FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

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CHAPTER 15

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After breakfast we loaded up the dandos and began following the river South. This was our only lead as to where the curi'nakra had gone, but there was no trail to follow. I would have to keep a eye out for anything that could conform that we were on the right track.

The early morning light barely gave us enough light to navigate our way through the trees. The thick canopy blocked out nearly all the light. As a result the forest air had a constant chill to it. A coolness that sank into your bones, almost as if death already had grip on your soul. We were able to navigate through the forest quite easily despite the lack of light. Zangarians have excellent night vision, a benefit of generations of living in caves.

We followed the river until it gradually disappeared. It just got shallower and shallower until it vanished into a large rocky area. With no more river to follow we continued straight on. We had seen no obvious signs of someone climbing out of the river. But there was miles of river where they could have emerged, and we were days behind them. Any sign of them could have easily been wiped away or hidden after all this time.

Even at the height of the day the forest was dimly lit. Many of the branches overhead were sparse and dead as the higher branches blocked the sunlight to them. The whole atmosphere of the forest was depressing. How anything could live in this environment was mind boggling. The only signs of wildlife were the birds which lived in the canopy high above us. Their high pitched calls brought life to an otherwise dead environment.

Navigating the forest was difficult since we could not see the sun to judge our direction. We kept heading in the direction we believed to be South. By heading directly South we would exit the forest in the fastest possible time, which is what we believed the curi'nakra was doing as well. Once we managed to escape the forest we would find a settlement and ask the locals about potential sites where the curi'nakra might be drawn to.

Over breakfast we had discussed the possibility that the curi'nakra might not be trying to open a portal to the Underworld which is what we had initially assumed after Rengilar, as that would require a large number of sacrifices, hundreds if not thousands of furs. That would be no easy task for one individual. Malnark remembered hearing several stories of how sometimes powerful demons that could not be slain in battle during the war, were actually sealed behind powerful barriers in order to render them harmless.

These demons were known as damucrar'na; greater demons. These powerful beings were the most powerful level of demons, their power exceeded only by Maugan Ra and his children, the damuna'xas; known in common tongue as the Demon-lords! They were as powerful as any other Deity, and were capable of annihilating entire towns and villages by themselves. If the curi'nakra managed to get one of these demons on their side then they would become nigh unstoppable! They could take their time, moving from village to village with nothing able to stop them, sacrificing the furs that lived in those settlements and raise an army of demons!

As we travelled I sensed that we were being watched. I closed my eyes and entered a light meditative state and expanded my senses. Hidden in the shadows, maintaining a steady distance away from us were a pair of Dire Wolves. Dire Wolves are the savage, feral cousins of the anthro wolf. These ones were large, at least two hundred pounds.

They were stalking us, but I was worried about them. They would not attack as large a group as ours with just two of them. If one of us made the mistake of separating from the group they would pounce on them. I opened my eyes and retracted my senses. Unless a larger pack gathered we didn't need to worry. I didn't need to concern the others with this information. So long as no one went off on their own everything would be fine.

We continued our trek deeper into the forest. Our dandos were getting restless, but were well trained. The others didn't seem to recognise their distress. The Dire Wolves had been following us for hours now, and the dandos had to have picked up their scent long ago, so what was bothering them? I closed my eyes and extended my senses once again and was concerned to find out that there was no longer just two dire wolves stalking us, there was six, eight, no... nine! A pack of nine dire wolves meant serious trouble for us. They outnumbered us, and they would attack soon!

I reached down and grabbed the two spears that were held a holster attacked to the saddles Malnark had Loire and Mantou purchase in New Zangar. As I pulled the spears from the holster Mantou seemed to notice what I was doing.

"What's wrong Malakye?" He asked.

"You should arm yourself."

"What?! Why?"

"We are being hunted!"

Mantou looked around in mild panic. Instinctively his paw reached for one of the spears as he did. Looking up I saw a branch that was within reach. I stood on the back of my dando, leapt up and grabbed the branch and swung myself up so I was standing crouched atop the branch. The others kept on going, my own dando following its flocking instinct and continued to follow the rest of the group despite the fact I was no longer riding it.

The others hadn't noticed my sudden departure. I propelled myself upwards to a nearby branch, landed on it and then immediately leapt to the next branch. I was climbing higher and higher into the trees while following the others. One of the furs who trained me in Aaru had me run obstacle courses in the forest, forcing me to become more agile and pretty adept at climbing trees. A useful skill at the moment. The bare, lifeless branches were easy to navigate due to the lack of foliage, but kept snagging my cloak. After the third time my cloak got snagged I untied it and abandoned it. I leapt, grabbing a nearby branch to swing myself over to another tree. The branch shook and shuddered under the impact but held strong. Thankfully the trees were more than strong enough to support my weight. As I made my next leap Mantou finally noticed that I was no longer riding next to him.

