Chapter 21: Part 1 - Aswang

A mob demanding justice was suddenly turned into a remorseful crowd. The power of the dust that Shamir spread to the aswang was so potent that Juan wasn't sure if that was a kind of illusion or powerful mind trick magic was used but one thing he is certain – the aswang might pose a threat.

Long ago, the Aswang Swarm made a living hell on Antrian. A horde of vampire-like creatures that can shapeshift into any form and creatures they want. The balance of the world was threatened but was saved by The Chronicler and her guardians. And Juan hopes that they won't see a resurgence.

Earlier, when the aswang crowd dispersed at the gates of Vale, Juan instructed his frog to leap across the gates and follow them to their home and spy on them to see any intel. All Juan suspects now that the aswang can be behind this kidnapping – only they can be so bold, he thought to himself.

Up the hills and over the river, the aswang run across the fields like horses. At first, the frog wasn't able to keep up but Juan was watching thru the frog's eyes. He imbued his power to it and allowed it to shift into a dog and this allowed the frog to follow the aswang. Later the aswang arrived over a huge mountain, it spanned miles and miles away. The aswang shapeshifts their hands into sharp claws and began to climb the mountain. Their sharp claws allow them to cling and hook themselves upward. Juan sees this and transformed his frog into a mountain goat; the hooves allowed it to leap and climb across the rocks and follow the aswang.

As the frog reached the top of the mountain, it saw the aswangs took a breather. They all converge and began to talk about how they are going to explain this to their elder. One of the aswang said "Tatang will be mad at us, he demanded to bring back Leshin dead or alive.... what do we bring him? Nothing." Another aswang chimes in and replied "My life is in debt with Leshin but would Tatang understand us?" The aswang talked back and forth, discussing the punishment they would receive, others are optimistic that the elder of the aswang tribe, Tatang will understand their action.

Juan is curious about the powder that Shamir used. The effect was so powerful that the aswang change their mind and abandon their mission. Not only that, they had false memories with Leshin and they all seem to agree with it. "If Shamir was only available to save me against my father. . ." Juan thinks of the time with his family and how his father led to the separation of his family. And if Shamir was only there to change the mind of his father, his family wouldn't have this kind of suffering.

"Alright, let's just hope Tatang will hear us out." One of the aswang signals the rest and they all have an agreement. An aswang spread its arms and bat-like wings began to form. It leaps from the edge of the mountain and glides thru the clouds. Juan transformed the frog into a small fruit bat and the frog followed the group as they glide across a huge forest area.

As the frog glides as a bat, its eyes move and scans the area, it spotted the mountain ranges that span side and it encircles the forest beneath them. In a distance, a small village can be seen. Juan takes in for a moment and this is when he realized, this mountain range hides a valley where the aswangs live.

"I see. This is how the aswang hide from the other races after their defeat." Juan thinks as he continues to monitor thru the eyes of the frog. Juan praises how good at hiding they are, but not for long. He is excited to tell the news that Juan discovers the source of kidnappers in Antrian and it was always have been the aswang.

What feels like an hour, the aswang finally arrives in their village. They all landed in the center of the town where they transform back to their human form. At this point, Juan is already at the Inn in his bed ready to turn in the night. Juan sees Leshin grabbed his spear and began his shift as for Atlas, well he is fast asleep.

"Let's do this buddy," Juan said as he grabbed his blade. He concentrates his magic thru his body and channels it thru his frog. The frog, flying like a bat, slowly transforms itself into Juan. His face, his body, his looks, his hair – everything is copied to his frog. He is piloting his frog and uses his magic to create a duplicate of himself. It's like his illusion but this one uses more of his magic as he morphs his friend into himself. "Let the infiltration begin" he whispers confidently underneath his sheets.

The aswang tribe began to gather around them as they cheer on. "Justice!", "An eye for an eye!", "That Leshin or whatnot deserved it!" the tribe began to gather as they all cheered. But all was silence when the elder arrived to greet them "Speak! Where is the body of this Leshin?"

None of them could speak a word. Just like the rest, Juan kept his mouth shut and his head low.

"Where is the body? I demand Justice from Vale, now let see it!" Tatang yelled but none of the aswang spoke. Then a woman spoke for them "Tatang, we can't bring him. We got a life debt"

Tatang and the others were shocked to hear that an aswang's life was in debt with their target. "WHAT LIFE DEBT?!", "Why none of you spoke before you left?!", "Shame!" the crowd began to hurl their insults and demand justice to what Leshin did. The Tatang raised his hand and the crowd grew silent once more.

"I sent you to give me Leshin, dead or alive and you returned with excuses? Is this what the Aswang is?" Tatang points his hand at the party and the tribe replied in unison "No!"

"Is the Aswang weak?" Tatang asked them once again but the crowd replied once more "No!"

"We conquered Antrian before. We might be beaten but we are not weak." Tatang walks around the aswangs he sent to Vale. "And all I see here are weak members of the Aswang Tribe . . . and what do we do to the weak?"

