Wilson allowed Jaelin to lead the way. The explorer found a route up the cliff. It was steep in places, requiring them to hold onto the rock and climb. They knew better than to talk now—the only noise was the scrabble of boots on stone, and their laboured breathing.

All the while, Wilson’s instincts were screaming at him to turn back. It was as if the wargs had left traces of their presence on the rock, that only a sixth sense could detect.

At the top, they paused for breath. The wind blew hard here. It carried a musty smell.

Jaelin pointed to the tallest pile of rocks.

It was the likeliest place. Wilson reluctantly nodded his agreement.

As they drew nearer, he peered between the irregular lumps of grey, looking for the darkness of a cave entrance.

Jaelin stopped, then put a hand on Wilson’s arm.

Wilson looked for the reason. There. It had come around from the opposite side of the rock pile. The warg was staring at them. Its black eyes were small in its massive head. Wilson could see huge fangs in its partially open mouth. Its fur was black and brown. A muscular hump above its shoulders, with a line of long fur, was its highest point. It was a good foot taller than Wilson there. The mismatch in size rooted his feet to the ground, as fear paralysis gripped him.

‘Another one,’ Jaelin murmured.

Coming around from the opposite side, it was the same size as the first.

‘Why aren’t they attacking?’

‘They’re assessing us. They have younglings close, I expect.’

The second warg growled, the threat unmistakable. Wilson didn’t want to die here, of all places. But a warrior didn’t get to make that choice. Slowly, he moved his hands to the handles of his twin axes.

Jaelin slowly turned his head and looked at him wide-eyed. ‘Are you mad?’ he whispered. ‘They’ll tear us limb from limb in moments.’

‘Then what do you—’

‘We run. On three. One, two, three—’ The explorer turned and ran for the cliff face.

Wilson debated with himself. He’d done enough running away recently. And what chance was there to outpace these creatures? None. But when your one companion turns and flees, it’s not easy to stand your ground.

He ran.

ACTION ROUND

Wargs

Warg

Riderless wargs

Action Stats

Action Points

7

Hit Points

40

On flat ground, over a short distance, Wilson was fast. He reached the route down the cliff only just behind Jaelin.

In his ears were the growls of the chasing wargs. He felt the vibrations through the ground as they pounded towards him. He had to fight off the instinct to hunch over and protect himself from a slash or bite.

He needed to turn around to begin the descent. He saw the pair, slowing down as they approached the cliff edge. Behind them, a third warg had appeared.

The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

Wilson clambered down the side of the cliff. He leaned back to avoid a paw swipe, and experienced some relief when he managed to descend out of range. The warg put its lead paw down onto the steep decline, intent on following.

Wilson was caught in two minds about what to do. He missed his footing, and before he knew it, he was tumbling. He crashed into Jaelin, knocking him over. Then they were both falling; somersaulting; crashing into the jagged rock on their way down the cliff.

Wilson sat up, dazed. He’d taken 13 points of damage from the fall, leaving only 8 remaining.

Jaelin had come off a little better, losing only 8. He pulled Wilson to his feet, and glanced up the cliff. The wargs were coming for them, picking their way down the cliff.

‘We’ve gotta get out of here,’ the explorer said. He ran towards a small hillock, covered in trees.

Wilson staggered after him. He didn’t see any way in which they could escape the beasts. They couldn’t outpace them; they couldn’t hide—the wargs would smell them out. Did Jaelin think they could climb a tree and outwait them? He doubted it. Maybe Jaelin just hoped they would get Wilson first, and he’d be able to get away.

He stumbled up the hillock. Barks from behind told him the wargs were off the cliff, and they could see him. He pushed his way through the trees, cutting himself on the branches. He heard the wargs climbing the hill behind him. They’d be on him soon. Ahead, he heard Jaelin let out a cry. There was a thump, followed by an ominous growl.

How had a warg got ahead of them? The beasts weren’t stupid. One of them had raced ahead and cut them off.

