Road to Saena, City of Kingdom of Stilyra- Early Summer 14 years AR

“Wait did we find a contract?” Jaesmin asked as they left the city and Leofrith held up a sheet of paper.

“When did you get that?” Aethred was staring at the sheet. Jon thought about it but couldn’t really think of when Leo could have accepted a contract for them.

“It was while you all were making your best attempt to… gods, I don’t even want to say ‘play music’…” Leo said. Jon grinned at Erin across from him, between her new bagpipe and his fiddle, the two could be almost used as weapons. Something Jon knew as psychological warfare from his visions. Intimidate or frustrate your enemy through music causing them to make mistakes, “The only one of you that can play is Jon.”

Thump, thump, thump

Everyone looked over at Aethred as he tapped the top of his new drum. It was a cheap one but it didn’t matter that much, it was still hide drawn tight over a barrel. In other words it could still do exactly what a drum was supposed to.

“How’s Jon better than that?” Aethred said pointing at his drum.

“Mine actually takes talent,” Jon responded, it was true. He’d finally played for other people and although there was room for improvement it went from a dying cat sound to something that was most definitely music. He just wouldn’t be playing in royal courts anytime soon.

“AHEM! Contract,” Erin brought them back and they all nodded a little embarrassed; they really were bunch of misfits.

“A midsized group of monsters needs to be slain, we can take all of the remains or at least their heads to any guildhall to get payment,” Leo said glancing at the paper, “It still wont cover everything spent but it’s a start in us making coin instead of spending it.” He looked at Jaesmin at that last part. Jon knew a little about the groups finances having been the only one other than Leo, and technically Jaesmin, to contribute to it. They had more than enough coin for now but they also had to think about what they’d do after reaching Ederath, they couldn’t live on it forever, “They’re only slightly out of the way, less than a quarter day off the road and we know exactly where to find them.”

“Ummm, Leo? What’s them?” Andrew asked from the front.

“Were going to kill a pack of imps,” Leo said, rather than being elated the group looked worried. Little was known about imps, what was wasn’t very nice. Naked little humanoids that ran around throwing fire or acid spells at people before eating them. Jon had figured their first contract would be a plainswolf pack or something else non-magical.

“How many?” Jon asked, hoping for more information.

“Estimated around 20,” Leo said, “They’re in a cave but there’s not much to go on.” He held up the paper and Aethred took it to read it. His face fell slightly as he read, the only person that didn’t look concerned was Leofrith with his false smile and Jaesmin with a genuine one.

“We can take them,” Jon said without looking at the sheet, he wasn’t sure but if they were going to do this none of them could afford to doubt themselves, “We took on the bandits.” He cringed internally as the memory of biting a woman’s throat popped in his head but he reminded himself again that it was protecting innocent people and an honorable fight. No different than what they were talking about, they’d been told imps would attack travelers without hesitation by the priestess that visited years ago.

“There were only 11 of them an-” Andrew started glancing back.

“And they had us surrounded and only a couple of us had our weapons out, I was the only one armored….” Jon said raising his hands as if presenting the idea, “we can plan this one out, be ready.”

“Eh fuck it, even if we have to run we snatch the ones we kill as we go, it’s 1 silver a head.” Aethred said passing the contract along. The bounty on the monsters changed their minds a little. Cara immediately seemed okay with it while Erin pondered something. “’sides if all else fails, we’ll let Jon eat them.” Aethred smiled a little uneasily at his own joke, Jon intentionally smiled wide in return revealing his new teeth. His feral smile turned to a normal one as Aethred fidgeted.

“You can eat them if you want, I’m good,” Jon said, “So the plan?”

********

As luck would have it psychological warfare was on the table when time came for planning. They discussed their biggest disadvantage, the cave. They had no idea what it was like inside and there could easily be places the much smaller imps could go that they could not. Instead of going into the enemy territory they’d make some noise outside and try to lure them out. They’d just have to wait till they reveal themselves and attack at range.

Aethred had the crossbow, Andrew had his fathers bow, Cara and Jaesmin both had ranged magic. That left Erin, Jon and Leo to hold the front line and block any magic with shields as a last resort. Jon would be using Jaesmin’s shield and his broadaxe, his woodmaul would have been overkill anyways and impossible to use if they had to enter the cave. The noise would be from Aethred who would beat on his drum until the first one’s came out.

They traveled for hours and did little to refine their plan. Leo did try but Jon pointed out that they had no idea what the terrain looked like or any other factor, if they over planned it’d just screw them up. When they got Near Leo and Aethred volunteered to scout, they ran off through the grasslands as the others sat in the wagon and waited. It wasn’t too long before they spotted them returning.

“We found it, we leave the horses here. Were closer than we thought,” Leofrith whispered as he and Aethred came back from scouting.

