the room began to have a robust pungency. Smelling like hot plants and tree sap, Sonic grimaced from the thought of bathing in it.
"Alright," the doctor began then turned to the caretaker. "Soaking for at least 10 minutes should get the blood soften and able to scrub off. This same solution can be used on both the gloves and boots."
"Okay. Thank you doctor," the orphanage staffer replied and gave a small nod. Seeing the deer woman nod back and turn to the boy, she saw his expression change to be neutral.
"I know it doesn't smell that great Sonic...but it will get the red off of you and make you not stink like a corpse."
"...!?" the hedgehog reacted with surprise. Smelling his hand, the blood smell was not as nauseating as before. Feeling embarrassed, he curled his ears back and down and gave a small nod.
"Let me know if you need anything else," the doctor commented then walked out of the room. Once alone in the room, the caretaker turned to the bloodstained blue child. He was looking over the tub edge and staring at the heated liquid that was mild green.
"Better now than later Sonic...probably is only effective when it is still hot."
"...kay..." he replied gruntingly. Taking off his boots and gloves, he gingerly climbed into the medical water. Grimacing from the smell, he submerged himself up to his neck. Plugging his nose and closing his eyes, he put his head under the solution. Holding his breath for about 30 seconds, he pulled his head up. Breathing for air and tensing up, he quickly rubbed his face.
"Feels slimy," the boy mentioned giving a grossed expression.
"I bet it does," she agreed from the smell and remembering what was used. Placing both boots and gloves in a smaller bucket, she filled it with the herbal liquid. Washing her hands and getting a small stool to sit beside the kiddie pool, she sat down. With a towel, she wiped his face to get rid of the liquid on him. It was thicker than water.
"How are you feeling?"
"...other than feeling scared still...I think I'm okay," Sonic replied.
"If you can, tell me where you explored yesterday," she asked. Seeing the boy ease a little, he began explaining and describing all that he saw the previous day. When it got to the last exploration spot, the mild conversation shifted a little.
"You went to the cave south of here?" the caretaker asked for clarification.
"..." the hedgehog replied with not feeling as enthused from story telling. "...yes..."
"You know you weren't supposed to go there."
"..." he commented. Not moving, the boy stared the herbal bath liquid. Seeing his own reflections in the bubbles, he forced himself to not frown visibly. An awkward silence passed through as neither said anything.
"...you should probably scrub yourself to get the blood off," she informed. Seeing the child nod his head, the woman watched him mildly scratch and claw himself. The green tinted heated water was slowly getting infused with the crimson more. With the iron scent smears rubbing off, she decided to continue her question.
"Sonic...do you understand that you were not supposed to go into the cave?"
"..." the child replied with silence. Continuing to get rid of the blood, his expression slowly changed into a frown.
"Sonic...look at me."
"..." the hedgehog replied with stopping. Slowly turning his head right, he looked up.
"Do you understand that you were not supposed to go into the cave?"
"...yes..."
"Why did you go there when you were told not to?" the caretaker asked with a neutral face.
"..." Sonic responded with a small frown. Resisting the real reason, he altered it to not tell a complete lie.
"I saw something shiny in there and went to look at it."
"...is that the real reason?"
"Yes...I thought I would have enough time to see what it was and run back home," he began then turned away. Looking down at the kiddie pool water, he clenched his teeth from seeing the brown mud looking water he was in.
"...and then...when I left it...there were beasts outside...and a monster inside that killed them."
"..." the caretaker reacted with a blink of surprise. "You saw the thing that killed the primal predators?"
"Yeah...it ripped them to shreds like it was nothing," the blue boy continued. Really wanting to get out of the poopie colored bath, he showed his clenched teeth.
"And then...it dragged me back into the cave...a-a-and I-"
"Shh-shh-shh," she quickly said and put a hand on his head. "I'm sorry to bring that bad event back...but please for your safety and our village's wellbeing...please make sure you heed our words when we tell you about not going somewhere...it is for your safety and protection...okay?"
"...yes ma'am..." Sonic answered quietly and reduced his face down to a small pout.
"I think you have spent long enough in there. Make sure to wash yourself, the bath bowl, and the bowl that has your boots and gloves in it," the woman said standing up.
