Shepherd's Wolf

by M. Andrew Reid

  “Well just let yourself in. You didn’t see my sign?”

  “I did.” Kogan shrugged, “I ignored it.”

  “You look excited about something.” Limerick motioned to a large chair near his desk, “Sit down; don’t break the chair.”

  Kogan dismissed the offer and wandered to the fireplace. He smirked at the golden Winchester on the mantle, “Aren’t there supposed to be two rifles here?”

  “Yeah, usually there’s two.”

  Kogan grunted, “I beat the crap out of Viper today.”

  “I heard - sad I missed it. I was working on something important.” Limerick smiled, “I also heard you got shot at. These are interesting times.”

  “Yeah. Sorry about Doc,” Kogan growled, “If I could have gotten to Grave I would have...”

  “You already got a taste of vengeance,” Limerick interrupted. “Give someone else a chance. What can I do for you?”

  “I need your help.”

  “Obviously,” Limerick scoffed. “Nobody comes here to say hi anymore.”

  “Well maybe you shouldn’t put up a Closed sign,” Kogan pointed back toward the entrance.

  Their conversation was interrupted by a rush of air and an electric sizzle. A small green spiral snaked into the room. Light flashed, and a short, powerfully built man appeared in front of them. Two sword hilts jutted over his shoulders, and rows of knives and throwing stars poked out of dark blue leather armor studded with icy crystals. His hair was a mass of short blue spikes; his features were sharp and vaguely Asian.

  Pale blue eyes swept the room in a daze. “You didn’t even warn me, you stupid bird!”

  The green spiral slowed and became a little green bird with a bright green crest and a yellow tummy, “I see you still complain about everything like you did when I trained you.” The little bird mocked in a whiny voice, “You were supposed to tell me that dragons are bad. Why did you let me fall off the roof? It’s not fair that I can’t buy this sword yet! Stupid bird!”

  “You’re still a stupid bird,” the man replied.

  “Iceblade.” Kogan smiled warmly, “I haven’t seen you in ages.”

  “That’s because you hide in your castle all the time stroking your mace.” Iceblade grinned, “I heard you beat the crap out of Viper.”

  The bird cleared his throat and buzzed over to Kogan, “He has yet to learn manners, I see. I’m Auster. I had the misfortune of training this overgrown child and the dishonorable task of dumping him here. You must be Kogan and Limerick. Zephyr told me you would be waiting.”

  Before Kogan could answer, there was another blast of energy. This time, a cold wind filled the room and frost covered the walls. A blue dart bounced through the air, and two figures popped into view.

  Myrmidon, wearing deep red armor, shook his head to clear cobwebs from his brain. Beside him stood a tall, incredibly handsome man with a chiseled jaw, dark brown eyes, and a glorious golden mullet that fell to his shoulders. He wore a silver breastplate scrawled with runes, and silver mail leggings were tucked into silver boots. Silver bracers protected his wrists. Arc Flash Jr. was slung across his back, sizzling with electricity. Unknown to him, Athena was currently carrying the original Arc Flash across a windswept tundra.

  “So this is what your fame has bought you?” The man surveyed Limerick’s office with disappointment. He toyed with a golden curl of hair, wrapping it around his finger, “You should have bought some hair, Baldy.”

  “If the price of having hair is looking like you, it’s too steep for me,” Limerick retorted. “How have you been, Pierce?”

  “I was fine until this bird interrupted a good story,” Pierce answered.

  Myrmidon laughed, “He was telling a group of girls about the time we fought that giant cave turtle. Of course he left out the part where he ran out screaming while I got eaten.”

  “History is written by winners.” Pierce pointed his thumbs to his chest, “I am a winner.”

  “You have a mullet,” Limerick said. “I don’t think “winner” is the word you are looking for.”

  “More rudeness!” Auster chirped. “Is no one going to say hi to Boreas?” He pointed a wing to the little blue bird. Frost spread around the bird in a creeping web, and snowflakes fell from shivering wings.

  “It’s fine,” Boreas said, quivering from the eternal cold that surrounded him, “I don’t really have anything to say.”

  “Now, that’s a bird!” Iceblade pointed to the quivering blue bundle. “It doesn’t talk much and it’s surrounded by ice. Why couldn’t you have trained me, Boreas? I got stuck with a green waste of oxygen.”

