On those words, I start to jog out of the town, toward the direction the man has specified, on a rescue mission. I gulp down the rest of my Vitarine as I jog, to build up extra energy. Once I've consumed the whole drink, I'm running pretty quickly, and flying through the grassy field that surrounds Greenwald Village. I see the forest not too far ahead of me, and I know that is my destination. Somewhere in that little stretch of woods, there is a Bugbear with a human child. I need to find that Bugbear myself and kill it, or else that child might end up being its dinner. I would leave it up to the local Spiritguard, but there's just no way I can trust them right now. The only people I can trust are Kael, Kavella, and myself. I'll stick to that philosophy.
I find the river that is running out of the woods, so that must be where the trail starts. I stop running in an attempt to conserve my energy, switching to a brisk walk. I'm following along the river as quickly as I can without endangering myself or burning up all of my energy. If I overexert myself, I won't have the energy left to take out this Bugbear when I see it.
A thought suddenly pops into my head, and I curse under my breath. I forgot to ask Kael what the best way to kill a Bugbear is. Hell, I don't even know what I'm looking for. I'm imagining a big grizzly with six red eyes and shimmering transparent wings. Or maybe it'll be a big beetle covered in fur…
If Bugbears are anything like Specters, there's a good chance I'm going to die if I find it. My skills with Animus techniques are pretty miniscule, and running into something that can only be killed with Animus won't be very fun. I'm hoping Bugbears can be chopped up with my sword nice and easy. I don't want to struggle trying to remember special techniques just to kill something.
That triggers another thought in my head as I keep going. What if Merava needs to be killed with an Animus technique? What if she's immune to swords and daggers? If that's the case, my inability to use Animus could get me, Kael, and Kavella killed.
I don't have to worry about such things when I see a large figure up ahead in the distance. I immediately slow down and try to creep slowly by the river. I don't want this thing to see me until I'm close enough to do damage. If I am spotted too early, that thing might take off and run with the kid. I don't know how fast a Bugbear can run, but if it is faster than me, the kid is as good as dead. It will flee deep into the woods, and it will stay far away from the river. I'll lose the only advantage I had.
The dark mass doesn't seem to notice me, which is perfect. I am only about forty feet away from it when it turns its head curiously. As the head starts to turn, I withdraw my sword and charge.
If the Bugbear had any desire to run, I took that urge away from it with my charging. It climbs to its feet and bellows at me loudly.
I am very close to the Bugbear now, almost close enough to strike, but I keep a safe distance. The staggering creature is at least six feet tall, bipedal, and it has long arms with a greater reach than my sword. This isn't the best situation to be battling in, and I wish I was good enough at Animus techniques to use something that could bind the Bugbear in place. That would make killing it so much easier.
The body of the Bugbear was nothing like what I thought it would be. I was expecting a big fuzzy bear with random insect appendages, but the only thing the Bugbear has in relation to a real bear is the staggering size. Unlike a bear, this thing has absolutely no hair or fur. Instead, its entire body is covered in saggy gray skin and it is covered in fleshy wounds that are oozing.
This looks like something out of a nightmare more than anything. I see where the 'bug' comes into play when I look up at the creature's head. It has two eyes that are about the size of oranges, and the same color too. They remind me of the Gremlin that I encountered in the Arcon's Nest.
The creature has two pointy ears that are sticking up into the air, and mashed up, broken teeth that look like they belong in the mouth of a shark. The beast's claws look to be made out of the exact same material and sharpness as the teeth.
I am forced to stop observing the creature when it slaps a heavy claw in my direction. I retreat back just a step out of his range, and then counter with a quick stab of my sword at the beast's arm. I feel my sword, Crossed Heart, pierce the Bugbear's grimy flesh. It bellows with either anger or pain, and the Bugbear's eyes narrow sadistically. Okay, now this thing wants to kill me. It jumps up into the air in an attempt to body slam onto me. I see that this is a bad situation to be in, and I jump and tumble out of the way. I don't want any part of that at all.
As I slide to safety, I notice the child that the Bugbear has kidnapped. The kid is lying down on his back, with closed eyes. I'd think the kid was already dead, but I can see the slight heave in his chest that tells me he is in fact breathing. Next to the child is a red pole, which I recognize as a weapon. Apparently the Bugbear uses a staff to battle, but I must have distracted it too much early on for it to grab the weapon.
The Bugbear recovers from the heavy fall quite quickly, and it turns to face me. If only it had been lying on the ground a little longer, I could have lodged my sword into the back of his neck and ended this.
The Bugbear catches sight of me and starts to approach. This time, however, it is not upright on two legs, but instead it is crawling on all fours and making loud snapping noises in my direction.
