A Familiar Scent

With the monster nowhere in sight, Jensen hurriedly assembled his crew and ordered them to scour the lake for any sign as to where the creature had gone. Meanwhile, on Jensen’s insistence, I followed him back to his office, where he immediately strode over to a tall cabinet and flung open the double-doors to reveal a bookshelf lined in all manner of exotic tomes. He mumbled to himself as he riffled through them, clearly searching for something.

I waited as patiently as I could, crossing my arms and anxiously tapping my foot. I hope Rill’s okay, I thought, my hand absently patting the wooden sword stuck behind my belt. It had held up surprisingly well, even despite the forces that had been applied to it during the fight, which was quite heartening. Well, it’s not like she’s helpless. I’m sure she’s fine. Hopefully she’s managed to meet up with the others. I suspected that Nora was working her healing magic somewhere in the town, mending the injuries of those who had been involved in the attack as best she could. For a simple town like this, her ability was probably akin to a literal blessing from their Goddess.

“Aha!” Jensen exclaimed, returning with his nose buried in a leather-bound tome. He slammed it down on the desk, spinning it around for me to see. Staring up at me was an illustration of a beast that looked identical to the one we had just fought, with all sorts of cliff notes and captions surrounding it and the wall of text on the adjacent page. The section was titled, ‘Freshwater Kraken.’

“I suspected as much,” Jensen said, pointing to the picture, “but I had to make sure. I’ve fought a handful of saltwater krakens in my day, but their freshwater brethren are a lot more difficult to come by. In fact, I’ve never seen one in person before. As far as I know, they mostly live deep into the Far Reach, in secluded lakes and ponds, their thick fur lining making them resilient to the colder climates of the north.”

Skimming over the text, I wondered, “So what’s it doing here, then? It’s unlikely to have simply migrated this far south, don’t you think?”

Jensen stroked his beard in thought. “That’s what I would like to know, as well. Freshwater krakens live in dens either underwater or near the shoreline, and unlike the ones I’ve fought at sea, they aren’t entirely limited to life in the water…although they do prefer it. It’s possible that it somehow wound up here, though exactly how, we might never know. I suppose questions like that will just have to wait until after we’ve subdued the beast.”

I nodded absently, still scanning through the writing. They don’t grow quite as large as Sea Krakens and their fur makes them more resistant to injury and cold. They’re also referred to as Lake Krakens. “So what’s our next move? We know what we’re dealing with, but we still don’t know where it ran off to.”

Jensen grinned at my ignorance, and said, “Lad, knowledge is half the hunt! If we know what it is, we can narrow down where it might have gone. At least now we have a better idea of its natural habits and habitat. What’s more, we know what we can use to bait the hook, so to speak.”

“I see,” I replied, trying to follow his logic, “but there is one thing that’s bothering me. You said you’ve been out here for over a month without seeing anything at all, and now it just suddenly surfaces and launches an attack? It seems awfully convenient, doesn’t it?”

Jensen hummed in agreement, his brow furrowing. Then, he snapped his fingers and said, “As I recall, there was a disturbance between the villagers and bandits shortly before the last attack as well, where a couple people were injured. Perhaps the increased agitation of the surrounding populace disturbs the beast, and makes it go on a rampage?”

I raised an eyebrow at the man, who seemed to almost be grasping at straws for an explanation. Still, if it was true, it was the best piece of information we had to work with. “Perhaps,” I said doubtfully, “but I’d rather not have to initiate a fight just to lure it out again in the vague hope that it might return.”

Jensen chuckled, holding up a hand in a pacifying gesture. “Patience, for now. We have plenty of information to keep us busy for the time being. I’ll have my men keep searching, and bait the hooks with whatever we can spare in an attempt to lure it back in; it’s only a matter of time until it turns up again. And next time…we’ll definitely slay it.”

I could not help but nod, inspired by the man’s sheer confidence. Well, he is a seasoned monster hunter, I suppose. It’s only natural for him to act so assuredly. “Even so, it’s a powerful foe. Are you sure we can kill it?”

The man winked, shrugging towards the walls surrounding us. “The Halcyon is practically a floating fortress, lad. We’ve got access to dozens of harpoons and nets, even cannons if need be; everything we need to fight it, and more. Compared to its sea-borne cousins, it shouldn’t even be a challenge. Remind me when all this is over, and I’ll tell you some stories about those monsters! They can grow as large as the Halcyon itself, and they’re crafty foes. Some can even wield lightning and command the waves! Can you imagine?”

I shuddered at the thought. Andras had always insisted that dragons were the most powerful beasts in this world, but the more I encountered and learned, the more I started to doubt the veracity of his claims. If there really were monsters like that out there, I was certain that they would be fearsome foes, even if I was able to use my full power to fight them.

One thing was certain, however. Being trapped in my human form was turning out to be quite irritating in ways I had never imagined. Putting aside the fact that it constantly felt as though I was wearing clothing that were two sizes too small, I was limited to what I had determined to be about half of my full strength, perhaps even a bit less than that. I might have been considerably stronger than most humans, but if I was able to transform, I likely could have ended the earlier battle with relative ease.

