CHPT 159: A Job Available to All, Done by Few.

Covens, a sickness inside the heart of cities that often goes unnoticed. A sickness that only reveals its fatal symptoms when the sun falls and the moon rises. In the worst of cities, these Children of the Night roam the street sucking the life out of the poor and the weak to increase their power while also satisfying their urges at the allowance of their leader, an Elder.

Something incredibly dark and dangerous, Elder's are a completely different monster compared to regular Vampires. Armed with incredible power and rare signature traits and attributes granted by their age. The oldest cling to the darkness, holding power comparable to the strongest of Heroes.

Claude wanted to be the one to the cure SkyHaven of its possible nocturnal sickness. It showed how naive he still was. He was too young, too weak, and too inexperienced to take on a Coven of Vampires alone— considering the fact that he struggled to take on one of the weakest kind of Vampire.

So, for now all he could do was add the Undead bloodsuckers to the increasingly long list of wrongs he would be one to right. He would be the cure if the city required it. Just not now.

The realization left him in a sour mood for the entire day. It didn't get any better after he entered SkyHaven to buy a new set of armor and sell the parts of the Deer he could to the first Merchant he could find. Coincidentally, he found the same Merchant he sold to the last time.

He followed the scent of greed and body odor all the way to the pudgy middle aged man's cart stationed in front of an alley a block away from a clothing store. As soon as he saw Claude, shining diamonds of sweat collected on his forehead and under his clothing, fear in its most apparent form. The interaction went the same as before— only no attempts at scamming. In fact he got a deal. Perks of intimidation.

His sour mood was made even worse on his way out of SkyHaven during the day when he left with a bag full of new armor and clothing. The reason for this was because of the newspaper stand. Because of what was to come.

***

"The King of Heroes, The Conqueror of Swords! Marshall Leon, aka Ronin, of the Onslaught Guild, is said to be returning to SkyHaven after hearing of his twin sons disappearances." He read the entry on the newspaper stand as he reentered SkyHaven, now as a Night Runner instead of a regular teenager.

"[Honestly. You don't have to worry, Claude. Once he gets here, he'll probably speak with the Detection Corps and check the University grounds or surrounding area. He himself probably won't even get involved. That's usually how those high and mighty types are.]"

Claude nodded instinctively in understanding while he adjusted the positioning of his new low grade Element Resistant black cloak, "That makes sense. But if it do end up meeting him, I hope he isn't as much of an asshole as his kids are...do you think they'll return? Would Dolion let them?" He asked.

"[Hm. That's a good question. Usually people that are changed stay as members of the Pack. But, the twins— there could be motive behind their decision to change them. I can't say for sure, but keep it in mind that Samuel may return....and if that's the case, there is no good reason behind it. On the other hand, Tai can't, being that he's now forever a Malformed. Forced to roam the earth as an abomination.]"

"I'll be waiting for his return." He replied as images of the two flooded his mind. He could only wonder what the oddest of the two was doing now. "Was Tai even alive? Was he somehow getting stronger?" His worst thought was whether or not the day would come when a newly posted Infested Area quest fit the Malformed twins description.

***

By the time he reached the SkyLight Guildhall, his mind was flushed of the recent discoveries concerning the twins, Vampires, and Ronin's return.

He had to focus on the now, the Villages and remote locations ignored by the Heroes and Night Runners repeatedly. And the locations of the Raider camps he'd investigate on the way.

Once him and Frosty entered the dimly lit building bathed in shades of polished browns and blacks, they immediately noticed the change in atmosphere. People shuffled from the Quest Board to the tables they usually occupied while others were already leaving in pursuit of Tangents. They scuttled about the room like ants. All of this was followed by scents of anxiety and discomfort.

"There's more activity than usual." He whispered while his nostrils took in the strong scents through his newly purchased armored face mask.

"[This is the effect of the strongest Hero in New Gloria. He's not even here yet. This is quite impressive.]" Arne commented.

The thought made Claude uncomfortable. He couldn't imagine how strong the Hero, Ronin, had to be to invoke the kind of unease he was witnessing.

He quickly shook the feeling, waving to Ilka— who seemed completely unfazed by the change in atmosphere. Upon looking again, he realized she wasn't waving at him.

"Allblack! Hey Allblack! Come here, please it's important!" She yelled at him above the murmuring and clunky shuffling of the Night Runners.

Claude headed to the desk with Frosty in tow while they tried not to get too close to any person on the way out.

Once he made it to her desk she began flipping through papers and folders in a panicked rush.

"Yes, yes I know. I'm unorganized, my father points it ou— Here it is!" She said energetically, further confusing Claude.

"Here is what, Ilka?" He suddenly said, hoping to refocus her.

"Oh right. This!" She replied before handing him a Quest Entry for an Infested Area.

While he read over the paper, she explained the reasoning behind her actions.

"I Uh.....I can't help but notice how....angry you look every time you leave the Quest Board. Something tells me it's because of how old they are— the time since the Quests have been posted I mean. So, I made sure to grab this one. It just came in today. I've been to the village— if you could even call it that.....I knew some of the people there too. Nobody else will take it for another few months if I put it on the Quest Board, and these people need saving now." She said, the high energy enthusiasm faded from her voice towards the end left only stone cold determination in its wake. It was infectious.

Claude silently read over the entry again, finding the Monster Species to blame being one that felt familiar. He read scary stories about them with his Father when he was young— not an ideal read for children, but he'd been interested in Monsters and his Fathers work for as long as he could remember. The species was one of his favorites in the stories because they were so scary— so unsettling.

Knowing that he'd be facing them in reality instead of on paper was.....daunting to say the least.

"I know this came out of nowhere.....but nobody else will take it for months. They'll be gone by then. So I had to ask you. If you can't do it or have other Quests on your agenda, I understand." She said in response to his lack of an immediate response.

"No. No. I came here to he a Hero for a reason. Hopefully I'm not too late." He replied, mumbling the last part as he took the Quest Entry and quickly left the Guildhall:

Ilka yelled thanks at his back in response so loud that he could hear her even when the Great doors shut behind him and he headed down the dark street.

Frosty sniffed at the paper with interest as Claude continued looking at it.

"[You ready for this?]" Arne asked.

"Hell yea. I just remembered I really don't like spiders."