Werewolf Hunt
Tsubasa Kageyama
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Lineage : Adventurer’s Spirit
Position : None
Faction : The Ironheart Pact
Posts : 264
Guild : Silver Wolf
Dungeon Tokens : 0
Experience : 273,376
Character Sheet
First Skill: Hodgepodge
Second Skill: XVI Battle Suit
Third Skill:
by 
Tsubasa Kageyama- - - - - - - - - - - -
Lineage : Adventurer’s Spirit
Position : None
Faction : The Ironheart Pact
Posts : 264
Guild : Silver Wolf
Dungeon Tokens : 0
Experience : 273,376
Character Sheet
First Skill: Hodgepodge
Second Skill: XVI Battle Suit
Third Skill:
((Monster roll incoming))
Let us use our hands to help and hold...
... let us pour love into the Mighty Soul.
NPC- Posts : 23980
Mentor : Admin
Character Sheet
First Skill:
Second Skill:
Third Skill:
The member 'Raiji Kameyama' has done the following action : Dice Rolls
'Monster Dice' :
'Monster Dice' :
Tsubasa Kageyama- - - - - - - - - - - -
Lineage : Adventurer’s Spirit
Position : None
Faction : The Ironheart Pact
Posts : 264
Guild : Silver Wolf
Dungeon Tokens : 0
Experience : 273,376
Character Sheet
First Skill: Hodgepodge
Second Skill: XVI Battle Suit
Third Skill:
“So a lot of it is this,” Kameyama said, “Just walking from place to place, looking for the next job.” The last one had taken a toll on him, but it had also confirmed that this was what he wanted to be doing right now. As he surveyed the land, he realized that he had gotten so far from home already that he wasn’t sure how easily he could make his way back. He stopped for a moment to try to retrace his steps so far. So far, he repeated in his own mind. Reminding him of exactly how far he’d gotten even now. It seemed that in the short few months of traveling, he’d gone farther than all of his ancestors in centuries.
Except one.
“— just can’t believe that it’s still happening. All of Aelitria just gone in one night. My mum was from there, you know.” An elderly man said, body bent after years of hard work, teeth missing underneath an unkempt beard. His clothes were shoddy and it was a miracle that he was hauling the cart behind him.
“Aye, my cousin too. It’s a bloody shame. If only there were someone who could do something.” Another elder said, this one was taller naturally, but much fatter. If the other had seen years of work, this one had seen heavy lifting and hefty meals for decades. His mustache was still bright black, but his hair hadn’t caught the message. His voice was louder and less strained than his conversation partner. “Afternoon, lad,” He said as they passed the traveling wizard.
“Aye. Afternoon.” The other elderly man said, waving a bony hand.
“Good afternoon, elders,” Kameyama said on instinct. He’d caught the last part of the conversation from two travelers heading the opposite way as him. He turned about to catch them as they passed him. “Excuse me. Could you use some help?”
“Help?” The thin one said, “It may not look it, lad, but we do this weekly. It’s no trouble.”
Kameyama considered this. He didn’t want to press the issue, for fear of insulting their pride. “How about with the problem then? An entire village gone?”
“Ah. A problem with local mongrels if I’ve ever heard of one.” The fatter one said, “Something for the young wizards to handle, I feel. If you know any around, might want to tell them to hit up Jackson’s Pub back in town. It’s all they’re talking about.”
“I see,” Kameyama said. A bit of ageism was to be expected, until he earned his own stripes. “Then I’ll bid you the best of days,”
“Thank you!” Optix added, the sudden childlike shouting from the necklace caused the elders to stare as Kameyama turned back in his original direction and headed for the city, his long coat flowing in the wind.
——————
“I think I’ve got the hang of this,” Kameyama remarked. He was nursing a beer hours later, listening to conversations around him. Bits and pieces were all he was picking up, and no one quite seemed willing to reveal the whole story. “They haven’t posted an official job though, so I’m not sure what I can do.”
“Excuse me,” Optix said to the bartender, beckoning him closer. “Sorry. What’s everyone talking about right now? We heard maybe something happened in Aelitria?”
“Oh, that,” The Bartender said, “It’s a real problem, actually. People are used to hearing wolves in the forests beyond the villages here, but they’ve just been howling like normal. Lately, it seems, they’re getting more aggressive. First, a traveling solicitor was found slaughtered mid-route. No one really cared for that, because we don’t appreciate peddlers. But some of our farmers have been missing, and just two nights ago the entire small village of Aelitria was wiped out by these creatures. Whatever it was, it can’t have been good.”
“It certainly can’t,” Kameyama echoed. He dropped a few jewels for the information and said, “If I had wanted to speak to someone in charge about this, who would you recommend?”
“The Mayor I suppose. You’re not planning on going after those things, are you?”
