Chương 525: Just what we need in an apprentice

Most of the farms in the Barony were close to Sedgewick. Dozens of families loaded up their families into carts and wagons and streamed into the town. The Hamlets were in small clusters and had been alerted by runners from town. But there were over two dozen isolated farms scattered in the largely unsettled areas that were in the path of oncoming wolf packs. Ben was determined to get to all of them first. His duties had taken him to all of them, delivering packages and picking up their infrequent mail.

With Mudhead able to zoom through the air, he was quickly hopping from one to another, starting with those most in danger. Most of the farms were small, fortified outposts. Some elected to stay and defend their homesteads despite Ben's advice that they ride for the town. He wished them luck and moved on. He was helping one of the last families move two elderly great-aunts into a wagon when he heard the howls nearby and saw the Snarlfang running at them with wolves streaming behind.

"Get moving, I'll buy some time." Time was something he had little of, with the Snarlfang only seconds away. He spurred Mudhead to it and drew his whip; for this to work, he needed to piss it off. As he charged it, he fired two shots from his crossbow into its face, the bolts exploding into fire. The unexpected pain and flames distracted it as Mudhead turned on a dime and Ben lashed it with his whip, adding another Burning Brand across its tender nose.

The horse sped away, Snarlfang and pack in hot pursuit as Ben took them on a wild chase through the light woods. Ben had made a career of trying not to be ambushed and gotten very good at spotting them. As he saw the heavy brush ahead on either side of the path, something in his head saw the waiting danger, and he signaled his horse to put on all the speed it could. Mudhead was happy to oblige; moving along at barely a trot was no fun. Staying ahead of wolves was easy.

Now he sprinted forward, accelerating to triple his previous speed and clearing the danger before the ambushers knew he was coming. Behind came the Snarlfang and its pack, tired from the chase, but still trying to catch their prey. Frustrated that the gap was increasing and focused on Ben, they were surprised as the trap was sprung. A Snarlfang didn't get ambushed; they were the apex predator of their time. The exception was a more powerful Snarlfang that had no professional respect for its peers.

A jet black Snarlfang leaped at its prey, burying its jaws in the other's throat and overpowering it. A pack of wolves surged forward from either side, chewing and clawing the other pack. Seeing that he wasn't pursued, Ben turned Mudhead to see if he needed to get the pack's attention again. He was just in time to see a jet black Snarlfang leap at the one pursuing him, burying its jaws in the other's throat and overpowering it.

A pack of black wolves surged forward from either side, chewing and clawing the other pack. The Black snarlfang raised its head, and burning eyes seared into him. It put back its head and astonished him by laughing. Then it howled, a horrifying sound that echoed over the hills. Ben saw the dead animals rise and join in the howling, shadows replacing missing flesh. Mudhead didn't need to be told it was time to leave and took to the skies, heading to the next farm. Behind them, Chartok was still laughing.

In Sedgewick, Inquisitor Diego heard the howling and knew immediately who it was.

"The Old Wolf is back, and here I am without a squad of paladins to throw at him. Maybe I can find a stout farm boy or a clever lass to outwit him?" Suzette heard it as well, but had little attention to give to the new and puzzling threat. Everyone wanted to help her, or ask questions, or had advice they felt was important to give others. She listened with half an ear while using the helpful ones to prepare.

"We need a barrel of Healing Beer and Apple Kickass on each wall for the defenders. Can someone see to that? That should help when the fighting starts. And put up a barrel of Blud Dark there as well, so they don't waste the good stuff before the battle. What guilds do we have here? First Strike, Thunderpunks? Who else? I'd like to deploy you as guilds on each wall since you know how to work together." Strongarm stepped up immediately.

"Thunderpunks will take the south wall and deploy on either side of the gates. Rufus is setting up his ballistae on top of the gate tower."

"First Strike will take the West wall. It's got a nice field of view, and we've brought along twelve of our portable ballistae. And thanks for the beer." There were several smaller guilds present, and they worked out who would take the North wall facing Gadobhra and the East wall that looked out over the meadows. A field hospital was set up in the Adventurers Guild Hall. Most players would simply die, but the townsfolk didn't have that option.

Aleister was in charge of that and had brought over a large array of his most powerful curatives along with several chests full of minor healing potions. He'd waved aside any offer of reimbursement from Suzette for his stock.

"This is the home of my family and closest friends. I'm not taking money for defending my home. But, if I could ask a favor?" A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

"Anything. What can I do?" He cast a look at his daughter.

