Target: Wolves

Degree of Threat: E Rank

Wanted: Dead

Rewards: 8 Small Copper per Wolf, 10 Large Copper for the Alfa.

Deadline: Nothing established.

Last Seen in: East of Doylors

Description: A den of wolves was recently sighted near our town, we can't waste precious research time in getting rid of them, but they are an annoyance to merchants no doubt. Tsk, annoying guardsmen saying they can't leave their post to go kill some wolves.

Go out there and get rid of them, it's only a single den, so it shouldn't be too much trouble, right?

- Irwin, Circle Magi.

Leads In their Moves: None, they're Wolves...

Zinc was walking about in the guild, looking for a quest to take when he saw one of the bounties posted on the bounty board. It was a request for the extermination of a den of wolves recently sighted near the town. The wolves have been putting the merchants on edge and the guardsmen say that they can’t leave their post to kill the wolves. Thinking of earning easy money, the doctor decided on taking the bounty.

Now, he recalled that a pack of wolves ranged between ten to fifteen wolves. However, for a den, there could be as many as twenty wolves including an alpha. In order to deal with these twenty wolves, Zinc could not just charge straight in. Instead, he needed to use some underhanded tricks. Firstly, he needed some bait. Zinc went to the local butcher shop and ordered some large hunks of deer meat. Storing the meat in a large bag, Zinc rushed towards the wolf den. Arriving a couple of meters near the den, the doctor placed the meat in a clearing and held up his hand.

“Come out.” Zinc whispered gently. “Poison these hunks of deer meat.”

Soon after, Arsenic slithered out from Zinc’s sleeve and dug into the pieces of meat. Minutes later, Arsenic came out of the last hunk of meat. The meat, however, didn’t even change color. The pieces still retained their blood red color. Zinc smiled at his son.

“Is it done?”

Yes. Whoever eats that meat will die in a matter of seconds. Arsenic telepathically responded before hopping onto the doctor’s hand and slithered back into his sleeve.

“Good.”

Zinc nodded and stood up. He looked around and scouted a good hiding spot in the distance. Eyeing the distance, Zinc pulled out a wolf lure. With a twist, he launched the half-opened rotect jar at the poisoned meat. As soon as he threw the wolf lure, Zinc bolted towards the hiding spot. The wolf lure bounced on the meat and the cap flew off due to the momentum. The wolf lure poured out all over the poisoned meat. While Zinc hid in his hiding spot, the wolves came.

Awwwooooo!!

Ten wolves arrived. A larger, black-furred wolf was leading the pack of wolves. It was undoubtedly the alpha male. The wolves were red in the eyes as if in a frenzied state. They charged towards the meat, regardless of social rank. In a flash, they devoured the meat. However, the poison acted quickly. Immediately after swallowing the first bite, the wolves collapsed and turned a shade of deep green. The alpha male, true to his social rank, lasted a bit longer. He had spotted Zinc hiding in the distance and charged towards the doctor.

However, running only sped up the poison as the venomous liquid shot towards the wolf’s heart. The alpha male collapsed onto the ground, stopping only inches away from Zinc. The doctor patted his chest in relief as he glanced at the large wolf. He clicked his tongue as he saw the waste of good materials. Zinc looked at the other wolves that laid dead next to a puddle of blood where the poisoned meat once lain. Was that all of them?

Zinc wanted to make sure and so, he approached near the mouth of the den and listened. There seemed to be some faint sounds. Zinc rushed in with his Amputation Knife flashing…only to be met with five cubs. Oh-ho…could it be that these cubs weren’t affected by the wolf lure? Were they too young? Zinc may need to rewrite his wolf lure’s description because of this. Nevertheless, the doctor could not let these five survive. The bounty specified the death of all the wolves in this den.

With a strong determination, Zinc swung his knife three times, tearing all five cubs into pieces. After searching the den for some loot, Zinc found five pieces of large copper and a small, silver throwing knife. Pocketing the loot, the doctor left the den and headed back to the guild to report his completion.