Seeing a nod from the kid, she turned around and left the room. Once the door closed, he got out of the bath quickly. Going straight to a faucet, he grabbed a small quart bucket. Filling it, he dumped the whole thing over his head and scrubbed himself with his hands. Doing it a couple of times and shaking himself to rid of the dripping water, he did not feel slimy.
Going to the bath and turning the outlet valve outside of the small tub, the liquid began to drain. Moving the bucket that was soaking his gloves and boots, he placed all three in the kiddie pool. Dumping all out, he threw containers of faucet water at them a few times. Knowing he will get scolded for not cleaning the tub out from the residue, he grabbed a scrubbing pad. Quickly doing the inside, the heated plant and tree sap smell was much less. Getting out and looking at the water that was on the floor, the child sighed through his nose.
"...?" Sonic responded from hearing knocking on the door. It opened and revealed the same caretaker.
"Have you finished already?" she asked a little surprised at how fast he had bathed and cleaned so far.
"Yes...I scrubbed the tub after draining it," he answered neutrally. "My stuff is still in there...and cleaning the floors."
"Okay...why not dry yourself and go join the others. I will clean up the rest," the woman offered stepping inside then looked around him. "Seems that herbal bath did get almost all of the red off you."
"..." the hedgehog replied and looked at himself. Seeing not much or any red on him, he turned to her and nodded.
Putting the scrubbing pad away and grabbing a towel, he began to dry himself. Hearing the orphanage staffer step in and grab his boots and gloves, she went over to a corner and placed them on a rack. Seeing her grab a mop to clean the floor, the boy put the towel down on a stool. Walking out of the washroom, he made his way to where the other children were. With the education session still going and heading to the back to sit down, he ignored everyone's stare.
When the first break occurred, all the kids were excused to go outside. Once Sonic was the last one out, he was immediately grouped around by a majority of the orphans. He was bombarded with questions asking where he went, what happened, what monsters did he see, and what did he see out there. Feeling a little more comfortable in talking, he explained what was around their village and how far he could see from climbing tall trees. When it came to the cave incident, he kept just repeated what he told the caretaker.
Around lunch time, all the kids noticed that there were extra patrols going around the village. In hearing villagers walking by, they stated that the chief and patrol captain made a temporary lockdown. It would prevent anyone from going outside of the establishment unless they have been given a task toward another village or they were part of the guards. Though the men grumbled about it, they quickly changed the subject to the potential monster that was nearby. The orphans turned their head towards Sonic seeing that their story coincide with his ill-adventure from yesterday to this morning.
After a week going by with increased warriors standing post, there was no incident of a monster attack. Sonic did have one or two bad dreams that reflected the primal predators chasing him. The unknown killer that was in the cave never appeared in his dreams; however, there was a dark silhouette that would appear. It did not approach him nor did it speak to him. The figure would stand in various spots and just levitate in place. An expectation of the killer's red ring eye to show never appeared while slumbering.
After sunrise, Chief Oberi gather his villagers and announced that he lifted the restriction. He did caution his people that even though a threat is sighted far away from here, the possibility of it coming around was still there. Seeing the expressions of people's faces lift a bit, it seemed to take away some of the tension that was building from the semi-lockdown tactics. Dismissing them and watching them go about their business, someone approached him. Seeing that it was his secretary, she handed him the inventory they had.
"Shall I go let our supplier know of the list?" she asked
"..." Oberi answered rubbing his chin a little. Seeing movement to his right, he observed the orphans were walking back to the orphanage. At that moment, he decided to change the normal routine.
"Have all the orphans go along with the supply pickup to Oatisal Harbor," Oberi mentioned looking back at the woman.
"...all the orphans?" she repeated blinking in surprise. She watched him put his arms behind him and adjusted his shoulders.
"This will be a good life experience for them...might give some of them hope and dreams from what they see there," he explained. "A couple of them are of age to begin helping our village sustain itself...others are coming to age while the others still need to be attended for."
"That I can understand that...but a majority of them are under 8 years old...wouldn't that be a dangerous trip for the trader and guards going along bringing that many kids?"
"They have behaved themselves during my little martial law...think of it as a field trip for them."
"Alright chief," she said nodding her head. "I will go inform all of them."
"Thank you."
