In this world, Magic is Everything. All people, all races, are granted with the power to perform mystical and magical feats via grimories, mystical tomes granted to each and every child on their 15th birthday. Those blessed by the mana can have their names written down in legend.
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[attr="class","shadowsHead"]Tales of Werewolves [Int]
Clearly something is wrong. No matter how many wolves you kill, more of them seem to appear and gather together. They’ve also grown more violent recently! They howl at the moon all evening, making it impossible for the town to sleep… and a child went missing in the forest yesterday! Help!
[attr="class","shadowsSub"]Details
Maximum Number of Players: 4
[break]Minimum Word Count: 2,500 per person
[break]Location: Hage
[break]Special Condition: Find the missing child and bring them back home unharmed! In doing so you will find a very suspicious cave that smells putrid and has weird blood symbols drawn all around it…You will return to explore it in the final mission of the chain.
[break] [break]Health Limit: Junior [break]Physical Speed: 10 m/s [break]Physical Damage: Junior [break]Magic Element and Types: n/a [break]Combat Style: Attack with a pack mentality, as they tend to attack one right after the other and coordinate, leaving their opponent little room to breathe [break]Additional Information: Average looking wolves.
[break] [break]Health Limit: Intermediate [break]Physical Speed: 15 m/s [break]Physical Damage: Intermediate [break]Magic Element and Types: n/a [break]Combat Style: These wolves are much more vicious and know exactly how to attack in order to disarm humans of their weapons! [break]Additional Information: Larger wolves, much more intelligent, the alphas of the pack.
[break] [break]Health Limit: Senior [break]Physical Speed: 15 m/s [break]Physical Damage: Intermediate [break]Magic Element and Types: n/a [break]Combat Style: It will heal junior damage every post. It attacks with its long nails and sharp teeth. [break]Additional Information:A large non-sentient humanoid wolf that can walk on its hind legs. It things take 50% additional damage from fire elements.
Pressing further into the woods, there was quite frankly no time to waste as the damage that was being done to this forest might very well be irreversible if things kept up the way they were going. And for obvious reasons, that would be an incredibly bad thing for both nature itself, all of the creatures living within the forest, and the nearby town of Hage, even if they might not realize this just yet. Roughly a year or so ago, Griswold shared a lot of his views with the boy. And when he said ‘shared’, he more or less meant that he was ‘told’ and basically had to sit out the lecture until he had heard everything the man had to say to him. And as if that was not enough, he had to repeat most of it back to him just to ensure that he wasn’t daydreaming and took everything he heard to heart.
The man had been rough like that, though Gawain always imagined that he had meant well in the end. One of the things he remembered very well from those lectures was the black knight’s love for nature, and how he always claimed that life in the north needed to be balanced out in both human and natural life. The way he put it, if the region where animals thrived was to be destroyed, cut down, had homes and such built upon it or got otherwise disturbed, it could spell great hardship for the kingdom. Not so much for the nobles down south, but for the poor that dwelled in the boonies, as well as the magic knights that would need to be taken from their stations as they would need to be re-stationed in places like Hage. This was due to places such as the Fringe being quite close to many of the northern towns.
Shifting his pace into a sprint, the more he thought about it, the faster he seemed to move. Because if the warnings he had been given were to be believed, once the balance of nature was upset or somehow broken, all sorts of calamities could be born from it. Without wolves to keep certain other species in check, others might in turn run rampant. Without the animals ordinarily living in their own territories, there was no telling just what might come down to fill the void. And if all kept changing around and shifting, it would only become a matter of time before you’d run the risk of rats swarming basements, food storage and barns, leaving their droppings in what food they left behind and potentially causing a massive health risk to the already poor communities that lived in the forsaken realm. And that was perhaps one of the less bad outcomes.
Perhaps the worst outcome was when mana beasts from the fringe started coming in and populating the vacant areas, as they would then be but a stones’ throw away from towns like Hage. And if there was one thing he knew, it was that a single mana beast could wipe out an entire village and get back into the woods before the magic knights would even have the slightest idea as to something happening. So by the time they’d mobilize, it would be far too late. It was a saddening thought for a plethora of reasons, meaning time was very much of the essence. And with that thought in mind, the boy entered into the deeper regions of the forest, a place far closer to the fringe than he had been in a long time. When last he had entered the fringe, he had gone inside of a massive walking tree, which was more than enough fringe to last for a lifetime.
He wasn’t like Griswold. He didn’t hate nature, though he didn’t want to live out the majority of his days in forests, mountains and meadows. He could live without luxury, but preferred to sleep in a bed over sleeping under the stars in a sleeping bag next to a fire. He didn’t hate the poor, but he wasn’t going to patrol the forsaken region day in and day out like some wolf prowling his own territory to check it for any potential interlopers and threats. No, there were plenty of factors that made the two of them considerably different from one another, though they also shared a bunch of values and both at times showed signs of having… questionable morals. But while they might be questionable to some, Gawain had always understood very well where he stood. He was on his own side, doing whatever it took to make a place for himself where he felt he belonged. And as long as the answer to that question was “Clover”, he would do his best to keep it safe. All of it.
