Yoshi watched the creatures as the wandered along the Hot Sands. They had decided to move at night, making it a little easier for the wolves. But they carried small lights, much like the sun, that illuminated an area around them. Not very big, but enough to deter the wolves from attacking.

So they stayed in the safety of the trees, watching the creatures and waiting for their chance to strike. They followed them as they went south. Yoshi was getting a bit concerned by this. Not from the creatures though. He wasn’t sure what Kamide might do if they were discovered in Oak Wood territory.

With what had happened to his own clan members when in Crystal Glade territory. It made him more cautious when travelling this way. Maybe Koga had known that. Koga was smarter than the average wolf. And he seemed to know things that no one else had bothered asking about.

It intrigued Yoshi. It was something about Kabian, but he couldn’t quite figure out what. Whatever it was it was strong enough reason in his mind to give his whole clan to a wolf not much older than a pup. They had just followed him too. Maybe he had told them, and they too were keeping it secret.

Whatever it was played constantly on his mind. Distracted him a little that he almost missed it when the creatures had stopped.

He surveyed them, counting how many were there. And which ones seemed to be the most dangerous. Fifteen. Just shy of an entire wolf clan. But they should be able to take them on. The ones with what Kabian called Thunder Sticks were supposed to be the most dangerous.

He sniffed the air. They smelt of fear though. He sniffed again. There was another smell in there too. But not belonging to the creatures with the thunder sticks. This smell came from two creatures holding back a little. One carried something on his back. While the other stood tall and broad shouldered.

The tall one smelt of danger. Of hunting. The smell just before a wolf pack left on a hunt. But the shorter one smelt like the Longtooth. As if he knew things ordinary creatures didn’t.

Yoshi was a little confused now. They had just been standing there, pulling some items from the packs.

* * *

Tristram was a little concerned. And the pack on his back weighed him down a lot. He wasn’t sure what their leader was doing, but he seemed to be doing something. Tristram was just glad to be standing still.

He and Lugh had been lumped in with the mercenary captain. The Captain had his own squad and had made sure to bring them with him. He said they were trust worthy. Tristram made sure to listen closely to everything that was said.

Six men with muskets settled on their right knee, left leg forward. They held their muskets at the ready. The other men had started pulling some small jugs out of their supply packs. He couldn’t tell what was in them, but it was a strange thing to do.

“I do not like the look of this, Priest.”

Lugh had leaned in close to whisper to him. The big hunter had been asked to accompany him by the Head Priest.

The Head Priest had sat there in his chair when Tristram had come to him with some more information the next day. He had still been sitting there with his fingers templed in front of him.

“I am fearful young Tristram.”

“The creature I saw puts fear in my too, Sir.” He bowed his head low as he spoke.

“That is not what I mean. I do not think there needs to be a rush into this. I fear what the Lords may do with what they find on the island.”

“You think there may be something there?”

“Well, there are wolves there. And by the sound of it this Lord means to take one alive. To what end I do not know. I thought he preferred collecting the deceased, stuffing them and putting them on his mantle.”

“What is it you propose sir?”

“You will get aboard the ship, it will not be hard. It sounds like he is open to anyone. Take a few scrolls from the stores though. But I suggest you not let anyone know you are a priest of Volg. Some eyebrows may rise over that knowledge.”

Tristram was a little confused at this. He had always been told not to hold his ideals back. But he did know that Priests of Volg were not the most loved priests. Their histories taught them that Volg was the first to abandon the planes of men and leave them to their own devices. Not many followed him now.

“Take a Hunter with you. I am sure the Temple can spare us one for this.”

The High priest seemed to trail off a bit and started thinking, his eyes looking distant. Tristram started backing out the door, thinking the High Priest was finished. Just as he was about to close the door the High Priest spoke again.

“Do not take too much stock in what you already know. There are more surprises out there in this world. I think this one may be for the better. As I may not see you again, take care. But trust in your instincts and you will survive. Be primal.”

Even after thinking about the High Priests last words for the whole voyage he was still unsure what they meant. Lugh might have some idea. He was a hunter from their Forest Temple. Trained in the arts of hunting that had been passed down from Volg. He was tall, and always wore some light form of armour. And he knew what he was talking about.

“What do you mean?” He whispered back.

“I have seen these a few times. I think it may be Alchemical Fire.”

“I have not heard of that. And anyway, this wood is too damp to burn. It would just fizzle out.”

“Do not be so sure. Alchemical Fire burns even on the wettest wood. Its used by pirates when attacking ships.”

