A Drop of Wolfsbane

A chilling breeze swept over the carnage, the burning stench of death and decay from the corpses picked up and carried away through the wind. The ground was stained black with blood, dried up from the midday sun. The corpses of (link-reveal: "men")[ and women] still littered the road and the surrounding buildings. This was once the village of (link-reveal: "Candale") [, a small pit stop along the North Road where weary travelers could rest their feet]. Now, it was little more than a graveyard, a monument to the savage power of a creature most foul. (link-reveal: "A man stood amidst the ruins, inspecting the carnage.") [ His rugged, pockmarked face was covered in grey scruff and his steel-blue eyes were shaded from the overhead sun by a large, dark grey, wide-brimmed hat. A long matching coat draped over his tall, lean frame, covering up the silver chest plate he wore. A leather belt with a silver buckle held up a pair of brown trousers tucked into two silver greaves. Several small pouches, a holstered revolver, and a cleaver were attached to the belt, while a crossbow was slung across his back. On his right hand he wore a silver gauntlet adorned with a metal serpent twisting around its surface while on his left he wore a simple black glove. A small silver amulet of a downturned sword rested against his breast, hung from a chain hidden beneath the dark red scarf wrapped around his neck.] His name was (link-reveal: "Solomon Vale")[, and he was a Hunter]. Vale kneeled beside one of the corpses laying in front of the town’s inn.  From the freshness of the blood and the lack of decomposition, it looked like the villagers had been killed (link-reveal: "recently") [, within the last twenty-four hours]. There were several long, unnaturally smooth gashes raked across the victim’s back; most likely they were trying to flee when they were slain. The gashes appeared to be (link-reveal: "claw marks") [, though not from any natural beast]. Vale took in a deep breath through his mouth, there was a familiar faint metallic taste (link-reveal: "lingering in the air") [, one that brought to mind cleanliness and light and things that did not belong in this Grey World]. Frowning, Vale stood up “Qarin.” The serpent on his gauntlet came to life, twisting and writhing until it fell to the ground with a dull thud. Coiling up, the metal snake turned pitch black before melting away into a formless mass of darkness. The shadow rose up to just below the height of Vale’s knee before changing into a more humanoid shape. The darkness faded away to reveal a (link-reveal: "red-skinned demon") [ resembling a hairless human no larger than a toddler. His eyes were completely black, his nose flat like a snake’s, and his ears little more than tiny holes in the side of his head]. His thin lips pulled back in a savage (link-reveal: "grin") [, revealing rows of jagged teeth]. “So, what’s today’s freaky little adventure?” He glanced around at the massacred village “Oooh! A good old slaughter! You take me to the nicest places, boss!” Vale ignored his companion’s chatter as he said “Get me the aer mysteria.” Qarin rolled his eyes and muttered “Boring old Light-Head” before complying. He held up his little red hand as a dark shape rose from his palm and materialized into a glass vial filled with a shimmering, opaque grey cloud. Vale took the vial from his irreverent little helper and removed the stopper, waving it over the corpse at his feet. The grey fumes drifted out of the vial and into the air, lingering for a moment before (link-reveal: "shifting color") [, turning a shimmering white that gleamed in the light of the midday sun.] “Angelic energy” Vale mused, “I thought as much.” That, combined with the gashes on the body meant (link-reveal: "one thing") [: a werewolf]. With another wave the fumes returned to the vial, resuming their original grey color as Vale replaced the stopper. He handed the vial back to Qarin, and the little red creature transformed it into a shadowy mass than sank back into his skin. Vale examined the rest of the village, (link-reveal: "constructing a timeline from the evidence.") [ Judging from the tracks he found at the village’s edge, the werewolf had emerged from the surrounding woods from the northeast the previous night, approached a house on the edge of the village, and climbed in through an open window. The residents, a middle-aged couple, had reacted with hostility, attacking the beast. The couple’s