The tracks of the dire wolf were easy to pick up. Blood was flecked along the route and it made no attempt at stealth. It had run for a couple of miles and then settled into a walk. As the false dawn started to light the sky, Niall called a halt. The trail led into a clearing created by the fall of an immense tree. As it had fallen, the tree had crushed a number of its lesser brethren that propped it up in places, creating dark shelters that would remain lightless even in the middle of the day.

Niall looked into the clearing. Injured as it was, he would bet his life that the dire wolf had holed up here for the day. In fact, maybe betting his life was exactly what he was doing. He gestured to the others to retreat and then, leaving the others hidden, he traced a wide circle around the clearing. Stealth rather than speed was what mattered here and by using Soft Step, he had the best chance of staying undetected. As he swept the area, he used his Tracking Skill to the fullest.

As he returned to the others, he gestured to them to retreat further.

“I couldn’t see any signs that the dire wolf had left the clearing,” he said in a low voice. “This is it. It’s in there. We just have to go and flush it out.”

“But how?” Tierra asked. “There are multiple spots where it could be hiding. We start to poke around in there and it will just ambush us and pick us off one by one.”

A plan started to form in Niall’s head. “This is going to sound a little crazy, but just hear me out.”

Quarter of an hour later everything was ready. The others had objected but Niall pulled rank as Patrol Leader and insisted. It didn’t stop them objecting but he had, finally, gained their agreement.

Niall took a deep breath and stepped into the clearing. His spear at the ready he slowly approached the tree using Soft Step to mask his footsteps. The grey light of the dawn did little to illuminate the dark pockets around the tree, and the only sound was of birds starting to welcome the sun. There was no sign of the dire wolf.

Niall stabbed his spear into a dark space his sight could not penetrate. Nothing. He kept moving round using Soft Step to clamber over branches as quietly as he could. Still nothing.

Then, a heavy weight slammed into his side and Niall went flying to the ground. The dire wolf had seen him coming and had not waited to be flushed out. It was only because Niall was expecting an attack that he managed to force the shaft of his spear sideways into the creature’s mouth. The weight of the dire wolf pinned him to the ground and it was all he could do to keep his arms free. Compared to the power of this creature, his strength was as nothing. The battle to stop the dire wolf from biting him was one he was, inevitably, going to lose.

Heavy blows from the dire wolf’s front paws beat against his arms. The awkward angle was the single thing that stopped the razor-sharp claws from slashing him to the bone. As it was, he could feel his flesh tearing and bruising, and his bones straining. He would not be able to take many blows before his arms broke. The hot breath of the dire wolf washed over him and it gnawed at the spear jammed in its jaws. With a snap, the thick shaft of the spear gave way. Niall shut his eyes and braced himself for the inevitable. His plan had failed.

Then the weight was gone. Niall opened his eyes to see Huff and Tierra facing off against the dire wolf. They were approaching it from opposite sides and the dire wolf was not able to approach one without exposing itself to the other. Niall dropped the, now useless, halves of the spear and rose to his feet. Drawing his sword, and picking up the shield he had dropped, he ran forward. With gritted teeth he forced his injured arms through the pain and slashed his blade deep into the back of the dire wolf’s hind leg.

With a yelp the dire wolf whirled towards Niall. It started to prepare to leap and then stopped with one of its back legs hanging useless. Before Niall could attack again, Huff and Tierra ran in. Their spears jabbed into its flanks. The dire wolf snarled and retreated a few steps, its back to the fallen tree trunk.

Without discussion the three Militia advanced slowly. The dire wolf was bleeding from numerous wounds and its movements were starting to slow. It looked from one recruit to the other. Either side of Niall, Huff and Tierra crouched behind their shields. Their spears pointed outward and were stained with the dire wolf’s blood.

Niall stood with his sword in a ready position. The dire wolf turned his black gaze to Niall and his lips pulled back over his teeth to expose his cruel, curved canines. Before any of the three could react, the dire wolf bounded forward dragging its damaged leg behind him.

Time seemed to slow for Niall as the dire wolf pounced. His mind raced, then he stopped thinking. If his time working on his spear skill with Lupa had come through for him with the other dire wolf, it was now the hours of training with Trintor that let his body unconsciously assume the correct stance. As the dire wolf’s body hammered into him Niall angled his sword and braced himself. For the second time in as many minutes, Niall felt himself borne to ground by the greater weight, and superior strength, of the dire wolf. This time however, he knew exactly what he was going to do.

Razor-sharp from hours of honing, Niall’s blade slipped up under the dire wolf’s chin into its skull. Its attack stalled, the dire wolf fell to the ground. The blade was wrenched from Niall’s grasp as the dire wolf collapsed. Tired, weaponless, and wounded, Niall only just managed to roll out the way as the body dropped. The other two Militia jumped in. Their spears repeatedly stabbed into the dire wolf and while its huge body spasmed under the onslaught, but the fight was over.

Niall pushed himself up on his arms and looked around for anything he could use as a weapon. Then, as the dire wolf gave a final shudder and lay still, he collapsed to the ground in turn. His arms were a bruised mess and he could feel sharp pain in side that suggested he had broken a rib. However, despite the pain, he exulted in a sense of jubilation. They had done it.

Huff and Tierra stayed where they were for a few moments longer to ensure the dire wolf was truly dead before withdrawing their spears and walking over to Niall.

Tierra crouched next to him as he started to heal himself and shook her head. “You crazy idiot. Using yourself as bait was a terrible idea.”

