Unknown cave in Salesari Range, The Elvan, mid-spring 15 AR

“Oh, no?”

“What?”

“Leo?”

“What in the hells does-”

Leo cut them off with a raise of his hand, not only did they stop but even the Count didn’t dare speak. All eyes turned to the back of the cave as the noble started desperately pulling something out of his tunic. Leo only looked down when the man’s sudden movement caught his attention. The man held a small key.

Once free of the shackles, Leo shifted to his lycan form and sniffed deeply. Wet fur, blood, and decay were more obvious than before. He’d recognized it before but now he was certain. He pointed towards the entrance and the group didn’t hesitate to hustle out quietly. Though whether it was the smell of fresh blood or the small amount of noise he could hear movement, multiple things were coming up one of the tunnels from deeper in the cave. He could hear the sound of claws grinding against stone and growls.

“They’re coming,” Leo said at a normal volume, his voice shaking slightly. There wasn’t any reason to hide. They were already discovered.

“Where?” One of the soldiers asked and Leo double checked, the sounds were all coming from the same tunnel. It was around two and a half paces wide and nine feet high but narrowed as it went deeper. He pointed and the man drew his weapon.

“Victory or death,” The Decanus winced as he hobbled forward, holding onto the wall with one hand and his sword with the other.

“The fuck you mean victory or death. How bout, run the fuck away?” the rapist cried from the cave's entrance but didn’t follow his own advice.

“They’ve got our scent, we run and the only one that might get away is him,” the Decanus informed the group, pointing at Leo with one hand. “who's got that bow? We’ll do the same thing those bastards did to him in the forest.”

Leo nodded as Daoud grabbed the bow that had been left on the cave floor. He took up a position at the tunnel's entrance bracing behind his shield. The Decanus hobbled forward and pointed a finger down the tunnel, “Tell me when. Rest of you get ready, we fight ‘em like before. You too milord, they don’t care about titles.”

Daoud stood to Leo’s other side with the bow at the ready. The others reluctantly spaced themselves out in the cave. Ready to attack any monster that got past the front line. Leo turned his attention back to the tunnel. They were close. He leveled his sword over the top of his shield and readied himself to thrust.

“NOW!” he yelled out as the first came into view. A bright light shone down the tunnel and he watched the werewolf growl and shield its eyes. Two more directly behind did the same. Daoud didn’t hesitate and let an arrow fly, right into first's head. Whether he was aiming for the ear or not, Leo didn’t know but the arrow burrowed into the monster's left one. It dropped the monster instantly and before it hit the ground he fired another arrow at the second, killing it two. The third started to recover and rushed forward with a roar that was either repeated by others or echoed in the cave, probably a mixture of both.

The third one died the same as the first two while more rushed up the tunnel behind, their eyes were already normal. The [Light] was annoying them but wasn’t debilitating as it was to the first three. The trick wouldn’t work again.

Another dropped as one reached Leo. Rather than letting the monster grab him or his shield, he lunged forward. His blade pierced its hide and bit deep into its chest. Another started moving around it but another arrow came. Leo drew his sword and slashed down in the tight space, connecting with the injured monster's face and snout. It didn’t put it down but it yelped and shrunk back with fatal wounds.

As more werewolves came up the tunnel, many were cut down by Leo and Daoud until the latter ran out of arrows. They had managed to kill a dozen and the already tight space was being walled up by corpses. A few with scraps of torn clothing stuck to them, indicating they had recently been civilized beings.

“They keep fucking coming!” one of them yelled from behind Leo. He didn’t turn to look but could hear the whines of pain from one of the monsters that had gotten past him. He rammed one into the wall of the tunnel with his shield as it tried to move past, thrusting out at a second as he did. The one pinned against the wall received a blade to the eye but he missed his thrust, the monster running forward and grabbing ahold of his leg and bringing him to the ground. He yelled in pain and grabbed his dagger and started stabbing wildly at the beast that was mauling him.

WOOSH!

Leo covered his face as a torrent of fire blew past him. The monster on his leg had died with its claws dug into Leo’s flesh which now meant human fingers. He glanced back to see the source of the flame jet spell, the Count was standing over him as now burning monsters roared in pain. A moment later and a second flame jet spread in a cone from his outstretched finger.

“Where… the fuck...Aaagh!” Leo groaned in pain as he pulled his torn leg from under the corpse. Mason was coming forward to pull him back and the soldier taking his shield and position at the entrance of the tunnel.

“Milord, you might have mentioned you knew that spell,” the Decanus said before coughing from the smoke filling the cavern. “Not the most useful in the lines but here…”

Leo ignored the rest as Daoud and Mason started tearing what was left of his pant leg open. They bound the wound with the former's tunic after Leo retook his human form. He sat back and nearly bit his tongue off with the sudden pain, at least the wound was wrapped tightly.

