The Chronicles of a Scalebound Sage

WM [18] Return To Your Lodging

The bar was closed, but people came in and went on official business since it was also the administration building. Ashley was in the middle of updating the monster hunting contract board which had grown sparse over the past few weeks. The scarcity of good contracts was the reason so many people joined the subjugation party of the armored chrysalis. 

A small crowd had formed while she was tacking up the new contracts although people gave her time to finish her job before rushing the board. It was an unspoken rule amongst the Jackrabbits that you don’t rush the person with the contracts. Ashley herself was no push over and was not afraid of getting in someone's face if they tried.

People were always excited on days the board was updated, new monsters meant more profit and potentially the first crack at a lucrative hunt. As she posted the last contract and stepped back the floodgates opened and the hunters who had been patiently waiting surged forward. A few fights for some of the higher paying contracts ensued almost immediately. 

“I saw that one first, besides what are you going to do against a madness warp? Poke it with your little stick?” someone said.

“Little stick? That’s not what your mother said,” someone else replied.

Ashley sighed and walked away as the men became more irate. She did her job and if they wanted to fight over contracts she couldn’t do anything about it even if she wanted to and she didn’t. Whoever ends up getting the contract will have to come to her office anyway and she would have to sign off on it. It was how they tracked who was hunting what and if they went missing where they could start looking.

“Ashley?” a voice called out to her.

“If you have a contract you would like to take, please follow me,” Ashley said without turning around.

“I finished my contract, but I have a message from Alfred.”

Ashley spun on her heels to see the woman that was there earlier with her hydra familiar. The demon woman was tall, her eyes a golden hue that seemed to faintly glow. In her armor, she looked like a real monster huntress with the faint smattering of monster blood to boot. She had a regal calmness about her that isn’t present in the monster hunters she is used to dealing with. She backed up a step when she saw the hydra trailing behind the demoness.

“Uh-yes,” Ashley stuttered out.

The demoness saw Ashley was uncomfortable and told her familiar to wait while she talked to her. Ashley was relieved and guided the woman upstairs to her office. Once they were settled in the corner office she sat down and prepared herself mentally.

Tanisha looked around the office space; it was significantly neater than Alfred’s. Ashley herself was a fair skinned woman and Tanisha guessed she was a young adult although human ages were difficult for her to tell. She was thin and had angular features. Tanisha left Bjorn down stairs since she also seemed to be afraid of him. Tanisha understood that not all people would appreciate his handsome charm so it didn’t bother her.

Tanisha reintroduced herself as the woman didn’t seem to know her name. She then recounted the events on the hunt and the sound they heard. Ashley’s face blanched with horror at the mention of potentially multiple skinwalker sightings.

“Are you sure?” Ashley said.

“Alfred was pretty sure, yes,” Tanisha said.

“Divines, where is he, is he okay?” 

“He continued to the town to inform Robert and the city council. That is all he told me. He said I should come here to tell you.”

“The city council? Yeah, I am sure they are going to issue a state of emergency until we are sure they are all dead.”

“Does this happen often out here?”

“Skinwalkers? No, thank the Divine. Ghouls are far more common though. It is to be expected with how many monster hunters don’t come back.”

“Ghoul?” Tanisha questioned.

“Lesser humans. It’s similar to what happens to wendigo. Ghouls aren’t as intelligent or strong and act more like standard monsters. The issue with them is that any human they kill will also become a ghoul. I am told they are much easier to deal with. However, it's difficult to put down a creature that has the face of your friend. Wait here a moment, I need to tell Will about this.”

The woman stood up from her desk and quickly left the room. She came back a few minutes later and Tanisha was able to complete the contract for the crawling stalkers. She gave Ashley the hands as proof and each of them disappeared into some unseen storage item. The contract was for ten of the monsters, but they killed forteen so she got an additional thirteen copper per monster over the contract amount. Ashley gave her half of the reward since the other half would be going to her instructor which gave her a total of two silver and thirty-six copper. 

“Until we hear back from Robert or Alfred I can’t give out any more contracts. The last thing we need is people going out and running into the skinwalkers. Thanks for reporting it to me and come back tomorrow. I am sure there will be more work.”

