Redemption: Testing
#3 of Redemption
Third part is finally up even after A long time on the shelf. No it's not dead but I've been busy. Anyways, you know the drill with reading this, see the first (A Fateful Meeting) if you haven't already. Anyways this holds the most action so far and will only hopefully increase in order to advance the plot. We shall see.
All characters are © (copyright) of me, Calatin. If by some chance that anything is similar to anyone, thing, story, charcter, or anything then it is just by chance. Enjoy.
As the group walked down the road, the saw a figure of a man running come around a bend in the road. He looked terrified and was screaming as he ran towards them. The man was small and looked like an average white Loiran farmer but had a crazed look in his eye. The group kept their strolling pace as the man ran up to them. He grabbed Zeke's collar, "you got to help me mister! They're taking over the town! Beast from beyond our world!"
"Whoa, slow down now sir. What is the matter?" Zeke spoke to the farmer calmly as he removed his shirt from the man's grip.
"Demons! They have taken over the town down the road! You got to help! The town is probably in ruins by now! Please sir!" The man wailed his pleas at Zeke but it didn't take much for Zeke's good natured heart to given in.
"Alright, alright, calm down. We'll help you save the town." Zeke said with an unsure sounding voice. The man gave a hurried thank you as he continued his sprint towards Nenarit. As Zeke watched the man his gaze turned upon a peeved Keira and Malkain.
Keira put her hand her thin waist and spoke first cutting off Malkain, "so when did we as a group decide on this?" Zeke gave a sheepish smile and scratched the back of his neck. Keira sighed, "We'd better get something in return for this. I don't have an infinite amount of gold you know."
Zeke gave a deep exhale and then picked up the pace to a slight jog and lead the group down the road towards this supposed attack. The sun was starting to set It was silent the whole way for no one had anything to talk about. They finally reached the town just before nightfall but what they found forced a minor astonishment to take hold of their faces. The town was still standing with buildings intact and people walking around finishing whatever they had for chores. The group sauntered into town with their hands ready to draw their weapons. Eyes darted to almost every part of the village as they moved father into the village. It wasn't very larger, maybe 6 houses including 2 merchant shops that encased the connecting roads and 1 Inn that was actually rather large for such a small town. The Inn was a wooden and looked very homely. As a group they decided to enter the Inn. A few people were chatting a drinking but other then that the place was rather quiet. Behind the bar an averaged sized Loiran spotted them and head over. He had black hair and a thick black moustache to boot. He smiled and grabbed Zeke's hand, "Welcome to Polate! My name's Hedrick Fet. I'm the innkeeper here. What may I do for you guys?"
Keira was kina puzzled but answered the innkeeper, "a man we met a little while ago was running to Nenarit saying that this town was being attacked."
"Attacked? Goodness no! We've never even encountered bandits here let alone a full blown attack." The innkeeper said with an astonished look but soon shook it off and went straight to his job of selling a place to stay for the night. "Getting away from such utter foolishness, may I sell you guys a room? Say maybe 5 gold per person and 2 rooms with an added cot in one?"
The group shrugged and took the deal. The innkeeper grabbed 2 keys and showed them up to the rooms on the second floor. Keira and Natasha took the first room shown and closed the door right after they entered. Hedrick then showed the guys to the other room. He opened the door to show a 2 bedded room that coincidently already had a cot in it. It was rather spacey and had a separate room for the bathroom. It seemed all too luxurious for such a small place but being a town at a major crossroads it made a little sense. They sat on there beds for maybe an hour while taking turns using the bathroom for their personal needs. It wasn't long before Zeke and Malkain called it a night and hit the sack. This left Feldrin awake and a little curious about this place. He decided to take a walk around outside and get some fresh air. He slowly walked along the hall and then down the staircase. It was a little sceptical when he found the main room empty of any inhabitants including the innkeeper as it wasn't even past 10 o'clock and costumers might still arrive. He walked out the front door and took a left into the center of the town. He wandered a little before feeling natures call and went off into the bushes to take a leak.
Morning arose with a typical rooster heralding its coming. Malkain and Zeke awoke in their room to find that their wolf partner wasn't in his cot. Malkain shook his head and spoke, "I knew he would try to escape. Typical for them to do so."
