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"What is the look we're trying to go for? Flowers?" Verik grumbled as he followed Jack down toward the human city. The awkward-feeling human robes not only looked ridiculous on his body, but no matter how much he adjusted the thing, it just wouldn't get more comfortable.

Jack glanced back and chuckled. "To a human, you pretty good. I promise." Ahead of them, they could see the large wooden gate in the wall open up and a group of roughly thirty armored men walked out and down the road. "That's the king!" Jack said with a smile and picked up his pace a bit. Verik could tell that he was quite excited to begin this meeting. "Okay, remember your places. Verik stand to the left side of Keil. Emmaline, to the right. You will be the one to translate for Keil." He furrowed his brow, most likely trying to come up with something he neglected to tell them.

Emmaline patted Jack's shoulder. "I think you've told us everything you need to. I'm sure it will go fine."

Jack sighed and then smiled at her. "You're right."

Verik strained his eyes and examined the group. "I don't see him." It might have been the daylight, hindering his eyesight, but everyone looked the same from this distance.

"Neither do I. That's the point." Jack responded. "They're all wearing essentially identical armor. It's a means of protection. If you have any hostile intentions, then they don't want you knowing immediately who their leader is. Most likely, the first person to greet you will not actually be the king, but he will reveal himself once he knows you can be trusted."

They entered onto the road and then moved to meet with the king and his squad. When they got within about fifty feet, the human group stopped and the men in the front held their weapons towards the wolfen. "Stop!" They commanded simultaneously.

They obeyed and Jack called out, "We come as friends. Is the king among you?"

One man from the front stepped forward. "I am the king. I take it these are the wolfen that supposedly helped you and your friends kill that demon on the mountains."

Jack immediately dropped to one knee and the wolfen followed. "These are some of them," he replied, "but there are more of them, but they remained at their home in the forest."

The man who claimed to be the king motioned for them to get up onto their feet. "So, do you speak for them?"

Verik took a step forward along with Keil and said, "Actually, we will be speaking for ourselves. She," he motioned to Emmaline, "and I have been taught the human language and will act as translator for our leader, Keil."

He nodded. "From the reports that I have heard from many of the residents of villages in the nearby land that this demon you people killed was more powerful than anything they have seen. Tell me more about it."

After Emmaline finished telling Keil what he said, Verik glanced back at him, and he waved at him to continue. "I don't know what your people have seen, but I wouldn't think that they were exaggerating." He went on to tell him everything they knew about Erebos and his army.

When he finished, the man was obviously a little nervous. "Well, killing that demon has done a lot to ease the minds of my people. I have to say--" He stopped talking when a man from behind him grabbed his shoulder and moved in front of him to take his place.

"I apologize," the new man said, "but this man is not really the king. He is one of my knights, taking my place for security reasons. Before I revealed myself to you, I wanted to know that you were trustworthy, which I believe that you are. I also thought that it was important for myself to be the one to thank you. I can speak for just about everyone here when I say that we are very grateful to all the men and wolfen that fought on the mountain to slay that beast. Thank you for your help."

Keil stepped forward and dipped his head. "We did it for the good of this world. I am pleased that we have given some comfort to your people, but the fight isn't over. Far from it. We defeated one of those creatures on the mountain and it cost us many lives. I'm sure you have seen the armies pouring into our world from the sky, correct."

The king nodded. "He have seen them, yes. That is the only reason I agreed to this meeting in the first place. I am aware that we cannot do this alone. We need as many allies as we can get. I have already sent word to all the surrounding kingdoms that we need to join together. I haven't heard back from them, but none of them are foolish enough to turn away."

"We have no contact with other wolfen packs, but if we send out our packmates in several directions, searching for others, I have no doubt that we can find them. I can guarantee that any of our kind that receives the message will come together."

The king smiled. "Then I will do it. I'm more than happy and eager to implement a truce between our two kinds." All the men behind him cheered as he held out his hand to Keil, who grasped his forearm with one hand and placed the other on his shoulder. Nodding his head, he went back to join his pack.

They all lifted their heads to the sky and howled loudly into in celebration. Once they finished, they could hear, far in the distance, their pack's very faint howls, too. The new truce between them was a very important step in defeating the demons, but for all of his packmates, it was something so much more. They have wanted this literally their whole lives. For this to finally happen after many generations of hostility between them and humans, was amazing for them. Verik was just a little sad that it had to take a world-threatening war to bring it about.

/. /. /.

