Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ RipTide ❯ 9 ( Chapter 9 )

Chapter 9

Luckily, the trade junker was soon pulled into the atmosphere of a planet...one that was known as Perilin, the Night Planet, because nights there last 40 hours, and days only lasted 10.
When the junker landed inside Perilin's Interplanetary Trade Headquarters, Adrian grabbed his bag and Hitomi's hand and got the two of them out without any trouble. The kid could slink when he wanted to.
"Okay, the first thing we'll do is find a place to stay for a while I look for a way to get you home," Adrian said to Hitomi. Hitomi looked at him and then looked about her surroundings. It was already getting dark.
"Lead the way."
The first place they found was a store tavern. Inside it was dimly lit and filled with the sound of rowdy laughter and food. Adrian approached the bar, where a man was wiping the countertop.
"Excuse me, sir," Adrian started. "We'd like something to eat and a place to stay for a few days."
The tavern owner looked over Adrian and then Hitomi, then back at Adrian again. "You got money, kid?"
Adrian dropped a pouch of gold on the counter. The man picked it up in one big burly hand and weighed it. "Not bad," he nodded. "Make yourselves at home."
Adrian and Hitomi pulled up stools and sat down. A couple of tavern patrons glanced them over, but returned with disinterest to their meals and conversations. Adrian and Hitomi took in their surroundings carefully.
Suddenly, the door swung open and a man staggered in, breathing rapidly and falling against the bar. Every pair of eyes in the tavern lifted to him, and the man finally stood, looking wild.
"I SAW HIM!" he screamed, waving his arms crazily. "I was passin' through the woods and I saw 'im, he was there!"
Adrian and Hitomi looked at each other.
"Were his eyes glowin' at ya, like the fires of hell?" one man called.
"They were! Right outta the dark, they were, like I was seein' the devil himself!" the man replied.
"Was he as big as they say?" another yelled.
"Bigger! He was as big as a horse!" the man gasped breathlessly.
"Who?" Hitomi wondered.
"Did he have his pack with him?" said another.
"I didn't see them, I was too busy runnin' in the opposite direction!" the man wheezed, taking the drink that was offered by the tavern owner.
"Who did he see?" Adrian asked louder, and the entire tavern fell silent as they all stared at him.
The man who had burst into the bar put his glass down on the counter and stood up, staring at Adrian with wide white eyes.
"Maugrim!"
"Mau...grim," Hitomi pronounced the name. Adrian blinked at the man, "Who's Maugrim?"
All of a sudden the room seemed to burst into chatter once more, each voice fighting to be heard above the others.
"He's a demon!"
"A monster!"
"He owns the woods just outside of town!"
"He's big as a bull!"
"And black as hell!"
"He could kill a dozen men at once!"
"He eats poison for breakfast and lives on still!"
"I've seen him with my own eyes!"
"The bottom o' your ale cups, that's all you was seein'," the tavern owner shouted gruffly, and the tavern quieted considerably.
Then one man shouted, "You tell the kids about Maugrim, Ariton! Ain't no one who knows his story better'n you!"
Adrian and Hitomi turned their attention to the recipient of the call.
The tavern owner, Ariton, sighed heavily as he cleaned out a glass. Finally he placed the glass below the counter, leaned forward on his elbows and looked the teenagers square in the eyes.
"You ever seen a wolf, kids?"
They nodded, listening intently.
"Well, Maugrim is a wolf, but he's the biggest wolf ever seen here on Perilin...or anywhere, I'd wager. Don't listen to the wild tales these blockheads spin, but Maugrim sure is somethin' for the books. He's bigger'n all the other wolves in the packs that roam the woods outside of town, with a coat of storm-colored fur and amber eyes that'll chill even the strongest man's heart. When he got here, he took over the dominant wolf pack by killin' the leader...we found the body near the river. Brought down by a bite to the jugular...tore his throat right out."
