Chapter 4: Unacceptable Casualties

Within a small den on the rugged outskirts of Banff sat the second-in-command of the Rogues, or at least one who was the second-in-command. He huffed and scowled as he looked over a scout's report, a report that listed the findings in yet another area that had been combed through by tooth and claw. The Rogues searched everywhere they could, trying to find even a single clue as to the whereabouts of the Breeze's safe haven. But unfortunately for the commander, the report was more bad news etched in bone like every other report he had received from his scouts, and each report angered him even more than the last.

The former commander of the Rogues went by the name of Elgin, a large orange wolf who sat among King's top court for his immense brutality and hatred towards Omegas. However, Elgin had fallen out of favor with the Rogue leader, King. Elgin who once bowed to none but King had been stripped of his position and power, given only a single way for redemption. For Elgin's multitude of blunders, he was tasked by King to do the impossible, to remove a thorn that had been in King's side for far too long. He needed to find the Breeze, destroy it, and come back to King with the spoils of war. It would be then and only then that Elgin could return to the position he lost, to the power and recognition he felt was owed to him. Some considered this mission nothing more than a wild goose chase, that it was akin to Elgin being banished and cursed to hunt a ghost for the rest of his days.

But as Elgin saw the reports, he knew some of his resources would occasionally go missing, and he knew that squads of scouts would randomly disappear or would get wiped out with no good explanation. He knew they weren't the only wolves out there. It was hard to believe this small pack could hinder him, a small pack tainted by Omegas and too scared to fight face-to-face. This was an inexcusable sin. He swore that he would crush the Breeze under his paw and return to King a legend, becoming the wolf who killed the wind.

So for him to be getting report after report of dead or missing scouts instead of a report depicting their discovery of the sanctuary drained what little patience he started with. He looked up from the latest batch of bad news over to his trusted aide, trusted being used loosely here, of course. His assistant was an old wolf Elgin had come across who seemed pretty clever, clever enough that, instead of killing him for the fun of it, Elgin decided this wolf could be useful on his crusade. This intelligent wolf went by the name of Oliver. He was an older grayish-yellow wolf with a tall but feeble-looking body, appearing as if it would only take a slight draft to knock him over.

One week earlier...

Elgin stumbled across Oliver during his rage-fueled search by complete accident. On one of the numerous scouting trips looking for the Sky Sanctuary, the squad came across a lone Oliver making his way through Banff. Capturing the wolf was easy. Oliver didn't put up a fight when he was taken, sharing not a complaint or whimper. It would be hard to tell that he was a prisoner at all. Oliver was questioned by Elgin himself who felt desperate to know if this mysterious wolf knew anything, if he held any sort of clue on the Breeze.

"Who are you and what are you doing here?" Elgin asked as he pierced with a menacing and inquisitive stare.

Oliver thought on that question for a moment before answering.

"Me? Just an observer wolves often call Oliver. As far as what I'm doing here..." Oliver looked around the cave "...I believe I'm being interrogated."

Elgin could tell why the others were unsure if this wolf was even sane, but Elgin needed to make sure it wasn't an act. On the off chance this was a member of the Breeze in front of his very eyes, he needed to get every drop of information out of this Oliver.

"Don't play me for a fool you walking fossil, or I'll start getting information out of you the fun way." Elgin gave a sinister grin and seemed to relish in the idea of causing great pain to the wolf before him.

"I'm assuming you mean torture? It appears I'm not being interrogated well. *sigh* Sure, if you hurt me, then you can get me to talk, but there'd be no way to know if what I'm saying is the truth. Eventually, I'll just say whatever you want me to say to get you to stop. Torture gets you a forced confession, not information you rookie." Elgin thought for a moment. He really wanted to say why Oliver was wrong but couldn't think of anything to dispute what he said. This, of course, made Elgin want to hurt him all the more, but before he could get the chance, Oliver spoke again. "Besides, you don't care about who I am or why I'm here. You care about what I know, and what I know is a great many things. For example, sir, I know you've been relieved of your power and sent off to find the Breeze."

Elgin, now getting frustrated by the ramblings he had been listening to, responded.

"Yes, I'm already very aware of my name and why I'm here, and I doubt that information is hard to find—it's not exactly a secret. So how about you tell me some useful information I don't already know before I decide you're not worth my time."

Oliver gave a soft chuckle.

"Ah, now we're getting somewhere. Well, I believe you weren't aware that the Breeze's home is known as the Sky Sanctuary."

Immediately, Elgin's ears perked up.

"What? How do you know that? Where did you learn the name of their haven!? ANSWER ME!"

