Once again, I finished my story on time. Now that I finished my Private Pilot test and can relax at home for a little while, I can now write a lot easier. I hope you enjoy this next chapter!
 
The air got cold very fast. Before they left, it was pleasant enough, but within a couple hours, the temperature dropped fairly quickly. By this point, they could already see their breath and snow was beginning to fall pretty heavily and cover the ground. Every creature retreated back into shelter. Not even crickets were out, leaving the forest fairly silent except for the sound of snow crunching under wolfen paws.

This sudden change in the weather was causing their travels to take longer than anticipated. Emmaline knew that their demon prisoner’s sleep-inducing mixture wouldn’t last nearly long enough at this rate. Every once in a while, she would place her mixing bowl over the demon’s snout and, with Verik’s help, light it on fire. As it was burning, she would place it directly under the bowl, the smoke rising into the bowl to be inhaled. It wasn’t as strong an effect as the watery solution, Emmaline had explained earlier, but it would keep him sedated until they reached the city.

Many of the pack were quite unhappy about this whole situation. Verik could hear a number of complaints cursing this land and its unpredictable weather changes. However, he did not share these feelings. The silence that this weather brought on was actually quite peaceful. It was easier to focus on his thoughts and cool down his simmering anger.

“So, you’re really going to the humans for help?” Gerrin appeared at Verik’s side.

Verik nodded. “We don’t have much of a choice. We need their help, and they will need ours if we are to defeat these demons. We don’t have time for petty conflict.”

“And you’re positive that they will actually help us?”

“Humans aren’t stupid. They may be violent and strangely vindictive, but they will do whatever they can to survive. Betraying us will do nothing, but harm them. They know that.”

Gerrin chuckled and shook his head. “Brother, you have changed so much. I cannot even imagine you doing anything like this back when I knew you.”

“Oh?” Verik wasn’t in the mood for conversation, but maybe hearing about his childhood might keep his mind off current problems. “What do you mean?”

“A little over a year before Erebos slaughtered our pack, we used to live in a forest far away from here. The place was just beautiful. We were right by this huge waterfall. The plants around us were large and healthy. Not to mention, hunting grounds were bustling with prey all around us.

“Unfortunately, we weren’t able to stay there forever. A couple human hunters were wandering through the forest one early evening. They stumbled across our camp and bolted away in fear. We were hoping that that was going to be the last time we were going to see those two, but sadly it wasn’t.

“They returned with a whole hunting party with them. They tried to kill us all, but we were obviously, too quick for them. We managed to escape with only a few injuries inflicted by their arrows, but no casualties.

“We tried to stay in the area and see if we could reclaim our home, but the humans never left. They eventually built several small cabins, cut down the surrounding trees, and built some more. We knew that there was no way that we would be able to take it back without violence and most likely several deaths on our side, too.

“We didn’t want to take that risk, so we left reluctantly to find a new home. We never really found a good place to live. We went from place to place, finding different areas of the forest, but there were too many human cities and all of the prey were leaving.

“We kept moving on, surviving off of small animals. It kept the hunger pains away, but it couldn’t keep our strength up. We needed more food. There were a couple occasions when we found a few larger creatures that have strayed from their herds, but that was fairly rare.

“The worst tragedy that we faced was once when we found a really weak Kelderan stumbling through the forest alone. It was during a time where we could barely find any food, so we were desperate. We quickly killed it and devoured it, not bothering to try and think through our actions. If we waited longer, we might have been able to detect that the beast was inflicted by a deadly disease, but our hunger clouded our minds.

“Several days later, our whole pack became very ill. At first, our bodies’ energy was severely weakened. We couldn’t keep up our travelling and we definitely couldn’t hunt. Then our vision started to fade, to where we could barely see who was standing right in front of us. Pretty soon afterwards, the pain started. For most of us it was so intense that we couldn’t move any muscle or a pain worse than anything I’ve felt before, would shoot through us, feeling like our bodies were being torn apart.

“A couple fortunate ones recovered before that point and they were able to keep most of us alive, by force feeding us the small prey they caught. Several of our pack died to the disease, including one of our sisters. For the rest of us, the symptoms eventually faded away and we were able to continue travelling in search of a new home, but from that day on, you swore that someday you would kill every last human you see.

“Some time later, we were travelling the hills around this area when we got attacked by Erebos, but were too weak to defend against him. You know the rest.”

Verik rubbed the soft pads of his hands together to keep them warm. “Yeah, for the most part.”

Nobody was speaking for a couple minutes until Keil broke the silence. “I also had a bad encounter with the humans a long while back, but it was almost the exact opposite of your story. Mine happened after my father was ambushed and killed by a human hunting party. My brother, the next in line to lead the pack, promised to avenge him.

“Against his pack’s advice, he led a raid on a passing caravan. Everyone knew it wouldn’t end well, but it was our duty to follow our leader’s orders. As they passed, we rushed them from the cover of the trees. We took them by surprise, and killed several of them before they even knew what was going on. However, we were not expecting them to be so well-armed.

“The tide of the battle quickly turned. Within twenty seconds, after several of the humans drew their swords, four of us were already struck down. My brother called a retreat back into the woods. We ran as fast as we could, but one of the human archers too skilled. His arrow buried itself into the back of my brother’s skull, killing him instantly.

