I had to try for a few minutes to convince the others that I was fine. Especially Sigmir was a little worried after I first started to uncontrollably shake and vomit, before conjuring up a glob of incredibly cold liquid and gargling with that glob. The sudden cloud of freezing cold mist I had exhaled with a soft burp hadn’t done much to assuage their disturbance. All of them knew that the Liquid Moonlight I had used as mouthwash would cause grievous harm to anyone else if they were simply exposed to it, nevermind trying to take it into their bodies. Yet, here I stood, looking more disgusted by the smell of our prey than hurt by the cold.

“Really, I’m fine. I just wanted to know if that wolverine has a peculiar magic aura and searched for it.” I assured Sigmir, again.

“Needless to say, I found it. Not quite sure what type of magic it is using, but its vile. Maybe some sort of decay, disease or rot, nothing I came across before.” I continued, feeling Lenore come back into range and shared my expressions with her. All of them, without filtering them too much. Sharing was caring after all and I felt a little mean.

While the others looked at me with worried eyes, a sharp caw cut through the air, as Lenore was processing the second-hand information from me. Moments later, she landed on my shoulder and painfully nipped my ear, before adding her own opinion to mine.

“That is just disgusting.” Lenore told me over our connection and I could feel her shudder in sympathy for getting the full bore of the experience I had shared with her.

“I agree, but what is it?” I asked, hoping to get at least something out of it. “It felt similar to miasma, but not quite. Some sort of negative blood-magic?” I continued, a frown manifesting on my face.

“Not sure, but it is both natural and vile, we should get rid of it, simply to rid the world of that vile magic.” Lenore suggested, her voice hinting at the disgust she felt for the creature.

“Let’s move after it.” I told the others and started walking, partially to get away from the spot I had just thrown up on.

As we continued on our way, I noticed a peculiar smell, almost too weak to notice, but when focusing on it, it was rather unpleasant. A quick glance to Rai told me that he was much more affected than the rest of us and I realised that it might just be the smell of our target, strong enough to even offend those of us who didn’t have the sensible nose of a wolf. I had made the strict decision that I wouldn’t try to trace the beast’s magic myself, not without some pressing need. And that need would have to be truly pressing, as in life- or death-pressing, but even then I might hesitate. The experience had simply been too awful for words.

But it was curious, my idle mind pointed out, the normally defensive measure of the god-awful smell of the wolverine, something that should warn enemies away from it, was now a strong contributor to our desire to kill the thing. A creature smelling that bad was to be destroyed with extreme prejudice. I noticed a wry grin on my face at the strange priorities we, as a group, seemed to have. Sure, killing something for the simple purpose to get stronger thanks to the system was perfectly fine for any of us, but now, with the awful stench added to it? I think each of us would have gone out of our way to destroy the creature simply for offending our sensibilities, without the added benefit of the quest we had taken. Maybe we were developing an arrogance to change the world to suit us better, even with our relatively meager power, to adjust it so we would be pleased by it.

It was another interesting idea, if we, who, in the grand scheme of things, were almost at the bottom of the hierarchy of powerful beings, wanted to change things to suit our wishes, were the stronger beings just the same? Did they casually murder another being, simply because they didn’t like their smell? Or maybe their looks? But beauty, and preferences were in the eye of the individual, the beholder, as the saying went. For many people, Sigmir would be considered ugly, her face to crude, her body too muscular to fit feminine standards, her frame too tall. But to me, she was quite frankly beautiful and desirable like no other, her arms and embrace the definition of safety, her smell both comforting and arousing, her taste…

Shaking my head, I tried to return to my previous thought or visions of a naked Sigmir would cause me to wander into the next tree, something I wanted to avoid.

I made another mental note to avoid judgements based on personal whim and preference, or we might arouse the ire of a more powerful being. If we stuck to hunting beings on or above our power-level, we should avoid random, powerful beings acting out of a sense of justice.

My mind was pulled back to the task at hand when Ylva growled that she thought she heard the wolverine.

Without more information, we spread out a little, Sigmir taking out her axe and shield, Adra readying her bow, Rai drawing his daggers and cloaking himself in shadows while I took out my Athame, planning to mostly use my magic in an attempt to hinder the beast. Sadly, the snow around us had mostly thawed, taking away one of the biggest advantages I had enjoyed over the last few months. If I wanted to use Ice-Magic, I’d have to conjure the ice myself, not simply grab a chunk of snow and manipulate it for my purpose.

Guided by Ylva and her ears, Sigmir led the way with Ylva next to her. I was flanking her on the left side, while Lenore had returned to her Hallow, adding her Astral Power regeneration to mine. It also allowed us to go into the Avatar-State if we chose to, causing our combined power to skyrocket. On Sigmir’s other flank were Adra and Rai, Adra to support from the rear with her bow while Rai was planning to quickly circle the wolverine once we were near. By now, even I could smell in in the air, a rancid smell of blood and meat, mixed with a strange, funky smell. It was different from the perception of its magic, but similarly unpleasant.

Sigmir stepped onto a clearing and suddenly, a snarling sound cut through the silence, it sounded like a mix between some large cat, a chain-saw in dire need of oil and an attacking dog, causing the hairs in the back of my neck to go up. It sounded vicious and I had no doubt that the wolverine had noticed us and was planning to add us to its meal-plan. Meanwhile, Sigmir gave a battle-shout on her own, psyching herself up and activating her class-ability, the red armour surrounding her, strengthening her offense and defense, before she started to jog forward, adding momentum to her charge.

I quickened my steps, to make sure I was able to see and intervene when necessary. Staying in the underbrush, just to give me a little concealment, I was able to finally see the wolverine. It was just as large as we had been told, almost coming up to Sigmir’s head while on its four feet and with a maw big enough to get my whole head in. I had no doubt that it was also strong enough to crush my head, or anything else that got between its dagger-like teeth. Maybe it was the fact that she was actively coming at it, maybe it was her shout, but the wolverine started to head towards Sigmir, its gait composed of strangely short steps. Focusing on the paws, I noticed that its claws were just as impressive as its maw and I made a note to keep away from either.

A quick Observe told me that it was only level fifty-seven, but somehow, its sheer ferocious aggression gave me the impression that it was far more powerful than it seemed.

Not quite sure about the best course of action, I decided to go with a tried and true method, throwing icicles at the enemy. It wouldn’t kill a beast like that wolverine, not without a seriously lucky hit into its eyes, but it would hinder it, allowing my allies to get better attacks in. It would also add some Ice to its surroundings, which I might be able to use later.

But it wasn’t I that made the first hit, no, that was Adra and her bow. Just before Sigmir and the wolverine clashed in a collision of fur and metal, she shot a glowing arrow, hitting the wolverine’s leading paw, causing it to stumble. It wasn’t enough to bring it down, but it stopped its movement, allowing Sigmir to fully block it off with her shield before burying her axe into its shoulder.

And then, with another vicious growl, the fight was fully on.