The Hellish Incursion

The Haulers' Day Job

            Wayfer was a very inclusive town compared to Sidve. Unlike the village, the Lycans on Sidve had a choice regarding their forms, and those who chose to be a werewolf kept their wolf form even in public. Albert worked for a store that was run by a family of Lycans who chose to stay in their werewolf form while working, and no one, not even the children, were scared.

            The only downside of staying werewolf was that they would not be able to work in places that would compromise their furs like near a furnace, a blacksmith, and in culinary business. They could work as the clerk, yes, but their shedding fur would ruin foods and, in the case of working near a hot, burning furnace, their fur could catch fire. It wasn’t really a problem since they could simply stay human during the work period, though from what the librarian said to Lilac, they would really prefer to stay werewolf even during work since everyone else did, mostly because of the complications of transforming.

            The conversations made Lilac realized that maybe living in a village of disguised Lycans made her a bit close-minded. She always thought that Lycans, due to their wild appearance, would be shunned upon in society due to succumbing to their animalistic side. After Ifrit, she found that it was not the case and she felt rather embarrassed because of it, albeit only for herself.

            Ifrit, on the other hand, was wary because of several things. The most pressing one was if the hellhounds managed to find him in a town only half a day away from Sidve. Then, when the hellhounds attacked, the people of Wayfer would suffer because of him. He could give himself up to spare the oblivious surface dwellers the pain of suffering, but Ifrit was a little too selfish for that. He wondered if it was his princely upbringing, one that he barely remembered. Not sure if that was the case for hellhounds since hellhound princes were dangerously capable in combat, as shown with what he did in Sidve.

            As both Lilac and Ifrit contemplated of their lives from that point on, they helped Albert checked the goods they would deliver in Albert’s carriage, which also doubled as Albert’s mobile home. The human told the two that he would usually sleep in cheap inns or taverns, but on the road, he preferred camping.

            “Sometimes, travel can take more than three days,” replied Albert when asked about this issue. “And in some places, it can be too remote to even warrant a proper facility.”

            “I don’t believe Dusdolf has remote regions,” commented Lilac.

            “Oh, you find one or two of them,” said Albert. “We still farm and brew our renowned beers far from the smog of the industrial cities. They taste far better with clean air.”

            “Can’t agree more.”

            Lilac talked a bit with Albert to know a bit more of him. She already guessed that he was foreign from his accent and his uncommon name. He confirmed that he was originally from Dusdolf and grew up as a baker’s son. He traveled because he wanted to see what the continent had to offer.

            The conversation reminded Lilac of Hans and his own sense of adventure. She lamented the fact that he might come home one day to find his home reduced to splinters, and he might not know where to find her. He was the only family she had left, and he chose to travel to the unknown to prove himself, not knowing that life in Ternor was good enough as it was. Still, he wanted the glory of finding a new landmass, so she could not be angry with him. He was her brother and she knew him better than others did.

            Before long, they were ready to go with their goods. Albert prepared the horses, helped by Lilac while Ifrit secured the cargo. The red-painted carriage felt so new and cozy despite of being a mobile home. It was much bigger than most of the carriages on the road and required at least two strong horses to pull. Inside, the carriage felt like it could be comfortably inhabited by five people. It was missing amenities such as a proper bathroom, which made sense, but it was good enough to have a stove installed inside the carriage, lined with non-flammable material to protect the wood.

            The fact that the carriage was even more luxurious than Lilac’s home made her wonder if working as a hauler was worth it. Sure, she worked odd jobs for 9 years and the pay were usually good enough for her, but now that she was able to travel, she wondered if this was another reason Hans did what he did?

            “I guess it’s our nature to desire more,” thought Lilac on the idea.

***

            Lilac stayed inside the carriage due to the hot, dusty road they traveled on while Ifrit and Albert sat outside with the horses. She was preoccupied with reading the morning news about the attack on Sidve and the efforts of several groups of guards fighting back the hellhounds, in which they succeeded. She wondered if it was because they were lucky, given how the villagers and the guards assigned to Sidve were overwhelmed. Nevertheless, she felt relieved that the danger stopped, at least for now.

            Outside, Ifrit and Albert sat silently as the horse-drawn carriage continued on the hot, dusty road. They both did not have a topic to talk about, at least until Albert started talking.

            “So, Ifrit,” he said. “Where did you learn Tragorian? Lilac?”

            “Yes,” said Ifrit.

            “But before that?”

            “From father and mother. They…teach me many languages.”

            “Wie Dusdolfian?” said Albert.

            “Nein,” said Ifrit. “Ich…uh...”

            “Well, you’ll learn the basics,” said Albert. “It’s pretty surprising. Usually your kind don’t go to surface without a good reason. There are reasons for that, but the most common one is language barrier. They can’t speak our languages, and we can’t say theirs without burning our tongues. Someone crazy enough managed to compile it and called it Hordo.”

            “Hordo? (Ah, Hordo).”

            “Whatever you say.”

            “So, is there book I can read?”

            “No. The Demon Hunters sealed it so no one can get hurt by it,” said Albert.

            “How…do you know?”

            “Well…I know a lot of things. Traveling makes you more broad-minded, ja?”

            Unbeknownst to Albert, Ifrit suspected that Albert was hiding something. His limited knowledge in Tragorian and Dusdolfian language did not mean limited knowledge. That, and the harsh life of his childhood made him unable to trust someone on the get go. He did not show his suspicions, keeping it to himself. He did not want the suspicions to be unfounded, at least until Albert showed who he really was. For now, he hoped Albert would be a freelance cargo hauler and not his enemy.