“Still,” Jensen mused, studying me with a critical eye, “you’re certainly an odd one, aren’t you? There aren’t many who can keep up with me in a fight. I hope I can count on your help if needed, when the time comes.”

I laughed awkwardly, doing my best to evade his unspoken questions. “Well, you’re no slouch, yourself! Frankly, I was pretty amazed when you jumped in to help, after that hit you took at the start.”

Jensen chuckled, waving a dismissive hand. “Well, I’ve lived a hard life on the sea, after all. Out there, you either become strong enough to overcome the elements, or you succumb to them. But you’re still young. Don’t let battle, or your innate propensity towards it, dictate how you live your life. A man should live his life on his own terms.”

“Thank you,” I answered, surprised at his thoughtful advice, “I’ll keep that in mind. But, if there’s nothing else, I think I’ll have to leave things at that for the night. I’m a bit worried about the others, if I’m being honest. I’d like to go see how they’re holding up.”

Jensen nodded, adding, “Very well. If you manage to see Reigen in your travels, could I trouble you to send him my way?”

With reassurance that I would, I left his office, closing the thick door behind me. I’m glad he’s on our side, but I definitely can’t let him know my true nature. There’s no telling what he might do if he figures out that I’m not entirely human.

I made my way back to the scene of the attack, the streets half-obscured in dappled moonshadow. It seemed the townsfolk had retreated indoors after the earlier disturbance, not even venturing out to light the lanterns that hung at intervals from tall posts along the walkways.

As I approached the scene, my nose twitched, the breeze bringing with it a scent that I recognized from our scouting trip at the lake, a smell almost like the petrichor after a gentle rain…with added fishiness. There was no mistaking it, now; this was without a doubt the scent of the monster itself, the fading residue it had left behind.

Even though I was now aware of what the smell was, it did not really help me at all. I knew the kraken had gone out to the lake, but there was no way to follow a smell underwater. So instead of pursuing it, I stayed on-task, and followed the main path towards the town inn, leaving the thought behind me. There, I entered and decided to ask the innkeeper where the injured had been taken. “Ah, you’re with that lot!” the portly man proclaimed, and quickly ushered me upstairs, to a large room which appeared to have been hastily retrofitted into a makeshift infirmary. Five men lay on the beds, in various states of recovery.

As we entered, I was greeted by Lassan and Tark, their hands reaching for their swords before realizing it was only me. They sighed, relaxing, and beyond them I saw Nora sitting on a stood beside one of the injured men that I recognized from earlier, her hands enveloped in the familiar white glow of healing. Rill stood behind her, steadying her on the stool as she tottered, obviously having reached her limit. Beside them was the girl who had seemingly been the cause of the skirmish, watching with worried tears in her already swollen eyes.

Lassan grinned, clapping me on the shoulder, and said, “Thank goodness you’re alright! I was beginning to worry the beast had made a meal out of you!”

Tark merely grunted, with a sharp nod, which I took to mean that he, too, had been concerned. “That would be the good news,” I assured the duo, “But unfortunately, it got away from us. At least now we know what we’re dealing with, and Jensen’s got his whole crew working on it as we speak. How are things on your end?”

Lassan frowned as he half-turned to look out over the roomful of wounded, and shook his head sadly. “It’s as you can see. Nora’s doing all she can to help them, but some of their injuries were quite severe, and she’s only one person. Doesn’t help that she’s insisted on healing both the townsfolk and the bandits. As it is, she’d fall right off that stool without Rill’s help.”

“I see.” Everyone’s doing what they can. I should see if I can help, somehow.

As I walked over to greet them, Rill’s tense shoulders relaxed upon seeing my face. “Leo! You’re back!” She exclaimed with a sigh of relief. Nora, on the other hand, did not look up from her work, her brow furled in concentration and beads of sweat dripping from her nose. Rill dabbed her face with the cloth she held, sharing a troubled glance with me concerning the woman’s selflessness.

“How’s he doing?” I wondered, considering the young girl staring at the man’s motionless form with a worried expression.

Hearing my question, the light around Nora’s hands faded, and she collapsed backward into Rill, who gasped at the sudden weight. In an exhausted voice, she replied, “That’s the last of them. Sadly, there were several whom were beyond saving…”

The girl across from us spoke up, then, “Daddy…is daddy going to be okay?”

Nora gave the girl a tired smile, nodding slowly, “Your papa’s going to be just fine, Tera. He only needs some rest, now.”

Relief flooded across the girl’s face, and tears once again started to flow freely as she collapsed to the floor, the tension keeping her upright finally being released. However, my mind was elsewhere, reeling with disbelief as I inhaled deeply.

A familiar, trace scent surrounded the girl, faint, but still very much there, a smell that burned my nostrils.

The scent of the kraken.