Ever since taking out that rogue werewolf that had been terrorizing Liaf Village, as he had come to learn it was called, Ko had been enjoying his limited herodom. The villagers had thrown a huge party to celebrate the death of the werewolf, turning the occasion into an impromptu feast in Ko's honor. It was a nice change from the dreary and hostile attitudes of the mining villages in the area that treated Ko like he was some kind of Demon Lord. The feast itself had been meager by most standards, as Ko was more accustomed to larger cities, but it was still plenty serviceable.

After the feast Ko had stuck around town, seeing no reason to hurry on his way. They were providing him alcohol, at the very least, and that was keeping him happy. Cameron, the village elder, had even let Ko stay in his home, which was rather generous of the man. Even Nantosuelta was starting to finally relax in the presence of the villagers, even if only because they were still utterly wary of her. One day, however, the typical hustle and bustle of the village was broken by the din of angry voices. Following the sound, Ko found himself in the town square, where a crowd that looked like most of the village had gathered.

In the center of the group, clearly visible due to his sheer height, was a werewolf. The crowd wasn't outright attacking him, which spoke of just how frightened the people were, but it wasn't stopping them from pelting the beast with thrown stones and shouting insults. Surprisingly, the werewolf didn't even try to fight back, accepting the crowds' anger like they were waves of the ocean and he was wading waist deep. Ko even heard the beast call out over the crowd, saying it wanted to speak to the village elder and the one who defeated the rogue werewolf. How interesting.

321/1000

Naturally, Ko was of a mind to just kill the thing. While it seemed intelligent and in its own right mind, that only made Ko even more wary of it. A being intelligent enough to speak and endure hostility without lashing out also had the potential to be shrewd enough to feign harmlessness purposefully. Despite Ko's reticence, Cameron had also arrived, and seeing that the werewolf wasn't hostile he agreed to receive the beast inside his home. Ko, being the other party named by the wolf, had no choice but to go as well. It wouldn't do to sour the village's favor by refusing.

The weirdest part was that Cameron seemed to know who this werewolf was. Immediately Ko began to question the previous situation regarding the rogue werewolf he'd killed. If Cameron was familiar with the werewolves in this area, to the point of knowing one of them on sight, why had the rogue werewolf attacked the village in the first place? Had it been a wanderer that simply stumbled upon the village from somewhere else, or was something else going on?

Once they were safely concealed inside of the village chief's home, he and the werewolf exchanged greetings as if they were old friends. Old friends at an arm's length, perhaps, but still old friends. The werewolf introduced himself as Achak, the former Alpha of the werewolf tribe that lived in Sieghart mountains. Immediately, Ko had to suppress a groan of irritation. Former Alpha, the werewolf had said. If that didn't paint a distinct picture of what was going on, Ko didn't know what would. Outside the house, Nantosuelta was watching the proceedings through an open window, and caught Ko's eye by chance. The look in her eyes conveyed rather succinctly her dissatisfaction with the situation, and Ko couldn't exactly disagree. He was starting to get a sinking feeling about why he'd been invited into this discussion in the first place.

644/1000

With pleasantries between Cameron and Achak exchanged, the werewolf finally focused on Ko specifically. There weren't any pretenses about who Achak was there to speak to for real; he'd come to see Ko, not Cameron. Thankfully the werewolf didn't mince words. He explained that his tribe had been living in the Sieghart mountains their entire lives, and had mostly peaceful dealings with humans. Achak had inherited the position of Alpha when his Father had passed, and had defended that position staunchly since attaining it.

Recently, however, his brother Amarok had challenged him once again for leadership. Since childhood Amarok had always been ruthless and cruel, all the worst qualities of their dual nature of man and beast come together. It was only by good fortune that Achak had been born stronger than Amarok, and thus able to prevent him from becoming the leader of the tribe. However, during his most recent challenge, Amarok did something Achak hadn't thought possible, nor had he anticipated it. Amarok had cheated, and the rest of the tribe hadn't noticed.

Ko was a bit skeptical on that point. These were werewolves they were talking about; how could one of them cheat in a fight and it not be terrifyingly obvious to everyone present? Hell, how did a werewolf succession ritual even have rules outside of "don't be the one who loses"? Regardless, with Amarok as the new chief, he would undoubtedly lead the rest of the tribe in a raid against the village, slaughtering everyone who lives there. The only way to stop him without wiping out the tribe was to depose him as chief.

Achak explained then that because Ko had defeated a wolf in single combat, he had the right to challenge Amarok. That wasn't at all the outcome Ko was expecting, and he went on to explain that he hadn't killed the wolf in single combat. Nantosuelta had supported him at the last moment. Achak simply said it didn't matter; it wasn't known how Ko had defeated the wolf, only that he had. If Amarok was willing to use underhanded methods to win, Achak had to be as well. It seemed, no matter how he might try, Ko was destined to follow through on this.

He'd better at least get laid after all this work.

1027/1000