Tales of magic: grimoire of transmogrification

  Chapter 36

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  Arc 2 - "The hunter and the beast"

  Chapter 20- "Stampede"

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  Individually they were just animals. Some had claws and fangs, others had horns and hooves. But collectively, they were a force of nature. A force that could bring down towns in an instant. A force that had would not stop easily.

  Indeed, woe is the person who provokes such a force for his end is all but guaranteed. ~ Seer reading through Philosopher's work- Bastion XVI- and paraphrasing it in his own words. Using his ability as well as a divination, he managed to discover exactly what he was talking about- the animals Philosopher was referring to. He shook his head when he confirmed it.

  "Indeed, this man is a fool that likes to talk rubbish."

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  1886.

  Screaming woods.

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  4:56

  The smell of ash lingered in the air. Smoke was also very prominent. It was still as hot as ever, and William had seen it fit to take off his shirt and fold it into his bag. His shirtless torso was covered in sweat from the heat, but he didn't seem bothered.

  "Mr. William. Why did you spare my life? I mean, killing me was your original objective, right?"

  Hunter continued the mundane chore, trying to fit the shirt into the bag. He didn't raise his head when he responded.

  "It still is. My primary reason for being here in Weidson, is to kill the both of you."

  "So why?"

  Hunter managed to zip the bag shut. He smiled at his accomplishment. Then he frowned and looked up at Jordan.

  "Why what?"

  "Why aren't you even trying?"

  "You're asking me a completely different question, and I don't wish to give you an answer. If you really want to know, ask the Crown. Now, if you could excuse me, I'm off to try to kill your cousin." He dusted himself, picked up the bag and balanced it on his shoulders.

  The man turned his back and was about to leave, when Jordan called him.

  "Hey. I... Why would you fight Lancaster and not me?"

  William turned back at the boy. He wasn't smiling. Instead, his expression was intensely hostile.

  "You don't have the eyes of a killer. I'm a hunter, so I only hunt down beasts. You're not a monster, are you? You're a civilian. A regular person that's in over his head. Lancaster is a real Mage. One look at him, and you'll know he could-and probably would- do anything for his own selfish desires. He has blood on his hands, too. Need I say more? Kid, just go back home. If you continue to ask for it, I will give you what you want; even if I'd rather not kill a hapless child."

  Jordan opened his mouth, but closed it almost immediately afterwards. William shook his head.

  "Jordan!"

  "What!"

  "How about that girl?"

  "Huh?"

  "Veronica. The one I shot. You know, you saved her life. Getting beat up like that. Really heroic. A good thing to know; Heroes don't do black magic. And I know you're still harbouring thoughts of trying to fight me, even after all this. Stop. Give up. She's waiting for you. Your family is waiting for you. Go home."

  Then he waved and stepped into the wall of flames, the fire parting to let him through.

  "I can't just leave. It's impossible."

  "I can't give you all the answers either, kid. Make a decision; die today or die tomorrow. Choose today, and you won't get to say goodbye. Choose tomorrow, and...it might even get worse. Grow a backbone and maybe you'll kill me instead. Who knows?" William gave him a wink.

  All of a sudden, their conversation was interrupted by a loud noise. A deafening continuous bass assaulted their ears. The trees swayed as the wind rustled. It was as though a storm was coming...

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  4:55

  Veronica stood tall. She stared straight at the fire. The wall of fire that prevented her from stopping her friend from going into a battle to the death.

  "Jordan..."

  Her nails-claws- dug into her other hand. The pain wasn't as bad as she thought it would be.

  "Jordan...you idiot."

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  After staring for a full minute, she finally decided to get up and leave.

  "I can walk now. I can run away." Veronica turned towards the town. She couldn't see it from there, but she knew which direction she had to go. Just a short while, and she'll be back home- to a nice bed, warm food, and actual normal people...

  "I can finally get out of here..."

  She turned back to look at the fire. Her thoughts went to Jordan, who furiously ran into the flames. She shook her head and sat down on the rough grass. That nice bed would have to wait.

  Suddenly, blood trickled out of her ears.

  Her eyes suddenly went bloodshot. Her body was trembling all of a sudden.

  "What...is that?"

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  4:53

  The sky was dark crimson. The black moon was terrifying. And most of all, the air was suffocating. It was a sick combination, and Margaret was nauseous because of it.

  But she was laughing. Her laugh wasn't one of joy. There was something off about it. Something unsettling.

  "I finally understand, William. Some birthday present; am I right?"

  She continued to laugh and laugh, until tears freely flowed from her eyes. Margaret wiped her tears and took in the image of the landscape. She remembered something different, all of a sudden. An image- no, a memory- from years ago. She was only a child back then. So many people where trying to run away from someone. They pushed them selves, short of actually fighting to get as far away from that house as they could. In the midst of the crowd of what appeared to be mad people, the little girl was moving forward, at the exact opposite direction. She looked to the sides, to each of the passing people; saw the scared looks on their eyes and realised that it couldn't possibly be some kind of prank. Something serious was happening. With each step she took, it brought her closer and closer to her house... until she stopped and stared. Thanks to a mirror, she happened to see the look on her own face. To her dismay, she had the exact same expression as all the people running away. Whatever she saw in there...in her house... wasn't a human being. It didn't seem like a cute animal either. She couldn't explain why, but she turned her back and fled. Was it fear, anger,sorrow or a mix of all three. The blood stains, and the flesh lodged between it's teeth. The ugly sight scarred her for life. Even now, she could still hear it, calling out to her...