The crowd roars once more "Cull the weak!" The crowd began to transform. Their brown eyes turned red. Teeth lengthen and sharpened. The skin of brown turned to black. Claws grew on hands and their feet. Tongue began to elongate and ears pointed toward the sky. The odor of death began to overwhelm the sense Juan but he remains calm.

"Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill!" The tribe demands their head. Tatang, unchanged on his human form, raises his hand. The aswang began to settle again.

"Speak or we will have your hearts ripped out," Tatang asked the party once more to explain. One by one the aswang began to tell their story of how their lives were saved and changed by Leshin. Their story collaborated but none manage to convince the tribe or Tatang. Juan knows if they don't turn around this story it's over for them.

Tired of hearing their stories asked them to stop speaking. "You lot were bloodthirsty before you left; demanding blood and now you given up and gave us your life stories?!" Tatang furiously pointed to the top of their gate. There a body hangs, hands tied and foot bounded together. The face is underneath the cloth and its body covered in dried blood.

"That aswang was our best warrior we had. But when he became a guardian, his ways become something that our tribe won't tolerate. Forgiveness? Power thru unity with the other races?"

The crowd groans and yells in unison against the dead aswang. "Being a guardian made him soft. If we are to rise again we must be strong!" Tatang said as the crowd raises their hands in support. "And what do we do to the weak?" He asked the crowd once more and they all replied "CULL THE WEAK"

"The Aswang reached to other races for peace. To build a stronger Antrian with them but they gave us death." The crowd roars as Tatang continues his speech as he rotates around the party.

"We didn't kill any of them but they first cast the stone at us and we just retaliate. And we almost won!" The crowd began to stomp on their feet and started to chant. Strong vocal cords echo into the night as they beat their chest.

"Leshin, this guardian so bold to hurt one of our pets . . . then maybe the Vale is also behind the kidnapping!" And the crowd lost it. They began to howl in the night and search for justice.

Juan was stumped. Do they also experience this kind of kidnapping? If not the Aswang, then who? The dwarves are not carnivorous. The Tikbalang might be wild but they are not this bloodthirsty. The elves are also a suspect as they tend to eat other beings but they stave off their hunger by eating other food like plants. Then it hit Juan, he can lie and use this moment to diffuse the heat on them.

"I would like to speak as well." Juan raised his hand and asked the crowd to pay attention to him. "As we are outside of the gates of Vale, I split off from the group. I manage to infiltrate the town. There I overheard the guards that they blame us for their disappearance too."

"Please buy my lie. Prince of trickery and charm please work on this tribe or I am toast" He sweats nervously underneath his sheets.

The crowd began to murmur and Tatang began to stroke his beard. "So the Vale also has this?" Tatang looks over the crowd. They are confused as they thought the Vale has managed to infiltrate their place and manage to kidnap their members one by one.

"Interesting, you are the only one that has information to bring back. Tell me, son, what is your name?"

"Juan"

"Juan of?" Tatang followed up. Juan tries to come up with an answer but none comes to mind.

"Juan of? Crap crap crap!" His eyes began to survey the area. He looks for something convincing for an aswang name. His eyes brought him to the foot of the aswang. Black, large, and looks like it is as strong and sharp as his blade.

"Blackfoot." Juan felt that something dies inside of him. He hoped this works.

The whole tribe fell silent. Tatang look at him with his ever scrutinizing eyes. He walked past the other aswang and he holds his face and inspects it.

"Oh Bathala, I am so dead" He panics but hides it very well from Tatang.

"Blackfoot . . . you mean from my wife's tribe?" Tatang's eyes began to fill with anger again. "I can't believe it. . . "He released Juan from his grasp and orders the tribe to back to their homes and asked the party that they are done for the night. Tatang also shouts to the guard to not disturbed him unless it's important.

As the tribe began to disperse, Tatang asked Juan to follow him back to his home. Juan nods and followed right behind him. Juan breathes a sigh of relief and manages to save their lives from being eaten by angry aswangs.

Juan walks as his eyes see the tribe's internal structure. He did expect like they are living in huts and dirty mud on all over them but they are civilized as Vale. They also have walls made out of large wood and surrounded by patrols. They all look like ordinary humans but underneath that skin is something scary. All looks good as Juan sees it except for the brutality they show against their kind.

Tatang opened the door to his home and asked Juan to come on. Juan promptly does so and was amazed at how fresh the air smells inside. Incense of lavender and mint are mixed with pots of the plant above their heads. Juan was asked to sit at a table as Tatang prepare some refreshments.

Juan is amazed at how the room is organized. It's like an alchemist lab and greenhouse combined in one. Everything that he thought of an Aswang is wrong, creepy bloody creatures with barbaric nature seem to be a thing to rumors. What he sees now are well-mannered and thoughtful beings with decency to think and live in a peaceful society. "Maybe we thought of them wrong," Juan thinks to himself.

Tatang turns around and placed the drinks on the table and sits just across from Juan. Juan drinks the beverage and to his surprise was sweet and delicious. Tatang smirked and replied "Glad you like that brew. It has been a long day for you huh?" Juan nods and continues to drink it till the last drop.

