We were lead into the castle past the sign. The soldiers here looked just as tired and worn down as anyone else. That ruled out the possibility that this was something being done one-sided to the populace while the nobles sat above it. It looked like whatever was going on in this city was affecting everything.

Rather than being pulled into a waiting area, we were brought straight into the great room. The guards opened two large double doors and gestured us inside. They didn’t bother to wait, instead of taking a position outside and leaving us be. They didn’t seem to feel like the lord needed to be protected at all. I didn’t make a noise, instead, I followed in a servant position next to Dav as Pait led the group into the room beyond.

It resembled any throne room I had ever seen and even had an appeal not unlike the final boss rooms I had encountered at the bottom of dungeons. A man was sitting at the end of the room on a large chair, and as we walked down the carpet getting closer to him, I began to realize he was nearly the same size as me. His chair had been made for his size, so I hadn’t noticed from the other side of the room. Now, I understood why the guards didn’t feel the need to protect him. He looked like a man who could protect himself. With sharp wolfkin features, he gave off a predatory gaze that I had felt from the soldiers that had led us here, and by his size, I could feel pressure.

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He was distinctly a wolfkin, but he was much larger than any other wolfkin I had seen. He was also giving me a bit of pressure, which told me if I fought him, it’d be trouble. I pinched a bit of fairy dust and used god eye on him. His status was enough to make me sweat. As for his race, he was identified as a Dire Wolfkin. That would be a wolfkin variant if I had ever seen one. As we approached the throne, the man stood up and walked down to greet us. He didn’t need to be in a chair to be opposing, especially to the rather short Esmore.

“Esmore representatives. I’m sorry that you had to be greeted in such a manner.” The man dropped to a knee and held out his hand, speaking in a low and polite rumble. “It was not my intent, but these were trying times. My name is Lord Duran.”

Pait squared his shoulders. He was the kind of person that could face down anyone, even a giant, without flinching. He offered his hand, but he also met the lord’s eyes without blinking.

“I think you owe us an explanation,” Pait said as the pair shook, the larger wolfkin’s hand engulfing Pait’s.

The wolkin’s shoulders flinched, and he gave a long nod, his ears going limp. This took away all the intimidation he had been giving off in an instant. He seemed like a surprisingly meek person despite his massive physique.

“This is a difficult thing to speak about.” He admitted. “However, to be frank, Dioshin is in danger. We need help.”

That much was obvious.