For a moment I believe that my bloodlust has clouded my vision, my very mind. But no, I know it the moment I lay eyes on him, he is Dubby. We seem to share the confusion as he looks at his spear and then at me. His one eye is open wide.

"You not, real Ushkur" He whispers, unceremoniously dispatching a nearby goblin with a quick swing of his spear "What? No, it can't be" He says, seemingly to the monster he rides.

"Dubby" I finally speak, the words were caught in my throat.

I call him by that name yet, he looks so different. Even with the generous amount of pelts on his shoulders that almost make a large cloak with several wolf-heads, all different tones of black, I can see the fitness of his body, toned and slim, and so full of scars. His head wearing the largest of the wolf pelts, I'm sure in the darkness of the night it would look as if he had the head of a wolf, were not for the large goblin ears to his side. And he is so tall, as tall as the Ahjalii.

"You real...are you not?" He asks, slowly approaching me as the devil he rides begins to growl, the thick saliva pouring onto the bloodied snow.

"Yes...Dubby, I thought you were dead, I-"

"I won't leave YOU, Dubby," He says, his jaw shaking, teeth jittering as his eye locks itself on to me with seeping rage "I will COME BACK" His words cut deep, and I want to say something but he speaks before me, much louder "I wait! Days, I hunger, but you never come back, none, ever come back"

"Dubby, I-"

"NOMKUR!" He shouts, and my body moves on its own almost staggering backward, feeling the hatred coming off him "I am Nomkur! and YOU..." He begins to spin the spear above his head, the devil he rides howling causing all other beasts to follow suit "You are a LIAR!"

And he charges.

The beast is heavy enough to make the very earth tremble with its charge, and I jump away from its deadly black horns, only to have Nomkur jump towards me with his spear in his hand, swinging and hitting me with such strength that I'm sent flying several meters away. Once on the ground, I'm given no time to gather myself.

Relentless, vicious, and incredibly precise.

His swings and thrusts are unlike anything I have fought in recent times, I feel the same way I did when I face the knight the day our camp was assaulted by the humans. I can't pass through his impenetrable defense. Every time I try to swing at his hand or legs he skips to the side and attacks me in return.

I'm already tired, and I don't want to hurt him. I don't want to do this. But I can't fight this way. I feel the fire burning within me, more lively than ever before, it is the anger towards myself, how could I have been so selfish? I didn't even care to look for him.

"I always told you, you are a fucking coward" The voice beckons, and I feel the strength returning to my body, as everything else dies out and it's only me, him, and his monster. He jumps atop it and charges again.

I let out a furious war cry and charge head-on. The monster tries to hit me with its horns but I dodge and slash half of its left side before Nomkur hits me again, and I'm sent flying in the opposite direction. His power is far too great! But I can be stronger, I can be faster.

He jumps down from his mount as a couple of my men try to fight him, and while the monster fights them, we clash. I move like a wild beast, from side to side, I jump, roll, and skip around as if possessed by a puppet master pulling my strings from above, but is not enough. Every opening is a trap, and every opportunity is an instant away from going away.

If I attack he stands his ground and becomes impenetrable, if I try to rest he attacks and with his much greater reach I'm at the mercy of every single strike. Already tired from the engagement with his horde I can feel myself losing my strength, as my movements grow ever weaker. The adrenaline kept me up and fighting.

How? How can he be so still? His expression reminds me of the look a deer has when they spot you right before you let loose the arrow on your bow. And every movement is so perfect that it's as if he didn't need to think about doing it, it simply happens the same way you breathe or blink. But despite it all, I can see the wrath in the way his veins bulge, by how bloodshot his eyes are, and how tense his jaw.

Suddenly one of the riders charges toward me, but before it can come close, Nomkur swings his spear, and the rider, along with his wolf, are cut in half, all I hear is the whimpering of the animal before it falls to the snow and spills all its guts. This is between the two of us. He takes a stance and I charge once again.

The steel clashes against the point of his spear, and sparks fly all around as every time our weapons make contact the sheer force begin our strikes make the entire weapon vibrate. I skip to the right and then to the left and the snow lifts like a cloud of dust behind me as I jump at him but it's once again useless.

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

It's leaving, the maniacal laughter of the voice grows weaker, and I grow more aware of my surroundings as I see my men now getting the upper hand on Nomkur's goblins. I had not noticed but the Huani have gathered the horses and now ride around the camp, finally catching up to the wolf riders and using their bows with poor accuracy, but occasionally striking at either the mount or the rider.

He notices this too, his men are falling. And he rages.

With a scream, the horned devil that was busy harassing my men, bloodied by wounds of his own and done on to others, turns to face him, crushing a goblin in its jaws before rushing to his side. I want to attack, but by now my bloodlust has run out and I can feel the pain in my lungs, the weight of my body...I can barely breathe.

He jumps on top of his devil and together they yell so loud I can almost feel it shake my bones. Soon after this, the wolfs all around whimper and growl and cry out in pain as their bodies suddenly burst with new strength and size, they are no longer wolfs, they are now wargs. His goblins cheer.

