TravelingDog

Chapter  6 - Bane of the Ghostwolves

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The harsh snowstorm seemed to rage endlessly around the traveling companions now that they had reached the Thagrin Mountains. Noro huddled close to Wild as they walked with her cloak pulled high, and even Rayakar treaded through the snow in the form of a large, wooly, bear-like creature. Shakkal and Rayakar traveled ahead of the other two, but Noro noticed them stopping to wait every time they got a certain distance away. It wasn’t much but she knew that this wasn’t something they had to do, so she didn’t dare mumble a single complaint.

Noro kept her head down, unable to even raise her gaze against the stinging winds, and so relied solely on Wild as her guide. Because of this, Noro was shocked when she felt Wild stop suddenly and felt a warm touch on her head. Looking up surprised, Shakkal stood above Noro and had placed his hand on her head. There was a simple smile on his face and Rayakar was further up ahead, continuing on.

“Good job, Noro.” Shakkal praised, surprising her further. “We’re here.”

Set in the side of the mountain ridge was a fortress with tall stone walls surrounding the camp. Rayakar strode up to the gate without hesitation and from where the other three stood, they could see figures moving about on top of the walls. Seeing the end goal in sight, they continued forward, making their way up to the gate. With Rayakar in the lead, the massive double door gate swung open as he approached and remained open as the others also made their way in.

“What is this place?” Noro asked amazed.

“For now, shelter.” Shakkal answered simply. Rayakar sat in the center of the open square with all forms of different people slowly approaching and gathering around. Shakkal’s name quickly rose in a ripple amongst the crowd before one individual stepped forward, parting the crowd.

“Rayakar. Shakkal.” The figure who walked up to Shakkal was a female orc with heavy hide armor and a helmet that masked her face, though the green skin was a dead giveaway to her race. By her side were two large winter wolves, they were roughly the same size as Wild “Or should I say Priest now? I was beginning to wonder whether or not you were still alive.”  

“The only ghosts here are you and your people, Kyrasha.” Shakkal greeted “It’s good to see you again as well. The cousins, they made it?”

“Yes. New comrades?” The orc, Kyrasha, noted, turning towards Noro and Wild.

“Yes.” Shakkal kept his response short.

“Well, they look reliable. At least the four legged one.” Kyrasha mused.

“I am just as reliable!” Noro defended immediately.

“Noro, this is the guild leader, Kyrasha, and the Bane of the Ghostwolves guild.”

“Ghostwolves?” Noro repeated surprised.

“Let’s talk inside, shall we?” Kyrasha reasoned as she turned, leading the way back towards one of the stone buildings.

“Indeed.” Rayakar agreed first and lumbered after her.

“The rest of you, back to your posts!” Kyrasha ordered.

Following Kyrasha, they all made their way into a large stone building, getting out of the harsh storm.

“Boss!”

“Boss!” Two loud, female voices broke out almost immediately after they had entered the building. The voices came from two figures no taller than Noro as they came running from around the side of the building. They were so peculiar looking that Noro was unable to identify what kind of creatures they were. The one in the lead was a lighter green tone with many spots and was for the most part covered in fur with a dog like face. The other seemed to have a similar looking face with dark green coloring instead, though the hood that was pulled over her head made it harder to see details, Upon closer examination, Noro spotted scales along with their fur and the lighter colored one even had a reptilian tail. Upon their appearance, Shakkal and Rayakar had stopped following Kyrasha and turned towards the newcomers.

“You're alive!” The lighter colored one exclaimed.

“Of course I am.” Shakkal stated simply as though it were an obvious fact. “What ridiculous idea had come to your mind this time?”

“Yes. Of course.” The darker of the two female creatures laughed as she stood not far off, meanwhile, the lighter of the two had tears coming to her eyes.

“Boss!” She exclaimed once again. Though she seemed to want to run up to him she did her best to refrain, then turned towards Rayakar and ran up to him “And Ray too!”

“Don’t touch me!” Rayakar was quick to snap at her when she grabbed onto his arm, hugging him, but the lighter colored creature didn’t seem too bothered by it however as she held on for another moment longer until he physically knocked her away with the large paw.

