Tales of the Wolf: Book 01 - The Coming of the Wolf (4 page)

When the rest of her party was having trouble standing on the ledge in the face of the rushing wind, Lalith pointed at the stone door. The miniature tornado slammed against it and for a brief moment the door held fast. With a mighty groan the slab flew away to the right, falling the fifty or so feet to the great pool below. Lalith dismissed the rushing wind with a wave of her hand.

Quglie moved to the front of the party and cautiously led the way inside. They hadn’t gone twenty feet when they discovered that they were not the first visitors to explore this ruin. Two dusty skeletons lay buried underneath a solid block of stone that had been a trap of some sort. Considering the amount of rust which covered the armor and weapons, it had been many years since they died. Quglie studied the trap for a moment before leading them further inside. His sharp eyes and skill led the party through winding passageways and past numerous traps. Along the way they discovered the remains of five more adventurers who had fallen to the tombs deadly traps.

Rounding a corner, Quglie pulled up short and signaled for his companions to hold their positions. Creeping up to the edge of a large lighted chamber, the halfling spied numerous statues lining the walls and a dark portal beckoned at the far end. Moving back to his companions, he pointed to the lighted chamber and held up six fingers. “I’m not sure but I think I saw those statues move.”

The dark haired warrior hissed. “Golems.”

Seeing the confused look on the halfling’s face, Darnac continued. “Golems are magically animated statues that act as guardians. They are able to follow very limited instructions but are deadly and extremely tough opponents.”

Gram spit in each hand before taking up a two-handed grip on his notched battle axe. “Well, we didn’t come this far just to turn back at two to one odds.” Jax snorted his agreement and pulled forth his claymore. The dwarf grinned. “Let’s get ‘em ya big ox!”

Without another word the two warriors charged down the passageway. The two elves and the halfling followed but at a more cautious pace.

Entering the chamber Quglie took in the chaotic scene before him. One golem had already been shattered by the charge of the two warriors. Jax was battling two of the golems, knocking them aside with strong swipes of his claymore. Each hit chipping off bits of the stone warriors. Gram was fighting toe-to-toe with a statue of a dwarven warrior, which left two more animated statues for the rest of the party. Darnac stepped in front of the trio and pulled forth his twin sabers, each blade glowed with magical light.

Quglie stepped back, both to give the grim faced elf some room and to lessen the chance of being noticed. As the elf and golem closed, Quglie was amazed at the dazzling swordsmanship on display. The dark warrior had landed so many strikes in the first few seconds of battle that the first golem’s left leg crumbled under the fierce assault.

Quglie could hear Lalith chanting the beginnings of a spell but his attention was focused on the charging stone golem several feet in front of him and knew his time had come. He was backed into a corner with nowhere to run or dodge and no trick or poison he possessed would stop the stone juggernaut before it crushed him. With a scream of rage, Quglie hurled his lucky dagger and leapt to the side.

A blinding flash of light filled the corner and blew apart the stone golem. Lalith walked over to view her handiwork. She had known that her spell would destroy the golem but seeing the still form of Quglie underneath its shattered remains caused her a moment of distress.

As the last opponent fell, Gram wiped the sweat from his brow and looked around. The shattered remains of the golems filled the room but for the first time, he noticed the bodies of other adventurers which had made it this far. “I see we aren’t the first to delve this deep.”

Gliding up to the warriors Lalith said, “Aye, treasure tends to draw thieves like moths to a flame.”

Gram spit onto the stone floor. “I am not a thief. Not now…not ever.” He looked around. “Speaking of thieves, where is that locksmith of ours, Quglie?”

Lalith gestured to the far corner. “He fell in battle. One of the golems crushed him before my spell went off.”

“Damn halfling! Getting’ himself kilt by a walkin’ statue!”

Lalith offered the wineskin to the warriors. “Drink a toast to his honor. He did not flee or beg for mercy but stood his ground against a deadly foe.”

Taking the wineskin, Gram took a long swig. It was warm and slightly bitter as it ran down his throat. He passed it to Jax. The minotaur drank deeply before passing it to Darnac who just slung the wineskin over his shoulder.

