CHPT 146: Gloryhound

"Good luck on your NightRuns, sir." The leading guard at the gates into SkyHaven said to Claude as he passed with a short and respectful nod.

He was early. No drunks roamed the streets or came stumbling out of buildings and daytime shops were still in the process of closing up.

The street lanterns that lined the path made little pockets of concentrated brightness that highlighted the dark armor wearing NightRunners ahead of him and regular civilians excited to spend the night obliterating their livers at the local bars.

"Arne, what do you know about Law Enforcers and how they deal with criminal groups like Raiders?" He asked as he continued walking down the dark city street.

"[Hm. Well, they usually never aim to kill them all completely— hoping to keep at least one alive and scrub him or her for information on other camps, Law Enforcers are pretty good interrogators.]" Arne replied after a moment.

"Other camps?" Claude questioned.

"[Yes. Raiders tend to live in camps on the outskirts of society and they move frequently— similar to Nomadic people.]"

Claude suddenly remembered the newspaper headline he read after fighting his first group of Raiders. They wrote that a monster ripped a group of Nomads to shreds.

"These camps. Do the Law Enforcers mark them down on maps— or at least keep track of them?" He asked as he passed an alleyway lined with shady looking men and women in dim colored armor.

"[Eh. It's difficult to say. Precincts differentiate in how they work from region to region. But usually, Law Enforcers work alongside the Detection Corps in finding camps or at least determining if they're nearby.]"

"They work together? Why would the Detection Corps work with Law Enforcers if they could find the Raiders themselves?" Claude asked.

"[Well, on the contrary to what you've experienced, members of the Detection Corps aren't usually proficient in combat. Their skills lie in the area of— well, detection and tracking. They need Law Enforcers muscle to take down the large Raider camps and it goes both ways since the Law Enforcers usually can't find them without the Detectives.]"

"A symbiotic relationship...." Claude mumbled as he neared the SkyLight GuildHall.

"[Exactly.]"

"So, are the Heroes allowed to look at whatever maps they might have?" Claude asked.

"[Well— technically, yes....]" Before he could explain anymore, Claude grunted in understanding and resumed his jog towards the GuildHall. He decided to let Claude have the experience of trying to work with the Law Enforcers himself instead of attempting to explain the complex relationship between the two forces beforehand.

***

Claude and Frosty approached the large brick building a few minutes later as teams of NightRunners from low Bronze to high Silver rankings poured out of the building.

He silently passed them on the street as he made his way into the building.

Once inside the decently packed GuildHall, he ignored the eyes of the NightRunners that occupied the left side of the room while he briskly closed the distance between himself and the Quest Board.

In the noisy room, his feet made no noise before coming to a halt on the polished wood floors in front of his target. The Board was lined with hundreds of new and incredibly old entries. The Tangents that had position slips missing in the Damage and Tank categories reminded him of his first time at this board. Back when he was scrambling to get stronger and live past the Full Moon. Not much has changed— in fact he felt like it's gotten worse.

His eyes fell down to the bottom half of the board where Quest entries fitting his rank covered the space. The vibrant and crisp looking papers on the front told him they were new— recently posted, none of which seemed to be Infested Areas. He wasted no time and began lifting the new Quests to find the less profitable and outright ignored ones underneath.

His mind started to work out different ideas and considerations as he looked over the plethora of castaway Infested Areas.

"Even though I have a sword specifically crafted for the Undead and am proficient in killing Goblins.....if I keep selectively fighting them, I'll become one dimensional." He told himself.

"[Very true. A skilled Hero is well versed in all forms of Monster slaying.]" Arne supported before adding, "[So, what's going to be on the receiving end of your blade and claws tonight?]"

Tch!

He ripped the Quest off the board before replying, "Kobolds."

He turned and made his way out in a rush.

"Another Infested Area, Allblack?" Ilkas's enthusiastic and youthful voice called out to him from where she stood behind her desk to the left of him.

Claude nodded and continued walking.

"Good luck!" She yelled as he left the GuildHall.

He couldn't help but notice the feeling of wary eyes on him was dissipating. They were losing interest. His vague and suspicious perception of being some sort of power hider was fading.

With Ilka's loud announcement that he was doing another Infested Area, he assumed the NightRunners were beginning to think of him as the weak and traumatized sole survivor of his past team— who could no longer stomach the dangerous and unpredictable Tangents.

"Good." He mumbled as the doors shut behind him and he briskly walked the city streets, towards the Precinct of SkyHaven.

***

He reached the building with a light jog in good time.

The building wasn't as tall or wide as the SkyLight GuildHall, but it was relatively large. On the outside, it was a squared mass of shiny black bricks with white accents and long— but thick windows that didn't allow you to see much inside. But he could hear them, dozens of voices and footsteps, some loud and others quieter. The nightshift was in full swing.

"Alright buddy, make sure you stay close to me." Claude said to Frosty as he approached the steel framed entrance with the words; "Precinct of SkyHaven." engraved in the metallic surface.

Once inside, he received the same welcoming he got as the last time he was there— in fact it felt more intense this time.

Law Enforcers in groups that stood at drawing boards where they seemed to be planning something, stopped to turn and see who entered the building. Similarly, Enforcers behind desks and others who were moving through the building all did the same.

It was safe to say they didn't look happy to see him. He was confused at this response last time as well but ignored it since he was in a bit of a rush.

He walked silently across the dark toned tile floor and approached the first desk he saw. The Enforcer that sat behind it noticed his approach and huffed angrily.

He got up quickly with the fluid grace of someone that was deceptively strong and fast. Claude soon understood why the man moved so well as the Enforcer calmly placed a hand on the sword resting in its sheath at his hip.