ruined corpses showed who had won that encounter. The sound of the struggle must have attracted attention from the neighbors, for there were several bodies surrounding the door of the house, slain by the beast. Someone must have sounded the alarm, because it seemed that the village militia were rallied to confront the creature. Now the remains of those brave men and women were spread throughout the town, their spears shattered by powerful jaws and their uselessly discharged rifles lying next to their broken bodies. The beast had gone on to systematically hunt down and slaughter every single person in the town, villager and traveler alike, leaving forty-three corpses to rot. If there were any survivors of the village of Candale, they had long since fled.] Vale followed the beast’s tracks to where they led (link-reveal: "outside of the town.") [ It had crossed the road and headed west, deep into the woods.] Brows furrowing, Vale noticed another set of footprints following it, heavy and booted. There was another, more recent taste in the air, similar to that the beast left behind but much (link-reveal: "sharper and warm") [, bringing forth memories of shining steel and angry flame]. Someone else was hunting his quarry. Qarin, who had drifted behind Vale as he’d examined the village, occasionally making some rather crass comments, shivered. “A Guardian.” He hissed “Glowing, self-righteous grunts.” Vale nodded “I’ll need to deal with them before I go after the wolf.” He held out his gauntleted hand for the little red monster. “You should return to your (link-reveal: "token") [, it would be best if the Guardian did not see you].” Qarin grumbled “Fine, but I’m not sleeping. If that bright brat starts giving you a hard time I’m gonna knock some sense into him!” Vale cocked an eyebrow “And how exactly are going to do that, by biting his shins?” Qarin (link-reveal: "smiled as broadly as he could") [, showing off all of his razor-sharp teeth] “Hey, it worked last time didn’t it?” With that he shifted back into a dark, swirling mass that enveloped Vale’s gauntlet and solidified into the metal snake that had been wrapped around it. Vale paused before following the werewolf and the Guardian, loading up his revolver with darkened silver bullets that seemed to devour the sunlight that they should have reflected. Even through his gloves he could feel the intense cold radiating from the bullets that would have made his skin freeze on contact. He pulled a vial from a pouch on his belt double-checked the amount of the clear liquid inside of it. Satisfied, he returned the vial to its compartment and stepped into the darkness of the woods. He spent several hours tracing the path of the Guardian and the werewolf. Neither had bothered to hide their (link-reveal: "tracks") [ and it was almost insulting simple to follow them]. Then again, Vale doubted that either of them expected to be tracked by an experienced Hunter like himself. Vale moved like water through the forest undergrowth, his experienced feet swiftly gliding over all obstacles and barely making a sound. The werewolf would most likely find a safe place to rest until the moon rose again and the Guardian seemed to be slowed down by the forest judging from the frustration in his tracks. Vale was slowly gaining on them, he only hoped it would be before the Guardian found the wolf. He was in luck. Soon, Vale spotted a glint of light flashing off golden armor in the distance and slowed his pace slightly, making sure he was completely silent. Vale eventually managed to get close enough to the Guardian that he (link-reveal: "could make him out fully through the trees.") [ The Guardian appeared as a tall figure of male proportions encased entirely in elegant gold and white armor that gleamed from even the smallest speck of light that managed to sneak through the treetops. In his hands was a tall, golden spear with which he was trying to angrily hack away at the brush that hindered his path. The air around him was electrified with a vibrant energy that tingled the skin and warmth radiated from his armored form like the sun.] As the Guardian grumbled and hacked his way through the undergrowth, Vale stepped out of the darkness and called out “Hail, Guardian Angel!” The Guardian spun around, spear at the ready. His face was a featureless helm incapable of any expression yet Vale knew he was being glared at by the frustrated angel. “State your business!” the Guardian ordered “What are you