The boy paused and thought a moment. He knew this was not a simple question and he also knew it might reveal a recent transgression if he told the truth. The boy’s father could sense his hesitation.
“Well, boy, speak up! Your chief asked you a question, and your tongue best not deceive your father,” he said sternly.
“Just once, Father, near the base of Thornmount,” answered Adolphus.
Most of the Mythik Forest was an endless sea of trees, bushes, ferns, and vines. Thornmount, however, was a series of jagged rock formations jutting from the forest floor. A vein of salt and pepper colored granite had bubbled up long ago and left a trail of stony outcroppings, ridges, and caves carved in and protruding from the hillside. Some of the old ones said it was the birthplace for the Mountains of Badek, but the forest fought back and forced the range to claim its home far to the east.
Thornmount’s networks of caves and crevices offered a near impenetrable shield of granite, providing an ideal home for any number of wild creatures. The Shade Wolves, however, staked their claim long before a single log was hewn to build the village below. Their dens littered the top of the mount and only the bravest of souls, or the most foolish, wandered into their territory. The wolves were the top of the food chain in the forest, so much so that when other predators meandered through the woods, they would quickly find themselves outnumbered, outmatched, and at the mercy of countless fanged jaws.
In was also no coincidence that the village was built in close proximity to Thornmount. At the base of the mount, visibility was excellent as trees could not push roots deep enough to overcome the granite slabs. These large clearings provided an unobstructed line of fire. Enemies were exposed as they traversed the open ground, and the fissures and textures of the rock made siege weapons and heavy horses a difficult option.
The other side of the village sloped south toward the River of Ash and east to the Pool of Sorrow. So, in addition to the natural defenses, invaders would have to battle uphill to secure the higher ground before taking the village. Large watchtowers lined the western and southern ridges, some taller than the highest tree, which provided an expansive field of view.
Lastly, if enemies chose to go around Thornmount, they would have to deal with the Shade Wolves.
“You’ve seen a Shade Wolf? While the sun was overhead?” Chief Draghone asked. The boy nodded. “Then you were too close to their dens. I thought we talked about this Adolphus? You could endanger the entire village with your foolish desires.”
“But you said the Shade Wolves are our friends. That they protect Thornmount and the forest just as we do,” the boy said.
“True, but neither man nor beast likes it when an intruder comes to his home uninvited. And with a new litter coming, you’re lucky they didn’t tear you apart and feed you to the cubs for their first meal.”
Surprisingly the boy did not back down. Mildly irritated, the chief still admired his son’s conviction and passion. “I did no harm, father, I swear it. He even spoke to me. He warned me to go away,” Adolphus said with the excitement only a boy could display.
“And what did this Shade Wolf say?”
“He said run with purpose.”
“And did you?” the father asked.
“Of course. I’ve never run so fast. When I made it back to the village, the wolf was gone,” Adolphus said excitedly.
Thayne Draghone bellowed with laughter, and put his massive arm around his son. They all fear what they do not understand, he thought. That is why you are chief.
“You still have much to learn, young one. Listen closely, son, for this is truth,” he said as he knelt next to his boy so they could see eye to eye. “Run with purpose is not a warning, it is an ancient wolf saying.”
The boy was perplexed; this was not at all what he thought happened during his brief encounter with the wolf. “I don’t understand. What does that mean?”
“Run with purpose. It means do not waste energy, life, seasons. When you hunt, hunt until your prey is in your jaws. If you fight, fight with all your strength until your win your enemy’s throat. If you love, love until your heart stops beating. And if you must run, go swiftly until you run with your pack once more. This is the way of the wolf. This is the way of the warrior. And I pray to the gods it will be your way too,” the chief explained.
Adolphus looked back in the direction of the wolves with a new understanding and appreciation. His fear vanished, replaced with admiration and a sense of wonder. I want to see a Shade Wolf again. I’ll be brave, he thought.
“Come boy, the night grows darker still. Your mother will whip your hide… and mine if we don’t return to the cooking fires soon,” said Thayne.
“Can’t we stay a while longer? I want to listen. I wonder what they’re saying now, Father,” said the boy.
