Bloodless

by Roberto Vecchi

  Neither Dianali nor Liani had offered any indication of how or what they felt to the other three beyond Di’s initial statement, but neither Rony nor Zyn wanted to be the last one to exercise their faith in the two formidable women, so they too picked up the goblets and drank them until their contents were completely drained. As they finished, they looked to each other and exchanged a short, knowing glance accompanying it with a small grin. Being brother and sister, they shared a bond. That bond was enhanced by the connection to their wolves, but even without it, they would have known exactly what the other was thinking in that moment: home, mother.

  “What are you waiting for?” asked Dianali. Borinth needed no further urging and grabbed the goblet following the other four by drinking it completely in one gulp. “There, now do you not feel foolish being the last one to drink?” asked Di.

  “I will feel foolish if we are not successful and end up with my head on the chopping block again,” he retorted. “Now, if your friend can be trusted, I suggest we leave now. I do not think his ‘interesting’ bodes well for us. There was something final about that old man. I am not sure if I like it.”

  But what they did not see while they were debating and then drinking the old man’s tonic, was that the number of men within the tavern hall had been increasing slowly. Neither did they notice that those men were armed with not only swords and bows, but with the intent to apprehend their quarry. While the five of them had been discussing their plans of escape, and then deliberating drinking what had been given them, the men had positioned themselves close to the exists and windows. Now seated at the table closest to them was one of the guard captains and four of his most trusted and skilled lieutenants.

  When the five of them stood up to begin executing their plan to escape the Stone Keep, the captain quickly stood up, grabbed his chair and pulled it to the head of their table, effectively blocking them. He turned it around backwards and sat down straddling the seat. “Please, sit,” he said in a warm and friendly voice. Unsure of who this man was and what his motives could be, the five of them did as they were requested because beyond all things, they did not feel it would be beneficial to cause even the smallest scene. “There, now is that not more comfortable? To sit and rest in the company of friends?”

  “We are not your friends,” challenged Dianali in a hushed voice.

  “Yes, of course you are not,” answered the man. “If you had been my friends, we would already have met and shared many a pint together. That is what friends do, is it not?”

  “What do you want?” asked Borinth.

  “Well, I want to be your friend. That is to say I wish to help you,” said the man.

  “I think we will be alright on our own,” interjected Liani.

  “What makes you think we need any help?” asked Borinth.

  “Very well, perhaps you do not. Perhaps five fugitives from the law do not need any assistance,” he answered smoothly.

  “Let us pretend, for a moment, that what you say is true, how can you help us?” asked Borinth.

  “I was hoping you would ask that,” said the man excitedly. “You see these men?” he pointed to the four who still sat at the table he had gotten up from, “And those men over there? And the ones by the windows and doors. In fact, do you see all of the men here? Well, they are all members of the city guard, and I am their captain,” he proudly pounded his fist against his chest. “I can help you by making sure that you all live long enough to see your execution day. I can help you because my word will ensure you do not die today, right here, right now.”

  As they reached for their weapons, the captain stood up quickly, lifting the table as hard as he could, flipping it against them. It collided with all five of their hands blocking them from preparing an adequate defense. Given a split second of extra time, the city guards were able to ready their weapons, but before they could brandish them and cut down the fugitives, the captain gave a quick and loud shout for them to stand down. He turned to his quarry and calmly said, “I do not wish for you to die today. I wish to be your friend, but to be your friend, I will need you to come quietly.”

  Without hesitation, Dianali returned his implied threat, “We have enough friends.”

  “Oh, come now,” said the captain smiling broadly. “No one can have enough friends.” But just as he was about to continue into what would have probably developed into a pastoral lecture on the importance of friendships, no doubt to serve as another patronizing reason for them to come quietly, the old man stumbled into him, knocking him into the table he had just vacated. During the commotion the old man caused, he abruptly turned to the five companions and said in a very hushed but firm voice, “Make no sound.” Before turning around, he paused just briefly enough for them to witness the smallest of grins and the quickest of winks.

  “My pardon, good sir. Oh, I mean good captain!” said the old man as he rushed to help the captain back to his feet. “My deepest pardons! Here, let me help you,” he said as he strongly lifted him to his feet.

  “I am fine,” said the captain as he stood up. But before he could return his attention to his would-be captives, the old man put his hands on the captain’s shoulders and turned him in the opposite direction.

  “Nonsense!” said the old man, “You have taken quite a fall. Here, let me take a look at you,” he continued as he put both hands on the sides of his face and pretended to examine the captain’s eyes.

  “Please, sir. I am quite fine.”

  “Oh? Are you a better judge of the physical condition of the body than a former physician?” said the old man as he turned the captain’s head from side to side, pretending to peer deeply into the captain’s ears.

  “Thank you, but I can assure you I am quite fine,” said the captain now beginning to show his agitation.

  “There, there,” said the old man, ignoring the captain’s insistence, “just a few more things to check out, to be sure,” he said as he turned the captain again quickly sitting him down in a close chair. “Now, if you will just let me do a few more tests?”

  “I am fine and well!” said the captain as he gripped the old man’s hands before they could further examine him. “We are here on official business! Now, please kind sir, let me continue!”