  Margaret vomited. As she did so, she felt the urge to laugh again. She nearly choked on her own vomit.

  "Yeah... it's all coming back to me."

  Suddenly, a loud low howl was heard. It was so loud, it knocked her out of her feet. Moaning, as she tried to shrug the headache off and get back on her feet, Margaret suddenly realised two things. One, she couldn't hear. Two, whatever that noise was, based on the feel in the wind and the vibrations on the ground, it was still present. And it was getting even louder.

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  4:52

  'There will be blood. What kind of cringey nonsense is that?'

  Sheriff Howard asked himself for the umpteenth time. He was facing the woods, standing upright. His eyes turned to the soldiers. The plump one- Calvin- was fast asleep. However the other two where still wide awake. He had only had about an hour of sleep, himself, until Mrs. Reinhard woke him up when the sudden fire broke out. He had been awake ever since. But these soldiers hadn't had a wink of rest.

  Mrs. Reinhard and the others were awake too. Apparently, his men couldn't get the thought of a forest magically caught on fire out of their heads.

  "Supernatural beings..." Shaun stared at his deputy. Standing with her was the team. Henry- a detective, Madeline- a better detective- and Tyler the new recruit policeman. They were the only ones willing to stay up all night for a little bit of extra cash.

  "Sheriff." She said, frowning. She walked towards him, slowly and dragged him by the sleeve. She turned and started moving away from their spot, dragging him along with her.

  "What's this?"

  "I have something to say...that I can't say in front of them."

  The two were out of earshot from the others, before she stopping.

  "I don't think you're crazy. The truth is... I've been hiding crucial information from you the entire time."

  The sheriff's frown deepened.

  "And why do you want to say something now?"

  "Because I... I don't think I'm crazy anymore."

  Shaun's eyes widened and then returned back to normal.

  "Go on."

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  4:55

  "Valkyrie... Athena... Should we play some more?" The young man's creepy smile widened even further.

  "F*ck you."

  "Yay! I managed to get a curse word out of you! Finally!" He sounded elated. The two of them, were less than an inch away from each other. Their noses were almost touching. Athena looked tired, while Lancaster was...more than just a little excited.

  "...So, I ask again, should we continue this farce or are you ready to die sometime today?"

  Their bodies were close too. They were almost hugging. Lancaster was shirtless and so was Athena.

  "I probably can't kill you."

  "Ding. Ding. Ding. Correct! You just won the grand prize!"

  All of a sudden, a loud noise interrupted their... battle.

  "It looks like you're not fated fo die today, am I right?" Lancaster's smile went back to normal. Small black crows with red eyes appeared around him. There were so many. As blood went out of his ears, they( his ear drums) were replaced with new ones. Each time, a crow fell and died, the blood spattering all over the area.

  "I will kill you, if it's the last thing I do."

  Lancaster smiled creepily again.

  "Oh. I'm not going to pass up the opportunity to be this close to you, lady."

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  4:56

  The skies were painted red. Dozens of people were already awake. Those who weren't woke up when they heard it. Their eardrums bursted at almost the exact same time.

  Lloyd stood outside, staring at the sky. He always believed he had good eyesight. Beyond the horizon, hundreds of flying 'things' were making their way towards them...

  He shook his head.

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  4:57

  The roar continued. William couldn't believe it.

  'Why now? Why is this happening? Why is he going against our agreement? Is it the fire? No, he hardly gives a shit about this part of the woods. Someone put him up to this? Who? What kind of idiot would anger Lycan this much?'

  "William. Can you hear me? I can't hear myself..."

  'Stupid boy... You won't hear me even if I responded to you. But that's not important right now. This roar... it's a command, to all the beasts. If I remember correctly, they must fight, no matter what. Even the smouldering necromanticus inside the flames must rise up and attack anything in sight that isn't one of them- the beasts. If they don't, they'll be under the mercy of their lord- the king of beasts.'

  William stared at the skies. They were red. Deep crimson. The moon was black, too. The red sky spread out from the centre of the woods, engulfing the area, beyond what he could see.

  'The den of the shapeshifter. The king of beasts' domain encroaching on the physical plane. There's no stopping this. The only way, is to stop him. To make him command them to stop.'

  The beasts were rising up. Many were running out or through the flames.

  'They will fight to the death, even if it kills them...'

  William unsheathed his sword, serious.

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  4:58

  Margaret saw the beasts, but didn't hear them. Grotesque abominations, numbering in thousands. Their armies stretched further than the eye could see, and they were all running as fast as they possibly could. Towards her direction.

  'Just like back then. They're all running again.'

  She brought out the timepiece, holding it in her hands. She willed time to stop, setting the clock to ten minutes. It was all she needed.

  The monsters appeared to have stopped. Time had stopped for them, but not for her.

  Margaret weaved her way through the crowd. Running, at top speed.

  'I'm running again... But I'm not running away.'

  She continued to run; the clock ticking backwards. (5:06 — 5:05)

  Her time was running out.

  She didn't stop.

  'I'm not running away from you. Not anymore.'

  She finally found her way passed the crowd. Spotting him(or it) from nearly a mile away. It's size, was more than enough to tell her who it was.

  "..father."

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