I've never actually fought anything four-legged, so this is an interesting challenge. All of the Spirits I've come into contact with until now were either bipedal, flying, or floating in some way.
There were some four-leggers back on one of our missions, but I was partnered with Natalia on that mission and she killed everything, and I mean everything, before I could even pull my sword out. That girl was a Spirit-killing queen.
I swing my sword at the creature, knowing full well it is too far away to hit. The Bugbear does reflexively freeze and flinch backward, though. That's a good thing.
Many species of Spirit have a built-in safety mechanism, and this is one of the only pieces of information that I have retained from my schooling. This safety mechanism makes the Spirit dodge, or try to dodge an attack, even if it is nowhere close to making contact. As such, I can force the Bugbear into becoming defensive for a moment, even if it is not in any imminent danger. This is a useful skill when fighting with groups, because one person can intimidate the Spirit. Then, when the Spirit backs up for safety, another person attacks it and finishes it off.
I swing the sword again, and sure enough the Bugbear enters a defensive stance for just a moment. The second it becomes defensive, I throw myself forward with as much velocity and power as I can muster, and I lash out at the thing with my sword.
The Bugbear is able to evade my attack, but only partly. I slash right across its left shoulder, and the monster howls in infernal pain. I was hoping for a better hit, honestly, and I've left myself in a compromising position. I scramble to my feet and try to get away from the Bugbear before it can counter, but when I look back I see the creature is dead and is fading into dust. As it disappears, I notice there is an arrow sticking out of the side of its neck.
I definitely didn't put that arrow there, so the question is…who did?
I turn my head and see a red headed archer pacing over to me. "Good work, kid," the archer comments. "I got here a while ago, but you were putting up a nice fight there and I couldn't help but watch."
This man looks like and sounds like an older, tougher version of Marc. I remember that Marc is from Greenwald Village and that he has several older brothers. I figure this is one of them.
"I only intervened because after that last hit, you looked like you were in danger,"
the archer says. "I don't like to interfere with other people's battles, unless it is to save their life."
I sheathe my sword and shoot him a look. "You're an Olsen, aren't you?"
"Yeah. You know us?"
I'm not supposed to reveal my identity as a Spiritguard or as Sigmund Felice, but…what the hell. This man is related to Marc Olsen, one of my closest friends from my training. I figure I can trust him, and also…he deserves to know what happened to his brother. That was just a day ago, and there's no way the news would have reached him yet.
I wonder if I should even tell him. Marc Olsen, right now, is supposed to be a missing person. No…I can't let this man or his family think Marc is missing. That would give them false hope. It wouldn't be right of me to let them know a lie, not when I know the truth.
"I knew your brother, Marc," I say suddenly. I guess my mind has made itself up. "I was in the Spiritguard Training Program with him. He was in my class, and he was one of my friends."
"Marc, eh?" the archer says. "How's he doing?"
I feel my head drop down to the ground as I think of a way to say it.
"Don't tell me, he went and got himself killed?"
I look up at the archer in surprise. I'm about to explain myself, but he interrupts my thoughts. "If that's the case, don't bother telling me. I figured he wasn't cut out for this. Tell me, though. Did he at least go down fighting? If he did, at least my family can give him a proper, respectful send-off."
I can't believe what I'm hearing. This guy doesn't care that his seventeen year old brother has just died? All he cares about is if his brother died fighting?
"He did die fighting," I say slowly. "He was the last standing among three people. They took on an extremely powerful Spirit, and it…it killed them all."
The archer nods. "That's good of him, then. I expected that wimpy little brother of mine would stay a wimp, but if he died fighting a Spirit strong enough to take out three people, then that's a respectful death. Is that Spirit still alive? I'd love to have a shot at killing it."
"It's still alive, but it can't be killed," I state. "It's…"
"So it happened, eh? There've been rumors all around Pearl City and this village for years. Rumors of a Spirit Lord coming through. Is that what it was? A Spirit Lord?"
"Yes."
"Huh. So some lucky bastard has the ability to kill it, though. Wish I were him. Nothing would make me happier than taking down a Spirit Lord. Well, let's get going, kid. Is that boy over there alright?"
"He's just unconscious, I think. He was still breathing when I saw him."
"Good, good," the archer says. "That man offered a lot of money for this kid, dead or alive. He's paying more for the kid alive, though, so I'm happy for that."
I feel a little bit sick by this man's attitude. The only reason he cares that the kid is alive is because he gets more money that way. I can't believe Marc grew up with someone like this in his family. Marc is the polar opposite of him. Not rough, crude, and uncaring. Marc was gentle, and kind…
The archer throws the kid onto his back and grabs up the Spirit's staff that was left abandoned. Now that the staff is closer to me, I can examine it better. It has some type of spiritual markings on it, and the entirety of it is covered in red paint. It looks pretty interesting, and from what I know of Spirit-made equipment, it is probably more powerful than a normal staff.
