Glimmer sniffed the corpses in the road. Then she tilted her head back and howled. A moment later five horses galloped out of the trees into view on the open road.
"OH no," Dinin said hoarsely, seeing the corpses from a distance. "Please tell me it is not Mai'Zak."
The stench of rotting flesh filled the air as the horses came nearer to the site of death and decay. The dead bodies of men and woman lay in the road, covered in bites. Zombie wolves lay around them, guts and maggots spilling onto the ground. A swarm of flies rose like a thick cloud. All the bodies had rotted unnaturally fast.
Tuatha dismounted. He signaled to Zak and his brothers to stay back as he cautiously approached the bodies. With his staff, he searched among them, rolling over each body. Squirming maggots and a fresh wave of horrible stink was all he found. Wolves lay speared. Wagons were overturned, the unfortunate bodies of bound slaves crushed beneath them, then chewed almost beyond recognition. Tuatha's throat constricted as he saw the bodies of two young children. Grieved by the awful sight but relieved he had not found Mai'Zak's body, Tuatha jogged back to his horse, resisting the urge to vomit.
"Mai'Zak is not here," Tuatha reported as he mounted his horse. "But we should burn everything here. Fire is the only thing that will destroy this foul sickness. The wolves were undead, from Luskan."
"Did you—did you find Kalin?" Drizzt asked fearfully.
"No. I found the bodies of two children around his age." As Drizzt started to dismount, Tuatha said gently, "Drizzt, the bodies are unrecognizable. Even if one of them was Kalin . . . . ."
Tears pricked Drizzt's eyes. What a horrible fate for his son. If Kalin had survived the river only to be captured by slavers and then meet this end . . .
Nalfein, Dinin, and Zak set fire to the wagon. They shoved one of the still upright wagons into the middle of the heap of bodies and tossed a torch onto the canvas cover. Silently they watched the wagons and corpses burn to ashes.
"Kalin may still be alive," Tuatha told Drizzt. "There is still hope."
Glimmer barked. She had found the scent of her beloved bond mate! She looked impatiently at her drow friends. Mounting their horses, the drow followed Glimmer into the trees. Glimmer became more and more frantic, running faster and faster. Mingled with Mai'Zak's scent was a scent she did not recognize but also the scent of zombie wolves! Her friend's life was in danger!
If you made it this far, how do you like it? Any thoughts/suggestions? I would love to hear whatever is going on in your head right now.