Never before had the three of them experienced such a reaction after transforming.
Whenever their beastly sides had been revealed, fear was the natural response. People scread. People ran. That was what they expected, what they had always expected.
Yet here, standing in front of this rough, scruffy man nad Caram, there was no fear in his eyes. No trembling. No shouting. Instead, he had spoken the word Werewolves as casually as one might talk about the weather. As if seeing monstrous beasts standing before him was nothing more than an everyday occurrence.
Gary, Kai, and Lupus exchanged stunned looks.
“You know what we are?” Kai finally asked, his tone sharp and disbelieving.
Caram scoffed, puffing out his chest with pride. “Pfft, please! Do you think us village folk know nothing just because we’re not from the city like you? Don’t look down on us. We even have our own mages trained at Roland Academy. We’re not as stupid as you seem to think.”
The man grinned wide, clearly enjoying their confusion.
“You threw off when you ntioned Slough,” he went on. “I assud that was where you were originally from. But if you’re Werewolves, doesn’t that an you’re part of the Red Wing Army?”
The three of them froze. Their brows furrowed at the sa ti, eyes narrowing.
Red Wing Army?
They had never heard of such a thing.
But with Caram so willing to talk, and seemingly knowledgeable, they decided this might be their best chance to finally get so answers.
Kai leaned forward, his voice calm but firm. “Can we talk inside?”
Caram nodded and motioned for them to follow. He brought them into one of the houses at the edge of the village.
The ho was plain, almost bare. A rack for weapons leaned against one wall. In another corner was a modest dining area. Beyond that, simple bedding was spread out in one room. There was little furniture, but the simplicity carried its own strange kind of appeal. It was practical, nothing more, nothing less.
At the center of the room lay a burnt-out fire pit, the charred wood still faintly ashy. Around it were large logs, clearly used as makeshift seating. The four of them sat, the three Howlers shifting uncomfortably on the rough surfaces.
“Caram,” Kai began carefully. “This might sound strange, but the truth is... we don’t know what’s going on. The three of us, for so reason, we’ve lost our mories.”
Caram tilted his head but listened without interrupting.
Kai pressed on. “We can still transform. We can still speak like ourselves. But we have no idea where we are, and we were hoping that by finding others like us, we’d be able to piece so answers together.”
Gary and Lupus stayed quiet, letting Kai lead the explanation. But inwardly, all three were thinking the sa thing, they knew they weren’t in Slough anymore. And if even a small village man could so easily recognize Werewolves, then this world was not like the one they knew. It ant that maybe, just maybe, Kai’s earlier guess about being in a different land, or even a different ti, was correct.
Caram slapped his knee and leaned back, grinning wide. “Wow, wow, wow... now that is interesting. Where do I even start with sothing like this? Let think. Do you even know the land you’re standing on? Do you know anything at all about where you are? What about the war against the Shadow Plague?”
All three shook their heads.
Rather than looking disappointed, Caram seed almost thrilled at the chance to speak. His eyes lit up as though he had been waiting for soone to listen.
“Alright then,” he said. “You’re on a land known as Bronzeland. A wide land filled with villages like this one, with kingdoms, with great cities and more. I assu you at least know about the beasts, the one you fought earlier?”
Kai lifted a brow. “Let’s just pretend we don’t. Just in case there’s sothing we’re missing.”
“Good thinking.” Caram nodded approvingly. “Then let explain. Dangerous beasts roam all across Bronzeland. So weak, others... far beyond what ordinary n can handle. Not everyone is strong enough to fight them. That’s why adventurers exist. Guards. Mages. People who dedicate their lives to hunting and defending against beasts.”
He sighed, his expression turning more serious. “It’s better now than it used to be. These days, fewer and fewer beasts appear. Each year, their numbers seem to drop. But that doesn’t an the threat is gone. We still need adventurers. We still need defenders. Without them, villages like ours wouldn’t survive.”
He paused, his tone dropping lower. “But the real issue... was in the past. Back then, the Shadow Plague swept across Bronzeland. I don’t even know exactly what it was, so say a sickness, others say a curse. Whatever it was, it infected the beasts, twisting them. It made them stronger, more vicious, more dangerous than ever before. Entire lands were swallowed by its spread.”
The three Howlers stiffened.
Gary rembered crazed Altereds, how their powers had driven them beyond sanity. Kai and Gary both thought of Harvor, of what he had beco in the end. The similarities were chilling. Could this plague be connected sohow?
“But don’t worry,” Caram said quickly, noticing their silence. “The Shadow Plague has already been dealt with. It’s gone now. Handled by people far stronger than us villagers.”
He leaned forward, lowering his voice as if telling them a secret. “People like you. Well, not exactly you, but others like you. The ones who fought against the Shadow Plague... they were Werewolves too. We know them as the Red Wing Army, warriors of the Red Wing Kingdom. A powerful force made up of all kinds, and yes, that included Werewolves.”
Gary’s mouth went dry.
Kai’s eyes narrowed.
Lupus let out a slow breath. “Werewolves? Not just one or two... but an entire pack?”
“Right.” Caram nodded confidently. “A whole army of them.”
The room fell silent.
The three sat there, their minds reeling, disbelief twisting in their stomachs. But the more Caram spoke, the more the puzzle pieces began to fit.
If what he said was true, if there had really been an army of Werewolves who had fought in this war... then maybe, just maybe, they hadn’t simply been teleported to another country.
Maybe they had been sent into the past.
***
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