In a tavern, sitting at the edge of the room, there sat a hooded figure, face down, trying their best not to attract any attention.
"Where am I again? Damn, all these towns are starting to look the same. I better ask for directions and update the map."
The problem was who to ask without raising suspicion. Bards were playing cheery music, but to the hooded figure, it was just noise, preventing them from thinking. What an annoyance those bards were.
The hooded figure had an urge, a powerful urge, to tell them to shut the hell up.
Suddenly, the doors of the tavern burst open.
It seemed they didn't have to say anything at all because, at that moment, the bards stopped playing. The people drinking and the barkeeper serving drinks froze in place. For a moment, there was silence.
Five individuals in armor strolled in, their heads turning left and right like they were looking for something or, to be more accurate, someone.
Finally, one of them spoke up. He seemed to be the group's leader because he walked in front of the rest.
"Listen up. We're part of the Hunter's Guild, and we have reason to believe that one of those mutts is hiding among you. Now, if you're not one of them, you have nothing to fear. We just need to check everyone here. You don't mind, right?"
He said this with a cynical smile, then turned around and nodded to one of his associates. The man pulled out a dagger from his side and handed it to the leader.
The leader spoke again.
"This here is a silver dagger. We're going to place it upon your skin. If nothing happens, it proves that you're human. If not, then we're going to prepare a stake fire just for you."
He smiled cynically once more.
"Silver? Really? They're using that old superstition. Well, I guess I have nothing to worry about, then," the hooded figure thought, leaning against the wall and watching the show.
The leader began with a woman who looked to be in her early twenties. She showed no fear. Why would she? There was nothing for her to worry about.
"Ahhhhh."
She screamed as soon as the dagger was placed on her palm. This made most in the bar restless and anxious.
"She's one of them, a freak, a monster," a stranger shouted.
"By the gods, she's disguised herself as one of us. Let's burn her at the stake right now," another stranger yelled.
Soon, the entire tavern erupted with hateful comments. They no longer saw her as a person. They all glared at her like she was some demon.
"You're wrong. I'm human. I'm one of you. Please, you have to believe me."
She pleaded, tears streaming down her face.
"LIES," another voice called out. "Don't fall for her trickery. She is a monster, and if we let her live, she'll come for your loved ones in the night, ripping them to shreds."
The leader of the hunters added fuel to the fire.
Everyone in the tavern started to approach her. Some carried weapons, some held broken glasses, and the rest carried broken wood from the chairs they had been sitting on.
The girl looked absolutely terrified.
There was nothing she could do. She was surrounded. She could try to run, but to where? All the exits had been blocked. She tried speaking once more, but nothing came out of her mouth. All she could do was cry, knowing what her fate would be.
The hunters rushed at her, binding her arms and legs. She resisted, but it was no use. One particularly tall member of the hunter group hoisted her onto his shoulder.
"We're going to burn her at the stake. If anyone wishes to see this monster die for threatening the lives of you innocent folk, come along."
The leader yelled.
They all cheered in unison, following the hunters out of the tavern for the brutal execution. Even the barkeeper left with them.
After a few minutes, the tavern was empty.
Well, not completely empty.
Only one individual remained, the hooded figure, who was dumbfounded by what they had seen.
"What the hell was that?"
The hooded figure exclaimed in disbelief.
"There's no way that girl was like me. I would have sensed it. And even if she was, silver shouldn't have done anything to her."
They noticed the dagger used was on the floor. It must have fallen during the chaos.
They picked it up and observed it.
"Huh. This seems pretty normal to me. I'm not seeing any runes or enchantments. This doesn't even look like silver."
They placed their finger on the blade.
"Ah."
They felt a burning sensation. It was quite painful, but they had felt worse before. Slowly, the burn began to heal.
The hooded figure looked at the dagger more closely, noticing a drop of liquid, easy to miss if not paying attention. The blade also appeared slightly burnt.
They placed the knife on a table, and a sizzling sound was heard. Removing the blade, they found a blackish mark left on the table.
"Some kind of acid or something. A nice con. It's amazing how humans can be fooled so easily."
Moments later, laughter was heard from the tavern door.
Coming in was one of the men from the hunter group. He was slim and had black hair.
He saw the hooded figure holding the dagger, and their eyes locked. The man's expression became stunned.
There was silence for a few moments.
The hooded figure simply dropped the dagger and walked out of the tavern.
Outside, they saw the falsely accused girl tied to the stake. The hunters had not begun burning her yet. They were still gathering wood.
She had lost her voice in the tavern, but now she could not stop screaming and crying, begging for mercy.
"What a shame. But that's just how humans are."
The hooded figure muttered.
They were walking away from the execution, trying to avoid attention, when they entered an alley.
Up ahead, two men from the hunters' group blocked the path.
Turning around, they saw two more men behind them.
Coming forward between the two was their leader, a bald, muscular man with no defining features. Honestly, if it were not for the armor he was wearing, he would have been quite forgettable.
"One of my men informed me you uncovered our little trick. Unfortunately for you, lad, we can't exactly let you go after that. Don't know who you might blab to."
The leader said, wearing that same cynical smile.
The leader nodded to his men, who unsheathed their swords and began approaching.
The hooded figure remained quiet.
Then their nails started to grow. Not just grow, but thicken and solidify, gaining a slight tint of black.
One of the men stepped forward and began to speak.
"We'll make this qui—"
Before he could finish, a slash appeared across his face, running diagonally down to his neck. He dropped dead, blood spilling from his lifeless corpse.
The hooded figure stood above him, blood dripping from their dark claws, now fully visible.
The others were stunned for a moment before the leader yelled, "Kill him now. He's the real deal."
The remaining four charged with their swords.
One swung vertically, but the hooded figure caught him by the neck, lifted him into the air, and crushed his throat effortlessly.
Another swung horizontally. The hooded figure caught the blade, their hand bleeding but intact. They snapped the sword in half and used the broken piece to stab the attacker.
Blood spilled, and the man fell, choking.
The leader, witnessing the death of all his men, was visibly terrified. He shivered and tried to flee.
The hooded figure caught him by the neck and slammed him against the alley wall.
The leader struggled with all his might, but it was useless.
For the first time, the leader got a close look at the hooded figure.
Glowing yellow eyes.
Elongated incisors.
Sharp canines.
"You're a… You're a…"
The leader stammered, choking on his words.
"Yeah. A werewolf."
The hooded figure crushed the leader's neck and let his corpse fall to the ground.