Chapter Twenty-Five
When we got in there, we were met with a room full of strange and special tack for all kinds of mounts, species that I couldn't even begin to guess at. There was a young werewolf behind the counter, polishing a bridle. She looked up at the sound of the door opening.
"Welcome my friends, to Karkle's Stables. How may I help you?" she asked in a strangely deep accent. It sounded much like those used by the sailors on the sea.
"I'm looking to buy a few mounts for a reasonable price, along with the necessary tack. Is there someone that we could speak to about that?" I asked her. She nodded briefly, motioning for us to follow as she walked into an open door behind her. We went down a flight of stone steps into an underground cave, which was much larger than I would have guessed.
There were five large stables, and all together they created a rough circle of woodwork. In between them was a common ground of cobblestones, where some of the animals lolled around together. All of it was fenced in, and on the other side of the fence was a small cottage house with the front door standing wide open. A male werewolf was in the stable on the right, feeding some vicious-looking animals raw meat. When he saw us, he wiped his bloody hands on his work pants and walked our way. He held out a hand for me to shake.
I shook his hand as he said "Hey there, I'm Karkle. Are you looking to buy some of my fine animals?" he asked, giving me a lofty grin. I nodded to him, fighting a smile.
"Yes sir, and my name is Ayla Sharmila. I was told that you had some special horses that are good for long distances and are more intelligent than the average werewolf. Do you have such animals?" I asked him. He had a big smile on his face.
"You heard right Madam. The creatures you speak of are called felsteeds, and I breed them quite frequently. How many of them did you need exactly?" he asked me, obviously pleased with the rumors circulating about his stables.
"I'll be needing seven of your best felsteeds, along with the necessary tack for them. If you don't mind, I'd like to look them over and choose them myself." I told him. He nodded to himself and absentmindedly led me to the stables opposite of his home, mentally adding up a total.
"It's fifty silver crowns for one felsteed, so seven of them would be three hundred and fifty silver crowns. The necessary tack will vary in price depending on exactly what kind of tack you want. Do you have the money for your felsteeds?" he asked me. I nodded, opening my money pouch and pulling out four gold crowns and handing them to the man. He looked at them in some surprise, then looked back up at me. "Are you some sort of rich noble, looking to collect animals for show?" he asked suspiciously. I shook my head at him.
"No, I'm new here actually, but within two months I will be going on a long and difficult journey with six companions, and I'll be needing dependable mounts. Our mother Hecate told me to come here for these mounts, and she gave me the money I would need to buy them. Apparently their presence in my future was fairly important." I explained. Sudden inspiration seemed to strike him.
"You're the one who summoned Hecate into the temple this afternoon; the carrier of the white magic! We could see that beacon of magic shining from the back of the City when you were still out on that farm, it was so bright. Hecate must have something great in store for you." He said, a look of glory passing over his face.
I smiled shyly, a faint blush covering my cheeks for a moment. "Now then, may I go see these horses of yours?" I asked him. He nodded, gesturing for me to go first. The stables were smaller than Haberth's stables back in Therinsford, but they served their purpose. In each stall was a fairly average-looking horse, in different colors and tempers. However, they all possessed an intelligent gaze in their eyes, even more than Karnus did, and thick muscles rippled under their coats.
"These horses look almost normal to me Karkle. What makes them so different?" I asked him as I entered the stall of a large black horse, who was watching me with dark green eyes. I stroked the horse's side and felt him shudder quietly, his eyes watching me with caution.
"Well, under a certain command these horses will change their shape and strength. Their mane and tail turns to living flames, and they get flames for eyes and around their hooves in trails. They grow probably ten times stronger, though they will look weaker. Also, they will have an unusually long endurance and speed that can match that of an experienced dragon. They're very rare and special creatures." He explained. I stroked the horse's side softly, absorbing the information.
I glanced over at the felsteed and saw a flash of flame deep within his dark green eyes, which were not eying me as cautiously now. I allowed myself a small grin. Perhaps this idea was brighter than it originally seemed to be. The felsteed surveyed me up and down with one dark eye, his gaze a mystery to me. He hesitantly stuck his nose in my direction, curious it seemed. I held my hand up to it and rubbed the horse's snout, feeling his warm breath on my fingertips.
Smiling, I moved slightly closer to the stallion, my fur brushing up against his coat. He shuddered briefly, but then relaxed all of his muscles as he studied me with his dark eyes. I turned back to Karkle and said "I really like this one here. Does he have a name?" I asked as I absentmindedly stroked the large animal.
Karkle nodded, watching us with his true emotions hidden. "His name is Miquien, and he's the most noble of all my mounts. He's the strongest, most intelligent, proudest, and most trustworthy felsteed I've ever had the privilege to breed. You've made a fine choice with Miquien." He complimented.
I hummed quietly to myself, thinking for a long moment before I untied him from his stall and backed him out of it into the walkway of the stable. I held onto his lead rope and hopped up onto his bare back, easily fitting into place behind his strong shoulders. I rode him out of the small open stable and into the courtyard of cobblestones to get a feel for his movements. His gait felt strange, as if he had an extra bone in each of his legs that gave him a unique style of walking.
I picked up the pace to a trot and tried to adjust to the alien feeling as I rode him around in the courtyard of stone between the five stables. Karkle watched from the stable door of the felsteeds' area, his expression never shifting away from guarded eyes and a stubborn lip. "If you want to see him changed, you must simply tell him Keelva-Colvo, which means Shape-Shift. Try it." He suggested, watching me with a certain air of expectation.