Lalith grinned as she moved to the stone archway set in the middle of the back wall. The opening was filled with a swirling darkness that was darker than midnight on a moonless night. It was as if the black void that was the passageway sucked in the fading light never letting any of it escape.

Turning to her companions, Lalith spoke softly. “It is time. From here on in, we cannot chance a light and sound must be kept at a minimum.”

Without waiting to see if anyone would follow, Lalith stepped into the darkness and disappeared from view. Gram looked at Jax who looked at Darnac. The elven warrior just shrugged his shoulders and stepped through the archway. Seconds later, the dwarf and the minotaur followed suit.

Gram wasn’t ten steps in when he began to feel an intense burning in his stomach. Shrugging it off as a side effect of the elixir, he continued down the dark passageway. Minutes later he stumbled out of the dark corridor into a great chamber that stretch over a hundred yards across. He saw that the floor dropped off into shadows while the ceiling rose to the height of several hundred feet. An elaborate spider web with strands the size of a man’s wrist covered the whole chamber. Hanging in the very heart of the web was a large cocoon the size of an elephant. Slight movement could be seen within its silken strands. 

Glancing about the chamber, Gram realized that Lalith and Darnac were nowhere to be seen. He was about to call out when the burning in his belly increased. Wincing in pain, Gram noticed that Jax was also grabbing his stomach.

“Poison! The elf bitch poisoned us!”

Lalith and Darnac stepped out of the shadows behind them. With a wave of her hand she dropped the illusion spell which had hidden their true forms. Gone was their pale white skin and dark hair only to replace by their opposites; their skin became as black as a moonless night and their hair was white as snow. Even through the pain, Gram flinched unconsciously as he recognized them as the Svartaflar – more commonly known as Dark Elves. 

A slight smile crossed Lalith’s face as she noticed his reaction to their appearance. Moving over to the still form of Gram, Lalith gently caressed his red beard. “Don’t worry. The poison in itself is not fatal. It will merely paralyze you for several days.”

Glancing up, she watched as three large spiders each the size of a small pony began their descent from the dark ceiling. “Unfortunately you’ll be dead by then.”

Stripping off her heavy cloak, Lalith handed it to Darnac. She glanced down at the helpless dwarf, his pleading eyes spoke volumes.

“Why you ask?” 

One of the large spiders had moved to Gram’s feet and had begun spinning a web around them, while the other two were working on the fallen Minotaur.

As Lalith continued to strip off her clothes she said, “It won’t hurt to tell you.”

With a wave of her hand, the spider stopped its work and scuttled back a few steps.

“You came here to help fulfill an ancient prophecy and discover a great treasure.  So did I. But unfortunately for you and your friends, I work for the other side. With your sacrifice, I will bring the Great Enemy back to Terreth and together, we will conquer the known world. All will bow before me as I become the Queen of Terreth.”

Glancing down at the halfway-encased dwarf, she chuckled. “You shouldn’t have trusted me. You should’ve listened to your instincts and not come into this cave. But, thanks to you and your foolish friends, Terreth will feel the bite of the Spinner once more. Take to the grave the knowledge that all your friends and family will die due to your failure.”

With a nod of her head, the spiders went back to work encasing the paralyzed dwarf. 

‘Lalith, my daughter....’
came a soft, wispy voice through the darkness of the cave.

Hearing her goddess’ voice, Lalith’s blood froze. It was a strange sensation, one that both frightened and excited her at the same time. Turning to face the cocoon, Lalith dropped to one knee. “Yes my goddess, I am yours to command.”

‘You have done well but there is still much to be done before my return. Return to the Highlands, rejoin with my servant Blackfang. Aid him. While you were in the Lowlands we had intruders. They penetrated all the way to the Vault.’

‘The axe and scroll are once more in play. This heralds the coming of the Chosen One. The son of the Dhyana shall be born before the next midsummer’s eve. I know it. I can feel it. Only he can truly disrupt our plans. Search the lands to the north and seek out this Chosen One. He and all his kinsmen must be destroyed to ensure our reign. The gods are still blind to our plans, now is the time to act.’

“As you command my goddess, it will be as if the Chosen One and his people never existed.”