"Malakye? MALAKYE!"

"What's wrong!?" Malnark called back as he stopped his dando and turned round.

"Malakye's gone!" Mantou exclaimed.

"Where did he go!?" Loire asked.

"I don't know!" Mantou said. "He said we were being hunted! I looked round to see what he was talking about and then when I looked back he was gone!"

"YOUNG MASTER!" Jovani called after me.

I didn't respond. I needed to remain hidden in order to hunt the dire wolves as they hunted the rest of the group. I was aware that I was essentially using them as bait, but I had given them ample warning and they were skilled enough to defend themselves long enough for me to take out the hierarchy of the pack.

Similar to the anthro wolves, dire wolves had two leaders. An alpha and a beta. If this pack followed the same pattern as the dire wolves in Aaru then the beta wolf would lead the first charge, the alpha would lead another group of wolves to hunt any individuals who broke away from the group, or if our group proved to be too strong for the betas group, would charge in and try to overpower us with their superior numbers.

My biggest challenge was to locate the alpha and the beta wolf amongst the pack. If I managed to eliminate them, the rest of the pack should scatter. As the others prepared for the attack from the unknown adversary, grabbing the spears from their own saddles and turned to keep a look out in every direction. Three of the wolves charged my comrades. They burst out of the bushes and snarled and snapped their jaws. Intimidation tactics. They weren't attacking directly, but they would try and split up the group or attempt to corral them towards the rest of the pack. The dandos panicked and Loire was tossed from his saddle.

As he lay helpless on the ground, scrambling to get up, one of the dire wolves charged straight for him. I leapt from the branch I stood on, cocked my arm back, took aim and judged the distance. It would take at least three heart beats in order to reach the ground from this height. I judged where the dire wolf would be in that time and threw one of my spears at the ground, mere inches from where Loire lay. As the dire wolf leapt at Loire he rolled backwards in an attempt to reach his spear. I twisted my body and spun round to grab the nearest branch to prevent me from falling over thirty feet to the ground.

The spear impaled itself through the beasts shoulder. The beast barrelled into Loire, knocking him aside but he was unharmed otherwise. I breathed a sigh of relief, I had made it in time! The wolf was howling in pain and writhing on the ground, my spear protruding from its body. Loire grabbed his spear and wasted no time in ending its life.

The two other wolves howled at the death of their pack mate. I spied movement from the tree line behind Jovani. Another wolf was approaching. I bucked my hips to swing my body and let go of the branch I was holding and somersaulted through the air and raised my spear. I fell through the air and judged where the wolf would be when I reached the ground. When the wolf burst from the bushes hiding its approach I was only a few feet above it. It spotted me, but it was already too late! The tip of my spear pierced its hide, and cut through the tough muscle and bone of the beasts body.

My weight and momentum gave the spear all the force it needed to force its way through the giant wolfs body and into the ground beneath it. There was a short, high pitched whine before the beast fell still. I could smell the metallic tang of its blood as it pooled on the ground beneath it. This wolf was bigger than the other three we had seen, so it had to be the beta. Now that its second was dead it would either lead a charge to avenge the death of its pack-mate, or it would take the rest of the pack and flee in fear.

"Young Master!"

"I'm fine Jovani!" I declared, turning and drawing my sword. "We need to deal with the alpha!"

Almost on cue the other two wolves howled, this time they were answered by another howl, and then another and another until every wolf was howling. It was almost deafening and it sounded like it was coming from every direction. I could see Jovani's muzzle moving as he tried to speak to me but I couldn't hear him over the incredible noise.

The dandos were taking the howling the worst. The others were struggling to keep their dandos under control while my own dando and Loire's ran around in panic. Thankfully they didn't run off by themselves, if they had then they would be dead.

With all the howling I couldn't tell which one the alpha was! I was going to have to do this the old fashioned way! With my sword in paw I gathered my nen in my legs and propelled myself forwards. The two dire wolves stopped howling as they saw me charge them, the one closest to me lunged for me, but with a quick, last second spin to the side I dodged them and drove the point of my blade into the soft flesh below the ribcage. His momentum caused my blade to cut all the way down to his hind leg and with a high pitched squeal tumbled to the ground.

That would would prove to be fatal to the dire wolf. If it didn't bleed out then it would undoubtedly die of starvation. The last wolf snarled at me but kept its distance. Dire wolves were quite intelligent. They certainly knew how to identify a stronger predator. But as predators which hunted in packs meant they could take down stronger predators with their numbers. That was what I was hoping for. If they meant to take me down then the alpha would have to show up to lead the attack.

"All of you get behind me and watch your backs!" I yelled to the others. They gathered a few yards behind me.