'I can understand wanting to get the kids out and about...but to Oatisal Harbor?' the secretary thought leaving the administration office. She headed toward the guard house first before going to the trader and the orphanage.
'That place has all sources of activities going on...I dread to think any of the children going missing on this entire trip,' the clerical staffer continued in her head. Reaching and getting informed who the guards would be, the captain there stated the trader is getting the delivery vehicle from Zorn's village. Nodding and going to the orphanage next, she knocked on the door. Being greeted by one of the caretakers there, the staffer became surprised at the news.
"That seems a little much for the kids to go to Oatisal Harbor...isn't it?" the attendant asked in a low voice.
"I hold the same sentiment...but that is what the Chief informed me to pass on."
"...okay...well, the children will definitely be excited," she informed with a small smile.
Entering the orphanage, the secretary saw all the kids doing an activity. Some were in groups while others chose a more solidary act of drawing, reading, coloring, or napping. Listening to the staffer get all the youngins attention and making the announcement, the older ones were the most excited. The younger children became contagious of their seniors' demeanors. Calming them down and getting their attention on the village secretary, she led them to the guard house.
Waiting a few minutes for the truck to arrive, the clerical woman informed the trader of what the Chief requested. The bulldog man gave a hearty chuckle then just struggled his shoulders. All boarded the vehicle where one patroller was with the trader in the cockpit and the other watched the kids in the back trailer. Heading off to the coastal town, only a couple of children were getting motion sickness. The teens and pre-teens were looking out the port and starboard side circular windows to watch things go by.
After an hour of travel, the truck started to slow down. Looking out the windows again, they saw that they had entered the port city and were traveling down what seemed to be like one of many streets. After making a couple of turns, the vehicle came to a stop and deflated. Hearing the frame of the trailer touch down on the ground. The guard standing with them went to the doors and waited for them to be unlocked. Hearing it and getting the doors opening, it was the other patroller and the trader.
"Alright kiddos. I'm going to go pick up supplies for our village. Make sure you all stay with our protectors and do not go wondering off," the man stated with a confident voice. "Especially you youngsters...there are bad people here that will scoop you up without you knowing. Like a hawk catching its prey. Understand?"
"..." the young children reacted with a gulp. Nodding their heads a couple of times, the older kids nodded once.
"Alright. Well, the squirts are yours gents. Be back in a bit," the driver said and turned around. Walking away, both guards gave a sigh through their nose.
"Listen up kids," one of the guards began then pointed toward the portion of the street in front of them. "You can go halfway into the street if there are no mobile cars going through. Never leave our immediate sight. Do not talk to anyone here by yourself. Everyone here is not your friend nor will be nice to you. Y'all got that?"
"Yes sir," the group of tots mumbled audibly.
Going along with what was instructed to them, only the older kids walked out into the street. The younger ones walked to the sidewalk/walkway. All of them began slowly looking around themselves and taking in what Oatisal Harbor showed. The infrastructure and buildings were industrial with an overall rundown feel. There was electricity that ran through the city as there were signs and lights that were on.
'So this is what the town looks like up close,' Sonic thought standing amongst the others in the street. Scanning around, there were many small and tall buildings. Looking up at the sky, it was overcast which he didn't remember seeing when he looked yesterday from the trees. Blinking and turning to look at the entire street, it was littered with shops and tents for trade.
'...never seen so many shops before...' he said in his mind. Following what looked a vertical stretch of tents and booths, there were even people who put their shops on balconies and terraces. Seeing that expand from one side of the street to the other, it gave a makeshift second floor above the ground.
Looking back at the ground level and staring at the massive crowd of business and people, something caught his eye. A person in a tattered black cloak was standing at one of the booths. Based on what was on the counter, it seemed to be fur pelts. Seeing the hooded person moved their arm inside the outwear, he extended out his left hand. Seeing a stack of pelts in his hand, the person behind the counter carefully grabbed them.
Seeing the hand go back inside, the hedgehog observed the person more. Seeing that the cloak went all the way down to where the figure's feet were, it concealed the individual completely from being identified. Seeing movement, the shopkeeper took the furs and exchange what seemed like money. The covered being again extended his left hand and collected the currency. Moving back into the large coat, the boy could see that there was a medium size knapsack from the protruding outlines seen on the outwear.
