Steel-Rank Request

 

Corinne and the other girls worked out a schedule, wherein Corinne would get Kris once a week to herself at her small house, and she would come over for dinner on some other days. While she wanted to live with all of them, the inn room couldn't fit anyone else comfortably, and Corinne wanted to ease into living with others anyway, since she had been living by herself for so long.

Every time they came into the Guild to see her, she blushed a bit as Kris walked up.

“I have that Steel Rank-up Request today,” she said. They had been checking in for it the last few days since she had joined up with them, as Corinne was actively searching for one. “The Guildmaster approved this one for you today. A giant ogre.”

“Giant ogre? Aren't they already big?” Kris asked.

Corinne nodded. “Giant ones are larger. There's been sightings of one on the northern mountain pass,” she explained, pointing to the map.

Kris looked it over. They had been to the mountains to the east twice already, once for the fenrir request, and another time they had taken the southeast pass to get to Friedrich's Haven. The northern pass went inside the mountains for quite a while, until it spat them out at the end of the mountain range. They wouldn't have to go quite that far, though. Based on where it showed the giant ogre's territory, it was probably about a four day trek. Maybe three and a half if they got a carriage ride to the end of the mountains.

Kris looked at the three other party members, who all nodded determinedly. Turning back to Corinne, he smiled, “Looks like we're taking it.'

Corinne nodded, handing it over so Kris could put it in his status screen. She then whispered, “Come back safely,” and held up her clipboard to secretly blow a kiss.

Kris blushed slightly and nodded.

 

After packing their bags, they waited around a bit to see if their favorite carriage driver would come along. Sure enough, after a while he drove in front of the guild.

“You all need a ride?” he asked after puffing his pipe.

Kris nodded, “The mountain again, if you'll take us.”

The carriage drive smiled, taking another puff, “Aye.”

 

It was the afternoon when they reached the crest of the path that led into the mountain pass. After saying goodbye to the carriage driver, they started off.

Mibu asked, “Should we meet up with the other pack-members?”

Kris looked around, confused, “Everyone that should be here is...right?”

Mibu smiled, “No, the fenrir! They're members too.”

Kris sighed, “That's a bit loose of a definition. Of course, if we do find them, I wouldn't mind the extra escort.”

 

Due to it getting to a colder time of year, it was unsurprisingly a bit snowy on the mountain. Not enough that it impeded vision (or near as bad as when they ran into the yeti) but it was still enough to slow down their hike. Paddy did her best to create a path for the others, but even she was going slow, trying not to tire herself out.

“Paddy, let's switch,” Kris said, patting her on the back.

Paddy blushed, “You're not as big as me though.”

Kris chuckled, “I can still lead.”

Paddy nodded, falling in behind the rest so Kris could lead.

Kris soon regretted this, having trouble pushing through the waist-deep snowdrift.

After an hour, Paddy tapped his shoulder, “Let's switch, I'm rested now.”

Kris, who was red and exhausted, nodded, causing Paddy to giggle.

 

Eventually, it started getting dark, and Kris suggested they camp. “Do you see any crevices?”

Mibu shook her head.

Paddy pointed in a specific direction, “I think there's a tunnel there.”

Kris nodded and let Paddy lead them. They got to a cliff wall, and sure enough there was a tunnel...a meter off the ground.

Kris motioned to Paddy to help him up, and he crawled into it. Lighting up a lantern, he saw a small cave, probably just large enough for a fire and four huddled people.

Paddy helped Mibu and Celica up, and then Mibu and Kris helped pull Paddy up.

Once they were all secure, they lit a fire, before huddling together near it.

“Do you smell the ogre at all? I know it's only the first day, but...”

Mibu shrugged, “I dunno what an ogre smells like.”

Kris looked at Paddy, who shook her head.

Celica shivered, “I've seen ogres before, in the forest. We always used Shadow to hide from them.”

They all looked at her, causing her to blush. “I can't smell them, or anything. And all I know is they're big and brutish. I'm a bit scared of what a giant one will look like.”

 

The snow outside picked up, until it was storming hard outside their little cave. Paddy and Celica were already asleep, while Mibu and Kris were watching the fire.

“You can sleep,” Kris said to her.

Mibu shook her head, “I'll sense anything coming before you do.”

Kris sighed, “I guess you're right.”

Mibu snuggled into his neck, “Just sleep, I'll wake you up if anything happens.”

