The two Blue Pegasus members made their way up one of the multiple trails of the Sieghart Mountains. After talking with Achak, the previous boss of the local werewolf pack, they had agreed to help him retake his leadership position. One would dare to say that Kenzo had thrown Rania under the bus. While this was technically correct, it wasn’t still entirely true. For all his jesting and testing of the girl, she had passed along with flying colors. Kenzo had no complaints about the young paladin’s magic prowess, and even less about her courage. After the short time the two of them had spent together, the Bellan warrior had genuinely grown to respect her. The way she earnestly faced her fears and every challenge that came her way was something worthy of respect after all. For that, Kenzo knew she was someone worth calling comrade. Someone worth fighting for.

After a short hike, the two guild members reached the top of a high vantage point. Chief Cameron had made sure to point them the way before, telling them he and Achak would wait for them in order to give further instructions. One they came into sight, the large werewolf noticed their presence first, motioning at them to look over the cliff and down at the pack’s location. ”Come over, the camp is at sight” After taking position next to the large wolf, the ex-leader continued. ”You see that dark grey werewolf standing at the center giving out orders? That’s Amarok. He’s the one you need to defeat, young one.” Achak’s final words were directed at Rania. Kenzo took a glance at her to see how she was faring. Even from that distance, he knew that Amarok was no joke. Sure, Rania was strong, but there was no way the mercenary was letting her put herself in that kind of danger. However, he decided to remain silent for the moment, wanting to see her reaction first.

[327/1500]

The Blue Pegasus members traveled up the mountain range, alongside Achak and Cameron. The weather was quite warm, it was midsummer after all, and high above the mountains stood the scorching sun. Still, this heat was nothing compared to the endless summers in Desierto, her homeland. Looking upwards and into the skies, the quiet woman smiled softly at the memory of home. How long had it been since she’d last seen it? A few years at least. Back then, Desierto had felt so vast, so enormous – how could she have possibly known about the entire world waiting for her behind it?

Their hike ended in a spot high on the mountains, which was according to Achak just within range of his former werewolf pack. From here on, they were able to watch the pack, their movements and get a better look at their leader. When Rania’s eyes searched the distance and caught sight of the wolves, she couldn’t help but sigh. He was indeed massive, way larger than the one they’d previously dealt with and larger than Achak even. Amarok was a terrifying sight to behold, but that wasn’t what worried the Paladin. When Achak directed his next words at her, she nodded absentminded.

“He doesn’t look like he would be willing to talk about this,” she said and a dry chuckle escaped her lips. Rania wasn’t a violent person, but she wasn’t a pacifist either – she realized that now. Her emerald eyes went up to Kenzo and she looked at him for a while. Perhaps he had the better idea of how to handle these type of situations after all. “I used to think that in becoming a healer, you could help everyone. Turns out that’s not true at all,” shaking her head at her own bitter words, the Paladin lifted up her scepter and began heading down the mountain. To help these people, killing Amarok was really the only option – and oddly enough, Rania was fine with that.

For a slight moment, Rania’s words brought Kenzo to a world far away from the Sieghart Mountains. His mind drifted to distant lands – and to distant years. He was now in Desierto, a young boy with barely 12 years of age. It was the first time the Bellan left his home country; sick of living in the streets and stealing food to survive, the boy joined a mercenary company. In his first campaign, he met a healer. He was a young, kindhearted person, someone that genuinely cared about people and tried to save as many lives as he could with his magic – no matter if they were friend or foe. At the beginning, he was the one that showed Kenzo the ropes. Prohibited to join the front lines, the young Bellan would help him to tend the wounded. With time, the man became like Kenzo’s older brother and the two of them grew closer to each other. However, after a particularly brutal skirmish against a slave driver caravan, something happened. The young mage did his best to tend to the wounded, not caring if they were beyond saving or not. After hours of hard work in the scorching sun of Desierto, an enemy captain that had been at the brink of death several times had finally recovered. Yet, the only thanks the male would get were a steel sword through the heart. Kenzo held him in his arms as he died with a smile.

”Don’t hate him for that… He was simply scared of being tortured. My only regret… is that I won’t be able to save…if only, just another life. ” For some reason, Rania’s words had triggered that memory in the Bellan bringing along a bitter smile. As he looked at her speak, Kenzo was reminded of his friend.

As they made their way down the hill, the warrior finally broke the silence. ”You’re a brave person, you know that?” His words were spoken in a serious, yet soft tone. ”Why do you push yourself so far for people you don’t know?” Kenzo had been a mercenary for as long as he could remember, so he could rarely understand the motivations of most mages and guild adventurers. ”You are a healer. You don’t need to dirty your hands any more, you know?” Even if slightly, the warrior’s words were filled with a hint of worry and preoccupation.

[725/1500]

When Kenzo accompanied Rania on her way down the mountain, her eyes were fixated on the wolf pack. The Paladin had never seen anything quite like it in her young life; the beasts were all terrifying to look at, but Rania thought that the most unsettling aspect of their existence were their intelligent eyes. Werewolves were beasts, slaves to their primal instincts and yet they weren’t savages – their choices, actions and everything in between was calculated and their unnatural behavior was very much frightening. A wave of relief overcame her when the mercenary decided to speak up and address her directly, although his words did surprise her.

