Aurial stared at the wolf as Armyd shook his head.
"Do you think with anything other than your stomach, Tsirion?"
The wolf laughed, a sound that was somewhere between a pant and a huff. "I do, but I don't want to mention it in front of the young lady there."
Groaning, the mage pulled out another battered tin plate and scooped some of the remainders of the stew onto it, setting it down on the ground.
"Did that wolf just talk?" the Elf stammered.
The wolf turned its ice-blue eyes on her for a moment, a wry look crossing its lupine features.
"No," it said sarcastically. "I'm a figment of your imagination."
Aurial stared at the creature as it began to eat the stew. She had never even heard of such a thing, even in the ancient tales of her people.
"Tsirion is something of a special case," Armyd said as he began to stretch out on his bedroll. "He was once an Elf, until he made a certain wizard very unhappy."
"Not my fault the fool got a five hundred gold crown bounty put on his head," the wolf quipped between laps at the plate.
"You want to tell the story?" the mage fired back.
Licking his chops, the wolf swung his head back and forth, lowering himself down to his belly.
"Anyway, in the process of running the wizard to ground, Tsirion here got cursed into a wolf for his trouble. Had a handful of people offer to turn him back, but he always turns them down."
"Better this way," Tsirion said. "Don't need money, don't need to have worry about angry gamblers accosting me on the road,"
'"More annoying to your friends," the man said.
Ignoring the human, the wolf finished with a broad grin. "And the lady wolves find me rather fetching, to tell the truth."
Aurial looked at the creature with raised eyebrows.
"Don't mind him; he was a letch before he got turned into a wolf." The mage rolled onto his side, away from the fire. "You'd think that he would have mellowed as time went on, though."
The wolf snorted. "Keep it up and you can stand watch yourself tonight," Tsirion shot back.
The more Aurial listened to their back and forth, the more she realized that this was a much repeated exchange, good natured ribbing between friends and not actual threats. She felt a small stab of jealousy at that thought. Even though she had been rather close to the innkeeper and a few others back in Seveant, she really hadn't had any true friends since she had struck out on her own.
"Aurial?"
She looked up, confused. "Hmm?"
"I asked if you wanted to take a turn at watch duty tonight or not," the mage said, eyeing her carefully.
The young elf thought for a few minutes. "I'll take a turn," she said.
"Good," the wolf said, trotting back out into the shadows. "You'll have the dawn shift, since you're a greenhorn."
She bristled for a moment before she heard the quiet laughing coming from the mage.
"Ignore him," he said, pulling his blanket up over his form. "Dawn shift is the better for new campaigners; you don't have to split your sleep up or force yourself to stay alert longer. Just get some rest."
Aurial stretched out on her own bedroll, staring out at the darkness where the wolf was patrolling.
"How long have you known that fuzzball?" she asked.
"A long time," the mage said quietly. "Met him before you were born."
"Before I was born?" She thought, sitting up in surprise. Just how old is he?
But Armyd was already asleep.
***
Armyd stood in the middle of a street; clothes ripped and tattered, gripping a smooth metal staff topped with a small crystal. He stared down the avenue, sweat running down his face as he stared at the burning buildings. Bodies littered every bit of the town, some missing limbs, others with large blackened holes in the centers of their chests. The reek of death filled his nostrils, making him gag and fight back the urge to puke.
He reached a body, kneeling to check for signs of life, but the hand that entered his view was not his own. He looked at his hands, then at the body, memory flooding into him. He stood and turned as he heard a crackling sound. As he turned, he caught a glimpse of a tall form before he was flung backwards as a large burning ball slammed into his chest. Rolling to put out the flames, he stood up, using the staff for leverage and turned towards the figure that had attacked, seeing only the slender form before he was struck by a bolt of searing lightning from above, his body dissipating quickly.
He started to scream, only to sit up suddenly, staring out at the darkened campsite where he and Aurial had settled for the night, his blankets twisted about his legs.
He scrubbed his hands over his face, feeling the sweat drying there. "Another one," he said to himself, calming down. "You'd think I'd be done with them by now."
"Still having nightmares, eh?" came the silky voice from behind. Turning, he found the shadowy form of Tsirion trotting into the camp from the shadows.
"It's almost to the point I should expect to still get new ones," he said, knowing the wolf wouldn't come by just for small talk. "Anything happen on your watch?"
The wolf chuckled, grey tail swishing back and forth. "Not really. A few foxes have come by to sniff about but that's about all." He flicked his tongue up against his nose. "It's your turn at watch, anyway."
"Another uneventful night," the mage said, reaching for his cloak.
