City of IF

[Shady Stoat]

Chapter Nineteen

Meet Malkai at the edge of the copse, alone.

Keli’s thoughts whirled. How much did she know about Malkai, other than his obvious dislike of her? Could she trust him? Was his magic stronger than that of his fellow Weres? Did he intend to teach her or to drive her away? Kill her, even?

She longed for Shakal’s advice. Despite all the arguments and the atmospheres between them, strange times made for strange allies. Besides, there was no-one else she could trust here.

‘Alone’, he had said, though. It would be a betrayal to talk to her guide about it. It had to be a matter between the wolf-chief and herself. She would learn nothing if she turned up with her protector – of that much she was sure.

But then… he hadn’t told her not to discuss it with anyone. Just not to let them come along tomorrow.

Her anxiety lifted a little. She would tell Shakal. Shakal would know what to do.

When the young wolf returned ten minutes later, Keli was waiting.

“Shakal – Malkai offered to teach me were-magic.”

The wolf was silent for a moment. Her face was unreadable.

“I thought he might,” she said, at last. Keli waited for more, but there was nothing.

“He wanted me to meet him. Alone,” she added, beginning to feel angry.

The wolf’s amber eyes came up to meet the girl’s. “And do you intend to?”

“I don’t know,” Keli practically shouted. “I was waiting to hear what you had to say about it!”

The wolf seemed to choose her words carefully.

“And will you wait when your time comes against Itharien?” her head cocked to one side. “Will you ask me what I would do then? Will you fail to strike him down when you have the chance?”

Keli spluttered. “That’s not the same thing at all! You must have an opinion! You know Malkai better than I do. What’s he planning? Will he teach me anything, or am I in danger? Tell me what you think – that’s all I’m asking!”

Shakal stood. “I cannot interfere,” she said. “Malkai is my leader and you are my responsibility. Do you not see how thin a line I tread here? Some decisions must be yours and yours alone. This is one of them. But…”

She fell silent, obviously debating whether or not to add what she had been about to say.

Keli wanted to shout and rage, but she wanted to hear any crumb of advice more.

“… be careful,” finished Shakal, heavily. “Now – spirit travelling. Again.”

The lesson went badly. Even worse than usual. Keli, despite plying Shakal with questions, got no further answers on the subject of Malkai. She was feeling too resentful to bother much with trying to further her skills in what she regarded as a lost cause. Besides, more than half of her mind was occupied on the problem of whether to go to Malkai in the morning, or whether to ignore his offer.

With all she had learned of magic, and for all her developing skills with weaponry, she knew she should feel ready to return to Shift City and face what was to come. The fact was, though, that she didn’t. Erath’s words still seemed as if they had been meant for someone other than her.

How could one person defeat an army of Priests and Guards and stones that sucked the life right out of their victim? How could a few magic tricks hope to defeat that? Possession was really the only weapon she had; for all that Shakal kept saying knowledge was her best form of attack.

She thought about the magic of the wolves. In the past few weeks, she had seen many of the cubs play with their ability to twist light. Even some of the youngest could play a game that they called ‘Passing Sunbeams’, where they made a glass marble glow in their hands, before passing it to the next person in the circle. Smaller wolves than Shakal seemed able to cast shadow illusions of themselves, not good enough to fool close inspection, but enough to distract another child in a game of hide-and-seek. The older wolves had all manner of reflective, offensive and illusory magic. As for their invisibility… Keli could only imagine the sort of advantage she could achieve if she were able to roam the city streets without being seen!

Was it worth the risk? It had to be. Malkai couldn’t want to kill her, or Shakal would have said so. Wouldn’t she? It was her job to protect Keli from harm, so she claimed. You wouldn’t protect someone by letting them get killed!

By the time night came, she had made her choice. Tomorrow, she was going to learn about Were-magic.

-----------

It was well before dawn when Keli awoke. Nerves were getting the better of her as she hunted for her clothes and weapons in the darkness. Alone, he had said, but she was not going to go unarmed. Although she was still no good with a knife, she could probably hold him off long enough to scream for help if she needed to.

