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  "description": "The Messenger\nwritten by windwarrior234 and myself",
  "description_bbcode_parsed": "<span style='word-wrap: break-word;'>The Messenger<br />written by windwarrior234 and myself</span>",
  "writing": "One day in the middle of their usual work, Cassandra and her father Drake kill some bandits trying to take a wolf-man into slavery. The wolf-man is the first being like herself that Cassandra has ever seen and he first words to her are \"I found you\".\n\nWith the first possibility of learning what she is finally given to her, Cassandra insists they take the wolf-man back to their village to be healed rather than just healing him and leaving him in the forest, despite her father's protests. Once he wakes up, Cassandra hopes to get some answers from him.\n\n[center]~…~…~…~…~…~…~…~…~…~…~…~…~…~…~…~…~…~…~…~…~…~…~…~…~\n[u]Chapter 1: The Messenger[/u]\n~…~…~…~…~…~…~…~…~…~…~…~…~…~…~…~…~…~…~…~…~…~…~…~…~[/center]\n\nDrake was cautious around this strange wolf man. It seemed that he somehow knew about his daughter's origins. While that made his daughter incredibly anxious, he was still wary. Just who was he and what did he want? He hoped that he'd be able to answer their questions when he finally woke up. He could only imagine all the excitement going on in his daughter's head at the moment.\n\nCassandra tapped her foot impatiently as the village healer administered healing herbs to the wolf-man's wounds. \"Why can't we have a staff-user in this village?\" she asked aloud, \"Or at least some of those vulneraries around here?\"\n\n\"We're a bit out of the way and we don't have a church in this town.\" Drake reminded her. \"Besides, things like this don't happen often around here so there's never been a need for such things. There hasn't been a war in almost a century.\"\n\n\"Well I need to know who this is, and why he said he 'found me',\" Cassandra said.\n\n\"Well rushing me isn't going to help,\" the healer said. \"Just let me finish then let him rest. He probably won't be awake until tomorrow with injuries like this so you'd better just go back outside and back to work.\"\n\n\"We can't do that,\" Drake shook his head. \"If those bandits had any friends they might come looking for them so we'll have to keep people in site of the village until we're sure they've passed.\"\n\n\"Very true,\" the healer admitted. \"Though you managed to take care of the last batch, another group could show up and they might be stronger than the last. So perhaps instead of just going back to work, you could see if there are any other fighters in the village to help you out? I'm sure there are some people trained with some kind of weapon.\"\n\n\"Not many, we'll see who's willing to fight.\" Cassandra said before she left the healer's house.\n\n\"She's certainly determined about this...\" the healer commented. Drake nodded in agreement, sighing ever so lightly.\n\n\"This is the first time she's met anyone who knows anything about her past. She must be so excited...\" he stated. But it was without a doubt dangerous...Just what was going on here?\n\nBy nighttime only the three villagers that were part of the militia had joined Cassandra and Drake on guard, armed with bronze spears and wearing pots as makeshift helmets.\n\n\"So far it's been quiet,\" one of them commented.\n\n\"Yeah,\" Cassandra sounded bored. \"Hey dad, any sign of them!?\" She called to where Drake was on look out.\n\n\"None yet!\" Drake called back. But that didn't mean there -were- no bandits. It was still very quiet...\"Just be careful anyway!\" he warned his allies. He didn't want anyone getting their butts killed by any brigands.\n\nA few minutes passed and Cassandra sniffed, \"Smells like sweat.\" She looked at one of the other militia, who looked back at her nervously, \"And not from you,\" she added, her eyes hooded. The militiaman grinned sheepishly.\n\n\"Aye, I can see some movement...I think we've got company.\" Drake replied with a frown. \"Looks like we've got a fight on our hands.\"\n\n\"Gyahaha! Alright boys this fruit looks ripe for the plucking. Alrik's loss will be Roderick's gain!\" With the bandit leader's call three dozen bandits wielding sword, axes and lances came into site from the darkened woods and fields around the village. Roderick stood two heads taller than the rest of his men and carried what looked like a poleaxe over his shoulders.