AUTHORS NOTES:
Archer1eye AND Slyksylva: Thank you so much for your continued reviews! I write depending upon work. I've had a couple of days where I haven't had much work to perform, so have had plenty of time to sit at a computer and type... plus the ideas keep flowing. Annual leave starts next week, so chapter posting might slow down a bit.
Drouppi: Welcome back! Thanks for the PM!
and... on with the story:
Chapter 44
30th Day of Early Spring 768 n.c
We left Master Jorganshard's arm bandaged, in case there was damage to his bone that the potion didn't heal. Malkarov, Master Jorganshard and I went over to look at the warg. If the dire wolves that attacked me near Shard's clearing were a wolf's bigger cousin then a warg was a dire-wolves much bigger cousin. It's fur was pitch black and it's eye would have been bright red, if the farmer's blow with the mattock hadn't caught it right in the side of it's skull. Master Jorganshard took up a knife to skin the warg there and then as the horse sized wolf-like creature was too heavy to carry anywhere.
"Normally I'd tell you to be careful of those claws," Malkarov said, "but you are going to have to suffer through Sister Tera's cure for disease anyway."
He turned to me, "Why do you think the wargs attacked Master Jorganshard so close to so many of us?"
"What do you mean?" I asked, "he was by himself, away from the group. Wouldn't he have made a good target for a group of predators?"
"Wargs are more intelligent than normal animals and very cunning," he explained, "If they killed Master Jorganshard silently, they would still have had to drag his body away lest they be discovered by us. Judging by the size of that one, they are not so starving that they are risking confrontation with so many of us to survive."
"Why then, would they attack?" I asked.
Malkarov held up one finger and then crooked it in a 'follow me' gesture. He turned to the mob of men and told them, "Stay here, we will be back shortly."
I followed him down the trail that the wargs had fled. It was only a short distance before we came across another clearing, but the worn path continued along the edge of it and down into a drop.
"Invisibility," he whispered and we both cast the Invisibility and See Invisibility spells.
We continued quietly along the path, which curved down along a cliff side and into a large cave protected by a rocky overhang. The cave did not go back very far, but was dark.
"Dancing lights?" I whispered to Malkarov, but we both stopped suddenly at a noise from inside the cave. A rustling sound was followed by a high pitched animal noise.
Malkarov put his finger over his mouth in a 'quiet' gesture then touched his eyes and pointed into the cave. It took a few moments for my eyes to adjust to the darkness, but once they did I was able to make out movement and then discern exactly what it was: a litter of warg pups.
Each of the pups was as big as a full grown dog, but rolling over each other with the awkwardness of a new-born.
They looked so cute! I looked up at Malkarov pleadingly, but he just smiled and shook his head.
He touched me lightly on the shoulder and gestured back the way we came. Silently we made our way through the clearing.
"Best to dispel our Invisibility," he said and we both did, "as cute as they look now, very soon warg puppies will grow into fully grown wargs and those creatures are not easy to tame and prone to attack anything at any time, even their masters. Now we know why they attacked at least, I'm a little surprised that they did not come back to the cave to protect the pups but you must have scared them enough to keep them running. Which spell did you use?"
"Master Jorganshard was mistaken," I confessed, "I didn't use a spell at all. They just ran away. The animals in this forest won't attack me."
"What do you mean they won't attack you?" he asked.
"I can't tell you exactly why," I said carefully, "but you could call it a divine blessing, maybe?"
"From Mithras?" he asked and I shook my head 'no.'
"What do you know of the other gods Sharein?" he queried and continued quickly, "I only ask because I know the usual upbringing in Easthaven and it doesn't include anything other than praising Celestine and venerating Mithras."
"I've spoken to Luna twice," I told him evasively, "and to one or two of the other gods."
"That's interesting," he mused, "Alladrial venerates Kalaa'alarana, the Elvish Goddess of the Moon above all others," then continued to explain in his lecturing manner, "the Elves are different from us in that they venerate all of their gods and goddess' to a degree but always have one above all others. Of course, the Allarthians also venerate a variety of deities as do most other races. Carn is unique in it's praise for a single deity."
We reached the other clearing then and discovered that Master Jorganshard had completed his task and was waiting with the bloody fur all rolled and tied up ready for processing by Master Hilval the local leatherworker, or possibly by Missus Jorganshard who was a deft hand at dressing a fur.
"Ready to go?" Malkarov asked and everybody answered in the affirmative.
We trouped back through the forest a slightly less angry mob, the emotional heat extinguished but the trepidation and wariness of being in the forest still remained. Most of the Easthavians remained on guard, jumping at any noise, no longer worried about kobold ambushes but instead now worried that the horse sized wolves would come back. Malkarov walked confidently in his own powers however and as for me; I almost felt like skipping. The threat of the kobolds was gone, none of the townsfolk were aware that I was their saviour and Malkarov didn't seem too unhappy with me.
We walked through Shard's clearing, but I didn't stop to speak with her even though I very much wanted to, I couldn't think of a way of doing so without arousing suspicion. When we got back to the farm everyone came out to greet us.
"How did it go?" Father asked straight away, Mother followed carrying two jugs and my siblings were carrying mugs stacked up.
"It looks like the kobolds had rebelled against their leader and fled away to the south," Malkarov said, "I don't think that they will be bothering us again."
The jugs that Mother carried contained barley water that she had made and every member of the group eagerly took a mug and drank it eagerly and with much thanks. Illith handed me my pack that I had left in my room.
