CHPT 332: FeliAlu City, The Land of the NightRunners....

Claude, Ursula and the rest of the pack fled their forest of solace at sunset. When they finally reached the beginnings of their destination, the sun was long gone, leaving the cold spread of night to watch over them as they traveled in pursuit of power in a City both assumedly knew little of.

The journey was hard-- reminding Claude of just how harsh the sanded lands of the Vada District were, but it was a completed journey nonetheless. A journey that symbolized his growth in training and in becoming a Lupine Alpha. Fresh off nine spent Stat Points, he felt like a new man.....animal.

But, there was no room to relax. They could see it finally. The light of the city, it radiated warmly in the night like a sun that had fallen and crashed into the cold sands deep into the distance, sending it's luminous rays out in all directions and reflecting off the shining armor of the Heroes ahead bounding deeper within on horseback and foot.

Claude stood atop a mound in the cold desert looking over it all in absolute awe. Even from where he stood, he could hear the sounds of the city faintly falling on his ears. Despite the lack of sunlight-- the danger that such a thing brought, the city was bustling. It's shimmering glass buildings of obscure shapes of breathtaking sizes that climbed seemingly into the dark sky were packed full with people all moving and shuffling around like ants.

"What the hell....." He whispered as Frosty sat next to him panting, only visible from the four massive paw prints in the sand that his Camo Rune couldn't hide.

Ursula rounded up the hill behind him soon after. The smell of Monstrous blood, sweat, fear and feces radiated from the axe sheathed at her back and the rucksack full of Monster corpses she dragged along with her.

"Finally." She said with a animalistic huff that reminded him of a bear almost perfectly. She stayed silent after, affected still by the past events of combat and swarming smells of blood and fear.

This was another reason they needed this. Practice in public spaces. Practice in control.

Claude felt for their bond, quickly understanding it's similarity to the link he shared with Frosty. Only he didn't imagine this link as a two way chord of shared magic. Instead, the Pack Bond sat in his mind like a massive spiderweb with it's wisping powerful coils connecting to every member.

"Calm. Deep breaths. In the mouth, out the nose. Ignore the smells and focus on your breaths. It doesn't always work-- but it gets better in time." He thought.

Ursula followed along, taking in heavy breaths while she held her face away from the rucksack full of Monster carcasses.

After half a minute, the bronze coloring of her face faded and her eyes retained their honey-gold coloring.

"Shit....." She whispered before collecting herself and walking up next to him to look at the city.

A steady trail of individuals on horseback traveled down a sandy path into the city where a thick line remained as if it would be never ending. It seemed everyone wanted into the nighttime city. He still had trouble taking his eyes off the buildings in the distance that gave off a wide variety of luminous colors and architectural designs.

"Nice. It's an Industrial City....we'll be able to blend in better." She said before they started to walk again towards the cities entrance.

"What does that mean?" He found himself asking without taking his eyes off the city.

Ursula adjusted her black cloth facemask that failed to completely hide all of her freckles sprinkled across her nose and cheeks, "It's a city centered around Business and Profit....more so than most. The most lucrative business in this world is that of Heroes. Weapons and Armor manufacturing or auctioning, Guild Enterprises and Hall's, Monster and Material Excavation, Training. Stuff like that. It draws all Heroes looking to make connections to the big guns that buy property in these places to increase their own monetary gain. That's why it's so active now. It probably isn't ever not active.....it's also probably full of heartless dickheads."

"Well that's a given with NightRunners.....but there will always be exceptions." He agreed with her final statement, trying to ignore the memory of Chadwick and the others that came to mind. "It won't happen again...."

"What?" She asked, just barely hearing his whisper.

"Nothing. So, this City....it's like a Hero City?"

Ursula nodded as they drew closer, now able to clearly smell the fear coming from the newer Horses ahead, "Yep. Heroes and all that relates to them. "

Claude took in a deep breath, "Good. We just need to blend in with them and find a public Guild Hall and get the hell out of here."