"To learn such a thing you need but only listen." Oliver looked the Rogue dead in the eye and gave a smirk. He then continued. "Since you seem a little slow on the uptake, I'll be blunt. You're looking for the Breeze, and as it turns out, I'm doing the same thing. You certainly have the wolfpower, but if you don't know what I know, then even in a thousand generations, you'd never find the Breeze. But if I just told you everything I know, then you'd have no reason to keep me alive and probably just kill me for the fun of it."

Elgin nodded his head in agreement as that did sound like something he would do.

"It sounds like you have something in mind then," he replied.

Back to the present...

"Oliver, what is the meaning of this!?" Elgin snapped, throwing the bone across the cave, just barely missing Oliver who seemed unfazed. "I gave you a job. TO FIND THE BREEZE!" Oliver remained quiet and still for a moment before noticing a draft carrying a leaf through the cave. Oliver pointed at the leaf.

"Oh, Elgin, I found the Breeze for you! No need to thank me." Having already been fuming at this point, the sarcastic response from Oliver left Elgin visibly irate, looking ready to pop a blood vessel as his eye slightly twitched. Trying to process the insanity he had just heard, Elgin repeated back in an angry and questioning tone.

"Thank you?!"

"You're welcome," Oliver replied smugly.

Besides King, Oliver was the only wolf in Banff who would dare to talk to Elgin in such a way. Elgin demanded respect and those who did not give respect suffered the consequences. But Oliver knew he was the best chance Elgin had to complete the objective of finding and destroying the Breeze, and he knew that Elgin would never call his bluff. Oliver sat as a smug old wolf as Elgin could be compared to the sheer embodiment of rage.

"You crazy decrepit wolf! You're lucky I need you or you'd already be the newest piece of decoration MOUNTED ON MY WALL!" Elgin snapped his jaws only inches away from Oliver's face who still remained unfazed.

"You're right, Elgin, I am lucky, but so are you 'cause if you tried to add me to the decor in here, then it would throw off the feeling of the entire room. Seriously, it's a good thing you're a commander and not an interior decorator... or no... I'm sorry you were a commander. I can be so forgetful in my old age."

Elgin regained himself. He responded as concisely as he could while still appearing ready to kill the next thing that moved.

"Enjoy your fun, you old bag of bones, but my patience is reaching its end. If you don't start producing results and fast, then I'm finding someone else to do the job and feeding you to the bears piece by bloody piece. That sounds like just the thing to lift my spirits."

Oliver then pointed at the cave's entrance.

"Well, it's a good thing the results are here."

A Rogue rushed into the room, clearly excited and slightly out of breath.

"Sir Elgin! News to report!" Elgin stopped him, radiating anger and bloodlust. The Alpha wished with every strand of hair that he wouldn't be Elgin's latest chew toy.

"I'm sure you can see I'm a little busy with something here, so for your sake, this news had better be good, otherwise I can't promise your family will recognize you at your funeral."

Doing his best not to buckle under the fear, the Alpha gave his report.

"S-sir, it is good news! A scouting party Oliver sent out managed to slip past the Breeze's lookouts while they were busy with other scouts! The party found the entrance to the sanctuary and managed to make it back! Well, only a single member did. He was found half dead and barely breathing. The healers were amazed he made it back at all with how banged up he was and—" The Alpha stopped as he saw the devilish grin that slowly crawled across Elgin's face. Elgin began to cackle to himself as if he'd just been told the funniest joke he'd ever heard. The sound of the laugh unsettled the reporting subordinate. It made him even more scared than when Elgin was angry. Oliver then took a bow.

"You asked for fast results and here they are. I aim to please."

For once Elgin didn't respond to Oliver with anger.

"I don't know if that was the greatest timing in history or if you're just that good, but I get the feeling your confidence doesn't come from a place like dumb luck. I'm very pleased, so you may consider your head your own. Keep delivering results like this, and I can deal with the sarcasm. Just don't push it."

Oliver remained silent as Elgin returned his attention to the quivering subordinate who was now ready to pass out. "No need to be afraid anymore. This is a happy day!"

"If I may make a suggestion, sir," the old wolf interjected, "once you get the long-awaited answers you've been looking for, why not hold a feast to commemorate the wolves' hard work? It'll help with morale for the battle to come, and besides, could you ask for a better reason to celebrate?"

"That sounds like an excellent idea, Oliver! I'm ruthless, not heartless. I punish failure, but I'm also more than happy to reward success. A great achievement has been made today and such an achievement deserves a grand feast to honor it! Oliver, begin preparations for the festivities immediately! When I return with my prize, we'll eat till our bellies pop!"

Oliver bowed once more and gave a slight grin while Elgin wasn't looking. He side-eyed the subordinate with a menacing stare, one that gave a very different impression than the face he was making just moments ago. "And you, Alpha!" said Elgin, pointing at the subordinate. "You shall be a guard!" Elgin approached with an evil smile. "Take me to this sole survivor. I want to hear the answers to this elusive secret personally."