As night fell Chronos planned the path he would take.
The terrain in this territory was a bit unusual in that it was surrounded by mountains on the northern, eastern, and western sides. The north had a lush forest which covered everything to the north and continued into the mountains. But the east and west had been cleared for farming and rearing animals.
A fortress was built on the northern mountains slope to ensure that the monsters inside the mountain range never went south, into the more populated areas of the country. Ever since the Ulv family had been granted this territory by the king, no monster had made it past this valley.
To the south was a city filling half of the valley with a wall extending on both sides closing off the valley entrance. Effectively turning the area into a fortress, that would be near impossible to conquer without overwhelming force.
The Ulv family mansion was on the edge of the northern forest forming a final bulwark between the city and the forest. Just in case a monster tide ever made it past the fortress. All of this was controlled by the Ulv family, who had never been defeated in battle.
If Chrono wanted to successfully escape, he would have to make it past all of this before his family caught him. Preferably before they found out he was missing, as that would increase the difficulty by several times. As long as he could make it past the southern wall, he would be free.
This was thanks to a rule set by the first head of the family that stated, if a werewolf or captured individual managed to escape from their territory then they would be free to leave without pursuit. Of course, this meant that the Ulv family did their best to ensure that no one ever escaped. But there were precedents in the family's history.
Chronos intended to use some of the methods left behind by previous runaways. In addition to some information that he had overheard from his uncle regarding the southern wall. That wall would be the biggest threat to his escape.
However, his family was also aware of these cases and would have measures in place to prevent a repeat performance. So, he would have to alter them slightly.
As Chronos made plans he had some food and water delivered to the meditation room. After packing the food and water in his camping pack he meditated for the final few hours before his escape.
The ten pm bells started ringing, signaling the start of his escape.
"Time to leave." With this thought Chronos made his way down the hall. Sneakily avoiding maids and patrols.
"Getting out of the house won't be hard. Good thing most people are at the fortress right now or this would be much harder."
Once outside Chronos headed to the east. The large amount of daily traffic would hide his footprints better than the other areas of the estate. The food and other items in the large storage buildings would help to mask his scent as well.
He only had to stop once when a patrol walked past alongside the wall.
"Alright, time to change." With a sound like shifting sand, he transformed into a full werewolf.
The beast clans normally only have the ears and tail of the animal that most closely resembles them. However, when they change into their were form their body becomes fully covered in fur. Their muscles become stronger and more animalistic. Even some of their joints may change, such as having an elongated footbone like a wolf's.
These changes allow the beast clan to exert a great deal of strength. Even though their overall size does not change much.
In his full werewolf form Chronos was able to use his claws to climb the 7-meter stone walls. Pausing near the top to confirm that the guards were still at the corners before vaulting over the top.
As he fell toward the ground, he extended his hands and emitted a small amount of aura from them. This aura allowed Chronos to slow his fall to near a crawl before his paws touched the ground without a sound.
Once on the other side Chronos dashed for the tree line 50 meters away, making no sound as he ran. Keeping to the shadows, he made it there in 30 seconds. Now in the tree line Chronos hid behind a large tree and turned to check the walkway on the wall.
No sudden movements could be discerned.
"Good, I haven't been discovered yet. Next is where we hid the smuggled goods."
As Chronos moved through the forest he couldn't stop himself from staring into the shadows around him. Thinking that it might be the shadow wolves raised by his family for tracking enemies. The night wolves could track their target by more than their scent. They could follow shadows just as easily as scent. The trick to avoiding them was to not leave a shadow behind. By sticking to the thicker parts of the forest, where the darkness was so deep a shadow could not be formed, an escaping individual could avoid detection for quite some time. Unfortunately, Chronos would have to leave the protection of the forest when he crossed the fields to the city.
After nearly 20 minutes he reached the large stone that Gregory had set up for smuggling items to Chronos. Underneath it right now was one of the most contraband items in the Ulv territory.
A dried ruebane infusion.
This was a mixture of wolfsbane and rue that had been dried for easier transport. It was particularly effective against those with a sensitive nose or for hiding a person's scent. It could even poison those who smelled it if they weren't careful. While this wouldn't kill the night wolves it would cause them to temporarily lose both the scent and the shadow traces he left behind.
"By the three! Even through the special glass vial I can smell it."
Thinking this Chronos headed to a part of the forest that jutted out to the south further than any other point. The local farmers called it the Forests Spear.
After arriving at the point of the Forests Spear Chronos began his preparations for crossing the fields. Carefully covering his face with a cloth, he opened the ruebane vial to mix it with a little water from his canteen.
Once the dried infusion was turned into a paste, he carefully spread the paste on his hands and feet.
"Gods above please let this smell come out swiftly. I don't want to smell like this for a week or more. Alright time to shift."
With the preparations finished Chronos shifted into his full wolf form and started running.
At first everything went well but then a few farm dogs saw him. They started barking to warn him off while he gave a low howl to let them know he wouldn't approach their farms.
"If one of the family asks the dogs they will definitely tell. This is going to leave a trail. I had better hurry."