\n\nCassandra growled and hefted up the steel axe she'd gotten the previous day, \"This is nuts!\" she declared.\n\n\"There's a lot of them...\" Drake muttered. \"But they honestly don't look that strong by themselves. If we take them on one by one, I'm sure they'll be whittled down to nothing soon enough.\" He prepared his battle axe for the coming skirmish. Good thing they had a little back-up, but they'd be at a pretty big disadvantage.\n\n\"This is crazy!\" The militia closest to Drake shouted.\n\nTwo axe wielding brigands charged forwards, Cassandra took a gash across her chest only to strike back, the heavier axe she'd used killing him in one hit. The other charged at one of the militia who tried to lunge at him, missing and getting a massive cut down his arm, which made him scream in pain.\n\nDrake was quick to protect the militia man and cut down the bandit who had hurt him, brandishing his axe. \"Tch, if you get too hurt, fall back! We don't need anyone dying a pointless death!\" he remarked. He kept his axe in hand and quickly killed another bandit who got too close.\n\n\"We can't fall back!\" Cassandra protested, \"If we let them into the village they'll start looting!\"\n\n\"Which is why we need to kill as many of them as possible without getting hurt ourselves!\" Drake shouted back. \"Use your head and don't just blindly rush into battle! Brute force by itself never won any wars.\"\n\nA loud howl from inside the village caused everyone to freeze in place. Cassandra turned around just in time to see the giant brown wolf burst through the healer's house door, taking the hinges and a portion of the wall with it. The moonlight glistened off his fangs as he gave another piercing howl and charged out to them, stopping at Cassandra's side.\n\n\"Are you going to help us?\" she asked. The wolf looked up at her and nodded.\n\n\"Do you have a name?\" she asked again.\n\n\"Volug,\" he said.\n\n\"A t-talking wolf? what's going on?!\" one of the closer bandits cried upon hearing the wolf speak.\n\n\"Who cares, it's just a big wolf. Try to take it alive or at least keep its pelt clean. It'll look good around my shoulders!\" Roderick shouted, urging his men forwards.\n\nCassandra's looks turned to a fierce smile of confidence and she tensed herself, drawing her hatchet with her tail wagging fiercely behind her. \"Just try it!\" she challenged.\n\n\"You've awfully overconfident like your buddy was, but you'll fall the same way he did.\" Drake warned the bandits. \"If you run away now, you'll get to keep your lives!\"\n\n\"What use is a life with nothing valuable in it!\" Roderick shouted back.\n\nNo sooner had the words left his mouth then Volug charged into the middle of his crew, his jaws tearing out the throat of a bandit only five feet from where Roderick was standing.\n\nSeeing his man fall so easily Roderick stated to panic, \"Attack! Kill the wolf!\" he shouted, prompting most of the bandits to round on the wolf and charge at him, some lingered, not sure if they should be more afraid of their leader or the giant wolf in their midst.\n\n\"Allow me to back you up!\" Drake remarked. He jumped forward, swinging his axe and slicing through a lancer who had drawn too close to Volug for comfort. Just as he thought, these bandits weren't too tough individually. Just take down their numbers one by one and they'd all fall soon enough.\n\nMost of them ignored Drake however and went straight for the giant wolf. Most of their weapons just glanced off his thick fur, only a couple making small cuts, and any who drew too close were eviscerated by Volug's teeth and claws. Two lancers ran towards the village, hoping to take this opportunity to break past what they thought were the weaker guard. One had his head taken off by a lucky throw from Cassandra's hatchet and the other was speared in the gut by one of the militiamen.\n\nSeeing that his allies could handle the majority of the bandits, Drake decided to handle the bandit leader himself. \"Now, see what disregard for others gets you? Nothing but death. You said before a life without value isn't worth living. And you are so right! Time for you to die, worthless cur!\" With that, he slashed at Roderick with his axe.\n\n\"No, I won't die here!\" Roderick declared as he took the axe in his arm before he struck back at Drake.\n\nSeeing that there was no risk to the village anymore, Cassandra moved to close the distance between herself and the bandit leader.