I hadn’t been quite sure what to expect when the wolves told us they would take us to the Great Den. There had been visions of an ordinary wolf’s den only scaled up to eleven in my head but also more fantastical variants, something out of other games, where non-humanoid races had their own cities, built very much like those of humanoid races, only a lot bigger and more grandiose. But mostly, those cities had been attributed to dragons, without going into reasons why a dragon would even want something like that.

At first, seeing the Great Den made me think the first idea, of a normal wolf’s den, was correct. The entrance was nothing more than a hole in the snowy fields we had been travelling across, just big enough to allow wolves the size of Ylva and Swiftstride to enter comfortably. Sigmir, on the other hand, looked a little uncomfortable, having to hunch but there was nothing to be done about it, we could hardly start digging up the tunnel just for her.

As we were entering, I felt myself scrutinised - not that I could see the watchers, but I was quite sure that they were there. Part of me wanted to peek through Lenore’s sight, looking for them or the magical defenses but I wasn’t sure if something like that could be detected and if it was, how the wolves would react. What I did notice was that the snow above the entrance was looking a little strange and there was a feeling of permanence and solidity about it, making me guess that it had been treated with magic. That feeling reminded me to be on my guard, that just because the wolves lacked opposable thumbs they were not simple beasts. It was a lesson I needed to internalise, if I wanted to thrive on Mundus.

After the narrow entrance and a short tunnel, just a few meters at a steep decline, we reached a larger room, the ceiling high enough that Sigmir could stand, albeit just, and wide enough that we all would be able to walk next to each other. Once we had entered, I was almost run over by Adra who was walking behind me as I just stopped, staring at the sight. I had expected dirt floors, maybe magically worked stone, but I would have been wrong. Not just the floor but everything around us was looking as if it was made from snow, white and clean but still glowing, literally, from the power imbued into it.

Stepping over, I placed a hand against a wall and felt the power bound within, not just cold but more. It gave me a good idea why the Ankhags and similar burrowing foes would be unable to breach the den; unless I was wrong, the strange, crystalised snow would unleash its power if the structure was damaged, annihilating any attacker. And the room we were in was quite obviously made to allow easy defense of the choke-point that was the entrance, trying to get down the steep, narrow tunnel would force attackers to go single file, only to be ripped to shreds by waiting wolves with more than enough room to maneuver. With just a couple fighters - or even less fighters but with some magic support - you could hold such a room until you ran out of supplies, unless the attackers had massively stronger individual fighters.

A soft growl behind me reminded me that we were guests and maybe studying what had to be a significant part of their defense was rather impolite. Turning around, I noticed that the rest of my party looked at me with amusement in their eyes while some of the wolves glared.

“Don’t mind her, she has yet to see a magical curiosity and resist the urge to study it.” Adra explained, grinning widely.

“I’m not that bad.” I half-heartedly objected, more for the sake of formality. I knew I actually was that bad.

“Really? Let me think, right after we met, you caused a dimensional tear, that allowed a large Nethersprite passage. Granted, you later destroyed the sprite but still. A little later, you were involved in a highly complex ritual, thought up by an elder being, strong enough to tear mountains and redirect rivers, at least that’s what Kallista told me.” she began, holding up her hand when I wanted to interject.

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“And I saw you experiment on your own, almost causing another dimensional tear once and then there was the experiment in which you destabilised crystallised elemental essence, almost blowing yourself, and us, up in the process. Why, just a few days ago, you almost managed to kill yourself, once again, trying to understand the nature of the endless wind above. Do I need to go on?” she continued, finally ending with a question and a raised eyebrow. There was wolfish chuckling all around, even if they looked at me a little cautious now.

“I was only looking, nothing more. It’s a fascinating use of magic and I’ll admit to my curiosity, but I wouldn’t have tried anything.” I assured everyone, mainly trying to convey to the wolves that i was not a danger, neither to their den nor to myself.

Now, even Swiftstride was chuckling, “Let’s continue, there are wolves I want you to meet.” he told us, urging us on.

I filed back into the group and we continued our way, into another tunnel, also lined with the curious snow. I was quite certain that we either should be below the ground, even without stretching my magical sense for Ice and Snow out and that even if we were not, the snow should have been compressed into ice, simply due to time and pressure. Despite that, it looked like the first dusting of powder-snow, soft and light, right after falling. But I had already caused a commotion, so I kept my curiosity firmly in check.

We followed the tunnel into another similarly built room, maybe a second defensive-point, and from there, a number of tunnels branched off into different directions. The one we followed looked just as all the others and, like them, was wide enough for two wolves to pass side by side.

We passed a couple more side-tunnels and the wounded wolves left the group, heading somewhere else. “They will be taken care of.” Swiftstride assured me when I hesitated for a moment. But I had cared for them over the last day and I wanted to make sure that they would be taken care off, it felt wrong to let them leave my care without explaining what had been done and what needed to be done for them. When I said as much, he nodded and assured me again, repeating that their healers would take care of them but that I could visit after we had met the Alpha of the Den.

The few wolves we saw took a double take, obviously not used to seeing humanoids visit their den, but I noticed that Ylva, who had opted to stay outside her Hallow, drew almost as many looks as the rest of us. Most wolves had obviously yet to cross the first divide but I noticed a few, maybe two or three, that had. I also noticed that their fur-colour was similar, all of them a silver-grey, just a tad darker, less silver, than Ylva and her original pack.

Soon, we entered another, slightly larger chamber, this one round and Swiftstride told us that we would wait, while giving out a bark, telling someone else that we needed to talk. We didn’t have to wait for long, only minutes after his bark, a couple wolves entered the room from tunnels leading deeper into the den and their appearance took my breath away. There were seven of them, all of them the size of Ylva and Swiftstride and all but one of them clad in the aura of a being that had crossed the first Divide, only that theirs was even stronger than what I had felt before. Not that they blasted it out, like I had seen Sigmir do it once or twice, but it was draped around and over them, like a cloak, impossible to miss.

But what truly took my breath away was the last wolf, while not physically larger, its aura was stronger by an order of magnitudes. I would have placed quite a few bets that the wolf had crossed the second divide and was on its way to the third.

It was that wolf that spoke. “Greetings, Son.” it addressed Swiftstride before looking over to the rest of us.

“I see you brought back guests, how unusual. Tell me, why did you bring them to the den?” it asked, looking us over - and, once again, I felt myself measured and hoped that I wouldn’t come up short.