Pantheon Online

224  An Unusual Hunt

Skovi's ears perked up when he caught the peculiar scent again. In the time the gods had abandoned the Mortal plane, he had taken to prowling the borders of Skardia beyond the Dwarven mountains. Even when he felt they had returned, he continued on his hunt since Exile did not call for him.

For some time now, he had been following a strange scent. Whenever he came close to its location, it would abruptly cross large distances to escape from him. He lowered his snout to sniff at a white feather on the ground with droplets of fresh blood on it.

Skovi's eyes narrowed as he glared up into the tree, searching for any signs of a nest. 'There's nothing there. What a peculiar bird this is. I can feel the power contained in its blood.' Skovi sniffed at the air before turning his large head toward the southwest. 'It must be quite large to produce feathers of this size.'

Skovi's tongue rolled out of his mouth o lick his muzzle in anticipation of his meal. He sprinted through the forest, following the faint lingering scent of his prey in the air. 'Strange. It hasn't flown too far this time.' His instincts told him the creature must be heavily injured and was growing weaker every time it tried to escape.

The only thing that bugged him was how the bird knew he was stalking it. He always remained downwind, and he was sure he never came close enough for it to hear or sense his presence. A few hours passed as he pursued that elusive beast. However, he hesitated when he discovered traces of several other hunters on the trail of the bird.

Skovi diverted his path slightly to ensure neither the bird nor its other hunters would be aware of his presence. 'Those hunters are the reason it keeps moving. It hasn't detected me at all.' If Skovi were still a normal wolf he would have abandoned the hunt at this point. However, as a divine beast, he had an advantage over both parties.

He sped up as his eyes caught traces of claw marks on the tree trunks. 'They're agile. I'll have to be careful they don't use the trees to surround me.' At that point, he picked up the shrill screech of a bird on the wind. He could tell the animal was in pain and venting its fury with that noise. 'The hunters have caught up to it.'

Skovi slowed down at that point to approach the situation stealthily. He had to understand what was happening before he made his move. However, as the treeline broke up ahead, his eyes widened in surprise.

His connection with Exile allowed him to identify the hunters, even though he had never seen one of their kind before. 'Warbeasts.' Skovi groaned as he studied them. He had his doubts about trying to take advantage of that situation once he realised he was dealing with another mortal race.

Another loud screech drew his attention to the bird he had been tracking. It stood on the edge of a cliff that the sea crashed against far below. Skovi scanned the pure white feathered eagle with his gaze. The bird stood at an impressive size of 9ft with a wingspan of slightly less than 22ft.

The eagle's feathers had blood on them, and when Skovi traced those trails to their origins, he discovered arrows poking out of its body. Skovi watched as the bird swatted away two warbeasts with its mighty wings before fixing its golden eyes on a particular member of the hunting group.

"Why do you struggle? Come, lend your strength to my goddess!" M'Throk held out a feline hand to the eagle.

"No!" The eagle's voice sounded feminine as it spoke, and screeches mixed with that word. "My kind came to your aid, and this is how you repay us? Your actions speak loudly about the goddess you serve!"

The eagle glared at M'Throk as it backed away from his hand. She tilted her head as she felt the edge of the cliff beneath her feet. M'Throk growled when he sensed her intentions.

"Don't be a fool! You are too weak to fly away. You would only die if you try to escape over the sea!" M'Throk inched closer to the majestic bird. "You are a Warbeast, just like us! Don't you care about your people? Why do you refuse to join us in the war against the dark elves?"

The eagle hesitated for a moment before fixing her gaze on M'Throk. "We may come from the same species. However, our purpose is far different to yours!"

The eagle screeched as M'Throk frowned. However, he remained silent as he sensed the eagle had more to say.

"There is too much darkness in you. My people could never follow your goddess!" The eagle spread her wings as she looked down on M'Throk. "I sense her power in you. She threatens to disrupt the natural balance if she continues on this path!"

