by E C Chii
“These all sound like some very wise men who suffered greatly.”
“You have no idea. My unit’s motto was ‘fortes fortuna adiuvat” or fortune favors the bold in a very old language.”
Putting the last stitch in the hanging sleeping bag for he tossed it to her. “Here you will need this for the trip to the village.”
As she caught it, she sneered, “Wow, really, could you have made it any worse? This is as shoddy a work as I’ve ever seen. Melkor make things better than this.”
Wolf’s eyes narrowed as he retorted, “If you don’t like it, you are more than welcome to sleep on the ground. I don’t build fires, nor do I pull watch when I sleep at night since I will be up in the trees.”
Harrumphing she stomped out of the cave to bathe before they left for the village. She followed the path Wolf had showed her to the small spring, using her ‘Elemental Manipulation to carve out a small depression of hardened stone and filling it with water she stripped out of the ill-fitting leathers. Conjuring fire, she heated the water until it was steaming. When she got in the hot water relaxed her long-underused muscles, relaxing she began humming an old tune from her childhood. If only she had some good scented soap to help wash away the grime and dirt from her body and everything would be perfect. As she soaked in the hot water she began to wonder who this man was and where he came from, his world seemed to have technology that even the Dwarrows and gnomes would have been amazed at.
The outburst earlier made her think that he would soon succumb to the insanity of rage and hate, when she gazed into his eyes all she saw was pain, hate, rage and sorrow. That made her feel some sympathy for him, but she knew that it was likely due to his choosing to be on the battlefields far longer than he was supposed to have been. This was something she had seen often in the past through her travels and interactions as a merchant’s daughter. Long ago when she was still relatively naïve she had attempted to help another with their internal demons but only to see her kindness make the situation worse. If anything, he would need to resolve and face his pain himself. When the water cooled she used her magic to return the bath and water the way it was before her bath.
When she returned, dinner was ready, and they ate a filling stew, sleeping early to renew their energy for the next day’s journey. That morning Wolf set all the traps necessary to protect and camouflage the cave. She rolled her eyes thinking ‘who would want anything in this primitive cave.’ When he was satisfied with the all the traps being reset, they left the area a few hours after dawn, with a rickshaw laden with furs, leather, and scavenged armor from the Imperials. In the four days, it took them to get within sight of the gates, both practiced summoning the elements to build their affinities.
Wolf caught sight of the palisade a few hours before sunset, much of what he remembered was cleaned or removed. The bodies had long since been removed and damage to the palisade repaired, as they approached the only sign there was a battle there was the charred spot where the tent once stood. Passing into the clearing which the village was settled an arrow landed a few meters away. Someone manning the wall shouted.
“Halt, identify yourself!”
“My name is Wolf Mikall and this is Siris Yhelena. I’ve come to gather my belongings from the women I freed from the Imperials and to find out information.”
A few minutes passed while they waited to be told what to do, when they heard several shouts and one of the men gesticulating wildly. The gate opened slightly with an old, nearly decrepit old Huldra pushing his way through as best he could. Moving in a hobbling limp he used his cane to try and move faster, tears and joy clear on his face. When he got close enough to see both clearly, he froze when he saw Siris, pure joy and happiness overpowered what remained of his self-control. He fell to his knees sobbing, thanking his gods.
Wolf looked baffled by the sobbing man and looked over to Siris, “Okay, this is happening. Interesting reception eh Siris. Maybe you ought to avoid these in the future or we will draw too much attention.”
Scowling at him, “What do you mean me? You’re the crazy looking hermit wearing poorly tanned hides and fur.” Looking to the old Huldra she asked, “Who might you be, Tal’fatar?”
“Lady Yhelena! Lady Yhelena!”
“I’m not a lady, I am simply the daughter of a merchant.”
“You are and always have been Lady Yhelena. Over 50,000 years ago the last remnants of the Kingdom fell. All were either killed or enslaved by the Empire of Kuing.”
Interrupting the whole reunion with a faux playful voice and narrowed eyes, “So I guess that makes you a Queen, but I would caution you with an old saying where I am from. Anything that sounds too good, can’t be true. Now, answer the woman’s question, who are you?”
Crinkling his nose in disgust, “Know your place half-breed, you are in the presence of nobility and should stay silent unless spoken to! Speak out again and I will have you beaten and locked in the prison”
Siris’ eyes widened as she made a motion to stop him, “No”
She saw Wolf drop down in a sprint, pulling his knife from the small of his back and reached the old Huldra before anyone could react. Pushing the Huldra onto his back by his neck with the knife just over his eye he said in a just barely audible whisper, “If you ever call me half-breed or threaten me and I’ll kill you all and burn your bodies right alongside all them Imperial fucks I killed last week. DO…. YOU…. UNDERSTAND?”
She saw a look of shock at the sudden act of violence cover the old man’s face as he stared into Wolf’s eyes. When she looked, she believed he was death’s incarnate had come for the old man after all these years. Seconds seemed like years, her mind raced looking for a way to deescalate the situation. The sheer amount of rage, and hate emanating from Wolf kept her from moving out of fear that he would lash out at her. She had not seen the bodies, only the ashes of the Imperial Conscripts but she firmly believed that he had told the truth and they were all dead.