“He’s Rayakar the Feral, Snozz, not Rayakar the Tame.” Kyrasha suddenly spoke up once again from where she stopped in an archway further up ahead.

“Exactly.” Rayakar huffed as he turned around once again, stalking back off towards Kyrasha. Shakkal let out a small laugh at Rayakar before turning back to the two. The two creatures seemed to suddenly notice Noro standing not far behind Shakkal and so they both moved in closer to her. The lighter colored one got in closer while the darker one stayed low, peering intently at a slightly further distance.

“Who’s this?” The lighter one now asked.

The dark one gave a couple of sniffs at Noro before saying “Another harpy?”

Noro was shocked by her wording “Another?”

“Noro. This is Shady and Snozz. They are a kobold-gnoll hybrid race. To put it simply, they are cousins and both are rogues.” Shakkal introduced. “Shady, Snozz, this Noro. She is half harpy and a training beastmaster with that wild hunt wolf.”

“Beastmaster?” Noro repeated surprised once again, constantly being shocked. The cousins looked at Shakkal curiously.

“She is your companion now. Make nice.” Shakkal announced before turning back towards Kyrasha and Rayakar.

“Oh?” The cousins turned back to Noro and Snozz, the lighter colored cousin asked “You follow the Boss too?”

Noro stammered “Uh, well… technically speaking…”

“Come on.” Shady suddenly called as she turned and swiftly went after the three. Snozz and Noro turned surprised, but quickly followed after so as not to be the only ones left behind.

The next room that they entered appeared to be a form of dinner hall. Both the walls and furnishings were for the most part stone and along with a large fireplace had a number of torches that brought warmth to the hall, allowing Noro to take off her heavy cloak and Rayakar to shift back into his elven form.

“I must thank you Kyrasha, for allowing the cousins to hide out here for these past couple of years.” Shakkal spoke as they took a seat at the head of the table. “I hope that it didn’t cause you too much trouble.”

“Not at all.” Kyrasha removed her helmet now and shook her head. With a clearer view, her orangish green skin was smoother than the typical orc’s and her small tusks stuck out just above her upper lip displaying a surprisingly younger age. “It was the least I could do. After Kurrigan’s betrayal.”

“You always were loyal to a fault.” Shakkal mused.

“Tell me, why have you resurfaced so suddenly?” Kyrasha questioned.

“My location was compromised. It was only a matter of time before they caught up.” Shakkal explained.

“Then what is it you plan to do now? Retake the guild?” Kyrasha guessed.

“I was wondering that myself. You said you were after someone.” Rayakar now spoke up. “I didn’t think you were the vengeful type, even if it is Kurrigan.”

“I couldn’t care less about the structure of the guild. The only thing I regret is those left in the command of Kurrigan. No, Retaking the guild is not what I am after.” Shakkal informed them “I am after a massive Barlgura demon, known as Gar’thal.” This answer shocked all but Noro.

“A Barlgura?!”

“What on earth are you doing going after a demon?”

“I made a deal. And I always keep my word.” Shakkal said simply. Noro sat by the fireplace on the ground with Wild. She was surprised by the fact that Shakkal remained so vague on the details of the deal, namely the fact that she was the one he had made the deal with.

“This demon, Gar’thal, he is here on this plane?” Kyrasha checked.

“That I don’t know. It’s been some years since he was last seen.” Shakkal admitted.

“This is not a simple quest, Shakkal.” Rayakar pointed out.

“Not to mention, to do this while you still have so many people after your head.” Kyrasha added.

“If I could trouble you a little further, Kyrasha, I would request that you have your people take a quick look into the matter.” Shakkal proposed formally.

“It can’t hurt my people, so very well. I will have them look into it.” Kyrasha agreed “In the meantime. There are a few other things which I have to check up on. For now, rest. It is not an easy trek here and you must be weary. Shady, Snozz, show your true leader and comrades to the area they can stay for the night.” Kyrasha directed the cousins who’d remained silent while allowing the stronger figures the chance to speak

“Sure thing.”