There was no sign of Shakal, but she hadn’t really expected there to be. The young wolf slept in one of the communal shelters, with the other Weres. There was no reason for Keli to socialise with her or the other wolves, unless for training.

Having nothing else to do for half an hour, she went through her magical routines. Meditation, spirit projection, object communication, dream wanderings…

Even Art was absent from her dreams for the moment. She found herself missing his simple company, especially at times like these. He seemed to offer what no-one else had, since she had left Great Lake. A straightforward fondness for her company. Shakal endured her, for what she could do to Itharien. The pack endured her on the Oracle’s say-so. Only Art seemed to have no agenda, other than a twin to her own loneliness.

She knew that she should tell Shakal about his presence in her dreams. He didn’t seem to be doing any harm, though, and she suspected that Shakal would simply tell her to be rid of him, whatever it took. Besides, she rationalised, uneasily, the wolf was her dream-guide. She should know about Art already. Perhaps she had merely neglected to mention it, because it wasn’t important?

Perhaps she would tell Shakal eventually. When it became important. For now, though, she had a meeting to attend.

It was time. She ducked out of her hut and began to make her way toward the edge of the tree-line. The dewy scent of grass and tree-moss was fresh in her nostrils. The birdsong seemed unusually loud. A feeling of being watched crept over her, even though the camp was silent and still asleep.

She couldn’t turn back now, though. That would be worse than never having accepted the offer in the first place. At the edge of the tree line, she stopped and looked around in the grey light. There was nothing to see. Nobody was there.

Keli forced herself to breathe deep. Dawn was barely beginning. The sun’s rays had not begun to warm the ground yet. He would turn up – else why issue the challenge in the first place?

“So… this is the little ape-child that keeps my people on a leash?”

She whirled, the voice coming from behind her. There was nothing there. Then, from a few feet away, in the direction she had just turned from, there was the snapping of a twig. Before she could do more than half-turn back, claws raked over her shoulder, tearing her shirt and drawing blood.

She cried out, more in fear than pain. Her hand flew to her dagger as her eyes sought out something to fix on. There was nothing. The feral scent of wolf had retreated as swiftly as it had come, leaving her with nothing but the blood to show for it.

“Where are your powers now, little one?” Malkai’s voice growled into her left ear. Her head whipped around, and she drew the knife, swiftly as Shakal had told her to. Without hesitation, she swiped it at the air where the voice had come from. There was nothing there. “You wish to be shown the power of Were-magic?”

Perhaps he was just testing her. Keli fought to keep her voice from shaking.

“You said you would teach me.”

The voice snapped its sentences out, each one coming from a different direction.

“I said that I would show you. This is my peoples’ power – their birthright, not to be stolen by such as you. Why, the smallest child in this camp knows more about wolf magic than you can ever learn!”

Harsh laughter echoed through the grove. Now it seemed to come from all around. Then, out of nowhere, there was a ringing blow to the side of her face. She fell down, clutching her face in a daze of pain and panic. Even as she scrabbled to get up, she felt movement from in front of her. She lunged wildly with the knife, hearing a hiss of pain in response. There was a thin trickle of blood on the knife. It was not enough to stop the slash of claws across her cheek, the top claw missing her eye by less than an inch.

Keli shrieked, arcing her dagger through the air again, hitting nothing.

The voice spoke again, circling her.

“Look at you.” Keli tried to locate the source of the voice, even though she knew it was probably an illusion. “You are supposed to be our saviour against the beast-cult? You cannot even defend yourself against a single unarmed wolf! Your very presence saps my peoples’ will to fight Itharien. They stand by and play with you, helping you perform your magic tricks on them. Tricks which will get you and them killed!”

She saw a droplet of blood fall onto the grass, about six feet to the left of her. Desperate now, she launched herself at where she guessed the figure to be, her knife sweeping the air before her.

Nothing.

A warning prickle at the back of her neck, then a kick landed square in the small of her back, before she could turn around. Again, she sprawled, landing with her nose inches away from the blood spot. As she gasped and tried to catch her breath, her bulging eyes saw the red mark fade to nothing but grass again.

