Chapter 22 – The Mallet

  Kaelin woke to the sound of voices. Her head throbbed, and for a moment, she could only make out blurred shapes against the night sky. The scent of damp earth and crushed leaves filled her nose, grounding her in reality. Then, as her senses slowly returned, she saw Lena kneeling beside her, shaking her lightly.

  “She’s waking up,” Lena called, relief evident in her voice.

  Zephyr crouched nearby, arms crossed. His usually impassive face was tight with frustration. “You passed out. We got the kill, though. It worked.”

  Kaelin groaned, pushing herself up on unsteady arms. Every muscle in her body ached as though she had run for hours without stopping. “How long was I out?”

  “Only about five minutes.” Lena helped steady her, her grip firm but careful.

  “I don’t understand. How did you heal me? Why did you even try, that could’ve killed me! There were essence mages on standby watching each group, we were told that. IF we were in trouble, they would’ve stepped in.”

  Kaelin hesitated. She was just trying to help. How was she going to explain her healing spell, that wasn’t normal. Time magic was only meant to be able heal small wounds, this shouldn’t have been possible. And even the colour was different.

  “It doesn’t matter. We need to keep going if we wanna win. We still have the Dire Wolves, Salamander and Great boar to kill. But don’t try that again. At least not on me. You heard Aric.”

  Kaelin exhaled, shaking off the last remnants of exhaustion. She had survived. More importantly, they had won. “Did you mark the body? We need proof of the kill.”

  “Were you not listening at all in the beginning?” Lena said, disappointedly. “There’s a group of mages on each group, they track our kills for us.”

  Kaelin pushed herself fully upright, testing her balance. Her head was still spinning, but she could walk. She’d just have to be careful.

  They moved swiftly, retracing their steps through the dense forest. The thrill of the hunt still lingered, but now it was mixed with something else. Despite having made good with Zephyr, it felt as if it was all for naught. Zephyr stayed at the front, shielding them with an illusion from the remaining monsters they passed by.

  As they neared the edge of the Purlovia’s territory, Zephyr spoke up. “As soon as we get past here,” He said, pointing to the map, “lets kill the first Dire Wolf we see. We need to speed up, it took us too long to find and kill a Purlovia.”

  Kaelin replied, holding on to Lena for balance, “Sounds good, I’ll be fine in a few minutes.”

  The group sat idle for no more than 10 minutes before making their way across the border.

  When hunting Dire Wolves, if you found a den in which the mother had pups, you were recommended to leave as quickly as you could. Dire Wolf mothers were incredibly protective of their young and it could get dangerous quick.

  The forest had settled into an eerie quiet, its usual symphony of nocturnal life replaced by an oppressive stillness that made the air feel thick and heavy. The scent of damp earth mingled with something far more pungent – raw meat, wet fur, and the unmistakable scent of predators lurking nearby.

  Kaelin walked toward the smell. The dense underbrush parted, revealing a clearing dominated by the ominous entrance to a Dire Wolf den. The gaping maw of the cave loomed ahead, its edges littered with bones—some stripped clean, others still bearing remnants of flesh. A fresh carcass lay near the entrance, its torn hide evidence of a recent kill.

  Zephyr came to a halt, scanning the area before turning to the others. "Good, let’s finish this quickly. We’re still lagging behind

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  Lena stepped forward, gripping the stone spear, made for her by Zephyr, with both hands. "We've wanted to test ourselves. Now's our chance."

  A guttural growl echoed from the den’s depths. Two massive forms emerged, silver eyes gleaming in the moonlight as they walked forward. The Dire Wolves were nearly twice the size of an ordinary wolf, but no more intelligent than their smaller counterparts.

  The wolves’ thick, dark pelts were marred by old scars. One bared its fangs, saliva dripping as it fixed its gaze on the intruders. The other, bore a particularly jagged wound along its flank, a testament to battles survived. But to the Kaelin and the group? A target to hit.

  Kaelin’s pulse quickened, a grin flickering at the edges of her lips. "Two at once? Perfect."

  Lena rolled her shoulders, exhaling slowly. "Let’s not waste time. Remember, Zephyr stay back, Kaelin – get behind me."

