The next morning back at the Military and Medical Guild of the Gnomes, the first gnome to arrive-none other than the famous EET (Ears, Toes, and Throat) Doctor Whizbang-found a young, bedraggled kender sitting on the floor of the lobby beside an old, bedraggled kender and something resembling a gnome in a doctor’s coat.
“My friend and my uncle are broken,” the young kender announced loudly. “They are blind, and I would like to get them fixed, if I could.”
Bond
“Damn wolf!”
Karn dragged the leash, threatened with the rod. The wolf bared his teeth, head jerking against the leather rope. Karn wrapped another loop of leash in his palm and dragged the wolf inches closer. The animal barked, snarled, pawed the ground, and pulled back. His teeth were dirty yellow and brown.
Karn sweated, raised the stick, gathered another loop in his palm. The wolf jumped forward, jaws wide, and Karn kicked the wolf. Blood flowed from a shallow gash. The wolf yelped, turning from the attack, saliva spraying from his muzzle as he dragged himself sideways. The wolf thrashed his head, patches of fur missing, showing scars.
The braided leather of the leash dug deep against the calluses of Karn’s hand. Dirt ran free, loosened by sweat into streams of grime. Arms and bare legs shone in the firelight. The wolf stopped thrashing and turned his head toward Karn. Karn bared his canine teeth- sharp and pointed like the wolfs, filed. He cracked the lash against the wolfs scarred flank. The wolf snarled and Karn snarled. Karn propped his elbow against his waist and pulled hard, dragging the wolf a few inches closer.
“Give in, damn you!”
Karn let the leash slacken, sat crosslegged, and beckoned the wolf forward. The wolf lowered himself to the ground, head in Karn’s lap. Karn braced a rod end in the crook of a leg, the crook of an elbow, pressed the rod against the wolfs throat. The wolf growled.
“Shut up.” Karn smoothed the fur between the wolfs ears and scratched the wolfs muzzle. The wolf nuzzled Karn’s hands. Karn pressed the heels of his hands into the pinion of the wolfs jaws, prying them open. His fingers exposed the wolfs yellowed teeth. The wolf pushed with his rear legs. Karn’s rod pressed into the wolfs neck, prevented the wolf from moving. Choked off his howl.
Karn scraped his fingers along the jawline of the wolfs mouth. The wolf tried to bite his fingers, and Karn pressed his palms harder, continued to scrape. The underside of his long nails were caked black. The wolf moaned. Karn pulled a flower from the ground, flicked the yellow head off with his thumb and pressed the moist green stem into the wolfs mouth. The wolf moaned again.
“Shut up,” Karn muttered. “Your own fault.”
Karn pressed harder. Blood flowed around the flower-stem where the wolfs gums had swollen around old food. Karn dragged the animal higher into his lap when the wolf tried to pull away. Karn lifted himself to one knee, leaned against the rod, and wrapped his other leg around the wolfs flanks. Worked hard at a piece of old food. The wolf moaned loudly. Blood flowed, the food finally worked out.
Karn released his hands and the rod, pushed himself back. He sat in front of the wolf and stared into his brown eyes. From a pocket, Karn took out a piece of salted beef, held it between his lips and lowered his head. The wolfs eyes flicked between Karn’s and the food. The wolf lowered his head. Chin touching the ground, Karn pushed his face forward. The wolf shuffled forward. Carefully taking the beef from between Karn’s lips, the wolf raised his head and chewed loudly.
Karn sat up and grabbed the animal around the neck. He ruffled the wolfs fur between the ears. The wolf plodded into Karn’s lap, still chewing loudly. Karn smoothed out the animal’s fur with his hands, laid down the rod next to him.
“Not so bad, eh, Blood? Wъlfbunde?” Karn asked. The wolf finished chewing and swallowed the beef. Karn checked the gash in the wolfs side, blood still flowing from the kick. He wiped his bloodied fingers on the grass.
“Who said a wъlfbunde needs his teeth cleaned?” Brek asked. His wъlfbunde lay on its stomach, eyes on Blood. Brek ran a hand over his wolfs back.
Karn picked another flower, flicked off its head, cleaned his own teeth. “Idiot,” Karn said.
“Idiot I may be, but why have you have beaten the fur from your wъlfbunde?” Brek asked.
“My discipline is harsh,” Karn said. He cleaned the underside of his fingernails.
“Your wiilfbunde can’t take care of himself.”
Karn leaped over Blood, past Brek’s wtilfbunde, a knife in each hand. Brek drew his own knives. Karn knocked the first one aside and the second fell from Brek’s left hand. Karn straddled Brek, knee against the man’s throat, outstretched leg pinning Brek’s left arm. Brek’s wъlfbunde jumped near to Blood, who sat up and watched.
“Speak against my wъlfbunde, and I’ll kill you,” Karn said.
“Stand down, scout,” Arana ordered, hand scratching her wъlfbunde’s ear. “Another time to settle. Tonight is for a sacred mission.”
Karn bared his teeth. Brek bared his own canines. Arana said a wordless command. Karn jumped off Brek, returned to Blood’s side. Blood panted. Arana’s wolf stood at her side, watched the other two.
Each of the five scouts straightened their uniforms, faced the fire. The wъlfbunde sat next to their masters- black, brown, mottled fur. Blood’s fur was patched and uneven, revealing old scars and lashes.
“Report,” Arana said.
“We entered the village,” Brek said. “The Dark had been there. We did the killing.”
“And that was where it happened?” Arana asked.
“The Dark took his spirit, yes,” Brek said. “He is Forsaken.”
“How did you know?” Arana asked.
“The Forsaken killed his own wulfbunde,” Karn said. He ran his hand over Blood’s forehead.
“Yes, that is proof,” Arana agreed. “Now the Forsaken runs wild. He must be stopped.”
The scouts bowed their heads to the fire, its burning and cracking the only sound. Arana spoke to the fire, to each of the scouts and to their wulfbunde.
“In the Age of Might, the Dark Queen brought us the word of Canus. Canus is the faithful. Canus is the guard. Canus is the hunter. Canus brought the Bond between wolf and man, wulfbunde and master. We become like the wolf, and the wolf like us.”
The ears of the wolves twitched. A howl echoed in the high, surrounding hills-the howl of a wolf from the throat of a man.
Arana heard the howl, said, “By accepting the Bond, we accept the sacred mission of Canus. Canus is the hunter. Once we hunted the enemies of our Queen. Now that she is gone, our mission is to hunt the Dark. Canus is the guard. We guard life. Canus is the faithful. We give our lives to our service.”
Blood yawned and sat. Karn batted the wolfs ear. Blood stood.
Arana said, “The Dark are threads escaped from the mantle of Father Chaos. The threads drive a man to madness. The Dark causes father to murder child, comrade to kill comrade. In the Knighthood, the Dark destroys discipline. With us, the Dark breaks the Bond. The Dark must end with death.”
Arana stopped, listened to the howl in the high hills. She closed her eyes. “The Bond is dagger and fang against the Dark. The Bond can be proof against its power. Thus, we fight the Dark.”
The wolves around the fire were still, like their masters. Arana drew a crescent-bladed dagger, cut a line into her palm. Drops fell into the dirt at her feet.
“The Dark has taken one of our patrol. The Forsaken is mad. He will try to kill us as he killed his wъlfbunde. He sees comrades as enemies. We know. We know what happens to those who fall victim to the Dark.”
Arana let her blood fall into a line. Each of the scouts drew their daggers, did the same.
Arana said, “As the Bond is proof against the Dark, the broken Bond is the scent of weakness. If the Dark remains alive in him, he will become a force for Chaos. Shall we suffer him to live?”