"I KILL YOU NOW, USHKUR!" He shouts with hatred as he lifts his spear high above, and as if it pierced the heavens, the clouds make way for the wide white moon above him, the scene of renewed fighting all around us. The monster howls as it stands on its back legs, and charges once more.

"BOSS!" Jorr charges from the side with a spear of his own and forces the monster to halt its attack, he is as bloody and beaten as everyone else.

Nomkur growls in anger, then as if a sixth sense warned whispered a warning in his ears he spins his spear behind him, stopping the arrows shoot from Nojus's bow from harming him. Lina pierces the head of a warg and with a victorious war cry throws it to the side, running to my side and lifting her battered shield high, there is a large gash on her forehead.

"Don't matter, I kill YOU!!" Nomkur commands the monster and charges. And we attack as well.

Sends Lina flying, destroying her shield into splinters, Jorr tries to kill the beast but Nomkur is too fast and protects it with his spear. But in doing so he is left open to be attacked by Nojus, who manages to pierce his thigh with one of the three arrows, lastly, I join in and dig my sword deep into the monster's neck. Before with pure strength and speed, he forces us all to back away.

"No fair, NO FAIR!" He shouts full of wrath.

And the fighting continues, he tries to run around, jump, charge, and get off the devil's back to attack separately, but as more time passes, his men begin to flee from the camp, and there are more of mine free to encircle them. Soon he is receiving far too many slashes and his mount begins to limp as it bleeds torrents into the already melted snow.

Finally, it seems he realizes this. And with a furious scream, the monster breathes in and spits out a wall of fire that forces us all to jump away, even catching some things on fire. Only for him to burst through the flames, finally hitting me with the charge of his beast head-on, the horns piercing my armor and tearing my flesh as I'm thrown away.

"I KILL YOU! I KILL YOU ALL!!" He screams as he rides away, bloodied and full of arrows. His men see him, and the less than a dozen still alive ride behind him.

"SHIT!" Jorr says as he throws his weapons aside and rushes to my side "Herbalist!" He shouts, then noticing the fire starting to get out of hand "And water! There is fire! Quickly before it gets to our supplies!!"

"Rokan!" Lina tries to join in but is clear she is just as wounded, painfully limping her way to me.

I look at my body and see with horror how blood escapes my body from the holes in my torse, I can feel it seeping into my organs, and with a cough, it pours out from my mouth. I want to speak but can't.

"Make space! Move!" One of the hobgoblins quickly makes his way to me, he is as badly wounded as everyone else, but I recognize him as one of the few I taught how to treat the wounded. But I know this is far too bad, and with a glance, he lets me know so as well and lets everyone know this.

"Chief..."Nojus says, catching up to us, soon a crowd begins to form.

"Make way, quickly!" I hear Enon's voice, and soon he appears on Indri's shoulders, dropping to the ground and inspecting me closely, I see a thousand thoughts rush through his head before he glances back.

I lift my head and see Morgana, who is calmly walking up to us. Not a scratch, not a single drop of sweat, but only with one of her guards, and this one does look about to die himself.

"Oh my, how unfortunate" He nonchalantly says, puckering her lips and looking comically surprised, before her malicious smile grows and her red eyes shine bright "You are going to die"

"Volva..." Jorr growls under his breath, angered by her indifference just like everyone around me.

"Come on, I'm making simple, an astute observation" She walks closer, Enon being picked up by his sister, only Lina, Jorr and Nojus stay by my side"If you can call astute looking at a man with four holes in his body and stating he will die"

"You can help him" Enon speaks up, looking away as soon as Morgana glances in his direction "You are a witch, I know you can"

"And you want me to help him? Wouldn't it be better if I let him die and your jolly bunch return to that big tent in the middle of the camp?" Morgana says slowly kneeling, digging her finger deep into one of my wounds, and while my men gasp, I can't even feel it anymore.

"No, he is kind. He is helping us and you have a duty to him" Enon says, his comment earning Morgana's irritation as she takes the finger out of my wound and looks at him "You are into some sort of deal, you need him alive, I know this"

"Hmm...perceptive cripple, you got it half right" She smiles and puts the bloodied finger in her mouth, cleaning it as it pops out soon after, she stands up" I can prevent you from dying puppy, for how long? As long as you can withstand the pain, but if I do this, you will owe me, and I'm one to demand payment with very high interest" She then looks at my weakened eyes, and I feel myself slipping away "So what is it gonna be?"

I nod. To let myself die after getting this far? After finding out Dubby, or rather, now Nomkur is alive? No. Impossible. She grins.

"Good, take him to his tent, I will be then in a moment. And you may want to keep him awake, if he dies, there is nothing I can do about it"

Jorr and Nojus rush to lift me and order Lina to stand aside as she reaches out for my legs. They know in her state she is likely to do more harm than good. They carry me to my tent, as I stare at the moon getting swallowed one more by the dark clouds in the night sky, with the sound of rushing men, whimpering, or throwing water onto raging flames.