The Bhanrig, The princesss, and the Old Wolf
Chapter 1 - Part 2 Voyage of the Dawn Breaker
Previously, Allanagh, the Queen of the Forest Ciad-Ghin, was visiting a small village between three rivers when a sky galleon set down in the river and disgorged two hundred black-clad mercenaries. These mercenaries, led by the Draoidh and the Ranger, spread out through the forest, setting up traps. What they were waiting for was a large Orcan War Band.
“Mo Bhanrigh,” Sloan whispered, catching Allanagh’s attention and offering her his spyglass.
“What is it, Sloan?” She inquired as she took the glass and looked through the tube to where the soldier pointed.
“There's a survivor, and it's not Orcan,” he replied as he gestured to the creature that appeared to be hanging in mid-air with its arms outstretched.
“What is it?” She inquired as she tried to get a closer view. She was so determined to get a better view of the strange creature that she missed Sloan's shrug. With a huff of breath, Allanagh handed Sloan his spyglass back and gestured to the three soldiers behind him. Without a word, the five of them descended from the wall and walked toward the gate, with Sloan falling in step with her.
“Allanagh,” he paused. “Mo Bhanrigh, are you sure about this?”
Her silver hair waved as she shook her head. “No, but we would be rude not to thank our benefactors.” Sloan looked at his fellow soldiers. He could tell they agreed with him but were honor-bound to obey. Allanagh had spoken, and her word was law.
As they approached the gate, it opened to admit a group of healers back inside. They stopped as one of the healers, a golden-haired woman with the same blue eyes as Allanagh, raised her hand and waved. Allanagh and her escorts paused while the golden-haired woman approached and hugged her.
“Mathair,” she whispered, “are you going out there?”
Allanagh nodded, “I am,” she affirmed, evoking an excited grin from the younger woman. “Would you like to come with us?”
“I would,” the golden-haired woman nodded as she fell in beside her mother. “I've heard a rumor that their leader is a Draoidh. I wonder if he would have time to talk.”
Allanagh paused, turning to her daughter. “That doesn't sound right. I've never heard of a Draoidh who would leave his woods and travel with an army, much less lead one.” She frowned as she gazed at her daughter. Are you sure that's what you heard, Flur?”
Flur nodded, “Yes, Mathair, I am certain.”
The bhanrigh considered the news. “We will see,” she commented as she continued toward where the strange creature was suspended off the ground.
They paused as they crossed the battlefield, watching two earth elementals pull the dead Orcan under the ground. A few minutes later, they watched a pair of young Ciad-Ghin girls direct a tree-ent as it turned the soil over, removing any sign that there had even been a battle. It took her a few minutes to wonder what bothered her about the two before she realized they were twins and moved too fluidly to be what they appeared. For a moment, she wondered if they were Dryads.
Already on edge, her nerves became increasingly frazzled as they approached the strange clearing. Hearing a guttural dissonant language, the Ciad-Ghin froze and watched a pair of armored hulks pick up huge bags of loot as if they weighed nothing. When one of them removed his helmet, Allanagh shrank back towards Sloan as the face of an Infernal was revealed. When a pair of jet-black eyes turned her way, she wondered if he could hear her heart beating. Such was her fear.
She looked over at Flur, who was staring raptly at the soldier. “I have never heard of Muintir an Dorchadais following a draoidh.” Suddenly, letting her daughter come with her didn't seem like a good idea, and she was tempted to send her back to the fort's safety. She was on the verge of sending two soldiers to escort Flur back when she remembered that her daughter had already been out among these people, healing them.
“Please, Mathair, don’t let me be wrong.” she prayed softly, wondering if they could be evil if they had saved her people. The tips of her ears twitched, and her flight or fight instincts kicked in as a large gray wolf came up behind them, raised its muzzle, and chuffed.
“By a Mathair, I've never seen a wolf that large,” Flur whispered in awe. Allanagh blinked as the wolf appeared to grin before it turned and led them toward the clearing where they could now hear the creature.
No, it wasn't the creature that they heard. The strange hum they felt in their bones seemed to come from the ground itself.
Allanagh suppressed a shudder as they stepped into the clearing and looked around, suddenly feeling as if they shouldn’t be there.
To her left, there were two more Infernals in plate mail. Going clockwise in a circle, she saw a small pack of wolves gathered around a man and a woman. The man was almost six feet tall and wore a color-shifting cloak. When he glanced in her direction, she could almost swear that his eyes and hair were the same color as the wolf they had followed.
The woman leaned toward the man and whispered something in his ear, and Allanagh couldn't remember ever seeing a more beautiful woman in her life. She was lithe and lush, standing just a head shorter than the man. Allanagh couldn’t tell if the woman was a combatant or not. She wasn’t wearing any armor. Rather, she was wearing a loose tan blouse and a brown leather skirt. If her fiery red hair were free of the two braids, it would fall to her waist. Her green eyes sparkled when they met Allanagh’s, and she whispered something else to the man.
The original version of this scene was part of the last scene, plus part of the next scene.
There’ll be more of this story coming up next week.
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