The Achievement Junkie

As if in a trance, everyone paid close attention to the flaming fox before them. Many froze in fear, terrified that a Hell-flame Fox had existed and lived so close to them, let alone inside the city. Some were stricken awe, unable to look away from the beautiful living flames at the center of the courtroom.

Fronks' jaw dropped the moment Bowzer expanded his young fox form in a hulking flame. Even the battle-hardened captain of the guard was on the verge of soiling his armor in fear.

Arnole stood up and stared at the beast. He didn't appear to be surprised but concerned. As to what he was concerned for, no one could tell.

"That's enough Bowzer!" Jack extended his hand and held up the back of his palm as he commanded. A sudden light appeared there, in the form of a seal.

At the same time, the seal on Bowzer's head shone brightly for all to see. Bowzer quickly shrank down to his usual size and leaped back onto the witness stand. He kept his chest puffed up, proud of his newly asserted dominance of the crowd.

"As you can see, he's my beast companion and will do as I say," Jack continued his spiel. "Now, you don't need to worry about facing such a threat, instead you'll have him and myself by your side at times of crisis."

"That may be true, but it appears that this fox is still a youth. Why would you be in such a hurry to stop a fox pup when we can already handle that much?" reasoned Arnole.

"What about a fully-grown Hell-flame Fox?" asked Jack with a wry smile. "If I can prove that we faced a fully-grown Hell-flame Fox, would that be enough to clear the charges?"

Arnole hesitated and slowed himself to not blurt out his unfiltered thoughts, so it took a second for him to reply. "If that's true, then I would be grateful for your services to protect the city. Clearly, a fully-grown Hell-flame Fox would cause far more damage to the city then what you've done, but can you prove such a thing?"

The mage was confident that Jack and Rydel would never have the ability to face a fully-grown Hell-flame Fox, whose every appearance in history is marked by calamity. If they had faced one not too far from city walls and went unseen, that would be too ridiculous to imagine.

Jack smiled and nodded to Rydel, who retrieved a pelt from his storage without batting an eye. The young hero looked back to Arnole and asked, "Is this enough proof?"

All eyes were on the large fur pelt in Rydel's hands. At a glance, it seemed like any other fox, but upon inspection, there were many similarities between the pelt and Bowzer's youthful fur coat.

Doing his best to recognize the fur coat, Arnole stared at it intently. At times he thought it was from a simple brown fox, but there were some discerning differences, like a few streaks of bright red on the underbelly. They were faint, but they looked to be in the shape of flames. He compared it with Bowzer's proudly puffed-up chest and saw subtle hints of the same subtle design growing into Bowzer's fur.

"If you were curious, that one was Bowzer's mother," Jack continued. "I won't go into details about our battle, but I'm sure your imagination can fill in the rest."

"How were you able to do this? How could you defeat something so fearsome without us knowing or noticing anything?" asked Arnole.

"Hunters aren't known for killing in public, they're known for killing in private and waiting for the perfect moment to strike. Why else would they send Rydel and let me follow along to learn?" answered Jack, following the script that he and the others made the night before. "Are you satisfied with this evidence or not? I think the people are glad to not have calamity strike or have their homes leveled in a wave of flame."

Sighing heavily, Arnole stated, "It would appear that you're not lying, but how can we guarantee that you didn't paint that on the coat? We would need to—"

"That's why we asked for help." As Jack finished his sentence, the courtroom doors flung open.

In walked a large man, head and shoulders above the average man and rivaled only by Zariff in terms of heavy muscles. A wide smile was on his bearded face as he strolled in and made himself at home. "Finally! If this is what you say it is, I'll have to buy it off you no matter the price!"

"Calm down, Tridon. For now, we need you to examine and compare the pup with this pelt." Rydel cut to the chase, not daring to open up a can of worms and discuss valuable exchanges publicly. "We all need to know, is it genuine?"

Tridon chuckled and snatched the pelt from Rydel, examining its every detail. He combed his fingers through the fine fur and took in a deep whiff of its scent. After two minutes, he lowered the pelt and walked up to the podium, eyes wide in excitement.

Bowzer stepped back out of reflex, but he let the man get close like he promised Jack during their late-night planning session. To make things easier, Bowzer jumped onto Tridon's arm and walked onto the man's shoulder.

Seeing that Bowzer was so willing, Tridon's excite grew. Taking advantage of the situation, Tridon thoroughly analyzes the young fox and began comparing it with the fox pelt in his other hand.

Five minutes passed slowly as the courtroom watched the muscular man seemingly playing with the young fox that had burst into flames moments ago. Almost everyone there was too afraid to get near Bowzer, let alone pet and play with him.

"So, what's the verdict?" Jack's question broke the silence.

"These two are definitely the same breed, possibly relatives like you said," answered Tridon. "I'd love to examine them further and try to learn more about the mysteries of the Hell-flame Foxes, but I'll have to request that you visit my home in the future."

"Maybe, depends on how much free time I have in the near future." Jack didn't want the man to lose face since he did them a last-minute favor, but he had no intention of letting anyone experiment with Bowzer, following Zariff's warnings about Tridon specifically.

"I look forward to it," beamed Tridon. The massive man nodded to Arnole, Zariff, and Rydel before he turned around and walked back toward the crowd. He didn't leave and he couldn't find a seat so instead, he stood there in the aisle, anxiously waiting for the end of the trial and a chance to chat with Jack personally.

Arnole kept his neutral face, not showing appreciation or unappreciation. "Since Tridon's well known as the kingdom's best hunter and breeder, his opinion about the pelt will be heavily considered."

"And the money? Will the wealthy Royal Court really take our money when we prevented immeasurable amounts of damage to the city?" reasoned Jack, milking the situation for everything he could.

"Fine, that will also be under consideration," added Arnole. "Originally, we had wanted to end this today, but I think it'll take me a little while longer to decide the ultimate punishment for your rash, yet heroic actions. Give me one day to deduce the final sentence and announce it to the public."

"Thank you," Rydel and Jack replied in unison.

"Wait for my announcement tomorrow; until then you're free to go!" Arnole slammed a gavel on the judge's podium before quickly exiting without another word.

Many of the noble bystanders were at a crossroads of emotion. Some were too terrified by Bowzer to approach or near Jack, while others were desirous to risk befriending Jack in the hope of gaining some future benefit.

Zariff anticipated their thoughts easily and was already prepared to deal with them. He retrieved a flask, chugged it empty, and yelled, "Make way! We don't have time for your squabbling! If you want to meet the brat, then you'll have to send a request to the branch office. If you don't follow the usual procedure, don't blame us for unusual treatment."

The moment he finished speaking, the aisle down the middle of the crowd cleared up, giving them easy access to the door. Only Tridon remained, still standing tall in front of the door.

"What do you want? You already got to examine the beast," asked Zariff.

"You know what I want, I'll do anything to get it," answered Tridon. "First off, I need that pelt. And second, I want some of the little one's blood."

"No and no," chimed Jack. "We've completed our deal, so that'll be that."

"But I NEED those things, boy. As Tridon Salendar, master hunter and breeder I have the greatest collection of specimens this side of the world! With only a single drop of that pup's blood, it might become the greatest in all the continent." Tridon didn't move, more stubborn than an ox.