doing here?!” “I could ask you the same question.” Vale said dryly, flashing his amulet at the angel. The Guardian hesitated for a moment upon catching sight of the downturned sword before straightening up and planting the butt of his spear into the ground “I am Guardian Raguel, and I am here hunting a Lunar Servant that has escaped its master.” Vale’s eyes narrowed “Is that right?” Raguel regarded him coldly “And who exactly are you, Hunter?” “Solomon Vale” the Hunter answered, locking his eyes on where the visor would have been on Raguel’s helm, letting just a small glimmer of who he had been shine through. “I take it you’ve heard of me.” Raguel tensed, “I have, though I did not expect you to be so… Grey.” Vale snorted “I’ll take that as a compliment.” “It wasn’t.” Vale cocked an eyebrow and shifted so that his gloved hand was resting on the holster of his revolver, an action he was sure did not go unnoticed by Raguel. “This… ‘Lunar Servant’ of yours… it wouldn’t happen to be the same beast that massacred the nice little village back there would it?” Raguel hesitated “I-I was not aware of that…” A snort came from Vale’s gauntlet “You angels really suck at lying.” The Guardian instantly shifted into a combat stance, pointing his spear at the gauntlet, the energy in the air crackling violently. “Show yourself, demon!” Vale sighed as Qarin emerged in a writhing, shadowed mass from his gauntlet, appearing before the Guardian Angel in all his short, red, demonic glory. “What did I tell you?” Vale grumbled. Qarin grinned savagely “Sorry boss, I just couldn’t help myself!” “So I see the stories are true,” Raguel snarled “you do consort with demons!” Said demon was currently giving the angel a rather obscene gesture when Vale responded “Things work differently in the World of Grey.” He said “For example, the killing of humans by one of your ‘Lunar Servants’ makes it a Grey matter. You have no business hunting this werewolf. Leave now and I think we’ll forget this little violation. Otherwise…” Vale let his hand tightening around the grip of his revolver finish the sentence. The Guardian Angel growled “I will not be intimidated by one who consorts with demons!” Vale sighed, “Of course not…” Raguel lunged forward, spear gleaming brilliantly as it plunged towards Qarin. Vale quickly grabbed the demon and pulled him out of the way of the attack, sidestepping the spear. The shining tip plunged into the tree that had been behind Vale, scorching the wood. Qarin rushed forward, latching his teeth onto one of the Raguel’s ankles and causing the Guardian to stumble while he removed his spear from the tree. Taking advantage of angel’s momentary distraction, Vale lashed out with an uppercut from his gauntleted hand to Raguel’s chin, knocking the angel onto his back. Before he could recover, Vale trapped the angel’s spear beneath his boot and drew his revolver, aiming the barrel at the center of Raguel’s head “I wonder…” he drawled “Do you fear dying? I hear returning to the Sacred Flame isn’t exactly the most pleasant experience.” The crackling around Raguel intensified as the angel snarled “You cannot harm me with mere bullets!” “I can if they are Dark-infused bullets.” Vale stated. Upon seeing Raguel freeze, Vale allowed himself a small smile “Now, I’m only going to say this one more time. (link-reveal: "Leave now") [ and we’ll forget all about this. Otherwise]…” The angel hesitated for a moment before silently nodding. Stepping back, Vale commanded Qarin to release Raguel’s ankle and the Guardian Angel stood up. “The Powers will be displeased by this.” He growled. Qarin snorted “The Powers can take their displeasure and shove it in the Dark. Who knows? They might make a friend or two.” The air around Raguel (link-reveal: "crackled") [ and a pair of white wings made of light sprouted from his back]. In a brilliant flash of (link-reveal: "light") [ that Qarin had to turn away from and Vale didn’t even blink at], Guardian Angel Raguel (link-reveal: "disappeared") [, returning to the World of Light from whence he came]. After a moment of silence, Qarin grumbled “Bright little brat.” # With the Guardian Angel now dealt with, Vale resumed his hunt for the werewolf as soon as Qarin returned to his gauntlet to sleep. After several hours of following the beast’s tracks, through the forest, the sun began to sink towards the horizon. (link-reveal: "Vale forced himself to move faster, despite the dull ache in his limbs starting to set in.") [ If he didn’t find the werewolf before the moon rose then the beast would return to full strength and he’d have a much harder time of subduing it.] However, it seemed that fortune was once again in his favor. As the sun neared the horizon, the Hunter came across a hollow formed from the roots of several large, warped trees. Vale silently creeped towards the edge of the hollow and spied his quarry. (link-reveal: "The werewolf was curled up in a corner of the hollow, sheltered by the twisting roots.") [ It was curiously smaller than most werewolves Vale had seen, its limbs were an unnaturally long and deformed fusion of man and wolf, its lithe body’s lack of prominent muscles hiding its true strength. The beast was covered in short, shimmering, silver fur, wearing nothing but the tattered remnants of the clothes of its past life. Vale saw the lips of its short snout curl up, revealing sharp, jagged teeth. The beast’s dagger-like claws were still coated in flecks of dried blood from its victims.] Vale drew his crossbow and (link-reveal: "pulled out a bolt from one of his pouches") [, its darkened silver tip only faintly reflecting the fading sunlight]. Loading it into his crossbow, Vale took aim at the still slumbering beast, shifting his stance so that he could shoot straight and true. As he did so however, a small twig that had escaped his notice (link-reveal: "snapped beneath his feet") [ with a small crack that was deafening in the silence]. The werewolf’s golden eyes snapped open. Swearing, Vale pulled the trigger and let the bolt fly but the beast had already moved out of the way, barreling towards him at blinding speed. Vale quickly climbed up the roots forming the hollow, just barely escaping the beast’s razor-edged claws and gnashing jaws. Scrambling up the roots to the tree’s trunk, Vale glanced back and saw the werewolf clambering after him. He had to get some distance. Quickly slinging his crossbow to his back, the Hunter grabbed the nearest branches and climbed his way up the tree. The werewolf chased after him in a (link-reveal: "frenzy") [, claws leaving deep gouge marks in the thick tree trunk]. Vale drew and swung his cleaver, the edge briefly gleaming brilliantly as it slashed through the nearest branch of the tree like butter. The stump smoked as the thick branch dropped towards the werewolf’s head, forcing the beast to scramble back and giving Vale some precious space. Returning his cleaver to his belt, Vale climbed higher up the tree and once more took out his crossbow. Balancing on two sturdy branches, Vale took out another darkened silver bolt and started to load it into the crossbow. Suddenly, the werewolf let out a howl and leaped up into the branches, it’s wildly swinging claws knocking the crossbow from the Hunter’s hands. Cursing, Vale kicked the beast’s face, knocking it down from the tree. Vale still had the bolt in his hand but without the crossbow he’d have to get close to use it. Briefly, (link-reveal: "the Hunter contemplated simply drawing his revolver and shooting the beast , but quickly dismissed the notion") [; the Dark-infused bullets were a last resort]. Resigning himself to the fact that (link-reveal: "this was going to be fairly painful") [ and silently thanking the fact that Qarin wasn’t currently awake to mock him for his slip-up], Vale leaped out of the tree onto the werewolf just as the beast was about to make another lunge at him. Slamming into the wolf, Vale quickly jabbed the bolt into the beast’s shoulder before it could tear him apart, sending the both of them tumbling off the roots and to the ground. The beast howled in pain and Vale left the bolt in as he quickly scrambled out of its range before it began flailing wildly about. Within moments, the werewolf collapsed and soon all thrashing had stopped and the poor beast lay there, utterly motionless. Getting to his feet and breathing heavily, Vale retrieved his (link-reveal: "crossbow") [ -thankfully undamaged-] and slung it over his back once more. Turning back to the werewolf, Vale could see that the beast was already transforming back, returning to what it had been before. Knowing that it would be at least a few hours before the werewolf awoke, Vale busied himself making a fire to ward off the encroaching night. By the time he was finished and had a fire roaring brightly in the growing darkness, the werewolf had fully reverted back to its original form. Vale felt a sharp pain in his heart when he saw the beast’s