by Gerard Bond
“You don’t say? Which country?” Wollfen shoved him back into his chair and proceeded to sit down too.
“So have you been making any profits out of it you old crook?” Walerian shook his head,
“No, no, I am done with those days. I’m a respectable man of the local town now.”
“Bah! I have heard some tall ones in my time but that takes the cake!”
Wollfen wasn’t having a bar of it.
“It's true, I even have a wife now and two kids.” Wollfen looked on in surprise.
“You married? What about your harem? All those women?” Walerian shook his head.
“I’m afraid they are all gone, moved on or found other partners, sad but true, I am almost reputable now.”
“I just don’t believe it, that’s incredible.” Walerian looked harder at him.
“And you? You look as young as the day I first met you, still playing havoc with the women then?” Now it was time for Wollfen to shake his head and plead respectability.
“No I am with Darkling now. I count her as my partner, but no children I’m afraid, you are doing better than me.” Walerian chuckled at that.
“So my old friend, what brings you to Windere after so long?” Wollfen leaned forward.
“I’m just stopping by on my way to the enchanted lands.”
“Ah back to your old friends for a few more years eh?” Wollfen had to reply in the negative.
“I’m afraid not, it will only be a short stay over, remember the war I mentioned?”
“Well of course. Do you suppose the siege will be broken anytime soon?”
“I’m not sure, the Isogorreans have got a lot of men.” Walerian leaned forward and looked Wollfen in the eye.
“You aren’t here to talk on old times are you?” Wollfen laughed.
“You have me there, I always have some ulterior motive don’t I?”
It was Walerian’s turn to laugh and he let out a loud bellow. He was a jolly fellow. Walerian leaned forward again and begun whispering in conspiratorial tones.
“So tell me my friend, how may I be of service to you?” Wollfen leaned towards Walerian in turn.
“Are the twins still operating?”
“Yes they are but I haven’t contacted them in years I wouldn’t know where to find them.”
“Mm, well when you don’t find them please give them this message.”
Wollfen leaned forward close to the man’s ear and whispered very quietly. Walerian’s eyes widened and then as he pulled back,
“Seriously?” Wollfen nodded, “It shall be done, mm, very interesting.” Walerian stared off for a bit,
“Tell me, will you be going past Dark’s old village?”
“I could?”
Wollfen could tell straight away something was going on in Walerian’s mind.
“I would suggest you do stop in and when you do, go to the underground caverns. In particular the one that resides under Dark’s old abode. There you will have to dig in the embankment a bit next to the underground river. You will find something of yours you thought long lost. I managed to find it again and decided to put it there for safekeeping. I didn’t know when I would see you again.” Wollfen sat back, could it be?
“Thank you Walerian, you are a true friend.” He waved his hand at Wollfen.
“Think nothing of it! So, will you stay for a while? I’ll buy you a meal, and I know just the right one too,” He winked.
Wollfen nodded without hesitation.
“It’s a done deal.”
Later that evening, Wollfen wandered back to his quarters thinking about his immediate plans. They would to move off in the morning sometime after another talk with the Earl. It was only a couple of days out of their way to go to Dark’s old village, no big deal. He hoped the Earl of Windere would give them ample supplies, it was going to be a big journey to the Enchanted lands.
He let himself quietly into the room to find Dark kneeling before the fire stoking it. She looked up and gave him a smile. Night was still in bed asleep.
“She has been asleep all afternoon. I don’t know how she does it.” Wollfen looked at the still form under the covers.
“I would say emotional exhaustion. She would have been under a lot of strain the last few days and it would have built with each day we got closer to Windere.” Dark nodded in response and Wollfen embraced her.
“So how did it go?”
“Oh once in bed she relaxed and fell asleep. I think she appreciated my close company.” He kissed her,
“You are a good woman Dark. Oh by the way, guess who I ran into?” Dark shook her head with a questioning look. “Old Walerian, he lives here now.”
“Oh really? He used to travel back and forth a bit I know, but he lives here?” He nodded.
“Yup and he has a wife and two kids.”
“That old rat bag? I don’t believe it.” Wollfen chuckled a little.
“Well it's true. And he bought me dinner.”
“And he bought you dinner? I am amazed, I can only ever remember him sponging off others. It’s funny what can change in two years.”
Wollfen lay back in the large reclining chair beside the fire and pulled Dark on top of him. He ran his fingers through her hair and she closed her eyes feeling his touch. She relaxed into his arms and slid her hand inside his shirt. He did the same and they lay there, fingers lightly tracing patterns over each others skin. After a time they started kissing lovingly, sensuously and they became lost in each other.
Nightwing awoke later that night when all was quiet and she looked around. The fire had burned down and pulling a sheet around her nude form she moved over to it. She carefully placed a couple of small logs onto the fire and stoked it quietly so as to not disturb the other two who were asleep. She stood back up and walked over to them and realized that they had made love. She took her sheet and covered them up, leaned down and kissed them both on the cheek then retired to the bed again.
