CHAPTER 1099: RUN

The four moved quickly through the forest. Their feet crunching against the damp undergrowth as they followed Coren’s lead at a fast pace.

The bright sunlight that had bathed the trees and forest earlier was gone and replaced by a dim gray glow that barely filtered through the thick canopy.

The air grew heavier with each step they took, pressing down on them like a warning they could not ignore about the certainty that something unnatural was happening again.

"Keep moving," Coren said without turning his head. His tone was steady and sharp. "Don’t look back and stay close."

Ryn jogged behind him, trying to keep his breathing quiet even though his nerves screamed otherwise.

"You don’t have to tell me twice," he muttered, clutching the hilt of his sword. "If something jumps out now, I’m running before fighting."

"That’s not funny," Lira said curtly, scanning the trees around them. Her bow was already in her hand and an arrow nocked loosely between her fingers.

Her eyes darted from shadow to shadow but the world ahead of them was shifting too fast to focus on one thing for long.

The wind began to pick up again, sweeping through the branches in long and uneven bursts.

Elrin trailed near the back. One of her hands hovering over her staff as if ready to channel a spell at a moment’s notice. subtle but constant Magic energy pulsed around her.

"The air keeps changing," she said quietly. "It’s not just wind."

Coren frowned but didn’t respond. The sound of the wind deepened, turning from a whisper to a restless howl that tore through the treetops.

Leaves flew in wild spirals. The ground trembled again three times in short and quick succession as if something beneath the earth was stirring.

Ryn stumbled when the last rumble hit, grabbing at a tree for balance.

"Alright, that’s it," he hissed. "I’m convinced. It’s another unknown god that throwing a tantrum."

"Quiet!" Coren snapped. "Listen."

They all froze. For a moment only the wind filled the silence. Then, from somewhere deeper in the forest, came the sound of a long howl.

First was only one, then another came, then many of them sounded.

The echoes overlapped, weaving into a chilling chorus that crawled beneath their skin.

Lira’s face paled.

"Direwolves," she whispered. "And a lot of them."

Elrin’s grip on her staff tightened.

"That’s impossible. They shouldn’t be this close to the kingdom. They hunt in the more western wilds that are far beyond these woods."

"Shit," Ryn said dryly, though his voice trembled.

The howls grew louder. Then new sounds joined them. Snarls, shrieks, and guttural bellows emerged. It sounded like every predator in the forest had awakened at once.

Coren turned sharply, eyes sweeping the darkness beyond the trees.

"Something’s driving them in this storm," he said grimly. "Nothing brings that many beasts together unless..."

He didn’t finish. The wind roared harder this time, throwing branches and loose leaves across the air.

The canopy shook violently as if the forest was in panic.

The first drops of rain began to fall lightly, tapping against their faces and armor. Within seconds it became a steady drizzle and carried sideways by the wind.

Ryn squinted through the rain. "This is insane. The sky was clear not even ten minutes ago!"

Lira’s bowstring glistened with moisture as she adjusted it. "Weather doesn’t change this fast naturally."

Elrin glanced upward, watching the clouds twist overhead.

"It’s Magic," she said with quiet certainty. "Something massive is warping the air and it’s pulling everything with it."

Coren’s instincts screamed that she was right. His years of adventuring that was far more than the rest of them combined told him that storms like this didn’t just appear. The beasts’ howls weren’t random either. They were reacting to whatever was happening, just like the forest was.

He drew his sword with a deliberate motion. The steel caught what little light remained.

"Weapons out," he ordered. "We don’t know what’s coming but we need to be ready."

Ryn obeyed immediately, unsheathing his old short with a metallic rasp.

"You think monsters will come at us from every direction?" he asked.

Coren didn’t answer. He scanned the treeline again with tensed muscle already. The rain came harder, drumming against the leaves.

"Just stay in close formation," Coren said again, his voice cutting through the storm. "If anything moves we don’t need to fight it unless we have to. We find the road, then the nearest outpost or another group of adventurers as fast as possible. Move!"

They started forward once more with their heads low, water streaming down their cloaks. The light grew weaker with every step. The bright forest was now cast in shifting shadows and flashes of gray lightning far above.

Ryn glanced back just once and froze when he saw in the distance between the trees, faint shapes moved in the mist.

There were a lot of them.

He couldn’t tell if they were wolves, monsters, or something else entirely, but their eyes gleamed faintly with pale light.

He swallowed hard and turned back toward the group. "Coren... we’re not alone."

The wind howled again, but now it was carrying the sound of claws against wet soil.

Coren turned sharply when he caught the fear in Ryn’s voice. His eyes widened as he saw the same shapes of dozens of silhouettes moving between the trees with their eyes flickering like ghostly embers through the mist.

He also started to hear the sound of claws scraping against the soaked ground grew louder. It wasn’t just one or two beasts. It was a pack, and more seems to be joining by the second.

"Run!" Coren shouted.

They didn’t hesitate. The four broke into a sprint, crashing through the undergrowth, branches slapping against their faces as rain pelted them.

The forest seemed to blur around them and they only saw gray trunks, twisting shadows, and felt flashes of white eyes following from behind.

The growls were closer, echoing between the trees.

Lira loosed an arrow blindly behind her without slowing down. The hiss of the shot was lost in the thunder that cracked overhead.

Elrin’s breath came in sharp bursts, her boots slipping in the mud as she muttered fragments of spells for light and protection.

"There!" Ryn gasped, pointing ahead. The trees thinned, and a narrow road cut through the mist.

They stumbled onto it and panting, but Coren’s gut told him it wasn’t safe yet.

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