Chapter 12

I woke for the last time in my camp, knowing that it will be some time before I can come back. I was not sure if I would be able to, as the stakes of what is to come have never been higher. I could walk away from this or I could end up dying - there were too many factors to predict what the possible outcome would be.

Lillian was still sleeping on the other side of the fire and I figured I would let her sleep just a little longer. The past few days had been trying for both of us and we had gone to bed exhausted each night. We had tested various things - how much I could lift, how much force my punches had, how far I could jump.

The one that we worked on each day though, had been the most difficult. I needed to mix my speed, strength and agility to catch Lillian in her wolf form. It was no easy task, and though Brenson would be larger, he would be as fast as her, if not faster.

The first day, I kept slamming into things or sliding when I did not mean to, trying to keep up with her changes of direction. Trying to catch her, I believe I figured out how irritated the Tora had gotten, trying to catch me. We would spend an hour or so with me trying to catch her, then try and figure out what was working and how to improve what was not.

As I rested, she would go out to hunt and her yield was quite impressive, even if it was small game. I put the hides back out to cure - I figured they would fetch a better price if I did, though I did not do the same for the rest. We did collect the rabbit hides and used a pack to hold the feathers we had collected.

We got into a routine that became quickly comfortable, and I was enjoying the growing friendship we were building together. Yesterday, I caught her four times before our evening meal, and we shared some Ice Berry wine to celebrate.

All the work had left me rather smelly, so I collected everything that I would need and headed to the river. As I cleaned myself, I thought about all that had happened since I left, all I had learned and what I knew was coming. There was still more to learn and to find out, but sometime very soon I would be faced to face with this monster. He would try his best to kill me, but I would not make it easy. I only hoped that I would do my parents, Ruben and Trent proud. I would not dwell on the negatives, though. I would be home, in somewhat better control of my abilities.

I got out, dried myself off and made my way back to camp. As I entered the cavern, I noticed that Lillian was awake and packing things for the trip. She turned to look at me and got a peculiar look on her face.

“You know, Davik,” she said with a smirk. “I am glad that you have become comfortable with me being around and I will say you are quite a fine specimen, but should you be standing there naked like that?”

I looked down in shock and realized that I had indeed forgotten to don my clothing before returning from the river. I blushed scarlet and hurried to get dressed while Lillian snickered in response. Once I was dressed, I started helping her get the packs ready. There was a lot to take, but we were confident that we could fit it in only two packs.

When she had loaded the pack of books, it was done haphazardly due to how hastily she had pulled them off the shelves and stuck them in. This time, she had been far more careful, and we were able to put the clothes I had bought her, as well as mine, with them. I took the rest, along with the rabbit skins and put them in the other pack. The feathers were moved to a small bag I could tie to my belt. We had tested the packs and the bag yesterday to make sure they could handle the strain of our trip. We figured we would be able to get to the town limits in two days if we stopped for only one or two meals in between bursts of running. She could keep up with my speed in her wolf form, so she would stay in that form for as long as we could. We did not expect anyone to be traveling the route we were taking and thus there would be no risk to her.

Once we had everything packed, we doused the fire and Lillian stripped down to her bare skin. Though I had seen this quite regularly, I still felt uneasy to see her in her naked form. She was beautiful, there was no doubt about that, but my commitment to Violet was very important. She then changed into her wolf and I helped her don her pack, before putting mine on. The elk hide was rolled and bound to the bottom of her pack, while my sword, bow and quiver were bound to mine. We headed out and took one last look before dashing off towards Cartha and those who we longed to see again.

The first day was uneventful, we spent most of it running. I would grab fruit from trees as we dashed by, or when we stopped to rest for a bit. I would grab my bow and shoot down some food for Lillian. Usually, she would prefer a small bird, not really caring about the feathers. Once she had her fill and I was able to get some water, we would start back up. By sundown we were just outside the halfway mark and, while I was proud of how far we had come, we continued for another hour before we rested for the night. We had done just over three days of walking in a day, since I could match a wolf in travel speed, and they can cover nearly four times the distance a person could walk. We made camp for the night, and I asked Lillian if she wanted to change back, but she just chuffed and ran off. A few minutes later, she dropped a possum at my feet and then ran back off into the woods.

