A Monster Life Ch. 04-06

Ulric suspected the city had been just as big back then, but not this guy.

The man sat down on a bench which creaked as it tried not to break. 'Anyway,' he said and held up his hand. 'I'm Grand Wizard Vittorio. I assume you're the one who came in earlier today?'

Iphigenia nodded. 'Yes. I'm Iphigenia, and this is Ulric, the one who was accidentally summoned.'

Vittorio took out a round piece of glass and peered through it at Ulric. 'And inside this wolf is the mind of a man who claims to be from another world?'

'Yes.'

He hummed and rubbed his cheek. 'We'll have to do some tests.' he said and pushed himself up from the groaning bench. 'Come with me and we'll get to work right away.'

He led Iphigenia and Ulric through winding small streets and back alleys until he entered a door with a sign saying Warning! Do Notte Entere! High Magicke! and a yellow sharp pointed star underneath. Iphigenia halted. 'Wait, is this safe?'

Vittorio looked back. 'Oh, we just put up that sign so no one would enter here. We don't want people going around here being nosy or using this way as a shortcut to the main square.'

Ulric snuffed. 'Like I suspect happens in my world with warning signs.'

Now they went up winding stairs and along small corridors with lots of doors until they ended up in a large stone chamber filled with beakers and steaming fluids, candles with more wax underneath their base than above, open books filled with magic runes and circles, and the mandatory owl. Ulric didn't want to get near it, the way it wheezed and coughed.

'Did you get rid of the crackpots, Vittorio?' another bloated moon sickle studded robe said and turned around to reveal more beard than face. He froze at the sight of Ulric and Vittorio cleared his throat.

'Crackpots?' Ulric said as growls.

The beard coughed at the raised eyebrow of Iphigenia. 'We've had an accident with a highly specific brew and the pots we used are dangerous to handle now. Since Vittorio was on his way he could safely dispose of them.' He waved his hand. 'Anyway, good to see you. A person summoned inside a beast and also from another world is very interesting. No known occurrence to us in our vast knowledge.' He picked up a short staff with various prongs and a blue coloured eyeglass. 'Let's have a closer look.'

Ulric tucked his tail tight between his legs. 'Don't even think about probing me with that like I'm some alien abductee!' he growled.

'Ulric wants to know what kind of tests you want to perform on him.' Iphigenia translated.'

Vittorio leafed through a heavy book. 'Without sounding complex, we'll measure his strengths and weaknesses, the magic foot- and fingerprints, current and residual from the summoning, his aura, take a few samples to study closer, etcetera, etcetera. It's all highly magical really. We need precise details to find out what happened.'

Iphigenia nodded and put her hand on Ulric's back. 'You'll have to put up with it for now.'

He grunted and nodded. 'I'll try.'

As the beard and Vittorio began poking with various instruments, dusting with magic powder, and taking hair samples, more wizards entered the room one by one as they heard about a live bloodwolf being experimented on and participated.

After a long time of instruments in his mouth and probing him, and wizards poking him and looking into his ears, he began to lose patience. Iphigenia nudged Vittorio. 'I think it's better to give it a rest now.'

He watched her through a pair of red and green eyeglasses. 'But we have so much more to try. We understand his hedgehog ability but we still don't understand this essence of healing.'

She hid her embarrassment at knowing exactly what it meant and glanced at the group discussing in loud and strange terms. 'He's tired.'

'But the testing.'

'It might be better not to agitate him. He does have the body of a bloodwolf, you know.'

Vittorio blinked, then the realisation dawned on him. 'Oh! Of course! I'll see to it that we end it for today.' he said and quickly had a word with the beard.

With a few commanding words the rest of the wizards ceased their work and a growl from Ulric stopped an over enthusiastic one that hadn't paid attention. 'Let's get to work on the data we have and give our friends some rest. We'll continue tomorrow.'

The wizards left the chambers with their belongings murmuring amongst themselves and Ulric let out a deep breath. Vittorio and the beard gathered their armful of notes. 'We'll be studying all night on these, so come back tomorrow and we'll tell you more.'

They left before Iphigenia remembered to ask for the way out and she sighed. Ulric nudged her. 'Let's just head one way. We'll be bound to meet someone who can tell us the way.'

She nodded and they went through the maze of corridors and stairs without seeing a single person and were about to give up when Ulric heard music. He followed the sound and they ended up in the bright reception hall. Iphigenia found a closed sign on the front desk. 'Looks like we have no choice but to go out the front.'

