Fury of Molith (Fengysha Series Book 2)

by Jordan Cramm

  “Sespa is back in camp. I am going to go brush her outside now that she is cleaned up. Do you need anything from town if I make a run after? I want to find Jakarta and get a report of our progress here and maybe check our status through camp. Better that I have something to report to your father than be without words.”

  “Honestly, I think I am okay. I mean if you find a bigger mirror for the bathroom, grab it. But otherwise as far as roughing it goes in this tent, things are decent. Of course, we still haven’t really talked about living arrangements after all of this…”

  “I know. I think we should do so once we speak with your father,” he replied.

  “Agreed,” Katrina remarked, “and meanwhile I think I will take a short walk outside and see what more I can do to help the farms around here. I will return before my father arrives.”

  “How will I know when that is myself?” Wolflen asked.

  “Trust me darling, you will know.”

  Wolflen smiled and nodded. Then he gave her a quick kiss and told her he was on his way out. She nodded, wishing him luck and telling him not to worry about dealing with her father. She knew the feelings about the matter could not be so easily dismissed, but she wanted to encourage him anyway. She knew him well enough to know however, that he would worry about it just the same.

  Outside the tent, Wolflen waved to the two Black Cloak Guards that stood vigilant just outside. They wished him good morning and in kind he did the same to them. Then suddenly realized he had no brush for Sespa, he asked one of them to retrieve a horse brush for him, which didn’t take long for the guard to do. Wolflen thanked him when he returned with it in hand, and then as Katrina stepped out of the tent, Wolflen told his guards to follow her and keep her safe. She of course rejected the notion, telling him she would only be walking through their camp, and so Wolflen nodded and rescinded the order.

  Just as she had come to know things about him, he too had come to know some things about her. For instance, he knew she had no desire for an escort to follow her around. He laughed inwardly realizing she would likely ditch them at the first opportunity if he had forced the issue. Still, he wanted her safe always, and he wouldn’t apologize for that. He loved her fiercely, and he wanted to keep her as well protected as possible.

  Chapter 8: The Toll Of Haste

  Wolflen finished brushing Sespa and rode out through the camp. Tents were lined up in neat columns, and campfires burned in various areas, bringing the smell of cooked meat through the entirety of camp. As he rode, Wolflen asked a few soldiers along the way as to the whereabouts of Jakarta, and each time, he was told he would have to look farther and farther out. Finally, he came to the barrier wall that was still under construction around the perimeter of their camp. He found Jakarta and Ayvock both there, working in concert with Free Mage Carra to even out the wall and strengthen it somewhat. Already, the wall was nearly five feet high. It wasn’t a city wall for sure, but it was at least enough to slow an enemy down and buy people on the interior time to take action.

  Wolflen dismounted as he approached, and Sespa seemed content to remain nearby, sitting on the ground and letting out a woofing noise as she did. Wolflen just smiled at her as he looked back while walking toward Jakarta and the others. Overhead, it was partly cloudy, but not threatening rain yet Wolflen noticed. However, Mage Carra seemed resolute that they needed to work faster, because she was insisting rain was coming.

  “Hey Jakarta…” Wolflen said loudly on approach, “I need your report.”

  Jakarta grinned as he hoisted another large stone atop the wall and into position. He was happy to pause what he was doing. Even the nearby horses seemed bored just to watch the work, and now Jakarta’s brief report would get dragged out if he had any say about it…less time on the wall, and more taking a break. Of course, given his title, rank and general position among the army, he didn’t have to help with such a task at all. Still, he had agreed the wall was a good idea, and felt obligated to help where he could.

  He turned at once, and he shrugged at the others. Ayvock shook his head as he hoisted another large stone while Mage Carra was casting some sort of spell to seal each new stone into place. Ayvock was currently out of his armor now, and Wolflen could tell he was sweating. It wasn’t easy work after all.

  As Jakarta approached Wolflen, he wiped some dust from his hands. He, unlike Ayvock, was dressed in full armor. Wolflen could only guess how hot his mentor might be. As the distance between them closed, they stood about 40 feet away from the wall and the others, and at least triple that distance from the nearest tent.