Earl Gerlach stood looking out over the snow-covered town, the morning rays glinting in the windows of the buildings. He had thought a lot about Nightwing and her life. It was certainly different to what he would have expected, but thinking about it now it was understandable. She had a female lover, it had shaken him when he had first heard it, almost as much as the revelation about the rape. Yesterday had been a day of highs and lows, he made a promise to himself to make up for a lot of things. When the group approached him he would have a talk to Night again about her situation. He would like to see her return, he hoped she would.
Night came up from behind him and gave him a hug. Gerlach turned to her and hugged in return.
“Good morning my child, how did you sleep?” She smiled at what he called her.
“Very good thank you, it was better than I have experienced in a long time.” The Earl smiled back.
“I am glad to hear that. So tell me, what are your plans?”
“I will be leaving with Wollfen and his group, we are still on a mission for the Kingdom.”
“I understand you intend to approach the Elves to bid for their help?”
“That is my understanding but Wollfen knows them and he will do what he can.”
“He is an interesting man, I heard a story that he is able to move between lands in the blink of an eye? I also heard a fanciful story of him bringing back people from the dead.”
“It is all true. I was there and I have seen it. He even took me on a journey just as you say. It was a wondrous thing.” The Earl looked on a little incredulously.
“I find it hard to believe either story Night. Who did he bring back from the dead?”
“You know Dark? She lay dead for hours before I called to him and he materialized. He had been in Isogorr six months sail away.”
The Earl looked off for a bit digesting all Night was telling him.
“That totally amazes me, he brought that woman back from the dead? But if he could jump from one place to another then why not just go straight to the enchant
ed lands?”
“I think he wanted to do this journey. I can’t say all the reasons why but one of them was for me to come here to see you and lay the past to rest. I will have to thank him for that. I hated the idea of having to come here, but now that it is done I am actually glad and I can finally start putting it behind me.”
“I can’t imagine how you carried such a burden around for so many years my child. I am so sorry you felt you couldn’t approach me. If I had any idea of what had happened, this would have been dealt with so long ago. If there is anything I can offer you now?” Night now looked up at her father.
“I can’t promise that I will return here and live. I haven’t decided what I want to do with my life. I have had some very good times living free. I know that can’t continue forever but for now it fills me.” The Earl nodded at this.
“But whatever comes to pass and whatever decision I make, I hope I will have your support.”
“But of course my dear, you have always had my full support.”
Night hugged him firmly, it meant so much to hear him say that. They stood there for a while longer in silence contemplating all that was said.
Dark awoke lying on Wollfen’s chest. She looked about a little in confusion and then the memory of last night came back and she smiled, it had been very good. She wriggled a bit on Wollfen and slid a hand down his open pants giving him a squeeze. He murmured a little and his eyes fluttered open. After a big stretch he smiled at her and gave her a kiss.
“Mm, nice way to awaken me my love.” Dark winked,
“I could have done more?” Wollfen looked at her.
“Oh may I ask what?”
She shook her head, then slid backwards down between his legs and she took him into her mouth and pleasured him for a while. Wollfen responded by growling a little and running his fingers through her hair. Then she pulled away and stood up.
“I’m afraid we need to get up wolf boy,”
He growled a little louder and tucked himself away. He was going to have to deal with her later when she least expected it.
After breakfast Wollfen gave Dark a kiss on the forehead.
“I’m going to have another chat with the Earl. I expect we shall move out within a few hours.”
Dark nodded while she chewed, she would be done in a few minutes. He headed off towards the offices of the Earl. He wondered if Night was with him? Wollfen was ushered in after making his presence known, the Earl was already busy dealing with matters of the town.
“Good morning sire, I hope I am not interrupting.”
“No, no, you are fine, please come over and be seated.” Wollfen sat. “So is there anything I can do for you before you move on?”
“Yes, I was wondering if it would be too much to ask for a couple of pack horses and enough supplies to last the five of us say five weeks?” The Earl nodded without much hesitation.
“Yes that should be no problem. I was expecting a much larger request, you don’t want any troops for escort duty?” Wollfen shook his head.
“No I have that taken care of thank you. I should ask you though, since I will be passing by some villages in my travel north as well as the army garrison on the edge of the high mountains will you want me to pass on any messages?”
“Nothing in particular other than we are always looking for new recruits and they can converge here to enlist. Beyond that nothing much has changed. I don’t expect much will for the next four months until the spring.”
Wollfen agreed, the winter had brought a welcome hiatus in the tribulations of the Kingdom but it also gave them a breather to organize more resources against a fresh offensive by the enemy.
“I do hope you are able to impress on the Elven community the seriousness of what is going on here. From what I have seen and what you have told me of in Kassandrea we are in dire straits. I am even giving thought to moving the populace further north from here in the last months of winter. The orcs will certainly be more plentiful there but they are more easily dealt with than an experienced organized army.” Wollfen gave pause.
“I doubt the Isogorreans will move further north. I have it on good authority that their main goal is Kassandrea itself. If we can keep them out of there then their campaign will fail.” The Earl took this information under advisement.