'Oh great, that'll be fun.' Ulric said and moved towards the front doors.

They stepped outside and stood overlooking the busy square. It only took moments for the first person to notice them and start the rippling effect of panic through the crowd. Ulric hadn't seen a crowd disperse as fast before, not even when someone tried to collect for charity. They went down the steps and went towards the main street. 'Oh yeah, I wanted to look up a weapon store.' Iphigenia said.

Ulric looked down the empty street. 'Something tells me they'll be closed for today.'

Iphigenia sighed. 'Yeah, I doubt they'd believe me if I said you're friendly.' she said, then noticed a little girl in the middle of the street. 'What's this?'

Ulric looked at the girl as she walked up to them. 'Ah, she might be the one I rescued earlier.'

'You what?'

'I forgot to tell you. A man and a little girl were attacked by wild dogs near the shed and I took care of it.'

The girl stood before them and Ulric picked up hushed voices of people peeking from their hiding place. They were afraid he'd do something to her but didn't dare to save her and he rolled his eyes. Iphigenia smiled at the little girl. 'Is that right? Did he save you?'

The little girl hugged him tight. 'Yes.'

Gasps could be heard everywhere and Ulric huffed. He stood upright holding the girl in one arm. 'Where's the man you were with?'

'Grandpa's at the back of the store.' she said and pointed back.

'Elise!?' the man shouted when he came outside of a weapon store. He noticed them and hurried towards them. 'Elise, you shouldn't go outside without telling me.'

The girl nodded. 'I'm sorry but I saw the big black puppy that saved us.' she said and wrapped her arms around Ulric's neck.

Iphigenia sniggered. 'Puppy?'

'Very funny.' he said.

Her grandpa smiled. 'You were gone so quickly I didn't get a chance to properly thank you.'

Ulric murmured and Iphigenia smiled. 'He says it was nothing.'

The man shook his head. 'My granddaughter means everything to me so it wasn't nothing to me.' he said and held out his hand. 'I'm Benedikt, this is Elise and I take care of her whenever her merchant parents are travelling.'

Ulric shook his hand, then Iphigenia did. 'This is Ulric and he's not what he seems, and I'm Iphigenia, an adventurer.'

'It's a pleasure to meet you. Is there anything I can do for you?'

'Well, I'm looking to get my sword fixed or replacing it.' she said and turned to show it hanging at her side.

Benedikt looked down for a moment, then inhaled deep. 'Where'd you get that?'

'The sword? From the local blacksmith where I grew up.'

He gestured at the cane tied to her belt. 'No, I mean that.'

She and Ulric looked at it. 'From a goblin we killed not far from here. It's a bit light and very strong so we took it with us to see what kind of material it is.'

Benedikt gestured at his shop. 'Come inside and let me have a closer look. I have a suspicion I know what it is.'

They followed him into his shop full of weapons small and large. Ulric needed a moment to take it all in. 'Damn. We don't have anything like this. Only specialised shops for hunting and you can only get something under strict conditions.'

Iphigenia looked at a selection of swords. 'How do you defend yourself from demons then?'

'We don't have demons. At least not like the ones you have here. Ours are human and there's no legal way to stop them from being greedy, so we just try to live our life as best we can.'

She frowned. 'That sounds unjust.'

Ulric shrugged and Benedikt returned from the back. 'Sit down.' he said gesturing at a bench. 'Can I have that cane?'

Iphigenia untied it from her belt, handed it to him, and sat next to Ulric with Elise on his lap. She chuckled at the sight of the innocent girl and the fearsome beast. Benedikt dropped a rag in a sour smelling liquid and rubbed it along the cane.

After a while all the dirt was washed off and he held a perfect straight and smooth wooden cane with two thin parallel grooves along the length near one end. He smiled at it. 'I never thought I'd get to see one of these.' he said and looked at his guests. 'They're pretty much a myth now.'

Iphigenia gazed at the cane. 'What is it?'

'It's a weapon made by the unknown but legendary dwarf smith Volundrus.'

'That cane's a weapon? It's even too light and thin to be a club.'

He chuckled. 'That's because it's not a club.' he said, took the cane in both hands and pulled it apart. Iphigenia and Ulric stared at the shiny thin blade in Benedikt's hand. 'It's one of the best swords you could own in the world.'

