by Des Pensable
He had decided to immediately evacuate all the non-combatant women, the elderly, the support staff and badly wounded to a secret stronghold he had in the mountains and take all the rest including his wyverns to the fight leaving behind just a couple as watchers.
Aquitain stood thinking about the problem with the Trixies. It sounded like a job for her. She could go there, change to bear form and simply attack the rats while wearing mind clay armour. However, what if she went berserk again she wouldn’t know Trixie from rat she could kill everything.
‘You were simply magnificent my Lady.’ said Slivver.
‘Might I make a suggestion about how we might tackle the rat problem?’
‘What is it.’ queried Aquitain rather tersely.
‘Lord Darkmantle has a lot of hunting hounds. You can hear them baying right now. The smell of the fresh blood is working them up into a frenzy. Perhaps we could borrow them to help eliminate the rats attacking the Trixies.’
Aquitain thought about it for a few moments.
‘It’s a good idea but they don’t know me and as a result wouldn’t obey my commands.’ he replied.
‘They would if you were their leader.’ stated Slivver.
‘I’m no druid like Miranda. I can’t communicate with them.’ replied Aquitain not quite sure of what Slivver was suggesting.
‘If you shape changed to look like them and killed their current leader you would be their new leader.’ replied Slivver.
‘I don’t know how to change to their form.’ said Aquitain.
‘Is a bear that different from a dog.’ asked Slivver.
‘I guess not’ agreed Aquitain. I guess if I could see one I could look like one.’
‘I’m worried about going berserk again. I might kill all our Trixie friends.’ he replied.
‘I heard you use the word ‘forbearance’ and your whole rage went away. If I’m not wrong that’s how to stop you. I can shout it to you if you get carried away again.’
‘Okay I suppose it’s worth a try.’ Agreed Aquitain not happy that Slivver knew the word of control implanted in his memory.
Darkmantle had finished his attack plan with his officers and sergeants when Aquitain approached him.
‘Have you worked out what you are going to do about the rats and Trixies.’ asked Darkmantle. ‘I’m sorry I haven’t got enough men to help you much.
‘Would you mind if I borrowed your hunting dogs?’ asked Aquitain.
‘By the sound of them they are itching for a fight.’
‘I suppose they would help a lot. They’re bloody tough and very vicious but can you handle a pack of dogs?’ asked Darkmantle.
‘Perhaps.’ replied Aquitain.
‘Well you’re welcome to try but keep on top of them or they’ll tear you to shreds. Talk to the keeper in the kennel first he can tell you how we teleport them out of here. I’m sorry I’ll have to go. Good luck with the rats.’
Aquitain arrived at the kennel to find that all the hounds were kept in a large enclosure and were quite agitated as they had heard the fighting. When they smelt the fresh blood on his body they went wild, howling, growling, snapping and jumping at the wall of their enclosure.
There was only one elderly animal handler around and he quickly said that if Aquitain went near them she would be ripped to pieces. The alpha male in the pack was extremely vicious and could only be controlled by the head keeper with great difficulty. They had a collar on him that could channel a shock to pacify him if necessary, but the controlling device was missing.
Aquitain looked in at the pack and could see that they were quite agitated and ready to fight anything. Only the alpha male would be able to control them. So he had to get the alpha male on side. He thumped the side of the kennel gate to gauge the response and the alpha male attacked the gate ferociously.
‘By the Powers, they look vicious?’ said Aquitain.
‘I think you had better give up the idea of using them, my Lady.’ said the elderly keeper.
Aquitain first covered herself with mind clay armour then after getting the teleport details he asked the old animal handler to open the gate when she gave the command. She changed her body shape to look like the Alpha male and adjusted her size to be two hands larger.
Aquitain toughened her skin and tried to imagine she was as tough and mean as a bear. She knew that if you wanted respect as an animal she had to be the meanest and toughest around. Blood lust seeped into her eyes, her hair stood on end, and saliva trickled from her mouth as she turned to the keeper and using mindspeak commanded.
‘Open … gate … now!’
The terrified handler fumbled the gate open while Aquitain let out a psychic scream and charged in straight at the alpha male. The scream scared half the pack and they scurried backwards, but several others stood behind the alpha male with bared fangs although perhaps a little less confidant than they might have been. Aquitain met the big male head on with a resounding thump. Both went berserk, they latched and tore, bit and slashed, blood and hair flew with such ferocity that the other dogs quickly backed off letting just the Aquitain and their leader fight it out.
They jumped and rolled, pounced, leaped, bit and slashed at each other all over the pen until finally Aquitain managed to get the alpha male around the throat and hang on with a death grip. A minute later it was over. He climbed off the dead dog and let out a victory howl that filled the keeper with horror, then looked around for any challengers, none responded. He had them. He sat down to get his breath back with his back to the wall while mentally chanting the mantra of calming.
He sent them a mental image of the hunt. They responded with a howl. He sent them a mental image of him and them killing big rats and they responded with more howls, growls and barks.
‘Now the tricky bit.’ he thought.