            They stopped near a town called Atford and unload their cargo of stationaries. It was 2 in the afternoon when they reached the outskirts of the town and parked their carriage in the designated area. The destination of the cargo, a school for young children, had just finished the morning class with children playing in and around the school yard. The teacher noticed the three and greeted them.

            “You’re fast,” she said. “I expected you to deliver them tonight.”

            “I wired you the status of our delivery back in Wayfer,” said Albert. “I try my best to keep that promise. It’s good for business, you know.”

            “Really hope you’d sign a regular contract, but I guess you have your own reasons.” She then gave Albert a bundle of paper money. “Here’s the pay. 30 Krets.”

            Albert counted the money and smiled. “Thank you, frau Batson.”

            Miss Batson nodded before she noticed Ifrit carrying the boxes of books and stationeries. Ifrit noticed she was staring and said, “Uh…can I help you?”

            “No, it’s nothing,” said Batson. “It’s just…you’re wearing ear piercings. I never met a Lycan wearing piercings before.”

            “It’s a fashion sense,” said Albert while he pulled Ifrit away. “Sorry. He’s not Tragorian.”

            “No, there’s nothing wrong,” she said. “Sorry if I offend you.”

            “It is fine,” said Ifrit.

            Albert quickly pulled Ifrit away from Miss Batson and returned to where Lilac was waiting. As they walked, Albert said, “I know you have reasons wearing them, but up here, Lycans don’t wear piercings on their tail or earrings. At least not in Tragoria.”

            “Why?” asked Ifrit.

            “There’s no reason to,” said Lilac, who was within earshot. “We change forms very often to accommodate our lives. Wearing piercings will just make things complicated.”

            “You can take it off,” remarked Ifrit with a shrug. “(How hard can it be?)”

            “Well…no one thought about it before,” said Lilac. “But I guess you’re right.”

            Lilac felt rather embarrassed by Ifrit’s remarks, and she could guess what he was talking about in his own language. Her limited exposure to the life outside of Sidve started to show, though not apparent enough for Albert and Ifrit to notice. She kept it to herself. Ifrit did not seem to notice it, nor did Albert.

            In fact, she felt stupid for being embarrassed by something that’s so simple, so she shrugged it off and followed the three to the town’s tavern where they rented a room to rest. However, they weren’t finished for the day.

            Given Albert’s status as a freelancer, he would need to find a hauling job from places to places without a binding contract. Albert, of all people, knew that it had been ten years since the turn of the century and things had changed a lot since then. Wireless telegraph were slowly supplanted by telephones, and using the mail service were usually for those who couldn’t afford a wireless service. As industries became bigger, cargo hauling became a lucrative business for those who could. It wasn’t the most trustworthy of businesses, but it gave Albert a chance to travel, which he now shared with his new companions.

            As for Lilac, the chance of getting out of her village did come true for both her and her brother, though in return, she lost her home. The talk of a village infested with ‘foreign Lycans’ became the most talked topic wherever Lilac went with Albert. She half-expected a survivor from Sidve, someone who she really knew, would be around. But, unfortunately, there weren’t.

            Albert soon started to notice Lilac’s saddened expression whenever she heard about talks of Sidve. He knew he started asking Lilac and Ifrit to travel with him just to hire some new help. But…looking at her made him realize that this would not be a normal trip, after all. There was a chance for him to help Lilac with her problems of having her home forcefully taken from her.

            After several hours of trying to find an open job, they found one and decided to go with this one, ending their day of search and giving them a chance to rest. Albert chose the time they relaxed in the lobby to talk about Lilac and her decision going forward.

            “So, Lilac,” said Albert as he ate the sandwich he bought from the inn’s store. “I wonder. What are you going to do next, now that you’re further than you’ve ever been from your own home?”

            “Is that a rhetorical question?” asked Lilac.

            “Given that working with me is more of trust than that of contractual obligation, I say it’s not,” said Albert. “You might find working as a traveling freelance hauler a bit too much for someone who barely got out of her village.”

            “Only if that certain someone has never done this kind of work before. I live for myself and my brother’s sake. This line of work is nothing new.”

            “How’s the travel?”

            “Travelling has been something I wished to do if I have the money. Not only I am traveling, I am also paid to do so. Or, you have a different idea in mind?”

            “No, you’re right. So, I guess I worry for nothing, then.”

            “However,” interjected Lilac. “I…need time to understand that my home, my village…is gone. I know working and traveling is not new, but knowing that both me and my brother no longer have a home felt…devastating. We don’t know anyone beside the villagers and….”

            “Do not worry about it,” said Albert with the sincerest smile he could give. “If you need to talk about it, I’ll be there. Ifrit’s there, too. Right, Ifrit?”

            “Oh.” Ifrit, by this point, was trying to read a Tragorian newspaper using the dictionary Lilac bought for him. Upon hearing Albert calling his name, he said, “Sorry. What is it?”

            “Are you going to be with Lilac for as long as she needs it?”

            “Well, yes. I save him. I can help her again,” said Ifrit. “(It’s what I can pay her with).”

            “Sorry. What’s that?”

            “Oh…I don’t know the Tragorian.”

            Both Lilac and Albert smiled with Ifrit’s broken Tragorian and confusion. It made him sound rather out of place, which he was given his red eyes and rather visible horns.

            But in the end, that confirmation of help made Lilac felt…surer of herself, and she felt that she might enjoy traveling with the two after all.