World of Darkness - [Time of Judgment 02] - The Last Battle

by Bill Bridges (epub)

  Mephi Faster-Than-Death looked down from the high mountain pass and surveyed the tents and the moving figures of wolves, men and shapes in between that filled the wide valley below. He stopped and took a breath, leaning on his cobra-headed staff. He tried to estimate how many Garou were gathering below but soon gave up—there were far too many to count or to even approximate. The Margrave’s army was indeed mighty, the largest Mephi had ever seen with his own eyes. He felt a twist of apprehension in his guts at the thought. So this is really it, as the Phoenix revealed.

  Mephi shook his head sadly and continued onward, down the spiraling path, into the valley. I hate being the bearer of bad tidings...

  A fierce cawing erupted above his head. He stopped to watch three crows circling on high, watching him.

  “It’s okay, ” he yelled. “Konietzko knows me! ”

  The birds cawed again and wheeled away, swooping into the valley, landing outside a large tent in the center. Mephi could no longer make them out at this distance, so he kept walking, his staff over his shoulder.

  As he finally reached the valley floor and walked out onto its black soil, two large Garou stepped from hidden clefts to either side of him, each pointing a sharp spear at him.

  He raised his hands, still clutching his staff. “Hey, guys. I already told the crows I’m a friendly. ”

  “Who are you? " one of them said.

  “Mephi Faster-Than-Death. Silent Strider. I helped the Margrave out during the Jo’cllath’mattric troubles. Remember? ” They lowered their spears but showed no signs of happiness at seeing him. “We remember you, wanderer, ” one of them said coldly. He looked Mephi over from head to toe, from his long dark ponytail to his leather duster, faded jeans and well-worn hiking boots. His eyes stopped for a moment when they saw the golden bracelets on Mephi’s wrists, visible beneath the duster’s sleeves. He seemed to be judging Mephi and didn’t much like what he saw, but he nodded anyway. “You may enter. ”

  “Great, ” Mephi said with a sarcastic smile. “Now, can you tell me which tent is the Margrave's? ”

  “In the center of the encampment. It is obvious. ” “Right. Well. I’ll just be heading over that way. See ya. ” Mephi began walking, looking back at the guards to make sure they were okay with his stated plan. They had already disappeared back into the dark clefts. He shrugged and headed into the mess of tents and mingling Garou.

  From what he had seen on his downward trek, the camp was laid out in a giant half-circle, radiating from a central tent—the one to which the crows had flown. He figured that was the Margrave’s HQ. Behind that tent was a huge field, probably for assembling the troops. In front and to the sides of the tent, lines of tents with lanes between them radiated out in semi-circles. Flags and banners flew from the tops of some tents. He hadn’t been able to make them out from afar, but now he could use them as a guide, for many bore the pictograms of a tribe or a renowned sept.

  As he wove through the lanes, he dodged a number of fights. Garou tumbled and wrestled with one another, occasionally drawing blood, until one or the other submitted and accepted the other’s dominance. This many Garou couldn’t gather together in one place without such fights erupting. It was best to let them play it out as needed.

  In avoiding the struggling warriors, he slipped through a few tents, stepping over bunks and sleeping bags and some carefully wrapped and stored fetishes. He spent no time examining them, knowing that his witnessing them alone might get him accused of being a thief. So he kept moving, trying not to draw attention to himself. Luckily, most of the Garou here were busy watching the packs work out their pecking orders, seeing which would ultimately prove the leaders when the war party finally had to march.

  Of course, issues of individual rank among pack members would be the main determinates. Those of equal rank, however, had to figure out where they stood with their peers. As Mephi could clearly hear, it wasn’t just combat that determined dominance. A number of gamecraft challenges were also being declared. He wanted to stay and listen to a few of them, but his business was more pressing. He kept on, heading for the center.

  Many packs were single-tribe packs but a surprising number were multi-tribal. That meant the banners, declaring the tribal leaders’ tents, weren’t the sole representation for those tribes. A motley army, he thought. This'll be a crick to lead. But if anyone's up to that challenge, I suppose it's the Margrave.