\n\nDrake dodged Roderick's attack then pressed forward with his own, swinging his axe out at the brigand once more. \"You're completely outmatched! Give up now and you might still live!\" he announced.\n\n\"Never!\" Roderick swung back, he missed once then took a second swing and sliced Drake hard.\n\nTaking the slice, Drake took a few steps back from the wound. It wasn't anything fatal, but it certainly hurt a bit. \"Fool...Very well then. Die!\" he remarked, taking up his axe again and slicing at the man in retaliation.\n\nRoderick stumbled back despite his wounds only to be struck in the side by Cassandra's thrown hatchet, which she easily caught on the return trip. \"Last chance!\" she cautioned.\n\n\"He's certainly a stubborn one.\" Drake remarked, preparing his axe for a finishing blow just in case Roderick decided not to flee.\n\n\"Gah! Persistent whelps! I'll be back!\" Roderick shouted as he turned and fled.\n\n\"Get back here!\" Cassandra shouted after him. She took a few running steps after the fleeing bandit leader but slowed to a walk and stopped, panting. \"Damn guard duty,\" she cursed.\n\n\"You should take it easy now. You've really pushed yourself all day.\" Drake reminded her. She really did burn her energy out rather quickly when she got over excited. Couple that with her excitement over Volug's appearance and she was a mess.\n\n\"If I see him again I'll rip him apart!\" Cassandra declared as she turned around. Volug was licking the blood off his fur, spitting out some errant pieces of bandit still stuck in his teeth. Cassandra whistled when she saw the devastation and bodies surrounding the wolf, \"Damn, he's strong.\"\n\n\"Very much so...\" Drake agreed. \"He must have gathered quite some deal of battle experience in the past if he managed to kill most of those bandits by himself with barely any wounds.\" It was impressive to say the least. He wondered just where the strange being came from.\n\nCassandra approached Volug and she called to the militiamen, \"Help us clean this up! WE can't have these bandit corpses stinking things up.\"\n\n\"Yes, of course!\" one of the militia called as they dropped their spears and set about the morbid task of cleaning up the battle site. Volug picked up some objects in his teeth and deposited them in front of Drake and Cassandra.\n\n\"Hey look, a vulnerary!\" Cassandra grabbed up the small skin of healing liquid.\n\n\"Yes, we should save that for later. It should prove to be useful.\" Drake agreed. He looked about the field and sighed. \"Well better start cleaning up the bodies...Gah, what a mess....\" At least they weren't going to be anybody's problem anymore. Though their leader decided to high-tail it, fine by Drake's standards. If he ever showed up again to cause trouble then he'd just kill him and be done with it.\n\nVolug was a great help in disposing of the bodies, digging a hole for a mass grave far enough from the village that no one would stumble upon it, except for the local animals.\n\nIt took an hour to drag the corpses to the mass grave and bury them deep enough to keep the stink from seeping through. When they returned to the village, Volug was still in wolf form.\n\nEven though the moon was high, the excitement from the bandit attack was keeping CAssandra awake. She looked Volug over, \"Barely a scratch on him.\"\n\n\"And considering how he was wounded just a few hours ago, it's amazing he recovered so quickly. It must have been exhaustion that played a part in weakening him rather than the actual battle.\" her father said.\n\nHe frowned ever so lightly. \"Though we still don't really know where he came from or who he is. A name is all we have.\"\n\nWhen Cassandra stopped to take a breather Volug moved and began to sniff her all over, startling her. \"Hey! What the?\" she tried to pull away but Volug was too fast for her. \n\nVolug sat back on his haunches and looked her, then shook his head. \"Too old.\"\n\nCassandra glared at Volug and growled, her wolf ears twitching in irritation, \"Old?!\" she bristled. Drake had to avert his eyes as Cassandra smashed the flat end of her steel axe over Volug's head. The sturdy wolf didn’t even budge despite the force of the blow. \"I'm going to bed, dad!\" she added before she stormed away.\n\n\"Cassandra! Ugh...such a hot-headed woman she is...\" Drake muttered before looking to Volug. \"So...you were looking for my daughter? She's adopted, mind you, but still my kin. Who are you, precisely, and where did you come from?