Thorn Valley
"Okay, guys, repeat after me," Telkarnith said. "I will not shoot the vampire in the back in a public place. I will not turn into a werewolf in a public place."
"I will not turn into a werewolf in a public place," Helkhar repeated.
Telkarnith looked over at the other. "Jack?"
"What?" Jack said, smirking.
"I will not shoot the vampire in the back in a public place," Telkarnith pressed.
"Hey, it was a perfect opportunity," Jack said.
"Yeah, and if we hadn't been there, you'd have been dead and still failed to kill the bloodsucker," Telkarnith pointed out. "We could have killed him without getting run out of town by an angry mob. Or better, found out who he was working for and why he was doing all this."
"So you're an expert on vampires now?" Jack said.
Telkarnith snorted softly. "I'm really not very impressed with your supposed expertise. I still can't believe you shot that vampire in the back!"
Donna appeared in the doorway of the parlor and said, "I haven't seen that Rachel bitch around anywhere. Did you finally decide to do the smart thing and ditch her?"
"No, she did the smart thing and ditched us," Telkarnith replied dryly. "I don't know where she ran off to, but at least she wasn't chased out of town with torches and pitchforks. She might turn up sometime."
"Oh," Donna said. "That's too bad."
"What the hell do you have against her, anyway?" Telkarnith said.
"Besides the fact that she's a bitch and has her eye on my man? Nothing," Donna said lightly, turning and strolling out of the room.
Telkarnith muttered, "I think I'm starting to really hate women."
"Now you see why I'm not looking," Jack said. "The one I've got is bad enough."
"Wait, you're married?" Telkarnith said.
Jack smirked. "And again, why I spend all my time hunting monsters and avoiding home."
The doorbell rang, and momentarily afterward, Winder made his way into the parlor. "Hey, Tel. How you doing? I heard something happened up in Port Fins."
Telkarnith groaned. "Stupid news travels fast, I see. Don't tell me that this is all over the area already?"
"Nah, not yet," Winder said. "It wouldn't do to be run out of your home village by an angry mob or anything."
"We really need to work on that 'discretion' thing," Telkarnith said with a smirk. "It wouldn't do for anyone to trace us back here. Wishingsdale doesn't even have walls or guards. But if Jack could find us here..."
Jack shook his head. "I did a fair bit of poking around before I located the place, otherwise I wouldn't even know this little speck existed. There's Chelseers all over the place. But your concern is not unwarranted. Vampires have ways of gaining information beyond the means of mortals."
"I'd rather not be putting the women and children in anymore danger than necessary," Telkarnith said.
Helkhar piped in, "We could go hang out with the werewolves. I'm sure they won't mind."
"Well, I appreciate the offer, but camping out in the forest wasn't quite what I had in mind," Telkarnith said.
"No, they have villages!" Helkhar said. "Little isolated communities around sacred places, they call them caerns. They have their human kin there too."
Telkarnith stared. "And they wouldn't mind the likes of me or Jack around there? He kills shapeshifters, after all."
"I only kill the ones who deserve it," Jack said.
"Still. If these places are so sacred, I can't imagine they'd be too welcoming of outsiders."
"I'm sure they'll understand," Helkhar said. "We could just take Thalayal there where she and the cubs will be safe. I'm sure they wouldn't refuse my own kin."
Winder added, "And we could send Donna back to Roulden for the time being, at least until the baby's born. They wouldn't make any connection between her there. And my family can take care of the little one if and when she decides to go out and be silly with you guys again." He smirked.
"Winder, could you go find the girls and send them in here, please? My mother, also?" Telkarnith said.
"Right," Winder said, heading out of the parlor.
"So," Telkarnith said, turning to Helkhar. "You've been meeting with these werewolves up in the mountains, right? I never even knew there were any of them up there."
Jack chuckled, and said, "There's more shapeshifters in the world than you have any inkling of, boy."
Helkhar nodded. "There's a place up there called Thorn Valley. It's really tucked away and you'd never know it was there if you didn't know where to look. And that's if the werewolves even let you anywhere near it."
