Harsh Winter

David drew the cloth around the lower half of his face tighter as a gust of freezing wind threatened to rip it away. The haze of snow had grown thicker but thankfully, they had found shelter. With a grunt, he placed the final boulder in place, sealing the entrance to the cave and gaining respite from the biting wind.

"I'll get a fire going." One of the men that had formed the hunting group said and quickly used some dry wood to light a fire. He got out a sparkstone and after a couple of tries, a fire was lit, catching onto the dry wood and grass.

Whoosh!

The fire blazed and the men huddled around his, holding their hands forward so the fire could warm them up.

"This year's winter is much harsher than last year's. I think we might be stuck here for a while." One of the men said as he turned to look at David.

"It's fine. We should be able to find something good and make it back in good time." David told them and sat down by the fire. The hunting group remained in the cave for the next few hours before the storm calmed down outside. When they confirmed it was okay to move through, they immediately continued their journey.

Because of winter, the animals had moved quite far from their village. Already, they were a day's journey out from the village and from David's estimations, they might continue traveling for the next day as well.

As the traveled, David began to feel a strange aura hanging in the atmosphere. His sharp eyes looked around, surveying the surroundings. It was all white with snow and visibility was not too great.

"Keep your guards up, men. Something is wrong here." David trusted his gut feelings and warned the men around to be careful. With much greater vigilance, they crept forward.

Eventually, after several hours, they came across a lone deer that was laying in a shallow cave. It was fairly large, and could serve their small village for a time.

"Kill it and bury it in the snow. We will check around for some other animals. If we don't find anything, then we will go back." David said and his orders were carried out swiftly. A pit was dug in the snow and the deer's body was put there. The cold would serve to preserve the animal for a short time until they returned.

The group moved on and searched the surrounding area for a couple of hours before returning to the cave. Their search had proved fruitless and the deer was the only thing they could get.

"Let's get back. We can try again another day." David sighed as his men dug up the deer.

Shuaaa!

Just then, a bush to the side suddenly shook, alerting the men. David turned around quickly and held up an axe in each hand. The axes had a chain attached to their hilts. Apprehension built up in his heart as he prepared to face the enemy. He had felt something was wrong for a while now and this was only just proving him right. An enemy that managed to evade his senses was something worrisome.

The bushes around them rustled steadily as several white forms revealed themselves. Large, white wolves with gleaming blue eyes stared down the men, looking ready to pounce on them.

"Get ready to fight!" David roared and the axes in his hands suddenly blazed with fire. He stared down the largest wolf, ready to kill it and help his comrades. As a retired adventurer, he was confident in his ability to deal with the wolves. This was not the first time that the village's hunting party had come across a pack of wolves.

Grrrr...

The wolves growled menacingly upon seeing the resistance put up by the humans. They slowly retreated, vanishing into the curtain of white that helped to camouflage them.

"Quickly, we need to go. Those wolves will be back." David said, his eyes steely. The flames on his axes went out but he did not put it away. The throwing axes at his sides jingled as he kept watch.

The men quickly cut apart the deer to make it easier to carry. There was no time to waste at all. If the wolves came in greater numbers, then they would be in a lot of trouble.

David led the way while keeping his senses peeled for even the slightest disturbance. With his senses this heightened, there was no chance of the wolves sneaking up on them again.

The group was only able to move a few hundred meters before David called for them to stop.

"Get ready to fight. We're surrounded." He said with a grave tone. In his senses, there were over twenty wolves hiding around them. A few of them even hid in the snow while others hid in the cover of the frozen trees and bushes. His axes blazed once more, burning up the snow that fell onto them and raising steam around him.

"Work together and be careful, I will handle the stronger ones." He said and took a step forward.

Then all hell broke loose.

AWOOOOO!

The wolves howled and pounced, revealing themselves. David sprang forward dashing to the one closest to him. With masterful control over his body, he dodged the lunge of the wolf and turned around to bury an axe in its skull, ending it in one move. He pulled out the axe and ducked just in time to get out of the way of another jumping wolf. Looking around, he could see that six wolves had placed their attention on him. The other men in their ten-man group faced about fifteen of the wolves. Meanwhile, what David considered to be the alpha of the pack stood back on a rock that placed it in an elevated position. Their eyes jammed midway and sparks flew.

'You want to test me? Fine! I'll show you not to mess with a father that's eager to go home!' David thought to himself and the fire on his axes burned brighter.