Zeke gave a scolding look over towards Malkain before getting up and getting dressed in his usual chain mail cuirass and leather leggings. Malkain followed and pulled on his own set of the same wears. Once they gathered their packs and weapons they left the room to head downstairs. As soon as they were out the door they ran into Keira and Natasha. Still wondering where Feldrin ran off to Zeke decided to ask the girls, "Have you guys seen Feldrin? He wasn't in his cot when we awoke."
"No, we just got up as well. You think he might have run off?" Keira said. Looking towards Natasha who seemed to not even worry as though she knew where he went to.
Zeke spoke again as they walked down the stairs, "He better not of. We saved his life after all. Come on lets get some food then search for hi-" Zeke stopped before he could finish as he just noticed that absolutely not a soul was in the main room of the inn. Odd he thought as he crept towards the bar. He was very wary of his surroundings but as soon as he looked over the bar table and hand reached up with a cloth and blackness started to consume his vision. The last thing he saw as he hit the ground was the other lying on the ground as well but they had already passed out. The creeping blackness finally consumed him and all thought faded.
Keira slowly regained her consciousness but it took her a minute to realize where she sat and what had happened. When she finally able to think clearly she was greeted by her fellow group members tied up alongside her. She spoke with a slight grogginess, "where are we?"
"Not sure," Zeke answered, "a basement or cellar of some type but by the looks of it, it is now a dungeon." Keira looked around and saw shackles, cages, torturing tools, racks and other sorts of fiendish equipment. Malkain had been gagged and was worming around trying to get loose while Natasha just sat still almost crying. Keira also noticed a larger prison cell at the far end of the room holding other prisoners that were tied up just like she was. Zeke answered her question before she could even ask it, "the original villagers I think."
"And you would be correct sir." A booming voice came from the darkness of the spiral stair well. "So how was your stay? Comfortable I hope?" Out of the shadows stepped the man the voice belonged to; Hedrick Fet. He came within a few meters of his newly chained prisoners. "Well it seems someone did escape our clutches and managed to warn someone but now it is all in vain as you couldn't stop us let alone discovers us."
Zeke shouted towards Hedrick. "You! What have you done to these people? And who else are you referring to?"
"Why my other demonists. See us three have awoken a demon that has helped us manifest our plans within this village. Everyday we grown in number and soon we will take control of Asfrot!. We already have over 400 demons at our control. This town is just a ruse and the village people out there are actually demons in disguise! Brilliant isn't it?"
Keira wiggled at her chained hands and feet trying to get free but it was useless. She looked towards Hedrick, "Why Asfrot? Why this village? Asfrot is useless."
"Ha-ha, useless? No! It will help us manifest an army of unstoppable demons. You see the more we gain in strength, the sooner we will be able to conquer this land." Hedrick smiled devilishly and took a few steps backwards toward the stair well. "Now I have to go and check in on my brothers in arms and see how our plan is going. Have fun rotting in here for the rest of your miserable life." Hedrick laughed one more time before fully turning towards the stairs. As soon as he faced the stair well a blade flashed and he felt a pierce into his chest right in between his rib cage. The blade tip was only partially in when Hedrick's eyes widened in horror as he looked down to see the blade. Then as Hedrick looked up again, the blade was driven deeper into his stomach. Blood spilled from his mouth and the new opening. The wielder of the sword marched he a few steps back then just as Hedrick saw his killer, another quick glint of silver reflected as the killer's left arm rose quickly bringing a blade with it and slicing plain through the innkeeper's neck. Blood flew through the air and splattered into a diagonal line along the wall just above Zeke's head. Hedrick's head flew up in the air for a split second before it dropped to the floor and bounced a few feet and came to a stop. Blood spilled from the two wounds onto the floor making a mess of the place. The assailant stepped out of the shadows into the blood.
"Ugh, blood on the fur. It'll take awhile to get the stains out." Feldrin spoke with disdain over the mess he just created. He shook his head and bent down to pluck the key ring off Hedrick's corpse. "What would you guys do without me now? I'm betting my debt still isn't re-paid yet. Keira's, Zeke's, and Malkain's mouths dropped in disbelief over their rescuer while Natasha just looked relieved that any previous doubts of Feldrin were gone. He took the key ring over to Natasha first. His first few choices very wrong but on the third try he found the right key. "Now hold still while I get these shackles opened. Hmph, there you go. Your stuff is in the corner I think."
