Dwarven Ruin in Salesari Range, The Elvan, late-spring 15 AR

Leo woke up to someone desperately tapping him. He looked up and was about to cast [Light] a hand found its way to his mouth. A moment later in the darkness, he felt warm breath on his ear as someone leaned down to him.

“There’s one here,” Daoud said and Leo’s eyes went wide. He shifted his eyes to see body heat and looked around and the others. They were all sitting up and not moving. A quick listen and he understood why. There was the occasional bark that echoed through the massive cavern.

He patted his friend on his shoulder and made his way to the nearest balcony. It was hard to see like that with everything basically being the same temperature but he managed to make his way there quietly. He looked down into the abandoned city but could see anything and after a moment ducked down when he realized the monster could use the same trick to find him.

He moved back into the fortress and sat down again. He didn’t want to speak so he reached out to the other's hands and made a thumbs up gesture to inform them. Wherever it was, it wasn’t close and there was no reason to be concerned as of yet.

A few more checks of the area and Leo laid back down. The others had already done so except for the Decanus, he could tell the man apart because of his different armor than his former cellmates.

Leo closed his eyes and waited for his spot on the last watch. He didn’t sleep right away but he slowly drifted off and dreamt of Jaesmin and their friends at the lake in the Dain. There was no battle, only the peaceful times fishing by the shore or sitting around the campfire. He was sitting next to Jaesmin and she was telling him a joke but he couldn’t understand what she was saying. She just laughed anyways before he-

AWOOooo!

Leo shot up from his dream as the others did the same, “Fuck! They found us!”

The howl was the call for a hunt. It meant that the wolf had found prey and soon the rest of the pack would come. They didn’t have much time.

They scrambled to ready their gear, both Leo and the Count using their [Light] spells as the need for discretion had just passed. Leo drew his sword and made his way to the stairs that led down to the lower levels of the fortress. As he cast his spell down the steps he spotted the monster that had howled.

The female werewolf looked up at him and growled a threat but he watched as her brown ears dropped back to its head and she backed away. The reason was the others had run up behind him. The lone wolf’s instincts told her that she was going to die if she fought that many. She turned and bounded down the steps.

“After it, before it leads the others right to us!” the Decanus yelled and the group ran down the steps with Leo quickly pulling away from the rest.

He made it further and further down until he entered a large stone chamber that served as the entrance to the building. He looked around and quickly spotted the wolf running on all fours out the main doors. It wasn’t a hard decision for Leo to toss his shield and sling his sword before dropping down to give chase.

He sprinted across the city as she darted in front of him giving the occasional bark for help. Leo barked his own insults back at her in an attempt to draw her into a fight but she didn’t take the bait. He’d just have to catch her.

The problem was, she was faster than him. Not by much but she was slowly pulling away and would only slow down slightly when she turned her head to look back at him. He could see the animalistic fear in her eyes but he couldn’t really pity her.

He finally got his chance when she tried to turn into a building that smelled like pee. Her abrupt movement caused her to skid across the flat stone and slam into the corner of the doorway. Leo lunged and managed to grab her by the foot as she recovered and tried to continue her escape.

AwaHOOO!

She called for help again, the sound of the howl traveling much further than barking. She tried again but he grabbed her by the snout and snapped her mouth shut, she yelped as her own teeth slammed down on her tongue. She began to fight back futility as Leo heard someone running up behind him. Her claws were unable to make it through the chainmail and thick gambeson. He glanced back to ensure it was his companions before he picked up her head and slammed it down on the stone floor. A second time made her daze and she blinked rapidly and a third led to her eyes glazing over. He quickly stood as she reached for her head.

He drew his sword and stabbed down into the monster's heart. She cried out in pain and grabbed the blade but there was nothing to be done. He twisted the sword around the wound sharply and she went limp.

“Fuck!” the rapist called out as he watched Leo put the monster down but was quickly shushed. They had no idea how close the others were.

“So what now? Back to the fortress?” Daoud asked.

“Will we be able to fight them there?” Vonus asked, looking between the Decanus and Leo.

“If they’re coming here, might be our chance to sneak out behind them,” the Count’s suggestion turned every head.

Leo thought about it and knew this place was hard to get to. There was a way in through the passage that led down in the middle of the building but how far would the wolves need to travel. It wouldn’t matter if they made it out, the wolves would have to spend time searching an entire city. Leo looked at the Count and nodded. The man breathed a sigh of relief and pointed in the rough direction that lead to the exit.

They’d only traveled a few minutes until they heard barking and a single roar come from the direction of the dead female. He hesitated, Leo wasn’t sure how fast they’d be found but he knew it wouldn't be long before the monsters tracked them down… tracking?

“Go to the way out, I’ll lead them away,” Leo announced and ran off down an alleyway before they could argue.