Darnac draped her robes around her shoulders and the two shadow elves wound their way out of the tomb. Casting a spell, Lalith and Darnac began to float up the side of the mountain cliff, off to do the bidding of her goddess.

Clotho the Spinner flexed her mighty legs against the silken strands of her cocoon. 

Soon! 

Soon, she would be strong enough to climb out of this cocoon and begin her reign of terror on Terreth once more.

This time, the gods would not be able to stand against her, only the Chosen One and his nine followers could do that. But with Lalith’s help, the child of prophecy would die before he would ever have the chance to gather the Legendary Nine.

With his death Clotho’s reign of terror and destruction would be guaranteed, this time.

Unseen by all, Quglie slipped out the passageway and into the night. He paused in the shadows to watch the two dark elves float up the cliff. The ever-practical halfling shrugged his shoulders before hiking back to the waiting horses.

A low growl issued from the massive white wolf as it paused and took in the scene before it. A bone-chilling breeze was blowing from the north bringing with it a few flakes of snow but it also carried the sweet scent of fear. Outlined by the full moon, the white wolf seemed overly large and unearthly; the pale moonlight glistened off its bared teeth. For a brief moment no one moved or spoke, the only sound was the wind.

One of Blackfang’s men pointed at the huge white wolf and backed up several steps. “Luna, forgive us!”

Lifting its head the white wolf howled once, long and loud. The sound echoing off of the pillars was deafening. That was enough for Blackfang’s men as they fled into dark forest leaving their leader to deal with the ghostly wolf.

With a snarl, the great white wolf launched itself at renegade barbarian. Taken slightly off guard by the sudden attack, Blackfang barely managed to drop Tatianna and get his arm up to protect his throat before the wolf landed on him. Dropping back, he rolled over and quickly kicked up with his legs throwing off the huge canine.

Blackfang quickly shifted into his full wolf form and the battle was joined in earnest. They were like two sides of a coin, similar yet completely different.

The white wolf positioned itself between the battered Tatianna and the wolf form of Blackfang. Holding his head high and his neck arched, the white wolf’s forehead buckled with muscular tension. Slowly opening his mouth, he drew back his lips exposing his impressive canines. A low deep growl broke the silence. Looking ready to explode into action with his legs stiffened, tail trembling and his fur bristling, he waited for Blackfang to make the first move.

Blackfang mirrored the white wolf’s aggressive stance and growled back. The wolves just stared at each other for several seconds. Blackfang tried circling the white wolf, which just pivoted his position, never letting Blackfang get behind him or too close to the injured elf.

Suddenly Blackfang attacked, coming in low with a quick lunge of his snapping teeth. Rising up on his hind legs, the white wolf counterattacked with a swipe from his powerful paws, followed by his own bite. Blackfang countered with his own swipe and bite. The two wolves continued this attack-counterattack routine for several minutes. Both were bleeding from numerous wounds but it seemed that neither could gain the advantage. They seemed completely balanced in power.

Finally the white wolf scored a solid bite to Blackfang’s throat which caused him to flinch in pain. The white wolf held on and began to shake his head back and forth, trying to rip open Blackfang’s throat.

In an act of desperation, Blackfang lashed out with his right front paw and scored a wicked cut on the white wolf’s head just behind the left ear. The flash of pain caused the white wolf to yelp, releasing his hold on his opponent.

Blackfang was injured and tired. He also realized that he had lost any advantage he had earlier in the battle. Seizing the opportunity granted by his sudden release, he bolted off into the night.

The great white wolf pursued him only to the base of the hill but not into the forest. Instead he returned to the shrine and went to the side of the injured elf that was lying on the ground next to the altar in a pool of her own blood. Sniffing her body, the white wolf saw her chest rise and fall with her breathing.

Closing his eyes, the white wolf let the transformation come over him. His form started melting and lengthening as Hawkeye shifted into human form. Bowing his head toward the altar, Hawkeye offered a quick prayer of thanks to his goddess Luna.

Speaking to the unconscious elf, he hoped his voice would bring her some comfort. “First things first, we must bind these wounds and get you to shelter.”

Gathering her gear, Hawkeye lifted her gently and carried her down the hill and into the forest.