FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

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CHAPTER 8

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Xavier

One more day and we'd have been in Zangar. Since discovering the dead wolves three days ago we had not wasted any time and had made excellent progress. But just before we rejoined the main road what did we find?

Wolves. A pack of wolves!

Micq'al had spotted them, walking along a mountain path on the other side of the mountain. He had excellent eyesight to have seen them. They were mere specks on the horizon! But knowing that there were wolves had given everyone in my squad a desire that I had not seen since I had first brought them all together. They wanted to kill some wolves, and now that they had the chance they were willing to follow those wolves to the ends of the earth to get some much desired vengeance.

It had taken us most of the day to find a trail to get us over to where we had spotted the wolves. It was getting dark now, it would be impossible to follow any sort of trail that they would have left. We needed to make camp and try and find any trail that might lead us to the wolves in the morning.

We had found a cave that would provide some decent shelter from the elements. I had decided against letting them light a fire, despite how cold we all felt, I didn't want to risk any wolves from seeing it and realising that we were following them. Despite a few miserable grumbles my squad did not protest. But to stay warm we all huddled together in pairs under our sleeping furs. Needless to say that a few of the pairs did more than just sleep.

Morning came.

The light from the morning sun felt wonderful on my scales. The warm light drove the lingering cold from my body with each passing second. We packed up and ate some of what food we had left. Now we were rationing, our food was low and we were going to be out here for longer than we had planned for. At least if we catch up with those wolves they should have some provisions that we could 'borrow' once we had dealt with them.

We wasted little time in getting underway. We scoured the trails for any sign of the wolves trail. The hard rock that formed the mountains made it difficult to find any sort of trail, but eventually we found something by heading in the direction we suspected the wolves had gone. We found an abandoned camp site, the charred, still warm embers of a fire along with a few other clues of the recent residents.

Moral was high, despite the fatigue, hunger and cold that gripped us. The prospect of getting to fight and take out the frustrations they've had building up for years now on some real life wolves... I think this squad would chase them down until... well until they collapsed from fatigue and hunger. But unfortunately at the rate we were going that would be sooner rather than later. Another day. That was all the time I was going to give this hunt. After that we would turn around and head back to Zangar to rest and resupply.

From the abandoned camp site we headed North. It was not an area of the mountains I was familiar with, but I was aware that there were several networks of caves, most of which were old abandoned mines from centuries past. Plenty of places for wolves to make camp, even set up a base of operations. There were many trails leading down off the mountains, impossible to patrol them all, it would be easy enough for the wolves to set up a supply line of sorts and we would never know about it.

We walked for hours...

The sun had already past its zenith hours ago and in just a few short hours it would be dark again. At that point we would need to make camp and in the morning, despite any objections, I was going to head back to Zangar. We were out of food, our water was almost gone. We would lose our strength soon, and if we cross paths with any wolves we may be too weak to defend ourselves properly.

"Sir! Look!" Micq'al exclaimed and pointed.

Had he spotted more wolves? I stared in the direction he was pointing in and sure enough there was someone on the trail ahead of us. But they weren't wolves. It was Sterns squad.

We waved them down. Stern smiled at me and embraced me in a friendly hug before speaking.

"It is good to see you my friend! I did not expect to see anyone here. Good thing as well. We have been following some wolves!"

"We have been following a pack of them as well." I said. "We spotted them yesterday on our way back to Zangar."

"Which way did you come from?"

"South. A days travel from home."

"Hmm... we've followed them from the East. I guess that means there is more than one pack." He mused. "If there are two packs then it's safe to assume there are more of them out there."

"I figured there may be a main camp, one they are operating out of." I said, sharing some of my thoughts with him. "It didn't make sense to just send random packs of wolves into the mountains. They would need a place to rest and resupply. It's nearly a weeks travel to the nearest settlement from Zangar, and those are draconian settlements."

"So how many wolves do you reckon we're dealing with?" He asked.

"Hard to tell... I'd say at least a dozen. At least one alpha and a probably a couple of betas, maybe more." I say. But there could be fifty wolves in their camp for all I knew. It would be impossible to tell until we found it. "We lost sight of the pack we spotted yesterday. We've been following their trail ever since."