Claude stopped for a moment and studied the man with a confused expression that was partially hidden by his mask.

The man was a couple inches shorter than Claude and of a similar build— if not a little less muscled. He had chestnut brown hair that was cut close to his scalp everywhere except the top— which was combed to perfection. His slim eyebrows were furrowed and sat above a pair of dark blue eyes that examined him in return.

His pause only lasted a second before he started moving again.

"Erhm....Hello. I'm an unregistered Hero working out of the SkyLight GuildHall and I was wondering if your Precinct keeps maps...or records of Raider camps and their locations? Past locations would work as well." Claude explained.

The Enforcers continued to stare at him as he grunted and adjusted his light brown and black leather chest plate. ".....What?" Was all he said with so little enthusiasm it made Ilka sound like a psychopath.

"Uhm.....you know a map? Maybe some of your members have worked with the Detection Corps and tracked their locations on a map?— like that one right there." Claude said as he noticed the exact thing he was looking for on the man's desk.

The Enforcer kept his eyes on Claude and reached behind his desk to slide the paper to the edge of his desk and away from them both. "Why should I give it to you, Hero?"

The amount of disdain and other negative emotions the man felt for him was beginning to boil his blood. "Alright, what the hell is your problem?" Claude growled, no longer trying for politeness among the foul fumes of negativity.

Claude suddenly smelled a burst of burning anger coming from the man as he stood up from where he partially sat on his desk. "You want to know my problem? It's you. You think you can just come in here like some hotshot and start demanding things from us? Why would we ever help you power hungry bastards? Why do you even care about the Raiders? There's no money or fame in it, so piss off."

Claude could feel a growl starting to form in his throat, through his link to Frosty he knew the PitWolf felt emotions similar to his.

"Will.....you give me the damn map or not?" Claude tried to say with as little hostility in his voice as possible. Apparently it failed since the man's face became angrier and Enforcers behind him spun around to see what they assumed was the beginnings of a fight.

His nose told him not all of them were strong. Among the scents of anger and disgust, there was fear.

"[Claude, just relax. I'm sorry but this is how things usually work between Heroes and Law Enforcers.]" Arne said.

"This is stupid as hell. Why is he being a dick?" Claude asked in response.

"[Ill explain it all outside.]" Arne replied.

A couple of tense seconds passed before the Enforcers relaxed. The one Claude was talking to scoffed and waved him off. "We're done here. L—"

He was cut off from going anywhere in response to Claude moving with him. The Enforcer didn't understand that in Claude's current state, trying to leave would benefit no one.

The Enforcers were back to being tense and some even drew their weapons.

Claude's eyes flared and he growled loud enough to overpower Frosty's.

The man stepped forward, letting off no scents of fear and simply stared into his eyes with interest. "Some of you.....Heroes. Some of you are starting to look just like the shit coming out of the Tangents." He commented.

Claude continued staring and growling silently.

"What? What are you going to do? There's one of you and a building full of us. Sure you Heroes are all for power— but you're weak. Your armor's low grade and beat to shit, your swords look relatively cheap and sure your cloak could be hiding more weapons and obstructing your movements— but you're big, it's a weakness against me. Before you can reach behind yourself and unsheathe those swords, I'll be cleaning your blood off mine and calling up a janitor to come get your head off the floor. So tell me, what exactly are you going to do, Hero?"

The Enforcers speech and verbal breakdown of why Claude stood no chance against them seemed to expel any fear the weaker Enforcers had and they all moved up to stand behind him.

As he faced the Enforcers, he felt a familiar slow and cold burning wave of hatred filling him entirely. He could feel the fur of his true form beginning to split his skin and expand his muscles.

"[Claude! It's not worth it. We'll find them on our own.]" Arne pleaded.

Even though the Enforcers couldn't see the change he was undergoing, they could feel it in the air. The switch from a weak challenger to an unknown predator. The effect immediately weeded out the weakest.

Four men and two women stepped back as if the floor near him was up in flames.

"[Claude, they are wasting your time. Ignore what they think of you. You've saved lives, you've done good— and they're actively stopping you from saving more. From getting stronger. From righting more wrongs. Just leave them.]" Arne explained.

Claude closed his eyes and took in a nose full of air. He did it a few more times before he opened his eyes that were now back to a simple dark, dark brown.

"Your right. Fuck them." He thought in response before quickly turning and walking out.

"Gloryhound.." The Enforcer said as Claude was leaving.

"Keep generalizing like that and see how far it gets you dirtbags." Claude spat in response before raising his middle finger to them as he left.

***

Once Claude was on the street, he massaged his temples and fought to relax himself.

"I'm really getting tired of people. How about you, Frosty?" Claude asked out loud.

He heard the PitWolf cough in response next to him.

"I'll take that one as a yes." He replied.

Frosty began coughing again and hacking as if he was going to throw up.

"Frosty? You alright, man?" Claude asked as he reached out and patted his invisible back.

The coughing and heaving continued.

"[....Oh! Hahaha. What a clever little furball!]" Arne randomly said excitedly.

"ACK!...ack!"

"What are you—" Claude was cut off by a large wad of crumpled paper suddenly falling onto the floor with a wet sound of impact.

Claude picked up the slimy ball of paper that Frosty just spit up and his eyes slowly lit up in surprise.

"You ate the map!?" He asked in disbelief.

Frosty sneezed in response.

"Great work." He said before scratching behind Frosty ears while examining the wet map.

"[Now that you have the map, what do you plan to do?]" Arne asked.

Claude continued looking it over until he was settled and folded it up, putting it in his pocket and beginning to head towards the gates leading out of SkyHaven.

"The first camp is on the way to the Kobolds. Let's see if I can't kill two birds with one stone."