  “Lord Darkmoon,” Jakarta began, “we are almost finished with this section of the wall. It should serve its purpose anyway. Mage Carra has been pushing us all. Quite eccentric that one.”

  Wolflen nodded.

  “Why didn’t you tell me?” Wolflen asked, as if Jakarta knew what he was referring to.

  “Tell you what?” Jakarta replied in kind.

  “That I’m a husband now…that my proposal acceptance was a marriage agreement in your culture.”

  “Oh that…” Jakarta chuckled as he began walking toward his horse to get a canteen of water out of a saddlebag.

  “Yes, that…” Wolflen returned, following after Jakarta.

  “Well,” Jakarta said as he sipped some water and wiped his face, “your culture is different than ours. You weren’t in Peludeen long enough to study such things, and honestly, I wasn’t sure which custom you and the Princess would be adhering to—the Elven custom, or your Izenian traditions. Given that you made the proposal, I thought you were doing so on your terms as an Izenian.”

  “That’s the only reason then?” Wolflen asked intently.

  “Well that and we expect the arrival of the King soon. I figured the three of you will be working out the details then.”

  “Yes well, speaking of that, I expect you to be reachable. Don’t leave your student out in the lurch if you know what I mean. A good word from you might help my cause so to speak.”

  Jakarta nodded and sipped some more water.

  “Don’t worry I will be there when I am summoned. Meanwhile I think…”

  Suddenly there was a very loud roar in the distance. Wolflen and Jakarta both turned to try and discern where it came from exactly, and what it was. The sound came again, and then again. They stepped toward the newly constructed wall together, and stared out in the open field beyond. Ayvock, Mage Carra and a few of the other workers present were all staring out at the horizon now. Beyond the pasture land that they were in currently, in the distance was the start of a sandy desert. The noise seemed to come in that direction, and it was clear that a large beast made it.

  “Whatever it is,” Wolflen offered, “I am not sure I like it being so close to our camp.”

  “That was big. Maybe a Drake, maybe a Wyrm.”

  “What’s the difference?” Ayvock asked.

  “Drakes can fly. Wyrms can’t. Some drakes can breathe fire and Wyrms can’t. Wyrms though tend to be larger and very vicious. Of course it could be a full blown Dragon too…and they are huge, can fly and breathe flame. Each of these have four legs though. It could also be any number of other large beasts. Androkar maybe but it would be rare this close to a city.”

  “What’s an Androkar?” Wolflen asked the now obvious question.

  “About 55 feet long, 23 feet tall,” Jakarta began, “powerful hind legs, front limbs that are just as strong, walks upright, large mouth with giant razor-sharp teeth, and it can run almost as fast as a Dire Wolf. Anyone of these beasts represents a problem to camp. Each of them are carnivores, and often territorial.”

  “Well I’m ready to ride,” Wolflen said as Sespa trotted toward him and he lifted himself to her back, “because if we can hear that thing roar before it is in sight, I can only imagine how big it is. It’s a threat to this camp. You with me Jakarta?”

  “Hey,” Ayvock interjected, “what am I—chop liver?”

  “No armor genius…” Wolflen r
etorted.

  “Damn. Okay.”

  “We can ride out Wolflen,” Jakarta replied, “but I don’t know if two of us can handle whatever is out there alone.”

  “Oh come on,” Wolflen remarked, “it could be fun.”

  “It could be suicidal.”

  “Okay…Ayvock rally as many soldiers as you can that are in uniform and ready, and send them out on horseback. Tell them to look for us out there and be quick about it.”

  Jakarta rolled his eyes. It was clear to him that Wolflen wasn’t going to turn back, but intended to ride onward. So he mounted his horse and followed after. First, Sespa barreled over the top of the short wall, making it look easy. Jakarta followed atop his own Elven Destrier, making it look equally simple. Soon, they were side by side and riding together toward the sand in the distance. There were a couple more roaring sounds as they got closer and finally, the saw the large beast in the distance. It was an Androkar, just as Jakarta feared. He yelled to Wolflen to tell him that’s indeed what it was, but as they got closer, they saw that it was in a battle already; with about 30 Werewolves.

