The moon lit up the courtyard during the cold night, Superbus and four of his men were talking to each other.

  “Where is he then?”

  “He should’ve been here long ago.”

  “The king said he’d come, so we wait.”

  Julius opened the doors to the courtyard, and walked in.

  “Julius, you bloody bastard. Come here.”

  “My apologies.”

  “Listen, the plan is simple. Wait them out, then follow them. Do not chase them, follow them.”

  Julius nodded.

  “You’re coming with us, Superbus?”

  “No, I leave this to you folks.”

  “So who will be the captain, then?” One of his men asked.

  “Paulus.”

  “Me?!”

  “Yes, you. Now if there are no more questions, I have other matters to attend to.”

  Julius picked up an apple from the ground close to the well.

  “Hey, Julius. Let’s go.”

  Superbus left before them, and walked down the hall.

  “Why are none of you wearing armor, except Paulus?”

  “Mate, it’s just some wolves. The spears should be enough.”

  While walking to the exit of the stronghold, they saw Pacatus.

  “Ah, you are all going on the wolf-hunt, right? Good luck!”

  “Thank you, Pacatus.”

  They left the stronghold, walked through the poorly lit streets of the town.

  Paulus stopped at one of the houses.

  “I need to take something. I’ll be quick.”

  He walked inside the house.

  “Rufus, you scared?” One of them said to another, patting him on the shoulder.

  “Shut your mouth, Primus.”

  “Ah come on, I’m just kidding.”

  Julius looked at the night sky.

  “Hey, Julius. Is something the matter?”

  “No.”

  “Calvus, let him be.”

  “I was just–”

  Paulus came outside, with a bag over his shoulder.

  “Alright, we’ve got what we need.”

  At the main gates of the town, a couple of drunk mercenaries walked past them.

  “Haha! Someone stole your sword?”

  “Mate, I was bloody sleeping.”

  The group went left from the gates, heading down a small dirt path.

  “There, that’s where the sheep are kept.”

  Two huts were built near the fences that kept the sheep inside.

  “How many sheep are there now?”

  “Twelve.”

  In front of the pen were woods, behind it were open fields.

  Julius leaned on a tree, while others either stood or sat down on the ground.

  “We should be far enough for them not to notice us.”

  The night was silent, with occasional sheep noises.

  “I might fall asleep on the ground,” Primus yawned.

  “How can we be sure they’ll show up?” Calvus asked.

  Footsteps thudded from the front.

  “...”

  “Eyes open.”

  The sheep ran from one end of the pen to the other.

  Wolves howled in the distance, deep inside the woods.

  “Hear that?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Now, we need to be patient.”

  They stared at the darkness ahead, the only sound they could hear was their own breaths.

  For a while, nothing happened.

  “Are they even coming–”

  “Shh!”

  “Listen.”

  The sheep had gotten loud.

  They fled, ramming into the fences.

  Rufus started walking, Paulus stopped him.

  “Wait. Not yet.”

  Nothing could be heard.

  “Now.”

  They swiftly went over to the other side of the pen, The sheep were frozen in the corner.

  “Over here.” Paulus said, crouching down and observing the tracks.

  “Take the torches from my shoulder, Rufus.”

  Rufus grabbed the torches and the flint and steel. He struck them together, sparks landed on the dry timber.

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  Julius bit the apple from his hand.

  “By the gods, what are you doing?”

  “Hungry, that’s all.”

  The torches were ignited with a faint flame.

  “Here, Paulus.”

  “Okay, the three of you stay behind. We’ll lead with the light.”

  The two led the group, keeping the torches low to the ground. Others looked around in the darkness, listening to the night.

  Julius held his hand on the sheath of his sword, following behind.

  The woods were dead silent, the only sounds present were their footsteps.

  They walked deep into the woods.

  “We’ve lost the tracks,” Rufus whispered.

  “Keep going, we can’t just leave now.”

  They kept walking, the rustle of leaves in the distance grabbed their attention.

  “Slow down.”

  Slowly, they approached the spot.

  A limb of a sheep was on the ground. The smell of blood made them uneasy.

  Around them, growling came from the dark.

  They raised the torches, still seeing nothing.

  “We’re surrounded, it’s time to go.” Paulus said.

  The barking was getting louder, circling around them.

  Julius felt a bigger presence.

  In the darkness, he saw something move between the trees.

  “...”

  “RUN!”

  The men ran. The wolves followed, barking from behind.

  A wolf caught up to Julius, he hit it with the scabbard of his sword.

  “How deep have we gone?!”

  “Just run, don’t look back!”

  Sweaty and breathing heavily, they ran until they were safe.

  The barks were gone, footsteps around them faded.

  They stopped to catch their breath.

  “What the hell, Julius?”

  “Listen to me.”

