The Adventures of Nine Tails: The Hunt for Raiju Part 1

      Grimoire walked out of the portal and stood in front of his house. Or rather, the ashes and rubble that used to be his house. There was still smoke coming from a few areas and a couple areas were still glowing red. He walked into the remains and looked around to see what survived and for the most part, all he found was ash. That was until he stepped on something that didn’t feel like everything else. Upon looking down, he saw a familiar cloak with Sanskrit symbols on the back. He quickly bent down and picked it up holding it tight to his chest. “I’ll find you. I promise, I will find you.” Tears ran from his eyes as he spoke.

      A few minutes past as he stayed in that position before he took a deep breath and collected himself. He put the cloak on over his robe, keeping the hood off, and all the symbols started to glow faintly. As he stepped out of the burnt remains, there were small groups of people watching him. He could hear their whispers and even though most of them were useless, he did hear a couple talking a good distance away that caught his attention. One of them explained what had happen and what direction the wolves went off in. Quickly, Grimoire started to walk in the direction they said the wolves went, hoping to find more clues.

      The sun had started to set while Grimoire walked through a seemingly endless desert. He had promised Raiju that they’d be moving away from Pavia and going somewhere more lush. It’s actually the only reason he took the job in Aridin. He wanted to see how the environment was like to see if it was a good place to live. Not for all of this to happen. As he walked, he constantly thought about Apirka’s offer to help. Did he know what he was doing? Was he ready for what he was about to face? What if they did have poisoned weapons and they manage to strike him with them? So many what ifs and each one had his nerves getting away from him. How did they even know where Raiju was or about Raiju to being with?

      As Grimoire reached the top of a dune, he froze. There was a small camp not far from where he was and thankfully, he was in the cover of night so sneaking up was a breeze. The camp belonged to the same group of wolves he had dealt with in Aridin but there were only a handful of them and they were wearing lighter armour than the ones from before. Grimoire put on the hood on Raiju’s cloak and hid his katana to avoid suspicion. Once, he was done, he walked in through what seemed like the front.

      It didn’t take long before the wolves noticed and quickly they jumped up in alarm. There were only four of them, which meant Raiju definitely wasn’t there. The wolves went to draw their blades when one, assumedly the leader, put his paw up and all the others froze. “You can’t be here. Leave.” The leader said harshly.

      “Oh please forgive me.” Grimoire put on a more elderly tone to his voice. “I was on my way home when I realized I was in the middle of the desert. I saw your fire there and thought maybe the town was here. You see I lost my glasses somewhere in the sand so I can’t see very well and I saw your fire there and thought maybe the town was here. You know, I was on my way home when-”

      The wolf cut him off. “We get it!” He cleared his throat. “My apologies for raising my voice. Your home isn’t here. Town is about 10 clicks south south-east of here. You better get moving so you can be home by sun rise, if you’re lucky.”

      “Oh thank you so much sonny! You’re such a kind soul.” He started to slowly walk to opposite direction. “You know, you remind me so much of-”

      Again, the wolf cut him off. “Sir!” He sighed. “The other, you know what. Hold on.” He stood there silent for a good moment before letting out another sigh. “You can stay here for the night just, please, no more talking.”

      “Oh how very kind of you!” Grimoire starts walking towards the wolves who all go back to sitting around a fire. Once Grimoire sits, he starts talking. “So, why are you fine gentlemen out here?”

      The wolves looked annoyed when he first started talking but when they realized it was short, they relaxed a little. “We’re here on business. Had to deliver some goods to a caravan.”

      “Oh so you’re all traders! What do you trade? I don’t see any goods.”

      “You’re very observant for someone that can’t see very well.” The wolves started reaching for their blades, watching their leaders closely for orders.

      “Well it’s much brighter here so it’s easier to make out the shapes of things. So quick with violence you all are. Must be something very important you delivered.”

      The leader gave them the same raised paw. “Relax, he’s just an old man. Besides, there’s four of us and one of him. What can he really do to us?” He looked back towards Grimoire. “Not really. We had to rendezvous with another group to secure some wolf to bring here. Not sure why though.”

      Grimoire stayed quiet for a little bit. He wanted to ask so many questions but he had to be careful to not bring any more suspicion onto himself. “Sounds like a lot of trouble for some wolf. Was there a bounty for him?”

      “That’s the thing. There wasn’t no bounty or anything on this wolf. Seemed like some normal civilian. He’s not even affiliated with anyone in a position of power.”

      One of the other wolves spoke up. “He was in the house of that fox that the boss was beat by. The one from the temple that knocked out your brother with a vine.”

      “Really? Hm. Wait, how do you know this? We were just told to meet with Charlie company and grab the wolf.”

      “One of the wolves in Charlie company was talking about it. Apparently the fox is some kind of witch that knows how to fight with a weird looking sword.”

      “A katana.” Another wolf said while eyeing Grimoire.

      “Yeah, that thing. Anyway, they couldn’t track down the fox since he can use portals like our mages can so we managed to find out he had a residency here. Besides that, the wolf is nothing more than collateral to get the fox to come out of hiding.”

      “Why do you call this fox a witch when you have mages that do the same thing?” Grimoire asked. He was genuinely confused by that fact.

      The wolf just shrugged. “I don’t know. I guess anyone not working for us is just a witch?”

      “Do you know where they’re taking the wolf? I want to make sure I’m no where near where they’ll be if that fox shows up.”

      “Probably to Avangard or Faedin. Or was it Aridin? Never the less, you don’t have to worry. They’re probably long gone by now anyways.”

      The leader glares at the wolf talking. “You know, some information shouldn’t be handed out to strangers.” He looks Grimoire over and can’t see much since Grimoire is wearing his robe and hood. “Say old timer. What species are you? I can see paws and snout so I’d say a canid of sorts but I can’t tell for sure.”

      “Why do you care about what this old man is? I thought I wasn’t a threat to any of you.”

      The leader stands up and draws his sword, pointing it at Grimoire. “Remove your hood.” The other wolves, except for one that remains sitting, stumbled while getting up and draw their swords as well.

      Grimoire didn’t move or flinch when their leader drew his sword. “Relax there sonny. Does it look like I have a weapon or even know how to use one? Yes I am a fox but my youth is so far behind me I couldn’t hope to defend myself against you four, strong wolves. If you’re so worried about this old fox beating you, then I can leave. You said town was to the west right?”

      The wolf leader just sighed before returning his sword to its sheath. “I’m sorry. We’re trained to be suspicious of everyone and I can’t figure you out.”

      “Don’t you worry for a moment. Intimidation is a good method to cause most to reveal their true colours.” All the wolves sat back down and there was a faint, white glow from inside Grimoire’s hood as his eyes turned white to get information from the wolves. His gaze stopped when he landed on the fourth wolf, the one that hadn’t spoke nor got up, and his eyes returned to normal. The wolves started to talk amongst themselves and Grimoire would chime in from time to time when he was addressed. It didn’t take very long for them to bring out the alcohol and even less time for them all to be passed out; all but Grimoire. He searched the camp looking for maps or other important looking documents and after finding both, he went to where the fourth wolf was sleeping. Grimoire then took out his bag and looked inside it for a moment before pulling out a flask with a long medical word on it. He moved the wolf’s sword and placed the flask in its stead and wrote a note next to it. “Here’s for your daughter. Have her drink it with food and within a couple days she’ll recover.”

      Before Grimoire left the camp, he placed four gold coins on what looked to be the main table they used and vanished into the night; following the leads he now had.