The Iron Wolf

Chapter 5

                  

The Iron Wolf had been following her hunters as they traveled to Pinesborough, riding deeper and deeper into her lands. She had followed closely these last few days, watching from the trees as the Mirror slipped inside the heavy gates. As the dusk deepened to night, she trotted from her hiding place to meet Elias and the rest of the pack waiting under his command in the safety of the shadowed forest that bordered the backs of Lord Thordan's wall.

            A single shuttered lantern dimly marked the Pack's presence, the Iron Wolf stole up to Elias on silent feet, stepping into the small circle of light. Elias looked up from his knife and wet stone, unsurprised by his leader's quiet arrival.

            "Are they here?" he asked simply, his tone telling nothing.

            The Iron Wolf nodded, "Yes," she sat down beside him, pulling the wolf's head from her own. "Walked through the gate not three hours ago. I expect we have at least till morning to prepare our move."
             "Time enough to visit Lord Lover then?" Elias went back to sharpening his blade, smiling in his jest.

            She leaned back and laughed, watching the shadowing shapes that moved just beyond the light, the only sign of her Pack. "You tease, but the fat bastard fancies me, and it makes him weak."

            "Ah, never thought I'd see the day that Pinesborough's walls would be breached by its own lord's fancies."

            "If everything goes as planned and I play my part, by the first touch of night tomorrow, you will."

            "Hm, and what a sight that will be. Your wolves have rounded up what you asked for, though not without some grumbling. They still fear them, no matter how easily you might walk among the dead." Elias leaned closer to the lamplight, testing the sharpness of the blade against the pad of his thumb, the shadow of his furs throwing a direwolf on the trees.

            "Aye, but that's why they follow me isn't it? Because they can grumble without fear of losing their tongues." The Iron Wolf replied, raising a hand to touch the fur of the shadows. "That and I don't care who they bed at night, which might explain why half of you lot follow me, including you."

            Elias shrugged, sheathing the knife as he sat back down beside her. "It's no secret here of when men bed men and women bed women, but we follow you for the same ideas that you carry Wolf. We yearn for more."

            The Iron Wolf shot a glance over to her trusted friend. "You know that I am in this for only blood, nothing more."

            "Maybe but the people see you as more. They see you as a pitted rebellion, fighting for their freedoms against a treacherous monarchy."
             "You make it sound like some sort of ballad," she snorted, shaking her head.

            "Bards already sing about our deeds in taverns, mothers croon lullabies of a better world. Despite your simple reasons Wolf, this has spread beyond you," Elias said, his tone turned serious, "The Pack was drawn to you because they are tired. Exhausted of empty bellies and crying children. The Kingdom is broken Wolf. We want to start anew."

            The Iron Wolf looked down at her hands. The palms were laced with scars, bright against the blood and grime that never seemed to ever come off. "I can't promise that," she said softly.

            "You have given more than any other. You've started the flood, and there is no stopping it now," Elias said, standing, picking up the lamp. "Now, the morning comes. There is work to be done." He blew out the candle, the woods settling back into natural twilight as he joined the shadows beyond the small clearing.