Help me, Help me, there’s monsters out to get me

Artorias took note of the way the stranger's head lowered and her tail tucked beneath her upon his arrival. Signs of submission; of subservience. She was a wolf browbeaten into servitude. He recognized the look well in the faces of the slaves he had freed. Memories of Idalia's reactions to him when he'd freed her had been much the same. She looked away, down at the ground as she began to speak in broken and shaking words. Her name was Nila and she was a Sidi of the Syndicate. Artorias had no idea what a Sidi was, but judging by the way she behaved he assumed it must have been the name given to their slave rank. She had escaped their thrall and was seeking asylum now. She needed help.

Artorias' breath held in his lungs as his mind raced with thoughts and questions. This could well have been a ruse crafted by Sephiran to slip a spy into their midst. Nila could easily be an actor putting on a facade to get him to lower his guard. But what if she was telling the truth? What if she had escaped the Syndicate's grasp and was seeking shelter? Nila was right; if the Syndicate found her on her own, she'd be as good as dead. Artorias bit his lip, mulling over the complexities of the situation. He had a choice to make. Accept Nila into the Hallows and offer her shelter and succor or turn her away and leave her to fend for herself. The safer option would have been to reject her and chase her from his borders. She did reek of his enemy's pack, after all.

But something in Nila's eyes, in her voice, in the tears that fell from her eyes as she pleaded for his aid stayed his tongue. If she was pretending, then she was a damn good actor. And what if he was wrong? What if he turned her away just for her to be hunted down and slaughtered? Could he live with himself then? Was the Hallows not meant to be a bastion of safety and shelter to those who needed it most? Artorias glanced back over his shoulder to Ember, meeting his daughter's gaze. She was watching him intently, waiting to see how he would judge the runaway Syndicate wolf. Would he hold true to the tenets of the Hallows?

After a few moments of deliberation, Artorias breathed a sigh and turned toward Nila once more. "Rise, Nila Chalet," he instructed her with gentle tones. Nobody bowed or cowered in the Hallows, especially not those who came to them for help. "I am Artorias Carpathius, the Lord of Cinder and alpha of the Hallows. We will give you the asylum you seek—but it comes with conditions. If this is a ruse and you are here to do harm to us on the Syndicate's behalf, then Sephiran will be the least of your worries. Am I clear?" With his warning given, Artorias motioned for Nila to cross the borders into the protection of the Hallows. His fiery amber eyes kept scanning the horizon, looking for any signs of other Syndicate wolves nearby that might be looking for the fleeing slave.

"Artorias Carpathius" | "Carpathian"