Chapter 5: How is everyone else?

Reaching the great hall, Fenrir set Yumiko back on her feet. He had picked her up almost immediately when he noticed how unsteadily she had been walking while leaving the bathing hall.

"I can walk by myself, Master!" she had cried, but he had ignored her, and after several feet she resigned herself to her fate and even seemed to enjoy being carried so effortlessly.

The air in here was significantly colder than in the bathing hall, no doubt due to the holes in the ceiling and walls. Now that he took the time to think about it, Fenrir realized that this room was one of the most damaged in the entire castle, save perhaps the one tower he had seen. The difference in temperature between here and outside must be negligible. With this in mind, he was not overly surprised to see the succubi huddling around a small fire they had built at the far end of the room. Safara sat a little apart, clearly uncomfortable to be in the company of demons but not daring to leave. She shivered as he watched and pulled her robes more closely around herself. Picking his way through the bodies still scattered throughout the hall, he approached the fire, subtly supporting Yumiko with one arm.

It was Safara who saw him first. Giving him an icy glare, she turned away. The movement attracted the attention of one of the succubi, who quickly spotted the large wolf's approach as well. "Sir," was all she said, though she accompanied it with a bow and a curious look. The others quickly bowed as well, eyeing him with no small amount of curiosity and some trepidation.

"Would it not be warmer elsewhere? Why have you remained here?" he asked them.

After exchanging a nervous glance with her comrades, the succubus who had first noticed him spoke up. "We didn't want to intrude on your territory, sir."

Fenrir blinked. Of all the answers he had expected... Turning to Yumiko, he asked, "When did you arrive at this castle?"

"Yesterday, Master. Those soldiers had been chasing us for several weeks now, and we thought we had lost them in the mountains, but when we stopped to rest they trapped us in the castle."

"I see. All of you, follow me. That means you too, Safara." The last as an aside to the ice mage, who had been surreptitiously watching him over her shoulder.

"Wait, Koreen!" Yumiko launched forward from his side, having spotted her friend lying near the fire. She stumbled and nearly fell, her legs still not quite equal to such vigorous movement, before catching herself and proceeding at a (slightly) more sedate pace to where Koreen lay.

"Miko, that you?" the blue-skinned succubus asked weakly.

"Yes, it's me. How are you feeling?" Yumiko asked, kneeling beside her and taking her hand in her own.

"Tired. Where's the big guy? Did he decide what he's going to do with us yet?"

"I'm right here," Fenrir said, stopping beside Yumiko. "And short term, yes. I have decided to move you all to somewhere a bit warmer. Can't have you all freezing on me, now can I?"

Koreen gave a weak chuckle. "Uh-huh. And I'm sure you have no ulterior motives at all."

"Not this time, at least. Now let's get going." So saying, Fenrir scooped the succubus into his arms, arranging her to lie comfortably cradled in one arm.

"Wha- hey! Don't just grab me like that!" Koreen yelped. "Damn, you're warm..." Despite herself, she relaxed in his grip, the respite from the brisk night air too pleasant to resist.

"Everyone ready?" Fenrir asked, glancing around at everyone present. Safara shifted disquietedly, unable to tear her eyes from the sight of Koreen nestled against the giant wolf's chest. The already short succubus seemed tiny in comparison to Fenrir's great bulk. Seeing no dissent, he led the way from the great hall, in search of a room better suited to their needs.

They found it in what had once been the kitchens. Two large fireplaces dominated one wall, and a quick sniff from Fenrir's enhanced nose confirmed that one chimney remained unblocked. Placing his burden gently beside the hearth, he examined the furniture scattered about the room. Several tables and some chairs, all made of wood. A few looked sound, but most were broken in one way or another. Grabbing the nearest broken chair, he quickly snapped it into kindling and dropped it on the hearth before reaching for another.

Understanding his intent, Yumiko began arranging the wood in a pyramid pattern, ready to be set alight. Fenrir paused in the pulverization of a particularly thick table to nod approvingly at her. "Quick on the uptake. Good job." She smiled happily at the praise, continuing to carefully stack pieces of kindling. Koreen noticed, her eyes narrowing, but she said nothing.

Once he had a good supply, Fenrir stopped demolishing furniture. Taking a board from the pile beside the hearth, he partially extended his claws and with quick sure strokes, peeled small shavings from its edge. Once a small pile of tinder had formed, he scooped it up and placed it in the prepared pyramid. Now for the first time he faltered, realizing the usual expedient of matches was not an option. One of the succubi came to his rescue, a tiny fireball leaping from her fingers to ignite the dry wood, and in a few moments there was a merrily crackling fire spreading its light and warmth to the far corners of the room.

