When Sinclair and his companions got back to the staging area, he was sure he was losing his mind. After all, only crazy people heard voices in their heads, right?

"Do you think we can find a way to tell him he needs a bath? His smell is pretty powerful!"

"What, you think it's bad? My nose is much better than yours. Imagine how I feel. I wonder if they don't bathe wherever he comes from."

Spinning around, Sinclair couldn't see anyone. "Is anyone there? Show yourself!"

"Who is he talking to? We are the only two here."

"I think he can hear us. Er, my Lord? Look down here. No, here, at your feet."

Sinclair slowly let his eyes drift down to the pups. "Oh. So when that ring said it would let me speak to Direwolves, it was literally saying I'd suddenly get a telepathic connection with them. This is so... weird? And so freaking awesome!"

Chewy's voice piped up "Yeah, whatever you say. Look, could you please do something about your stink? We have really delicate noses and, to put it politely, you smell like something died and put on clothes."

"That was you putting it politely?"

Leia spoke up too. "Yes. Please wash."

Sinclair sniffed his armpit, gagged and tried desperately not to throw up. "Oh dear god. I smell like that time I stuffed my sweaty gym clothes in the back of the car and forgot about them for two days. Like urine, mold and the death of a thousand innocent people. I don't suppose you know where the nearest water source is?"

"I can smell water. I think there is a water source on the side of the building."

Surprised, Sinclair walked around the corner and found a small well, tucked against the building. I am absolutely certain that wasn't there two minutes ago. Dragging up some buckets of water he started washing himself off, first with armor on, so he could remove the grime, and then with armor stored in his inventory. No soap, no shampoo, no nothing, but it's got to be an improvement, right?

Equipping some comfortable clothes from his storage ring, Sinclair walked back to the two animals, who were polite enough not to say what they were clearly thinking ('hurry up and cook, what are you wasting time for?'). Sinclair laughed and spoke up. "I guess I should start getting some food ready. I'm afraid the rations are really basic, but once we're done here and get back to my home I can get you some better food."

"Well, I suppose this is acceptable. We do have delicate palettes too, you know."

Wryly, Sinclair told them "I am glad my cooking is sufficient to meet your oh-so-special requirements." At their response—head tilts, and nothing else—he snorted, and got back to preparing the meal. As Sinclair cooked, the three filled the time with idle chit-chat about pups' lives before they had been rescued by Sinclair. In turn, he spoke about his friends, whom he knew they would absolutely adore; the two pups could feel the warmth radiating from Sinclair as he spoke of his three closest companions.

"Man, I'm really famished" Sinclair mused, as they began to eat some of the leftover rations. "We're going to need more food soon. Or maybe it's time to head back to Earth. I mean, we've already tackled all four doors, right? I bet when I go through my logs, I'll find the ticket home, or whatever I need to get back. Speaking of which, it's been ages since I last checked those logs. There's probably a ton of updates waiting for me. Let's see what we've got."

"I'll try and summarize it all for you, since I don't just want to read off a screen. Anyway, you might find it interesting to hear everything I've been up to. So the most recent notifications are about the 'Protect the Pack' quest, and you guys were there for that, so I don't really need to tell you anything about that."

"And before that ... hmm, there was tutorial Ehwaz. That was the caravan challenge as a whole, and I think that went well. And if I just do this ..." With a pop, an exquisite golden chest appeared at Sinclair's feet. "There we are! I got a legendary chest for doing such a good job, apparently." Inside the quest was a tiny, crystalline bottle, nestled inside a helmet. "And this is ... an elixir of stats. It gives me plus five to all my attributes. Permanently. Wow, that is actually mind-blowing." To no-one's surprise, Sinclair downed the liquid immediately.

"So, what about this helmet? Analyze says it's called the Helmet of the Wolf Lords, which sounds pretty awesome." Sinclair put the helmet on, and received more than he expected.

New Item: Helmet of the Wolf Lords (Unique)

Description: One of the four items that makes up the Gear of the Wolf Lords. For more information, you must restore the set.

Effects:

+8 Strength

+8 Endurance

+8 Intelligence

This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

New Quest: Restore the Wolf Lords (Unique)

Description: The Wolf Lords were once a fierce force in this world. They roamed side by side with the 'Companions of the Great Forests', their Direwolves. The Cataclysm that tore their world apart also stole this power.

Goal: Gather the four pieces of clothing that make up the Gear of the Wolf Lords, along with at least one Direwolf companion. The Gear of the Wolf Lords is made up of the following four items:

The Helmet of the Wolf Lords

The Cuirass of the Forest Wolves

The Gauntlets of the Plains Wolves

The Boots of the Mountain Wolves

Rewards:

New Title

Additional Reward Hidden

Additional Reward Hidden

This Quest has been automatically accepted and cannot be canceled

Sinclair continued to work through the notifications, narrating his activities to his companions all the while.

