❆❆❆❆Twelve❆❆❆❆
Wolf Hill
[Snow]
Getting to the rocky hill proved more difficult than Snow anticipated. Danger revealed itself once again as a cacophony of demonic howls emanated from all directions. So she proceeded with caution, careful not to make too much noise, and kept her hand on the handle of the frostblade.
Heightened attention turned to anxious alert when the howling turned into growls. The quick padding of canine paws and shifting snow came in from behind and fast. Snow jumped behind a tree. She was not confident in her ability to hide against these beasts. If she simply stood here, they would probably find her again like the previous day. There had to be a better place to hide. Her eyes scanned the ground, around her, and then at the tree in front of her. Her eyes traveled up the tree in front of her as an idea formulated itself in her head. Without delay, she grabbed hold of its low branches and climbed up to hide.
A group of black wolves ran under her tree. There were far more than she would have imagined - at least thirty. A miniature army of teeth and claws rushed by. All of them were black wolves of the same kind that attacked her yesterday. The sea of wolves was supplemented with the surrounding noise of even more charging past from the trees left and right. All running in the same direction - uphill - followed by the sounds of barking and fighting.
Getting to that rocky hill suddenly seemed exponentially more dangerous than it was worth. However, if Snow didn’t find a town or village before the next nightfall, she would be in trouble again. Snow considered returning to the cave.
No.
Snow needed to press onward. She couldn’t waste any time, and who’s to say that wolves wouldn’t come to the cave.
She continued to wait in the branches, watching as wave after wave of dark wolves ran by. This was no good. She would be sitting here all day at this rate. Snow shifted around and looked at the area ahead. There was a slim creak followed by patches of brush. There were fifteen seconds between each wave of wolves. She reasoned that if she was quick enough, she should be able to make it to the creak in time…
Snow planned her route and waited for an opening.
Okay, after this one…
The next wave of dark wolves sprinted by. Snow dropped from the tree and darted towards the creak.
She slid into the creak and laid in its bed.
The next wave of wolves ran by. The wolves jumped over the creak and her, subsequently. After the wave, Snow scrambled to the patches of brush a couple of yards up. She sat and waited as the next wave ran by.
This forest felt like a huge hunting ground. But it was the only place she could go through. So she planned her path and maneuvered again to another patch of brush.
The edge of the woods came into view, and Snow could now see the problem. White wolves were sprinting downhill, charging into the black wolves. These two packs were fighting each other on the forest’s edge. It was like a miniature war: the white wolves were running down from the rocky hill ahead, trying to stop the dark wolves from entering the area. But, these dark wolves were very ferocious. A single black wolf was taking on two to three white wolves. Soon the white wolves were losing ground and being pushed uphill.
Snow stood low, trying to slip in between the wolves fighting each other. She made a lot of progress and grew confident enough to dart from tree to tree. She could get closer than she realized. The wolves were wholly focused on battling each other. Snow stopped on one of the last trees when she heard a snap. She inched to the right, taking a peek ahead. A huge white direwolf was slowly moving around, sniffing the ground. It was so close to her that she could almost reach out and touch it. The only reason it didn’t see her was that its right eye appeared blind from a large scar. The wolf had to be at least four times her size. It was sniffing closer and closer to her, picking up a scent. The dire wolf then pounced into the bush right behind her, ripping a black wolf out from the brush and flinging it into a tree. The grey direwolf howled and then charged into the fighting. The white wolves rallied around the direwolf and pushed back against the dark wolves.
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This was a sight to see, an organized battle between animals.
The direwolf changed the tide of battle. The white wolves advanced forward and began killing the dark wolves, mercilessly ripping them apart. It wasn’t long until the dark wolves initiated a retreat. A retreat that was made folly for most. The white wolves were now picking them off and hunting each down one by one. Even the wolves that were submitting were being killed on the spot.
Snow was able to advance as the battle got pushed downhill.
The rocky hill was actually a miniature gorge with a frozen river at the bottom and stone-level-like steps on the sides. Each of the steps had cave-like openings, revealing a bunch of tunnels. After a few minutes, Snow realized she was being watched. On every level of the gorge, on the left and the right, white wolves were watching her traverse by. Snow’s steps came to a halt when a shadow loomed behind her. She turned and found herself face to face with the same direwolf from before. The direwolf was backed by several of its pack, giving her a menacing growl. Snow realized where she ended up: she had stumbled into the center of their home, and she was, most definitely, unwelcome.
Snow was livid. Not just at the direwolf, but at every damned thing that had happened. The constant chastisement she received at the hands of everyone - death included - angered her. Her inability to protect Lamille, her world and herself infuriated her. Now, being stared down by a wolf? That was the final straw. She returned a glare right back at the wolf, issuing challenge to it. This direbeast was clearly the head of the pack, and its gaze only seemed to get meaner. It snarled, revealing more of its teeth.
“Do something, then!” Snow stormed right up to the direwolf, nearly touching faces. The smaller wolves surrounding her paused at the sudden reaction. Even the direwolf did not expect that; it shifted back a step in reflex.
Snow maintained her fix of anger on the aggressive direwolf. The direwolf’s growl came to an end as it sniffed her. Its primary focus was the bloody cloth still wrapped around her elbow from yesterday. After that, it sniffed her clothes around the bloodstained areas. Then, the wolf turned back to its pack, giving them a low bark before running to the hill where the battle had been taking place. The other wolves followed suit.
Snow couldn’t believe that had just happened. She shrugged it off and began to climb the steps of this short rocky gorge. Each step had caves where she could see wolves resting inside. None of the wolves appeared aggressive to her. They casually watched as she climbed to the top.
At the top level of the hill, there was a small patch of about three small trees and a stone pen indented into the ground that had a small tunnel. Snow stepped into the pen before taking in the view of the land.
This place was huge.
Forests took over most of the land, but there were distinct natural landmarks. There was a deadened black forest to the west, tall plateaus to the east, and many interweaving rivers to the north. The southern area where she first appeared was a ginormous unnatural patch of ice, with tall ice-capped mountains just past it.
Perhaps the most obvious thing that stood out was magical tornados that centered on each of these landmarks. Based on the pulsating color and dance of the winds, they were clearly the result of magic. Snow figured if she came in through a portal, then perhaps one of these magical tornados may give her a clue or just outright allow her to escape back to her world.
*bark* *bark*
Something nibbled at her ankle. It was a small wolf pup with white fur.
“Aw, hey, little guy.” Another pup came out of the hole to assist its sibling with the assault. Snow reached down to pet it as it tried to take a snap at her. She quickly retracted her hand. “I guess you’re mad I was standing in your pen, my bad.”
Its mother was probably out hunting or fighting. Snow stepped out of the pen, and the pups kept barking from inside.
Snow’s new goal was now to check out that mystical tornado. That may be the key to her escape. The nearest one wasn’t too far from here; it was northeast, near the center of all the landmarks.