“When the sun rises I’ll travel to their den and pay my respects. I will offer gifts of meat and corgan entrails in celebration of new life. I was hoping my son could accompany me, but I fear if he doesn’t find his bed soon, he’ll be too weary,” said the chief.
He barely finished his sentence before the boy scrambled down the watchtower and scurried toward home. The father chuckled as he watched his son dash away. Run with purpose, young one. Now you’re getting it, he thought.
CHAPTER 2
Korwin could not take his eyes off the black beast. He nervously bit his lip as he waited with anticipation. Why is this taking so long? I know I performed the ritual exactly as the book instructed, he thought. It has to work.
Large snowflakes slowly drifted down, and a crisp winter breeze picked up. The wind mussed the fur coat of the wolf, but the beast did not move.
“No, no, no!” Korwin said in a rage. “This can’t be happening to me!”
First, he checked the dagger to make sure the blade was secured to its hilt. It was. Second, he looked through the passage of the tome one more time, mumbling the words of the incantation to himself. They, too, were correct. Those devils! They tricked me. They knew all along; they knew it wouldn’t work, thought Korwin.
The elf had been calm up to this point, focused on completing the magic perfectly. But now his frustration and temper boiled over.
“Liars!” he screamed as he threw the unicorn dagger into the dark of the forest.
He shoved the ancient book off the altar and started pummeling the lifeless wolf with his pudgy fists. He acted like a spoiled child angry with parents who would not buy him a candy or toy. He swatted at one of the torches, tore at his tunic, and kicked his pack, spilling it contents everywhere. Still the wolf lay motionless.
“Ha…ha…ha,” came a raspy laugh from the darkness, followed by the rattling of chains. “Elf no wizard…ha…ha,” continued the voice in words that were garbled and barely understandable. “No dagger… no magic sword.”
Korwin glared into the forest in the direction of the voice. If he could exert magic from his glaring eyes, the voice’s owner would be eternally silenced. The elf had not felt such anger and hatred in a while - since he stabbed his uncle in the back. On that occasion, Korwin watched as his victim fell to his knees, then onto his side, still gripping the ancient and supposedly magical tome. The nephew had ripped it from his malefactor’s hands as he stared right into his uncle’s eyes and watched life slip away. He didn’t need to say anything; his eyes spoke of pure hate and hence, delivered his intended message perfectly – payback for years of abuse and mistreatment.
The elf would have continued down this path, reliving all the wrongs performed against him, all the slights, but the distant voice and its last remark jerked him away from his anger. The unicorn dagger was the one thing of value he still possessed, and he had just thrown it into the gnarled clutches of the Mythik Forest.
“Great,” he said sarcastically as he snatched a torch and stomped off in the direction of the discarded weapon.
Moments later, Korwin returned to the clearing with the dagger tucked safely in his belt. He grumbled as he knelt to collec
t the items strewn on the ground. One by one he shoved bottles, notes, scrolls and other objects back into his pack. As he casually looked around to see if anything was missing, he noticed the empty surface of the stone altar. It took a moment to register before he realized something was missing - The Shade Wolf was gone!
Frantically, he jumped to his feet and hurried to the far side of the altar but found nothing. He spun around in a panic, searching for the beast. He didn’t see a thing… but he heard something, a distinct sound coming from the edge of the clearing. A fast-paced panting grew louder and louder. Korwin squinted, looking towards the sound until his eyes zeroed in on the wolf. Its fur was so dark, the beast was hard to make out until it opened its jaws and white fangs gleamed in the torchlight.
The wolf let out a slow growl as Korwin cautiously approached.
“Easy, beast, I mean you no harm,” said the elf as he held up his empty hands to pacify the wolf. He took a few more steps. “I ripped you from death, I brought you back. All I ask in return is that you serve me.”
The wolf growled again but was interrupted by a sharp pain ripping through its body. Moments later, its body convulsed and contorted uncontrollably.