"They rebelled against their leader then?" Mother asked fairly quietly when she handed me a mug of barley water. Everybody else was distracted by Master Jorganshard, who had rolled out the warg skin and was happily showing it off and telling the story of how he came by it.
"Yes," I told her, "it looks like they killed him, then packed up and left."
"Just the leader?" Mother asked.
"Yes," I told her, "Malkarov went to investigate while using the invisibility spell and returned to tell us what he had seen."
"Everything is okay?" Mother asked and I nodded.
"Yes," I told her, "I think everything is okay now."
Father and Jocam had already brought out Aloise-horse and the cart out and the Meadowbroeks were in sight.
"Wizard Malkarov?" Mother asked, "Would you and Sharein like to ride with us back to Easthaven?"
"That's very kind of you Missus Askilain," Malkarov replied, "but I think it best if Sharein and I take a quicker path so that I may inform Mayor Crownever of what we discovered before the church service begins."
Malkarov cast a Teleport spell and we stepped straight out of the rune circle on the wall of his quarters.
"First things first," he said once we both had our feet, "I'm going to go and tell the Mayor about what has transpired, or at least what I told everybody," he added with a grin, "would you be so kind as to let Father Mattias know that that everybody is on their way for his service at the usual time?"
"Of course," I told him, then ventured, "you're not angry with me then?"
"I don't know if there is anything that I should be angry about," he laughed, "yet."
We both headed out and parted ways at the crossroad with Malkarov going across the river into the town while I continued straight on to the church.
When I got there, I went straight in and called out "Father?"
Sister Tera popped her head out of her quarters, "You're all back Sharein?"
"Just Malkarov and I for the moment, but everybody is on their way," I told her.
"Is everybody all right?" she asked.
"The kobolds had already left by the time we got there," I told her, "but Master Jorganshard was bitten on the arm by a warg. Malkarov bandaged him up and fed him a healing potion but he said you will probably need to c…"
"Cure disease," she finished for me, more to herself, "warg bites and claws are notoriously nasty for a disease that infects the blood." She popped her head back behind her door but then popped out again a moment later only to say "Just knock loudly on the Father's door, dear."
"Thank you, Sister," I said, but she had already closed the door.
I did as instructed and Father Mattias opened the door momentarily.
"Sharein my dear, I've missed you at the past few services!" he said, not seeming at all unhappy, "did everything go alright today?"
"I'm so sorry Father," I apologised, "I…" he held up his hand to stop me and waved me in to sit in a comfortable arm chair opposite his in a sitting room.
"No need to apologise my dear," he said to me, "you've spoken to Malkarov about it?" He asked and I nodded, then he continued, "and it's for a similar reason that he no longer attends?"
"Partly Father," I responded.
He nodded sadly, "Is there anything you want to ask?"
I nodded and then asked him "Father, how come people like… us, aren't accepted?"
He sighed loudly, "Long ago, a particular High Priest of Mithras declared that we weren't natural, because we could not produce offspring. The creation of life is an important tenet to the faith."
"But… how?" I asked, "If Mithras didn't approve of you as you are, then how can you be a priest?"
"Well, that's a very good question isn't it? It's a question I've long struggled with," he explained, "Mithras must approve, but it's written in The Book and declared by the High Priest. You recall that the first part of The Book contains the instructions granted by Mithras to her clergy, but the rest of The Book are the instructions by the High Priests since the very first?"
I nodded, "But, if the High Priest went against the will of Mithras, wouldn't he be severed?"
Father Mattias stood stock still, looking at me through shrewd eyes, "Have you been speaking with Malkarov about this?"
"No Father," I replied, shaking my head.
"Have you read about it in one of his books?" He demanded.
"No Father," I answered truthfully.
"Then where, child, did you learn about severing?" He asked, not quite angrily but not in his usual friendly tone.
"I… I can't tell you," I stammered and looked away from him, feeling a little guilty that I couldn't tell him.
He hummed in thought, then spoke in his usual friendly manner, "The High Priest of Mithras is not like a regular priest, he is specially chosen by the Goddess to do her will. As such, they are not severed if they stray. There are others that are specially chosen, but the High Priest is always one such."
That made sense, but was obviously not a fool proof method for ensuring that the Church continues to abide by the will of Mithras forever.
"Why have no other High Priests removed those sections from The Book?" I asked.
"Ah," he exclaimed, "once it is written in The Book it is the will of Mithras and as such can never be removed. Not even by a High Priest."
That seemed very… silly.
"It seems we've been distracted," Father Mattias said, bringing me out of my thoughts, "how did it go today?"
"Yes, Father, sorry Father," I apologised, "Malkarov sent me here to tell you that the townsfolk who went after the kobolds are on their way back from my family's farm as we speak and should arrive in time for your usual service."
"Good, good," the Father said, "but how did it go?"
I recounted to him the "official" story and he seemed very happy at the news that the kobolds had just 'decided' to leave.
"I know just the sermon to help them manage their feeling of anger and their desire for revenge!" he exclaimed, "if you don't mind my child, I'll have to prepare," he added as he escorted me out.
Once out I walked back to Malkarov's tower and cast Knock to let myself back in, climbed the stairs and decided to wait in one of the comfy chairs on the ground floor for Malkarov's return.
I had not long sat there before I decided to rest my eyes and didn't know any more until much later.