'Despite looking to be a foot taller than me...that has to be a breed that either has a lot of head hair or horns,' Sonic wondered. On the back side of the hoodie the person had on, there were a few pointed areas there that gave a horn impression. Seeing the business deal was completed, the unknown silhouette gave a nod with his head.
"H-Hey," one of the younger children anxiously stated grabbing everyone's attention. "What's that guy doing?"
"...?" everyone answered. All the orphans and guards turned to look down the street toward the business strip. Seeing the commotion occurring, one of the warriors steeped forward and got in front of all the kids.
"Stay behind me and do not interact. If you feel unsafe, go to the other guard where the truck is."
"..." the children commented.
Staying where he stood, a mugging was taking place. Listening to the children whisper to themselves what was occurring, Sonic felt a sudden urge to go to the scene and stop the thief. Knowing he was not allowed to and clench his teeth a little, something moved to his left. Feeling a small pull in his stomach, his eyes immediately went back to where the dark cloaked individual was.
The person moved to be between the tent he exchanged with and the neighboring one to the left. Moving something from inside his coat, the knapsack came out. Seeing it being placed on the ground, the figure stood up straight. All the sudden, his image became still for a second or two. After, it began to wave slowly until it faded away to nothing. A small amount of wind moved the fabric of the tents a bit before calming down.
"...!?" Sonic reacted with widen eyes. Scanning around him quickly, it appeared as if the person vanished. Hearing the mugger rush down the street, he was being pursued by neighboring shopkeepers.
"Get back to the trailer. Move," the guard mentioned sternly. All the orphans did so seeing that the mugger's escape path was heading in their direction. Watching the adult reptile thief run quickly with the stolen goods in hand, he looked back to see how far away he was from the pursuers. Unseen by him, the guards and children saw a black cloaked individual materialize ahead of the criminal's path.
'...whoa...' the hedgehog reacted with surprise and feeling a thrill coming on. 'That has to be the guy that was going super speed through the forest!'
Just as the mugger turned his head forward, he was met with a left cross punch to his face. The blow knocked him backwards while momentum pushed him forward. His legs swung forward and up as he did a flip and belly flopped to the ground hard. Groaning from the pain in his face and hitting the street, the reptile person felt someone reaching down and grabbing something. Pulling it off of him, he looked up angry. People could see his expression change rapidly seeing the unknown individual looking down at him.
"...haa...thanks stranger," one of the barters stated catching up. The other one who got mugged came with a bruise on her face. Seeing the thief get punched in the face hard made her feel better. Feeling like stomping on the criminal's face for doing a sucker punch to her head, she looked at the person that stopped the man. Seeing the hooded individual turn its concealed face to her, the fur on her skin began to stand on end. Without a word, the figure tossed to her what was stolen.
"...uh...thank you," the cat woman stated catching the loaded bag. Looking at her goods and feeling relief that they were not damaged, she expected to hear a statement. Hearing nothing, she glanced at the person again. It did not say anything back nor gave a head nod.
"..." the mysterious being commented. Turning back to the mugger and looking down at him, the criminal was staring back with a pained look on its face. Making a motion with its left hand and pointing at thief, the person changed it to a hitchhiker's thumb position. It gave people standing around that it was meant to tell the person to scram.
"..." the criminal reacted with pressing his lips together. Getting up slowly and turning around, the person gingerly walked away while shaking his head a little.
"That was some speed you got there stranger," the other shopkeeper began to say then looked back at the cloaked person. "How would you say to-!?"
"...!?" everyone reacted from looking back at the savior. As if vanishing from sight, there was not a trace of the individual except a small wind that passed through.
"Whoa...where did that guy go?" one of the orphans asked looking around.
"...that is...a good question," the Oberi warrior answered looking baffled and cautiously scanning around.
'...the killer in the cave...he did the same wind movement and super speed as well...' Sonic thought enthralled, frightened, and feeling adrenaline coursing through him. 'Are they one in the same?'
"..." the boy spoke feeling his gut pull a little to his left. About to do a sweep glance over to his left, he first looked back at the knapsack between the tents. With eyes widen, the dark covered figure was there. The individual picked up the bag and placed inside of the cloak. Without looking back or adjusting anything on itself, it walked away calmly. Feeling an intense urge to go follow, the blue boy bitterly resisted.
