VIII
"They just appeared out of nowhere. Got Giraume first, then Bayard and Gaston. They must have been waiting there to ambush us. Fleury took off east, while I went west and tried to circle around them."
"This is a big circle," Crispin said, turning back to Emeri once he was satisfied that the fire he had built would continue to burn. The ranger stuffed his flint back into a small pouch on his belt as he picked out a comfortable spot on the floor and sat down.
"I was originally going to circle north and go through Taureau again," Emeri explained, casting a last, curious glance at Rachwal. "The wolves kept turning me back, though. Like they were herding me out here. Now I know why."
"This isn't normal, is it?" Talia asked. "Even in winter, do we get this many winter wolves?"
"Not really," Emeri replied, dragging his pack to him across the floor. "We usually only see about a half dozen through the whole winter."
"Not to mention the fact that winter wolves wouldn't attack a town of this size on a whim," Crispin added. Emeri nodded in agreement as he fished through his pack, finally coming up with a small, plain wooden pipe and a little tin box. "They know better than to risk an attack like this if there's nothing to gain."
"Maybe they just got sick of humans," Emeri said, packing his pipe with tobacco. "They're mean bastards, winter wolves. Either that, or maybe prey went scarce in the mountains. Hunger'll drive wolves to attack anything."
"A lot of winter wolves, and unseasonable storms," Talia said, moving a little bit closer to the fire and away from Rachwal. "There has to be some relation. Right?"
"Yeah," Emeri said skeptically, taking a smoldering stick from the hearth to light his pipe. "Winter wolves follow storms."
"Never so many winter wolves," Rachwal said, speaking for the first time. Emeri turned a scowl on the goblin, obviously unhappy with the humanoid's presence. "This not natural."
"No one was talking to you, flat head," Emeri snarled. Rachwal growled back at the Lancer as his hand dropped to his short sword.
"We're on the same side," Crispin said, rising to one knee. Emeri patted the head of his mace as he glared at the goblin, daring Rachwal to make the first move. "So sit back and relax. We have enough problems without killing each other."
"When the storms clear out, so will the wolves," Emeri said with a final, withering glance at the goblin.
"But what if these storms aren't natural?" Talia asked, advancing her theory once more. "I mean, what if something else is bringing all this snow, and these winter wolves, into the area?"
"And who would do that?" Emeri asked, already disregarding the mage's idea. "That's ridiculous, lady."
"She may have a point," Crispin said, looking into the fire. Emeri and Talia both turned to the ranger, surprised by the simple statement.
"You're taking her seriously?" the Lancer said in astonishment, his pipe nearly falling from his mouth.
"You're taking me seriously?" Talia added, equally amazed.
"There's a wall of brambles along the side of this building," Crispin said, pointing back to the side door where the barmaid had died. "Last time I was here, that wasn't there."
"Maybe someone tried to keep the wolves from coming in that way," Emeri said.
"And the innkeeper was killed by a single slash, hip to chin," the ranger pointed out, drawing a line from his belt to his jaw with his finger. "Whatever killed him was no wolf."
"Maybe someone hit him on accident," Emeri concluded, although his tone had lost some of its certainty. "I mean, they probably panicked when the wolves got in the door."
"You and I both know that didn't happen," Crispin said, meeting the Lancer's gaze. "Someone is leading them. Whether that someone is responsible for the weather I can't say, but we both know enough about winter wolves to know that they don't attack towns unless they're directed to."
"This is crazy," Emeri said, standing up and taking a step back to the front of the common room. The Lancer peeked out through the shutter covering one of the inn's windows, then turned back to his three allies. "Who in the Nine Hells would want to freeze out southern Tourant? I mean, the flat head here told us that it wasn't them, and you found his raiding party slaughtered by wolves. Who else could it be?"
"Well, it would have to be someone that can cast a wall of thorns," Talia said, before Rachwal could take offense at the Lancer's insult.
