Hood was worried, but she wasn’t stupid. She wasn’t going to go in unprepared just for a slightly less slim chance of saving a young man who was probably already dead. If she died, the wolf would go on killing unopposed, and the people of this village were more important than a single young fool. Because of this, her first errand after leaving the magistrate’s office was to get a decent meal. Next on the list was getting some additional supplies and checking to see that her equipment was in order, followed by a few hours of sleep to chase away her fatigue. Finally, as the sun began to set on Bergwaldsbach, Hood set out to save whoever she could. Tracking the demon turned out to be remarkably easy. Sure, it hadn’t left anything so obvious as a paw print behind, but it also hadn’t bothered to mask its scent. For someone like Hood, it was like the entire woods were screaming out the location of its lair. It was, she decided, very suspicious. Like the demon specifically wanted to be found, but only by demon hunters, not the villagers who lived here. Approaching cautiously, she soon found her way to a cave in the side of a cliff. The whole cave stank of wolf, and while it had lots of dark branching tunnels, it only had one obvious way in or out. This, of course, meant it had lots of places for a wolf to hide, and it would be the easiest thing in the world to cut off the exit. This wasn’t lost on Hood, but she couldn’t exactly just camp out at the exit waiting for the demon to show up. If the wolf knew of a second exit, she could be waiting for weeks while the beast raided the town with impunity. The cave was dark and damp, smelling of mildew and rotting meat, though those smells were almost drowned out by the stench of wolf. She did her best to peer into each branching tunnel, but most of them soon twisted out of sight. Performing a full search of the area would take days or even weeks, and carried the risk of getting hopelessly lost. Forty men with markers and lanterns might be able to make a full search of it, though more likely they’d get themselves eaten by the wolf one after the other. Thus limited in her options, she had little choice but to stick to the widest and most pungent passageway. After walking for ten minutes or so, she found that the passage ahead was lit by magical sigils drawn on the walls in human blood. This was clearly meant for the benefit of human “visitors”, since demons saw better in the dark than even Hood herself. While the extra light was welcome this deep into the cave system, the whole setup was clearly a trap. Of course, she had expected it to be one in the first place, so she was hardly surprised. At the mouth of a wide cave chamber her careful search revealed a ward over the entrance. It was a very simple ward. All it would do was make a loud sound if it was broken or if anything living passed through it. Unfortunately, its simplicity meant it was nigh impossible to disable without setting it off. Looking into the chamber, she saw a gagged and bound man lying by the back wall, a worn backpack lying discarded by his side. He looked very much worse for wear, so it took her a minute to identify him as Ulrik Berg. He looked like he was suffering from dehydration and he had several untreated wounds, one of which was still bleeding. The smart thing to do, she knew, would be to slowly and methodically search the tunnels one by one and try to take the wolf unawares. The smart thing would be to leave the young man where he was. But, on the other hand, she had no idea how long a proper search of the caves would take, or how long the bound man would survive if left in this state. He was just a single person, weighed against the hundreds that could die if she failed here… But he was someone who had helped her. Someone who had been kind to her even when his own life was in ruined tatters. Silently cursing herself for a fool, she rushed into the chamber. As the ward let out a shrill whistle she drew up to Ulrik and swiftly cut his bonds. Even as the man groggily tried to assess the situation she dabbed her hand in the blood seeping from his open wound and started drawing a ward in the other end of the chamber. “What…? Hood? You have to get out! It’s a trap!” “I know that, you idiot! Bind your wound and take a drink from my waterskin. I won’t have you dying on me after risking my life to save your sorry hide.” He did as she asked as she finished the ward. “What are you doing? We should be preparing for a fight! The demon could be here any…“ “You won’t be fighting anything. I wouldn’t trust you in a fight even if you were well.” “I can help! I’m not a useless...” “DON’T ARGUE WITH ME!” Hood dragged the protesting man and his pack into the circle of the ward, smiling as they vanished from her sight. “Now stay here and be quiet! As long as you don’t make too much noise, no demon will find you here.” That wasn’t quite true, of course. A demon who suspected there was a concealing ward nearby could simply throw things about until it found the area were objects simply vanished from its sight, but Hood didn't intend to give the demon time to do so. She heard a faint whispering sound from the direction of the ward, no doubt Ulrik loudly complaining about being put aside. She didn’t hear his exact words through the ward, but she didn’t need to. “I said don’t argue with me. Now sit still and shut up or I’ll gut you myself and save the demon the trouble.” She got no response. Whether this was because he believed her threat or because he simply got tired of arguing, she didn’t know, but whichever it was she was grateful for it. Particularly since she could hear the beast’s footfalls approaching. The fact that it let itself be heard so clearly showed a level of confidence that Hood would very much have liked to share. The demon squeezed its way through the entrance of the rocky chamber, the shrill whistle of the detection ward seeming to underscore its sheer enormity. It was as tall as a horse and twice as broad, rippling muscles visible beneath its grey, ragged pelt whenever it moved. Like most wolves its size, it was closer in shape to a bear than an actual wolf, with short, stocky legs bearing its enormous bulk. Wolf shapes weren’t meant to hold up