An illusion. Another trick. How could she fight when she couldn’t trust her eyes or ears? How could she use magic against that which had no body to possess?

Coughing and hurting, she tried to get up. She slipped back, wheezing, into the dirt, but struggled upright on her second attempt.

“I… didn’t ask… for this,” she gasped, eyes beginning their futile search again.

“No,” sneered the voice. “You took it, though. Your little pet wolf runs errands for you, protects you from all manner of harm, while you sit, safe and coddled, practising to be a scholar! You have made my people into play-things. Well, we are nobody’s pets, ape-child – and one way or another, we will be free of you and your kind!”

“What do you want?” she screamed, rage and panic surfacing at the sound of the bodiless voice.

The birdsong was deafening against the silence of the response. Then, a voice whispered, brushing her ear.

“Run?” it suggested.

Her flesh crawled with goose-bumps. She found her legs preparing to obey the directive and stopped them with a rush of fury.

“NO!” Her voice cracked with the force of the denial. “You hypocrite! Why did you send Shakal to the Oracle in the first place? You wanted him to confirm what you’d already decided! What sort of leader ignores the advice he sends out for? What gives you the right to send your people into a war they can’t win? Have you seen what Itharien does to those it takes? Have you? I have! I see it every night, every time I go to sleep, I see it, I…”

This time, she never felt it coming. The blow backhanded her across the jaw so hard that that her feet left the ground. She landed over six feet away, crunching to the ground helplessly, her knife slipping out of her grasp.

There was a roaring sound. It was drowned out by the ringing in her ears. Her vision blacked at the edges and she was dimly aware that she could taste blood in her mouth. Sensations surrounded her, making no sense.

The smell of the sun on wet grass…

The feel of a lurking danger…

Trees and birds…

A presence nearby…

“Keli?”

The blurs clear. She is in the Imperial Gardens. Of course! The wall is before her and the boy is watching, like he often does. This is familiar. This is safe.

“No. No time for that. Keli – he’s going to kill you.”

“He?” she says, dreamily. It is so peaceful here. As long as she doesn’t go too close to the wall, nothing comes to disturb the tranquillity of this tree-lined park. There is pain, in the distance, but it is far enough away to ignore.

“You can’t beat him here.” Art’s voice is high, anxious. “You have to go back – quickly!”

“Go back?” There is a dim and distant recollection of a fight, and blood. Her blood. A snarling wolf without a face, something that she had no way of striking back at. “I like it here.”

“Don’t be stupid!” The boy looks at her from a tear-ravaged face. “He can’t follow you here, but he can kill you while you hide from him. Use your magic against him!”

It comes back to her now - more clearly than she wants to remember. The illusions, the taunts, the invisibility. The humiliation of waiting helplessly while she took a beating.

“I can’t!” she protests, desperately. “There’s nothing there to possess! I can’t control him if I can’t see him!”

“No! Listen!” Art stands , approaching until they are face to face, almost touching. “He’s there, and you can find him! Listen to the voice that he doesn’t speak with. Find the source of his fear and his anger. It’s calling to you – all you have to do is hear it. It’s how I found you, it’s how I find them all. You can do it – but you must do it now!”

He reaches out and pushes her. There is no sensation of falling, just…

…the slam of pain as she snapped back into full awareness. Her face was burning, tacky with rivulets of blood. Ribs aching, clothing torn, she could sense that the wolf leader was still nearby. Only a second or two could have passed in unconsciousness, despite the vision.

“What if I left?” she called out, weakly. She had no idea how to put Art’s advice to good use. All she could do was try to buy some time.

“Left?” the voice sneered. “I offered you the chance to go. We are past that now, ape-child. When I take your broken body back to the pack, they will see that they were wrong to put their faith in a weakling human. They will see my strength and realise my war is just! For that purpose, and for your crimes, you must die!”

Focus on the rage. Focus on the fear. Keli tried to see past the magic, to see the wolf beneath.

“If I am a weakling human,” she panted, “then killing me won’t bring you any glory. Why should your pack follow a child-killer? And if I am strong, then perhaps Erath is right?”