Kris nodded, falling asleep easily once he stopped keeping himself awake, enveloped by the warmth of his companions.

 

The next morning he woke up, Mibu's head asleep on his chest. You gotta stay awake if you're taking watch! However, before he could say anything, he saw that Paddy was awake, giving him a smile, presumably having switched with Mibu at some point. Kris let her sleep a bit longer, but then they had to get up and back on the trail.

The snow had built up to the point it was only a foot below the tunnel entrance, instead of the meter it had been.

Kris was a bit concerned, “Is it safe?”

Paddy nodded. “It should have compacted and frozen.” She slid down, and sank, but only to the top of her boots. “See?”

Kris nodded, jumping down too, before helping Celica down.

Mibu jumped down, but then her ears were twitching.

Kris was alert, “Something wrong?”

Mibu smiled, “No.”

Kris waited a moment, “Well, what is it?”

Mibu shook her head, “Just wait a moment.”

Kris waited, then heard it himself. The telltale howling of the fenrir. After a few moments, they came bounding from the south. The two smaller fenrir tackled Mibu, licking her face. Then, the mother fenrir came into sight, bounding onto Kris, knocking him over and licking his whole face with her tongue.

“Blagh...yeah...I'm happy to see you too,” Kris said, trying to get her to stop.

Celica and Paddy were laughing.

“Hey, this isn't funny!” Kris said, finally getting back to his feet.

The mother fenrir growled a bit.

“She's upset we didn't come see her for a while,” Mibu translated.

Kris shook his head, “We can't just live in the mountain all the time...”

The mother fenrir started noticeably sniffing around Kris, especially his sheathed sword. She then growled a bit, more aggressive than before.

Mibu was taken aback, “Apparently she smells her mate on you.”

The fenrir growled deeper.

Mibu scratched her cheeks, “Sorry, ex-mate. Sounds like she doesn't like him.”

The mother fenrir walked over to Mibu, growling like it was a conversation.

Mibu frowned, nodding repeatedly. “Oh, we killed him.”

The mother fenrir stopped growling, and bowed it's head onto the ground in front of Kris.

Mibu seemed excited, “Oh, she's recognizing you as the alphamale of her pack!”

The two smaller fenrir came up and bowed next to their mother.

“Wha-what!?” Kris said, dumbstruck.

Mibu pointed. “You need to be the leader of the pack now! Well, you already are, so I guess you need to take them into ours.”

Kris sighed, So what, I have a pet fenrir now? That's...actually I guess that's kind of advantageous. He leaned down and pet the mother fenrir on top of her snout.

She seemed to enjoy this, nuzzling into his hand.

“You have to take in her children too,” Mibu pointed.

Celica giggled, “You have kids now!”

Kris blushed, “Don't even joke about it.” He did pet the two children, too, although after he did they went back to Mibu, seeming to enjoy her company more than his.

After they finished, the mother fenrir went up, seeming to introduce herself to Celica and Paddy as well. Paddy gladly pet her behind the ears, while Celica was a bit more reserved, just briefly brushing her snout.

“Well, uh...now what.”

Mibu looked at the mother fenrir. “We're taking out a giant ogre north of here,” she pointed. “Do you know about it?”

The fenrir growled.

“She does, apparently it's been a problem for a while, they haven't been able to go north to hunt for fear of it. She's willing to help if you command her.”

Kris nodded, and the mother fenrir nuzzled into him again. “Alright, let's go then.”

 

The rest of the day passed in relative silence. Occasionally the two smaller fenrir tried to play around, but a stern growl from her mother made them fall back in line.

When night came again, the mother fenrir led them under a small outcrop. It wasn't exactly a cave, but it was protected from the sides and above, and they could easily light a fire underneath.

They cooked some potatoes and ate some jerky alongside it (the jerky also being popular with the fenrir).

After they finished eating, the two small fenrir curled up with Mibu, who fell asleep quickly in their fur.

Kris smiled seeing the cute sight. The mother fenrir growled at Kris, seeming to motion he should come over to her. He went and laid against her side, and she licked him once.

Paddy and Celica looked over at him, unsure what to do.

Kris turned to the mother fenrir, “They're my mates, so they can come over too, right?”

The mother fenrir growled.

“Uh...I'm assuming it's fine.”

Paddy smiled and came over, cuddling next to Kris. Seeing nothing happened to Paddy, Celica came over and cuddled on his other side.