“What are they going to do…”

Tristram didn’t get a chance to finish his question as the Mercenary Captain screamed for his men to fire. Tristram thought for a moment the muskets were going to fire, but he was wrong.

The men with the jars had loaded them in to large slings and were swinging them around their heads. As their Captain yelled they launched the jars into the air. The jars sailed over the first line of trees and continued on for a while. Then they crashed into the canopy.

Each one burst into fire as they struck the trees and the jars broke. They burned strong, and a crackling noise started. Soon a wall of flame was lighting up the sky.

He heard a noise then from the trees in front of them. One of the creatures rushed forward, looking over its shoulder. The muskets fired and it went down. A few were still waiting.

It seemed that the Mercenary Captain had known the creatures were in front of them, watching them. More rushed from the trees. Muskets fired and they dropped very quickly. Three of the beast now lay on the sand between the trees and the men.

Animals now shot from the trees. Birds, deer, rabbits, all kinds of animals. The hunters paid them no mind though, and the animals split to go around them, splashing into the water of the ocean.

Tristram watched in horror at what was going on. Another of the creatures came from the trees and went down in a heap. This wasnt a hunt, this was a massacre. The fire raged stronger and the animals were now flooding out.

The Mercenary Captain screamed at his men over the sound of the animals. Slowly they moved towards the trees, towards the first of the beasts that lay on the ground, still.

Tristram now thought he knew what the High Priest had meant by instincts. The fire raged strong and it was his will that would put it out. He needed to, or the animals homes would be destroyed. Rage built inside of him, but he cooled it.

Lugh looked at the little priest, and could see the cold stare in his eyes. He drew the bow from his and nocked an arrow in it.

“Do what you must priest. I am here to protect you.”

Tristram nodded. The world seemed to slow around him as he realised what he needed to do to end the fire. Gunshots took a long time to reach their targets. Animals thundered past in slow motion, even the sound of their hooves hitting the ground seemed to be stretched out.

He reached into the coat he wore and pulled forth a small tube. He held the tube in his left hand, directly in front of him. His right hand came up and grabbed a tab of paper that was sticking out of the tube. He whipped his arms apart then, pulling a scroll from the tube with a slight whirring sound.

The Mercenary Captain heard the sound and turned around, still in slow motion in Tristram's eyes, and pointed at the priest, shouting something. Lugh raised the bow he was holding and released the arrow directly at the mercenary Captain. The arrow hung in the air. Tristram felt as if he could walk over and pluck it from time.

The scroll hung in the air too, and he released it with both hands. It stayed in front of him, curving around his body from left to right. The paper was bordered in red ink, and symbols and writing adorned the face. He couldnt read it, noone could, but when following the right procedure, the words came to your mind.

He brought his left hand up in front him, it now held the small knife he always carried, sercreted away on his body. The arrow was now about halfway to the Mercenary Captain. It seemed like it would never reach him. His right hand came up then, thumb exposed. The knife twisted sideways and his thumb slid across its tip, drawing a small line of red blood.

His right arm then shot to his left side, thumb pressing against the paper floating before him. With precision he dragged his arm in an arc from left to right, tracing a line of blood along the centre of the paper. As his blood passed over the black scratching on the paper they began to glow.

He saw the Mercenary Captain die in that instant, the arrow piercing into his left eye and into his brain. He dropped quickly. But some of his soldiers had turned, facing Tristram and Lugh. The others had shot another of the daemons down. Lugh had another arrow nocked and released it.

Tristram's arms flung backwards, and his head pointed to the sky, as words of power stated dripping from his lips. The scroll slowly floated up into the sky, glowing brighter and brighter in a semblance of red. Then it started.

The flames of the forest fire seemed to be drawn towards the glowing scroll, which was now more of a glowing orb, hanging in the sky above their heads. Piece by piece the flame leapt from the trees and into the orb. It glowed brighter with every flame. The forest fire seemed to be dying as the flames left their source and were dragged into the orb.

The forest fire was stopped quickly, not even a trace of the fire left. No glowing embers, no heat. It had all been taken in by the orb, which now glowed like a sun, and shed nearly as much light. Then it shrunk, falling in on itself. It started to float to the ground.

By the time it reaches Tristram's eye level again it had stopped glowing and was nothing more than a burnt piece of paper, fluttering in the wind, being ripped this way and that. When it touched the ground it was ash.

