Cody stared intently towards the ground and up ahead. The sun was beginning to set behind them, and Mora and Lars were growing impatient. Cody had told them of the full plan long before, and aside from knowing almost nothing about where they were going, the prospect was interesting to everyone. Luckily, while the two humans were growing increasingly bored by the second, Pippi was getting more excited. She never explained why, but Cody figured that she must have been excited by the idea of visiting her kin’s closest allies, besides the dragons. Pippi didn’t seem to be very in tune with other elves, but now she looked positively fascinated.

            “Look!” Cody yelped allowed when a faint shape came into view.

            Before them loomed the mountain that Cody realized he could now recognize fairly well. Between his first flying travel with Inferno when they met the wolves, and the memory that Flamidar had given him, even its blurry, vague shape was obvious. Mora and Lars struggled to see it with their weak vision, but Pippi was beaming with excitement. As if on cue, a loud, powerful howl erupted from directly below them. It took several minutes of furious flying before the voice began to fall behind. Apparently Inferno was right, and the Wargals were fast; easily fast enough to keep up with a leisurely flying pace for Inferno.

            Once they were about a ten-minute flight away from the mountain and howls could be heard from every direction, Inferno finally decided to bring them down. He found the trail and elegantly dropped onto it with one last flap of his mighty wings. At first Cody could see nothing in the gloom, but one by one, wolves poured out of the trees to investigate. A growling gasp went around the entire group as they recognized Cody and Inferno from before.

            Cody instantly recognized the leader, Midnight Stalker, carefully approaching them from the edge of the crowd. He jumped from Inferno’s neck to stand in front of the wolf alpha. The tips of his ears were about level with the top of Cody’s head, making them almost perfectly equal. Then, the wolf lowered himself until his furry chest was scraping the ground in the wolf-like bow.

            “Twilight Rider,” Midnight stalker breathed, mostly to himself. Louder he announced, “You can’t imagine how much of a joy it is to see you again. And Inferno, you have certainly grown into a powerful warrior!”

            Cody allowed Inferno to bask in his pride for several moments before bowing in return to Midnight Stalker. The pitch-black canine’s eyes glowed with respect and admiration at the rider, and he bared his teeth in what Cody assumed to be a grin. His tail flicked to the side, showing his obvious excitement.

            “What are you doing in our territory after all this time? We thought you would have reached Mrana Akano Furista by now. And what happened to your other companions?” Midnight Stalker asked curiously.

            Cody sighed before explaining, “It’s a long story. Do you mind if we seek shelter in the mountain for tonight and I can tell you about it while my companions sleep.”

            “May I come as well?” Pippi asked, slipping from Inferno’s back to face the wolf.

            Midnight Stalker’s eyes lit up once more and he bowed a second time before saying, “Of course! It would be my honor to speak with an elf after the hundreds of moons that our kin have been separated.”

            Pippi bowed herself to the leader of the mighty wolves and Cody noticed a blush come to her cheeks.

            “Shall we be off then?” Cody asked when she was finished with her bow.

            “Of course!” Midnight Stalker announced eagerly. “We will lead the way.”

            Cody and Pippi leaped back into their places on Inferno just as the wolves began racing through the forest. Inferno began running after them, and even though it had been so long since he had used his legs so much, he ran smoothly and quickly. Funnily enough, so many wolves had gathered that instead of leading the way, it seemed more like they were following. About ten wolves were ahead of Inferno, while dozens, if not hundreds more trailed behind both on the road and deep within the trees.

            After about 20 minutes of riding, Midnight Stalker and three other wolves led the way into the mountain while the others broke off to continue their usual activities, whatever they were. The only wolf that Cody recognized among them besides the alpha was the beta male, Bleeding Demon. His brown body was always right beside though slightly behind his leader’s own shape, for whatever reason.

            The four wolves brought them to a cavern easily three times as large as the one that Cody and his friends had been assigned the very first time they had been there. It seemed like so long ago, and Cody dreaded having to tell the wolves the entire story about his friends. Of course, then he would have to ask for such a big favor.

            “You go ahead, I need sleep as much as the others,” Inferno told Cody as he yawned, showing his pristine white fangs.

            Cody put on a brave smile before answering, “Get a good night’s sleep, and wish me luck.”

            “Good luck,” Inferno said with a chuckle as everyone slid from his back.

            Inferno led Mora and Larson to the opposite side of the cavern where beds of fur and feathers and moss awaited them. Cody took a deep breath and looked at Pippi. Her excitement was encouraging, even if she was concealing it well now. He looked towards the wolves, and dipped his head to encourage them to lead the way to wherever they would be able to talk privately.

