My main aim, to sneak into the bandit camp, had been pushed aside by a more urgent issue.

The wolves had caught my scent. Howls came from behind and from both sides, which left me with one option. They hadn’t figured out my exact location, but wolves were some of the best trackers in the wild. From my extended study session when I had been locked in the room, I recalled a few tips.

Hide your scent, double back, use rivers, climb a tree. Fire and companions were impossible to locate in the middle of a dangerous forest, so my only chance was to escape. If I climbed a tree and tried to wait them out, they would use the time to fully surround me.

If I tried to double back to confuse the scent trail, it would give the pack time to get ahead of me. The map of the area jumped into my mind once more as a last resort. In the distance, around twenty minutes away at my current pace, was a river. It wouldn’t stop a wolf for long, but it would be enough for my current needs.

All I had to do was reach it before they found me. Wolves were faster than humans, especially in forests, so there was only one option.

“Accelerate. Strengthen.”

I had to run faster than a standard human. The buffs had fallen off since my fight against the wolves, so they had to be reapplied to make sure my escape was successful. Every howl was closer than the last, which proved they were closing in at an alarming rate. At this rate, I would barely make it.

And then the bush in front of me shook as a wolf wandered out.

It wasn’t clear if this wolf was part of the pack who hunted me, but that didn’t matter. It growled at me and raised its hackles as my feet skidded in the undergrowth. I didn’t have time to bypass this wolf's territory, so it would have to be removed forcefully.

I drew my staff and sprinted at the wolf. It hadn’t expected my insane attack, but it still managed to form a defence as I charged towards it as it tried to dodge past my thrust.

But it was too slow.

My staff caught it on the side of its head and knocked it to the floor. It struggled to its feet, but a swift kick knocked it back down. As much as I wanted to leave it behind, my mercy would add another enemy to the list, and give my pursuers a good idea of my route. Two downward stabs with my staff finished the wolf before the voice did its automatic collection of the wolf parts.

With my crime hidden, I set off once more. The wolves had closed in, but they still weren’t in view. My quick response to the interruption made sure I reached the river in time, but the howls were right on my tail as I jumped into the turbid waters.

It took me around fifteen seconds to swim across, which meant my speed with the buffs in effect was considerable. This wasn’t a calm pool either, so my speed could be seen as close to Olympic level. Unfortunately, there wasn’t time to congratulate myself.

I continued with my escape plan. My brain wanted me to flee in the opposite direction of my trackers, but that would only delay the inevitable. Instead, I moved into the forest and climbed a tree. The coverage was quite thick on this side of the river, so I managed to cross twenty trees before I was forced back to the ground.

That should confuse them.

The first wolf might have made its way across by now. I ran down the river for a few more minutes before I dived back in and swam to the far side. The howls and yips in the distance proved the wolves had gathered to cross over the river. Some had taken the plunge and crossed the river whilst the rest waited on the far bank.

Enough had crossed over to make sure they would still take me down easily if they caught me. The flow of the river was moderately fast, which added to my speed as I swam downstream. The howls faded into the distance as I bobbed my way deeper into the forest.

Only after the sounds had faded entirely did I pull myself up onto the bank. I had crossed back to my original side to confuse the wolves, but also due to the fact that the bandit camp was on this side of the river. My chest heaved as I pulled myself out of the river and on to the bank.

Next time, I’ll let the others tag along.

It was a nice thought, but it didn’t help my predicament. Even if they had been present it was still uncertain if they would have made much difference. The sheer number of wolves would have posed a threat to the group of the past, never mind the fact they had lost their main defensive member.

At least for now.

The god had said it was impossible to bring Claire back, but I refused to believe his harsh statement. Rose had said her soul was linked to mine in some weird way. Maybe once my soul healed a bit more, Rose could spend a bit of her energy to form a link to her… maybe.

“Grrrr.”

Two wolves walked into view. A surge of panic slammed into my brain, which forced my legs into action. I flipped to my feet and pulled out my staff as they stared at me. This pair obviously hadn’t hunted for me specifically, but my appearance gave them a perfect target.

They howled and charge towards me. One ducked low to the ground whilst the other leapt at my face. It was a perfect combination attack.

But I was faster by a hair.

I dropped to one knee and pushed my staff towards them. The wolf that had leapt at my face sailed over my head and rolled into the water behind me as my staff slammed horizontally into its comrade's jaws. Before the wolf could react to the new object in its mouth, I grabbed it by the throat and tossed it into the river with all my strength.

In the distance, I once again heard the wolf pack’s howls. They had heard the commotion made by my attackers and were on my trail once more. The distance I had created vanished in an instant, and now the river was no longer an option. If I swam downstream, they would just follow until I left. If I crossed over to confuse them, the wolves on the far side would catch me without much difficulty.

“Damn it!” I slammed my staff against a nearby tree. It didn’t help much, but at least my frustration was vented a little before I set off alongside the river. The two wolves pulled themselves out of the river and fled into the forest. Their yips and whines were lost in the cacophony raised by the main pack who closed in behind me.

Then another set of howls rose up in front of me.

Great, now I have a choice of which wolves will rip me to shreds.

I cast about wildly as though my saviour would appear at the last second if I believed in it enough. No one appeared, so the only path left to me was to stall for time. After a quick calculation, I chose the tallest tree ran towards it. It was a difficult climb, but I managed to reach the top as the first wolf dashed up to its base.

More joined it with each second. The tree was close enough to the river that I could dive in if needed, but they would most likely either follow at the side of the river or jump in to take me down. If I had to fight a few wolves in the middle of a river, I wasn’t sure how much of a defense I could put up.

More wolves ran into the area from the other side. The two factions lined up across from each other. One side hunted me in revenge for their lost members whilst the other side had been joined by the two sopping wet wolves who had crawled out of the river.

Both sides wanted my skin, but they had to work out how to share it first.

The alpha wolves of both packs approached each other. At first, I hoped they would turn against each other but, after a few minutes, they seemed to come to an agreement. The pack which had chased me through the forest moved in around the tree and scratched at its trunk.

“Now!”

A yell came from the forest. Before the wolves could react, a large team of people rushed into the area. The wolves outnumbered them, but the leaders of the group were heavily armed and armoured. They took the initial hit whilst their allies cut into the pack from behind.

Wolves fell like wheat as the men and women reaped their way up to my tree. At first, I had a wild hope they had come to rescue me, but not a single one of them glanced in my direction. The two packs made a feeble attempt at a counter-attack but they failed to make any headway.

So the survivors fled off into the forest.

“Anyone injured?” A large man shouted at the group. A few people had minor cuts and bruises, but the short scuffle had been a massive victory for them. The man nodded happily before he turned and looked up into my tree. “Oh, I wondered what had the wolves so mad. What did you do, friend?”

The man grinned up at me. Compared to the wolves, who had only wanted to eat me, his smile was more concerning…

These people are bandits. I guess this works.

“I killed a few of them, but more kept appearing. Eventually, I had to run.” I jumped out of the tree and landed in front of the man. The impact hurt my legs, but I did my best to act like it hadn’t affected me at all. “Damn wolves, don’t know their place. We should just wipe them out.”

“We?” The large man raised an eyebrow at my suggestion. “And why would ‘we’ do such a thing, friend?”

“Well, I came to join up with the bandits.” I gave the man a wide smile. “Maybe I can tag along with you, I’m getting a bit bored anyway. Sounds good, yeah?”