The tension visibly drained from Lucius' shoulders as he made the short journey from the woodline toward the farmhouse. From this distance, he could see that some progress had been made on building the wall. Glancing back at the men following him, he decided that the first task of their punishment labor would be to work on building the defenses once everyone got settled in.
Lucius claimed that those men were being punished for what they had done by being forced to work, but it was more a punishment in name than anything else. The truth is that they would have been forced to work either way, no one could afford to just do whatever they pleased if they wanted to survive. Everyone had to pitch in.
Halfway down the long driveway, the approach of two large spiders gave the people behind Lucius a good scare—except for David, who merely raised his axe high, preparing to defend himself and his wife.
Lucius held up one hand in front of David, stopping the large man from moving forward as he began to explain.
"No need for that, David. Take a good look at who is riding those spiders."
David squinted as he tried to follow Lucius' instruction, but he wasn't able to see much until a few moments later when the spiders had closed the distance. Only then could he finally make out the features of the two human guards riding the beasts. David looked over at Lucius, brows furrowed as he spoke a single word.
"Humans?"
"Yes, humans. My friends, Scott and Helen, in fact."
Lucius waved at the approaching guards, raising an eyebrow as he noticed how fit the two older people were looking. Scott had slimmed down a bit since the first time Lucius had seen him, and both of them had gained some muscle definition in their arms. Even Helen was carrying her heavy iron spear with an ease that betrayed her increased Strength attribute. When the two got close enough, Lucius gave a quick greeting before commenting on the changes he noticed.
"You look like you've gotten stronger, both of you. What have you been up to while I was away?"
Scott let out a chuckle as he glanced toward the frowning Helen. The older woman shook her head and motioned toward her spear as she replied.
"It's these damn iron spears—they must weigh at least twenty pounds. I brought it up to Jack many times, but he brushed it off for so long that the problem solved itself."
Scott nodded along as Helen's spoke, before continuing where she left off.
"My Strength attribute just hit thirteen points, and even Helen is up to eleven. That’s all without gaining a single level—just busting our backs carrying these things around."
Lucius rubbed his chin as he considered what they just said.
"Huh... sounds like Jack accidentally created a useful training tool."
Helen rolled her eyes at his tone deaf response, quickly changing the subject as she cast her gaze over the group of people standing behind him.
"Looks like we've got some new mouths to feed. Mary’s out in the fields and Patrick’s in his office as usual if you need to speak to them, but I think you should go get some rest first kid—you look terrible."
Lucius nodded as he absorbed the information.
"Thank you, Helen. I intend to do that as soon as I'm finished settling these people in. Can you do me a favor and let Mary know that some people need medical treatment? Tell her to come find us in the kitchen."
Helen nodded at Lucius' request as the two fit-looking guards pulled on their reins, sending the spiders dashing off toward the fields. Lucius waved goodbye before motioning for his companions to follow him toward the house.
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Deep in the woods, along the path Lucius had walked just half an hour earlier, a massive gray wolf with long, shaggy fur and one missing eye was slowly creeping through the sparse foliage of forest. The gaze of the creature betrayed it's cruel cunning, which it had used by keeping its distance as it tracked it's prey, avoiding detection by Lucius' Sense Danger by doing so. This is how he lead the malicious creature right back to the farm without knowing it. Baba Yaga was nowhere to be seen, and it appeared that her new child had set out on his own to get revenge on the young man who had slain it's former self.
As the oversized wolf stalked through the area, it stopped every few paces to sniff at the ground before continuing forward. But when it reached a certain area and began to take its next step, its single eye suddenly shot wide open as the wolf's form disappeared in a sudden blur of motion, just as the ground where it had been standing erupted in a fiery blast of smoke and light.
"That's far enough. If you enter these woods, you become my prey."