  Auster clacked his tiny beak. “Every day, I regret training you. Sometimes, I cry myself to sleep and wonder why I should be allowed to live after unleashing such a mass of ignorance upon the world.”

  “Shut up before I step on you, Beakbrain,” Iceblade said, scowling.

  “Yes, I have a beak and a brain.” Auster mused. “If you possessed even one of these traits, you would be of some use.”

  Kogan was stupefied, “Can somebody tell me what’s going on?”

  Another blast whipped pages from Limerick’s desk and buffeted the flames in the fireplace into a roar. A yellow ball of light materialized in the air with a soft hum that gradually grew louder. The sound and light rose to a deafening crescendo before gently receding. Nevaeh stood calmly among them when their vision returned. Her flowing white and gold gown settled to the floor.

  “Well it looks like we’re late. Everyone else is here,” she said.

  “Not my fault.” A yellow bird buzzed around her and settled down on Limerick’s desk, “I told you to hurry.” The bird turned to her blue and green cousins, “Hello Boreas, Auster.”

  “Hello Eurus,” the other birds chimed.

  “What’s up?” Pierce asked Nevaeh, grinning at her and flashing his dazzling white teeth.

  “Go away,” Nevaeh sneered at him.

  “I missed you too.”

  “Somebody please,” Kogan said, “before I lose my cool, explain what…”

  Blue sparks and a swirl of dazzling color interrupted Kogan, and Zephyr popped into the now somewhat crowded office. He buzzed around the room and landed on Limerick’s desk. “Hello everyone.” He winked at Limerick, “I told you Kogan would take care of himself. Honestly, I’m surprised at the timing but sometimes things work out better than expected.”

  Kogan roared and buried a fist into the brick fireplace, “ENOUGH! What are all of you doing here? Why are there so many birds?”

  Shocked, all players and birds fell silent.

  “We’re all trainers,” Zephyr calmly responded. “I trained you and Limerick. Eurus trained Nevaeh, Boreas trained Myrmidon and Pierce, and Auster trained Iceblade.”

  Auster made a coughing noise that sounded like the word “moron.” Iceblade glared at the little bird.

  Kogan pulled his fist out of the wall. “I assume you already know why I’m here, Limerick? I was interrupted four times before I could tell you.”

  “I have an idea,” Limerick nodded. “The same reason everyone else is here.”

  “And exactly why is that?” Pierce asked. “Boreas didn’t offer many details. No surprises there.”

  “You’re here because I have a final mission for us,” Limerick said.

  “Why is it final?” Myrmidon asked, “Are you quitting the game?”

  “Not on purpose, but it’s a possibility,” Limerick responded.

  “This is about the wolf!” Iceblade gasped. “You want us to get shot! We’ll lose our accounts!”

  “No I don’t. It probably won’t happen. We’ll be safe,” Limerick said defensively.

  “There’s a pretty good chance that you will lose your accounts.” Zephyr corrected.

  “We aren’t doing anything useful anyway.” Limerick argued, frowning down at the too-honest bird on his desk. “When was the last time any of you did something worthwhile? We used to be a force of nature, all of us. Now, we si
t around bars or guide rich people through beginner dungeons pretending they are the most skilled players we’ve ever come across.”

  “I like rich people,” Myrmidon said. “They give me money.”

  “None of you need money,” Limerick retorted. “I know because of the royalties you leech from me whenever I sell a book that mentions you.”

  “I enjoy hopping around Verdia’s many taverns and being sort-of-famous,” Pierce said. “I don’t really see a reason to give that up for a kid and a wolf.”

  Kogan glared at Pierce, “I am prepared to give up much more than that.”

  “Good for you,” Pierce shot back, “but I don’t get my jollies by having people tell me I’m a nice person. I’m going to need something more than a warm heart and a thank you if I’m going to risk my account.”

  Aside from Nevaeh, who was looking thoughtfully at Kogan, the other members of the team muttered their agreement with Pierce.

  “Then you can leave.” Limerick’s eyes were cold. “I wouldn’t ask you to do this if I didn’t believe in it myself. Your trainers wouldn’t have sought you out and brought you here if this didn’t mean something. But before you make up your minds, I have something to show you.”