Myorakk leaned against the back of his cell, resting his tired arms. Surely he was almost through the stone by now. He had scraped a skull-sized hole below the bars, but it still wasn't enough to remove any of them. The tips of his fingers were throbbing from the constant scratching and almost all, but three of his claws on his left hand were filed down to a useless length.

His stomach growled anxiously. He hadn't had anything to eat for several days now. The cave had remained completely abandoned since the demons left and all the bats that moved in were intelligent enough to keep their distance from his cell.

When he went here, he fully expected not to leave alive. He thought for sure that after the battle, no matter what the result was, he would be killed. And he had made his peace with that, but the cave emptied and he was left here alone, he got excited about the fact that he could escape. Now his hopes were crushed because he didn't realize how deep the demons buried the bars. Maybe he would have had better luck if he tried to chew through the iron chain that held his cell shut.

He kicked his foot out in frustration at the bars and suddenly, one of the shifted a fraction at the impact. Myorakk quickly got up and examined it. Shaking it back and forth, he realized that he had just broken it free from the last layer of stone underneath.

"Yes! I knew I was getting close!" Myorakk yelled into the air, his voice echoing through the cave, frightening all the bats in the cavern. He shook the bar vigorously back and forth, slowly getting looser and looser.

/. /. /.

The sun was just starting to set when the wolfen returned to their camp. Keil called all of the pack together and told them of their success with the humans. Once they heard the news, the camp suddenly came alive. After several minutes of howling together, they all danced around the center of the clearing and several play flights were started.

Verik was sitting at the edge of the clearing and watching them with amusement. This was the first time he had seen them really celebrate. It was nice to finally nice to give their minds a break from the constant sorrow that seemed to plague them.

Syla ran over to him and hugged him tightly. "I knew you could do it." She told him and smiled.

"Thanks." He replied. "I just hope it's enough to stop the demon army."

"I think we will win." Emmaline said as she approached.

"Can you see that?"

"No. I just have a good feeling about it. If several human kingdoms come together, then their numbers would be quite immense. Consider how much we did with just us and a small group of humans. With several armies on our side, and if we can find more packs to join us here, then I believe that we can do this."

Memories of the battle with Erebos flooded his mind and he shuddered. "When I think of that battle, I can't see a success. Sure, we killed him, but the humans lost several men and we lost..." He remembered Nari, hit by a spear and dying in his arms. Verik pushed himself off the ground. "I'm sorry. I don't want to ruin the celebration. I need to step away for a few minutes by myself."

Verik walked on toward the end of the forest. The area was pretty quiet. Most of the birds and wildlife were going to sleep and nocturnal creatures were just starting to wake up. He always felt more at peace when he was out here, alone with nature.

When he reached the edge, he lied down on his back and closed his eyes, soaking in all the sounds and scents around him. Crickets were starting to chirp together. The gentle call of owls sang out all around him. But one sound stood out. Somewhere in the distance, he could hear the heavy flapping of large wings.

He sat up and scanned the sky. Above him, he saw a figure with large leathery wings flying across the sky, heading away from the forest. He knew right away, it was definitely a demon, but they don't normally fly alone...was that Myorakk? Was he still alive? If that was him, then why didn't he come to their camp?

Verik decided to follow the creature and see where it landed. He got to his feet and ran as fast as he could, making sure not to lose it. It was pretty far ahead of him, but he saw it descend into a canyon.

When he reached it, Verik slowed his pace and walked silently. If this was not Myorakk, then it was very likely that he could be walking right into a trap. He kept to the shadows of the wall of the canyon and proceeded slowly. At every corner, he peaked his head around, making sure the area was empty before moving in.

He moved along the wall to another corner. When he looked around and saw the winged figure sitting on the ground with its wings extended. Verik dropped to the floor and slowly crawled nearer to it. When within striking distance, he growled softly, "Who are you?"

"Very impressive, Verik." The creature said. "I had no idea you were even in this canyon with me."

Its voice was vaguely familiar, but it was definitely not Myorakk. He asked again, more fiercely, "Who are you? Answer me, or I'll kill you now."

"My name is Gerran." Pushing himself off the ground he turned around.

Verik stumbled back, startled. This wasn't a demon. This was another wolfen like him. His fur was black. The lower half of his arms were covered in scales and long talons protruded from his fingers. But his eyes were one of the most unnerving things about him; fierce eyes that seemed like they could pierce him with just a glance. He recognized those eyes from the images that flashed in his mind when Emmaline searched his mind.

The wolfen grinned and held his hand out. "I've been looking forward to meeting you, brother."

?

To Be Continued...