Kalistra knelt down next to me and started examining my injuries.
I quickly pointed out the bite marks on my ankle and arm. I also had a slight bruise on my chest when two wolves jumped on me and knocked to the ground; however, I didn't bother to mention it because I didn't want to come across as a crybaby to the cat girl. Additionally, my chest armor had cushioned the blow significantly and therefore, it wasn't something that I needed treatment for. All in all, I wasn't too badly injured given the fact that I had faced three wolves attacking in unison. In fact, I was proud of the way that I stood firm and fought back against the wolves and even managed to kill one of them. Frankly, I was hoping that Kalistra would say something in this regard and perhaps, even offer a word of praise for my feat. However, I was left disappointed when my master kept silent.
Instead, Kalistra's focus was entirely on dealing with my injuries. She took a bottle out of her side pouch, opened the cap, and poured the liquid content into her right paw. I winced as my master started cleaning my wounds by rubbing the foul smelling ointment on me. When she was finished with that task, she wrapped bandages to cover my open wounds.
I took a sniff of my arm. The smell was a weird blend of citrus, honey, and . . . rotting meat. "What's in the ointment?" I asked.
"It's a secret recipe kept by the masters of the dojo," the cat girl replied mysteriously.
Huh. My eyebrows rose at her unexpected response. "I could have used Gaea's gift to cure my wounds," I remarked casually. I didn't want to offend my fickle master by suggesting that her treatment of my injuries were unnecessary. However, I also didn't want to appear helpless in her eye, either.
Kalistra folded her arms and stared harshly into my eyes. "Are you stupid? Do you have a death wish?" She started berating me. "There are monsters, as well as deities, that are drawn to the use of divine energy. If you cast your minor healing spell and there happens to be drows nearby, they will be alerted to your presence and try to locate you," she explained. "It is much safer to use my dojo's special ointment to treat your bite wounds."
"Okay," I conceded her point. I didn't realize that the use of divine abilities would be unsafe. If my use of the veil spell had inadvertently attracted this wolf pack, then I really need to avoid using my divine abilities unless it was absolutely necessary. I decided to bring some levity to the moment. "So, am I going to turn into a werewolf?" I asked her with a straight face.
Hiss! "You really are stupid, Lawrence," she huffed. Kalistra turned toward the carcass of the wolf that I had killed. "If you had killed a werewolf, the body would have turned back to human form," she explained. "And that hasn't happened," she pointed out. My master rose to her feet and, after a moment of hesitation, grabbed my arm and pulled me up, too. "We need to head to the next village for the night," she said.
"I thought we were going to camp out instead?" I asked her. For once, I didn't mind the sudden change in plan. After all, camping out in the woods wasn't exactly my idea of a good time. Back on Earth, I never went camping because I had this fear of waking up to a hungry bear going through my tent.
Kalistra shook her head. "Not when you stink like that. Originally, I was planning to have us climb trees and spend the night high above the ground in order to hide from the animals that hunt after dark, such as wolves. But your smell will give us away. The best thing to do now is to reach Burnhamm village and spend the night there instead," she said.
The cat girl walked over to examine the carcass of the wolf that I had killed. She turned the body over and saw the large cut across its belly. She also took note of the way the dead wolf's snout was broken and bent inward, suggesting that cartilage from the nose had become loose and then pierced the brain of the wolf.
Kalistra smiled inwardly when she pieced the clues together and understood how I managed to kill this wolf. Normally, it was beyond my strength to cause this sort of damage. However, the divine blessing of Lady Luck turned this unlikely occurrence into an ordinary one. Furthermore, judging by the size of this wolf, it was much, much bigger than the ones she had killed. In other words, this was the alpha male of the pack.
Kalistra returned to her feet. She turned to look at me with a smile, knowing that I couldn't see her very well. "Somehow, you managed to take down the alpha male all by yourself. Since the kill is yours, you have the right to decide what to do with it. With your permission, I would like to bring this wolf to Burnhamm village and see if any merchant wants its fur," she suggested.