Hitomi wrinkled her nose. Adrian looked curious. "Wait, what do you mean, 'when he got here'?"
Ariton exhaled through his nose, looking as if he was about to let them in on a very big secret. The tavern was utterly silent as they listened.
"No one knows exactly when it happened, but Maugrim seemed to just appear one day. But he wasn't alone. His companion was a woman, very slender and graceful. I know because she came here...to my tavern, with that great animal by her side as if he were an overgrown dog. She told me that she was a simple alchemist and would be needing a few items from my shop every once and a while.
"`Course, she didn't call her pet Maugrim...we don't know what either of their names are, or if they have names at all. But we made our own names for `em. We call the wolf Maugrim, and the woman Natsumi."
Here Ariton paused. He had the full attention of everyone in the tavern, and when he spoke next it seemed as though he was reciting from a tale of legends.
"Natsumi is the name of the one called the Lily of Heaven, lover of beauty, lover of life. If anything be needed of delicate potions from all corners of the universe, command her, for she knows all things of alchemy, but be cautious. Natsumi returns only half of what she creates, and she has been known to steal the heart of her master, crushing it in her grip.
"Maugrim of his mistress Natsumi is called the solitary one, the shadow walker, the keeper of secrets. Slow to wrath or to make alliances, his passions once aroused run deeper than the secrets he holds. Summon Maugrim to reveal things hidden, but beware. Maugrim is Ragnarok, the end of all things in fire and cold."
"Wow," Adrian breathed in astonishment. "So they're evil?"
"No one knows that for sure, lad. They keep to themselves; Maugrim is rarely seen unless he wants to be, and no one knows how to find Natsumi. Frankly, no one wants to. We don't trust `em, but they intrigue us."
"But if you never see Natsumi, how do you get her the items she wants?" Hitomi asked.
"She sends him to get `em," Ariton replied gravely. "Maugrim. He comes in with a list from her of what she needs and a pouch o' money to pay for it. He gives it to me, I get what he needs, and he leaves without causin' any trouble."
"Has anyone ever tried to just take the money and run?" Adrian asked.
A slight murmur ran through the tavern patrons.
"Once," Ariton nodded. "Only once. A young lad I used to get in here often tried to do it. Once Maugrim dropped the coins on the counter, he grabbed the bag and tried to run. Stupid thing to do," he said, shaking his head.
"What did Maugrim do?" Hitomi coaxed.
"Well, before the lad even got two feet, Maugrim had him flat on his back on the floor. With two of those big paws o' his planted firmly on the fool's chest, Maugrim closed his jaws around his neck."
"He killed him?" Hitomi said in disbelief.
Ariton shook his head. "Didn't have to. The threat was all it took. The idiot let go o' the pouch and Maugrim let him go. He left this tavern like the devil was after him and ain't come back since. And Maugrim...well, he just got the items his mistress needed and disappeared again. Despite what you hear from the lunkheads around here," he shot the men in the tavern a glare, "Maugrim don't kill unless he has to. But there's no denyin' that if you get on his bad side..." Ariton shook his head.
Adrian blinked in awe. "How do you know he's still here, if you can't trust what they say?" He gestured to the men.
Ariton eyed him very seriously. "Because Natsumi has kept her word. Every once in a long while, Maugrim'll come here with a new list for her. He ain't been by in quite a few days...but he's still around, probably runnin' the woods with his new pack." Then he winked. "If you're lucky...you might even see `im."

Adrian and Hitomi both looked at each other with surprised looks.
"I've never heard of a wolf being that big.." Adrian started.
"I'm more interested in finding out about this alchemist, Natsumi," Hitomi said with a determined look.

~*~
The teenagers were intrigued with the story of Natsumi and Maugrim, but were also tired and retired to their rooms.
"I actually want to go into the forest and find this Maugrim they're so afraid of," Adrian said with a smile. Hitomi merely shook her head, "I bet if we weren't so tired, you'd be out there looking for him right now."
