The scouting party returned to camp with several injuries.
Leon had a deep cut on his arm.
Gareth's shoulder was bruised.
One of the knights had suffered a broken rib.
Elena treated them throughout the afternoon.
Adrian had escaped with minor injuries.
He sat outside the medical tent while Elena examined a cut on his forearm.
"You were lucky," she said.
"Perhaps."
"That creature was much stronger than the reports suggested."
Adrian nodded.
"Do you think it was protecting something?"
Elena paused.
"Why do you ask?"
"It didn't pursue us after we retreated."
"Perhaps it wasn't interested in fighting."
Adrian considered her answer.
That was possible.
He looked toward Kael, who was standing alone near the camp entrance.
The young man seemed troubled.
Later that evening, Adrian found Kael examining the wolf emblem.
"Still trying to understand it?"
Kael nodded.
"I think the wolf was protecting the mountain."
"Why?"
"My father once told me that some ancient beasts served as guardians of sacred places."
Adrian looked at the emblem. This chapter was copied from g.com without permission.
"Did he mention anything about the northern mountains?"
"Only once."
Kael hesitated.
"He said our family had been entrusted with an important responsibility."
Adrian waited.
"But he never told me what it was."
Kael put the emblem away.
"I intend to find out."
Adrian nodded.
He understood the feeling.
But his own interest was different.
The system had confirmed that the Frostfang Wolf possessed an ancient bloodline.
It was exactly the type of inheritance he wanted.
However, fighting the creature directly would be foolish.
He needed another approach.
The following morning, Adrian visited the injured merchant.
The man was awake.
"You're the student who found me?"
"Yes. I wanted to ask you a few questions."
The merchant looked nervous.
"What about?"
"Your cargo. What were you transporting?"
The man hesitated.
"Ordinary supplies."
Adrian looked at him.
"Then why was your carriage attacked?"
Adrian placed the wolf emblem on the table.
The man's expression changed.
"Where did you get that?"
"Near your carriage."
The merchant looked toward the tent entrance.
Then he lowered his voice.
"We weren't carrying ordinary supplies."
Adrian waited.
"We were transporting an old stone tablet. A scholar hired us to deliver it to a collector in Frostmere."
"Where is it now?"
The merchant swallowed.
"Taken."
"By the wolf?"
"No."
His voice trembled.
"By something that came out of the mountain."
Adrian felt a chill.
The wolf had been running from something.
The merchant continued.
"It looked like a man, but its body was covered in ice."
Adrian's expression remained calm.
"Did it speak?"
The merchant nodded.
"One word."
"What word?"
The man looked directly at him.
"Awaken."