Provided by explosiveskull https://twitter.com/kaboomskull
- Watch it! - Sorry.
Thorfinn!
Inga!
I know you're in here Inga.
Got you!
Now that was too easy.
That might have been easy,
but how're you going to escape me?
What if I don't want to escape you?
Aren't we meant to be watching your brother?
He can watch over himself.
You shouldn't sneak up on people.
My, my, what's your name little man?
My name's Wolfstan, my friends call me Wolf.
It's Oskar, sir.
Well Oskar, there's no need to look so afraid,
did you not enjoy my playing?
No it's just we don't get very many strangers here.
I really could use your help, young sir.
You see I'm not a stranger, I'm just somewhat lost.
This is the Waldron Settlement, yes?
No, my village is Grittleton Marsh.
Ah, then I must've wandered all the way over here.
This is a map of the whole Western lands,
do you want to see?
I bet that I could teach a smart boy like you
how to read it.
Come, come and see.
All of this is the forest of Braegon,
and here we are on the outskirts,
which must make this your village of Grittleton Marsh.
Tell me, have you ever dreamed of becoming a great warrior?
Of growing up tall and strong?
I know I used to, and now I know a way
to make such a wish come true.
We shouldn't be this close to the forest.
Well why not?
It's dangerous alone.
Oh, you really are very smart for such a small,
delicious thing, but you see we're not alone.
I always hunt with my pack.
I think I heard something.
It's nothing Thorfinn.
Thorfinn?
Oskar?
Lord have mercy.
Intruders, intruders, intruders!
Lord Magnus, great hell-beasts have come from the forest,
we are under attack!
You must hide my lord, to safety!
Feed my brothers.
Inga, come on, hide.
Inga, come on.
Inga, hide.
My family's out there.
Stay back!
Stay back.
No!
Oskar, Oskar!
Papa?
Papa!
Where is your brother?
I don't know, I don't know Papa.
Go, run, go!
The creatures have moved on my lord,
retreated to the forest, we are safe.
For now, but what of our neighboring villages?
This was a massacre.
No doubt more will succumb to the same brutality.
Young Garstang, I am sorry for your loss.
You're lucky to be alive.
We have no choice but to send for help.
There were three great warrior knights,
legendary across the Western land.
They will be our salvation,
our only defense against the demon-beasts from the forest.
My lords.
That won't be necessary.
Baron Magnus.
We are most relieved you answered our summon.
By my eye, a little too late.
Your messenger made clear the urgency of your predicament.
We came immediately.
This is Thomas, the huge.
Aye.
Osmund, our fastest rider, myself, Hamelin Wiltshire.
Your reputation proceeds you, noble sir.
And with us, Hal Skullsplitter.
I cannot do business with a rogue.
He is here to help, my lord.
He is beyond redemption, banished by the king.
I think you need me more
than I could give a damn about the King's exile.
Tell me what savagery befell this land.
My people were slaughtered by an enemy
that threatens us all: wolves, greater than men.
They attacked from the Braegon Forest like a dark army,
unstoppable, ravenous for blood.
Greater than men?
You mean men my size or men his size?
Ah, looks more like your wife's size, Thomas.
Do not underestimate these monsters.
They are unlike any beast I've ever laid eyes on.
What is to be our quest?
Inform King Vortigern of our plight.
You must venture to his castle, through their territory,
the territory of beasts.
Vortigern's a cruel king,
he cares little for his people.
Settlements starve and waste away across the land,
and what help does he offer?
A war with devil creatures
is an entirely different crisis.
The king would not turn down
an opportunity for battle, bloodshed.
Aye, he would not.
How long until every village is ravished
and they fixed their bloodthirsty eyes on Castle Braegon?
Then the king himself will fall into danger.
You must plead with him to take action.
Take our map, you will need it to navigate a safe trail.
The forest is perilous, many do not return.
I can lead them to the castle.
I've been before with my father, Grimbold,
he made this journey carrying messages to Vortigern.
Please pardon the boy, he has suffered a severe loss.
I could be your navigator.
We travel alone.
I will not be distracted tending after some village boy.
He will remain here.
But I want to help!
Silence Thorfinn!
Do not interfere.
- I say the lad comes. - No.