‘Jaelin?’ he shouted, heading in the direction he’d heard the noise.

Silence.

‘Jaelin?’

He heard branches snapping behind him as the powerful warg got closer.

‘This way!’ Jaelin’s voice. ‘Jump!’

Jump? Wilson followed the sound of Jaelin’s voice, until he came to a sheer drop. It was only a few feet. But that wasn’t what made him hesitate. Down below, only a short distance away, a warg bared its teeth and snarled.

A sound behind him. Wilson jumped. He felt the chasing warg launch itself at him, but as the gnome dropped to the ground, the warg sailed past him, its jaws snapping on empty air.

Wilson landed heavily on the ground, losing another hit point. The snarling warg launched itself at him, but hands grabbed the straps of his breastplate and slid him backwards.

The warg followed. Then something strange happened. It yelped, as if in pain, then whined in complaint.

Wilson shuffled back on his arse until his back came up against a wall.

‘Aren’t you going to shoot it?’

‘I lost my bow in the fall.’

The warg who had been chasing Wilson loped towards him. But when it got as close as the first warg, it too yelped in pain. It snapped its teeth at invisible antagonists on either side, before glaring at Wilson with hard, beady eyes.

‘What’s happening?’ Wilson asked.

‘Something is preventing them from getting close. This place.’

Wilson dared a glance behind him. They had their backs to a stone wall. The squared stones were layered from the ground to the top of the mound, as if blocking up an entranceway. What was stopping the creatures from getting closer? Magic? ‘What is it? There is something under this hill?’

‘I have no idea what we’ve found, or for how long it will keep these wargs from ripping out our throats. But I suggest we try to get inside before it fades.’

That was motivation enough for Wilson. They pulled at the stones. It was difficult at first. They were packed tightly together, and Wilson wondered how long the wall had been here. But once they removed a few at the top, their task became easier.

The third warg joined its companions. Like them, it was stopped from reaching its quarry. They growled their frustration, but showed no signs of leaving. Wilson didn’t expect them to give up any time soon.

They were pulling away stones in one go now, chucking them onto a pile between themselves and the wargs. Stale air escaped from inside. It was dark and uninviting. But not so uninviting as staying outside.

Wilson stepped over the reduced wall and entered. The roof was only just high enough for him to walk without stooping. Ahead, a corridor stretched into darkness. Even with his gnomish eyesight, he couldn’t make out where it led. But he could see large stones had been spaced out on each side of the corridor at regular intervals.

Jaelin clambered inside with him and rested on his haunches. He watched as Wilson took out his flint and steel.

‘Got a torch?’ Wilson asked him. ‘Or did you lose that as well?’

‘You’re not suggestink we go explorink in here, are you? We’ve entered a barrow. The gods only know what we will find.’

‘Might be we find treasure.’

‘Might be we find somethink else that wants to kill us. Isn’t three monsters enough for you? How many hit points do you have left?’

Wilson’s first instinct was to argue back. But maybe Jaelin had a point. If it was a barrow, they could return and explore some other time. When he wasn’t quite so close to death. ‘Then what do you suggest?’

Jaelin pointed into the corridor. ‘Those stones. Why don’t we drag the nearest to the threshold, and barricade ourselves inside? If the wargs try to break through, you can swing your axes. With some luck, they may just give up.’

It was a sensible, if unexciting, proposal. With a lot of huffing and puffing, they rested the first chunks of stone against what was left of the wall. The next, they layered on top. Barely any light filtered in now, and Wilson got the uncomfortable sensation that he was burying himself alive.

He felt a creeping sensation on the back of his neck. Was there really something in here with them?

Outside, the growling, and the restless pacing, gradually stopped. Perhaps the wargs were still close, lying in wait. Or maybe, they’d decided to get far away from this place and return to their den.

MISSION COMPLETE

SUCCESS: The warg den was located

No mercs improved their stats

No mercs levelled up