When she used ‘Analyze’, she was shocked, how could such a man defeat a more than a half century. The only respectable stat was his CON. The old Huldra chuckled at the audacity of the young half-breed and simply pushed his head toward the blade with full confidence that his superior stats would triumph. When the blade touched his eye, it punctured the uppermost layer slightly but would not sink any further in. Wolf’s face remained as impassive as before, but an air of uncertainty loomed about.
Meanwhile, the men manning the wall were not idle while the scene played out. Scavenged shields and spears were given to them and used by a squad as they charged out weapons pointing at the unknown duo. Once they reached them they braced the shields on the ground with spears out. A towering burly man walked in front wearing blackened heavy articulated plate armor with dark bloody accents and a similarly colored sugarloaf helmet. A large two-handed longsword was held loosely in his left hand as though it didn’t even weigh much. His deep gravelly voice sounded like a deep scratching of files.
“Release the old Huldra, before I end you.”
Cold eyes glanced at her through the slits of his helmet chilling her soul. He recognized the man as being like Wolf, an insatiable beast of war. In a single moment, he was launched forward with his sword held high as though he were intending to cleave right through Wolf. Wolf tried to react, but his body was slow and sluggish, attempting to pull another knife from his thigh sheath and roll away but was too slow. He brought the knife up in a futile attempt to block he missed the moment when the man adjusted the grip of his sword. The knight grasping the blade and using the blunt pommel to strike Wolf in the chest.
The impact caused Wolf to wince in pain as he flew several meters away landing on his back. Siris watched Wolf go flying from the impact and land with a painful crunch. Sighing she ‘well I guess I will never find out if he would ever change’ as scowled at the armored man, and went to help the old Huldra up. Once the old Huldra was on his feet she walked over to the corpse of Wolf and stood looking at the broken body.
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br /> “He deserves to be sent off like a soldier, he rescued me, killed over half a century of Imperial Conscripts, and countless battles in a world we probably wouldn’t understand.” Siris stated leaving no room for argument.
“It will be done.” replied the old Huldra, motioning to several of the guardsmen. As they closed in on his body they all yelped in surprise as they saw the clothing and gear begin to melt in a black smoke. “He is plagued.” they shouted.
Once all the clothing and gear he was carrying had dissolved the corpse lay there nude and broken. The Elder said a cleansing prayer and commanded them to burn the body. The elder commanded them to carry the body away and prepare a funeral pyre, he turned to look at her.
“He was correct in one thing, I should have introduced myself, and for that please forgive me. My name is Aegom Ambrush, I am the Kokuri village elder. Let’s go into the village and my office.” They walked into the village proper and headed to a large building where Aegom’s office was located where she sat in a free chair.
“There is nothing to forgive, I am no noble of any kind. I am simply the daughter of a merchant, but please tell me what has happened. Last, I remember there was no one that could stand as a threat to the Kingdome of Alune. I had just brokered a very lucrative deal with several large merchant companies the last night I fell asleep. When I wake up I am in some primitive cot with that strange man cooking some barely passable slop. I have so many questions but the most pressing is how do you know me and why are you calling me a Lady?” She asked covering up her emotions.
Confused Aegom looked at her, “What do you remember about your mother and father?”
“Mother was also a daughter of a merchant who married my father to combine two middling mercantile companies into something more profitable.”
“What were their names?”
Siris’ face crunched up as she tried to concentrate. “I…I don’t remember. I don’t even remember what they look like.” Her eyes went wide with shock and panic.
“Easy, easy. Before we get into that you need to know how the Alune Kingdom fell. The war between the Kingdom and the Empire started due to the greed and hubris of the Empire. They sought to increase their land and influence by enslaving all non-human races. One day their military increased over fifty-fold. Between the significantly larger army and the decades of war slowly whittled away at our army. While they could not match us on the battlefield in skill or tactics, they beat us with sheer numbers. For everyone they killed, fifty of theirs fell. However, their ability to procreate much faster than us, a shorter timeframe for their young reach maturity and fighting age. They could start replacing the thousands that fell before them. With each passing year ours would be pushed further and further back until they were at the gates of the capital. At the final siege, we fought bravely, we fought hard, we fought foolishly, and we underestimated them. My great grandfather was the Capitan of the Galadhrim, a royal guard to the Queen. In his memoirs he wrote that your mother, she was the closest advisor to her and closest confidant in many things.”
“How was it that I was sealed in that crystal and why?
“That I do not know. Neither did my great grandfather. Did you know that the gift of magic is an exceedingly rare gift for the Huldufolk these days?”
“What?! Magic is a core facet of this world. It imbues us with our long lives and empowers our abilities, and we never had a queen. King Ellenron wears the crown.” She retorted.