"What's this about werewolves?" Thalayal said, entering the room.
Helkhar smiled when he saw her, and went over to her to hug her and rub her belly. "You might be in danger here. So I want to take you up to this nice little village up in the mountains where you'll be safe. It's a beautiful place. You'll love it, I'm sure. Werewolves live there, and they can protect you."
"Oh, that sounds nice," Thalayal said. "When are we going?"
"Who's going where?" Tevriel wondered, coming into the room herself.
"Ah, there you are, Mother," Telkarnith said. "We may have inadvertently drawn the attention of hostile forces, and I don't want them to come back to find my family here. We're going to go away from here and send Thalayal and Shaznith somewhere that they'll be safe for the time being. What about you, Mother? And is my brother planning on coming home anytime soon?"
"I'll be fine," Tevriel said. "Somebody's got to take care of the house and tend to affairs here. And Kior is staying in Fendarlai."
"You could be killed," Telkarnith said.
Tevriel laughed lightly. "I'm not worried. And if I am, and you're on the other side of the world, at least I'll be secure in the knowledge that they came to entirely the wrong place to find you." She grinned, and added, "The horses always miss you while you're away."
Donna and Winder finally showed up. Donna bickered, "I am not going to go hiding away in Roulden Trisa!"
"I told you, it's just until the baby is born," Winder said. "You can be as silly as you like after that."
Donna sighed, and looked to Telkarnith. "I am never having another one of these things, you know. And that reminds me, did you bring me any korlag cake?"
"No, Donna. We were busy fleeing for our lives. Sorry."
"Relax, Donna, it'll be fine," Winder said.
Telkarnith rubbed his temples. "We can get ready and leave in the morning," he said. "If that's alright with everyone?"
They set off early the next morning. Donna and Winder parted ways just outside of Wishingsdale, heading south for Roulden Trisa, while Telkarnith, Helkhar, Thalayal, and Jack headed eastward into the mountains. Telkarnith wasn't too concerned about Rachel finding them or not. At least if she turned up at Wishingsdale later, she'd probably be safe enough.
"How far it is?" Telkarnith asked, adjusting the harness he was carrying Shaznith with. The boy was old enough to walk, certainly, but he wouldn't be able to keep up with a journey through the mountains.
"Closer than you'd ever have guessed," Helkhar said with a grin. "Thalayal, want a ride?" He shifted into wolf form and crouched down before her.
"Oh..." Thalayal said, carefully climbing onto Helkhar's back. "Be gentle with me. It's my first time."
Telkarnith commented, "This is just wrong in so many ways."
Helkhar led the way through the mountains. Jack kept his crossbow ready the entire way, just in case, but they didn't encounter trouble along the way there. The going was rough, and while there was something of a path, it wasn't one that Telkarnith would have ever noticed. At one point, Helkhar led them up to a sheer cliff face overgrown with vines.
"Did we take a wrong turn?" Telkarnith wondered.
Helkhar chuckled a little and shook his head, and nudged the vines back with his muzzle, revealing a narrow tunnel leading into the mountainside. The place was dark inside, and Telkarnith tried to follow the wolf carefully without stumbling along the way. The tunnel sloped upward steeply in places and turned around a couple times, to the point where he wasn't entirely certain just what direction they were going in any longer. Finally, however, they emerged into sunlight again.
Large, furry werewolves surrounded them, teeth bared and looking at them warily. They weren't all silver-colored like Helkhar. Most of them were gray or brown. Thalayal nervously slid down off Helkhar's back and hid behind him.
"What have you brought here, Helkhar?" one of the werewolves said. "You would bring outsiders to our caern?"
"These people are my pack," Helkhar replied. "This female is carrying my cub."
They turned their gaze briefly to the nervous young elven woman. "You overstep your place, Helkhar."
"I would not bring them here if I did not trust them completely," Helkhar said. "I will vouch for their conduct. They will bring no harm to you or the caern. May we speak with the elders?"
