The Never-Dying Man E-Book

V.M. Sang

• Herausgeber: Next Chapter
• Kategorie: Fantasy und Science-Fiction
• Sprache: Englisch

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2022

Beschreibung

After finding Sauvern's Sword, the companions set off to help a friend rescue his child from kidnappers. Instead, they stray into Erian and find preparations for war. They are drafted into the Erian army but are recognized by an old enemy, who arrests some of them and takes them to Frelli, the capital of Erian, where they are put in jail.

The Master of Erian frees them and offers them work. Meanwhile, Carthinal has to face some unpleasant truths about himself. Is his desire to further his magical career more important than his friends and country? After they discover terrible truths about the Master and his magical research, they will need to escape in order to tell the leaders of Grosmer about the plans for war.

Leseprobe

The Never-Dying Man

Book 2 of the Wolves of Vimar

V. M. Sang

Copyright (C) 2014 V. M. Sang

Layout design and Copyright (C) 2019 Next Chapter

Published 2019 by Next Chapter

Cover art by http://www.thecovercollection.com/

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the author's permission.

To my husband

Royston Sang

Forward

I intended this and the next book to be one volume, but it began to be rather unwieldy and so I have split it into two.

In this volume, the Wolf Pack is split and we follow one half. The other half we will meet again in the next volume.

It begins with all the Pack together, journeying across Grosmer then follows Carthinal and his half of the Pack. The next volume will begin where the Pack splits and will end when they are re-united.

There are four appendices at the back of the book to help the reader with such things as how the time is worked out on Vimar, Religion, Magic and a bit about the languages.

Prologue

Carthinal sat working at the table in the rooms that he and Yssa shared in the Mage Tower of Hambara. He had moved in after their wedding, but they both knew they would have to move out soon after their child was born. It was due in a couple of sixdays and they had decided that they would have to find a house in the city as soon as the birth occurred. He glanced over at his wife who was sitting before the fire and sewing a blanket for the child's crib. It was a cool day at the end of autumn, and so they had decided to light a fire. The Winter Solstice was in four sixdays and they were hoping to join in with the celebrations, assuming the birth of their child allowed it.

He was working on a translation from Elvish to Grosmerian, set for him by Yssa. He wanted to be able to help her in her work of translating the ancient spell-books that he, Basalt and Randa had found in a secret room in the Duke's Palace. Although he was a half-elf, his parents had died while he was still very young, and he had not learned much of the language of his father.

Yssa, a beautiful golden-blonde elf, insisted that he learn to speak modern Elvish first, not only for the translations, but also so that they could speak Elvish to their child. Neither of them wished for the infant to grow up with no knowledge of its mother's tongue, so he worked on at his task.

He and Yssa had married that summer after Carthinal returned from his quest to find Sauvern's Sword for Duke Rollo. She had become pregnant after they had had a brief affair before Carthinal left. He did not love her, although he felt friendship and respect for her, but he had felt obliged to marry her to give their child a name. Elven children born out of wedlock were given a hard time.

Carthinal looked up as he heard Yssa give a sharp intake of breath.

'What is it?' he asked.

'I think the baby's coming,' replied his wife.

The half-elf looked anxious. 'Are you sure?' he asked. 'What do I do?'

'Nothing at the moment. Just wait.'

'Should I send for the midwife?'

'Not yet. The pains are still quite spaced out and not very strong. I think I'll walk around for a bit.'

Eventually, after what seemed like days, but was only hours, she said, 'Find Tomac and tell him to go and get Harretta. I think it's nearly the time for her to come.'

Carthinal flew down the stairs to the library where he found the young apprentice. Tomac had been one of his fellow apprentices before the death of their master, Mabryl, and before Carthinal's success in passing the tests that all mages were required to take before becoming admitted to the full fellowship of the Tower. He quickly told the young man to go for the midwife, Harretta.

Tomac, brushing back the lock of black hair that insisted on falling over his eyes, leaped up and ran to the door of the Tower, without thinking to pick up a cloak in spite of the cold.

Carthinal returned to the rooms he shared with Yssa where he paced over to the window on the opposite side of the room and sat on the window seat looking down over the town. He sat there for a long time thinking.

Harretta had arrived some hours earlier and taken Yssa into the bedroom, leaving Carthinal in the living room with his thoughts. There were still some lights in windows although it was the eighteenth hour of the day, but as he watched, they were gradually extinguished. He paced the room for a while before sitting down on one of the two sofas in front of the fire.

Then there came the sound of birds twittering. Carthinal woke up with a start. He must have fallen asleep. He was stiff with sleeping in an awkward position and he stood up and stretched. He rolled his shoulders. It was the first hour of the day and he walked to the window. Dawn was just breaking over in the east. He glanced at the bedroom door. It was shut tight. He listened. He thought he could hear Yssa's panting breath. How long was this going to take?

There was a knock on the door. It opened and admitted Emmienne, the other apprentice that Yssa had taken on from Mabryl. She was carrying a tray, which she set down on the table.

'I thought you'd like something to eat, Carthinal,' she said, smiling at the young man.

'Thank you, Emm,' replied the half-elf distantly, 'That was very thoughtful of you.'

The girl smiled again and was gone before they could say anything more.

Suddenly there was the cry of a baby. Carthinal's eyes went wide with wonder and a grin broke out on his face. Then the door of the bedroom opened and Harretta came out.

'You can go in and see your wife now,' she told Carthinal. 'She's very tired, so don't stay too long. It was not an easy birth, but everything is fine now.'