  “As long as it is official business, I guess I can forgo the rest of my examination,” he said as he withdrew a step or two allowing the captain to stand up. “I am satisfied that I have done enough here to make sure things are right and well. Now, if you will excuse me, I do have other guests to attend to.”

  “Thank you, sir,” he said as he watched the old man walk through the back doors and into what was presumably the kitchen. He took a brief moment to straighten his armor and clothing, after which he then turned back to the now empty table. Outside of the tavern, while the five of them were hurrying away, they heard the infuriated screams of the captain as he cursed his companions for their incompetence. When they were far enough away and had made enough twists and turns through the city streets to ensure they could not possibly have been followed, Borinth directed them into the busy market square.

  “Alright,” he said as he led them behind a large booth selling various items of clothing, “Can anyone tell me how we were able to walk out of the tavern unnoticed? I am sure it was in part because of the commotion caused by our old friend, but there had to be more to it.”

  “I do not know,” said Rony, “but we were all in plain sight.”

  “Let us not worry about that now,” interjected Zyndalia, “we still have to get passed the gates. Are our plans still intact, or do you think we should alter them?”

  “I think the rest of our plan is still solid. We still need to acquire disguises and I still think our best option is to obtain the fake registrar papers from Di’s connection. Are you three still planning on going to the Gabbon Swamps?” asked Borinth. “I am sure Di and I could use your help on the road to rescue our other companions.”

  “Speak for yourself,” said Dianali. “I can ta
ke care of myself,” she finished as she shot Borinth a playful glance.

  “Yes, but I think we are going home first,” said Ronialdin.

  “Very well,” said Borinth as he extended his hand toward Rony’s. “We may yet see each other again, Wolflings.”

  “Fare well,” he said as he grasped the larger man’s forearm.

  Surprisingly, Borinth pulled him close and embraced him much like his father would have, “Take care of those two, but do not forget to be safe yourself. I feel that you have a larger part to play in this growing conflict.”

  The women embraced as well and said their good-byes, but they were held to the briefest displays of affection by Dianali. She had never done well with ending of things, let alone the ending of a connection with two young women who had earned her respect and admiration.

  Ronialdin, Zyndalia, and Liani watched the two grizzled mercenaries disappear into the throng of the growing market’s hustle. Vendors were making the final details of their displays just perfect enough to catch the eye and coin purse of those who would have attended to their competitors while the eager patrons were massing their collective buying strengths into a profitable force rivaling some of the ancient dwarven infantries. By all of the early indications, today was going to be a memorable day for all of those in the market.

  “Did you see that?” asked Liani.

  “See what?” asked Zyndalia.

  “When Borinth and Dianali were walking away. Did you watch them?” Liani clarified.

  “Of course, we did. Did you?” said Zyndalia.

  “Then you saw it, right?” she added.

  “Saw what?” Rony asked for clarification.

  The smaller woman looked back and forth from brother to sister, “How could you not notice it? You are both trackers and hunters are you not?”

  “Liani, please tell us what you are talking about,” Zyn said as both she and Rony slightly adjusted their postures.

  “Fine. In my village, when I was much younger, I would always watch the farmer Gorren’s sheep as he brought them home from feeding them in his pastures. He had the largest dog I had ever seen. I never got the courage to ask him its name, but it was at least twice the size of even the largest sheep in his flock. And every time, just before they reached his fencing, the dog would walk out to meet them. And each time, the sheep would always move around the dog. The dog never had to adjust its course to move out of the way of the sheep. The sheep would always move for it,” she concluded assuming her story would be of sufficient explanation for her meaning to be accurately transmitted. But when they just stared at her blankly, expecting her to continue, she let out a large sigh and continued. “When they were walking away, right before we lost sight, did you see what happened?”

  “What do you mean? We saw them walk into the crowd of people just coming in from entrance. Did you see them?” asked Rony in return.

  She looked him straight in the eye and said, “I saw the flock of sheep behaving as if the large dog was not even there.”

  “Meaning?” Ronialdin asked.

  After letting out a rather exasperated grunt, Liani pointed and said, quite emphatically, “When have you ever seen Borinth and Dianali yield their position in battle regardless of the foe they were fighting let alone for the common?”

  “You are right!” exclaimed Zyndalia finally understanding the smaller woman’s meaning. Rony, still perplexed looked to his sister for clarification. “Brother of mine, though you can string a bow with the equivalent efficacy of the Elves of ages past, you still cannot comprehend some of the basics, can you? Very well, let me be simple about it. The crowd of people entering the market just as Borinth and Di were leaving behaved as if they were not even there. I would not have noticed it had you not mentioned it, Liani,” she said as she turned to her and smiled.

  “But what does that mean?” asked Rony. Although he now seemed to grasp the truth of Liani’s observation, he still did not understand the breath of what she was saying.

  “Somehow, and I am sure it is a direct result of whatever tonic that old man gave to us, we are able to move without notice from others,” she said.

  “Are you sure?” he asked.

  “As sure as I can be. As sure as anyone can be. But I will say this: in all my years of watching the sheep return, they never failed to notice and move for that dog.”