The werewolves grumbled for a few moments, but reluctantly stepped aside. "Fine. You may. But know that if there is any trouble from any of you, there will be harsh consequences."
"Thank you," Helkhar said. He shifted into human form and put an arm around Thalayal comfortingly as they headed away from the tunnel entrance and toward the valley. "I'm sorry about that. They're extremely paranoid about outsiders."
"I understand," Thalayal said. "I would be too, if everyone wanted to kill me for no good reason."
They were higher up into the mountains than Wishingsdale, and the air was cool and crisp, and a blanket of snow lay upon the ground. Although the year was growing old, the lower elevations hadn't seen much snow yet. Thorny vines lined the path leading up over a rise, and at the crest, he got a good look into the valley finally. It was lush and green underneath the frost, surrounded on all sides by steep slopes, with a small brook still trickling through it despite the cold. He was a little surprised to see solid stone buildings scattered about the valley. Two of the werewolves from the tunnel continued to come along with them, one leading and one following.
"Oh, this is a lovely place," Thalayal said. "So quaint and beautiful!"
Something about the place felt very much alive. It reminded Telkarnith of Aurora Core. The valley seemed vibrant and overflowing with vital energy. The group came down to the village, where there were children and cubs playing, who stopped to look wide-eyed at the strangers. They probably didn't see many people that they didn't recognize. Some of the youngsters in the village were human children, some were young wolf pups, and others looked like a scaled down version of Helkhar in his werewolf form. Shaznith reached out and waved playfully at the children.
As they made their way through the village, a man approached them. His hair was gray and he had a long scar across his face that might have been made by a claw, but despite his age he was still strong and muscular, and looked as though he could readily defeat Telkarnith in a fight any day.
"Alder," said their werewolf guide. "These outsiders came through the entry tunnel. Helkhar here claims them as his pack and wished to speak with you..."
"Be at ease, Timber," the old man said. "These ones are known to me, and they are welcome among us." He nodded to Telkarnith and said, "This one saved one of our own, and avenged the death of his mother, as well as bearing the mark of the horse lord." He looked to Jack, and said, "This one has brought about the deaths of many harbingers of darkness, and has never harmed one who was not corrupt."
"You know of me?" Jack said, raising an eyebrow. "You know, I think I'd really rather not be famous."
"Let's just say I have an eye on things, shall we?" Alder said, chuckling softly. "But come, come inside and make yourselves at home, and tell me what brings you to Thorn Valley Caern."
Alder led them into the large building in the center of the village, a meeting hall of sorts. Telkarnith might have thought it was some sort of old-style temple, but for the lack of the usual religious imagery. There was a firepit in the center of the room, with several chairs scattered haphazardly about. A small brown wolf was curled up near the fire, apparently sleeping, although he cocked an ear and opened an eye as they approached, but didn't care to move beyond that.
Telkarnith pulled off Shaznith's harness and set him down on the ground again. "Can I go play?" the little boy asked.
Alder said, "Don't worry, he'll be safe here."
"Alright, Shaz, you can go play," Telkarnith said with a small grin.
Shaznith giggled and scurried off outside. The sun was still high in the sky. It had only taken them a few hours to climb up here. Thorn Valley couldn't be more than ten miles away from Wishingsdale. It was practically on his doorstep the entire time, and Telkarnith had never realized it. He wondered what else they might have hidden away under his very nose.
"Have a seat," Alder said.
They took seats around the firepit. Thalayal let out a relaxed sigh as she took a load off her feet. Helkhar proceeded to explain to him what had been going on in Port Fins. The ghoul dogs, the vampire, the unfortunate accusations of werewolves killing people. Alder listened carefully, frowning deeply.
"You've drawn some unwanted attention to yourself," Alder said. "I can see why you'd want to make sure that your kin are safe. Be assured, no harm will come to them while they are here."
"Oh, and Thalayal can cook real well, too," Helkhar added with a grin.
Thalayal laughed. "Like I could keep up with all these wolves?"
Alder chuckled. Telkarnith was surprised at how she'd gone from being terrified of Helkhar, to pretty much taking this all in stride. But now, he had to think that she actually liked being around all these furballs.
