“Commander Brugon, I have a special request that I trust to no one other than you.”
“I am yours to command, General.” He nodded slightly to acknowledge the gracious compliment. This must be important if he wants me to abandon the front line. I hope that I at least get to see some action on this new assignment.
“I need you to take two hundred of your frontline troops and secure the elven capital. I have a feeling that there may be a trap there, which is why I called upon you. There is no one else I would trust to handle a potentially lethal situation like this. You are my best soldier, and I know that you will not let me down.” He gave the commander a stern look of approval while a wry smile crept across his face.
“I appreciate your confidence in my abilities. I will select the troops that will go with me immediately so that you can continue on to the secret entrance. I will report back to you once we are ready to leave.”
“Excellent. I will let the other commanders and captains know of this assignment so that they can compensate for the slight reduction in numbers. I appreciate your willingness to take on this assignment. I have a feeling that all will not go as smoothly as the good druid would have us believe. Be alert at all times; this forest is full of powerful magic, and I do not believe that it would be wise to tarry longer than is needed. Gather your team, and return at once.”
The battle-hardened commander saluted stiffly and took off at a run to carry out his charge. It was a rather impressive sight to see such a powerfully built man running at such a fast pace. He was slightly tall for a man and was much more muscular than any other soldier in Sanjay’s army. Many stories of his brute strength were told around camp fires at night, and songs were sung about his heroic battles. He was a living legend among the troops and the young people of Aran. There were many maids that tried to court him, but he would never settle down and take a wife. He lived for the next fight or confrontation. He was the consummate battle strategist. I wish I did not have to send him away from me. I just cannot shake this feeling that something terrible is about to happen and it involves that fair elven city. I hope that I am not sending him to his doom. No one would be able to replace him.
After only fourty five minutes, the commander reappeared with two hundred soldiers in tow. If only all my soldiers were so obedient. General Sanjay looked at the group with satisfaction. Many of the troops had served with Commander Brugon since his promotion to commander of the front line brigade. The general hid his emotions so that the men would take their mission seriously. He did not want any of them to become careless because they believed their leader felt their task was easy. Besides, a soft hand will make ladies out of men! He laughed darkly to himself as the group came to attention before him.
“Gentlemen, you have a very important mission to carry out. You have been carefully selected by Commander Brugon to secure the elven capital of Tarisdell. I feel that I should warn you right now that it is likely that the orcs or those wicked high elves left some kind of trap behind for anyone who might attempt to recapture the city. I also caution you against running up to the gates even though everything may appear to be deserted. The elves may have protections around the walls or the exterior that may not be detected by normal means. I expect to see all of you alive in that city once we annihilate this axis of evil.”
“Sir, yes, sir!” barked the soldiers in unison. This was music to the general’s ears. He liked nothing more than obedient men who did exactly what they were instructed to do. He could tell that this group would not let him down. How could they possibly let me down? They have Commander Brugon leading them. Still, I wonder why I have this feeling of foreboding. What could possibly happen that they had not prepared for?
“Move out!” barked the commander. The troops began one of their favorite marching songs as they quickly stepped into action. There were a series of grunts and foul language as they echoed from the front to the back of the formation while they marched west toward Tarisdell.
The general laughed out loud this time as he listened to the soldiers’ vulgar tales of Brugon’s sorted adventures put to song. He blocked out the uneasy feeling that kept bombarding him as he watched the men go. They will be fine; it is the wretched forest that is making me feel uneasy. I simply do not understand why the Black Forest contains so much dark magic while Aran contains only good. It probably has something to do with those wicked high elves and their treachery. Well, we will pay them back soon enough.
***
Ulric approached the deserted city wearily. He knew that the pointed-eared freaks probably left some sort of spell around its borders to protect against invasion if they should be forced to leave. His cold, black eyes scanned the destruction that had taken place and was pleased to see that they would be able to clean up the battlefield. His pack had been very patient up to this point, so it was very difficult to hold them back when the wind blew the sweet smell of rotting flesh at them. What lay before them was a buffet that any sane wolf would not be able to pass up. He looked at Ulf, Zev, Zwi, and Tala with a look that clearly indicated to them to indulge him a little while longer.
It was an unusual sight to see black, gray, red, and white wolves hunting together. These different packs had never gotten along, but Mistress Kana had made sure that they would. She did not have to use her power to control them because she had convinced Ulric, lord of the wolves that he would benefit from her rule. The only wolf that would not submit to Ulric’s leadership was Rolon. That did not mean that he was not on their side; it just meant that he would not fight alongside the other wolves. He had consented to help Queen Kishi with her battle while Ulric consolidated power among the different breeds of wolves.
These wolves were not like ordinary wolves that are seen in the forest or even in the mountains. They were roughly the size of a horse in weight and height. Ulric had a black, shiny coat of coarse hair that had a purplish tint to it when light reflected off of it. He was faster than any horse that ever lived in Tuwa and was the most ferocious killer in the land. However, no one had ever been able to detail his features or even recall his exact size because anyone who was unfortunate enough to see him died. They did not merely snuff it; they were torn to pieces. The only sign of his attack would be the blood. Nothing else was ever left behind. He was rumored to prowl the Tansanee Forest in the far west, but sometimes signs of his kills were found around Mount Adem. The dwarves called him the devil and placed a bounty of one thousand gold pieces for his head on a platter. Many tried to hunt the beast. None ever returned.
The pack members were primarily from the southern lands and had not been to Tuwa before. Ulf was the leader of the black wolves and was just as foul as Ulric. He was slightly smaller and slower than his master, but he was still just as big as a horse. His speed was only marginally slower than Ulric’s top speed, however. He was the easiest of the wolves to convince to join him in Kana’s cause. It was probably due to the similarities between them that made the alliance easy. Zev, on the other hand, took quite a bit of cajoling. He was the leader of the gray wolves of the southeastern lands. He was bigger than Ulf and could not run as fast, but his strength was far superior. After a tussle with Ulric, Zev realized that it would be wise to follow the powerful brute. He knew that there would be plenty of victims for the eating and that his clan would praise him for the opportunity to kill northerners.