Author's Notes: Hey everyone, sorry that it has taken me so long to update. As always I own nothing.
Word of a potential attack by Beastmen quickly spread throughout the caravan and a sense of unease and fear hung over the whole of it. As ordered the guards were doubled and that appeared to have the desired effect, as no attack came the whole of the day. Night fell and in spite of the lack of attack, or even any sign of the creatures, the fear grew as the night deepened. Several the soldiers and older men who had fought the creatures in their younger days declared that Beastmen often attacked at night, as their eyesight was better in the dark than those of men. Karl was not inclined to disagree with them and during the night he made several circuits of the camp, around which the Baron had formed by having the wagons formed into a circle. He stared out into night and saw nothing and the wind brought no scent of the monsters.
The next day the caravan moved on and again there were no signs of the Beastmen. This caused some to begin to believe that they had feared for nothing and that no attack was coming. Others; however, remain unconvinced. Rather, they said, the beasts were merely waiting. They were still close enough to Altdorf that any attack but bring swift retaliation and despite what some people said, the beasts were not stupid and were aware of this fact. They maintained that they were being shadowed and as soon as they were far enough away from the city the attack would come. Karl was not sure what to think, he still cannot find any sign of them, but the feeling of unease which infected the majority the caravan had spread to him as well. He wished he could go off on his own and see if he can find proof one way or the other, but that was not an option.
The Baron had declared that no scouts would go out except in force and were Karl asked to go alone that would undoubtedly raise suspicion. Lady Von Dorchener might know, or guess, what he was but he doubted the others did or that they would react well if they were to learn. For that reason, he remained with the caravan prayed that those who said that the danger was passed. In an effort to distract himself from of the potential danger he turned his mind to what Doctor Cusher had told him about magic in science. In truth he was not sure if the man was correct or not, it was not as if the subject mattered all that much to him.
The one point that the man had said which had struck Karl the most was something which the man had not even said, rather it had been something that the man had been doing. The writing which had struck Karl with a slight note of envy. He had never learned to read or write, something restricted to primarily the nobles, wealthy merchants and others of the upper classes. He had not thought of it much before as no one in his village had been able to read as far as he knew. Once he had left it; however, it had seemed that almost everyone he came into contact with could read. It made him feel stupid, like a village idiot.
He remembered that Clare had also been learning how to read, which he guess was required as a mage, but it made him feel even worse. Would she look at him as an ignorant buffoon, or would she look at him with pity? He was not sure which one was worse. He tried to turn his mind to other things, but it kept returning there. He imagined she would become more like Wilhelmina. While Karl liked to think that their relationship had improved since they first met, somethings had not changed. Mostly the fact that she held the power in their relationship. She had even said that he would be her's one day. This meant that even when she was being friendly there was an air of superiority about her. Karl did not want Clare to become like that, but how could she not? As she grew in power that Karl could barely understand and he remained the same? The thought depressed him greatly.
Fortunately, there were soon other matters to occupy his mind. While no attack had materialized that did not prevent the Baron from preparing for one. He, his sons and his officers and sergeants moved up and down the column organizing defenses. Unfortunately, they had few horsemen and most of those were outriders, not knights. Consequently this meant that the bulk of the fighting would be settled by infantry. Again, these were not as numerous as Karl and no doubt the Baron would have liked. Fortunately, and perhaps conversely, it was the very poverty of the Baron's former lands which helped them overcome this shortage.
Necessity had taught his people self-reliance and thus every man owned and knew how to use a bow and many also possess hunting spears or wood axes. Karl soon learned that prior to setting off the Von Dorcheners had prepared for just such an event by having the people organized into units and having their wagons arranged so that men belonging to the same units would be traveling together, as well as having an experienced soldier appointed as an officer over them. When they moved out again they were now on a war footing and the men all traveled with their weapons in their hands.
Karl was not assigned to any of these groups. Instead he was to continue his scouting. Unlike the others he was given permission to go out on his own. Though others gossiped about this Karl was sure that he detected the hand of Lady von Dorchener at work. He rode into woods on the right flank of the advancing people. He would have preferred to not have brought his horse in case he needed to shift forms. However; it would have appeared suspicious if he were to go on foot and so he rode out and hoped for the best. The sights, sounds and smells of the forest were all around him, but he detected nothing which would indicate anything was amiss. He found no further signs of Beastmen.
