The Scarlet Paladin

She wasn't running from the fight or towards her allies. No, she was running towards the creek she had passed by earlier. She quickly dove into the shallow stream, bathing in its dirtied water before emerging on the other side. She didn't turn to track the wolf yet, she needed cover first.

She darted behind a tree as she heard splashes come from the creek. The wolf was far closer than she had thought as she heard it sniffing the air. She hoped her aroma was covered enough for it to lose her. She felt the water drip off of her as she did her best to silently pad out the moisture.

The wolf tilted its head as it listened for any signs of Jasmine. She eased slightly as the water had thrown off its scent. She now needed to figure out how to deal with it with only her knives and what poisons she had on her. She eased the vial off of her belt before looking closely at it. The vial had a greenish liquid in it and a corked cap. She knew that once the cork came off, she'd have to move.

She steadied her breathing before she eased the cork off. She waited a moment before fully taking it off, scanning her surroundings for another hiding spot. With one found, she pulled the cork. It made a popping noise that cut through the silence of the forest. The wolf turned towards the sound and pounced blindly, crashing into the tree that Jasmine had hidden behind.

Thankfully, werewolves weren't known for their intelligence while in their wolf form. The tree ached and cracked under the force of the creature, but Jasmine had already moved to another spot. She had her thumb covering the vial, making sure the poison wasn't leaking. She pulled her dagger from its sheath, it had a curved blade with a serrated edge towards the handle. Its tip was what made it different. It had a small hole similar to a needle, small enough to not damage the integrity of the blade.

Carefully, she readied the poison and the blade, unscrewing the pommel as she readied her tool. She eased the pommel off as the werewolf shook off the blow to the tree. She dumped the poison into the hollow handle, the sickly green liquid filled the inside before it started to leak down the blade. Jasmine felt her shoulders ease as she was able to get her main weapon ready.

The viscous liquid flowed down the blade as she reached for her other blade. It was very similar, a curved edge with a serrated section towards the handle, but a normal tip. One to poison, and the other for deep stabs. She wished she had grabbed her bow as she could have used more hit-and-run tactics, but she only had her daggers. She felt the heavier dagger in her left hand as the poisoned dagger weighed considerably less in her right.

She had the vial set in a specific spot under her. She was able to come up with a way to get the wolf's attention when she moved. She propped a stone above her as the wolf looked around; she just hoped the distance was large enough to break the glass. With the stone in place and her poison coating her weapon, she was finally ready to fight.

She darted to the side as the stone slid off her back. It fell, and while it didn't break the glass vial, it did make a dink sound that the wolf focused on. It pounced at Jasmine's former hiding spot as she launched her attack. She sliced at the wolf's thigh with her regular dagger before stabbing its lower back with her poisoned one. She released her poisoned dagger and swapped her remaining dagger to her stronger hand. The wolf howled in pain as it blindly swiped in Jasmine's direction.

Thankfully, she was flexible enough to duck backward under the swipe and spring off her hands. She landed a distance behind the wolf as it clawed at its back, trying to get to the dagger embedded in its back. While it was a basic poison that wouldn't kill the creature, it did dull its senses and cause it immeasurable pain. She backed off as it flailed wildly, finding another spot to hide.

The creature recovered slightly as it let out a growl, scanning its surroundings for Jasmine as it bared its fangs. Jasmine felt panic settle into her body as a shiver went down her spine. It was using a panic skill meant to cause its opponent to flee. She resisted her body's flight response as the wolf staggered in her direction.

She had to change her tactics up as it wouldn't fall for her trick a third time. She decided to throw a rock to distract the wolf and attack it. She threw it to the creature's right as it snapped to the sound it made hitting a tree. It didn't pounce as she expected, but it did turn its back to her.

She sprinted towards the creature, her steps not making any sounds as she readied her blade. She struck at the wolf's inner thigh, causing it to howl in pain as blood splattered on the ground. It slashed at Jasmine, but she was quicker than it. She was already retreating to another tree. It gave chase as it transitioned to running on all fours. It limped towards Jasmine's direction before pouncing behind the tree she disappeared behind.

She wasn't behind it however, she had climbed up it. She sat on a branch, covered by its leaves, as she looked down on the bewildered creature. Its movements slowly became ragged as its growl began to slur. Its eyes darted around, looking for its assailant as panic started to take over the wolf's crazed mind. It clutched its inner thigh, stemming the bleeding for its healing ability to kick in. Jasmine steadied herself as she planned her next attack. It'd be suicide to pounce on the creature, but also would throwing her dagger.

