Aim High Pt 1

“What are we doing?”

“We are heading out to the Irish countryside for a royal werewolf family’s job. Big job this time, they have said we are dealing with a dragon.”

“... A dragon?”

“Correct. The beast has been known as Fearg-Shalachar. Good news is that he is not a typical flying, fire breathing dragon but the bad news is that he is massive and capable of leveling a mountain from simply charging through it.”

“So just a giant iguana then?”

“Correct… We will be having a third with us who will be our lift to the family home. We will know when we see him.”

“Name?”

“David ‘The Goliath’ Cullen.”

“Big guy?”

“Correct.”

Overcast and a relatively long trip between the states and Ireland, the two huntresses, Evelyn and Mary, made their way out to a small town after several rides between several taxis and buses as they sat waiting. The town was fairly quiet, locals waving but the two huntresses were waiting for their ride. Mary kept her stern sitting posture while Evelyn just had herself sprawled on her corner with an arm over the backrest and her legs wide like she was home on her couch. The two were just keeping to themselves, Mary losing herself in thought while Evelyn wanted to say something but was quick to fumble her questions in regards to anything. Once she collected something to say, a creak wheel was heard which the two would look over to see.

“Top of the morning, ladies.”

“Holy…”

“Good afternoon, Mr. Cullen, I presume?”

“Ya may drop the formalities, you may call me David.”

“Woah…”

Mary was giving a formal greeting as she rose to her feet, Evelyn was up but was rather mesmerized by the giant figure that stood before the two. The carriage drawing giant was David Cullen, also known as the Goliath, a hunter specialized in taking down larger than normal monsters and other out of the ordinary game through equipment considered overwhelming by the average individual. With a tilt of his old rancher hat, the giant would give his greetings before he would prepare the two a seat on the carriage that he was pulling. They seemed confused at first but it was till they noticed that the rear of the giant’s carriage was filled to the brim with loose parts and gear that was rather large for them but near where a carriage rider would sit was where the two would be able to sit within. Mary was able to gracefully flip up to the seat after she was done setting her case down on the carriage while Evelyn tossed her bag and scrambled her way up to the seat.

“So, you with the lovely blonde hair, you are Miss Mary Liecht, correct?”

“That is correct.”

“I’ve always heard folks about you, the Killer in White, the Ivory Hound, and the Holy Butcher. Now, I don’t judge right away, momma always told me never to let what others say about the judgement of others but I gotta ask. Is it true that, before you ed the Association, were you the church’s personal killer?”

“That is correct, back then, I was their personal killer in case they deemed someone or something condemned. It was not a fun time.”

“Well, it's good to see you have a change of heart now. I am a God fearing man but something like that is left to Him and Him alone. Now for the one with the statuesque form, Evelyn Roads, correct?”

“Huh? Me? Um… Yeah, that's me.”

“You got way too many names now but the one that stood out to me is The Black Beast. Does that have anything to do with what happened back on the holidays?”

“... I… I honestly don’t know. You do all this work, you don’t pay attention to these things.”

“... Are ya still recuperating after all that?”

“Yeah, sadly…”

“Well, don’t fret. It’s another day and we have to go dragon slaying. I heard the council sent you two to me in hopes to wipe out this problem anyway we can, just give me the lowdown on what you two can and can’t do and I’ll give what I got.”

