The Wolf's Lair

A deep orange light filtered dimly through the trees as the group of four wound their way through the tall trees and gradually inclining landscape. The spectrum of colours that came with a sunset was nearly at its end; night had almost fallen, and it was becoming increasingly harder for John to keep up with his female companions. The two huntresses seemed to glide across the ground, and Saccha could literally fly; meanwhile, John was struggling to find firm footing in the low light.

“Sheesh, you’re like an elephant trodding on bubble wrap!” Cynthia complained. “And a slow one at that! Can’t you just teleport to make less noise or something?”

“No, I don’t actually have the ability to teleport,” John replied.

“Oh… how are we supposed to be escaping, then?” Cynthia wondered, looking back at him with mild concern.

“We’ll be exploiting a feature of the Game in our escape,” John explained. “While most people are able to create barriers freely, I have to unlock them through exploring a mega barrier which I can access from anywhere. Since the barrier is located in Europe, I’m technically travelling across space to get there.”

“Clever,” Miranda hummed, having come to understand. “So anyone who tries to follow us will find it’s not as simple as entering into a present barrier or tracing a warp.”

“Right,” John nodded. Of course, it remained an untested theory if someone who tried could actually follow them, but John neglected to mention it.

“Nifty,” Cynthia agreed. “But you’re still trumpeting your way through the forest; we are trying to sneak into a camp of wargs, remember?”

“Saccharine can mask my scent and I have a ‘Sneaking skill’ that allows me to move quietly,” John answered. “Though I’d rather not use it until we’re closer since it costs mana.”

“That should be fine,” Miranda replied with a reassuring smile. “Just try to tread in our steps. You’ll make less noise that way.”

“I’ll try my best,” John agreed.

It was easier said than done. While the noise was reduced, he was still loud and slowed the group significantly as they traversed through the forest. It was a good thing they’d left slightly ahead of schedule else they wouldn’t have made it to their assigned position on time. It was a vantage that peered out over a sparkling lake, as if it was covered in tinfoil. On the western shore, not too far from where the four of them hid, a moderately large cliff face rose from the ground, littered with caves. Under the pale moonlight, the cave mouths together looked uncomfortably like a crowd of screaming faces.

“Well, I gotta say,” Cynthia began quietly, “the location checks out. Looks like the lair of an evil villain to me.”

“You doubt my scouting?” her mother replied with mock offense.

“Nah, just admiring papa wolf’s choice of locale,” Cynthia chuckled.

“Uh-huh,” Miranda rolled her eyes before scanning the cave and its surroundings. “I can spot three wargs by the largest cave mouth and more moving through the trees at two and eleven o’clock.”

“There’s another at one, leaning against those rocks,” Cynthia pointed out in a mocking voice. “C’mon, Mom, you’re getting sloppy.”

“I was just testing you,” Miranda replied wryly. “You failed to spot the one tucked away in the shade above the caves.”

“Well that one was so obvious I felt I didn’t even need to point him out,” Cyn replied quickly.

John tried his best to follow along with the girls’ commentary but could barely see two of the wargs, so he just took their word for it. “And how do we know they won’t spot us?” John asked in a hushed voice.

“Well, we’re downwind with our scents masked by a fae, up high, in the shadows, and out of arrow shot. Unless you’re a complete wanker, or a scout walks over us, they won’t find us,” Cynthia replied calmly. “Anyway, how long until the fireworks?”

“Any minute now…”

No sooner had the words left Miranda’s lips than a lone howl resounded across the lake. Just as Red had voiced her concerns about his part to play in this operation, John wasn’t all too happy with her role as bait. But Red was the obvious choice, after all, her recapture was the reason Vulpis had come to Springfield in the first place. Next to her, John’s mother was nothing to the warg. He’d undoubtedly answer Red’s call.

It had unsurprisingly caused a commotion among the wargs by the caves. Several more had emerged, including an abnormally large wolf that looked closer to the size of a bear than a hound. Even from a distance John could make out gleaming claws that looked like they could slice through steel beams. It had to be Vulpis.