“Someone has to. It’s either me or someone else will get hurt.”
————————
A long wait for a short conversation with the Mayor later and Kameyama found himself heading into the woods. He was well rested and ready for the battle, with the glaive he’d picked up previously now visibly with him. When he traveled, it didn’t look like a glaive at all, but rather a simple stick strapped to his back. Simply triggering the release and flicking it outward would triple the thing in size reveal an easy to use weapon with which he’d now had some practice.
“So, werewolves,” Kameyama said, “What information do we have on werewolves?”
Optix popped out of the necklace in which she resided and flipped around “Werewolves are pack hunters, once human and sometimes still capable of reverting, they are neither man nor true beast. They possess the intelligence of one and the ferocity of the other, capable of quick thinking and even quicker claws. For the most part they tend to travel in packs of 3-5 with smaller pups and an alpha. Regular wolves are known to hang around them, being taught how to hunt more efficiently to join the pack.”
“Let’s say I had to deal with all that. What would you put my survival chances at?”
Optix swam around the chain like a mobius strip, landing back on Kameyama’s shoulder, “You? A hundred percent!”
Kameyama couldn’t help but chuckle. He had to appreciate how chipper Optix was and helpful she was determined to be. “I appreciate that. How about someone else in my exact position, with my exact skillset and experience.”
“Taking on smaller groups with rests in between? At best perhaps 24% with the new weapon and a lot of luck.” Optix stated gravely. “It would be best not to take them all on at once. They would almost certainly overwhelm y— that person. Chances would drop to .1% in that case.”
“But not zero?”
“Never zero,” Optix responded.
—————————————————
Hours of searching led them to an outcropping of stone, jutting from the ground like a vicious, crooked tooth. On the far side the tooth was hollowed out by some great cavity, and it seemed as though something had been living within until recently. Bones of humans and others riddled the place, as Kameyama searched for signs of the creatures. This is dangerous, He thought to himself, If they return together, I’m caught in a kill box.
However it seemed like there were no signs of anything. Faded tracks lead away but no tracks lead back. “If they raided an entire village, it wouldn’t be wise to stay, would it?” He asked aloud. “These things must have moved on quickly afterwards. To the next village they’ll hunt down.”
With a defeated sigh, he headed back towards the trees. As night rose up mightily against the forest, Kameyama pulled out a cigarette and lit it with a burst of electricity from his fingertip. This was a practice in dexterity and control, as anything more than a spark would blow the cigarette to bits. The dark, growing more bold as the clouds covered the stars, was frightened away by the small glowing light, and smoke was barely visible in the vanishing moonlight.
“Sir, won’t the cigarette smoke attract unwanted visitors?” Optix asked, having retreated into the necklace and gone into a dark mode so she wouldn’t join in beckoning anything towards them.
“Who said they’re unwanted?” Kameyama asked, “You said yourself there are wolves too. Well trained wolves in the area could kill more innocent people. Normally I wouldn’t feel great about hunting them down but… if I call them to me, and they attack, I can—“
The sound of growling cut him off as pairs of glowing yellow eyes emerged from the forest to the left of him. And just to the right of that. Two more appeared to the right of him and he instinctively took a step back, “See? No problem,”
“Vitals and magic reserves at 100%,” Optix said.
“Come on, puppies!” Kameyama shouted, “Who doesn’t like a little gambling?” He said, snapping his fingers in what seemed to be basic up-close magic and revealing a single playing card. “Try to Find the Lady! Win a prize, win a prize!” Three glowing silver cards, charged with electric energy, appeared around him, revolving at a slow pace. The wolves seemed to hesitate for a moment at the new introduction but hunger won over fear and one of them charged at him.
Spinning to the side as best he could, the mage attempted to have the card itself take the brunt of the hit. It did, in a sense, forming a net of electricity that the creature traveled through, letting out a whimper of pain as it landed hard on the ground.
Rather than afraid of this, the others seemed to be enraged and took what seemed to be a formation to attack Kameyama. Two came from behind, while the largest one came straight at him.
Curling his hands into fists as they charged with electric energy, he opened each of them and revealed a pair of six-sided dice which grew to a foot tall each as he threw them. His targets were not the creatures themselves, but the ground around them. As he did, he jerked backwards in a precise direction away from the three. Had he been any slower, the two behind him would have definitely caught him. However the burst of electricity shot from his feet and propelled him with extreme speed backwards.
The dice, meanwhile, played a game on their own. Landing on various numbers, equaling to a total of 12, the respective pips popped like firecrackers and sent a spark of electricity in the direction of each of one of the creatures. Four beasts got three jolts each, making them difficult to dodge. The large one managed, but the other three took the brunt of the damage. The one that had been hit by his initial attack seemed to be faltering now.