Adrian gave her a lopsided grin.

~*~
When they awoke after a long and comfortable sleep, it was still dark outside. There was still about twenty-five more hours of darkness on Perilin. They got dressed, Hitomi throwing on a large T-shirt of Adrian's over her old pants, and they went downstairs to get something to eat.
Ariton was behind the counter again, pouring drinks for a few familiar faces from their arrival, and a couple of new ones, too. He nodded curtly at Adrian and Hitomi.
"Hello again, little ones," the big man said gruffly. "I trust the beds were comfortable?"
"They were great," Adrian said sleepily, offering a smile.
Ariton nodded and asked them what they would like to eat, then went back into the kitchen to get it for them.
As they were waiting for their meals, Adrian and Hitomi heard the tavern door creak open. The next thing they noticed was that every voice inside seemed to falter and then die out completely, until the tavern was as silent as a tomb. Adrian and Hitomi turned to look at the door, and stared in mute shock. There was a great wolf standing inside, with a leather pouch and a piece of parchment in his locked jaws. It had to be Maugrim.
Maugrim's thick, shaggy fur was the same grayish-black as a storm cloud, and his amber eyes glittered in a way that indicated intelligence far surpassing any normal animal. His ears were pricked and alert. He was almost the size of a small horse, but his paws made no sound as he trotted across the threshold to the bar. He rose up on his hind legs, placing his forepaws on the countertop. He was that big.
Adrian and Hitomi could only stare. Part of them was afraid, but the stronger part was filled with awe and respect for this majestic animal. Maugrim's fur seemed so luxurious that they wanted to stroke it, but didn't dare.
Ariton had quickly come out from the kitchen, and picked up the list that Maugrim dropped on the counter. He looked it over once and nodded. "Yes, I have all o' these...just one moment," he said as if speaking to a person.
Maugrim dropped back on all fours as Ariton went to get the items. The great wolf's bushy tail curled next to his haunches as he stared intently at the counter. Adrian and Hitomi stared intently at him.
All of a sudden Maugrim turned his head and looked straight at them.
Adrian's heart jumped into his throat and Hitomi's seemed to skip a beat. Those amber eyes pierced them, and they found themselves unable to move, or break free from its binding spell...
Just then, Ariton came back and dropped a new leather bag on the counter, slightly bulkier than the first. Maugrim rose up again to grab the new bag in his teeth. Then he dropped down and padded silently out the door, where he faded away almost immediately into the gloomy blackness of the night.
Gradually, talk began to return to the tavern, but it was whispered, mysterious conversation about actually seeing the great storm-colored wolf. Adrian and Hitomi exhaled heavily and glanced at each other with sheepish grins. Then they noticed Ariton was staring curiously at them.
"What is it?" Hitomi asked warily.
Ariton narrowed his eyes. "In all the times he's come in here, I ain't never seen Maugrim pay the slightest bit of attention to anyone else in here, let alone look `em in the eye."
Adrian and Hitomi looked at each other again, not knowing what to say.
Ariton sighed and straightened up. "All in all, I'd be careful where I go tonight, if I were you kids." Then he turned back to the kitchen, shaking his head.

The teens blinked as Ariton left.
"Do you think Maugrim would attack us?" Hitomi looked at Adrian with a raised brow. Adrian scoffed, "Come on, it's dangerous, but I think we'd be able to handle it."
As he spoke, some of the inhabitants in the tavern listened in.
"I want to find out about this Natsumi person," Hitomi said eagerly. Adrian looked at her curiously, "I've never known you to be this anxious to check something out, Hitomi."
She smirked and got out of her seat, "You hardly know me at all." Adrian returned it and got out of his seat, "So, is it agreed?"
"Duh." The two exited the tavern and began to seek out the lone wolf.

~*~
The forest was dark and silent, the only light coming from the moon high in the sky occasionally breaking through the treetops. There were no sounds coming from the night creatures, down to every last insect. The woods seemed to be holding its breath, and Adrian and Hitomi constantly felt the eyes of unknown creatures on their backs, as if everything knew that they shouldn't be there.