The mother fenrir seemed to be keeping watch, so Kris assumed it was fine to fall asleep.

 

The next day progressed similarly to the last, making their way through the snow-covered mountain pass. Luckily there was no snow, so they were mostly unimpeded and made good progress.

When it was nearing dawn, the mother fenrir started growling aggressively.

Mibu sniffed, “I smell it too. I don't recognize it, but it's an awful stench. Grime mixed with blood.”

Kris nodded. “We should camp now, then. I don't want to try and fight this thing in the dark.”

They found a fair-sized cave to make camp in, making dinner and curling up for sleep again.

This time, Kris had the mother fenrir sleep. “You watched all last night, right? I can watch at least part of tonight.”

The mother fenrir growled, but seemed to understand, resting her head as Celica and Paddy laid against her midsection.

Kris sat near the fire, watching the entrance. Hmm...will the fenrir be okay on the mountain? It would be nice if we could take them down with us, but...people won't be happy with three fenrir in town. Maybe if we get a house outside of town, we could get a big pen for them to live in? Or maybe they could just roam the forest if they stay nearby.

Continuing to mull over the possibilities, he stared out into the snow-covered pass.

 

In the morning, there was a bit of an argument. Not that Kris could understand what was being argued.

The mother fenrir kept growling at the two small fenrir, until they eventually calmed down when Mibu gave them a hug. “We'll be okay.”

Kris looked at Mibu, who replied, “They wanted to come fight the ogre too, but she told them to stay here today.”

Kris nodded, “That's for the best.”

After saying goodbye to the small ones, leaving a bit of jerky for them to eat, and one of Mibu's spare cloaks for them to lay under, they continued on their way.

The mother fenrir and Mibu could still smell it, so they headed towards the source.

After a couple hours, they were getting near, and Kris could see the mother fenrir was tensing up.

Kris patted it's head, which seemed to relieve it somewhat, but she still seemed on guard.

Eventually, they saw a huge cave in the distance, looking like it had been carved into the mountain side.

The mother fenrir growled, and Mibu held her nose, “That's it.”

Once verifying everyone was ready,they crept up on the side of the cave entrance, and peered inside.

In the middle of the cave was a large firepit, with still-burning embers inside. Next to it looked to be a busted skeleton, presumably of a goat based on it's horns.

Behind it was a large bed of hay, random chests and other objects, something that looked like the back half of a carriage, and bones. Lots and lots of bones. Instead of throwing them away, the ogre seemed to just make big piles of them everywhere.

Celica seemed like she was going to be sick, and the others all seemed to be bothered by the smell. Kris was as well, though he presumed it was worse for them.

“I don't see it in there,” Kris explained.

Mibu looked around. “Should we wait for it?”

Paddy pointed inside. In one of the open chests, they could see the glint of gold.

The four bipedals looked at each other.

Kris was the first, “We gotta grab that gold, right?”

Mibu and Paddy nodded.

Celica shook her head, “We should wait until we defeat the ogre.”

Kris nodded, “That's true.”

They were silent for a moment, then Paddy suggested, “We should...ambush it. It won't expect us inside it's cave.”

They all nodded, then went inside, and started planning for what to do when it returned.

“Paddy, focus on defense, at least at first. Let us attack it from afar, that should be the safest way to take it out.”

Paddy nodded at him.

“Mibu and Celica, stay back and use your ranged attacks. I'll stay in the middle in case it gets past Paddy.”

Mibu seemed worried, “Don't let yourself get hurt!”

Kris shook his head, “I don't plan on it, but I have the highest HP besides Paddy. It will have to pay if it wants to get past me,” he added, grabbing his sword hilt.

The mother fenrir had been digging around in some of the ogre's stuff while they were planning.

“Can you stay with me? Or would you rather run around by yourself?” Kris asked her.

The fenrir ignored him, digging into a chest.

“Errr...”

The fenrir whined a bit.

Mibu seemed concerned, “Whatever it is, she wants you to see it.”

Kris came over. Inside the chest was a large amount of books. Kris didn't recognize them, but the fenrir kept digging as he took them out of the way.

At the bottom, the fenrir grabbed a book in it's mouth, before holding it out for Kris.

Kris's eyes lit up. It's a Goddess tome! He pet the fenrir's head, “Nice job.”

As Kris went to read it's contents, the ground started shaking.