* * *

Yoshi had watched in horror as the fire had started behind them. It had been so unexpected. there werent many fires in this place, and they were not usualy large. But this one was spreading fast.

He could hear the birds start fleeing, and the deer were coming.

He had watched as the wolves in his care had rushed onto the sand, not making more than a few steps before collapsing in a heap. He was powerless to stop them though, he could not be heard above the other animals rushing past.

Deer started to come very close to him, and he snapped at them a bit. For the most it steered them away, but in so much panic were they, that soon they started ignoring his snaps.

He was struck by a wayward hoof and quickly realised he needed to get out of the way. He dived behind a log and the deer sailed above him. Every now and again though a hoof struck his side. He was soon winded, and having difficulty moving. But he realised he must.

From laying there on the ground he looked up to see a ball of light slowly fade and drop from the sky. He listened intently and couldnt hear the fire. He slowly raised his head and looked behind the log. The fire had stopped. He sniffed. Only a faint burnt smell remained. It was as if a fire hadnt been here for some time, and the forest was now recovering.

He looked out at the creatures. They were now facing each other. He watched one with its arms flung back and head high. The ball of light was falling in front of it.

The ones with the thunder sticks were no longer facing the forest, and slowly he made his way towards its edge. He limped slowly, the wounds in his side causing him much pain.

The thunder sticks fired as he made his way from the trees onto the Sand. He howled as long and loud as he could, but even the creatures in front of him seemed not to hear him. He paced forward some more.

The one at the back suddenly ran. With the other three close behind.

“Could that creature have saved the forest? or was that part of their plan?”

He spoke low and to himself, too tired to think it.

“Why would they be chasing him then?”

He looked at the ground and saw the dead wolves then. Not far from them were dead creatures. Not killed by any wolves though, it seemed they were killed by one of their own. He had failed his kind though. He let out a mournful howl.

Gathering his strength and courage he ran off after the creatures, hoping to catch them in not too long. He couldnt run very far or fast with these wounds, and currently he was pushing himself beyond his own limits.

* * *

Tristram watched it all happen in wonder. Then Lugh crashed into his body, his arms leaping out to catch him. He was bleeding heavily, and his breath came ragged.

“Run”

The last thing he said before he slipped into the abyss of death.

Tristram blinked and looked at what was going on. Men lay dead everywhere, with arrows piercing their bodies. But three still stood, and they were pointing their muskets at Tristram. It took him all of two seconds to follow Lugh's last advice.

He pushed Lugh in their direction, then sped off along the sand towards the south. He realised after this was probably a bad idea, but he could do nothing about it. The three men were hot on his heels now, trying to reload their muskets as they ran.

The beach was dark, just the light of the moon guiding his way. It started to get rocky, and he had to be careful. He heard a noise behind him. He turned and noticed one of the men had fallen, lost in the darkness now.

Another man was kneeling, preparing to fire at Tristram, when a shadow came from behind. It moved with great speed, and in the darkness he could barely tell what is what. But it killed the human and tossed it aside like a rag doll.

The last one chasing him turned and fired at the creature. It took a shot in the side, but leapt forward anyway, sinking its teeth around the humans throat. The human dropped to the ground and the creature looked up at Tristram.

He knew he could not outrun such a beast, and slowly headed off the rocks and back to the sand. The creature started walking towards him, but it was uneasy on its feet. The stopped no more than five feet from each other, and eyed one another warily.

All of a sudden the creature collapsed into the ground. Tristram rushed to its aid, not exactly sure what to do, but he could look. It was still breathing, but shallow. The bullet wound from the musket was only superficial, just grazing the creatures side.

What seemed to be the problem was a series of hoof prints on its side, nearly crushing its lungs. It must have been caught in a stampede caused by the fire. He was surprised it had managed to run this far.

He knew he wasn't far from the supplies, and quickly rushed to them, bringing back what he could. When he came back though, the creature wasnt there. It wasnt far away though. It had tried to make it back to the tree, but had collapsed halfway there.

“Do not be scared. I will not hurt you.”

He spoke soothingly and did what he could for the creature. He started a small fire from debris. He could now see the creature's wounds properly. They would heal well, but he would need time. If the creature wasn't better by morning, he might have to use another scroll.

He wondered, why was he helping this creature? This creature that could have so easily killed him, as it had the others. Maybe that was the reason. Or maybe it was because he felt a kindred spirit for it.

He bandaged up the majority of the wounds and poured a little water into its mouth. As the night began to wear on the creatures breathing eased.