Niall gave her a tired grin. “It worked though, didn’t it? Let’s get back”

It took them a couple of hours to get back to the charcoal makers’ camp. Niall had managed to heal everything on the way besides a troublesome open slash on his arm and his broken ribs. He had bound both of them up though. While they still caused him pain, he was able to function. The camp was empty or people when they arrived and it took another couple of hours for them to catch up with the others on the road to the village.

Tate was burning with fever and moaning in pain as she lay on the cart. The bodies of the dire wolves had also been loaded onto the cart and Tate was propped up against the side of one of them. “How is she?” Niall asked Jenna.

Jenna looked at him wearily. “Getting worse. She went into this delirium a few hours ago. I can’t get her out of it. I’m glad you’re here. It’s going to take all of us pushing Spirit into her just to keep her alive until we get to the village.”

It took the rest of the day before the cart pulled into Low Vale. Over the course of the day, they had all pushed their Spirits into Tate. The others took breaks to replenish their Spirit before they returned but Niall walked beside Tate the whole time. He had fallen into a deep state of Flow as he did so, not taking any breaks, but instead, drawing in Spirit and then immediately pushing it into her.

At some point as he walked, he realised he had healed the open wound on his arm as they went. He shook his head. He had been so focussed on cycling his Spirit around, he had not even noticed what he had done to himself. He touched the bandage he had wrapped around his ribs and winced. They were still broken.

Niall was staggering with tiredness and pain and worry when they arrived. Tate had stopped moaning around midday and now just lay silent and pale in the cart. It was only the slight rise and fall of her chest that showed she was still with them.

As they entered the village square, Niall pushed Huff toward the Inn. “Go get Elder Everest.”

He looked at the others. “Don’t stop pushing Spirit into her.”

He then staggered across the square and banged on the door of the temple. It took a few moments before the door opened and a priest in green robes opened the door. He was thin, with sparse grey hair combed over to hide a balding pate.

He recoiled a step at the sight of the dirty and bloodied man in front of him “Yes?” he said.

Niall gestured at the cart. “Help her. She has been attacked by dire wolves.”

The Priest opened his eyes wide and hurried over to the cart. He gestured to Elder Everest and the other people that had flooded out of the Inn behind Huff. “Lift her carefully. Bring her inside. Oh dear, oh dear, or dear.”

Niall, Huff and Tierra were joined by numerous willing hands as they carried Corporal Tate into the temple. The priest led them into a room and had them lay her onto the bed inside. For a few minutes there was silence as the priest examined Tate. Niall contained his impatience by focussing on Meditating to refill his Spirit. He had drained it continually on the trip back to town so it needed replenishing.

Eventually the priest stood up. His face was grim. “So can you fix her?” Niall asked.

The priest was silent for a long moment. “I don’t think I can.” “He held up a hand to forestall Niall’s protests. “Her wounds have gone deep and they have got infected. It is all very bad, very bad indeed. There’s also some delicate nerve damage. While some may be able to do it, I’m not skilled enough to be able to heal that myself. It would need at least two full Healers. After me, the nearest Healer is two days hard ride away. By the time she arrived, your friend will be dead. I am sorry. I will do everything I can to ease her passing.”

Niall looked at the man’s back as he leant back over Tate. He clenched his fist and he could feel the fury at his impotence rising in his chest.

“Niall is a Healer now.”

“What?”

“Trust me. Niall evolved on the journey back but he was too drained to notice. Pobble will take Niall through his Testimony later, but, for now, maybe Niall should tell the priest.”

“I am a Healer.” Niall said.

The priest looked at him with sorrow in his eyes. “I’m sorry, young man. This needs a full Healer. An Acolyte won’t be able to manage it.”

“I am a Healer 1. I don’t have a lot of experience, but tell me what to do and I’ll do it.”

The priest looked at him sharply. “I know you want to help your friend, but don’t say this if it’s not true. What I have planned will kill us all if you’re lying. Kill us all, I tell you.”

Niall grabbed the priest by the front of his robe and pulled him close. “Stop messing me around. I’m not lying. Just tell me what to do.”

The priest looked Niall in the eyes and slowly peeled his robe out of his clutches. “OK. Just Meditate to fill your Spirit while I prepare. This is going to take everything you can give. It is not a good idea, oh no it’s not, but we have a chance.”

Niall sat on a nearby chair and started to Meditate. Weariness permeated every part of his being but, even at the risk of falling asleep, he closed his eyes to ensure he could replenish his Spirit as quickly as possible. As he meditated, it felt as if his stores of Spirit were larger than he remembered. He did not know if it was the evolution into a full Healer or the way he had ground out his reserves to keep pushing his Spirit into Tate on the way back to town, but he definitely had more Spirit than before.

As he sat there, he tried again to Heal the broken ribs he had not been able to fix earlier. It felt strange but he felt them move back into place and knit together. His ability to Heal had clearly improved. The question was whether he had improved enough to be able to save Tate.

He opened his eyes as he sensed a flurry of activity around him. The last of the villagers were being ushered out of the room. It was just him, the priest and Tate left. While he had been Meditating, Tate had been taken out of her armour and washed. With a simple plain robe on and her pale body utterly still, she appeared to Niall as if she were a corpse ready for burial.

With a flustered look on his face the priest came up to him. “How are your Spirit levels?”

“I would guess I’m around three-quarters full.”

The priest grimaced. “Oh me, oh my, that is less than ideal, but it will have to be enough. I dare not wait any longer. No, no, no. If we don’t start in the next few minutes, I don’t think she is going to make it.”

Niall stood up and shook off his weariness. “Then let’s begin.”