He doubled back and headed towards the approaching pack of wolves. He stopped at a corner and quickly undid his trousers before peeing a little on the side of a building. He tilted his head back.

Awowoooo!

He let out a challenge to the incoming monsters and sprinted on all fours towards the opposite side of the city from the way out. He stopped and peed a little more before running around the block and sprinting back the way he’d come. He’d made sure he passed close to a single-story structure as he ran that way and jumped up, easily catching the edge of the dwarf-sized building before running along the roof.

He could hear the barks and growls behind him as he dropped down and peed again. It was a good time to have a tail, it kept his pants up. He jumped back up onto the structure and went back the way he came before sprinting and jumping to the next house.

He slowly made his way in a chaotic manner as the wolves gave chase. He could hear them plain as day as they barked, growled, and occasionally howled to each other. They were mad and getting even more frustrated as their query took them for a loop.

Leo decided it was time to thin out the pack when he realized they had started to split up. Somehow they hadn’t caught on to the fact he was on top of the buildings yet and seemed more focused on smelling his urine. He’d take any advantage he could get as he estimated the number to be at least twenty or thirty of the monsters.

He found his first mark shortly after and looked down at the beast before dropping from above, slashing down at its head. He missed but his sword dug deep into the wolf’s shoulder. Warm blood shot out of the beast and Leo knew he’d hit an artery. He slammed the monster into a wall, knocking the wind out of it before dragging his blade across its neck to keep it from calling out.

He didn’t wait for it to die before he ran a little ways away and climbed up a different set of buildings. His second, third, fourth, and fifth kills were largely the same. Leo kept cutting them down but it didn’t take long for them to start catching on to his tactics but only half of them did. Granted the half that didn’t was dead.

He pushed a monster from the third story of a building. He watched it a moment and saw it hit its head on the way down, spinning out of control and its neck twisted at an unnatural angle as it landed. He spotted two more running up and jumped across to the shorter roof next door and from there down again.

Leo drew his dagger and held it ready in his off-hand. As soon as the first monster rounded the corner, he lunged and stabbed it in the throat. The beast hadn’t even seen it coming and it didn’t get a chance to make a noise as it started to fall. The second werewolf looked with wide eyes as it too came around the corner only to find a sword already swinging at its neck

AWOOooo!

Leo looked in the direction the others should have been. It was another call for the pack to join the hunt. They’d found the others!

Leo sheathed his sword, not even caring about cleaning off the fresh blood, and sprinted through the city. As he ran he spotted a wolf running in the same direction. He ran up to it and it glanced over at him. It didn’t recognize him at first but quickly did a double-take and growled right before Leo bumped it from the side. The wolf lost control in its dead sprint at the speed of a horse at full gallop and flattened itself against a stone wall, head first.

There was no need to check if the beast was alive. It was either dead, paralyzed, or at a minimum knocked out and severely injured. It didn’t matter though as the sound of fighting caught Leo’s ear.

Up the ramp leading to the upper floor and Leo soon found the others in his view. He spotted two wolves fighting them while two more climbed up the side from below. Without thinking Leo charged at the nearest one and dove in an attempt to tackle it.

His attack had been spotted though and the werewolf dropped low to the ground while Leo sailed overhead. The plan had been a tackle, so he wasn’t in a position to roll and ended up slamming into the ground and turning into an uncontrolled tumble with a few bounces thrown in. Leo laid there for only half a moment but he was still slow to get onto his feet. The failed attack had shifted his pauldrons. A strap must have broken and the entire hunk of steel had shifted over painfully into his neck. He yanked it into place and looked for his sword.

WOOSH! WOOSH!

Back to back [Flame Jets] were unleashed on the wolves coming up the side as Leo picked up the sword. He took in the situation and saw that a few of the wolves had jumped back over in an attempt to escape the inferno, while a few rolled on the ground alight nearly screaming in pain, and two decided that if they were going to die, they were going to take as many out with them.

WOOSH!

Leo waited till the flames took out the ones that had climbed back up and charged at the berserkers, while they charged at Daoud and Vonus, both already fighting a wolf.

“Lookout!” Leo and the Decanus yelled out at the same time.

Daoud jumped away but one of the berserking werewolves caught Vonus. And by berserking, the two were doing it in the truest sense of the word.

Leo watched helplessly as the one that had picked up Vonus sprinted and lept over the rail to plummet to the stone floor below. Leo went after one of the remaining wolves but it suddenly was pushed sideways off its feet. He hadn’t known what happened until he saw the Count pointing a finger at it. The suddenly unbalanced wolf was quickly dispatched, bringing the fight to an end.

