Chapter 8: Chapter 8 – The Obvious Choice

 

She was someone only a fool would mess with, but fools are plentiful in any world.

Aila carried the wolf in one hand while she held a short sword in the other. As she walked through the forest, there were some beasts that approached her, but the swirling elements around her became a deterrent.

She didn't absorb the elements actively, like someone else would have to. She did it passively, but only in areas where the elements were rich and plentiful.

"Sniff sniff, that's a smell I don't recognize." Aila said, and continued to walk towards the west. When she cleared the forest edge, she smiled.

"A stable. That was the smell." She had come to the southern side of the town, and just outside the gates, there was a stable, and carriage service. The town wasn't large enough to house the stables, but the short walls around the stable were high enough to deter attacks from beasts like flame wolves.

Aila walked around the stable and came to the gate.

"Oi, you! You'll have to put your sword away before you c-c-can enter?" He stuttered as he saw her lift that wolf off the ground easily.  He swallowed a lump in his throat as he filled with fear. Aila frowned.

"If I had a sheathe to put it in, I would put it away. I came here to sell this wolf. Are there any merchants that will buy something like this?" Her eyes glowed red as she felt her temper rise. The second guard nodded like he was a bobble-head she had once seen.

"Y-y-yes, um, sorry about that. My partner didn't realize who you were." He said quickly.

"He doesn't know me, so of course he wouldn't know who I am. Where can I find an honest merchant?" She asked, and her eyes returned to normal.

"If you want an honest merchant, head inside, follow the main street to the market area in the middle of town. There are shops and stalls, but look for a middle aged man with a clean well maintained stall. His name is Rirn, and he doesn't cheat people." The gate guard said, and watched her leave.

"Drom, you need to learn to wait before you speak!" His fellow guard said. Drom nodded slowly.

"I had no idea she was an elementalist, Venn. When I saw her lift that flame wolf, I knew she was one of them. It was too late by that time." Drom took a few deep breaths. "You feel that power?" He whispered.

"Yeah, more than any of us could handle. At least you got your senses back and didn't anger her further. She doesn't look rich, but she might be from a poor village. Never judge by looks alone, Drom." Venn said and went to his side of the gate.

"Yeah. She's as skinny as a farmer's dirt fork, but lifted that wolf like it was nothing." He shivered. That sword would have cleaved him in two if he got her really angry, and he didn't want that.

Not in the least.

 

* * *

 

"We're not getting much business lately." The man behind the counter said with a frown. The one who swept the floors nodded.

"Hunters don't come to Aros much anymore." He wanted to blame his master, but most of the shops had this problem. Hunters did not come to Aros as the Inaris clan tended to bully them to force them to sell their kills for a low price. They went to other towns as they couldn't fight the clan.

"True, but we know why that is." The man grumbled. He couldn't blame himself as he wouldn't go against that clan, but he also didn't offer good prices for the materials.

"Hey!" The excited yell of his slave got his attention. "Boss, there's a girl out there with a flame wolf in her hand!" The shopkeeper frowned, but went to the door. His eyes narrowed a bit, and a flash of greed went through his eyes.

"Good. Time to make some silver."

 

* * *

 

"Hm, where is that stall they mentioned?" Aila walked passed a few shops, but heard a voice nearby.

"Young lady, did you want to sell that wolf?" Aila turned and saw the overweight bearded man approach her. "If you want to sell it, I can buy it from you." She kept her face clear, but she noticed something about this man that she didn't like.

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'His eyes are shifty, just like those insurance brokers who cheated my parents.' She felt a sense of disgust as he approached, but she managed to hide it.

"Sorry, I'm looking for Rirn." She said and started to turn away. Unfortunately, the greedy man didn't want to let this opportunity go.

"What I want to buy, you can't take away somewhere else." He said firmly. "If I want to, I can tell the guards that you stole that wolf from a hunter who just brought it to me. You wouldn't want that, would you?" He said, and now she knew why she felt the sensations that this guy was disgusting.

"What did you say?" She turned towards him, and her anger over what happened to her parents started to spill over.

"I said that I can make this easy, or dif-dif-difficult? Oohh bloody beast shit." He paled as he watched Aila's eyes turn into red hot glowing coals.

"YOU'RE JUST LIKE THEY WERE." Her words vibrated with power, and anger. A breeze was stirred up as she spoke, and the ground started to shake. "GREEDY, LYING BASTARDS THAT TRIED TO CHEAT MY PARENTS! HANDS OUT FOR WHAT WASN'T THEIRS! YOU WANT WHAT I BROUGHT AND WANT TO STEAL IT?" The merchant squealed in fear.

"High level elementalist! HELP! HELP! GUARDS! GUARDS!" He didn't have to yell for help, as the guards were alerted quickly due to the amount of elemental essence being stirred.

Although they weren't sure what they should do when they saw who called for help, they also saw the girl holding a sword in one hand, and a flame wolf in the other.

"YOU STILL THINK YOU CAN TAKE WHAT I KILLED?" Aila said as her voice rose in volume, and power once again.

 

* * *

 

"Drom, doesn't that sound like that girl?" Venn said, and he quickly paled.

"Shit, those fools! That's someone who can do a lot of damage, and kill a lot of people!" Drom ran into through the gates, and yelled out. "CLOSE THE GATES! CLOSE THE GATES!"

"What are you going to do?" Venn asked him.

"I don't know, but if someone is harassing her, our friends might get hurt, or worse!" Venn ran along with him, and couldn't help but admit that Drom was right. When they got to the square, Aila had advanced, and their friends surrounded her.

"STOP!" Drom yelled. "She brought that wolf in through the gate!" The guards frowned, and Aila also turned towards him. Her eyes were glowing a red so bright, her eyes looked like the red hot coals in a forge. He shivered.

"Drom? You know her?" The captain asked.

"Yes, Captain. She came around the stable with the wolf in her hand in order to do business with Rirn. She only wants to sell the wolf and buy a few things." Drom said.

"He's right, Captain." Venn said. "We guided her to Rirn ourselves. She's only been in town for a few minutes, so why is he out here?" He pointed to the merchant who was crawling away.

"He claimed the wolf was his." Aila said. "Said I had to sell it to him, or he would make it difficult for me." She said angrily. "I killed this wolf with a stone yesterday out in the forest near a ruin."

"Im-Impossible! No one goes out to that ruin anymore! It's too dangerous!" The merchant screamed. He had already fallen over as the ground shook, and he tried to crawl away.

"Not for me." She said. She held out her hand, sword pointed at him. "Flame!" A gout of flame issued from the tip of her sword and landed right on his fat bottom. Venn chuckled while Drom laughed maliciously as the merchant screeched and tried to smother the flames.

"See, Captain? She has the ability to protect herself, and doesn't need to lie. She's a high level elementalist, and isn't someone we should anger." Drom said, and stood next to him.

"Captain, he's a greedy bastard who helps to chase away the hunters. She's a hunter now, and she's strong." Drom said under his breath.

"You're right."  The captain put his sword away as he was quite sure it would do him no good at all.  With what he just witnessed, if he decided to attack her, he would die.

"Our friends, or a greedy merchant. The choice is obvious."

 

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