by E C Chii
A soft knock on the door interrupted him with annoyance.
“Come in” called out the elder.
When the door opened the man, who owned the nearby tavern walked in with a tray of cold meats, bread, cheese, and an aromatic tea.
Setting the tray on the table he said, “Figured you would get hungry after last night’s excitement.”
“Thank you, Derek. I will send Ash by with some coin for the cost later.”
Once he left each person grabbed a small plate of food and cup of tea. Wolf nibbled a small amount from each item and then set the mostly uneaten plate on the table after taking a small sip from the tea. All in all, everything was not bad for cold meats, cheese, bread, and tea. Though, long standing habits from when he was in India had him cautious of poisoned food. While the others may be immune or any potential toxins he wouldn’t let his guard down in this unfamiliar area. He was not from this world and the foods here might react poorly, that and he had a cynical distrust for people in general.
Siris looked at him curiously, “Is the food not to your liking?”
Wolf smiled knowingly, “I am not from this world, remember. For all I know something in this food could be poisonous to me. Hell, where I am from most things were poisonous.” Wolf shrugged as he figured he should continue the story of how he beat a more than half a century of troops.
“So, where was I? Ah, I only got to level six just a few days ago. When I was leading them away from the village I would harass them in the night, sneaking in and killing the ones I could in their sleep, while setting up ambushes and traps to wound, maim, or kill outright. Most of which I had set up long before I even knew of the Imperials to kill or deter predators. It’s relatively easy to take on a superior enemy, if you only fight them on your terms.”
Charle perked up a bit, “Could you teach us this fighting strategy?”
“I could, but if you think that you could topple a kingdom, country, or dynasty, well you have probably read too many fairytales about how the hero always triumphs over the villain, saves the damsel, and lives happily ever after making fat babies. You would be more likely to build an impenetrable fortress that floats on clouds.” Wolf joked sarcastically.
Charle rebutted by exaggeratingly throwing his hands up in the air and saying, “Then there is no point in trying to fight? No point in fighting, dying, sacrificing, working or hoping for a future that is better than the current state?”
“Geez, would you stop being such a drama llama? You won’t beat any decently equipped, lead, organized Army or country with guerrilla warfare alone. I can possibly help you out, but I need to know everything you got on the Empire. We got a few weeks before some of my gear is finished so I can walk you through some of the tactics I used when fighting a superior opponent.”
While he was talking, the amount of time he felt that was needing to ensure the food was safe passed. Picking up his plate he began to devour the food with gusto.
Siris took this opportunity to ask the question, “If this guerrilla warfare will not defeat the Empire, what is the reason for it?”
“Simple, it forces them to waste significant portions of their finite resources hunting down the insurgents. Distracting them from other more critical endeavors. The biggest problem to guerrilla warfare is that it is entirely dependent on the local populations’ opinions and sympathy. Often, armies such as these have been known to become very harsh on the populations where insurgents must intimidate, or oppress the populations they are trying to fight for. As a short-term strategy, it pays off greatly, but in a long-term strategy it will always fail. The other side-effect is that it also turns cities into battlefields where collateral damage is not only likely but a near certainty”.
The group finished their light lunch and spend a few more minutes with small talk, one such topic was where the girls who took his loot from the slaver’s tent and his rickshaw was. Before they each went their own ways, they agreed to meet up every night to discuss the tactics, methods, and all the lessons that Wolf had learned in his previous life conducting guerrilla operations.
Chapter 17 – Some Assembly Required
Wolf needed to pay for his tavern room that night, but it was well worth it. He was led to the communal bath and taught the social norms of the village. Last thing he needed was to make a social faux pas and cause problems. The bathing style was a very Japanese method as they would wash first then soak in the hot water pools then rinse off in the cold-water pools. The only thing that would have made it better would be an ice-cold beer and roasted nuts.
All in all, everything only cost two silvers with meals, baths, and laundry included. The elder would find the three women with the pilfered gear and he would get some remuneration from that as soon as he got a chance to examine and sell it. He had also managed to get some rather decent casual clothing that didn’t smell like three-week-old ball sack. Soon enough he felt the dreaded onset of sleep, pull him deep into slumber and the morass depths of his own mind.
Waking to banging on the door, he sat up yawning and stretching. Calling out that he was awake and coming he walked to the door opening it to find three women, one Huldra, one human, and one Beastkin standing behind Siris with a shocked and bewildered look on their faces.
“Can I help you ladies?” Wolf asked with a yawn.
Siris turned a bit pink and snapped, “Do you always run around naked?”
“Only when I am in a location that is supposed to be private.” Wolf said as he walked away leaving the door open. As he was grabbing a loincloth off the floor he said, “Come on in, my anaconda don’t want none, unless you got buns hun.”
Still in a state of unease the Beastkin woman smiled boldly walked in. Eyeing him appraisingly as he got dressed, “So you are the man that killed that slaver. You have my thanks, perhaps later I can thank you much more personally.”
