The fight ended as I rammed the blade into its skull, sliding it around as it spasmed before I cracked it with a downward crunch from my pick. It spasmed beneath me, and I quickly scrambled to my feet. I sheathed the Aen and drew my sword, it wouldn’t stop any of them from barrelling into me if they lunged, only the weight of an actual blade would do that…

Now, to deal with these beasts… I thought to myself, settling into a stance as I watched the dire beasts around me uneasily. There were easily about twenty of them arrayed around me. They could overwhelm me, but it would cost them, the Edratchi at my feet a graphic reminder.

I coughed, surveying the field without turning my head. From the corner of my eye I could see a slight thinness to their ranks, the ones there fidgeted on their feet, hesitant I kept myself relaxed, shifting my position ever so slightly as I prepared to bolt.

A dire bear steps up, and I turn towards it with a jerk, drawing my sword back. It leans back slightly, bowing its head down, eyes cautiously watching me. “I really hope that’s a surrender…” I mutter. “Back off.” I said. “I don’t want any of you behind me!” I shout. The circle shifts, the various creatures breaking off and circling to the front. That’s good… I think…

“I don’t feel like fighting you. You and I both know I’d die eventually, but know that I will make you pay for every drop of blood you spill.” They stared at me, but didn’t meet my eyes, they didn’t seem to react. A sign of submission? I hoped. Well they aren’t attacking me…

“I don’t know why you’re here, though I’d assume the Edratchi intimidated you into serving him. I want you to disperse, if ever I hear of an attack by dire beasts on civilization I will hunt you down, and wear your pelts as a cloak.” There’s a ripple that passes through the group, they turn, looking out to the forest, then they disperse, disappearing into the forest. Oh gods that went a lot better than I expected. I thought to myself. A small group of three dire wolves remain, fidgeting on their paws.

“What’s with you?” I ask, arching an unseen eyebrow under my helm. Juveniles. I thought. Looking for a leader? Is that even how this works? I wondered. Then the dire wolf stepped up to the Edratchi’s corpse, looking into my eyes as it chomped down onto the creature’s guts. Revenge, I see… I thought a frown. “You can follow me, but you do not attack anyone unless I let you.” They nodded, following behind me. Guess I could introduce them to Lapi as well.

I headed back the way I came, breaking into a jog. The tracks the other group had left had not been subtle, especially when it came to the dire bears. The brush had been trampled, and several bushes had been torn apart by the charge. The dire wolves at least seemed to understand what I was looking for, forging ahead to lead the way.

The path they took suddenly took a turn, I cocked my head, consulting my memory for a map of the area. That’s not heading towards the city. Where does that… My eyes widened, and I called out for the wolves to fall behind me. They paused, circling nervously, and a rock slammed a foot ahead of the lead dire wolf, where he would have been if I’d let him go.

They scattered, moving behind me, I raised my arms in a placating gesture. Walking towards the traps we’d set. I left the dire wolves behind me, promising to return for them, it would be too much of a hassle to guide them through the field of traps that we had set up. As I moved closer the blood and gore became more prominent. Hardly could expect less, we made these for a far larger group and besides… they survived. I thought with a bit of pride.

They met me halfway across. “We took care of the traps we didn’t use.” Maria said. “And the nails stuck in some of the corpses…” She continued, Qen looking back as she said this. I imagine that wasn’t pleasant, especially since they’d have to coup de grâce the ones that hadn’t died, which would have accounted for many. “The dire wolves behind you? What are they doing?”

“They’re apparently looking for revenge.” I said, beckoning the dire wolves closer. “From the looks of it I figure their pack was nearly eliminated leaving this group of juveniles… Did any of the dire beasts break away after all you inflicted on them?” I asked, kneeling down to take a closer look at the dire wolves. It tried to shy away, but I managed to get my palms onto its head, giving it a rubdown as I examined its body, it stared at me nervously as I did so.

“Some of them. A dire lynx probably got away, and a few dire bears also broke off, it’s why we were so tense when you came over.” Qen said. “I guess that’s the mission then?” He asked, hopeful. A little malnourished… I thought as I examined the wolf before me. Also has a few wounds, slash marks… Maybe from a spear, though some look to be from claws.

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I nodded. “That’s it for now, we should report back, and make sure to remind them that a few might still be around, but scattered as they are they’re not a particularly large problem now.” I said, standing up and backing away from the dire wolf. It stared at me a little confused. “Wanted to check something.” I said to it. “Come on, follow.”