\" he asked. This was his chance to get some answers, so best to take advantage of it.\n\n\"Hatari,\" Volug replied.\n\n\"Can't say I've heard of the place.\" Drake responded.\n\nVolug shook his head, \"Not h-here.\"\n\n\"Not here? You mean you say you come from some far off land?\" the warrior asked.\n\nVolug nodded.\n\n\"And you came here in search of her?\"\n\n\"Zakiyah. P-princess,\" Volug said. He looked after where Cassandra had disappeared into her home, \"Too o-old\"\n\n\"You thought my girl was some long lost princess or something?\" Drake asked, frowning in confusion. \"Well she was just a baby when I found her 'bout twenty years ago. No one knows who she is or where she came from. She was just...sitting there in the middle of the field.\"\n\nVolug began to speak in a strange tongue, apparently conversing with himself. He then shook his head and looked up to Drake. \"You, s-sleep. I w-watch. Rep-pay healing.\"\n\n\"If you're certain...thank you then, Volug. Take care.\" Drake went into his house after this, though he had to wonder: just where was this Hatari place and what -was- Volug? There were so many unanswered questions. He dreaded having to find out.",
  "writing_bbcode_parsed": "<span style='word-wrap: break-word;'>One day in the middle of their usual work, Cassandra and her father Drake kill some bandits trying to take a wolf-man into slavery. The wolf-man is the first being like herself that Cassandra has ever seen and he first words to her are &quot;I found you&quot;.<br /><br />With the first possibility of learning what she is finally given to her, Cassandra insists they take the wolf-man back to their village to be healed rather than just healing him and leaving him in the forest, despite her father&#039;s protests. Once he wakes up, Cassandra hopes to get some answers from him.<br /><br /><div class='align_center'>~&hellip;~&hellip;~&hellip;~&hellip;~&hellip;~&hellip;~&hellip;~&hellip;~&hellip;~&hellip;~&hellip;~&hellip;~&hellip;~&hellip;~&hellip;~&hellip;~&hellip;~&hellip;~&hellip;~&hellip;~&hellip;~&hellip;~&hellip;~&hellip;~<br /><span class='underline'>Chapter 1: The Messenger</span><br />~&hellip;~&hellip;~&hellip;~&hellip;~&hellip;~&hellip;~&hellip;~&hellip;~&hellip;~&hellip;~&hellip;~&hellip;~&hellip;~&hellip;~&hellip;~&hellip;~&hellip;~&hellip;~&hellip;~&hellip;~&hellip;~&hellip;~&hellip;~&hellip;~</div><br /><br />Drake was cautious around this strange wolf man. It seemed that he somehow knew about his daughter&#039;s origins. While that made his daughter incredibly anxious, he was still wary. Just who was he and what did he want? He hoped that he&#039;d be able to answer their questions when he finally woke up. He could only imagine all the excitement going on in his daughter&#039;s head at the moment.<br /><br />Cassandra tapped her foot impatiently as the village healer administered healing herbs to the wolf-man&#039;s wounds. &quot;Why can&#039;t we have a staff-user in this village?&quot; she asked aloud, &quot;Or at least some of those vulneraries around here?&quot;<br /><br />&quot;We&#039;re a bit out of the way and we don&#039;t have a church in this town.&quot; Drake reminded her. &quot;Besides, things like this don&#039;t happen often around here so there&#039;s never been a need for such things. There hasn&#039;t been a war in almost a century.&quot;<br /><br />&quot;Well I need to know who this is, and why he said he &#039;found me&#039;,&quot; Cassandra said.<br /><br />&quot;Well rushing me isn&#039;t going to help,&quot; the healer said. &quot;Just let me finish then let him rest. He probably won&#039;t be awake until tomorrow with injuries like this so you&#039;d better just go back outside and back to work.&quot;<br /><br />&quot;We can&#039;t do that,&quot; Drake shook his head. &quot;If those bandits had any friends they might come looking for them so we&#039;ll have to keep people in site of the village until we&#039;re sure they&#039;ve passed.&quot;<br /><br />&quot;Very true,&quot; the healer admitted. &quot;Though you managed to take care of the last batch, another group could show up and they might be stronger than the last. So perhaps instead of just going back to work, you could see if there are any other fighters in the village to help you out? I&#039;m sure there are some people trained with some kind of weapon.&quot;<br /><br />&quot;Not many, we&#039;ll see who&#039;s willing to fight.