  Wolflen and Jakarta both paused, realizing that with the Werewolves there, it meant that the horde they had been tracking had likely landed on Molith somewhere. Now, they suspected that they had come to shore somewhere to the North, perhaps the port city of Berayva. If that were true, then it meant they were now pushing Southeast to the place Wolflen expected that they were trying to reach. Ravenshade had pointed out the place on the map, and it was in the desert. So it was beginning to make sense now.

  “These came from the North. They probably chased this thing out of the swamp.”

  “So what should we do?” Wolflen asked.

  “We wait…let them fight and see what happens.”

  Wolflen nodded. It was actually a wise decision. Plus it would give him a chance to see how the Werewolves fought. They did so he noticed, in pack formation. While the Androkar was much bigger by comparison, it was already tore up pretty good. It had claw marks down one of its sides, even exposing a rib or two. It also appeared that some scratches were closer to its neck as well. Of course, it wasn’t exactly defenseless either. Wolflen watched as it sopped its head toward one of the Werewolves, and with one fluid motion, bit its body, brought it into mid-air, then bit down, crushing the body of the Werewolf and breaking it into pieces that fell from its mouth. As another Werewolf tried to capitalize on the distraction by jumping at its side, the Androkar swung its massively-long tail, striking that Werewolf in the process, causing it to slam violently into the ground after quite a blast.

  “It will be overrun soon,” Jakarta said, “it has lost too much blood I think.”

  “You think? Look, it just killed two more Werewolves though…oh, and three…okay four.”

  “I don’t like those Androkars when they attack, but I think I hate the Werewolves more. Looks like about 14 left.”

  Wolflen smiled.

  “Well then,” he said as he spurred Sespa forward quickly, “See you after!” he yelled back.

  “Damn it Wolflen!” Jakarta yelled as he spurred his horse forward, “Always so hasty,” he added under his breath.

  Wolflen and Sespa charged the ongoing battle without fear. Once again, he had left his helmet behind. In this instance though he wouldn’t have, he thought as he raced forward, but he hadn’t planned to do anything more that morning but take a ride through camp. The need for the armor was a last minute realization, so he tried to put the thought from his mind as he charged forward. He drew his swords and as he rode he slashed at the nearest Werewolf from Sespa’s back. The Androkar roared again, and it snapped at Wolflen now, not distinguishing him from the attacking Werewolves.

  He dodged the massive jaws, but just barely, and he quickly turned Sespa out of harm’s way, swinging at another Werewolf as he did. He made contact once again, but this time not with a fatal strike. As he swung at another he was starting to realize just how tough the Werewolves were. They didn’t fall so easily as the Orcs. No indeed, the Werewolves seemed much tougher. As he swung at another, he took its front limb off completely, but it simply turned and roared, attempting to barrel into them. Sespa however was ready, and threw her own weight now, pinning the snarling and biting Werewolf to the ground, its jaws still snapping as her front paw pinned its throat. Wolflen used his magic suddenly though and sent a telekinetic blast toward its head, causing it to slam down against the ground. At the same time, Sespa bore down and crushed its wind-pipe.

  Wolflen turned again, dodging an attack this time from a Werewolf that tried to leap at him. It actually struck him just enough to hurt, but he managed to move in such a way that the Werewolf landed on the ground behind him. As Wolflen turned to engage it, he saw Jakarta riding behind it and stabbing it with his own Flameblade. The fire burned through it quickly, and pierced its body. Wolflen looked on a moment. His own blades too had been handy so far. As Shockblades they were different than Jakarta’s Flameblades now, but no less deadly. Each strike that landed electrocuted the target as well as cut them in most cases. His weapons glowed bluish-white however, unlike the orange flame now sticking out of the Werewolf chest in front of him.

  “Wolflen look out!”

