City of IF

[Shady Stoat]

The majority vote was for Keli to beg the disembodied voice for water. Chapter three follows from that decision.

CHAPTER THREE:

Keli froze. Would the creature (or creatures) really kill her? Just for taking a drink? Was there any chance that they would understand if she explained? She was so thirsty. She had to try!

She took a single step forward, in the direction of the voice.

“Please,” she pleaded, in a voice that was little more than a cracked whisper. “Please. I only want a drink. Just a drink. Then I’ll go. Please!”

“You have no right!” the voice snarled. “You banished us to the wilds. Well, here we are, in the lands that we have claimed by right of force, and we owe you NOTHING!”

The last word was spoken with such a roar that Keli jumped backwards, stumbling and falling to the ground. Her heart tightened with fear as another voice spoke from just behind her.

“Let her drink, Malkai. Look at her, she’s only a cub.”

“Aye, and if we allow her to grow up, what will she turn into then, Renau? Another stinking ape, bearing arms and hunting us down!”

Keli’s head was spinning. She knew she ought to get up, but somehow it felt like too great an effort. Her head hung low as the voices continued to argue around her.

“This cub has done no harm to you. To any of you! Would you have us become nothing more than apes ourselves? Child-killers and betrayers and spreaders of venom? Is that how low we have sunk?”

Malkai’s voice rose to a roar. “We are at war and I am your leader! Obey me in this!”

A third voice broke into the argument. It was lighter and less rough, but it lacked the warmth of Renau’s timbre and the authority of Malkai’s.

“A truly great leader will hear every voice before he acts. Hear mine now.”

“Speak, then,” growled Malkai.

“Both of you are correct. Although this ape-child has done us no harm, we are at war. Even in war, though, trade is possible. The child wants to drink and rest. We want… a way in.”

Silence followed that remark. Keli barely noticed. All she could think about was the stream, and how wet the water looked.

“A way in,” repeated the leader. “It would still be a risk, and yet… Very well. Renau – you seem so fond of the cub. She is in your charge, for now. I have other matters to attend.”

There was the sound of running. Keli felt a breeze on either side of her as invisible forms flew past her. Four, or maybe five of them. A few moments later, a wooden bowl, slopped full of water, was thrust through the lank curtains of her hair.

“Drink this,” ordered Renau’s voice. “Slowly.”

Keli tried to obey, but once the delicious liquid was soaking her mouth, she couldn’t help herself. Gulp after gulp of icy water ran down her throat, making her feel as giddy as if she were drinking pure rum. A moment later, she moaned as her stomach began to cramp.

“I told you. Slowly.”

Keli looked up… and promptly dropped the rest of the water in her lap. She had known almost beyond doubt that she was talking to Weres. Yet to see one appear from nothing, less than a foot away, was more than unnerving.

The creature half-knelt, half crouched before her. Keli saw a lanky and powerful form, with visible ropes of musculature threaded along its body. Well-spaced pads and thick claw-nails made its feet look like a cross between lupine and human. As her eyes travelled up, she saw that storm-grey fur grew from mid-thigh to the hip-bones. Its torso was covered by a tunic of bound leather, stained and scratched as if it had been worn for a long time. The tunic ended at the shoulders, displaying another network of rippling muscles and shoulder fur. There was no mistaking the hands for human. Although there were five digits, they were more like claws than fingers. Long, sharp claws that made Keli shiver to look at them.

The face was, curiously, not as wolfen as she would have expected. Although its ears were pointed and covered in fur, its eyes were a deep and very human shade of brown. There was also something about the delicate tracery of fur down its cheeks that made Keli think this wolf was female, although she couldn’t have said why.

The facial bone structure was peculiar, but it looked more like one of the primitive cave-dwellers from the land of bedtime stories than the face of a wolf. Its jawline was pushed out, accented, and the nose sloped flatly into it, while the eyes were recessed under heavy brows. The teeth, however, were too large and too sharp to be anything like a human’s.

Keli had heard of them, of course. Everyone had. This was the first time, though, that she had been face to face with one. She could smell the old-blood scent of predator on the thing that faced her, and it left her paralysed.

“Are you hungry?” The beast tilted her head as she asked the question.

Keli tried to focus on the question, but all of her energy seemed to have been spent. The cramps had left her nauseous and her head was spinning. Sitting on the ground, in a patch of water and mud, she was shivering from something much more than just the cold. Her breath shuddered as she tried to get air into her lungs. There were tears running down her face, from a maelstrom of emotions that were too huge to fit into her head.