The large wolf snapped at his men briefly before darting into the forest to hunt Red. Those in a human form shifted to that of their four-legged brethren and quickly followed, leaving behind only a few to guard the cave entrance. Altogether they were a sizeable pack about twenty five strong. That was slightly more than the Order’s original estimate; however, the slight increase in numbers wasn’t a huge concern. Red’s cry might have been solitary, but she was by no means alone. The combined forces of the Order, the Hunters of Artemis, and Chey’s pack lay in wait for Vulpis’ inevitable arrival. Even with his pack he was outnumbered almost three to one. As Lord Brighton had reminded every body at least a dozen times, they could simply “crush the bastard and be done with it”. Of course, holding Brenda hostage meant that the operation required far more finesse. Her life would be at risk if they pushed Vulpis into a corner, hence the need for Red to draw him away.

“Alright, it’s time to move,” Miranda ordered as she rose to her feet and crept into the forest. Her daughter quickly followed.

John found his legs were weak as he tried to do the same. Everything rested on them. John didn’t even dare think about the consequences of their failure.

“Well? What’re you quivering in your boots for, you fucking pansy,” Saccharine voiced from inside his breast pocket. “Let’s go and rescue some milf ass so you can tap it later!”

Despite the tense circumstances John couldn’t help but let out a small chuckle. “I am not fucking my mother,” he replied quickly, before making to follow the two huntresses.

John made sure to activate his Sneaking skill as they crept along the shoreline of the lake. If Cynthia was unhappy with his level of noise, she didn’t voice it. As they neared the cave entrance, Miranda held her hand up to John, signalling for him to wait. John did what he was told and took shelter in a nearby bush while the two girls split up, melding into the forest before his very eyes.

Keeping Red’s company these past few days, John had quickly come to learn that wargs possessed keen ears and an even keener nose. It was a testament to the prowess of the huntresses, then, that the pair of wargs standing guard by the cave entrance were unaware of their presence right up until the moment arrows came whistling towards them from the treetops. By then it was far too late. One fell to his knees with a quiet thud before slumping face first on the floor and snapping the arrow that hit bullseye quite literally in his eye. The other let out a strangled gurgle as blood spluttered from his mouth and he fumbled weakly at his severed jugular before he too fell to the floor.

After judging it safe, the two huntresses leapt down from their vantages and signalled for John to come out before examining their kills. The entire incident had lasted only a few moments.

“That was a lousy shot,” John heard Miranda scolding her child as he stepped towards them. “It should have been quick and painless. You can do better.”

“I know. Sorry,” Cynthia replied shortly, her eyes downcast. Evidently they didn’t take killing lightly, which was for the best as far as John was concerned — even if the victims were a pack of homicidal werewolves that had kidnapped his mother.

“Good,” Miranda replied. “Now let’s not waste any—”

A slight rustle in the bush behind them caused the two huntresses to whirl around, arms strained as they held their bows taut in the direction of the disturbance. John hadn’t even seen them draw their arrows.

Warily, a fox crept out towards them. Its coat of pure black fur made it nigh invisible, save for the gleam of its beady yellow eyes. The creature had likely been startled by the bloodshed.

“It’s just a fox,” Miranda sighed, lowering her bow and gently putting a hand on her daughter’s arm.

The fox yipped once before darting away into the shadows.

Something about that fox had seemed off to him. Sure, they were in the middle of a forest, so maybe he was just being paranoid, but he couldn’t shake the suspicion that it had been more than meets the eye. He decided to ask the experts. “Are foxes common out in these woods?”

“Yeah, you see them from time to time,” Cynthia shrugged. “Haven’t seen one like that before, though. Why?”

“Huh,” John hummed in response. “It’s just Vulpis is part fox. Do you think he might be using them as scouts or something?”

“Unlikely,” Miranda shook her head. “Wargs don’t hunt with wild animals, and aside from that it would require a strong telepathic connection to effectively handle them. There’s too much magical interference in the area thanks to the ley-lines and barriers that converge here for that kind of power to work.”

“Maybe I’m just being paranoid…” John said aloud but still unable to rid himself of the discontent that had settled in his stomach.

