261 CHPT 261: Protect by Restoring Balance...

The man of mystery had a name. Rollan Ligneore-- a name about as odd as the rest of him was.

Odd, a fitting word for their meeting under the glowing moon by the lake. An exchange between man and beast. One receiving the items to heal one he cared for, and the other requiring the beasts brute strength and numbers for protection.

That's what the man, Rollan, had asked for. Protection of his home from what lies beyond in the sanded grounds of the desert. A vague request, but Claude got the just of it. Rollan needed body-guards, protectors, guard-dogs. There was something degrading about that considering what he was. But aside from that, he was aware of two things that came from Rollan's request.

In response to working with Rollan, Ursula would be better off. Along the way, he'd get his shot at further increasing his power. He'd meet Monsters. He'd kill Monsters, he'd risk being killed by Monsters. And his power would grow at an assumed steady pace....if what Rollan said was true, they all could come out this for the better.

".....What makes you think I'm a creature of reason? Or one with a sense of justice?" Claude asked.

Rollan shrugged his wide and fat lacking shoulders, "I can't say much for sure. Not much except the fact that you chose not to dine on the flesh of that human girl you were carrying across the desert. I feel that something within you is very much against the idea of doing what you should've done as a true predator, yes? That tells me that you follow a moral compass....you're not piloted by your urges, Monsieur la bête. And that is all I need for this to work, you see. What lies outside of this forest will consume us all if given the time to grow and infect."

Claude nodded along, "So, you want me to protect your home-- wherever that is, and in exchange...you'll give her more of this?" He asked while beckoning to the jar in his hands.

Rollan gave a sly laugh, "Maybe there's a bit more to it than the protection of my home. But yes, in exchange I will help your human."

Claude let out a growl from the pits of his stomach, "Don't fuck with me, Rollan! Do you want protection of your home or not?!"

Rollan moved in an attempt to calm him, "Oui...Yes. But, my home is a bit different from the one you're picturing within your mind....its connected to a many things...many things I care for."

"What the hell does that mean, you over-sized drunk?" Claude thought with a snarl before Rollan cut in again, "So, will you accept my offer, Monsieur? I will do everything in my power to keep your human healthy."

The question echoed in his mind as imagined Ursula sleeping back within the tree base. Pale, thinner than before, riddled with lacerations like a training dummy and as still as stone.

He'd do a lot of things to fix that. Protecting a middle-aged drunks home from Monsters wasn't excluded from that.

"Alright. We'll do what we can to keep your home safe in exchange for your medical assistance." Claude decided.

Rollan sighed and nodded with a small smile that deepened the creases in his face, "You've made a good decision, Monsieur. Now, grab your human, let's get to work, yea?"

Claude made a puzzled expression-- creating an odd look on his wolven face, "What-- right now?"

"Well of course. In these forests, nothing stays asleep and no one ever wastes a day..."

"....Fair enough. I'll be right back-- and don't follow me." He replied before taking off with his Wolves in a flash.

Rollan listened to the fading footfalls calmly as he leaned on his sword, "Ahh. Still not very trusting....and still smelling of Demon."

***

A few hours later and they all were moving through the forest, following the oddly confident and practiced steps of Rollan Ligneore through the evergrowing terrain.

After he returned to the lake with Ursula, Rollan lead them across the lake and they hadn't made a turn since. Just one straight and true path. Didn't matter if there was a river running through his path or a fallen over tree. He just kept moving, unfazed and unbothered while he drank his foul smelling beverage and used his Claymore to assist him along the way.

With every mile they traveled, the forest seemed to gain more life. Plants were larger, flowers brighter, even the bark looked tougher.

It was all beautiful under the light of the moon, unfortunately he couldn't fully take it in due to that familiar feeling of true nature attempting to pull his brain from his skull.

"[Are you alright, Claude?]" Arne asked after watching Claude's hand raise to soothe his temples for the millionth time.

"Yea....just a small headache."

"--So, wolf-man. I guess i owe you some explanations, yes?" Rollan cut in before Arne could ask Claude anymore questions.

"....Yes. I would like to know what else i'll be doing along with protecting your home."

Rollan lazily lunged over a fallen tree, "No, no. It is all connected to protecting my home. I told you.....my home is not the same as the one your imagining. Its also connected to many things. It's connected to me....and I require balance...as all things do. Now, you will keep that balance...in doing so, you will act as a judge and executioner."

"...Judge and executioner for the one's im protecting your home from?" Claude asked after hopping over a rather large puddle.

"No, Monsieur. For the Monsters of the wilds.....they live here in their respective groups. One in particular has grown out of control. They need to be balanced.....before they feel the touch of the desert. Although i'm sure they already have."

"Ok...I can do that...I think, what about the one's coming from the desert?" Claude asked, eager to know of the horrors Rollan continued to bring up in an ominous drunken tone.

Rollan turned and smelled him from afar, "You're a beast that evolves, yes?"

Claude froze, unsure how to answer. "Arne, do Lupines evolve? Does being Reborn count as evolving?"

"[Being Reborn is more of a slow yet constant state of evolution. But, yes. Lupines evolve-- only, it comes from mastering the transformation.]"

"Yes...I evolve." Claude finally replied.

Rollan turned and continued to walk. For the first time, his tone was grave, "Hopefully by the time the ones from the desert make their move, you'll be evolved into something stronger. You'll get there by restoring balance to my home and protecting it from the ones that hate beings like myself."

A lightbulb went off in Claude's mind, "Like the Satyr's?"

"Exactly!.....Oh, and we're here. Welcome to my home, beast of the Wolves." Rollan said before beckoning to his home with open arms.

Claude stuttered to a stop behind him and scanned the forest.

He didn't see any bricks or glass windows in the distance. Not even the smell of paint hit his nose. Both his sense of smell and vision were exceptional, and to find nothing resembling a house in the distance left him confused.

He took another step forward, feeling the flat grass ground beneath his paws. It was neat and well kept.

His skull thudded like the top of a drum mid-song. An effect made stronger by the jolting shock of surprise he felt when his eyes fell on a door....in a tree.

He wasn't sure how he missed it before, but of all the monolithic slim trees that spaced their way across the flat ground, in the distance a collection of them combined and twisted into a sort of cylindrical house.

Beside the door, there were glass-less windows and branches studded with glowing flowers or herbs above that snaked and climbed to other trees, forming pseudo-shelves and high-rises that held glass jars full of golden fluids and heads. Heads of Monsters that looked ahead lifelessly from above.

Even in the dark he could make them out perfectly-- as if they were preserved instantly after death.

Heads of Satyr's...Goblins....BloodStarved Vampires with eyes that still glowed like red suns. Even some things he wasn't sure of....some things with scales and serrated teeth...and horns. Primals.

Within the interlocking branches and tree limbs that spiraled from his "house" and connected to the rest of the forest, birds slept, squirrels burrowed...he could even smell canines and Deer roaming in the distance. Rollan's home was like the heart of a living ecosystem, and it's life poured out to the rest with it's branches that worked like veins pumping life-blood into the surrounding area.

The familiar pound came back to his skull in full swing.

"What the hell is this?"