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The wolf monster bounded down the cobble street with a panicking sheep girl on his back. He flickered in and out of visibility, more visible than not as time went on, a terrifying shadow, a deeper dark on the dark canvas of night. 

Lyra increasingly struggled to maintain her invisibility Skill and by the time they reached their destination she was nearly falling from Rain’s back as her climbing Skill started to falter too. 

The building he stopped outside of was vast, more a complex than a building, a huge stable that housed all the horses in Lynthia. Every leveler who came to town for the dungeon rented space and kept their horse in the stable, it was cheap and reliable.

Rain gruffed and scented the air, he could smell meat nearby, lots of it. This, this might do it, this might slake his agonising hunger. 

He pushed his paws up against the double doors then with a snarl shoved at them. The drop bar on the other side held for a moment before splintering and coming apart, snapping down the center. The doors slammed open and the cavernous dark interior revealed itself, the scent of hay and horses washing out into the night air along with the sound of nervous whinnies.

Rain stalked forward, fearful noises coming from each stable partition as he passed.

Lyra looked around in dismay. There were a lot of horses in here, a hell of a lot, way more than she could ever keep up with. She let out a small sigh. This was hopeless, there was no way she was going to be able to hide this even a little bit with her Skill. After a moment of hesitation she let her climbing Skill go and slipped from Rain’s back to the floor below, Opal coming with her.

“You're not gonna try hide it sheepy?”

Lyra gestured at Rain as he disappeared into one of the stalls. A horse shriek followed and a spray of blood from the stall creating a long red line across the ground outside.

“I’m going to pass out if I try and hide all this, I can't do it, I just can't okay, I- I don't know what we're going to do now, we might have to leave Lynthia after this.”

Opal looked at her then tilted her head to the side. “Why? There won't be anyone to make a fuss if Rain just eats the town.”

Lyra stared at the Goblin girl, she couldn't be serious, right? Maybe Opal was the one she should actually be worried about… She seemed more determined than even Rain to see the worst come to pass. Lyra had her own problems with monsters, but she wasn’t starting to realize that Opal might have her own issues with levelers, not that she could blame the Goblin with how the world worked.

Thinking about it, was she really the only thing between the people of Lynthia and Rain? She needed to do something, to point his monstrous side away from them, to stop him from going too far, to guide Rain and be his good side.

But could she even do that? He seemed more monstrous than she had ever seen before, a ravenous nearly mindless beast, a danger to herself that she really shouldn't be around.

Yet she didn't really have a choice, she needed to help him get past this, he was her only real protection against Lord Wranvyre, someone outside of leveler’s social hierarchy. No one else would help her, she had no connections to the powerful and so many would eagerly leap at that ridiculous reward and the chance to gain favour with a noble family as soon as they knew a bounty was on her head.

As she watched Opal followed Rain into the gloom. He went from stall to stall leaving a trail of blood in his wake, his fur and clothing becoming ever more soaked in dark dark red.

She shook her head slightly, she needed room to think.

She stepped outside into the cool night air. Space, just a moment away from the ravenous wolf to gather her thoughts. leaving Rain and Opal within she wandered away in a daze until the sounds of panicking horses was out of ear range, further and further down the dark street, the starry sky above casting little light. 

She steadied her breathing, calming herself. Breath in count six, breath out count to six. Breath in count six, breath out count to six. She managed her mental state like this for a while, slowly picking apart the nervous knotted ball she’d become. She could deal with this, she could, she must. 

It was as she was slowly calming down that a voice spoke up.

“H-hey, Half-elf girl, you’re not from this town right? Can you let me out?”

Lyra turned in surprise, a person had seen her? That- that was very much not a good thing! This was supposed to be a secret mission to help Rain and she’d completely forgotten to make herself invisible after leaving the stable!

Looking around she found no one in view, then a noise made her look up. A cage was hanging from a nearby building, hanging from a wooden frame attached to the wall. Inside the cage was a Satyr, her goat-like legs dangling from the cage’s edge. 

It was a prisoner.

Lyra stared at the Satyr, unsure what to do, her whole plan to come into Lynthia unseen and to leave without anyone ever knowing they had been there was starting to come apart at the seams. What was she supposed to do about this now? Leaving behind some mysterious blood stains was one thing, having a witness to her being there was entirely another. 

Not sure what else to do she spoke. “...hi?” 

“Hello, I’m Belle, and you need to listen to me, the Inquisitor in this town is crazy, and the Ranker even worse! I don't know what they’re going to do to me, I really super need you to get me out of here.”

“...well what did you do to get put in a cage like that?”

“Nothing! I’m completely innocent! It’s that raging asshole over there who did it!”

Lyra turned to see a second cage identical to the first. A male Elf slowly lifted his head, his legs and arms were limply hanging from between the gridded bars. He looked like he hadn't slept in days, huge bags under his eyes, his long hair hanging lank and greasy from his head.

“Does it matter anymore you stupid Satyr? It happened, she died, and we’re likely to be given to the Ranker for some awful fate or other, you heard what goes on in this town. Honestly It would be a blessing at this point if It means I no longer have to listen to your incessant whining.”

The Satyr scowled at him. “I’m not going to die for something that I didn't do, I refuse!” she turned back to Lyra. “Please, can you set me free? You’d be saving an innocent life, I’ll- I’ll do anything, just get me the heck out of here!”

“Uhm, I- I don't know…”

“Oh? did you find some snacks?” said Opal, appearing beside Lyra with her hands on her hips.