Saiyan night vision allowed the teenagers to see their surroundings, but it didn't help much. There was no sign of Maugrim, or his pack of lesser wolves. There wasn't even a single paw print. But they continued to press deeper towards the heart of the seemingly endless woods.
"Maybe this wasn't the brightest idea..." Hitomi started.
"Why do you say that?" Adrian answered, sounding tired.
"I mean trying to look for Maugrim at night. I mean, think about it...His fur is dark, so he's going to blend in...he knows these woods a hell of a lot better than we do...and he's obviously not stupid. He'll know we're coming," Hitomi reasoned.
"I thought you wanted to find him and Natsumi," Adrian said, stopping and looking at her.
"I do. All I'm suggesting is that we continue our search in the daylight."
Adrian seemed to consider this idea, but then he grew a stubborn look on his face. "No. We're staying out here until we see Maugrim."
"You're the boss," Hitomi said sarcastically, and they continued onward.
Suddenly, as they were walking and the woods seemed to get darker and darker, Adrian jumped sideways and made a hissing sound through a sharp intake of breath.
"What's wrong?" Hitomi asked, slightly spooked.
"Something cut me," Adrian muttered through clenched teeth. He was holding his left arm at the wrist, and in the moonlight Hitomi could see silvery blood welling up around a deep gash running across his arm. "A branch, I think. There's sap on my arm."
"That's pretty bad. Are you--"
"I'm fine," Adrian dismissed her concern with a shake of his head, although he was grimacing and holding tightly to his wrist. He tore off the bottom hem of his shirt and wrapped it around the gash to stop the blood. "Let's just keep going."
Hitomi looked uncertain and annoyed at Adrian's stubbornness, but she conceded with a sigh. "You can be so pigheaded."
"Oink."
The woods were getting darker as the undergrowth grew denser around them. Sometimes the two young Saiyans had to pick their way carefully through bushes and weeds that grew up to their waists. They had no idea what might be waiting on the ground for them, in case they wandered too close to something unpleasant.
Gradually, although barely noticeable at first, Adrian started to lag behind. His pace became sluggish and slow, and he stumbled quite a few times. Hitomi actually had to catch his arm to keep him from falling at one point.
"Will you hurry up?" she snapped when Adrian had actually fallen ten feet behind. "This was your stupid idea! Honestly, you're a lot weaker than I thought."
Adrian coughed, but he managed to shoot Hitomi a nasty look and tried to walk a little faster. But when he made it to the clearing, he suddenly stumbled and fell forward, landing with a thud on the ground. He lay still, and the only sounds he made were shallow, ragged breaths. His eyes were squeezed shut as if he was barely conscious.
Against Adrian's wishes, Hitomi pulled off his substitute bandage and grimaced. His cut was getting a greenish color and a moldy texture. She shook her head, "Great."
She scanned the dense and dark forest around them, impenetrable and huge. Adrian needed a doctor quickly, but she didn't want to leave him alone, since he would be unable to defend himself if a predator passed by.
A twig snapped off to the right.
Hitomi's head whipped around, her eyes wide as she searched for the source of the sound. The woods had grown so dark that even her night vision had a hard time seeing past the shadows. But as she stared hard into the blackness, she saw something moving toward them. It was something black...something tall and black...something very tall and very black and very big.
As the animal passed through a patch of moonlight, Hitomi caught a glimpse of what it was. It vaguely resembled a cat, if the cat had two fangs jutting up from its lower lip and a build similar to a rhinoceros. It had no tail and lumbered through the woods making far less noise than one would have expected given its size, and Hitomi didn't think it was looking to make friends.
She stood up and prepared to fight the massive animal, praying that it didn't have strength like the Emeras on Vegetaseii, and that she could keep its attention away from Adrian long enough to scare it away or kill it.
