Elhnor awoke several weeks later inside the deep crevasses of Deapers Mountain from a much needed hibernation and subsequent feed from its veins. He looked around and for a moment thought his brethren would emerge as well and then realized he would never see them again. A pang of despair hit him. This would be his life. Alone. The Monoliths were gone, their plane of existence banished forever by the Presidium for the attack on the Sovereign's life. No matter the success of Rumlar's plan Ehlnor would be the last of the Monoliths. Elhnor stretched out his arms and body. His feed was long and fattening, but necessary after remaining in Humanoid form for such an extended period of time. He looked up and recalled he had jumped quite the distance to settle in for his hibernation and feed.
It made him recall when he and Rumlar had arrived in the very small town of Bear Valley to meet with their contacts Orsen, Koren, and Marcus at a coffee shop largely visited by travelers on the outskirts of town. Orsen was the first to walk up and greet Rumlar and extended his hand out for a handshake. Rumlar had looked at the extended hand briefly then took it. Orsen then turned and introduced Koren and Marcus who stood behind him. Rumlar turned and introduced Ehlnor to the group. Ehlnor exchanged nods with the group.
"Shall we go inside?" Orsen prompted.
"Lead the way." Rumlar replied. They followed Orsen to a large table in the back of the restaurant, and the waitress approached behind them.
"What's everyone having?" The waitress asked.
"Coffees for me and these two," Orsen said pointing at Koren and Marcus then looked at Rumlar and Ehlnor, "and what do you fellas want?"
"Tea for us." Rumlar replied. The waitress nodded and left.
When the waitress returned with their drinks Orsen, Koren and Marcus took note of the faces Rumlar and Ehlnor made at the taste of their tea.
"Not exactly high falootin, I agree." Orsen said. Rumlar and Ehlnor put their drinks down in response.
"Shall we get down to business?" Rumlar started.
"So, I take it we are to hide Ehlnor here until as such time he is needed?" Orsen asked.
"Yes. I understand Deapers Mountain is a pretty remote location?" Rumlar queried.
"With the exception of the odd hiker, yes. It has several trails, and a few caverns that lead into the mountain itself. There are some pretty deep caverns with some scary drops inside so not many people explore too deeply. That mountain is pretty intimidating." Orsen replied.
"Sounds like it will suit our needs just fine." Rumlar said.
"The surrounding area around that mountain is also not so friendly. If you plan to camp out like Grizzly Adams be warned there is a lot of natural wildlife." Koren said.
"Who is Grizzly Adams?" Ehlnor asked.
"I take it you don't watch too much TV." Koren replied.
"Or at least the oldies channel. Grizzly Adams was fictional TV character who lived in the woods and had a connection with the bears." Marcus explained.
"No, I am not a TV watcher." Ehlnor replied.
"Do we have to do anything special? Notify any authorities that will be in the area?" Rumlar asked.
"No, but situational awareness would curtail any curiosity seekers. Bear Valley is a small town and small towns notice everything and everyone. In fact, I would make yourself present without being known. Like an occasional visitor. Stop in a few stores and shops, like The Donut Hole which is the town's local coffee hangout. Be seen, especially by the Sheriff a few times, drop a few casual lines of staying in town. Once the locals get use to you they stop paying real attention to you." Orsen replied.
"Just enough to be known but not too known." Marcus joined.
"Besides, this town has enough fun speculating about Danvers." Koren added.
"Danvers?" Ehlnor asked.
"Jeremy Danvers. He lives on an extended property about 50 or so miles from Bear Valley called Stonehaven. He is what we call the 'Alpha', of the North American werewolf Pack, the leader. They are considered an odd family in this town and we would like to leave it that way. Keeps the attention off your friend here." Orsen said. Rumlar raised his head slightly which made Orsen narrow his eyes.
"It's my understanding you are…aware…of what we are?" Orsen asked.
"Yes." Rumlar replied. Ehlnor however, did not but kept his curiosity to himself.
"Pack law requires any Humans that are aware of our existence be killed." Marcus said.
"Really?" Rumlar replied evenly.
"Yes, but we are Mutts and we don't like playing by the rules…except where it serves our ends." Orsen replied to low chuckles from Koren and Marcus. Rumlar and Ehlnor, however, kept their focus.
"You said this Jeremy has a family?" Rumlar asked.
"Yes, Jeremy Danvers has a son named Clay who stays with him. He has other Pack members that come and go, and his Pack has the distinct honor of having the first-ever female werewolf as part of their Pack." Orsen replied. Rumlar and Ehlnor exchanged glances. Orsen noticed and smiled.
