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Tales of the Silver Wolf: part 10


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#1 Guest_H'kira the Wolf_*

Posted 09 May 2003 - 04:31 AM

Hey all! Back with the next bit of the story, explains a bit about Khalid in the end. More soon.


*****

Tales of the Silver Wolf part 10 (I think)

*****

Viconia was out walking, she couldn’t sleep and the darkness was an old friend.

Enkar, huntmaster of the pack of werebeasts in the wood surrounding the city and priest of Malar, watched her curiously. He had chosen his prey for the High Hunt and now he had to take her back to the den. The hunt was on the next eve and what could be a more challenging prey that a drow? He would have to act quickly. The werewolf leapt from his perch, pouncing on Viconia.

The drow was caught unaware as something leapt out of nowhere and tackled her. The blow winded her, she couldn’t even yell, and her head cracked violently against the cobblestones.

Enkar moved fast, gagging the drow and binding her hands and feet together. He threw her roughly over his shoulder and walked off, just as the she faded into unconsciousness.

***

Khalid awoke to the sight of his wife’s’ smiling face. His own sheepish grin reflected his happiness.

“I-I love y-y-you, Jaheira,” he whispered.

“And I you, my Khalid,” the druid replied, kissing him softly. They lay there for a time, enjoying each others company, before heading downstairs for breakfast.

The remainder of the party stared in amazement as Khalid shoveled down food at a nearly impossible rate.

“K-k-keep in m-mind,” he said, looking up at them, “I-I haven’t e-eaten i-i-in forever.”

They all grinned, save H’kira. The wizard-slayer shifted wolf and trotted out into the street, trailing the scent that bothered her. The residents of the slums gave the Silver Wolf wide berth as they went about their business.

Suddenly, the Silver stopped and gave a curious whine, a spot of blood stained the street…Viconia’s blood. The canine’s curiosity faded quickly, replaced by fury as the werewolf scented were-beast, and caught drifts of pain and anger. Her hackles rose and she gave vent to a howl of pure animal rage.

As the sound echoed, Rahas cocked his head to one side and listened carefully to its undertones.

“Nalia, Minsc,” He barked, “Stay here.”

Then he looked to Khalid, “Are you strong enough to fight?”

The half-elf nodded. Jaheira too had heard the meanings of the call, “I’ll morph, I cannot be infected in that state.”

Rahas nodded and in a second’s time, shifted and raced through the streets after his mate. Jaheira polymorphed and patiently waited for Khalid.

Its alright man, Specter assured, Don’t fight the change, just slowly slip yourself into my consciousness….Very good…now give me control, I am more accustomed to this for than you.

Where Khalid had been stood a pale gray wolf with eerie pale blue eyes. Specter and Jaheira ran after their alphas.

H’kira had picked up the scent and her paws tore at the earth as she ran with all that was in here. Fear dwelled with the Wolf’s heart for underneath the musky scent of werebeast she had scented the bitterness that was associated with the children of Malar. The Silver snarled as comprehension dawned on her, the high hunt. The wolf’s amber eyes flickered and flared with a strange light, the hunter would become the hunted and she would deal with him for daring to hunt of her pack.

And on the Silver One ran.

****

Viconia came to in a hut, lying in the straw that was strewn about the place. She had been unbound and a disturbing elven man was watching her.

“You,” she spat, “Who are you and what do you want of me, darthiir?”

The man chuckled, displaying wicked fangs, “You may call me Enkar, drow, and I am a huntmaster of Malar…You are to serve as prey, a challenge on this night of the High Hunt. This evening you will run these woods as the hunted, if you survive ‘til dawn and are not bitten, we will grant you a boon. But mark my words, drow, you will fall.”

He turned and headed for the door, “And don’t try to escape, you’re in the midst of Malarites on their most powerful day. You wouldn’t make it two paces.”

The drow glared at him, but he simply turned to an object in the straw, “Enjoy your company, my little Radrith.”

The thing shuddered as Enkar left, bolting the door behind him.

Viconia glanced warily at the thing in the straw and her curiosity got the better of her. Quietly and carefully she brushed it off.

And there lay an elven child, shivering and twitching with pain, bloody whip marks showing through the tatters of the back of her shirt. The girl was deathly pale with a matted mess of raven black hair.

What caught Viconia’s attention though, were the child’s eyes. Deep green with flecks of darker green, and what she saw beyond color, she understood, pain, loss, sorrow, fear, anger, hate, and the rage of a caged wolf, howling and snapping as it threw itself against the bars of its cage. And a strange thing happened, her heart went out to the child. She reached out, the elven girl winced and bared canine fangs.