“Are you sure it’s them?” Erin asked looking between the two, none of them really knew how to identify an imp den.

“Do rabbits and ground squirrels toss skulls and bones all over the place outside their burrow?” Aethred quipped but still kept his voice down. Erin shook her head and started to get off the wagon.

As quietly as they could they drove a stake into the ground and tied off the horses while Jaesmin approached him and handed him her shield.

“You really should get one of your own, you know?” Andrew said, looking at the half painted Badger on her red shield. Jaes looked at Andrew a moment and then Jon. She really looked at him.

“I dunno, our barbarian looks more like a barbarian with out one,” Aethred said apparently thinking something similar to Jaesmin as she nodded.

“Still looks more dangerous than you,” Jaesmin turned and poked Aethred in the chest.

“Alright, shhhh. Let’s go,” Leofrith gave the command and Jon walked after him with his weapon already out. Erin directly behind him. Just as they planned the three shields at front with range at the back, moving single file through the grass. They didn’t want someone tripping in some random hole and catching the attention of the imps.

Nearly a mile away from the wagon Leofrith signaled everyone to stop, he pointed over the next small hill and they began to move again, slower than before. The group crouched as they got to the top and from what Jon could see it was definitely not a rabbit burrow. A dark hole under a large slab of rock led down to the unknown while outside it was a complete disaster. Signs of fire and destruction with chunks of bones and rotting flesh tossed around everywhere. It wasn’t as bad as the new square in Terra but still the work of monsters. Jon looked around the site and noticed another rock outcropping out to the side. It was a large flat rock that laid on its side, it was closer to the cave and would provide cover and concealment when the imps poured out of the cave.

He tapped Leofrith on the back and pointed at it, Leo just looked confused and shook his head. Jon quietly set the shield down and flipped his axe over holding it like a crossbow and mimed loading while crouched down and standing up to loose before crouching down and reloading. Leo got what he was saying and nodded, they nearly crawled to the rock. The others had watched what Jon had mimed and got into position behind it. Leo pointed Erin to the side further from the cave entrance and signaled Jon to the other side.

The modern warfare tactics that Jon had learned from his vision taught him the value of cover and concealment, unconventional tactics, and the element of surprise but Leo had learned his tactics from this world. The front line was now a giant slab of stone, stronger than any shield wall and was around the height of their enemies at two and a half to three feet tall at different points. With an unbreakable shield in front, he ordered the melee part of the team to cover the flanks.

Leo turned and looked at each member of the team while Jon crouched behind the shield. When everyone nodded Leo pointed at Aethred who started the fight with a thump.

THUMP… THUMP….THUMP, THUMP…..THUMP… THUMP….THUMP, THUMP.

They sat there and quietly waited, less than a minute passed before strange screeching and yelled gibberish could be heard coming from the nearby cave entrance. Jon watched patiently with his eyes just above the edge of Jaesmin’s shield. The first of the creatures, came running out of the cave quickly followed by several more. They were as small as described, two feet tall at most. They had long pointed ears growing from the top of their hairless heads, small black eyes and a mouth full of jagged teeth. Their noses were just slits on their faces, barely visible against their mottled brown skin. Some ran out on all fours while others on two thin digitigrade legs. Not one wore a scrap of clothing or carried a weapon more than just a rock. As they looked around their eyes shot up at movement from the nearby boulder, their beady eyes just getting locked on as two twangs, a hiss, and a thunderous boom announced the first casualties. More ran out after that.

Jon just sat and watched as four of his friends exchanged arrows and spells with the monsters who started using their own magic. Even then it was a one sided fight, of the Badgers first volley 3 of the 4 ranged attacks hit resulting in 4 deaths. Aethred had narrowly missed a head shot but the FIREBOLT had killed one instantly and set a second acid wielding monster on fire. Aethred had gotten his first kill on his next shot, it was already the third volley as he couldn’t reload as fast as the others. The third was also when Cara had to stop, her magic draining from the powerful spell. She squatted down and moved to directly behind Jon and Leo. She put a hand on each back Jon snapped out off his current instinct to make them fear him by baring his teeth and growling. Leo had been doing the same.

The instinct was there but not as prominent this time. It was life and death against the bandits whereas here it was a one sided slaughter. He also remembered feeling enraged that they would dare attack his pack. No, this time they were the ones to start the attack! These filth will die! There were only a few left as Jon stood up, he looked at Leofrith who was sitting next to him with a wild tooth filled smile on his face as they watched the slaughter. The surviving monsters decided to retreat and Jon took off running towards the entrance of the cave. The imps were backpeddling while shooting thin globs of acid and small balls of fire at his friends but not a single injury. You have been marked for death! You will not escape!

