Chapter 20: Free Gifts
"Saiveth, the Fang of the Wild Moon." The werewolf growled, voice rough like gravel. "I see a beast within you, boy. Someone who longs to roam free."
"We are not like the humans, too prideful to let another rise, too greedy to share power unless they can chain it down." He said, his eyes fearlessly scanning the gathered humans.
"Or the Elves, who dress their chains in silk and call it peace."
He lowered and tilted his head to their right, then threw a disdainful glance at a towering High Orc standing in the distance.
"Or the Battle Hungry mongrels of the Badlands."
The High Orc bared his tusks in a savage grin. His lips moved, but only a few nearby caught the words he muttered, and those who did instinctively took a step back.
The werewolf ignored and leaned closer, his tone softer but no less intense.
"We Beastkin understand freedom, the real kind...not the kind offered in contracts or oaths. Should you seek it, come to us," he said, handing Vlad a communication slip of the highest grade.
He rose back up, and without another word, he dragged his claw across the space separating the two. Space was torn open, forming a rift like a wound in reality.
The beastmen stepped through, and as the tear sealed shut, only the faint scent of forest rain remained.
The crimson giant who stood in the distance began to approach, a stench of blood and suffocating presence making everyone step back.