The Prophecy

The Stormy Road (2)

It was cold when Bud woke up. It was dark too. It was Cyd's quarter, his turn to stand guard, so he should have maintained the fire. Something wasn't right! Someone was huddled against him and was shaking; in the distance the howling echoing. He slowly pulled himself away from the body that was clinging onto him. In the glow of the fading fire, he tried to identify him, only to realize...

_Cyd? What's wrong? Are you hurt? he said worried.

Cyd looked up at him with haunted eyes, sweat flooded his face and he was burning up.

_ They're...they're all around.... They've come back!

Bud was wary: he couldn't understand his brother's fright. All he could do was hold him and talk to him softly, trying to calm him down. After a while, Cyd pulled himself together and seemed to get better, even if he was still burning with fever. It was only then that Bud heard... and understood.

_ The Kurlaïts! They're here!

He stood up and lifted his staggering brother with him, approaching the spot a little way back under the big oak tree where the Great Pope had fallen asleep. Cyd was still following him but stopped right next to the fire and dropped himself there. With his legs crossed, he watched the fire and his empty gaze went through it as if it did not exist. Bud said nothing. He knew full well that it wouldn't take long for Cyd to come to his senses. It wasn't easy to get rid of the dark memories and the secret hatred that terrified him. But he would succeed, he always did.

In the spot, under the oak tree, there was only Quicksilver. Bud woke him up gently. The Storyteller opened his puffy eyes and yawned.

_What's with the young will-o'-the-wisp(1)? If my eyes are not mistaken, the stars are still shining high in the sky... Then, why wake me up?

_ We must leave and quickly! The grey wolves of men are not far away... Can't you hear them howling at the moon? Said Bud in a fast-hushed tone, his eyes constantly looking around them as to insure they were remaining safe.

_ Yes, yes... Most certainly, replied the elf still fighting the lingering and seductive sleep. But there is no moon tonight! He mused.

_ The Kurlaïts are strange wolves who never do anything like their fellows, replied Bud fighting hard the urge to pull him up if the story teller wasn't decided to move faster. That is well known. But that is not the problem! We must get out of here before they catch scent of our presence here. The sooner the better! We should wake up all the others and fly out! Wherever the Kourlaïts are, the Humans are not far behind, and I swore my Grandfather that you would enter the Palace safe and with your Runes...

Quicksilver finally nodded, awaken at the thought of finding himself facing the Humans, outside of protocol locations. He quickly helped getting each of the other elves up, announcing the bad news. Soon enough, the whole troop was up and about. Some were stretching, others yawned, regretting a rest they had deserved. But none of them broke the silence or made too much noise for fear of attracting the gray wolves to them. The winged horses also felt the danger, especially since the wolves had begun to growl as if they were tracking something, organizing a plan of attack, by consulting each other. The only reassuring point in that whole delicate situation, was that the wolves seemed busy around the ramparts of the City of the Demi. They were numerous. From what they could see, more than one hundred. When they had circled their prey, the Kourlaïts used to make frightening noise and used their lugubrious songs to project fear into their prey's mind, to freeze the blood. And it was exactly what they were doing at that time. Siegfried wondered who was that poor soul trapped in the Cursed city, and why they had become the grey wolves' prey... While he was thinking that, and the other elves listened, petrified by the dark melody that the wolves were producing, the horrible reality suddenly appeared: The Great Pope had disappeared! Everyone searched around. Every inch of the bush was examined with the utmost care, but despite all the attention that great wise elves could provide, and despite the use of what little elemental magic they had at their disposal to find the missing man, nothing helped.