“I was struggling with overwhelming feelings of anger. I wanted to take our pack and kill them all. The humans had killed both my father, my brother, and several friends. However, I knew that, as the new leader of my pack, it was my duty to keep my pack safe.

“Several weeks passed and my emotions calmed down. I realized that no matter what I do, there was no way I could end the conflict between our species with violence. We could make the humans suffer, but in the end, we would all die if it continued.

“So, I got an idea. What if, somehow, we fixed their opinion of us. If we made them realize that we are not the monsters they thought we were, then maybe there could be peace between us. From there, I decided that I would do everything I could to try and make that happen. Unfortunately, I realized that humans are very stubborn and fearful creatures. Not knowing their language is also a problem.

“It wasn’t until you woke up that any progress was made whatsoever.”

Emmaline, who had been silent this whole time, looked over at Gerrin. “What about you? What was your story after the attack?”

Gerrin shrugged. “There isn’t much to it. I woke up in the bottom of a cliff, half-starved to death. I had these wings on my back, and these scales. The bodies of our pack were mostly eaten by scavengers. I presumed that everyone was dead. I would have buried the bodies, but I saw several of the smaller demons approaching from the sky. I fled the area and went into hiding in the canyons, living by myself. That’s pretty much it.”

Emmaline opened her mouth to ask another question, but they heard a sound in the distance. The voices of several humans shouting met their ears along with the all too familiar screeching of a demon. The wolfen pack picked up the pace and climbed the next hill. As they reached the top, they could see the top of the large human castle peaking over the other hilltops in the distance.

Down in the valley below them, Verik could make out a group of five humans, holding ropes tied around a struggling demon. He was impressed that they were able to catch one, though it was most likely only because of the cold weather.

“Let’s go and talk with them. Maybe they will help us into the human city.” Keil said and they trotted down the hill, trying to make their presence known without scaring the humans.

Apparently, they were not successful, because as they got close enough where the humans could hear their footsteps in the snow, they turned around and instantly began to panic. They pulled out iron spikes that hung around their belt, wrapped the rope around them, and drove them quickly into the ground, holding the captured demon in place. They quickly grouped together and extended their swords and spears towards the wolfen pack.

“What do they want?” One of the humans asked in a shaky voice. “Should we kill them?”

The other human looked just as nervous. “The King was clear about what would happen if we did. Just act confident and try to scare them. Maybe they will retreat.”

In unison, all the humans stepped forward with their weapons raised as if to strike and shouted. All the wolfen, except for Emmaline and Verik stepped back, ready to flee, but Verik lifted his hand and motioned for them to wait.

As he stepped forward and with a flick of his claws, all of the humans’ weapons were flung from their hands and sent flying to the side. Their shouting suddenly ceased. “Please, stay calm.” Verik started with a calm and friendly voice. “We do not come with ill intent. We are the pack that worked with your race to kill the demon on the mountain. We seek an audience with the King.”

Before they could respond, he heard a high-pitched raspy voice, speaking the wolfen language coming from behind the humans. “Verik! I could use a little help here.”

Stepping to the side to look over the human’s shoulders at the tied up demon behind them, he recognized the creature instantly. “Myorakk? Is that you?” He had almost given up on their demon friend after so long with no contact. Turning to the humans, he said, “Please, let him go. He’s a friend.”

The human who was in charge stepped forward and crossed his arm. “This monster is your friend?” He asked incredulously.

“As strange as it sounds,” Verik explained, “He is not like the other demons. I don’t know if you know this already, but the demons are all telepathic, but this one, Myorakk is his name, doesn’t have that ability. The other demons considered him an outcast because of it. He found us and then played a crucial part in setting up our attack.”

The human was obviously uneasy about the whole situation. “We will bring you and your…friend to the king’s soldiers, who will then escort you to the king. However, until the king is satisfied with whom he is loyal, he and his kind are still considered an enemy and must remain restrained.”

Verik nodded, annoyed. “Fine. If you are that scared of him, we can oblige for a while, but he will be freed today.”

“It’s not up to me, but the king.” The human stated. “Now, follow me.”

As they were walking, Verik positioned himself next to Myorakk. “I’m sorry, but the humans are still don’t trust you. You’ll have to stay that way until you explain yourself to the king.”

“This wasn’t how I was planning on celebrating my escape.” Myorakk muttered angrily.

He shrugged, as much as he could under the restraints around him. “Fine, whatever, though these better be off me soon, otherwise I will have no problems making a scene.”

“Don’t worry. If they aren’t by the end of the day, I will join you.”

“Do you at least some food with you? I haven’t eaten since I left you for my mission.”

Verik shook his head. “I’m sorry. We left our home in a hurry to get here.”

“Did something happen?” Myorakk asked?

“When we get settled in, we can exchange stories.” Verik told him.

As they approached the large wooden gates of the human city, Verik shuddered, nervously. The only time he was inside the city, was when he was sneaking around, searching for Jack. It was a nice feeling to be invited in as a normal citizen.

“Open the gates!” The lead human called to towers on either side of the gate. Within a few seconds, they could hear the sound of wood moving and chains clanking and the massive door began to lift into the air.

“Let’s do this.” Verik said as the group started walking forward into the human city.

To Be Continued...