"Perhaps Henri was right. Perhaps they really have moved on." Karl said, as much to the horse as to himself.
"I mean, after everything we have all been through, surely the gods would give us a moment of respite eventually don't they?" Deciding that that last statement could be seen as impious he sent a quite prayer of apology up to the gods as he continued on his way.
He seared for hours and the day grew late yet still he found no trace of the Beastmen. It appeared that there had indeed been only a small band and had been frightened off. While it was comforting at the moment there was the distinct possibility that they would return with a larger herd. They might be closing in even now, though Karl doubted that they were nearby at the moment. They were creatures of the forest, but even they could not move an entire army without leaving signs that could be detected. Karl wanted to go further out to determine if they were waiting at a distance for night to fall before they made their move. However; he had been ordered not to go too far and to return before the sun set and so he eventually turned back. He regained the camp shortly before sundown and the caravan had stopped for the night by the time he rejoined them. He sought out Henri and made his report, such as it was and then went to get something to eat.
His path took him by Cusher's wagon and Karl could see that the man himself was still at work. He was sitting beside his wagon, a plate of untouched food beside him, writing furiously in his book. Karl's earlier thoughts returned to him and he stared at the man. The man had decried, or at the least downplayed the workings of magic, but in a way the scratching he was doing on paper was as impressive than the workings of any wizard and more permanent as well. The magic worked by a wizard usually vanished shortly after the spell was cast, but Karl had heard that some books were hundreds of years old. That was a kind of immortality wasn't it? His thoughts were interrupted as the silence of the night was broken by the braying of horns and the bestial roars of Beastmen.
All through the camp cries of alarm were raised and orders were shouted. Soldiers and conscripts alike were forming into their groups. Despite the initial frenzy it began to appear that no attack appeared to be happening. Everywhere he looked Karl saw the groups standing to repel an attack, but he saw no sign of Beastmen. As shouted questions echoed back and forth it emerged that no attack had occurred, even the horns and braying eventually died down.
"What in the name of all the gods was that all about?" One man asked. The soldier assigned as their officer shrugged, clearly as confused as the men around him.
Karl was also confused by the Beastmen's actions. This did not agree with what had occurred before when he had faced the creatures. Granted that had been different, always before they had had the advantage of numbers, but every time that he had met Beastmen they had not hesitated to attack and they had not behaved in such a manner, announcing their presence but then doing nothing else. If they had numeral superiority here why did they not attack? If they did not have superiority then why had they let the human know that they were here? He did not know, but it made him uneasy. Just then a boy came up to him and told him that the scouts were being called together.
Following the boy they went to the center of camp where the Baron, Lady Von Dorchener, Sir Felipe, Sir Fernando, Henri and the other scouts. There was another person there as well, a woman about the same age as the brothers. She was of medium height with ash-blond hair and skin scared with signs of the pox. Her eyes were a startling blue and made Karl think of the Baron. What was also unusual about her was her garb.
She wore a suit of chainmail with greaves and gauntlets on her arms and legs. She wore a white tabard edged in red over her armor, clasped at the throat with a silver eagle. In place of a helmet she wore a hood of blue cloth, also edged in red. She bore a round shield painted blue with a red eagle in the center. In place of a sword she bore a spear. She stood behind Lady von Dorchener who, along with the rest of his family, studiously ignored her.
As Karl came up it was clear from the bits of conversation which he caught that they too were confused by the actions of the Beastmen and were not sure what course of action to take. The Baron was talking to Lady von Dorchener. She looked pensive and was clearly upset about something. As he came up Sir Felipe opened his mouth, clearly intending to ask her a question. Before he could; however, she cut him off with an impatient gesture.
"Before you ask, no I cannot simply use magic to tell what the creatures are doing, your father has already asked me.
"No, if we want to know what they are doing we must rely on more mundane means." None of those present looked happy at this and knowing the risks that the scouts would have to face Karl could understand. For all the airs wizards put on about their powers and abilities it seemed that they needed a great deal done through non-magical means. He realized that she was continuing to speak and focused his attention on her again.
"What I have learned is that whoever, or whatever, is leading them is being of great power. This is no simple warlord. At the very least it is a shaman and one of considerable power at that."