Jon slid and blocked the entrance to the small cave with his body, beating the three remaining imps to their only route of escape, his friends had stopped their barrage as he stood up. He fought the urge to throw down his weapon and tear into them with his bare hands. This time his rational mind won out against the instinct to fight like a beast. One of the imps turned and pulled it’s hand back to form its magic while looking up at the axe wielding being that stood three times its height. Jon raised his axe and it never got the chance to form the magic, he hacked down. Three swings and three dead imps.

“The fuck was that?!” Erin came out from behind the rock with her shield at the ready. Jon looked at his sister but she didn’t look afraid like last time, “You realize they can’t put arrows in them if your big ass is in the way!”

“Ahhh…” the lethargic feeling from last time was non existent. His instinct wasn’t as intense and he hadn’t killed people. It wasn’t vengeance and anger like before it was he felt the need to kill the foul things before they could escape.

‘Wait, foul things?’ he looked down at the dead imps by his feet, ‘why did I think of bandits as prey last time but imps are foul things? Do werewolves kill the other bastards too?’ He simple couldn’t really view the imps as prey.

“We should get you guys a leash or something,” Aethred said as he approached, “I had to grab Jaesmin and Cara had to hold on to Leofrith to keep them from running after you.”

“Ah yeah, sorry,” Jon said as he slung his axe and rubbed the back of his neck, “I didn’t want the foul fucks to get away.”

“Wait, you thought of them like that too?” Jaesmin spoke up, “I kept on thinking of that man that…. I thought of him as prey I was hunting but these things it was like I was disgusted with them... Well I am but you know what I mean.” She added the last part after looking closer at one of the dead imps.

“Does that mean something?” Andrew asked, “Maybe werewolves kill monsters too.” Aethred suddenly snapped his fingers and pointed at the imps like he just had an epiphany.

“That farmer! The old man that told us about the knights when they came to Terra!” he said sounding excited, “He said the Ederathan knights were monster hunters.”

“Yeah so?” Leo asked, Jon wasn’t sure where he was going either.

“Lycans must feel the same thing, right?” he said proudly.

“Yeah, I’m not sure how that helps us,” Jaesmin said looking down into the cave.

“Because… okay, I’ve got fucking nothing but it’s still something,” Aethred seemed to give up. Jon was thinking about what he’d said though, maybe it was something. He managed to keep a hold of his weapon this time despite the urge not to. Maybe lycans hunted monsters to learn how to control their urges. When to follow instinct and when to ignore it. but that cant be all or else werewolves wouldn’t be a threat, anyone bitten would want to learn how not to be a…

“Gods. Maybe you are onto something…” Jon said, the dismissive looks at Aethred turning to curiosity, “we have to learn to control the urges, the instincts. Maybe Lycans do fight monsters to learn how to control it.”

“How do you figure that, Ser Erik and the other knights were all veterans, if lycans had to fight all the time there wouldn’t be a monster left on the isles and how would werewolves be a thing if all they had to do was fight.” Leo got into the conversation as well.

“It wasn’t the knights that were there to kill monsters and learn, they were training squires,” Erin looked excitedly at them, “Remember there were dozens of shorter people behind them, some looked of age but what if they weren’t. What if those were lycan children learning how to NOT become monsters.”

“As for werewolves, on the mainland I’m sure the ones fighting have a way to deal with people like us that were bitten, and anyone else… but how often do you think people who survive a brutal monster attack immediately set out to another country and plan to fight monsters along the way? If it wasn’t for Erin telling us what her, Cara and the others head learned…” Jon said pointing at his sister with his axe, Erin just started laughing.

“Take the road less traveled and light the way!” She yelled, “We’d all be sitting in Everton right now trying to figure out what to do, we wouldn’t have traveled hundreds of miles heading toward Ederath, no adventuring, no bandits, no imps..”

“No learning that we might be able to stay sane by killing monsters,” Jaesmin said with a smile and walked up to Jon wrapping her arms around his neck to pull him down and give him a kiss on the cheek. He really didn’t think he deserved that but he wasn’t going to complain.

“Hey where’s my kiss, I’m the one who brought up what the farmers said,” Aethred blurted out, he got his reward as Erin grabbed his head forcefully and laid a kiss on his cheek, “I meant from her, why would I want a kiss from you?”

“But what if that’s not it or what if there’s more too it than that? Wouldn’t the guy Erin talked to have said it if it was that easy,” Cara brought up darkening the mood.

“Who knows but it’s what we have to go on!” Jon wasn’t mad at her for killing the mood a bit, it was a valid point, “Besides maybe he didn’t know, he was Elvanni, right?” Erin nodded “maybe it’s a secret or only part of the process. But its something.” The group was silent a moment as they thought about it.

“You two realize you sound less like heathens when you start pointing out your fate reading was right?” Aethred said.

