The Exiles

by Sven Grams

  Felx moved over to the balcony to look back up the main road towards the inner city.

  ‘As you know, there are elements on both sides that oppose the peace. We fear that what we have seen in RefugeCross is only a small part of something bigger playing out in the wolf territories.’

  ‘Surely that’s a wolf problem,’ stated Brex, his tone not carrying any hint of hostility.

  ‘Aren’t you on good terms with the wolf Mayor? Can’t she do something?’ asked Kirra, voicing another well-run rumour.

  ‘She has bigger problems,’ replied Felx. ‘The possibility of bears on her northern border and the recent attack on her second in command are just two of them.’

  ‘When did that come through?’ asked Brex, astonished by the news about the wolf attack, even he hadn’t heard that piece of information.

  ‘It hasn’t. At least not yet,’ said Felx. Looking down at the street below, he could see Lieutenant Millan coming towards the tower on foot.

  ‘Listen,’ said Felx, turning back to is officers. ‘I have had a request by professor Katan to go and check up on Filfia with him.’

  Kirra and Brex exchanged looks.

  ‘They’ll never let you go into the wilderness, not without an escort,’ said Brex.

  ‘I know.’

  ‘And they’ll never approve an escort… not now,’ added Kirra.

  ‘I know. That’s why I need your help,’ replied Felx, a shrewd smile appearing on his face.

  ‘I am going to move Kirra and myself to the border to oversee the defences. Lieutenant Millan will stay here to look after RefugeCross. And I will need you, Brex, to make sure that nothing happens while I am away.’

  Brex gave his commander a blank look.

  ‘She does outrank me you know,’ Brex stated flatly, referring to the Lieutenant, just in case his Captain had forgotten.

  ‘You have your ways…’ replied Felx, knowing that the Sergeant had a gift of twisting words and meanings. Looking at both of his friends, Felx allowed them a few seconds to digest what he had just said.

  ‘I need to know if you are with me, Kirra, Brex,’ Felx asked sincerely, addressing each one in turn.

  Felx didn’t often use the Sergeant’s names when on duty, but when he did his old friends knew that he was being serious.

  ‘Sure Captain,’ replied Kirra immediately, smiling at her superior officer.

  Captain Felx had never really doubted that she would follow him. Turning to Brex, he awaited an answer.

  ‘Now why would I disobey a request from the one officer I actually enjoy serving under,’ Brex said finally with cunning smile. ‘Particularly if he wants me to break the rules.’

  Felx grinned in reply. He could already hear Lieutenant Millan coming up the stairs.

  Many kilometres away in the lower hills of the WesternWilderness, Sara looked up into the morning sun. It had emerged temporarily from behind one of the many clouds slowly drifting across the sky. The weather was becoming overcast, something that would help her to move unseen.

  Far ahead, Sara could just make out a group of riders travelling quickly through a part of the forest that was less densely covered with trees. Scratching her head, the young wolf consulted her very rough map of the wilderness.

  Sara had been lucky to pick up their trail last night; all that extra training from her grandfather in addition to what she had learnt about tracking from her experienced mother came in very handy all of a sudden. She had to admit to herself though, that a lot of Anthros would have been able to pick up the trail.

  It appeared that the exiles were confident that they were the only ones in the WesternWilderness. Obviously speed was the issue for them now, not stealth. Sara realized that it was highly likely that she was the only one other then the exiles and Sage Filfia left in the forested wilds. Once the news had spread about the reported bears, special whistles and howls had been issued from the outposts before the wolf sentries had abandoned them. Anyone in the area would have headed home immediately. To stay and risk meeting up with bears was suicide. Bear Clan warriors did not hold the same value in life as wolves or lions did.

  Though Sage Filfia’s house was quite far from any outpost, the bear-warning-call was well known to the more intelligent creatures of the forest. As the Sage was able to communicate somewhat with the beasts of the forest, she would be well protected in her summerhouse by now. Additional to this, there was a message system from one of the wolf outposts; any written message left in a special place would find its way to the Sage’s home via one of her many feathered friends. This was something only known by a few wolves.

