Before you read: Again, for people who aren't familar with the game, a balverine is a werewolf. There's information on my profile about them, as far as what they look like : )

Chapter 5

It happened on a short, simple mission. Carry the trader's gold to her unfortunate brother in Bowerstone. He crossed through Darkwood, and stumbled into a small pack of balverines.

They were the usual breed. Covered with dark, rough fur that allowed them to melt into the shadows of skeletal trees and rocky crags; the only thing to alert him to their presence was the flash of bright eyes and long pupils. He counted five, before they howled and sprang at him as one beast.

One went down immediately beneath his cleaver. A second received a knife through its cheek and a series of broken fangs, but leapt for the trees before he could deal the killing blow. The three remaining on the ground circled, flexing long, claw-tipped fingers, showing teeth and washing their tongues over yellowed fangs in a foreboding picture. The largest was the most intelligent; the Hero spotted a tale-tell gleam in the powerful beast's eye. It commanded the others to stay back with a low, long growl.

But a balverine's bloodlust is undeniable, and one of them shook with it. It lunged for Doumeki's throat from behind, missed, and instead sunk canines the length of Doumeki's fingers into the meat of his shoulder.

The Archer's body stiffened with pain and he bit his tongue, even as he undulated and took off the monster's arm at an angle that bit deeply into its chest. It fell away, gurgling as blood spilled into its opened lung, and the knifed creature dropped from the tree and locked its jaws over its fallen packmember's throat.

The largest beast roared, furious, and it and the remaining balverine surged forward.

Doumeki brought his weapon up with cry, presenting the shining edge to the oncoming animal- which met it with a howl. The balervine bounced back and the Archer himself skipped to the side to dodge the packleader's sweeping claws. To no avail; the beast's talons pierced his leathers and raked down his back, to his hip.

Sweating from pain, adrenaline making everything he saw move slowly, the Hero jerked a second knife from his belt and tossed it, end over end, into the remaining packmember's eye- and hit. The handle shook with a twang! as it buried itself to the hilt in the beast's socket, dropping it with a last heavy keen.

The leader roared again, slashing at the wounded balverine feasting on its comrade. The monster fell back with a sharp whimper and disappeared into the infamous gloom of Darkwood, and Doumeki was left in the company of only two corpses and the single largest balverine he had ever laid eyes on.

The circling continued. He moved evenly, slowly away and around, the monster happily mirroring his movements. The scratches down his back and the bit to his shoulder throbbed, and Doumeki flinched at the icy burn of the balverine plague spreading into his bloodstream.

The packleader grinned at him, baring strong, bloodied fangs, and lunged.

Hello, cliffy ;)

-Oceans

(Sorry if you got an email about chapter six. I did something stupid Dx)