Tales of the Wolf: Book 01 - The Coming of the Wolf Read Online Free PDF

ledge in the face of the rushing wind, Lalith pointed at the stone door. The miniature tornado slammed against it and for a brief moment the door held fast. With a mighty groan the slab flew away to the right, falling the fifty or so feet to the great pool below. Lalith dismissed the rushing wind with a wave of her hand.
    Quglie moved to the front of the party and cautiously led the way inside. They hadn’t gone twenty feet when they discovered that they were not the first visitors to explore this ruin. Two dusty skeletons lay buried underneath a solid block of stone that had been a trap of some sort. Considering the amount of rust which covered the armor and weapons, it had been many years since they died. Quglie studied the trap for a moment before leading them further inside. His sharp eyes and skill led the party through winding passageways and past numerous traps. Along the way they discovered the remains of five more adventurers who had fallen to the tombs deadly traps.
    Rounding a corner, Quglie pulled up short and signaled for his companions to hold their positions. Creeping up to the edge of a large lighted chamber, the halfling spied numerous statues lining the walls and a dark portal beckoned at the far end. Moving back to his companions, he pointed to the lighted chamber and held up six fingers. “I’m not sure but I think I saw those statues move.”
    The dark haired warrior hissed. “Golems.”
    Seeing the confused look on the halfling’s face, Darnac continued. “Golems are magically animated statues that act as guardians. They are able to follow very limited instructions but are deadly and extremely tough opponents.”
    Gram spit in each hand before taking up a two-handed grip on his notched battle axe. “Well, we didn’t come this far just to turn back at two to one odds.” Jax snorted his agreement and pulled forth his claymore. The dwarf grinned. “Let’s get ‘em ya big ox!”
    Without another word the two warriors charged down the passageway. The two elves and the halfling followed but at a more cautious pace.
    Entering the chamber Quglie took in the chaotic scene before him. One golem had already been shattered by the charge of the two warriors. Jax was battling two of the golems, knocking them aside with strong swipes of his claymore. Each hit chipping off bits of the stone warriors. Gram was fighting toe-to-toe with a statue of a dwarven warrior, which left two more animated statues for the rest of the party. Darnac stepped in front of the trio and pulled forth his twin sabers, each blade glowed with magical light.
    Quglie stepped back, both to give the grim faced elf some room and to lessen the chance of being noticed. As the elf and golem closed, Quglie was amazed at the dazzling swordsmanship on display. The dark warrior had landed so many strikes in the first few seconds of battle that the first golem’s left leg crumbled under the fierce assault.
    Quglie could hear Lalith chanting the beginnings of a spell but his attention was focused on the charging stone golem several feet in front of him and knew his time had come. He was backed into a corner with nowhere to run or dodge and no trick or poison he possessed would stop the stone juggernaut before it crushed him. With a scream of rage, Quglie hurled his lucky dagger and leapt to the side.
    A blinding flash of light filled the corner and blew apart the stone golem. Lalith walked over to view her handiwork. She had known that her spell would destroy the golem but seeing the still form of Quglie underneath its shattered remains caused her a moment of distress.
    As the last opponent fell, Gram wiped the sweat from his brow and looked around. The shattered remains of the golems filled the room but for the first time, he noticed the bodies of other adventurers which had made it this far. “I see we aren’t the first to delve this deep.”
    Gliding up to the warriors Lalith said, “Aye, treasure tends to draw thieves like moths to a