When he pulled the cotton shirt down he got a good look at the Beastkin woman. She stood just a hair shorter than him wearing a cotton shirt and burlap pants. Her figure was toned with faint black stripes crossed over her ashen brown fur. Her ears, eyes, and exaggerated fangs showed her to be of the feline sub-species from the Beastkin. Her face was similarly bestial like his with a feral look in her eyes accentuated her bestial swagger as she plopped down on the musty bed. She gave him a sly smirk when her tail caressed his thigh before retracting back.
Wolf pulled up a pair of trousers chuckling he asked, “I’m sure you would kitten, but first you three owe me something, and I mean to collect. So where might my stuff be?”
Siris stood by the door with her arms crossed, a faint hint of pink still tinted her face. The brown skinned wood Huldra wore a long brown dress, her hair was unkempt and a little wild. She seemed to use to hide her face. Keeping her head, down trying to keep from drawing attention to herself, she quietly scurried to a corner to avoid being noticed. The human woman whose skin was dusky and traces of scars across it, walked right up to him, with all of her might she reared back and punched Wolf right in the nose, catching him off guard. All others fell silent as his head rocked back.
You have taken 16 Damage from Helyne Longruhn (2.4 damage mitigated)
When his head bounced back he was already in motion, one leg slid between hers breaking her stance and throwing her balance off when he stood, with his left arm snaking under her armpit and wrapping around grabbing ahold a fist full of her hazel brown hair. Jerking down on her hair caused her to look at the ceiling exposing her neck for the throat punch that came seconds later. When he jerked her hair, she let out a yelp in pain and a gurgling groan when he punched her. He didn’t let go of her hair as he used the leg between hers to sweep her onto her back, right before she landed hard on the ground he released her hair. She fell freely until Wolf placed his left knee on her chest pinning her to the ground. Her choking and wheezing gasps were interrupted by the pressure on her chest. Warm red droplets fell on her face slightly blinding her and causing her to feel nauseous from its coppery tang.
Wolf glared down at her as she was failing to push him off due to her disorientation. Blood dripping out of his nose from a respectable punch. The spike of adrenaline from his fight or flight instinct dulled the throbbing pain, assuring him the pain he would feel later. When her eyes were no longer glazed over, he roughly grabbed her face with one hand covering her mouth and pulling her face closer to his.
“Look, I don’t know why you just punched me and frankly I don’t really care. If you attack me again I will end you. Now why don’t we try this again, this time without the violence?”
Pure unadulterated anger was in her eyes as she began to regain control of herself. To Wolf’s surprise she was much stronger than he initially expected and was managing to push him off with relative ease.
While this all transpired the wood Huldra woman let out a terrified squawk, the Beastkin woman instinctually jumped back yipping in surprise, standing on the bed, while Siris stood frozen.
Being pushed off her Wolf realized he needed to make some distance before re-engaging. As the human was about to attack, Charle interrupted. The woman remained glaring at him but made no hostile moves. Seeing that the situation was no longer volatile Wolf relaxed a bit, grabbing a rag off the table he started wiping off the blood on his face.
Looking over to the Melkor he said, “Didn’t need your help Carrot Top but thanks anyways. Now could someone please tell me what that was all about or is Wayne Brady gonna hafta slap a bitch?”
Charle spoke up, “Peace Wolf. Helyne is angry that she has been tasked with helping you on your trip with Lady Siris.”
“Why would she be angry with that?” Wolf asked
“It is because she and the other two sold all the items that were rightfully yours and then spent it. While the reason they did so is rather understandable, it was still a wrong that reflects poorly on us. Last night most of the items had already been moved beyond the village and could not be recovered. The remaining was reacquired, but this left the village in a poor light as you are an honored guest. It would reflect poorly on the village’s reputation if such a thing were to go unpunished. These three will work for five seasons with you.” Charle reached behind himself and pulled free a rather hefty pouch. “Here is some remuneration for the items that could not be recovered. The rest will be brought up to you later.”
Wolf sighed and sat in the chair letting the situation deescalate. The tension in the room eased as he leaned his head back and let the out of combat regeneration relieve him of the pain, he just sat there in silence. Wolf heard several of the others whisper and move around but paid them no mind and just enjoyed the moment to himself. When the pain subsided, he opened his eyes to see several of them standing or sitting in the rather cramped room.
“If we are going to have a meaningful conversation, I think we should move this to a more spacious location. It’s so crowded in here that you couldn’t even swing a cat by the tail without it pissing all over you”
The Beastkin woman quickly grabbed her tail and looked at Wolf afraid. Wolf caught sight of this and just shook his head gently palming his face.
Charle quirked his eyebrow at her motion seemingly lost at her reaction before he said, “The common room is free. Let’s go there and continue this conversation.”
Once they were all gathered in the common floor and seated at a large table, Wolf decided to start the conversation.
“Okay now that we are all here and not all over each other’s nuts. Let’s do this again starting with you Sugar Tits, nice punch by the way.”