Carthinal entered the room slowly and looked at Yssa. She was lying propped up on pillows with her beautiful golden hair damp with sweat. Her nightgown was white and had obviously been changed. In her arms she was holding a small bundle. Carthinal crept slowly through the door feeling like a little boy again.

Yssa smiled. 'Come and meet your daughter, Carthinal,' she said softly.

Part 1 Grnff

Chapter 1 Yeti

Randa, heiress to the Duchy of Hambara rode her wilful stallion, Storm, towards the woods where her lover, the ranger, Fero, had built his house. Just before she arrived in the clearing there was a loud rustle in the bushes and a tall figure covered in grey hair emerged. It was about ten feet tall, and Storm shied and reared when he saw it. It was only through superb horsemanship that Randa kept her seat. In that time she had recognised the figure.

'Grnff,' she exclaimed. 'What are you doing here?'

It was indeed the yeti who, along with his mate, Zplon, had helped them to find the valley in which Sauvern was buried, and hence find his Sword—the very Sword that now hung at Randa's hip.

The huge figure looked downcast and somewhat hunched over.

'Grnff cum see Fro,' he replied. 'Tadra stolen. Grnff and Zplon need help of Wolf get her back.'

'Follow me, Grnff,' Randa told the creature as she dismounted to lead Storm. The black horse stood trembling, ears back and the whites of his eyes showing.

Once outside Fero's house, Randa called to the ranger, and he came running from round the back of the house where he had been chopping wood.

'Randa,' he exclaimed. 'I wasn't expecting you today. I thought you were still in Bluehaven.' He paused and looked at Grnff. 'And I certainly wasn't expecting you. What brings you so far from the Mountains? I thought you yetis didn't like it here in the lowlands.'

Grnff looked at the ranger, and Fero thought he could see tears in the other's eyes.

'Oh, Fro,' the Yeti said. 'Tadra has been taken. Grnff not no where. Grnff track as far as he can, but then cum to find Wolf. Zplon is very sad. Grnff is very sad. Wolf help Zplon and Grnff?'

The yeti sat down on the ground and sighed. Fero and Randa looked at each other and then at Grnff.

'We must find the rest of Wolf,' Randa said, 'and then we can discuss what must be done. Grnff, of course we'll help you. We owe you our lives. If you hadn't found us in the snow and taken us to your cave, we would be dead by now. Then you showed us the way to the valley through the lava tubes of the volcano. The whole of Grosmer owes you, if the prophecy is to be believed.'

Grnff looked at her. 'You know what prfcy mean then?'

'No, not yet,' replied Fero, 'but these things have a habit of only becoming clear after the event. Like the flood. “When Kalhera descends from the mountains”. Kalhera, goddess of death,' he explained to the yeti, 'certainly came from the mountains the day that Carthinal and Asphodel met.'

'Fero, we must get the others together as soon as possible. I'll go now and round them up. Come to the Palace just after sunset.'

With that, she rode away, leaving Fero and Grnff alone in the clearing.

'I wonder what she actually came for?' mused Fero 'She didn't say. I wasn't expecting her either.'

OoOoOoOoOo

The meeting of Wolf took place in the green drawing room in the Palace of the Duke of Hambara.

Basalt arrived first. The dwarf entered grumbling. He still resented leaving his weapons at the gatehouse. His hazel eyes took in Randa and Thadora sitting in chairs on opposite sides of the fire.

Randa, of course, looked her usual beautiful and composed self with her ash-blonde hair hanging down to her waist. Her sister, Thadora, was just the opposite. She was perched on the edge of the chair looking as if she were about to run. She ran her fingers through her red curls—the curls that had prompted Grnff and Zplon to dub her 'Red Cub'.

'What's all this about, Randa?' Basalt asked. He stroked his chestnut beard. 'It had better be important. I was in the middle of a piece of jewellery for an important customer.'

'When the others get here, I'll tell you. I don't want to have to say it several times. Oh, do sit down, Bas. You are making me uncomfortable.'

As the dwarf sat down, the door opened and let Carthinal in. The tall auburn-haired mage was the leader of the group. He had the most impressive deep blue eyes. His hair was long, brushing his shoulders, and he wore a closely trimmed beard. He was extremely handsome and endowed with great charisma.

He had been only a newly qualified mage when they left to find the Sword, but was now out of his probation and, if rumours were to be believed, well on the way to becoming an arch-mage—the fastest promotion in all of the Mage Tower's recorded history.

The next arrivals were Davrael and Kimi, a Horselord couple from across the Western Mountains. They had fled their homeland when their parents forbade their marriage, Davrael was around five feet eleven inches and he wore his long, dark brown hair tied around with a bandanna to keep it out of his eyes.

The most impressive thing about him was a fearsome tattoo on his face. It depicted a hawk, with its wings swooping over his brows and its head down his long, straight nose and talons on his cheeks. In spite of his fearsome look, his wife, Kimi, declared him to be 'a pussy-cat.'

Kimi, herself was a small girl, not particularly pretty but with a sweet nature. Her hair was a mousy brown and she had light brown eyes. Both the Horselords wore their native clothing, leather trousers, cotton shirt and leather jerkin.