You have leveled up!

You have leveled up!

As you are a human, you receive plus one to Willpower and Endurance each time you level up

As you are a human, you receive five free points to spend on the stats of your choice

To level up, please assign your points.

New Skill: Taunt (Uncommon)

Description: Provoke a target into attacking without thought. Your target will focus on you to the exclusion of everything else for one minute. Cooldown: two minutes.

New Skill: Two Handed Weapons (Common)

Description: A foundational skill that allows the user to use two handed weapons in combat.

Your skills have improved

Yggdrasil's Authority: has improved from Level 0 to Level 5

Surefooted: has improved from Level 4 to Level 5

Valkyrie's Gaze: has improved from Level 0 to Level 3

Punching Bag: has improved from Level 0 to Level 3

Cleave: has improved from Level 2 to Level 4

Two Handed Weapons: has improved from Level 0 to Level 3

Enemies Killed: Raiders x73

You have received the following loot

Gold Coins x10

Silver Coins x63

Spears (Common) x8

Javelins (Common) x12

Swords (Common) x6

Damaged Chainmail Hauberks (Uncommon) x3

"Well, that gear is, frankly, shit. I hope I can sell this somewhere."

Finally, Sinclair closed his screens, and looked down. Slowly, he realized that Chewy and Leia were stock still, staring at him. Making eye contact with them, they spoke in unison: "The Wolf Lords are returning."

Sinclair blinked, and waited for them to continue.

"The Wolf Lords are in most of our stories; those that have been passed down since the cataclysm. They used to roam the land taking care of the people and animals. They were few but they were mighty. The Wolves that walked the world with them are said to have been as large as small horses and could be ridden into battle. Our kind has always held out hope that they would return but no generation ever imagines it will be in their lifetime."

Sinclair was flabbergasted. "We—we don't have things like this where I am from. I mean, sure, we have stories of people who were magical and could talk to animals, but they're just stories. But you make it sound like the Cataclysm was a real historical event. What can you tell me about it?"

"We have stories, but like all stories they have probably changed with time. Before the Cataclysm, the greatest Wolf Lord to walk the land was a being named Odin, the All Father, for he was the father of the class. His wolves, Geri and Freki, sired the first of our line. Odin was not the only god ... there were many, until the fight came to our planet. There was a group of beings we called The Myrkr, who destroyed planet after planet for no better reason than they could. Eventually they found Odin, who by this time ruled over countless other planets. Eventually, he had to retreat to his home planet, and he banded together with the other gods and used all their power to relocate the planet far from danger. And nothing has been heard of any of them since."

Sinclair reeled. Odin was from Earth's history, so surely there could be no conclusion other than this: Earth must be the planet that Chewy and Leia were talking about.

"My—my world has records of a god that went by that name. It was about a thousand years ago. Did he have two sons, named Thor and Loki?"

Chewy and Leia sat bolt upright, "How do you know of them? Where is your planet? Do you know him? What happened?"

Sinclair replied sadly. "I don't know. We don't have any records of a cataclysm. As far as I knew, gods weren't real. This is a lot to take in. If I tell anyone about this, they might think I'm crazy. Our world ... It's a world of technology and science, not faith."

Sinclair continued. "I think we need to head back to my world and investigate this. I have completed all four stages of the tutorial, so soon we should be teleported back and we can get settled in before anything else. And, of course, I have to find a way to tell my friends about this."

You have completed the tutorial

You have received an Item Upgrade Token

As Sinclair read the words, his vision flashed like a CRT monitor being degaussed.

New Quest: Retrieve What Was Taken

Description: Time's up, Sinclair. You don't have the option of taking this slowly any more. Your friends have been taken. You have no choice, you're going to have to rescue them. I'm sorry.

This quest is mandatory and has been automatically accepted

The thought of his friends being taken caused Sinclair to panic. This was not the same as the other trials; even the language used was wildly different. And it had mentioned him by name.

With these thoughts running through his mind, again and again, out of control, Sinclair barely noticed—at first—when the ground began to shake. Soon, however, it was too much to ignore. In front of him, the building shook until it collapsed, and a strong wind began to whistle through the trees. Whipping around the three companions, the wind lifted the remains of the structure into an oval, which began to glow brightly until, between one second and another, a portal sat where the building had been. Through the portal, Sinclair could see snow-capped trees with large mountains in the background.

For a moment, Sinclair hesitated, but the ground began to shake once more. With horror, Sinclair realized that all around him the ground was falling away into—nothing. Just a terrifying, endless absence of existence, creeping closer and closer by the second. Within less than a minute, the only land remaining would be where he and his two companions stood.

Sinclair had no choice. He looked at the portal ...

... and ...

... jumped.

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