The others finally shook off the disbelief and bombardments of questions were thrown at Feldrin. "Where did you go last night?" "How did you know we were here?" "How did you know to kill Hedrick?" "Did you know what was going on here?" They kept going until Feldrin finally got Keira out of the shackles. He took a step back and threw Keira the keys.
"I'll answer them all in due time but first we need to free the people and find those demonists," Feldrin said with authority.
"Right!" Zeke said, "Malkain and Keira, you guys stay here and help the prisoners. Feldrin, Natasha, and I will see about the town. Once you guys are done seeing to them in anyway they need, come help us. Alright let's go." With that Zeke drew his claymore and charged up the stair case. Natasha and Feldrin followed right behind him with their weapons drawn. At the top of the stair case Zeke came to a halt as he finally saw the demons Hedrick was talking about. There were 10 in total and each was a cross between a skeleton and black shade. The entire upper body was only bones dressed in warrior's gear while from the waist down was a dark black shade that seemed to consume all. Zeke put his claymore on his shoulder and with his left hand gestured them to come at him. With that Feldrin bolted left and Zeke right allowing Natasha to fire 3 consecutive arrows piercing and knocking of the skulls of 3 demons turning them into nothing more but a clump of gear on the ground. As Natasha prepared to fire 3 more, Zeke was battling 3 as well. He did a quick side swipe to topple the head of 1 but then almost was knocked on his face by an attack from one behind him. He quickly dodged and parried the second attack. He made a lengthy sweep around him and lopped the head off the other 2 demons. He yelled triumphantly, "Is that all you've got!?!"
Meanwhile, Feldrin was toying with his attackers. Expertly ducking, dodging, parrying, and blocking the attacks. Finally he saw an opening as 2 demons tried to attack from both of his sides. He quickly crouched and spun on his heels in the crouched position. He extended his blades as he spun and cut the demons in half right at the crossover part between shade and skeleton. There was little sound as his sword went easily through the bone. As soon as the two enemies dropped another one attacked with a simple sideways slash. Feldrin easily blocked it with his left hand and then cleanly cut the head of the demon. The last one was taken care of by Natasha with another perfect shot to the head. Zeke was heading to the door and shouted back at the two, "Let's go clean this town!"
They stepped outside to find silence and many suits of armour littered the ground. Being as wary as they were when they first entered the town, the three stayed together and slowly made their way to the center of the village. All was quiet, way too quiet. Zeke broke the eeriness, "Stay frosty, never know when a ghoul or whatever will jump at you even though they have all seemed to just up and die."
Natasha stopped for a second, "what about a little girl?"
"Those too. Wait, what?" Zeke spun and saw a little human girl standing in the middle of the road crying. Instantly Natasha ran over to her to comfort her but then the crying stopped.
"I don't like sound of that, Natasha get away from her." Feldrin shouted.
"Why? She's just a little child that needs comfort." As soon as Natasha finished, the girl started to laugh. It was a light laugh but soon it became a hysterical and maniacal laugh. Natasha backed up until she was standing beside Zeke. The girl's laughter deepened in pitch until her voice was deep, raspy, and more like something purely evil. It threw its head back and began to shift. It grew immensely in size to the height of a 3story building. It fell down to its hands and knees. Its body shift and seemed to be taking the shape of a massive hound or sorts. Its skin sprouted blood red fur as its face pushed out to form a muzzle. All the while, Zeke and Natasha stood there staring in awe. Its back and legs cracked to signal that the bones were shifting into place to support its new frame. A stubby tail grew from what was once a hum tailbone. Finally nearing the end of the transformation, spikes sprung up from all over the beasts back and even on its head. Its eyes were blood red once they were open again. It let out a massive roar going on for miles. Then it snickered.
"Mere mortals have never seen such a sight! I am Sejey! The hound of rage! You might have killed that idiot demonist easily and his petty ghouls but not me. I ate all the energy of those pathetic demons and now I have become something greater then you have ever seen! Now I can give you a quick death!" Once again it howled and then leaped at the frozen Zeke and Natasha. As the beast was coming down, Feldrin hurried back to them and the hauled their asses away from the beast. The ground shook fiercely as the massive hound landed where Zeke and Natasha had just been. They scampered behind a building out of sight from Sejey. The hound began to pace up and down the street trying to find its prey.