I laughed at her attitude and proceeded to field dress the kill and prepare the meat to cook. Thirty minutes later, she was dining on the organs and carcass of the possum, and I had its meat cooking on some skewers over the fire. I did not bother with seasoning and ate the meat as quickly as possible. I found possum meat to be rather bland and tough to chew, but it would do until tomorrow. I could not wait to taste some if Liza’s fantastic food, or even stop by Jerreth’s tavern to have a meal.

Once we were done, I laid out our rolls and we both went to sleep quickly. I was thankful that I either did not dream, or did not recall what I had dreamt, but the sun was starting its climb when I awoke. Lillian was gone, probably going to find some breakfast, so I packed up the bed rolls and cleaned up the camp. I would grab some fruit as we went and eat it as I was running. A few minutes after I had put out the fire, Lillian returned, licking fresh kill off her chops. She walked over and allowed me to help her get the pack on, then I donned mine and we started off towards Cartha. We planned to stop by my special tree to allow her to transform back and dress before we came into view of the town.

She decided to push me a few times as we were running and picked up her pace. Seeing as she decided to play, I decided I would play along and started pushing myself. I think we both surprised ourselves at how fast I went, when I blew past her and she began to struggle to keep up with me. I relented, slowing back down to a pace she could manage, but it was interesting to know that I could go faster than before. Perhaps my abilities would continue to grow over time, or that they had just not reached their peak yet.

I would have to talk with Celka and Ilane, perhaps they would have an idea of how to find out what the limit might be. If they cannot find that out, at least they would be able to help me accurately track the progress. I tried to focus on how far ahead things were as I was running, to try and be able to be able to track targets on the move. I was surprised at how well I could see things moving around, though I did not notice that my distance had improved much more than it already had.

We got to the tree near evening meal, which was where I had expected us to be. The sun was still setting, and I checked to make sure no one was around, especially Violet. Once I was sure the coast was clear, I handed Lillian her clothes after she had returned to her human form. When she was dressed, we started our final walk to the town, though we opted to go to the entrance behind my house.

When we got close enough, I saw that there was a guard on duty, drawing my memory back to the night I had been fighting Ruben. The guard did not deserve to die as he did and my thirst for vengeance grew a little bit stronger. The guard saw us approaching and gestured for us to stop when we were roughly a meter away from the entrance.

“Who are you?” The guard called out, sounding mildly irritated. “What business do you have attempting to enter the town through this gate?”

“My name is Davik, this is a friend of mine, Lillian. We are returning home from abroad, and this is the closest entrance to my house.” I gestured to the house, as it could be seen over the fence, “Lillian works for Ilane at the clinic, who is expecting us, so may we pass?”

“Even if you are who you claim to be, you will need to go through the main gate and be vouched for, before entering Cartha.”

“I was given private and unrestricted access to this entrance by Ruben, the acting Patron. That access was made official and permanent, with full endorsement by the capitol. Explain why I am being prevented from entering and why my agreement is not being upheld, immediately.”

“Boy, you better watch your tone,” the guard growled, taking a step forward. “If you refuse to comply, I will be forced to kill you in defense of the town.”

My anger had risen from that comment and I shrugged my pack off my shoulders, causing it to fall to the ground. There was nothing that could break inside, so I was not worried about anything getting damaged. The guard drew his sword and got into a defensive stance, one I remembered being taught by Trent. The memory only added further fuel to the fire of my anger, but I did not let it blind me. I took two deep breaths, with my eyes closed, and then opened them to look upon my target. Something in his demeanor changed, I could sense that he was afraid. I used that fear to press my small advantage, before he could regain his composure. I dashed forward, closing the distance between us in a few moments, and planted a restrained punch to his gut. While he was off balance, I disarmed him with a twist of a wrist and grabbed the falling sword with my free hand. I then tossed the sword into the forest and shoved the guard to the ground.

“Never ... threaten me ... again! I have killed and bled for this town! If it was not for me, there would still be townspeople being killed in wolf attacks. I have personally struck deals with Fardun and Dru’Tirk that will see an increase of trade for our town. Now, get out of my sight, and if the current Patron has a problem, you know where I live.”

