Chapter 56 (1/2)

Regina Northwind looked around at the battlefield after the monster horde came, and the professional way people were already moving among the bodies, selecting the ones with salvageable pelts, and dragging the rest to large piles, where they would apparently be sold to a magical store that made them disappear.

“Remarkable,” Regina said calmly, and Glendel looked around nervously.

Two leaders from Donnyton were walking over, the 16-year-old chieftain and a huge brute with a steel club the size of a support beam for a house. Alana stood behind Regina, her arms folded, but her still face revealed how shocked she was at the terrible efficiency of the people in front of them.

The people here seemed perfectly content to abandon their previous life and pick up this new one, filled with violence and struggle. Maybe it was just a coincidence, but the weirdos that had founded this village were doing something right.

In addition, the NCC that Glendel talked to was hurrying over, talking with a pudgy man with an irritated expression. Both groups from Donnyton arrived at once, the two duos nodding to each other. Then they all turned to the hospital group.

“The name’s Donny, nice to meet you. You’re the group that’s looking to trade clothes?” The skinny kid said, with a surprising amount of confidence and maturity.

The big one grunted. “Dozer. Strongest Warrior.”

Alana relaxed in a dangerous fashion next to him, and Glendel shivered.

“And I’m Daniel, and this is Ms. Hamilton. Do you really have clothes? God, I want to be in something other than furs so badly. “ The chubby one said, shivering.

“Yes, we do.” Regina said with a slight smile. “And you have two things we need very badly; food…. And access to a class.”

Donny’s mouth twisted slightly. “The food…”

Donny and Daniel exchanged a glance. “That’s relatively simple. Mrs. Hamilton has authority to trade as much as she deems fit. We will basically take as many articles of clothing as you can spare. We haven’t yet found anything like cotton or a monster to farm for wool, so we basically can only make clothing from fur. It's been-”

“Itchy,” Daniel interjected.

“As for classes…” Donny continued, “There are few more...  strings attached to that.”

Regina’s smile didn’t change. “In terms of clothes, most of what we have are scrubs, used in the hospital, but we also have the Hospital’s stock for.. Special guests, and we managed to hit up a department store on our trek up here. You say strings… though…” Regina’s smile didn’t change. “Such as?”

But as Donny opened his mouth to answer, a shout came out from the group of gatherers, over by the monster bodies, and the group turned to look.

Walking slowly across the battlefield was a tall, athletic looking man. He was young too, probably only in his early or mid 20’s, but the firm line of his mouth and his piercing green eyes made him stand out.

Glendel noticed that Dozer and Donny exchanged a shocked glance. Regina also noticed, and narrowed her eyes.

However, the most shocking things about the man were the long, jagged wounds on his left shoulder. His entire torso was revealed, his clothing in tatters. His pants were covered with dried blood, and his hair was matted and sweaty.

The man’s green eyes swept to the side, and he beckoned two lounging individuals, who wore two shoulder pads each.

They leapt to their feet like the ground beneath them became lava, and hurried over. The man said something to the two, and then they saluted and dashed off.

Glendel began to hear it then, the whispers around them.

The Ghosthound.

That’s the Ghosthound….!

He’s wounded…?

So this was…. The Ghosthound. Glendel wasn’t sure what he had been expecting. Although the bloody man before them certainly seemed like an intense person, he didn’t seem to be worthy of the almost worship he noticed in the gazes of nearby people.

And The Ghosthound was heading directly for their group, his gait still slow and even. By the time he had arrived, the two men he had sent off had returned with a large table, made of thick wood, carried between them like it was cardboard. It honestly looked like a worktable used to work metal.

The Ghosthound climbed up on it, grunting.

“Dozer, you have an axe?” He grunted, sparing Regina’s group a glance then ignoring them.

“Uh, yes-”

“Good. Split open my chest. Right about here. You are going to have to pull back the bone, but try and snap the ribcage cleanly; I don’t want any more internal damage. Oh, Miranda, good. Send someone to bring me several jars of the high quality health potion, just in case.”

While the rest of the people looked stunned, Mrs. Hamilton bowed and made several quick hand gestures at some people standing behind her. Instantly several people dashed down towards the NCC village.

Glendel looked around, abruptly conscious of the fact everyone who was in the area was slowly drifting closer, looking intently at the Ghosthound.