Finally, Fero and Asphodel arrived. The tall, dark ranger followed the elf into the room. He was, as usual wearing black. This contrasted with Asphodel's white robes indicating that she was a cleric of Sylissa, goddess of Life and Healing. Her black hair had grown back after it had been cut the previous year when she fell foul of the Great Father of the temple here in Hambara and had been threatened with the Daughters of Sylissa, an enclosed order. She had run away from the temple, but had since been somewhat reconciled. Her grey eyes found Carthinal's indigo ones, then quickly moved away.

They were all burning with curiosity as to why Randa had sent for them. She did not keep them waiting for long and quickly ran through the meeting she and Fero had had with Grnff earlier.

When she finished, Thadora, her half-sister, piped up, 'Of course we'll go to help him. We so owe him our lives. It's the least we can bleeding well do.'

'Thadda, don't swear,' Randa said absently. Then she added, 'Of course we'll go to help him and Zplon. They did save our lives, as Thadda said. I'm sure we are all agreed.'

Basalt looked at Randa and raised an eyebrow. 'Should we put it to a vote?' he asked, 'or are you deciding for all of us?'

The dwarf then turned to the others, but before he could answer, he was drowned out by all their voices shouting at once. The result was a unanimous decision that they must help Grnff. Fero then left to tell the yeti and the others all went back to their various homes.

OoOoOoOoOo

Carthinal was walking along the streets of Hambara, heading for home when he heard someone calling to him. He stopped and looked round. He was close to the Mage Tower and saw a familiar figure crossing the road towards him.

'Grimmaldo!' he exclaimed. 'What are you doing back in Hambara? I thought you had gone home to Frind.'

The other mage slapped him on the back. He and Carthinal had taken the tests to end their apprenticeship at the same time the previous year and had enjoyed one another's company.

The young man pushed a lock of unruly brown hair from in front of his blue eyes and grinned.

'I did, but it was boring after Hambara and being in the Mage Tower so I decided to come back to work here. I heard you're now married and working in the Tower with your wife.'

'Yes, but I'm about to go off again. A friend of ours is in trouble and we're going to help him. I don't know how long it'll take. Still, I hope you can find something you enjoy in the Tower.'

'You're going off on an adventure again? I'm jealous,' replied Grimmaldo. 'I've always fancied myself as an adventurer.'

'Not the most glamorous life, you know,' Carthinal told him. 'Not like it's portrayed. Sleeping on the ground, getting cold and wet, and sometimes hungry. Fighting for your life!'

'Just what I need,' replied Grimmaldo. 'Something to break this dull existence.'

'Come and meet the others tomorrow then,' Carthinal sighed. 'We'll see if they agree to you coming too.'

The other mage grinned and his eyes sparkled as he bade goodbye to his friend and headed off to his quarters in the Mage Tower.

Carthinal arrived at the house that he and Yssa had bought with the money he got from the sale of his old Master's house in Bluehaven. He had brought Mabryl's old housekeeper, Lillora, to keep house for them as well.

When he entered Yssa was feeding their daughter, Starralishinarra, or Starr for short. He kissed his wife on the cheek and the baby on top of her auburn hair, so like his own and sat down in the chair opposite them.

'I don't know how to tell you this, Yssa,' he began, but his wife interrupted him.

'Don't tell me you're going away again,' she said.

'How did you guess?' he replied.

'Your general demeanour and the fact that you have just been to what you said was an important meeting of Wolf.'

Carthinal told her about the meeting and what had been decided. Yssa knew that she could not change the half-elf's mind once it was made up and so she sighed.

'Just come back in one piece,' she told him, 'and don't be too long or Starr won't know you.'

OoOoOoOoOo

Fero was chopping wood when he heard the sound of hooves. He straightened up and leaned on his axe. Randa hardly let Storm come to a standstill when she threw herself out of the saddle and ran into Fero's waiting arms. He swung her round, as though she were a child, although she was a tall young woman. Then he set her back on her feet and kissed her before speaking.

'Randa, my Lady,' and he bowed mockingly to her.

She laughed and took his hand. She pulled him towards the house that he had built. It was small, and built of wattle and daub with a thatched roof. He had built it with his own hands, but spent as much time as he could outside. It had only one room, which served as kitchen, bedroom and living room. Fero, when asked, reacted with surprise and said that was all he needed. Why build rooms he was not going to use?

Randa and Fero had fallen in love with each other on the quest to find Sauvern's Sword. Randa had followed the group and insisted on joining them, against her father's wishes. The other members of the group had not wanted Randa with them as she was an imperious young lady and thought she was better than they were because of her birth.

The quest changed her, and when Fero had nearly died of pneumonia, caught when they had been captured by hobgoblins and ill treated, she realised she loved him. She soon found that he returned her feelings but was very aware of the gulf between them.

He was a poor man's son, the son of a sandal-maker from the land of Beridon, beyond the Great Desert. She was a high born lady, destined to be the Duchess of Hambara, the most powerful duchy in the land.

In appearance, they could not have been more different either. Fero was very tall, about six feet six, with black hair that he wore long and tied back in a queue and eyes that were almost as black as his hair. He had the olive-brown skin of the people from his land, and he carried himself with a proud bearing. His nose was straight and although he was not classically good-looking, he was a very striking young man.

Randa, on the other hand, was as pale as Fero was dark. She, too, was tall, around five feet nine, and had long silvery blonde hair, which had fascinated Fero when he first saw it. He had likened it to moonlight rippling over the water. She had blue eyes and was incredibly beautiful. Even more so now she had learned to like others and not be so snobbish.

Now she laughed with her lover and her eyes sparkled like the sapphires she so loved. Fero told her so and she laughed again as they entered Fero's small home.