I stared at the dire wolf before me and took a step forwards and then another. For each step forwards I took it stepped back, its muzzle scrunched up as it bared its fangs and snarled at me. I extended my nen bubble so I could sense the approach of any wolves that entered it. In the darkness of the forest it was almost impossible to make out the dark pelts of the dire wolves through the sparse foliage and stick like remains of long dead brambles and bushes.

I thought I saw movement in the shadows out of the corner of my eye, but it was gone by the time I looked. They were circling us for the kill. The last dire wolf of the original group was standing there capturing our attention while the rest looked for an opening. I'd give them one!

I charged the last dire wolf. This one was smart, it had seen me kill three of its pack mates and turned tail and ran. I gave chase, aware that it was likely leading me into a trap! Two wolves entered my nen bubble, a perfectly timed flanking attack from both sides. If it wasn't for my nen bubble I wouldn't have seen it coming as both wolves pounced from my blind spots.

Using the nen gathered in the length of my sword I spun round and unleashed a powerful gust of wind at the wolves. It was not enough to hurt them, but it was enough to knock them backwards into the trunks of two nearby trees. They hit the trees with a hollow thud, and after snarling, turned tail and ran back into the shadows.

Getting a killing blow would prove difficult if they kept attacking like that. I needed to deal with them one at a time! A piercing howl warned me of the next wave of attacks. A couple of seconds later four wolves had surrounded me and all pounced towards me at the same time. I had no escape route, except one! I extended my wings, gathered my nen and propelled myself straight up. I escaped the snapping fangs of the snarling wolves as I rose into the air. I controlled the flow of the air in my nen bubble so I could hover in the air above them.

I needed to think quickly. Right now I had their attention, but if they decided they could not get to me then they would go after the others. I needed to find the alpha! There were still six wolves left! A sharp howl from my right sounded out. I turned to look for its source and there in the shadows, twenty feet away I could make out the faint outline of a large wolf. Could that be the alpha?

Moments later I saw the other wolves turn and run towards the others. That had to be the alpha! Now I could eliminate them! But the rest of his pack was running right at the others! If I went after the alpha I wouldn't be able to protect them! Had the alpha planned for this?

I needed to trust that the others would be able to protect themselves! If they couldn't then they would just be a hindrance to me on the rest of this journey! They were all trained warriors, capable of defending themselves!

I propelled myself towards the alpha dire wolf. I flew down low, flying just a few feet above the ground, weaving through the trees and bushes towards my target. It saw me coming and leapt out of the way as I swung my sword as I flew past. I flew upwards, somersaulted and then with another dove back down towards the wolf. Once again it dodged my attack. I landed on the ground with a roll and spun round to face the alpha head on. It was bigger than the other dire wolves, and had a white diamond on the top of its head. It snarled and growled at me viciously.

With no time to lose I charged the alpha, and it responded in kind. With this single exchange the fight would end. The length of my sword would allow me to land a killing blow before the alphas fangs can reach me! Three heart beats away. Two heart beats... on the next heart beat I had planned on thrusting my blade into the wolves neck. I watched at the wolf strode towards me, the way it pulled its back legs forwards at the end of its last stride in order to pounce at me, but instead of pouncing the wolf dashed off to the right. I skid to a stop and began to turn to my right to face the wolf when another wolf entered my nen bubble from behind.

An ambush! Only four of the wolves had gone after my comrades! The alpha had used itself as bait. From my current position I couldn't do anything try and jump out of the way. I left to my left, managing to avoid the wolves snapping fangs, but its bulk struck me and sent me rolling over the hard ground. As I tried to get up the alpha was already leaping through the air towards me. I threw myself onto my back and raised my sword. The alphas bulk crashed atop of me and it yelped loudly as it sank onto the length of my sword. If it hadn't been my nen bubble I would never have been able to defend myself against either of the wolves. These were such dangerous predators!

The heavy bulk of the alpha all but pinned me to the ground. Using my nen enhanced strength I managed to roll it off of me and I stood up. I was covered in its blood. I pulled my blade free from its lifeless body and stared at the other dire wolf. It retreated several steps while snarling. I pointed my sword at it and it understood. It howled loudly before retreating into the forest. The other wolves howled in response before falling silent.

I made my way back towards the rest of the group. I was thankful to see that all of them were unharmed, however one of the dandos appeared to be badly wounded. Mantou was the first to notice me. Jovani came running over to see me.

"Young Master are you all right!?"

"I'm fine Jovani." I assured him. "It's not my blood. How is everyone else?"

"Relatively unharmed. However one of the wolves managed to bite one of the dandos. Its bleeding, but it should survive."

"We should get going before those wolves return!" Loire declared.

"They won't return." I countered. "They have lost their alpha, their beta as well as half of their pack. They wouldn't dare attack us again!"

"How can you be so sure?"

"They are smart. They know that we are stronger than them. Another attack would be reckless."

