Farhan Brownhand, the emissary of Alzur, is gone and his bodyguard is dead.

Only three guards - and yourself - survived his treachery and the goblin attack. All agree that Master Brownhand had been probably in league with the goblins, but why he would attack the trek himself, noone knows.

The situation looks grim, reports Kor, the scarred and blackbearded bear of a man who led the charge against the emissary. He is a seasoned veteran, and you can see in his eyes the disgust for this treachery.

The horses drawing the coach are all either dead or have fled. Night is coming soon, and the road through the hills is known to be a dangerous way even in daylight. Bandits and bands goblins roam the area, as you were forced to experience yourself.

The plains are not much better. Any camp made on the way would be like a beacon to anyone searching for them, and neither Kor nor you have no doubts that Farhan will likely return - with or without help - to finish what the goblins had begun.

As a Magus, even a rather inexperienced one, the duty of leadership is on you, but Kor is ready with advice.

Basically, you have only few options. You might attempt to travel back to the Acadamy and report of Farhan's treachery.
Or, you might attempt to find him before he finds you. Teleport weaves, as Farhan has used to escape, are tricky: They are dangerous to pull off, because inexperienced adepts attempting to move their essence to somewhere else usually unravel themselves and get no second try. Also, the further away the destination is, the more difficult the spell becomes, and you know that even a master magician like Farhan Brownhand must have been tired after the spells he crafted during the battle.
Your guess is, that he fled to somewhere in the hills, and Kor agrees with you on this, for in the plains, there is nowhere to hide for several miles around, not even a light wood or a small village.

The only thing you know for certain is, that it would be wise to leave this place as soon as possible, as long as the enemy Magus is still weakened from his spellcasting.

You are specialized in the powers of Earth, and thus you attempt to question the animals of the area whether they know of Farhan's whereabouts.

You sit down on the ground and close your eyes, sending out a mental call to all the animals around you.

You probe into their minds and send your image, a human friend in need of help, and already you hear their answers.

Dominating the mental images that answer is that of a huge, black shadow, and you know it must be the most powerful animal around - a natural leader, as you will.

You feel its presence approaching, and the remaining guards gasp aloud as suddenly a huge black wolf jumps into your mid without so much of a sound. Swords and axes are drawn, but you command them to drop their weapons.

The wolf, with the natural grace of a killer, ignores them as lesser prey - you see them through his eyes - and approaches them.

You are about to lay down on the ground and bare your throat, not as a gesture of fear but as a token of respect, when you sense that something is not quite right about this wolf. You hesitate, but the wolf does neither appear to notice nor to care.

He sits down on his hindlegs in front of you, staring at you with uncanny yellow eyes that seem to hide an intelligence much more than mere animal.

Covering your nervousness, that might as well bring you death, you frame a mental picture of Master Brownhand and send it to the wolf.

The reply is a flurry of images that nearly knock you out of your concentration. Blood, hatred, the scent of blood dominating the whole scene, slain cubs, a dark entrance into a cavern, the scent of goblins, the sickening taste of their foul flesh, and at the core of this, the being you knew as Farhan, and also something different, something dark, you cannot quite point your finger on.

Hastily you break your concentration before the hatred you feel overpowers you, and it is only then that you notice the deep, dark growling of the wolf as it simply looks at you, and the nervousness of the guards, which already have drawn their blades again despite your command.

But then, the huge animals simply stops, stands up and leaves towards the hills, ignoring the guards again as it strides through their midst.

At the edge of the battlefield, it turns its head to look at you, as if to see whether you follow, then turns again and trots into the hills.

You will follow the wolf, with or without the others - it appears to want to lead you to somewhere specific.

You know that it is your duty to follow the wolf, and perhaps your destiny.

You have asked a favour from it, and it is now time for you to repay that favour. Kor presses a short sword into your hand and a flask containing one sip of that evil smelling brew with healing powers the guards used, but the men make it clear that they will not follow you.

You have no time to argue with them, for the wolf is already out of sight, and so you hurry on, into nightfall, falling the huge black shape.

The wolf waits for you just out of sight of the guards, and, seeing that you follow, turns to walk on again.

Like in trance, you follow it. At least two hours, straight through the hills, slightly away from the road, the two of you march on. At one time, he sniffed the air, and lay low on the ground, and you did it likewise, wondering briefly about what kind of intelligence this uncanny animal possesses.

Then, when you see a campfire shining at the horizon, the wolf emits a low growl. Then, suddenly, he raises his head and howls towards the young moon, a deafening sound that wakes primal instincts of fear deep within you. The howl is picked up through the surrounding hills, and the black wolf charges towards the fire.

Fascinated, and worried, you follow.

You continue...

When you arrive at the campfire, there is a battle going on between silvergrey shapes and the twisted humanoids. The black wolf has launched itself into the fray, and the goblins, having nowhere to flee as they are under attack from all sides, fight with uncommon valor, but you can see that the odds are not in their favor.

The camp is situated against a steep hill, and you see a cave entrance out of which a nightmarish creature appears.

It is without doubt the largest goblin you have ever seen, larger than many a human, sporting huge claws. And, standing next to it, is Farhan Brownhand, wielding that dark blade of his.

He moves with the grace of a dancer amidst the goblins and wolves alike, and whenever he makes a cut with his sword, a wolf falls down motionless.

Farhan alone might turn the tide of battle in favour for the goblins, and the goblinoid creature simply swipes those clawlike arms of it around, uncaring whether it hurts friend or foe. Even the powerful black wolf keeps its distance from it.

While you are not exactly mentally fit, and afraid that even a single spell will be the last one you cast before falling down unconcious, you know you have to act.