Grim Views

The wolves were ragged and in the absence of their spirit brother they had turned more feral than usual. Their coats did not sport the clean sheen that they were known for but instead were matted and dark. The animals looked peckish and more thin than usual but they were the same duo that had always been.

The wolves had been tracking the scent of a Zeysoga. They were not seeking just any troll that bears the moniker of a Zeysoga but the only Zeysoga known to have shared company with The Grim. The pads on their feet had been worn down and even the usually jovial wolf was taking the tracking seriously.

The border of Boa'drak rushed under their noses. The scents were right and the troll had to be here. The wolves split up. One went deep into the growing compound while the other went straight to a line of tents and began to a circle one that was slightly larger than the others.

The wolf grew agitated and began to pace. The bonfires had all grown too low to spot the stealthy animal. The wolf pawwed at the tent curtain and even dug in various places in a panic. Finally not knowing what else to do the wolf looked around and then let out the deepest howl that it could muster. It took another breath but before the then dizzying wolf could cry again Leyujin Zeysoga popped his head out of the tent flap.

When the two locked eyes the Troll took a deep breath and disappeared into the tent. By now several trolls had surrounded the enormous wolf and were listening to Leyujin fumble in his tent. The whole structure shuddered as he hit his head and then burst from the tent.

The wolf immediately took off running to the middle of the compound. His tongue was wagging and he panted excitedly. Every once in a while he would stop and wait for Leyujin while barking. They continued deeper into Boa'drak until the wolf came to a sliding stop in front of another.

Leyujin was wondering where the other wolf had been. Ashen's wolves were never far from one another even if they spent little to no time with the larger pack they had come from and were still a part of. The wolf and the troll approached the other wolf that was sitting hind down and head up staring down the approaching party.

Behind them the thunder of other trolls wanting to see the commotion caught up. Leyujin knew what the wolf was waiting for. It was time to retrieve the axe.

It wuz time, the troll thought to himself, eyeing the wolves. The warrior motioned to his two personal guards, his closest friends in his tribe, and started trotting off towards the entrance of the catacombs. Near the center of the village, a log ladder led down a square stone opening to the underground crypts of past Skymane chiefs. The catacombs stretched deep into the mountain; some said old cities had been made there, now locked away from the world by collapsed tunnels. The crypts had been well-protected, with each generation's witch doctors adding their own cantrips and curses to guard the dead. By now, enough magic had been cast that entire tunnels seemed to shift entrances, locking interlopers into endless circles. Such a location was both suitably honorable and sufficiently safe to entrust with the Orc's spirit weapon.

"Oi. Keep watch outside 'ere. Donna slack off, ah'll be back soon," Leyu'jin said to the two other trolls. "Righ' joo be, brotha," one of the trolls snarked, leaning against the ladder and pretending to doze off. Leyu'jin cuffed the troll lightly. "Har har, Wachu. Jus' keep an eye out, yah?" Wachupichu smirked and Leyu'jin shook his head, descending the ladder into the crypts. Guttering ensorceled torches lit the passageways, and the warrior grabbed one before forging ahead.

The heavy, thick grating of stone on stone told Leyu'jin that he was close to the tombs. A maze of passages branched off from where he stood, some curved, some straight, intersecting and separate. The troll let out a long breath through his nostrils and tread out into the labyrinth. He seemed to be going in circles, taking paths that looped back on themselves, but eventually one of the paths deadended at a solid stone door. The warrior pressed several stone panels into the walls, then stood on a plate in front of the door. With a low rumbling, the massive slab rose up into the air, exposing an ink-black chamber with an altar decorated with grinning faces of the Loa. Candles flared to life, illuminating the room, and glinting off the axe that lay atop the altar...

Leyu'jin strode forward and picked up the axe. A violet haze flared briefly over the weapon, then subsided. "Aight mon, back ta joo mastah," the troll stated solemnly.