Slowly Chronos saw the city walls come into view. "It will only take me 5 minutes to reach the walls if I hurry."
DING, DING, DING.
DING, DING, DING.
"Shit, they already know." Chronos swore as he ran. "The night wolves will have my trail soon, but the bigger problem will be the town guards being on high alert. I'll have to enter through the old northeast tower."
"I didn't want to use that place. It is practically a sewer after the summer monsoons." Chronos thought to himself.
Without any better options he ran for the tower.
When he arrived, he realized that his luck hadn't completely run out. The summer monsoons had knocked down an old tree onto the tower. It didn't go all the way up, but it was better than having to dig through the mud at the bottom.
Shifting back to his werewolf form as he climbed, he was extra cautious to make sure there were no guards nearby. Upon reaching the top of the tower he lowered himself down using the same method he had used at the manor's walls.
As he lowered himself Chronos thought "I hope I can reach the knight realm soon and perform a proper wall walk instead of this half method. I'm just not strong enough yet for a full wall walk."
Landing in the city he took refuge in the shadow of a broken-down house and thought about his next move.
"Now things will get tricky. I have to pass through the Slums in the northeast part of the city now. The residential area covers most of the southeast and north. Could I try to go through the craftsman's district in the northwest? No that will take too long, and I will end up on the wrong side of the military grounds. Passing through the residential area will be much faster to reach the commercial district in the south, right outside the southern gate. Then I'll head to the military grounds in the southwest corner of the city. Uncle Bruar told me that the spot where the military wall and the commercial district connected to the outer wall was not put together properly. This makes it weak and easy to break through."
After thinking about all of this Chronos quietly spoke to himself.
"It's been almost forty minutes since I left the mansion. The city is also on high alert now. The center of the city has a lot more patrols due to the merchants and other rich folk living there. I'll have to avoid it. I hope I'm not late to my meeting with Gregory."
With his plans finalized Chronos wasted no more time. He shifted to his human form and started running through the slums.
When he was halfway through the slums one of the Rogue Wolfgang members stepped out in front of him.
"Where ya goin little pup? Tryin ta escape from somethin?" He asked with a grin accentuated by a scar that went up his cheek. It made him look like a creepy split face clown.
Stopping Chronos responded "Yeah, I'm trying to escape the family."
"Wait seriously!? None of the young pups have escaped in over a decade. Even if ya make it passed everything else, ya always get stopped at the southern wall."
"I know that's why I was running, to get your attention. I need you to cause a distraction in the northern or central areas of the city."
"HAHAHAHAHA. Why would I do that?"
"I will send you 1000 gild once I am out..."
"As if I could trust ya." The gang member interrupted Chronos.
"It will be sent in Gregory's name."
That gave him pause.
"What proof ya got that ya know boss Greg?"
Chronos took out a dagger with a mark on the handle that stood for Gregory in the slum areas. Seeing this, the Wolfgang member thought about it for a bit then said.
"Wait, I heard that boss Greg was bout ta run off with his friend. That you?"
"Yes."
"Alright, I'll get the boys ta help me stage a gang fight near the merchants place. One of those bastards has been exploitin the slum brats anyways. That should draw a good number away."
"Thank you. I'll make sure to send the money once I am outside."
"Just send enough ta spread around."
"Of course."
Trying not to think about the merchant who was about to be targeted, Chronos started running once more. If it was the one he was thinking of, then the merchant deserved it.
Reaching and passing through the residential area was easier than he thought it would be.
"I'll have to send a letter back about increasing the number of patrols in the residential areas. It's too easy to get through here."
As Chronos entered the commercial district he saw more and more patrols. They were slowly closing around the southern gate. Upon reaching the central area of the commercial district Chronos saw something that brought him to a halt.
"No wonder it's so hard for others to escape. Some of these patrols have night wolves with them. Even if you leave no trace they'll follow your shadow."
Chronos chose to hide on the dark side of a bakery's rooftop. This placed him outside of the shadow wolf's shadow detection and the ruebane paste had caused his scent to fade to a background scent for all of the sharp noses in the area.
After waiting for a few minutes Chronos's sharp hearing started to pick up the sound of fighting to the north. At the same time some of the guards and wolves also picked up on this. Five minutes later the guards had rushed to the fight, leaving the commercial district mostly empty.
Sticking to the shadows of the buildings as much as he could, Chronos made his way across the commercial district. At one point he had a clear view of the southern wall. What he saw made him happy he had chosen not to try scaling the wall or gate.
In the shadows of the parapets Chronos could see young clan members waiting to ambush anyone who tried to leave.
Chronos was strong, especially for his age, but even he would not be able to shake off that many pups before the older members caught up. If he had to guess, the entire wall outside the military grounds probably had clan members on it.
65 minutes after Chronos left the mansion he finally made it to the corner where the outer wall, military wall and commercial district met. Just as he was about to approach the wall he heard a voice that froze him on the spot.
"You might as well come out Chronos. I know you're there."
Uncle Bruar was waiting for him in the shadow of the wall.