"That narrows it down," Emeri grumbled.
"No, I think… what was it I read?" Talia said absently, lost in thought. "There was… no, that's not it…"
"Too bad she doesn't have her library," Emeri said, directing his comment at Crispin.
"Well, it's not arcane magic, I figure," the ranger said. "Otherwise, she'd know about it."
"A druid!" Talia suddenly exclaimed, nearly jumping up from her seat. "There was a story about the settlement of Sauveterre, built on a druid's grove, and the druid fought back! And when the settlers took the fight to him, he hid in a fortress of brambles! Every time the settlers burned a section of the wall away or managed to cut through it, the druid simply grew it back again before they could get through!"
"Is this druid still alive?" Crispin asked. Talia shook her head.
"By all accounts, he was captured and burned at the stake," the mage replied. "But as far as I know, only druids can cast spells that draw so directly on nature."
"Did this druid have any followers?" Crispin asked, pursuing their only lead. "Any apprentices or allies, anyone that would want to avenge him?"
"I don't know very much about druids, but I think they're pretty solitary," Talia said, trying to recall every detail of what she had read. "I don't think they have very many friends. I don't remember one from the accounts."
"Story, is what you mean," Emeri said. "There's a hundred wild tales like that, and hundreds more that say we stole land from centaurs, or giants, or about mad dryads looking for revenge, and all sorts of stuff. There's no way to tell if any of those stories are true."
"It's what we have to go on," Crispin said. "Looks like we're after a druid."
"Can you track a druid?" Emeri asked sarcastically, already knowing the answer. Crispin shook his head.
"No one can track a druid," the ranger answered.
______________________________________________________
"You cannot sleep?"
"No," Talia said, sitting up from her blankets next to the hearth. The fire had died down from a cheery blaze to glowing red embers, casting the devastated common room into darkness more than a few feet from the hearth. The mage looked around the room for a moment, but both Emeri and Crispin were sound asleep, apparently unconcerned with the possibility that the winter wolves that had slaughtered Falloux might return to make sure that the job had been finished. Rachwal perched on the remnants of a chair next to one of the windows, his breath steaming up faintly as he watched for signs of an enemy through a crack in the shutter. Slowly Talia pushed the last remnants of a nightmare with white fur and icy cold breath from her mind, and focused on her current surroundings. "Bad dreams."
Rachwal nodded, and turned back to his vigil. For a long moment Talia watched the goblin, expecting more from the raider, but Rachwal remained silent as time dragged on.
"I never met a goblin before," the mage finally said, growing uncomfortable in the silence. Rachwal simply nodded, barely turning his head from the window. "You're not really what I expected."
"What do you expect?" Rachwal asked, finally giving his full attention back to the mage. Talia shrugged, uncertain what to say next.
"Well, I… I don't know," the mage answered with an embarrassed smile. "I… well, not you, at any rate."
"You expect a fool," Rachwal concluded.
"No, no," Talia countered quickly. In truth, the goblin's statement was exactly correct, but the mage actually found herself concerned about offending her ally. Rachwal seemed to sense that sentiment, and snorted faintly at the transparent lie. "Are you from Pr… Prisyniz?"
"Przasnysz," Rachwal corrected. Talia smiled sheepishly.
"I never get that name right," the mage admitted. "So is that where you're from?"
"Yes," Rachwal answered, finally giving up on his watch. "I am a goblin of the Cold Tooth."
"That's your tribe?" Talia assumed. Rachwal nodded. "Do you miss your family?"
"We are warriors," Rachwal said, as if that answered the question. "We fight. We die."
"And that doesn't frighten you at all?" Talia asked. Rachwal looked at the ground for a moment, but then met Talia's curious gaze again.
"I not want to die," the goblin stated, looking back to the window. "But death come for all."
"That's a very fatalistic way of looking at things," Talia commented.
"What is… fatalistic?" Rachwal asked.