“Understandable, but it's almost over,” Miranda reassured him. “So come, your mother’s waiting,” she said before leading the way into the cave.

“Right,” John nodded and followed her.

The mouth of the cave wasn’t exactly large. John had to duck past a set of jagged teeth to step into the belly beyond. Having struggled so much to keep his footing during their trek in the forest, John was seriously wondering how he’d manage on the ragged ground in pitch darkness. But John felt the familiar tingling sensation of stepping into a barrier and found that the inside was spacious and pleasantly lit. While still very much a cave, the barrier had large carved steps that ran its length, and the walls were lined with sconces. The downside was that there was nowhere to hide, so if they encountered a warg, they were pretty much guaranteed to fight. The girls had each drawn an arrow for that very reason, and John gripped his own blades tightly.

They warily followed the stairs down a snaking path in absolute silence, the two huntresses taking the lead and John bringing up the rear with Saccha still hiding in his breast pocket. The cave eventually converged with several others at a large cavern. A bonfire burned calmly at its centre, sending thin plumes of smoke towards the ceiling where they dispersed by some magical means so as not to congest the room with smoke. Sleeping mats had been spread across the floor, thankfully absent of any occupants, and on the left side of the cavern was a makeshift kitchen where a boar was currently roasting over an open fire.

Miranda signalled for them to stop and gestured to the far side of the cavern where a sleeping figure could be seen just beyond the bonfire. It was a woman. She had been stripped bare, revealing her milky white flesh and shapely body, now mired with grime and fresh scars from a series of scratches and bites. “Mom!” John hissed as his blood began to boil and he took a step forward.

Miranda barred his way. “John,” the older woman said in a hushed but stern voice. “Now’s not the time to get angry; there could be any number of threats lying in ambush between us and her. We need to approach carefully.”

He calmed a little at her words. She was right, now wasn’t the time to lose his head. The whole setup was trap 101. “Okay,” John quietly acknowledged her words.

“You two take the right side of the room, I’ll take the left, we’ll rejoin at Brenda on the other side, and John gets us out. Tread lightly, and have your weapons ready,” Miranda ordered.

“Roger,” Cynthia nodded and glanced meaningfully at John before they began to circle the room.

John took every step as if the floor was about to fall from under him. His eyes cautiously scanned the room, trying to ignore every flickering shadow cast by the bonfire and focus on detecting genuine threats. Yet they reached Brenda without any interruption.

John released the breath he hadn’t realised he’d been holding and quickly knelt down by his mother. Her condition was unpleasantly similar to those of the women Vulpis had kept in his dungeon; the smell of sex simultaneously making John want to vomit and rip the warg’s throat out. ‘Now’s not the time,’ he chanted to himself like a mantra. ‘You can get angry later. First, get the fuck out of here.’

Trying to ignore her naked and voluptuous body, he shook his mother a little more roughly than he would have liked to stir her from her slumber. “Mom!” he shouted in a whisper.

Brenda groaned and her eyes fluttered open to look at him hazily. “... Shohn?” she slurred weakly.

“That’s right, it’s me, John,” he replied in the most calming voice he could muster while he opened the party window and sent the invite. “I need you to accept this,” he told her hurriedly, but much to his dismay, she barely even registered the screen appearing before her.

“Hurry up,” Cynthia hissed at him.

“She’s barely even conscious!” John shot back.

“We don’t have time to waste, just press it for her!”

John wasn’t even sure he could do that, but it was worth a shot. Grabbing her wrist, he directed her hand towards the accept button, and her name thankfully appeared in his HUD shortly after.

“Good, let’s go,” Miranda

“Already on it,” John replied as he launched the Depths barrier.

Error: cannot open dungeon. Exit current barrier to continue.

‘That’s not good,’ John frowned.

Error: Spell - Escape I.D. failed. Secure area to continue.

’But that’s way fucking worse,’ John thought just as a familiar voice began to laugh. He whirled around to face his enemy.

“I’ve been expecting you, boy,” the lone figure of Vulpis said gleefully.