"Well if your coming from the South and us the East..."

"The only trail left leads to the mines in the West." I finish.

"Then lets hunt down these bastard wolves together!"

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"Sterns group will be in position soon." I announced to the rest of my squad with a whisper. "We will make our way through the caves. Everyone stay ready and silent."

Everyone nodded their understanding and we began the slow trek through the cave that the wolf pack we had tracked to this old mine system. If they were part of a larger group, as we suspected, then it was possible they were heading towards what ever acted as their main camp in the mountains. If we could take that out then a significant threat would be eliminated, and a clear message sent to the wolves.

The pack of wolves had stepped into a cave, one that we knew only had two points of entry thanks to Stern's knowledge of the area. Stern had taken his warriors and was going to enter by the Northern entrance and we would attack the wolves from both sides. We had no idea of the wolves did in fact use the caves as their camp, but we couldn't risk losing this opportunity to strike! The wolves we saw equalled our numbers, if there were more in the camp then that means we would be outnumbered. Either way to reduce any casualties from our own squads we needed the element of surprise.

As we stalked through the ravine, I saw more and more signs of traffic in the form of paw prints. It was impossible to tell how many wolves had travelled through here, or if the tracks were from the same group going to and fro. But it confirmed our suspicions. This was a hive of wolven activity, their camp had to be here!

I could smell the faint scent of fire and cooking meat. We were getting close. We needed to remain hidden for as long as possible. We had decided that Stern's group would initiate the attack. Once the sound of battle erupted we were to charge in and flank the wolves.

The caves were dark now, I channelled a small amount of nen through a perception stone in order to create light just bright enough for us to see where we were going. The plan was for us to get as close to the camp as possible. It would take Stern longer to reach the camp due to the fact he was having to go the long way round. Once the attack begun we would charge in, the resulting confusion should give us the edge we needed to take out the wolves with minimum casualties.

The sounds of battle erupted and echoed through the caves. From the sounds of it we were still a fair distance away. We weren't in position! A cold stab of fear struck my chest. We needed to get there now!

"Move!" I ordered.

The warriors and I began to run through the dimly lit tunnels. The sounds of battle still echoed through the tunnel of the old mine. How had Stern reached the camp so quickly? We ran at full pelt, winding our way through the veritable maze of tunnels, little by little the sounds of fighting subsided until it just suddenly ended. I sensed a large burst of nen and suddenly it was gone.

No! It could mean that Stern had been...

I pushed the thoughts aside as the light of fire illuminated the tunnel ahead. I discarded the perception stone in my paw and drew my daggers, summoning my nen and charged forward. We entered a large chamber, lit primarily by a hole in the center of that allowed the last rays of daylight to filter in, and by small fires which were positioned around the site.

The place was silent, too silent. The scent of fresh blood hung strongly in the air. The body of a wolf whose eyes stared up at me blankly lay a few feet away, a bloody gash across its throat. We carefully made our way through the camp, where we were met by yet more bodies of wolves.

Where was Stern's group?

We all shifted towards the sound of foot-paws running towards us and readied our weapons. My eyes widened as a group of dragons emerged from a dark tunnel. It was Stern and his warriors.

"Are you alright?!" Stern asked in a mild panic.

I nodded. "We heard the sounds of fighting and ran here."

"So did we!" Stern declared.

"So if it wasn't you..." I said as I felt my eyes widen is realisation. "Everyone ready yourselves!"

"What is it Xavier?" Stern asked.

"There's something else in here with us!" I declared, which sent a ripple of panic through our groups. "We didn't kill these wolves, but we both heard the sounds of battle. There are only two ways in and out of here!"

"So who ever did it is still here." Stern said, understanding the situation. "Everyone pair up and search the area! If you see anything call out!"

As our groups began their search Stern and I examined the battle field. At the center of the camp, there were several small camp fires burning strongly, the ground littered with sleeping furs and dead wolves alike. There was over a dozen bodies, all of them had familiar looking wounds... the same kind of wounds that the dead wolves we had found four days ago. I looked at the tracks and tried to determine what happened here, but it was not easy.