Straightening, Fenrir retreated from the blaze, turning to examine the larder. As he had expected, the pantries were picked clean, not so much as a grain of flour remaining. He remembered the deer which he had scented on the tower, and sighed. 'Looks like I'm hunting for my dinner. On the upside though, this should give me a chance to accustom myself to my new body.' He had not forgotten his clumsiness in his battle with Safara. 'Speaking of which, where is she?'

The elf in question was trying to sit both close to the fire and far from the succubi, an endeavor doomed to failure by the latter's eagerness to warm themselves. Speaking in low tones, they huddled close to the blaze, which thanks to their liberal application of wood was quickly becoming an inferno. As earlier in the great hall, they seemed content to ignore Safara, though Fenrir caught a dirty look being thrown at the elf by one of them. 'Eventually they'll need to learn to get along. Ah well, a problem for another time; for now, food.' He turned toward the door.

Yumiko looked up from her conversation with Koreen and seeing Fenrir about to leave, hurried to intercept him. "Where are you going, Master? You aren't going to leave us, are you?"

"No, little one, but there's no food here, so I'm going hunting. I'll be back in a few hours."

She nodded, and saying, "Be careful, Master," she returned to her place beside the fire.

Once outside the castle, Fenrir took a slow breath, scenting the air. The wind was blowing from the northeast, and he could faintly smell various animals, including the distinct musk of deer. Following his nose, he set out at a leisurely lope, transitioning easily into a quadrupedal stance as he increased his speed. About a mile below the castle the ravine he was following opened out onto a bench several miles square, open meadows and dense thickets comprising its landscape. Prime ground for predator and prey alike. Picking a game trail at random he continued to run, nose now low to the ground, his sensitive olfactory organs communicating to him every creature that had passed that way recently.

As he ran with a wolflike gait which made him seem to glide across the ground, he began experimenting with his abilities. Calling upon his powers of time, he instinctively knew how long he would be able to slow time, and to his surprise he discovered that he only had about two and a half minutes' worth of slowed time. 'I thought I had five minutes' worth. Am I remembering wrong?' But no, he could feel that reservoir filling almost imperceptibly. 'I must have used it in the great hall when I was Berserking. Well, that answers the question of whether I can use abilities concurrently. Berserk really is a double-edged sword though, if it can cloud my mind so much I don't even notice I'm using other abilities.'

He moved on to his Spirit Attunement. Again, he had no difficulty with the ability, able to instantly attune himself to each spirit in turn. Passing over Shroud for the moment, his attempt to Concoct Toxin drew his attention forcefully to several plants in the environment around him, and he knew intuitively that a specific mixture of these plants would give him a venom which would be deadly to anything without significant resistances.

Cautiously, he called on Berserk, finding to his great relief that while the rage burned hot within him, he could subdue and harness it, at least in this calm environment. 'At least it's not entirely a liability,' he thought, leaping a fallen tree and frightening several rabbits on the far side. Coming to a sudden halt, he focused his attention on a new ability which had popped up in his awareness.

Howl of Fury: Give voice to a howl which frenzies enemies weaker than you, forcing them to attack indiscriminately for 5 minutes and decreasing their physical defense by 25%. This effect has a 30 minute cooldown.

'Where did that come from?' He broadened his awareness and saw to his surprise that his Barbarian Class had increased from level ten to level twelve. 'Well, I did kill thirty-odd soldiers while in Berserk, so I guess it's not that surprising. I'm a little surprised I didn't notice earlier. Definitely a situational ability, but I can see it being useful.' Turning his attention back to Shroud, Fenrir activated the ability, noting the surge of strength that flowed through his muscles, and the darkness which coalesced around him. Launching himself back into a swift run, he smiled as rather than the soft thump of each footfall, he heard nothing, his steps now entirely silent.

Spotting a rabbit foraging in a clump of grass, he stepped up behind it, and reaching out, cast Paralyze. He felt a drain as the spell consumed mana, and the rabbit froze midbite. Curious, he reversed the spell, and with another drain of mana the rabbit unfroze, wasting no time in bolting for cover. It had no inkling of his presence, but suddenly losing all motor function would alarm anyone, the lupine supposed.

'But now let's see what this new body of mine can really do,' he thought, and threw himself into a hard run, leaping high into the air, making sharp turns at random, and in general testing the limits of his speed and agility. At first missteps and miscalculations were common, but after three quarters of an hour of practice he felt fairly confident in his ability to fight effectively if necessary.

He came to an explosive halt, straightening to his full height, breathing hard and feeling a profound joy. Never before had he exerted himself in this way, his muscles burning from the sustained effort, his pulse strong and regular in his ears, and every atom of him fiercely alive. He remained standing there as though turned to stone for a full minute, glorying in the intensity of his vitality.