He sent them an image of him transforming into Miranda’s form. They were quiet. He sent them an image of her transforming into a hound again and attacking them ferociously. They got the idea so he changed into the Miranda form and walked amongst them so they knew the form as well. He then changed to the hound form again just so that they remembered clearly and he walked among them. They understood. He trotted to the gate and sent a mindspeak message to the handler to open the gate then howled.
The hunt was on and off they ran. Aquitain and his pack of twenty-two hunting hounds were loose and baying for blood. They swarmed up the kennel stairs and spilled out into the grounds with Aquitain in the lead sending an urgent mindspeak shout to clear the way to the teleport circle. Darkmantle had already left with his troops to aid his friend. Others were still leaving for the mountain stronghold but they quickly got out of the way as the pack approached.
Aquitain barked and herded them like sheep to get them all on the teleport circle then used the trigger word given to him by Darkmantle to send them to the Palace. They all appeared at once in the general arrival area not far from the throne room. The place was empty. He led them up the stairs towards the throne room but the double door into it was closed.
He transformed back to Miranda’s body form to open the door but it refused to budge. He tried using the mind clay as a key but that didn’t work either. The door was magically locked. It was going to need brute force to open it. He kicked it with his foot and swore at it deciding that he would have to go into bear shape to break the door down.
Since he was close to the area where the rats would be, he decided that the time was right to give the hounds some protection magic. So he walked among the pack hardening the skin of each animal then his own. He sent them a mental image of him transforming into a bear, then changed.
Instead of the normal bear shape in his mind he grew to a huge sized bear. His shoulders stood taller than a Newman’s head and he was five paces long. He projected an aura of fear. He felt more powerful than ever in his life, he could feel the urge to kill and maim but he still had control.
The hounds all backed away from him as if he scared them.
&nbs
p; He went barrelling down the corridor at the door hurling his whole three ton weight at it. The doors exploded in a shower of wooden shards as he crashed through.
He changed back to the hound form and howled for them to follow and the chase was on again. He charged towards the Trixie service corridor just as a rat as large as a normal cat poked its head out to see where the noise was coming from.
The front running hounds saw the rat and howled for blood as they poured into the corridor to be met by at least half a dozen rats. Once into the service corridor, there were live and dead rats and bits of dead Trixie everywhere. The hounds swarmed down the corridor only to be slowed by more and more rats to kill. There must have been hundreds of them. They were in every room and they didn’t turn and run. They attacked the dogs biting and scratching and leaping around like miniature acrobats.
Aquitain forgot who he was in the mad frenzy of blood. The large alpha female hound became a killing machine. Grab, rip, tear, throw aside, jump, dodge, grab another, tear apart, blood, stinking hot entrails, steaming wet fur, blood, more blood. On the odd occasion when a rat leapt on his back Slivver send a blast of pain into its mind generally causing it to fall off and run in fear. On numerous occasions he sent out a mental blast stunning groups of rats making it easier to kill them.
The hounds followed reaping destruction on any rat that moved. Perhaps fortunately they never came upon a live Trixie. Eventually they worked their way through the entire Trixie area killing every rat they found, some escaped, but very few. When finally it was over Aquitain was both physically and emotionally exhausted.
Aquitain shifted to Miranda’s body form and she called the pack together to find that it didn’t go all their way. Every dog had injuries, some quite bad and three were dead.
She led them to the hospital area and searched for first aid equipment. Luckily she found two healing potions and by dividing them in half was able to heal four of the most badly damaged dogs. The others would have to wait and at least have a bath so she could see where their injuries were as all of them were lathered in blood and stinking entrails.
She locked them in a large room, then standing in the corridor he called out for any Trixies left to come to him. A very frightened Bellen appeared and at the sight of Miranda in golden snakeskin armour and covered in blood, rat guts and pieces of meat and fur turned totally white.
‘Hello Bellen, it’s me Aquitain.’
‘Dddid ... yer kill them all yerself?’ he said with wide shocked eyes.
‘No, I brought a pack of Darkmantle’s hunting hounds along to help. How did our people fare?’
‘Only about half made it to safety.’ he said. ‘What’s happening, Lady Warden? Nothing like this has ever happened before. The Palace is deserted.’
‘I’m afraid that without a Queen to bind them, the Lords have turned against one another. They will all hide in their estates and squabble amongst themselves until order and unity can be forged again and that probably won’t happen until we can sort out the problem with the Mentarin.’
‘Yer is our Queen, Lady Warden. Yer will look after us won’t yer?’
‘Of course I will Bellen, that’s why I’m here. Now I have to help my pack of dogs and then see if Darkmantle needs me, so can you get our people to clean this place up and then secure all the doors leading onto the place. I’ll get back when I can. And remember to stay away from that book.’
‘Yes, Lady Warden.’ he said still looking unhappy.
‘What else is wrong?’
‘A few of the people don’t believe yer should be our Queen.’
‘Why?’ asked Aquitain quite surprised?
‘Some say they should have been asked before yer became Queen. Others say yer is away all the time and don’t care about us.’
‘Bring them here now!’
‘But yer need to clean up first surely, My Queen.’
