Isarnfur

Chapter 12

Will was now past heaving with effort, exhaustion creeping up on his body. He kept on moving, the skulls of the gremlins covered with some of the rage they were wearing to keep most of the skin intact and not leave an obvious trail to the city. The city guards stood to attention as they saw the only traveler on the road, in decent clothing which made an aesthetically contradiction to the diseased bodies, able to be smelled by those yards away. When Gremlins started decomposing with Gamedde, they had a smell that of honeyed milk rotting.

"Who goes there!" said some guard, a pike falling into a combat stance. Will dropped the rope and pulled down his hood, it was lightly drizzling, to show his face. A thing then occurred that I have never seen ever in my life before. A racoon came waddling out of a small hut next to the guards men, having a lantern saddled with a pole. It chittered as it came over.

I then sensed that the raccoon in front of us was just a decoy, we were surrounded by raccoons on all sides. I reported as such. Will nodded just a bit but didn't do anything, letting himself to be surrounded by the pack, all seemed to have some sort of leather and mail on them.

The lantern raccoon sniffed the bodies and then my bracer of all things. It let out a large snuff with it's nose like a dog and made a noise with a "tok" and some sort of guttural growl. The other raccoons backed off and the guards were only slightly ready for battle, or at first glance.

Will followed the lantern raccoon with the diseased cadavers, the guards looking at the bodies, one held out a small canvas pouch with change as another one went about the gremlins, checking the state of them.

"What did you use to kill them?" asked the one guard checking the bodies. Will pointed to his pack, "a blade, this bracer, and some mana" Will said, the guards all looked at each other and laughed, I would've face palmed. "Only outcasts practice magic, there are stories that Ankchaios come hunting for mana users, thus it's considered a death wish." I told him. He was a bit upset with that, not showing it.

"Why didn't you tell me that!" he mentally yelled. "Because its mostly a lie" I responded flatly. "Mostly!?" he yelled again. "They only come every hundred years, which would be... in the next thirty years from now" I told him. He was still pissed. "I would have liked to have known this data just so I knew the risks of doing magic!" he said. I mentally showed him that I conceded, it was my fault for not telling him, it truly slipped my mind but that would have just sounded like an excuse.

"You are serious?" asked one of the guards, concerned. Will shook his head, grinning a bit to go along with it. The guard gave him the pouch of money. "Ok but for real, why did you drain the blood? Do you mind us checking your backpack just in case?" He asked "why would you check my backpack?" Will asked. "Just to prove your innocence, we have heard rumors of people bringing in Gamedde blood to taint waters and food." the guard responded a little bit more serious. Will promptly replied, hoping they wouldn't mind the camo too much.

His hopes were validated. "What kind of clothes are these?" A guard asked, feeling the shirt. "I use them to hide better in the forest, some people were selling them off of their Otherworlder slave. So I bought them to put them in good use. I don't wear them much around people because they might think I'm a bandit or something." Will said. The guard nodded, putting everything back into the bag.

"Wish I could get some of that, it's desirable. Oh you are good to go" The guard said, opening the gate doors for us.