Bjorn's eyes flickered open to discover that he was inside of a cave. The mouth of which was nearby, allowing him to see the snow and trees of the forest outside. But that did not reassure him. For he also saw furry masses curled up against his body. The heat they gave off staved off the cold of the winds from outside, but Bjorn could not help but gulp.
He came to the conclusion that he was to be their next meal. It was likely they were keeping him alive so that his meat would be fresh when it was time to eat. Bjorn let out a soft groan as he tried to move, but the flicker of a nearby wolf's ears made him hesitate. It was then that he realised that he felt no pain from his wound.
Slowly, he looked down at his blood-stained leather armour. His hand gently slid across it until he could poke at the hole with his fingers. His eyes went wide as his mind became blank with confusion. His wound was gone! 'That's right... I should have died!' Bjorn frowned as he lay there, breathing softly. Trying not to disturb the surrounding wolves.
"I can smell your fear..." A growl mixed with human words came from somewhere in the dark of the cave. "Sit up, human. So that we may speak properly..."
Bjorn held his breath. The voice was eerie and did not sound human at all. He began to imagine the old monsters and such in the book. 'If the gods have returned, then why wouldn't they?' Bjorn groaned as he realised there was no point in trying to deceive the owner of that voice.
He slowly raised his upper body into a sitting position as his eyes peered into the darkness. Suddenly, he found two large golden eyes staring back at him. But that was all that he saw. He could not make out any other features of what those eyes belonged to.
"What... are you?" Bjorn hesitantly asked those large eyes with a grim expression.
"What I am, does not matter." The voice growled as the eyes remained fixed on Bjorn. "I have healed your wounds, human. You should return to your own kind now. You will be needed out there. I would hurry if I were you..."
"Why would you do that?" Bjorn stammered, struggling to understand why a monster would save him from death only to set him free. "And why do I need to hurry?"
The sound of thunder rumbled outside as a flash of lightning illuminated the wolves around him. But the owner of those eyes remained in darkness. "Because... My master sounds angry... Now go!"
Bjorn jumped upright at the menacing tone in the voice. 'Perhaps now isn't the time to argue with a monster...' The wolves around him stirred at the sudden movement as they opened a clear path to the entrance to the cave. They sat upright as they sniffed the air and stared at Bjorn as he carefully walked amongst them. Afraid that the monster now behind them would give them the order to attack at any moment.
However, the wolves watched him silently as he crossed the threshold and sped off into the darkness. 'Such frail creatures...' Another rumble of thunder sounded, making the wolves shrink back against the sudden burst of light. 'I should report this to Master.' Skovi glanced at the wolves before issuing the order for them to follow Bjorn and make sure he arrived safely to his own kind without noticing their presence. The wolves howled in response before Skovi connected to Exile through their link.
'Master...' Skovi hummed as the link went through.
[What is it? Has something happened already?]
'One of the humans who reeks of your aura almost died. I was forced to save him...'
Silence resounded in Skovi's mind as he waited for Exile's response. There was no telling what his Master was thinking with that piece of news.
[Tell me everything that happened...]
Skovi took his time to explain about the armies of humans who kept coming from all directions to ambush Harik's force. He and his wolves had taken care of several of them. Usually, they scattered once they saw their leaders in a gory mess in the snow. Which relieved a lot of the pressure that Harik would have had to face otherwise. However, they could not intercept them all. There were too many of them and the intervals between ambushes were becoming shorter the further they travelled.
Skovi was almost certain that he could hear a sigh on the other end. But that was likely only his imagination playing tricks on him. After a pause, Skovi dropped the bombshell that there were gods actively taking part in mortal affairs. Skovi scoffed at their strength. So far none of them had managed to put up what he would consider a fight.
But that was because of his healing powers. His pack never had to worry with him around and any injuries he sustained he could fix almost instantly. Plus, it helped that they always managed to launch a surprise attack, catching them unawares.
[How bad is it? Do I need to dispatch several gods to ease the burden?]
Skovi hummed in his mind as he considered that question. If several gods were to descend, then Harik's journey and subsequent battles would go a lot easier. So far, he had only sensed a couple of auras that were linked to Exile. But they did not appear to be taking part in the battles. They always sped off to somewhere on the horizon.
'I would advise you to take this action, Master. I can not promise to protect all of them who smell strongly of your divinity with all of the chaos in these battles. Sooner or later, i will be forced to reveal my presence more openly.' Skovi eventually conceded, knowing that Exile wanted him to remain a secret for now.
[Thank you, Skovi. I'll send some people to take care of it. Help them if you can. It's alright for you to reveal yourself to them. These are gods that I trust.]
'Will you not be taking care of this yourself?' Skovi asked with mild surprise. His tail swished in the darkness.
[No... I have a lot to take care of up here. I can't descend for every little thing. And soon, you may be needed up here as well. I'll let you know beforehand so you can get your pack to a safe place.]
'Understood, Master.' Skovi shut his eyes as the link between them cut off. His eyes reopened to stare into the darkness of the cave and the world outside. 'Hm... Master is worried. I could feel it in his voice.' A low growl escaped from the wolf's throat as if to warn the world. His massive frame stood up in the darkness, before racing out into the blanket of night.
Meanwhile, Bjorn wheezed as he tried to catch his breath. He was following a now shallow trail in the snow that led through the forest. He assumed it was the mark left by whatever the monster was the brought him to the cave. 'If I follow this, I should find Harik and Ania...'
He had already run pretty far, but he could not shake the feeling that something was out there, watching him. That constant fear kept him from thinking clearly. If he stopped to regain his cool for a moment, he would have realised that the monster had given him a clue as to who he served and that he was actually in no danger at all. But humans are funny like that. Fear clouds their judgement and makes small events seem much worse than they actually were.
Like the creak of wood when you were alone at home. Surrounded by darkness. A reflection in a window seems distorted, like something is creeping up behind you. This was the state of mind of Bjorn at this moment. He saw a monster in every tree branch and every mound of snow. Eventually, he came to see the orange glow of fire between the trees and the sounds of his fellow humans.
Though relief did not quite come to his mind yet, it would not until he was safe among their number. As he saw the first silhouette of another human, his mind started to go over what he had experienced. The fear warped his memory and made everything appear twisted in his mind. He knew it would be hard to convince the others of the great beast that was so very close to them.
'This will have to be entered into the book!' That was all that he could think. The story of the wolves in the dark who carried off fallen warriors. And if there was some use for them still, how the guardian of the cave would return their souls to their body and cast them back out to the battlefield...