The Lone Wolf Saga: The Lone Wolf

The city seemed rather normal as they stepped through the doorway. Vendors’ carts lined some portions of the streets. Here and there various shops, taverns, inns, and other workmen were available. There was a smithy, a stable, and a mill not too far from the main gate. Things were not too busy, but Artirius and Balic accredited that to the time of day and the southern road being blocked. Lights were just coming on in many of the homes as families prepared for evening meals. It was a normal city.

  But still something felt wrong. Artirius and Balic were on edge. They avoided eye contact with the locals. They passed a few of the flashier inns and settled on one called “The Lonely Buck.” The building was fashioned like all the others in the town, but was older and more worn. It was also less crowded and that meant less attention would be given to the travelers. They entered through the worn door into a dimly lit tavern area. Immediately to the left was an average looking bar and to the right were about a dozen tables, all of which were round and sat about six people. Along the back wall was a staircase leading to the second floor. There were three people sitting at the bar and only one table was occupied. For the most part the place was quiet aside from some murmurings amongst the few patrons. The barkeep paid them little notice at first, choosing instead to finish polishing a mug. After setting it down he picked up another and not even looking at the newly arrived patrons he asked, “What can I do for ya’?”

  They were a bit put back by his attitude, but under the circumstances it was better they did not draw interest. Balic responded cordially, “Just looking for lodgings for the evening.”

  The barkeep gave them a sideways glance and looked them over, “Ya’ got money?”

  Balic responded, “Of course.”

  He looked back down at the mug he was polishing, “Fee is one coin of gold a night, apiece. Take the stairs over there. The rooms are empty tonight so just grab the two at the end of the hall on the right. Payment is due in advance.”

  Balic smiled, “Gladly, and I suppose I will grab myself a pint of something strong as well. Will you be joining me my friend?”

  Artirius frowned at the dwarf, “No, not now. I will take the last room on the right. Please do not stumble into mine by mistake,” he leaned down close to Balic so other patrons could not hear, “It is not wise to be drinking.”

  Balic quietly responded, “Just going to see if I can loosen the tongues of some of the others here. I will be fine. Don’t forget I do this for a living,” he winked. “Go to bed, if I discover anything of value I will wake you, otherwise lock your door and sleep lightly. I would have us in the same room, but no need to rouse more suspicion than is necessary.”

  Artirius marveled a bit at how well Balic had thought things over. He nodded, “Well, I will see you in the morning then,” and he strode off to his room. The stairs and hall were rather squeaky but still very solid and sturdy. His room was simple and clean. A wash basin was set up near a fireplace. There was a pot to heat water in and a small table and chair near a window. The bed was old but comfortable. Artirius secured his room and set his belongings next to his bed. He did not feel comfortable about this place, and again regretted coming in the gates. “Too late now,” he said to himself as he lied on his bed and struggled to let sleep take hold.

  What little sleep that did come was restless at best. Artirius dreamt, but not very clearly. Things were blurry and distorted. The vision from Atriel did not come either. Things seemed chaotic and painful. At last he was awoken in the early hours just before dawn, by what sounded to be a scream. He listened. No noise could be heard in the hall or anywhere about him. He stealthily moved toward his door and listened again. Slowly he opened the door to his room, and peeked out. The hall was as it should be, nothing was out of sorts. He slid along the wall, and made his way to Balic’s door. He grasped the handle. It was locked. No one had been in the room. A soft snore could be heard from within. His friend was fine. No need to alarm anyone else that may have decided to lodge for the evening.

  He made his way back to his own room and locked the door. Dawn was still a few hours away, and as hard as it was he managed to force himself back to sleep. When the light of day had begun trickling in, Artirius woke to a stiff body. He felt worse after the night’s sleep than after a day long battle. He washed himself with cool water from the basin. His stomach told him it was time to eat so he got his things together and left his room. As he passed Balic’s room, he noticed the door was open. He looked in and noticed that his friend’s things were gone. The bed had yet to be made up, but most likely someone took care of that later in the day. It was just after dawn after all. Artirius proceeded down the stairs to meet Balic.

  He did not find his friend. The barkeep was taking care of a few things behind the bar and nodded to Artirius as he surveyed the empty tavern. “Has my friend been down already?” Artirius asked.

  Rather unconcerned and not taking his attention from his tasks at hand the barkeep answered, “The dwarf right? Yep he left, been ‘bout an hour now since he did.”

  Artirius thanked him and walked out into the streets, troubled. He made his way toward the gate hurriedly. He noticed the gate was still closed, as was the door. There were also more guards than he remembered. One raised a hand to halt him and cordially greeted him, “Hail traveler. Is there anything I can help you with today?”