The big one recovered quicker than he had thought and charged into him, a massive head smashing into his gut and sending him reeling. Even before he hit the ground, teeth capable of breaking bone clamped onto his arm and shook him like a ragdoll. He could feel his arm shatter and let out a cry of pain.
“Sir, your arm is broken! Chances of slipping into shock rising!” Optix shouted, “This isn’t good!”
“Doesn't feel good!” Kameyama responded, as the other wolves neared him. “Optix, hang on!” He let out a roar of agony that met the wolves’ own hunting cry and electricity exploded from his arms, covering his entire body and arcing outwards from one creature to the next and even outwards into the trees, flash-frying everything around him in a small radius.
He was still for a moment as the electricity receded into his body. His sleeves were shredded and left arm shattered. Breathing heavily, he said, “Optix?” The burst of electricity may very well have fried her. “Optix?!”
“Good news, sir,” A quiet AI voice said from his chest, “I am lightning-proof.”
1900/1500 [Finished]
Except one.
“— just can’t believe that it’s still happening. All of Aelitria just gone in one night. My mum was from there, you know.” An elderly man said, body bent after years of hard work, teeth missing underneath an unkempt beard. His clothes were shoddy and it was a miracle that he was hauling the cart behind him.
“Aye, my cousin too. It’s a bloody shame. If only there were someone who could do something.” Another elder said, this one was taller naturally, but much fatter. If the other had seen years of work, this one had seen heavy lifting and hefty meals for decades. His mustache was still bright black, but his hair hadn’t caught the message. His voice was louder and less strained than his conversation partner. “Afternoon, lad,” He said as they passed the traveling wizard.
“Aye. Afternoon.” The other elderly man said, waving a bony hand.
“Good afternoon, elders,” Kameyama said on instinct. He’d caught the last part of the conversation from two travelers heading the opposite way as him. He turned about to catch them as they passed him. “Excuse me. Could you use some help?”
“Help?” The thin one said, “It may not look it, lad, but we do this weekly. It’s no trouble.”
Kameyama considered this. He didn’t want to press the issue, for fear of insulting their pride. “How about with the problem then? An entire village gone?”
“Ah. A problem with local mongrels if I’ve ever heard of one.” The fatter one said, “Something for the young wizards to handle, I feel. If you know any around, might want to tell them to hit up Jackson’s Pub back in town. It’s all they’re talking about.”
“I see,” Kameyama said. A bit of ageism was to be expected, until he earned his own stripes. “Then I’ll bid you the best of days,”
“Thank you!” Optix added, the sudden childlike shouting from the necklace caused the elders to stare as Kameyama turned back in his original direction and headed for the city, his long coat flowing in the wind.
——————
“I think I’ve got the hang of this,” Kameyama remarked. He was nursing a beer hours later, listening to conversations around him. Bits and pieces were all he was picking up, and no one quite seemed willing to reveal the whole story. “They haven’t posted an official job though, so I’m not sure what I can do.”
“Excuse me,” Optix said to the bartender, beckoning him closer. “Sorry. What’s everyone talking about right now? We heard maybe something happened in Aelitria?”
“Oh, that,” The Bartender said, “It’s a real problem, actually. People are used to hearing wolves in the forests beyond the villages here, but they’ve just been howling like normal. Lately, it seems, they’re getting more aggressive. First, a traveling solicitor was found slaughtered mid-route. No one really cared for that, because we don’t appreciate peddlers. But some of our farmers have been missing, and just two nights ago the entire small village of Aelitria was wiped out by these creatures. Whatever it was, it can’t have been good.”
“It certainly can’t,” Kameyama echoed. He dropped a few jewels for the information and said, “If I had wanted to speak to someone in charge about this, who would you recommend?”
“The Mayor I suppose. You’re not planning on going after those things, are you?”
“Someone has to. It’s either me or someone else will get hurt.”
————————
A long wait for a short conversation with the Mayor later and Kameyama found himself heading into the woods. He was well rested and ready for the battle, with the glaive he’d picked up previously now visibly with him. When he traveled, it didn’t look like a glaive at all, but rather a simple stick strapped to his back. Simply triggering the release and flicking it outward would triple the thing in size reveal an easy to use weapon with which he’d now had some practice.
“So, werewolves,” Kameyama said, “What information do we have on werewolves?”
Optix popped out of the necklace in which she resided and flipped around “Werewolves are pack hunters, once human and sometimes still capable of reverting, they are neither man nor true beast. They possess the intelligence of one and the ferocity of the other, capable of quick thinking and even quicker claws. For the most part they tend to travel in packs of 3-5 with smaller pups and an alpha. Regular wolves are known to hang around them, being taught how to hunt more efficiently to join the pack.”
“Let’s say I had to deal with all that. What would you put my survival chances at?”