‘No. That is exactly the point Bellen; I want them to see me like this. Why would I have done this unless I cared for them?’
‘Yer right.’ said Bellen with half a smile.
He called and over the next few minutes they came, about seventy of them. When they saw Aquitain their eyes opened wide with fear.
‘I ... I think most are here, yer Majesty.’ said Bellen.
‘Bellen has told me that some of you think you should have had a say in choosing me as your Queen. He also said that some of you are unhappy because I don’t care about you.’
‘I’m sorry if you don’t think I should be your Queen but if I didn’t care about you I wouldn’t be here would I? I wouldn’t have led the fight to kill all these rats would I? After the current troubles are all over I will let you decide whether you still want me as your Queen or not.’
‘Let me explain what has happened. The Elendari have not selected a new Queen for the first time in hundreds of years. They have fortified themselves in their own estates and are fighting among themselves. I have just come from a battle at Lord Darkmantle’s estate where about fifty Elendari were killed and another hundred wounded.’
‘Lord Darkmantle has just gone to help a friend who is under attack by another Lord. I came here as soon as I heard you were in trouble and I have killed all the rats attacking this place that I can find. I will not tolerate anyone attacking my people.’
‘I have another battle to attend so that we will have friends who will help and care for us. Do you still doubt that I am your Queen?’
No one answered. There was absolute silence and no one was game to look the Queen in the face.
‘Right then, I want you to clean up this place and fortify the entrances. I want every able bodied Trixie to start training with weapons. Your main weapon will be bows and arrows with poisoned tips.’
‘The biggest and toughest among you will be equipped with leather armour and spears. If you haven’t got them then I expect you to make them. I know you have some good artisans amongst you.’
‘Finally I need some soap and healing balm to clean up with.’
‘Now where can we clean all this blood and gore off?’
‘The fountain at the front entrance would be best, it’s still running with clean fresh water.’ said Bellen.
‘Good now disappear until I have removed my pack of hounds. I don’t want any accidents. The hounds are tired but still very agitated.’
They all vanished.
Aquitain returned to the room and unlocked the door, changed to her hound form howled and they all came streaming out after her as she led them off to the fountain to clean up. She told them mentally that she was first into the fountain and shape changed to Miranda form. They all lay down licking their wounds waiting for her to finish.
She stood knee deep in cool water and relished the idea of cleaning off all the blood and gore. She was only half way done when several of the hounds stood up and bared their teeth. Aquitain looked in the direction of the way that they had come. Six mail armour clad Elendari Royal Guards stood there gawking at her with halberds clenched in their fists. She quickly enabled her aura vision to see Mentarin. Two of the guards were possessed.
‘Hello guards. I thought you had all deserted the palace.’
‘Not likely.’ said one of them vocally.
‘It’s our job to keep the palace safe. We heard a lot of noise and came to investigate.’
One of the possessed said using mindspeak.
‘So we have found you bitch Warden. The Lord will be pleased when we kill you.’
Aquitain casually continuing to wash herself replied.
‘I am the Queen of the Trixies. Behind you are more than fifty Trixies. If I chose to call out they would be quite upset if their Queen was disturbed during her bath. I dare say none of you would survive to see tomorrow.’
‘I also have the ability to see people possessed by spirit creatures calling themselves Mentarin. Two of you are currently possessed. I would suggest that the four of you that know that you are not possessed should immediately throw down your weap
ons and retreat to the throne room where the Trixies will ignore you. The other two, I wish to cleanse of their parasites.’ as two spirit blades extended from her hands.
‘The bitch is trying to confuse us.’ said one of the possessed. ‘She’s a shape changing witch. She’s not Elendari she’s an animal. We shouldn’t let animals like her pollute the fountain! Let’s kill her.’
One of the guards not possessed was not as confident.
‘I don’t know about this Ven, there’s an awful lot of hounds down there and she hasn’t really done anything wrong.’
‘Is there a problem, your Majesty?’ asked Bellen backed up by another fifty Trixies standing about twenty paces behind the six guards.
‘I will say again. Four of you are not possessed and they should immediately throw down their weapons and will be given safe passage through the Trixies. The other two I will deal with.’ She shouted ensuring that Bellen could hear her.
‘I am behind you to the left.’ said the voice of Yllandril. ‘We have troubles but I’ll tell you later. What do you want me to do?’
‘Take care. Stay back, I may not be able to control all of these hounds. They have just fought a great battle and are tired and irritable. Let me handle this.’ said Aquitain.
Three of the guards swung around to defend against the Trixies.
‘Have the Trixies ever gone against the guards.’ asked Aquitain trying to avoid a fight.
‘They are peace loving. They want four of you to survive. Throw down your weapons and you will survive. I will try to save the other two.’
Suddenly, it all happened, two threw down their weapons and ran towards the Trixies with their hands held high, two more attacked the Trixies with their halberds and the two possessed ones ran towards Aquitain. She quickly created a hardened air barrier several paces in front of her. The two possessed guards smashed into it, stopped dead and were overrun with hounds, which tore out their throats in seconds.
