FHC B2 Chapter 18: Hanse the Golden (Patreon)

"And the chamber? You smelled that, right?"

Devon pulled a door off its hinges and stepped through the curtain covering the doorframe. "I did. We'll investigate after completing the hunt."

"What do you think is down there?"

"Something old. We'll find out after. Focus."

I pursed my lips and ripped the curtain off the nails it was bolted to. It ripped, and I tossed it to the floor while Alice entered the tunnel.

We walked up a second flight of stairs before hearing noises. The tunnels brightened, and a dull vibration shook the tunnel ahead.

"Sounds like music," Alice said.

"Good. They'll be distracted," Devon replied.

To call it music was generous: loud shouts and heavy drumming shook the earth. A woman's high-pitched scream reached my ears, and I tightened my grip on my axe.

It wasn't long before Devon tore off the final door and exposed the cavern on the other side. Without the door to muffle the sound, sound bathed the tunnel in the cheers and grunts of men. Shadows danced along the walls, and I joined Devon in staring at the crowd of burly men cheering on their fellows as two of them wrestled for dominance in a circle.

Large tankards clacked against each other, and drinks that smelled like turpentine and piss splashed onto the ground.

But they weren't just the bandit men.

A woman stayed silent as one guy grabbed her from behind while another pinched her cheeks together in his sausage-like fingers.

She didn't scream nor turn away, but she had a deadness in her eyes that looked beyond the man's face.

Rage boiled inside me, and I let the sea of flames grow underneath my skin.

I had to look away, to take in the room. Reluctantly, I scanned the room.

Where are they…. There.

Several metal cages lined the far wall. Two were empty, clean, and spotless. One had the skeletal remains dressed in fancy silk, with symbols drawn in red paint over its skull.

And in the fourth, shackled to the wall with silver chains that forced his arms above his head, was the captain. Volk rested with his head to the floor, stripped of his armor. I searched the cage beside him but didn't find the mother and daughter.

"I don't see the nobles," I growled.

Devon pointed, and I traced it to a giant door past the stone throne resting atop a platform.

"Should we sneak through?"

"Use your incantations; send your summon to free the captain,"

"And the woman?" Alice asked as she extended her arm, her eyes cold.

He didn't answer. As I raised my arm and began to conjure the image of a flame, Devon launched himself from the edge and landed in the circle below. The two men continued to grapple each other, unaware of Devon casually sliding his spear out of its holster.

"Hey! Who are you?"

A man stepped up and raised his mug like a weapon. Before he could take two steps, Devon's spear slid through his gut and sprayed the ground with blood. With a jerk, the spear exited his stomach, and he stumbled backward.

Those drunk and confused began to take in the situation, their eyes widening as Devon plunged his spear through another man's back.

The scene made my skin crawl. Cold and merciless, he killed with dead eyes that didn't blink.

Beside me, Alice's arm shook with force as the air around her arm distorted. "Bandits raid, pillage, and more. Look at the woman's face. Do not show mercy to those who lower themselves to the level of monsters."

She muttered an incantation, and the forceball exploded outward, zipping through the air. It slid through a man's feet and detonated, sending the surrounding people flying.

The woman tumbled away, not hurt, but the man grabbing her from behind fell to his knees while the guy in front crashed to the floor.

Bones cracked, and the sound stirred the captain as blood splattered against the cage.

Images of an axe slicing through flesh flashed in my head.

I swallowed the image under a tide of anger.

Ek kalla heiðarloga!

Flames joined the ground and lit the spilled drinks. As Devon slaughtered those who tried to rush him, the cries of burning men filled the room.

I hopped down and rushed past Alice, who picked up the woman and pushed her to the back of the room. Leaping over a bandit, I approached Volk, who stared in wide-eyed horror. I tugged, and the bars bent. "Volk, where's Haldeena and Neyenna?"

His jaw slammed shut, and he met my eyes. "The big guy took them to his chamber. Behind the throne."

Devon was right. Good.

I tugged again, and the latch twisted with a screech as the door came free. I tried to pull on the chains, but they didn't budge.

"Freki, can you bite through it?"

"Freki?"

