Red X Wolf ~ Three

Red stomped away from the coastal community, her hands clenched and the hood of her cloak up as a shield against the laughter and taunting coming from the people behind her.

After dragging the terrified man through the woods and back to his village, she had begun delivering a scathing admonishment to him for his reckless trespassing into the territory of the Wyld. Unfortunately, as soon as they’d broken free from the treeline, his cowed attitude had undergone a drastic, unpleasant shift. Suddenly, he was all smirks and taunts, and when the other villagers came into sight, he joined them in laughing at the ‘ridiculousness’ of his situation.

They had laughed at him because he’d been ‘caught by a child’, but he’d rebutted by pointing out his winnings would be multiplied because of it. The casual insults weren't even directed at Red, but they flew through the air so quickly that she couldn't help but be caught in the crossfire. Her words, instructions, and threats were drowned out by the shouting and laughter, and to her great annoyance, someone had stepped forward with a knife and cut through a few of the loops of her net before she noticed and shoved them away.

“Thanks for bringing me home, Wyldling!”

“At least I've got some busywork to look forward to,” Red grouched as she walked away, lamenting her damaged net. She’d considered throwing a few punches, knocking out a tooth or two, or perhaps sneaking back and taking his entire ‘winnings’ of fish for herself. However, she managed to restrain herself. Lily fully understood that she could overpower all of them, likely at the same time, if she didn't mind putting holes in them. But… even as embarrassed and angered as she was now, she knew better than to take this too far.

Reporting it to the leadership of the Wyld would earn her only sneers and taunts, and the Coastals didn't even have a clear group of leaders, only the best fisher of the month—their monthly elected mayor—who was in charge alongside the best dancer of the month, the co-mayor. As the roles were arbitrary, and no one would take the position more than once every three months, extracting a promise from them to police their own people would amount to nothing.

Suddenly, all of her anger turned to exhaustion, and she slumped slightly as she continued walking. “This is not how I wanted to spend my twentieth birthday.”

When she had first gotten her Full Class, she had thrown herself into training and expanding her skill to the utmost. Unfortunately, only a year and a half later, she’d hit a wall. The upgrade requirement had become impossible to complete outside of very specific situations, and like almost every other adult, she had finally reached the limit of what she could do with training. With a tired sigh, she swiped her fingers along her left arm, looking down at the level up requirement which hadn't changed in six months:

Full Class: System's Scout

Basic Skill: System’s Whisper.

Level 9/10.

Requirement to advance to level 10: identify a significant threat to the residents of Canu Moch—or a similar-sized settlement—and report it to the leadership of one of the three city-states before anyone else has reported it.

This is a composite skill which [Masterfully] enhances your trained skills of navigation, stealth, camouflage, survivalism, archery, and environmental awareness. As you have already honed these personal abilities to an exceptional degree, system guidance will come into effect whenever you are outdoors. The guidance will manifest as a subtle glow [Masterfully] highlighting any of the actions you are attempting, as well as flashing a warning when the actions are failing or when your attention needs to be drawn to a specific area.

“A single level away from earning a new skill, and I'm locked out of earning my next one unless I figure out a way to burn down the forest without getting caught. Maybe I should lay on a rock and hope to detect a volcano before it erupts?” Though she didn't want to be so bitter about this requirement, it was hard for her to have something like this be completely outside of her ability to control. It wasn’t something she could train, learn, or do. She had to be in the right place at the right time and move faster than anyone else when it came to reporting it.

The last part she could do, she knew that for a fact. Lily had no doubt she’d be able to move through the forest faster than anyone—other than perhaps her grandmother, who never left home. Protecting the Class Shrine was more than a job, it was a full-time career. Still, the fact any further improvement was left to the whims of fate didn’t sit right with her.

In an attempt to get over the frustrations of the day, Red changed her direction slightly. Instead of immediately returning to the forest, she decided to walk along the eastern side of the island, where the coast turned into rocky cliffs overlooking the ocean. Caught in the throes of an intrusive thought, Red let out a snort of derisive laughter. “Who knows? Maybe I'll spot a tidal wave in the distance and have enough time to report it before it drowns me.”

At first, she plodded along the coastline but eventually began to feel bad about wasting her time walking when she could be, at the minimum, using this time to train. The rocks were slippery from the spray of waves crashing below, providing an opportunity to test her balance in a new way. Slowly at first, but picking up speed as she became more practiced, Red sprinted along the rocks, climbing them, jumping between them, bounding off steep rock walls to reach safe landing spots that would’ve otherwise been out of her reach.

Half an hour after she began, she’d traveled nearly two miles down the coast, never staying at the same elevation for more than a few seconds at a time. She’d reached a tall cliff with an oversized boulder providing a nice area to lay down and relax in the sun for a few minutes, just enough time for her cloak to dry and her thin sheen of sweat to evaporate. The breeze was strong, blowing the scent of the ocean over her and causing her clothes and hair to fly in steady streamers behind her.

Red lay down for a moment, taking in a deep breath, letting it out… and waking up an hour later as a strange sound reached her ears. Blinking salt and sleep out of her eyes, she cursed herself for her lethargy. “Abyss, I need to get back to that deer before the birds get at it. I need to trade the pelt for some barter tokens if we want a chance at replenishing our cheese this month. By the system, did I forget to–”

The strange sound came again, and the light of the system highlighted the direction where it had originated. To her surprise, it didn’t come from behind her or even farther back in the woods. No, it came from in front of her and… below? Crawling forward, she looked over the edge of the boulder, blinking a few times as her mind tried to figure out what she was seeing. “Why are there so many clouds so close to the ocean?”

