“Are you pledging fealty to me?” asked the king incredulously.
“We are offering our considerable services while this threat remains. After these evil times pass, we will separate ourselves from any country or power in Tuwa so that we may once again re-establish the druid order properly and in its entirety.”
“I must say that I am amazed at your offer. Mistress Khalida told me that they would work with you, but that they knew that you did not trust them. They will try to respect your suspicions, but not at the cost of innocent lives.”
“I will pass that along to Lord Nariko after we are finished here. Do you accept my pledge?”
“Yes, I do hereby accept the druid order’s pledge of service while this conflict lasts. I also recognize that at the end of this bargain that I have no hold over you,” replied the king smoothly. “I pledge to you that if you help us with this war, which is inevitable now, I will do whatever you require of me to help you rebuild your order.”
“You are truly wise and noble, mighty king. We will hold up our end of the bargain and will certainly ensure that you keep your promise. What are the plans for the impending attacks?”
The king directed the druid to a table on one side of his court and relayed all of the information they had received from the guardians and from their extensive spy network. After a lengthy presentation of the facts, Zaide added his findings to the pool of intelligence. The druid seemed to have accepted at some level that they were going to have to work with the Elementals in this situation. The problem was convincing the other druids to accept his appraisal of things.
Bears
The wolves continued to stare at the soldiers standing on top the outer wall of Tarisdell. Ulric surveyed them with great dislike and then turned about and disappeared into the forest. The rest of the wolves followed suit and were gone from sight within minutes. The troops on the wall relaxed as they watched the ferocious creatures leave. They immediately began to scour the entire city to make sure that it was truly deserted. After they had completed their search, they fortified the city on all sides and set up communication lines using runners to relay messages. Commander Brugon remained on the eastern wall just in case the ravenous wolves decided to have another go at the magical barrier. I hope that this elven barrier holds while we are here because if it fails, we are all dead!
As soon as the seasoned commander had thought this, horrific howls and booming roars filled the still air. The animals of the forest took flight at the startling sounds. A few miles east in the wilderness the birds were frantically attempting to gain altitude which indicated where the confrontation was taking place. The battle was so loud that Brugon’s soldiers stopped what they were doing and listened intently. It sounded like the wolves had been engaged by some kind of monsters. The men began to murmur to one another about what was going on and what could happen to them if the magical barrier went down. Fear gripped their hearts as they stood there wondering what was going to happen next.
Boom! The ground shook violently as if it were about to rend itself completely open. The earth continued to shake for several minutes, and then everything went still. Silence enveloped the forest once more. There was no longer any sound coming from the battle that had been taking place. In fact, there was no noise at all coming from anywhere. Finally the men began to shift about nervously as they waited for something terrible to happen.
“Commander, was that an earthquake like that one we felt a few moments ago?” asked one of the soldiers from behind the eastern outer wall.
“I do believe that you are right. Captain!” barked the commander distractedly.
“Yes, sir!” saluted the captain smartly. He had been standing right next to his commander the entire time.
“I want you to take a couple men with you and investigate what happened in the forest before that unnatural quake began,” ordered the commander quietly. He did not want all of the troops to hear what he was asking because it might cause them an unnecessary amount of stress.
“I will leave at once,” replied the studious captain. He signaled to two of his men, and they climbed down off the wall. They waited for the commander to say the pass phrase again so that they could exit through the magical barrier unharmed. Once outside the elven protection, they picked up their pace so that they could get this unpleasant task taken care of as quickly as possible.
As they entered the shadows of the forest, they could see thousands upon thousands of wolf prints on the forest floor. They were all heading directly east. They followed the tracks for nearly three miles before they stopped at the sight of where the battle had taken place. There were several dozen wolves ripped to pieces in a small meadow. Their bodies had been pulverized and torn like they were rag dolls. The wind changed directions to blow in their faces. The putrid smell of rotting carcasses made all three of these hardened warriors vomit uncontrollably. Their eyes began to water from the odor as well and could not see the eyes that were peering at them from the opposite side the bloodied clearing.
Several wolves edged their way into the clearing as they stalked closer to where the unsuspecting men were bent over defiling the forest floor. They began to growl as they got to within fifty feet of the weary soldiers. The shaken men finally stopped spewing long enough to look up in the general direction of the growling sounds. They all turned pasty white at the sight of nearly a dozen or so bloodied wolves of various colors. They all had a maddened look in their eyes that told the poor men that they had just been on the receiving end of a severe beating. It was clear that they were seeking someone or something to unleash their pent up frustration on, and unfortunately for the captain and his men, they had been chosen.
“Don’t make any sudden movements,” ordered the captain in an undertone. The trio began to back away slowly into the trees.