“Won’t be able to do that again, out of essence,” the count informed them as he breathed heavily. It was bad news but Leo and the rest ran to the edge, focused on the even worse. They looked down to see Vonus still burning while sprawled on the stones below.

“Let’s fucking go!” the rapist called out while already moving towards the side street cut out of solid rock.

After a moment of silence, Leo turned to follow, gesturing the others ahead. They traveled through the tighter side corridors of the city with a few stops to discuss the way. It would do no good if they got lost.

Leo’s ears twitched as they got close. He turned around and stared into the darkness behind them. He could hear more growling and the beasts were mad! Which he could only assume was the natural course of action after most of their brethren were killed. The stampede of claws was growing louder and louder.

“Run,” Leo ordered the others, and run they did. There was no hesitation and they were within minutes of escape as far as they could tell. Leo let the others get ahead of him to take up a rear guard.

“Quickly!” Leo bellowed to the ones in front of him as Daoud and Mason both slowed down to match his pace. The former realized what he meant and grabbed Mason by the arm to pull him onward.

“I… AM!” The rapist yelled back, already sounding winded.

Leo heard footsteps growing closer behind him, the sound of claws scraping, trying to find purchase on the stone. He turned to look behind him and realized one of the beasts had caught up. A quick spin brought his sword around and the werewolf suffered a glancing blow to the side of its head. The edge of the blade dug into its scalp and peeled off a large chunk of skin, fur, and ear. The monster recoiled and whined loudly with pain as Leo leveled his sword and drove it into the fuckers eye. The blade didn't go all the way through but it was enough. He pulled it out and turned to run again.

“AAAH!” the sound reached him and he turned the corner to see two more wolves had used a different route to get around him. One was on the ground with the rapist, his throat in its mouth while the other bit down on the Count’s left forearm. Before Leo could do anything the latter thrashed back and forth, the nobles arm soon detaching at the elbow.

The Decanus drove a spear into the one on the already dead rapist while Leo tackled the other before it could finish Count Viabold. Daoud stepped in and hacked at the back of its neck with a short sword in the dark. The [Light] was gone but the Count cast some form of flame spell. A bright orange fire flickered above his right palm as he jammed the stump of his left arms into it, cauterizing the wound. Leo was slightly impressed even if he screamed like a girl while doing it.

“Come on, we’re almost there,” Leo said and they began running again. Mason attempted to help keep the count focused while the Decanus hobbled along with his injured hip supported by Daoud. The rapist was left where he died. They rounded the corner and ran into the brothel, the way out easily identifiable by the female dwarven motif.

“Shit!” Mason yelled as he looked behind. His words made Leo turn as well and saw four more monsters run in after him.

“How fucking many are left!?” the Decanus yelled out and turned at the entrance to the room that led to their escape. He raised Leofrith’s scutum shield and a dwarven spear made of solid unrustable steel. “You lot go, we’ll be right behind you.”

“No, we fight!”

“Fuck off, Mason!,” the Decanus yelled as he thrust his spear at the first monster to enter the room, right at Leofrith’s heels. The strike hit true, the werewolf having to drop on all fours to enter the short doorway wasn’t able to dodge or block. “We can’t all fit at once, now fucking go so we can get out of here!”

Mason looked at the Count and Daoud and the three quickly crowded around the exit. Mason going first followed quickly but the Count. Leo turned to face the door as his friend waited to go last.

“Even more,” he said as he stepped to the side of the door and raised his sword high with both hands. He wasn’t sure how many were coming in but it was at least eight.

A breath later and another one ran into the room. Leo was ready and as soon as he saw the monster duck to charge through the door frame, he chopped down and severed its spine. Before he could ready himself to chop again another one squeezed in past its dead packmate only to receive a spear to the face from the Decanus. Leo raised his sword again and chopped again, another severed spine. Followed quickly by another speared. Four down!

That’s when their luck ended and the corpse of one of the wolves was pulled out of the doorway, only to be thrown back in at the Decanus. The man braced but was unable to take the impact with his injured hip and fell to the floor. Leo chopped down as a monster charged in right after, five! Another one came in directly after that! This time without a spear waiting for it, and it went straight for the Decanus.

Leo was forced to abandon the doorway and charged at the monster that was already digging its claws into the man’s neck. Leo raked his claws across the monster's head and immediately stepped back to swing a horizontal strike as soon as the monster looked up. The sword dug into the side of its skull, Six!

The only problem was his sword was stuck and two more had entered the room. Leo rammed one of the monsters with his shoulder while the Decanus raised his spear, bracing it on the ground. Leo saw the beast get impaled all the way through from its own momentum and focused on his own opponent.

The monster tried to grab him and slashed wildly before grabbing the leather straps of his armor and swinging around. Leo slashed his own claws and caught the monster in the nose before he hit the wall with a thud. He barely had the chance to react before the monster rammed into him. Its claws ripped apart his already damaged chainmail and its mouth in Leo’s hands as he tried to keep the beast from biting his face.