She saw it then. The flickering wolf-shaped shadow of his hatred. It burned like a black flame, leaning over her from above.

“You know nothing of our ways,” snarled the voice from behind her, even as she saw the shadow form raise its clawed fingers to plunge into her abdomen. “And now you will never get the cha-“

As the arm began its descent, Keli took the plunge. She arrowed part of her consciousness out, wrenching her way into the wolf’s mind, even as she felt the dim pain of claws against flesh.

At first, she thought it was going to be easy. Her vision became his vision, the scents rolling in heavily over his tongue and in his nostrils. She could see through her own eyes and those of Malkai at the same time – a familiar sensation after all the training she had been put through these past few weeks. She began to withdraw the claws that were puncturing Keli’s flesh, and felt an instant relief in her shared consciousness.

Then, without warning, there was a pain the like of which she had never felt before. It felt like there was acid in her bloodstream. Unthinking, she began to flee from the pain – a mistake that the wolf seemed determined to take advantage of. She could feel herself being edged out, even as her screams came out through his mouth. They were replaced by panting whimpers as Malkai began to force his hands up towards the prone body’s throat.

Keli quivered, burned and half-blinded. As the hands reached the other body’s throat, she realised that there could be no half-measures with this wolf. It would have to be attack, all or nothing. She would have to abandon the old body and throw every last atom of her spirit into the wolf-leader.

She gathered what remained, then pounced. The girl slipped into limpness behind her and she disappeared into the darkness of Malkai’s mind.

Nothing. For what seemed like forever, nothing. She struggled to see, hear, smell, taste, link to the body in any way. There was only pressure, as the wolf-leader struggled to keep her out. Then, as she set aside the pain and looked at the enigma, she saw the cracks in his defenses. A push here, and he raced to defend it, leaving himself open there. He screamed and battered at her, increasing the pressure until she felt her/his eyes would explode with the pain of it. Still she slid and eased and tricked her way past his mental walls. Sight… then sound… the gurgles of the purple-faced, choking child beneath her… so close now… if she could just punch through the final wall and gain control…

Again she pushed, and with the push felt something that she had never felt before. A sick disorientation, a new explosion of pain that made her howl and then a closing down of all sensation…

…

… she choked in a lungful of air as the wolf’s hands loosened from her throat, only to lose it to a gasp as Malkai fell forward onto her. His lifeless eyes were red-amber, filled with burst blood-vessels, and his tongue lolled grotesquely over his teeth.

Keli struggled, no longer sure of who she was or where she was, just knowing that she had to breathe! With frantic hands she rolled the great wolf over onto the grass, then she took huge gulps of air, one after another.

Crawling onto all fours, she spat a mouthful of bile into the grass before standing shakily. She stared down at the wolf in disbelief. He was dead. Somehow, she had killed him. She felt sick, but not sorry. It could just as easily have been her lying cooling on the hillside, if she hadn’t acted.

She turned back toward the wolf-camp, every movement bringing fresh pain. Her eyes suddenly widened and she halted mid-step. Three wolves - Shakal, Renau and her mate, Baryas – were watching her from the shadows of the trees.

Guilt flooded her – then anger.

“How long have you been here?” she croaked through her swollen throat.

They were silent.

“Watching, were you?” she limped toward them, eyes blazing. “Was it a good show? Entertaining?”

Shakal accepted the rebuke unflinchingly.

“He issued a challenge,” she said, softly. “You accepted. We heard you decline to run. From that point, it was between you and him.”

“And what if he’d killed me?” she shouted, her voice cracking.

“If you had ceased to struggle,” she said, her face unreadable, “we would have made sure you remained alive. All three of us would have left the camp with you, and never returned.”

Baryas spoke then, his voice deep and authoritative.

“Shakal had confidence in you. She persuaded us to hold off, trusting in your strength to better Malkai. We couldn’t have known that he would struggle against possession to the point of death – but perhaps we should have expected, knowing Malkai as we did.”

