Darkness Fallen

by Dave Willmarth

  Bodine stood as the wolf finished off the jerky. He took a couple of confident steps forward, saying out loud, “The key is to show them no fear. Wolves will accept friendship with equals. And will usually bow to a superior. But the weak are consigned to being prey. Fear is seen as weakness. Just think of them as big puppies.”

  When he got to within a couple steps of the leader, the large black wolf growled briefly in warning. As if to say ‘stay back’. Bodine paused where he was, hand still outstretched. He said, “Don’t growl at me, mister. I’m not here to hurt you. I can… if I want to. But I’m here to make friends.”

  Chris mumbled, “If he goes ‘n’ sniffs that wolf’s butt, I’m outta here.” Earning him a few chuckles. Including from Bodine.

  “No, letting him sniff my hand should be sufficient,” he replied.

  Bodine took one more step toward the big wolf. His hand was now inches from jaws large enough to crush his head like an egg. He kept talking, his tone firm but casual. “This big fella is a little confused right now. He sees a human, which he’s probably never seen before. His racial memory may see me as friend, or enemy. But he smells wolf, as I am a Wolfmaster. He doesn’t know why I am not afraid, and-”

  Just then the massive jaws snapped out at Bodine’s hand. The teeth did not envelope his hand and remove it from his arm. Instead, there was a small, almost surgical nip on his thumb. A few drops of blood welled up from the wound. Bodine, showing more willpower than Alexander knew he could have ever summoned in this situation, did not withdraw his hand. He held it steady, allowing the wolf to sniff at it. After a moment, the wolf licked the wound clean of blood. He woofed at Bodine, shaking his head side to side a bit.

  “Human blood is a new taste for him. He’s still trying to decide if we’re dinner.” Bodine informed them.

  Fibble, looking terrified and gripping Tigger’s fur tightly, cried out “Not eat Fibble!”

  The lead wolf growled at this outburst. Immediately, the other wolves bared their teeth and took a few steps forward.

  “NO!” Bodine growled. Never taking his eyes off the lead wolf, he said, “That was a poor choice of words; I’m sorry, Fibble. These wolves are not going to eat you. Tigger will protect you. I promise. Besides, these wolves are going to be our friends.”

  Confused by Bodine’s sharp retort and refusal to back down, the lead wolf took a step back. His pack continued to growl at the others in the group but did not advance.

  Bodine continued his pitch. “We can be friends. We offer you tasty food. Cooked food, with seasoning like the jerky. Tasty fish from the river. We can offer you warm shelter when it’s cold. Friends to brush your fur and rub your tummy.”

  With each concept, Bodine projected an image or a taste to the wolf. Roasted rabbit, grease dripping from it. Fished cooked with salt and butter. A warm barn just like the one Alexander had just created, with wolves warm inside, while the snow fell outside. The feeling of having its coat brushed.

  The black wolf sat on his haunches, head tilted to one side. He looked askance at Bodine, then woofed questioningly. Bodine chuckled, then stepped forward and began to scratch the wolf’s ears with both hands. “No, I’m not trying to take your pack. You are the alpha here. We are just looking to be peaceful neighbors. Friends. We can hunt together.”

  The wolf closed his eyes, enjoying the sensation of the scratchings. After a moment, his jaws opened, and his tongue lolled out. Alexander let out the breath he’d been holding, and heard several others do the same. The wolves surrounding them ceased their growling and sat as well. It seemed peace had been declared.

  One by one, the other wolves stood and advanced slowly toward the group. They hesitated as they drew within reach, sniffing at the various life forms. There were elf scents, goblin, human, and cat. As well as tiny wolves. They took it all in, and then stepped a bit closer, Regina, used to this process, was the first to reach out to the nearest wolf. She placed a hand on its neck, then proceeded to scratch an ear. When the wolf sat and tolerated the attention, the others all began to do the same. Pollock reached out to a nearby wolf, patting its side, saying, “Nice doggy. Good doggy. Who’s a good boy?” which drew laughter from a few of the others, and served as a good tension breaker.