&quot; Cassandra said before she left the healer&#039;s house.<br /><br />&quot;She&#039;s certainly determined about this...&quot; the healer commented. Drake nodded in agreement, sighing ever so lightly.<br /><br />&quot;This is the first time she&#039;s met anyone who knows anything about her past. She must be so excited...&quot; he stated. But it was without a doubt dangerous...Just what was going on here?<br /><br />By nighttime only the three villagers that were part of the militia had joined Cassandra and Drake on guard, armed with bronze spears and wearing pots as makeshift helmets.<br /><br />&quot;So far it&#039;s been quiet,&quot; one of them commented.<br /><br />&quot;Yeah,&quot; Cassandra sounded bored. &quot;Hey dad, any sign of them!?&quot; She called to where Drake was on look out.<br /><br />&quot;None yet!&quot; Drake called back. But that didn&#039;t mean there -were- no bandits. It was still very quiet...&quot;Just be careful anyway!&quot; he warned his allies. He didn&#039;t want anyone getting their butts killed by any brigands.<br /><br />A few minutes passed and Cassandra sniffed, &quot;Smells like sweat.&quot; She looked at one of the other militia, who looked back at her nervously, &quot;And not from you,&quot; she added, her eyes hooded. The militiaman grinned sheepishly.<br /><br />&quot;Aye, I can see some movement...I think we&#039;ve got company.&quot; Drake replied with a frown. &quot;Looks like we&#039;ve got a fight on our hands.&quot;<br /><br />&quot;Gyahaha! Alright boys this fruit looks ripe for the plucking. Alrik&#039;s loss will be Roderick&#039;s gain!&quot; With the bandit leader&#039;s call three dozen bandits wielding sword, axes and lances came into site from the darkened woods and fields around the village. Roderick stood two heads taller than the rest of his men and carried what looked like a poleaxe over his shoulders.<br /><br />Cassandra growled and hefted up the steel axe she&#039;d gotten the previous day, &quot;This is nuts!&quot; she declared.<br /><br />&quot;There&#039;s a lot of them...&quot; Drake muttered. &quot;But they honestly don&#039;t look that strong by themselves. If we take them on one by one, I&#039;m sure they&#039;ll be whittled down to nothing soon enough.&quot; He prepared his battle axe for the coming skirmish. Good thing they had a little back-up, but they&#039;d be at a pretty big disadvantage.<br /><br />&quot;This is crazy!&quot; The militia closest to Drake shouted.<br /><br />Two axe wielding brigands charged forwards, Cassandra took a gash across her chest only to strike back, the heavier axe she&#039;d used killing him in one hit. The other charged at one of the militia who tried to lunge at him, missing and getting a massive cut down his arm, which made him scream in pain.<br /><br />Drake was quick to protect the militia man and cut down the bandit who had hurt him, brandishing his axe. &quot;Tch, if you get too hurt, fall back! We don&#039;t need anyone dying a pointless death!&quot; he remarked. He kept his axe in hand and quickly killed another bandit who got too close.<br /><br />&quot;We can&#039;t fall back!&quot; Cassandra protested, &quot;If we let them into the village they&#039;ll start looting!&quot;<br /><br />&quot;Which is why we need to kill as many of them as possible without getting hurt ourselves!&quot; Drake shouted back. &quot;Use your head and don&#039;t just blindly rush into battle! Brute force by itself never won any wars.&quot;<br /><br />A loud howl from inside the village caused everyone to freeze in place. Cassandra turned around just in time to see the giant brown wolf burst through the healer&#039;s house door, taking the hinges and a portion of the wall with it. The moonlight glistened off his fangs as he gave another piercing howl and charged out to them, stopping at Cassandra&#039;s side.<br /><br />&quot;Are you going to help us?&quot; she asked. The wolf looked up at her and nodded.<br /><br />&quot;Do you have a name?&quot; she asked again.<br /><br />&quot;Volug,&quot; he said.<br /><br />&quot;A t-talking wolf? what&#039;s going on?!&quot; one of the closer bandits cried upon hearing the wolf speak.<br /><br />&quot;Who cares, it&#039;s just a big wolf. Try to take it alive or at least keep its pelt clean. It&#039;ll look good around my shoulders!&quot; Roderick shouted, urging his men forwards.