She knew what it was; her brain simply didn't allow her to accept what she was seeing. When she saw the people swarming over the area under the ‘clouds’, everything clicked in place. Scores of ships were sailing toward the shore, far too well built and maintained to be something the Coasties had come up with. Putting herself in a slightly dangerous position, she hung out over the edge of the cliff and looked down, where the first of the ships had already landed and was starting to unload.

Just like that, the source of the mysterious sound which had woken her up came into view: dozens of armed and armored raiders, each of them either wearing a wolf-head helmet, or at least with a large stylized wolf head painted onto their armor. Red felt as though a pit had opened in her stomach. To her great dismay, she recognized them.

This was no ordinary group… this was Wolf Warband.

They were a huge, deadly force of raiders who would appear suddenly, ransack entire cities, then vanish without a trace. Rumor had it they lived in an incredibly harsh environment to the far north, where constant storms raged and made sailing safely nearly impossible. Every few years, a new story about them would crop up, as they ran out of food or other resources and invaded yet another country.

But… Canu Moch had never been attacked. By anyone. Sailing to their island was only done by the most desperate of merchants, and even then, there was no profit to be had. The Coasties had fish, and what sane seafaring merchant wanted to load up on fish? The Wyld had wood and meat, neither of which made for a good haul back to a far distant mainland. Bleakrock? They didn't trade whatever resources they were mining or creating. Plus, everyone on the island was paid in barter tokens, or with direct barter, making trade undesirable between both sides.

What use was there for shiny coins, besides being broken down into arrow tips or fishing hooks?

Then Red realized in a flash that meat, wood, and fish might be exactly what these invaders were after. They didn't need to worry about trading coinage; they would take what they wanted. Lives would be lost, her people would be… in terrible danger. All of them would. Everyone on the island… had a significant threat to their lives.

“This is it!” Red whispered to herself as she shimmied backward on the boulder. Internally, she kept reminding herself she was nervous and unhappy with the situation. She didn't want anyone to get hurt, to lose their homes or lives. But… but… another part of her was repeatedly and gleefully pointing at this situation as the intervention of the system itself, which had apparently been trying to warn her for nearly half a year about the incoming invasion.

Standing and turning, she leaped off the boulder and landed heavily on the cliff, ready to race into the woods. However, she went very still as her sudden arrival caused an unfamiliar man to whirl around and drop into a fighting position. Red's mouth dropped open as she took in the visage of the massive warrior.

He was a dozen feet away but appeared much closer due to his sheer size. His chestnut brown hair was mostly covered by a white wolf head turned into a helm, both of which brought out the dangerous intensity of his icy blue eyes. Each of his muscles were as sculpted as the rugged contours of a mountain range, and the sunlight pouring over the coast caused shadows to dance over his body as he took two startled steps toward her with athletic, predatory grace.

Dangling from his hip was an oversized cudgel, simply a stout branch which had been dipped in metal on one end. The weapon was probably three feet long, but it looked practically minuscule compared to his nearly seven-foot-tall frame.

Before Lily could draw her bow and put an arrow in the air, he had shifted from casual walking to hurtling at her, hands half-lifted as though to tackle her to the ground. Only the lights of the system flashing bright red warnings reminded her to move in time, and she swept down and under his outstretched arms, spinning around and immediately sprinting toward the woods.

“No! You’re the first person I’ve seen! You must tell me-” The gravelly words were panicked, a thick accent making them difficult to understand as he rushed to speak.

She didn't bother to hear him out, nor did she slow down as she took advantage of a slight parting in the underbrush to slip into the woods more easily. A moment later, her caution paid off as the barbarian crashed into the woods right behind her, his much, much longer legs allowing him to reach a straight-line speed she could only dream of.

For a moment, Lily was frightened, but as she wove around trees, she realized she was in her element. The forest was her domain. Her home. Although she could hear him behind her, his steps heavy and his passing clearly demarcating a path of destruction, a thrill ran through her. “Finally… a real challenge!”

She spun and sprinted, catching him off guard with her sudden shifts. As the minutes passed, Lily led him deeper into the forest, sometimes even flapping her bright red cloak deliberately to catch his eye, all in an effort to draw him farther from the coast and the others. By the way he growled like the wolf he was clad in, she knew her taunts were effective. He began to use his cudgel like a farmer’s scythe, crushing through bushes and ferns in his path as his frustration grew.

As Lily realized she’d gone from hunter to hunted for the first time in over a decade, her excitement almost caused her to become distracted. The thrill of it was amazing, made better by the fact that she knew he’d never be able to catch her. Almost laughing at the man, she called out, “Come and get me, if you can!”

His face turned nearly purple with rage, but just as Lily became certain she could lead him into some of her traps, the enormous man behind her must have realized the futility of his pursuit. He was alone, deep in the forest, chasing someone who clearly knew what they were doing.

From her chosen hiding spot, Lily watched the enormous man scan the surroundings and fail to find her. For a moment, she thought about drawing his attention, but he turned back to the coast and shouted at the sky, “It matters not. Warn them. Let the entire island know Wolf Warband is on the hunt!”

Red remained still for a few minutes after he had disappeared from sight, planning out her next moves. Then she was running. Before all else, only one thing mattered at this moment: warning the Wyld of the incoming threat…

…before anyone else could.