“Alas, that is wrong. If it were not, we would have never have lost. King Ellenron was killed in battle on the outset of the war. Many scholars have theorized that if King Ellenron had united the High, Wood and Shadow to fight, we may have stood a chance. The only groups that have yet to be conquered are the Dwarrows in their mountain fortresses, the Shadow Huldra who live in the deep dark tunnels, and several large tribes of Beastkin. Though the latter has been the most recent target for destruction and enslavement. I fear that they will repeat our history and not unite due to long standing prejudice and rivalries, sadly at this rate they may fall as well.”
“Why have you not reached out to them and given them warning and why would any wish to seek alliance with Shadowed ones?”
Frowning he replied, “An alliance with the other Huldufolk would have given us the numbers and skills to march on the Empire. Our own pride and arrogance was what kept us from uniting. I have tried speaking with the Beastkin tribal leaders, but they won’t listen. Do you think I haven’t or desire to see our history repeat with them falling to the Empire’s yoke? It has been so long since the words of an Huldra held much weight. Those who can use magic are universally distrusted as only those within the Empire know how to use it now. All others are looked upon with suspicion since it is highly likely they are spies.”
“You mentioned something about my mother and father. Could you tell me more?”
She saw his face visibly brighten, “Of course. Your mother, she was a priestess of Lady Arete, one of the most beautiful women to have ever been seen. Sadly, she was killed during the defense of the Emerald Palace siege, I still remember the stories they told about her as she wielded the divine sword Aschalon and wearing her gleaming armor. She cut down scores of Imperial Soldiers hoping to break the siege, but their mages had overpowered her and the other acolytes. My great grandfather would have joined her in that charge had the Queen not ordered him to escape and found this village. He was ordered to stay as quiet as possible until they had enough strength to fight back.”
“What happened to that? Why do I not remember them? Why are you not actively fighting them?”
“One question at a time. Did you not hear from that young man that we were attacked by the Empire? We are active, but we must act with excessive caution, we will be moving the village again due to them finding us again. We will be relocating to another prepared site at the end of the summer, so we reap the harvest and have food for the winter.”
“Okay, what do we do now though?”
Just then a scared and panicked man burst through the door. “Elder, the dead man has risen. He means to curse us all.”
Both rose and rushed out the door heading to the funeral pyre.
Chapter 13 – A Wolf in the Past
Wolf woke up in a cave, the heat and humidity were oppressive, sweat made his uniform cling to his skin as nothing he could do would keep him dry in the Kalimantan Mountains of Indonesia. His molecularly sharpened and hardened uchigatana was sitting next to his bedroll waiting for him to do maintenance. Around him were five other bodies with their chests rising and falling rhythmically as he removed the handle and hilt of the sword. He was deep in thought over the weird ass dream he just woke up from. It seemed absurd that a ‘game’ world like that could exist, let alone he could go to one. Something like that only happened in anime, manga, books, or even in some bad B-rate movies. A figure appeared at the entrance, immediately he went on guard drawing one of his knives.
“Relax, it’s just me. What’s got you all hyped up?” Peirce said waking up Raven.
“Shit, my watch already? Fuck” Raven grouched while getting ready for his turn on watch and left to the entrance of the cave.
Peirce sat down next to Wolf and in a hushed tone asked, “So what’s up?”
“Just had one hell of a weird dream.” Over the next few minutes he told Peirce all about the dream.
“Pretty deep man. Think we been playing too much ‘Kingdoms at War’?” Peirce asked
“Dunno, but I think I need to drop some leave soon to decompress. This anger, hatred, and killing is starting to wear me down.”
Raven quickly ran into the cave, “Got company guys. About a platoon of tangos incoming.”
Both Wolf and Peirce jumped to their feet drawing their weapons. “Wolf you wake the guys, Peirce with me.” Raven said as both he and Peirce ran out of the cave.
Wolf shook the man next to him trying to wake him. Try as hard as he could the man would not wake up, the same applied to the other three as w
ell. Panicking he grabbed the arm of the first one to pull him up. When he pulled the man’s arm it came completely off the body. Horrified at the scene he looked at his face to find it disfigured by shrapnel and blood. The others had similar wounds and showed signs of horrific deaths with pools of blood surrounding the bodies. Fear and panic filled his chest as he froze with uncertainty, sorrow, and impotence. After what seemed like an eternity before he snapped out of his paralysis. Rising with rage and hate at the Imperial shit stains for hurting those who couldn’t resist he rose grabbing his katana attaching it to his waist. In the back of mind, a muted voice spoke up ‘Imperials?’.
Letting his hate and anger spur him he charged out of the cave into the forest to join Raven and Peirce. Once he arrived at the scene of battle he found them trying to hold off a phalanx of faceless men. The shields were red with the image of a Griffon holding a pair of shackles and spear emblazoned on it, Wolf recognized it as the Empire of Kuing’s coat of arms. Instead of charging directly at them where Raven and Peirce stood, he moved to outflank them and attack from the rear. To his fortune the Imperial Soldiers did not notice him until he attacked the Imperial Lieutenant at the rear, activating ‘Stealth’ with a thought, he crept up on the shouting man. The muted voice screamed, ‘Stealth?’