He had a lot of questions for her, wondering about why she did things the way she did them. And even though Rania was an earnest person, she couldn’t get herself to tell him everything just yet. Born into slavery, the young woman had been raised to only ever push herself for others, to serve and obey and after gaining freedom she’d decided that a gift like hers would be wasted if she was picky with whom she wanted to help. Rania decided not to discriminate, also because that would make things easier for her. She was naturally good, but not without flaws and often the Paladin caught herself questioning whether someone deserved what she was able to do for them.

“Thank you,” Rania said quietly in response to Kenzo. “I do it because their gratitude fulfills me,” the woman admitted eventually, and while it might sound selfish, there wasn’t anything wrong with enjoying validation. “Magic is already so destructive, it’s nice to be able to do something different for once, don’t you think?” She side-eyed him and gave him a smirk, and what he said next almost made her laugh. “Dirtying my hands? You must have never been inside a hospital – it’s a complete mess!” At this point, getting her hands dirty was basically Rania’s job, but she knew what Kenzo had meant and wondered why he thought that way. “Besides, life would be awfully boring if all I did was sit at home all day and sip wine, right?” During their conversation Rania had subconsciously slowed down her pace, but now that they were getting closer to the alpha werewolf and his pack, her focus returned to the beasts.

“You know, I don’t really like that we have to play according to their rules. That will only give them the wrong idea.”

”Gratitude huh?” Kenzo repeated with a sigh. Well, that was a bit out of his expectations to be honest. Was the need to be recognized by others so important? Could a person really be satisfied by only receiving a thanks in return? To him that seemed impossible. But to each their own, I guess? Even if he couldn’t understand her, it felt like he was coming closer to. It was weird – Not only did she was a light wizard. As he saw the girl earnestly smirk as she spoke about her work at the hospital, it was as if he could feel a warm light irradiating from her.

”Heh – That’s why I said any more you silly.” Kenzo lightheartedly joked at her comment. ”Doesn’t sound so bad to be honest… I think I’m due a day like that” Truly, staying at home and drinking some wine was something the mercenary never had the luxury to do. Perhaps he’d try it out after they came back from their assignment. As they got closer to the werewolf camp, Rania started walking slowly.

Crossing both arms under his chest, the male pursed his lips a little as he tried to think about a different solution. ”What do you propose we do? I don’t think there’s a way Amarok is willing to talk about this. The only thing his kind can respect is the law of the jungle.” Kenzo rubbed his chin. ”Either way, there is nothing for you to worry about. Let me take care of this business.” The Bellan finally shrugged off the tension of the moment. A playful smile crossed his lips, just as he moved both of his hands behind his head. ”You can sit back and enjoy a cup of wine if you’d like” Kenzo extended his hand at her before summoning a bottle of red from his dimensional storage ring. The bottle instantly materialized out of nothing, just to disappear a couple of seconds later as he put it away. With a chuckle, the two of them finally arrived at the camp.

”You appear to be lost.. humans. Too bad you’ll never make it out alive” The threatening voice of one of the werewolves greeted them with bare fangs. Still keeping both hands resting in his head, Kenzo intervened. ”Who do you think you’re talking to, stinking dog? We’re here to meet your boss. Tell him we’ve come to play” In an instant, the mercenary’s playful demeanor changed to a full-on display of bloodlust. The look in his eyes and the sinister smirk coming out of the jawbone in his cheek gave off an ominous vibe.

Suddenly lowering his raised hackles, the tail of the patrol lowered as he tried to tuck it between his legs. Almost in a submissive tone, the werewolf led them inside. ”F-Follow me…”

[1195/1500]

“I mean, it’s also my job and I do get paid,” Rania said when she’d noticed that Kenzo wasn’t satisfied with her response. “And I have noticed a lot of improvement with my magic when I use it frequently,” she continued and her emerald gaze fell on her long, golden scepter. Rania’s healing spells in particular had become incredibly efficient over the past year and she enjoyed both the progress and the experience. When Kenzo mentioned the ‘law of the jungle’ the Paladin scoffed and flipped her hair back. “As if,” was her only response to that. Kenzo was kind enough to offer to take care of the situation, and while Rania very much appreciated this, she had to decline. “We are both members of the same guild now, which means we are in this together,” the woman reminded her companion and gave him a warm smile.

For a moment there, the situation was thrown out of rhythm when Kenzo unexpectedly summoned a bottle of wine and let it disappear almost immediately after he’d shown–and offered–it to her. Somewhat perplexed by this, the young woman made big eyes and looked up at him. “Lets share that one after we are done here! We deserve it.” And that’s really all there was to it, because the two of them had finally arrived at the camp. The mood shifted almost immediately; the air around them became sticky and the atmosphere had dropped to a low point and immense tension. Kenzo’s aura changed alongside it, and she could feel the hair on her neck standing up. But Rania wasn’t going to back down. She gathered all of her courage and, with her head held high, walked past the werewolves and into the center, were Amarok was already waiting for them.

