Chapter 11 - Searching For Clues

When Cravik's face got really serious, mine followed suit. I wanted to ask what it was, but he didn't say. Not here, at least. So, getting myself together, I followed him to the gang's current headquarters, where we knew we wouldn't be eavesdropped.

The air in the backroom of the Crow's Nest was thick with the scent of burnt tobacco and the stale beer that was left behind by the previous group occupying it when we arrived. It was still early morning, so the usual rowdy atmosphere was still missing, leaving us with only the whisper of the few gang members who were coming in early. Finding a cleaner chair, I sat across from Cravik at one of the worn wooden tables, my fingers tracing the rim of a half-empty tankard left there, waiting for him to start.

"Well..." He shrugged as he leaned back, bringing out a cigarette and lighting it up. With a pause, he took a long drag from it, exhaling a slow stream of smoke from his nose. "We've got a job, and it's not the usual kind," he repeated what he told me in my room, his voice betraying some annoyance.

"Something bad, I assume?" I asked while I raised a brow. "How bad?"

"Medium bad," Cravik answered as he took another drag, keeping it down a little before exhaling it away from my face, knowing I was not a fan of smoking. "One of our shipments got hit on the way in—high-value potions, stuff that ain't easy to come by nor to make. We certainly can't, so it wasn't painless to procure them. The boys at the drop-off point were supposed to send word two hours ago, but they never did."

"Delays?" I asked, but he shook his head.

"No. We don't delay in deals like this. So, we sent someone to check." He paused, his lips curling into something between a smirk and a snarl. "They found corpses, Auriel. Our people were slaughtered, five dead, and the shipment was gone. The courier we sent didn't bother the scene; he bolted straight back to us to alert the Boss."

"..." I didn't react immediately. Instead, I swirled the leftover liquid in the tankard before me, watching the ripples distort and clash against each other as I ran his words through my brain once again. "And you want me to help track down the ones responsible?"

"Yep." Cravik let out a low chuckle. "Smart lad. That's exactly what I, no, what we want. Don't worry, you won't be sent alone! We're heading out as soon as we are ready. You, me, and a couple of the experienced boys. This isn't just about getting our stuff back, kid—we are about to send a message. This is our turf."

Continue to listen, I leaned back, considering his words. I do owe the gang; they had taken me in and given me a place when I had nothing. And even though I didn't like the idea, I did sign up for this... Plus, loyalty was something I valued above all else. And more than that, I had no qualms about what needed to be done. He was right; if someone else had pushed into the Crows' territory, something had to be done. If we let others walk over us, it would mean certain death.

"Fine. I'll be ready." I said, not that I had any option to say no anyway.

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By noon, we were off, and I watched as the city gates loomed ahead of us, flanked by guards clad in leather and some plate armor over vital parts of their bodies. Officially, the Guild had decreed that I was not to leave the city, but that rule was easily bent when the right pockets were lined with gold. Not even they could counter one of the greatest vices... Greed. Heh! 

As we walked, my attention turned to the air around the city. It was surprisingly chilly, making me wonder if winter was coming. I never really asked the date, not that it mattered. When my eyes moved from the sky, locking on this mission's leader, Cravik, I watched as he walked with visible intent, his reinforced boots clicking against the cobbled street. It was as loud as if he was wearing a high heel. I may have even joked about it, but his face made me decide against the sudden impulsive idea. So, I followed closely behind him, alongside two others—Jared, a thin man with a perpetual smirk and brown cigarette between his lips, and Dren, a brute built like an ox, with even bigger shoulders than Cravik, which was a mean feat to pull off.

"Let me handle it," Jared said as he peeled off from the group, sauntering toward the guards with a pouch in hand. "Evening, gentlemen," he said smoothly, tipping the brim of his hat. "We're just a few honest men on their way to settle some business outside of town. There is no need to fuss about it, no? We are not bringing in anything, after all!"

"Well," said one of the guards, an older man with a crooked nose. He eyed the pouch before plucking it from Jared's hand with surprising quickness. I watched as he weighed it carefully before he nodded, smiling. "Honest men with honest gold. Be on your way, good fellows!"

The gates groaned open at once, and we slipped through without another word, without them ever questioning who we were and where we were going, acting as if we weren't even there. It was that easy... hah... It seems that corruption is part of our nature as humans.

Thinking about it, I suppressed the instinct to look over my shoulder. I didn't need them to recognize me if they had any dealings with the Guild. But it also made me confirm that the gang I joined up with probably ran deeper than I initially thought. I began noticing it when I was let into some better-paying assignments. We weren't just street thugs—we had our fingers in almost every part of the city where money could be made. Potions, gambling, hookers, protection, smuggling, money laundering, loans, and brokering information between different parties. I was slowly being allowed to see and hear more and more, although never invited into the pool too deeply. Not yet... just enough to see we were more than a simple gang... But now? They were pulling me in, along with them, into the deep part of it. It was probably my actual initiation. I suddenly had the thought that if I fail this, I may... die.