"Who ever did this knew what they were doing. They caught them unaware." Stern muttered aloud. "Every kill is clean. They died almost instantly. How many do you think it took to do this?"

"From what I can tell there was only one."

"Only one?" Stern spat. "That's not possible. There are over a dozen wolves here, more scattered around the perimeter! We all heard the fighting start... we all heard it! Even if I could believe that one fur or drake did this... there was no time for them to slaughter all the wolves and then disappear without a trace!"

"But that's what the scene suggests." I said confidently. "Look at how the bodies are positioned." I moved to the point that the killings seemed to start. "The killer came from this direction. Killed this wolf, and then this one... you can follow a clear trail right through the camp."

"Can you tell what did it?"

"All I can say is that was a bladed weapon, a sword most likely. There are no tracks since this part of the camp is made on hard rock. No dirt for tracks."

"What about further out? By the entrances?"

"I could only see wolven tracks, other than our own."

"Sirs! We have finished searching the area. There are another eight bodies around the perimeter of the camp. Otherwise there is nothing else here!"

"Any other exits?" I asked.

"None sir."

"This does not make any sense..." Stern chuffed. "Check each and every one of the bodies! Make sure their all dead and not playing possum! If there are any survivors bring them to me!"

"This is just like that pack we found last week."

"I heard about that from one of your squad."

"The wounds are the same."

"So who ever killed that pack killed this one?" He asked, a little too sceptically for my liking.

"It seems likely."

"I could believe a single warrior, albeit an exceptionally skilled one, could be capable of killing the four wolves you found, but I struggle to believe that a single warrior would be capable of killing all of these wolves in such a short amount of time."

"Unless it wasn't a fur or a drake." I muttered absent mindedly as I looked at the crumpled form of a dead wolf against the cave wall, a bloody splatter of where it's head had struck the wall nearly twelve feet above it.

What ever had thrown it had to have been incredibly strong. I noticed a couple of warriors in earshot look at me with worried yet confused expressions. I shot them a stern look and they immediately went back to searching the area.

"What are you getting at Xavier?"

I moved closer to Stern and whispered so as not to panic any of the others. "You know what I'm getting at! The very thing that Lords Kaldor and Callidus told us about a few moons ago!"

"I still struggle to believe that there are demons trapped within the depths of the mountains." Stern huffed.

"But they wouldn't have told us if there wasn't some truth to it." I said insistently. "They told us because the Houses of Zangar* are no longer capable of managing the task themselves. They have included every master level bender in the secret so that we might be able to identify the signs..."

"They also admitted that there hasn't been a reported case of a demon escaping in over two centuries!"

"Well perhaps one has now! We have to consider the possibility! You yourself can't see how a single warrior is capable of this and yet all the evidence suggests it."

"You're right... I suppose. We will need to report this to Lord Kaldor immediately!" Stern admitted.

"We will camp for the night and head back at first light. I don't want to traverse these trails at night, even under the best circumstances. Especially if there's the chance that we will be hunted by something."

A commotion from the far side of the cave erupted. I wasted little time in running towards it, just as everyone else in earshot did. When we got there two warriors from Stern's squad were sprawled on the ground, one of them barely concious the other one was unconscious but was still visibly breathing.

"What happened?!" Stern asked abruptly.

"We were attacked..." The warrior grunted, clutching the side of his head. A small trail of blood dripped down the side of his head.

"Who attacked you?"

"I.. urgh... don't know sir." The warrior was struggling to remain concious. " They came out of nowhere. They jumped us from behind."

"Did anyone else see anything?" Stern asked, eyeing the rest of the warriors around us.

"I think I did sir!" Micq'al spoke up. "I thought it might just be a trick of the light... but I thought I saw a shadow head in that direction."

He pointed back towards the center of the camp. Stern and I shared a look of fear and dread, but hid it from the rest of the warriors. There was no need to spook them further, we needed them to act as warriors. I looked around the area. Two of the pairs of warriors now stood near the two entrances to the area.

"Has anything tried to get by you?" I asked.

"No sir!" Both pairs responded.

Which meant it was still in here with us! I felt my heart hammering in my chest. Then lets flush it out! I immediately began to make orders.