A crashing sound came from their right as the wolves began to advance on their prey. They did not slow their pace as the sound of some unseen party to their left increased in volume. Thud! The sickening sound reverberated through the meadow as a massive white bear plowed into the enraged wolves. Three more white bears joined the fray, and together they began to tear the vile beasts apart. One of the bears ripped the head off of a black wolf with a single swipe of his massive paw. The bears were so much larger than the gigantic wolves that it was impossible to really tell just how big they were. Within a few moments, the wolves lay dead and in several pieces. The four white bears turned their attention to the men standing within the shadows of the trees. They did not move toward them; they just stared at them.
The captain did not hesitate to make his intentions clear and immediately dropped into a one-knee bow. The other two soldiers did the same thing a split second later. They all looked up tentatively at the majestic bears to show their respect for their power and prowess. The one white bear that appeared to be much larger than the others bowed his head toward the men and then began to walk away. They were out of the clearing and heading east within a few long strides. The men collapsed completely at this point. They were so overcome with the intensity of the events that they did not move for several minutes. They all just lied there on their backs looking up through the canopy of trees to the clear blue sky above. They did not say one word to each other while they were on their backs for several long moments.
“Captain, what was that all about?” asked one of the soldiers quietly.
“I believe that we just discovered that the gigantic white bears have entered this battle on our side. And it is a good thing too because those foul wolves had tipped things in favor of the axis powers.”
“So, what do we do now?” asked the other soldier as he sat up.
As the soldier who had just asked the question sat all the way up, a massive, slimy maw came down over his head. With a sickening crunch, a massive black wolf bit down to the upper torso of the poor soldier. Ulric’s mouth had blood gushing out from its sides as he ripped into the unaware soldier. The giant wolf tore the upper part of the man’s body
at the chest away from the rest of his body. For an instant, the other two soldiers of Aran laid completely still on the ground in absolute shock. As the filthy beast shook his head side to side, covering them with their friend’s blood, they stood up and took off toward Tarisdell. The wolf did not give immediate chase because he was too occupied with chewing on his food.
After running the three miles from the meadow to the eastern outer wall in record time, Ulric began to chase them. He covered the three miles in no time and was on top of the two soldiers as they ran toward the elven barrier. They had to stop before the barrier because neither one of them knew elven nor was Commander Brugon on top of the wall to shout the pass phrase. Ulric took advantage of this delay and pounced on the soldier who had escaped with the captain. Ulric’s claws dug deep into the back of the defenseless soldier. In one swift movement, he ripped the poor fellow in half. As he made this decisive motion, the captain took out his blade and sunk it deep into the side of the beast. A howl of rage shook the very ground he stood on and got everyone’s attention who was behind the wall.
Commander Brugon came running out the eastern gate to see one of his men ripped in two while the other one, his captain, was trying to pry loose his blade that he had successfully sunk into the side of the gigantic wolf. He quickly uttered the elven words needed to open the barrier for his comrade. The captain quickly slipped through the barrier, and then his commander uttered another elvish command. The barrier shut quickly behind him. The captain did not remember a command for shutting the barrier, but they had been in a hurry the last time they came through. The shaken captain turned around after he was through and swore a blood oath to avenge his fallen soldiers by hunting all of the black wolves until they were no more.
You are all going to die, little one. Why prolong the inevitable? Ulric chided the captain in his mind. The massive black wolf lunged tauntingly at the captain, who flinched impulsively. Ulric gave a long, drawn-out, guttural laugh as he turned around and ran back into the forest.
“Are you all right, Captain?” asked his commander from behind.
“Yes, I think so,” stuttered the captain as he shook all over with fright at what he had just experienced.
“Come inside the wall, son, and we will get you taken care of,” beckoned Commander Brugon kindly. When the captain reached his side, he put his arm around the sickly looking soldier.
“I couldn’t stop them. There were dead bodies everywhere…blood…lots of it,” muttered the captain inconsolably.
“It’s all right, son. Come over here and have some warm soup,” said the commander soothingly. He sat the captain down by a fire that had been built outside one of the elven homes. The troops had been instructed to not touch any of the elves’ possessions, and they were not allowed inside any of their buildings except for one of the barracks. The commander had designated one to be used for their lodging while they defended the city.
“They were on us before we knew they were there; we were sick from the dead wolves’ stench…blood everywhere…” continued the captain, who had clearly succumbed to the horrors he had witnessed.
“Here, have some soup,” said one of the other soldiers as he handed him some beef stew that they had had for lunch.
“Thanks,” said the captain, trembling. He ate the food as though he had not eaten in days. He was still shaking from the stress of his prolonged ordeal.
“Captain, do you feel up to telling us what happened back there?” queried the commander calmly.
“Yes, after I eat,” replied the shaken captain.
“Get this man some chilled ale!” barked the commander to one of the soldiers standing near the fire pit.
“Yes, sir!” he replied as he rummaged through one of the containers where the food was being stored. After removing a clean tankard, he filled it to the rim with cool ale from one of the chilled barrels on the table farthest from the fire. He handed it to the captain who took it gratefully and downed it in one go.