Some time later, the pair came out into the clearing that Fero was turning into a garden. He was growing vegetables and fruit mainly, with a few herbs and, to please Randa, he had planted some flowers. These Randa sometimes picked and took indoors to make beautiful arrangements for him. They sat on a seat by the wall looking down through the trees towards the lake.

Randa turned to Fero. 'Father has been pressing me to choose a husband again.' she said.

'And what about this batch?' replied her lover.

'I disliked a couple on sight. Another was a complete bore. The fourth, an idiot with no brain. The fifth…the fifth…it was Prince Almoro, the King's younger son. That was why I went to Bluehaven. To meet with the Prince and agree to the betrothal terms.'

'Oh! I wondered why you went. I thought it was to introduce Thadora at court.'

'It was partly, but we wouldn't have done it yet if I hadn't had to go about the betrothal. Father didn't think she was quite ready, but Thadda insisted.'

'I wish I could offer for you Randa.'

'So do I, Fero,' replied the girl. 'I would marry you without a second thought, no matter your background or what people thought, but you'd never be able to live in the city, it'd kill you, and as the husband of the Duchess, you'd have to. You'd have many of the duties of a Duke and be unable to leave when you needed to.'

'It's killing me now, Randa, all this secrecy and snatched meetings.' Fero stroked the hair that he loved. Then he looked down. 'You could always give up your position,' he observed quietly. 'Rollo has another daughter,'

Randa looked at him in amazement and then laughed. 'Thadora? The Duchess? Fero, be sensible. She can hardly manage to keep herself respectable enough to be the Duke's younger daughter, let alone the Duchess.'

Fero looked at Randa. 'If you don't love me enough, Randa, then so be it, but I'll never love anyone else.'

With that, he strode down to the lake and disappeared from view. Randa sat there for long minutes thinking. How she longed to do as Fero suggested. Was it true she did not love him enough?

She was torn. Her duty to her father and the dukedom was pulling her one way and her love for this tall, dark ranger the other. Thadora could no more be a duchess than could Muldee, the little dragonet they had met on their travels. She was far too scatty and wild.

Thadora had grown up in the Warren, the thieves quarter of the city. She was the illegitimate daughter of a prostitute who had once been visited by the Duke when he was a young man. Her mother, Nandala, had been a courtesan at Madame Dopari's Emporium, and the Duke had recognised Thadora by her likeness to his grandmother, with her unruly red curls and laughing green eyes.

He had since recognised her publicly and adopted her, but she was still at heart a thief from the Warren.

On the other hand, how would she, Randa, cope without Fero? She had known him less than a year, but he had become as dear to her as life itself. She would rather die than give him up. She sat thinking, and worrying over what they could do. Eventually, she made a decision and she went to where she knew Fero would be.

He did not look up when he heard her soft footsteps. If he could not have her, he did not want to see her. She was so beautiful with her blue eyes and long silvery hair and skin so perfect that the sight of her inflamed him with desire.

He kept on looking over the lake. She did not love him enough that was clear. He would give up everything for her, if he had anything to give up.

Then she spoke. 'Fero.'

He did not move.

'Fero, look at me. Please.'

He turned and looked at her and his heart nearly broke. She was standing at the water's edge with tears streaming down her face. He could not keep his distance, and he took her in his arms.

'Fero,' she said, 'I love you. You know that, but I have been brought up to be the Duchess of Hambara when my father dies. It is the most important Duchy in the country, and the duke is second only to the King in power.' She reached into a pocket and pulled out a handkerchief that she used to wipe her eyes.

'It's not only Hambara but also the whole of Grosmer that will be affected if I give it up. I'm not interested in the wealth or the power, Fero, you should know that, nor the position of my soon-to-be fiancé. Once, yes. Before I met you and the other Wolves, but you, especially you, changed that. My values are different now, thanks to you.'

She drew herself out of his arms and faced the lake. 'My father, too, is of importance to me. I love him dearly. I wouldn't wish to break his heart.'

'So you'll break mine instead!' Fero finished for her in a gruff voice.

'No! Fero,' She turned back to him, 'I must marry in order to produce an heir. I cannot marry you, nor can an illegitimate child inherit, but once I have an heir, then nothing can stand in our way. I can come to you as I do now. I'll spend as much time with you as I can. As long as to the general public I appear to be a good wife, then that's all that is needed. Once I've got an heir, then I can be faithful to you.' She dropped her voice. 'I'm selfish, I know, but I can't give you up, nor can I abdicate my responsibilities to the country. I have told father that I will accept the Prince.'

Fero sighed. 'Randa' he said, walking over to the lakeside where she still stood, 'I can't give you up either. I think about you every waking moment and dream of you every night. If this marriage must be, then let it be as you suggest. Come to me when you can, my love. It won't be perfect, but it will be better than never seeing you again, as it would have to have been if we could not compromise somehow.'

Randa looked towards the west and saw the sun was setting. 'I must go, Fero,' she said,

It seemed he had accepted the compromise as he smiled down at her and kissed her before taking her back to the clearing and Storm.

Chapter 2 Tragedy

The Wolves got their supplies ready and set off the following morning, leaving by the Bluehaven gate. Grimmaldo accompanied them, too, after meeting them all at Carthinal's home the previous evening.

They left by the Bluehaven Road, it being the nearest way to where Grnff and Zplon had their cave in the Mountains of Doom.

