Tales of the Wolf: Book 02 - Enter the Wolf

by A. E. McCullough

  Hawkeye had divided his people into two groups; those that could fight and those that couldn’t, namely the elderly and the children. This left the Highland Nation with about two thousand able-bodied warriors. From there, Hawkeye was faced with the hard choice of which warriors should stay and which should march off to war and probably their doom.

  In the end he let Hodios, the fickle God of Luck decide. Ordering his battlelords to gather two thousand arrows, he instructed them to mark the tip of five hundred arrows with a black score and one hundred arrows with a red score.

  After a feast of roasted buffalo, Hawkeye rose and everyone grew silent. “My friends, we stand at the crossroads of destiny. As the last remaining free Highlanders, we must choose which path to follow.”

  Looking into the eyes of those gathered nearby, Hawkeye felt a great weight settle on his heart. If he had to name it, it would be despair. He could feel the weight of the decision on his shoulders and he found himself wanting to crawl into the mountains and hide.

  “Down one path lies death, despair and destruction. This we know, for we have already glimpsed its effects on those that would stand against the darkness that looms on the horizon. All gathered here have lost someone dear to them; a brother, a sister, a father, a mother or a loved one who might have enjoyed a long life had the Dark Alliance not formed in our lifetime.”

  His eyes continued to scan those gathered. He could see fear, loss, despair and pain in their eyes also. Then his roaming eyes found Tatianna’s and his heart soared. Although nearing full-term, her beauty hadn’t diminished one bit. If anything, it had increased. She radiated a sense of peace to all who viewed her. He knew it was her love that gave his spirit wings, freeing it from the chains of despair that had threatened mere seconds ago.

  “But all is not lost! The gods have blessed us with their unborn child, the Chosen One. The ancient prophecies tell us that he will be the one who stands before the darkness that threatens to engulf the land. He will lead the Nine against the One. It will be he who cleanses the land and brings back the light.”

  Hawkeye noticed that all gathered had glanced at his bride and her unborn child. Now their eyes weren’t full of despair any longer, they were full of pride.

  “But it is not his time, not yet. We must give the Chosen One time to prepare himself and gather the Nine. Therefore we must, as a nation, act now. We are faced with three choices, wait until the Dark Alliance attacks, flee into the mountains or attack.”

  As Hawkeye mentioned each choice he could see in those gathered faces which choice they preferred.

  “Everyone remembers what happened at Itasca when we waited for Blackfang and his allies to attack. We lost many warriors that day including Red Crow, who was cut down by Blackfang and his pet witch.”

  Hawkeye could tell the mood of those gathered had suddenly changed. Now they felt anger and outrage at Blackfang’s actions. To die in battle is one thing all Highlanders understand, it is part of their way of life, but to be killed by witchcraft was another thing. It is almost sacrilegious.

  After a moment’s pause, Hawkeye continued. “Nor do I believe that we will be able to hide from our enemies, at least not for long. As much as I hate to admit it, Blackfang is as skilled in the hunt as any standing here. There is nowhere we can hide that he cannot, given enough time, discover. Therefore that leaves us only one choice, we must attack. We cannot hope to win a purely defensive battle. Blackfang and his army is just too large. They will just overwhelm us by their greater numbers and destroy the Chosen One before he is ever born.”

  A young brave near the back spoke up. “And yet you would have us attack this larger army that you just said would destroy us? What chance of survival is that? It sounds more like suicide.”

  Many of the younger warriors quickly echoed his statement. Only the veterans knew and understood what Hawkeye was truly asking of them. Nodding his head, Hawkeye began to move through the crowd placing a reassuring hand on the younger warriors.

  “It is true we have very little hope of surviving an attack against the Dark Alliance. But we have even a lesser chance of surviving an all out attack by them also.”

  Another warrior asked loudly. “What of hiding in the mountains? Maybe the dwarves will take us in?” Again many echoed his sentiment.