  After a brief but intense deliberation between Rony’s insistence they adhere to their original plan for escaping and the equal insistence from both Zyn and Liani that they do not, it was the will of the two women emerging victorious. They contended that if they wasted time in acquiring adequate disguises and taking care to avoid the roving guard rotations, now sure to be increased since the incident at the Inn, the effects of the tonic could wear away leaving them exposed to eyes of all kinds. In the end, they proposed that trusting in the effects of the old man’s tonic and simply walking out of the front gate would be the quickest and, ultimately safest, way for them to escape.

  As they negotiated the streets, their theory was being proven true. On several occasions, they came face to face with a rotation of guards who walked right past them as if they were not even there. The town’s people were also unable to notice them. On one occasion, a fight broke out between two unsuspecting and innocent townsmen because Rony, in his attempt to quickly put distance between he and the guards, ran right into one. Because his presence remained unnoticed, the blame for the offense was incorrectly placed and a scuffle ensued. The three of them did not linger to witness who was the victor. Instead, they quickly and carefully made their way to the front gate where they found themselves staring directly at a full battalion of guards. Easily numbering over one hundred, there seemed to be no way to sneak out without their notice, even if they could not be seen.

  “Unless that old man’s tonic allows us to pass right through their bodies, I do not think we will make it out?” asked Zyndalia.

  “Does anyone have any ideas now?” asked Liani.

  “Not me,” answered Rony, “I did not think they would have this many guards posted for our capture.”

  “We cannot wait much longer. I do not think the effects of the old man’s tonic was meant to be taxed for so long a time,” added Liani.

  “I agree,” said Rony, “but I do not see where we can make our exit without drawing physical contact. They are standing shoulder to shoulder and show no signs of moving to clear a path.”

  “We need to create a diversion large enough to draw their attention,” suggested Zyndalia.

  “How are we supposed to do that and maintain our anonymity? I am quite certain these guards have been alerted to our rather miraculous escape from the Inn,” countered Rony.

  “I do not know, but we had better think of something quickly. I am inclined to agree with Liani’s assumption that our inability to be noticed will not likely last much longer,” she said as she and the others began looking around hoping to spot anything they can use to their advantage.

  It began as a simple and subtle prodding into her awareness. She did not know how, but she knew that help was on its way. Regardless of how small, and it was small, this intrusion into her consciousness was, it was nevertheless comforting. As if she had been embraced by a familiar and trusted person, the implanted realization that help would soon present itself eased her growing anxiety. She calmed herself by focusing on this truth and inhaled deeply. When she exhaled, she saw both Rony and Zyndalia looking at her intently.

  “Liani?” questioned Zyn. “Are you feeling well?”

  To which she replied, “Yes, I am actually feeling quite well.” She focused on the growing awareness within her and began to understand it was entirely foreign and cognizant on its own. Though its thoughts and feelings did not manifest as words, its intent was conveyed with the surety as if they were. She allowed this new intention to bathe her in its steadfast will that everything was going to be good and well in contrast to what their eyes were telling them.

  “Perhaps w
e should seek our exit from the rear gate?” suggested Zyndalia. “They may not have as many guards posted there. At least, not enough to stand shoulder to shoulder spanning the entire gateway.”

  “No,” said Liani as she opened her eyes. “Help is on the way.”

  A moment after she spoke, the three of them heard a single shrilling howl in the distance. Baying from a soul older than all other souls, a single wolf cried out to the tears of the rising sun and demanded it and all others within the expansive span of its voice forfeit their collective attentions to the singularity of its penetrating howl. Before it ceased its grasp on the living, another voice joined it adding to its enthralling demands. The two, in a unison and perfect harmony explained only by the celestial movement of a total eclipse of the sun by the shadow of the moon, brought all into a rapture from reality. Instantly, Zyndalia and Ronialdin smiled with a joy reflecting the reunion of two lost lover’s souls. They reached out with their own minds and united with Xunmerco’s and Inglorca’s as two separate ends of a raging fire finally meeting at the center. Their reunion propelled yet a third voice, one of haunting sweetness, to call out to its own twin flame. And it answered. When Rony and Zyndalia looked to Liani, she too had a smile reflecting the exact qualities of theirs. The saw her and they knew.

  But the three howls were not the ending of the voices that day. They were but the beginning. Soon, more and more lupine howls joined the leading three until they were past the point of counting. What ensued within the guards was outright panic. Never before had anyone of this age, nor of the past several ages, witnessed the collective souls of wolves singing like this. Naturally, it produced fear, not because the wolves emitted any sort of horrific aura, but because it is a condition of mortality to fear what has not been explained. We fear what we do not know, and the guards knew not the consequences of the “soul howl”, as it had been known by, and would be known by again. So, they panicked and broke ranks. As if orchestrated by a seasoned conductor and practiced over and over until perfection was achieved, Ronialdin, Zyndalia, and Liani combined their actions to the panicked response of the guards and slipped right between the smallest of breaks in their formation before it could be repaired. As if on cue, the howling quickly slowed and stopped. The only thing remaining of the awesome scene was the rustling of branches left in the wolves’ wake as they disappeared back into the cover of the forest.