"It basically means that you believe in fate," Talia explained, smiling a little as she moved a bit closer to the goblin. Rachwal turned a curious look to the mage, still not understanding her explanation. "You know, you just accept it, because you believe it's going to happen to you no matter what you do."
"That is the way," Rachwal said. "It will happen."
"I can't believe in that, myself," Talia said, growing more and more comfortable with the conversation. "I don't want to think my whole life has been predetermined. Me, I'd like to think that-"
"Quiet!" Rachwal suddenly hissed, raising a finger at the mage. Talia fell silent instantly, straining her ears to hear what the goblin might have heard. Rachwal picked up his bow and drew an arrow from his quiver, but remained silent and still on the chair as he continued to strain his ears for something in the darkness outside the building. For what felt like eternity the pair waited in the darkness, the only noise coming from the gentle, almost imperceptible crackling of the fire.
Nightmare images of a huge winter wolf bearing down on her began to invade her mind, but Talia fought to keep her fear in check as she continued to wait. Outside, a stiff breeze rattled something on another house. Swirling snow blew up against the west wall of the common room, pattering against the wood and stone building. In the forest, only a few yards beyond the inn, tree branches creaked beneath the weight of the snow and the increasingly persistent wind. Still Talia could hear nothing out of the ordinary, but she did not dare to break the silence as Rachwal leaned ever so slightly closer to the crack in the shutter.
"Wake them," Rachwal whispered, so quietly that Talia at first thought she was hearing things. The mage looked to the goblin for a moment, ready to question if he had actually spoken, when he impatiently pointed to the two sleeping men by the fire. Talia scrambled over to Crispin, keeping as quiet as she could, and gently shook his shoulder. Crispin's eyes popped open as soon as she touched him, and before she could even open her mouth he was sitting up ands reaching for his bow and quiver. The mage turned to Emeri next, reaching out to shake him awake as well, but she had no need to as a long, mournful howl cut through the silent night. The Lancer sat bolt upright, reaching for his mace, but did not make a sound as he looked to his companions. Rachwal turned back to the group as Crispin and Emeri quickly threw on their armor, and slowly held up three fingers.
"Talia, ready with a spell," Crispin said quietly, pulling her close enough to whisper into her ear. "Lightning bolt through the front door as soon as they come through."
"Okay," Talia said, steeling her resolve. Rachwal drifted down off of his table and crept back to the group, gesturing to the stairs with his bow. Crispin nodded, then pulled Talia back a step. Another howl carried across the town, driving another spike of fear into the mage.
"We make our first shots here, then head upstairs," Crispin instructed the mage. "Emeri will go first, then you, then me and Rachwal. Understand?"
"Yeah," Talia said. A third howl, this one almost directly outside the door, nearly made the mage jump. Quickly she pulled out the components for her lightning bolt, but Crispin grabbed her by the wrist. "Wait until you see them."
Again the wait began to drag on. The howls died away to nothing, and for what felt like hours the four companions waited in darkness for something to happen. Talia's taut muscles began to ache as the time crawled by, and her eyes, straining to see in the inky common room, began to make out imaginary shapes on the edges of her vision. Crispin's presence right in front of her, and Emeri standing at the foot of the steps behind her, was all that kept the mage from panicking and racing up to find a place to hide.
"What are they waiting for?" Talia asked, after more than an hour had passed.
"They're trying to panic us," Crispin explained in a barely audible voice. "Waiting for us to break and run. Just be quiet and don't move."
Finally, with the wind picking up and chilling the common room, the darkness began to give way to the first gray lights of dawn. A faint sliver of half light found its way through the shutter on the window next to the door, heralding a new morning. Ever so slowly Talia's muscles began to relax. They had made it through the night. The wolves had moved on. The mage leaned forward slightly, resting her forehead against Crispin's back.