"And if it is more?" The Baron asked, though from his tone he appeared no more eager than any of the others present to hear her answer.
"Then may the gods help us all." She said simply and did not appear to be willing to say anymore. Once this became clear the Baron turned to Henri.
"Sergeant, I want you and the rest of the scouts to set out at first light. You are to score the woods all around the camp out to five miles, be sure to be back before sundown. If you see any Beastmen you are not to engage them, but observe them and attempt to discover the nature of their leader and then report back to us. We will wait here today. If they do not return then we shall continue on our way." Henri bowed.
"At once m'lord." With that he turned to the scouts and ordered them to gather provisions for the day and get their horses ready. With that the council broke up with the Baron and his sons going to inspect the defenses while Lady von Dorchener returned to her wagon, Karl guessed to continue her divinations, the armored woman following behind.
Within half an hour Karl and the other scouts were beyond the camp and moving into the woods. It did not take them long to discover where the Beastmen had been the night before. The ground in clearing on top a small hill from which they could easily have seen the camp had been trampled down by many hooved feet and numerous piles of fecal matter were lying about, making the area resemble a cow pasture.
"Gods! The stench!" One of the scouts exclaimed. Karl agreed with him and was thankful that he was in his human form as the stench would have possibly been more than he could stand if he were in his wolf form.
He narrowed his eyes as he tried to sniff the area without any of the others seeing what he was doing. In addition to the stench there was another smell, one even more vile than the stench of the Beastmen, though he could not explain why it was so. His mind went back to what Lady von Dorchener had said about them being led by a shaman or something even worse. He was sure now that whatever it was that led the Beastmen it was something worse than a shaman. He could not tell the other scouts this as it was impossible for a normal person to know. He would have to wait till they returned to the camp and inform Lady von Dorchener in person. She knew what he was and would believe him when he told her. That decided he returned his mind to the task at hand.
They soon left the clearing following the trail left by the Beastmen, a trail which the Beastmen had made no effort to hide as they moved deeper into the woods. They moved cautiously as the Beastmen were creatures of the forest and could easily by lying in ambush for any potential pursuers. Karl continuously sniffed the area scrumptiously, but all the scents of Beastmen that he detected were old. Still, the deeper they went into the forest more and more smells assaulted him and the scent became mingled with the others and he was not sure that he could smell them if they did indeed lie in ambush, at least not in his human form. However; they saw nothing and in the end they turned back without finding any further signs of the Beastmen and they reached the camp without incident.
Once his horse was cared for Karl went to seek out Lady von Dorchener. He found her wagon, one larger and better built than many of the others and indeed seemed more like a house on wheels than a wagon, in the center of the camp and as he approached it he could smell the magic emanating from it. At the entrance the armored girl stood watch and was watching Karl as he approached. He could not be sure, but he had the impression that there was an air of dislike about her which she was directing towards him. He could not understand why this was as he had not, as far as he knew, done anything towards her. He had not even seen her until today. Not sure what else to do and refusing to be cowed he squared his shoulders and walked up to her.
"I have business with the Lady von Dorchener." She did not move out of the way. Instead she moved to stand between him and the entrance.
"The Lady von Dorchener does not speak with mere scouts, especially hirelings. If Sergeant Henri has something to report he shall do so himself." Before Karl could respond the door to the wagon opened and someone emerged.
As it was a man and not the Lady von Dorchener herself Karl at first thought that he was a servant, but he quickly saw that this was not the case. It was a young man, little more than a teenager, with a wisp of a beard and a face full of pimples. His clothing was well-made, but old and worn. His brown hair was slightly longer than was fashionable and needed washing. All in all he gave a slightly bedraggled appearance, yet there was something false about it. It was as if he was deliberately trying to present a slightly eccentric appearance. The most significant fact about him though was the magic which Karl smelled on him. Another wizard then, though a young one. He looked at Karl for a moment and then turned towards the woman.
"Franka, he is expected let him pass!" He said in a voice which he clearly thought was commanding, but came off more a whining child making demands. Franka growled in annoyance.
"You shall address me by my proper title… Ebbo." The youth in his turn glowered at her, his face going red. After a moment he took a deep breath and then began to speak again.