  Hawkeye nodded his head once again. “This is true. We could hide in the mountains and the dwarves might shelter us but for how long?” Hawkeye moved through the gathering making eye contact with as many warriors as possible, quickly looking from warrior to warrior. “How long would we have to hide in the mountains or rely on the welfare of our dwarven allies?”

  Hawkeye poked his finger in the chest of the first brave who spoke out. “How long would you want to live under the protection of the dwarves, deep in their halls under mountain and away from the open sky?” Turning quickly, Hawkeye pointed at another warrior standing nearby who had a little girl. “How many nights would you like to wake up your family, tell them to pack everything they own and move to a new campsite?”

  Turning away, he raised his voice and his hands. “Would any of you relish those choices?”

  Everyone answered with a resounding, “NO!”

  “Then we have no other choice but to attack. We cannot win a defensive battle. To win, we must attack! And when we attack, we must do our best to destroy Blackfang!”

  “YES!”

  Hawkeye saw that every face was filled with the excitement at the slight possibility of the destruction of their enemy. He let them cheer and rave for a few more moments before speaking again.

  “My friends, I cannot promise you a victory over our enemies, they are too numerous. And if I did, I would be lying to you and that would be an injustice and a betrayal of everything we hold dear. But I can promise you one thing, if you truly believe in yourself, if you believe in the ancient prophecies and if you believe in our goddess, then I can promise you a chance to hurt, cripple, maim or kill as many members of the Dark Alliance as possible!”

  A loud roar filled the night air!

  “However we must also look to the future!” Hawkeye shouted and silence quickly fell.

  Moving back to where his War Council was gathered, he continued. “I’m not asking you to abandon all hope of survival by taking every able-bodied warrior into battle, nor am I asking you to abandon your families and our future as a nation. We shall leave behind five hundred of our best warriors to guard our way of life.”

  Hawkeye could see numerous heads nod at his suggestion, so he continued. “But then comes the question, who shall stay behind and who shall go to fight for it?”

  Many warriors looked around at their friends, Hawkeye could see the unasked question in their eyes, ‘Will I be the one left behind?’

  “I cannot ask anyone here not to fight for their freedom or their family’s freedom, nor would I want to. Those that stay behind will be left with the hard choices of how to survive after the battle. It is our hope that we can hurt the Dark Alliance enough that they will leave our families alone but we cannot guarantee that. Therefore, we must choose who shall go and who shall stay.” Hawkeye gestured at the barrel of arrows. “Therefore, we will let the gods decide.”

  “Every warrior will draw an arrow from this barrel. Those that draw an arrow with a black tip shall stay and protect our way of life. Those that draw a normal arrow shall go and fight our enemies.”

  Pausing for a moment to let his words sink in before continuing.

  “Additionally, one hundred warriors shall draw an arrow with a red tip. These warriors will be my personal guard, known from this day forward as ‘the Seekers of Luna.’ And know this, those special few who become members of the Seekers shall have first chance at the traitor Blackfang, for we shall be found at the vanguard of the attack and we will hunt Blackfang down even if we have to chase him all the way to Hell!”

  A cheer went up among the warriors.

  After a moment, Hawkeye signaled to the closest warriors to begin drawing.
“May Hodios smile upon all of you.”

  Turning back to his council, Hawkeye noticed that Sir Richard was grinning. “I can see that you approve.”

  Nodding his head, Sir Richard absentmindedly stroked his mustache. “Very well done. I’m impressed. You told them the truth. Which, in my experience, I’ve found to be the hardest thing a commander can do and the scariest thing a soldier can hear.”

  Accepting his praise, Hawkeye turned back to his men as they quietly made their way forward to draw their lot. Their faces were full of mixed emotions as they drew their lot. Each warrior knew that they had at best a one in three chance of seeing another winter. Only those who drew the black tip would have chance at life but it would be a hard life. Full of hiding from the Dark Alliance daily while battling the guilt at not standing beside their friends and brothers who would undoubtedly die at the hands of their enemies.

  Turning away from the warriors, Hawkeye faced his War Council.

