Kenji's heart wouldn't stop pounding as they pressed deeper into the land of thorned vines, grim trees and weed-covered earth. The bird's vanished, while vicious claw marks took their place on every second tree
"You sure this is safe? That this is really your pack?" Kenji whispered, Tenko frowning at the claw marks.
"Yes...but these markings have changed. They're usually welcoming, these ones are angry. Those ones are just...crazy," Tenko pointed between several different slashes across the bark as if the differences were clear as day. Kenji just thought them all equally a sign that this was a bad idea.
"Maybe we could send a letter through this wolf and wait?" Kenji said hopefully, even if they were likely to get nabbed by the people of Essenark if they tried to retreat. "Or surely you can call over a werewolf by name for us to meet first, so we don't meet an unfamiliar one and get eaten before we can convince them we're friendly."
The worse thing was, friendly fire was absolutely on in this world. After playing enough games with his 'friends' to know how often they would kill each other given the chance, Kenji had a very pessimistic view of encountering these werewolf 'allies' who probably weren't aware of that fact quite yet.
"Tenko thinks it will be fine. Right brownie?"
"Yes," grunted the brown-furred wolf. Kenji had to blink a few times to register it had spoken at all.
"You could speak this whole time?" Kenji cried aloud rubbing his eyes and trying not to groan.
Brownie stayed silent.
"Tenko thinks Brownie is the silent type," Tenko muttered, "most wolves are. Moon too, Tenko was always surrounded by those who didn't like to talk much. Mum used to call Tenko a chatter box."
"You have a mother? Can she help us?"
Tenko looked at him confused, "she has been helping. Lots and lots, evertime Tenko has asked!"
That made Kenji confused in turn.
"Who's your mother then? I haven't seen any other werewolves while-"
"Here," Brownie coughed, bringing them through some especially thick bushes and to a gaping cave entrance. Above the trees had choked out the sky, while vines bound the trees together as firm as castle walls.
"Mabye we should think about this," turning kenji discovered two lurking figures in the darkness behind him. A brutish mixture of wolf and human, tumours grew along their snouts, their wolfish faces missing patchs of fur and their stomaches painfully thin against taut ribcages. Drooling, the starving and sick pair stared at kenji with a desperate desire.
"Kenji hurry up. Tenko thinks those two are nearly too hungry to care," Tenko whispered, pulling him by the hand down into the cave. Filled with cold air, the sounds of sniffing and the distant echo of dripping, Kenji prepared himself to fight.
Within they passed piles of straw, each filled with sick and starving wolves, while some few held sick and starving werewolves instead. They looked just as terrible as the two out front, their yellow eyes shining weakly through the darkness as they tracked Kenji with drooling mouths filled with far too many sharp teeth.
Descending ever lower, Kenji become increasingly worried of the great many werewolves they passed. Even if only wretched husks of their former selves, they were great in number and held a desperate look in them as they trailed Kenji like stray cats to an open can of tuna.
At the deepest depths they arrived, a pack of starved and diseased werewolves sourrounding a much larger one of dark black fur with hints of wispy grey. Maw drenched red, it lifted it's head away from the dead dear at it's feet, little werewolf pups spewing from the ground like wriggling darkness, snapping at one another and howling as they sought to get a bite.
With a wild swipe, the much larger werewolf denied them, the starved youngesters too weak too retreat far merely fell upon the ground. One tried to fill it's mewling stomachs with dirt, shoving in the sodden earth by the mouthful.
"What has happened?" Tenko growled, and rappidly turned into her great white furred wolf form.
"Priestess, it has been some time," rumbled the large black werewolf, "the warrior sent you then?"
"The one in Essenark? Tenko met him," Tenko snapped. "But why are you all this way? Have the Furbolgs really grown so strong as this?"
"Nasik thinks that is so. They drive away our food, they unleash disease amongst our kin and plague us with our own kind turned feral. Nasik has long awaited your return, but it is too late. Preparations are already underway to leave."
"Leave? Where? The Lair is Tenko's home, it is our home!"
"Sacrifices, must...be made...." wheezed a voice reminiscent of old leather and rustling wind. From the shadowy corner of the cave, Kenji made out the laboured breathing of a wall of fur. Graphite grey, and peppered with boils, puss and disease the vast creature struggled to even breathe. At it's side were a litter of hunchbacked wolf children, malnurited and malformed they now ate at the creatures side, even as it still lived. Even then the shield sized yellow orb stared at Kenji and Tenko without pain nor alarm.