<br /><br />Cassandra&#039;s looks turned to a fierce smile of confidence and she tensed herself, drawing her hatchet with her tail wagging fiercely behind her. &quot;Just try it!&quot; she challenged.<br /><br />&quot;You&#039;ve awfully overconfident like your buddy was, but you&#039;ll fall the same way he did.&quot; Drake warned the bandits. &quot;If you run away now, you&#039;ll get to keep your lives!&quot;<br /><br />&quot;What use is a life with nothing valuable in it!&quot; Roderick shouted back.<br /><br />No sooner had the words left his mouth then Volug charged into the middle of his crew, his jaws tearing out the throat of a bandit only five feet from where Roderick was standing.<br /><br />Seeing his man fall so easily Roderick stated to panic, &quot;Attack! Kill the wolf!&quot; he shouted, prompting most of the bandits to round on the wolf and charge at him, some lingered, not sure if they should be more afraid of their leader or the giant wolf in their midst.<br /><br />&quot;Allow me to back you up!&quot; Drake remarked. He jumped forward, swinging his axe and slicing through a lancer who had drawn too close to Volug for comfort. Just as he thought, these bandits weren&#039;t too tough individually. Just take down their numbers one by one and they&#039;d all fall soon enough.<br /><br />Most of them ignored Drake however and went straight for the giant wolf. Most of their weapons just glanced off his thick fur, only a couple making small cuts, and any who drew too close were eviscerated by Volug&#039;s teeth and claws. Two lancers ran towards the village, hoping to take this opportunity to break past what they thought were the weaker guard. One had his head taken off by a lucky throw from Cassandra&#039;s hatchet and the other was speared in the gut by one of the militiamen.<br /><br />Seeing that his allies could handle the majority of the bandits, Drake decided to handle the bandit leader himself. &quot;Now, see what disregard for others gets you? Nothing but death. You said before a life without value isn&#039;t worth living. And you are so right! Time for you to die, worthless cur!&quot; With that, he slashed at Roderick with his axe.<br /><br />&quot;No, I won&#039;t die here!&quot; Roderick declared as he took the axe in his arm before he struck back at Drake.<br /><br />Seeing that there was no risk to the village anymore, Cassandra moved to close the distance between herself and the bandit leader.<br /><br />Drake dodged Roderick&#039;s attack then pressed forward with his own, swinging his axe out at the brigand once more. &quot;You&#039;re completely outmatched! Give up now and you might still live!&quot; he announced.<br /><br />&quot;Never!&quot; Roderick swung back, he missed once then took a second swing and sliced Drake hard.<br /><br />Taking the slice, Drake took a few steps back from the wound. It wasn&#039;t anything fatal, but it certainly hurt a bit. &quot;Fool...Very well then. Die!&quot; he remarked, taking up his axe again and slicing at the man in retaliation.<br /><br />Roderick stumbled back despite his wounds only to be struck in the side by Cassandra&#039;s thrown hatchet, which she easily caught on the return trip. &quot;Last chance!&quot; she cautioned.<br /><br />&quot;He&#039;s certainly a stubborn one.&quot; Drake remarked, preparing his axe for a finishing blow just in case Roderick decided not to flee.<br /><br />&quot;Gah! Persistent whelps! I&#039;ll be back!&quot; Roderick shouted as he turned and fled.<br /><br />&quot;Get back here!&quot; Cassandra shouted after him. She took a few running steps after the fleeing bandit leader but slowed to a walk and stopped, panting. &quot;Damn guard duty,&quot; she cursed.<br /><br />&quot;You should take it easy now. You&#039;ve really pushed yourself all day.&quot; Drake reminded her. She really did burn her energy out rather quickly when she got over excited. Couple that with her excitement over Volug&#039;s appearance and she was a mess.<br /><br />&quot;If I see him again I&#039;ll rip him apart!&quot; Cassandra declared as she turned around. Volug was licking the blood off his fur, spitting out some errant pieces of bandit still stuck in his teeth. Cassandra whistled when she saw the devastation and bodies surrounding the wolf, &quot;Damn, he&#039;s strong.&quot;<br /><br />&quot;Very much so...&quot; Drake agreed. &quot;He must have gathered quite some deal of battle experience in the past if he managed to kill most of those bandits by himself with barely any wounds.