They settled in for the moment and were given rooms, and after seeing the sort of stew that was being made in the kitchen, Thalayal took up the suggestion of cooking. Most of the werewolves - or Garou, as they called themselves - didn't bother with cooking much. Telkarnith quickly realized that the majority of those he had taken for humans in the village were actually Garou. There were only a handful of non-shapeshifter humans in Thorn Valley, and they were all directly related to some of the Garou there.
Jack commented, "I've never seen so many shapeshifters in my life. I never thought I'd actually see a place like this. I knew they existed, somewhere, but to actually be here - and especially to be here and not be getting torn to pieces." He chuckled.
"Yeah," Telkarnith said. "I had no idea this was even here. My shaman teacher talked of sacred places hidden away from the world, in remote locations often far from civilization..."
One of the Garou, the one called Timber, came up to them and said sternly, "I've got my eye on you, strangers. And don't you dare lay a finger on any of the cubs, or I'll rip you to shreds myself."
"Don't worry," Telkarnith said with a sigh. "Besides, my own son is with them, you think I would intentionally put him in danger?"
"Just watch yourself, elf," Timber snarled, then stalked off.
The next morning, Telkarnith went to speak with Alder. There were many things that he was curious about, and he hoped that the man could answer a few questions for him. As he went to the common area, he looked over with amusement at the string of fuzzy cubs congregating around the kitchen.
"Good morning," Telkarnith said, giving the old man a polite bow. "If I might ask... what are they?" He indicated the cubs who looked like smaller wolf-men.
Alder chuckled softly. "I imagine you've never seen metis cubs before. They rarely leave the caerns until they can transform. They're the result of a mating between two Garou, and our pride and joy. While we try to mate with humans and wolves to get new blood coming in, these days, most of us are metis."
"Ah. I see," Telkarnith said. "Are there a lot of these caerns?"
"More than you'd realize, all over the world," Alder said.
"What about Aurora Core?" Telkarnith asked. "Is that a caern? This place feels a bit like that."
"Aurora Core is one of the most sacred and powerful places on Lezaria," Alder said.
"I didn't see anyone there, though," Telkarnith said in confusion. "Why would you leave it unprotected?"
Alder chuckled softly. "Aurora Core is better protected than we could ever hope for. You may not have seen anyone or anything, but be assured that you were seen and everything you did taken note of. While both we and the horses visit the site regularly, the only one who remains there permanently is the dragon, Khasadala Seer, who watches over the place with a careful eye."
"Khasadala Seer?" Telkarnith said, raising an eyebrow. "She actually exists? I always thought that was just a legend that my family came up with to make themselves feel important."
In his mind, he could hear the ancestral spirit in his sword laughing lightly at him. "She's my grandmother, you know," Zarnith said in his thoughts. "I could tell you all sorts of things about her if you ever asked."
"Oh, yes, yes she very much does," Alder said, chuckling again. "You are, indeed, dragonkin."
"So, what does that mean?" Telkarnith said. "Are there... were-dragons, then?"
"Of sorts, you might call them that," Alder said. "But while not every child born to wolf blood can shapeshift, even fewer of those born to dragon blood have that ability, as you might have observed. You would know better than I just how many kin you might have, and how many of those that you have seen who can transform into dragons."
"That would be none of them," Telkarnith said with a smirk. "Aside from Khasadala, who I hadn't even known was real. But it's possible?"
"I know of one," Alder said. "His name was Penthelnor. Perhaps a distant cousin or uncle of yours. He apparently did not even change until he was in his mid-twenties, and when he did, he was a very small dragon at first, little bigger than a horse. He hid out among us for a while, alone and afraid, before seeking out the other dragons. But as he grew older, he became corrupted, and the dragons exiled him. He was not welcome in the caerns any longer. He slunk off to live alone in the mountains, greedily hoarding treasures as his only company. Perhaps he lives still."
"I don't think I've ever heard of this Penthelnor," Telkarnith said.