I was shocked. For two reasons. First, when the last time Kalistra asked for MY PERMISSION to do anything? Yeah, I didn't think so. Second, I was surprised that this was the alpha male. Yes, I managed to land two critical hits for a combined 35 points of damage to the wolf. But surely, wolves had more health than that? I decided to ask my master about that. "This wolf tried to attack me from behind but I landed two critical hits on it for 35 damage. Don't wolves usually have more health than that?" I asked.
"Stupid human," Kalistra admonished me and shook her head. "Adult wolves have around 20 health points or so. That's more than what an average commoner in Tregome has. And the alpha male will have even more health than his pack mates. What surprised ME was how you were able to land back-to-back critical hits on the same target. I already examined the wolf's body and I saw only two wounds, meaning that you landed two hits on it. It is not normal for an Adept from my dojo to kill an elite monster with only two hits. I think you owe Lady Luck a hefty offering," she grinned.
"Yes, I will make a big offering the next time I visit the Lucky Shrine," I agreed readily. My master's observation matched my suspicion that I was able to stay alive only with a big assist from the goddess. I quickly focused my thoughts on the symbol of the die on my left arm. Thank you, Lady Luck.
The goddess responded immediately by causing the divine mark to tingle.
My jaw dropped. I certainly wasn't expecting Lady Luck to read my thoughts, too!
"What's wrong, Lawrence?" Kalistra asked.
"Nothing," I said and quickly waved my hand. "Let's get going."
The cat girl reached down and grabbed the alpha male's carcass by the tail. Unceremoniously, she started dragging the body along the ground, making no effort to hide our presence.
"Aren't you worried that something else will attack us?" I asked her with great concern.
"When they see the body of the alpha male wolf, the animals in these woods will back off. They will quickly understand that we're not easy prey," she explained with a grin.
"If you say so," I shrugged. Honestly, I was rather uneasy with her tactic. Kalistra was practically screaming out, "Here I am!" She was daring anyone in the vicinity to attack us.
We left the woods and returned to the main road. The moon had risen, bathing us in a soft glow that made it much easier for me to see my surroundings. I noticed that the river was to our left. When we stepped on the dirt road, Kalistra lifted up the carcass and placed it on her left shoulder.
It was a comical sight. The body of the alpha male wolf was much bigger than the petite cat girl. The body practically draped over her front and back like a cloak. The broken snout of the wolf reached down to Kalistra's ankles. But her enormous strength allowed the cat girl to shoulder her burden with an ease that I envied. I couldn't see myself carrying something like that over my shoulder, especially when I considered that the wolf probably outweighed me and her combined.
I usually walk behind my master. But the thought of walking behind her, staring at the dead body of the wolf until we arrive at the next human settlement, was nauseating. Thus, I wisely took my spot to her left instead. Even though I was positioned to the right of the carcass while walking along the road with Kalistra, the body was still out of my line of sight unless I turn my head toward it. Fortunately, the road was actually wide enough for me to walk along the left edge, Kalistra along the right edge, and still leave a healthy amount of space between us in the middle of the road. Another advantage of this arrangement was that if we do get ambushed on the road, then Kalistra could dump the body on the road, and quickly pull out her blade to defend. Apparently, this was so obvious to my master that she didn't bother to assign "my lane."
As I walked in my lane, I pulled the hood over my head and drew my cloak closer to my body. The evening temperature was less mild but not chilly. I wore the hood anyway because I didn't want a passerby on the road to see my face if he or she was searching for me. My eyes kept darting from left to right and occasionally, I would also turn my head to see if anything was behind us. I admit that my encounters with the bandits and the wolf pack had left me spooked.
My master, on the other hand, didn't seem to care at all. Her eyes were focused on the road ahead. Despite carrying a heavy load, Kalistra matched me step for step on the road.
I suspected that she could have walked faster and frankly, it would have been to her advantage to do so because this meant she would reach the next village sooner. I believed that she deliberately walked at a slower pace in order to give me time to decompress; I was sure that she knew how worried I was in having two fights so soon after leaving Tregome. My master was truly a kind and generous individual despite her gruff exterior.
