CHPT 343: Hounds on the Trail......

"That place...is full of darkness."

FeliAlu City. The City that never sleeps. The city of Heroes. The city full of darkness....

The names seemed to pile on by the day. They found themselves entering it's gates at sunrise all the same, now accompanied by a family from a distant village, surrounded by elders as wary of the city as a pack of wolves were of humans.

Ursula tried her best to calm them as they navigated their way through the labyrinth of a city, teeming with old world skyscrapers, abandoned or remodeled casinos and nature that seemed to interweave it's way through every inch of the bright city of Heroes. But their fear remained. And when the cats made themselves visible, some of the older folks nearly had heart attacks.

It didn't help that-- like last time, they started out small in number. Before retreating and grabbing their friends until a small mob of sleek black furred limber cats stalked them with eyes that glowed like the magical lanters that lined the buildings around them. With the rise of the early morning sun, they seemed to blend with the deep shadows even better than before, never stepping out into the sun to be seen no matter what.

When they eventually rounded onto the FeliAlu Downtown Precinct, Claude was almost relieved. He really would've been relieved, if not for the Detection Corps building that stood across the street from them, looming over his back like an omen of death. For all he knew, Det. Mixus was stationed inside just waiting for him.

Paranoia was a.....pain.

Much like the Precinct back in SkyHaven, the Enforcers within were all hardy warriors that held themselves with a high level of respect and discipline despite their lackluster media coverage and small number of Reborn individuals. For that very reason, and many others, they watched Claude with the same level of disdain....and disbelief as the villagers stood behind him, fearfully studying the building full of weapon carrying lawmen and women.

He was glad he asked Ursula to wait outside with Frosty. Just like his meeting with the Enforcers back in SkyHaven, they did their best to give him a hard time-- but the sight of the innocents was one none of them could ignore. No matter how much they hated the sight of "GloryHounds".

As a result, he was able to get the village people help-- as he promised. And after a few minutes of discussion and helping in filling out a report, he was gone. No worse for wear-- maybe a little on edge and annoyed, but he did some good. They did some good. The pack was able to save lives. Do what he thought was right. And the Detectives were still unseen.

A successful Night Run. One of many-- hopefully.

***

Tuesday Early Morning, December 18th, 2240

With the Village family taken care of, they had little left to do within the City of mysteries. As a result, they found themselves traveling down the flashy red hallways of The Grand-Knights Public Guildhall.

The two women behind the counters with the job of helping Heroes access other sections of the massive building looked as tired as ever-- even more so with their long hours hopefully coming to a close. At least thats what they looked like before Claude, Ursula and Frosty-- in camoflauge, passed them.

The pungent smell's of Monster blood and guts leaked from their bags like a reeking fog that seeped into their nostrils in seconds and woke them in an instant.

"Sorry ladies.." Ursula said flatly while yawning as she followed Claude into the main hall.

It seemed to be in the midst of transition between NightRunners and Daytime Heroes, leaving the spacious floors bordered by small tables partially empty. Small groups patiently waited in bunches all over, but much less than the numbers he'd seen the previous night.

The glass wall to the right of him that split off the room where Heroes trained, held no more than four people, in the midst of warming up while conversing with one another. A memory of the fight he'd seen only hours ago with the Knight that overpowered everyone with a single charge suddenly played in his mind. If he wasn't on a wanted list and illegally posing as a Hero, he'd get in there the first chance he had. Not even to compete right away, simply the experience had to be incredible.

Before he could think any more on it, he suddenly remembered how much he wanted to get everything over with and leave the City. The overpowering smells of coffee and old fear and pain pushed him into walking faster.

They began walking again, in pursuit of the two counterworkers at the end of the hall with their desks split by the massive flaming sword insignia that he only recently learned was lined with the ashes of an Elder Vampire.

He couldn't even imagine how magically potent the ashes were after he'd witnessed what mid-bronze level Undead were capable of only hours ago. Sounded like a nightmare. A nightmare he forced out of his mind as he came to a stop in front of the desk and handed the counterworker his five completed Infested Areas and Tangent.

Their foul smells caused the brownhaired woman with tanned skin to cough faintly while she reached out to grab the papers. She looked them over in a flash of trained efficiency through endless repetition before looking up from the paper to eye them both.

"I don't think asking for evidence will be necessary." She said with a forced smile while looking at their rucksacks before fumbling through the cabinets at her desk to hand them their payments.