"You two." I said, pointing at Micq'al and the warrior next to him from Sterns squad. "Protect them." I said motioning to the two fallen warriors. "The rest of you I want to guard the entrances. Don't let anything get past you!"

"Yes sir!" The two drakes next to us said before splitting off to join the others already standing near the entrances.

"I guess that means we're going hunting." Stern grinned, twirling his axe in anticipation as we began to walk towards the center of the camp. "I assume you have a plan?"

"Not so much..." I admitted. "I just don't want the warriors to engage what ever this thing is until we know more about it."

"Well first we need to find the damn thing!" Stern mused.

We stopped in the center of the camp and suddenly I wished that at least one of us was a fire bender. The numerous camp fires would make this an excellent terrain for a fire bender. While we had fire benders in our squads I still didn't want to involve them unless I had to. But Stern was right, first we needed to find this thing!

"I'm going to try using it."

"You've mastered it already?" He asked with a slight tone of surprise.

"No." I admitted. "I've never used it in a battle situation. It takes all my concentration to do it, so I'm going to need you to protect me."

"You got it!"

The technique I was going to use was an old and difficult one to use. It was essentially an alternative to the area domination technique; much like Malakye was so able to do without trying. It would allow me to detect anyone with the range of my senses. The furthest I'd been able to detect anyone was fifty paces, and the furthest point from where I currently sat was perhaps forty paces. If what ever that thing is was still in here with us, I'll be able to find where it was hiding.

This technique didn't require much nen, but instead an extreme amount of concentration to execute. As far as anyone knew only a pawful of drakes had mastered this technique enough to actually use it in combat; all of them grand-masters. I had no delusions that I'd be able to join that esteemed group, but if I could at least use it to detect what ever it was that was in here with us, hunting us, I would be happy enough with that.

I sat down on the ground cross legged, closed my eyes and focused on my breathing. The tiger Aceh had helped me learn how to meditate properly, a technique which so far had proved invaluable to executing this technique. I allowed my conciousness to drop away, let it melt into the depths of my mind and let it bleed out into my surrounds.

As it spread the environment around me took shape in my minds eye, this was where it got tricky. I needed to maintain my focus of my surroundings and maintain control of my nen in order to pull this off. In this state the environment appeared different from how it looked through my actual eyes. The fires that burned no longer cast a warming light, the flames where white, their light existed only within the flames, everything else was just a mix of greys and blacks. Stern was almost blinding, if my eyes weren't already shut I'd be squinting, his nen was as strong as you'd expect from a master level bender.

Soon I could see the rest of our respective squads standing guard at the entrances; the lights they gave off respective to the strength of their nen. I cast my sense out further, now able to see the four drakes at the back of cave, two of them unconscious on the ground. Soon my conciousness had filled the entire space... but I couldn't see anything other than the Stern and the other ten warriors that formed our squads.

There was nothing at all...

No the was something! I could feel it... like how you knew someone was watching you. I could sense their presence... but I couldn't see them. Could this creature have a way of hiding itself from my sight?

Before I could do anything else there was a surge of movement, it was nothing but a blur of shadow but I could see it! It ran from the far end of the cave and towards the entrance to my left, the same entrance my squad had entered by.

I snapped open my eyes, drew on my nen and spun in the direction of the shadow. The three warriors guarding it let out a cry of surprise. All I saw was a dark shadowy figure disappear through the large hole in the ceiling. I ran and stood beneath the hole and stared up, I could see the star filled night sky and that was it.

"It's gone..." I muttered.

"It's fast." Stern grumbled.

"It's smart." I said. "It knew I was looking for it... but it found a way to hide itself."

"It can do that?"

"Apparently so..." I trailed off. "I've never heard of anything being able to hide its life force before.

"If I had any doubts before... I believe it now. We need to tell Lord Anaris and Lord Valelor about this!"

"But first we need to get through the night." I countered. "If that thing comes back to do to us what it did to the wolves..."

If we were lucky it wouldn't show itself again. But I didn't like to rely on luck and it would be too dangerous to try and travel at this time of night, especially with something hunting us. Something we couldn't see it the darkness of the night. We will need to fortify this place and try to wait out the night till morning.

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