  Soon each of them was scratching or petting a wolf or two. There were more wolves than people, and each was crowding in for this new game. Fibble was the last holdout, still not convinced the wolves wouldn’t eat him. Until a female stepped close, sniffing first at Tigger, then reaching her snout up to sniff Fibble. A moment later she licked the goblin’s face. Fibble, realizing she wasn’t just tasting him, said, “Who good boy?” and leapt from Tigger’s back to the wolf’s. He promptly laid himself on her neck and reached up to scratch her ears with his tiny hands. The wolf froze in surprise at first, then relaxed and accepted the attention.

  Alexander shook his head. “Crazy goblin. Gonna get himself ate.”

  After a solid ten minutes of sniffing and scratching, Bodine said, “We should head back. I think we’ve made good progress for the today.”

  He set his hand on the lead wolf’s neck and closed his eyes. Conveying a message of friendship and welcome. He invited the wolves back to the tower, showing a picture in his head.”

  As the group separated themselves from the now friendly wolves and headed back toward the tower, the pack followed. The leader let out a long howl, which was answered from not far away. It wasn’t long before another dozen wolves joined them, including some pups. The newcomers followed at a safe distance either side, not having experienced the introductory ear-scratchings.

  When they reached the tower, Alexander had Jeeves open the door, and they tried to welcome the wolves inside. But the leader was suspicious, and wouldn’t enter.

  Bodine said, “Maybe a barn, like the other one?” He looked around at the massive wolves. “A bit larger?” He grinned.

  Alexander agreed. He went to work as Bodine explained to the leader what they were doing. He raised walls and a roof for a barn that curved around the outside of the tower for about eighty feet. He made the ceiling twelve feet high and added a few small skylights in the roof for light. He made the door five feet wide and eight feet tall. He didn’t bother with interior walls, as he thought he remembered that wolves were more communal animals. He did sink a pipe down to the water source that fed the tower and ran it up to a trough just inside the doorway. He set it so that the water was just a trickle, and made a drain in the floor next to it so that overflow wouldn’t flood the barn. The last thing he did was raise a wall right in front of the doorway, but about six feet out. This served as an effective wind barrier while still allowing easy access for the wolves.

  Bodine spoke to the alpha again, encouraging him to check out the barn. He pictured all the wolves sleeping inside, warm and dry, safe from predators.

  While the alpha was still thinking it over, a large female pushed past him and entered the barn. She sniffed around the walls, then lapped at the water in the trough. She let out a quick series of barks, and several puppies burst from the group and invaded the barn, yipping and barking. One of them jumped into the trough, snorting when it got a snootful of water.

  Fibble shook his head. “Stupid doggy take bath.”

  A few at a time, most of the other wolves entered the barn to look around. A few took a drink after sniffing at the water. Some sniffed at the patches of sunlight that shone through the skylights onto the floor. Several, including the Alpha, remained outside. Two of those made their way around the outside of the barn, lifting legs and marking territory.

  After maybe ten minutes of this, the female emerged again. She went to Alexander and licked his face. He chuckled and said, “You’re welcome.”

  Then she went to Bodine. She sat in front of him and held up a paw, which he shook with both of his hands. She then licked his face, too, before trotting off. A quick bark had the pups and several females following after her as she moved into the woods. The alpha looked at Bodine as if t
o say ‘What? She’s the boss’, and then it followed after. Regina winked at Alexander.

  Bodine said, “They’re headed back to their den. I think it will take them time to get used to us, and to this place. But they know they are welcome here.”

  Orville asked, “Yeah, but when do we get to claim one as a pet?”

  Bodine answered. “These wolves are wilder than any animal I’ve run across. They’ve never seen people. Or buildings other than that tower. There’s no domestication in their memory. Give them a week or two to get used to us. Then I wouldn’t be surprised if a few of them chose to bond with a few of you.”

  Regina added, “It wouldn’t hurt to carry treats with you when you come up here. The tastier, the better.”

  Orville nodded, looking disappointed.

