My (Monster?) Hero Life

Chapter 9: Wolf among the Flock

As morning dawned and the creak of the gates rang out as they opened the merchants campsites became full of activity. Like its own little community of ants they began to move. Each with their own job in mind. As the caravans packed up and took their places in lines before the guards the merchant from last night spoke to Kace.

"Y'know if you're headed inside you can join our group. Save yourself the effort of waiting in the back of the line?"

"Ah, thanks Henry. I'll take you up on that then." Kace replied. After their talk last night the two had become quite friendly.

Taking a seat on the back of Henry's lead carriage, Kace leisurely watched as the guards repeated the entrance procedure for each caravan. When their turn came one of the guards looked at Kace suspiciously.

"Who's this Henry? He's not a usual member of your group when you pass through."

"Ah don't worry about, he's a new hunter I hired to gather furs during our travels for selling."

"Hmm, you planning on branching out more? Guess that means you can afford to buy me a drink later then eh?" the guard said while laughing. He roughly slapped Henry on the back in a friendly way.

"Sure thing! I did make a bit of a profit recently so it it's not too much to ask for. Hahaha."

Kace watched on from underneath his hood. To him it appeared as though Henry had been a bit forced in his response, as though he was seriously trying to be friendly with the guard rather than his natural friendly tone he used with himself.

'Guess it helps to stay on their good side in his line of work.' Kace idly thought, eyeballing the guard as he ushered them inside.

Beyond the walls the town sprawled out before him. Old stone buildings surrounded the main road through the town. At first glance these mostly appeared to be stores, taverns and inns. 'I guess that's to be expected with being so close to the gate.'

As adults walked up and down studying the wares in the windows the the kids played in the street. Some wearing very nice clothes but those were definitely in the minority. Most of them wore average outfits that were most likely to be hand me downs. Then finally there were the ones whose clothes were ragged. Scrawny figures, clearly malnourished, and covered in dirt. These were probably orphans, homeless kids or from extremely poor families.

In his time living with the goblins he had realised that amongst them nobody wanted for anything. They took care of their own. However humans were just selfish and greedy. All about themselves and willing to do whatever to get ahead in life. Even at the cost of friends and family. These thoughts had left Kace wondering if his mindset had been altered during his rebirth. He had found himself slightly repulsed by Henry and the others when he had approached them last night. As if they were nothing but wild animals, only fit for slaughter.

Jumping off the carriage he asked Henry if there was anything worth noting around town.

"Well, you've got the mayor's manor over yonder. You can't miss it. Big fancy thing it is compared to everything else. You've got the Hunters guild down that street there. That lot hunt monsters and animals for cash. Probably a good fit for a man of your skills. Then there's the Mercenary guild for bodyguard work, bandits and anything else someone might pay a skilled warrior for. Lastly you've got a branch of the Mages Association. You'll want to stay as far away as you can from that lot. Trust me. Although there's no Heroes guild here there's been talk of quite a few of them coming here lately."

This last bit of information caught Kace's attention. However his cover would probably be blown if he asked about it. Seeing as Henry talked as though it was common knowledge. Kace bit his lip in frustration. There was nothing he could do about it though except look into it more if he got the chance. Thinking along these lines he pushed his curiosity to the back of his mind.

"Thanks Henry, I'll look you up again if I have anything else of interest to sell you."

"Ah that's a good lad! Exactly what I wanted to hear!" he replied jovially, flashing him a wink.

Waving their goodbyes Kace found himself torn in his decision. He, at most, had a couple of days before he had to return to the Smalltooth Tribe. So he had to spend his time wisely. The Mages Association was definitely out of the question. At least until he actually gained some mana. So that only left the Hunter or Mercenary guilds. It didn't take him long to make up his mind. After all he had a very peculiar way of getting stronger.

Having made up his mind he set off in the direction Henry had given him. As he walked through the streets he took in the sights and sounds. Feeling curious he even took the time to do some window shopping. It did not take him long to realise that Henry may have underpaid him but he did not particularly mind.

As he passed a dark alleyway between two buildings he heard muffled yelping. Pausing in his stride he stole a glance to see what the commotion was. Two large, rough looking boys held another against the wall. The one who had his feet dangling off the ground was dressed in rather fine clothes. Between the two thugs stood a woman, caressing a knife as if it were her lover. She had a dark brown corset on with a short open jacket covering it. On her bottom half she sported a pair of leather short with a decent pair of boots that covered up to her thighs graceing her long legs.

The scene reaked of an extortion gig. Kace held his breath and walked as quietly as he could manage into the alley, not wanting the spook the assailants.

"Well Roger, I suggest you ask 'daddy' to give you a little extra pocket money next time. After all, my boys here are putting themselves in danger to provide you with our "protection". Don't you agree that their lives are worth a little more than this pittance?!" the woman sneered maliciously as she brushed her short, dark, shoulder length hair behind her ears.

"I'm... I'm sorry Rose! I'll bring more next time. I swear!" the little rich kid called Roger whimpered.

"Yeah, that's a good boy! I knew you'd listen to reason. I told you boys didn't I? Little Rogers a decent little lad that would have your best interests at heart." Rose replied causing a chorus of laughter from the two thugs.

Kace could not hold back anymore. For some reason he was infuriated as these bold humans who were merely pretending to be monsters. 'I guess there's no need to be polite then.' he though, a glean flashing in his golden eyes.

By this point he had reached the shadows behind the trio. Even Roger who was facing him seemed to take no notice of his existence. Sharply stepping out from the dark he planted one hand on the back of the head of the thug to his right. Very calmly he then proceeded to smash the poor sods face straight into the wall. With his free hand he placed it on Rose's shoulder before she could react, shifting his weight to lean on her.

"Now, Now. What's this I've found? I knew roses had thorns but I didn't think they were so big?" he said, flashing an evil toothy grin into her green eyes.

While the trio were still dazed he quickly chopped Rose on her throat with his bare hand, causing her to collapse unable to breath. The other thug quickly let go of Roger having the presence of mind to realise this was an enemy. However before he could completely react Kace slipped between his arms. Staring him straight in the face he supplied the thug with the same grin he gave Rose. Right before slugging him with a spectacular uppercut. Putting him out for the count on the spot. Kace snorted gently walking back out of the alley. Rose watched his fading figure as she passed out. Burning it into her memories. As he cleared the corner a small voice rang out.

"T-thank you! I'll never forget this!" the voice belonging to Roger called in gratitude.

"Didn't do it for your sake." Kace mumbled to himself. As he casually sauntered on his way through the streets towards his destination.

It took a few more turns and having to stop several couples and old folks to finally locate what he was after. He came round the last bend to see a large building standing alone on the outskirts. A large sign hung over the doors with the words "Hunter Guild" in bold writing upon it.