Howling. Hweilan’s ears were filled with it, and she immediately assumed that the Master was pursuing her once more. Stalking her. He’d locate her. And while she was present, he would murder her teacher.

Wolf songs had never made Hweilan feel afraid because she had grown up listening to them. She had learned all about the animals that the Nar people revered from Scith. Men had learned how to hunt from wolves in the beginning.

But the howling had followed her into her dreams ever since that fateful night in the Feywild when Nendawen chased her and she vowed her allegiance to him. It served as a gentle reminder that the Master was always nearby.

She stood up.

The twilight sky’s overwhelming weight nearly brought her back down. No woods. Never

Feywild. She was perched on a tall highland, overlooking a steppe of green and gold that stretched into infinity. She had unobstructed views in all directions from horizon to horizon. The firmament was unblemished by even the smallest cloud. The sky was still a faint blue where the sun had just fallen below the rim of the earth off to her left, but darkness was quickly settling in and the first stars were already visible in the east.

Once more, howls swept over her as if carried by a breeze rustling across the grass. She noticed a large, dark blotch smearing the steppe as she descended into the lowlands and could see it. She realized it wasn’t a single, solid mass but rather a vast number of shapes that were moving across the grassland as she got closer. Swiftstags or anything really similar.

The perimeter of the enormous herd was nibbled by other shapes, some dark and some as pale as snowflakes. Wolves.

Hunters. As you.

Yet, she felt someone or something watching her and turned as the voice spoke directly to her thoughts.

A wolf, as white as frost, was standing just a few feet distant from her on the crest behind her. Others crowded about behind him, including a gray-and-white female who was carrying the chief’s mate’s tail high. A large man with bear-like brown fur. Others are little and hale, barely standing; some are wise and lean from years of hunting.

Than puppies. Stars burst to life in the sky above as Hweilan took them in, and their light reflected off the wolves’ fur in a rainbow of hues, much like moonlight reflected off ice. Her gaze was drawn to the chief wolf. With the fading light, the pupils were huge and dark, but the area around them was a brilliant blue that resembled a starry winter sky.

Salutations, Hweilan.

She asked, “Where am I?”. When she looked down, she noticed that she was still wearing the same clothes from when… when… what? How did I arrive here?

The wolf’s head tilted, and a smile might have been there somewhere. Who are you, she questioned.

We are constantly by your side. Watching. The barrier separating us is quite thin.

Where had she already heard that? She then came to a memory. When Gleed first showed her how to purge the demons from the Master’s hallowed weapons, it was on that day in the Feywild. When the Witness Cloud was present, she had seen Scith and her parents. The spectral wolves, too.

“Hweilan!”

She was interrupted by a fresh voice so abruptly that she felt a twinge of agony in her brain. She believed she knew it, yet it appeared to originate from both the sky and the ground. Almost.

Time is of the essence, the wolf warned.

What time is it, she questioned. Who are you? “Hweilan!”

She recognized the voice, but she also heard a deeper sound beneath it that sounded like distant thunder. The ground began to tremble as it became stronger by the second. The swiftstags’ herd had turned when she peered back down the slope. They were being driven uphill and straight at her by the wolves. Their hooves tore up the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust. Their enormous antlers gave them the appearance of a moving forest without leaves.

“Hweilan, would you w—?”

The remaining sentences were overpowered by the thunder of thousands of hooves. Then she noticed it. Another antlered form, this one on two legs, moved through the herd close to the leading stags. His features were hidden by a mask made of bone, but the sockets glowed with bright, vibrant green light. His second hand, which was tipped in razor-sharp claws, was dripping with fresh blood while he grasped a big black iron spear in the other.

Hweilan, you need to get up.

This time, the voice seemed to be coming from inside her ears rather than all around. Even as the antlered hunter raised his gun and the first of the creatures sprinted past her,As though by a breeze-spread smoke, the sky and meadows tore apart. The stars faded away. As she turned to go, the wolf in front of her briefly filled the entire scene, his eyes sparkling like the sun through thick clouds. Then, he and his pack vanished, leaving nothing but darkness in their wake.

“Hweilan?”

She opened her eyes to discover a head and shoulders silhouette bending over her. But there were none. Only slightly turning to look beyond her, his profile was illuminated by the weak light. Darric.

He announced, “She’s awakening.