  Alexander teleported them all back to the garrison tower. There they left Regina and Bodine to check on their animals. They’d decided to stay overnight in the tower. Alexander showed them where the teleport mirror was, then everyone else stepped through, and back to the keep. Alexander invited Lydia to stay for supper, but she declined, saying she needed to get back to the shop. So Alexander teleported her directly to her workroom at the back of her store.

  It was approaching suppertime, and Alexander went to find Jules. With a little help from Jeeves, he located her workshop. When he arrived, she was sitting at a table stitching a large grey banner with a black dragon emblem on it. He leaned in from behind her and kissed her cheek.

  “I heard you coming a mile away. We need to work on your stealth skills,” she teased.

  “I’ll leave the sneakiness to you,” he said, wrapping his arms around her. “How ‘bout we have an early dinner, then retire for the evening? Been a long day.”

  “Mmmm,” she agreed. She rose from her chair and turned to hug him back. Arm in arm they began to walk to the dining area. “I take it you didn’t replace Tigger with a wolf this afternoon?”

  “Ha! For a moment there I thought they were going to eat us all! You should have seen them. They were the size of the prowlers…”

  They made small talk all through dinner. Chatting with each other, with citizens who joined them at the table. Leaving dinner, they stopped for a quick chat with Silverbeard, as was becoming Alexander’s end of the day ritual. When that was done, they headed upstairs to Alexander’s chambers. He took a seat on one of the sofas, and Jules snuggled up next to him.

  After several minutes of silent contentment, Alexander reached into his pack. He said, “You know, I’ve been thinking about what you said earlier. About stealth training. I think I’m better than you think I am. I think I could surprise you.”

  Jules, who seemed half asleep, didn’t even open her eyes. “You’re an elf. You should be light on your feet. Able to sneak up on just about anything. But I’m a rogue. And you clomp around like someone fitted you for cement shoes.” She turned to look at him. “Even without elven hearing I could-“

  She stopped as he produced the box Mags had given him. He grinned and said, “See. Told ya. Surprise!”

  Jules snatched the box from his hand so fast he barely saw it. She practically ripped it open, then gasped. “Oh. It’s… it’s beautiful,” she whispered. She gently lifted the choker from the box as if it were the most delicate crystal, rather than black leather and a green stone. She said, “Hold my hair back,” and when he complied, she put the choker on her neck, gem facing out. When he let down her hair, she turned to him. “How does it look?”

  He didn’t even think about it. The words, “You are the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen,” just fell out of his mouth. It seemed that was the correct answer, because she gave him a look, then leaned in and kissed him. Soundly. For a long time.

  Chapter 18

  Dangerous Beauty

  Morning found Alexander buried under the pink bunnymonster once again. Jules wasn’t just snuggled up next to him. She was sleeping directly on top of him, snoring contentedly. One of her bunny ears covered his left eye and half his face. And he was pretty sure she was drooling on his neck.

  Seeing as how he was trapped and unable to get up without waking her, he went a different direction. He took a deep breath, causing Jules’ entire body to rise up a bit as he did, then shouted, “Help! I’m being smothered by a pink bunnymonster! Whatever shall I do?”

  Jules awakened with a snort, just in time for the onslaught of tickling that Alexander administered. She squirmed and rolled off him in full retreat across the spacious bed. As he began to crawl in pursuit, Jeeves’ voice called out.

  “Master, I heard your call for help. I have ordered stone golems to your quarters. They will arrive in-”

  “No, Jeeves! I don’t need help. I was just playing a game with Jules. Everything is okay. Please don’t have any stone golems break down my door.”

  “Of course, Master.”

  Jules collapsed on the bed, giggling. Alexander rolled his eyes. “Guess I’m going to have to be more careful what I say around here.”

  “That’s what you get for ambushing me in my sleep!” she teased. Looking at the window, she saw the sun was not up yet. She plopped face down on the bed and mumbled, “Still sleep time. No tickling!”

  Alexander scooted himself next to her, and then pulled her to him. She grumbled but didn’t resist. He put his lips right next to her ears and whispered, “Pancakes.”

  Her eyes actually opened for that. She considered for a moment, and then she grinned at him. “Yes. Go get me pancakes. Breakfast in bed for me! Good idea.” She closed her eyes and buried her face in her pillow.