  He finally broke through the circles and arrived at the main tent, marked with the crosshatched claw marks of the Shadow Lords. It was a huge military tent, the kind used to house a large logistical operation. The sides were all tied down, concealing the interior. One of the crows who had spied him in the pass sat on top of a pole, watching him now as he crossed the lane toward the entrance.

  A Shadow Lord stood by the tent flap, dressed in old style, Eastern European royal garb. He watched Mephi through half-lidded eyes.

  “Greetings, ” Mephi said, offering the man a half-bow. “I am Mephi Faster-Than-Death. I have come with news for the Margrave. ”

  “He expects you, ” the man said, pulling back the flap.

  Mephi nodded and went in.

  Five Garou gathered about a central table, pointing out features on a map. The mom was full of tables, chairs and weapons. Most of the posts were empty, only the five Garou were present. Three of them, two men and a woman, turned to watch Mephi, while another woman spoke with a large, white-haired man dressed in black furs. The man’s eyes darted up and looked into Mephi’s. His face showed no recognition, but Mephi had the distinct impression that he had been seen and known.

  “Margrave, ” Mephi said, kneeling on one leg and bowing low.

  “Faster-Than-Death, ” Konietzko said. “It is good to see you again. ”

  The other Garou whispered among themselves, watching Mephi.

  “Don’t all talk at once, " Mephi said, standing again, with a smile he hoped was taken as deprecating. “No need to go all out on my account. ”

  The Garou became silent, watching him with calculating glares.

  “Ahem, ” Mephi said. “I come bearing news, Margrave. It’s about King Albrecht, and... larger matters. ”

  The Margrave s head titled back slightly, a sign that Mephi figured would have been a double-take in anybody else. He turned to the woman with whom he had been speaking.

  “Summon Queen Tvarivich, ” he said.

  Without any hesitation, the woman nodded and walked past Mephi, exiting the tent. The Margrave turned to the others.

  “We shall continue our strategy later. I need scouts to find that moon path first. If it can’t be found, I need Theurges to forge it. ”

  Mephi raised his eyebrows. Getting shamans to command Lunes into making moon paths meant something was important enough to risk pissing off the mercurial moon spirits.

  The Garou nodded and left the tent, whispering among themselves again.

  The Margrave motioned to a wooden chair. “Please sit, Mephi. You have traveled far, I can tell. ”

  Mephi took the offer and eased into the seat. It felt good to finally relax his leg muscles. “Thank you, Margrave. It’s greatly appreciated. ” Beside the chair was a small table with a pitcher of water and three wooden cups. “May IT’ “Of course. Help yourself to anything you need. After you have delivered your message, I will arrange for your dinner. ” Konietzko sat down on a large wooden chair with a high back, set with rubies and black opals.

  The tent flap opened and Queen Tamara Tvarivich entered. She wore a white cape with furred edges and a black leather jacket, pants and boots. She nodded briefly at Konietzko and stopped in front of Mephi, who began to rise. She motioned him to remain seated, then picked up a nearby chair and pulled it over, sitting down herself.

  “It is very interesting that you have come at this time, ” she said, looking at Mephi curiously.

  Mephi waited for her to continue, but she said nothing more. “Really? Why’s that? ”

  “First, tell me about Albre
cht. Is he all right V'

  “Well, that’s just it. Nobody knows. He still hasn't returned to the North Country Protectorate. They said his moon bridge collapsed before he arrived. ”

  Tvarivich hissed. “I suspected as much. We could tell on our end that something happened, but we didn’t know if he made it back before that. And nobody has sighted him in the Umbra? ”

  “No. He’s MIA. The North Country asked me to see if you’d heard anything, but the Jarlsdottir was sure you hadn’t. I just came from her sept. ”

  Tvarivich, her brow furrowed, looked at Konietzko, whose own face betrayed no emotion. “I fear the worst. If Albrecht doesn’t come with reinforcements, we must go with your initial plans. They are more... fearsome. ”

  “We do not need King Albrecht to achieve victory, ” Konietzko said. “His forces would allow for fewer casualties, but we will win nonetheless. ”

  “Curse these times, ” Tvarivich said. She looked back at Mephi. “What do you know of the mysteries of Garou death, Silent St rider’”