We do not know what dangers lurk in that forest.
It's not a place we'd wish to find ourselves lost in.
The land is vast, almost two days journey,
and now inhabited by beasts.
Aye, I say he comes.
Whether he can fight or not, he'll be a useful guide.
When the wolf-men come for us,
I will not be responsible for his fate.
Oh don't you worry,
we all know you're a heartless bastard, Hal.
It's his own risk to take.
What say you Thorfinn Garstang?
You wish to put yourself in mortal danger?
I'll go.
Hamelin, you think it wise to bring
this village boy on our quest?
We do not know Braegon Forest, Hal.
He will be useful.
If we run into trouble, he will be the first to die.
That blood will be on your hands.
As will your blood if we fail.
I've known many knights enter Braegon Forest
only to lose their minds,
return as withered, delusional wrecks,
rambling of mystical monsters and tentacled mutations.
We are all strong, fearless, and have defeated many men,
but these are beasts, Hal, unlike any other foe
we've ever been tasked to battle.
All the help we can get to ensure we reach Castle Braegon
we would be wise to accept.
I hope you know what you're doing Young Garstang.
I want to go with them.
Then we must assume you may not return.
You're not like them Thorfinn, you're no warrior,
you'll be no match for whatever evil awaits.
And of what use was I here?
When my family and village needed protection,
what good was I against those beasts then?
That is precisely my point-
- Now there is some small way I can be of service.
It doesn't matter if I make it home, there is no home now.
- Thorfinn- - I've nothing left here!
Nothing to return to.
No family, no honor.
You have spirit, boy.
If your heart cannot be discouraged then I wish you well.
Go with them, but do not trust the man
they call Skullsplitter, he is not a knight.
This was your father's ax, strong, with a silver blade.
I'm sure he'd be proud of your bravery,
however misguided it may be.
Give yourself a fighting chance at least.
Oh no, that's not him, is it?
Watch you don't step on the little fella.
He is to be our navigator, Percy, be nice.
He's got some fucking balls.
He can do a share of your duties.
Too bloody right he can.
Fancy yourself some sort of hero then?
Just trying to help.
Begin by carrying that.
Hal, give it a rest.
When the wolves are picking the meat from your bones
and you're screaming for help and mercy,
you don't think this fool's courage
might be something you might come to regret?
It is not too late to turn back.
I've chosen this path sir, I'm not turning back.
Then just know, when the time comes,
I will not risk mine nor my fellow knight's lives
coming to your rescue.
I can fend for myself.
Ah, did you hear that, Hal?
He can fend for himself.
That I doubt.
Come on son, come on.
Don't let them get to you, eh?
This is where we enter.
This way.
It's a quicker route approaching from the east.
The path from the east is longer.
Entering here will lead us straight to the castle,
save us half a day, perhaps more.
No, look, there's a river to cross,
the ground is uneven, we would have to climb here and here.
This way is safer.
There's a crossing point, and we can take refuge
at the woodland village of Chalamet.
The boy's right Hal.
We make our trail to the east, onwards!
Hamelin?
Look.
A warning.
This is their territory.
You're gonna see worse than this, village boy.
Come on lad, it'll be all right.
I'm fine, I'm fine.
Let's move on before sun down, find a place to settle
far away from here.
Hey Thorfinn, were these wolves really as big
as the Baron claims?
Nobody stood a chance.
Lost loved ones, did you?
My parents, my brother, my girl.
I could have saved her.
Some battles cannot be won.
Don't torment yourself.
Oi Thorfinn, have this.
Lost me appetite.
- Are you sure? - Yeah, yeah, have it.
Best part of the fish is that, keeps you strong.
Well I wouldn't eat those fish gonads.
I mean I'm not lying, it's good for you.
It's just I wouldn't eat it.
You know as a boy my village told tales of wolf-men.
If a man was bad, did sinful things like murder,
eat the flesh of other men, if a man behaved like a beast,
then the gods would turn him into one.
That's how men first became wolves: a punishment.
Now some said that they'd have to serve their time
for seven years, seven long years as a beast
in order to redeem themselves,
and only then might the gods allow them
to return to their human form.
Wolves are wolves, they cannot change.
All they know is killing and eating.
Eating?
