Wolves by the River

They were surrounded by wolves.

Jess and Gred looked around and saw three or four watching from nearby. There might be more hiding in the forest.

The wolves in Elwynn hadn't been having an easy time lately. The invading gnolls had taken over their territory and competed for food. Forced closer to human settlements to survive, the wolves had started clashing with farmers and herders.

Jess took the staff off his back and gripped it. Now that he was facing real animals, he realized how much safer a bladed weapon felt.

At least any hit with a blade could open a wound without needing much strength or skill. What advantage did a staff have besides being long?

"Gred. Your dagger." Jess held out a hand. "Let me borrow it."

Gred tossed it over. Jess quickly wrapped it to one end of the staff with cloth and thin cord, tying it tightly. He swung and tugged at it to make sure it wouldn't come loose easily. Only then did he feel a little safer.

"Think they'll attack?" Jess asked.

"They wouldn't show themselves if they weren't willing to," Gred answered. "Otherwise they'd have run off as soon as they smelled us. They're as clever as dogs. They wouldn't have come this far unless they thought they could win."

Even as he said it, he stayed seated on the ground, as though he didn't care whether the wolves jumped at him.

Jess was ready to fight, gripping his makeshift spear in both hands and watching everything around him.

"These wolves are small," Gred said, popping a biscuit into his mouth. He stood and brushed dirt off his backside. "They probably haven't met many dwarves. Maybe they think I'm a human child. And with you looking so nervous, they must think we're easy prey. Well, let's teach them a lesson."

When Gred stood up, the wolves shifted.

Jess raised his spear, ready to meet them. Gred held out a hand.

"Wait. They'll test how dangerous you are. If you act too brave, they'll think you're not afraid. And if you're not afraid, they may think you've got some power they don't know about—magic, or a really dangerous weapon. Once they realize that, they'll back off. They might run, or circle around until you get tired and impatient and make a mistake. So don't rush. Don't look too aggressive. Let them get close and start showing their teeth. Then hit them suddenly."

Sure enough, the wolves approached but didn't attack immediately. Some stayed farther away while others moved close. There were seven or eight of them now, large and small, more than the farmer had mentioned.

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Jess lowered his stance a little, but he grew more nervous by the moment. He glanced at Gred. The dwarf was gripping his sword tightly, and even his hand was trembling. Was he nervous too?

A wolf to one side suddenly came closer, growling low. Jess reacted at once, turning his spear toward it. But then he heard a rustle behind him.

Gred's sword flashed down. A wolf trying to ambush Jess from behind lost a front leg on the spot and rolled across the ground, howling. Gred moved with frightening speed. In another quick step, he cut halfway into a second wolf's head, then kicked the twitching, half-dead animal to pull his blade free.

Jess drove his spear hard into the wolf in front of him. To his surprise, the dagger came loose immediately.

The wolf, stabbed deep in the back, whined and backed away trembling. Several wolves that had been hidden in the woods charged forward. Jess struck another wolf solidly on the ear with the bare staff, knocking it rolling across the ground.

"They're running!" Gred shouted angrily from behind him.

Jess turned. Many of the wolves had already vanished into the forest.

"After them! They might run toward their den. We could find their food there."

The dwarf was already charging into the trees.

Jess found the badly wounded young wolf he'd stabbed, pulled his dagger free, and chased after Gred while tying it onto the staff again.

Only then did he understand what Gred meant by their food: the place where the Stormill family's child might be.

Jess sprinted after the dwarf. But how could two people on foot keep up with forest wolves? They soon lost sight of them.

Breathing hard, Gred followed the scattered tracks on the ground. "All these brainless idiots running everywhere... They've left tracks you couldn't miss if you tried. I'll find where you little bastards live today."

They followed the tracks until Jess began to hear running water. They'd reached the river.

The wolves' trail led downstream. After a while, Jess spotted a wolf on the far side of a stream branching off the main river. It stood there looking at them, wagging its tail again and again.

In his impatience, Gred hitched up his trousers and splashed across the stream toward it. Halfway across, he suddenly stopped.

The wolf didn't move. It just stood on the other side watching them.

The dwarf turned and rushed back through the water even faster than before.

"Get out of here, Jess!"

Jess immediately understood why that lone wolf had been standing there. But when he turned, the grass ahead was already full of dark shapes.

Toward the forest, enormous adult wolves stood under the moonlight watching them like hunters proudly looking over prey they'd already trapped.

Gred came to Jess's side, studied the pack, and snorted. "Now you see why I insisted on bringing you? This is a bit much for me to handle alone."

"Could you quit acting like you knew this would happen?" Jess said helplessly. "We fell for it. That's all."

Gred didn't argue. "If we're going to solve that farm's problem, we'll have to kill this pack sooner or later. Now I know why the locals haven't taken this job. It's too much trouble. But that makes things simple. We just kill them!"

This time they weren't facing seven or eight young wolves. There was a whole pack, probably more than ten, including several large adults.

The dwarf pointed at the dark shapes. "The leader should be one of those biggest ones. It's too dark to tell which. When they come in, aim for them."

This pack was far more imposing than the young wolves. They closed in quickly. Jess could already see the bared fangs of the nearest one.

Gred was much more tense than before. He kept taking deep breaths. This was going to be a difficult fight.

Jess raised his makeshift spear. Heat pulsed through the back of his head.