Thomas and Alex looked down into the ravine. They had left the school as soon as the gates were opened on this Saturday. So far, the trip had been relatively uneventful, but that was about to change. They were about three hours away from the school. This area was known to the mining club as having many copper deposits as well as some tin and silver.
"Not many club members travel this far up river to mine copper. The lower reaches of the river have plenty of copper. Up here you find more tin, and danger. The wolves here can be quite aggressive. We might also run into a bear or two," Thomas explained to Alex. "The ores we want are down among the rocks in the ravine. We can get down over there."
Thomas led the way toward the gap in the cliff wall. A few minutes of scrambling down and they arrived along the rivers shore. Traveling up river, Thomas and Alex were able to gather several types of ore. As the sun began to set, they returned to the surface.
"Well, that was the easy part," said Thomas. "Now we need to get back to the school before curfew. And as the sun goes down, the predators come out. We'll need to hurry."
The unclaimed wilds that Alex and Thomas were traveling through settled into an early evening. Animals moved quickly about their own business, preparing for the oncoming winter. When they were about an hour from the wall of the town, they heard a sound to freeze the bones of any traveler, the howl of wolves on the hunt. A pack of about fifteen or twenty large wolves appeared from the woods to surround the clearing Thomas and Alex were passing through.
"This is not good," said Alex, sounding panicked. "We need to get out of here."
"If we run, they'll take us down in no time flat," responded Thomas with an undertone of worry. His head was swiveling like an owl's as he tried to keep all the wolves in sight. "Usually, I'd try to get up a tree, but were too far for that to be an option. Fire is also a good plan, but we don't have the materials to start one." Thomas continued to watch the wolves, moving to stand back-to-back with Alex. "It looks like the only choice we have is to do so much damage that the wolves give it up as a bad deal. Stay back-to-back. I'll drop my fire totem. I can direct its fire to follow a specific target. Do you have any spells that can help?" asked Thomas as the wolves began to close in.
"I have a spell called 'Cover Zone'. It will increase my ability to cover you. And I can heal us if we get injured."
"All right, I can do some limited healing as well. I think … Here they come!"
The first few wolves had launched themselves at the students. The first Wolf to attempt to take Thomas' neck met a swift blow to the shoulder from Thomas' mace. Alex's Hammer earned its first kill, caving the ribs of the wolf trying to take a bite of his leg. Next the wolf going for Alex's arm received the pommel of the hammer's handle in the chest. Alex threw the stunned wolf into the path of some of the other wolves to trip them up.
Meanwhile, Thomas had set his fire totem. The fireballs it released had caught one wolf on fire and had burned several patches of fur off other wolves as well. The wolves had begun to keep the totem behind Thomas and Alex. As the wolves closed in, Alex cast 'Cover Zone'. As wolves tried to attack Thomas, they found Alex spinning in place to smash a wolf or two with the business end of the war hammer. Thomas also was active in using magic. His Flame and Frost Shock spells were responsible for several wolves being killed or fleeing to the woods. Still, Alex and Thomas faced almost a dozen wolves. And they were tiring. Thomas set a second totem, one that released healing energy. Revived by the totem, Alex and Thomas were able to withstand another attack by the wolves.
As the wolves regrouped again, Thomas attempted to use a Flame Shock spell charged with more mana than usual to ignite all the wolves at once. Instead of that, the smoldering flames carried by the wolves he had already burnt erupted in rings of fire. Most of the wolves were burnt to some degree, howling their rage and pain. But still ten wolves continued to attack. As Alex and Thomas braced for the attack, several of the wolves fell to the ground with arrows sprouting from their heads or backs.
As aggressive as these wolves were, the appearance of another opponent was enough to break their will. With only six wolves remaining of the original twenty-three, and more arrows arriving from the trees at the edge of the clearing, the pack scattered and ran, leaving nine dead in the field.
When the wolves had gone, an elf dropped from the trees, and approached the exhausted pair.
"Are you both alright?" asked the Elf. "When I heard the howls, I thought the pack would claim another kill before I could put them down."
"You have my thanks for your timely arrival," said Alex, to the elf. "You are in the second year at the Green Key School, are you not? I am Alex Mason, and this is Thomas Walker. We are both first years."
"I know who you are. The two of you are well known in the second year; both for your skills and for your friendship. It is not often that the most admired student in the year becomes close friends with the most despised. Many of the upperclassmen are placing bets as to where this will lead by the end of the year," the elf looked toward to the clearing. "After seeing the two of you face off against the wolves, I think I'm going to change my bet. I'm Ashira, by the way," the elf introduced herself.
"If I am right, you have several classes with paladin Anderson, correct? He has spoken highly of your skill with a bow."
"Thank you. But I am curious, what are the two of you doing out here? I don't think you are here to hunt wolves."
"No. We were looking for ore to mine along the river. We were headed back when the wolves attacked," said Thomas as he wiped his sweat, and blood, stained face.
"Well, I'm glad you are all right. What are you going to do with the dead wolves?"
"I hadn't thought about it much. I've never been in this situation before," said Alex.
"There's a reward for wolf pelts at the bounty office. The wolves have been raiding the town's livestock recently."
"Is that why you are out here?"
"Yes. I was hunting the wolves when I heard your fight. I am impressed you were able to survive. There was something wrong with those wolves. They should not have pressed an attack so hard. It worries me."
"It worries me as well," said Thomas, as he worked to bandage a cut on his arm. After a moment of watching him fumble Alex swatted his hand away and took over the task. "But we can't do anything about them now. It will be curfew soon. We need to get back."
"You're right. But if you aren't going to use them, do you mind if I take those wolfs' pelts? I can make some coin from them."
"Fine by me. We'll keep watch till you're done."