Thok hadn't worn leather before; he found it constricting but enjoyed the protection from the wind's bite. The last few days had been a nightmare, one he hoped to wake from soon. The cave's mouth loomed ahead; the twisting tunnels that switched and looped had finally given way to fresh air.

  The leather held slightly better than his bare skin against the rush of the cold mountain breeze. Never had he been so thrilled to be cold, despite the risk of death from both shaman and wolf alike. Farsee had gathered seven other goblins who shared his black-feathered headwear. Each had a makeshift weapon of the highest degree; even the bows seemed as though they would snap if the string were to be drawn.

  Thok eyed the gathered party and they him. Long, quiet moments followed before Farsee spoke up. "Outcast hunts with us." Not another word passed before they all fell in behind their leader. Thok stood a moment gathering his courage before jogging to catch up. The midday sun stung his eyes as he stepped into the loose stone outside their home.

  The blinks were long and deliberate, doing his best to blink clear the light. That's when he realized he could still tell that the group had been waiting for him just beyond the shrubs to see what he would do. He could hear their whispers and even their rushed breathing. The lights hold on his eyes faded.

  He turned his gaze toward the peak and a gathering storm, his vision clearing more by the second. Farsee appeared at his side, "Wolves, move south. We check traps, then follow."

  Thoughts of the wolves didn't worry Thok nearly as much as they seemed to Farsee, who surveyed the area constantly. He looked as if he expected an attack any moment. Thok thought it strange; he knew the wolves were to the south, but still watched for danger in every direction. Was it really that hard outside the cave?

  The older scout, having gathered his wayward ward, returned to his troop and gave the order to check the traps. He stepped just past a goblin who was missing an ear, who whispered something and nodded at Thok.

  The pair looked at each other, sharing in understanding. Reluctantly, Earless rose to his feet and walked to Thok's side. "You, Outcast, when wolves eat you, we run." This drew nods of agreement from everyone but Farsee.

  The forest was so quiet that every step Thok took sounded like thunder echoing across the valley. His careless trudging continued until the one-eared gob halted him mid-stride, "Why!? Do you stomp!?" His muffling scream sent spittle flying. "You draw wolves, we die, walk careful." He demonstrated with almost silent steps away.

  Thok watched his feet land and lift; he felt as though he understood and took his first step. The feeling was different, not like the hard stinging on his feet he felt before. Instead, he felt like he stepped on the air itself, and his landing matched the one-eared gob who nodded with approval.

  After this, the troop moved much faster and quieter, completing their trap checks and turning toward their home.

  The day had been fruitful, and the scouts had collected three hares from their traps. Each find brought joy and pride from the gob who laid the trap. The scout troop seemed to soften to Thok throughout the day, even calling him by his name once. They may have said rock, but he was still happy to be there. The party came to the edge of a large clearing surrounded by trees.

  For the first time, the wind felt warmed by the sun, rather than chased away from it. Thok couldn't help but smile. Farsee stood at his side and basked in the falling sun. "We find tracks, come," he said with a leading pull.

  The pair crouched low just a few feet to their left, "See track? Very large." Fear was evident in his voice.

  With a soft whistle, the nearby goblins gathered to Farsee and gave report. Thok was unsure how to help, so he listened. "Many tracks, trails around the field, earthbore surface uphill," the last gob came scrambling to their side in excited whispers. Earless, the second-oldest scout, smiled widely and said the word everyone hoped to hear. "Game"

  The excitement spread like a plague; soon, the whole troop was giddy with the idea of returning meat. Farsee smiled but warned to keep their eyes open for the wolves. The snapping of a twig drew the attention of the gaggle of goblins.

  Across the field strode a tired-looking elk, his strides staggered, and his feet swayed. Deep heavy breathing echoed loudly throughout the field. The thrill of the hunt consumed the scouts who fanned out and readied themselves. The elk moved closer to the center, step by step. Thok's heart pounded with excitement. Closer still.

  The elk gathered its breath and rested in the grass, doing its best to keep its eyes searching. It was then that Thok noticed the red dripping from its hind leg. A howl erupted into the growing quiet.

  The elk scrambled to its feet and took another step toward the waiting goblins who had crept closer. The answering howl came from the trees just behind the elk, spurring it headlong into Earless's waiting spear. He had set the butt of the pointed stick into the ground and raised it just as it rushed him. Thok was impressed; the wolves who broke through the trees chasing their kill were not.

  The goblins quickly swarmed the dying elk, using it as cover. They used their spears as pikes while the two archers started slinging arrows. Three rushing wolves were ambushed and hit with arrows while the trees around the field began to come to life with movement.

  Howls and snarling quickly surrounded the group, yellow eyes shimmered in the dying light. Thok could feel that something was about to happen; those around him could feel it too. They expected the wolves to swarm them and use their numbers to their advantage. Yet they waited, circling the field round and round until their numbers blurred in the mass of movement.

  Quickly, two rushed from each side. The archers were split in their attention, firing arrows as fast as they could in both directions. Both hit home, dropping one each and readying another. They never saw the third-front attack coming. In an instant, a fuzzy lightning bolt had struck an archer, dragging him over the elk and away before anyone could even reach for him.

  His screams were cut short just as he passed the brush. The wolves didn't attack again, but they watched for any chance to get closer. Arrows kept them at bay, killing two more brave ones who got too close; their number was getting low.

  Everyone wanted to flee; they had fought wolves before, but never this many. The clan's cave lay just northeast of the field, and they could make it, but not all. Farsee weighed his options and looked to the trees, they cut into the elk and freed its hind leg. Food in hand they moved as a group toward the nearest tree to climb. The wolves took the chance to swarm the elk; a few sprinted past the elk and straight at the fleeing gobs.

