NORTHERN FURY

Jason Grekor

THE BEASTMASTER'S HAVEN was locked tight, a heavy padlock its only welcome. He had fled. But why? Did he even know about the cub? Or was there something else? I clenched my fist, frustrated at the missed opportunity. If I'd caught him… I could have learned Kirien's hideout. With a sigh, I turned to go, but a voice interrupted my retreat.

"Mr. Ladien left this morning to visit his supplier," a voice piped up from the side of the shop. I turned to find a young boy, arms crossed, leaning against the wall, his freckled face and mischievous red eyes alight with the news. A small lad, barely reaching my waist, his shock of red hair practically vibrated with excitement.

"And you are?" I inquired, raising an eyebrow.

"Finn, the errand boy," he replied, puffing out his chest with an air of importance.

"Finn," I said, crouching down to meet his gaze. "Do you know where your master meets this supplier?"

"He keeps his sources secret," Finn confided, his voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper. "But I've picked up a few things working here. However," he added with a sly grin, "I don't share secrets with strangers. Especially not my master's."

He was playing a game, and I knew the rules. I pulled out my coin purse and flashed a gold coin in the sunlight. Finn's jaw dropped, his eyes glued to the gleaming coin. A gold coin was a small fortune for a boy like him. Even after working a year, he couldn't earn this much.

"This is yours," I said, holding the coin between my fingers, "if you tell me what you know about your master."

He snatched the coin without hesitation, his grin widening. "He has many suppliers, but once a month, he visits a secretive one. He goes alone, not even taking his assistant. But I discovered his secret. I once, well, accidentally slept in the caravan he uses for these trips. And he never noticed me! It's a day's journey to Gilgish Waterfall. That's where he stopped the caravan and… vanished into the waterfall."

"Vanished?" I echoed, intrigued.

"It seems impossible, but he does! Maybe there's a hidden door," Finn explained, his eyes sparkling with excitement. "I know the place very well since it's near my grandmother's village. I used to swim in that waterfall with my friends." A secret door behind a waterfall. Interesting. It seemed I had a new lead.

"I'll give you another coin if you take me there," I offered, drawing Finn out of his reverie. Though costly, the proposition was necessary; time was of the essence. I was pretty sure this secret supplier was obviously Kirien.

"Deal!" he exclaimed, his eyes gleaming.

"Wait here, I'll fetch my horse," I instructed, heading towards the stables.

"I'm not going anywhere, mister," Finn assured me, clutching his gold coin like a treasure.

****

With Finn perched before me on the saddle, we rode through the whispering woods. Sunlight filtered through the leaves, painting the forest floor with dancing shadows. The air was filled with the scent of damp earth and pine. The only sounds were the rhythmic beat of hooves and the occasional birdsong. We took a winding path through the dense forest, hoping to avoid the beastkeeper. The boy, despite his age, proved a surprisingly skilled guide.

He chattered about his village, his friends, and God knows what else. I listened with half an ear, my focus on the mission ahead. According to him, his master Ladien visited this supplier once a month, and today was the day, so it was unlikely he had fled after the failed assault.

By evening, we reached the outskirts of Cronzar village. I dismounted, and Finn slid down after me. I'd spotted the familiar caravan parked near a bustling tavern. The beastkeeper would likely rest in the village before heading to Kirien's hidden base under cover of darkness. We remained hidden in the forest, watching as the beastkeeper entered the tavern.

Finn, eager to see his grandmother, scampered off towards the village with his second silver coin. I was left alone in the deepening shadows, concealed from view but with a clear sightline to the tavern. Now, all I had to do was wait.

The forest grew quiet, save for the occasional rustle of leaves and the distant hooting of an owl. I settled against the trunk of a sturdy oak, my senses alert, my hand resting on the hilt of my sword. As darkness deepened, the forest hummed with the relentless buzzing of mosquitoes. They swarmed around my ears, a maddening symphony. Every shadow seemed to writhe with unseen insects, and I felt a prickle of unease. The tavern windows glowed in the distance. Suddenly, a figure emerged from the tavern and vanished into the back alleys of the village.