The Alpha Werewolf wasn’t impressed with what he found before him.

“A human and a slightly bigger human?” Amarok snarled, but Rania immediately clapped back. “A Sorceress and her loyal servant. Rumour has it you’ve cheated on your quest to become the Alpha, Amarok, and because I refuse to use my precious, world-ending magic spells on a fraud, said servant will put you to a test first. If you can defeat him, you are worthy of my power.” Playing with a strand of her shiny hair, the Paladin almost looked bored while she put on a total show, hoping he would take the bait. Either way, she’d spoken loud enough for the other werewolves of the pack to hear her words and not wanting to look weak, Amarok accepted with a growl which he directed at Kenzo.

”You got it” Kenzo smiled at the thought of kicking back and drinking some wine. Aside from this whole Werewolf business, the mountains weren’t so bad. There was a nice view from the little village, they might as well enjoy it when they were done.

Once the brief power struggle between him and the now coy werewolf was done, Rania’s demeanor took a 180 degree turn. This had now been the third time Kenzo saw her do this. Throughout his travels, Kenzo had met hundreds of people that dealt with fear in different ways. Some panicked and lost all control over themselves, others shut down and became emotionless, others got completely paralyzed. However, the most outstanding of reactions was the swallowing of fear, not letting it go completely, but embracing it as a valid feeling and facing it directly. Rania was of the last kind. Even if for nothing else, Kenzo knew she had huge untapped potential to become a powerhouse in the future. She was special.

For that reason, the male followed along her smug plan. As she introduced herself as the world-shattering sorceress and Kenzo as her loyal servant with her now characteristically puffed up demeanor, he let the jibe slide. However, he was keeping a tab on her. One day he’ll come to cash it in full.

”That’s right. You’re not worthy of facing my mistress here you uncouth beast!” Kenzo replied as he grandiosely pointed at her. He had been practicing at the Marigold theater after all, so his speech was delivered with impeccable flair. ”Heck, you’re not even worthy of facing yourself against me! If you can defeat me while I’m bare handed – Nay! While bare handed and using only one arm! You shall have the honor of challenging her.” The male rose his right index as he brought his left arm to his back, mimicking the fact that the wouldn’t use it, just to make a point.

This of course, didn’t sit well with the werewolf. His snout wrinkled as his fangs came out. It was obvious that Amarok was trying his best not to fall for his taunts. ”Fine. You’ll serve as my appetizer.”

The following fight ended as soon as it started. Taking his place at a set distance from Amarok, Kenzo kept his left hand behind his back. Once the signal was made, Amarok blitzed at the motionless warrior in an instant. Leaping from the ground once he was close enough, his sharp set of claws and teeth were ready to tear anything and everything in front of him.  However, Kenzo simply lowered his body and took a step forward. Pulling his fist with all his strength, the warrior pivoted his torso to meet the beast while it was mid-air. Kenzo’s punch connected with Amarok’s jaw from the bottom. The strike was strong enough to instantly shatter his bones and teeth, denting his complete skull into itself. With a loud bang, the humongous beast was sent flying for a couple of meters, barely hanging to life.

”I suppose this means you have a new boss” Kenzo said with a smug smile. After a short while, Achak finally came back and retook control of the pack. Blue Pegasus’s Sieghart Mountains Werewolf Hunt? – Check.

-EXIT-

[1736/1500]

Amarok accepting Rania’s terms would end up what caused his demise. Of course the Paladin had no clue as to how strong her companion truly was; Rania had been entirely oblivious to both Kenzo’s rank and status as former guild master and someone with a considerably high bounty, but that didn’t mean she underestimated him. And even if she knew how strong he was, she wouldn’t let him out of her sight and keep her spells to heal him ready, fair fight or not. The warrior played along with her little gig just fine and as she gave the current alpha werewolf another glance, Rania couldn’t help but smirk. That’s what you get for being such a bad boy, she thought to herself and strouted outside, where everyone went into position.

Still, the fact that werewolves were scary was undeniable. Amarok moved with ridiculous speed–something she could only hope to have reacted to where she to be in Kenzo’s position–but the warrior seemed fine with that. He even offered to only use one arm, and while Rania didn’t know what the point of that taunt was, she accepted it quietly for now because she believed that he knew what he was doing. Turns out the woman was right in doing so, because the moment Amarok attacked the human, he got punched in the face and sent into interstellar space. Rania squirmed at the sound of bones cracking, and the gargle that came out of the dog’s mouth, but kept it together otherwise.  

With that, the fight had ended rather abruptly and Rania was left bedazzled by that performance. Achak returned to his pack, and while the werewolves began to take care of their own politics, Rania quietly moved over to her guild mate and picked up his hand to inspect it. Much to her surprise, it was neither broken, nor bruised. “Who needs magic or healers anyways,” she mumbled to herself as they returned to the village. The mission Alisa had sent them on was finally complete!