"He must not have a good nose. Okay we need a plan before he finds us." Feldrin spoke as he leaned around a corner to monitor the beast. By then Zeke and Natasha had come to their senses.
"I got it! Okay, I'll run out of cover and distract it once it reaches the south end of the road. Feldrin I need you to injure it somehow to confuse it. Then Natasha will pop out from cover and blind it with her arrows. Judging from the skin, it's not armoured in anyway so it can easily be killed. Hopefully we'll bring it to its knees so we can slice the throat. Alright." Zeke said quickly before they broke. Feldrin headed towards a lengthy house and started to climb onto the roof. Zeke then hustled out into the street. Once Feldrin was on top the roof, Zeke started the plan. "Hey Sejey! You're just a dumb ugly mutt with no sense of smell."
Enraged by the simplicity of the taunt, the hound rushed to Zeke who had already started to run the other way. Massive paws battered then ground as it quickly gained upon Zeke. Just as Sejey neared the house Feldrin was standing on, Feldrin drew his blades again but with his left held normally and started sprinting across the house. At the last possible second he leaped towards the hound with blades outstretched. Time seemed to slow to a halt as Feldrin almost floated through the air. He timed it right and his blades dug into the back of the massive hound causing a small amount of blood to trickle out. A howl escaped the beast and it grinded to a halt. Feldrin then took the opportunity to rush up the back and onto the massive head. He kneeled down quickly and brought his blades up with great speed and then using his entire might, brought them down upon the thick skull of Sejey. The massive demon hound let out a sharp howl of pain as the blades sank deep and twisted in its head. Blood flowed more freely but still not enough to stop the beast. It began whipping its head right and then left making Feldrin loose his grip upon his blades. Before anyone could react, Feldrin was flung above the tree line into the forest west of town.
"Shit! Natasha hit its weak spots!!" Zeke yelled from cover. Natasha finally popped out from behind the merchant house and fired two arrows at once. The first land in the center of the forehead causing only a small amount of pain but the second arrow struck deep into the left eye blinding the beast on that side. It reared up on its hind legs like a frightened horse and when it did, Natasha shot another arrow but this time it tore through the Achilles heel causing the monstrous hound to fall to its side. Just as it hit the ground, Zeke ran from his hiding spot in a dead sprint and finally leapt at the throat digging his claymore right into the vertebral artery. As blood shot everywhere almost soaking Zeke, he then sliced the rest of the throat making sure the beast was dead.
Zeke sigh with relief, "Natasha can you go get the others. We need to explain it to them and then find Feldrin." She nodded and hustled inside the inn. Zeke climbed up to the top of the dead beast's head and removed Feldrin's falcata and scimitar. He slid down the side of the beast into a deep pool of blood. Just then, Keira and Malkain rushed out of the inn to find the gruesome sight.
"Fuck. I can't believe I missed killing that thing." Malkain said causing Keira to elbow Malkain in the side as they walked over to Zeke.
"The villagers are fine and I told them to stay inside till it is safe. What happened here?" Keira said with a more calm and collective voice.
"Some demon hound but didn't really pay attention to its ramblings. Probably just banished its soul back to the hell plains. Anyways we have to search the forest now." Zeke spoke as they walked into the western side of the forest.
"Why?" Malkain asked.
"Because Feldrin is in there and probably badly wounded if not dead. Beast flung him like a rag doll." A look of surprise was all Malkain gave as the four started their search of the woods.
"Feldrin! Can you hear me?" Malkain called out as they wandered the dense brush in search of their friend. He stopped and put his hands to his mouth and called out again, "Can you hear me wolfie?"