  The wolves moved first, their hulking forms lowering into a predatory stance before charging. Lena threw up a wall to protect them as it lunged. It’s claws could be heard scraping against the stone. Lena took a stone saber from the ground and turned to Kaelin. She motioned for Kaelin to go round one side while she would go the other. Kaelin nodded to her and stepped round, spear at the ready.

  Meanwhile, the second wolf sped towards Zephyr, him having successfully directed its attention his way. It stretched out to its limit and slashed at him. Zephyr increased his speed and dodged to his left.

  It was fast.

  But Zephyr was faster.

  He ran round behind the wolf, conjuring a stone mace from the ground. The wolf looked left and right, searching for Zephyr. But he was already gone. Zephyr had jumped above the wolf, out of sight. Gravity took hold, and Zephyr fell. On his way down, he struck the wolf in the head. Zephyr heard a crack, but as he looked up, the wolf merely shook it off and snarled.

  Zephyr seized the moment while the wolf was still disorientated, and he slammed his foot into the ground. A jagged spike of earth erupted beneath the wolf, striking its underbelly and sending it sprawling. Zephyr looked at the tip of the rock he’d attacked the wolf with. It was blunt. The end must have snapped off on its tough hide.

  The creature snarled, scrambling upright with fury burning in its eyes.

  “Well shit.”

  At the same time, Lena rushed out form behind her protective wall, flinging a rock at the creature, attracting its attention. She produced an odd short spear, built with a large flat piece on one end, and a mallet from the earth. Lena threw these over the wolf and shouted to Kaelin, “Use this. Try get above the wolf, throw the spear into its head and hit it a few times with the mallet. Should crack the skull!”

  Once that was done, Lena had to face the wolf head-on in order to make time for Kaelin. She feinted left before thrusting forward, but the wolf twisted at the last moment, snapping its massive jaws just inches from her arm. She cursed, tightening her grip, her body coiled like a spring.

  Kaelin caught the weapons, one in each hand. She looked to Lena who was already fighting the wolf and smiled.

  Thanks. She thought to herself.

  Kaelin gripped the spear hard and focused the time threads into her legs. She pushed it to the limit, and jumped. Kaelin soared above the trees and looked out across the horizon. How beautiful.

  Then she started to fall.

  Looking down at the wolf below her, Lena seemed to be keeping it relatively still. Kaelin focused all her energy into her arms, along with speeding them up to her max. She threw the spear at full power, letting gravity aid in its momentum. The spear hit and the wolf shrieked, it cried out in pain and shook to try remove the weapon, but it was lodged in tight.

  Now for the finishing blow

  Kaelin held her mallet with both hands above her head. The wolf steadily got closer.

  Closer.

  Closer.

  And Kaelin struck.

  The mallet propelled the small spear through the skull, letting it pierce the brain of the wolf.

  As Kaelin dropped to the ground panting, blood spewed from its head like a volcano, and a pale pink mixture pooled around its head. Kaelin didn’t leave clean. She had splatters of blood all up her body, staining her clothes.

  “Great job. But we can’t rest yet, Zephyr’s still fighting one on his own.”

  The remaining Dire Wolf snarled at Zephyr, its hackles raised, its silver eyes darting between the three of them. Blood seeped from the wound on its side which had been re-opened by Zephyr, but its spirit remained unbroken. It let out a deep, warning growl – then, with a cautious step backward, it turned and disappeared into the darkness of the den.

  Kaelin exhaled, her chest rising and falling with exertion. "It’s retreating."

  Lena wiped her spear clean, nodding. "Smart choice."

  Zephyr flexed his fingers, scanning the area. "We shouldn’t linger. There might be more nearby who heard the first ones’ cries.”

  Kaelin agreed. Every muscle in her body ached, the strain of the fight weighing heavily on her. They had won, but the battle had drained them. As they left the clearing, the tension in the air eased—but the reminder lingered. The forest held no mercy, and this was only the beginning.

  As they moved through the trees, Zephyr cast Kaelin a sidelong glance. "At least no-one got hurt this time.”

  "I did… just a little," she admitted. "Nothing major."

  He studied her for a moment before nodding. "Next time, let’s aim for no damage. It’s only a Great Boar. I’m sure we can do it fine.”

  Lena chuckled, rolling her shoulders. "That’s all good with me!”