  Chuckling, he said, “Oh, no. We’ve got a busy day today. No lollygagging about in bed till noon. Nope. I’ll see you downstairs.” As he let go of her and rolled off the bed, she curled up in a bunny-shaped ball and snored loudly.

  Alexander gathered his gear and said, “Maybe Jeeves should send those stone golems after all.”

  She snorted, not even opening her eyes. “Fine. Tell them to bring pancakes.”

  “Ha! Nope. I’m going to monopolize the pancakes downstairs. One giant stack, all for me. Not sharing with anyone. Uh, uh. The great tower of Alexander’s pancakes.” He continued talking as he left the room, passed through his study, and then the sitting room. He didn’t turn to look as he left. He knew she’d succumb to the lure of pancakes.

  Arriving in the kitchen, he dished himself up a plate of eggs, sausage, fruit, and toast. He noted the absence of pancakes and grinned. Making his way outside, he sat at a table with Silverbeard and Lola.

  “Good morning! Big day today,” he greeted them.

  “Aye. Ye’re goin’ ta meet the queen,” Lola agreed.

  “Among other things, yes. We’re also going to free some prisoners from Stormforge, reinstate the PWP in their guild house, and probably raid the Chaos Nation guild house as well.”

  “I’ve some advice fer ye,” Silverbeard offered.

  “Please, go ahead. I’m always interested in your advice,” Alexander replied.

  “Ye been waitin’ to announce yer new kingdom. But yer reasons be mostly gone. The Dark One be dead. Ye talked to both kings about it, and they approve. The dragons be wantin’ an alliance. Better to visit the queen and deal with her as a king yerself, I be thinkin’.”

  Alexander thought it over for a full minute. “I really don’t want to be a king. I understand the need to have a figurehead, someone who’s able to make fast decisions, to break ties in council votes or even override votes. But it seems pompous and kind of asshole-ish to declare myself a king.”

  Silverbeard shook his head. “Ye must be a king in order to deal with kings ‘n’ queens on their own level.”

  Lola looked sheepish, but added, “Ye’ll make a good king, Alexander. Ye cares about yer people. That be the most important thing. Yer smart, ye got good friends to support ye. Ye got a strong keep and resources. And allies.”

  With a resigned sigh, Alexander opened guild chat. “Good morning, folks. Guild meeting in the great hal
l in thirty minutes. Lainey, I’ll open a portal for you and the noobs in twenty-five mins. This meeting is for all guild members. If anyone sees Fitz, please invite him as well.”

  Then he said, “Jeeves, please inform the four guard sergeants and Blix that their presence is requested in the great hall in thirty minutes. Also, please tell Jules that Silverbeard, Lola and I are eating all the pancakes.”

  Lola snorted at that. Silverbeard just grinned.

  Alexander spent the next twenty minutes discussing details of running a kingdom with Silverbeard and Lola. He learned some things that hadn’t occurred to him. Like the fact that he was going to have to establish, adopt, and enforce a whole set of laws. His panic at that was relieved a bit when Silverbeard winked and said he could copy much of it from the laws of Stormforge and/or Broken Mountain.

  He excused himself to go and open the portal for Lainey and the folks coming from Greystone Manor. That included a couple of Thea’s lads who were working for the masters at the dragon forge.

  As soon as he opened the portal, Lainey came through and gave him a brief hug. “Sorry I missed the fight yesterday.”

  “No worries. How are you doing with our baby guildies?” He grinned at Lugs, who was just stepping through the portal.

  “Everybody is level 10. They are going to hit the dungeon in Stormforge this morning, pick up a few more levels. We found a healer to go with them. How long will this meeting be?”

  Alexander patted Benny on the shoulder as he passed by. “Not long I hope. We’re going to talk about pulling the trigger on Elysia.”

  Lainey nodded and headed for the great hall. Alexander shook hands with Harin and Dvorn as they brought up the rear of the group from Stormforge. He closed the portal and followed them inside.

  Silverbeard had arranged for benches to be brought into the hall so that there were enough seats for everyone. Once they were all seated, Alexander stood and raised a hand for silence.