such mass, after all, and few demons had enough magic to spare to constantly burn through it just to maintain a more elegant shape. But it wasn’t the size nor the shape of the thing that really grabbed Hood’s attention. It was the scar it wore over its left eye. The deep scar ran diagonally across the beast’s face, and the ruined eyeball was pearly white in stark contrast to its red and yellow twin. She knew this wolf, and she knew where it had gotten its scar. “Carrion. It must be eighty years since last I saw your ugly mug.” “Well, I was in the neighbourhood. I caught word of your recent activities, and figured I should say hello.” The demon’s voice was deep and rumbling, yet it carried an undertone of barely restrained manic glee. “Let me guess. You arranged Ulrik’s disappearance just to draw me here.” “Of course. I see you’ve managed to squirrel him away somewhere with those magic tricks of yours, but it matters little. Once you’re dead I’ll have plenty of time to find him, and kill him.” “I won’t let that happen.” “Say what you will, little redcap, but we both know your history of rescuing your friends from my wrath is less than perfect.” “I will not rise to your baiting, Carrion. I’m not the young fool I used to be.” “I should hope not. This would be so boring if you were. And I would so love to gloat to Old Fenris about my bloody triumph over his little pet project.” “What do you mean, pet project?” “What, you really thought he made you for no reason? Fenris has plans, redcap, and they are all coming to a head. Such an opportune time for me to derail them by taking your life, wouldn’t you agree?” “Tell me what he’s planning!” “No. No, I don’t think I shall. Our conversation has been long enough already, and I have grown tired of it. Time to die, little redcap.” With that, the wolf lunged at her, and she had to throw herself to the side to avoid its massive claws. Quickly getting to her feet, she managed to inflict a small cut on her gargantuan opponent before getting tossed out of the way by the flick of a leg. This wasn’t an opponent she could beat by strength alone. She wished she could lead him out into the hallways, where the cramped conditions would severely hamper her opponent’s mobility, but unfortunately that would mean leaving him in here with Ulrik, which was simply unacceptable. Diving under his next attack, she stabbed her sword into his belly, but the wound barely even seemed to inconvenience her opponent. He leapt aside, turning as quickly as his bulk would allow in order to attack her, but she had already scooted out of his reach. When the wolf lunged again she tried to repeat her earlier success, but the wolf was prepared this time and slammed his bulk to the ground, pinning Hood under his massive weight. Her sword scraped ineffectually against his side before being wrenched from her grip. The pressure was forcing the air from her lungs and making her see spots. The axe seemed to appear out of nowhere, although Hood soon realized it had come from within the ward. It struck true and buried itself in the colossal wolf’s flank. The beast ripped the axe out and hurled itself towards the ward, roaring in rage, but was rewarded with nothing but a metal amulet shoved into its maw. The amulet bore the bow-and-arrow symbol of Otun, god of the hunt, and soon began to burn the demon’s mouth. As it spat the offending metal out, it didn’t notice that Hood had retrieved her sword until it had pierced his side all the way up to the hilt. Turning to face her with a snarl, it just had time to see the flash of steel before she buried a knife in his good eye, blinding him completely. Now going by scent and hearing alone, the wolf’s movements became clumsy and flailing. Hood dodged his blows as best she could, grimacing as his claws sliced the skin of her left arm open in a near miss. She saw Ulrik step out of the ward and retrieve his axe, and did her best to keep the wolf’s attention. Mustering all the strength he could, Ulrik brought the heavy axe down upon the beast’s spine, and a resounding crack told of his success. The wolf collapsed as his lower body no longer responded to his will. Hood quickly moved out of reach of the creature’s flailing front paws, which were hitting the ground with enough force the send stone chips flying where they struck. After a few minutes, the blind, paralyzed demon calmed as blood-loss started taking its toll. “It seems that I am beaten. I would bow to you, redcap, but alas it seems I am unable.” “I hardly expected you to be so gracious in defeat, Carrion. Especially at my hand.” “Normally I wouldn’t be, but see, I left you a little present in town. One that might yet see you sent to the grave. And to foil Fenris’s plans in death would be almost as sweet as doing so in life.” “What are you talking about? What did you do?” “Wolfmen, little redcap. So hard to make, but so rewarding. Three of them survived, and tonight is a full moon at last. Run along now, little redcap. Run and try to save the innocent, like you always do.” The wolf drew its final, shuddering breath, a mad grin on its face even in death. Hood swore as she stood, grabbing her sword from the dead wolf’s side and cleaning it hastily on his fur. Sheathing the sword, she ran out through the cave, and she had almost reached the entrance before she realized Ulrik was running alongside her. “Where do you think you’re going?” she yelled at him as they ran. “This is far too dangerous for you.” “I’m coming with you.” “No you’re not! I’m not going to have you tagging along while I hunt these things. It’s dangerous.” “I’m not “tagging along”, I’m hunting too.” “Don’t be an idiot. You’re just throwing your life away.” “What life? The demons took everything I had! I’m coming with you and that’s final.” “I’m not going to be your damned wet-nurse while you play at being a demon hunter!” “I’m not a baby! I can handle myself. I saved your skin back in that cave, if you didn’t notice.” “FINE! Come with me, then! Throw you life away, why not? But know this, I’m not going to mourn you when you get yourself killed!” But even as she said it, she couldn’t stop the frustrated tears tracking down her face as she ran through the moonlit woods, because she knew that she was lying.