"Probably just as well," Alder said. "Not the sort of role model that one would wish to emulate."
Telkarnith was about to ask something else, but Timber stormed into the building, snarling and growling. "Elf slime!" he exclaimed. "Your spawn is corrupting our cubs! I will not stand for this!"
"What's going on?" Telkarnith wondered.
"That spawn is trying to teach them... elf games," Timber growled.
Alder sighed long-sufferingly. "Please calm yourself, Timber. This is no cause for alarm."
"I will eat you alive, elf!"
Alder said, "You will do nothing of the sort. Not eating the flesh of men includes elves, you are aware."
Timber growled a bit more, and then settled for, "You have insulted my honor!"
Telkarnith wondered in puzzlement, "What did I do?"
"I challenge you to a duel!" Timber snarled.
Jack had wandered into the room in time to hear that last, and said dryly, "Ah, how nice, it's not every day one gets to see a big, bad werewolf challenging an elf to a duel. This should be entertaining."
Alder buried his forehead in his palm and shook his head and sighed. "You need not accept or consent to this, Telkarnith."
Zarnith spoke in his mind, "I would suggest backing out. He is much stronger than you and would probably kill you."
"I will not back out," Telkarnith said aloud. "Tell me the rules and I will fight your damned duel."
Zarnith whispered, "You're going to get yourself killed. Bah, like any of my other descendents ever listened to me anyway."
"I am going to kill you!" Timber growled.
"Very subtle," Jack commented.
"At least take this foolishness outside," Alder said with a sigh. As Timber stormed out again, Alder attempted to explain how things were done to Telkarnith.
"Why the hell is he so angry at you, anyway?" Jack wondered.
"Damned if I know," Telkarnith said.
"Timber is originally from Three Rivers Caern," Alder said. "They take a much dimmer view of non-shapeshifters there."
"Where is that?" Telkarnith asked.
"Near Baynorthtown," Alder said.
"The ruined city?"
"That's why it's ruined," Alder said.
"I see," Telkarnith said, eyes widening a bit. "I have to ask... did the shapeshifters bring about the fall of Albrynnia?"
"Not in the way you're thinking, I would imagine," Alder said. "But that's a very long story, and one for another time."
They went outside. Timber was pacing about, waiting for him impatiently. He'd pulled out a large, curved silver blade from somewhere and seemed quite eager to use it. A small crowd had gathered to watch. Telkarnith drew his own sword and faced the angry Garou.
"So you are here," Timber said.
"I am," Telkarnith replied.
"To the death, Telkarnith Chelseer!" Timber snarled.
"I'm not going to kill you, Timber," Telkarnith replied calmly.
"Of course not! You're going to die!"
Jack, standing off to the side a ways, jibed, "And that'll look real impressive on your resume, I wager."
"Be cautious," Zarnith whispered in his mind. "Use your speed and agility to your advantage."
Timber was upon him in an instant, and it was all Telkarnith could do to dodge and roll out of the way of his sword. For all his bulk, the Garou was more nimble than he appeared. One slip, and he didn't dodge quite fast enough, and the nasty blade bit into his left arm painfully.
"There, first blood, you've won then," Telkarnith said.
"No," Timber snarled. "I'm going to kill you."
"I'm not going to let you," Telkarnith replied.
Timber just laughed. "Good. Fight, you little pointy-eared man. Fight, if you can!"
Telkarnith didn't really want to have to kill this Garou, even if he was trying to kill him, but nonetheless he fought. Ignoring the fact that he was bleeding, he ducked and dodged, and struck a clean sting with his sword into his opponent's shoulder.
"Gah," Timber growled. "That blade is silver! Where did you get a klaive?"
Timber grew a bit more wary, but Telkarnith pressed his advantage, shifting abruptly from dodging to attacking and catching Timber off balance. Timber attempted to parry, only to have his blade knocked out of his hand. Then a swift slice at the Garou's legs had him on his back.
"Yield," Telkarnith said, pressing the point of his sword to the Garou's throat.
"No," Timber snarled softly. "Kill me."