So as he made his way ever forward into the deep woods, he saw something in the corner of his eye. Something that moved relatively quickly after it realized that it had been spotted by Gawain, moving out of sight as soon as it was spotted. It was odd, because he did not expect there to be any people this far in the woodlands to the north, nor did he expect there to be any bipedal creatures that had the size of humans. He had heard from Griswold that there were creatures such as Satyrs that dwelled in some woodlands, capable of concealing themselves and entire settlements and dwellings with powerful illusions. But this wasn’t that, it couldn’t have been. Creatures like that could just observe him from a distance without being caught by someone who had such a weak grasp on illusion magic as Gawain, this much he was quite certain of.
Though this left the question being, if it wasn’t a Satyr, then what was it?
Continuing to move onward for now as he believed the real threat to the living grounds of these wolves could not possibly be this close, he heard a long, drawn out and deep guttural howl burst throughout the wood, coming from a location close to the position where he had seen the strange figure. There was no doubt about it, the problem had been moving closer to civilization, and far sooner than expected. At this point, the boy believed that he might well have been too late to save this place from collapsing under its own weight, though he could not give up on it just yet. If there was a fraction of a chance that he might be able to fix the damage that had been done, then that was a chance that he would simply have to take without reservations. And so, he halted in his tracks and began a sprint towards the next location to find out exactly what it was that he was dealing with.
But just as he had been drawn to the howl, so did nearby woodland creatures seemingly get mobilized. For in his way, several wolves and even wargs had been drawn. These ones however did not seem to be fighting among themselves at all, instead acting as if entranced by the thing that had called them here, lulled into fighting together to keep it safe. Being completely under the effect of something, Gawain believed this was some kind of magical control exerted on the wolves, so he would need to get rid of them. Using his natural speed to dash back and forth between the wolves and knocking them all on the snout with enough force to cause a decent concussion but not kill them, rendering them unable to fight seemed like the best way to deal with them for now. Killing was never his first option or choice, though he would stoop to it if ever he needed to do it. But right now was not one of those times.
Flooring the last of the wolves, the next up were the wargs, which were considerably sturdier and faster than their smaller counterparts. Normally, the smaller animals were usually the faster ones, though that just stood as further proof to the manner in which these beasts had evolved. Regardless of how powerful these creatures were compared to a wolf, they were still no match for Gawain, who struck them down all the same, albeit with a bit more effort and a bit less restraint behind his blows. One by one, wolves and wargs collapsed to the ground while the Silver Eagle remained standing, having made sure not to leave any of the lupines in critical condition. Checking every one of the animals at least once, he gave a nod to a job well done as he dashed onward. There wasn’t a whole lot of ground left to cover before he found whatever had called these animals to action, still hoping it wasn’t a mythical satyr.
Upon reaching the location where he had seen the figure, he encountered nothing. Though not entirely strange, it went to show that this thing was doing one of two things. It was either running away from him, or it was toying with him to see what he was capable of before going in with the intent to kill. In other words, this thing was hunting him like a wolf would a rabbit. But Gawain was no mere woodland critter waiting to be attacked and killed by some larger predator. He had taken down bloodthirsty creatures over five times his own height, as well as foes that defied logical reason and nature. As such, Gawain would not show this thing any weakness, instead opting to show his resolve by letting his inner brutality shine. Releasing a wave throughout a small portion of the forest that he found himself in, something that could only be called an aura of intimidation would pass through everyone and everything it hit.
INTIMIDATING AURA You aren't just someone famous, you're well-known for your brutal, efficient, strict and powerful personality. Those that are near you will feel that pressure, and if they consider themselves your enemy, will feel sweat break out across their skin. All enemies suffer a -5 to all trainable stats when facing you. You may intimidate NPCs freely, and once per thread, may force information out of staff-controlled NPCs in your rank or lower.
Upon being struck, small critters went running for their holes and dens while birds scattered from the treetops and took to the open skies for safety. It was the kind of vibe only those that possessed the will and the skill the kill could truly give off, an ability he had learned existed a long time ago, but had only mastered quite recently. It was one of many tools in his chest that allowed him to, at times claim the upper hand over a certain type of foe that employed means of combat that didn’t outright suit him. For those targets in specific, he kept these sorts of abilities up his sleeve. Then, through the use of his Ki, Gawain could feel that there was something moving nearby rather clumsily. Doing so on the other side of a bunch of thick ferns, the boy maneuvered himself around it rather skillfully to see his foe with his own eyes for the first time.