Keli swallowed, her throat hurting anew. So that was what had happened. He had decided he would rather die than be controlled. She stared at the wolves, not knowing what to say.

“You should rest,” said Renau, taking her by the arm and steering her towards the camp again. “Shakal will dress your wounds, while the camp discusses… matters.”

There were a thousand things she wanted to say to them. Somehow, there were no words left in her. She followed the wolves numbly and allowed them to see her to her hut. Once there, she lay back on her blankets and stared at the branch-ceiling, waiting for the aches and stings to start dying down.

By the time Shakal had turned up with the warm water, ointments and bandages, Keli had reached a decision.

It was time to tell her about Art.

She spoke slowly, too tired to pick and choose her words, sparing nothing of their shared dreams of the past weeks. From the tension in Shakal’s muscles, it was obvious that Art’s presence had come as a surprise to her. However, she said nothing, merely cleaning wounds and allowing Keli to tell the story in her own words. When the girl finally stumbled and fell silent, she continued to rub salve on the claw-marks, tending and wrapping them carefully.

“You will have scars,” she said, finally. “Malkai obviously thought you a threat, despite his words about how weak you were. I will have to stitch the deepest slash in your cheek.”

Keli winced, feeling liquid as the claw-mark began to weep blood again.

“Before I do, though,” continued the wolf, “you must listen to me. Abandon these dreams of yours. I saw that boy, the first night you shared your dreams with me. He is Itharien’s servant – no good can come of associating with him!”

Keli stared tiredly at her. “He’s Itharien’s slave,” she corrected. “And he saved my life.”

“He saved your life and admitted that he can find your scent, like a dog on a leash,” said Shakal, sternly. “Is that the sort of power you want to hand over to Itharien? Can you be sure that the High Priest does not follow the boy’s trail, as he follows yours? At the very least, beware of the power that Lord Itharien has over this friend of yours. Likely it is the power of life and death. Worse than death, if the Oracle was right. Can this Art withstand questioning from one who wields such influence? Could you?”

Keli stared at the floor. She had known what Shakal was going to say. Why did it hurt so much to hear it out loud?

“Well, you will follow your own counsel,” sighed the wolf. “You always do.”

With that, she stood and exited the hut in search of a sewing kit.

When the entrance darkened again, though, it was not with Shakal’s lean form. Keli looked up to find Renau standing in the doorway.

“The Elders have met,” she said, softly, entering the hut and seating herself next to Keli. “They have decided that Malkai was right. The time for action has come. We will go to war.”

Keli felt her chest tighten with fear. They thought Malkai was right – and now he was dead. This was where they would pronounce judgement on her for killing their leader.

“However,” continued Renau, with a toothy smile. “their idea of action differs a little to that of Malkai. When Baryas and I told them of your combat with the lead-wolf, the majority of the Elders concluded that your victory over him fulfilled the requirements. Strange times make for strange leaders, and this is the strangest of times.”

Keli frowned as she tried to navigate the maze of Renau’s words. “What do you mean?”

“Until you part ways from the pack, man-child,” said Renau, “you will be our leader. It has been decreed. We must act, and act now, and you are the one to show us the way. The wolves are ready to accept your orders. They will fight for you, die for you if they must. They will travel your path and protect you from harm as you go to do battle if that is what you wish. You are ready to take the fight to Itharien, and the wolves are with you. We are yours to command, pack-mistress.”

Keli’s head was spinning. She barely heard the next words.

“What would you have us do?”

[LordoftheNight]

Well, firstly get the bob thwack, then you can decide.

Maybe try to find out more still about Lord Itharien, perhaps through sending in scouts, or contacting your, well, contacts.

Get a full briefing on the packs numbers, and any allies they believe will help them, both in an outside of the city. After that you can formulate a full battle plan, using modified guarilla tactics to utilise the wolves superior strength while counter-balancing the Priests numbers.