The inn's door suddenly exploded inward, splintering under the weight of a simply gigantic winter wolf. Talia nearly leapt back into Emeri, but caught her balance before she could fall. Crispin and Rachwal both loosed their first arrows, and before his first shaft had hit its target the ranger was aiming a second arrow at the charging beast. Behind it, two more winter wolves rushed into the common room, their icy breath steaming out through their fangs.
"Talia! Lightning! Now!" Crispin shouted, backing up a step and nocking another arrow. Rachwal's second shot was dead on, hitting the lead wolf in its throat, but the monster simply snarled in rage and continued forward without breaking stride. Talia fought off the paralyzing fear of the wolf and flew through her spell, throwing her hands forward only a heartbeat after Crispin had ducked out of her way.
The lightning bolt thundered out just as the lead wolf reached her, throwing it back into the common room an instant before its jaws slammed shut on her hands. Directly behind it, one of the other wolves was thrown back to the door, taking the brunt of the blast, but the other had managed to move far enough toward the hearth to avoid the bolt completely. Rachwal and Crispin both turned to the last uninjured wolf with arrows drawn, firing just as the monster reached Rachwal.
The goblin's arrow drove into the winter wolf up to the fletchings, but the huge canine still slammed into its far smaller target at full force. A blast of frost and ice issued out of the wolf's mouth, but the huge jaws closed on Rachwal's bow instead of his arm, splintering the weapon with a sharp crack. Talia racked her brains, trying to come up with a spell to save the goblin, but Emeri suddenly raced by her, slamming his mace down on the wolf's head with a sickening crack. Rachwal's attacker staggered backward, stunned by the Lancer's brutal assault, but the first two wolves had already recovered from the lightning bolt and were charging back into the fray.
Crispin rushed forward to greet the two wounded attackers even as a trio of magic missiles streaked around him, riddling the lead wolf just before the ranger came within striking distance. Crispin's sword fell in a heavy chop, catching the staggered canine in the throat, even as the ranger drove his axe up into the monster's jaw, snapping the wolf's head up and spraying the ranger with its blood. As that one collapsed, the final wolf leapt over its fallen comrade, bowling Crispin over in a cloud of frost and ice. Ranger and wolf tumbled to the ground in a mass of flailing limbs and white fur, reaching Talia just as she finished her third spell. A thin sheet of fire leapt out from the mage's outstretched hands, burning off the hair on the wolf's flank and instantly catching its attention. Badly wounded and limping, the last winter wolf nonetheless sprang forward, ready to tear into Talia's throat before she could back away.
Rachwal and Emeri descended upon the wolf at the same time, cutting it off only a step from the mage. Talia hurried to come up with another spell to aid her two defenders, but before she could even consider which spells she had remaining the two warriors had stabbed and beaten the wolf to death. Talia glanced past the pair, to where the third wolf had pinned Rachwal, but that one had also been killed, its skull shattered and its flank pierced by almost a half dozen wounds.
"That wasn't too difficult," Emeri said, helping Crispin back to his feet. The ranger nodded as he brushed a faint covering of ice from his leather tunic. The ranger opened his mouth to speak, but another howl from outside the inn cut him off.
"There's more of them?" Talia said, astonished. As if to answer her question, a fourth wolf appeared at the shattered door, growling menacingly. Crispin, Emeri and Rachwal spread out quickly, ready to meet the monster's charge, but the winter wolf simply remained at the door
"What's he doing?" Emeri asked, glancing over to Crispin.
"He's waiting," the ranger answered simply, glancing quickly around the common room.
"Waiting for what?" Talia asked, almost afraid to know the answer. As if to answer her, a low, menacing growl rumbled into the common room from somewhere outside the building.
"He's getting a few more wolves together," Emeri said, backing up a step. "If we get upstairs, we can at least fight them one at a time in the stairwell. You go first, Crispin. Me and Rachwal'll hold the stairwell, and you can fire down on them."
