Under the Cover of Darkness

Chapter 15 - Wolf Bite

Thomas Grizzly blew gently at the charred sticks he had put together in hopes of starting a fire; however, nothing formed as the moist tinder and kindling were unable to catch fire. Unwilling to give up on the project, the Etherlen pulled out a piece of flint and grabbed a rock from the ground. Before he could begin creating sparks to hopefully ignite the light tinder, Huey's voice rang through the moist and humid air of the cave. "Give it up! We don't need the fire anyways. It's hot enough as it is."

"If you wish for me to quit, I will, but it wasn't for me to begin with. Understand that without your magic working, the odds of escaping alive are minimal. By starting a fire, I was hoping you could maybe reconnect with your powers naturally instead of having to create fire with your own magic," Thomas explained. He still wore his usual clothing, and despite the humidity and lack of refreshing breezes, the Etherlen continued to wear his baby blue scarf unperturbed.

"It's no use. Something is interfering with the magic in the area. It explains why our connection to Alric got cut and why the mini-maps don't work," Huey said.

The two were resting in a small cave they found in the side of a large boulder that had become the support beam for a tree-covered knoll. Cooler than the humid weather of the thick forest, the cave provided shelter for the two Company members. Both were covered in perspiration and, in the case of Huey, had shed parts of their clothing. The pyromancer's black leather jacket was nowhere to be seen as he had it taken from him earlier. His usual spiked hairdo had been dirtied and flattened.

The sound of howling wolves in the early autumn evening echoed throughout the forest. "They're getting closer," Thomas said.

"No shit," Huey muttered.

Sensing his frustrations, Thomas walked over to the Jempole with an elongated, yet genuine, smile reaching from cheek to cheek. He sat down next to where the Jempole leaned against the wall on the ground of compacted rock. "Don't worry. I guarantee that Alric is searching..."

He was cut off by the incensed pyromancer. "Worry? Did you just tell me not to worry? We're fucked! Period, end of story. You think the Great Champion of Ardor is going to save us from that herd of monstrous wolves."

"Why do you say that though? Just because you can't use your magic doesn't mean we've lost," Thomas stated in a calm and reassuring, but it had no effect on the raging Huey who had stressfully grabbed his black hair with both hands.

"Of course we've lost! I mean, look at us. We're in a sweltering cave hiding from our deaths. Those beasts are unbeatable. Each wolf is at least five feet long, and they screwed us up. You're covered in just as many scratches as I am," Huey said pointing at Thomas's torn clothing. "If we go out there again, we'll both be dead. If we stay here, we'll end up dead."

"Huey, you don't seem to be thinking too sensibly..."

"Sensibly?" Huey yelped. "I'm about to die. This is a damn tease." He buried his head into his hands and let out long winded sobs. The fear of death consumed the Jempole as he cried, "I'm never going to see her again. I'll never see my wife again."

Thomas Grizzly got up to leave the pyromancer in his wallows of tears and anxiety. "I'll make sure you see her again. I can promise you that," Thomas said as he stared out the entrance to the cave towards the darkening sky. The dense clusters of trees that made up the forest had darkened the earthen floor, but from his position in the cave, he could make out the beautiful purples and oranges that were painted luxuriously along the setting sun's backdrop.