Tatang leans on his chair and looks at Juan "Juan of Blackfoot. . . Take a deep breathe if you must but I there is no way of sugar-coating this news to you."

Juan puts down his drink and prepares for the news. Tatang takes a sip and opens his mouth "Inang was kidnapped yesterday."

"Juan, just act surprised and scared. Inang? Sounds like a figure of this place . . . need to play it cool here" With Juan's magic and acting, his lips began to turn white, his complexion turned pale, and his hand began to shake.

Tatang yells at Juan "Get a grip boy!"

Juan shakes and he proceeds to grab his head in disbelief . . . "I can't believe I'm acting this one out" he mutters to himself.

Tatang bit his lip and proceed to explain that his wife was taken last night, just as the party left for Vale. Juan tries to act as hard as he can to convince Tatang that he cannot believe this. Juan began to cry fake tears and demands to search for Inang. Tatang retorts that it is not that simple; ever since the kidnapping they began, the scouts that tried to search for them are also vulnerable. 6 scouts went missing these past few weeks and now they are looking for alternative means.

Juan tried to reason with Tatang. He gave his piece of abandoning the search for their tribe is wrong. The Aswang are meant to be strong; Juan expected what he saw earlier – brave and unrelenting but what Tatang said disappoints him. They stop their search because their tribe took a blow? Juan's experience with his own family slowly comes out. He began to let his heart speak. Crippled by fear of losing his kids and the eventual fallout of his family; he feels Tatang's pain but wishes he can push him to the edge and fight for his family.

"Juan, it is not I am abandoning my search for my wife or our tribesmen but we must be strategic.

"So what are we going to let the kidnappers have their way with us? Let them cripple us with fear?"

Tatang widens his eyes. His breath deepens and his hand is curled up into a ball "Are you calling me a coward Juan of Blackfoot?"

"You just admit it when you stop searching for Inang."

The room began to feel heavy. "Come on you oaf. Don't make the same mistake I did. Look for this Inang. Defend your community." Juan knows pushing Tatang might compromise his disguise but he knows this pain all too well.

"Thread carefully Juan." He stands up and points his finger at Juan. "You might be devastated to hear Inang but don't you dare speak that like that". His eyes began to turn into bloodshot red.

"That's right. Act brave and point fingers. But if Inang doesn't come back – the blood is in your hands. You are wasting time here." Juan continues to taunt Tatang.

Tatang's claws began to appear and his skin began to darken. Slowly, Tatang walks to Juan and demands to take back he just said. Juan turns his head and says that killing him will not bring Inang back.

Tatang had it. He lunges to Juan. His claw aims for Juan's neck and his mouth on Juan's shoulder.

But at the last second, the door to his house swings open as a tribesman comes in rushing in and covered in tears accompanied by two warriors beside him.

"WHAT?! I TOLD YOU NOW DISTURBANCES!" Tatang yells.

"Tatang! Another kidnapping has happened!" one of the warriors says.

Juan and Tatang are both frozen in place upon hearing another kidnapping. Tatang reverts to his human form. He turns to Juan with eyes of hate but slowly blinks back to a calmer one. Juan nods. We will finish this later!" Juan stands up and walks outside. Tatang hurries and follows the two men.

Tatang asks the crying man what happened. The man sobbing and catching his breath. He tried to calm down and speak but panic sets in. Juan approached the man and punched him in his left cheek then he grabs the man by his arms and yelled "SPEAK! What has happened?!"

The man was shocked that he straighten up and his fear vanished in an instant.

"I just wanted to see the arrival of the party from Vale. And now they are gone." The man looked at Juan with empty eyes with his eye tired of crying.

The warrior grabs Juan's hand and asked him to stop shaking the man. "He left his home to see the commotion earlier. He returned to his home empty; his family gone, the place is ransacked and the weird part is the neighbor didn't hear any disturbance or scuffle"

Juan lets go of the man and apologized. The man shakes his head and instead thanks Juan for that or else the fear will consume him. Tatang sees this and seems to understand why Juan was so aggressive earlier in his home.

"Tatang, we are going to the usual for this? Investigate the home and hope that the scouts muster their strength for their mission tomorrow?" one of the warriors asked.

The man begged Tatang to search for them now as they can find clues on where the kidnappers are. Juan also supports this notion and claimed that tracks might be found as the incident just happened.

"We don't want to have a whole town in a panic. . . "Tatang says but he pauses. Hot sensation began to thump from within his heart. A fire burning inside of him ignites as he realized Juan is point earlier; the recent kidnappings made him cautious and weak. They became easy picking for the kidnappers. His anger emerges with the sense of justice burning with it.

Tatang continues "so I will task the disgraced party to redeem their failure on Leshin."

"You finally get it?" Juan smirks. Tatang ignores Juan's remark just as he ignores his mistakes. His pride and ego come first; he will die before Tatang admits his mistakes. He immediately asked the warriors to gather the party and deploy them as soon as possible. "Let the Aswang roam the night!"