"Talia, you got another lightning bolt?" Crispin asked, sliding his bow off of his shoulder again.
"No," Talia answered, sounding almost guilty. "Sorry."
"That's okay," Crispin said. "Up the stairs. Stay behind us."
Talia nodded and hurried halfway up the steps, then turned back to see two winter wolves charge into the common room. Crispin retreated up three steps, then stopped and loosed a pair of arrows on the larger wolf. Both shafts sank into the wolf's back, but the huge canine ignored the wounds as it charged in on Rachwal and Emeri at the bottom of the steps. Quickly the mage snatched a fine bit of spider web from her pouch, nearly tripping over the words to her next spell in her hurry to complete it.
The common room was suddenly engulfed in a tangle of heavy webs, stopping the winter wolves before they could reach the two defenders on the bottom step. The wolves snarled and howled in rage as they struggled to pull free of the webs, but at least for the moment, they were stuck fast in the mage's spell.
"Duck!" Crispin suddenly shouted, spinning to the top of the staircase. Talia dropped to the steps on reflex, diving out of the way a heartbeat before the ranger launched a pair of arrows over her head. At the top of the stairs, a third winter wolf howled in pain, but shook off the injuries and tensed to pounce on the small group in the stairwell.
"If you've got any more tricks, lady, now would be a good time to use them!" Emeri shouted from the bottom of the staircase. Talia vaguely heard the Lancer, but her focus was locked on the winter wolf above her, its icy eyes almost freezing the mage in place. "The wolves are pulling free and the web caught fire!"
"Drop back!" Crispin shouted, shouldering Talia aside just as the winter wolf leapt down the stairs. The ranger met the winter wolf only two steps above the mage, leading with his sword and scoring a vicious hit through the monster's shoulder. At the same instant the wolf unleashed its frost breath, but the ranger was ready for the attack and twisted away from the worst of the assault as the canine's jaws snapped closed on nothing but open air. Talia stumbled backward and dropped to the ground again, trying to get out of the way of the icy attack, but she still felt the numbing frost cut into her arms and back as she dove beneath the freezing cloud.
Pinned against the wall by his enemy's weight and his sword trapped beneath one of its paws, Crispin chopped away at the winter wolf's neck with his hand axe, tearing bloody gouges across the monster's back with each stroke. Despite the wounds it had already suffered, the wolf continued to shove itself forward, snapping at the ranger's face and free arm even as it crushed him against the sturdy stairwell. Talia started to climb back to her feet, turning on the ranger and his foe, but Rachwal suddenly shoved the woman back to the ground as he tore up the staircase. With the winter wolf unprepared for the attack, the goblin rammed into the monster just under its head, jamming his short sword up through the canine's mouth and into its brain. With a final whimper, the wolf slumped down on the steps, and Rachwal pulled himself free of the corpse.
"Thanks," Crispin said with a nod to the goblin, retrieving his long bow where it had fallen.
"We have more problems," Rachwal said, gesturing to the bottom of the steps. Just off of the common room's floor and becoming less and less visible through thickening smoke, Emeri was fighting to keep the winter wolves on the ground floor from breaking free of the web and charging up the steps. "With fire, we have no exit."
"I'm so sorry," Talia said, seeing the web burning rapidly across the room. At each point where it touched the wooden rafters and walls, the fire continued to spread, engulfing the entire first level in flames. "I… I forgot the webs would ignite from the hearth."
"Emeri! Up the steps!" Crispin shouted, ignoring the mage's apology for the moment. The Lancer wasted no time in retreating up the staircase, still beating at the one wolf that had cleared the webs and the flames. Somewhere in the common room, the other wolf howled in pain as the inferno burned it to death. Without another thought both Rachwal and Crispin dove down the steps, squeezing around Emeri and skewering the last winter wolf on their blades an instant before it could breathe its frost again. With a final heave, Crispin and Rachwal shoved the wolf back down into the conflagration below.