  Zephyr whistled, “This is a good time for us to depart. Good luck everyone.” With that, the four birds vanished in a tangle of flashes, sparks, and snowflakes.

  Limerick nodded to Kate, who had been standing quietly near the door. She swished across the room toward a large bookcase on the wall. Pierce winked at her, but she shook her head and frowned, “I’m not in the mood for your crap, Pierce.”

  Kate tilted a book slightly; the bookcase shuddered and slid away from the wall. As it moved, a series of lights clicked on- revealing the hidden treasures beneath. The group stood slack-jawed in reverent silence.

  “Are you implying that these will work now?” Nevaeh asked. “We can use them without blowing ourselves up?”

  Limerick grinned. “They work. I tested them all.”

  Pierce gracefully flicked golden hair behind his shoulder, “You should have started out this way, and I wouldn’t have argued.”

  Limerick shrugged, “It would have been less dramatic.” He stepped over to the bookcase, and Kate moved out of the way. Limerick reached into the void behind the bookcase, and pulled an assault rifle down from the hidden rack. “It’s an AK-47. I had the Shepherd make this early on because it’s rugged and I thought it would work. Actually he made two; the first one exploded and took my hands off. Remember that, Nevaeh? That’s how we met; you charged me quite a bit to grow them back.”

  “So you continued to buy useless guns?” Iceblade asked, “And hide them in your office? You actually made secret compartments? Nobody comes in here, and if they did, they wouldn’t care about your guns that don’t even work. Who are you hiding them from?”

  “Hey, I don’t question how you spend your money,” Limerick sputtered. “Part of me hoped that one day we could take these out and pay a visit to Tungsten and Grave. I had guns made for each of you.”

  “How sweet,” Pierce said. “Which one is mine?”

  “Up here.” Limerick reached up and pulled down a large, heavy rifle. “It’s an M14. Powerful, twenty round magazine. You’ll be in the back picking off targets for us.”

  “I like the view from behind,” Pierce smirked.

  “What about me?” Iceblade asked.

  “You get four guns,” Limerick replied. He took two steps to the left and lifted a pair of pistols from a rack. “Colt 1911.” He set them down and pulled out a set of Uzi machine pistols. The blue steel guns were etched with silver runes and two golden shepherd’s crook inlays. “They shoot ice bullets.”

  “Ice bullets?” Iceblade’s face lit up like someone had set a birthday cake in front of him. “Awesome.”

  “And me?” Nevaeh asked. “I actually get a weapon for once?

  “You get a submachine gun,” Limerick replied. He handed her a brightly painted machine pistol. The weapon was white and gold, matching Nevaeh’ s robe. A leather harness, decorated with blue and white flowers, was attached. “The shoulder sling will let you fire while you hold your staff.” Limerick was clearly proud of this. “I did the stitching myself.”

  “What did Santa bring for Myrmidon?” Myrmidon asked. “I don’t want any of these puny guns.”

  “Myrmidon,” Limerick answered, “Gets his own bookcase.”

  Kate walked over to another bookcase and tipped back a book. The case creaked and slid across the floor. The group gasped as one when the item hiding behind the bookcase was revealed.

  “It’s beautiful,” Myrmidon whispered. “You even painted it.”

  “It” was a massive, deadly-looking minigun. Three rotating barrels sprouted from a sturdy frame, and were fed by a winding belt that disappeared into a rotund drum-cylinder. Leather straps and buckles dangled from the gun, which was painted a dark orange to match Myrmidon’s fur and blood-red armor.

  “Can I try it on?” Myrmidon asked. Without waiting for an answer he brushed past everyone and pulled the ammunition drum off its rack. He swung it around and secured the straps on his shoulders. Limerick had stenciled “Kick Me” on the back of the drum, but no one alerted Myrmidon of this.

  “Of course you saved your weapons for last,” Pierce sighed. “Go ahead and show us.”

  Kate engaged another hidden compartment in the wall, and a panel flipped up to expose yet another gun rack. Resting in this rack was a golden Winchester lever-action rifle, with an exaggerated loop on the lever, and a Colt .45 revolver with a pearl-handled grip.

