And as if the fur monsters had been waiting for the cold and snow to start, they appeared. A pack of them, twenty strong, made their way to the place that Azaroth and the others had just left behind.

The scale monsters’ lair. They moved cautiously through the snow, but their natural fur made them blend in so much they appeared like moving snow themselves.

"We should follow them," Alex hissed from where he was pressed with the others in the snow.

Stallus shook her head. "No. Leave them. They are going to attack the place we just left behind. Let them come back, and they’ll lead us to their lair. Easy."

Good plan, Azaroth thought. As Stallus predicted, the monsters returned, dragging dead scale monsters with them. They hurried, as if they had somewhere urgent to be.

They forgot to walk with stealth as they hurried along.

It was very easy for the team to follow and track them. The monsters were too busy, happy over their prize to care much about anything else.

"Why do you think they are so happy?" Catena asked as they slunk low on the snow to keep from being discovered by the monsters.

"Probably because their rivals are dead," Stallus frowned. "But I wonder how they will survive now. The two monsters were the only ones we saw in this area, and as far as we know, they only had each other to kill for food."

"They also eat their own pack," Alex reminded her.

"Yes, but only after they’re dead. They don’t kill their own pack for food. And we just exterminated their source of food."

"They won’t have to worry about food after we are done with them," Azaroth said. He was a bit annoyed with himself. Why had he not taken action sooner? Why did he wait until he was bored to kill the monsters?

The answer was clear to him. He was trying to figure out what the training crypt wanted them to gain from this. And so far, nothing.

"See," Catena pointed.

The fur monsters had reached the side of a mountain and were rapidly climbing. Their claws held on to the rocky ground easily, stopping them from sliding.

Azaroth frowned. They would have lots of trouble if they decided to climb that, and they didn’t know how far their lair went.

"Should we wait here to ambush them?" Stallus asked. She was looking at the mountain doubtfully, her right hand resting on her weapon.

"We could. But this is an open area. We would be quickly surrounded, and the snow is not in our favor," Catena reasoned.

They had no choice then. They ran quickly to the mountains and started going up. They directed their essence to their feet and tried to use it as a hold. But they were slow and quickly losing the monsters.

If they wanted to catch up, they had to be quick about it.

So instead of walking, Azaroth told them his plan. They covered their feet with essence and used it to jump walk. Immediately their feet touched the ground, they were already jumping and moving.

They followed the monsters this way and began climbing. The way was rocky and winding, but they pressed on. The monsters were too preoccupied with the news they were bringing to care much about anything else.

At last, they reached the monsters’ lair. It was like the cave where Azaroth and the others had killed the first monsters, but bigger. Far bigger.

The monsters went in, and soon yelps started coming from inside. They could not see the inside, but they knew the cave must be deep.

"What should we do?" Catena asked.

Azaroth frowned. They could go in and try to act like the monsters, hoping they wouldn’t be detected, or just storm in. But no matter what they chose, they would still need to kill the monsters.

Stallus touched her weapon. "Let’s go in."

They decided on the simplest of plans: go in and fight, no holding back.

Azaroth drew his sword. "Very well," he said.

The cave was just as cold as the outside. It provided little comfort from the cold elements. The monsters were far deeper than they thought, and they had to use their light skill. 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

Azaroth stood at the front and Stallus followed, with the two coming behind them. At last, they reached the chamber that the monsters used as their lair.

The monsters were yelping around the scale monsters, but immediately Azaroth stepped in, they stopped and turned as one. Low growling took over, and their eyes shone from their fur like burning embers.

The closest one snapped forward and Azaroth went low with his slash. His essence-covered body gave him the strength to cut the monster in two.

He turned to the other monsters, who froze. Then they exploded forward in a mass of white fur and fangs. Azaroth jumped to meet them, his sword a blur as he cut and hacked away.

Stallus drove in beside him, and together they cut a straight line into the mass of monsters. But the monsters were more than they thought, because the more they cut, the more came to replace them.

Lightning cracked through the room. Arrowheads of blue lightning ate into the flesh of the monsters and blackened their corpses.

"They are too much," Stallus gritted her teeth. "They will overpower us with sheer numbers alone!"

"Bend down!" Azaroth snapped and spread his hands. Fire jetted out like a raging wind and scorched the air with heat. The monsters ran back, but the closest that should have been burned to ashes were still moving.

Azaroth understood then. Their fur must have fire resistance. A very bad combination with him. He looked at Stallus and shrugged, and without another glance at her, Azaroth ran into the mass of monsters.

Their claws snatched at him and he cut where he could. He was aiming for their middle, where they surrounded him completely.