"Elder! Get off him! TENKO SAID GET OFF!" Lunging forward Tenko battered the werewolf children aside, who ran off with crimson mouths into the dark caverns. From within the darkness little yellow eyes watched, starvation having worn away their sanity, and now looked at the weak elder with no more sense of intelligence as a wild animal.
"Don't hurt them Tenko... this is all Elder's fault anyway. Elder did not mean for them to grow up so hungry, and the others have not the energy to stop them. Only three hunter hunt, seeing as Elder cannot do so with her there is not enough food. Three warriors already hunt all day to keep the young one alive, many more have vanished in the attempt," the wall of fur very slowly a gummed up yellow eye, a golden moon nestled within shining brightly.
"How can Tenko help? How can I make things better - if you try to move away you'll be sacrificing so many, the others cannot move let alone travel," Tenko hissed, turning again to snarl at those children who had tried to creep back. Yelping they fled, yet there was no shame in their eyes, just the animalistic instinct they had been reduced too.
"It started with the Furbolgs increasing the number of animals they drew away from the region. Without food we had to travel far, and hunt whatever we could. We thought we got lucky with a herd of deer, and shared it with the pack. They must have placed that herd knowing we would find it, because from the next day we all came down with the plague," coughing up a mixture of blood and pleghm, the Elder's hallway sized ribcage shook violently.
"We brought medicine for that, from the warrior in Essenark. He asked that I bring it for you," Tenko said, gesturing towards Kenji who had already removed his backpack. Inside were a great store of potions, the closest werewolves snarling at the sight.
"Forgive them, we have been tricked before," rasped the Elder. "We bought potions from a local witch that had moved in, being told they were sourced from the Furbolgs and could remove the plague. It worked...but it was addictive, and without more our pack members grew violent....then feral. Eventually they sought out the humans of Essenark, who would feed them somthing to make that go away along with their sense of self. Our choices are now to seek somewhere else to grow strong again, or to fall under the humans sway and become mindless drones."
"Unless you get fed, and the real anti-plague potion," Kenji said a bit too loud, his voice echoing back at him along with a chorus of snarls.
"Who is this...human? He does not smell like one of their kind, a half breed?"
Turning into his true form, Kenji was pleased to hear the snarls halt. In their place curious yellow eyes peered at his dark tattered robes covered in copper chains without the slightest hunger.
"He doesn't smell like food now....interesting. You think even if we we're strong we could force the Furbolgs to surrender? Their druids are powerful, our wars with them in the past never ended in our success. If they work with the humans, it would be like limping right into their cages."
"Tenko thinks we should get strong first," Tenko announced, summoning her silver moon to bathe all in it's moonlight, "Tenko will hunt for food while medicine works. Then we attack the Furblogs, kill their leader and have Kenji pry their secrets from the corpse."
Kenji thought that a bit hasty, but the collection of approval from the wolves along with Tenko's fierce determination made him think twice. He was also suprised that no one commented about his memory collecting abilities, the werewolf pack apparently accepting her words without comment.
"You'll need to collect our warriors too. The one in Essenark works to coral the feral werewolves, and led many of them to the humans. He is not to be trusted. But many more roam the wilds collecting food for us, or have decided to wait this out themselves and plan to form their own pack. Until I am strong enough to lead them, it is up to you Tenko to bring the pack back together. To convince them we are still strong as one."
"Tenko thought the warrior in the village very helpful, he gave all this medicine-"
"Medicine that might be laced with the drug," the elder sighed, "give it to me first. Let me make sure it is clean before the young ones have any. And even if it is, I did not say he is bad. I know full well how he has been the one mauling the human hunters, better to stop them realising our fragile state here and coming for the rest of us. Can You accomplish this, Tenko? Can you save us?"
Tenko rose her white furred head and howled, the other werewolves joining in,
The wolf children had the shadow of self return to their eyes as they joined the howl, the Elder letting loose a long whistling tune to join in.
Rather creeped out, Kenji just tried to remain quiet as he approached the Elder, the closest werewolves growling at him.
"In that case I'll stay here, and tend to the sick. Seeing as my base body can't really be affected and all, so please ready yourself Elder. I expect this to sting," yet seeing his many opened wounds was forced to add," and I need either fire or strong alcohol. We'll need to disinfect the wounds before i place the potion on it."
While Kenji was thankful that they moved off to get what he asked for, he did not look forward to the giant wolf's reaction to the intense pain Kenji's inexperienced hands were about to deliver. Still, better that then outright death.