"Do you have photos of this family?" Rumlar asked. Marcus pulled out a small envelope out of his pocket and slid it over to Rumlar who opened it and Ehlnor leaned as he went through each photo.
"That one is Clayton Danvers, Jeremy's son." Marcus explained as Rumlar went through the pictures.
"That one is Logan Jonsen. He visits periodically but lives in another city." Marcus said. Rumlar nodded.
"That one is Nick Sorrentino. After Clayton he visits the most, but also lives in another city." Marcus said. Rumlar nodded.
When Rumlar flipped to the next picture he stopped. Orsen noticed.
"And that is Elena Michaels." Orsen said.
"Is she the female werewolf you were referring to?" Rumlar asked.
"Yes." Orsen replied.
"Not only is she a first, but a hot first, don't you think?" Koren added.
"Does she live here?" Rumlar asked.
"No, she too, lives in another city away. She is the one that visits the least." Orsen replied.
"Can we keep these? For reference?" Rumlar asked.
"Sure." Orsen replied. Rumlar then handed the photos to Ehlnor.
"Do you all live here as well?" Rumlar asked.
"No. Because we are Mutts we are not welcome this close to the home of the Alpha, but because of our histories we are well aware of the area." Orsen replied.
"Ehlnor will need some time to become…acclimatized…and then he will contact you again to set up a routine communications schedule." Rumlar said.
"You will not be with him?" Koren asked.
"No. I have other responsibilities in another city, but Ehlnor will be able to reach me if there's an emergency. But for routine communications and support Ehlnor will be relying on you three. I trust he is good hands?" Rumlar asked.
"Of course, I have designated Marcus as your friend's contact. He is already staying nearby." Orsen replied.
"Well, this is all very convenient." Rumlar said.
"You are not they only one with machinations." Orsen replied with a thin grin.
"We should get started then." Rumlar said.
After Rumlar and Ehlnor spent another thirty minutes being acquainted with the terrain details of Deapers Mountain they exchanged goodbyes with Orsen, Koren and Marcus, and watched them depart the coffee shop parking lot.
"Well, that was interesting all the way around." Ehlnor commented as they headed for their parked car.
"To say the least." Rumlar replied.
"We know about them but they do not know about us?" Ehlnor asked with a hint of disbelief.
"I think watching you shift into a mountainous Monolith would be a tad shocking, even to these so-called Mutts, don't you think?" Rumlar queried. Ehlnor raised his eyebrows.
"It is curious how our contact on this plane is able to manage that distinction between us and them without suspicion. Shall have to look into that." Rumlar said.
"And their primitive, extreme rules like that one about killing Humans if they found out they were werewolves?" Ehlnor said incredulous.
"I agree."
"All this hiding between the Fae and whatever these werewolves are on this plane makes me wonder if this plane even knows of its own existence." Ehlnor said. That elicited a chuckle from Rumlar.
"I will be glad when this is all over. My shifting will be the least of this plane's problems." Ehlnor said.
"Let's get you settled then. It is high time you rested and fed." Rumlar replied.
Once they arrived at the designated spot at the base of Deapers Mountain Rumlar gave Ehlnor his instructions and then left him to his devices. Ehlnor climbed the mountain up along the trails and eventually came upon the designated opening and followed the caverns deep into the mountain. Orsen was right, they were caverns that led in all directions, but Ehlnor being a Monolith understood the rock and chose his path. After walking deeper and deeper into the caverns he found a side opening that had a drop that looked as if it traveled a couple miles down. He looked left to right and saw a place to hide the relic he carried along with the other items given to him. He shifted right hand as drilled a hole slightly bigger than the backpack he carried, placed the backpack in the hole, covered it with rock then smelted the rock over the large backpack. He then went back to side opening and looked down, smiled and shifted as he jumped into the abyss.
Shaken from his recollection Ehlnor felt spurred to check in even though he knew Rumlar would have understood his extended hibernation, and began his ascent up the rock to the cavern opening. As he reached the opening he shifted into his Humanoid form and lifted himself through the cavern opening. His naked body shivered at the burst of cool air. He hated his Humanoid form for being so sensitive. He quickly gauged his bearings and looked for the melted slate of rock that hid his backpack. Once he found it he shifted his right hand, liquefied the rock exposing the backpack, pulled it out and proceeded to pull out and dress in the clothes he had inside the pack. He did a quick check to make sure the relic was secure then took out a smaller pack, and filled it with what he needed and then then placed the larger pack with the relic back inside the hole, filled it with rocks and melted them to conceal his pack.