Korwin inched closer, but the wolf defiantly snapped its jaws in his direction until another wave of pain struck and the convulsions pounded again. It appeared as if another creature resided inside the wolf; one that punched and kicked in a desperate attempt to escape. The poor beast was in terrible agony, but there was nothing the elf could do to ease the torture. He could only watch, as he placed one hand on his dagger.
As quickly as the convulsions began, they abruptly ceased. Korwin looked into the wolf’s eyes and watched as they changed from dark brown to an electric blue. But it wasn’t just the color that changed; the eyes looked hollow and lifeless. The wolf panted again, but with each breath, visible blue-white wisps of energy curled from its mouth and dissipated. The wolf turned its head and stared directly at Korwin. The Storm Elf’s blood ran cold as a river of fear gushed down his spine. Instead of leaping at the elf, the wolf unleashed a blasting roar that acted as a shockwave that knocked Korwin off his feet.
The unearthly force nearly extinguished the torches that stood deeper in the clearing. As powerful as the roar had been, it was the sound that made his knees buckle. It was a horrible mashing of metal and bone, the high pitched screech of a bird of prey, and the scream of a trapped beast, all thrown into one horrific and ghastly roar. No wolf sounds like that, thought the elf as he shuddered. Something’s wrong!
Korwin covered his pointy ears, doing his best to block the penetrating sound. He watched as blue-white energy passed in and out of the wolf, once forming a perfect mirror image of the beast before the phenomenon disappeared. He had never seen anything like this before. Is it alive? Is it dead? Or perhaps a horrible abomination trapped between this life and the next?
A moment later the wolf was gone, disappearing into the darkness of the forest, leaving a trail of blue-white wisps trailing in its supernatural wake. Korwin exhaled in relief and placed his hand to his chest to calm his racing heart. I did it! It actually worked. Whatever that… thing is, I did it! he thought.
Congratulations and a pint of ale would have to wait because his new creation was escaping through the woods. I won’t stand a chance against the beast. Good thing I brought reinforcements, he thought with renewed confidence.
“Rawrf!” said Korwin as he turned his attention to the rattle of chains. He walked to the edge of the clearing, stopping just short of the tree line. A beast, still concealed by the darkness, grunted. Slowly, it moved forward, chains rattling, until its massive head came into view. Rawrf was a Ghast Gorilla.
The gorilla’s head was huge, several feet wide and as many long. His dark nostrils were big enough to inhale Korwin’s head. His wrinkled brow and cheeks were black as soot, as were his mouth and lips. His fur, however, was a much lighter color, almost metallic silver, but a black stripe of fur ran down the center of his back.
“Bring me the wolf…alive.” Korwin ordered as he stood face to face with the giant ape. “I said now, you stupid clod. Now!” He clasped his hands behind his back in a show of superiority and confidence.
“Rawrf say no!” the ape responded and snorted a blast of air from his nose directly at Korwin.
“Look you… you giant… ape,” the elf said as he tried to find words the creature would understand. “Do it or I’ll hunt down your family. I’ll catch them, just as easily as I caught you. I’ll sell them to the fur traders. Or better yet, I’ll feed you to the Serpent Lord. I hear the giant snakes prefer to eat their prey while it’s still alive.”
“No!” responded Rawrf. He swung his giant anvil-like hand at Korwin, narrowly missing the elf’s head to smash a nearby tree like a war hammer crushing a hapless victim. The thick tree trunk exploded in a spray of wooden shrapnel.
After missing his target, Rawrf lurched forward to continue his attack upon the elf, but the thick metal chain and collars on his neck and rear ankle snapped him back with a quick jerk.
“Fine, we’ll do it the hard way!” Korwin snapped as he retreated a few steps from the gorilla. He retrieved his pack and pulled a cylinder from it, and then popped the cork stopper from the bottle. Only about a fourth of the orange liquid remained in the container. His arm extending out straight, he held the bottle as far away from his nose and face as he could. Carefully, he splashed the remaining liquid on the Ghast Gorilla’s face.