It was mid afternoon when they reached a small farm. and as they approached, they were surprised to see it so still. Then a large black and tan dog appeared, barking and snarling.

With a little whistle Fero managed to calm the animal down, much as he had done once before with the dogs in the camp of Sandron's bandits when they had been captured. The animal then crept forward cautiously to inspect the others. He seemed to like and trust Asphodel, but was very wary of the others.

They were surprised that no one had come out to see what the dog was barking at. The house looked neat, but there were weeds growing in the yard and a generally unkempt look about the place.

I don't like it,' said Carthinal. 'You girls stay here. I'm going in to see what's amiss.'

'Maybe the owners decided to give up the farm. Perhaps they had debts and had to sell up,' said Asphodel.

Basalt and Carthinal entered the house carefully, pushing the door open and looking round before entering. When they came out, their faces were grim.

'Something has happened. The place is a wreck in there,' Carthinal said. 'We'd better look around. There's no sign of life at all. Either they left as you say, Asphodel, and someone has got in since, or they were attacked and either killed or taken.'

They went round the back of the house to the yard. There they found the farmer and his two boys, so alike they must have been twins, still clutching their short bows. They were all three quite dead. They also found the remains of two other dogs.

'Orcs!' spat Fero, recognising the fletching on the arrows. 'Damn their unholy hides.' His black eyes were like hot coals.

Then Asphodel said, 'There is no sign of the farmer's wife. Do you think she may be still alive?'

'They may have taken her, Asphodel, the bastards. By the look of the bodies, it was no more than a sixday that this happened.'

The others had not heard Fero speak so harshly before, but they understood his feelings since orcs had stolen and killed his little sister many years before, when he was a boy of thirteen.

'We must look though, in case,' said Davrael. 'Come, little Mouse,' he turned to Kimi. 'Let us look round other side of house.'

The others split up to search. Carthinal found himself with Asphodel. They wandered towards the barn where the family had stored the hay for their cattle and pushed the door open and entered. It was dim inside. At first they could see little, but as their eyes became more accustomed they saw the hay had hardly been touched.

Carthinal saw her first. A young woman was lying behind a pile of hay. She was obviously dead and a dark stain marred her fair hair.

Carthinal knelt down.

'She was struck from behind with an axe or something similar,' he said sadly.

He picked the body up and carried it out to lay it beside her husband and sons and he thought of the prophecy he had found in a book Mabryl had bought. It mentioned orcs. They had been driven from Grosmer hundreds of years ago but now seemed to be returning.

When Kalhera descends from the mountains.

And orcs once more roam the land, he thought. Orcs were indeed roaming the land again.

His reverie was broken by a cry from the barn.

'Carthinal. Oh, Carthinal. Come quickly.'

It was Asphodel and he ran towards the barn. She was standing in the dim light at the back of the building, looking down at something and sobbing.

'Carthinal, she's dead too,' she said and the elf flung herself into Carthinal's arms sobbing uncontrollably.

Carthinal held her and stroked her black hair, and at the same time looked down at the small figure lying at his feet. How he wished he could have spared her this. A little five-year-old girl lay in the hay.

She had been beaten before she had been killed, but she had tried to fight back. He could see some black hair clutched in her small hand. Carthinal gently pushed Asphodel away and knelt beside the child's body. He closed her eyes, which were staring up in terror, and then lifted her to lay her with her parents and brothers.

They buried them in the little cemetery by the house. They dug a grave and, after wrapping them in sheets brought from the house, they buried them together in the grave. Asphodel said prayers over the bodies and then sang a hymn to Kalhera asking that she take their souls, and release them for re-birth. She then began to sing a hymn in elvish. '

'Abren shinaren quarillishores ssillinareren

Giranon fro wama bror worrishinin

Allor, bra Vimar, so rellemorreres

Bra llinarisoen ssinaren sarsebbe

Branco na nellinor mrellienerol pronoriores

Branco na nellinor abrinisshi.

Kalhera, llo abren shinarin gentirrieres

Frinarom tinorish evro darimishi pronoriores

Bro geno qua, evro frantilishse,

Bra embatalisshi gellin evro rellemorrores

Inillar, genari, na rrallioen bressit

Alloranienerol quishi.'

Asphodel finished singing her hymn and turned to the others.

'I sang the Elven Hymn for the Dead.' she told them. 'I thought they might have liked it.'

'It were beautiful, Asphodel.' said Thadora. 'What do th' words mean?'

'It's a plea to Kalhera for the souls of the dead. It translates roughly as:

Take these souls we beg, Kalhera.

Give them rest from all their toils

Then return them back to Vimar

To the life they loved so well.

Let them meet again in happiness

To live in joy once more.

If these souls deserve, Kalhera,

Let them go to their final rest.

Give them back to she who made them,

To Kassilla's kind embrace

So they may evermore be happy

In the realms so far above.'

After they had buried the bodies, they decided the orcs must have taken the cattle, as there was no sign of them. Maybe this was what the raid had been about.

Then Fero looked at the dog. 'He's had nothing to eat for a long time,' he said.

'Why didn't they eat th' bleedin' bodies?' queried Thadora. She had lapsed once more into the speech of the Warren now that she was away from her father.

'That's disgusting,' said Kimi.

'Yes, but good question, Mouse,' said Davrael. 'There are tales of dogs guarding owner's bodies after death, even to their own death.'

'Oh, no!' Asphodel interjected. 'The poor dog. He must be starving. There's not much here for him to eat and he obviously wouldn't eat his owners, dead or not. We must give him some food and water.'

