Maralah packed her bags in the privacy of her tent on Elder Rise and pondered the events of the last few days. The Council had gone better than expected. With Artan’s return, Tocho had gone off on some sort of vision quest with his friend, leaving Maralah in charge… which made her escape even easier. It was odd, though, that Tocho would leave so soon after his sudden, surprising decision to allow two blood elf hunters to join the Pack. Deltian and Kishtara had been travelling with the Pack for some time, but had not been welcomed into the ranks… until now.
Shaking her head Maralah slung her bag over her shoulder and left the tent to face the assembled Pack. Not everyone was here, of course, but enough of them were.
“I have to go on a journey. I’m leaving Demelza in charge while I’m gone.” Demelza looked startled at Maralah’s announcement. Many of the Pack murmured in surprise and curiousity; a few voices rose up to protest.
Onatam and Deltian stepped forward to speak but Maralah raised a hand to forestall them. “No, you aren’t coming with me. I have to attempt this alone.” Turning to the Water Seer she continued before Onatam could object further, “Khazrikieh, you said the Earth Shaman may be able to help me?” Khazrikieh nodded though he seemed a little distracted.
“Then I will seek her out first.” Maralah turned and walked away quickly. Leaving was hard enough, but prolonging the departure would have been agony. The assembled Pack stood for a few moments in shocked silence, watching the Den Mother walk away before breaking into frenzied discussion. They all knew she was going after Mingan. They also knew what happened last time she was with Mingan.
~
Maralah arrived quickly in Sun Rock Retreat and it was only a short walk to the Earth Shaman’s home. As she approached the cave she slowed. There was something wrong. It was too quiet. Quickly Maralah assumed the form of a lion and took to the shadows, the fur on the back of her neck rising in response to the eerie atmosphere.
The large lion’s nose twitched as she caught the tangy scent of blood. Fighting the instinct to rush in, she instead took a deeper breath trying to identify anything under the blood that might prepare her for what lay inside. Shirul, the Shaman legate, had been here… not surprising. Maralah sniffed again, her eyes opening wide, Nariko? Yes! Nariko and her wolf had been here… and recently! Unable to fight her instincts anymore, Maralah threw caution to the wind and bolted the rest of the way into the cave, taking her tauren form as she did so.
Maralah stopped short as she entered the cave, nearly tripping over her own hooves. The place was in shambles; what little furniture there was had been shattered, bedding tossed aside, and there was blood splattered on everything. The tauren woman crouched, trying to get a better look at the darker interior, hoping to see signs of life. Reaching down she picked up a small carved stone, an ankh… it had not been used.
As Maralah stood she caught sight of the slender blue arm of a troll under the debris, “Vasudha?” She rushed forward tossing items aside only to find that Vasudha, the Earth Shaman, lay slain. It was clear that the woman had been dead for some time. Maralah looked back at where she had picked up the ankh, realization dawning on her. Who ever had done this had known that Vasudha couldn’t resurrect herself without this object of power.
Maralah fought down the rage building in the pit of her stomachs and gingerly pulled the shaman from the wreckage. Settling Vasudha, the druid pulled a flintwood seed from her bag and held it tightly as she uttered the words of power that drew life back from across the veil. In the moments that followed Maralah held her breath. The Earth Mother did not always permit life to return… if the body had decayed too much or the spirit was too far gone. Maralah took her next breath when the Earth Shaman did.
“Vasudha?”
The troll woman began to stir, taking more steady breaths, “M-Maralah?” the shaman’s voice cracked, “Maralah, Nariko… she…” the shaman sat up with Maralah’s help. “Oh Maralah, I’m so sorry,” Vasudha rested a hand on her friend’s shoulder looking up at the confused tauren.
“Nariko was here, she came for me and Shirul,” still confused, Maralah remained quiet as Vasudha took a deep breath, “Maralah… she did this… all of this.” The troll gestured around the cave.
Maralah sat back stunned. “But… no, she wouldn’t!”
“Did you find the wolf?” Vasudha asked, looking around as she did so… “There!” she raised her arm and pointed to another mound of debris that was moving faintly. “Under there, he saved me… turned on Nariko and saved me.”
Struggling to her feet, Vasudha went to the wolf and gently dug him out. “There, there, beast, you did well.” With care, the Earth Shaman called on the healing powers of nature and healed what she could of the wolf’s wounds before stepping back to keep some distance between them. The creature may have saved the troll, but Vasudha was no hunter to tame animals and the wolf was still a beast of the wild, not some domestic puppy.
The wolf stumbled to his feet, still dazed from what had taken place, and headed out of the cave, past Maralah who still sat stunned on the cave floor. Vasudha looked to the tauren woman with compassion, “Maralah, I know it’s hard to hear… but Nariko took Shirul. She took him to Mingan. She would have taken me too had it not been for the wolf.”
Maralah stood, “get to Thunder Bluff, Vasudha… but say nothing until I return.” Her voice was strangely hollow, “I need to pay my daughter a visit.”
No comments:
Post a Comment