Awwoooooooooooh!

The mournful howl of the dire wolf flew outward like a shock. In front of me, I saw Lucina stumble under the pressure. Mia and Frank both backpedaled a step or two, and even Ajax, who was built like a stone wall, brought his hammer before him to absorb some of the force.

The wolves stalked towards the campsite, muscles rippling under their rich pelt. Each step they took only increased the mounting pressure and fear that their aura emitted.

Then, without warning, the alpha of the pack pounced towards the hunters!

Ajax, with reactions and agility that belayed his massive build, brought his hammer up, but it was just a fraction of a second too slow. His senses slightly dulled by the howl, the wolves claws flew closer and closer to his chest. But the fatal attack never landed. A sudden blast of wind, conjured by Lucina, knocked the wolf off the lethal dive.

 The alpha wolf snarled as it skidded to a halt, saliva dripping from its foot-long fangs and eyes glowing red with anger. The arrogant gleam in those hateful eyes and smooth, shiny pelt told us that this wolf had never once suffered an injury in combat before us. And, for the crime of injuring an apex predator, he would make us pay.

With a howl, all six of the wolves jumped in unison at the hunters, and the quiet campsite quickly devolved into a nightmare.  

Lucina, an assassin type hunter, quickly dispatched of one of the wolves with a swift stab of her daggers to the back of the skull. But, the wolves were unbelievably resilient, and as if possessed by some undying will, the wolf twisted around and raked its claws down her chest even as blood poured out of a hole in its neck. The wolf collapsed, but Lucina fell with it. Bella’s anguished cry rang out through the campsite as she sprinted over and began desperately chanting healing spells.

One opportunistic wolf saw Bella’s back turned, and leaped towards her, ready to kill her and then the assassin.

WHAM!

Ajax’s war hammer slammed into the wolf’s ribcage, cracking a bone and sending the wolf flying through the air. He stepped in front of the injured assassin and the healer, his body language telling the wolves they would have to get through him to hurt his friends. But the wolf was not one to back down from a challenge. Recovering with cat-like grace unbefitting of a canine, it turned and leapt back towards Ajax with blinding speed, leaving the big vanguard with no choice but to desperately parry the slashes and bites with the handle of his hammer.

Meanwhile, my mother, Frank, and Mia had formed a circle, and were desperately fending off the four remaining wolves. Frank’s sword sung through the air, the flames forming a pinwheel of fire and death that knocked the wolves back, but the wolves’ pelts protected them from the flames and blades. Mia’s gauntlets crashed into wolf after wolf with devastating force, but the mana that the wolves had consumed had strengthened their bodies and they only suffered minor injuries from the crushing impact. My mother’s rapier flickered and through the air, blocking every attack that flew towards her and then striking back with the speed of a snake, but her thin blade amounted to only small scratches on the wolves. 

For the moment, both sides were evenly matched. Ajax’s defense was rock solid against the unending savagery of the wolf, and slowly but surely, he was gaining the upper hand as the wolf expended more and more of its stamina. Frank, Mia, and mother were holding their own against the wolves, and with each strike against the predators they managed to injure the wolves more and more.

My father’s hands trembled around my body in indecision. I could tell that every bone in his body wanted to go and stand by mother to fight together, but he also abhorred the idea of leaving me alone, exposed to be picked off by any of the wolves. Several times, when my mother’s rapier was a fraction slower than normal, he almost picked up his longsword, but the sideways glances from the wolves told him that if he left, I would almost certainly be pounced on by one of the beasts. In the end, my father remained in front of me, watching with intent focus as the rest of the Knightly Bards fended off the savage assault.

But the hunters were also being worn down. Franks’ breaths were coming in heaving gasps as he continued to swing his longsword in arcing circles at the wolves, his flames growing dimmer and dimmer. My mother’s lightning-fast strikes began to show signs of slowing down as she gasped for breath.  This was now a battle of attrition, and whichever side ran out of stamina first would certainly fall.

Then, just as the alpha struck once again at my mother, disaster! As she coolly raised her rapier to parry the strike, her foot caught on a knot of grass, sending her stumbling towards the incoming strike. With the speed and grace of a master duelist, she managed to flick her sword up to block it, but the swing left her side exposed to the other wolves. Another wolf immediately pounced towards her, and though she was already moving her sword to block the attack, she wasn’t going to make it!

Ajax’s hammer swung through the air and crashed into the wolf facing him one last time, finally crushing its ribcage. He turned to save my mother, but he was too far away. Frank and Mia were both locked in combat with another wolf, desperately parrying the ferocious assault. Lucina lay on the ground, still unconscious from her injuries. Bella had finished healing her but was also left exhausted from the effort of healing such a major wound. There was no one else to help her. My mother’s eyes locked onto mine as the wolf drew closer and closer to her body. I could make out her lips moving as she mouthed to me. 

“Goodbye, Gilan.”