A few minutes later and they were leaving the desk with pouches full of coppers and a further stacked resume.

"What a fucking trap." Ursula said as she felt the weight of her reward, jingling the coins faintly in her palm.

"What?" Claude asked.

"You can't even live off this....the price gap between Bronze and Gold is probably like night and day. It forces the Bronze Ranked Heroes into constant labor if they want to survive and advance."

Claude looked down at his pouch, "I never even considered that.....being homeless suddenly feels like a blessing."

Ursula almost dropped her reward, "Claude....you're homeless..like back at SkyHaven?" She said in a whisper.

"Well not ex--" Claude's words were cut short as his nose picked up on a new scent. A scent that wasn't exactly alarming but not anything that left him relaxed.

The scent of dog. Multiple. His ears picked up on their claws clicking against the floor ahead before he saw them. And who they accompanied.

The man entered the building a few seconds after he caught the scent. He had a calm and silent walk, silent enough to go unheard aside from the ruffle of his dark brown leather longcoat. It hung over his hooded figure with a certain stiffness that told him it was lined with armor, padding in the shoulders, forearms and back....probably. The top half of his face was clouded in shadows, leaving only his lower jaw visible. A jaw lined with thick grey and black stubble. Middle aged....around forty maybe.

He had a shortsword sheathed at his back and when his coat ruffled, Claude could see the shine of a thick dagger at his hip. They seemed almost comically small next to the rapid fire mechanical crossbow slung over his shoulder. Even under the red glow of the lanterns that lined the walls, he could see the glow of runes on each bolt in the bow.

In his left hand, he held a bundle of leather that reached out into three distinct strands. leashes to hold the three dogs walking in front of him like fur-bound sentinels.

They were beautiful. In a very deadly way. Long and slender-- like traditional Wolves, and cloaked in short wiry sandy-brown fur with pure black strips running down their backs similarly to Jackals. Only they were bigger. Almost two and a half feet on all fours. Their clipped horn-like ears seemed to add to their height as they scanned the floor with their calm yellow eyes.

He couldn't make out much more of them due to the leather reinforced armor covering their torsos, shoulders and the thick muzzles covering their snouts. Despite this, he knew they were no normal dogs. They were a breed of Warhound....possibly crossbred with something centered around tracking.

Even with their noses guarded, they caught his scent, causing their eyes to snap over to him as they approached. It didn't take long for them to catch the distantly familiar scent of PitWolf, causing them to begin lightly pulling the leather leashes as their strides picked up.

"Easy.." Claude said to Frosty through their link while he tried to calm himself.

They were no more than ten feet apart.

Ursula casually sped up and placed herself on Claude's right, positioning herself between Claude and the man with his hounds.

As they hit a distance of five feet apart, the man whistled at the hounds, causing them to calm themselves and ignore the new interesting smells in an instant. He looked up after and regarded Claude with a light smile that seemed to brighten his hazel eyes as he nodded with respect.

"Camouflage Runes....never hide the smell though do they, partner?" His words came out smooth in an accent that elongated his words in a relaxed fashion. He sounded....cool-- despite knowing a Camouflaged PitWolf was in the same room as him.

And before Claude knew it, the man was gone. Walking past him towards the deskworkers at the end of the hall.

It was such a sudden and odd experience he was at a loss for words.

"Well....that was weird." Ursula announced as they exited the main hall and headed down the flaming blood-red hallway.

Claude placed his money in his pocket as he turned to look at the odd man one last time before exiting the building to return to Rollan's home in the forest.

It was only supposed to be a glance in wonder before leaving, but he found himself locked in-- watching as a panicked rush of adrenaline and fear ignited his insides in a flash of ice cold heat.

"Mornin, Ma'am."

The deskworker gave him her warmest smile as he regarded the QuestBoard beside her. He could almost feel where the man's eyes were focused.

"How may I help you, sir?"

The man scratched the back of one of his hounds ears as he pointed at the board, "I'll take those two bounties right there, if you don't mind."

"Of course not. We don't get Bounty Hunters around here often so it's all yours, sir."

"[Claude....Claude....Claude! Stop staring and leave the building, now.]" Arne said firmly.

Claude shook off the shock and forced himself out of the building, catching up with Ursula in a flash while he tried his best to ignore their newest potential problem.

A Bounty Hunter had just accepted the bounty of retrieving Claude Grey and Ursula Legrand...the very people he just passed on his way in.

"Shit....Shit!"