He emerged from the caverns of Deapers Mountain and made his way down to its base. He went to the location that Rumlar had indicated before he went into hibernation and found the car Rumlar left for him burrowed deep in the forest bush inside a small cave. The door was open so he threw his pack inside, looked for the keys and found them under the backseat footmat. He started up the car, and then plugged in the small device the Humans called a cell phone into the cigarette charger as per the instructions provided. Once the phone was charged he dialed the number provided and Marcus answered. They agreed to meet in town at a coffee shop called The Donut Hole.
A little over an hour later Ehlnor walked into The Donut Hole and his presence earned a lot of glances his way. He did as he was previously instructed and made his way to the furthest table in the corner. A waitress came over.
"New in town?" The waitress asked.
"Yes and no. More of a passerby but am familiar."
"Gotcha! What'll have?"
"Water. A big pitcher of water. Waiting to meet a friend." Ehlnor replied.
"Need a menu?" The waitress asked.
"That would be fine. Thank you." Ehlnor replied.
After she left, he scanned the coffee shop. Humans were disgusting creatures. They were ignorant and slovenly, and this coffee shop seemed full of them. He happened to overhear a group of locals at another table talk about how they had experienced the aftershocks of recent mountain shakes, but chalked it up to some phenomena called El Niño. Little did they realize they had a Fae burrowed himself deep in the crevasses of the mountain who had fed all the while. Elhnor looked forward to the day he would be able to rise from his hidden crevass as the powerful Monolith he was and ravage the Human plane.
A few minutes later Marcus walked in as the waitress delivered Ehlnor's water.
"What'll have?" The waitress asked Marcus.
"Ahh… I will share the pitcher of water with my friend here." Marcus replied.
"Anything to eat?"
"Steak and hashbrowns." Marcus replied.
"Anything for you?" The waitress asked Elhnor.
"The same, please."
"You got it." The waitress said as she left.
"So it has been several weeks. Enjoying your time as Grizzly Adams?" Marcus asked.
"Yes I am."
"Thought I would hear from you sooner."
"When you get out into the woods the passage of time seems to elude you." Elhnor replied.
"Clearly."
"Have you heard from Rumlar?" Ehlnor asked.
"Yes, I did but I told him I had not heard from you yet."
"When was that?" Ehlnor asked.
"About three weeks ago."
"I should check in with him."
"We can do that once we get you settled into a room in town." Marcus replied.
"Understood." Just then the doors opened and a woman in uniform entered the coffee shop.
"That is Sheriff Karen Morgan. If you make it past her then you are pretty much in the clear." Marcus said.
They observed her as she went up to the diner bar to get a cup of coffee, and the waitress who served them quickly pointed out their presence. The Sheriff looked over at them, Marcus nodded, and after she received her cup of hot coffee approached their table.
"Howdy Marcus!"
"Sheriff! Good to see you again." Marcus replied.
"You as well. In town again I see?"
"Yep, just on a short business jaunt then off again."
"Whose your friend?"
"This is Forest, Forest this Sheriff Morgan." Marcus introduced.
"Nice to meet you." Ehlnor said.
"You as well. Will you be staying in town?" Sheriff Morgan replied.
"Actually, yes he will be. He will be coordinating some of my work from here. He will be checking into the local hotel after breakfast." Marcus answered.
"So we'll be seeing you pretty regular then." Sheriff Morgan said.
"Yes you will, but I am also a hiker. Love climbing in my off time so you may not." Ehlnor replied.
"Deapers Mountain has been shaking as of late. I would avoid it until it calms down." Sheriff Morgan advised.
"Does the shaking happen often?" Ehlnor asked.
"No in last 50 years or so. But the last several weeks has had people concerned." Sheriff Morgan replied.
"I can imagine." Marcus commented.
"Well, nice to meet you, Forest. I have to get going on the day." Sheriff Morgan said.
"Nice to meet you Sheriff." Ehlnor replied as she gave a brief nod, a smile and then left.
"Forest?" Ehlnor queried Marcus.
"Suits you, don't you think?" Marcus replied. They both then turned to observe the Sheriff as she walked down the street. As she past the local hardware store they noticed a white truck pull up and a man got out. Marcus became alert. The man spoke with the Sheriff briefly and then went into the hardware store.
"You remember who that was?" Marcus asked.
"Yes." Elhnor replied as he stared on. It was the person he was supposed to avoid and yet observe: Jeremy Danvers.