  “I was just looking for my friend,” Artirius eyed the battlement without giving notice to the guard. The archers were not looking outward. They were looking at Artirius.

  “Well I am afraid he would not have come through this way, you see we have been forced to lock down the city. There seems to be some troublesome affairs going on locally, and for everyone’s safety, including you our guest, we have seen fit to take some protective measures,” the guard blinked and continued to smile.

  Artirius had been right, they should have never come to this place. He took the opportunity to act the part of a concerned companion, “Well have you seen him? He checked out an hour before me, and well, I am concerned.” He gauged the defenses, again without drawing attention. It would be unwise for him to be rash. He was still unsure where Balic was and though he could use his great hammer to sunder the gate and flee, he would not leave Balic.

  “I am afraid we have not seen him here. Perhaps he is looking about town, there are many merchants. For the foreseeable future, though, you and your friend will be our guests. Perhaps you should make arrangements for lodging and browse the town until you find your friend.”

  Artirius looked at the obviously coached guard and smiled, “Well, for my safety then, thank you very much. If you see my friend can you direct him to The Lonely Buck, it is where we lodged last night.”

  “No problem, enjoy your stay. You will be safe here.”

  Artirius turned away. They already knew where he had stayed, he was sure of it. He took slower strides on the return trip to the tavern. He informed the barkeep he would be staying another night, and, as was the norm, his comment was received with little interest.

  He paid for his room in advance and continued playing his role as the concerned companion. It was obvious they knew what had happened to his friend. It was even more obvious they were holding it over his head to keep him here. What was not so obvious was why? He walked about the town and talked to many vendors about his missing friend. He received the expected response, “I haven’t seen him.”

  His wanderings around town did give him time for two things. The first was to think. He pondered over as many reasons as to his captivity as he could, but none of them made much sense. The second thing was to learn his surroundings. He was not only thorough in speaking to every vendor he could find to play his part, but also to learn the streets and every nook and cranny he could. In the event he needed to run, a dead end would not be to his benefit. He kept to the ruse all morning and into the afternoon.

  At one point as he questioned the smith near the gate, a man was permitted to exit the city. Artirius approached the guard he spoke to earlier, “Has th
e lockdown been lifted?”

  The guard smiled with a confused look on his face, “No, I am afraid not.”

  “Then what of that man, the one who just passed through.”

  The guard blinked and looked at the ground for the briefest moment and returned his glance to Artirius, “Why, he happens to be on an errand for the city is all.”

  Artirius persisted, “Without at least an escort?”

  The guard seemed confused, “I am sorry. I don’t believe I follow your meaning.”

  “Well, with things so bad I would assume you would at least send out an escort, or perhaps given him a weapon.”

  The guard looked aside, clearly dejected, “He knows the dangers, and is simply performing his duties. Not something we could ever ask of a guest.”

  “Well it is so kind of you to worry so much about my safety.”

  Artirius’s smugness finally broke the guards cool, though just slightly, “Well it is my duty after all.”

  “As is any citizen’s.”

  There was an awkward silence between the two just as Artirius wanted. The barbarian turned as if to be on his way than suddenly snapped around startling the guard slightly, “You have not seen him by the way, have you?”

  The guard relaxed his body and slowly moved his hand from the pommel of his sheathed sword, hoping Artirius had not noticed, “Your friend, o no I have not. Perhaps you should continue your search amongst the vendors, or head back to the inn.”

  Artirius smiled, he had noticed the hand, “Perhaps I will. Thank you again.”

  “My pleasure. Now please forgive me, I have duties to attend to. I am sure you and your friend will be reunited soon.” As if an afterthought the guard added, “If you do not find your friend by tomorrow morning, come back and I will arrange a search on your behalf,” the guard bowed and turned back toward the gate.

  Artirius smiled to himself as he walked away to continue talking to the vendors. He liked keeping his opponents on edge. It was very convenient, especially when they gave away information like the guard had just done. Who ever took Balic was coming for him tonight. A dwarf in a city of humans would not be missed. They would not have even needed a search. The truth was that the guard was not saying he would help Artirius find his friend, but that by the morning he would already be with him. The guard was doing the best to play his role as valiant city guard, reassuring the victim that he was there to help. He just was not as good an actor as Artirius. ‘After all, I had the elves as teachers,’ he smiled to himself.

  As Artirius talked to the rest of the vendors throughout the day, the guards did little to conceal themselves as they followed him. He did nothing to reveal he was aware of them. He simply went about his business as he should. When it came time for his evening meal, he found a small place with a few tables. He had a simple enough meal, some bread and a well spiced stew. It was actually very good. His escorts had seated themselves behind him. He pretended they were still not there. Artirius wondered how his friend could simply disappear. There were many buildings and though he had spent an entire day searching he had covered less than half of the city. It may have been a large city, but some clue must exist. Balic would have at least fought his attackers. He remembered the room and noticed no sign of struggle. Then it hit him. What if Balic had not even spent the night in that room? It was time to return to the tavern.

