Warwielder - Book 1 of The Evernoth Odyssey

Chapter 3 - Blood and Rocks

Rocks. Nothing but a hill of rocks through the blanket of night.

Muta shrugged off the cold easterly wind biting into his thick skin. He glanced off to the west to see the town where the rest of his brothers were no doubt having more fun than he was right now with him trying to find a way to infiltrate the human nest. Mixed with the gentle waves from the eastern lake, the screams from the town were a soft lullaby for the large warrior.

"Why are we here?" Muta growled in the common Aethelin tongue. "What am I supposed to be looking at?"

The twin brothers, Guis and Sitio, peered over the same rock on either side of the Eyllum hulk. Sitio pointed a finger at a spot on the opposite hill that bore no more of a distinction than the rest of the rocky slope. Sitio spoke through his lower-gum tusks, "Somewhere around there, Guis and I found a small passageway that most likely leads into the town."

"Then why aren't we going in there?" the words rumbled from Muta's chest.

Guis answered, "Well, we would, but we don't know our way around the passageways. It's a little tricky to navigate through."

Muta clenched his fists. "That's why Raecetor hired you. Are you refusing to do your job?"

The Eyllum glanced at the Venar brothers beside him. Their shaggy mongrel hair sitting on thin fragile bodies made Muta want to pull their tusks out and bury it into their eye sockets. If their ears didn't have sharp tips, Muta would have been hard pressed into believing that they were true Aethelin.

Sitio grinned at his brother as he thumbed at the brute. "This one. Leave it to an Eyllum to think everything's easy."

Despite Muta's snarl trembling the air, Sitio remained unperturbed with his grin only growing wider.

Guis cut in before Muta could lash out, "We could have mapped out that passageway if we had more time. But your Raecetor was adamant that you attack tonight."

"Do not question my Raecetor's decisions."

Sitio chimed in, "I still don't understand why you don't just climb over the walls with the rest of your brethren."

"Or why you need to sneak around in the first place. Not that it bothers us, mind you. It's just you Aethe'eyllum were not what we expected," said Guis.

Muta answered without thinking, "We're not a large force. We can't afford to spread ourselves out too thin. My squad is too small. If we climb over that wall, we'd be overwhelmed and the humans would kill us. And stealth is not our greatest strength. That's why we need you to guide us."

Silence fell around them. Muta glanced at Guis and Sitio staring back at him, dumbfounded. "What?"

Sitio spoke up first. "Definitely not what we expected."

"Are all Aethe'eyllum as honest about their weaknesses as you are?"

With Guis' words, Muta flinched back and averted his gaze, his head hanging from the mistake he had made.

Muta could hear a grin in Guis's next words. "Don't worry." Muta looked up to see the Venar raise his hand to one of his tusks and flick it with a finger. "We'll keep your secrets." Muta only furrowed his brow at the confusing gesture.

"I don't understand why we have to sneak around though," Sitio started, "Just burn the town down. Problem solved."

Muta shook his head. "No. Our quarry has always managed to slip through our fingers." The Eyllum's claws buried into his palms as he clenched his fists. "But not this time."