Strewn out across the plains lay a haphazard assortment of tents, campfires, and resting soldiers. There was not the sound of merrymaking, a closer look would easily reveal the signs of exhaustion upon their face, difficult due to the lack of illumination. Fires provided a small amount of security and warmth from the dark cold night, both moons above were dim, signs of the waning fall and encroachment of winter. A perfect night for predators looking to fill their dens.

Exhausted, tired, and hungry, the men of the soldiers were lacking in their security, night patrol members dozing off at their post or preoccupied with a game of dice. In either case they failed to notice the shadows slipping past and infiltrating the camp. Eight unidentifiable forms moved silently through the area, avoiding the light of the fires and dispersing outwards. Splitting into pairs of two they headed to separate areas of the camp, a handful of soldiers unlucky enough to be caught in their path were quickly and silently neutralized, their bodies hidden from view.

Everywhere the shadows moved they made sure to sprinkle a unknown liquid upon the ground or the nearby tents. The squad of infiltrators appeared to be aiming for somewhere deeper within the camp, however a strange cry rose in the air at that moment. For the soldiers it sounded no different from any nocturnal bird, whereas the infiltrators immediately halted and subsequently made their escape.

A decisive and timely decision, for just as the infiltration team led by none other than Maatilani and the Scholar had reached the outer edges of the camp, a howl echoed in the distance. The camp soldiers were wary for an instant before returning to their tasks, while the Scholar and his group of elite outriders arrived at a hidden clearing nearby and mounted their steeds. From that position they turned their attention back to the enemy camp, watching as the soldiers ignored the rising chorus of howls in the distance.

Maatilani gave her mottled mare a quick pat on its thick mane before urging it onwards, only to be abruptly stopped by the Scholar’s raised hand. “Calm down Maati, we shall remain in place. Wait until the right moment to strike, observe their ranks and target the officers.” The Scholar was resolute, his focus unwavering and aimed at the command tent located within the center of the camp.

It was an excellent turn of events the Scholar, they had not planned to lead an attack on the main column. Instead, they would have continued with the attacks on the foraging and scouting parties, waiting until their supplies ran low while harassing the force the entire way. However, it would have been foolish to pass on such an opportunity, the enemy had delivered themselves upon a plate. The force march had left them exhausted and without time to prepare and adequately defensible camp.

The camp was stirring now, an ever-increasing chorus of howls and yips emerging from the surrounding forests were putting the men on edge. They had little idea of what was occurring, unable to peer into the darkness, no light from the moons above to illuminate the surroundings and had taken no notice of the numerous eyes observing them from between the trees.

“It would appear that we have drawn in quite the alpha this time. How big is that pack… appears to be around five Direwolves, and almost fifty regular wolves.” The Scholar let out a muffled laugh, “Who knew the king of the mountains himself would grace us with his presence…make sure to keep those bottles sealed, we don’t have time to deal with any of the beasts.” The surrounding riders nodded in understanding, taking care to readjust themselves, double checking their bows and ensuring their quiver was properly secured to their saddle.

___

“Haha, my win again… boy you should quit now before you lose even the clothes on your back.” An older mercenary was laughing as he scooped the copper and silver coins into his arms. The two dice were sitting on the table and from the ugly looks on the faces of the other men anyone would have been able to tell what had occurred.

“Curse you old man! How do you always manage to win? You must be cheating!” Some of the men were clearly agitated, hands on the hilt of their weapon. The older man responded in kind, standing with spear in hand. “You little bastards think you can play me! I won fair and square, now why don’t you lot piss off and get back to patrolling.”

Before the two groups could start up another round of insults one of the men standing in the corner interceded, “All of you shut up! Don’t you hear that? Are none of you worried about the increasing howls!”

“Don’t worry about the wild mutt’s boy, those beasts are just out there posturing. Too many of us, and too many fires for those things to risk coming at us… Probably just passing through their territory. I will agree there are quite a lot of them though.” The men huddled just a bit closer to the campfire, they didn’t believe the wolves would do anything, but men were naturally fearful of the dark and unknown.

“Anyway, now that we’ve all calmed down. What say you to another game…” Even after the borderline breakout of hostilities between himself and the others, the man still wanted more. “I don’t have anything left for you to take OLD MA-” The soldier words were caught in his throat, specifically they were caught in the jaws of a black horse sized wolf.

None of the other soldiers huddled around the fire had the chance to even scream before they to were thrown to the ground, vice like jaws closing around their throats. The same scene was playing out across the western side of the camp, as numerous black shapes poured from the tree line and overrunning the outer perimeter. Small groups of patrolling soldiers and men on watch were caught completely unaware, unable to respond and quickly being torn apart by the vicious beasts.

It only took a few minutes but eventually someone was able to raise a cry before being silenced, cries of alarm followed as those on the peripheries closest to the forest were overrun. Men without weapons or armor quickly falling prey to the tide of teeth and claws. Although the attack was swift and vicious, the pack came to a stop, taking the time to feast upon their kills. The pursuit force did not miss that chance, with the rest of the camp solidified around the central command tent.

Somehow the commander of the force managed to create a semblance of order, collecting the stragglers into a cohesive force. However, many were not properly equipped, pieces and parts of armor missing, using a sidearm rather than their main weapon. None of which mattered as the next wave of beasts was about to come down upon them.