Ancient Relics

While Artorias' thicker coat helped keep him warm from the colder weather and buffeted him against the wind, he was glad to see Briar had the forethought to grab a coat to bring with her on their trip this time. As much as he loved exploring, he didn't enjoy it knowing it was coming at the expense of his mate's comfort. He'd almost insisted on going alone or with someone else after he'd seen how much the weather had affected her during their trip to the gorge, but never one to be beaten, Briar staunchly refused, and off they went with his queen swaddled in her warm, protective clothing.

Briar commented on how they had the run of the ship for now, and Art responded with a wide, toothy grin and an excited wag of his tail. "Yeah we do! C'mon, let's see if we can find a way inside." The obsidian and sapphire wolf led the way around the perimeter of the ship, gazing around for any sort of entrance they could use to get into the rusting metal structure. Wolves had lived here before, which meant there had to be a way inside. No one would willingly choose to live here if the structure didn't offer some sort of shelter. Artorias found his entryway in the form of an open door on the hull of the beached ship, and motioned for Briar to follow him with a nudge of his shoulder and twist of his head.

Stepping through the hatch into the ship, Artorias was struck by just how silent the remains of the vessel were. His paws thudded on the old metal floors, his claws rapping against them, the sound echoing down the abandoned corridors. The smell of must and salt permeated the air, and much of the ship's metal surfaces was rusting away thanks to the high content of sodium in the sea air. Artorias led the way through the dimly lit passageways, light from the outside spilling in from portholes or other holes broken through the ship's hull. Even in the darkest of spaces, the Aegis' enhanced vision permitted him near-perfect night vision, allowing him to see the faded symbols and strange characters painted on the walls and doors. He didn't know what they meant, so he simply followed the arrows down corridors and up staircases that creaked with a metallic wail.

After some time, he followed his nose to fresh air, and the two wolves emerged on the main deck of the ship, gazing out across the expansive space of metal and over the edges to the vast north around them. "Whoa..." Artorias murmured, wandering about as he drank in the incredible sights.

"Artorias Carpathius"