Which was what they gave David, each one taking a turn to give him details about what they are bringing to the table on this mission. As they began to explain, the giant began to pull the large carriage out of town and made his trek to where they needed to go. Mary was giving as much as she could about what she is bringing along, from what she is capable of as well as what she can do as the half breed she is, mentioning the arsenal that was with her that resided in her massive weapon case. The assortment impressed the giant and was glad someone who is able to keep up in such a way was coming along, sharing what he’s bringing along to the hunt but much of everything he brought was much more on the old school side of weaponry. Mary didn’t get what he meant but he assured her that she’ll understand when the hunt begins. After giving her side, Evelyn’s turn was up but not much was given to the giant. Casually explaining everything she has, it piqued David’s curiosity over the fact that Evelyn had a wild selection of trinkets and weapons that made it sound like she carried various items of great power but they were merely creations that spawned from her own power. She explained as best she could that her arsenal was something that just appeared after she began to get her grip on her strength once more, seeing how much more flexible she has become compared to before. Outside of that part of herself, she explained to the giant that her powers, aside from the wild tendrils and monstrous forms, makes her deathless from plenty of lethal options. After their explanations, they just began tossing around questions that topped their minds but once they were spent, the uneasiness from both Mary and Evelyn made the trip seem more of a slog than usual even when David tried to lighten the mood.

After the long ride over to the countryside, the three made their way to what looked like a dilapidated church as the windows were barely held together and nature began to take hold of it. As they arrived and the two riding made their way off, the three went inside as the church was rather confined with David having to hunch a bit just to fit. They looked about the place as it seemed like it was only one room and a second floor to ring the nonexistent bell that once hung over the church. It was rather quiet over all, the three walking in as Mary set her case beside where she was going to sit while Evelyn just looked around and David taking a moment to give a hail Mary towards the altar. It took a bit but they began to notice movement outside the church where Mary would soon break the silence.

“Seems like our contractors finally arrived.”

“Huh, wha?!”

“Miss Mary knows her stuff. Let's see what took them so long.”

They waited for their hosts, several wolves appearing around the windows and cracks as well as holes in the walls till they suddenly shifted to their human selves. It took Evelyn a moment to catch their scent with how much they’re outside but once the group made their way inside, it was clear they were the family they were meeting up with.

“Welcome, lad and lasses! It's a good meeting ya!”

“Thank you for having us, gentlemen. I heard y'all needing some help in regards to a big nasty monster.”

“That’s correct, a big nasty one. Our family were always the ones to safeguard the troublesome guy but he’s waking up and we worry he might start leveling Europe!”

“If that is the case, we should not leave it unattended. Our giant friend is the expert on slaying great beasts while me and my comrade here were sent by the council in regards to dealing with something of this capacity.”

“Aye, that’s good to hear! Just know, we heard of ya lot. Mr. Cullen being the big man able to fell even the biggest beasts, Ms. Liecht being a tactical sound mercenary with a colorful record and Ms. Roads… Uhhh… Well, you… Uhhhh…”

“That I’m the monster who caused the Manhattan Incident?”

“We were gonna say that you have quite the decorated record for someone who’s been out on the field for a long time.”

“... Cut the bullshit, y'all didn’t know me till that Christmas day where a city went poof in one night.”

“Evelyn, enough.”

Mary decided to step in as Evelyn was giving a sense of hostility towards the family for notioning the incident, the leader of the family showing clear regrets towards his speech fumbling but took a moment to let the air before David brought back the topic in question. Everyone else was chiming in about the dragon they needed to deal with and brought out notes and documents in regards to Fearg-Shalachar. Many of the family began to assemble their gear from a nearby building while the leader was giving the hunters their side of dealing with the dragon.

“Big, thickly armored as well as a nasty temper. Last time we dealt with him was back when the monarchs were ruling but we had to call up the Fae to get contained. It wasn’t easy and we definitely lost many of ours during that day, even losing powerful druids that day which hurt our land’s connection to the Fae.”

“Darn, that much of an impact?”

“Aye, he may not be the usual big fire breathing, flying lizards but one stomp from his angry feet could bring down mountains!”

“Then I guess we gotta do this shit the only way I know… Monster versus monster, it’s probably the best we can do this but I got one question: How’d ya keep the big ugly bastard in check?”

“The druids knew how to channel the Fae, locking the beast in special reality. It was like a prison but it wasn’t perfect, it required many of the mightest druids and we no longer have that many from that day. Some fledglings and students here and there but we don’t want to endanger them.”

