"Remember, we don't want to kill the wolves, just knock them unconscious. But don't overdo it. If it's between their lives or yours, kill them.

"

Geth dropped underground and tunneled into the center of the enemy forces. As he went, he encased the Direwolves' paws in the earth.

It wasn't much, but with the condition they were in, he doubted they would bother trying to break free.

*****

The Direwolf that was being beaten sensed something and shifted its vision around the area. Though it was bloodied and broken, its eyes were still sharp.

Unbeknownst to the Humans, the Direwolf had let herself be captured. She had stalked the Humans for some time, watching their movements and learning how they'd forced her brothers to behave oddly.

They had been trying to break into her home for quite some time, and she figured the best time to act was once they opened it. That was... until they breached the strange enclosure.

She could sense the presence of any of her family inside... and she smelled... blood. A lot of blood.

Just when she was about to burst from her bindings, she felt that odd feeling again. This time, it was closer.

It was vaguely familiar, and whatever it was, it was powerful. She glanced at her brothers to see if they noticed, but they were still stuck in that strange, dazed state.

That's when she felt the presence again! It was much more potent that time.

Her eyes shifted to one of her brother's feet and found that it was bound tightly in solid earth. She cocked her head to the side while 'whimpering' from another beating.

Her eyes darted around, finding that almost all of her brothers were bound in the same fashion, but none of them were hurt.

She looked toward the two freed wolves and waited for this unknown binding to reach up again.

The moment it did, she caught it. The spell had undoubtedly come from a member of her pack!

But... why didn't she recognize it? And why couldn't she see it?

Suddenly, the presence was right on top of her! She glanced around, trying to find this other wolf.

"What's this wolf up to? Hit it haragghhhgrrbbb!

"

The Human on her right suddenly fell into the ground!

She stared with wide eyes at the small puddle of mud that hadn't been there before. Bubbles and splashes rose from it in large bursts!

"Jugo!

"

The other Human dropped its club and ran over. The other Humans dropped what they were doing and ran over as well.

She was suddenly surrounded! All of the Humans were right next to her!

This wasn't what she wanted at all! If she found out which of her brothers was causing this, she'd kill it!

"This mutt did it! Kill it!

"

The Humans turned from the puddle and stared at her with angered eyes. She looked back defiantly.

She hadn't done it, but she'd be damned if she would give them the satisfaction of her giving up at this point!

A bluish-white aura surrounded the wolf. Her bones quickly shifted back into place, and her bleeding stopped.

She stood up swiftly, snapping all of the bindings that were holding her down. The Humans suddenly took a few steps back as she rose to her full height of five feet.

She was small for a wolf, but the aura surrounding her was still domineering.

Glancing around the small group of Humans, she was unsure if she could take them. Along with the multiple Level 40 Goblins walking toward her, she knew she couldn't handle it.

She was wavering on whether or not she should flee and find help when that presence showed itself again.

The nine Humans in front of her sunk waist-deep into the ground before they could even take a step! The earth around them hardened, completely encasing their lower halves.

The small puddle that the first Human had died in began to bubble once again. A large, white hat emerged, followed by a Human with a furry face, long white robe, and glowing stick in his hand.

She looked at this Human, confused. This... was the brother that she couldn't see..?

The Human looked toward her, ignoring the livid screams and pleas of its kin standing before it.

"Who the ** are you? Let me out of this shi-

"

The Human couldn't finish what he was saying. Her

"brother,

" that had just risen from the ground, reached out and smacked the screaming Human with its paw.

The head flew off of the entrapped Human, slamming into one of the approaching Goblins and forcing it to stagger back. She could hear her brother mumbling after that.

"Hmm, maybe using the Strength buff is a bit unnecessary against other Humans...

"

She didn't know what he was mumbling about, but she knew that the man had killed one. The wolf felt that she should help!

*****

Geth looked at the body on the ground before him. A leaflet of paper hit the ground and instantly turned into a Skill card.

He glanced at the strange white wolf once more before signaling the others to enter. Six arrows sped from the would line, piercing directly into six Goblins' skulls.

The weakened creatures didn't stand a chance. They weren't as bad off as the Direwolves, but their reactions were slow and their movements somewhat clumsy.

'Who would even want a Tame that can't walk properly?'

It didn't make sense to him. Not only were their Attributes weakened, but that drug the man had used made them useless outside of basic tasks.

Zolis covered the distance to the Dungeon quickly, lopping off the heads of the last four Goblins. It was over that fast.

Geth turned toward the eight men who were trapped in the ground.

"All right, one of you needs to talk. Who are you, why are you here, why were you targeting us, yada yada. Any and all information is appreciated.

"

"We won't tell you shi-!

"

Geth slapped the man's head, sending it into the distance with a warm trail of blood behind it. Blood splattered from the body, landing on a nearby man's cheeks.

Geth gave the rest of them a warm smile, sending chills down their spines.

"Okay then, seven more chances.

"