"Not you. Don't move."

My wolf rose from my shadow. As the massive head came to a stop beside Volk's ear, the captain froze. His eyes glanced into Freki's own, the two glowing orbs illuminating the side of his face.

Freki opened his jaw, and embers started to spew out. As he clamped down on the metal link, the flames began to shine through the shadows until the metal became cherry red. With a jerk, the chain snapped, and Volk's arm came free. He stared at the cooling link even as Freki crossed over to his other side and repeated the action for the second chain.

Behind me, Alice cut down a man who tried to tug on her cloak. Her axe sliced into his chest, and he dropped to the ground, dead.

With Volk free, I turned away and scanned the room. Most of the men had retreated, rushing to the opposite side of the room or through smaller tunnels. Those who stayed and tried to fight found themselves corpses on the floor.

Devon pulled out his spear from the last bandit, and a small earthquake shook the room.

The smoke that had drifted to the ceiling was siphoned away as the rumbling grew powerful enough to force me to brace myself on the cage.

Devon planted his spear into the stone while Alice crouched low.

"WHO DARES ENTER MY MOUNTAIN?!"

The voice shook the earth and caused bits of stone to fall from the ceiling. The shaking stopped, and we turned to stare as something knocked on the heavy stone door behind the throne.

It rumbled and shattered in a hail of rocks as Devon deflected a large chunk with his spear.

Through the dust, the tallest man I had ever seen stomped into view. He had short golden hair and eyes glowing the same hue. On his chest, an emerald tattoo with runic lines spread out like roots from a tree. They continued up his chest and down to his arm, where he dragged a massive club nearly as big as himself.

He stopped next to his throne and looked down. His eyes roamed from one end of the room to the other before raising his massive club with one hand. In a single swing, he smashed it into the floor and sent another quake through the stone.

Volk dropped to his knees, and I abandoned my axe to stay standing. When it stopped, I scooped it back up, but Devon was already waiting, his spear held casually to the side.

"Why is a Grimm murdering my men?" the giant bellowed.

"Where's the woman and daughter?" Devon responded.

The rune on the man's chest flared to life, and his stomp cracked the stone underneath. "Is that why you're here? Did they pay you to protect them? Whatever it is, I'll double it."

"Where are they?"

"Didn't you hear me? I said I-"

"Hunter? We're in here. Please!"

Devon rushed forward, his spear aiming for the man's chest. He swung his club far faster than he should have for its size and knocked the spear aside. Devon didn't care; he kept moving forward, and I watched his arm transform into fur and claws.

He sliced upward, but the giant continued to defy his size and bent out of the way. He swung his club in a crossswing, and Devon jumped up, clearing the attack as he brought his spear down.

The giant twisted and grabbed the spear, raising Devon upward. “I am Hanse the Golden! You entered my domain!"

The hunter remained silent as he pulled on his spear. It didn't budge from the giant's hands. "Cain. Retrieve the nobles."

Holy crap, he blocked Devon's blow….

Hanse roared and swung a right hook, but Devon released his spear and launched him self away as a wave of frost coated the giant's front.

"Agh!" he bellowed as he crushed the ice sprouting from his chest. "Enough!"

The rune flared, and a dozen roots became hundreds that stretched across his body like ink. His muscles rippled and bulged, his head growing closer to the ceiling as his form expanded.

But it wasn't over. The tattoo spread down his fingers and through the stone club. Mana flared; the club sprouted thick thorns along its sides, growing to match the giant's size.

Devon hadn't remained idle; his cloak was gone, as was the rest of his clothes. He stood as a smaller but hulking beast that glared with crimson eyes.

He leapt and cleared the distance, his claw coming down twice as fast.

Yet Hanse blocked with his arm, and Devon's claws cut through skin, exposing pearly-white bone.

A blur sent the werewolf crashing into the far wall, and my stomach sank as an all too familiar scene played out.

Hanse raised his arm, and flesh restitched itself, bubbling with pink froth that dissipated and left his limb whole.

He dropped his arm as Devon reemerged from the rubble. Devon shook off the dust and growled.

"I offered you a deal, Grimm. You should have taken it."