Midnight Stalker didn’t hesitate to walk away, further along the tunnels until they reached a cavern about half the size of area they would be sleeping in. Even though it was significantly smaller, it fit the six beings well. There were no beds, but there was a thick layer of sand all around. A small hole in the roof of the cave allowed moonlight to pour in and make the walls glow silver. Midnight Stalker and Bleeding Demon dug small holes for themselves and settled in snugly before facing their guests, while the other two wolves remained at the entrance to the cavern with their backs turned to them.

            “Why are they here?” Cody asked curiously.

            The alpha replied, “They are guards. Something tells me that you want to keep this meeting a secret, and I intend to honor that desire. Please, sit and make yourselves comfortable.”

            Cody and Pippi obliged eagerly, though the rider was a little more nervous about the meeting. He would have to describe the terrible tragedy of losing his friends to the enemy, and then ask for the wolf’s assistance in rescuing them.

            Midnight Stalker spoke first to Pippi, “I am deeply honored that you would come to us in such dark times. Is there anything we can do for you to honor you and the alliance between our warriors?”

            Pippi smiled graciously at his offer but refused, saying, “It is a much greater honor to be allowed into the heart of your territory. I have spent several years around humans and have personally never even been near Wargal territory.”

            Midnight Stalker dipped his head to show his deep respect to the elf before returning his attention to Cody. “Now, tell me about your companions.”

            Cody took a deep breath before diving into the story. He explained in detail how he had awoken one morning to find almost everyone gone, kidnapped by the vicious dwarf Dongoithu. He explained how Flamidar, his father, had told them where to go to find them and also assured that they would be alive. He also went into the unnecessary detail of how Autumn had been poisoned, in the hopes that the wolf would have heard some news about his friend whose condition he knew absolutely nothing about.

            “A very disturbing story. I’m very deeply sorry to say that we have heard nothing of your female friend. As I’ve said before, we haven’t had contact with the elves in ages, and Mrana Akano Furista is even more secret,” Midnight Stalker explained. “Now why have you told me so much about the loss of your companions?”

            Cody could see in the wolf’s eyes that he had already guessed what he was going to ask. The rider hesitated for several long moments, glancing at Pippi, Bleeding Demon, and Midnight Stalker as he cleared his thoughts.

            “I want you and your warriors to help me rescue them.”

            Midnight Stalker slowly sat up and fixed his cold, unwavering gaze on the rider as he said, “You intend to lead thousands of warriors into what could be the bloodiest battle Semiones has seen in centuries.”

            Cody hung his head in shame, instantly regretting ever having come to the wolves. He took a slow, shaky breath as he waited for the alpha to continue.

            “I hope you are ready for the responsibility. It would be an honor to serve the Twilight Rider in a battle against the enemies. If it means victory, we would be willing to sacrifice every wolf.”

            Cody looked up in surprise to see Midnight Stalker doing his lowest bow yet. The rider couldn’t believe what he had just heard. The alpha was actually going to allow him to control an immense force simply because he was a rider.

            “Bleeding Demon, rally the wolves. We leave at twilight, as a sign of our good faith to the Twilight Rider,” Midnight Stalker instructed his Beta.

            The brown wolf seemed reluctant, but after a glare from hi leader he forced his way past the guards. No sooner had he left the cavern when he let loose a thunderous howl that echoed around the tunnels numerous times. Within seconds, dozens more howls answered, creating a powerful din. In time, all of the wolf voices were outside and the noise was instantly reduced significantly. However, even more wolves joined in the call when the voices began spreading throughout all of the territory.”

            Midnight Stalker dipped his head to the guards, and they immediately sped off towards the entrance of the cave. The leader continued to look at the entrance to the cavern for a few seconds, before turning back to Cody and walking towards him. He touched the rider with the tip of his tail, and Cody stood in response.

            Midnight Stalker led the way through the tunnel again as he said, “You may be crazy to come to us for help, and I am probably crazier for accepting, but it would have destroyed me to find out that you had died in this quest of yours. Also, you showed great wisdom by coming to us for help, even if it will be dangerous and we have no clue what we are facing. That alone shows potential for a great leader.”

            The alpha wolf signaled for them to stop and silently gestured towards the cavern ahead, where Cody could see Inferno’s dark shape rising and falling with each deep breath of sleep. His eyes glistened with excitement.

            “Get as much sleep as you can. I will send someone to wake you at twilight,” the wolf said before he padded away through the tunnel, disappearing from sight.

            Without a word, so they wouldn’t wake their companions, Cody and Pippi entered the cave and settled into their individual beds near the others. Within moments, Cody noticed that the elf had fallen into a deep, pleasant sleep. Cody, however, lay awake the whole night dreaming of what it would be like to fight alongside the powerful wolves.