“Are you all right, little one?” Renau’s voice was full of concern, and for some reason, this made Keli cry harder than ever. Then, in the midst of it all, the rain that had been threatening since yesterday, fell. It splashed down in great, heavy droplets, soaking Keli in seconds.

‘Water!’ she thought, hysterically, as her sobs turned to cackles. ‘All the water I can drink!’

She couldn’t breathe. She merely rolled helplessly on the hillside, clutching her stomach. Tears squirted from her eyes, joining with the rest of the water that she’d spilled.

“Come,” came the rumble of Renau’s voice. “You need shelter – and sleep.”

The werewolf half-carried, half-dragged her away from the mud of the hillside and the grey rains continued to pour.

-----------

Keli opened her eyes. The nightmares had come again, leaving her fuzz-brained and disoriented. She wasn’t in her bed and this was not her room. Where…?

Oh. Now she remembered. She had no home any more, and this was where the werewolves had taken her.

She looked around. Either night-time was rolling in fast, or the storm had sucked the majority of the light from the sky. She was in an enclosed area, maybe eight feet by five. Branches were twined into a makeshift roof above her. The walls appeared to have been improvised from the crook of a fallen tree, hollowed out by a combination of rot and lightning damage. Rain dripped into the shelter and ran in tiny rivulets on either side of her. She was lying on a dry pile of bracken, with what looked like the hide of a bear covering her. There was a smell of leaf-rot and… hot meat!

Suddenly, her surroundings ceased to matter. The potential dangers ceased to matter. Her nose was beckoning her on and her stomach was screaming at her to follow. She disentangled herself from the rough bedding and crawled towards the shelter’s opening.

Even the pelting rain didn’t deter her. The delicious aroma was coming from a similar shelter, across the way. She held her arms above her head and staggered forth, shielding herself.

Nevertheless, Keli was soaked by the time she ducked into the second hut. It was much larger than the first and a stone-rimmed fire was burning in the centre of it. Above the fire, there was a spit, roasting a portion of what smelled like lamb. A wooden pallet held other cuts of the sheep, fire-blackened on the outside, pink and bloody at the core. Four of the wolves sat around the flames, regarding her with unfathomable eyes. She thought one of them might be Renau, but there was no way of telling for sure.

Again, necessity drove her to a bravery she would never otherwise have contemplated. She stepped fully into the stuffy heat of the shelter and crouched down by the fire.

“I’m hungry,” she said, in as small a voice as she could manage.

The darkest of the creatures growled, but nodded to another, smaller wolf. This one reached over and plucked a joint from the pallet. He lobbed it to Keli, who caught the greasy meat and bit into it eagerly.

“Renau,” grumbled the dark wolf, and Keli recognised the voice of Malkai, the leader. “She has trespassed enough. Take her back. Lay out our terms.”

Without a word, Renau rose and took Keli by the arm. She tried not to flinch as the creature touched her.

‘This one is on my side,’ she thought, trying to eat and keep up with the wolf. ‘She won’t hurt me.’

The thought gave her no comfort. From what she knew about any of the Weres, they were violent, bestial creatures; a danger to livestock and to anyone else who got in their way. Their dealings with magic only enhanced their ability – and their will - to destroy. She only had to take a look at Malkai and the way he acted, to see that he would have been just as happy to see her dead. She was only alive because… because…

Why was she still alive? Somebody had said something about a trade, hadn’t they? Keli wished she could remember – it was all so fuzzy!

Renau gave her a gentle push through the doorway to her original shelter. She stumbled, and sat back down on the bear-hide, conscious again of her dripping clothes and greasy fingers.

“You are rested?” asked the wolf. “You are well?”

“I’m… is there anything else to drink?” stammered Keli.

The Were sloped out silently, returning less than a minute later with another bowl of water. Keli took it gratefully and began to sip.

“Malkai will not let you stay here.”

Keli simply nodded, wiping her mouth.

“If you choose not to bargain with us, even now, you will probably be allowed to leave,” continued Renau, crouching beside her. “I do not think our leader will do you harm, for all his bitter speeches.”

Keli couldn’t stop herself. “What bargain? I can’t bargain – I have nothing! What do you want from me?”

Renau held up a long, clawed finger. Keli forced herself to stop and listen.

“We wish to enter the city. You can help us to do that.”

“You mean Shift City? That’s impossible!”

“Is it?”

“You’re… you’re not… well… human.”

Renau inclined her head. “You think a great City holds nothing but humans? You think that the apes alone hold the keys to civilisation? When Malkai talks of us being driven out, where do you think we were driven from, little cub?”