[thebean203]

i agree, find your allies both in and outside the city. then, find the main...sorcerers of the groups and get into a huddle to discuss a battle plan. Make it clear that you refuse to go charging in, simply killing everyone in sight, and make sure to tell about the dreams. If possible, convince them that they need to find the Imperial Garden, since the key to defeating Itharien is in it.
About Art...Keli should bring the dream cube thingy into her dream and asks him if he recognizes it, and then if he does, what does it mean? ANd if he doesn't, well, you're back where you started.

[Chinaren]

Hurrah! She is finally standing up for herself.

f5 the above comments. You need information and now you have your own private wolf army, the resources are there.

You go girl. ;)

[Shady Stoat]

lordofthenight wrote: Maybe try to find out more still about Lord Itharien, perhaps through sending in scouts, or contacting your, well, contacts.

Get a full briefing on the packs numbers, and any allies they believe will help them, both in an outside of the city. After that you can formulate a full battle plan, using modified guarilla tactics to utilise the wolves superior strength while counter-balancing the Priests numbers.

I'm not quite sure I follow these tactics, Lordy. Bear with me.

You want to send individual wolves into the city to find out more about Itharien and to contact any allies that may still be around? You want to gather all the information you can, then come back and hold a meeting to discuss what you can do together? Is that it?

Or are you planning a tactical meeting now, outlining the allies you have, the state of the city/region as you understand it, and working out how to strike best?

If it's the former, you may encounter some resistance from the wolves, in that it's somewhat like what Malkai tried to do. He sent in a young scout, to ask the Oracle what organised resistance they could take. Presumably, he was hoping to get back information on troop movements, other were-camps, possible allies, dangers to avoid, etc. Instead, he got some human teenager to take care of. No wonder he was miffed ;)

I'm not saying it can't be done - but it would have to be presented cleverly, if they weren't going to see that tactic as just a repeat of an already failed one.

If you're talking about a briefing right now, then here are some assumptions that can be made from Keli's experiences in camp, over the last few weeks.

Current numbers: About 40 wolves, a third of which are youngsters of varying ages.

Current allies outside the city: none that are geographically known of. While they may have friends, those allies will be scattered around the countryside/neighbouring habitats, in various hidey-holes.

Current allies within the city: a month ago they were few and dwindling. Then the burning of the rebels/magic-users began. Things are not likely to have improved since then :-o

And, as with all other DPs in this storygame, any 'proper tactics' will have to be thought up by the readers, for them to have any chance of success. I'll happily improvise Keli into all sorts of muck, but it'll be up to you lot to claw her out of it ;)

One detail from the former chapter that I'd like to draw your attention to at this point:

Shady Stoat wrote: As the nights had gone on though, she had begun to feel a darkness surrounding his presence. Not the presence of evil, in itself – more a suggestion of evils to come. It was time for her to go back. The instinct born of her magic told her so.

I'm not trying to force the pace here (well, not much anyway), but Keli wouldn't have forgotten her instincts, even if they're not at the forefront of the readers' minds. I don't think an extended reconnaisance campaign would suit her frame of mind any more than it would suit the wolves. Nevertheless, once I'm clear as to what's meant by the option, it'll go into the polls along with any others.

*grins* And finally:

chinaren wrote: Hurrah! She is finally standing up for herself

Given that Keli's the readers' character, she could have done it any time she wanted to :P

[Solomon Birch]

Boo-yah! She can kinda kill people! Well, maybe not, but damn-close. Good. She's making progress. Killings where its at. :-D

As she has spent so long training, I doubt she has enough time for much, if any, reconnaissance. I think she should select some were's to come with her and find a way that is relatively simple to use to get into the city. Maybe a sewer exits into the river and from there they can infiltrate inside. When the majority of the were's are inside, they can begin.

Then they can discern the levels of discontent within the city. Though the open, verbal dissidents appear to have been vanquished quite violently, I'm sure there are those that would turn on the cruel Itharien if things appear to be going badly for them. Maybe there are even elements of the city guard who only obey their orders because they are afraid for their safety. If Keli and the were's can stir up rebellious feeling within the city, then they may well be able to provide enough distraction for Keli and maybe a few were's to target the head of the Itharien and hopefully do something to bring them down.