“I-I forgot,” Count Viabold answered back after a moment. He’d frozen in the fight. “Are th-there m-mo-more?”

Leo couldn’t blame the man much. It was probably only the second time he’d seen werewolves and the first that he’d fought them. At least Leo suspected it was the first time and that the Count had hidden behind the soldiers during the attack. He looked up at everyone staring at him and then listened. He could hear the same scrapes as before but they were growing fainter.

“They’re fleeing deeper into the cave,” he informed them.

“Fuckin’ gods! If it weren’t for that fucking tunnel!” the rapist yelled out, “Oh and the violent fuck’s dead.”

Leo turned his head and craned his neck a bit to see who the man was referring to. It was the killer that had threatened the count before. Leo wondered if it was the wolves or one of the others that took him out but quickly decided on wolves when Vonus rolled the man onto his side to pull a dagger from the man’s belt. A large chunk of his throat was missing and his head flopped down at an unnatural angle.

“We woulda done died if it weren’t for that,” Mason stated the obvious again, ignoring the dead man and focusing on the rapist's first point. Well, Leo thought it was obvious at least. If they had been in the open and surrounded, they wouldn’t have lasted five minutes.

The smoke was building from the burning remains of around twenty corpses. The group moved outside with Leofrith being helped and laid down near the entrance where he could still hear into the cave system. He knew they couldn’t leave. It wasn’t a matter of duty, they’d killed somewhere around a third of the ones that had fled from them at the camp. If others had stayed in their den it could be more.

They had a viable strategy and with Count Viabold remembering that he knew a few spells, the soldier taking up Leo’s shield, and the Decanus making new arrows after the rapist had been volunteered to go collect as many arrowheads as he could. They were better off holding the end of the tunnel when the monsters eventually came back out.

**********

Jorvik, Capital of the Kingdom of Ederath, mid-spring 15 AR

Jaesmin looked up at the towering walls of the capital. She’d expected it to look like the walls of Vanheim but the ‘walls’ of the fortress city made the ones surrounding the city of waterfalls look like a fence. It was a mixture of tall stone walls made in much the same way as Vanheim but also the cities location had been used to increase the effect.

Jorvik stood on a plateau with the raw stone of the plateau forming a sheer drop and the constructed wall on top. The towering fortifications could only be entered from a single point that Jaesmin could see. A path cut straight through the cliff with a thick stone gatehouse at the bottom and a second one at the top of the path. Along each side of the path was a walkway carved into the rock and she could see lycan knights and guards patrolling the entrance.

She couldn’t help but think that no one would ever be able to take the city, whether it was lycans or humans protecting it. Any attacker would be filled with arrows before taking the first gate and the entire march up the slope of the road would be a deathtrap for any invader. Not only could arrows rain down from the battlements but the top of the plateau above.

The option of scaling the wall was even more daunting just thinking about. The hundred and fifty-foot tall defenses were far too tall for ladders and scaling the side any other way could be countered by any random civilian with a pile of rocks to drop down. The only way the city could ever fall was by siege.

“Gods…” Cara said again as they walked up the slope into the city. The refugees were taking up camp a few miles away where a new village was being constructed to house them. They’d met a column of knights and lycan civilians on the road before they made it to Vanheim and she’d long since passed the reigns of leadership to Prince Leif. The only one of the bitten that remained with them was Freya. It didn't take long for them to decide the visit the capital.

With Arn and Cara both strong enough to conduct the physical part and Jaesmin to heal her in the morning they could keep training her themselves. Cara and Jaesmin had taught everyone about meditation and Freya excelled at it, both by being a mage and getting a bit of one on one attention. The final part of her training, the fact they might have to kill her if they failed, wouldn’t be an issue with Jaes backed by her fellow mages. Well, the physical act of ending a life wouldn’t be an issue. That wasn’t to say any of them even wanted to consider that they may have to execute their own friend.

The group made their way up into the city and the exclamations from them only grew. Of them, only Arn had ever been to Jorvik. As they walked through the gate Jaesmin could only join in. The sight of the main street was much like the one they’d seen at the market in Everton and the streets of Vanheim but it wasn’t what caught her attention. It was the size of the city. She hadn’t been one of the ones to go for resupply in Bastia, so she had never seen a capital city before. It made sense that as the seat of a king, it would be far grander than others. That and despite the difficulty in doing so, the buildings along the main street were built with smaller versions of the carefully cut dry stones that the walls were made of. It meant that the bright banners that crossed the street stretched across on multiple tiers of the tall buildings.

“So? Tavern?” Freya asked when they got over their shock at the scene before them.

“A tavern? You want to drink?” Stoki asked incredulously.

“I might be dead in a couple months, I’m havin’ a drink,” Freya ended the conversation with that and walked into the city. Jaesmin had been told to report to the great hall that stood on a second, even higher precipice, at the center of the city but she needed a place to stay the night regardless. If they could drink as well, it didn’t matter to her.