This they did, drawing water from the well. After tasting a small amount, Fero agreed with Asphodel that it was not contaminated, and so they filled their own water skins too.

The dog was indeed hungry. He wolfed the food they gave him from their packs and wagged his tail gratefully. When they came to leave, he followed a little way down the road then stopped, whined, walked a little way further, stopped again and whined. Then Fero paused and whistled. With a bound and a wagging tail, the big black and tan animal ran after them and from then on accompanied them on their journey.

Chapter 3 The Cat

It was a subdued little party that left the farm. Asphodel had cried after her beautiful song, and they all felt sad at the untimely demise of the children, especially. Asphodel could not get the thought of how the little girl must have been afraid and hurt by the orcs out of her mind. Grnff had stood back as they searched but now came towards them, exclaiming his sorrow in his guttural tones.

That night they set up camp by a little stream where they could fill their water bottles. Grnff elected to sleep in the woods away from their fire, as he did not really like the heat.

They were still a little depressed by what they had witnessed earlier in the day and so they were surprised when a figure approached their camp. The figure was a small man dressed in black and carrying a small bag.

'May I share your fire tonight?' he asked. 'I'm alone and a little afraid of wild animals.'

'Where are you coming from?' asked Basalt. 'There's nowhere near here. No villages or towns.'

The little man laughed. 'I've actually come from Bluehaven. I'm making my way to Hambara. Let's just say “on business” shall we?'

'You've travelled all the way from Bluehaven on your own?' said Thadora, eyes widening at the thought.

'Well, sort of. I started off on my own, then I met a group of people who let me travel with them, but they turned off towards the Mountains of Doom. Not knowing what was in that direction I decided to continue on towards Hambara.'

Carthinal had been looking hard at the man and now he spoke.

'Why did you leave, Bluehaven, then? I thought you had it made there.'

The little man started, then laughed.

'Well, if it isn't Carthinal. What a small world! Why are you on this road if I might ask? Are you returning to Bluehaven?'

The others stared open-mouthed. Carthinal and this stranger knew each other? What were the odds of them meeting on the road like this? Then Carthinal laughed with the little man and answered his questions.

'No. We're not going to Bluehaven we're going to help a friend find his daughter who's been kidnapped. You still haven't answered my question though. Why've you left Bluehaven?'

'First introduce me to your friends then I'll tell you all about it.'

After the introductions had been made, The Cat, for that was what Carthinal told them his name was, began to tell them his story. It seemed he was a cat burglar in Bluehaven.

'The best in the city,' put in Carthinal. 'Probably the best in Grosmer.'

The Cat went on to say how he had been betrayed by a traitor in his gang and had had to flee the city before the guards caught up with him.

'I think that she really wanted to take over the gang. I had become the leader after Fenilla, who you left in charge, Carthinal, was captured. By the way, Carthinal, you said that you'd come back to us when you'd learned magic, but you never did.'

'I learned a better way of life, Cat.'

There was silence for a while. Thadora was leaning forward to hear every word The Cat said. As an erstwhile thief herself, she was fascinated by this man whom Carthinal had said was the best cat burglar in Grosmer.

'So here you are,' she said. 'I bet you could teach me a thing or two.'

Randa and Basalt spoke at once.

'Thadora, you've given up that life. You promised father.'

'Red Cub, just forget that idea.'

Thadora laughed, her green eyes dancing. 'OK, but he could come with us, couldn't he? He's not really got anywhere else to go.'

A big discussion then ensued until Carthinal called for quiet. 'We don't even know if The Cat would like to join us,' he said. 'First let's ask him and introduce him to our friend on whose behalf we're undertaking this journey.'

When Grnff emerged from the woods, The Cat gave a squeak and made to run, but Thadora ran up to the large creature and flung her arms round him.

'This is Grnff,' she told the astounded cat burglar. 'He's our friend and the one whose daughter has been stolen. We're going to help rescue her.'

The Cat couldn't get any words out. He stood and spluttered. Then, pulling himself together, he walked slowly towards the yeti, holding out his hand.

'I…I'm The Cat,' he told the other. 'P…pleased to meet you.' Then turning to the others he said, 'I have nothing better to do, so if you'll have me, I would like to join you. Carthinal was a good friend to me in the old days and I'd like to renew our friendship.'

Basalt grunted. 'Just as long as you realise that we are an honest bunch. We do not steal from each other, nor anyone else, come to that. I think everyone should have a chance to better themselves and so I'm willing to let you join, on probation, as it were.'

The others agreed, somewhat reluctantly, and so the original eight became ten.

Just after the crossing over the Brundella where the flood had happened the previous spring, the road branched, one road heading straight on to Bluehaven and the other turning east towards the Mountains of Doom. The party turned towards the mountains to where Zplon was waiting anxiously for them to arrive.

The journey across the hills of Grosmer was uneventful and, after staying in wayside inns wherever possible, but sleeping rough when there were none, they eventually arrived at the foothills of the Mountains of Doom.

Chapter 4 Trolls

The journey up through the mountains was as difficult as it had been the previous year. It was about the same time, and snow still lingered.

They took a different route from previously as they were not trying to find a pass over the mountains. It did not seem long before they reached the cave where Zplon had stayed with her remaining cub, Crthnl. Grnff had wanted to check on her, and as it was en route to where he had lost track of the trolls, he wished to make the slight detour both for his own sake and hers.

