The Calling . . .

Phth Lart's ruby red blood poured out of the cleave on his left sword arm and squirted obscenely into the eyes of the attacking winter wolf. Another wolf leaped onto the Gnoll-man's back and tore viciously at his back while a green fanged creature jumped at Dobbs chest. The large fighter shirked off the bite with only minor damage.

Two fighters hit and dropped a couple of the winter hounds. Bolt pulled out his platinum rapier and punctured the heart of the nearest wolf on his second thrust. Dev, with the speed of a Kirin, unbanded the two-haded sword from his back and sliced away at two flanking wolfs. He dropped the first canine quickly and readied himself for an attack to his side just in time to take note of the strange singing coming from Bolt's blade.

On the near hill, Par noticed as the knight on the hill slowly disapeared into the carpet of snow beneath him. The crie noticed the way the knight lost itself in the dark as he saw Florimund slowly do the same. In a moment, the knight reappeared on the backside of two of the wolfs. He stepped out of the snow and readied a crossbow.

Wolves. Wolves have always been the bane of man and beast, but when you're only slightly taller than 3' wolves can be very deadly.

Florimund had been watching the black knight when the wolf leapt from the bushes and rushed into him. Dropping to the ground and rolling, he barely escaped having his throat ripped out. Hot breath and saliva sprayed across his face. Florimund was up even before the wolf could stop his momentum, his hand plunging into his belt pouch for the components he would need. The wolf, now ten feet away, turned and rushed back to kill the little gnome!

Florimund pulled the pinch of gauze and flint striker from the pouch, formed the sign, and struck the flint pieces together. The gauze disappeared into the tiny wisp of smoke just as the wolf's jaws closed around the gnome's throat! The wolf's teeth cracked together as it's jaws closed on air. The momentum of the wolf carried it five feet beyond the gnome as it passed through Florimund's body. The wolf spun around and attacked, this time going for the gnomes groin. It's jaws again closed on empty air, angering it into a frenzy as it snapped and clawed at Florimund's insubstantial body. Florimund let his breath out and allowed himself to chuckle at the wolf's antics.

Ignoring the wolf, he looked up to see how the rest of the party was doing. Chaos reigned, with wolves and weapons flashing everywhere he looked. It was hard to tell how many wolves were attacking, he had to look through too many pairs of legs. He caught a glimpse of Dev, sword flashing left and right. Bolt seemed to have finished off one the wolves and was looking to see where he was needed. Anterback flashed in and out of the melee, no doubt dealing damage wherever he turned. Though he could not see Par, he thought that he could hear the crack as his staff slammed into a wolf's skull. Everyone seemed to be faring well, with the exception of the man-beast Phth, who was bleeding from several wounds. Florimund thought to help Phth, but noticed Dev moving to assist him.

Yes, this was a fine battle, particularly for a gnome who wasn't really there. He glanced at the wolf who was continuing it's futile attempt to rip him to pieces. He thought briefly of Brundle, the courageous Breachgnome he grew up with.

"Brundle would love to be here." he said to the wolf. "With a Breachgnome in our party we would be guaranteed success. Perhaps when we finish this battle I will tell everyone of the battles and heroics of Brundle. Then I will tell the story of Maddi Gaddlroot, the most famous Breachgnome from our very settlement. Then I will tell them of my long lineage and the heroes from my own family.

"Yes. I am sure they will be most interested to hear all my stories. But first, we must finish this battle, so I am afraid that the time has come to end this."

Florimund reached into his pouch for the components that he knew would allow him to finish off the creature. He was ready to begin his spell when a dark shape moved into his vision. He looked up to see the dark shape of the armored knight appear behind two wolves at the bottom of the hill.