Iphigenia examined it while Benedikt explained. 'Volundrus was someone who loved simplicity in everything. He was brilliant in his work but disliked making the fancy weapons that were ordered by the nobles and used mainly for show. To prove he could make perfect weapons he poured all his skill into producing different ones of his own design. And they were the best. But nobody wanted these plain things so they went unsold and were auctioned off after his death. Nobody knows where they ended up and by the time he was recognised in our branch it was too late. No smith could ever recreate what he did.' He leaned forward. 'What you have there won't ever break or grow dull. I have no idea if it's magic or not, but it's an eternal object.'

She held it up and watched the reflections from the perfectly smooth blade. Ulric chuckled. 'Looks like this world does resemble a game somewhat and you won't need to look for a new sword anymore.'

She looked at him. 'But you found it. It's yours really.'

He shook his head. 'I'm no good with swords. Besides, I have my spines. This one's meant for you and I think the whole disguise as a cane fits you.'

She smiled softly. 'Thank you.'

Benedikt couldn't understand Ulric but he understood what went on. 'Now that this problem is solved, how about a drink to celebrate?'

'We don't want to bother you.' said Iphigenia but he held up his hand to silence her. 'I also want to offer you a place for the night since I guess you planned to stay a bit longer, and I doubt there's an inn that would dare to let you inside right now.'

Iphigenia and Ulric noticed people had reappeared on the street but out front at the shop it was still clear. She sighed. 'Yeah, we'd be very grateful to have a place to sleep.'

Benedikt stood up and rubbed his hands. 'It's settled then. Elise, come help prepare the spare room and our meals. Tonight we'll have a little party.'

Elise jumped off of Ulric's lap. 'Yay! Puppy's going to stay tonight!' she said and hurried to the back while Iphigenia sniggered at the embarrassed Ulric.

***

Iphigenia and Ulric enjoyed breakfast with Elise and Benedikt the next day and would come back after visiting the council again. The street was busy again but as soon as Ulric set a foot outside a clear space formed around him like fish around an obstacle in their path. 'You know, I'm tempted to growl loud.'

Iphigenia chuckled and stroked his neck. 'Come on, leave these simple folk in peace.'

He sighed. 'Right. But those wizards had better come up with something after all they did yesterday.'

The receptionist at the council smiled just as bright as before but her eyes kept glancing at the black beast leaning on the front desk. 'I'll take you to the Grand Wizards.' she said and stood up. 'Follow me, please.'

Iphigenia thought her hips swayed a little too much in her tight and short skirt and that she checked back a lot to make sure they were following her. She glanced at Ulric and couldn't blame her for what she might imagine about him. She smiled a little at knowing exactly how good it really is.

The receptionist halted at a door, opened it, and stood aside. 'Please go inside.' she said and winked quickly at Ulric when he passed her.

He felt embarrassed and Iphigenia tapped his hip when they stepped inside the large chamber. 'Someone else wants some of this as well.' she chuckled softly.

He growled low. 'Finally women are attracted to me, and I'm not in my own body.'

She stroked his ear. 'It's your striking personality.'

'Oh har-har.' he said and sat down on a large cushion on the ground.

A door opened on the other end of the chamber and Vittorio came in followed by the beard and other wizards. They formed a half circle around Iphigenia and Ulric and Vittorio stepped forward. 'We've been searching the books and experimenting all night and we have good news, you can return home.'

Iphigenia smiled, then frowned. 'He'd like to know the bad news.'

Vittorio glanced at the beard who nodded once. 'Well, it'll take a lot of magical energy.'

'How much?'

Vittorio cleared his throat. 'At the level of the demon lord.'

Iphigenia's jaw dropped. 'Is there no other source!?'

Vittorio shook his head. 'Not with the correct kind of magic. It has to be his.'

'What does this mean?' asked Ulric.

Iphigenia turned to him. 'It means we'd have to defeat the most powerful demon in the world.'

'Not just defeat, kill him.' Vittorio said and pulled a disgusted face. 'We'd need his heart to perform the ritual to return you to your true self.'

'But how come it was easier for that mage to summon Ulric here!?'

'The alignment between our worlds was better and his death released extra energy to reach far enough into Ulric's world. To reverse it we need at least twice the power to reverse the process. The same goes for the strange familiar bond you have. We can't break it without that power.'

Ulric sighed. 'I really need to get back my old, quiet life. Being this demon isn't for me.'

Iphigenia nodded, put her hand on his shoulder and looked at Vittorio. 'So how do we defeat the demon lord?'