Swiftly but cautiously, I left my hiding spot and followed, keeping a safe distance. He wasn't a mage, so he wouldn't sense my presence. He was heading towards the waterfall. The night was dark, but a faint moon cast an ethereal glow over the path. The beastkeeper flinched at each owl's hoot from the forest. It seemed ironic that someone who worked with beasts would be so ill at ease under the watchful eyes of the forest creatures. But the truth was, the forest at night was unsettling for anyone. Even I felt a shiver crawl down my spine as I noticed the gleam of countless eyes peering from the undergrowth – the luminous green eyes of a stalking feline, the beady black eyes of unseen rodents, and the occasional flash of larger, unidentifiable creatures reflecting the faint moonlight. Though most belonged to harmless creatures, the darkness amplified their presence, turning the familiar woods into an alien landscape.

shadowed him, my mind racing, considering my next move. The waterfall soon came into view, its waters glinting under the faint moonlight, creating an ethereal spectacle of light and shadow. The beastkeeper wasted no time in scaling the slippery rocks beside the cascading water. I watched, transfixed, as he reached the middle of the falls and then… disappeared without a trace. The roar of the thundering water drowned out any sounds from within, leaving me alone with the mesmerizing dance of the water and the whispering wind. I waited, ensuring he was gone before following.

I traced the beastkeeper's path, the climb proving surprisingly easy despite the slick moss clinging to the rocks. As I ascended, the roar of the cascading water filled my ears, drowning out all other sounds. Reaching the point where he had vanished, I paused, my gaze sweeping over the rock face behind the waterfall. There had to be an entrance, a hidden door, but where was it?

The wall appeared unremarkable, a solid expanse of damp stone. I ran my hands over its surface, searching for any irregularities, any hint of a mechanism, but found nothing. Loose pebbles offered no clues, and even channeling my wind essence revealed no hidden levers or pressure plates. Damn. Perhaps I should have used a more forceful approach and interrogated the beastkeeper back in the village. Frustration gnawed at me.

Then, as I rested my hand on a mossy ledge, I noticed something peculiar. The entire layer of moss shifted slightly under my touch, and I sensed a hairline crack beneath. It was incredibly subtle, easily missed if not for my mana-enhanced senses. I peeled away the moss; it came off effortlessly, revealing the fissure. Reaching inside, my fingers brushed against a small, round object. I pulled it upwards, and with a soft click, a faint outline emerged on the rock face, delineating a hidden door. Pressing against it, the door swung inward, granting me passage.

Inside, a dark tunnel stretched before me, a faint light beckoning from its depths. I crept towards it.

The sight that greeted me was both repulsive and horrifying. The hall was lined with rows upon rows of large glass jars and tubes, each filled with a crimson liquid that pulsed with an eerie light. Inside these containers floated grotesque creatures, twisted mockeries of life. Some resembled humans, but with scales instead of skin, wings sprouting from their backs, and horns protruding from their heads. Others were more monstrous, amalgamations of different animals, limbs twisted at unnatural angles, eyes glowing with an eerie light. The air was thick with the stench of decay and the metallic tang of blood, and a low hum, like a thousand whispers, seemed to emanate from the jars themselves.

A shiver crawled down my spine. This was a place of nightmares, a testament to Kirien's twisted experiments. I noticed that most of the creatures were bathed in a crimson light. Their bodies radiating fire Wyrd. The red liquid in the jars was undoubtedly a Crimsinaline solution, a mixture known as "scorched earth" due to its high concentration of dormant fire Wyrd. So, Kirien was experimenting with the fire element, attempting to harness its power for his own dark purposes.

At the far end of the hall, I spotted a door, a potential way out of this macabre laboratory. I moved towards it cautiously. But before I could reach it, the sound of approaching footsteps caught my attention. Had I been detected already? My heart pounding, I quickly ducked behind a row of jars.

"Maybe the door mechanism is faulty," a man's voice echoed through the hall.

"No, it certainly opened twice," a woman's voice replied. "Even if it didn't, we have to check it anyway. It's the master's order."

So, they were suspicious of an intruder or perhaps an error. They seemed to be leaning towards the possibility of a faulty mechanism. I watched as they moved towards the door I had been approaching, their footsteps fading as they passed by my hiding spot. I waited for a moment, listening intently, then emerged from my hiding place. The door was still open, offering an escape route from the lab.