  “We must also decide who shall stay and who shall go. Our people, our way of life will perish without proper leadership. For most of our nation’s history we have been at war with each other; fighting each other for hunting rights of a section of the forest or other trivial issues. And although that too is part of our history and traditions, it is also one of the factors that have kept us from working together as one nation.”

  Pausing, Hawkeye glanced at his uncle. Anasazi nodded slightly, just enough to show his approval for what he was about to do. Taking a deep breath, Hawkeye continued.

  “Therefore, part of my War Council will stay behind to lead our people to safety in the months and years to come.” Several members of the council started to object before Hawkeye silenced them with a wave of his hand. “This has not been an easy decision for me but I believe that one member from each tribe shall stay behind to make up the War Council. I am also appointing Odovacar to lead in my absence.”

  A few of the younger members of the council wanted to argue but one look at the faces of the older members of the War Council and they knew the argument was over before it had begun. Hawkeye had spoken and as Warlord of the Highland Nation, his word was law. No warrior could or would dispute it upon pain of death at the hands of the other members of the War Council.

  In the end, Hawkeye chose two from every tribe to stay behind, one for their wisdom and one for their youth. As the meeting broke up and every warrior went to their tipi or hogan to prepare for their place in the final confrontation with the Dark Alliance, two members of Hawkeye’s War Council stayed behind to talk to him.

  The first was Dark Arrow. Approaching Hawkeye, the young warrior bowed his head slightly, “Greeting Wolflord, may I have a moment of your time?”

  Turning to face the young warrior, Hawkeye couldn’t help but feel a pang of regret at the loss of his father, Corax the Black Arrow, in the defense of his wife. Hawkeye could see that the young warrior held a black tipped arrow. Not knowing how Dark Arrow would react at being chosen to stay behind Hawkeye prepared for an argument, yet forced a smile.

  “How can I be of service?”

  “I wanted to apologize to you for my animosity towards you over the last several months. I felt that it was only your pride and need for revenge against Blackfang that lead you to challenge the Great Council for leadership of our nation, which in turn lead to the death of my father.”

  “And now…?”

  “Now… now I see that you want the survival of our people over everything else. I was wrong about you. I misjudged you and your motives. I’m…I’m sorry.”

  Hawkeye offered his right arm. “I too am sorry at the loss of your father. He was a great warrior and we miss him dearly. You are a tribute to his spirit.”

  Grasping forearms, Dark Arrow lowered his head slightly. “Thank you Wolflord. Your words do me honor. I will not fail in the duty you have placed on me this night.”

  “I’m sure you won’t. Go. Be at peace for one night, for tomorrow the winds of war shall blow toward our people and I’m trusting those I leave behind to protect all I hold dear.”

  Nodding his head, Dark Arrow moved off into the darkness. Hawkeye watched him go in silence before turning to face Kaoni Bravefoot. Hawkeye motioned the younger warrior to a log near the fire.

  “And how can I be a service to my kinsman tonight?”

  Taking the offered seat, the flickering light from the fading fire made Bravefoot’s features seem much darker than usual as he said, “I would like for you to reconsider my position on the War Council.”

  Picking up a small stick, Hawkeye poked the fire, briefly the flames brightened. “How so?”

  “I would like to accompany you in your attack on Blackfang. With Odovacar staying behind you will need someone to act as your second, someone to guard your back and it should be one of your kinsman not that lowlander with the hairy lip. Although I do not question his loyalty or your leadership, I just believe our people would prefer to have one of our own guarding your back instead of the knight.”

  Hawkeye looked up from the fire. “You make a good point but you have a daughter who needs you. Amani has not yet reached the age of maturity.”

  “I agree but if it wasn’t for Blackfang her mother would be here to look after her. I want a chance to get even with him for taking away my lifemate. I have already spoken with Karin Fleetfoot of the Grey Wolf Pack and he has agreed to take my place in the defense of our people and he will look after Amani if something should happen to me, given your approval of course.”

