Dragonsbane (Dragonsbane Duology Book I)

Chapter 53: Uzahk and the Blind Wolf

Uzahk the Swift carefully approached the whimpering werewolf holding out a hand so it would catch his scent and not attack.

He could tell something was wrong with its eyes through his good eye. His wolf's eyes were both closed and when they opened, they appeared to be full of some sort of milky substance.

"It's Uzahk... Uzahk..."

The wolf whimpered again but did not move, it sniffed the air around the tall Goblin's approaching hand.

"Yes..."

It let the hand touch, and Uzahk patted its head. Then he got on the creature's shoulders and laughed triumphantly. "Uzahk found his dog!"

The werewolf kicked around a bit trying to get a feel for its surroundings and then wandered into the woods.

***

Morrigan was the last to rise from the rope ladder to the summit of Ardan Crann. She's been climbing with Sandril hugging close to her body, making the climb especially difficult. Once she was high enough, she passed her friend to Leyden who set him down gently on the rocky surface then her father pulled her up and hugged her before setting her down as well.

The first thing they saw was the ebony tower rising high into the clouds.

Branwen and Epona looked horrified by the sight of it. "We've failed. We've truly failed," Branwen said.

"We must find her without delay," Epona said.

Branwen shook her head. "Not without a plan. We must see Jarla, she's the only one who will know what to do."

They looked towards the vast stretch of land that was the Rhineland. Epona's gaze was somber, like she saw something there, or felt something, but wasn't sure what it was.

***

Branwen fell to her knees seeing her home empty.

Near the Shaman's tent, dead in a prayer circle like some sort of sacrifice was a young woman with stab wounds in her stomach. Epona examined her with a sliver of hope that she was still alive but quickly realized she'd been foolish to hope at all.

Branwen searched the tent but came out quickly shaking her head. It was empty. If Jarla hadn't survived, her body was nowhere to be found. She was cunning, they didn't believe that she would have left everyone to die if she'd sensed something.

"Any idea what happened?" Cara asked. She could feel some of the magical pulsations in the place like the sisters. A sense of despair.

Epona turned her attention to the direction of the capital.

Morrigan, kicking around through some of the remnants of the tribe, suddenly turned her attention to the nearby tree line of Oakwood.

Uzahk was there, trying to maintain his balance on the wolf trashing about. She could hear him faintly yelling out orders, his voice wavering and breaking in response to the mount's movements. She drifted in that direction without pointing it out to anyone.

The wolf suddenly shifted and headed in her direction. Morrigan drew her sword and got in a ready position. Leyden saw her but only when the goblin and the wolf were already near. He ran for her, but it was too late. With a swift slash, she guided the blade across the beast's midsection as it thrashed, sensing prey near, and it was wounded enough to fall with a whimper, throwing Uzahk off.

Her friends ran to her aide, Branwen finished the wolf off as it tried to rise and attack again, burying her sword in the creature's skull, and Epona and Cara burned it just to make sure it was really dead.