Revenge - 1

The Guild boomed with activity as usual. Within the fortified walls weapons and gear were finely crafted and offered in cluttered shops. Inns displayed soothing music and comfy beds while taverns exhaled the scents of warm food and fresh drink. Hunters and scavengers, guardians, explorers and thrill-seekers, all of these could be found in every corner of the great building. Some celebrated their last triumphs, others flaunted their trophies, or drowning away the sorrows of defeat, or gathering more of their prized resources, or simply waiting for fate to guide their path. Whether brave or foolish, adventurers had their home in there.

And so no one would pay attention when he walked in. A short, bushy tail and floppy ears marked him as an Inu, but he was unusually tall, a muscular yet thin build that had to duck slightly to pass through that door. His hair a dark blue, just like the tail, and puffy bangs covered a lot of the solemn bony face. Clothes discoloured, worn down, as if they had been exposed to the harsh elements for far too long. Over his shoulders here was a bloated bag, clanking and rustling from unseen objects within.

Quietly, the inu made his way through the building, ears twitching here and there at every sound as he went. Eventually he reached a large white board in the middle of the area, all packed with little paper notes that shuddered with the slight breeze. There also were these strange colourful things; for a moment he assumed they were scribbles, but on closer examination they turned out to be glyphs of the terrible giant predators. Nagas, centaurs, harpies…each of these rendered in bright, simple pictures, twisted in bizarre poses, showing devilish sneers or awful grimaces. Those notes seemed to clutter right under them. Some seemed to have been ripped, others had been written over or crossed

Then there were these pictures that were apart from the others. A coiled naga, teal and yellow with a wide open, sinister smile. A blue mermaid with a long tongue poking out of a horrible grin, depicted in a relaxed posture. Another naga, this one light purple, displayed ample breasts and a disturbingly warm expression in her almost white face. Many more pictures were shown in a row alongside these, and all of them had ridiculous amounts of notes under them. The difference was, most of these looked intact for the most part. Certainly this wasn't a good sign.

His eyes stopped at one picture in the far right. The black and orange image of a squamataur, showing a ferocious mouth of sharp teeth as it seemed to roar directly at the viewer. Something resembling red rain fell from this maw, and right above it all a curled tail appeared ready to strike. The inu moved closer to that fearsome image, staring back at the painting's scowl. Those hateful purple eyes...

"You're not thinking on going after the Outlaw by yourself, are you?"

A young brunette woman was on a desk right next to him. Dressed in clothes typical of the Guild, she was leaning over to have a better look at the inu with this strange expression, concerned yet mildly amused.


"I've seen entire regiments marching away against it, and like, only one or two guys coming back. I don't know how many of those beasts you've killed but I tell you, that one is …different…And that's if you can track it down to begin with, it never stays on one place for long…" Her mind seemed to drift for one moment, but then focused back right away "What I mean is….you really sure?"

The inu had gone back to watching the picture as she talked, still with that serious face, and then a small smirk drew itself on his lips, and the drooping ears perked up. He finally spoke, voice surprisingly soft for one of his looks

"Yeah, I heard about it…"

And just as casually, he reached for one of the paper notes and ripped it off, leaving it on the desk in front of the girl

"Figured I'd go and kill your monster."

She once again stared at him, surprised, incredulous, her eyes wide open. But then she simply sighed and reached over for a stamp "Oh well…don't say I didn't warn you. What's your name again?"

The inu then pushed back the hair over his face, and the girl could see it clearly now. He had bright, scarlet eyes.

"Beo Wulf"