“I will heed your words Wollfen, but I think a little caution would be in order. Kassandrea is the largest bastion of this great land and while I have no real belief that its walls would fall to any enemy I have to consider all possibilities.”
Wollfen looked at this man sitting before him. The Kingdom certainly could use more men like him in higher positions of authority.
“You are a good man Earl of Windere. It has been a pleasure to have met you.” They stood up and shook hands.
“And it certainly has been interesting meeting you. I also feel indebted to you for bringing my daughter here to mend old wounds. I envisage things getting better for her now and for me too.”
“Think nothing of it. I am simply glad to have helped Nightwing out as a friend.”
The group collected and Wollfen noticed that both Burkhard and Vaughn appeared to be better dressed than usual. He figured they must have been spending some of their gambling winnings. They bid the Earl farewell and moved off. Their next destination was another four days north of here, the village of Comberwell and Dark’s old place of residence where Wollfen had first met her. It would be interesting to see if it had changed at all, but like so many outlying villages that probably wouldn’t be true.
The following four days passed without any incident though at one time Vaughn thought he may have spotted a couple of orcs shadowing them. If so they didn’t bother them and the group arrived at Comberwell in good time. It hadn’t changed one bit since Dark and Wollfen had set off not knowing if they would ever return and here they were just under two years since they last set foot in the place.
Dark took the lead and made her way to her old residence. It hadn’t been taken up by anyone else and appeared to have fallen into a bit of disrepair. They dismounted outside and Dark made her way in looking about. Old memories came back for her and as Wollfen entered from behind she turned and smiled at him.
“Do you remember that tabletop? She winked.
“How could I forget? It was a passionate moment,” he replied.
Dark walked into the kitchen and disturbed a fox taking advantage of one of the cupboards. It scurried around the room more and more frantically trying to find a way out until it made a desperate dash past Wollfen in the doorway scattering the other three to cries of ‘Watch out!’ as it fled.
“We can make use of the house tonight, Vaughn you get up on the roof and repair the hole in it. Burkhard would you mind collecting some firewood? I think there shouldn’t be any problem with getting a fire going.”
Burkhard replied in the positive and moved back outside again as Dark considered what else they may need to make the place livable again.
Wollfen made his way to a hatch in the floor, opened it and looked down. It was pitch black below with no signs of light. Looking around he grabbed a torch sitting in a steel basket on a post next to the hatch and grabbed a flint to get it burning. Within a minute or so he had a small flame going and stood there coaxing it to life. As the torch got warm it burned better and became brighter.
“So Dark shall we go on a little treasure hunt?”
“A treasure hunt in my old cavern? There’s nothing down there, I’m sure of it.” Wollfen smiled as he descended the stairs.
“Well you will just have to find out won’t you?”
Down in the gloom of the cavern Wollfen was looking about. It was an old lava tube but didn’t go far in any direction. Each house of the village had been built over one and it explained why the village looked a little haphazard on the surface. There was a stream running through that if you were foolish enough to dive into could bring you out at another cavern. Some had tried and died too. Wollfen and Dark had done it once under
extreme circumstances and he had lost a very valuable item in doing so. It was that thing for which he now searched.
He began digging in the ground along the waters edge with a stick he found lying on the ground. Dark watched on as Wollfen labored in the hard ground. She was rather skeptical of his efforts and after about twenty minutes decided to head back up again.
“I think I’ll put myself to better use upstairs my dirt covered wolf.” Wollfen looked up.
“Oh hon, have a little faith, I will find it.” Dark wasn’t convinced.
“Would you mind telling me what it is you are looking for?”
He shook his head, he wasn’t going to spoil the surprise. Dark decided to move off and went back upstairs.
It was another twenty minutes of a sweating Wollfen digging around in the dirt when finally he came across a bit of canvas sticking out of some freshly exposed soil. Now he worked with more purpose around it until he was able to pull the entire three and a half foot length object out still covered in heavy canvas wrapping. He lifted it in one hand and tested its weight. It felt right. Wollfen made his way back upstairs and lay the canvas wrapped item on the table.
“Well everyone, I found it, you may want to gather around.”
Wollfen waited until the other four had come to the table. He looked at Dark and smiled. She was very curious having seen he had spent so long to bring this up. He began unwrapping the object and laying the canvas out. At the last moment he flung the final flap of material back and there it was.
Before them lay a gleaming sword of incredible workmanship. It had a silver blade that had not a spot of rust on it and it wasn’t just plain steel either. It had an engraved pattern along almost its entire length. At the base where the hilt was it had a red jewel set into it. The hilt too was ornate and beautiful to look at with gold and silver highlights. The handle itself was wound with black leather which stood in contrast to the ornate blade. The pommel was highly engraved and if one looked closely they would have noticed a ring of magic runes around the outer edge. A couple of them oohed and aahed. Night exclaimed,
“I thought your sword was lost in the underground river years ago!” Dark was even more surprised.