"Malkain, if he could hear you he would answer the first time. Now stop by a sarcastic dick and actually help us search for him." Zeke said without even pausing in his from his crawling pace. They had spread out so to cover more ground. At first no signs were found and hope of finding Feldrin was soon dwindling. Keira stopped for a minute to wipe the perspiration from her forehead. The forest's density made it hotter as it trapped heat well. As Keira drew out her hand cloth to wipe her face she glanced down and saw something interesting. About a dozen broken branches littered the ground and more continued to cover the ground but were a bit off to her left. She followed these branches until they stopped in front of a larger bush. She groaned at the thought of having to push through another large shrub. She forcefully pushed her way into the brush closing her eyes and almost flailing her arms to get on through. Once she could feel no more bushes Keira opened her eyes and almost squeaked in surprise. There lay a badly injured Feldrin, lying face first in front of a rather large oak tree.
She didn't speak at first, just shocked by the sight. His entire body was blotched with dirt that only was there to cover up his numerous bruises. His left leg was twisted in an unnatural position and the bone seemed to bulge out the back of his leg, around his hamstring. There was major swelling around his mid section which showed a possible break in the ribs. Keira slightly moved so she could see his face. A gash under his left eye had slowly seeped blood which stained the grey fur; another scar for Feldrin to wear with dignity. Finally Keira slowly stood up and stepped back.
"Guys over here! I found him!" Keira shouted as she stood frozen, scared to get to close his unconscious body anymore. What seemed like eons passed by before Zeke, Malkain, and Natasha emerged from the surrounding bushes. Natasha froze in shock just as Keira did while Zeke and Malkain quickly moved over to Feldrin.
"Shit, shit, shit, shit," Zeke spoke rapidly as he fumbled to find Feldrin's pulse. His hands went straight for under the neck. He held his own breath so he could focus on feeling a pulse. "Yes, found it. He's alive but has a faint pulse. We should move him carefully and get him to the town's healer; if there is one."
"How do we know we can even move him? Maybe he broke his back for all we know?" Malkain interjected before Zeke began to lift Feldrin. Zeke eased Feldrin's clothes off him being careful not to make any sudden jerking movements. He examined the wolf's back.
"My mother made me take first aid when I was a child. I don't feel any swelling of sorts or separation of his spine. It seems he will be fine to be carried but his right leg is broken so we'll carry him separately and switch off." Zeke spoke as he slowly placed the heavy wolf over his shoulder. "Fuck. I might have a back problem after this though. I mean it feels like I'm carrying my own fucking body weight."
Keira led the group back the path she had made in order to be sure that that was the way out. It was a slow walk as Zeke could barely walk a decent pace with the larger weight on his shoulders. Natasha was constantly pacing around and beside Zeke as large amounts of worry flooded over her. She always seemed to have a soft spot for others but especially Feldrin now as he was the only other Thaidrin that was close to her in any sort of way. As they neared the edge of the forest Zeke carefully transferred Feldrin onto Malkain's shoulder. He gave out a quick sharp breath as he took on the larger weight of the wolf. They walked out slowly making sure to allow Malkain to keep pace. They had reappeared from the dense brush behind a local house. It step felt like miles for Malkain but once they got around the house help came in a rush.
The villagers turned at the sound of footsteps and saw the group carrying the unconscious body of one of their members. Two bulky men who worked with the blacksmith quickly rushed over, took Feldrin from Malkain and placed his arms on their shoulders, holding him up in between them.
"Why didn't we think of that?" Malkain said as he turned to Zeke and pointed at the blacksmiths helpers.
Zeke gave a quick face palm and dragged his hand down his face as they followed the men inside the Inn and back up to their room. It barely took anytime with the two men carrying Feldrin. The villagers worked fast as the room had already been transformed into a small infirmary room. The local doctor had already prepared some items he need but most of it was just bandages. Using only hand gestures, the doctor had the men place Feldrin softly on the bed. He then continued to shoo everyone else out of the room so he could get to work. The door slammed right in Natasha's face as she was the last to leave.
Her black ears flattened on top of her head in obvious disgust for the doctors manners. Though not even she knew, she also flattened her ears over the fact she couldn't see to Feldrin. Though it seemed like there was nothing between them, Natasha felt feelings for Feldrin because he was the only other Thaidrin that she had really got to know since Zeke took her in, a long time ago. Now with a locked door between her and Feldrin, all she could do was slide down against the wall and sit calmly with the others.