"Very well, Sir Franka Dehne." For some reason she filched slightly at the way he said her last name.
"The Lady von Dorchener is expecting this man, let him pass." She still looked unhappy, but she stepped aside without further comment.
"Very well…Apprentice Ebbo Thimig." As she had flushed at the use of her name he flushed at the use of his title. The fact that they did not like each other was plainly obvious, though not the cause. At the moment Karl did not care, he was tired of being looked down on by people, especially if the one looking down on him was another noble. He found it odd that a woman would be a knight, but he had no time to consider it as he went inside.
Like the outside the interior was more akin to a house than a wagon, with furniture secured to the floor and chests along the walls. Books lay in several neat piles along the walls. Lady von Dorchener sat on a chair by a table in the center of the room. She regarded him with a severe look for a moment and then turned to Ebbo.
"Leave us." He looked displeased, but said nothing. He simply bowed and departed. She returned her attention to Karl, indicating a second chair.
"Sit." He sat down across from her, feeling like he was in a fortune teller's booth at a country fair.
"All we need is a crystal ball." He muttered before he realized that he was speaking aloud. She gave him a look, apparently guessing what he was thinking.
"I am a licensed wizard of the Celestial Collage. I am nothing like the charlatans who fleece money from the gullible and I will thank you not to compare me to them." All this was said in a cold tone and Karl nervously nodded. Her expression calmed and her voice lost some of its hostility.
"Good. Marx said that you are a clever creature and can be useful, I hope that this is the case.
"Now, what did you discover?" Karl told her.
He told of the clearing and the trail that they had followed. This did not seem to interest her, what did interest her; however, was what he had to say about the mysterious individual who was with the Beastmen.
"Do you have any idea what it was?" Karl asked after a few moments.
"What is indeed the proper word. I do not know for sure what it was, but I know of several possibilities, each worse then the last. Now that I have something to go on I can focus my divinations. Hopefully that will enable me to produce the answers that my nephew wishes." She lapsed into silence for a moment. Karl waited a few moments till he at last broke the silence again.
"May I know what those threats are?"
"I do not know for certain and I do not like to say unless I am certain. Too many of my kind spill out half-formed ideas and theories and when they turn out to be wrong or when things happen not as they said that they would their reputations and standings suffer. Therefore, I do not say till I am certain, or at least a good deal more certain than I am now. No, I need more information before I will speak on the matter." Karl was unhappy with that, but he knew that he would get nothing else and he supposed that what she was doing made sense. If you did not have anything to say what was the point in saying anything? Still, he hated it when people talked to him like they knew so much more than he did, it always made him feel stupid and he liked that no more than having people look down on him.
"You may go." She said, the conversation clearly over. He rose and left the wagon, not bothering to acknowledge Franka as he walked by her.
He walked through the camp, not going anywhere in particular, fuming slightly. He was tired of people treating him like he was stupid, or a pet to be ordered about. He had fought all manner of monsters and they still treated him as if he were nothing more than a dimwitted servant to be ordered about. Inside hm the wolf growled in agreement, it chaffed at being controlled and longed to be free to run and hunt as it would. It was an argument which Karl found himself agreeing with more and more.
After he calmed down he returned to his campsite and had a simple dinner. He had not really gotten to know any of the men around him and he decided that he would correct that. Before he could; however, the braying and horns began again.
"Not again!" One of the men cursed as they dropped whatever it was that they were doing, grabbed their weapons and moved to their positions.
As had happened before though the Beastmen raised a loud clamber they made no attacks on the camp. This seemed to put the men even more on edge than an attack would have and Karl agreed with them. The Beastmen were behaving in a way completely opposed to their nature. Karl preferred his enemies to behave in a way that he was familiar with. He did not know what they, or whatever was in charge of them, planned to do, but he was sure that he would not like it. He would much rather have the enemy come at him rather than this slinking around and messing with their minds.
It was deemed to late in the day for the scouts to go out again, instead a heavy guard was posted that night and Karl was certain that he was far from the only one who slept with his weapons within easy reach. The next day they broke camp and headed out. The Baron had apparently determined that the threat posed by the Beastmen was not sufficient to keep them were they were. They would just have to press forward and hope for the best.
