For The Greater Good-World 1: A Corrupted Cove || World//Zero ||

22. Boarwolves, Toucans, and Crabs, Oh My!

"Alright, buddy," the paladin sighed. "Let's see were you're at..."

Leaning back in his seat, Callahan propped his leg up on the table as he looked over Alec's scroll. The boy was coming along well, or at least better than he was before. More things were checked off his tasks. While it wasn't as full as Alec might've wanted it to, he was at least happy that they were moving along now, rather than still being stuck in an endless loop of training with his mentor. Speaking of Alec, he was busy testing out his new sword. He was attacking the straw target scarecrows near the blacksmith shop, slicing and carving into them, leaving marks on not only the targets but the scarecrows as well, bits of straw flying. Cal took a sip of his morning coffee before setting it down and getting up from his seat, walking over to his apprentice and rolling up his scroll.

"Let's get you familiar with that Boarwolf Forest, shall we?" he said knowingly, handing him back his lists of tasks. "How about we walk there?"

Alec nodded as he put it back in his satchel. As they stepped down the stairs leading into the field, and onto the path, Alec sheathed his longsword and looked up at the paladin. "Is there a quest where you have to kill a lot of boarwolves?" he asked, the snorts and grumbles of the hybrids around them quiet as they grazed undisturbed in the grass.

"Well, there's a quest where you have to kill a lot of elite boarwolves, if that's what you mean," Cal replied. "Those are the ones in the Forest. It's a very timely quest, however. You can't complete it so easily."

"How come?"

"For starters, you have to kill one-thousand of them."

Alec's mouth dropped to the floor, making his mentor laugh. "Are you kidding me?! How is that possible?"

"Oh, it is. You just have to be dedicated and have a lot of time on your hands." Cal leaned in and lowered his voice for dramatic effect. "Because the prize for completing it is your very own boarwolf mount."

Alec's eyes widened. Maybe that was why Elliot was so into fighting those boarwolves in the forest.

"Most people don't usually go for that quest, though," Cal mentioned after a moment. "I still haven't completed it. Not that I really want to, anyway. I just don't see the appeal of getting one of those...things...as a mount, of all things. Some boarwolf pups are already sold as pets, anyway."

The boy swallowed. The thought of the possibility of getting a boarwolf as a pet was unnerving. He had to kill them, after all. Having a pet boarwolf just seemed a little unusual.

As they were going under the rocky overpass leading them into the Snake Fields, Cal told Alec to run as soon as they got out of the tunnel. And they did, sprinting past the green snakes that were already coming their way. As soon as they hit the Forest though, leaving the farming village behind, they slowed their pace. The paladin took out his shield and unsheathed his sword, and Alec did the same with his longsword, looking around alert, like a boarwolf was going to attack him at any moment. He felt a little more at ease when he heard Cal's voice beside him, and he looked back at him for some sort of instruction.

"The boarwolves here are pretty much like the ones back there," his mentor said. "The only difference is their size. They're also stronger, and actually deal a bit of damage if you're not keeping a keen eye on them." He swung his sword to their surroundings. "They typically hide in the bushes and in the trees, so you must stay focused at all times in case something jumps at you." He then looked down at his apprentice. "Ready to give it a go?"

Alec smiled. "Ready."

Amused by the boy's confidence, he gestured to a thick patch of bushes a little farther up. Alec walked with his mentor toward that spot, though stole a glance to his right, where he saw the shoreline and the sea, along with another washed up ship. He spotted some adventurers down there, battling with a few boarwolves themselves. For some reason, Alec couldn't help but wonder if the hybrids liked water like regular dogs did.