The thought of a drink made her realize something, “How do they get water here? There’s no rivers and I can’t imagine how deep a well would need to be.”

“Cisterns,” Arn responded while walking with her hand in hand, “Large basins cut into the stone that fill with rainwater after it's gone through a filter of sorts. Not sure what they use but it's clean. They’re all up on higher ground and the water comes out in places… like… ah there!”

Jaesmin looked to the alcove where he was pointing. There was a small stream of water pouring out of the side of a building and ran into a large stone basin below. An Elvanni man was filling a waterskin from the stream while a human was washing clothes in the water. It was similar to the fountains in Saena but far less adorned.

“Why is it so plain?” Dani asked, “Even the fountain in Lindum has a marble statue on top.”

“Because it’s not just a single one, they’re all around the city,” Arn explained. Jaesmin initially thought it was no reason to not decorate them but then again the few in Saena were largely decoration and there were laws against bathing or cleaning in the fountain. Then again, these were different and if they had plenty of them in the place of wells, there was no need to make them overly ornate.

“Anything else we should know?” Jaesmin asked, realizing that Jorvik was very different in more than just appearance.

“Ahh… don’t drink from the basins and well it doesn’t matter for us but don’t let your livestock do it either… There’s a few places where the public can go up on the walls to look out but stay to those areas… Honestly my beauty, there’s nothing else I can think of, it's a city...” Arn said and Jaesmin smiled as he struggled to answer and looked around for inspiration before giving up. She realized was a fairly dumb question on her part but it was sweet that he tried to answer it rather than shrug it off.

“So just treat it like Lindum or Saena and we’ll be alright?” Dani asked and received a nod from Arn before he held up his hand.

“You can’t go into the great hall without an invitation and stay quiet near the garrison… It's not really a barracks and more of a neighborhood reserved for knights and guards,” Arn remembered two more points and after a moment decided to add, “You won’t get in much trouble but some of them sleep during the day, lycan hearing…”

Jaesmin could only imagine how annoying it must be to live in a city with sensitive hearing. There had been a designated quiet time during the expedition but there it was near impossible to be silent at all times in the Dain. She looked up at Arn, wondering how he would have dealt with it in Saena if it wasn’t for being separated from the city at large within the Academy.

The group made their way to an Inn and rented rooms for the night before having a drink. The mood was light and they joked softly but when the bells started tolling to announce the time they were reminded about Freya and her nightly dose of required torture. Jaes sighed as she walked out behind Freya, Arn, and Cara to find a place to do the task at hand. She envied Dani and Stoki, who could stay behind.

“Hey, it's only fucking horrible!” Freya called out, actually cheerful at the idea of being beaten to a pulp, “It was even worse. I’m getting better at this!”

**********

Strondheim, Village in the Kingdom of Ederath, mid-spring 15 AR

Sunada awoke and stretched in her bed. There wasn’t enough room to stretch her arms but she could at least work the kinks out of her legs and back. Marching to Hani with the effects of the Ederathan hard ale they called liquor still in her system, followed by marching back to Strondheim in the same day had been tiring. Traveling across the terrain was far more difficult than walking down a road. Especially in her padded cloth armor and her rapier at her side.

She pulled back the curtain and peeked up to ensure that Karli wouldn’t step on her before she crawled out of bed. She was of course back in the caravan. Drengr Willow had let her take her place in the carriage meant to house the important women of the village. Something her father was apprehensive about until she understood and explained that it was his sister, his drengr, and their servant that stayed there and wasn’t some form of harem. Seeing as her invitation was a source of honor, she accepted. Willow had spent the night in a tent with Roland far from camp.

“Morning!” Sunada called out cheerfully to Erin as she stirred and gave her a wave.

The human woman got up and started her morning routine, which today included washing herself with a wet rag and bar of soap. Sunada had thought it a crude way to keep clean. Even with the scented lye soap but realized her error after visiting the baths in Lindum.

While bathing with others was… different, she realized that the blonde was doing all that she could while traveling and working. At least until the stone basin that seemed to be a personal bath built into the floor of the manor was available. It was finished but with the lack of a ceiling, it was far from private.

Sunada freshened herself as well, brushing her fur and cleaning her teeth with a paste that tasted of charcoal, finely ground eggshells, and wild mint. The paste was similar to what her people made back home. While the Ederathans had already used brushes with water to clean theirs and provided her with one.

The paste didn’t have a pleasant taste but she had to admit that her teeth felt clean after brushing gently with the tiny brush made from horsehair. Rinsing with mint water afterwards helped get the taste of charcoal out of her mouth. Next to her, Erin put some of the paste on her own brush. It made Sunada smile as the tall blonde used a product of her people. It wasn’t much but it was something the Inari could provide their new neighbors. It was well accepted and the Thane seemed particularly excited about the prospect for some reason.