“It’s alright,” the drow whispered. Something in the girl’s eyes softened. Viconia prayed and began to heal the child’s wounds. When she was finished, she got up and went over to a corner to pray for a while before her fate was decided.

Radrith Revai, the elven child, stretched languidly, it had been a long time since she had been without injury. She looked curiously at the strange woman who had healed her. A drow, her parents had told her stories about the people of the Underdark a long time ago. This one was different from the stories, not cruel and evil, but kind.

Radrith looked upon Viconia with a child’s eyes and saw another like herself. Another person who understood. And for the first time, pieces of a nearly broken soul clung together tightly.

Viconia’s ruby eyes snapped open when the child came over and sat in her lap. The little elf gave a weary little sigh and began to fall asleep. Viconia’s arms crept unconsciously about the child and she was amazed at how natural such an undrowlike action felt.

“Who are you?” the drow whispered. The child opened her eyes and looked up at Viconia.

The drow was totally unprepared for what happened next. She looked into the child’s memories.

“Radrith, run!” Rizzan Revai shouted, hurling his daughter into the forest. The wood-elven ranger had come to this place with his wife, a moon-elven woman named Zalla, to escape the way he was looked upon and how the other elves criticized Zalla for taking a werewolf for a husband.

Their child had inherited her mother’s haunting beauty and her father’s dark gift…lycanthropy. And they had lived in peace for a time, but no longer.

“Where is the child, Rizzan?” Enkar snarled.

*Run, little one,* Rizzan sent, *Never look back, I love you.*

The girl had shifted, and a young wolf tore through the wood. She heard a cry of pain…and a howl of rage, the sound that echoed from her father’s wolven form tore at her soul, the cry of a wolf that has lost its mate.

Fangs bared and vengeance in his feral eyes, Rizzan Revai turned and fought to the death.


The next bit of memory was a series of events: the child’s life at her foster parents home and their attempts to ‘exorcize’ her ‘evil spirit’, culminating in her being sent off to live with the same Malarite that had murdered her parents.

Radrith saw the pains and treachery of the Underdark, the unspoken horrors that lingered in Vicionia’s mind and the scars left by the priesthood of Lolth. Then she saw what no other had ever seen, save Valas and Rahasein. Viconia’s love for a drow male. An image flashed before the child’s eyes of a drow man with spiked hair of a rather violent shade of electric blue that matched his eyes.

A name with the face, Bakir Ta’ha’len. The head of the Lizard Riders of the House Ta’ha’len and a male known for his uncanny ability to train some of the finest mounts in the Underdark. The Ta’ha’len stables were well known for their fine stock.

Viconia had felt something for him and they had grown to trust and care for one another, a precious commodity in the treacherous Underdark. Eventually she had taken him as a lover, and she could see in her mind the shelf were the numerous small gifts he had given her had been. It was the first un-drow thing she had ever done and through her worship of Lolth and her four husbands, Bakir had still been there, her friend, her foundation. The only friend she had ever had in the Underdark save Valas. And she had had to leave him there.

The memories moved on and Radrith saw the events that led to Viconia’s flight to the surface, and the horrific turning of her brother into a drider, culminating in her joining H’kira’s party and traveling.

Their connection ended and Radrith and Viconia just looked at one another.

Viconia suddenly noticed that it was nearly night, the hunt was coming. She gave some instructions to Radrith and hoisted the child into the rafters. The little elf loosened some of the roofing and slipped out into the dusk. She looked down at Viconia.

“Run, child, while you still can,” the drow urged.

Radrith quietly replaced the roofing and getting a running start, leapt into a tree, springing from branch to branch like a cat.

Viconia rolled up her cloak and placed it where the child had lain, stuffing it and covering it with straw. She had just returned to the corner when Enkar returned and escorted her to the edge of the clearing.

Malarites yipped excitedly from all around her. The priest shoved her ahead and she ran. Enkar smiled as she took off and he and his followers waited. After some time, he shifted and howled, the hunt had begun.

Enkar raced ahead, he was by far the fastest of the pack and easily followed the drow on a path many others lost in the time that they ran.

Viconia had reached a dead end, a sheer cliff face too high for her to scale. She heard the growl behind her and turned to accept her fate. Enkar shifted back to normal and approached the drow. He was several yards away when Radrith appeared with a silver dagger in hand, between the two.

“Why, dalhar?” The drow asked incredulously. The child looked at her and gave a slight smile.

“Radrith…give me the knife,” Enkar stated, harshly, holding out his hand and crouching to the girl’s level. Something in his tone promised pain if he was not obeyed.

