In the dusk of night, the carriage made its way. The journey began quickly as they left the city and entered into a treeline. The world around them disappearing as trees began to fill the entire landscape around them.
The carriage ride became all the more comforting once they had put some distance between themselves and the city. Sev deciding it was safe enough to rest, he laid his feet horizontally beside him and passed out.
Nora patiently sat in the carriage for several hours until she began to nod off. Although no longer necessary, the act of sleeping still held some value as it was one of the most refreshing experiences, the call to sleep continued to grow until the carriage came to a halt and a loud noise startled her awake.
*knock* *knock*
The carriage door opened, revealing Sev's ghoul comrade enshrouded in his black robe. Although he was covered from head to toe, Nora still saw that the ghoul was having a hard time staying still, his actions screaming anxiety.
"Master, there's some trouble up ahead!" rather urgently he called out.
Somehow reaching the borderline asleep Sev, "Nora would you mind dealing with it?" nonchalantly dismissing the distressed ghoul and his worry.
"I'll go check it out, ghoul, may I know your name?" Nora responded
The ghoul looked to Sev for permission before replying, "People call me Stormskin, if you wouldn't mind, we've got company."
Understanding the urgency, Nora hopped off the carriage, "Why are you called Stormskin?" the rather odd-sounding name confused her. It was a vastly different name from all the others she had met so far.
"Only my contractor may know my real name. The reason people call me Stormskin is due to a gift my master granted me..."
A small surge of blue lightning began to arc around Stormskin's body, before being cut off by Sev, "Don't do it so close to the carriage!" At that moment, Nora understood Sev's words. The stench of rotting flesh burning made it's way to her. The sudden arrival of the smell nearly causing her to throw up. Only holding back her uncontrollable gagging by sheer willpower.
In the midst of her gagging, she spotted a dozen wolves stumble onto the road. At such a distance she could only see the vague features of the wolves. Their white fur drawing a sharp contrast with the forest around them. As they approached, their sheer size dawned on Nora. These wolves were nearly two meters tall, their large frames showing the faint signs of blood, clearly not their own.
At the sight of these creatures, Nora felt both excited and slighgtly worried. It had been such a long time since she had gotten to properly punch something. To her relief, Stormskin spoke,
"Those are River Wolves, the adults are almost as strong as a Knight, their real danger comes from their large pack numbers. They shouldn't be too much of a hassle at this distance..."
As Stormskin hadn't been fully briefed on the current situation, he suspected that the young miss was a prospective Mage and therefore dismissed any danger associated with the pack of River Wolves. Yet to his surprise, instead of casting spells, the young miss burst forward with incredible speed.
Nora finally having a target, shot forward. Lamenting the lack of a weapon but excited nonetheless, she headed straight for the largest of the River Wolves. As she neared the wolves, they too accepted the challenge and charged towards her.
Nora's fist recoiled backwards before throwing a vicious punch at the open jaw of the Alpha River Wolf. The initial resistance gave way as the jaw became unhinged and tore off the poor wolves face. The sound of tendons snapping and flesh ripping made the entire pack freeze motionless.
Not wanting to waste the opportunity, she threw two more violent swings at the Alpha's head, each swing further disconnecting the head of the River wolf from its body. With the first signs of the alpha going limp, she turned her focus to the next wolf.
Digging her feet into the ground, she threw herself towards the next wolf, continuing her carnage
-
Stormskin back at the carriage could only sit back at the sight of the brutal little girl. She had completely defied his expectations. He would've never expected the young miss to be such a monster. Her movements showed no remorse or thought, almost as instinct she flung herself from one wolf to the next as she contorted and deformed the poor wolves.
-
Nora had made her way through eleven of the wolves as she threw the final kick to the side of the last wolves head. The kick itself breaking the wolves neck with an audible crack.
Finding relief in the violence, Nora took a deep breath, calming her mind and body. She truly needed to punch something, the lack of power she had felt previously in front of the Headmaster had gotten to her and now she had released the pent up anger.
In the forest around her, the air stood silent. Until, she heard a quiet whimpering off in the bushes to the side of the road.
'Crap...'