“Actually, about that. I am an alchemist, Alfred said something about me selling my health, stamina and mana potions in the camp. Currently, I am selling my wares in town, but there is a cost to setting up there. Would the Jackrabbits be interested in having me set up shop here for a few days?”

“You’re an alchemist too?” Ashley asked. “Girl, you are a lifesaver. We are running low on potions and most of the guys are going out without any at all. You can set up today if you want! I will show you where you can right now if… uh. It’s just us.” She said the last part sheepishly.

Tanisha smiled knowingly. “Bjorn is sweet if you get to know him, but I can leave him here while you show me.”

“Oh, didn’t mean any offense or anything.”

“None taken. I’ll follow you.”

There was a cool breeze in the air that flowed between buildings. The full moon illuminated the streets of Birchgrove. There were street lights that used ambient mana to glow which gave excellent visibility. Even with all of that, Herschel was feeling nervous about his guard duty. It hadn’t been more than a few hours since the council had declared a curfew in response to skinwalker sightings. He cursed that it had to happen the night he was on guard duty.

Herschel was one of the few humans that worked as a town guard. So far, there hadn’t been any issue, and he had enjoyed his six years in Yuhia and four as a guard. Like most of the human’s in town he was from Mesha and shared the fair skin and red hair like most Meshians. Despite being armed with a halberd, shortsword and buckler he felt on edge.

There had been a skinwalker sighting a year before he joined the guard and it was terrifying then too. He heard that the Jackrabbits lost a few members taking it down. That was also the year Robert retired from monster hunting and became an official for the group. The more Herschel thought about it the more he wanted the night to be over.

This is the last night shift I take until they kill that Divine damned thing.

He walked past an alley and the eerie silence of the night made his boots sound like he was stomping. Then heard a crash and rustling behind him. Which immediately caused him to spin around halberd pointed and chakra gathering in his weapon. After a few tense moments in the darkness a cat darted out of the alley and quickly out of sight.

“Divines above!” Herschel exhaled, his heart pounding in his chest. Shaking his head, he reassured himself. “Of course, there wouldn’t be any skinwalkers in the town. They just spotted them out in the forest today and the Jackrabbits would take care of them before they got close.”

He raised his Halberd and was getting ready to continue his patrol when he saw movement in the alley followed by the sound of footsteps.

“Excuse me, sir?” a young voice called out to him. “Have you seen my cat? His name is Fluffy. I thought I saw him go this way.”

The figure was still in the darkness of the alleyway, but Herschel could make out the silhouette of a young woman. She didn’t have antlers which meant she was likely human although he couldn’t tell in the low light.

“Yeah, I might have spooked him,” Herschel said. “We are on curfew though so I am going to have to ask you to return to your lodging for the night.”

“Can you help me find him? I just don’t want her to get lost. Which way did Puffy go?” 

“Eh, he went that way.” Herschel turned from the woman and pointed. “Wait, Puffy? I thought you said his name was Flu—”

Before he could finish, something tackled him to the ground with bone-crushing force. The tried to fight back, but his attacker was far stronger, she broke his wrists the moment she latched on. In a second, she had him by the throat and was dragging him back into the alley.  

In a desperate bid to escape, he managed to glimpse the creature he thought was a woman. Her or rather its eyes were sunken hollow orbs. The skin on its face was sagging and loose as if it were a grotesque mask of flesh. Its mouth was stretched impossibly wide with a grin filled with razor-sharp teeth. It wore a green dress adorned with floral patterns, a sickening contrast to its monstrous form.

“Wait, Puffy? Have spooked him.” The creature mimicked Herschel’s voice with disturbing accuracy. “Eh, he went that way. Curfew. We are on a curfew. Lodging. Return to-to your. Lodging.”

As the creature dragged him deeper into the suffocating darkness, Herschel's mind filled with a singular, paralyzing terror: the skinwalker had found its way into Birchgrove. The last thing he saw before being pulled into the abyss was the creature's horrid, distorted grin.