"Damned wolves!" Ajax yelled; panic etched on his face. The others exchanged worried glances, clutching their swords. Wolves tended to hunt in packs, and it seemed they had caught the scent of the girl's blood. "They must have caught the scent of the girl's blood," Jack observed. Shadows moved ominously in the dark of the night. Flint urged, "We are surrounded. Quick, tie the horse to a tree. We can't afford it running away. We can't outrun these beasts. Let's deal with them first." Ajax secured the horse to a nearby tree. Just as he finished, a shadow lunged at him, biting his hand. Ajax cried out in pain. Jack panicked, while Flint stood in shock. "They're enormous. Jack, be on your guard."
Before Jack could recover from his fear, another wolf emerged from the darkness, its eyes gleaming with an eerie blue. It grabbed Jack by the legs and dragged him away.
Flint, now more alert, spotted a wolf lunging at him from the right. He swung his sword in that direction, but another wolf attacked him from the left, biting his arms. Ajax was frantically trying to fend off the wolf biting his hand, and another wolf had clamped onto his shoulder. Jack's screams faded in the distance, adding to the chaos and fear gripping the bandits. A single thought haunted their minds: was this the consequence of their attack on the woman? A divine punishment, perhaps?
But the bandits refused to yield to the wolves. Ajax regained his senses and drew his sword, despite the agonizing pain of wolves tearing into his hand. He swung at the wolf biting his arm and then at the one on his shoulder. The two wolves retreated, growling menacingly from a distance.
Flint had managed to free himself from the wolf's grasp as well, but Jack's screams were now absent, lost in the night. The battle between the bandits and the wolves raged on throughout the night, leaving the bandits with severe wounds. Eventually, the wolves seemed to vanish into thin air or had retreated into the forest.
"Well done, Sraptor," Sera, the goddess of wind, commended. "Two bandits are injured, my goddess, and one killed, as you requested. But why spare the remaining bandits? Don't these vile humans deserve the same fate as their companion?" Sraptor, master of these wolves, had dispatched them on the goddess's request.
"We gods must subject mortals to trials at times, my dear," Sera replied. "And if they pass these trials, they deserve a reward." Sraptor questioned, "Trials? For whom? For those bandits?" Sera clarified, "No, dear. They do not merit such favor or mercy, do they? It's the girl who is facing these trials. Let's see what decision she makes."
Sephir awoke, trembling with fear, and realized that the carriage had stopped moving. Thinking quickly, she reached for the hidden knife in the carriage and cut the ropes binding her hands and legs. As she rushed out of the carriage, she was met with a startling sight—two bandits lay in agony on the ground. Flint, upon seeing her, pleaded for her forgiveness and assistance, while Ajax lay unconscious near a tree. "Help us, please!" Flint implored, fading into unconsciousness.
Sephir found herself at a crossroads. Should she aid her captors, who had intended to sell her for a few coins, or should she leave them behind and return to her village and her father? Time was of the essence, and she made a swift decision. Sephir retrieved a cloth from her carriage which she had placed along with her rations. She used the cloth to tend to the wounds of both bandits. Then, she emptied the pottery from her carriage and managed to lift the two injured men onto it. With great determination, she began her journey to the nearest village to seek help for the wounded bandits.
The two celestial beings watched this incident, one in awe of her decision and the other smiling at the events they had witnessed. Perhaps this was what fate truly meant? These events would not be limited to the mortal realm; their impact might even influence the destinies of the celestials themselves. Fate had guided their actions, and trials had been set in motion, shaping the course of both mortal and divine lives.