10. The Wolf Den?

Novum left breakfast, which the little had brought to him, and headed to the stable. Noctis was prancing around ready to get out of the small stall. He was used to being tethered or out in an open pen, not the small stalls they had here. "Sorry about this Noctis, I will try to find something a little bigger after we take care of the wolves."

He rode out of town just after the sun was up since the restaurant was open so early. It was also dark enough that he did not notice the eyes watching him as he left. The man the mayor fired the day before was on his own horse staying far enough back that he did not draw any attention to himself. The money he was being offered to play assassin was more than a years salary babysitting the pervert and he could not turn it down. The man might be a pervert but he had money.

Riding instead of walking was so much faster that Novum almost rode right past the spot he appeared yesterday. He dismounted and tied the lead to his belt and headed into the woods. He was not much of a tracker but he figured he could follow the blood trail far enough to get him in the area of the den. Given how fast Chris died the day before he lost a lot of blood.

It was almost an hour later when he finally felt he was getting to the area where he could find a den. He was regretting not taking track as one of his extra feats but he did not realize it would be needed so quickly. He had finally found another patch of blood when Noctis shook his head and snorted. Novum knew he smelled a predator.

Novum dropped the lead over a branch and started down the trial that Noctis was glaring at. He had his shield tightened and his other hand on his sword. As he walked he spotted and elevated area and thought maybe the rise was a cave that the wolves would made a den in.

As he got closer he pulled out his sword and got ready for a fight. There was a patch of vines on one of the sides of the mound. He was creeping closer when he heard a small sound and he turned to look at it. The other wolf was flying towards him out of the bush he had just passed. If the wolf had pounced a little earlier there was nothing he could have done about it. Because of the way that he turned his shield was on the wrong side and he could not get this sword around in time.

Novum threw his armored forearm into the wolf's mouth and twisted his body in the same direction he was already turning. The wolf's bite was powerful but it could not handle the smooth armor and its own momentum. Novum felt a sharp pain and realized the wolf's fang slipped through a small gap in his armor and gashed open his arm. It was not bad but it seemed like it was going to be a bleeder.

The wolf turned faster than any animal that size had a right to move and came back at him. If Novum had not turned the way he did he would still be turned partially away from the wolf and exposed to a attack from behind. As it was he was back on even footing the wolf who was a lot more cautious without the element of surprise.

Novum and the wolf shuffled back and forth a few times not quite circling but not standing still. Novum saw an opportunity and hoped he could pull it off in this younger body. He stepped on a rock and stumbled for just a second. That was all the invitation that the wolf needed and it lunged towards him. Novum set his feet back in an instant after the feint and stuck out with his sword. He left a horrible gash in the wolf's front leg. The wolf yelped and leapt backwards.

Novum was not going to give her the opportunity to find a away to escape and moved forward. He wanted to use all of his power for the extra damage but the wolf was to agile and he would have a lot harder time hitting her. He would have to stalk her to make the kill. The wound on her leg was slowing her down and he knew she would make a mistake sooner or later.

He took a couple of steps and the wolf mirrored his movements. That was when he saw an opportunity, a hole in the ground. Novum shuffled the other way and then lurched the other way quickly before the wolf could check its footing. Her wounded leg hit the hole and she could not catch herself. Novum attacked before she could react. His razor sharp blade took her head clean off.

There was no need to check and see if she was dead, there was no doubt but he still needed to check the area. He headed back over towards the cave and with his sword he shifted the vines out of the opening. A few of the vines came loose and he realized that it was not a cave but an old mine shift that had been boarded up.

He put his shield away and pulled one of his magic torches out. He got closer to the opening and he realized that it was not boarded up but a door had been built into the opening. Novum reached out and found that it was locked. He should have headed back to town to find out who owned it but curiosity got the better of him and he kicked the door open with ease.

With his torch leading the way he made his way deeper and deeper into the mine. The shafts were rather steep for quite a ways and then they leveled out and branch out in multiple directions. He picked one and walked a short way down. He was not sure what made him pick this one but it answered his question as to why the door was locked from the inside. A pile of bones was crushed under some of the rocks from a small cave in. More than likely this mine was a secret and since no one knew it was here no one could find him.

Novum held the torch up to the wall where it appeared the collapse started and there was a think silver vein in the wall. He was not sure what it was or how pure but he knew that it was worth something. He made up his mind to try and buy this land legally and after mining some stuff out of it, selling it back to the city to mine the rest.

Novum came out out the mine and heard some whining. A very young wolf cub was rubbing his head against his dead mother. Novum felt a little bad about what he did but it was just a job. He took a couple of steps and the cub spotted him and sprinted down the other trial. Novum sprinted as hard as he could and he could barely keep the cub in sight.

It just a few moments Novum spotted an old house and the cub was darting through the front door. He crept closer to the house and peaked through on of the busted windows and saw the bodies of half a dozen other cubs. It appeared Chris had managed to kill all but one of the cubs when dad came home and killed him.

Novum opened the door and the little cub stood his ground and growled at him. He gave the little guy a chuckle and tossed him a small chunk of meat out of his bag. The pup ignored the meat even though he looked like he was hungry. Alan shook his head and walked out and towards what appeared to be a small gardening plot. He walked to the edge towards the woods that were trying to take their land back and pulled out his shovel. When the hole was big enough for all the cubs he came back and got them. The cub was still in the corner growling at him but the meat was gone.

Novum moved to pick up the first cub and the live one lunged out and bit him on the ankle. He shook him off and squatted down towards him. "Easy little guy. I am just burying them." He tossed him another piece of meat and grabbed the first pup. The live one grabbed him by the ankle again and he just drug him along for the ride. He made three trips like that before the cub got tired and let go. He went over to the meat and ate it while he was resting. After the last two pups were in the ground the live one came out and sat beside the hole and cried.

Novum checked for a well but found a small stream near by. He found a metal bowl in the building and got some water out of the creek and put some more meat in another bowl. The pup had started following him around and he led it into the cabin and then slipped out and shut the door. There was more than enough to hold the pup over night. One way or another he planned on coming back tomorrow.

With the wolf pup trying to learn how to howl trapped in the cabin behind him Novum headed back down the trail. He put the dead wolf on the back of Noctis and headed back to the village. He was about to come out the woods and onto the trail a short distance away from where he camped. He was a little surprised to see someone was there looking around. Noctis kept his pace and headed for the city without any directions from Novum.

The man heard them coming and jumped to his feet and pulled out his sword. Novum pulled Noctis up short. "I apologize for startling you friend. Are you okay?"

The man did not put his sword away but stepped closer. That was then Novum recognized his as the pervert's babysitter. This did not look good. "Man just walk away. Hell get on your horse and ride away. It does not have to end this way."

"What way, with you dead?" The man charged at Novum.

"Idiot." Novum used his legs and had Noctis turn and then on his signal he had him kick to the back. The blow landed in the middle of the man's chest and Novum could see the deformation of the ribs. A hole deep enough that the rib bones were ripping apart his lungs. Novum climbed down and pulled the dying man into the woods with his horse and left him there. He hoped if someone bothered to look for him they would think his horse did it. He did not even pull them that far before he left them with a shrug.