  Hawkeye studied his kinsman for a moment. His features seemed darker. His eyes colder, his words harder, yet his smile was warm and friendly, yet something inside Hawkeye’s gut churned as he studied his kinsman. Kaoni Bravefoot’s argument sounded logical but there was something just below the surface, something that Hawkeye just couldn’t fathom. Leaning back from the fire, Hawkeye stretched as the weariness from the last several days and the weight of the next few weeks settled on his shoulders. Shaking off the uneasy feeling, Hawkeye stood and placed his hand on the younger warrior’s shoulder.

  “Okay Bravefoot, you may join me in the vanguard of the attack. Make sure that Amani is taken care of, my wife has become very fond of her over these last few months.”

  The younger warrior stood and beamed with excitement. “Thank you Wolflord. You won’t regret your decision.”

  “I’m sure I won’t.” Hawkeye turned and walked out of the firelight and into the dark forest that surrounded the camp.

  Sitting down, Bravefoot stared into the fire as a huge grin broke over his face. Speaking ever so softly to himself, “Or should I say, you won’t live to regret your decision?”

  Chapter 28

  Khlekluëllin and Mortharona awoke one morning to an explosion that rumbled through the stone fortress of the dwarves. Even as deep underground as the twins were living, the explosion rattled the furniture causing Mortharona to spring out of his bed with swords in hand. Shaking his head slightly to clear away the cloud of sleep he asked, “What the hell was that?”

  Khlekluëllin waved away the falling dust. “I believe the dwarves are under attack.”

  Sheathing his swords, Mortharona began donning his armor. “Why would you say that?”

  “As deep as we are, only three things could make that type of explosion; an erupting volcano, an angry dragon or magic.”

  “Good point.” Mortharona quickly counted the days in his head. “Unless my calculations are incorrect, it should be springtime outside.”

  Khlekluëllin nodded. “Early spring but the snows have probably lessened enough that Blackfang feels confident enough that he can move his army north to attack the Highlanders.”

  A wave of anger washed over Mortharona’s face, twisting his features into something nearly unrecognizable to his twin. Taking several deep breaths, the dark twin struggled to regain control of his emotions.

  Khlekluëllin watched the ongoing battle before offering his advice. “Remember what our instructors taught us in the Ac
ademy; anger leads to the destruction of self.”

  Mortharona nodded. “I’m sorry brother. I know that we were taught that a true warrior never gets angry but there is something about that man that just sets me off.”

  Whatever Khlekluëllin’s response would’ve been was lost as Rjurik bounded through the door. “We are under attack!”

  Khlekluëllin asked, “We figured that. How bad is it?”

  Rjurik scratched his short beard with his left hand. “Well reports are sketchy but by all accounts a large band of goblins and gnomes have taken the whole Lower Quarter.”

  Khlekluëllin and Mortharona looked at each other as they realized the true scope of Rjurik’s statement. The Kingdom of Darkmoor was large and covered several miles underground. The Lower Quarter was a huge series of caverns where the dwarven kingdom farmed most of their foodstuffs and housed all of their livestock. Without access to the Lower Quarter, the dwarves would be on short rations, having to rely only on trade goods, fishing and stores. With over one hundred thousand dwarves living and working inside the kingdom, the retaking of the Lower Quarters became an instant priority to the King.

  Khlekluëllin asked, “What can we do to help?”

  “Padric realizes this is exactly what Blackfang intended. By cutting off our major resources, he is limiting our aid to the Highlanders.”

  Mortharona said, “I hate to give that barbarian anything but you’ve got to admit it is a good plan.”

  Rjurik nodded. “Yes. It is far craftier than I would’ve thought the mutt capable of planning. However, the King is more upset at the thought of being manipulated by Blackfang than the boldness of the strike.”

  “So what’s the plan?” asked Khlekluëllin.

  “We are leaving.”

  “When,” asked Mortharona.

  “Now. The King has sent the lion’s share of the army to repel the invasion, while we take a smaller force outside to aid Hawkeye and the Highlanders.” Waving his friends forward, Rjurik smiled. “Come my friends; let’s rejoin your sister and the pup.”