The Malarite smirked as Radrith’s green eyes reflected her fear and she began to slowly walk towards him. She was about two paces away when the fear fled from her eyes, to be replaced with cold hatred. He was caught unprepared as the child bared fangs at him and lashed out. The knife barely caught him as he leapt backwards, carving a shallow gash down his cheek.

He midshifted and lashed out at her, just as H’kira leapt out of the surrounding forest and tackled the child.

Enkar shifted back to normal out of pure shock. The half-elven woman who stood to face him was the embodiment of the Wolf. She flexed her arm and the gashes left from his claws began to knit together. Her eyes reflected the moonlight like a feral animal’s.

“What are you doing here, weresister?” he asked, as the two began to circle each other warily.

“You have hunted of my pack, disciple of the Beastlord, and I have come to retrieve her,” H’kira replied.

“She is not of the blood,” Enkar sneered.

“Do you wish to challenge me for her then, huntmaster?” H’kira snapped, “Or has chasing the man’s cub tired you out?”

“Very well, half-breed,” the Malarite returned.

The werewolves sprang at each other, Enkar and H’kira both shifting wolf, snarling and snapping, to become a whirlwind of fur and fangs. Rahasein bounded toward the two.

A loud crunch echoed off the cliff face as Enkar’s jaws crushed one of the Silver’s paws. With a snarl of pain, the she-wolf brought her other paw down hard on his head, stunning him. Upon noting the arrival of this new power, several Malarites skulked out of the shadows, just as Specter and Jaheira loped into view.

The Silver Wolf leapt at Enkar, going for his throat and the Malarite bolted, running past his followers into the wood. The hunters, confused by their leader’s betrayal, fell into chaos and took off as well. The Silver Wolf growled in disgust and walked on three paws over to Viconia, who had already collected a certain errant werechild.

H’kira curled up on the forest floor, looking irritably at her injured forepaw. Rahasein, in wolf form, lay beside her and began to clean her paw. She snatched her injured limb away and shot him a very dirty look. He shifted back to normal.

“H’kira…” he chided. She shifted back and he took her shattered hand in his.

“Dammit, Rahas, that hurts,” she exclaimed as he began to meticulously clean dirt and such out of her wounds.

“Hush, chev, unless you want all of this healed into your hand.”

The half-elf scowled and winced sharply as her mate retrieved a broken of bit of fang from her palm, she looked up at Viconia, “You alright, Vic?”

The drow nodded, “Good timing.”

“And who’s this?” The half-elf asked, smiling.

“Radrith Revai, meet H’kira the Wolf,” the drow stated. The girl nodded.

“She’s very quiet,” Viconia added.

“So I noticed,” H’kira said, chuckling, “Whose is she?”

“Her parents are dead and she will not be going back to the Malarites, so I suppose that makes her mine, now,” Viconia said. Radrith gave a low growl and leaned against the drow, smiling ever so slightly.

“You read to go?” wizard-slayer asked. They all agreed and began to trek back towards Athkatla.

A bird call startled Radrith, where had she heard it before? Her eyes widened and she barked a warning even as Enkar and a few others appeared.

“Thought we’d run, eh, half-breed?” Enkar mocked. He smirked, then dropped like a rock as H’kira broke her hand for the second time that day…on his face.

“Anybody else want to mess with me today?” the half-elf asked, amber eyes flickering dangerously, the Malarites looked at each other nervously,” I didn’t think so.”

The tempermental wizard-slayer kicked dirt on Enkar’s body as she passed. The rest of the party followed after her, save one.

Radrith Revai stopped by the huntmaster’s still form and unbuckled a sword from his belt. An ancient notched elven warblade, engraved with runes and radiating with untold magical power. She picked it up and handed it to Viconia, who was puzzled by her action and yet surprised that the sword was so light. The drow buckled it to her own waist and the party moved on. They walked all night and reached the Copper Coronet in the very early morning.

Jaheira and Viconia fussed over Radrith for a while. They gave the child a bath and had been forced to cut her hair to get the most impossible of snarls out.

The little elf sat at a table beside Viconia, her now near shoulder-length hair still damp. She was wearing one of H’kira’s tunics that Viconia had modified a bit and belted with a bit of soft rope.

H’kira watched the interaction between the drow and the child with amusement. Something had happened between the two, of this she was sure.

It is not unlike the call, my bond, the Wolf stated.

There is an uncanny resemblance, my Wolf.

I sense that they have much in common, bond.

I know. When Vic’s around the kid, all the darkness and anger fades away. It’s cute.

