Wandering Wolf on the Eternal Plains Part 6

ChonoKhan

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Nov 17, 2020
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The evening sky darkens once more, a cold wind sweeps through the despoiled village of Vadda. Rain pours from the sky, dousing the embers and washing away the blood. The trees clack and crunch and the birds huddle up in their nests.

A shadow moves in the distance, rustling bushes and grass along the way. Fang's eyes open once more as he senses another threat. Though too weak and injured to do anything, he wraps his paw around the pup.

"Pssst, Fang! Come here!... Come here boy!" a voice whispers from the shadows.

Fang senses a familiarity in the voice but remains unsure. He tries to get up, but collapses again.

The man revealed himself to the wolves, it was Nergui. He had barely escaped the battle and was bloodied and had suffered a few slashes. His clothes were torn and cut, his blade was broken in half and his face was smothered in bloodied mud.

Nergui walks toward fang and crouches down to see what he could do to help. Opening his pouch, he brings out bandages and a glass bottle containing some liquid. Pouring the liquid onto Fang's wounds and then wrapping them up with bandages. He breathes a sigh of relief, seeing the pup is unharmed and strokes Fang's fur, telling him that he is a good boy.

"We have to get out of here" Nergui whispers

Fang, still unable to get up, groaned in frustration and pain. The pup tries to nudge him to get up to no avail.

Nergui then lifts Fang onto his shoulder, Fang yelps in pain, while the pup follows.




The party of 3 head out of the burnt village, while the rain continues to batter them. They head back towards the camp that they left in the mountains. With great difficulty, they climb through the mountains. The wind pushes them, the rain pounds them and the soaked earth traps and slips them... but they make it... barely.

In the distance, they see a small light, where the camp was. Nergui places Fang aside, telling the pup to stay. He ventures into the shadows to see who or what inhabits the camp.

A little Khurite girl comes out of the Ger. Her face was light with red cheeks, Her hair adorned by silver and gems. She wore a thick Deel woven with wool and fur and had a small dagger on her waist.

She gasps upon looking in Nergui's direction and calls for her mother. Nergui is about to rise up and greet her, when a ball of black fur with white patches rushes past him.

The pup charges toward the little girl, with his tongue out and tail wagging. Nergui sighs and stands up, out of the shadows to reveal himself.

2 men and 4 women holding 2 young children in their arms come out of the Ger. The men were armed with curved swords and the women with spears.

The pup jumps up at the little girl and licks at her, barking in a playful tone. The little girl giggles and strokes his head.

Nergui greets the Khurite family from afar and they beckon him to come forward.



Together they enter the Ger, while the rain continues to drench the earth. The men offer a drink, the women offer food, but Nergui calls upon them to allow him to retrieve Fang, his injured Dire Wolf and bring it into the Ger. The family agree and the women begin preparing a fur bed, some food and some herbal remedy.

After bringing Fang into the camp, Nergui explains that they had been attacked by a Risar army and that most of the Vadda people were either killed or taken as slaves. He goes on to mention that he barely escaped with his life and thankfully found his 2 wolves, though Fang was injured badly.

The family then explained that they were in another camp on Vadda's outskirts, but escaped before the Risar Army arrived. One of the women begins to sulk and says "not all of us escaped... my husband and my brother must have died in Vadda".

The eldest woman within the family, hugs the young widow. She turns toward Nergui and asks "What are you going to do now?"

Nergui remains silent, staring at the floor and then looks toward Fang. "First, I will wait for my Dire Wolf to recover... if he recovers" he says in a sad tone.

The little girl, with the pup sleeping on her lap asks "What about this one?" Nergui smiles and says "He has seen too much misery... perhaps you should keep him and look after him?".

The girl smiles back and agrees... But her father says "No, we cannot take this one with us. His fate is with you and you alone" the man says in a calm tone.

"Something must be done!" the other man says. "We must warn the other villages and also inform the Khan of Morin Khur" he goes on to say.

Nergui stares at Fang, whose sleeping breath withers and wheezes. "If you swear upon Tengger's name, that you will look after my Dire Wolf until he recovers or passes away... I will go and warn the others".

The family convene with each other for a short time, before agreeing. The little girl also promises to look after Fang, along with her younger siblings. They urge Nergui to rest for today and leave in the morning. He agrees and together they all settle down for the night.


END of Part 6
 
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