"I will not," Telkarnith said. "You are not an evil being, Timber, and are not deserving of death. You sought to protect your own from what you perceived as a threat. I will not take your life for that, whether or not you would have shown me the same mercy."
Timber stared at him for a long moment and rumbled, "You shame me. I... yield."
Telkarnith withdrew his sword and backed off, and put it away. "Now hold on a moment," he said quietly, leaning down to touch Timber's leg gently. He brought forth his healing powers to restore the Garou's wounds and make sure that there would be no permanent injury. It wouldn't do if the poor Garou ended up lame. Once that was done, he tended to his own wound similarly. It was a vicious cut, and had soaked his entire left side with blood, and would likely leave a long scar along his upper arm.
"You're a healer?" Timber said in surprise. "And after all that, you'd still tend to my wounds before your own?"
"I would rather heal than harm, given the choice," Telkarnith said.
Timber slunk off quietly, head low and tail between his legs. Ignoring the excited and seeming impressed crowd, Telkarnith headed back inside to sit down. Although he'd put on a good show, it had exhausted him beyond belief. He hoped Thalayal had something good to eat ready.
Jack followed, saying, "I can't believe you actually won that one. I was sure he was going to tear you limb from limb."
"Your confidence is reassuring," Telkarnith said dryly. "As well as your concern for my well-being."
"I say you got lucky," Jack said.
Alder said, "I, for one, am glad that you survived. You did yourself much honor this day."
"I'm going to need another shirt," Telkarnith muttered.
Telkarnith spent a while recovering after that. He had lost more blood and energy than he had realized during the fight, and for a while all he really wanted to do was eat and sleep. Once he was back on his feet and up and about again, he noticed that while the werewolves around the village seemed to treat him more respectfully, Timber was nowhere to be seen.
"What happened to Timber?" he asked Alder.
"He went back to Three Rivers," Alder said. "His dishonorable actions here might not haunt him as much there, perhaps. But some see it as cowardly running away."
"He was foolish, but I don't think he was a coward," Telkarnith said quietly. "At least I didn't have to kill him. I've had to kill enough people through no true fault of their own as it is."
Winter set in heavily, but despite the snows, the valley remained pleasant and hospitable nonetheless. It would be difficult to travel for a while, so they settled in for the time being as best as they could.
Thalayal particularly got on well with the Garou. One day when cooking, a young metis cub came in poking around. "Well, aren't you the cutest thing," Thalayal said. "Here, have a treat. Run along now, dinner will be ready soon."
As spring drew near, Thalayal's belly grew. When the winter snows began to thaw a bit, Telkarnith said to his friends, "I should head down to Roulden Trisa and see how Donna's doing."
"I'll go with you," Jack said. "Don't get me wrong, these furballs are great. They've even given me some pointers on dealing with leeches and corrupted shapeshifters. But I don't like staying in one place for too long, no matter how safe it supposedly is."
"I'm staying with Thalayal for the time being," Helkhar said. "I want to see what my cub will look like. Even if it's, you know, pink and hairless." He grinned. "You think you can find your way back here?"
"Think so," Telkarnith said.
"If we get lost," Jack said, "you'll just have to come pull our bodies out of some ravine we fell into."
The two of them headed down out of the mountains and toward the village of Roulden. The snows faded away as they returned to lower elevations again. Telkarnith found that, while he had been distrustful and uneasy about Jack at first, he was now quite comfortable around him, and could even call him a friend.
It was almost midnight before they arrived at the outskirts of Roulden Trisa, and to Marvel's farm. Winder came and answered the door, and said, "Hey, Tel! Come on in. Donna will be ecstatic to see you. How've things been going?"
Donna, heavily pregnant, roused from sleep at hearing Telkarnith arrive. She came up to him and kissed him passionately, and said, "You are not leaving me behind again."
"Wouldn't dream of it," Telkarnith said.
"You are so doomed," Jack commented with a chuckle.
A/N: That's all I've got written on "Blood and Shadows" for now. I might come back to this and finish it sometime, but I make no promises.