Last time, on our previous tale...

"Really?" Lina was impressed. "I've always been afraid of a wolf's howl--reminds me of a fiend from the underworld!" Her whole body trembled in Mallory's arms as even more wolves began appearing, all howling back in reply to the alpha male's call.

Even Vince was agitated. "Don't just stand there, Master Sterling, alert the girls! I hope that whistle's loud enough for them to hear..."

"With pleasure." With that, Darien lifted the small whistle to his lips and blew a high piercing note, one that sent most of the wolf pack fleeing and made Vince cover his ears in shock from the sudden blast. The girls, seeing the original trio of wolves bounding in their direction, readied their weapons to fight.

"Swirling bolts, gather and strike with power!" Thunder!" Mallory called as she sent some electricity flying at a wolf that was trying to bite her. Despite her assailant being heavily wounded, it slashed at her, leaving a large claw mark in her unprotected arm. She clutched the wounded place in pain, but all the more relieved that her sword arm had not been the one wounded.

"Life's refreshing breeze, heal from the sky! Cure!" Lina commanded, sending a soothing blue light to heal Mallory's wound. Once sure. the scratch mark had healed, she delivered a fatal swipe to the third wolf. The second wolf, although weakened from the Thunder spell, tried again to get at Mallory's arm, but was unexpectedly impaled by an arrow.

"Thanks, Darien!" Mallory called as she led Lina up the hill in hopes she could help Vince fend off the alpha male. By the time the party was reunited, however, Vince had delivered the fatal blow, and was now inspecting the corpse for any spoils.

"I sorely underestimated your whistle, Master Sterling..." Vince sighed, weary from the battle. "It was enough to drive most of the wolf pack away!"

"It's too hot to continue, so we should best find a place to rest away from their territory." Darien suggested. Mallory nodded in agreement, but part of her was afraid: If they were indeed going to travel through the night, who knew what would ambush them then?

Episode 10: Tales of an Ambush

It was a good hour before the party found any sort of rest from the sun. Even the mare shared Lina's delight in splashing the cold water on her face as she watched the boys enter the small clearing. Tall trees loomed off to the west, and beyond that, some dull white spires. That must be the Chaos Shrine... Mallory thought as she watched Darien start a roaring fire. Once Lina had returned from the pool after tying the mare to a tree, Vince retrived some meat from his bag and inserted a prong through it.

"I'll go get some wild berries to compliment the meat." Darien volunteered. "Maybe some honey, too." With that, he disappeared into the woods.

"Is everything all right, Lady Foxheart?" Vince was concerned about the glum look on Mallory's face. "You seem troubled."

"I am." Mallory replied. "The attack by the wolf pack earlier, and our location by the woods...I'm afraid we'll be ambushed by goblins, or something worse." She recalled tales her mother told her about goblins, bats, and other creatures of the night attacking a party when they were unaware. No..those are stories...you've been told what to do in case of an ambush. she told herself as she laid her blade by a rock.

She would've fallen asleep by the fire had footsteps not jolted her awake. "Who's there?" she called into the twilight, uneasily fumbling for her sword.

"It's just me, Mallory." Darien replied as he deposited some berries by a log. "Why are you so on edge?"

"She fears an ambush." Vince explained. "And considering our location, we could well be targets for many unsightly creatures." Mallory shuddered at this. What if there were eyes in the forest, hundreds of them, all watching the party's every move? No doubt, some of them would most likely be friendly, but there would also be not-so-friendly denizens in the forest too.

Lina just smiled. "Why don't we tell stories to pass the time while we eat?" With that, she accepted a piece of the meat from Vince and bit into it.

"So...what kinds of stories to royal minstrels tell?" Mallory asked Vince, a curious twinkle in her eye. Since the warrior was a royal, she was wanting to know what it was like to live within a castle.

"Well..." Vince thought for a moment--he hadn't counted on being put on the spot. "They're not very much different than what common minstrels tell--but mostly they tell of heroes of the past." He bit into his share of the meat, then continued. "Likewise, I am curious as to what stories are popular around Pravoka."

"Well, the Legend of the Lost Crystals is one." Mallory replied. "I've told that one many times."

"My favorite is the tale of Firion, from the west country." Darien replied.

"The one about the hero that defeats an emperor, and then has to brave the underworld?" Lina was excited. Darien nodded. "I've never heard that tale."

"All right, I'll try my best to tell it, but I'm no minstrel." Darien cleared his throat and began. "Many years ago, an empire rose up in the west country, in the region of Palmecia. Many towns fell to the empire, including the fair city of Fynn. The royal family fled to the town of Altair when the empire invaded, and from there, began a resistance movement..."

Suddenly, a high pitched moan was heard in the distance, startling Darien from his story. He reached for his bow and watched as a wolf pup came darting from the woods. The mare whinnied in fear as the tiny canine raced around the oasis, leaving Darien to chase after it.

"Try and corner it, Master Sterling!" Vince called over the noise, reaching for his sword. "Once you have it, let me have the honor of slaying it!" He ran over to the pool, just as Darien threw some cloth over the pup, disorienting it. Just before he could draw his sword and deliver a fatal blow to the pup's chest, Lina gripped his hand. At first, he tried to resist the white mage's surprisingly hard grip, but he finally worked up the courage to ask "Why must you let this beast live, Lady Starwill?"

"It's only a baby, and it probably hasn't learned to view humans as prey yet." Lina explained.

"It may be a pup, but its parents have to be somewhere nearby." Vince cautioned. He cast a wary glimpse into the darkened trees, as if waiting for more wolves to arrive from the indigo tinged trees.

Mallory tiptoed towards the enterance into the forest, hoping that she could at least see what the pup had been running from, or if its parents were close by. She didn't hear any howls nearby, save for the pup's panicked cries as Darien tried to calm it. Just as she was about to give up, the form of a wolf lying in the grass by some vines caught her attention.

She took care not to make any noise, in case the wolf would spot her and attack. But when she was close enough to see the moonlit body, she winced at the dull red, nearly brown streaks that cut deeply into the silvery fur. A second wolf lay nearby, lifeless, yet also bearing similar wounds. Her heart raced--what kind of monsters could've been strong enough to take down two wolves, fully grown?

A low cackle caught her attention, as the short greenskined form of a goblin came into view, apparently pleased by the beasts it had slain. She wanted to scream, but what if more goblins were nearby? She had to do what she could to not alert it to her presence. Not run, scream, or even draw her weapon--just remain still.

Just then, more similar cackles filled the air as more goblins entered the clearing, each of them wanting to get a glimpse of the dead wolves. One goblin chattered to another in a language Mallory did not understand, but judging from how the second goblin responded with a thoughtful look, she presumed the garbled phrase to be a question.

Suddenly, a goblin clad in a more ornate tunic than the others turned to see the girl observing their hunt, and barked what amounted to an attack order. As the goblins surrounded her, Mallory couldn't help but wonder: Where are my friends when I need them?

To Be Continued...