"Let's get to it." She agreed before they both seamlessly sped up and closed in on the city.

After a few minutes of added travel, the fluidly entered the thick of the city's outer aura along with the other Merchant's, Travellers and other NightRunners.

The smell of blood, leather and metals was stronger than ever, made more aggressive by the peculiar scents of every different kind of dead Monster that occupied the line with them in all the NightRunner's rucksacks that dripped blood and piss creating a synchronized splashing rhythm that seemed to match Claude's heartbeat as he practically broke his neck to look at the tops of the buildings that glowed and loomed in the distance.

"[Focus Claude. You're not in just yet, mate.]"

Arne's words took him out of his head and brought him back in the moment to listen to the steady hum of Hero chatter and metals grinding against leathers.

After a few more minutes they were closer than ever. A few feet ahead, a sign emerged from a smooth grass mound saying "Welcome to FeliAlu City" in sectioned blocky red letters from a sign that looked to cover what the sign was originally intended for.

"This place looks...familiar." Ursula said as she looked around and tried to ignore the younger Horse neighing in fear from their hitched posts off to the left and right of them.

"God dammit, condition your fucking Horses! I'm not trying to hear that shit!" A man behind them yelled, seemingly at everyone and anyone.

"[Hm. Nightrunners are as boisterous and unkempt as always.]" Arne commented as the line continued to shuffle them closer to the entrance.

"Yep. It's almost relaxing." Claude replied.

After another series of anxious minutes, a small group of three NightRunners finished talking with two guards and were permitted into the City, leaving the two young Lupines and unseen PitWolf to face the Guards while Blackbeak circled above like a vulture in the shadows.

The two men welcomed them through tired eyes and worn faces. They'd been on the job for a while-- and Claude didn't need superior senses to know so.

The first Guard to speak commanded the most authority. He wore a black T-Styled armored helmet that hid most of his face and cast his steely dark brown eyes in shadows. His pale scarred skin stood out against the dark helmet and disappeared behind the rest of his black and fiery red accented armor. He held a greatsword in front of him with the blade in the ground like a knightly statue.

The Guard beside him looked like his shadow, smaller in every aspect yet experienced nonetheless. Just newer...younger.

"NightRunners?" The larger man asked from a voice that sounded cracked and gravelly as if he'd been talking for hours on end.

"Yes, Sir." He replied flatly.

"License?"

Claude felt his stomach lurch, "We're freelance."

The guard sighed with agitation as if he was beyond everything in front of him, "Alright, well were gonna have to screen you both then. Tighter security protocols than usual and whatnot..." He said before telling the younger guardsman to stand guard as he ventured off into the wooden post stationed at the entrance only a few feet ahead.

"Oh come on! We got shit to do!" Someone yelled from behind, causing the young guard to visibly swallow and smell more strongly of perspiration.

"Shit.....Ronin's locked down the City. What if he's got Detectives in the post? What if they don't let us in....what if no City let's us in?" His mind raced while the others behind him became impatient.

Panic was easily the worst option and a terrible mistake to make when your brain and intentions were deeply connected to your group on a powerfully magical level.

The guardsman seemed to sense the beginnings of a small change in the air as he loomed over him.

Before any more mistakes could be made, Ursula snatched his bag out of his hand and walked closer to the Guardsman, standing over him as she lifted up the rucksacks to make sure he saw them both hanging in front of him as Ursula faintly invaded his personal space.

"Listen, Sir. We're on a tight schedule after finishing four Infested Areas on the way here. These bags are money and this City runs on coin. Coin that your about to be responsible for us losing if we don't get these sold to a Butcher in time. Do you really want to stand here all night doing this silly security shit? We're Heroes, we have carcasses....and I don't think you want to smell Goblin Shaman shit and intestines for any longer than you have to, right?" She pressed, speaking animatedly with the rucksacks in her hands so the horrid smells would waft further and stronger into the young Guardsman.

"Well...heh..yea....but it's security." The Guard replied faintly as he looked from Ursula to Claude.