“Then fuck the reality spells, I’ll lock jaws with the ugly son of a bitch…”

“We still need to contain the beast, we cannot have the above world know of its existence. We already had to conceal what happened in Manhattan like it was some kind of large scale terror attack which has already stirred various countries into an uproar.”

“Fine! Figure out a way to lock down the big ugly bastard while I GO in.”

“Is she always this aggressive?”

“Only when she wants to prove something.”

Evelyn acting more boastful than normal, she was giving out her prideful plan in regards to her taking the front but the lycan family had to intervene, giving the woman reason why they cannot just go charging in with Mary throwing in her advice about the situation at hand. With all that was shared, they resumed their planning, eventually the giant figuring out an idea that could help in the long run. The family agreed, Mary checked her weaponry to see if she would be able to help in her best way she could but Evelyn remained fairly miffed at the whole thing but will still try whatever the plan was.

The ride went by smoothly as everyone was meeting up where the dragon would reside, David brought the girls on his personally made carriage while the lycan family reached the location along with several druidic of their own. They began to surround the cave entrance before a few of the lycans made their way inside, the rest staying outside to prepare themselves. Mary began to assemble her rifle, Evelyn summoned her cannon Charred Maria as she took a kneeling stance, David was then slamming a long object right next to the kneeling woman which he would reveal was his specialized gun. The gun in question was akin to an artillery piece but modified to be carried for someone of his stature, loaded with a shell specially made by his own hands while he slammed the rear shut and took a proning stance. Mary was rather surprised to see the gun while Evelyn was questioning everything she witnessed.

“What the fuck…?”

“I call this gal Bessie, she helped me netting some beasts in the past. Had a great catch with her dealing with a Roc terrorizing a village in Peru.”

“Wait, like the big nasty birdie?!”

“Correct.”

“Huh…”

“Hey, at least you brought that nice looking cannon with you. What’s up with that one?”

“Apparently its a portable payload with the primary cannon capable of launching either a singular piercing shot or just launching a big, purple fuck off stake. Thinking about trying the stake to see if it can crack the skin.”

“Good thinking.”

“Yeah, I was learning about how to deal with armor and all that shit, thought I cou-”

“GO, GO, GO!!”

Fewer lycans began to rush out of the cave, a loud billowing blast of hot air flew out of the cave as it suddenly shattered the cave entrance and sent anyone near the entrance flying back. The hunters were holding position with Mary showing struggle to hold but they kept their ground, many of the lycans drawing various firearms enchanted with druidic powers and ritualistic spells. The grounds began to shake and rumble, the druids they gathered began to form their rituals which conjured magical vegetation which started to encircle both the cave and the area around where the dragon would reside. The rumbling continued to grow more violently as the giant remained focused but Evelyn and Mary were holding their grounds till the rumbling stopped. Everyone looked around the area to see what was going on, figuring out what could’ve happened.

“... Everyone okay?!”

“Just shaken.”

“Oi, is everyone okay?! What’s going on!?”

“We’re still fine!! We still have the spell going!!”

“Just hold it ti-”

With warnings and guides given out to everyone, a deafening roar blasted outwards as the cave erupted in stone. It rained stone as everyone took cover, Evelyn spawning her tendrils to provide Mary and David cover as they held their position. The two looked towards the dust as another roar would go off, blasting away everything and shattering the grassy fields into rocky dirt. A massive hulking lizard crawled out of the cave, hissing and snarling before it shook off any excessive dirt from its snout which would only anger the beast. As he got his bearings, it spotted the three hunters as fury began to blind his eyes.

“Oh, he looks pissed…”

“... And looking at us!”

“He sure is!! Ladies, open fire!!”

Author's Notes:

I'm in the rain... Trickling down... I'm the sickness of this town... I'm the ants inside your wall... The quiet knocking on your door...