Chapter 34: Meeting with the guild master

Marius sighed, when he took a good look at Zaine. It had been a day since the younger berserker had been freed. There was a raccoon in his arms, which the boy clutched for dear life.

"Interesting battle companion," Marius, the aged guild master, broke the silence.

"I asked around and no one was missing a raccoon, so," Zaine let his words trail off. Maybe Nico had just been very good at scavenging, to be this plump?

"What is his name?" Marius nodded to the raccoon, who was dozing off in Zaine's arm.

"Nico," Zaine had a cousin with that name, once. That Nico had died from a cart falling on him, but he had been protective to a fault. Kind of like how the little guy was.

The furry raccoon version of his cousin didn't let anyone near him, if it wasn't one of his family members. Nico even said no, by waving his tail back and forth, to treats from the help in the Elathana estate.

"It is a good pet, but hardly a battle companion," Marius noted, and then looked into Zaine's eyes. "If you bring the raccoon to quests, you might get into another bloodlust, if it gets injured again, trying to help you."

"I know," as far as Zaine was concerned, Nico was going to be his companion only during meetings such as this one. When he was not supposed to fight. The fur ball was looking at a life of luxury and as much food as it wanted in Zaine's apartments.

"It is good that you do. Now, for the real reason why I had you come," Marius sat on his chair, and shifted some papers to the side. He pulled a scroll, and began to read.

"Broken ribs, caved in heads, broken limbs. Most of the injuries had been done to the victims' postmortem," Marius read, and Zaine winced.

"This is about the thieves, isn't it?" Zaine asked in a small voice. This was it. This was the moment when he would be told to give his badge back, and never tell to anyone that he had ever been in the Westermire's employee.

"Boy, are there any berserker trainers at the Elathana estate?" Marius asked. Zaine shook his head.

"Father doesn't hire berserkers. There is uncle Filion, but he is busy training farmers up in the mountains," Zaine told the guild master. Filarion had looked guilty when he told Zaine that berserkers were too much of a loose cannon case for him to consider them adequate help material.

"You show promise," Marius said, and then folded back the scroll. "Those thieves were drop-outs from the guild. Their rank was B."

"B?" Zaine couldn't believe it. He had killed three B ranked adventurers?

"Granted, they were all archers. But still, they were armed with daggers. Had you not acted as fast as you did, you would be dead now," a cold shiver ran down Zaine's spine. He had figured that out by himself, but to have it confirmed?

"Do I return my badge now?" Zaine asked, as he bowed his head. Nico shifted in his sleep, and placed a paw on Zaine's hand. Its little fingers curling around Zaine's own.

"No. You show promise, but you need to learn how to control your bloodlust. There is one sure method, but it is not pretty," Marius told him, and then sighed. "You will work at a butcher's shop. Butcher animals all day long, until you feel like you can no longer think about blood, gore and death."

Zaine blinked at that. He was going to do what now?

"But, isn't that risky? What if I snap?" Zaine asked, and Marius sighed again.

"I went through this, Zaine. Believe me, when you see the pain of the animals, you will wish someone attacked you, and took away your butcher's knife," the old berserker waved his hand, and then produced another scroll. "Take this to the butcher's shop. They have lambs for slaughter today."

"Lambs?" Zaine paled. He didn't want to kill baby animals!

"Lambs. Now, go," Marius pushed the scroll into Zaine's hands, and shooed him away. Zaine, on shaky legs, made his way out of the guild house and into the wide streets before it.

The butcher's shop was not far from the guild house. Zaine hugged Nico tighter, and entered the shop. The butcher, old Edward Yarnel smiled at him. He had some blood on his apron, and that made Zaine sick.

"I... this is for you," Zaine said, and handed the scroll to the blonde man. Edward took it, and unrolled it.

"Ah, you seem to be in a pinch," the butcher said, and then eyed the raccoon. "Pet, or the thing you need butchered?"

Nico's whiskers moved around nervously, and Zaine hugged him tighter still. Careful of his mending ribs.

"Pet. I was told that you had lambs in here that..." Zaine gulped. He ate lamb chops, just like everyone, but didn't want to be the one to butcher the animals.

"Lambs? Oh, Marius is starting you on the hard ones first. Well, it is not that there are easy animals to butcher, bar these monsters that you adventurers go to the countryside to slay," Edward pointed at a cage, and nodded towards Nico. "Place your friend in there, so he won't run off when the lambs begin to scream."

"Scream?" Zaine was going to fall over now. Lambs could scream?

"Well, what else do you call the panicked bleating before their deaths? It never gets easy to hear it. Come now, I don't have all day," the butcher took a knife from a cutting board, and handed it to Zaine. The berserker didn't take it. Instead, he went and placed Nico in the cage.

"Just for now, little guy. Just, try to sleep," Zaine petted the raccoon from between the bars, and took the knife. When the first lamb licked his hand, its little tail wagging back and forth, Zaine broke down crying. Still, he slit the throat of the poor animal. And then the next. Until he felt empty and tired.