FSE

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Chapter 16

The collie strained his eyes in the fading light and could see the faint inky stains of dried blood on the wagon's wreckage. Compounding that was the fact that the cargo the wagon was carrying, a shipment of food, tobacco, and gold coins was more or less untouched. The food had been ignored and left to spoil as had the relatively valuable tobacco. The gold was left strewn about the ground. Jem's brow furrowed as he realized that whatever it was responsible for this was only targeting people. As the sun set, darkness blanketed the land and a sense of unease began to fill the air. Jem turned away from the wreckage and walked down the silent moonlit road back towards Norn. He would resume his investigation tomorrow during the daylight hours.

Or at least that's what Jem had planned on. The collie had traveled much further out than he had originally intended to. The moon's journey across the sky was a less easily interpreted indicator of the passage of time than that of the sun's. It threw the collie's sense of time for a loop. A good four hours passed before he reached Norn and by then the color of the sky had begun to transition away from black to a purplish blue hue. It was a strange sight, for there was neither full darkness nor light. The collie slunk into the deathly quiet town at the blue hour, that strange time of day that straddled between the fine line separating the sleeping and waking hours. He opened the door to the inn as quietly as he could and found the front desk empty. He quietly made his way to his room that he had reserved yesterday and retreated inside.

He shuffled over to his bed and shook his head as he let himself fall back onto it. "Heh, I probably could have made it to Sanos without a hitch if I hadn't turned around," the tired collie mused to himself. "So I know that whatever I'm after has a penchant for people. Won't be too hard to bait it out then," he thought out loud as he rubbed his eyes and yawned. Jem quickly drifted off to sleep and managed to get in a few hours of sleep. It felt like hardly any time had passed when rising sun came pouring through his window and slapped him awake.

The collie groaned as he took a cue from his absent human friend and stretched over from his bed to close the curtains. The sun could wait, being well rested for whatever lurked along that road leading out of town was far more important. He woke back up around noon and for a time lied in bed pondering the next course of action. "Should I tell the locals what I found out on the road? That there were no clues as to what was attacking the people along the road? That not robbery, but something else, something probably far more depraved is the motive behind the disappearances?" He sighed as he failed to come to a conclusion. "Wish Russo was here to bounce some ideas off of..." Jem ruefully thought as he sighed and stared up at the ceiling. Jem would figure out what to do he'd... he'd think about it over some breakfast err... lunch. Just take things one step at a time is what he told himself.

Jem tossed on some fresh clothes he had packed away and made his way out of his room. He exited the inn and scanned the street for a pub or restaurant and his eyes soon settled on a tiny little restaurant. It was a cute and quaint place with only a handful of tables and even fewer people inside. Jem placed his order and quietly munched on a sandwich in a back corner of the restaurant as he tried to bring his indecisiveness under control. "So, I can tell the locals that the armed patrol, and everyone else who traveled along the road, was likely killed. And they'll all panic. But at least I'm giving them the truth! If I keep it to myself... I avoid all of that. For now anyway. Whereas if I told them that not only is everyone that traveled between the towns probably dead, but there aren't even any bodies to be buried, I'll end up making them not only quite panicked but heartbroken too! No closure for any of the families who lost loved ones in either town. But I could at least put that off for a bit if I just... keep hush hush." Jem weighed the hastily thrown together pros and cons and finally came to a decision. "Yeah... I think I'll just keep my findings to myself for now," Jem uneasily concluded as he quickly downed a glass of beer as if to signify he had put the matter to rest once and for all. He paid his bill and after checking to make sure he hadn't left anything at the inn he departed out of town. He slowly began trudging along the same road he had traveled the night before. A couple of onlookers outside that saw him leave whispered worriedly amongst themselves about his prospects of living.

The weather was bright and clear albeit cool. The cheery weather was deceptive, for there was little if any reason for anybody to be happy or optimistic given the spree of, well let's be frank, murders that had occurred along the road. So many questions buzzed about in Jem's head as he slowly marched down the road, his eyes constantly flitting to and fro scanning for his target. Did the armed patrol even have a chance to fight back, or did this thing attack so quickly and viciously that there was no time to react? Did this thing wait... hell what if it was a group of things/people doing this?

"Dammit, I hate walking into a mission blind," Jem whined to himself. "*Sigh* Quit complaining and make due with the knowledge you've got, you'll think of something," Jem reassured himself after his pouting. The grasses to either side of the road were only knee high in length so it wasn't like there was any place to the side of the road for a person, much less a group of people, to reasonably hide in. The only info of real use he had gathered from his covert investigation the night prior was that the grasses didn't get much taller the further out of town he went. So, realistically speaking it wasn't like whatever/whomever was behind this snuck up on the patrol.