A bit like you then Thomas.
Oh you cheeky shit.
The worst plague that could ever befall a man,
the plague of lycanthropy,
a curse that none would wish to carry.
Better to die a man than to live as half-beast.
Why is Hal so against me being here?
I wouldn't worry about it lad.
It's not you, he just doesn't trust anyone is all.
You know he's an outlaw don't you?
The king wants him dead,
but no one's brave enough or stupid enough to challenge him.
Why?
What did he do?
Out of us knights,
he has definitely won the most victories,
but he's also suffered the greatest loss.
And it's that hatred that gives him his unbeatable fury.
The problem is, it's a vengeance that he can't control.
The people that did him wrong, well,
they didn't meet a nice end.
You see there's overreacting
and then there's the blood hurricane
that is Hal Skullsplitter.
Just be grateful he's on our side.
I hope you weren't dreaming about me.
Nights are the hardest, bad memories return at their worst.
But at least in dreams you can be with them again,
the ones you lost.
The other knights they talk of courage and bravery,
but I say all you need is pure pissed off fury.
Everyone feared the army that took my brother, marauders,
nobody would stand against them.
But with my sword in my hand,
I dare say I enjoyed the relief it brought me
to cut their heads from their necks.
No, I couldn't have stopped that bloodshed
even if I'd wanted to.
But I've come to realize
that no matter what foul hand we're dealt, life does go on.
Today you wonder if there's any point in living,
but two years from now you'll be a new man.
Where once you were cowardly now you can be brave,
and where once people took you for a fool,
new people might know you as a hero.
There's no more precious gift than life, Thorfinn.
That's why we fight.
- Hal? - Stay here.
Pick up your ax.
Thomas, Thomas wake up!
Not tonight Greta, I'm shattered.
Why good evening handsome.
Didn't wake you, did I?
You're no human.
No, no that's a curse that no longer burdens me, friend.
Now I'm something more evolved.
Liberated from the decrepitude of man.
I'm in no mood for your bather, demon-breed.
But I'd wager my bad mood
is far worse than yours.
Wise to leave while you still can, you scrawny fuck.
Wise?
Always the strong and the brave come to see
what threatens their pack, leaves behind the wise,
open and vulnerable to my attack.
Yum, yum.
Fuck!
Move Percy, find a place to hide!
Run Thorfinn.
Osmund!
Get off him you bastard.
Osmund, no.
Osmund?
Fuck!
No, no!
No!
Oh please!
Oh God, please, please!
Please, please, stop!
Please, please.
Is this how you want to die Percy?
Death in the service of these knights
who won't even come to your rescue?
Don't listen to him Percy.
You're not one of them!
And you never will be.
There is no need to suffer the pain of mankind,
you can live like us, Percy, free.
Let primal instinct run through you,
let the limitations of mankind slip away.
Don't believe a word he says, Percy.
Are you gonna fight and die like a man,
or live like a beast?
Supreme, undefeatable.
No Percy, don't!
How would I join you?
I don't want to die.
Just ask, my darling, and I can make you one of us.
Percy, don't!
Let me live.
Gladly.
You'll live.
We must reach Castle Braegon by dark,
won't survive another night out here.
What about Thomas and Percy?
What about them?
They're gone.
They dragged Thomas screaming, he's not dead yet.
He will be by now.
They're not taking him for some merry dance.
There's nothing that we can do for them Thorfinn,
they're gone.
Perhaps if we'd stayed with Thomas
instead of coming after you-
- Hal. - He'd have lived.
Enough!
I could have fought them off-
- We cannot blame the boy!
He warned us what this would be like,
none of us could have known the strength of those creatures!
Now we must hurry to the castle,
we do not have time to mount a rescue mission
for somebody who is most likely long dead.
We told you this would not be an easy quest.
Now, go to the river and clean yourself up.
We can't help you reeking of blood, they'll sniff us out.
Don't feel the need to wait for me.
It was a mistake for me to come.
He defended himself against that wolf, Hal.
The boy did well.
Not well enough.
Hello?
Hey!
Get off of me!
Thomas!
It's me.
When they come for me, run that way.
No, no, don't, don't.
I want that flesh.
- What's this? - Back off!