Stirring up discontent is easier said than done, however, so something needs to be done to show that the Itharien aren't all powerful. If there is some sort of important church to the Itharien that could be destroyed from underneath, then that would be a big blow to the invulnerable image that the Itharien have shrouded themselves beneath, and hopefully bring supporters over to thier side.

More detailed planning needs to be done; how to get at the Itharien leader, if there is infact a way to slip into a relatively safe part of the city unnoticed, if there is any potential support from the residents, if there is a monastery or something that could be blown up from beneath if they can amass enough explosives/magic users. This will need to be done quickly however, so the camp needs to be prepared to move out quickly. The youngsters that will not be able to help very much should get to a place of safety, with a few older were's who can look after them until they can rejoin the main group. Any albe-bodied were who is at least half-competent at magic use will be needed, so they will eventually accompany Keli to the city.

Great chapter Shady. :biggrin:

*holds breath* :shock:

[Lordy]

Well, call the council of war first, and listen to any suggestions. Maybe she should realise she has no notion of army tactic, and appoint someone else as her general/leuitenaunt.

[Smee]

Awesome chapter :shock: I really enjoyed it :D

Quote: This is my peoples’ power – their birthright, not to be stolen by such as you

Surprise, surprise, my interest is in the magic. But I'm confused as to whether she physically can't learn the wolf magic, or that Malkai was stating that she'll just never be taught.

If the former, then having made the decision to learn the magic that morning, I would say we're still interested in learning what we can, and now we have the authority to get it.

~

40 wolves isn't a great army, although I'm sure it's the equivalent of many more their number in human soldiers.

We need to get to the garden - the Oracles advice afterall.

First - we want to time all our plans of attack so that the night we go for it is when the wolves magic is at it's strongest. We have until the moon is right to plan/learn what we can. That includes continuing our magic learning.

If we have time before the moon is right then we should attempt to boost our numbers however we can from local sources. Every extra body helps.

When the night comes the wolves (apart from a couple to help us) are going to need to provide the distraction.

An assult on the walls with that number is futile, so the distraction is going to require work on the inside of the city. We need to split the wolves up into groups of 3, and seperate them all over the city. We want fires, carnage and riots in as many parts of the city, simultaneously, as possible.

We, Shakal and another need to beeline to the garden and sneak through (if we can learn the invisibility magics then that'll be a lot easier) - killing, where necessary, quickly and silently.

And then it's praying that whatevers in the Garden is as useful as we hope.

Happy Writing :D

[Shady Stoat]

Smee wrote:
Surprise, surprise, my interest is in the magic. But I'm confused as to whether she physically can't learn the wolf magic, or that Malkai was stating that she'll just never be taught.

As the Oracle hinted at in earlier chapters, the magic that you're born with is your core magic - the magic that you can grow strong in.

This doesn't mean that you can't learn aspects of other magics - but no matter what the training, you won't ever master them. With time, Keli may be able to play with light a little - may even be able to fade into the background in a poor semblance of invisibility - but she'll never add to her core skills that way.

The closer the magic is to knowledge/vision based, the better chance she'll have of growing strong in it. That's just the way things are in this world :)

Quote:
If we have time before the moon is right then we should attempt to boost our numbers however we can from local sources. Every extra body helps.

Malkai deliberately chose the time when his magic was strongest before making an attack. When she first found the wolves, they were able to use their full magic (more or less). Shakal and Keli then disappeared into the City for about a week, came back and studied for three more.

You either have a full month before they get back to strength, or you have less than a week to utilise their powers at the height.

What you do with that time (or lack of it) is open to as many suggestions as we can think up :D

[DukeReg]

Smee makes a good point about the phase of the moon needing to be right.

I was in favour before of making detailed plans, but I'm afraid they don't know much, and have no real way of learning more. There should be a plan, but it wont be very complicated: just get inside and strike a particular place as stealthily and quickly as possible.

Assuming they can get to the city within a couple of days, they should leave immediately. They should go there, infiltrate the way Keli and Shakal did the first time. The whole tribe will be inside and free to attack where Keli wants them to.
Assuming they aren't seen, they can sneak to wherever they need to be and then attack.