  Suddenly a Werewolf barreled into him, scratching at Sespa’s back with its hind legs, and wrapping its front limbs and claws around Wolflen in midair, while using its back legs and claws to spring board off the top of Sespa. Wolflen was slammed to the ground, and he knew he was in trouble. It was on top of him and biting toward his neck. He held his arms up in a defensive manner, and he felt the strong bite crunching his armor and his forearm. He yelled, and with his other hand he brought one of his Shockblades sideways toward its neck. It died instantly, and Wolflen rolled to his feet again at once, bleeding now from the back of his head, and feeling the pain that racked his arm. He saw Sespa turn and tackle another Werewolf, and he realized the Werewolves liked that maneuver…they barreled into their enemies and relied on speed, strength and brutality to overwhelm their target. In his case, it had almost worked.

  He quickly found his other Shockblade on the ground, but had to dodge the tail swing of the Androkar to get it. Wolflen ducked and rolled, grabbing it as he got to his feet once more, then he swung both Shockblades as he turned, knowing he would strike something as he did. Another Werewolf fell, but it’s upper torso snapped at his foot from the ground until Wolflen stabbed in a downward fashion to make it stop.

  As the battle continued, Wolflen had to admit he was regretting what he started. He smiled however when he started seeing arrows fly and strike the Werewolves and the Androkar. The Androkar itself roared again in pain, and it was nearly dead now, lurching out to attack whatever it could in a final rampage fury. As Wolflen took a deep breath, Sespa rode toward him and Wolflen pulled himself upon her back while she was in mid-run, and as they passed another Werewolf, Wolflen struck at its back with his Shockblade just as an arrow pierced it’s chest.

  After that, the battle was over fairly quickly. More than 100 riders had come to join the battle on horseback. Some fired arrows while others used swords and axes. But when it was over, Jakarta sheathed his swords and rode back toward Wolflen and Sespa. As Jakarta looked on, he saw that his student had blood running down his neck and onto his armor. However, Wolflen didn’t seem to notice his own injury. Instead, he just looked sad as he looked down at the wound on Sespa’s back that had been opened.

  “She’s hurt. She needs a healer…” Wolflen said before falling over forward on top of it.

  Jakarta dismounted quickly and was shouting orders to the other soldiers there. For him the priority now was Wolflen’s safety. Sespa did indeed appear to be hurting, but Jakarta knew she was a soldier too in her own right, and her injury was less severe than the one he feared Wolflen suffered now.

  “Damn it Wolflen, I told you we should have just waited…always gotta rush in. The Princess will kill me for this…”

  Jakarta did his best to turn Wolflen si
deways so he was draped over Sespa. Then Jakarta turned toward Sespa’s face, and Sespa knew why.

  “He needs a healer and quickly Sespa. I tied him down. Try to keep the ride smooth if you can. I’ll be as hot on your tail as I can be from horseback. Go…”

  Sespa began darting off as requested, and Jakarta mounted up once more. The soldiers with him began to follow at once, and together they were riding hard back toward their camp. As they went, other soldiers had begun pouring out of the encampment as they were dressed in armor and armed. Now however, as some reached the area where Sespa was, they began to turn and follow her back to camp, seeing Wolflen’s body draped over her back. Each looked on in horror, hoping the worst had not befallen their War Mage leader.

  Chapter 9: The Anticipated Arrival

  The healers pulled Wolflen down from Sespa’s back and carried him into their tent. He was intermittently conscious, but he was still babbling. Jakarta rode up with other soldiers at his back after Wolflen was already in the tent. He tried to enter it himself, but the healers would not let him. They told him they needed time and space to help Wolflen, and that he didn’t need more distraction.

  As they shuffled Wolflen to a nearby bed in the tent, he was able to sit upright on his own. He looked a bit dizzy, but to the healers it was a good sign at least that he could hold himself upright. His babbling lessened and he shook his head, telling them he thought he just had his bell rung good. That’s when Free Mage Carra stepped into the tent. The healers saw her enter but did not object, knowing that her magic could help the situation.

  “Let me see him…” she insisted as she strolled toward him, “He has lost a lot of blood. We have to get him to fully healed quickly. The Princess is on her way here, and they are expecting the Elven King shortly. I can do this, but I am going to have to ask everyone to share in the balance debt. If I do this, there is a debt to be paid of 16 chimes of slumber. It will be immediate, and someone will have to help hide the evidence. Are there any here that would help share this debt price?”