  Calvus pushed him.

  “We could’ve handled the wolves. You bastard!”

  “...Let’s go.” Julius responded.

  They came out of the woods, after a while of walking.

  “How in the seven hells did we fail so miserably?” Paulus said.

  “We couldn’t have known, Paulus.”

  “Julius, shut your mouth.”

  “Don’t push the blame on me, you said we should go.”

  “Yeah well, I’m blaming you!”

  “You know what? All four of you can go to hell.”

  Julius walked ahead, they followed behind.

  They entered the town, stopped at Paulus’s house. Julius kept going to the stronghold.

  He entered the stronghold and looked around in the barracks, where a few soldiers were resting.

  “Where is he?”

  “Captain?”

  “Yes, where is he?”

  “He’s in his private quarters, it’s the middle of the night mate.”

  “You know what, nevermind. Where is the king?”

  “Why don’t you see yourself out, mate?”

  Julius sighed and left the room.

  Avarus saw him walking down the hall.

  “Julius, what are you doing here so late?”

  “Where is the king?”

  “Give me some coins and I’ll tell you.”

  “Are you mad?”

  “Come on, hand them over.”

  Avarus put his hand out, facing Julius.

  Julius scoffed, and reached for a couple of silver coins in his pocket.

  “Here.”

  “Go past the council room, down the hall and the last door which leads to the private quarters. Inside, the first door forward is his.”

  “Thank you.”

  He continued walking down the mostly empty hall.

  Entering the last door in the hall, there were a few doors on the sides. Julius knocked on the one in front.

  “King Valens! We need to talk.”

  “Who dares knock on my door in the middle of the night?”

  “It’s Julius!”

  Valens opened the door, stood there with his eyes half open.

  “What is it that you want, Julius?”

  “We need to speak on the matter of tonight's task.”

  “Come in.”

  Julius stepped inside. There was a large bed with multiple pillows taking up most of the space.

  The room was dimly lit by a candle on the corner table, beside some ink and a scroll.

  Golden jewelry rested in a small wooden box next to the bed.

  And on the right wall were scrolls, maps and plans hung on a wooden board.

  “My apologies, but this is important.”

  “What happened, did you not go on the wolf hunt?”

  “I did.” Julius replied, while resting on the chair that stood by the table.

  “But?”

  “...But you were right. There was something out there.”

  “What did you see?”

  He went silent for a moment.

  “The wolves surrounded us, but it wasn’t the wolves that concerned me.”

  “...”

  Their faces were covered by the candle light.

  “It was something, hiding in the dark. It wasn’t as big as a bear, no–it was bigger.”

  “Julius, are you thinking what I am?”

  Julius looked down on the ground.

  “Yes, nothing else makes sense.”

  Valens gulped.

  “Listen, I know this wasn’t the deal–but you’re the only one who didn’t forget the past.”

  “No.”

  “What?”

  “The answer is no.”

  “Julius, I can’t risk telling others. They will either spread the word or dismiss it.”

  “...”

  “Julius.”

  “Valens, I have a wife and children. I’m not going to risk it.”

  “If you do it, I will owe you.”

  Julius looked at Valens’s eyes.

  “Fine, I’ll do it.”

  “Good, then it’s your task to get rid of it.”

  Someone knocked on the door.

  “Your majesty!”

  “Who the hell is it now?”

  Valens opened the doors.

  “Superbus–What is it?”

  Looking behind Valens, he saw Julius.

  “What the hell is he doing here?!”

  “Did you come here for him or for me?”

  “My king, It became too dangerous to proceed with the task, so the men came back.”

  “But?”

  The tone of his voice changed.

  “Julius over here made them retreat when it wasn’t his call!”

  “I did what needed to be done.”

  “I thought you were worthy. Maybe I was wrong, Julius.”

  “Would that be all?”

  “Yes.”

  Before Valens closed the door, Superbus glanced at Julius.

  “Julius, I trust you can do this.”

  Julius nodded and got up from the chair.

  “Listen, I’ll need to go visit someone before I do this.”

  “You have a horse?”

  “No.”

  “Go to the man near the gates, who owns horses. Tell him I sent you, and give him this if he asks for proof.”

  Valens gave Julius a small and folded piece of yellow paper.

  “Go, but don’t be gone too long. Time is of the essence.”

  “...”

  Julius put the small piece of paper in his pocket and left the room.

  He walked through the stronghold, the guard near the dungeon was asleep, with his back against the wall.

  For a moment, he stopped. Looking at the dark staircase.

  The guard’s snoring echoed through the hall, Julius turned and walked out of the stronghold.

  A cold, night wind caressed his face. He looked at his palm, then put it over his right eye.

  Julius stood there for a moment.

  All of a sudden, a footstep behind him.