Narrowing his eyes as he took in the sight, he could say with full honesty that he had never seen such a thing as this before, though he had heard about it in stories. On Skjaergard, tales were told about an island near their own where a species of wolfmen inhabited a massive forest. Then there was another kind of them that were supposedly living on yet another island, covered in frost and rime. These were supposedly meant to be truly dangerous creatures, possessing both magic and an overpowering amount of physical strength paired with a wolves’ claws and fangs, just scaled up quite a bit. To see one of these things up close and personal in the land of Clover was quite odd, feeding the deep-seated feeling in his gut that the events of the islands, as well as all of the horrible things he had done and lived through there would never stop chasing him no matter where he went in this world.
But just as Gawain was looking over this freak of nature, so did it look him over, likely assuming Gawain to be the same. A freak of nature. And in both cases, both the boy and the creature were right. Both were truly monstrous mistakes of nature in their own right. And while one of them looked the part, it was the other that was perhaps the bigger monster, albeit in a far shorter bordering on tiny frame. Lowering his position so that he could dash forth or away regardless of the situation, the boy watched as the wolf person prepared itself to attack as well. Taking note of the large teeth and long claws, getting raked by those would most certainly not be fun, so he had to make sure his Ki remained on point and his reflexes at the ready to respond whenever he needed them to. Because the more he looked at this creature in front of him, the more something just seemed off about it.
Instead of having one pelt that covered its entire body, the fur was patchy and only covered specific portions of the body such as the head, the back, portions of the legs, the lower body and the upper arms. But aside from that, the skin seemed warped and twisted, as if pulled up into positions it wasn’t supposed to be just so it could keep covering all of the flesh and bones underneath. Even though it was clear that this thing wasn’t all that regular looking, it was rather clear that this wasn’t a natural occurrence. Something had either happened to a wolf that turned it into this monstrosity, or something had happened to a man or woman to make this abomination. Regardless of what the cause might have been, this wolf being was apparently done with waiting, throwing caution to the wind now that it had been found it before it got the chance to stalk the boy properly.
And so their fight began as the wolfman made its way towards him, claws at the ready, slicing deep into a trunk behind Gawain as he ducked underneath the attack. Meanwhile in his pocket, he could feel his unearthed dagger almost vibrating. Perhaps it was due to the amount of killing intent going on between the wolfman and the boy, but it clearly wanted in on the action. As such, Gawain did not see the point in denying this as he could use a tool to take the blows so his body wouldn’t need to. Taking the hilt in hand, the vorpal blade materialized into being as the ashen-haired boy would use it to fend off the strikes of the larger being. For all of the speed it possessed, Gawain was clearly the faster of the two, managing to outpace the creature by quite the amount if he so wanted. And unfortunately for it, the fact that it was bulkier and taller did not make it stronger than the boy was.
So as the attacks aimed towards one another began increasing in pace and prominence, Gawain could hear the voice of the dagger calling out to him, calling for blood. But whether it wanted blood or not, there wasn’t much of a way around it this time. This thing posed a threat to the natural cycle, and if it was allowed to remain, it could really destabilize things, potentially forever. And if that were to be allowed, then there was no telling where things might inevitably end up. So as much as he might have wanted to see things end up otherwise, there was no choice. So as he accelerated himself by a considerable amount, Gawain placed the blade of the dagger against the creatures throat as he did a flip over its shoulders. Upon doing this flip, he torqued his body so the dagger effectively lobbed off the entire head with a single deep cut and scrape.
Dropping the head down on the ground, the body dropped forward, twitching and throbbing for a moment before it stopped moving altogether. As much of the fur began to revert, the body itself seemed to shrink a bit as the elongated limbs returned to being mostly human. Apparently killing it broke whatever had caused this shape to appear as it did, the loss of most of its fur revealing a bunch of cheaply made tattoos. From it, it was easy to tell that this man had been a logger, likely being one of those same people that had been illegally cutting apart the territory where the wolves dwelled, making it that much more inhospitable to their primary food sources. Looking at the head of the man, he could see that it was mostly human at this point, with the ears still pointy and long, as well as the head still having a strange mouth-snout kind of deal going on.
Whatever had caused this to happen, it did not seem to be carried on his person, as he could not sense any sort of latent mana even with his limited magical sensory means. As much as he hated to admit it to himself, this was likely not the only one of these creatures out there. Loggers did not go out of their homes alone in this region, both for safety reasons and due to the fact that many hands might light work. So if they had been planning on making for a decent haul, there was a chance that there were others such as this mongrel still out there. And while he could go home now and say it was a mission well done, the fact that he had gone back before and left things for what they were without properly checking things out more or less reinforced the idea that he owed it to the village of Hage and the wolves living here to make certain. For if there were creatures yet alive to terrorize the local population, Gawain needed to be the one to put a stop to it.