He told the Wolves that she had other yeti close by, but he was still concerned. The cave was higher in the mountains than the one where the yeti had rescued Wolf, but they tended to move higher in the spring and summer, as they did not like the warmth of the lower reaches of the mountains.

Eventually they arrived at a high valley where they could see a number of caves in the valley sides. Grnff made his way to one, and was greeted by a delighted Zplon. She hugged him, seeming reluctant to let him go, then she saw Wolf. Overcoming her natural fear of human, elf and dwarf, she came and hugged each of them in turn.

They introduced The Cat and Grimmaldo, and then Zplon turned to Grnff and spoke in the yeti's guttural language. Grnff translated.

'Zplon say yoo cum into cayv. She get sumthing eet for yoo. And yoo see cub, Crthnl, too.'

So they entered the cave. All the original members of Wolf were quite at ease, but Grimmaldo and The Cat were decidedly unhappy. The Cat whispered to Carthinal.

'Is it safe here? These creatures won't attack us will they? I've heard things about yeti'

Carthinal smiled. He remembered their own anxieties last year.

'No, Cat,' he replied. 'Both Grnff and Zplon are friendly. I understand the other yeti are also not hostile normally. It is we who have given them cause to attack people by our treatment of them.'

The Cat looked a little less uneasy, but Carthinal noticed he kept his hand near his knife the whole time.

Soon, Zplon came forward carrying a small bundle in her arms.

'Crthnl,' she said, as she laid the bundle down on the floor before them. It was covered in silvery grey hair, and was wriggling. Two large black eyes opened at one end of the wriggling creature and it stopped moving to stare at the strange beings gazing down at it. It wrinkled a little black nose and four limbs appeared from the hair and began to wave around. Then a pink mouth opened and a wailing sound came from it. Grnff picked it up and spoke to it in Grosmerian.

'Yoo be not afrayd, lickl won. Thees are frends.' He rocked the yeti cub in his arms. 'This is Crthnl. I teech him Grosmrin.' he told them proudly.

'He's beautiful,' replied Thadora with a delighted smile.

The others agreed with her. The little cub was a very appealing creature.

'He's better looking than his name-sake anyway,' teased Grimmaldo. Carthinal swung a mock punch at the other mage, who dodged quickly.

'May I touch him?' asked Kimi shyly.

'Yoo may,' agreed Grnff, and Kimi gently reached out her hand and stroked the cub. He stopped wailing and turned his black eyes towards her. Then he began a little snuffling noise. Zplon made the sound the others had learned to interpret as a laugh, and said something to Grnff.

'She say Crthnl liyk yoo. Yoo soothe him good. Yoo want stay here and bee nursemayd?'

Kimi declined the offer graciously, but Asphodel saw in her eyes what she really wished.

They decided on two things that night. One was to set off early the next morning, and the other, after much discussion by the eight original Wolves, was to ask Grimmaldo and The Cat if they would like to join them and become members of their sworn company.

Both agreed after it was explained to them how their name and oath came about. Asphodel agreed to be the representative of the gods again, and the oath was about to be spoken when Thadora suddenly spoke.

'I've just thought of something.'

They all looked at her as she turned to both Grimmaldo and The Cat, mouth set in a serious mode.

'Something very important needs to be sorted out before we admit you to our band. You must answer this question truthfully.'

The others looked at her, puzzled.

'Tell me, Grimmaldo, Cat, can you sing?'

Understanding dawned on the faces of the others.

'Yes,' replied Carthinal. 'Red Cub's right. We must know the answer to that question.'

'I'm sorry, Carthinal, I sing like a crow,' replied Grimmaldo. The Cat also replied that he could not sing either.

The rest shook their heads and looked solemn.

'Can we allow them to join the Singing Wolves then?' Thadora looked round the group, face very serious.

'What's this about singing wolves?' The Cat demanded.

'We occasionally become travelling entertainers and sing for our suppers,' replied Basalt, enjoying this very much. 'We need to ensure our reputation is kept up. We're very popular in Quantissarillishon you know. Thadora, you're right. I'm not sure we can let them join us officially unless they can help us entertain if needs be.'

Then Fero seemed to suddenly get an idea.

'I know,' he said. 'Cat, you are a cat burglar. You must be able to do some tricks like tightrope walking and some tumbling. That would do. Do you have any “party-pieces”, Grimmaldo?' he asked the young mage.

Thadora was nearly bursting with trying to keep from laughing. She did not dare look at Randa.

Then Grimmaldo replied, 'I can do magic, of course, and I can play the grillin,' he mentioned a guitar-like instrument, 'but I don't have one with me.'

Eventually, Thadora could contain herself no longer and she exploded with laughter. The two victims looked surprised for a moment then joined in.

'That was really unfair,' laughed Grimmaldo. 'I really believed you. Popular in Quantissarillishon indeed.'

'That bit's true enough, believe it or not,' Carthinal told his friend. He went on to explain how they had arrived in the Elven capital city with no money, having had it all stolen by hobgoblins, so they had had to become entertainers to survive.

'It was fun,' Thadora told him. 'I for one would like to do it again sometime.'

The atmosphere then became more serious. The swearing in of the two new Wolves took place just outside the cave of their yeti friends. All renewed the vows they had taken, since they must also swear to the new members. They ended with a handclasp and all followed Asphodel in saying, 'We are Wolf.'

So eight Wolves became ten.