Rawrf thrashed about as the orange fluid coated his nose and mouth. An orange mist sizzled upwards as he fought to hold his breath. A moment later, he finally inhaled the foul fluid. Slowly his thrashing stopped, and the giant ape’s breathing returned to a normal rhythm. His giant, dark eyes glazed over, and a milky residue seeped from the corners of his eyeballs. The gorilla’s head drooped down as the powerful magic took hold.
“That’s better,” said Korwin as tossed the empty container aside. He approached Rawrf again. “Bring back that wolf. I need him alive. You understand?” The elf stared at the gorilla, only a foot or so from its broad face.
“Yes. Rawrf say yes,” answered the ape, still staring blankly.
Korwin reached up and unlocked the collar on the gorilla’s neck and then the restraint on its ankle.
“Now!” yelled Korwin.
The Ghast Gorilla leaped into action, lumbering in the same direction as the wolf had. He was gone, but the sound of snapping limbs and twigs attended his departure.
Rawrf clumsily rushed through the forest as his big, dark knuckles slammed into the ground with each powerful push forward. Normally, the Ghast Gorilla would be right at home in the forest, capable of running, climbing, and swinging through the trees with little difficulty. The orange potion, however, clouded his mind and slowed his reflexes. The magic was potent enough to usurp his limited intelligence, but it also inhibited his formidable and ferocious instincts. He was forced to obey, even though every impulse urged him to slay the wolf and put an end to an old enemy.
It was well-known in the world of Illyia that Ghast Gorillas and Shade Wolves were the very sorest of enemies. For ages they had battled across the southern continent. Ages ago, both races had claimed the Mythik Forest as part of their respective territories, but even in such a large region, clashes were frequent and always bloody.
When the Draghone clan branched out from their lands in the north and east and settled at Thornmount to secure the frontier forest borders, they unwittingly became allies of the Shade Wolves based on nothing more than proximity. Confrontations between the wolves and the gorillas often involved the village, and the Draghone had no choice but to defend themselves. The gorillas were the intruding attackers, and so an informal bond formed between barbarian and wolf and evolved out of necessity. It was a bond that had strengthened through countless sacrifices and soaked in bloodshed.
Rawrf was part of the gorilla troop that had been pushed from the Mythik Forest many years before. In a great battle with t
he wolves, they lost and had retreated across the River of Ash and claimed a new territory to the south called the Woods of Dorn. While a few gorilla families remained in the Mythik Forest, most of the Ghast troops sought refuge with their kind and joined forces in the south. But it was not their true home, and every morning they cursed the treachery of the alliance between the Shade Wolves and the barbarians that succeeded in robbing them of their land. With each new generation, the Ghast passed on their hatred for the Shade Wolves. The tradition rekindled the fiery desire for war and death.
This feud motivated trading caravans and travelers to go well out of their way to avoid the forest and the aptly named River of Ash.
Everyone on Illyia knew some chapter of this area’s history. Whether wrapped in tall tales, legends, or myths, the war of the beasts was common knowledge. But Korwin Widestep wasn’t from the world of Illyia. He was an ignorant trespasser from Ohsmar and had no idea of what he had set in motion. He not only sat on a powder keg that could hurl the whole region into war. He had just lit the fuse.
The gorilla searched on and on, but had no luck in finding the wolf. Working through the forest’s depths, he finally heard something. A beast howled until cut short by a distant yelp that pained his ears. Scraping and clawing through the thick woods, Rawrf followed the cries of his intended target. Soon, he shoved his bulky frame through a thick hedge and emerged from the other side. The Shade Wolf was there.
The wolf stood near the edge of a rocky cliff near a stream that cascaded over the rim. It seemed unaware of Rawrf’s presence as it made no movement when the gorilla closed in.
The specter was still enduring some phase of transformation. Blue-white streams of ghostly energy passed in and out of the wolf, each episode inflicting pain. Once black from nose to tail, the Shade Wolf was now ablaze in this blue supernatural force. Rawrf watched as the wolf grew larger, its snout and teeth stretching longer, and its legs taller. Even the canine’s bones became more jagged and sharp.
Trail of Bones: A Young Adult Fantasy Novel (An Epic Fantasy Adventure For Any Family) Page 2