“Kris...” Mibu said.

Paddy ran out front, holding her shield up and ready.

Outside, they saw a large shadow approaching. Eventually, it came into view. The giant ogre. It covered almost a third of the cave entrance, a large club in it's hand. It squinted while peering into the cave, as if it's eyes were adjusting. Suddenly, a large voice bellowed, “Nasty wolves....tasty humans...” It then seemed to catch sigh of Paddy. “Bear! I eat!” it said, then raised it's club...only for the club to slam into the roof of the cave. It knocked some rocks loose, but the ogre dropped the club.

They were all stunned momentarily at the stupidity on display, but Kris yelled, “Attack it now!”

The three magic-users blasted it with spells, causing it to grunt in pain.

However, it didn't seem too hurt, and grabbed it's club again. This time, it flung it sideways. The club missed Paddy entirely, but hit Kris. He got his arms up to block, but it knocked him over. It then kept going towards Mibu and Celica. Mibu was able to dodge, but Celica was clipped in the side as she tried to dodge out of the way.

“Celica!” Mibu yelled, running over to her. Her cloak and the side of her wool coat were torn, and blood was coming out of her side.

Dammit! “Heal Celica!” Kris said, although Mibu was already over doing so.

Kris looked over as he got up, as Paddy was blocking fists from the ogre with her shield.

As Kris came up to help, the ogre grabbed the shield. Paddy held on for dear life, and the ogre picked up Paddy, who was now dangling a meter off the ground.

As Kris was trying to figure out what to do, the mother fenrir bit down hard on the distracted ogre's ankle, causing it to drop Paddy, who fell on her butt, but quickly got back up.

“Are you okay?” Kris asked.

“Only lost a couple HP,” Paddy said back.

The ogre was kicking it's foot around, trying to unlatch the mother fenrir, who was holding on for dear life, clamping even deeper into it's ankle.

While it was busy with that, Kris aimed a Scorch at it's face. Then another. Then another. Until he was out of MP.

It had done some damage, and the ogre was screeching in pain and tripped over, causing it to finally fling the mother fenrir, who landed against one of the walls.

Kris was conflicted, but Paddy unlatched her ax. “Go check on her,” she said, before jumping onto the ogre and taking a huge swing at it's chest.

Kris ran over to the fenrir. It's breathing was a bit labored, but it at least seemed alive, whining slightly but nuzzling into Kris. “It's okay, Mibu can heal you. Mibu!” he shouted.

Mibu was busy getting Celica back onto her feet. Once Celica was able to balance on her own, she ran over, healing the mother fenrir without a word.

“Go help Paddy,” Mibu said.

Kris nodded, turning back just in time to see Paddy get flung backwards off the ogre as it stood back up. She landed with a hard thud, moving but having trouble getting up.

Kris could see blood dripping down the ogre's chest where Paddy had hacked away at it. He then felt a whir next to him, as Celica casted Air Slash. It connected with the ogre's bleeding ankle where the fenrir had bit down.

The ogre seemed like it was having trouble moving. Kris was about to get closer, but Celica used another Air Slash. This time, it cut the ogre's foot clean off at the ankle, causing it to stumble and fall.

Finally! We just have to finish it off!

The ogre was flailing in pain, screaming garbled, Kris only able to make out the occasional 'human!' and 'wolf!' among it's yelling.

Kris inched up closer, checking quick to see he had regained enough MP to cast a Scorch to try and finish it off.

As he did, the ogre lunged forward, sticking a hand into the hot embers of the fire pit. Kris's nostrils flared as he could smell the burning flesh. What is it-

The ogre then flung the coals at him. Kris started coughing as his throat and eyes burned from the coals and smoke. He suddenly felt himself get punched and sent flying back He couldn't see because of the ash, only feeling himself tumble across the stone.

There was then a loud 'awooo' from the fenrir. Kris looked towards the sound, coughing and trying to wipe his eyes. Celica was already over at him, trying to wipe his face too with her torn cloak. Eventually his eyes were clean enough to see, and he saw that the fenrir had grabbed onto the ogre's throat. It had been laying on it's stomach after punching Kris, and hadn't been able to stop the fenrir from clamping down on it. After a few moments, there was a massive spurt of blood as the ogre's jugular must have ruptured, spraying blood over the fenrir and into the snow around the cave.

After a few more death throes, the ogre finally stopped moving.