OoOoOoOoOo

They left early the next morning in the company of Grnff, having said their goodbyes to Zplon and Crthnl. Grnff led them for one and a half days through the mountains. There were no paths here to follow and it was cold. Spring had not yet reached these heights and the eight original Wolves were reminded of their previous journey through the mountains further north. Suddenly the yeti stopped in a place where the snow had been trampled and there was the remains of an old fire.

'Grnff trak too heer,' said the Yeti. 'Traks not cleer after. Grnff not skilld inuf to follow.'

Fero went over to the fire and examined it. Then he looked at Grnff.

'About how long ago were you here, Grnff?' he asked the Yeti.

'Many days. Abowt one turn of Silver Moon.' he answered. Wolf had learned that the yeti called the moon, Ullin, Silver Moon and Lyndor was known as Golden Moon.

Fero replied thoughtfully, almost to himself.

'That means about thirty-two days. Over five sixdays.' He then looked up at the yeti.

After so long, it isn't easy to follow a trail, Grnff, but I promise I'll do my best. You others, look out for anything unusual too. A broken twig, indentations in the snow or ground that may indicate that something had depressed the snow prior to another fall, a dropped item. Anything at all that may seem out of place. This fire is very old, and it could well be a month or more since it was lit. See how the ashes have been blown by the wind.'

He indicated a light dusting of grey over the surface of the snow that the others had paid no heed to. Then he began to cast around the area to see if he could deduce the direction that the trolls had taken with the captive yeti cub.

After they had all spent some time searching around the campsite, there came a cry from Thadora.

'Fero. Over here.'

'What is it, Red Cub?' the ranger replied, going over to peer at whatever Thadora was indicating. He saw a few white hairs caught on the bare twig of a bush. He called Grnff over.

'What colour is Tadra's hair, Grnff?' he asked the yeti.

'Tadra hav hair same az Zpln. Wiyt as snow,' replied the yeti, bending to look at the hair that Fero was indicating to him.

'Could this be from her?' he asked looking up into Grnff's black eyes.

'Yes,' replied Grnff. 'That iz her culor.' For a moment, his eyes lit up in hope; then he looked away. 'Maybe it'z her hair, but maybe anuther of cold folk past this way.'

Thadora looked up at her unlikely friend.

'We have to hope, Grnff,' she said taking the yeti's big hand in her small one. 'It's the only lead we have. We know the trolls stopped here, and that they had Tadra. We must believe they passed that way and that some of her hair caught on that bush.'

Grnff showed his teeth in his feral smile, but his eyes remained sad.

'Yoo arr riyt, Red Cub. Wee must be howpful. Wee hav no uther siyns. Ranger, Grnff think wee must go this way by wiyt hair.'

'I agree, Grnff. No one else has found any other signs.'

He made his words a question as he looked round at the others. They all shook their heads.

'Come on. This is the path we have to take then.'

They found a few signs that something had passed that way, but it was difficult to ascertain exactly when this passage had taken place, or even what had passed. There was no more hair, and a heavy snow had fallen obliterating all signs of any footprints as a wind had driven the snow so that even depressions in the previous snow could not be determined.

After plodding on for three more days the path they were following, which was little more than a game trail, began to descend in a south-easterly direction.

'Towards Erian,' Carthinal pointed out, musingly.

A further four days brought them to a steep-sided valley. A river wound through the bottom and the tall peaks of the mountains climbed skywards on either side. This was the land of eagles and vultures. These birds soared above them looking for game or carrion on the ground below.

The valley floor was green with trees and grass, and the newly sprung spring flowers lent their colour to the scene. The companions were pleased to see the river, and they filled their water skins and washed some of the worst dust and grime from themselves. The water was still very cold, falling as it did from the snows higher up, so they decided against bathing. Mountain streams flowed into the river from time to time, often in the form of waterfalls from the steep slopes above them.

They made camp in a clearing in the trees, which were mainly pine and spruce, and rested for a little longer than usual, allowing themselves a full day's rest, in spite of Grnff's anxiety to be continuing.

Carthinal pointed out that they would, in the long run, make better progress if they were rested and managed to catch some fresh meat. Fero and Asphodel went off on this task.

She had become quite proficient with her sling and so had decided to begin to learn to use a mace for fighting as her experiences on their previous travels had shown her that hand-to-hand fighting needed more than unarmed combat on occasion. She had in fact become quite good, but on this hunting trip, she would use her sling.

The hunters were rewarded with two pheasants, two pigeons and even a hare, so they returned feeling pleased. Everyone sat down and ate the fresh meat with pleasure after Randa and Thadora had cooked it with freshly gathered herbs and the roots of some plants that Basalt told them were very good to eat. Basalt brought out some of his precious dwarf spirits for after the meal and they spent the evening and the next day in resting, talking and singing.

True to his word, Grimmaldo did sing like a crow, but he tried to join in until the others laughingly told him to stop as he was putting everyone off.

Even Grnff had to admit that the rest day had been a good idea. The following morning they all felt much refreshed and set off at a good pace. There was no other way to go except along the valley so they did not feel it was necessary to hunt too closely for tracks, but Fero still kept his eyes open.

Two more days of travelling through the valley brought them within sight of a small village. It was built on hill that rose from the valley floor, with the little dwellings seemingly tumbling down the hillside, like the water of the many streams and rills they had passed.

At the top of the hill was a small temple dedicated to the gods in general, as was the case in many small villages that could not support many temples. They paused looking at the village, each debating whether this was the destination to which the trolls had carried Tadra.