Lyra looked down at her in surprise, she had expected her to stay with Rain until the end.

“What are you doing here? I thought you'd want to stay while he uh, gets bigger.”

Opal shrugged, “It's not like that. He's finishing up and he's still really hungry, we need to know where we’re going next.”

Lyra stared at her. “How is he still hungry!? He's eaten so much, is- is this never going to end?!”

Opal smirked, “I hope it never ends, but whatever happens we should get more lined up just in case.”

“But there's nothing left! There's no animals left anywhere!”

Opal gave her a nonplussed look. “So that leaves the town, duh, what did you think was going to happen? It was always going to be this way.”

Lyra groaned and put her head in her hands. She could feel the walls closing in, she hadn't expected Rain to still need more after all this, it was too much!

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A flash of inspiration suddenly hit and she turned back to the two levelers trapped in cages. 

“I’ll let you out, that is if you agree to help us.”

Belle blinked at her. “Really? You'll really set me free?”

“Yes! But I need you to take us to where the nastiest most evilest levelers in Lynthia are, the sort of people who do bad things and that the world wouldn't miss if they suddenly disappeared!”

“…you want me to do what now?”

“I’ll do it,” said the Elf suddenly sitting up. “I’ll take you to whatever you need. Bad people, sure.”

“Hey, I can do that too!” said the Satyr, desperate not to let her chance to escape go. “In fact I can point you to one right now, Orden over here is a cold blooded murderer.”

“Gods Belle, It was me or her, I didn't have a choice! You would have done the same thing!”

“Like hell I would! You're just a coward and a murderous little weasel, if we had held the line we would have been fine against those mushroom things, this is all your fault!”

“Oh,” said Opal, looking between them with fresh eyes. “I know these two.”

Lyra blinked at her, “You do?” 

I've never seen this Goblin in my life before,” said Orden with a scowl. “But then they do look all the same to me, perhaps I have and just didn't realise it, garbage does look alike.”

Opal frowned at the Elf, then a mildly sadistic smile lit up her face.

“I’ll go fetch wolfy, he can get them out of the cages they are in right? I'm sure he would just love to meat them.”

The Goblin scuttled away back to the stables.

“...sure?” said Lyra, watching her go, really not sure at all.

An awkward silence followed, just the three of them, the night quiet and empty.

Lyra scuffed her hooves against the cobble and cleared her throat. She was about to make awkward small talk with the Satyr when something sharp pressed against her back.

“Give me everything you have sheep girl or get cut, it’s a simple choice.”

Lyra flinched in surprise and turned her head to see a dishevelled and unshaven man behind her, an old scar under his eye.

“A-are you robbing me?!” said Lyra after a moment, the shock of what was happening taking a moment to dawn on her.

The man sniffed and spat to the side. “Was the demand not obvious enough? Damn you’re a dense one, yes I'm fucking robbing you, give me your valuables or I’ll put this knife in you and wiggle it around until you stop moving.”

“Nonono! This can't be happening, get us out of here and we’ll take care of him!” said the Satyr rattling the bars of her cage.

“I can't! I’m not a combat Class or anything! Listen, thief guy- whatever your name is- you, you can't do this, you’re in so much danger right now! Please run! Please, I’m begging! It’s not going to end well for you!”

The man paused. This was not the reaction that an attempted robbery usually got. What was wrong with this person?

“If this is your idea of a way out you’re sadly mistaken.” He prodded the knife against her. “I’m not alone so if you think some Skill is going to save you, think again.”

“Do something! Get rid of them!” cried Belle.

A bald Halfling emerged from the gloom and pulled up a heavy crossbow. He pointed it at the Satyr. 

“Don’t push it, It’s not like anyone will miss you two, if there were, they would have paid for your freedom long ago. In fact, perhaps we should end you right now, wouldn't want you using your witnessing us to wiggle ‘n bargain yourselves free of your current predicament eh?”

“W-wait, m-maybe we- we can make a deal? It doesn't have to be this way- we-....we-” the Satyr’s words petered off into silence as something caught her attention.

A black shape emerged from the shadows above the Halfling as he waved the crossbow at the Satyr. He paused as he noticed the sudden change in expression of those he was threatening. Everyone was looking in his direction now.

“...What?”

A maw came down and engulfed his entire head and neck and before the Halfling could make a sound the two jaws came together with an impossible strength, incising through his ribcage like a guillotine. The maw ripped away leaving behind a body with a horrifying chasm in the upper chest where a partial pair of lungs could be seen exposed to open air, still twitching and gurgling and trying to draw in breath. The body took a step forward, then another, and then toppled over, a flood of steaming red blood and gore pooling over the cobble as it fell flat.

Several sets of eyes stared in a kind of frozen horror at what they'd just witnessed. Then Belle began screaming as a massive blood drenched thing stepped from the shadows.

The thief who had held a knife to Lyra began gabbling, sheer blind panic taking away any sense or reason, unfortunate for him as a paw wrapped around his head and pulled him forward into its teeth. The wolf monster held the man in his paws and ripped out his entire neck, sending a spray of blood over the Satyr’s cage. 

The Satyr, who had been quite reasonably losing her mind, held up her blood spattered trembling hands. 

“It- It’s like that monster from back then! The same kind! Oh gods we’re all gonna die! HELP! HELP! SOMEBODY HELP US!” 

“They should have listened, why does nobody ever listen to me...” muttered Lyra as she stared down in dismay at the two dead thieves.

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