"Oh," the wolf said. "There is a small pack of wolves that have a den nearby. If any of them come sniffing around, wake me up. As far as I know, it's a matriarchy."
Armyd winced. "You'd think that at least the lechery would have been polymorphed out of you." He sighed, and stirred the embers of the dying fire before tossing another log in.
"Oh come on, I don't complain when you hang around a place for a few extra days."
"Suit yourself," the man said as he stared into the flames for a few moments. "Anything else I should know about?"
"Yeah. Haven't seen anything dangerous, but I keep getting whiffs of something I don't like. Something is close by, and I've been in the forests enough to be familiar with most scents. I don't recognize this one offhand."
"Should I try to put up a barrier for the rest of the night?" the man asked.
"Do you think you can?" the wolf returned. "Ever since that day, you've hardly used your magic, and it's gotten harder and harder to hold other abilities in. I saw the fight in the village over that Elf girl. You almost released an Aspect in that fight, and then you had to focus to hold the arrow off. That isn't like you. You used to cast spells that would have made even Graven the Black proud, and now you can't even do a simple bit of telekinesis. You can barely invoke Teranór anymore."
"Always thought there was something strange about you," came a soft voice. The wolf and the man looked over to see the young lady sitting up in her bedroll, the dim light of the fire glinting off her hair, making it seem as though it was made of flames.
"How much did you overhear?" Armyd said with no concern in his voice, as though asking if she liked sugar in her tea.
"I came in somewhere around 'Lechery', I think." She brushed her hair over her shoulder. "Think you can enlighten me a bit?"
Armyd shrugged. "Most of what you heard explains itself."
"But not all of it. Why is magic so hard on you?" The Elf sat up straighter, raking her hair back out of her face. "For that matter, why do you have a wolf standing guard at night? These are peaceful woods, well patrolled by what I saw in Elestrey."
Tsirion snorted. "A slip of a girl like you wouldn't know a well patrolled woods if we dumped you in one." He shook his muzzle with a chuckle. "Even the trees can turn against you if you aren't careful in the Wilds."
Aurial glowered at the wolf. "Who are you to talk, furball?" she snapped, her ire rising. Something about this wolf rankled against her.
"I trust his word and opinion, if not his attitude," Armyd said, cutting off the wolf's retort before it started. "He knows this area better than most rangers would." He looked at the position of the moon. "It's almost midnight," he said. "You should go back to sleep. I'll wake you up in a few hours."
***
Aurial awoke in the predawn hours to the sound of hushed whispers. She tried to understand what was happening when she heard one of the horses nicker nervously. Her eyes flew open to see the mage sitting up, staring out into the dusky shadows.
"How many," he asked quietly.
Hackles raised, the wolf stood tense. "Four," he answered, jowls curled up in a snarl, revealing sharp teeth.
"What's out there?" she asked.
"Just some things that prove your ignorance," bit the wolf.
"Shut up, Tsirion," the mage said. He was already reaching for his sword. "You'll lose your focus."
At that moment, a large form leapt through the brush, fur matted with mud or some other substance. It bowled into the mage, knocking his sword free. As Armyd wrestled with the beast, the mage trying to keep both the snapping maw and deadly claws from his throat, three more barreled into the small clearing. Tsirion leapt at one, all pretense of civility gone as he growled and snarled, tearing his targets' throat open before the creature could mount much of a defense.
Aurial looked at the beasts, a cross between a bear and a porcine human. The fourth one saw her and charged with a howl. She snatched up the mage's sword, shucking the scabbard to the side as she thrust the blade forward, twisting her body to the side in a motion that pulled the weapon free from the belly of the beast. The beast howled and turned to come at her again. She faked a move to the left and spun back to the right, blade flashing in even before she had completed the turn. She felt a solid impact, the blade lodging in the thick fur that hung from her opponent's neck. It fell and didn't move.
A thundering roar sounded through the wood, and the smell of burning flesh began to tickle her nose. Looking over to the mage, she saw him throwing the monster he had fought with off to the side, a huge smoking crater in its chest.
"Damned hobgoblins," he muttered, looking around. Tsirion began shaking, bits of blood flying from his coat as he stepped away from the two corpses of his foes.
Aurial opened her mouth to speak when searing pain cut into her arm. Looking down, she saw the hobgoblin she had faced struggling to its feet, its claws dripping with her blood. Fire surged through her veins and the world tipped on its side as she felt her muscles go slack. Her whole body seemed to be ablaze.
The last thing she saw was the mage holding blue light in his hands as Armyd charged over.