  One of the few wolves to know of this special message system, was someone that had learnt of it only very recently from Mr Thorntreck. He was a large red wolf, and one that was currently on his way to that special, now abandoned, outpost with his band of exiles.

  Sara moved back down the small rocky outcrop she had been using to get a view of the surrounding area. Down at the bottom stood a very dirty Misha, impatiently rubbing her head and short antlers onto her side.

  ‘Sorry girl,’ Sara said apologetically. ‘But you’re just too noticeable when we ride through the forest.’

  Misha gave her owner an unforgiving glare. Sara had stopped to cover Misha in a mixture of mud and ash the night before. The normally pale horse was now a deep grey and brown. Misha had yet to forgive her owner for this act, and Sara had been extra kind to her animal to compensate.

  ‘Come on girl, lets go,’ called Sara.

  Misha simply turned away, seemingly ignoring her owner.

  ‘The quicker we get going, the sooner I wash you clean,’ Sara stated. Crossing her arms, Sara challenged the young animal’s stubbornness. Misha turned her head, somehow sensing that her owner was not about to budge, she conceded and trotted over.

  ‘Good girl,’ said Sara, jumping up onto her animal.

  Sara directed Misha through the dense forest.

  From her observations she could tell which mountain pass the exiles were going to use. At this particular ridgeline there were only really three ways to get further up into the mountains. It had been fortunate that she had picked up the exiles trail, but it was unfortunate in that this meant she was behind them. It would be difficult to get by unseen to warn the wolf Sage.

  Not for the first time today, Sara began to doubt herself. From what she could see in front of her there were about eight to ten exiles, all obviously skilled and highly motivated. She reasoned this from the fact that they must have some sort of plan to kill a very powerful Sage. Even if Sara got by them, would it be enough? Sara imagined what she would say to the wolf Sage…

  Um, sorry miss Filfia, but there are some wolves outside who want to kill you. Oh, and by the way, I helped them to get here, Sara thought to herself.

  The ridiculousness of the whole thing brought the spirits of the young female wolf down. And what if the group just went straight in and attacked her, would Sara jump in like she had done with her grandfather? She wouldn’t last two seconds.

  Sara’s mind drifted to her parents, wondering what they were going through; by now they would have discovered that their daughter had disappeared again. Frowning to herself, Sara suddenly had a strong urge to go home… the problem was, to what? To an angry mother, to a disappointed father and to a grandfather she had abandoned. No, whatever happened out here, that was the way it was. The damage had been done, what more could she loose, her life?

  Sara gulped audibly as she realized that was actually the case. Her mind flooded with negative emotions, it began to spread noticeably through the young wolf’s body. Misha became uneasy, affected by the stress and doubt coming from her owner.

  Sara was brought back to the real world be her faltering horse. Realizing that she had let her emotions get out of control, she focused on developing her confidence. She had to streamline her thoughts, she had to think positive.

  So what if she did lose her life? It wasn’t as if she had much of a life to go back to
anyway.

  This was not a particularly good argument, but it was a start.

  It all balanced on if she could beat the exiles to Sage Filfia, and that was what she was going to do.

  That was the trick, if life became too complicated, focus on the one thing you could do, and then do it well. Even if you weren’t exactly sure how you where going to do it, but then that was what confidence was for, wasn’t it? Buoyed by her owner’s new determination, Misha kicked it up a gear.

  The two slalomed their way through the undergrowth.

  All of this activity was unknown to another traveller nearby. Trex was taking a more costal route in an effort to avoid any wolves that might be around. The young lion was still completely unaware of the false warning of Bear Clan warriors in the area, but was still trying to travel as quietly as possible in any case.

  Coming over the small mountain pass, Trex began his descent with Flint, trying to stay in the cover of the rocks and low vegetation.

