Quarios

Through the deep forest pressed the villagers. All that could be heard was the sound of their feet crunching through the leaves. Usually they would have made camp at dusk but the Destroyers had been on their heels since mid day. Sharda looked down at her babe, dread filling her heart. She knew that it was he they wanted…and they would stop at nothing to get him. Their village had been attacked and they had put up a good fight, pressing the hideous beasts back and fortifying the town, but they knew it wouldn’t last. Even by sneaking away in the earliest hours of the morning through the Gnarlwoods they had still been pursued. Now all they could do was run… and pray.

Many of them had already fallen in the battle, and more were dying along the way. Horror filled their ever wakened minds with every step. They couldn’t resist much longer before they met the same fate as their townsmen.

A wolf howled in the distance.

Martyn raised his hand to stop and silence the group. The blacksmith had emerged as their leader, killing many in battle and convincing the town they had to leave or be eaten. The twenty or so villagers that were left all froze at his unquestioned command. He had long black hair pulled back in a ponytail, and a short beard to match. His shoulders were broad from years forging iron and steel. He was dressed in scale mail to give him freedom in his movement. He looked around as if listening, even sniffing for something. Apparently satisfied he lowered his hand and continued on.

All Sharda wanted was to protect her precious Quarios. She didn’t want his fate to be decided by those monsters. She couldn’t bear the thought of those things getting ahold of him and using him for their fowlness. What could they possibly want with him that would cause such unwavering commitment to his capture? Why would they kill so many for just him? They had told the townspeople to give up the boy or die, and when they were refused the slaughter began.

Onward they pressed through the thick vines and branches. Sharda’s legs were bloodied from rushing through the thick foliage. She was so weak, and so tired. There was no breeze, none of the normal insect sounds, just the sound of their retreat, the sound of their enemies behind, and the occasional eerie howl of a wolf.

From behind Sharda could hear their pursuers coming closer. She could hear them speaking in their guttural language. They were running out of time. By wordless consent the villagers picked up the pace. Quarios looked up at his mother and whimpered.

“Shhhh my lovely boy. Mother will protect you.” Her voice lacked conviction, but she forced herself to believe that somehow they would be ok.

“Crack” broke a branch behind her and she risked a look backwards.

The frontrunners from the pack were right on their heals now. They emerged through the branches. Their faces were small, like a bat, with pointed teeth that were made to tear through flesh. Their feet were like that of a gazelle, but their chests were bulging with muscles. In their hands they mostly carried morningstars, or cudgels, sometimes they carried two bladed axes. The rearguard turned to face them. Martyn stopped, pulled out his bow, knocked an arrow, and shot the first one through the heart. Then he urged the women and children past him and take cover, nocking another arrow as he spoke. It was time for them to stand and fight. Sharda lead the group into a cover of fallen trees and there they waited as the battle began. She began to pray as she watched her townsmen fight for all of their lives.

Martyn and his men spread out in a pattern, like he had taught them. The fighters ran to the front, each a few feet apart from each other. The archers ran to the back to shoot between their comrades. The fighters had a variety of weapons, each of which had been bloodied in battle.

The Destroyers were swift and were on them like flies. Martyn and the other archers reached back and loosed their arrows. Two of the five beasts in front fell, one had an arrow coming out of his shoulder but pressed on and hacked through the man in front of him. The fighters around him both attacked. Soon a hammer was crushed into the monster’s skull and it fell.

Ten more came through the clearing, three of which were immediately dropped by arrows. The fighters converged on them. Steel clashed against steel. Martyn loosed another arrow into the fray, felling one through the eye. Seeing that the fighters were outnumbered he dropped his bow and pulled out his two rapiers. He had forged them himself and considered them his greatest work. He never imagined he would have to use them himself, as he had intended to sell them when the traders came to town in the fall. Now they defined him as a warrior and as a leader, not just as a blacksmith.