  Farsee saw the incoming teeth and swung hard, bashing the first wolf across the snout. He flickered and, while he was cloaked, moved beside the tree and out of the path of the second wolf. Thok reached for Farsee, who seemed surprised at the offered hand. He quickly took it and joined the others a few branches up.

  They all shared a smile over the saved meat on Farsee's back, though it was short due to the deep guttural howl that drew even the swarming wolves' attention. All eyes snapped to the fallen elk, only a single hungry wolf chewed onward. From its rear, a wolf twice its size strode; night itself seemed to follow its steps.

  There wasn't a sound, only a movement, the dining wolf suddenly vanished. The goblins all flickered, even Farsee hid away into the shadows of the tree tops. Thok looked on as the great beast lowered its massive black head and, with a twist, pulled away half of the elk. The monstrous wolf bulged like a snake, crushing and snapping bones with its bulk. Adjusting its mass to its newest meal, it ran its tongue across a bitemark that seeped black liquid. The creature's dark red eyes met with Thok's despite his cloaking.

  The howl sounded like the wind itself had come from within the great black beast; some wolves joined while others scattered back into the wood. Thok felt his guts fall, like they had in the cave. His vision flickered between blue and the dark of the night. His nails dug into the bark of the tree so hard that one split and began to trickle blood.

  He embraced the blue fog and looked in the direction of the howling abomination, swirling red and black whipped in all directions. Trees shedding their branches crashed into one another, sending pine and splinters flying.

  A scream from above drew Thok's attention to a blue smudge that had fallen, landing hard on the branch that supported him. The shockwaves rattled him enough to slide; the wind picked up even more. A hand grabbed onto Thok's leather, pulling him to safety. He couldn't make out the face, but the missing ear gave it away.

  Earless shouted, but his words were swept away by the wind. Thok held onto him as the sound died out. "Farsee! He fall, where!?" Earless, frantically shook him, repeating himself. The leaves under the tree moved slightly. Earless didn't wait; he leaped. He landed hard beside Farsee and threw him with all his might into the unsure arms of Thok. Luckily, he caught him, but just barely.

  Earless cloaked and ran as fast as he could for the next tree; unfortunately, he didn't go unnoticed. Two slender brown wolves darted from the shadows and took nips at the fading goblin.

  Earless held his breath and scrambled through the needles, his footsteps plain to Thok, but his movements proved harder to track for the young wolves. He had just made it to the second branch when it snapped under his weight, he landed hard on his back and into the waiting jaws of the wolves.

  Thok watched the blue smudge be pulled apart, each piece devoured until almost nothing remained. The others in the tree despair at the loss of their longtime friend; Thok felt only rage. He wanted to rip them apart with his bare hands. He stood and readied himself to jump. Before he could, Farsee placed his hand on his shoulder and held him back.

  "No Thok, I lure. You escape, warn others." With tears fat in his eyes, Farsee looked to his son's lifeless body one last time and readied himself to jump and lead the wolves away as far as he could. The others cheered for his sacrifice, thanking him over and over. Thok just watched. He wanted to stop him to say something, anything.

  His chance passed before he could, the moment his feet hit the ground Farsee held his breath and sprinted away from his troop and their cave. Few wolves followed at first, until he uncloaked and screamed. The sound drew almost all of them; the beast only watched Thok. He could feel its eyes even when looking away, waiting for its chance.

  The snow began to fall, and with it, the goblins jumped from the tree. All but Thok and another, who was too afraid. They were quickly proven the smarter of the group; the fleeing goblins had been allowed to clear the trees before they were attacked. The beast watched Thok. The sound of Farsee screaming was too much for him. He leapt from the tree and ran in the direction Farsee had fled.

  Even cloaked, the beast watched him move; the wolves didn't lunge when he uncloaked. Instead, they all moved away. He came upon a bleeding Farsee who dispite missing a hand seemed to be okay. He had pressed himself between two large stones leaving only his arm extended, it seemed the wolves tried to pull him out by it. They now just watched as Thok pulled the injured gob out from between the stones, encircling them both.

  The two felt helpless and significantly diminished when the black wolf arrived to the encirclement. The beast lowered its burning eyes to level with Thok; it spoke directly to the goblin's mind. "You, cursed, us, all," The last word ended in a howl that shook Thok's brain inside his skull. A surge of red burst from the creature into the sky; the wolves around Thok began to fade into mist. The howl continued until the fog was thick enough to hide the great beast's form; it stopped. The wolves had all disappeared, Thok tried to focus on the feeling of the red.

  The fog twitched and he thought he felt the red slip behind him. He spun to face it, nothing but ink filled his vision. He blinked his darksight and found himself in the blue once again. Farsee shone dimmer and dimmer with each passing minute. He knew he needed to get help soon. Help. What help would anyone offer a gob back home?

  His lapse in focus left him missing his arm. Thok lifted his nub into the air, spraying blood. He squeezed his limb tight, trying to stem the flow. The red moved again; he saw it plainly to the front. It moved when he noticed it; this time, it went for Farsee. Thok spoke the words he didn't understand, and the fog began to clear.

  Inches away from Farsee's head, the snapping jaws hung loose, their owner impaled on a pillar of crystaline blood that appeared like a twisted, wicked tree. The pelt of the massive black hound lay in tatters as the structure fell apart into a gigantic heap of blood and flesh.

  Thok collapsed, losing his battle to blood loss. Face down, he struggled to breathe, each inhale bringing him closer to death. He was suddenly wracked with pain like a fire that burned him from the inside, and a scream cost more energy than he had. He chose to bleed instead.

  The world grew very cold, and light became a thing of the past; the void consumed him whole. Farsee, though grateful to be alive, could only ask the open air, "New Shaman?" as the once swallowed arm began to reform on the seemingly sleeping Thok.