“To be fair…. fuck you,” Jon said with a grin, “Now lets ah… fuck these things are going to rot by the next city, how are we going to carry them?” He wasn’t going to let Aethred’s bullshit point mess with his good mood.

********

Lindum, City of Kingdom of Ederath- Early Summer 14 years AR

Dani woke up before five bells and didn’t dare go back to sleep. She instead got out of bed and got dressed. Her personal underclothes went on first followed by her black pants. Her crimson Legion tunic came next and she tried to rub the wrinkles out a little worried about appearance before she realized that she’d be wearing armor. She put that on next. She started with her leather grieves which were easy to figure out, she pulled the straps tight to ensure they didn’t fall out of place. Next the plain leather that covered her torso was pulled over her head and the straps tightened, she placed her belt with baltae on next. The moves were unpracticed but not unfamiliar as she had tried everything on and had to fiddle with the armor to figure how it was supposed to be worn. That in place she picked up her vambraces, the bane of her current existence. She still hadn’t figured out how someone was supposed to hold them in place and tighten them at the same time. She though of using her mouth to pull the straps but she didn’t want teeth marks in the leather. She’d just have to have someone help her.

She set them down and pulled on her tabard. It was red, lined with yellow, in the center was a black circle with yellow rays extending from it. The sigil of the Kingdom of Ederath. A solar eclipse on a field of red. She looked down at it and thought about her future, how many other tabards would she see.

The legions fought as one unit but they were manned by soldiers all from different kingdoms across the northern isles and the mainland, the tabards were the only things that would indicate a persons origin. She smiled at the thought of meeting people from all over the known world and then swore when she realized she put her belt on under her tabard. Quick fix and she was set right. She had to ask her neighbor a lycan knight who’d fought on the mainland how it was supposed to go the day before.

She left her room with both her spellbooks and everything else already packed in her knapsack, she looked back and couldn’t help but smile. The fact she was leaving was sad but she was going on an adventure. Doing something worthwhile with her life. Plus she’d be back one day as a powerful Mage and war veteran.She snuck into her parents room as they lay in bed and leaned in to give them each a kiss on the head. She didn’t want a long goodbye or them trying to talk her out of it again so she’d left them a letter on her bed without waking them.

Her goodbyes done she slipped her boots on, put her knapsack on her back, picked up her helmet and vambraces, and out the door. She knew she was extremely early. The bells rang softly at night but she’d still heard them while she was getting ready, her best guess is she’d be half a bell early but that was alright.

The city was quiet, a benefit of living in a city where nothing ever happened. She made her way to the gate to find Ser Afgheir already waiting along side Arn. They were busy readying three horses, Dani looked around but didn’t see the other two. One of the others may have been getting them. A few other lycan knights were busy with horses as well, their young squires assisting and learning the process.

“Where’s your vambraces?” Ser Afgheir asked when he spotted her, she held them up, “There a reason you’re not wearing them?” Dani was a little unnerved about the fact that the man who never seemed to stop yelling was just talking normally right now.

“Ah, I can’t hold them in place and tighten th-” She said but was cut off.

“Just use your teeth girl, it’s armor not a ballgown,” He said and went back to the horses. She noticed Arn’s clothing and armor were slightly different and enchanted as he shifted into his wolven form to easily place the saddle on the last horse before shifting back to a human. He also wasn’t wearing his boots she noticed as she bit the leather and pulled, putting the buckle in place with her thumb.

“Over here,” Ser Afgheir called out to her she walked towards him,” Get acquainted, this one’s yours till Saena… you know how to ride don’t you?” her look told him the answer, “Arn give her the basics, it’s a good horse most you’ll have to do is just sit and hold on. She should follow the rest.”

As Arn explained to her the basics of riding, the others showed up. They were told to get familiar with their mount and Arn had to restart when Stoki arrived, he had never ridden either. He had them each strap their knapsacks over the rear of the horse.

“Alright, we better get going…” Ser Afgheir looked up and sniffed a few times, “Get your cloaks on, smells like rain. Any issues getting your fur wet?” The last part was directed towards Arn.

“No Ser!” he said with a smile and turned into his lycan form, checking the straps to his knapsack and gear. Dani got her answer as to why only three horses as they set out the gate a few minutes later. She rode following Freyja, Stoki, and the squires. While beside them the knights and Arn ran on foot. When they picked up the pace the Lycans dropped down on all fours and ran like actual wolves. Her horse, Betsy, wasn’t even startled by the pack running around them. She leaned forward and stroked the horses neck as she took it in.

It was kind of a surreal feeling, she’d grown up around the powerful wolven-warriors of the north but she’d never seen them really run. Judging by the way they weaved back and forth. Sometimes going off the road to jump fences and bushes, they weren’t giving it their all. They were having fun. She pulled her hood up and smiled as the first rain drops started to fall around them. Riding with lycans, the first of many more firsts to come.