Keli’s eyes widened. “You lived in the city? How?”

“We have no time for that,” growled Renau, impatiently. “We, and many others, lived in Shift City, alongside the humans. They threw us from our dens and forced us into the wilds. Nor were we the only ones. Any being who does not match species with your own is no longer welcome there. So be it. When the apes start pounding their chests and calling for war, it is best to leave them to their killing.”

“Then why do you want to go back?”

“Not all of us,” answered the wolf. “Just one. Our young look almost like you, unless they are forced to open their mouths to speak. Cloaks can hide the differences in our bodies. Hoods can hide our ears. There are things we cannot hide. Our teeth. Our way of speaking. They mark us out as different.”

She continued. “The city limits are guarded against our sorcery, and sentries man every entry point. We need a human who can answer for us. Travel to the city with Shakal, get her through the gates and we will consider it a bargain well made.”

“What’s going to happen if I get her inside?” asked Keli, nervously.

“Malkai must decide whether to reveal that information to you. I cannot. However, if you choose to help us, we can give you provisions for your travel. Food, water, maybe a travelling cloak and a weapon. Other trappings, such as we have. You will leave in the morning, once Shakal has prepared for her journey. If you refuse, you must leave now, and travel far enough by nightfall that you no longer encroach on our territory. Malkai will not be gentle if you linger.”

Keli looked out into the pouring rain. She had maybe three hours left before the light gave up for good. It was enough to cover some distance, even if she had to squelch non-stop through muddy ground. If she decided to leave, she would be no worse off than she had been this morning – but no better off, either. Was it better to strike a blind bargain with the werewolves and travel on in the morning, well-fed and refreshed? Could she afford to trust them?

She really didn’t know…

[Smee]

Awesome. :D

How you write so much, so good, so quickly is amazing. :shock:

I think she needs to accept the deal. Whilst she doesn't know the werewolves intentions, she is clearly hopeless alone with no supplies.

With provisions, and proper travel gear, and company (whatever that will be like) she stands a much greater chance of making it into the city.

Plus she'd have a guide as well.

The advantages far outway the dangers of trusting. Go for it.

Happy Writing. :)

[ethereal_fauna]

I say go for it as well. Nothing to lose necessarily, but possibly something to gain.

Technicality: 'This one is one my side,’ she thought, trying to eat and keep up with the wolf. ‘She won’t hurt me.’

[The Powers That Be]

I think she needs to ask Malkai what's going to happen. In particular, will she be safe from their kind in the city. She's got to accept the offer, though.

[Shady Stoat]

Smee wrote: Awesome. :D

How you write so much, so good, so quickly is amazing. :shock:



*blush*

"Pink Stoat Alert! Pink Stoat Alert!"

[Chinaren]

I don't really think there is much of a choice for her. Unless she tries to escape perhaps, otherwise...

"I defy you" Keli said "I will not help you!"

Malkai growled and leapt forward, and with one swift but vicious motion with his talons disembowelled the poor girl.

The End. :shock:

Mmm. Actually that's not bad. :lol:

[DukeReg]

She should agree to help.

She gets a guide and/or bodyguard, a safe night's stay, and supplies. Most of the apes were never all that good to her anyway, but even if she was obsessively loyal to apekind, theres no guarantee they want to cause apes harm; just regain entry to the city where they used to live.

As for betrayal, what are they going to do to her? Kill her once she's fulfilled her purpose so she can't tell anyone? It's plausible, but some of them went out of their way to save her life even before the deal was mentioned, so she might as well risk it.

Extremely well written, as usual: I'm glad I voted for you! :D

[Shady Stoat]

Thanks for the input everybody. I'm glad you're still enjoying the story. :D

Sometime tomorrow I'll put up another three day poll, so if anyone else has any suggestions, get them in before that please :cool:

*looking forward to writing chapter four...*

[Dean]

As already stated, she has no choice but to accept. However, she does have a few other options.

It's pretty obvious that Shakal needs to enter the city for purposes of war. Since it has already been made clear that the weres and humans are at war, there could be no other purpose for Shakal to want entry (at least no other purpose visible to Keli, even if she thinks reeeeal hard).

Therefore, to help the were gain entry into the city, Keli would be committing treason. Also, how in the world could she sneak the were in through the gates? It's an awful risk, and Keli would most likely face a death sentence if she got caught helping Shakal.