true form and understood why it was smaller than the other werewolves he’d encountered. Lying where there was once a feral beast that had slaughtered an entire village, was a young boy. After bandaging around the bolt in the boy’s shoulder to stop any infection or excess bleeding, Vale took a moment to examine the young werewolf. He was no older than twelve years, his skin was pale and he had yet to grow into his gangly arms and legs. (link-reveal: "His hair was the same silver color the werewolf’s fur had been") [, no doubt a result of his transformation]. The tattered remains of his clothes barely covered him and Vale quickly removed his coat and draped it over the boy’s body to protect him from the night’s chill. With a sigh, Vale sat down next to the fire and readied himself for a long wait. The moon had risen high over the night sky and started its descent by the time the boy finally stirred. The boy opened his eyes, now silver like moonlight, and tried to get up, looking around in confusion. “Easy,” Vale advised, causing the boy to snap his gaze to the Hunter “your body just underwent a forced reversion. It’ll take time to get your strength back.” The boy blinked at Vale, utterly bewildered. “What- ARGH!” the boy winced and his hand reached for the bolt still jammed into his shoulder and the bandages Vale had wrapped around it. “Don’t!” Vale said sharply, causing the boy to quickly withdraw his hand. Taking a breath Vale added in a much calmer voice “That bolt is the only thing keeping you from changing back into a savage beast.” The boy gazed at him with frightened, questioning eyes so Vale tried a different approach “What’s your name, son.” The boy blinked and for a moment seemed to have trouble remembering before stammering out “L-Lucas.” Vale smiled “I’m Vale,” he said warmly, sticking out his hand for the boy to shake. After a moment of hesitation, Lucas shook the Hunter’s hand. “Um… Mr. Vale, what exactly is going on? Where am I?” (link-reveal: "Vale decided to go with breaking the news to the kid slowly.") [ Springing “You’re a werewolf!” on people without warning tended to not end well.] So instead, he asked “What’s the last thing you remember?” Lucas’ brows furrowed and he gazed at the fire, clutching Vale’s coat tightly around his shoulders. “I… I remember I was trying to get home…” Vale suddenly realized the first house the werewolf had attacked, the one with the middle-aged couple, had most likely been Lucas’, and if that was the case then couple that were the beast’s first victims were none other than the poor boy’s parents. “You’re from Candale aren’t you?” Vale said grimly. Lucas’ panicked eyes snapped back to Vale “Why? What happened? What’s going on?!” Vale sighed and turned his gaze to the fire, “What about before that? What do you remember before you were trying to get home?” he asked, quickly trying to get the boy back on track. Lucas hesitated for a moment before replying. “I… I snuck out to go exploring the woods at night, Ma and Pa don’t like it when I go out there alone, but I know those woods like the back of my hand. I do! I was heading to my favorite spot when I saw this… this wolf.” The boy’s brows furrowed “Pa said there weren’t any wolves in our area; that they were supposed to have all been driven off by the Marshalls.” The boy’s lip trembled “I-I know I’m supposed to run home and tell Pa if I see one but it… it was just so pretty…” “What did it look like?” Vale asked. “It… it was really white and sort of… glowed.” Lucas said “It looked like something out of a painting, it didn’t look real but… it was so incredible… I just wanted to touch it…” Vale sighed, (link-reveal: "he’d heard the exact same story plenty of times.") [Someone would go off into the woods at night and come across a glowing white wolf that captivated them and when they touched it, they would be transformed into a werewolf.] “That was a Lunar Cherub.” Lucas blinked and looked at Vale in confusion “Lunar Cherub?” “Angels,” Vale clarified “Protectors of Luna the Moon Seraph and her moonlight.” Lucas frowned. “An angel? But… I thought angels were supposed to look like people?” “Some angels look like people,” Vale corrected “But not all.” He elaborated “Lunar Cherubs have a tendency to seek out people to receive Luna’s ‘blessing’ and become her servants. That’s what happened to you.” Lucas’ eyes widened and his voice quivered as he asked “W-What ‘Luna’s blessing’?” Vale sighed, there was no skirting around it