  Had he been able to continue his careful progress, he may have noticed the small group of exiles travelling to the east as they galloped through low shrub and grasslands.

  Suddenly, something in his immediate area had Trex’s and Flint’s complete and undivided attention.

  The massive predator was half the size of the horse Flint, its powerful claws and crushing jaw making it one of the most dangerous wild animals Trex knew of.

  The creature uncurled from the rock it was lying on.

  In appearance, the animal could best be described as looking like a massive lizard as we know them. On Trex’s world, this species of animal was warm blooded and behaved and acted more like cats or pumas do on our world then reptiles.

  The wild beast in question was called a liezon, and this one was almost as shocked to see Trex and his horse, as they were to see it. Jumping back on all fours, the large smooth-scaled creature whipped its long tail in front of it threateningly as it hissed in anger. Liezons had large triangular heads and long slick bodies. Though currently black, the smooth scales of the large creature flashed red for a second in anger. Like chameleons, liezons could change their scale colour to better blend into the environment, something perfect for ambushing its prey.

  Flint reared up in shock, grunting and whining in alarm. Trex was barely able to hold on as the liezon scurried forward, swiping one of its mighty claws as a warning.

  The jet black animal backed up against a rock. Liezons were shy around Anthros in general, but their two hundred kilogram weight, massive claws and razor sharp teeth proved a good deterrent to anything that may come looking for them.

  Trex didn’t even get a second glance as Flint suddenly bolted.

  Fuelled by its own fear, as well as that of its owner, the horse’s mind was blank to everything except running as fast as possible, preferable into the open.

  Trex held on for dear life as Flint sprinted through low shrub and trees. Recovering from his shock from seeing the liezon, Trex’s mind was overcome with fear as he found himself riding on an out of control horse. Blinking a few times, he strained to get some of his thoughts together.

  Bursting through the undergrowth, Flint found some open space to run.

  Finally able to look up, Trex tried to clear his mind, he had to do something, and fast. Pulling back on the reigns his arms were almost ripped off by the surging animal. He had to get the animals attention somehow. Reading the movement of the horses head as it ran, he waited until it was back, kicking his legs into the animal sides, he pulled the reigns down low, forcing the animals head down as it tried to move forward.

  ‘Flint!’ shouted Trex, momentarily unconcerned about who else could hear him.

  Startled, Flint lost his galloping rhythm, forcing him to slow down. Still panicked, the horse kicked out, trying to remove whatever it was on his back that was stopping him from running. Trex struggled for control as the horse bucked underneath him, pulling in the rains more, he tried to bring the animal to a stop.

  ‘Flint calm down, calm down boy!’ Trex shouted, trying to get the animal to listen.

  Rearing up a few times, Flint slowly began to calm. Trex started to make soothing sounds while stroking his horse, or at least as much as he could while still trying to control the stressed Flint.

  ‘He’s gone boy! We’re safe now,’ reassured Trex, trying to be as confident and calm as he could.

  Trex’s mind had been brought into sharp focus by the previous events and he was already thinking ahead. Considering the noise he had just made, anyone who was in the current valley would know he was here, and he was still in the open. Looking down, he tried to think of the best course of action. Flint was still nervous, Trex had to get them back into cover and whatever he did, he would have to do it quickly to try and disappear if someone had seen him.

  With new determination, Trex took hold of Flints reigns, forcefully guiding the young horse. Flint didn’t fight the new instructions, assuming that if the focused emotionless lion on top of him was not scared and was still directing, he must have some idea about what he was doing…

  Across the upper end of the valley a small group of riders had indeed seen the young lion’s battle with his horse.

  ‘What is a lion doing here?’ asked an older wolf, his rough voice matching his rag-tag appearance.

  ‘Should we kill him?’ asked a younger wolf hopefully. He had ridden up beside the large red wolf who was leading the group. He was the same brown wolf that had attacked Sara only a few nights ago.

  The large red wolf Philton watched as the lion disappeared back into thicker vegetation in the distance.

  ‘No,’ he said eventually.

