"So that guy had a past with this place. You think he has a connection with these wolf freaks as well?" Marcus questioned, still catching his breath from the attack earlier.
The team had left the now partially destroyed village, walking further into the forest while the howls continued, getting louder and louder as they went on. With the battle earlier, the team felt somewhat more composed, having faced the enemy multiple times, and successfully killed it.
They pushed the branches and bushes aside as quietly as possible, hoping that something nearby wouldn't hear them. Quill and Marcus both looked more tired and beaten, having been bait for the beast earlier.
"Stop" Quill ordered, raising her weapon and crouching down as if sniffing the ground.
"Seems we are close, those things have a bizarre smell. Any further orders, leader?" She turned to Calliope, assuming she had something more to say.
"Continue moving until we find a clearing, once that is done we will plan how to proceed." She responded with a calm voice.
"Great plan leader." Quill nodded at her composed words.
Colton felt more anxious as time went by, having spent nearly a day in such a cramped forest where they couldn't even see anything, relying on the torch and Quill's skill of navigating the place.
"Umm, what will we do when we return to the mountain then?" Oliver asked in a low but anxious mumble, quivering. The forest and loss of energy were taking a greater toll on him, wishing he was back with the disgusting people of the gambling mountain rather than this forest.
"Once we return, then we will not return to this forest. Hopefully, if everything goes according to plan." Her clear words brought peace to Oliver, making him slow down his breathing and slightly stopping his anxiety.
In minutes, she raised her hand. Colton looked as she crouched down and peeked through a bush in front of them, assuming she found something major again.
"This must be where the howls came from." Her voice slightly trembled, but still remained calm. Either because of her demeanor, or how she was used to this already.
A large patch of short grass and sand stood in front of them, similar to the village before. But now it was an empty grassy and sandy field filled with wolves of different sizes.
Many being small and only reaching the torso, while a few were larger and even the same size as the wolf earlier.
Many of them were resting or running around, not noticing the team's presence. Large piles of rope, armor, and weapons rested around the place, resembling towers. A set of massive trees stood behind the pack of wolves, the great trees Volen spoke of. It was double or even triple the size of the trees around it, with darker wood.
But sitting below one great tree, was the flower patch they needed. Multiple white petalled flowers were already blooming from the patch, giving an odd almost heavenly glow to the air above it, and seemed to glow as well.
"The wolves here feel off." Quill whispered. On closer inspection, Colton noticed it as well. The fur of the beasts seemed thicker or more jagged. Their teeth were pure white, sharp like a newly made sword, almost the size of half a human.
Calliope moved away, taking in her thoughts and the information they had gathered to form a plan. She was worried about the threat in front of them, truly unsure whether they could accomplish this mission, or even get the flowers. If they can all survive or someone was going to be left behind and left to the mercy of those wolves.
She took a deep breath, finished with compiling her thoughts to form a plan. Still worried with the possibility of dying being high now.
"The amount of wolves poses a major risk. Our best chance at this moment is to either lure them away, or attempt to bypass them entirely. The latter at this point seems to be the safest option." She tried her best to hide the worry in her voice, but Colton could see it.
"Great plan leader, if we were to bypass them, I can assume the trees will be the best option." Quill's serious tone and her plan caused Calliope to think more, looking upwards at the trees and their thick branches.
"Perhaps you are right, excellent observation." Quill nodded in return, smirking for a moment before returning to her serious expression.
"With our climbing ability, we may traverse the tree branches, slowly and close to one another until we reach the flowers." Her words brought fear to the team, realizing that they were now at the mercy of whether their movement will save them or be their doom.
Oliver was more visibly frightened at the plan. Even just the thought of going near the wolf pack was enough to send a shiver, and cause him to breathe faster.
"Worry not brother." Clarissa tried calming him down, reassuring him of the task ahead.
"We will move through the trees, but make sure to stay away from the treeline bordering the open field. Once we reach a sufficient distance, we may begin moving around the area and to the great trees." Callippe continued.
Oliver seemed to calm down partially after hearing that they won't go near.
"Once near the great tree, Quill will attempt to scale down and pluck as much flowers as possible before we begin our retreat. Hopefully it all goes according to plan." She finished explaining. Each of the members nodded, most confident, while a few were afraid.
Everyone started to move away, getting farther and farther from the wolf pack until they were left in pitch black. And the howls became more faint.
After a few minutes, they stopped. Calliope looked at Myo.
"Kill the torch." She ordered, her expression told Colton that she was fully ready to execute her plan. And any doubt she once had earlier was now gone.
"Yes Madam." Myo firmly gripped the top of the torch, quickly putting out the flame with his gloved hand. Oddly, neither the glove or his hand seemed to have sustained injuries, leaving everyone in a moment of shock. Before returning to the task at hand.
"Let us move."