&quot; It was impressive to say the least. He wondered just where the strange being came from.<br /><br />Cassandra approached Volug and she called to the militiamen, &quot;Help us clean this up! WE can&#039;t have these bandit corpses stinking things up.&quot;<br /><br />&quot;Yes, of course!&quot; one of the militia called as they dropped their spears and set about the morbid task of cleaning up the battle site. Volug picked up some objects in his teeth and deposited them in front of Drake and Cassandra.<br /><br />&quot;Hey look, a vulnerary!&quot; Cassandra grabbed up the small skin of healing liquid.<br /><br />&quot;Yes, we should save that for later. It should prove to be useful.&quot; Drake agreed. He looked about the field and sighed. &quot;Well better start cleaning up the bodies...Gah, what a mess....&quot; At least they weren&#039;t going to be anybody&#039;s problem anymore. Though their leader decided to high-tail it, fine by Drake&#039;s standards. If he ever showed up again to cause trouble then he&#039;d just kill him and be done with it.<br /><br />Volug was a great help in disposing of the bodies, digging a hole for a mass grave far enough from the village that no one would stumble upon it, except for the local animals.<br /><br />It took an hour to drag the corpses to the mass grave and bury them deep enough to keep the stink from seeping through. When they returned to the village, Volug was still in wolf form.<br /><br />Even though the moon was high, the excitement from the bandit attack was keeping CAssandra awake. She looked Volug over, &quot;Barely a scratch on him.&quot;<br /><br />&quot;And considering how he was wounded just a few hours ago, it&#039;s amazing he recovered so quickly. It must have been exhaustion that played a part in weakening him rather than the actual battle.&quot; her father said.<br /><br />He frowned ever so lightly. &quot;Though we still don&#039;t really know where he came from or who he is. A name is all we have.&quot;<br /><br />When Cassandra stopped to take a breather Volug moved and began to sniff her all over, startling her. &quot;Hey! What the?&quot; she tried to pull away but Volug was too fast for her. <br /><br />Volug sat back on his haunches and looked her, then shook his head. &quot;Too old.&quot;<br /><br />Cassandra glared at Volug and growled, her wolf ears twitching in irritation, &quot;Old?!&quot; she bristled. Drake had to avert his eyes as Cassandra smashed the flat end of her steel axe over Volug&#039;s head. The sturdy wolf didn&rsquo;t even budge despite the force of the blow. &quot;I&#039;m going to bed, dad!&quot; she added before she stormed away.<br /><br />&quot;Cassandra! Ugh...such a hot-headed woman she is...&quot; Drake muttered before looking to Volug. &quot;So...you were looking for my daughter? She&#039;s adopted, mind you, but still my kin. Who are you, precisely, and where did you come from?&quot; he asked. This was his chance to get some answers, so best to take advantage of it.<br /><br />&quot;Hatari,&quot; Volug replied.<br /><br />&quot;Can&#039;t say I&#039;ve heard of the place.&quot; Drake responded.<br /><br />Volug shook his head, &quot;Not h-here.&quot;<br /><br />&quot;Not here? You mean you say you come from some far off land?&quot; the warrior asked.<br /><br />Volug nodded.<br /><br />&quot;And you came here in search of her?&quot;<br /><br />&quot;Zakiyah. P-princess,&quot; Volug said. He looked after where Cassandra had disappeared into her home, &quot;Too o-old&quot;<br /><br />&quot;You thought my girl was some long lost princess or something?&quot; Drake asked, frowning in confusion. &quot;Well she was just a baby when I found her &#039;bout twenty years ago. No one knows who she is or where she came from. She was just...sitting there in the middle of the field.&quot;<br /><br />Volug began to speak in a strange tongue, apparently conversing with himself. He then shook his head and looked up to Drake. &quot;You, s-sleep. I w-watch. Rep-pay healing.&quot;<br /><br />&quot;If you&#039;re certain...thank you then, Volug. Take care.&quot; Drake went into his house after this, though he had to wonder: just where was this Hatari place and what -was- Volug? There were so many unanswered questions. He dreaded having to find out.</span>",
  "pools_count": 0,
  "title": "Fire Emblem: Rebirth of Legends Chapter 1",
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