Sunada walked out of her temporary home and entered the growing encampment. It was a mix of caravan’s, large Ederathan tents, smaller makeshift Inari tents made from sailcloth, and rounded orcish tents. Each race took their own area centered around the three caravans. Yet it was only due to how they had made camp. The orcs and humans had already integrated to an extent and her own people were encouraged, at her insistence, to wander freely.

“Hello, Sunada,” Andrew greeted her Ippa Teki, as he came out of his caravan. His pronunciation was off but it was still understandable. She returned the greeting in his language while they both made their way to the fire in the center of the circled caravans.

“Mornin’!” Sunada heard Tira’s voice and she looked over to the Thane’s temporary home but her eyes rose as she spotted the lycan sitting on top of the roof. She gave the woman a wave and sat down on a bench while Andrew filled a pot with water and poured in a grain mixture to make breakfast. He also pulled out a soft cloth parcel and handed it to her with a polite bow. She returned the gesture and opened it up.

“Oh good, fish!” Sunada said to herself and looked up at him, “Thank you.”

She nibbled on the smoked fish that had a slightly earthy flavor. She wasn’t sure if it was seasoned or if it was from the type of wood that was burned but the meat was delicious. They were soon joined by the others and she listened as they spoke while they ate. When they were done they all got up and Andrew explained what each would be doing that day. He pointed to himself and mimicked drawing his bow while saying the word ‘hunting’. Erin and Aethred would be working on the ‘manor’, she wasn’t sure if that was the word for a house or specifically one for the Thane. She had only understood a few words but he moved his hands as if he were hammering when he said it. For Willow he pointed at the lake and made a strange motion with his hands while saying an unfamiliar word, she decided she should follow Willow to gain context. The Thane was going to make more of his strange bows, while Tira just shrugged.

He didn’t blame him for not knowing what the lycan woman was planning on doing. She worked hard but Sunada had noticed that she got pulled from task to task. One moment she was helping lift a heavy beam and the next she was running to the quarry to help push a wagon loaded with stone out of a rut. There was a pattern, the strong lycan went to any task that required heavy lifting.

“Can I accompany you, Drengr Willow?” Sunada asked in fluent Ippa Teki before repeating it in broken common, “Sunada go Drengr Willow?”

Willow smiled and spoke fast before pausing and starting again with a simple, “Yes.”

She followed the Drengr through the Inari part of the camp. They were looking for the four men her father had assigned to learn from the people of Sondheim. Willow had needed to ask for them by name, even though Ando was standing right next to her. She seemed embarrassed.

“There is no shame, Honored Drengr,” Ando said with a bow and turned to bow again to Sunada, “I will fetch the others.”

Willow pointed at him when he turned to walk away and soon they had their group together. They went to the supply tent and she came out with three long wooden poles with a strange device hung underneath it. She handed one to Ando and another to Usui before giving long wooden poles with thread attached to the end to the rest of them. She picked up two buckets and they headed towards the lake.

“Oh! Fishing,” Sunada exclaimed when they had arrived and she realized what they were doing. The other Inari lowered their ears, they had known, “The shame is mine, I had not asked.”

“We should have said so, Honored Diplomat,” Usui said feebly, “This is how they fish. Although they do know of nets.”

“All except the one known as Tira. She dives for her catch,” Ando remarked, “Did you have the opportunity to try the mollusks we collected along the sea?”

Sunada had not heard of any such thing but since they had returned from the shore she’d either been inebriated or marching. She did like fresh seafood. Usui seemed to notice.

“Those have likely festered by now. I, Usui Hiroya, will return to the shore as soon as I am able and collect some more.”

“I thank you, Usui Hiroya. You bring honor with your words,” Sunada said politely if not formally. She’d broken from those habits slightly in the weeks she’d spent with the foreigners. She wasn’t about to dishonor herself or her clan but she understood the foreign concepts of honor better and felt they were refreshing.

She spent her morning fishing and talking about the bounty of the sea and when they started pulling in fish, the lake. She noticed it wasn’t just a leisure activity as Willow took notes for each different species of fish they caught.

“I believe she is studying the creatures that dwell within the lake. We should do the same,” Ando suggested and left shortly thereafter to obtain something to write with. Sunada watched him go and looked back towards the manor. The people were walking away from the worksite and sitting, taking a break. She saw Tira running towards them on all fours.

“By the ancestors!” Usui yelled at the same time as Willow yelled ‘Fucking hel!’ in common. Sunada turned to look at the water and saw what looked like a large eel swimming, the clear water allowing her to make out its shape and size. It was twice as long as an Inari was tall and she soon realized there was more than one.

She had no idea what they were but a thought dawned on her, she turned and yelled, “Tira, wait!”

The lycan woman was too fast and was already in the air.