Sitting in the car as we turned off the main road, following a forested pass up into the hills, we began to weave through the densely-packed trees as the car bumped along the slowly deteriorating mountain pass. A rail ran the length of the left-side of the road, and as I looked out the window from the passenger seat, I could see down the hill - down that hundred or so foot drop130 metres approx. With time, the railing had began to slowly shift, and as the hill receded - it had begun to fall into that drop, the road itself slowly beginning to follow. Whether or not it took months or years to fall; it was an accident waiting to happen. Awkward silence enveloped the car, and as we rounded a corner, Victoria cut through the silence.
"You sure did a number on that snake back there," Victoria said. "You feeling okay, by the way?"
"Yeah, it's just..." I began, before stopping for a moment as I mulled over my words. "...I've had a rough few days, I guess."
Victoria sighed, as she looked wistfully out the windscreen, slowly winding up that mountainous road. Night-driving along a mountain pass like this was a nightmare, and as we slowly trudged around the corners, Victoria was cautious to ensure that she didn't let so much as a wheel move out of place. After a moment, she responded.
"I know how you feel, but you can't lose control of yourself out there," Victoria said. "If you let yourself fall to impulse, it'll get you killed. I've seen it happen before."
Winding up the pass in the old Buggler, we pulled up before a large gate built from chain-link and iron, slowly being weathered by the elements. A security guard in a neatly fitting uniform stood outside, with a gun hooked to his waist and a grimace across his face. He wore a black shirt, with the word "Security" written across the back and a Dolor Corporation logo stitched into the shirt's breast. As we approached, Victoria slowing the car as we neared the gate, the security guard approached the car - wrapping his knuckles against Victoria's window. She wound it down.
"State your name and business," the man said.
"Victoria Parsons," she replied. "We're here with regard to the Serpentine problem. Oscar, can you give me the quest scroll?"
"Where is it?" I asked.
"I don't fucking know, you had it last," Victoria groaned. "Goddamn newbies."
I rummaged around the car, and after a moment, I found the scroll between the folds of my seat. Pulling it out, I handed it over to Victoria with an uneasy smile. She stuck her hand out of the window, handing the quest scroll to the security guard, and as he took it from her - he read through it.
"Hmm, says you've already killed five," he replied. "You're quick workers, aren't you?"
"We lucked out," Victoria replied. "Met some on the way here. Saved us a bit of time."
I frowned. Running into those horrific things certainly didn't make me feel like I'd lucked out, that was for sure. It seemed Victoria had a very different definition of the word lucky.
"Well, good," the guard said. "Boss was worried that nobody would be taking that quest - so, at least now our trucks'll be able to run to schedule tomorrow. Park to the left when you get inside, please."
The security guard turned his head, as he barked an order back to the men at the gate.
"Open up!" He yelled.
As the gates slowly parted, the guard directed us through with his arm, Victoria slowly accelerating forward. Through the gates, a massive chain-link perimeter stretched in a square, nearly a hundred metres around a large corrugated steel bunker. The bunker itself was showing age, the dark green paint stripping off the corrugated sheeting, revealing the dull silver beneath. Three or four trucks were parked against the fence to our right, and on the opposite side of the bunker, a bunch of smaller portable offices lined the back fence - each themselves beginning to wear as the bunker had. Guided in by the hand movements of a young worker, Victoria slowly parked the Buggler against the right side of the fence, parking the car and taking the keys from the ignition as she stowed them in her inventory.
"Right, leave the wolf to me," Victoria said. "Don't say much."
"The wolf?" I asked.
"Wolfgang Truman," Victoria replied. "Goes by the Wolf. Trust me when I say he doesn't fit the part, but he's still not the nicest man around. There's a lot that ticks him off, and frankly, it's best to just shut up than try and figure it all out."
"Sounds like a wonderful man," I replied.
Stepping out of the vehicle, my feet crunched against the gravel as I shut the door behind me, looking over to the man strolling over to us. He was a tall and wiry man, at least six foot two, with little in the way of muscles and a face that looked more like a weasel's than a wolf's. Wandering toward us, he seemed to have an upturned nose and a way of looking down at people, one that never left his face. His suit was immaculately pressed, seeming out of place within here. This place looked more like a military barracks than an office building. Wandering over, his pursed lips seemed to speak of his dissatisfaction with even the slightest malfeasance. Frankly, he didn't strike me as a nice man.
As he approached us, his expression remained unchanged, only his nose rising as he looked down at us. At the sight of Victoria, his expression seemed to grow even more snobbish than he had been prior - that look of malcontent melding with a cold arrogance. He smirked, although, you could barely call it a smirk - indignation ran far deeper across his face than his smile did.
"Victoria, so glad to see you again," the man began. "And with a new partner, I see?"
"Not by choice, Wolf," she replied. "I can assure you of that."