You think you're one of them now, some warrior?
Stay back!
We aren't built like knights, are we?
You'll always rely on them to fight your battles for you
because you're too small, too weak.
But what if I was to tell you
that there was a way that you could become
even stronger than any knight?
Mighty, powerful, and dominating.
I will never be like you, beast!
Thomas!
Come on.
Oh Thorfinn, you madman, you total fucking madman!
Thomas!
Easy, easy, easy, ah!
Where did you find him?
The boy came to my rescue Hal,
gave them feral dogs quite the fright.
Did you see Percy?
They made him one of their own.
How many were there?
Thorfinn killed one, they'll have fled by now.
This changes nothing.
We must go on without you Thomas, I'm sorry.
No!
He's wounded, slow, weak, he's in no state to fight.
We can't leave him behind.
Use your head fucking head, Thorfinn!
He's dying!
All you've done is prolonged his suffering
and burdened the rest of us.
Well thank you very fucking much, Hal.
We won't survive another night out here,
the wolves will come to finish us
when we are most vulnerable and we will all die.
I'll take care of him, then.
He's twice your size, Thorfinn!
This boy has a death wish, he's lost hope!
He has dignity Hal, and humanity!
Leaving a man behind is what they would do
because they are savages.
We'll take him as far as this next village,
but he cannot make the full journey with us.
Fine, we'll seek shelter for him there, okay Thorfinn?
Where was this courage when your village fell?
Answer me that.
You want to talk like a knight,
better learn to dress like a knight
and defend yourself, properly.
Put that on, come on.
His blade will not be as effective as your ax,
it's steel.
This blade is silver, powerful against the wolf-men.
What, you thought you had a better attack than Hamelin's?
It was merely a better instrument.
Next time you won't be so lucky.
Which way to the village?
Follow me.
What dismal place is this
you've brought us to, Thorfinn?
Everything has changed.
You mean it wasn't always this uninviting?
- Hal? - Hello there.
We come peacefully.
We are knights on our way to Castle Braegon,
one of my men here is injured, he seeks refuge.
Who followed you?
No one, we come alone.
You sure of that, are you?
Bringing that half devoured wolf's dinner into my village,
you're inviting trouble!
I'm sorry knight, we do not welcome outsiders.
We've seen enough devastation.
Really?
I hadn't noticed.
That one looks at the end of his rope, Griff.
Let's give him shelter, eh?
They're warriors Maggie.
He's wounded though, they all look desperate.
I'll take him in.
My wife's a healer, she'll see to your wounded friend.
Thank you lady.
- You're a blacksmith. - Aye.
Don't touch that!
That's our only defense against the monsters.
No, we're your only defense against the monsters.
Put it back!
It's the only thing what keeps them from entering.
Hal, it's their only protection.
I don't care, I aim to kill the fucking things,
we need all the silver we can get.
I said, put it back.
Listen to me carefully blacksmith,
these wolves have already spread as far as Grittleton Marsh,
his entire village has fallen and many more will follow.
Now, unless you want to be
the only mortal villagers left alive in this kingdom,
you'll do as we ask and help.
Can you melt the silver or not?
Aye.
Hamelin, give me your sword.
If the blacksmith can give our weapons a coat of silver,
we stand a better chance.
Come on Thomas, let's get you inside.
Thorfinn, find whatever silver you can.
Best follow me to the forge.
Come along.
Sit him down.
Here, a chair.
He's a big bugger.
Needs food in his belly is what he needs.
I know what'll do the trick.
I have remedies, things what I've foraged in the woods.
All strange plants and flowers grow around here.
We don't want your magic,
we don't believe in your village tales.
Thomas, let her help.
Just let us rest.
Here on the table, go on!
What happened here?
Travelers, skinny things they were, malnourished and all.
We thought the king had raided their settlement.
We've heard the stories, took pity on them,
gave them shelter.
But as night fell they were men no more,
killed every bloody thing in sight.
I hid the women and children as best I could.
Other men weren't so brave.
Most of them joined the bastard wolves.
I'm sorry.
Stayed for many days, feasting on all who were left.
We became their livestock,
as they ate and butchered all they could.
Why'd they leave you?
Lucky, I guess.
They moved on.
To the other settlements?