  ‘He could have been sent by the lions to warn the Sage,’ stated the older wolf, his pessimistic tone as hard as he himself looked. This was an Anthro who had failed the school-of-hard-knocks, and then had gone off to kill the teacher.

  ‘We will not kill him,’ stated Philton coolly. The leader’s concentrated expression showed that his mind was already hard at work with the new situation.

  The young brown wolf spat at the ground in annoyance, disappointed at having missed out on some fun.

  ‘I want him alive,’ said Philton.

  This generated an evil grin from the young brown wolf.

  ‘And in a good shape,’ the red wolf added, looking specifically at his sadistic companion.

  ‘Oh I won’t hurt him… much,’ replied the brown wolf.

  With a crisp ‘hiut!’ the group turned to rush down the valley, heading straight for Trex’s position.

  Further back down the trail, Sara had not seen Trex and Flint’s mad dash into the clearing. She had crossed the ridge just in time to see the two disappear back into the undergrowth, not recognizing either of them from this distance. Confused at the sudden appearance of a lion, Sara waited for a reaction from the exiles. They appeared to discuss the matter before giving chase. Watching them head down the valley, Sara was at a loss as to what to do. Only moments before she had decided to remain on their trail; now, however, there seemed to be a good opportunity to sneak past. Somewhat confused, she consulted her map.

  ‘Damn it,’ she said to herself.

  Technically she could head on, but something was telling her to follow the exiles. It was the same feeling that had made her decide to stay on their trail only minutes before. Even given these new circumstances, the feeling was still strong. Looking back up, Sara stuffed the map back into a pocket. Well, she had made a decision and it wasn’t like she had gone back on any she had made recently, so why start now. Leading Misha into the clearing, Sara began to hunt the hunters.

  The one Anthro who was the pray in all this was poor Trex. He had stopped momentarily to arm himself, just in case. Jumping from his horse the young lion unravelled his sheathe, putting the cloak over his head and fastening it like a large poncho with his belt, leaving his arms free. The large pendant was now positioned just below his head on his chest, the few times he had accidentally touched the large black stone
the surface had flared silver, indicating the intense level of pure focus Trex was now under. Taking out his short sword and utility axe he manipulated them to attach to the ends of his two sections of staff, which he then repositioned on either side of his quiver that was slung to his back for easy access.

  Jumping back onto Flint, the pair shot forward again. Flint was still excited, but his fear had subsided. His owner was driving him hard. Flint didn’t know why, but there was purpose in Trex’s actions. Even without any noticeable emotions coming from Trex, the horse could tell this was not a time to argue.

  Dashing forward through the low scrub, Trex wanted to put distance between himself and the clearing. He had decided that making a break for home was not the best idea. He was already a long way into the wilderness, wolf outposts were closer then lion’s. Though Trex didn’t really like the idea of going to wolf soldiers for protection, it was still better then meeting unknown and unrepresented wolves in the wilds.

  Trex didn’t actually know if he had been seen or not. Lions were cautious by nature, and liked to take a course of action that would take almost everything into account.

  Trex and Flint returned to the small path that led through the forest. Scanning left and right to see if anyone had seen the previous commotion, Trex suddenly spotted the exiles racing towards him from the clearing. They were only a few hundred meters away and closing. Mentally prepared for this eventuality, their sudden appearance did not register any fear in the young lion. Flint surged forward with more pace. Trex thought that the wolf riders were probably out to have a little fun. If he gave them a good chase they would probably give up.

  Though the WesternWilderness was unpopulated there were a few well worn paths here and there, mostly from ancient animal routes. Antelope and wild sheep-like creatures existed on the world of the Anthros too. They, and other animals, migrated up and down the mountain passes between winter and summer.

  As useful as these paths were, they could also be disorientating. There were no sign posts out here, and only a few of the paths lead to the important river crossings and mountain passes. It was difficult enough to navigate when you took your time. It was something almost impossible at the break neck speed Trex and Flint were travelling.