Though they were moving that did not mean that they had disregarded the threat that the Beastmen might pose. The Baron's sons rode in full plate armor, lances in hand on large and powerful warhorses who sported barding. The Baron himself wore his armor, though he rode on one of the wagons and carried a crossbow which appeared to be of Dwarven make. The Lady von Dorchener rode on a mare beside her wagon, staff in hand while Franka rode beside her on a gelding while Ebbo drove the wagon. The people all kept their weapons within reach and the scouts were in a constant patrol, with groups being sent out while others rested and then switching as needed. Though Karl could smell the Beastmen it was always faint as they continued to keep their distance between themselves and the humans.
That night the horns sounded again and again everyone leapt to arms only to have the night pass with no further incidents. Though there was no attack It was plain that the Beastmen's activities were beginning to take affect on the humans. The horns caused men to lose sleep when they were called to arms and the cries kept them awake even when they had been stood down. This effected their progress on the road as weary men and animals made slower and slower progress. By the third night men began to take the threat less seriously; Karl heard some men say that there was no threat. The Beastmen clearly did not have the numbers to threaten the humans and the constant harassments were clearly the only means that they had for extracting what petty revenge that they could.
This attitude quickly spread and the men grumbled more and more as they were called to arms when the horns sounded. On the morning of the fifth day a man was discovered to have gone back to sleep when the horns sounded and ignored the call to arms. Fernando wanted the man beheaded as a warning to the others, but the Baron overruled this and the man was merely flogged. This act of mercy did not seem to do anything to settle tempers and the grumbling grew even worse. The Baron's sons quarreled with one another and did not seem to care who saw them do it. The Baron grew frustrated with them and the situation as a whole and reprimanded them publicly, further undermining his role as leader. Lady von Dorchener continued to refuse to state what she thought the threat was, which caused further grumblings among the people as they muttered what use a witch was if she refused to use her magic to help. Karl even heard a few say that this suffering was punishment from Sigmar for following a lord who served a foreign god.
Karl suspected that all of this was due more to frustration than anything else. The Beastmen never showed themselves and They did not have sufficient horsemen to mount an effective sally to drive the creatures away. This gave the humans a feeling of powerlessness that angered them. It angered Karl and the Wolf as well, both of them longing to bring the beasts to bay and then tearing them to pieces. Twice he had slipped away after the stand-down order had been given to seek them out, but had found no trace of them. One thing he had noticed was that every time there was the stench of evil magic in the air and he began to suspect that the mysterious figure who commanded the Beastmen was using magic to move the Beastmen, or at least conceal their movements. He had talked of his suspicions to Lady von Dorchener, but she had simply nodded and muttered about how that lined up with some of her theories and would say no more.
Despite all of this they continued on their way and they made their way through the Reikland towards one of the smaller passes through the Black Mountains into the lands of the Border Princes. The constant presence of the Beastmen meant that most of the scouts' time was spent looking for them rather than scouting the way ahead and Henri expressed his concern that there could be some threat on the road ahead. There was another concern about the rout which they were taking which caused Henri concern.
"It is were we are crossing the mountains which concerns me." He told Karl one day as they rode ahead of the wagons. Karl was confused.
"Why should that concern you?"
"The Baron wants to cross the mountains as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, the rout he wants to take will take us between the Dwarf holds of Karak Izor and Karak Hirn with a significant distance from either of them. That means that if we encounter any difficulties we can expect no help from either of them.
"There is also the matter of Orks. The mountains swarm with them, along with trolls, goblins and likely worse things."
No surprise there. Karl thought glumly, he found himself thinking that it would only be surprising if there weren't things attempting to kill them. Still, he felt that he should make some effort to effort be optimistic and so he forced a smile onto his face.
"Well," he said with a forced laugh; "Hopefully at least the Orks will drive off the Beastmen and we can get a foe which behaves itself in its usual fashion."
"One can only hope." Henri replied in a weary tone; "One can only hope."
As they continued on the trees began to thin and Henri announced that this meant that they were drawing near to the mountains. Karl saw that the spirits were beginning to rise; it appeared that they too believed that the end of the forest would mean the end of the harassment by the Beastmen. Thus, while the blowing of horns and howling continued men paid them less mind and several more men slept through the alarms and unlike before there was no punishment. Even Karl felt the strain beginning to lessen and feeling that he could relax a little.