            It seemed like ages, but eventually two wolves came into the cavern and woke everyone. Cody, already being awake, welcomed them quietly and roused Inferno for the first time since his conversation with the great wolf leader. The dragon was reluctant to awaken, but once he felt his rider’s thoughts, he was wide awake.

            “Well, what did the alpha say?” Inferno asked, yawning.

            “He actually said yes!” Cody answered enthusiastically, feeling his energy crash around his body with his excitement.

            Inferno was clearly surprised and asked, “Well then, when are we leaving?”

            “Right now! Midnight Stalker said he would lead his warriors with us at twilight, as a sign of good faith,” Cody answered.

            Inferno’s eyes widened in alarm, but he said nothing except, “Prepare yourself for battle. We will have to camp one night, but we will arrive early the next morning if things go as planned.”

            “Right,” Cody said as he pulled his black helmet from Inferno’s saddlebags.

            Cody knew that there would be no physical point to wearing the helmet, but perhaps appearing as battle-ready as he was would encourage the wolves even more. Then again, they had seemed very encouraged earlier that night when they were howling, and he had no idea what would excite them. But, he was eager to help in any way possible. He climbed onto Inferno’s neck where he usually sat, while the others followed his example.

            “Oh no,” one of the wolves that was in the cavern with them said.

            “What’s wrong?” Cody asked, his confusion written clearly on his face.

            The other wolf stepped forward and answered, “Midnight Stalker wanted the Twilight Rider to ride alone. He said that the others could ride on our strongest warriors.”

            “Ride a wolf?” Mora asked, practically fainting at the thought. “How would we even hang on?”

            “We have kept several wolf saddles from centuries ago, when there were thousands of them. Our leader has chosen three warriors that would love to do the job, as long as you could put the saddles on.”

            “Lead the way,” Larson said, obviously eagerly looking forward to it.

            The two wolves led the way through the tunnels until they reached a cavern towards the very end. Cody and the others slid from Inferno’s back and entered the cave. Inside there were already four wolves. Midnight Stalker was one of them, waiting for Pippi, Mora, and Lars to reach the cave.

            The alpha wolf introduced the three wolves that Cody’s companions were supposed to ride. They were all strong and powerful-looking wolves, who seemed very capable of carrying their passengers. Cody faded in and out of their conversation. He was far too eager to get going, since every moment could mean a lot in travelling. He could just barely put together that no one seemed to know how to put the saddles on correctly. The rider tuned back in to watch as they put the saddles on and continuously adjusted them.

            The saddles were somewhat similar to a dragon saddle. One relatively short strap went around in front of the legs, and in the wolf’s case, around the neck. The hind strap was much larger and went around the wolf’s stomach, just in front of the hind legs. Different from the dragon saddle, however, there was a third middle strap that went right behind the forelegs. It made sense. The saddle was very long, stretching from the base of the neck almost to the base of the tail, which suggested that three straps in the right positions could be useful.

            It was very obvious that the wolf saddles were meant for speed and agility. Cody assumed that the rider would almost lie down perfectly flat on the wolf’s back. A small bump near the very end and two small handles on either side of the front of the saddle supported Cody’s theory pretty well.

            Lars, obviously not entirely confident in his ability to saddle a wolf, carefully swung his leg over the back of a russet-colored wolf. He rested comfortably on top with his hands gripping the handles firmly to keep his balance. Without a word, the wolf took a few careful steps to walk around the cavern and get his rider used to the feel of riding a wolf. After a few strides, Larson sat up almost perfectly straight, though he still had to lean forward to hang on to the handles. It wasn’t long until Mora and Pippi were doing the same thing on a dark brown and a gray wolf.

            “Are you ready for the journey?” Midnight Stalker asked everyone at once.

            Lars beamed brightly as he announced, “I believe we are. Lead the way to the entrance of the tunnel.”

            The leader of the wolves smiled back before turning and trotting gracefully through the tunnels. Cody climbed onto Inferno’s back, in the saddle for the first time in a long while, and brought up the rear of the group. Even in the gloom of the cave, the rider could watch his companions without much difficulty. It seemed as though the faster the wolves went, the further forward their riders would have to lean to ride comfortably. The ways of wolf riding must have been complicated, but not nearly as much so as dragon riding, so Cody avoided mentioning it.

            After a while they reached the mouth of the cave. Midnight Stalker immediately leaped up onto a ledge above, next to his beta. Cody looked around at the dark sky that was beginning to lighten into dawn. At first Cody couldn’t see anything, but as his eyes cleared, he gasped. He could see thousands of wolves, normal wolves, Wargs, and Wargals alike gathered below, cheering with their howls as the dragon and rider emerged from the cave. They stretched all the way to the forest, where Cody eventually lost sight of them.