  “Me? Not much. Everybody is convinced that my tribe’s all obsessed with death, but that’s because our ancestors aren’t... ” Mephi paused, a sour look on his face. He seemed to be remembering something, a bitter experience. “They’re not available to us. You guys can contact yours; ours are gone. ” Tvarivich nodded. “Yes, I know. I am the head of the Ivory Priesthood. We seek to learn the secret of death, the mystery of overcoming it, as learned by the First Wolf, the Silver Fang who rescued Gaia from death. ”

  “Yeah, I’ve heard that legend. Funny how every tribe claims the first wolf. ” Mephi held up his hands in a truce gesture as Tvarivich frowned. “I admit, your tribe’s probably got the best claim. No contest there. But why ask me about this stuff? It’s somewhat of a sore subject at the moment. ” “You are the only Silent Strider in the encampment. I was curious if you had felt the door open. ”

  “Door? ”

  “A door into the path the ancestors travel between death and recovery in the ancestral realms. A secret path, one no living Garou has yet traveled. My order has sworn to walk upon this path and return to tell of it. ”

  Mephi looked at Tvarivich, as is if sizing her up. “Are you sure that’s wise? If no Garou goes there except in death, maybe that’s what Gaia wants. ”

  “Like everything else since the First Dawn, Gaia’s purposes with death have been perverted. Our order seeks to restore them. ”

  “Now? You’ve got nearly your entire sept outside, living in tents, waiting for a big battle. This doesn’t sound like the time to go adventuring down paths no Garou was meant to know. ”

  Tvarivich sighed and looked down. “Yes, and that vexes me. Why has this door been opened now? I sensed it and have divined that it is open, but it is far from here. I fear I shall never know the answer to the one mystery I have always sought. But such is our fate. Mine is the battle. So be it. "

  Mephi looked at Konietzko as she said this and saw him nod slightly, as if glad to hear where the queen’s allegiances lay.

  “Look, ” Mephi said, turning back to Tvarivich. “You’ve got something my tribe doesn’t: connection with your ancestors. Some of us would give anything for that. Believe me. But Gaia comes first. Why do you need to go looking for something you already have? "

  Tvarivich frowned, but didn’t seem insulted. “Not all our dead return as ancestors. There are many mysteries to be uncovered. What if their spirits are trapped, as perhaps your ancestors are? How would we know it unless we seek out these mysteries? ”

  “I had the chance to break our tribe’s curse, ” Mephi said. “Wepauwet, a powerful spirit, claimed to have discovered the way. I refused it. Why? Because of this. ” Mephi gestured to the tent around him. “It’s coming. Now is not the time to pursue personal quests. We've got to put all that aside. For Gaia’s sake. ”

  Mephi stood up and faced Konietzko. "I didn’t just come with news about Albrecht. I came to tell you about my vision, the reason I turned my back on our ancestors. ” Konietzko leaned forward, fascinated. His silence was clearly a cue for Mephi to continue.

  “Phoenix took me up in her claws. I saw what is to come, the horrors that are even now beginning. The Red Eye. The Apocalypse. ”

  Konietzko’s eyes became thin slits. “And what did Phoenix show you of our fate V

  “It hasn’t been written yet. I saw the world die because no Garou fought for it. If we fight, we can change that. "

  Konietzko stood, nodding. “So I am right. Our army shall decide the outcome of our long war. ”

  Tvarivich stood up and faced Konietzko. “So we march upon the Scar then? Without Albrecht? ”

  “I see no other strategic option, ” Konietzko said. “Their army gathers there and grows stronger by the day. The latest scouting party to return claims they number over five hundred already, while we are but three hundred strong. We cannot wait for them to destroy caerns with an attack. They will not expect us to march on their own demesne. The surprise will be ours. ”

  Mephi felt a chill pass up his spine. The Scar. A terrible realm of utter corruption in the Umbra. Not only was it a long march from here, it was one of the most hellish places imaginable. The enemy would be strongest there. Even surprise might not gain them much. He understood now why the Margrave wanted moon paths, to deliver the army to the Scar without alerting its forces.

  “Then we should not wait any longer, ” Tvarivich said. “I go to prepare my forces. Will you call a general muster? ” “Yes. All the troops shall gather onto the field by first moon. There we shall address them, you and I together. ” Tvarivich turned and left the tent with only a slight nod toward Mephi.