Without warning the creature burst through the trees with a deafening roar, charging Hitomi dead ahead. It bore down on her, head lowered and tusks forward, the ground trembling beneath its pounding feet. Hitomi tensed her body and prepared to take the force of the charge...
Suddenly a blur of dark fur passed right over Hitomi's head to meet the huge beast head-on, sinking razor-sharp fangs in just below its eye. Hitomi's jaw dropped as she realized that Maugrim, the great storm wolf, had come to their rescue.
The rhino-cat reared backward with a roar and Hitomi heard the sound of tearing flesh. Maugrim dropped to the ground with a mouthful of fur, and blood spilled from the face of the attacker. Only now the beast was no longer intent on Hitomi and the helpless Adrian; he was furious with Maugrim.
The rhino-cat took a swipe at the wolf, a blow that would have sent him flying in two halves if not for his incredible quickness. Maugrim darted around behind the beast and tore a chunk out of its flanks. The rhino-cat roared again and whirled around, but its fangs snapped on empty air.
Then Maugrim leaped right over the beast's head onto its lower back. He ran up its spine as it roared and twisted, finally sailing back over its head onto the ground again. The beast lifted its gaping maw to catch the wolf in midair, but Maugrim was too quick; in a flash he had raised up and locked his jaws tightly around the rhino-cat's throat.
The beast roared in utter rage and agony, but the sound was strangled; It tossed its head in a frantic attempt to free itself from Maugrim's deathly grip, but the wolf planted his paws on the ground and held there with surprising strength. The rhino-cat shook its head and stamped its feet, but Maugrim would not let go. Its efforts began to weaken, and its roars faded to a pitiful moan; then, with one final tug, the great beast fell to its knees before it rolled onto its heavy side and finally lay still.
Maugrim held on for one moment more to be sure that the creature was really dead; then he released his hold very slowly. Hitomi held her breath as the great wolf turned, and for the second time held her attention with amber eyes that glowed as if they contained all the secrets of the universe within their depths.
Then the wolf turned his attention to Adrian, who was lying motionless on the forest floor, still struggling to breathe. Hitomi stood as if frozen as Maugrim walked over and sniffed Adrian's shoulder. After a minute, the great wolf lifted his head to the moon and howled.
The sound sent shivers down Hitomi's spine. Long and mournful, the howl carried over the treetops through the wind to all corners of the murky woods. And finally, as the last wailing echo died away, an answering howl was heard, and another, and another. Maugrim had summoned his wild wolf pack, and they were obediently responding to the call.
Then Maugrim started to do something that Hitomi found very odd. He got down on his belly with his haunches up, and nudged his nose underneath Adrian's side. Then, with a shove and a toss of his head, Maugrim managed to roll Adrian facedown across his back.
Suddenly, Hitomi could move again. She started towards Maugrim, who was twisting to shuffle Adrian into a more balanced position. "Wait, what are you doing with him? What are y--oh..." Her eyes grew wide and she stared around the edges of the clearing.
Twenty pairs of gleaming yellow eyes gazed back at her from the cover of the bushes. One by one the wolves of Maugrim's pack emerged, each a lean and wiry predator with sharp teeth that glistened as they licked their lips hungrily. Some of them eyed Hitomi cautiously while others focused on the corpse of the giant rhino-cat. But the three largest wolves went immediately to their leader, standing before him as if waiting for orders. Hitomi didn't move; she could only watch in fascination.
Maugrim growled, and suddenly had the attention of every wolf in the clearing. He uttered a series of snarls low in his throat. Five wolves detached themselves from the larger group and went to guard Maugrim's fresh kill. The others stationed themselves around the edges of the clearing, and waited.
Maugrim then turned to Hitomi. She blinked and returned his gaze as best as she could. He snorted and slowly approached her until he was at her side. Hitomi held her breath, but Maugrim did not attack. Instead, he bumped his body against her side.