I stepped through the door and found myself in a long, dimly lit alleyway. Doors lined both sides of the passage, each one potentially leading to another unknown horror. I approached the first door and peered inside. The sight that greeted me chilled me to the bone. It resembled a human but had black scales, a wing on its back, and red horns – a true devil. It was sleeping, and I didn't want to wake it, so I moved on.

Most of the rooms—cages, really—were filled with hybrid monsters. All kinds of deformed creatures, most bathed in a crimson light. Many were feline. Kirien was clearly trying to create another hybrid like Luna, but it seemed he had failed every time.

The last cage held a cat similar to Luna, but with a greyish tail and a tangerine body. It was the eyes that were truly disturbing—a scary red, devoid of any white.

I leaned on the door to look at it carefully when it suddenly swung open. I stumbled inside as the door slammed shut behind me. A crystal in the upper corner of the room glowed ominously. This was no accident. He knew I was here.

But the immediate problem was the creature in front of me, glaring with its malevolent red eyes. Roused by the clang of the cage door, it rose from its slumber, a low growl rumbling deep within its chest. It eyed me with a hunger that chilled me to the bone, its scaled flesh rippling as it shifted its weight.

A crimson glow enveloped its body, its claws twitching with predatory anticipation. A faint crimson shimmer distorted the air around the creature, and I could almost see the energy thrumming with malevolent intent.

My hand instinctively went to the hilt of my sword. I had been a hunter for years, but something felt different here. This creature wasn't natural; it felt like another failed experiment. I drew my sword, the steel singing as it left its scabbard. The creature lunged at me, a blur of crimson. I parried its first strike, the impact jarring my arm. It snarled, its breath hot and fetid, as it attacked again and again.

The confined space of the cage limited my movements, and the relentless creature leaped and slashed, its claws tearing at my clothes and leaving bloody marks on my skin. I breathed heavily, trying to absorb the wind Wyrd around me. But there was no chance to replenish my reserves, as the air around me was devoid of any Wyrd particles. Trapped in this well-machined cage, I had been using the essence from my crown since the moment I got inside this place. At this rate, I would be out of mana before reaching Kirien.

It attacked me relentlessly, its strikes coming from all directions. My own strikes seemed to glance harmlessly off its tough hide. I channeled my essence towards my legs to match the speed of the creature. Every time I cut, the wound wasn't deep enough due to its tough defenses. Its wounds closed with alarming speed. At this rate, I could never pierce its heart.

My eyes darted to its tail. Every time I attacked, the creature instinctively protected it. A desperate idea began to form... If it was a hybrid of a Felixie, as I suspected, its regenerative abilities might stem from its tail. Maybe if I cut it off...

The creature lunged again, its claws outstretched, and I saw my chance. With a swift maneuver, I feinted a strike towards its head, drawing its attention upwards. In that split second, I channeled my remaining essence into my sword arm, the blade glowing with a faint white aura. With a precise, powerful swing, I severed the creature's tail.

The creature screeched, the sound echoing through the tight room. Its crimson glow flickered violently as it stumbled back. The severed tail twitched on the ground, then rapidly dissolved into a black, viscous liquid that sizzled and smoked. The creature's wounds, which had been healing at an alarming rate, now gaped open. Its regeneration was disrupted.

I pressed my advantage, my sword flashing in the dim light. The creature, weakened and disoriented, was no match for my focused assault. With a final, decisive thrust, I pierced its heart. The blade sank deep into its chest. The creature convulsed violently, its crimson glow fading rapidly, then collapsed with a heavy thud, its life extinguished. Kirien's twisted experiment had truly created a nightmare.

I stood there, catching my breath, my heart pounding. The silence in the cage was profound, broken only by my own ragged breathing. But before I could focus on what to do next, the floor, a cleverly disguised trapdoor, gave way beneath me. With a cry of surprise, I plunged into the darkness. I imbued myself with my remaining wind essence, bracing for the impact.

With a resounding crash, I slammed on a cold, hard rock floor. Before I could even gather my bearings, a chilling sound echoed through the darkness - slow, deliberate clapping, followed by a wave of devilish laughter that seemed to slither through the air.

"A most entertaining performance," a deep, resonant voice boomed. "You have certainly amused me quite a bit."