Patience was an assassin's greatest tool. The ability to wait for her target's guard to drop or for the perfect shot to line up. Every human or creature had to sleep at some point, no matter how paranoid they were. She had spent many hundreds of hours waiting patiently for her targets to drop their guard, and she'd wait many more in her lifetime. She watched as the wolf slowly began to stagger more, its movements slowed by the poison as it stumbled wildly. It took five minutes for the poison to fully circulate in its body, its naturally high resistance holding off the powerful poison.
Experience new stories on My Virtual Library Empire

Jasmine readied her dagger before she eased down the tree. She was careful enough not to make any noises despite the creature's state. Just as she needed to wait for her target's guard to be down, she needed the discipline to never drop her own. She made it to the ground safely as the wolf fell to the ground, its muscles weakening under the poison's effect. Jasmine heard voices in the distance, ones that sounded like her party members, so she had to make this quick.

She dashed silently towards the creature's neck, slicing at its muscular throat as it perked up towards the sounds. It gargled out a growl as panic overcame its unnatural eyes. It finally found Jasmine just as its body began to give out. It sloppily slashed at her as she moved out of the way. She followed it up with a stab to its back as it let out a gargled howl. It began to thrash wildly as Jasmine dashed in and out of cover, stabbing and slicing at the creature until its fur began to dissolve away.

The creature slowly morphed back into a human woman with tattoos covering her body and matted hair. The woman looked to be Jasmine's age as Jasmine began to study the tattoos that littered her body. Different depictions of monsters and skulls were clumped together on her arms and chest. Jasmine's face contorted in disgust as she saw them. All bandits had similar tattoo rituals, a tattoo was gained for completing major tasks or for committing a crime. This woman had several tattoos that stood for abduction, murder and rape littering her body.

Any guilt Jasmine might have had flowed out of her upon seeing those tattoos; this woman probably had a contract out for her. She spit on the woman's lifeless body before rushing to her party, afraid that they might be ambushed by more of the creatures. She raced back to the grove with all the bandit bodies, hoping her party members didn't encounter any.

She found Claire and the twins hiding by the wrecked wagon, the twins behind Claire as her shield was ready. They hadn't noticed her yet as they were watching the Northerner fight the final wolf. The northerner threw the creature onto the ground before she began beating it. Her face and body quickly became covered in more blood as she pummeled away at the wolf.

She didn't stop when it turned back into a human, either. She kept punching the lifeless body as her rage fully consumed her. It took a full minute for her to calm down as her eyes began to lose their glow. Her fists were coated in blood and bits of bones as she reached for a hidden knife.

She carved into the dead woman's skin a fire rune to burn the body. The best way to keep a werewolf dead. Jasmine would have to have Elsie do something similar to the other wolf, but that could wait. She joined the three, silencing Ana's cry as she appeared behind the girl.

"Shhh… I took care of one… there might be more." She whispered, her voice barely registering to the others. "Patience… let's see how she reacts." They all turned back to the wild woman as she panted heavily over the creatures' bodies, her own covered in claw and bite marks. She'd have to be purified to not turn into one as well. The woman turned in the direction of the four as her glowing red eyes began to dim.

She staggered towards the Scarlet Seraphs before her fatigue and injuries took over. She fell towards the ground face first as she let out a labored cry. Claire moved without thinking to the woman's side, forgetting her lesson on feints. Thankfully, there was no feint coming. The woman fell into Claire's arms before passing out from exhaustion. Claire held the gasping woman as her consciousness faded.

"Ana! Heal her wounds, Jasmine, watch for others. Elsie, stay hidden with Ana." Claire commanded without thinking. The white haired woman began to glow yellow as Jasmine disappeared. She darted around the grove they were in, searching for signs that other wolves had followed her earlier.

Silence hung over the open patch of forest as the woman's wounds slowly closed, and her breathing became regular again. Her near lifeless body was cradled in Claire's arms as Jasmine retrieved the woman's axe.. "No signs of others. Elsie come with me. There's another wolf that needs to be taken care of." Elsie separated from her sister as she followed Jasmine, and Ana walked alongside Claire as they traveled back to the carriage.

"H-her breathing is better… but we need to get to a priestess… she has the l-lycanthropy venom in her now…" Ana got out as she watched over the woman. She was careful not to expel all her mana and give the woman healing fatigue like with Claire, but her panic was slowly setting in. This woman could join those bandits in their curse, then she'd have a permanent target on her back.

"Don't worry, we'll get to Fyre as fast as we can. Have to leave this place quickly, though. I doubt the Knights didn't know this tribe of bandits had lycanthropy." Claire's voice came out like venom. Her anger slowly rose as she thought more about it. The Knights had either allowed for these women to thrive or were too incompetent to take care of them.