After an hour or so of walking, we finally came within sight of a village just across a stone bridge. There were houses made of large stones along a road that curved up and down unevenly. Lampposts were lit at the end of the bridge and seemed to beckon us to enter the village.
Suddenly, I heard howling nearby. "Oooowwwwooo!" The howling was repeated several times over.
Dogs started barking in response. At the sound of the barking, the village beyond the bridge became abuzz with activity as many villagers hurriedly came out of their houses armed with bows, knives and even swords. Other houses, especially the ones closest to the bridge, had their windows closed and the light inside turned off. I also heard many clicking sounds as doors and windows were locked and bolted.
A group of armed villagers started walking in unison on the main road. They finally stopped when the villagers reached the front of their end of the bridge, forming an effective barricade. As we approached the other end of the bridge, some of the gathered commoners started muttering. Others pointed at the carcass of the wolf draped over Kalistra.
Finally, an older man parted from the barricade and stood on the bridge. He was unarmed but for a wooden cane to assist in walking. "Fair evening, travelers." The voice was raspy as if it was difficult for the elder to draw breath. "I am Village Elder Torth. Why have you come to Burnhamm village?" he asked.
I opened my mouth to answer but Kalistra proved faster. "Fair evening, Elder Torth. I am Kalistra and this is my companion, Lawrence. We are heading to Bristol for the annual Melee Tournament," she answered honestly. "We wish to spend the night at an inn in your village; we plan to depart at first light."
The villagers murmured at her response.
The old man nodded; her answer was what the elder had expected. However, he was determined to address the elephant in the room. "Why are you carrying that big wolf? Is it still alive? If so, I'm afraid we must ask you to seek another route to Bristol." Torth dipped his head as an advanced apology to the travelers. If the two were traveling with the wolf, then it would be far too risky to allow the trio to enter the village. It was better to repel them at the bridge rather than to take the risk of having werewolves spending the night in Burnhamm.
Kalistra released her hold on the carcass and allowed it to drop, face first, onto the ground. She quickly pulled out her blade from its scabbard and stabbed the wolf right through the heart.
Village Elder Torth stared at the carcass but it never moved. If the wolf was pretending to be dead, it would feel pain from the stabbing and its body would move involuntarily. Yet, the carcass remained still. The wolf was truly dead. He rapped his cane once on the ground. "Very well. You have proved that the wolf is indeed dead. Who killed it?" he asked.
The cat girl turned around and pointed her paw at me. "He did," she grinned. "I killed the rest of the wolf pack, though," she added as an afterthought.
The old man slowly walked across the bridge until he was on the other side. He walked toward the dead wolf and slowly turned its head with his cane. Torth focused on its left ear; the wolf he sought was missing part of its ear. The wound was inflicted by Torth's grandson before the alpha male killed Torick during the pack's daring raid on the village two moons ago. The elder's heart was filled with relief and happiness when he confirmed that Burnhamm village's chief nemesis was indeed dead.
The village elder finally turned his attention toward me and slowly approached; his eyes were full of tears. He grabbed my right arm with a surprisingly strong grip. "Thank you," Torth whispered. Taking a moment to gather his emotions, the village elder turned back to his villagers, who were watching from the other end of the bridge. "I have confirmed with my own eyes that this is the alpha male of the wolf pack that had been tormenting our village. And this fine warrior has claimed that she slew the rest of the pack. These two have performed a great deed for Burnhamm village and we are proud to call them our true friends."
At the mention of the words, "true friends," the villagers became visibly less hostile to our presence. They put away their weapons and started clapping and cheering us. "True friends!" the growing mob of villagers hollered.
Suddenly, I received a pop-up message which read: "Minor faction quest COMPLETED. +500 XP. Status: True Friend of Burnhamm Village. +250 Reputation. +500 XP."
"Come," Torth held out his right arm. "Please spend the night in our village as honored guests."