I brought Maria and Qen back, handing Maria back her bow and arrows. “Thanks again.” I said, and I retrieved the few arrows I’d shot. They followed me back to the town, the townsfolk a little wary of the beasts, but at least willing to give benefit of the doubt. The dire wolves to their credit seemed undaunted by the hard stares of others around them, following me closely and not responding at all to their disdain. I’m not sure if I should be proud of that or worried… considering the circumstances.

I handed them the payment for this particular job, several brass siqs. Well worth the trouble, perhaps even more than normal. “We can’t take all of this!” Maria protested, trying to hand them back. “We didn’t even do all the work, you should at least take half!” Qen looked decidedly uncomfortable, clutching the brass he’d been given but looking over to Maria.

“This was your job. I told you I had another lined up. Besides, the demon was a wild card, unexpected, and I’m here with you to deal with unexpected problems. Don’t worry about it.” I smiled. “In fact, how about you help me out with the next job as well. It was a simple one I’d considered passing to you two anyway. What do you say?”

“Okay, we won’t let you down.” Maria said, Qen looked at her with raised eyebrows, before noticing my gaze, he nodded once, a determined look on his face.

I gave a wry smile to them both. It wasn’t that hard of a job, a troll had been sighted near one of the settlements. We just needed to find where the creature’s den was, and take it out. We took to the road, making our way along the path.

We camped by the road as night’s surrounded us once more. “Sorry, we should be making better time.” Maria said, as I prepared our meal for the night. I snorted in amusement.

“We’re not making bad time, and besides, we’re not on a time limit.” Though I might be. I thought wryly. If I know Frejr and the others they’ll probably find some method to take care of them but free me up. I thought back to Baen, he’d been a good pick, he’d probably grow well into his role.

[Yes, they will, and they should.] Page said reproachfully. [You are needed. There are few others with your abilities and skill, add that to the Aen, and you become one of the most important assets to this war.]

I don’t want to fight another war. I thought back, my mouth twisting into a small scowl. I shook it off. “Trust me, it’s fine.” I repeated again. “We’ll be there tomorrow and we can start hunting the thing.” Maria nodded, though with slight trepidation. I sighed internally, handing out the food.

The dire wolves had their own shifts, staying awake and swapping with the others over the night. Maria and Qen were uneasy around them, eyeing them warily as they lay down. I’d arch an eyebrow at them and smile, their fixation on the dire wolves mildly amusing to me. My shift was the first, and I closed my eyes, extending my Sense and looking back out towards the forest.

As it was the night passed uneventfully. I woke easily this time, their voices easily pulling me to consciousness. We arrived at the farm during the afternoon, the farmers looked upon the dire wolves with curiosity, some of the children approaching to attempt to pet them. To their credit they didn’t shy away or become violent, though I had to stop the children from petting them too hard.

We stalked off into the forests, heading towards the area the troll had last been sighted. The dire wolves quickly picked up the scent, leading the way towards what appeared to be a shallow burrow. I motioned for them to stay still. “So… how do you think you should do this?” I asked the two of them, who flipped the handbook I had given them to the relevant page, Qen reading over Maria’s shoulder. She shifted her position, moving the book closer to him.

“Trolls don’t normally build burrows…” Qen noted. “This is probably a breeding pair?” He cocked his head, and I nodded. Yeah, not the ideal situation to start with, though it helps harden the heart… “We should watch and wait until both of them are here, then ambush them.” He said. “Otherwise they might smell the blood and run away before we can kill the other one.”

“Solid plan.” I said, grinning at him. “Where to do it from? What if he comes up from downwind of us?” Qen cupped his chin in his palm, while Maria scrunched up her face. “Normally they don’t circle around their den, so if they left from the east they’d come back somewhere from that direction.” I said. “For now, try to find the tracks, and we’ll swap over to the other side of the den, keeping downwind of it.”

They nodded, trying their best not to disturb any of the branches and leaves as they moved about. The den itself was unassuming, not made in any kind of clearing, instead just basically a hole in the ground. Qen gave a small beckoning motion after a short while, and I moved up, the dire wolves shifting on ahead to settle besides the two. They had definitely found the tracks, and while I couldn’t easily tell how long it had been here, it was definitely within the timeframe that we were looking for.

We made our way circling around the den, searching for an area downwind of it and settling in. Every once in a while I would see Maria fidget, fingering the string of her bow. Qen himself seemed almost rock steady, used to the wait. The wolves lay on their stomachs, ears pricked and alert, yet unmoving.

The dire wolves responded first with a low growl, and the troll returned, carrying a freshly killed carcass. Maria nocked her bow, while Qen and I moved closer towards the burrow. The wolves circled the other side, prowling beneath the shifting shadows as a breeze began to filter across the leaves. As the susurrations ceased, a single twang pierced the air.