  Konietzko walked to the table with the map. Without looking at Mephi, he spoke. “My steward shall provide you quarters. You will need to rest. Another long journey begins tomorrow evening. ”

  Mephi bowed but wasn’t sure the Margrave saw it. He picked up his staff and left the tent.

  Mephi sat upon a rock outcropping above the field, along the mountains that bordered it. He looked down on the teeming masses of Garou gathered there, lined up into units by pack, sept and tribe. The Margrave and Queen Tvarivich stood on another outcropping to his right, far enough away that all the eyes below were directed away from Mephi, something he was glad for. He didn’t want three hundred pairs of eyes on him.

  He munched on a leg of lamb and swigged a flask of beer. He’d been starving ever since he’d arrived earlier, but hadn't let himself admit it until his work was done. Now, he caught up by chowing down on as much meat as the camp cared to provide. After the muster, he’d crash out on a bunk the Shadow Lords gave him, in a tent with some of the Dawntreader’s Children of Gaia.

  The Dawntreader himself was here, leading those of his sept who chose to fight, which was more than Mephi had figured would come. Most Children of Gaia were pacifists, willing to fight defensive battles but rarely committing to all-out war. Not because they were cowards, but because they believed the Wyrm fed on such slaughter.

  The Margrave's steward stepped forward and howled, a deep, resonant sound that quieted everyone on the field below. Mephi was impressed; the guy had some serious pipes. No wonder he was Konietzko's favored tale-singer.

  The Margrave stepped forward now and surveyed the crowd, nodding satisfactorily, a gesture Mephi could tell was a better morale booster than any speech he could give.

  “Tomorrow night we march, " Konietzko said. The crowd responded with a hundred growls and grunts. “We face an army great in size, greater than our own. But they shall lose. We shall be victorious. Why? ” He waited, as if seeking an answer from below. Before one could come, he spoke again. “Because we are Garou. Let them have ten for every one of us; they shall still lose. "

  A massive cheer broke out, nearly deafening. The Margrave waited for it to die down before speaking again.

  “Our destination is the Scar. Our trail is by moon path. Each unit has at least one Theurge to keep the path, so that none sha
ll fall behind. My marshals shall brief each unit and make clear every Garou’s role. He who refuses to follow can leave tonight. If he is still here tomorrow and still refuses to heed, he shall answer to my jaws. ”

  Another cheer broke out, this more scattered, taken up only by Shadow Lords, Get of Fenris and a few other hotheads.

  The Margrave stepped aside as Queen Tvarivich stepped forward.

  "I shall lead the first wave, ” she said. “The Silver Fangs shall draw first blood. ”

  A new cheer erupted, this one louder than the last, although many of those who cheered before stayed silent. Mephi shook his head. The usual divisions between the tribes were apparent even here. It was a pity. The Margrave and Tvarivich had done a surprising job of coordinating their efforts so far, better than Mephi would ever have given them credit for. And for the Margrave to give the Fangs the first charge—unheard of among most Shadow Lords! That, more than anything else Mephi had seen yet, was a clear sign that the Margrave was a true leader. No group could possibly decide the battle from a first charge, not against these odds. They would gain much glory, but the victory would be decided by the Margrave, leading for the long haul.

  Mephi stood up and worked his way back down the mountain toward his tent. He meant to hit the sack and get some sleep before the crowds blocked the lanes and the inevitable final dominance challenges began.

  • • •

  The march was a long one. The Margrave’s marshals estimated it would take them five days to get to the Scar, using the moon path route they had devised, adopting existing paths and using fetish-bound Lunes to create new ones as needed. Supposedly, their circuitous route would keep the enemy from knowing they were coming. That didn't stop them from having a number of sorties on the way.

  Various Wyrm creatures were on the prowl, coming far deeper into the Gaian realms than Mephi had seen before. Most of them were surprised to find a giant army of Garou there; these ones didn’t last long or cause any significant casualties. Others fled upon seeing them, which caused a worse problem. The Margrave had already designated a number of packs as hunters sent to chase these runaways down before they could alert the Scar army, but it took them a long time to make their way back to the army and so further divided their forces.