The bolt lock on the door clicked as it was finally removed from place. Natasha bolted up right and almost hit her nose against the opening door. The doctor was holding his medical bag in hand and proceeded to walk down the hall and then out of sight down the stairs. Zeke, Keira, and Malkain watched the doctor until he was no long able to be seen then they moved into the bedroom. Natasha was already kneeling beside Feldrin's with her muzzle rested on top of Feldrin's limp left arm.
The state in which he sat in the bed made him look peaceful and barely injured but everyone knew other wise. All the stains that he had when they found him were still there but now bandages covered most of them. The top of his head, around his ears, was wrapped up and so was his mid section. Under the sheets, his left leg was propped up to hopefully reduce swelling. Silence filled the room for a few minutes before it was broken by the bartender.
"Everyone is down stairs waiting to see the heroes. They're going to hold a feast for you all. Please hurry down." As quickly as he appeared and said his lines, he left. Malkain had followed instantly, never giving up an opportunity to drink, but Zeke and Keira were hesitant. They waited a moment before also walking towards the door.
Zeke turned before he exited the room, "you going to stay here Natasha?"
"Yeah," she answered without moving her from its resting spot on Feldrin's arm. Without a nod, Zeke left the room and hurried down stairs to join the celebration. This left Natasha by herself at the bedside of Feldrin. She let out a small whimper of worry for the grey wolf as she closed her eyes.
Weary eyes blinked open, the first sight was a roof above his head. His head turned right then left scanning a bedroom of sorts. His right hand went to his head to rub an irritating spot behind his left ear. He winced in pain at just a slight touch of that spot and confusion also arose due to the bandage wrap on it. He pushed himself forward with his right arm and turned to his right to sit on the side of the bed. He almost fell off the bed when a sudden wave of dizziness overtook him. He caught himself solely with his right, it was then he realized his left arm was in a splint.
"What happened..." he trailed off as brought himself to his feet. He stumbled and managed to catch a chair that had been beside him. Pain shot throughout his right leg to the point of unbelief. He had faced this pain before so he knew instantly that his leg must be broken. He looked around and found his scimitar right behind the chair. He took the sword and used it as a makeshift cane. He hated mistreating weapons but he had to, he let out a grunt and wearily made his way to a semi curtained window. He leaned against the right side of the window and attempted to pear out but his eyes failed to see past the window as the light was too much for him. Realizing that there was no point in being at the window anymore, he turned to behold a sight that he hadn't expected. Natasha was kneeling at the side of his bed with her head rested on top the bed. Feldrin's mind whirled with thoughts; how long had she been there? How long had he been here? She was still sleeping and Feldrin thought not to wake her. He traversed the room to the door and slowly opened it. All his effort was on keeping himself stable while not ruining his sword. He constantly used the wall as leverage as he made his way to the set of stairs leading to the main floor.
"Just great, probably would be less painful to fall down the stairs," he mumbled as he glared at this seemingly massive obstacle. He took in a deep breath and bit his lower lip. Each step felt like an eternity as pain consistently shot through his leg. Moving down the hallway was nothing as it was easy to keep any pressure from being put on his leg but these stairs had little kindness in that sense. The few minutes it took felt like a day but eventually he made it off that evil death trap and down to the main room of the inn. He was surprised to find the room totally full but yet not a soul saw him as everyone in the room was passed from some party. He snickered to himself as he continued to make his way to the main door. He nudged opened the door and let his black nose inhale a deep breath. He held his breath for a second and then released with a smile. How he loved being outside. He opened the door to the blinding sun and shuffled to his left to plop himself on small wooden bench. He put his sword across his lap and leaned his head back.
Natasha woke to a feeling of something not right. At the slightest look up she could tell that no grey wolf was in the bed. She panicked at the thought that he had left or had tried to do something and become even worse then he was already. She bolted through the room searching for any clues, forgetting her basic senses. She came to an abrupt stop and calmed down slightly at the sight of Feldrin's falacata still propped up against the wall beside his bed. As Natasha's panic attack slowly dwindled she finally brought a rational thought to mind
"He would have taken both swords if he left and since he took one he probably figured out his leg was broken," she thought to herself as she let out a sigh. After that, her first idea was to find everyone else. Taking in deep breaths, the fox made her way out of the room and over to Keira's and her room. She knocked and got nothing in response at first. She knocked over and over until footsteps could be heard on the other side of the door.