"Now what?" Emeri asked, the frost and ice covering his chain shirt melting rapidly with the increasing heat.
"We go upstairs and get out through a window," Crispin answered, pointing to the second floor with his bloodstained sword. Rachwal was already bounding up the stairs two at a time, and Talia wasted no time in following the raider. Emeri cast a last glance at Crispin, then they too rushed up to the second floor.
"Crispin!" Talia shouted suddenly, as the two men reached the hallway. The ranger turned quickly to the first room on his right, where Talia and Rachwal stood next to a small, open window.
"What now?" Crispin asked, squeezing between his two allies to look out the small window. The ranger simply stared down to the ground for a long moment, shaking his head in disbelief.
Standing beneath the window, what was by far the largest winter wolf the ranger had ever seen waited patiently in the snow, accompanied by five more packmates.
"This used to be such a nice territory," Emeri said, sounding almost nonchalant as he looked over Rachwal's shoulder to the huge wolves below them.
"What do we do?" Talia asked nervously, looking back to her companions.
"Try the other side of the building, and pray we don't get cooked on the way down," Emeri answered, already backing away from the window. "Let's just hope they don't circle around and get to us before we're ready for them."
"Hurry," Rachwal said, watching the smoke as it began to fill the hallway. "Fire is coming."
"As soon as they realize it, they'll be around to meet us," Crispin said. "Emeri, you're first. I'll try to keep them occupied long enough for you to get on the ground and find some cover."
"Crispin, let me give it a try," Talia said, looking down to the wolves. "I've still got one or two spells left."
"Then cast it so we can get out of here before the fire reaches us," Emeri prompted, already at the doorway. Behind him, more and more smoke filled the hallway, obscuring the Lancer as he kicked in the door of the opposite room. Talia edged her way past the ranger and pulled a pinch of sparkling dust from her belt pouch.
"Whatever you're going to do, do it now," Crispin urged, watching as the three of the wolves began to head for the front of the building. Talia rushed through her spell, and cast the glittering powder out of the window.
A cloud of sparkling golden dust drifted down around the wolves, clinging to their fur and getting into their eyes. The blinded monsters stopped and pawed at the faces or tried to rub the dust off in the snow, but to no avail.
"Cute trick," Crispin said, watching the wolves for a moment.
"Yeah, but it won't last long," Talia said. "Let's get out of here."
Crispin nodded and led the way through the smoke filled hall, pulling Talia by the hand into the opposite room to the window. Just below them Emeri and Rachwal waited in the street, backs to one another as they watched for more winter wolves. Fire and smoke billowed out of the windows directly below them as flames devoured the common room.
"Jump," Crispin said simply. Talia pulled herself halfway through the window, but stopped as she considered the jump and the roaring flames directly below her.
"Is there any other way out?" the mage asked over her shoulder, beginning to crawl back into the building.
"No!" Crispin shouted, shoving her through the window. Talia stumbled and fell forward awkwardly, but the heavy snow in the street cushioned enough of her fall to avoid any serious injuries. A second later Crispin thudded into the snow, rolling to his feet with his long bow in hand.
"They killed my horse," Emeri said, pointing with his mace to the slain mount just outside the inn. "Poor bastard must have never even seen them coming."
"We'll mourn him later," Crispin said, glancing up and down the street. "We need to get out of here quickly, before those wolves recover."
"Where do we go?" Talia asked, glancing around desperately. "We can't outrun them!"
"We get into another house and hope they go away," Emeri said, already pushing through the snow to the nearest cabin. Crispin had only taken one step after the Lancer when a golden blur and a roar of fury caught his attention.
Emeri wheeled back to the attack just as the huge winter wolf pounced, barely getting the haft of his mace in the way before the monstrous canine could snap its jaws shut around his throat. The Lancer disappeared into the snow as his attacker bowled him over, lost in a cloud of frost.