Also, one must take Keli's character into consideration. Would she really risk her life to help a race that she had been raised to fear and loathe? Indeed, the request of the weres is one incredible risk on Keli's part.

Yet she has no choice but to accept. BUT, she does have the choice about whether or not to honour her promise once they are safely on the road. Therefore, I could see the following possibilities as being potential options:

1) Accept, then kill Shakal once they are alone
2) Accept, then escape Shakal once they are alone
3) Accept, then turn Shakal in to the city guards once they reach the main gate
4) Accept, then simply tell Shakal she changed her mind once they are close enough to the city gates for Keli to make a run for it.

There could be other options in this vein as well. Perhaps the only way I think it would be plausible for Keli to help Shakal get into the city would be if the weres revealed their plan to her and it turned out to be not war-related -- but still, would Keli believe their motives were true? How can she trust these creatures?

In any case, no matter what the voters decide, I hope you take my points into account. Because if it does get decided for Keli to help Shakal get into Shift City, it's gotta be made believable somehow.

Technicality: The Were sloped out silently, returning less than a minute later with another bowl of water.
Should read: The Were loped out silently, returning less than a minute later with another bowl of water.

Also, "loping" is a fast movement, and would be hard to do silently. However, this is a were we're talking about here, so it's your call.

[Shady Stoat]

Dean wrote:
Technicality: The Were sloped out silently, returning less than a minute later with another bowl of water.
Should read: The Were loped out silently, returning less than a minute later with another bowl of water.

Also, "loping" is a fast movement, and would be hard to do silently. However, this is a were we're talking about here, so it's your call.

Actually, I meant 'slope'. It's defined in the Oxford English Dictionary as either 'move in an idle or aimless manner' or 'leave unobtrustively'. (although interestingly enough, dictionary.com doesn't provide that definition - maybe it's an English colloquialism or something).

Good analysis of the story though. More options for the poll.

Oh, and thanks for the other technical point, Fauna. Already corrected and seen to :D

[Dean]

Ah. OK then. :) I had actually checked Dictionary.com, which is why I wrote that. Might be a British thing. There are so many words that different countries use differently, it's hard to keep track of them all.

[Smee]

Definately a British thing, I've heard of it. :)

[ethereal_fauna]

I have heard it as well

[Chinaren]

Yes, it is certainly a valid word. I have sloped off early from work on occasion! :shock:

[Ingrothechundyer]

Very nice :biggrin:

Has she had any visions about the warewolves before? And were there any major disasters that she didn't have a vision about?

[Shady Stoat]

Ingrothechundyer wrote: Very nice :biggrin:

Has she had any visions about the warewolves before? And were there any major disasters that she didn't have a vision about?

She's never had any visions about the Weres (at least none in the context of big, scary sacrifice scenes - I'm not saying she might not have had a vision about them running off with some farmer's sheep at some point, but that's not what you meant, I'm sure :) )

No major disasters in her little town that she hasn't known about, but it is a small town and not much happens there. About the big wide world beyond her gates, she knows very little :D

Thanks for joining in!

[Shady Stoat]

It's a 3-day poll again.

I've put the options down that deal with Keli's immediate choices. Any other decisions will happen further down the line and will be the subject of possible future chapters. :D

Thanks (in advance) for voting! :lol:

[Chinaren]

Voted!

[Smee]

I've gone for just accept the deal.

She doesn't know anything about the war, and is sure to be too tired and weak to think too deeply on the implications of helping.

As Stoat said, such thoughts (and plans) of double-crossing will come later, if at all. Her priority is some food, sleep and security for a little while. The deal offers all that, she'll take it.

Happy Writing. :)

[ethereal_fauna]

She'll accept the terms without bothering with questions or assurances. It's doubtful they'd tell her anything of importance anyways, and how could knowing influence her decision? Just keep quiet, accept the terms for now, observe what happens, and then react.

[HeavyRain]

*walks around and looks around also as she studies her landscape* Anyone still home?

[Chinaren]

No one comes here anymore, they are too busy reading Narg the Nasty. hehe. ;)

Welcome Heavy Rain. Are you comprised of Heavy water? :shock:

[Shogun]

WEREWOLVES!!!!!WEREWOLVES!!!!!

*CLEARS THROAT*Sorry...I really like werewolves....Accept the options...

[Ingrothechundyer]

Ask for more information but accept anyway.

[Huang Chou]

I voted to accept, I mean, if he declined, the werewolves could have killed him! ;)

[Shady Stoat]

Poll's closed. The majority vote was to accept the werewolf terms unconditionally.

I'll get on with the writing of it... :D