"I would agree with that assessment. I've even heard some say that dire wolves are smarter than their cousins!" Malnark smirked.

I chuckled. In some sense that was true. Dire wolves were not ruled by their pride. They were survivors, pure and simple. In comparison to wolves who constantly fought wars against the dragons, they were definitely the smarter of the two.

We set up camp and treated the dandos wounds as best we could. The bird would be able to travel tomorrow, but we needed to give it time to rest and recover. We would be safe for tonight. We were deep in the dire wolf territory, which greatly reduced the threat of other predators, and the dire wolves themselves would not return any time soon.

I took the bodies of the dire wolves that I had slain, skinned them and butchered them. Their meat was tough and gamy, but very nutritious. I gave several cuts to Jovani to use for dinner and set to the task of treating their pelts. It would not be as good a job as a proper leather worker would be able to do, seeing as I lacked many of the tools they would have to paw. But I had been trained how to turn a pelt into a few useful items with little more than a knife. My travel cloak was lost in the trees, torn to shreds. After a few hours of work I made myself a new travel cloak. The hood of the cloak was made from the head of the alpha wolf. It was much more durable than cloth. It smelt to high heaven though. I didn't have everything I needed to properly clean the pelt.

"That looks awesome!" Mantou said as I marched into camp wearing my new cloak.

"It's certainly... quite something..." Jovani commented. "Although the smell..."

"Sorry." I chuckled, taking the cloak off and tossing it onto a nearby rock.

"You look like some sort of legendary warrior from a story!" Loire grinned. "Malakye, the great wolf slayer!"

"What ever!" I chuckled.

"Can you make me one of those?" Mantou asked.

"No can do. Only legendary warriors get to wear one of these!" I teased, punching him in the shoulder. "Rules are rules."

"Fucker!" He cursed playfully, exchanging a few playful punches with me.

"I'm beginning to wonder if I will ever stop being surprised by you." Malnark sighed. "You're reckless! A giant pain in the tail, and trouble seems to follow you where ever you go! But somehow regardless of what happens, whether it's demons, wolves or feral beasts... you manage to come out the other side of it. Also managing to save our tails a couple of times as well."

"What's your point?" I asked taking a seat across from him, on the other side of fire pit where Jovani was preparing our meal. The heat felt good on my foot-paws.

"You are the strongest fighter I've ever met, but despite being an arrogant ass-hole some times... I consider you a friend."

"We all do!" Loire chipped in.

"I've met many warriors like you over the years. Over confident in their abilities, thinking that they were invincible! And like them... I fear your recklessness will end up getting you killed." Malnark said with a tone of worry. "I know that your mission is dangerous. We all understand that. I just ask that you don't take any unnecessary risks."

Suddenly I realised just how much worry I had caused the rest of the group. When things went wrong I often went off by myself. In New Zangar, during the conflict with the the local authorities I had ordered the rest of them to leave the city without me. The right move as it turns out, but what had it been like for them?

I had forced them to trust me, to leave me behind and trust that I would catch up to them. They had come along in order to protect and aide me. But in order to save time I had ordered them to ignore that and leave me to defend myself. If I had been captured then what would have happened? If I had decided not to fight would Malnark have found a peaceful resolution? Those questions would remain unanswered now.

In Banuke I did the same thing. When Khaine attacked in his cal'lash - the transformed state of the spirit within him - I ordered the others to not interfere. Once again asking them to disregard my safety, and their mission, so that I could prevent them from being harmed by my rival. Khaine had claimed that he had been sent to replace me on this mission, that our fight had been a test to see which of us was the strongest, and therefore the best option to completely this mission was. When he had told me that I was upset. Upset that Callen and the others didn't trust me enough to be able to complete the mission they had given me.

Was that how they felt every time I asked the others to stand aside and let me fight alone? Did I not trust them enough to fight by my side? Did I consider them weak? I knew they were all capable fighters, but in comparison to me... no that was not fair. They were strong. It was just that I had been taught how to fight on my own. Fighting in a group was very different. Fighting alone was not always the best option. Father and Jovani managed to best me during our match at the outpost. By working together they had managed to defeat a more powerful opponent. The curi'nakra was an unknown quantity. Their ability and strengths unknown to me. If I was not strong enough to defeat them by myself then the success of my mission would rely my ability to work with Malnark and the others.

"I'm sorry. I didn't... I didn't realise how my decisions were affecting you." I apologised. "I have just been so determined to succeed in my mission..."

"It is all right Young Master. We understand. None of us here can understand how you must feel with this tremendous responsibility you have resting on your shoulders."

"We might not be able to understand, but we are here, willing to help ease your burden in anyway that we can." Malnark added.

"That's right." Loire smiled.

"We're here for you!" Mantou grinned.

"We are all here for you!" Jovani repeated.

"You've been protecting us this whole time." Malnark continued. "Let us protect you."