AN: Yep. It's me again. I have decided to give the chapters names, as it makes things easier for both you and me. Me mostly. :/

Without any further ado, here is the next chapter.

Chapter III : Infection

Like I had promised the two gossipers the night before, I set off at the break of dawn to find the missing soldiers. Something inside of me warned me that something bad was going to happen, but I shoved it outside of my mind. After all, what was so dangerous up in the Jerral Mountains that I could not handle? Nothing, that is what.

Unlike my previous clothing yesterday, a black wool shirt, a beautifully made grey wolf fur coat and tightly-fitting pants made out of the same fur rested on my body. I had bought them a few days before, wanting to explore the Jerral Mountains some more. Like the rest of the merchants, this one had tried to give me it for free. Of course, I took it without question but I dropped 250 coins in his crudely made gratitude jar. He did not notice.

Black Wind nickered and nudged me softly jerking me out of my musings. I sighed. I have been thinking a lot lately, and I did not know why.

Waving off my uneasiness, I got on my black steed and the two of us trotted back up to Dragonclaw rock to start our search for the mysteriously missing men.

--Time Lapse. Five Hours Later.---

I cursed under my breath and cautiously turned Black Wind around back down the steep slope. I could go no further on horseback; I would have to continue on foot.

I reluctantly jumped off of my stallion and whispered for him to go back to Bruma in one of his ears. He eyed me with one intelligent eye before nickering and trotted off towards the city leaving me alone.

For the past few hours or so, Black Wind and I have been searching far and wide of the Jerral Mountains, but to no success. The rugged terrain was too tough for Black Wind to handle and we could only go so far before retreating and finding another path.

I shuddered from the bitter cold nipping at my cheeks and slowly looked up to the sky. Half past midday, it looked like. I could maybe search for an hour more before I would have to turn back and climb down the mountain range before the Frost God would freeze my soul to the snowy landform region.

I squinted my eyes and grunted from the onslaught of snow while trying to find a foothold in a steep cliff wall. Somebody had done something to anger one of the Nine Divines, because a snowstorm was slowly brewing. I could sense it. It would not be wise to continue the search.

Deciding that I should get out of the area as soon as possible, I started to make my decent down the mountains. A few minutes into my climb down, snow obscured my vision momentarily causing temporary blindness. The act of the freezing snow pelting my eyes caused my arms to reflexively cover them. I lost my balance at the sudden movement and tried to regain my balance, but to no avail. I could only scream before my skull hit a sharp rock. Searing pain flashed through my whole body before everything went black.

---Time Lapse. Unknown.---

Pain. The intense throbbing pain on my head.

My eyes fluttered open on their own accord and reflexively scanned my surroundings. It was dark, too dark. It was bitter cold, causing me to shudder every time wind crept inside my fur coat and brushed against my skin.

I briefly wondered where I was, but then it all came back to me. I was searching for the missing soldiers and I was heading back when I fell and- that was all I could remember. I had guessed I had lost consciousness, and had regained it by myself. But how? In this type of climate, a person would freeze to death within hours of falling dead to the world. Akatosh was defiantly on my side today, because it had been more than a few hours.

Snow whizzed by my head like Humans coming out of Oblivion and I had to cover my head once more as a chuck of ice fell.

My hands automatically reached for Blaze, only for them to close on empty air. I started to panic and glanced around me, but to no avail. Blaze must have been lost in the blizzard. I cursed outloud at my luck and went to stand up when I heard a faint sound in the distance. My blood froze. A howl.

Another one came soon after that.

My ears pricked up at a sudden savage snarl coming from a high point close by. I looked to my left to find a creature. This creature was like no other I had seen in my life, but I had recognized it in many fairytales and legends passed down through the ages.

It was a polar-white werewolf. They were native to the mountains of the surroundings countries, but they never crossed into the lands of Akatosh. I didn't understand.

The piercing orange eyes of the were beast felt like they were looking into my soul and my body froze up. I couldn't move. It curled up the top of its lip and growled at me, causing me to narrow my eyes. I wished I had Blaze with me.

Everything went in a blur after that. The beast pounced towards me, and I couldn't get away in time. It was going for the neck, like all beasts would. My arms went up automatically to defend myself causing the teeth of the monster rip through the fur sheltering my arm and dig into it up to the bone. I yelled out in sheer agony and, partially out of instinct and the other out of training, I managed to gasp out, "Lhach Paur!"

Fire formed in and around my dominant, which was left, hand. The flames snaked around my fist until it was covered in the blaze. I curled it into a ball and sent a flaming fist towards the werewolf's temple. Blood spurted out of the puncture wound and its polar white fur started to burn away rapidly.

The werewolf shrieked out of anger, fear, pain, and surprise at being struck in the head. It attempted to put pressure on the wound with its paws, but the effort was in vain. It let out a mournful howl and tried to put out the flames by rolling on the freezing snow.

That didn't work. The flames were magic. Only the caster could put out the flames, or they would go out themselves once the source of fuel ran out.

The monster got up from the ground and attempted to attack me again for the last time of its life, but I managed to roll over a little bit to dodge the weak attempt.

It wasn't until almost all of its fur was charred that it cried out and toppled to the ground, right on top of me thus knocking me unconscious once more.

AN: See? See? This is longer than the last one! And there was action in it, like I promised!

Lhach (pronounced: lahkh) means: Flame

Paur (pronounced: powr) means: Fist

I found the elvish words on a website somewhere, so the words do not belong to me. Just to let you know.

Please review! I would really like to know what you guys thought of the battle scene and if I should have built up to it more, or if that was fine. It seems rushed in my opinion…