The Chronicles of a Scalebound Sage: Wandmaker Vol.2

WM [35] Mercy Runs Thin

Alaric Strider knelt down in front of the stall of the very same person whose familiar his pack tried to kill. Town guards and even the Jackrabbits had come to ensure he did not run away. There was suspicion he was working with the druids or some other nonsense. He lost good people to the hydra hunt and the trap that it led them into. They had to fight their way through the druids, monsters and even skinwalkers after a few of them managed to break free of their cages. Then they had to outrun the toxic forest fire the hydra caused which had spread around the region like a net.

He was a looming presence even in his human-like form. He was a broad man, a colossus of muscle that seemed ready to burst from his skin at the slightest flex. Tribal tattoos covered him from head to toe, each depicted battles with monsters and magic beasts the world over. The only places no tattoo was visible was that covered by his short white hair and long braided beard.

The battles etched in ink were mirrored by scars carved into his flesh. They were a testament to the ferocity and endurance that defined him over the decades. They were not just marks; they were badges of honor, each one telling a tale of survival and triumph. Even so now he had to lower his head in shame and defeat. His eyes, cold and calculating, scanned the horizon with a predatory intensity.

A man entered the perimeter imposed by the town guards and Jackrabbits. Alaric immediately recognized him even though he hadn't seen him in over a decade. Last he heard of him he finally retired from monster hunting, his fiery red hair shifted to silver long before Alaric departed the area with his pack. Still it was odd seeing his old friend in a business suit fit for an official instead of the armor of a warrior.

"Robert." Alaric said, his tone neutral as he felt out the situation. "Where is the girl and the demon?"

"That is all you have to say to an old friend? No, how are you doing, how are the kids or anything?" Robert said as he walked around the burly man and leaned against Joha's display for his spices. "Fourteen years and I don't even get a hello?"

"I heard what happened with Debra, you have my condolences, she was a good mate for you." Alaric said.

"Ah, she was better than I deserved. Much better than her idiot grandson that I am stuck babysitting nowadays."

"Alfred? Is he leading the Jackrabbits now?"

"Yes and no, but you know how the next generation is, they still need us old-heads to bail them out every now and then. We definitely had our fair share of times when we had to get bailed out back when your dad was in charge of the Striders." Both men chuckled at that.

"With that you are right, we definitely had more than our fair share of foolishly charging into things." Alaric smiled as he thought back. "I think more than a few of my scars came from the belief that it was a good idea to listen to my human friend and his crazy plans and crazier hunts."

"Don't act like you didn't come up with half of those ideas." Robert said as his smile vanished from his face. "How bad was it? I know you didn't have anything to do with the druids but I know you encountered them."

"Otto, Heinrich, Wolfgang, Cassian, Wilhelmina and Ulrich." Alaric said solemnly. "So I ask again Robert, where is the girl?"

"Damn, were the druids that strong? With you there I thought... Wolfgang and them are dead. Wow, just, I don't know what to say."

"The druids weren't the only issue, they had a few strong people but the problem was the monsters flooding in and the skinwalkers once they managed to break out of their cages. It was something I had never seen before. Most of the druids fled once the bigger monsters started showing up and the toxic forest fire caught up to us. We were trapped between poisonous fire, skinwalkers and waves of monsters. Now answer my question."