The wolf looked up with its one good eye, glaring angrily in the direction of the deep voice. A massive, humanoid form with red scales stepped into view from behind a thick cluster of trees. The wolf let out a low growl as it took in the rippling muscled frame of the reptilian creature, its anger growing as its animal instincts warned it against taking this opponent lightly.
"What are you? You do not smell like the creatures of the Abyss."
Row after row of vicious looking sharp teeth were exposed as a tight grin stretched across Magar's face as he glared down at the wolf while responding.
"Indeed. I am not of the Abyss. But I could ask you the same question, dog. I smell the stink of the Abyss on you, and yet you speak the human language in my mind. What manner of creature are you?"
The wolf lowered its shaggy head, its one good eye staring up at Magar with clear malevolence, the sound of growling growing more intense.
"What I am is my concern. You allowed my prey to pass through these woods. Why are you protecting those humans?"
The smile on Magar's face stretched wider as he stared down at the angry wolf, red light shining from his large eyes. He held up one hand, a large ball of flame condensing in his palm as he spoke.
"What I do is my concern. The smell of their burning meat pleases me. I have grown accustomed to the presence of these humans. But I grow irritated of your presence, dog. Begone, or die!"
The growling ceased as the wolf began to step backward, its single eye narrowing as it retreated, hiding itself behind the cover of a massive boulder. Magar lowered his hand, about to turn and head back into the forest, when his eyes widened, and he raised his arms in a blocking motion.
The next moment, the body of the massive wolf came rocketing out of the treeline on the opposite side from where Magar had lost sight of it.
Magar's quick reflexes allowed him to react to the approaching attack, attempting to grab the wolf's neck as it flew through the air toward him. But the moment his claws were about to sink into his foe's furry flesh, the large wolf's body shifted into an ethereal, ghostly image, slipping past his hands and allowing its sharp teeth to sink into the flesh of his shoulder.
"RAAAAAH!"
An ear-splitting bellow erupted from Magar's mouth, so loud that it shook the surrounding canopy, as the wolf's fangs tore through his thick scales, digging a massive hole into the dense red muscle beneath. The red light in Magar's eyes flared as a wave of flame burst out from his body.
The wolf attempted to escape the damage by shifting into its ghostly form, but the intense magical fire scorched the creature regardless. The wolf dashed away, returning to its physical form, smoke rising from the singed patches of skin and fur across its body. The beast stared at Magar with searing anger as the sharp pain from the burns assaulted it.
Racing forward once again, the wolf darted around Magar, attempting to strike his flank. Magar raised both arms into the air in response, his already vicious claws growing longer and glowing a menacing red as waves of heat radiated from them.
The wolf put it's amazing agility on display as it changed direction in midair, bounding off a nearby tree trunk before landing behind Magar. The wolf launched itself at the red-scaled lizard's back, long fangs bared as it aimed to leave another deep wound on his flank. Just as it closed in, a sharp whistling sound cut through the air as Magar’s tail whipped upward.
The scales at the end of the tail glowing red like the claws on his hands as the thick appendage crashed into the wolf’s flying body. A sharp yelp rang out as the wolf was sent hurtling through the forest. If not for its ghostly form, it would have shattered many of the trees in its path as it flew back toward the ground.
The wolf twisted mid-air, nimbly landing on its feet as it returned to its physical form. Another yelp escaped its mouth as it tried to put weight on one of its front legs, only to discover the bone had been broken. It looked down at its injured limb, snarling from a mixture of pain and anger.
Magar pressed his advantage, dashing toward the wolf as a deep, guttural laugh echoed from his throat. His footprints left pools of blood behind him, dripping from the deep wound on his shoulder.
The wolf sped away from Magar, its tail tucked between its legs, glaring back at him with burning hatred in its eyes.
"I will return! Your death is certain!"
Magar's laughter grew louder as he hurled a ball of flame at his fleeing foe. The wolf skittered forward in panic, awkwardly tucking in its rear in an attempt to avoid the flames exploding just behind it.