That it is, my bond.


Of a sudden, the Wolf snickered.

What is so terribly amusing, wolf?

That the child is wearing your clothes.

Well, Vic cut them to a better length.

You’re short.

Oh, hush, Wolf.


The Wolf just laughed harder.

They all sat around the fire for a while. As Radrith began to nod off, Viconia scooped her up and carried her upstairs. She tucked the little werewolf into bed and crawled into her own.

The drow smiled slightly as a little black wolf cub hopped up on her bed and curled up against her. The two odd companions drifted off to sleep.

*****

In the Underdark, the city of Ust’Natha.

*****

Bakir Ta’ha’len was humming as he saddled his mount, a female lizard that he had named Draaka, the beast was roughly the size of a horse. A grin crept upon his face as he thought of were he was going. Finally, Malak knew enough to take over the stables and he could pursue his heart.

“I can’t believe you’re going to go chase some *female* all over the surface,” his younger brother, Malak, exclaimed.

“Give it a rest, Malak,” Tael, their sister, said, “He’s following his heart, like Rahas did.”

“Well, better like Rahas than like Verk,” Malak responded.

Verk walked up, just barely missing the comment, he was the epitome of drow, cold, malicious and the only Lolthite in the family. House Ta’ha’len escaped the priesthood only by being an enormous Merchant house, they supplied most of the cities supplies and luxuries.

Matron Mother Zyra watched her children banter for a while, before coming out to bid her son farewell.

“I wish you wouldn’t leave, Bakir,” she said.

“I…” he paused, “I have to do this, mother.”

She hugged him, “I know, and I wish you luck, my son.”

She gave him some things to give to his brother. Bakir hugged his sisters, Tael, Lyri, and Reyn goodbye and clapped a hand on Malak’s shoulder.

“Well, little brother, I have a parting gift for you, as the head of the patrol while I’m gone,” he stated, “I wish you luck, now close your eyes.”

The younger drow did and Bakir let out a rattling hiss and a keen. When Malak opened his eyes, the most powerful creature in the stables greeted him. A male war lizard, sea green in color with glittering silver eyes.

“You’re…You’re giving me Draegan?” Malak said, incredulously. Bakir grinned, even as Verk gave a disgusted snort.

The lizard nudged Malak and he ran a hand along the reptile’s scaled hide.

Bakir turned to his own mount, “ What do you think, Draaka? Are we ready to leave?”

The reptile’s golden eyes lit up and she playfully butted him with her scaly head. He laughed and swung up on Draaka’s back, strapping his legs onto the saddle. Bakir threw his piwafwi about his shoulders and headed off.

****

Later

****

Elhan snapped out of his reverie to see a figure emerging from the entrance to the Underdark. A drow man on lizard-back, staring up at the moon with childlike wonder. Elhan stared at the drow’s mount, an enormous lizard with bright golden eyes and scales the color of sand. The drow was…talking to it? Elhan blinked once and they were gone.

He convinced himself that it had been a figment of his imagination. He was incredibly angry the next morning when he found large reptilian tracks leading into the forest.

***

H’kira felt a chill run up her spine. She got up and walked into the night, Khalid was sitting on the steps, looking highly disturbed.

She sat beside him, “What’s wrong?’

“It’s j-j-just…I-I did s-s-some a-awful things w-when I w-w-was…” He trailed off, “When I-I was d-d-dead.”

“Khalid…you had no control of yourself, it was not you who did so and no one here will hold you accountable for anything that happened, surely you know that,” the wizard-slayer said.

“Such wisdom from the mouth of a child,” Jaheira remarked, grinning as H’kira rolled her eyes and muttered. The druid joined them and slipped an arm about her husband’s waist, “And she’s right, Khalid.”

“How sweet, and you even managed to heal my little plaything and restore his soul,” Bodhi hissed, as she appeared from the shadows, “What a clever wolfy you are. I’ll have to punish you for that, Jon put him back together just for me.”

“And I owe you a great deal of pain, blood-sucker,” H’kira growled, not rising, “For without you the mage would have been dead the first time I escaped.”

The vampire nodded, “That’s beside the point, my dear. I came here to warn you to keep your nose out of my business. I’ll let your turning of the half-elf slide…for now,” She looked at Khalid with a predatory smirk, “We did have some good times, didn’t we?”

He shuddered as she turned into a bat and flew away. Jaheira simply held him closer and told him it would all be alright. He believed her.

****

Well, there ya’ll go. :twisted: Hope ya’ll liked it. Spell-check almost turned Bodhi into Buddha lol!

H’kira n’ the Wolf




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