Aye.
There's more silver hanging in the woods,
enough for all three blades, easy.
Go on.
Here you are boys, fill your guts.
Oh that's good.
Got a bit of a tickle in me throat.
Don't eat it Hamelin.
What's in this, exactly?
We're never safe here.
Some nights they come back for food.
If we don't give them any, then they eat us.
All we have to survive is their leftovers.
Leftovers , leftovers from what?
They see this place as a feeding ground.
You witch!
The wolf's bane will drive them out, weaken them.
You eat the queen of poisons, they eat you.
Griff says we had to feed them something!
We should have joined them, instead of torturing ourselves.
At least that way the gods would excuse what we've done.
One down.
Hal!
Hamelin!
Hamelin, Hamelin, no!
- No! - Thomas!
- Thomas. - Thorfinn, run!
Thomas.
Run Thorfinn, run!
Come on!
I'll be fine.
You run Thorfinn, get to the castle!
I'll hold them off.
- No, no! - Go!
You know the way, I don't.
If you die then it's all over!
- I'll buy you time. - Hal, please-
- Takes the sword.
I can't do this without you-
- Take the fucking sword!
Find the king.
You can still save us.
Go!
Come on then you bastards.
Hal Balfager.
Hal the brave.
What Vortigern wouldn't give to see you again.
No, no.
I can't, I can't do this alone.
Hal!
Thomas!
Help me, please, please.
Thorfinn, Thorfinn, up here gorgeous.
The king is expecting you.
Don't want to keep him waiting.
So this is the young tenderfoot from the marshlands,
come to beg my mercy.
Hal said you'd find me.
Hal, he's here?
My warlord brought him to me, to kill.
Hal still had some hope in his eyes then
that you'd change me somehow.
I want to see that hope fade to darkness before he dies.
I want him to see that you have failed.
We came to you for help!
Help, from what?
They are my children, they are my army.
The kingdom was suffering,
the people were a weak and desperate breed.
Now look what they have become.
What about our humanity?
What about those who wouldn't sink so low
as to feed on the flesh of other men?
Men are gone!
The rest of us will become my one sublime species.
Vortigern, I have seen my village fall,
my family destroyed.
I've braved Braegon Forest,
watched my friends meet their deaths fighting,
all for me to be here with you right now.
I beg you my king, bring an end to this evil.
You're somehow brave, tenderfoot.
But evidently a fool.
Better to die a man then to live as half-beast.
Then die you will.
Thorfinn?
No.
No, let him go!
Harry, Harry, my only living son finally returned.
I am not your blood!
Oh, I think we're quite alike you and I,
we both share the same thirst for butchery.
Killing your own brother in battle,
that's the kind of blood lust that's in our bones, Hal.
Bones that I'd like to break, old man.
Why is it so fucking difficult for you
to accept my intentions?
You think you're so mighty, so powerful.
Well this is power, Hal!
A gift you refuse to accept.
I don't need to trade my humanity to be great!
You coward!
That's the only reason why you despise me.
Great?
You think you're so great, do you?
Look at you, captured, shivering.
Well before you die, let's see the tenderfoot
accept his allegiance is to me,
and not to my pitiable progeny.
Leave the boy alone, father.
I will not.
Let's see where his loyalties lie.
I want you to witness the weakness of men,
the inadequacy of what you so desperately cling to.
Ready Hal?
Let's see you scream.
Stop!
Stop it!
I offer you one chance boy,
join with us or suffer the same ignominious defeat.
Don't do it Thorfinn.
Thorfinn!
I will join you.
Again.
I will join you!
Sorry Hal, but you see, I win.
No, no!
Turn him.
No, no, you're meant to be one of us now!
Fucking bite me.
Time to die.
Better to die a man...
Thorfinn.
All are dead.
The king is dead.
I am the last wolf.
For your great and noble bravery, I dub thee Sir Thorfinn.
May the gods bless you, our hero and savior.
To Thorfinn, to Thorfinn, to Thorfinn, to Thorfinn!
To Thorfinn, to Thorfinn, to Thorfinn!
To Thorfinn, to Thorfinn, to Thorfinn, to Thorfinn!
Provided by explosiveskull https://twitter.com/kaboomskull