"Keep an eye on Zephyr. She's close to Tier 4, and I'm worried she'll focus on the nastiest monster coming at us. Battle Alchemists have a distinct problem of getting noticed. Potions have lingering effects that can enrage the monsters, and she's become very fond of her Traumatic Flames and Irritating Acidic Death potions. They do extra damage, but draw a monster's immediate attention. On one of the recent raids, a Ratkin Assassination Squad had the choice of attacking her or Vernon, and chose her."

"Wow. That's bad. How did she escape?"

"Well, she also uses multiple Ignore Fire potions and has taken the Enhancement Eye of the Storm, which negates damage from an alchemist's own potions. As they charged her, she dumped all the bottles in her potion pouch on the ground and set off a huge explosion. Messy, effective, and unpopular in a group, but it was only she and Vernon left alive at that point. He'd led them into an ambush. Afterward, she was wise enough not to search for loot and ran for the exit."

"Ah, that was why he was ranting about teenagers at breakfast the next day. I'll try to keep an eye on her." A cultured male voice said, "Perhaps I can help?" Suzette turned to find Vandalis from the Order of Heracles standing behind her. Annoying, since he hadn't been there a moment before and she had entirely missed his arrival.

Suzette knew little of the Guild other than that they had impressed the Baron by purchasing one of the huge, ruined estates in Gadobhra and somehow refurbished it completely in a matter of weeks. It sat next to the Endless Dance, and they were frequent visitors to both the dance hall and the Dungeon of the Mad Composer. Ozzy had told her what little he knew about them, and they'd never been anything but polite when visiting Sedgewick.

Vandalis was accompanied by a barbarian halfling with an axe scaled to someone twice as tall, and an older, grandmotherly woman with a large book and pen. She smiled warmly at Suzette.

"Vandalis and Giant Muncher wish to run off to the Hamlets and play monster killer. I'm too old for such games, and my skills run to healing and foresight. The girl is about the age that my granddaughter entered the Order. I'll tell her that we have our eye on her for our apprentice program, read her our rules for minors, and I'll keep close to her in this battle. Is that acceptable?" Aleister breathed a sigh of relief. He'd met Eliza before when she came to his shop.

Zephr would listen to her, especially with the hint of an apprenticeship.

"Thank you for doing this. She'll be disappointed later. She's been looking for a good guild to join, but I know how high your standards are, and I appreciate the fiction of putting her on the list."

"I'll go talk to her then. She seems like a level-headed young lady who just needs a little guidance." Vandalis bowed to Suzette, "And now, my friend and I will be off. I can smell the pies about to come out of the oven and need to get him out of here before he goes into a frenzy." He took Giantmuncher by the arm and dragged him out of the room. The halfling was already looking dazed and salivating.

"But... pies?"

"Don't worry, I'm told they make a very good apple pie in the Hamlets. We'll defend the area by the Tea House so you can stop in for a snack if you get winded." That reassured the halfling and quieted his nerves.

"Good enough. And my compliments on getting parental consent to allow that girl into the Order. She's got the kind of spunk we need in the next generation."

"Indeed. She just needs to learn how to keep alive and make better choices."

"Like not running into the middle of wolf packs to see who can kill the most?" Vandalis shrugged, "They're just wolves, no matter how big they get. I'm sure they won't be a challenge to two heroic members of the Order of Heracles. But, to make it sporting, why don't we make a small wager? Two apple pies for you or a bottle of brandy for me."

"You're on! But it looks like we aren't the only people out hunting. Some fancy ponies over there." Vandalis looked where he was pointing, wishing he had the Eagle Eye and Farsight traits that Barians enjoyed. He could just make out the horsemen a little over two miles away, galloping quickly through the fields.

"Describe them for me, please?"

"Sure. Looks like Alwyn the Summer Lord, that they call Bob when he's in the tavern. He's got three people with him, all Fae Nobility with fancy helmets styled as a Stag, Fox, and Bear. Their pennants show heraldry that goes with those animals. They are all in full High Fae plate armor with Lances of the Hunt, Horse Shoes of Endurance, and enough auras to strike Eliza blind.

The Stag has lemon cakes in his backpack, the Fox has a loaf of magical Pumpernickel, and the Bear must have visited the Butcher and stocked up on sausage and bacon. Between them, I count 37 wolf tails hanging from their saddles. We'd better find a pack and get to work."

"Well, based on the howls, that shouldn't be hard." The halfling grinned, "I love a target-rich environment."