            It suddenly struck Cody that what they were going to do was far from exciting. It was completely terrifying to see such a mass of wolves, when Midnight Stalker had seemed so worried the night before when Cody brought up the idea of an attack on the enemies. Maybe they could save his friends, but blood would be spilled. That was when Cody realized that Midnight Stalker was giving a speech for his wolves.

            “The time has come for us to face the enemy…and to finish this once and for all! We must fight with all of the might of the forest, and show those sacks of bones that the wolves are a force to be reckoned with! With the Twilight Rider and his ferocious warrior dragon, we will destroy the enemy, once and for all!”

            The entire forest erupted with howls of agreement, loud as Cody could imagine. To add to it, Inferno gave a roar so ferocious that the howls all but ceased upon hearing it. After several long, powerful moments, Inferno finally released the last of his roar and clamped his jaws shut. Without another word, Midnight Stalker let out a howl and raced forward with the entire army of wolves following. Inferno spread his wings wide and took off into the sky, gliding high over the vast flood of fur.

            Cody couldn’t believe it. He was leading an army into the enemy’s hideout.

~

            It was some time past sunset when Cody and Inferno landed in front of the wolves. From high above they could see that they were beginning to slow and had decided to make camp in a large valley. Within a few hours of flying they had found themselves surrounded by mountains, and Inferno and his rider could easily point out important landmarks from the memory, meaning they were going exactly the right way.

            As soon as they landed the wolves stopped completely and took some time to catch their breaths. Cody noticed his humanoid companions slide from their spots on their wolf mounts before they walked over to him, seemingly without much thought at all. He also noticed that every wolf he saw, except Midnight Stalker and Bleeding Demon, were digging small ditches to sleep in for the night.

            “Aren’t they going to hunt or something? Why are they just going right to sleep?” Cody asked the alpha as he and his Beta approached.

            Midnight Stalker dipped his head in respect before answering, “There is no need. We can last a week without food, even if a battle is looming little more than a dozen hours from now. We have eaten our fill before leaving, and the only thing that would possibly benefit us is sleep.”

            “I suppose that makes sense,” Cody said, though he was still a little confused by it.

            Midnight Stalker chuckled for a few moments before saying, “You and your companions can come with me and Bleeding Demon to sleep, in a clearing a little ways ahead.”

            Cody nodded and followed without question as the leader of the wolves led the way through the trees. Just as the other wolves were about to disappear from sight, they came to a small river with a waterfall a little ways away. On the riverbank there was nothing but the occasional pebble and short, damp grass that was surprisingly comfortable.

            “We should get as much sleep as we can before tomorrow,” Pippi said, still a bit thrilled about being with the wolves.

            Everyone silently agreed and worked to build makeshift beds to rest on. The two wolves that had accompanied them dug holes in the hard earth, like the other wolves had done. Cody and his companions settled close together, right next to the wolves. Instinctively, Inferno wrapped himself around them as best he could, but there was still quite a bit of open space.

            Cody lay on his back for a while, just watching the stars. He didn’t feel at all tired, but he could already hear Larson snoring, and he could hear everyone except the wolves had deep, calm breaths. They were asleep as well. He lay awake for at least an hour, unable to sleep. Everything had finally sunk in and he realized that he was going into battle. A battle that would be very bloody and very dangerous for everyone involved.

            “Are you asleep, Rider?”

            Cody was confused about who was talking, until he realized that it must have been Bleeding Demon. He couldn’t recall hearing the wolf speak, and for sure not for very long. Tempted, he answered.

            “No, I’m not tired.”

            “Follow me,” the voice said, a little firm but oddly welcoming.

            Cody instantly eased himself to his feet and followed the dark brown shape through the trees. They waded carefully through the stream and walked cautiously for a while, but eventually the beta wolf began to plod along more leisurely.

            “I couldn’t sleep either,” Bleeding Demon said, though he had a gruff tone in his voice as if he didn’t really care.

            Cody looked around at the dark forest and the confident wolf ahead of him before he asked curiously, “Where are you taking me?”

            “I just thought you could use a walk to help you fall asleep.”

            “I could have gotten to sleep, I’m just too busy thinking about what lies ahead for us tomorrow,” Cody explained.

            Bleeding Demon chuckled warmly as he replied, “It will be fun, I assure you. It’s about time you got some sleep.”

            “I’m still not tired,” Cody said as he continued walking.

            Cody felt something slam hard against the back of his head before he crumpled to the ground.