"So does that mean everyone who traveled along this road was brazenly approached and killed in broad daylight? Jesus..." Jem morbidly thought to himself. Given the surroundings that seemed to be the most logical explanation, as disconcerting as it was. Jem sighed and kept his eyes focused on the road ahead, dreadfully anticipating the coming confrontation.

For a good three hours he walked, and nothing. A gentle but chilly breeze had whipped up and the grass gently swayed. Puffy white clouds slowly drifted through the crisp blue sky. The fur on Jem's head rustled slightly. This did little to assuage the collie and the drawn out calm before the storm was definitely starting to wear down his nerves. He nearly jumped out of his fur when he finally did see somebody along that lonely road when he came to the crest of a hill.

"A-a traveler along this road? Oh thank the gods!" A disheveled husky gasped as he came teetering up the hill towards Jem. The collie immediately drew his sword and made it clear that the fur was to keep his distance. "What are you doing out here?" Jem curtly asked as he quickly scanned further up on the road, to his sides and behind him. Still nothing.

"I was one of the people sent on the armed escort the villages sent out a while back. Please, you've got to help me get back to one of the villages," the husky pleaded as he took another step towards Jem.

"Keep your distance," the collie demanded as he aimed the business end of his sword at the husky. "So you were sent to guard the transport?"

"Y-yes, that's right."

"The one that was sent out weeks ago?"

"Yes, I keep telling you, yes!"

"...What happened to you and the others then?" Jem asked as he eyed the fur with suspicion. His clothes were ragged, dirty, and in some spots stained with tell-tale inky black splotches.

"We... we were attacked. By a giant."

"A giant?" The land in the area, while hilly and in some areas forested, did not contain the kind of deep forests that giants tended to live in. The kinds of forests that both Jem and Dax hailed from. "You're lying," Jem coldly said as his eyes narrowed.

"It's the truth! I know it might sound crazy but listen! We were approached by this coyote on the road, begging us for help. He said that his caravan had been attacked by a giant that came out of nowhere days before. We blew him off but then he got this sick grin on his face and suddenly, I don't know what kind of dark magic it was, he grew and he grew until he was gigantic in size and he started killing everyone!"

Jem's sword trembled slightly as the husky told his tale.

"It was awful," the husky recalled as his voice faltered. "He shrugged off our crossbow bolts like they were bee stings and sword swings like they were minor scrapes. He stomped or crushed under hand all of those who were unfortunate enough to come into his gaze. I... I only survived by lying down and playing dead amongst the bodies of my comrades when he was briefly distracted. Oh gods... I was sure I wasn't going to make it when he picked some of the corpses off the ground and swallowed them whole. By some miracle he didn't grab me. Once he had had his fill of his macabre snack he left. I... I lied there amongst the remaining bodies for an hour or two before I fled the area. I didn't know if he would come back or not to finish his meal."

"That sick fuck," Jem angrily thought to himself. He remained composed though and continued with his interrogation. "That was weeks ago though. Why didn't you flee back to either of the villages? You should have made it back ages ago."

"I tried, lord knows I tried..." the husky said as he shook his head. "I literally crawled through the grass trying not to attract attention, but every so often that monster would come back and just patrol the area, looking for his next meal. It's taken me ages just to get this far, I crawl throughout the day and sleep at night. I... I couldn't help myself when I saw another person, a real person, not just a monster disguised as one, coming down the road."

** ** Jem's expression softened slightly. "How have you survived this long then? Without food or water?"

"It's been difficult, I won't lie. I've had to sip the dew from who knows how many blades of grass in the mornings and it's been days since I've eaten. Wh-when the monster left initially he took our wagon with him. It's not like it'd do him much good at his size but some food spilled out of it. I... I quickly had my fill of what spill and tried to get away."

Jem shot the husky an incredulous expression and he tightened his grasp on the handle of his sword. "Your story was actually sound and believable for a while. There was no reason to suspect otherwise..." Jem said in a low voice.

"It's the truth! Please you've got to help me get back my village!" The husky pleaded.

"Do you even know the names of the two villages linked by this road?" Jem demanded as he slowly approached the fur.

"N-now's not the time to be asking a question like that! Please we need to get out of here befo-"

"ANSWER THE QUESTION!" Jem snarled as he descended down the hill.

The husky bit his... lip and remained quiet as Jem approached.

"I thought as much. See now, let me tell you what I think, and tell me if I'm wrong. You weren't attacked by that monster, you ARE that monster. And you started off simple enough. You waited along this road and told some travelers a sob story of sorts and they took pity on you. As soon as they're backs were turned you grew, you killed them, and ditched the evidence, or if you were feeling lazy just moved further on up the road. Hell, maybe you kept some of their bloodied clothes and wore them the next time you shrank down just to make your story all the more convincing to the next poor fools you meet. You rinsed and repeated this pattern until gods know how many people wound up in your gullet. How am I doing so far?" Jem coldly asked as he pressed his sword against the husky's neck.