The guard then ran off in a panic into the town. I had a feeling that I would be receiving a visit before the night was out, but I would be damned if I was going to deal with ignorance like that. I looked back to Lillian, to see a mixture of emotions flash across her face, but she settled on an amused smirk. We made our way through the ‘gate’ and walked to my property.

I could see that the workshop was coming along nicely, I would need to check in with the boys to see how long it would be for them to finish. There was no one in the back garden, which, given the time it was, meant that everyone was eating evening meal.

I asked Lillian if she wanted to join us, but she politely declined. She wanted to get home and unpack her things. She said that she would try to come tomorrow night instead, and wished me a good evening, before heading off towards her house.

I made my way to the back and was happy to see that they had done a good job or repairing the door, it also looked as if they had added some carvings to the surface.

There was an image that resembled me to an extent. The figure was shooting an arrow at a jumping wolf. The size of the animal was reminiscent of Blackheart and I knew it was a both a prediction of things to come, as well as a warning. I went and opened the door as quietly as I could, hoping my arrival would be a surprise. I was happy that the door did not make a sound as I opened it and entered. I placed my pack onto the floor, before I started stepping up to the wall that blocked my arrival from view. I could hear voices from the dining area and was not surprised to hear all my friends eating and talking, though it seemed that I was the topic of conversation.

“So, Celka,” said a voice I instantly recognized as Violet, “do you have any idea what is going on with Davik? His changes are so extraordinary as well as shocking, I am sure that he is feeling overwhelmed.”

“Well, I have researched all the books that I have, and I am drawing very few conclusions. What I know for certain is that he is something new. Whether it is something that is unique to him, or has happened before, I have no record of it. All we can hope is that he is doing ok and that he will come home soon.”

Those collected around the table muttered various sentiments, but they were all just variations of what she had said.

“He may not want to come back, right now,” Violet said with a hint of irritation in her voice. “If he does, he will be getting a piece of my mind, for sure.”

I tried to stifle a laugh and knew now would be the best time to spring my surprise, so I stepped into the doorway.

“Oh really? What, pray tell, do you have to say, my dear? I am all ears, so please say what you have to say.”

The look on the faces of the people at the table were priceless. Each had various looks of shock, surprise and happiness on their faces, and all talking had ceased. Violet knocked over her chair and ran to my opened arms, trying to crush the air out of my lungs. I anticipated what she would do next and caught her hand in mid-air as she went to slap me.

“I do not suggest you do that, Violet, as I am undeserving of it. Regardless of your feelings on the matter, I had to leave, and I had to go alone. Besides, I am back now, you have nothing more to worry about.”

Just as I finished saying that, I heard a loud banging on my door. I turned back into the hallway and quickly put on my sword before I walked over to answer it. The others did not know what to make of this, and they watched in silence. I opened the door to see seven guards, one of whom was the man I had disarmed at the gate, along with a man I did not know.

I turned to the dining area and asked, “Liza, please get the notarized copy of my agreement with Ruben in regard to the entrance behind the house.”

“I have just been informed that a man, travelling with a young woman, forced his way through the rear gate. He disarmed and threatened a guard of this town and then had the gall to state he supposedly lived here!” said the unknown man.

“Just who in the seven hells are you?” I asked, as I crossed my arms. “More importantly, what are you doing, with seven armed men on my property?”

I could see eyes on multiple guards faces widen at my questions, while the man before me looked irritated by my questions.

“I am Edgar, the new Patron of this village,” he stated with a tone of arrogance. “I go where I please, as this is my town. Who are you to speak to me this way?!”

I took a step forward and looked down on him, my hands hanging at my sides, so that I might defend myself in but a moment, if necessary.

“I am Davik. This is my land, purchased from a previous Patron. That previous Patron was also responsible for the attacks that had plagued this town for the past six years. I also was the one who stopped those attacks by my own sweat and blood, getting injured in the progress. It has taken well over half a year for me to recover from those wounds, causing me to have to travel. I also had to clean up the mess that had been made by the acting Patron, Ruben, that required me to be away for a while.