"Hey!" I said, before remembering to hold my tongue and trying to silence myself post-factum. The man stared at me, with a piercing glare that seemed to stare into my soul, and I gulped as my eyes locked with his.
"Hmph, well, right this way then," he said. "I would prefer not to remain out in this bitter cold for any longer than I have to."
The man turned as he linked his arms behind his back, wandering back toward the offices. We shuffled along behind him, as we crossed the gravel, breathing out cold air as if it were smoke upon our lips. Crossing the fenced-off area, we wandered toward the portable offices at the opposite end, trying to avoid being run over by the occasional passing forklift as we did so.
"I heard you have already gotten a head-start, by the way," Wolf began. "Five out of fifteen already. I would be impressed, but I'm more irritated by the fact that it took you until a day before the quest's expiry to even bother coming down here."
"Well, I can't help that," Victoria responded. "If you want someone to complain to, call the guild and blame them. It's not their fault, fifteen snakes for three-hundred gold and some antidote isn't exactly worth it, y'know?"
"Considering the fact that you're here, the reward seemed to be sufficient enough to entice you two to take up the case," the man quipped.
"The kid needs the experience," Victoria replied.
Wandering up the steps to the portable office, Wolf opened the plastic door and stepped inside, and as we followed him - we were assailed by a rush of hot air. The office was warm yet austere, with plastic floors and steel walls that seemed poorly equipped to keep heat in, but did a good job regardless. In the corner, a heavy-duty tower heater ran nearly constantly, puffing out hot air like a dragon's breath. It must've cost a fortune to keep that thing running all the time. In the centre of the room was an empty desk, with two plastic chairs on one side and a plush office chair on the other. As he sat down on the opposite side of the desk, I sat in one of the plastic chairs as Victoria sat down in the other. They were incredibly uncomfortable.
While we sat down, Wolf fiddled with a drawer as he pulled a large roll of paper out, unfurling it across the desk. It looked like a pretty standard topography map, except around the map, three different points were circled - one high up in the hills, another close to the camp, and a third near the road where we'd come from.
"This is a map of the snake nests that we've located and want you to clear," Wolf said. "There should be four to six Serpentines in each. Since you've already killed five, I'm going to assume that you've probably eradicated one of these nests already, would that be correct?"
As Victoria stared down at the map, she placed her finger against the circle nearest to the road.
"I think we took out that one," Victoria said. "Don't quote me on that though."
"Well, best to assume for simplicity's sake that you did," the man replied. "That leaves you with two other nests. I would suggest leaving the mountain nest to last, as if you fail the quest and don't manage to reach it, for whatever reason, we can still make deliveries tomorrow if the other nests are taken out."
"For whatever reason". He said those words with what seemed to be a hissing voice, hinting at the death that lurked beyond the chain-link, death which I was quickly becoming more than acquainted with. I didn't like the way he said that, as if he were courting our deaths himself. Neither did Victoria, apparently, and I could see bitter dissatisfaction creeping across her lips.
"We're clearing the mountain nest first. " Victoria replied. "If we go down, I can assure you that you won't be making those deliveries tomorrow, so you'd better hope - for your sake - that we don't."
The Wolf looked cross, his face turning bitter, but despite the vile expression creeping across his face - he kept his cool, speaking in that same refined yet callous voice of his as he softly responded.
"Very well then," he replied. "I'll leave the map in your capable hands, then, Victoria. Do return to us when you've eradicated the snakes. As the main supplier of food to Tonnick, I'd hate to see how many people would starve if we missed a shipment."
"We'll come back alive," Victoria replied. "I'll make sure of it."
"Good to hear," the Wolf replied.
Rolling up the map, the suited man stood up, and shoved it into my lap. I took it, stowing it in my inventory. He smiled, as he wandered back to the door, and opened it to the cold air - his arms motioning to usher us out.
"I am sorry to cut this meeting short, but if you don't mind, I do have important affairs to tend to," the Wolf said. "I'm sure we can have a much more in-depth conversation once the Serpentines have been dispatched. Feel free to speak to the security team if you need further provisions, they should be able to handle your requests."
"Sure, whatever," Victoria said, standing up to leave. I went to follow her out, and as I did so, the Wolf put his hand against my shoulder - stopping me, as he spoke in a low voice.
"Keep an eye out, kid," the Wolf said. "That woman goes through rookies like new shoes. If you want to survive her, I suggest you be careful - you probably don't have the same sort of good fortune that she does."
I stood still, nearly paralysed, as he gripped my shoulder tightly. After a moment, he let go. I briskly walked forward as I stepped into the cold night air. His words seemed to be a warning, and yet, I couldn't help but feel they were also vaguely threatening. Whatever they were, they were not words of warmth. Stepping out into the night, I followed Victoria back across the gravel field, wandering away from that heated - yet strangely chilling office.