"Emeri!" Talia screamed, racing forward and trying to come up with a spell to help her companions. Rachwal and Crispin were already descending on the wolf, but it paid them no heed as it continued to gore the fallen Lancer. Fumbling with her belt pouch, the mage pulled a licorice root shaving free and flew through a short chant. An instant later Crispin was moving with superhuman speed, slamming into the wolf's flank with his axe and long sword and drawing bright lines of crimson through the glitterdust. Rachwal hit the wolf just as it tried to turn, crashing down on the monster's muzzle with his short sword before it could try to repel its first attacker. The winter wolf released Emeri as it turned back to defend itself from Crispin and Rachwal, but the badly wounded Lancer was barely able to stand after the beating he had taken.
The winter wolf snapped at Crispin just as the glitterdust covering its body wore off. With the speed that Talia's haste spell had given him, the ranger skipped just out of reach of the monster's teeth, then drove forward again to score another hit with both his sword and axe. Rachwal also pressed the attack, stabbing at the monster's flank with his short sword while the huge wolf was distracted. Talia rushed to Emeri's side as the Lancer tried to recover from his wounds, steadying the soldier before he could collapse back into the snow.
"That didn't go quite like I planned it," Emeri said, only half conscious as he leaned in against the mage. Talia glanced desperately around her for some kind of safe haven, quickly deciding on a small, sturdy cabin set across from the burning inn. Half dragging the Lancer with her, Talia charged up to the door and threw her weight against it, forcing her way into the cabin and dumping Emeri unceremoniously to the ground. With the Lancer taken care of for the moment, Talia turned back to the fight outside in time to see the huge winter wolf nearly bite Rachwal in two. The mage raced two steps out into the snow, but a pair of howls from behind the inn froze her in her tracks.
"Get in there and bar the door!" Crispin ordered, sliding sideways as the wolf turned from Rachwal and lunged again at the speedy ranger. Crispin spun neatly aside and thumped his axe into the wolf's shoulder as it passed, scoring another deep wound to the monster's already blood soaked flanks. Rachwal stumbled back to his feet, holding his short sword shakily in front of him as he prepared to face the wolf again. "The others are coming! Get in there and shut the door!"
"But what about you two?" Talia asked. "I'm not going to leave you out here to die!"
Crispin started to answer the mage, but was cut off as the winter wolf renewed its attacks against him, finally scoring a hit as its jaws snapped shut on his thigh. The ranger let out a cry of pain as he was dragged off of his feet and dropped into the snow, but Rachwal leapt onto the monster's back and slammed his short sword down with both hands, driving the tip of the blade through the wolf's head. With a final, gurgling whimper, the wolf dropped dead into the snow, but the goblin was already turning his attention to its five packmates as they stormed forward through the street.
"Hurry up and get in here!" Talia ordered, waving frantically to the two injured warriors. Crispin jumped back to his feet and raced towards the building, scooping up the slower Rachwal in his mad dash for cover. Even with the effects of the haste spell quickening his pace, the ranger beat the wolves to the cabin by only a few steps, diving through the open doorway just as Emeri and Talia slammed the door shut. The Lancer was barely able to bar the door as two of the monstrous canines tried to barrel through the obstacle, but finally slid the oaken plank into place as their pursuers howled in frustration. Crispin and Rachwal jumped back to their feet and shoved the table forward, bracing the door further, only seconds before a powerful impact shook the door and threatened to shatter the oaken brace. With the wolves held at bay for the moment, Emeri collapsed against the table, his wounds finally overtaking him. Crispin and Rachwal still held the far end of the table, looking around the dark interior as Talia slumped down against one of the side walls. Finally, as she listened to the wolves searching the boundaries of the cabin for a way inside, the mage turned to Crispin, terror etched upon her features.
"Now what?" she asked quietly, expecting the wolves to punch through the walls at any moment. Crispin hesitated for a long moment, then finally shook his head.
"I don't know."