06 - Elzbieta's Secret

Benedikt whistled after he heard the whole thing during the midday meal. 'That's a mighty task you have ahead of you and I wish I could help in any way. All I can offer is my advice to retrieve as much of Volundrus forged weapons as you can, now that I know they're no myths. Those will give you an extra advantage when it comes to a fight.'

Iphigenia smiled at him. 'You've been a great help so far and we'll keep an eye out for those weapons as we search for the demon lord. Seems no one knows where he is.'

He nodded and held up a piece of chicken. 'At least I can fill your stomachs and packs before you leave so eat up.'

After the meal Iphigenia and Ulric said their goodbyes and Elise hugged him long and tight. 'Will you come back?'

He stroked her back. 'I certainly hope so, but I can't say when that'll be. So be patient.'

She nodded, kissed his muzzle, and moved back to grab her grandfather's hand. Iphigenia chuckled as they walked down the main street and waved back at Elise and Benedikt one last time. 'Looks like you attract them both young as well, and now I wonder why I ever thought you were dangerous.'

'Good judgement?' he chuckled and wondered if the people around them would smoothly swerve out of their way as well if he ran.

She ran her fingers through his fur. 'Yeah, I'm in danger of an overdose of frustration if we don't finish what we began after the goblin fight.'

He growled playfully at her. 'Let's hurry and get out of here then.'

She stroked him harder. 'My thoughts exactly.'

***

As soon as they were out of sight and far away from the city, Iphigenia pulled Ulric underneath a large tree with snow free ground at the thick trunk. She dropped her pack, laid back, and pulled him with her while kissing him. 'I want you so much now.' she breathed and ran her hands along his back.

'I'll satisfy your desire with mine then.' he said and unbuttoned her breeches. She lifted her behind and he pulled off her shoes and breeches while she took off her tunic. He watched her lying naked on the soft ground, her slit glistening with moist and her nipples rock hard. 'Damn, you're hot.'

She smiled and reached out to stroke his hot erection. 'Make me even hotter, Wolfie.'

He moved over her and she guided him between her legs and into her slit, then gasped as his heat filled her gently all the way. He moved slow but firm, relishing her tightness around him while she moaned and held him tight. Their mouths closed on each other's again and their tongues danced in passion.

'Deeper.' she moaned and clamped her legs around his back, grinding her hot mound harder against his furry hips. He pushed harder against her and the increased pressure inside her sent a strong wave of hot tingles through her body. She threw her head back and moaned long in ecstasy.

Ulric growled and clamped his jaws gently on her throat and a surge of electricity rushed through her and sent her heart in overdrive. She uttered thrilled groans while he thrust hard and deep inside her, driven by the urge in his lower body to flood her with his seed.

The sensations forced through her core pushed her to the edge and her mind drifted into darkness. Her instincts took over and her abdomen tightened hard around him. It heightened the burning itch rushing through his dick and balls and the hot stream of his seed shot through them into her craving depths.

The explosion of heat inside her with his loud and low growl finished her off. The rush of heat and lightning through her sent her mind into a star filled dream which faded slowly while her body quivered.

She inhaled deep to get air into her lungs and panted hard. Her vision returned and she gripped his thick neck fur between her fingers. He licked her throat and neck and moved slowly inside her while his last seed squirted out with the throbbing of his dick.

'Wolfie..' Iphigenia breathed and smiled. 'I really needed that.'

He grinned a little and stroked her head. 'So did I.'

She stretched and shivered in pleasure. 'I can go for a nice hot bath with you now, and luckily I know of a secluded hot spring in the direction we're taking.' she said and stroked his cheek and ear. 'I discovered it by accident since it's nowhere near any road or path.'

He smiled. 'Sounds good. I'll clean your ever nook and cranny.'

She grinned. 'Then you'll do that at least twice since your touch will make me want more again.'

He smiled deviously. 'I know.' he said and she giggled before kissing him deep and long.

Iphigenia led Ulric through a forest with spiked rock formations jutting up out of the ground here and there as if something had hit the ground hard from below. Some were as high as the tree tops, some were about twice as high. Ulric couldn't remember ever having seen something like this on Earth but he was sure these would be a hit with those who climbed for sport.

'I wonder who they'll send.' he said.

'Who?'

'The extra help the wizards said they'd send us.'

'Oh, right. I have no idea but I hope it's a really strong person.'