Wiping off his mouth, he said, “That feels better.” He quickly finished his soup and had another drink of ale that had been handed to him.
“I am glad to see that the color is returning to your face. It looked like you had seen a ghost you were so pale,” offered one of his fellow soldiers with a gentle pat on the back.
“The horrors I have seen…you cannot imagine,” replied the captain calmly.
“Captain, what did happen back there in the forest?” asked the commander a little more sternly now that it was clear that his captain had regained his composure.
“Yes, sorry about my fit commander; it won’t happen again,” replied the captain ruefully. “I will get on with the story then.”
“Please, tell us everything. We will hold our questions until the end.”
“Right. We traveled about three miles into the forest heading directly east when we encountered a small meadow that had the most putrid smell emanating from it. By the time we reached the edge of the clearing, all three of us doubled over and lost complete control of our stomachs.”
“You three were…” started one of the soldiers. He caught the eye of the commander and quickly shut up.
“As I was saying, we were sick to our stomachs because there were dozens of dead wolves of every color strewn about the meadow floor. They had been pulverized and ripped to shreds like they were made of parchment. Something massive appeared to have killed the gigantic wolves and did so with relative ease,” he explained slowly. “While we were busy being sick, several of the massive wolves came into the clearing. We did not hear their approach because of the noises we were making. Once we did see them, they made a move to come at us. It was then that we heard a series of pounding like someone was hitting the ground with a large hammer. An unbelievably huge white bear came bursting into the meadow and smashed right into the smaller wolves.”
“What? You cannot be serious. The giant bears are only a myth,” retorted one of the soldiers in utter disbelief.
“Shut it!” ordered the commander briskly. “If the captain says that a huge white bear appeared, then a huge white bear did appear.”
“Thank you, sir. After the first white bear killed two of the wolves with a single blow from his gigantic paw, three more white bears joined the fray. Within a few moments, all of the wolves, which varied in their color and all of them were covered with blood prior to this attack, were dead. Then the bears turned and looked at us. So, we bowed to one knee to show them that we were grateful for their help and that we were humbled by their presence. The biggest white bear looked us straight in the eyes and nodded slightly. Then they took off in an eastward direction back into the forest.”
“So, the mythical bears of Tuwa have joined our side. Thank the gods! What happened after they left?” queried the commander gruffly. He had a feeling that what he was about to hear was not going to be pleasant, but he needed to hear it nonetheless. He nodded to the captain to continue his story.
“We fell back onto the ground for several minutes, being overwhelmed with everything that just took place. We could not believe our good fortune, so we just laid there feeling grateful as we looked to the heavens through the canopy of trees,” continued the captain. “When we were finally feeling relaxed laying there on the grass, we felt a menacing presence. One of the guys sat up to look around, and then he was seized violently by that massive black wolf that we all thought to be the leader. Thankfully he died instantly, and we froze while we lay on the ground. We could not move because of the sheer terror that had gripped our hearts. Once we came back to reality, we took off and ran as fast as we could back here. You saw what happened once we reached the barrier.”
“I do not want what I am about to say to be construed as a lack of empathy on my part,” Commander Brugon began. “These events have told us one very important thing. The ancient race of bears has come to the allies’ defense. I believe the scales of this war have tipped in our favor.”
All the soldiers within earshot shouted their appr
oval of his remarks, including the exhausted captain. They had suffered horrific losses, but these terrible events had taken a turn for the better. The bears had come to help eradicate the wolf menace. The only problem with the situation was that no one could speak to the bears except for the druids and guardians. The men returned to their duties of repairing the smashed and burnt defenses of the beautiful elven capital. The sun shone brightly overhead as the soldiers busied themselves once again with the restoration of Tarisdell. They were all glad to be on this side of the elven barrier. Something they would not have thought a few months ago.
War
Lord Dukker calmly walked into the orc camps without anyone noticing him as he made his way toward the high elven camp. He was using a camouflage spell that made him blend in with his surroundings. He did not feel like talking with the orcs any time soon, in part because of his intense dislike for them and also because he needed to get back to his troops as soon as possible. The sooner we strike our enemy, the better. He picked up the pace as best he could on the rocky terrain of Nodin. He continued to think about the information he had gleaned from the silly druids and that one Elemental. He knew that if they could attack that night that they would most likely catch their enemies unaware.
As he entered the high elven encampment, he noticed that there was a small commotion at the center of the camp. He made his way deftly toward the frenzied activity. He had an idea of what was going on, so he broke into a silent run. As he approached the onlookers, he could see his massive steed, standing next to a camp fire. He must have been going crazy not knowing where I was all of this time. I think I will use him to help me make a spectacular return. He vaulted himself over the crowd and then jumped nimbly onto the back of the gigantic spider. He then let spell he had been using fizzle out. He appeared out of nowhere on the back of the fearsome spider.
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