Snippet #2622858

Nova's puzzling over the miniature glaciers that floated in the tranquil Maxim lake was broken by a jet of flame in the sky, illuminating the landscape like a second sunset in the north. Biting his lip, Nova spared only seconds to lap up precious lake water in slake his thirst, before dashing off to see what had happened. There hadn't been any other disturbances since the initial flame, and in the twilight Nova could scarcely position where his nemesis was before he was practically on top of him.

What he saw cleared his panic, but it was no less shocking than if he had run into a Tenneth raid. On the contrary, while there were Tenneth there, they were in no position to do any fighting. Shackled to a sledge, Nova watched a Tenneth wolf drag along another unconscious fire wolf on a hastily made wooden sled, guarded by three Ausi's. A few meters away was a similar group, though there was only two guards for that pair of hostages. It was a great tactic, Nova thought, to shackle the active prisoners to the ones that had taken more of a beating. It would be very hard to fight while carrying the weight of another wolf. But where had they come from?

"Oi! Scout!" Nova practically jumped out of his skin when the guard bring up the rear approach him from behind. When Nova inquired about what had gone on, the guard wolf was only too proud to report that, while the Alpha was still recovering, a group of soldiers seeking glory for their leader had descended the day before to try and rattle the Tenneth a bit. That very afternoon, they had saw a disturbance near the lake, and moving in to inquire, they jumped a small group of Tenneth weary from fighting a skirmish with an unknown group of wolves.

"Think about it, mate. Hostages to make the Tenneth think twice about attack'n. A claw in the face of Tenneth pride. Metal armor with the help of the Dimitrios. If the Tenneth even try attack'n again, we can always threaten to execute 'em" the guard explained, justifying all the reasons of their little raid.

"Though I wouldn't put it past those savages to attack again anyway" another Ausi said, overhearing the small talk, glaring at his Tenneth captive who had growled at his last remark.

In some ways, Nova was relieved. If this little group of heroes in any way represented the Ausi, then his pack wasn't planning anything major, at least while his Alpha was recovering from the last attack. But would this attack just fan the flames of a larger disaster? Would the fight ever stop?