Several hours had passed when Noro woke up in the bunk room to Wild whining next to the bed. When she woke up groggy, she looked around the room but the rest of the party was nowhere in sight. Wild whined once again, drawing Noro’s attention back to him.

“Alright, Wild. We can go out.” Noro said as she stood and the both of them made their way back toward the hall.

They wandered up and down the deserted halls for several minutes but didn’t have any luck finding their way out of the barracks, even with Wild in the lead.

“Wild, please tell me you know where the exit is…” Noro stammered, realizing that she had no idea where they were. Noro grew quiet though when she heard voices nearby.

“--forces growing. I’m concerned that soon they will be unstoppable.” Noro recognized Kyrasha’s voice coming from the balcony not far ahead. At first, she was about to leave those on the terrace to themselves and keep looking for the exit, but when she heard the second voice, she stopped.

“There’s no such thing Kyrasha. After all, you used to say the same thing about the six of us.”

“Shakkal…”  Noro noted surprised. She hesitated for a moment, debating over the morals of eavesdropping, before deciding to listen in as she moved closer to the entrance of the balcony. Noro held up a finger to Wild, motioning for him to be silent.

“About Sprug and the other three… My condolences.” Kyrasha now spoke, followed by a long moment of silence “You did know about Sprug, didn’t you?”

“I only found out recently…”

“I know the two of you were close.”

“We were more than close. Before the guild, before any of the Blades, Sprug and I traveled together. I’m still trying to wrap my head around it.” Noro was shocked by their conversation.

“The cousins, they told me the basics about what happened that night three years ago.” Kyrasha informed him. “What you did…”

“Wasn’t enough. None of them should have died that day.”

“But all of them could have.”

“All of us could have.” Shakkal corrected. “The fatalities probably would have been worse had the cousins not gotten word to us in time. They really proved their loyalty that night.”

“Did you consider fighting without the Tear?”

“Things don’t go well when it comes down to that. Sprug was the only one that could handle that situation and he was already wounded. They all could have ended up dead anyways.”

“Noro.” Noro was shocked when she heard her name from not far behind her. Wild and Noro turned towards the voice and were surprised to see Rayakar standing not far behind with his back against the wall and arms crossed. His golden eyes reflected bright in the dark hallway. “You’re not the only one with a light step. The exit is back the way you came. Left, right, straight, right.”

“Uh, thanks…” Noro stammered embarrassed as she hesitantly retreated back the way they had come.

Finally finding their way out of the barracks, Noro and Wild made their way back out to the inner grounds of the guild. They were just about to head back inside when the cousins came walking out of a nearby building, headed towards the center of the guild.

“Harpy!” Snozz greeted surprised as they walked up to each other.

“Noro, right?” Shady checked.

“Fhat’s right.” Noro nodded in confirmation. “What are you two doing out here?”

“We’re meeting the Boss.” Snozz answered straight, surprising Noro with the answer “Isn’t that the reason that you're out here?”

Before Noro had the chance to respond, Shakkal and Kyrasha exited the barracks with Rayakar not far behind. Noro was taken aback to see Shakkal without his robe.

“Alright, Kyrasha. You wanted all of my party here, so what is it you wanted to tell us?” Shakkal asked as everyone gathered.

“The information on your demon will take a little while, but there is something that you should know about before that.” Kyrasha informed them. “There’s been a rumor going around, though there are some things about it that concern me. There seems to be word that Jaree is alive.” Shakkal, Rayakar, and the twins were all shocked by this news.

“What?!”

“That’s impossible!”

“Where?” Shakkal asked directly, surprising the others.

“Word is he’s being held in the Ersti Manor,” Kyrasha elaborated “Given a day of travel time, you could make it their in two days time for a banquet that’s being held. Now that I know that Kurrigan’s people know you are alive though, I have no doubt in my mind that it is a trap. You would be wise not to go. There is nothing to prove this rumor true.”

“If there’s even a chance, I have to go.” Shakkal announced determined. “Get your things, we’re moving out immediately.”