The two struggled for a moment and Leo winced as he felt a claw reach through his armor and slice into his skin. He twisted the monster's head back to the point it was looking at the ceiling, it let go of his torso and went for his hands. All it took was a little bit of pressure and the right angle and Leo heard a pop. He’d pulled the monster's upper jaw back and with his other hand, slammed its lower jaw down.

The force had dislocated the beast's jaw as it gave a crippled cry of pain. It grabbed for its own maw and Leo didn’t wait. He circled behind it and put a clawed hand around the monster’s throat to pull it to his chest and the other over the top of its head. It reached for the one on its throat while Leo dug his claws into its eyes. The strange cry grew even louder and soon Leo felt resistance from the bone on the back of the eyes. He let go of the monster's throat and slammed his palm into the back of its head. He managed to jam his fingers but it was enough force to push the claws through into the beast's brain.

Leo pulled his hand away as the monster fell to the ground and turned into a naked woman. He turned to look at the Decanus but froze. The man was laying on the ground where Leo had last seen him but he lay motionless. Leo limped forward and pushed the dead werewolf off the man and spotted a deep gash to his neck and a sizable pool of blood. He bent down and quickly ascertained the man had bled out, no heartbeat and no breath. His body was even getting colder already.

A growl suddenly got his attention and Leo looked towards the door. A large wolf was walking in and before Leo could do anything it charged. Leo braced for impact but it was a moment too late and the werewolf plowed into him.

He fell on his back as what looked to be the last wolf tackled him to the floor. His shield and sword were gone so he pulled his dagger as the monster bit down hard on one arm and held his other forearm in its claws. Leo didn’t lay there and take it.

He snapped at the monster's neck, managing the dig his teeth into the beast's shoulder! It shuddered with pain and growled as it bit down harder on his left forearm. Leo could feel the bones bending to the point they could not bend any further and snap. He managed to keep his own bite down as he thrashed his head back and forth trying to tear out something vital. The pain of his broken arm added to his resolve.

The wolf was bigger than him and he wasn’t able to break free. All he could do was try to reposition himself to bite out the monster’s throat. As he tried, Leo felt the wolf’s other hand reach under his damaged chainmail and gambeson. Claws soon dug into the bottom of his ribcage. Tearing into his flesh and moving inside of him as incredible pain struck him.

“No, no, no, no, no, nnNOOO!” Leo gave it everything he could and managed to break his right arm free and plunged the dagger into the fucker’s neck. It was a fatal blow as blood gushed out but it wasn’t an instant kill. Leo’s eyes went wide as he felt an arm thrust into his chest and a sharp pain nearly knock him out. Even worse was he heard a tearing sound with his sensitive ears. Leo grabbed his dagger and yanked it out of the monster's neck. He gave the monster one last stab before tucking it to his chest.

***********

“Count, shine the [Light]!” Daoud ordered desperately as he crawled back through the tunnel to get to Leofrith and Aevald. It had sounded like the fight had stopped but he wasn’t sure which side had won. When he made it into the chamber, he could faintly see Leofrith laying on the floor covered in blood with a naked human male on top of him. Daoud pushed the monster off and his eyes went wide, “No…”

He sat there for a moment in shock. After a few more moments of taking in the scene, he started gathering Leo’s shield and sword along with the Decanus’ spear. He tossed each down the tunnel as far as he could, “Mason? Grab the gear!”

The man shuffled into the tunnel as Daoud started pulling his friend towards the way out, making sure not to forget anything. It was a hard task but he couldn’t just leave him! When he got close Mason grabbed his ankles and pulled him out with Leo immediately after.

The other two stared in shock as Daoud picked up Leo’s heart as it rolled on the ground and placed it back on his chest. He had taken it from the hand of the monster.

“So goes Leofrith Barling, a good and honorable man,” Count Viabold said as he bent down to close Leo’s eyes.

"He wanted to be a knight," Mason needlessly informed the group. As far as Daoud was concerned that was obvious.

The count looked at Mason for a moment and knelt before Leo's corpse, “Such a fine young man to put himself in such danger for the protection of others… I dub thee a knight of Nola. A posthumous title but one earned.”

Mason was crying and Daoud looked at his friend's face. It was a touching gesture, fulfilling one's fate even after death. He then looked at the dagger. Leo had told him why it was important, it should go to his sister. He’d have to make a trip north before returning to the mainland. She was in Saena but he couldn’t go back to Stilyra.

Daoud’s shoulders drooped before he dropped down and started crawling back into the Tunnel, Dacanus Aevald’s remains were still in there. He regretted he wouldn’t be able to get Vonus’.