“The scent of campfires carries on the wind.” Skovi growled as he eyed the mountain range.
Ania’s eyebrows shot up in curiosity. ‘We must be getting close to where they’ll exit the mountains. If they haven’t already.’ She turned her eyes to those tall peaks as she tried to catch sight of any columns of smoke. However, with all the snow falling over them, it was difficult to make out anything.
“Skovi, do you mind scouting for any hidden paths that an army could use? We have to find out the exact location they will descend from.” Ania asked as she petted the giant wolf. Over the course of their journey, she had felt as if they had become quite close.
Skovi growled before setting off. The other survivors of his pack joined him along the way. Ania turned towards the centre of their camp and made her way through the resting warriors towards her father. He was deep in conversation with Bjorn and Thovok, concerning the battle to come. They wore concerned expressions as they stared into the fire between them.
“What is it, Ania?” Harik asked with a complicated expression when he noticed her approaching them.
“Skovi is scouting the mountains. He may have discovered traces of our enemy.” Ania watched how the three of them would react to that news.
Harik’s expression turned grim, while Bjorn laughed. However, she could not read Thovok at all. Harik let out a long sigh as he glanced at all of them.
“Let the men rest until Skovi discovers where we should expect to meet the enemy. It will be better for us if the enemy arrives exhausted while we are well-rested. We might need to employ hit and run tactics until the others that Exile mentioned arrive.” Harik stated as he made sure everyone understood what he was saying.
In other words, this would not be a head-on battle as they were used to. They had to be smart about this one to keep the enemy in a disadvantageous position. They could not afford for the Sommerdan army to find their footing, or entrench themselves on this side of the mountain. It would even be better if they could make them concerned enough to stay in the mountain range where there was little food or safe shelter for them to camp.
Thovok nodded in agreement. However, he felt it would be better for his dwarven troops to start harassing the enemy as soon as they were found. But Harik denied this. It would make the enemy wary of staying in the mountains. Forcing them to come out because of desperation. An army with no safe space behind them could be a nightmare to deal with.
Thovok slowly relented as he saw the truth of the matter. But that did not stop him from complaining. If the situation were different, he would prefer top attempt to force the Sommerdans to retreat right away. But he knew that the other pieces of the plan were not in place yet. They needed the Sommerdans to pose a threat so that Exile’s plan to take Stormcrown could come to fruition.
Thovok made a mental note of how Exile was planning to accomplish this in case it could be of use to his King if the gods ever left again. ‘I guess this can only be done as quickly due to the nature of the gods… We would have to set up outposts to relay the messages quickly.’ He noticed Bjorn staring at him intently even while making light of the war that was about to begin…
Meanwhile, Skovi sprinted through the snow quickly. Sniffing at the air to pinpoint where the scent of the enemy campfires was coming from. His attention constantly shifted from one area to another. ‘They are spread out.’
His senses told him there were many fires burning in the mountain range. However, it was clear to him that they were not all bundled together. Meaning there would be weak points. He made a mental note to relay this information to Ania.
‘Perhaps the humans can do something with it…’ He knew that humans could be tricky, so he would leave it to them.
He growled at his companions and had them split up to search for possible paths. Telling them to make sure they were wide enough to host many humans and not something they themselves would use. Before they left, he made sure to warn them not to hunt or get too close to any humans that they found.
This was so that they did not leave any signs of their passing that could put the Sommerdans on alert.
As they split up and went their separate ways, he sensed powerful auras descending from the heavens. ‘Master was right… Their gods have arrived. They must be close!’
He grew concerned as he felt more of those auras arriving. There seemed to be no end to it, even if they were coming slightly spaced out. He started to move more quickly, eager to discover the enemy’s intentions as soon as possible. He did not want to linger, as he did not know if they would sense his connection with Exile. After all, anything was possible when it came to the gods!
Skovi carefully planned how he would advance. He studied the position of those auras he could feel, to see if any of them moved in his direction. ‘It seems like they haven’t noticed…’ Skovi thought as his sharp eyes pierced the blinding snow. A loud howl came from his left, it was a signal that a path had been found.
Soon, he heard the other remnants of his pack answering the call. He refrained from calling out himself. He did not want to draw too much attention to them. Skovi was like a ghost as he dashed through the snow, reaching the wolf, who had alerted them before the others. As the others joined them, Skovi glared at the grey-coloured wolf.
She whined as she pointed towards the mountain range with her snout. Skovi peered in that direction and eventually saw what she was pointing at. There was a cave partway up the mountain. The ground was not too rough between them and that cave. ‘Hm? Does it have another exit then?’
Short growls came out of his throat as his meagre pack gathered around him. They moved together as they approached the mouth of it. Slipping into the darkness within. The air was crisp and clean in their nostrils. But it was coming from deeper within. ‘The airflow, there is definitely another entrance!’
He quickly growled to tell the grey-coloured she-wolf that she had done a good job spotting it before taking the lead. The cave was long, tall, and wide. More than enough for an army to pass through in decent numbers at a time. There were no branching paths, so it was impossible to get lost. Skovi sniffed at the air, but there was nothing unusual.𝘯𝘰𝘷𝘭．𝑜𝘳𝘨
‘Seems like no humans have found it yet. But they should not be far off.’ The pack hurried on when he confirmed the lack of enemy presence. Even with their speed, it took them half a day until the exit came into view. From there, the smell of food cooking on open fires was extremely strong.
The path beyond the exit was hidden by high ridges on either side and was only slightly slimmer than the tunnel they had just come through. It was clear that the path would not pose much of a hindrance. Meaning the enemy army would not have to endure much hardship as they crossed the last leg of their journey.
Skovi let out a low growl, ordering one of the older wolves among them to sneak forward and take a look around the bend. He wanted to know just how close the enemy was. The wolf obediently crept forward. Making only the slightest of sounds that only the sharpest of ears would be able to hear.
Skovi kept his eyes fixed on his companion, as the wolf hesitated before sticking its head around the corner. Whoosh! Blood and the wolf’s severed head went flying through the air as Skovi barked for them to retreat! A large man, carrying a long curved sword, came around the corner while laughing.
“Well, what do we have here?” He asked as he stroked his neatly trimmed beard. His tanned skin in stark contrast to the white of the snow flowing around him. “Seems like we have a few rats… Are you looking for scraps, little pups?”
Skovi snarled at the man as the others fled back into the tunnel. ‘He reeks of divinity. How did I not notice him?’ Skovi had a strange feeling that it would be dangerous to turn his back on this man. He was definitely a human, but he gave him the same kind of vibe as he got whenever he was around Bjorn. That alone made him concerned. It was important information that he had to make sure the others found out about… At any cost.