Optix swam around the chain like a mobius strip, landing back on Kameyama’s shoulder, “You? A hundred percent!”
Kameyama couldn’t help but chuckle. He had to appreciate how chipper Optix was and helpful she was determined to be. “I appreciate that. How about someone else in my exact position, with my exact skillset and experience.”
“Taking on smaller groups with rests in between? At best perhaps 24% with the new weapon and a lot of luck.” Optix stated gravely. “It would be best not to take them all on at once. They would almost certainly overwhelm y— that person. Chances would drop to .1% in that case.”
“But not zero?”
“Never zero,” Optix responded.
—————————————————
Hours of searching led them to an outcropping of stone, jutting from the ground like a vicious, crooked tooth. On the far side the tooth was hollowed out by some great cavity, and it seemed as though something had been living within until recently. Bones of humans and others riddled the place, as Kameyama searched for signs of the creatures. This is dangerous, He thought to himself, If they return together, I’m caught in a kill box.
However it seemed like there were no signs of anything. Faded tracks lead away but no tracks lead back. “If they raided an entire village, it wouldn’t be wise to stay, would it?” He asked aloud. “These things must have moved on quickly afterwards. To the next village they’ll hunt down.”
With a defeated sigh, he headed back towards the trees. As night rose up mightily against the forest, Kameyama pulled out a cigarette and lit it with a burst of electricity from his fingertip. This was a practice in dexterity and control, as anything more than a spark would blow the cigarette to bits. The dark, growing more bold as the clouds covered the stars, was frightened away by the small glowing light, and smoke was barely visible in the vanishing moonlight.
“Sir, won’t the cigarette smoke attract unwanted visitors?” Optix asked, having retreated into the necklace and gone into a dark mode so she wouldn’t join in beckoning anything towards them.
“Who said they’re unwanted?” Kameyama asked, “You said yourself there are wolves too. Well trained wolves in the area could kill more innocent people. Normally I wouldn’t feel great about hunting them down but… if I call them to me, and they attack, I can—“
The sound of growling cut him off as pairs of glowing yellow eyes emerged from the forest to the left of him. And just to the right of that. Two more appeared to the right of him and he instinctively took a step back, “See? No problem,”
“Vitals and magic reserves at 100%,” Optix said.
“Come on, puppies!” Kameyama shouted, “Who doesn’t like a little gambling?” He said, snapping his fingers in what seemed to be basic up-close magic and revealing a single playing card. “Try to Find the Lady! Win a prize, win a prize!” Three glowing silver cards, charged with electric energy, appeared around him, revolving at a slow pace. The wolves seemed to hesitate for a moment at the new introduction but hunger won over fear and one of them charged at him.
Spinning to the side as best he could, the mage attempted to have the card itself take the brunt of the hit. It did, in a sense, forming a net of electricity that the creature traveled through, letting out a whimper of pain as it landed hard on the ground.
Rather than afraid of this, the others seemed to be enraged and took what seemed to be a formation to attack Kameyama. Two came from behind, while the largest one came straight at him.
Curling his hands into fists as they charged with electric energy, he opened each of them and revealed a pair of six-sided dice which grew to a foot tall each as he threw them. His targets were not the creatures themselves, but the ground around them. As he did, he jerked backwards in a precise direction away from the three. Had he been any slower, the two behind him would have definitely caught him. However the burst of electricity shot from his feet and propelled him with extreme speed backwards.
The dice, meanwhile, played a game on their own. Landing on various numbers, equaling to a total of 12, the respective pips popped like firecrackers and sent a spark of electricity in the direction of each of one of the creatures. Four beasts got three jolts each, making them difficult to dodge. The large one managed, but the other three took the brunt of the damage. The one that had been hit by his initial attack seemed to be faltering now.
The big one recovered quicker than he had thought and charged into him, a massive head smashing into his gut and sending him reeling. Even before he hit the ground, teeth capable of breaking bone clamped onto his arm and shook him like a ragdoll. He could feel his arm shatter and let out a cry of pain.
“Sir, your arm is broken! Chances of slipping into shock rising!” Optix shouted, “This isn’t good!”
“Doesn't feel good!” Kameyama responded, as the other wolves neared him. “Optix, hang on!” He let out a roar of agony that met the wolves’ own hunting cry and electricity exploded from his arms, covering his entire body and arcing outwards from one creature to the next and even outwards into the trees, flash-frying everything around him in a small radius.
He was still for a moment as the electricity receded into his body. His sleeves were shredded and left arm shattered. Breathing heavily, he said, “Optix?” The burst of electricity may very well have fried her. “Optix?!”
“Good news, sir,” A quiet AI voice said from his chest, “I am lightning-proof.”
1900/1500 [Finished]