The kid regains consciousness while we walk back, and the Spiritguard archer is able to let the kid off of his back and walk on his own two feet. When we walk into the small Spiritguard Headquarters of Greenwald Village, the father and his son are overjoyed to be reunited. The father pays up, just as promised, and to my surprise the archer takes about thirty percent of the bills he receives and pushes them into my hand.
"You knew that big ugly thing would be near the river, and you practically killed it yourself. You deserve the cash."
I thank him, but I didn't do what I did to be paid. I wanted to stop that Spirit from hurting an innocent life. It is no different from my desire to stop Merava.
"Um," I say, counting the money quickly. There's about three hundred dollars here. That man paid a thousand dollars for the archer to bring his son back. That's absolutely insane!
"Can I give this money back and have that staff instead?" I ask. I look over to the eccentric pole that was excavated from the Bugbear.
The older Olsen brother glances over his shoulder. "This thing? I guess so. I've never seen anything like it, but I bet it's pretty strong." I exchange the money for the staff, and I am on my way.
After that, I go back to Kael and Kavella, who are now both awake and wondering where I am. When I see them, I give them a brief account of my day from the Bugbear to Marc's older brother. They are just as saddened by the idea Marc's family doesn't care that he is dead.
One thing I wasn't expecting, though, is their attitude toward my new outfit.
"It's white and blue," Kavella narrows her eyes and looks at me like I'm stupid.
"Just because you got black pants doesn't change the fact that you're still wearing Spiritguard colors, dope," Kael laughs. "I mean, yeah, there's not much white…but come on."
"It's the best I can do, alright?" I sigh. "Nobody really knows what I look like anyway, we'll be fine. It's not like Merava got a good look at me. It was dark and all."
"I suppose," Kael says. "But you could've done a lot better, Sigmund."
We fill the rest of the day with two good meals and some random chatter, and then go to sleep for the night. We spend the rest of the day in a flux as well, and we also help Kavella pick out a new outfit. She was inspired by my change and she wanted to mix things up too. Kael is sticking with his Spiritguard uniform, and I can't blame him. That thing looks amazing.
When all is said and done, Kavella is wearing tight black pants and boots with a deep crimson top. The rich red jacket has long, flowing sleeves and has black buttons. She keeps it buttoned all the way up, with just a little bit of her neck showing from underneath the jacket. I won't lie, she looks pretty stunning in that red color, but not quite as good as I look with my deep blue jacket. None of us compare to the light blue and white uniform Kael gets to wear, though.
I give Kavella the staff I acquired from Marc's older brother, and it matches her outfit well. I don't know much about Animus and all that stuff, but Kavella loves the staff and claims that it makes channeling Animus techniques about fifty percent quicker for her. Some Spirit Magic mumbo-jumbo. I'm glad she likes it.
That night, as we're boarding the train, we see a familiar face at the train station.
"Is that Natalia marching toward us?" Kavella points off into the distance. Sure enough, there's Natalia, stomping toward us at full speed. She looks incredibly pissed off, if I do say so myself. She's swinging around an empty bottle of Vitarine and she points it at Kael.
"What in god-damned hell do you think you're doing, running off without me!?" she growls at Kael. "You have any idea how upset I was when I heard you just up and left town without me?"
"Hey, Natalia," Kael laughs sheepishly. "We're on a really important mission, you see, and—"
Natalia reaches into her pocket and withdraws a piece of paper. "Me too."
The paper is in Ms. Borden's handwriting, no doubt, and it contains a message saying she's added Natalia to the mission. It also gives a little bit of an update that says that I no longer have to be in hiding, because the Spiritguard has completely taken over the case and shut the law enforcement out. She does say, though, that I should be careful around Vitarine and still 'conceal my identity as a Spiritguard, just in case'.
All that means to me is 'Sigmund still can't wear his uniform, just cause I said so'.
"If I'm hanging around a bunch of Spiritguards, won't it be obvious?" I whine, looking from Natalia to Kael.
"I don't mind getting a new outfit," Natalia smirks. She thinks this is funny, I guess.
"If I'm the only one wearing the outfit, we should be fine," Kael says. "After all, there's a lot of Spiritguards around everywhere, especially in Pearl City. They won't think anything of one Spiritguard with three civilians."
I know he's right, but I don't want him to be. On that note, we board the train, all four of us. I'm actually glad that Natalia has joined the mission, because I know she is a good fighter, better than me, and trustworthy as well. I know she'll keep Kael safe too, because she cares about him more than herself.
The train starts to move, and we begin our journey to Pearl City.