Claude suddenly felt the urge to chime in, despite his lacking social skills-- he had expertise and knowledge elsewhere that could help them.

He took a step forward as Ursula fluidly motioned herself to the side until they just barely crowded him, "Yea it's security...erhm..and it's not for us. This is a Hero City and we're here to contribute. Nothing more, nothing less. Now, we can wait out here all you want. But something tells me we'll be here for a while longer than these folks behind us can stand. And with all these....powerful smelling carcasses, we're bound to draw some rather.....uhm... feisty things straight to us. Are you ready for that? Do you know what happens when a Monster dies? The others stalk and swarm, their eager to grow out there. And with these Goblin carcasses, Wolves will come...and you know what follows them?"

"....Gnolls..." The Guard said solidly.

"Yes.." Claude smelled the increased fear as clear as day, triggering a memory in his mind, "It happened here, didn't it? The Gnolls...they ran through this city, didn't they? They did a lot of damage."

The young Guardsman nodded, "Me.... and Deacan got one."

Claude nodded, "Impressive. What about a pack? Hell what about a warband? We have enough Goblin carcasses to bring them."

"A warband of these? Yea that's a nightmare.." Ursula added, causing the guardsman to turn and find her holding a decapitated Gnoll head that she'd just pulled from her rucksack to show him. It's tongue hung out loosely, littered with a thick layer of white plaque while it's pinked canines still held pieces of flesh that gave it's breath a terrible smell.

"AWe...fucking hell." The guardsman said with a start before covering the portion of his helmet where the nose was in a sense that showed he was trying to retain composure.

"You know..." Claude started, running out of steam in terms of social skills and persuasion, "I happen to know why the Gnolls came stomping and ripping through here."

The Guard went serious.

"The big bastard. He stole armor didn't he? And weapons? Yea they were fleeing from something while they came through here." He said, referring to the city in the distance.

"They were running? Gnolls that big? Wait how do you know this?"

Claude ignored his flood of questions, "I was able to examine their bodies after finding them a few dozen miles from here.They were injured already...had old wounds that stunk of rot. Like they got hit by something with a septic bite."

"What like a snake?"

Claude wanted to choke the man for his lack of knowledge in relation to Monsters, "No. Like saliva and serrated teeth coated in varying levels of dirt, bile and other corrosive fluids built up over time, you know?."

"Wha--..." The Guard wasn't catching on.

Claude sighed and whispered under the sound of impatient Heroes behind them, "Primal...High Level Primal."

"No." The Guard said in horror.

Claude nodded, "That's why we're here. Trying to draw it away. Come on. If we don't do it who else will before it's too late. I know you're all stacked up to your necks in Infested Area Quests. Just let us drop in and out, you'll know where to find us anyway."

The Guard tried to look over at the post where the older Guard was assumedly filling through papers and forms. As soon as he did he just found himself facing the Gnoll head that Ursula was faking interest in, causing him to turn back to Claude in barely contained revulsion.

Claude shrugged, he'd used every social skill and maneuver he had. Now all he could do was hope as the Heroes and Merchants behind inadvertently worked in their favor.

After a handful of tense seconds, the young Guardsman nodded and stepped aside, "Ok...Ok..go ahead. If you guys end up in a bar and get arrested we'll keep you overnight and kick you out by sunrise. Hurry up and go. Watch out for the cats."

"Thanks." He said as Ursula dropped the head back into her rucksack with a wet crunching sound and they ventured into the City.

"Nice save back there....I uh...I owe you one." Claude added, feeling slightly ashamed for his massive mistep.

Ursula shrugged and handed him his rucksack, "Ah don't worry about it. If you didn't infordump him back there we'd probably still be talking to him. Your social skills are progressing, coolface."

She bumped his shoulder, "By the way, was that high level Primal stuff a lie or.....?"

Claude shook off the tingle in his spine, "Absolutely not."

With that being said, silence fell among them as they took in the sight of FeliAlu City truly for what seemed to be the first time.....