Where that should be... I don't know. I'll go with others' suggestions.

[LordoftheNight]

Can we get a map of the city?

[Shady Stoat]

Very possibly. I'm working on it. It will only landmark key places within the city that have been of note so far. At least, though, you'll get some idea of the gates, the river entrances and what lies where :)

[Solomon Birch]

The only problem is, would the weres have a map of the city? Maybe a vauge map of the different districts, but anything more than that I don't think they'd have access to.

[LordoftheNight]

I'm sure it wouldn't be that hard to buy one.

Or if we could at least see what they know, if that's the case.

[Shady Stoat]

It'll be a hand-sketched one, with the information Keli has and a few other snippets on it. The sort of thing that she could find out after five minutes' discussion with the Weres.

Any specific questions you have will probably be included in the next chapter and added to the map over time, if that seems appropriate.

[Shady Stoat]

For what it's worth, here's a map of Shift City. As I said, this is hand-written, by memory, from what she remembers of the main places in the city.

If she wants to buy a full map of the region, then she'll have to go into one of the villages to the North or South of Shift. They're currently South and the closest habitation is Great Lake, where she came from originally.

In the meantime, this is what you've got. The dots are temples, in remembered locations. The line intersecting the East wall and the river is the Northern Barricade of Old Shift, where the twisty part of the City ends. I think everything else is self-explanatory.

[LordoftheNight]

Wow - there are a lot of temples there.

Well, at the council I suppose she could try and gather more information, find out what the wolves know, or if they know of any temples of particular importance?

[Chinaren]

Shady Stoat wrote: For what it's worth, here's a map of Shift City. As I said, this is hand-written, by memory, from what she remembers of the main places in the city.



Ahh, I can never see your things on Pawprint Stoat. Any chance of uploading to IF and linking it?

:)

[LordoftheNight]

Here's one in photobucket - is that any better?

[Chinaren]

Quote: Here's one in photobucket - is that any better?

Well, I don't know if it any better, ;) but I can see it now. Thanks Lordo.

[LordoftheNight]

No problemo.

[Shady Stoat]

Okay, the poll's up. I decided to simplify it a little. Whatever Keli does, it's going to involve some commitment to act a lot, a little or not at all. After that has been dealt with, we'll see about the longer-term plans.

3 days to get your votes in. Choose wisely. :)

[LordoftheNight]

Did you mean to put the same question up twice?

[Shady Stoat]

*sigh* That's not what I put in. I'll redo the poll :)

[Shady Stoat]

I think that's better :D

[LordoftheNight]

Voted to get information while waiting for full moon.

[Mother Goose]

We don't have time to wait another month. Things are happening fast; the Oracle expected to be attacked soon after seeing Keli, and the shadows are gathering around Art as well. Whatever information can be gained, by magic or from fleeing Shift City denizens, in a day or two will have to do. In a month the war may be over and we will have lost.

[DukeReg]

Voted. 3rd option was closest to what I wanted.

[Shady Stoat]

OK, we appear to have a tie.

2 votes for trying to get herself and the wolves back into the city.
2 votes for preparing for another month while sending in wolf scouts
and
1 vote for preparing for another month.


Since more people want to stay out of the City than want to go in, I'm breaking the tie with the middle option.

I'll start writing today :D

[chiacutie]

I vote go into the city!


Also, I wanted to say I really liked this paragraph: She longed for Shakal’s advice. Despite all the arguments and the atmospheres between them, strange times made for strange allies. Besides, there was no-one else she could trust here.

It has some really good word choices!

:biggrin: Jenny T :biggrin:

P.S. Do smileys bring down your fable points?

[Shady Stoat]

Ah. Sorry Chia. You missed the voting. If you stay around though, there'll be another chapter up in a couple of days. You can suggest and vote then :D

[Solomon Birch]

Darnit! I missed it!! Blooarg. Me very sorry Stoat. Me go stand in corner...

*goes to stand in corner and holds breath* :shock:

[Shady Stoat]

Chapter 20 up. Locking this topic. Thanks all :D