"Yeah, yeah I'm coming. Hold your goddamn horses already!" Spoke the voice from the room. Natasha knew the voice all too well and knew that her roommate must have just got up at the knocking. The bolt on the door clicked out of place as a disgruntled and tired Loiran opened the door. "Oh, Natasha. Sorry I just got up," Keira managed to say before a yawn cut her off. She walked into the separate bathroom as Natasha walked in.
The fox got her stuff together though most of it was already in her pack and made her way to the door again, "Hey Keira, do you know where Zeke and Malkain are?"
From behind the closed bathroom door Keira answered, "Probably passed out downstairs. Why?"
"Well Feldrin is up and moving somewhere so I think it is time that we head off. Though his stuff is still in his room," came the reply from the red fox.
"Look who is taking charge," Keira spoke with a slight giggle. "Well I'll pack up my stuff and grab the rest of the big bad wolf's gear. Then meet you outside, okay?"
"Sounds good," Natasha called out as she left the room. With an up beat strut, Natasha made her way downstairs to find exactly the two people she was looking for but to her surprise Keira was wrong. Both Zeke and Malkain were sitting up straight and looking wide awake. To amaze her even more was the sight of a coffee in Malkain's hand. She slowly made her way over with her mouth wide open and gawking at the sight. Zeke and Malkain smiled at her but didn't say a thing. Her paws went to her eyes and rubbed them profusely trying to see if see was imaging it all. As she rubbed her eyes, her ears picked up the clanking of glasses and a two solid knocks on hard wood. She stopped rubbing her eyes to see a different sight. Now they had pints of beer in their hands.
"Wha-? But you ju-.....and I...." Natasha stumbled with her words, trying to figure out what had happened. Just as she was going to try again, Zeke and Malkain broke out laughing. This caused Natasha to fume. She decided not to take it out on those two just yet, there were more important things on hand. Attempting to save face, Natasha gathered herself and spoke firmly, "I see you guys have your stuff ready, so I guess that means we're going right?"
"Yes it does Nat. And don't be so angry. It was just a practical joke." Zeke said as he stood to give Natasha a comforting hug. She sighed and returned the hug.
She pulled away and gave a slight cough. "I woke Keira and she should be on the way down. I need to go to the washroom and then we can go find Feldrin. And before you ask. No he hasn't run away, just merely went for a stroll. Now Excuse me." Natasha had put as much posh and sophistication into that little excerpt, all in an attempt to save her dignity from shrivelling like a raisin in the sun.
After a brief 5 minute wait on Natasha and Keira, the group was ready to set off on a new journey; finding their missing wolf. In an almost slow motion walk, the group came to the door and flung it wide open signalling the beginning of their journey. The group briefly struck a heroic pose in mockery but the opening of the door caused someone to wake from their nap.
"Could you have been any louder when opening that door? Wait, never mind, I know you can." The voice came from a bench to the left of the door.
"I'm very sorry sir about that. We didn't mea-" Zeke cut his apology off as he slowly moved his head to see the person that had spoken. He knew the voice was way too familiar and even the slightest of glances confirmed his suspicion. Their sat a grinning Feldrin. He had the same face as a person who had just lured someone into a trap. No one spoke at first as a slightly glazed look overcame everyone's eyes.
Malkain was the first to break the silence. "Well that was a great adventure. I say we should celebrate with a round of beers. Zeke's buying!" Zeke reached and grabbed Malkain's collar before he could retreat back inside the inn.
No one said a word but they all knew that they should start moving. Natasha motioned Zeke to help Feldrin up but the ragged grey wolf shrugged off the assistance. He merely used his scimitar for some leverage and got up. Keira handed him his falcate and he slid the sheath around his waist. Natasha had found a larger branch off a tree somewhere and gave it too Feldrin to use as a walking stick so that Feldrin could be fully armed and cut down wear on his sword. He nodded in thanks and started moving with the group. They didn't really have an idea on their path but they wanted to find a nice spot to rest for the night. So the group moved forward with their heads held high, having overcome their first challenge and eagerly seeking to prove themselves in their next endeavour. As they reached the edge of the town, Feldrin looked back at the site of the group's first good deed. After what they had been through, he thought that maybe it was time to tell them everything. Not now but soon.