Miquien looked back at me with a steady green eye, just waiting for me to say the words. I stared into that dark green eye for a long moment before I softly whispered "Keelva-Colvo". The moment I whispered those words, Miquien's eyes began to cover themselves in green flames. The flames spread down his body, never burning me or seeming to burn him. The change transformed his bones, muscles, hair, and stability. What was once a completely normal horse was now a creature from a child's worst nightmares.
The horse's bones and muscles had grown and all the excess fat had disappeared from its body, making it look somewhat skeletal-like and giving it a haunting appearance. The eye sockets held green living flames, instead of the once dark green eyes, as did his nostrils. Flames had gathered around his hooves from the excess hair that used to hang above and around them. His mane and tail had become living flames the color of the green ichors that glowed in most poisons, though they had no ill effect on me as they brushed past me with a flick of his tail.
His coat was still a shiny midnight black, and the flames added a beautiful contrast to it. Sitting astride his back made me feel high and mighty, and I could feel the power flowing out of this animal. It was a dark power though, and it awoke something deep inside of me. The Darkness that made me a true werewolf was also inside of this magnificent creature. I tapped his sides with my heels and he reared enthusiastically, but I never fell backwards. Bones in his back were jutting up slightly and held me easily in place.
He took off at a canter around the courtyard, and his reflexes seemed faster than ever. Also, he was tireless. His breathing never changed rhythm, and he kept a steady pace with positive footing. The felsteed picked up the pace without my command and was soon flying, still somehow maneuvering in the now seemingly-tiny courtyard. I pulled him to a quick stop and he reared, whinnying excitedly. While he had the ability to be calm, this horse also had a lot of spirit. He turned one burning eye-socket back to look at me and I could already see that he was mischievous.
I tapped him into a smooth walking gait back over to Karkle, who was watching the two of us with a smile. I hopped off of Miquien's back while keeping a firm hold on his lead rope, though he was slowly tugging on it as if to get away from my hold. I knew that if he did, we'd be playing a game of 'tag' for ages and ages. "This is the one; I'll take him." I told the grinning werewolf as Miquien shifted back into a normal horse with my muttered command.
Nyvern and Kallaheart began looking at felsteeds for themselves as we waited. Nyvern came out with a dark chestnut felsteed with dark eyes that had a hint of red in their depths, who watched us all with an air of dignity and pride. Kallaheart had gotten a cream colored beauty with a white main and tail, who's bright blue eyes showed immense bravery and protective instinct, while the horse's affection for Kallaheart's softer side was obvious.
I approved of both of their mounts. "You two got very lucky; this pair will do anything for you." I told them. They both smiled, pleased as they mounted up onto their felsteeds' bare backs and rode them around the courtyard.
Over the next hour, Karkle helped me to choose four more trustworthy felsteeds and then get the riding gear necessary for them. The saddles were all regular to me, until I saw that they were made of the same material as my armor. When the horses shifted, the saddles and gear would shift with them to fit their new shapes.
Karkle helped me saddle all the felsteeds, with the added help of Nyvern and Kallaheart of course. Once we were ready, I paid Karkle the extra twenty silver pieces it had cost for the riding gear and thanked him. Karkle pulled down the lever on the back wall and a stone door slid aside to reveal a secret exit for us to get out through with our mounts.
We rode quickly up the stone ramps hidden in the walls of the main cavern of the Darkness Quarter, entering out onto Rat-Hole Road within moments. With me riding Miquien and leading two of the other felsteeds, the three of us rode off towards the Main Hall. Nyvern had private stables hidden aside where he said we could keep our mounts. As it so happened, that's where my mount Karnus was waiting for us.
When Karnus saw me he whinnied happily, glad to see a familiar face. I smiled as I put all the felsteeds in stalls, brushing them down and putting their tack on shelves by their stall doors. Once they were all put away, I went to stroke Karnus' side, staring into his now-solemn eyes. He knew what was coming, and it saddened him as much as it did me.
"Don't worry," I whispered to the warhorse, "You'll be going to a great man who will take good care of you. He'll probably spoil you rotten." I teased. Karnus whinnied a laugh, then turned when he heard footsteps approaching. It was Nyvern.
"Do you think you could send someone trustworthy to take Karnus to Therinsford, and to the main stables there? It's owned by a man named Haberth, one of my dearest friends. I'm sure he'll look after Karnus the way he deserves." I told Nyvern, absent-mindedly stroking Karnus' nose.
He nodded. "I have an advisor who'd be happy to do that for you. Would you like him to give Haberth a letter or note from you, so he knows you're alright?" he asked. I nodded.
Nyvern told me to wait as he sent for the advisor and some parchment and ink. When Nyvern returned, another male werewolf was beside him. Before my very eyes, the werewolf transformed effortlessly into a man. The man had brown shaggy hair, and was dressed in simple clothing in blues and purples, deceiving his rank as an advisor. He had a rolled up parchment in his hand and a quill in the other.
Working quickly, I wrote out a short letter to Haberth, asking him to keep and take care of Karnus for me since I had a new horse. I told him I was perfectly alright, and obviously alive. I hoped I could see him soon, before it was too late. I signed my name on the bottom with a swirl, then rolled up the parchment and handed it to the advisor. He had saddled Karnus and was waiting patiently for me.
He put the letter in his pocket and mounted up, allowing me one last farewell to Karnus before the two of them raced out of the stables and towards my old friend in Therinsford.