Sharda watched in awe as Martyn danced through the pack, dodging, parrying, and felling one Destroyer after another. He ducked as one of the beasts swung an axe over his head, then stabbed him with both blades in the chest. He freed them with his foot and jumped back as another swung at him. With a quick somersault he stabbed him in the groin, then with a stern swing he severed its leg in half, then finished him by slitting his throat.

The fighters around him were inspired by his swordplay and soon they were pushing their enemy back. The archers continued to loose arrows from the back, but their quivers were almost empty and they chose their shots with care. The beasts were pressed backwards and a glimmer of hope filled Sharda’s heart. Somehow they were winning, and from what she remembered the Destroyers numbers were getting low. She looked down into Quarios’s face and gave him a small kiss on the forehead. He seemed calm, unaware of the danger all around him, unaware that his fate was being determined at this very moment.

Then she heard it. She looked up to see an arrow protruding from the back of Martyn’s head. He had cried out with the impact and had fallen to his knees. She could barely make out a mass of figures coming from behind the enemy. Soon she heard more cries as more of the men she had grown up with and lived with her entire life were felled. Martyn took one last frantic swing then fell face first in the dirt. One by one each fighter was killed by arrows or steel. The archers in her group loosed the last of their arrows then turned and ran, on their heels followed fifty Destroyers.

“Where did they all come from?” All hope left her heart.

Sharda was not sure whether she should run or stay hidden. She could tell the others with her had the same dilemma. Deciding, she motioned for them to all stay still. She hid as the creatures ran past in pursuit of the archers. She wondered of their fate, but did not wonder long as she heard the chilling sounds of their screams as their lives were brutally ended.

Then she waited. All of the men were dead. Silence engulfed her. Fear engulfed her. The sound of the Destroyers hot breath soon could be heard coming back down the trail. She knew that this would be the last moments of her life. She looked at Quarios again and hugged him fiercely, then whispered a blessing over him.

“May you be protected in this madness, and may your heart always be guarded from whatever those beasts want from you. Do not let them take away your spirit or your soul. Live on Quarios, and live for nobody but thyself.”

A wolf howled. This time it was much closer. Another answered nearby.

Then the Destroyers were upon them. She watched in horror as the women and children around her tried to flee only to have their lives cut short. Anger engulfed her as she laid her precious baby down and sprang up ready to fight. She grabbed a knife from her belt and jumped on the back of the nearest beast. She tried to stab him but he soon threw her off. As she fought she seemed to see flashes of gray around her. She heard the beasts screaming out but she wasn’t sure why. The beast above her swung his axe down to end her life but she rolled out of the way and stabbed him in the side of the leg. His cry was much more than she expected then she saw him fall. Suddenly she saw another flash of gray as a wolf darted towards the creature and ripped out its throat. Her eyes met with the wolf and for a moment they stared at each other. Shockingly she heard a voice in her head:

“You are safe now man lady.”

Stunned, she crawled up to her knees and looked around her as hundreds of wolves were tearing apart her enemies. They were so graceful, yet so savage. The Destroyers did not stand a chance to the pack for they moved as if one, seeming to know exactly what each of them were doing at every moment. Within minutes the battle was over. She ran over to her baby and cradled him in her arms. He was still safe. Slowly the pack of wolves turned towards her and approached. She turned around to face them, Quarios in her arms.

The wolves suddenly stopped, as if shocked. The one who had saved her was in the lead, obviously the alpha male. She stared at them, curious as to their behavior, but she sensed no danger.  Silence engulfed them as the pack of wolves stared at her. After a moment she noticed that their eyes were not on her, but on her baby instead. She looked down at the babe but instead of her child she beheld a wolf pup. Astounded she watched as the pup changed back to Quarios. It seemed an lifetime before she could bring herself to look up again at the pack in front of her. As she slowly raised her eyes a small gasp escaped her lips, for before her every wolf had bowed, their front legs bent and their heads down in a pose of honor and submission.