"So what?" M'Throk growled as he glared back at her. "At least she cares for my people! Her power is what frees us from the suppression of the other tribes. She grants us the power to fight the hated elves! I'll drag you back with me if I have to! We'll break you eventually!"

M'Throk released a feline hiss that announced the time for words was over. His companions prepared to pounce on the eagle again. However, one of them released a sharp cry when a great weight landed on her back. M'Throk turned to see what had happened, only to see Skovi ripping out the throat of his companion!

Skovi nimbly dodged the blades, spears, and arrows aimed at him while placing himself between M'Throk and the eagle. The eagle showed a surprised expression as she glanced down at what she considered to be a fragile wolf.

"Little wolf, this is not your battle. Save yourself. Do not throw away your gift of life to protect me." She said as she nudged Skovi with her wing.

However, her golden eyes widened when Skovi did not budge, even when she used her true strength. She studied him with curiosity as he continued to growl at M'Throk. Skovi eyed the warbeasts before him with determination. He understood the eagle's species could be helpful to his master. So there was no harm in attempting to gain her favour.

Skovi lunged to his left, and his jaws snapped shut on the arm of one of the assailants who tried to take him by surprise. A shake of his head ripped off the part of the arm below the elbow and sent a trail of blood flowing through the air.

The feline warbeasts hissed when they saw that. Their ears pinned back against their helms as they took Skovi more seriously. The eagle flapped her wings, and a mighty burst of air sent several of them sprawling backwards in the dirt as Skovi snapped another of them.

A bloody battle ensued between the two sides. However, the eagle kept part of her focus on Skovi. She had never heard of such a strong species of wolf and silently wondered if that type of wolf could be a natural ally for her people.

As the fight went on, M'Throk slipped past Skovi's guard to challenge the eagle behind him. The eagle glared at the leader of the hunters as she glanced at the wolf. He was too busy fending off the remaining warbeasts to help her.

She clawed at M'Throk with her talons and struck with her mighty beak. However, M'Throk was much smaller in stature and easily dodged her attacks. Cuts formed on her body as M'Throk slashed with his dual daggers. The damage she sustained accumulated as their duel went on. She felt herself growing weaker and feared that her life would soon end.

However, that was when both M'Throk and herself noted there were no more sounds of battle around them! M'Throk's ears twitched as he felt a dangerous sensation. He sprang to his left as Skovi's jaws snapped closed on his previous position.

Skovi approached the exhausted eagle as he glared at M'Throk. 'Her wounds run deep, and time is running out for her.' His eyes moved to scan the forest as he made sure no witnesses would survive his use of his innate ability. When he decided the coast was clear, he let out some of his healing breath to stabilise the eagle's condition.

M'Throk's eyes went wide as he watched his prey's injuries healing at a visible rate. He cursed as he understood the situation had already become dire. 'That thing is a divine beast! What god dares to intervene?'

He silently thought of the wolf clan of Warbeasts since it would not be unusual for them to have a connection with that creature. However, he knew they had migrated further away since his tribe started expanding. 'I must warn the goddess that someone still wishes to oppose her!'

M'Throk silently decided to flee in that situation. Skovi cursed as he sensed the difference in M'Throk's mindset. He pounced at the warbeast and felt sure he had taken him by surprise. However, his jaws found nothing when they snapped shut! He glanced around and sniffed the air to find traces of his opponent. But it was as if M'Throk had vanished into thin air!

Skovi cursed when he realised there was no way to track that opponent. He could only hope that M'Throk would be unable to connect his existence to Exile. Skovi almost jumped out of his skin when he felt a feathered wing wrap around him as the eagle moved closer.

"Now, little wolf, how can I repay you?" She chuckled as she gazed into his eyes. However, she received a fright of her own when she heard human words coming out of Skovi's mouth in reply.

"I'll finish healing you if you agree to meet my master..."