  “Really?” Iceblade scoffed. “You made all of these awesome guns and you’re going to use a revolver and a cowboy gun?”

  “I get points for style,” Limerick claimed. “But mostly, it’s because my abilities only work with weapons that load their rounds from manual action.”

  “Still sounds boring to me.” Myrmidon held his gun against his hip. “So when do we get to shoot stuff?”

  Limerick turned to Kogan, “That depends on when Captain Explorer can get his people organized.”

  Kogan nodded, “Right. Let’s meet in my palace in two hours. I’ll call the Heroes, and we’ll make this public. But don’t bring the guns, obviously.”

  “Sounds good,” Limerick said. “Do you want a gun? I have extra.”

  Kogan raised his arms and flexed his prodigious biceps, “I’ve already got the guns I need.”

  Limerick was not amused, “I saw you grinning like an idiot for the last minute or two; I was wondering what comedy gold you were waiting to unleash upon us.”

  “Top hats are stupid,” Kogan retorted.

  “Get out of my office.”

  The Explorer City- Ra’ah

  Kogan’s Heroes assembled rank and file on Kogan’s parade grounds. The walled courtyard was a common meeting ground for Explorer- an official launching point for any Heroes expedition. When Kogan called, the Heroes would gather here ready to face any threat to the Explorers. The number of active members rose and fell as time went on; currently one hundred and fifty Heroes stood in the courtyard.

  Kogan stood before them on a raised platform. He swept his gaze over the neat rows of armored men and Brutalli, gleaming white and gold. Limerick and company stood behind him quietly. Pierce winked at an attractive female warrior in the front row. She rolled her eyes and resumed looking at Kogan.

  “Who saw my fight with Viper? Guess I answered that question.”

  The Heroes shouted and pounded armored fists against their shields. Cheers and whistles erupted around the courtyard.

  “For a long time now,” Kogan began, “I have been driven by anger, and the desire for revenge. The power I have accumulated, my friends, and my wealth all paled in comparison to the one thing that I sought. Revenge fueled me for so long that I was blind to the things that mattered.

  “So now I am here, and I am no longer angry. Part of me is sad, because when you chase the wrong thing, catc
hing it will bring you no peace. Another part of me, however, is ready to do the right thing. I am going to help Viper succeed in his quest.”

  Dull murmurs of shock rippled across the parade ground. A few sarcastic laughs and some slow clapping could be heard.

  “I’m sure you’ve seen signs of Conqueror movement. You all know that Grave was carrying Dalton weapons when he attacked me in the Arena,” Kogan tapped his chest dramatically.

  “The Conquerors’ motives at this point are not clear,” he continued. “At first, they wanted the wolf for themselves, but that does not seem likely at this point. I believe they are driven by two things; greed and malice. I believe that Dalton is paying the Conquerors,” he was interrupted by boos, “…and that Tungsten and Grave are hoping to draw us into a battle we cannot win.”

  Kogan spread his arms, “So here we stand, safely behind our walls, while someone we think of as a traitor is risking his accumulated riches in this world to save a boy and his only friend. Viper, the villain in my story, is riding north to the White Plateau, facing impossible odds. Is he a Hero? We are supposed to be the Heroes, but we cower behind the walls of Ra’ah. Right now he is all that stands before the men that would take away one of the few good things in this world.”

  “We are supposed to be the Heroes!” Kogan boomed again. “If the villain can find it within himself to do the right thing, surely we can.”

  The crowd stirred slightly, they could see what was coming, and many of the Heroes were visibly agitated.

  “I trained you!” Kogan shouted. “I gave you armor and weapons. I gave you pride. Now, I give you an opportunity.”

  “To die?” One Hero squawked.

  Kogan glared, “An opportunity to truly become the Heroes you call yourselves. The Conquerors amass an army to stop a small boy, and who rides out to meet them? The coward? The backstabber? Why are we hiding while Viper fights? If he can put aside his selfishness, and I can put aside my anger, we can all put aside our fear! This is our opportunity to prove that honor triumphs over greed. Now, is our chance to prove that we are the light in the dark; we are the warm flame on a cold night; we are the hand of justice; we are Heroes! Who will fight with me?”