"...I-I don't know what you're talking about."

"I walked this road this road last night and found what little remained of the armed escort. The wagon was still intact, it looked like it was hardly even touched. You're not a very good liar, you know that?"

The husky grimaced at him and jumped back. He didn't escape completely unscathed though. He winced when he felt blood trickling down his neck from the nick in his flesh Jem's sword had made. He growled at the collie as he began to grow.

"Is this really how it's going to be?" the collie asked annoyed. Jem grew as well, matching the husky's pace.

The husky looked on in shock at the collie as his clothes grew tight and he neared seven feet in height. "W-wait so you can change sizes too? Then what's your beef, you're just like me?!" He asked angrily.

Jem narrowed his gaze and swung down with his sword hard while the husky was temporarily distracted. His sword sank deep into the husky's right shoulder and crimson flowed freely from where steel met flesh. "I am NOTHING like you," Jem angrily replied as he stepped forward and kicked the husky back onto the ground. "And my beef is that you're a horrible person, though it's difficult to think of you as one considering what you've done. You have all this power given to you and you think that just because you're bigger and stronger than the people around here you can do what you damn well please to them. My god you more or less bragged about eating those poor people in your bullshit sob story! Might makes right, I bet that's the mantra you go by, huh?" Jem said in an accusatory tone as the husky wobbled to his feet. With the hand of his good arm he tried to cover the flow of blood erupting from his right shoulder. "The little ones, they're people just like we are. I like, no, I love living and working alongside them."

Jem slowly shrank back down a foot or so to his original size while the husky attempted to grow. He was slowly pushing over ten feet in height. "Tch, the way you're talking you make it sound like you want to turn your back on your people, on who you are," the husky growled. Jem's response was to slash open the husky's left arm. The husky roared in pain as his slashed up arm trembled in pain. Blood trickled down it and started dripping onto the ground.

"Oh you are so full of shit. What, so I should be a more proper giant like you and start acting like an arrogant jackass and doing as I please? In case you haven't noticed our 'people' don't exactly live that well and I don't think that's something to cherish or be proud of. It takes a lot of work and effort for us to live off the land, while the little ones live much nicer and easier lives comparatively speaking. Yet they take significantly less from the land! And... you know what? Why am I even bothering explaining this to you? Giant or not, it doesn't matter, because you're clearly a monster."

The husky glared at the collie and continued grow. Jem simply stood by and let him continue unabated before he spoke back up. "Grow as much as you like because it's not going to help you. I don't need to rely on that sort of power to beat you," Jem confidently said. "That and I'd really rather not ruin another set of clothes. It was plenty awkward last time I did that and burst off all my clothes. Walking into town naked carrying Russo... wasn't exactly an easy thing to explain away and I'd rather not do that again anytime soon," he awkwardly thought to himself as he readied his blade.

"Grrr... arrogant little fucker!" the husky screamed as he brought a paw down and attempted to crush Jem. The collie quickly sidestepped and circled around the large paw and sank his sword into the back of his foe's leg. He forced all his energy into his sword and cleaved through the tendons and muscles. The giant roared in pain and sank to the ground on his knees and hunched over in pain. Jem quickly circled round and climbed on top of the husky's left leg. He dashed forward and pierced his sword straight through the husky's left pectoral. He carved a bloody swathe through the husky's innards, the intent to tear his heart asunder. Jem quickly retreated off of the husky and away from him as crimson blood flowed from his wound. The husky hunched further and further forward until he collapsed face first on the ground.

Jem kept his distance as the husky... hell, monster was a much more appropriate term for that kind of person, writhed in pain. The monster's eyes looked angrily towards Jem and focused on him as his breathing slowed and ultimately came to a stop. In time the beast's eye glazed over, signifying that the fight had been won. Jem wiped the blood off of his sword the best he could and placed it back in the sheath strapped across his back.

Jem sighed and scratched the back of his head. "How the hell am I going to explain this one to the villagers? Hmm... maybe I could tell them that this giant and a mage were working together? The uh... mage cloaked the giant and then the giant attacked and ate people while the mage stole everything the people carried. But this time the giant was done with working with the mage and ate him too and uh... darnit that's such a terrible story. I really wish Russo was here. He's much better at lying at I am. Heh...it's sort of believable though since Russo and I work together as a giant and mage team. ...Russo just doesn't know it yet is all." Jem timidly thought to himself. He sighed and slowly made his way back to Norn, wracking his brain all the while in an attempt to come up with a believable story that would explain the dead giant in the middle of the road. His shoulders drooped when it dawned on him that he still needed to relay to the villagers what unfortunate circumstances had befallen those who had disappeared along this road as well. His eyes lingered on his feet for some time before he slowly shook his head and began trudging back to Norn.