Hitomi stepped out of the way. Maugrim followed and repeated the action. Hitomi was confused; she didn't understand what he was doing. But then he dropped down to the ground, folding his four legs so that he was on his stomach. Adrian's hands brushed the ground, but he didn't regain consciousness. Maugrim moved his head to look at Hitomi, and his amber eyes glittered. He whined.
After a moment, Hitomi had an idea enter her head about what Maugrim was trying to express to her that he wanted her to do. But it was unbelievable...
"You want me...to ride on your back...?"
Maugrim nodded his head eagerly and snorted. To Hitomi's surprise, his bushy tail moved back and forth once across the ground. Hitomi took a deep breath, and cautiously moved forward towards the great wolf. She was aware that every one of the other wolves were watching her every movement, but none of them left their appointed positions. Maugrim waited patiently until Hitomi had climbed onto his back just behind Adrian, keeping a hand on the teenage boy's back so he wouldn't fall off.
Then Maugrim rose to his feet and took off.
Hitomi had never ridden an animal before, and Maugrim almost took her breath away. His movement was so swift and smooth that she hardly felt his paws touch ground. He raced through the woods, effortlessly avoiding every obstacle in their path. His speed was unmatched by the other fifteen wolves, who had started off with them at the beginning. Hitomi had lost sight of them as they fanned out into the forest and fell behind, but every once in a while she would hear a howl echo once more through the woods. Then Maugrim would lift his own head as he ran to send back an answering call. Hitomi got the impression that the other wolves were a type of escort, and the howls that curled in the distance were like signaling an "all-clear".
After a while, Hitomi noticed that Maugrim was beginning to slow down. At first she suspected that it was from fatigue, having to run over such a long distance with two passengers, but then she looked ahead and saw that they were nearing the edge of the forest. Through the trees she could see the land ending in a cliff, and then over the cliff there stretched a vast expanse of ocean.
Maugrim finally slowed to a steady trot and broke through the edge of the wood. Up ahead, at the edge of the cliff, a small cottage stood overlooking the sea. It was toward this cottage that Maugrim was headed, and Hitomi had the suspenseful anticipation in her stomach with the knowledge that they had found the hidden dwelling of Natsumi, the potions alchemist and Maugrim's mysterious mistress.

Maugrim eventually slowed to a halt, a few feet from the door of the cottage. Hitomi didn't know what to say as she got down from the great beast's back. She looked to Adrian to find him still unconscious.
Creak...
Her head snapped to her left to see that the cottage door had been opened and the dweller within was standing at the door. It had to be Natsumi, but one couldn't tell because her lithe figure was clad in a black cloak and hood. She nodded her head and Maugrim headed inside with Hitomi following suit.
The cottage looked a lot bigger from the inside. There was a tall stairway, a living room with a hearth, a door to a guest room, and a doorway leading to kitchen. Maugrim stopped before the guest room door and Natsumi walked over to open it. Hitomi cautiously followed the two inside. Natsumi placed Adrian's limp body on the bed. His skin was so pale and green, but all Hitomi could do was watch. Maugrim sat at the foot of the bed, watching intently as Natsumi pulled open a drawer from the nightstand and brought out a moderately sized box. Inside were tiny vials filled with different-colored liquids. She turned to Adrian and pulled his arm out into the open so that the gash was in clear view. It seemed to be getting worse. Natsumi brought out a vial filled with green liquid and pulled the cork from the top of it. Steam poured out as she poured a thin trail of the foreign liquid on Adrian's gash. She corked the vial and placed it back in the box before bringing out a needle and thread. Hitomi watched intently as Natsumi began to sew up the gash and dab at it with cotton soaked with, what Hitomi guessed was an antibiotic. After placing those items back, Natsumi brought forth a thick white bandage and wrapped it gently around Adrian's wound and tying it. She closed the box and placed it back in the nightstand before standing up and facing Hitomi. Hitomi folded her arms, wondering what would happen next.