  Night was winding down as he returned to the tavern. His friends did not follow him in this time. They must have assumed he was staying there for the night. The place was deserted aside from the same three guests at the bar. The barkeep kept up his vigil, wiping glasses and ignoring his new patron. Artirius took a seat around the middle of the bar.

  After waiting a few moments for a response and getting none, Artirius requested with a little bit of annoyance in his tone, a drink. The barkeep did as requested and retrieved payment from Artirius. The barbarian was deciding how best to bring up Balic and the events of the night before to the barkeep, but something caught his eye. On the barkeep’s belt was something that did not belong there. It was one of Balic’s short swords. Artirius kept his cool and sipped his drink.

  When he was sure he could maintain his calm he struck up a conversation with his host behind the bar, “Didn’t have any luck finding my friend today.”

  The barkeep looked up and nodded then returned to wiping the glass.

  Artirius continued, “And this lockdown is rather unsettling. Do you have any idea what might be going on that would make them enact such a safety procedure?”

  The bartender shook his head, “Not sure, though I doubt it will affect you for long.”

  Artirius was slowly losing his patience. This man was mocking him. He eyed the weapon on the man’s belt, “That is a fine sword. I did not notice it yesterday.”

  The barkeep’s eyes snapped to attention on Artirius, “Yes it is quite a blade,” this time he did not ignore the barbarian.

  “It reminds me of, one I had seen recently, though I cannot place it,” Artirius pretended to search his memory, “where did you say you acquired it?”

  “I didn’t.”

  “Oh, sorry there,” Artirius noticed that the other patrons at the bar were now quiet. They were also staring at him. The barkeep had friends here. Four men were not much of a challenge if this got down to a fight, “Now I do remember,” Artirius smiled, “That belongs to my friend.”

  The barkeep’s lip quivered angrily, “You filthy human. I don’t care what my lord told me. I am going to kill you right here and now,” the barkeep bared his teeth with a hiss revealing his fangs.

  Artirius had not been ready for this, “Vampires,” he jumped backwards off his chair as the barkeep leapt into him. The force propelled the barbarian across half the length of the tavern and left his belongings at the bar. He let his body roll with the force of the blow and sprung to his feet, landing deftly like a cat. He was just in time to duck as one the others came in with a powerful swing.

  Artirius was not going to be able to hold back his blows. He had never fought a vampire before but knew enough. He turned and raised a powerful fist into the side of the vampire that had just passed him. The blow crushed the insides of the vampire and sent him to the ceiling. As that one was falling Artirius had to duck two more of the attackers.

  They were fast and it was a challenge for him to keep up, though he was managing. He maneuvered himself toward a corner fending off three assailants with his powerful limbs and the various pieces of furniture in the tavern. The vampire he had first struck was getting up. He showed no signs of pain, but was moving awkwardly as most of the bones on his one side were broken.

  Artirius realized that he could not prolong this fight. The undead creatures would outlast him, and if the fight went on long enough they would surely have friends arriving soon. He backed into a corner and, using the wall for leverage, thrust himself like a ram at the nearest attacker. The force put the vampire to the ground. Artirius did not move to finish the grounded opponent, but instead instinctively rolled to his side as another brought a heavy table down on his fallen companion. Artirius took the opportunity and with a swift hard kick snapped the knee of the same vampire, bringing it also to the floor.

  As he stood, he turned to meet the barkeep’s fist. The blow sent him sprawling backwards. Artirius was quickly back on his feet and assessing the situation. Three of the vampires were on their feet, and one hobbled on only one leg. The vampire whose side was collapsed in was slowly regaining mobility.

  Artirius ran ideas through his head. There were a few ways to surely kill one of their kind. He looked about and saw the various chair limbs strewn about. They would make due as stakes for the creatures’ hearts. Getting to the stakes would mean having to absorb more blows though, and the throb of the latest punch did not bode well. It also looked as though, to his dismay, he would need to dip into his rage.

  As he began to make his move an unbelievable pain came to the back of his head as he was the recipient of a crushin
g blow that put him to the ground. He had not noticed how near the stairs he had been, or the fifth vampire who had come down them. He found himself struggling to maintain consciousness. He pushed himself up with a great effort only to be throttled again.

  Finding himself unable to move and slipping further away, he was not sure if the screams of pain he heard were just those in his head, or of those around him. If felt as if first cool water, than ash fell on him, though he could not be sure. As he finally succumbed to the crushing blow, it felt as if he were being carried away

  Chapter 18