"No..." I told myself. "I won't."

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The journey took us westward, following a winding, serpentine dirt road that cut through the thick expanse of the forested hills behind the city. It was uneven and hard to travel through. Well, it was hard for my current mindset; I was still used to smooth pavements and driving cars on highways. The Auriel in this world would find this a routine experience, and I was trying my best to do so, too. Looking through the tree canopies, I saw that the midday sun bled over the treetops, painting the world in more color than I was used to in my old life, casting golden hues against the ground. It was... nice. Clean. I walked in silence along the rest, thinking about how different it was here. And that I never really paid attention to it, being stuck in the city.

It was as if I were inside one of those stories or movies I liked to read and watch. Maybe I would find a magic ring that I would need to bring to a faraway land and drop into a volcano. Heh, probably not. Or... Who knows? It could be fun. Or not... as the weight of my sword against my hip suddenly reminded me of the situation and the danger we were heading to face head-on.

"Say," Cravik, ever the one to fill the silence, hating when there wasn't any talk being made, clicked his tongue. "You have ever seen a proper bandit hit before, Auriel?"

"Except the one I die–I almost died in?" I shook my head, quickly correcting myself. "Not one that wasn't already cleaned up."

"Ah yeah, I forgot. Well... That doesn't matter anymore; you were knocked out fast, right? Brace yourself," He muttered. "You're about to get a real good look."

"Can't be much worse than what I woke up to," I answered in a low voice, recalling the scene in my mind. Luckily, back then, it was night and somewhat dark. I may have missed a lot of things... But right now, it was bright. Very bright.

When we arrived at the drop-off point, the scene was worse than I expected. The clearing was littered with the bodies of our people, some slumped against broken barrels, others half-buried in the dirt. No... they weren't. It was just that their bodies were torn to shreds, looking like their other half was under overturned earth. It wasn't; it was lying meters away in the tall grass. The air was thick with the stench of blood and decay, and it made my stomach scrunch and shrink to the size of a coffee bean.

"Damn..." Dren let out a low whistle. "Damn." He repeated.

"The attackers weren't human." Jared crouched beside one of the corpses that was disemboweled, and his throat ripped open. He was pressing two fingers against the wounds, tracing their shape, examining them without flinching. "Claw marks. These are not from a blade."

Hearing him, I narrowed my eyes, scanning the ground. Was this not even a man's doing? Maybe some beast? A monster? There were deep gashes in the earth, footprints that were too wide and misshapen to be human.

"This wasn't a simple ambush," Dren shrugged, also examining the surroundings and watching the same footprints. "They didn't just take the cargo and run. The best way to stick us up would be to leave our guys unharmed and take the cargo. Killing them all? That is nothing but a message. They made a point to slaughter them. It tells us that they want us gone."

"This is a declaration of war." Cravik exhaled sharply. "That's what I was afraid of." He motioned to the surrounding area. "Start looking for tracks! We're not leaving until we know where these bastards had run off to."

We searched in silence, our boots crunching against the disturbed dirt, broken planks, and fallen branches. My pulse quickened as I spotted a trail leading deeper into the forest, up towards the north. There were heavy imprints and clawed steps—a bunch of them. Some ran on both two and four legs, by the looks of it. By now, even I was able to understand who our attackers were.

"Found it," I called the others, who quickly walked up to me, one of them patting my back.

"Good eyes!" Jared whispered under his breath. "No doubt about it: Beast-folk. Has to be."

If not for the brutality left behind me, the green grass wouldn't have turned into a rusted hue from the dried-up blood splashing over it. Then, I would have been excited to hear the news. Maybe even have the thought of meeting a cat-girl or something... Instead, I just felt a chill creep down my spine. Beast-folk. The name now sounded appropriate. To enact such carnage, they were indeed beasts. By reflex, my hand wandered down to my weapon, hanging on my side as I automatically tightened my grip on my sword's hilt. Somehow... I felt afraid. Well, I wasn't surprised I did... I never was the guy for confrontations, but... I had a hunch that this world's Auriel would also feel fear for some reason. I tried searching my mixed memories, but... I had no knowledge or meetings with their kind. Wherever my younger version grew up, they were not present.

"Could be worse." Cravik clapped a hand on my shoulder, encouraging me. He probably noticed the look on my face. "It could have been Undead. Or Elves..."

"Um... what?" I flinched, but he just chuckled, squeezing my shoulder.

"Looks like we've got our trail. You ready for a hunt?"

I quickly looked down at the bloodstained ground once more, then at the deep gouges in the trees ahead. This was it... Come on, Auriel. New world, new me... Yes. This is all new... But so am I.

"Let's find them," I said, nodding my head, my voice steady.

"Good..." Cravik grinned. "That's the spirit!"