anymore. Turning to look Lucas in the eye he said grimly “You’re a werewolf, son.” Lucas’ recoiled as if he’d been struck “W-What?! B-But I just wanted to touch it! Did I do something wrong?!” Vale snorted, turning back to the fire. “‘Right’ and ‘wrong’ are human constructs kid. Most angels only care about protecting Light and defeating Dark, the people who get caught in the middle mean nothing to them.” Vale glanced back at Lucas to see the boy cradling his head in his hands, eyes watering as he sobbed “I-I thought it was just a nightmare! You mean I-I…?” He knows, Vale mused sadly, he knows he killed his entire village. Turning back to the fire once more Vale let the boy cry it out. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity of nothing but the crackling of the fire and Lucas’ sobs, the boy quieted. After a long moment, Lucas finally spoke up, his voice hoarse “W-What happens now?” “Now? Now you have a choice to make.” Vale said, standing up “And you’ve got four options.” The Hunter sighed “Option one: I hand you over to the Angelic Hierarchy and you’ll spend the rest of your existence as one of their ‘Lunar Servants’.” Vale didn’t bother hiding his disgust with the term. “Option two: I shoot you with this” Vale drew his revolver “The bolt in your shoulder is infused with just enough of the Dark to keep you from transforming, but the bullets in this gun are infused with enough of the Dark that they’ll kill you instantly.” He looked at Lucas and holstered his revolver and pulled out a vial from one of the pouches on his belt. “Option three: you drink this Wolfsbane and if you survive, you’ll never have to worry about transforming into a werewolf again. Then I’ll drop you off at your closest relatives, or an orphanage if you have none, and that’ll be that.” The Hunter then held up his amulet. “Option four: you come with me to the Capital and join my Order. We have the knowledge to teach you how to repress and control your werewolf form. You wouldn’t be the first werewolf to join out ranks and you won’t be the last. The choice is ultimately yours however, and I’ll go along with whatever you want to do.” Once he finished Vale stood there, waiting for the boy’s answer. After a moment Lucas looked up to him and asked “W-Would I be able to stop other people from doing what I did?” Vale nodded “We look after the innocent people who get caught up in the angels and demons’ war.” There was another long moment where the only found was the crackling of the fire before Lucas nodded “O-Okay. I’ll join your Order.” Vale nodded. “Alright.” He unscrewed the cap on the vial, revealing a dropper attached to the underside. Kneeling down next to Lucas he extracted a miniscule amount of liquid from the vial and held it up. “A drop of Wolfsbane will keep your transformation suppressed long enough for us to reach the Capital. Open.” Lucas complied, opening his mouth and allowing Vale to place send a single drop into his mouth. As soon as the liquid touched his tongue however, Lucas started to retch, forcing Vale to force his mouth closed “Easy, easy” he soothed as the boy struggled to swallow the Wolfsbane “It’s like medicine, it tastes horrible but it helps you.” Once he was sure the boy had forced the Wolfsbane down his throat, Vale released his jaw and moved to undo the bandages around the bolt in Lucas’ shoulder. “I’m going to remove this now. The Wolfsbane should already be working and I doubt having a bolt stabbed into your shoulder feels very nice.” Once he had removed the bandages Vale grabbed the bolt and looked at Lucas. “Are you ready?” Lucas nodded “Yes-AGH!” The bolt slid out quickly and smoothly and Vale discarded it, rewrapping Lucas’ shoulder in fresh bandages. “For what it’s worth, I’ve seen much tougher people than you cry when I did that. And don’t worry, your shoulder will heal up better than ever. One of the advantages of being a werewolf.” Once he was finished Vale stood up and handed Lucas a waterskin before moving back to the fire. “We’ll set out at first light, get some rest. You’ve had a long day.” Several hours later, when the first light of the sun began peeking through the treetops, they began their journey, but before they set off, (link-reveal: "Lucas asked Vale one more question.") [ “You said that ‘most’ angels don’t care about people. Does that mean some do?”] (link-reveal: "Vale looked down at the boy and after a moment gave him a small smile, ruffling his silver hair") [ “Yeah, some do.”]