When he looked at the human woman she snorted and replied, “Helyne Longruhn, I am the last surviving member of the Silent Blades. A noble family in the Empire hired my group to assassinate a rival noble’s family that was causing problems. It was just a ruse to lure us into a trap. I was the only one who managed to survive and was placed into slavery as a result. I will say this up front, I have no interest in joining you in your prophecy, quest, legend or sleeveless task. As soon as this meeting is done, I will be leaving to kill as many Imperials I can get my blades in.”
Looking to the Beastkin she replied, “Sienna Nyx, member of the Bengal clan. I was captured when my party was raiding an Imperial supply train in the green ocean. It was my first raid; I was supposed to acquire enough goods to afford a good mate. I had my eye on this one particular male but the competition for him was pretty high.”
Sighing she continued, “However, that was that was many seasons ago, so he likely has his mate now. Though I think I might have a new target in my sights.” She said with a wink
When his gaze passed to the wood Huldra, she cringed and slightly trembling. “Ezie Touvoix, I was training to become a Warden with the Emerald Legion. When the Empire invaded the Republic of Eversmeet, I was taken prisoner after its fall.”
Charle gasped, “That was over three hundred years ago. You have been a slave for that long?”
She shuddered at the comment, and kept staring at the top of the table when she continued, “It feels like it was several millennia ago, but it was only a few centuries. Most of what I was taught or trained in has degraded back to its beginner levels. I don’t know what I wish to do with my freedom.”
Being next in line Charle joined in on the introduction, “Sir Charle Lemeign of the Broken Shackles. I also was a slave until a Knight from the order liberated me from a mine when I was only 13 years old. I trained and joined the order shortly after and have spent the rest of my life trying to repay the kindness that was shown to me.”
“I take it that it is uncommon for Melkor to be knights?” Wolf asked
Charle chuckled, “Let’s just say that a Melkor joining anything other than a war party is uncommon. Though I never got to be around many from Melkor tribe before, so maybe I am not as unique as I think I am. Also, you shouldn’t consider Melkor as being evil, brutish or stupid. They just view things in a much different way than others.”
Siris was next, “Siris Yhelena. Apparently, the daughter to the last priestess of Lady Arete and object to this quest Wolf was given. Personally, I think it is a just some wishful thinking on somebody’s part. Long lost heirs and heiresses only exist in fairytales and poorly written books. Until recently I was sealed in crystal, the how and why, I still have not found out. Elder Aegom insists that this is all according to some prophecy…”
Wolf groaned loudly, “Please don’t! You know this legends and prophecy stuff is bullshit! Don’t you dare go all ‘Mary Sue’ my ass this early in the game! That one of us is some sort of chosen one, who is the only hope of saving the world or defeating the evil empire, or by throwing a ring into a fucking volcano.” After a few seconds of exasperated waiting he asked, “What no stupidly hard water temple, collecting all nine ancient trinkets to save the world from some meteor or big bad villain?”
Everyone looked at him as though he were crazy, when Siris spoke up, “No…The legend speaks about the end to the age of slavery. What are you talking about?”
“Just some clichés about how prophesies are all bullshit. Oh, oh, is there some old sagely wizard to help us interpret an ancient text, that allows us access to a labyrinth where the fabled Special Sword of Specialness that has been safely kept awaiting the chosen one to appear. On the way, we will all have our own unique trials to make us better people and teach us that love will always triumph over evil and friendship is the strongest power that exists. Bah, don’t give that weak shit.” Wolf said sarcastically.
Charle commented, “That makes no sense, I can’t even understand half of what you’re saying. We have introduced ourselves it’s your turn to introduce yourself for these ladies.”
Blowing out his breath in frustration, “I am Wolf Mikall, I am not from this world. I was apparently tasked by this Arete with escorting Hermione there to Tall Spire. In my previous world I was a Soldier in my country’s military, I was part of a seven-man team which specialized in guerrilla warfare against numerically superior forces. We specialized in close combat in low
visibility settings like cities, dense forests, and mountainous terrain. To keep the local populations on our side we needed to take more precautions regarding collateral damage and innocent people being caught in our attacks.”
Continuing after pausing for a few short moments as several very disturbing memories flashed through his mind causing him to grimace. “That’s why we preferred to use knives, swords, axes and other melee weapons over rifles and such. Somehow my last mission dealt with this new weapon that screwed around with gravity or something, that’s how I ended up here. At least that is my running theory. I absolutely abhor slavery and will happily continue killing as many slavers as I can for as long as I can. Make no mistake though, I have no delusions that I am anything but a level eight noob. I am going to get paid back for the stuff I should have received one way or another.”
Charle nodded, “So what is the plan then? I earnestly wish to assist in your quest, but my path is not the same as yours.”
Helyne eased up out of the chair, “Regardless of ‘debts’ I will not be accompanying you either. I am an assassin and there is a blood price on those in the Empire who were responsible for the killing them all.”