By using her elbows, Hweilan raised herself up. Darric sat back after shaking her shoulders. Jaden, the slender Damaran who talked too much, was shivering on the ground behind him, leaning against a rocky wall. When Hweilan turned to look, she noticed the veteran knight

Valsun seated not far behind her. His own cold breath caused the ice to form in his beard. They were surrounded on all sides by craggy rock walls, with the furthest one only a few yards away. They were surrounded by walls that climbed above them by about fifteen feet and ended with a ceiling of gray sky. Hweilan was aware that she could have easily climbed out of the numerous holes in the rock, but not much above their heads was a cross section of black iron bars. They slid into the next wall after emerging through the previous one. A door or lock are not visible.

Before deciding against standing, Hweilan stiffened her muscles. Her body ached all over. She had the impression that she had been rolled in hot stones after being stretched to the point of tearing. Her teeth’s roots hurt as well. She was unsure of how she had gotten here. She last recalled being in front of that monstrosity in front of the hobgoblin stronghold. Menduarthis had been seized by the monster, who then vanished after fitting him with a new mail shirt like a warrior. Seize them, the hobgoblin queen Maaqua had commanded, and then Hweilan asked, “Where am I?” Her knives and arrows, pouches containing all of her provisions, the bone mask, and the expensive bow were all missing when she looked down. How did I arrive here? Darric continued, “When you went down, I thought she’d murdered you. Valsun didn’t say you were still breathing till they put us in here. But when we were unable to wake you,

As she prepared to respond, Hweilan looked down at him and realized she didn’t understand what he was saying.

“You believed who killed me?”

Darric said, “Maaqua.” She gave her people the command to seize us. The longest resistance came from you and Mandan, then Maaqua utilized her powers. Her staff let out something.

Lightning of some description. You fell, made an effort to stand up, and then

She hit you once more. Once more. Then came…” He once more turned to face his friends.

Valsun remarked, “They tossed us in here.”

Hweilan then realized that not all of them were present. Where is Mandan located? She could tell the news wasn’t good by the expressions on their faces.

We are unsure, Darric replied. With that dark blade he was wielding, the large monster smashed Mandan’s club. The others then surrounded him. He …” Hardly swallowing, Darric turned his head away.

You’re unaware that he’s deceased, Valsun remarked. Even Mandan couldn’t stand up to all of their nets and clubs, but he managed to take down a good number of them. Yet, I don’t believe he is dead.

Jaden coughed.

Valsun questioned why they were using nets to kill him. “Nets is a catch. If they had wished to kill him, they could have pelted him with arrows and spears.

Jaden remarked, “Had they wanted to wine and spoil him, they wouldn’t have used nets. “Nets” denotes that they probably have nastier plans for him. Also for us.

Timing is of the essence.

She spoke in her dream. If only it had been a dream. She understood the statements to be true, dream or not.

Hweilan struggled to stand up despite her painful body, sending Darric to the ground. Her eyesight was filled with bright spots, and the surrounding rock walls appeared to be swaying. She took a deep breath and the world gradually began to solidify around her despite the loud buzz that was filling her ears. Even though the anguish persisted, she understood she had endured worse now that she was up. When compared to what Ashiin had had her go through, this was nothing.

The flat of Hweilan’s hand struck the bars over their heads. The action caused the lights to flicker once more before her eyes. But the bars made no movement at all.

Jaden questioned, “You think we haven’t tried it already?”

He merely shrugged and turned his head away as she glared down at him. Darric pleaded with Hweilan, “Please.”

She turned her attention to him. What, oh what?

Darric winced and glanced at Valsun before returning to her. Are you injured?

“Do I seem injured?” She moved two steps to the left of where the iron bars met the stone wall and slammed her palm against it. Nothing. Almost not at all, the metal shook. Though unattractive, it was the most solidly constructed thing she had ever seen. Hweilan set her feet firmly in place before reaching up and grabbing the center of

She pushed as hard as she could against the bars with both hands. She continued to push despite the excruciating agony in her muscles and joints, which made it seem as though hot needles were piercing her skin. The bars made no movement at all.

Darric remarked, “Hweilan, it’s useless.” “Please—”

“Either a door or a hinge must exist. How on earth did they get us in here? Dropped us,” Jaden remarked. “I can still feel it in my arse.”

Once we descended here, the bars “slid into place—out of the rock,” according to Darric.

Slid?,” Hweilan asked. Sliding how?

“I guess like a portcullis. Just sideways

Hweilan attempted to compel the bars to slide by grabbing them once more and pulling them in opposite directions. Nothing.

“Hweilan, kindly. We have already tried that.

She gave up and yelled a string of profanities in every language she was familiar with. Such words, a voice from above exclaimed. They all turned their heads upward.