They found the brothers in a clearing not half a mile distant.
Klaus, Elijah, and Finn stood back-to-back, surrounded by a pack of wolves larger than the one Ainz had driven off. The boys fought with desperate courage—Klaus with a knife, Elijah with a fallen branch, Finn with nothing but his fists—but they were losing.
Ainz arrived just as the alpha lunged for Klaus's throat.
He cast Grasp Heart.
The alpha dropped mid-leap, dead before it hit the ground. The other wolves scattered, howling in terror, and the three boys collapsed to their knees, gasping for breath.
Klaus looked up and saw the skeletal figure standing at the edge of the clearing. He saw Henrik standing beside that figure, unharmed. He saw the dead wolf at his feet.
And he screamed.
"No! No, don't hurt him!" Henrik ran to his brothers, throwing his arms around Klaus's neck. "He saved me! The skeleton man saved me from the wolves! He's not going to hurt us!"
Klaus stared at Ainz, his chest heaving. He was young—perhaps twelve or thirteen—but there was something in his eyes, something old and wary and fiercely protective.
"What are you?" he demanded.
Ainz considered the question. "I am... a traveler. A stranger in this land. I found your brother lost in the forest and protected him from the wolves who sought to harm him. That is all."
"You're a monster." Finn's voice shook. "Look at you. You're a walking corpse."
"And yet," Ainz said mildly, "your brother lives because of me."
Elijah stepped forward, placing himself between his siblings and the stranger. He was the calmest of the three, his dark eyes studying Ainz with careful intelligence. "We owe you a debt. Whatever you are, you saved Henrik. Our family will not forget."
Ainz inclined his head. "Then perhaps your family can help me. I find myself in an unfamiliar world. I seek knowledge—of its magic, its dangers, its inhabitants. Your mother, I believe, is a witch. I sensed the magic in your blood, passed down through her line."
The boys exchanged glances.
"You know about our mother?" Klaus asked warily.
"I know that she carries power. I know that she fears for her children." Ainz paused. "I know that the wolves who attacked you tonight will return when the moon is full. And I know that your mother cannot protect you from them forever."
The words hung in the air, heavy with implication.
Elijah met Ainz's crimson eyes. "What are you offering?"
Ainz considered his answer carefully. He knew nothing of this world, these people, their magic. But he knew opportunity when he saw it. These children—their mother, their family—could be his gateway to understanding.
"An alliance," he said finally. "Information in exchange for protection. Your mother teaches me about the magic of this world, and I ensure that no wolf, no monster, no anything ever harms your family again."
Klaus's eyes narrowed. "Why would you do that? What's in it for you?"
"I am alone in this world." Ainz's voice was flat, but something in it—a hint of old loneliness—made the words ring true. "My children, my followers, are trapped somewhere beyond my reach. Until I can reunite with them, I need... allies. People who can help me understand where I am and how to survive."
Henrik tugged at Klaus's sleeve. "He saved me, Klaus. He really did. The wolves were going to kill me, and he made them run away."
Klaus looked at his little brother—at the tears on his cheeks, the gratitude in his eyes—and his resistance crumbled.
"Take us home," he said to Ainz. "Our mother will want to meet you."