However; he found that as his wariness of the Beastmen faded he found himself bored and his mind returning to the question of his illiteracy and the consequences of that. He did not want to think on that and so he cast his mind about in order to find something to distract himself with. His mind returned to the woman who appeared to act as the Lady von Dorchener's bodyguard. He wanted to know why she disliked him so when, as far as he knew, he had not done anything to her. He did not want to talk to her and so he sought out Henri to ask him instead. He figured that the man had served the family his whole life and such people often knew far more about their masters than the masters would be comfortable with them knowing if the took the time to think about it.
"Who is that woman who guards the Lady von Dorchener?" Henri gave a knowing chuckle.
"Taken a fancy to her have you? Well good luck to you lad. Trust me, you'll need it." Karl vigorously shook his head.
"It's not like that. She seems to have taken a dislike to me and I do not know why. I have not even spoken to her for Sigmar's sake." Henri patted him on the shoulder.
"I wouldn't take it personal lad. In truth I do not think she really likes anyone, or if she does I have not seen it." He paused for a moment and then he began to speak again.
"She is Sir Franka Dehne of the Order of the Righteous Spear." Karl gave him a confused look.
"How did a woman become a knight?"
"It confuses me as well lad. The order is dedicated to Myrmidia and who knows what strange ways those foreign gods get up to." Karl supposed that that made sense, he had always heard that gods from other lands were strange and not wholly to be trusted.
"So she worships the same god as the Baron. That doesn't explain why she stays in a place which clearly she finds unpleasant."
"Well, it's a bit complicated lad. You see, she is the Baron's illegitimate daughter."
"Oh." Karl said, not terribly surprised. From what he had seen nobles carried on like randy goats and so he wasn't surprised that the Baron would have an illegitimate child.
"Indeed, and the mother's family were none too pleased I can tell you. They were pious Sigmarites and not only was the Baron already married, but he worshiped a foreign god. They nearly turned her out and absolutely refused to keep the child when she was born and so the Baron had no choice but to acknowledge her and take her in.
"Well," he said with a grin; "You can guess how well that went over with the Baroness. Not only was she angry with the Baron for stepping out on her, but she was just as pious and Myrmidia places a big emphasis on family. So she didn't want the girl either, but the Baron put his foot down and that was that.
"I am sure that you can guess what it was like for Sir Franka growing up. The Baroness detested her and her sons followed in her footsteps. She joined the Order of the Sacred Spear as soon as she could to get away from them.
"However; it seems that the gods have a sense of humor. Once she was initiated and knighted she was sent back to the family to accompany them into exile. You see, the Baron plans to build a temple to Myrmidia and one of the chief duties of her order is to guard the temples of their goddess. So she has been sent to aid the Baron and guard the temple once it has been constructed.
"So don't take her attitude to heart. She is just like that. She is suspicious and hostile to everyone, especially when she first meets them."
Well, Karl thought as Henri wondered off; At least it was nothing that I said. He would simply continue to stay away from her and ignore her attitude. Hopefully when they arrived at wherever the Baron was planning to go to they would build the temple quickly so she could go in and not come out again till his duties were done. He certainly wouldn't be going in. He reached down to touch his symbols of Sigmar and Ulric. Whatever else he was he was loyal to the gods of his people and always would be. Fortunately their paths hardly ever crossed and when they did there was never a reason for them to speak to one another.
Several days later they made camp on the edge of the forest, the mountains clearly in view and they would begin making their way through the mountains the following day. As before the horns blew and the howls sounded, but the fear that they had generated had diminished to the point of being almost non-existence. The officers did not even bother to call the men to arms.
Karl curled up in his bedroll and tried to shut out the sounds of the Beastmen, growling in annoyance. He was ready to leave the forest behind the next day. Once they did so they would either leave the Beastmen behind or they would face them in the open. Either way, soon it would all be over. Pleased by that thought. Karl rolled over and went to sleep. His last thought was the hope that all of the problems that they would face on the road would be as easily dealt with as the Beastmen.
Author's Notes: Hey everyone, sorry that it has been so long since I last updated, I hope that this makes up for it. What do you think the Beastmen are up to? Let me know in the comments. Till next time please pray for all who need it and may Jesus bless you.