This Little Wolfie Went to Market

[Rhindeer]

Cain had to wonder what this wolf's connection to Pepper was, but the urgency of the situation stalled any questions for the moment. There would be time for that once they were on the road--though he wasn't entirely sure the wolf would be able to answer him, anyway.

He packed a rucksack with a few quick supplies for the road, a little food and a waterskin, and then he was ready, and it looked like the wolf was, too. Whatever connection it had to Pepper, it was currently his only lead to the girl. "Let's go."

He locked up his home and lead the way to a stable in the back, where he kept his horse, an older dun mare. It took a little bit for him to get her saddled, for he was losing strength in his hands (and his strength had never been physical, anyway, but in books and knowledge), and then he stored away his supplies in her saddlebags and mounted the horse.

"Can you change, wolf?" he asked as he turned the mare around and nudged her into motion.

[kleineklementine]

Soren was having a bit of an argument with himself. Here was this old man, fumbling around with his staff and his supplies and maybe all the money he had. He couldn't honestly convince himself that he'd earned the money from Tivol, but... there was so much of it! But he was fairly sure what Cain was thinking: He'd buy Pepper back from the slave auction. Could he really let the old mage spend all his money and not do anything?

So when Cain opened the door, the wolf huffed a small sigh and then shot out into the forest. He had to take a little care to avoid any lights, but it was getting late and there were few people around, so for once the wolf prioritized speed over stealth. He returned to where he'd buried the money he'd received for Pepper and began digging in the soft earth. Soren hadn't quite decided what he would have done with it, but it didn't really matter now...

In a few minutes Soren returned to find Cain slowly saddling his horse. He trotted up to the man with the full, heavy coin purse in his mouth, dirt was still peppered on the purse and on his muzzle. He nudged Cain's leg, holding the purse up for him.

Well, so much for that.

Watching Cain mount the horse, Soren realized that he'd probably have had to take the man to Ketra whether he wanted to or not. At least, if he wanted him to get there. Traveling alone in the night... Well, you never knew what power a mage might be hiding. But Soren thought it was still probably better to have a wolf along to deter opportunistic bandits. Who knows, though, maybe this old man could set the forest ablaze with a blink of his old eyes. One never could tell with mages.

"Can you change, wolf?"

The golden eyes looked up at Cain, and the wolf wheezed something between a sigh and a whine. Just communicating to the man where Pepper was had been enough work. He wasn't sure that he'd be able to get across 'Well, yes, but only sometimes, and I can't actually control it.' And honestly, he wouldn't want to change if he could control it. As far as Soren was concerned, Cain knew all the information he needed!

The wolf trotted a few paces ahead and stopped to look back, ready to set off through the night with the old, creaky wizard on what was most likely a fool's errand.

...Is this how things turned out when you actually cared about what happened to people?

[Rhindeer]

Cain let out a low sigh as the wolf gave his wordless answer. Perhaps he wasn't a shifter at all, then. Perhaps he was just a wolf--a very intelligent, very sentient wolf, but still a wolf. Or perhaps he was trapped like that--though he couldn't be a werewolf; the moon was a waxing crescent. Perhaps the slavers that had taken Pepper had done something to him? No, he had to be human somewhere in there, because what on Earth would he be doing otherwise with a bag of money? Wolves, even intelligent ones, didn't carry money, much less know where to get it!

And as his old mare set into motion, Cain opened the bag--and nearly dropped it when he saw just how much was in there.

He stared down at the wolf, blinking, and looked again as though to be sure his old eyes weren't seeing things that weren't there.

"How in the world did you...? Ah, no matter! Thank you, Wolf. With luck, good timing, and one hell of an explanation--and perhaps a little intimidation!--we won't need to use this, Kia willing. But thank you. Ah, if only you could talk. I have so much to ask, and so much that could be learned from such an intelligent animal!"

But he nudged the mare into a trot, and then a gallop, and trusted the wolf would lead the way.

[kleineklementine]

Soren gazed back up at Cain with his gold wolf's eyes. He felt guilty forcing this old man into this situation, especially observing the vigor with which Cain was approaching it. But he was very glad that he didn't have to answer any of the mage's questions. Can was, of course, wrong. Other than the truth of how Pepper ended up in the slaver markets of Ketra, there was absolutely nothing he could learn from this wolf. How to be a cad, maybe? Maybe. Intelligent animal indeed! Maybe he could find a wizard that could make him stay a wolf permanently. He seemed to do a bit better when he had a tail.

The wolf was glad to start off, and maintained a steady run ahead of the horse for as long as Cain's mare could maintain the gallop. He realized that he was running on nerves alone now. When had he slept last? Not the last night with Pepper. Then he'd run the entire day to Cain. And now all night to Ketra. But he wasn't tired, in a way. It was like penance. Then again, after a few hours at a gallop, Soren wasn't sorry when they slowed to a trot. Whenever he started getting too tired, he remembered Pepper falling into that ravine, looking so ridiculous, so pitiful. Just a lost girl in the woods. That's what he'd thought when he first saw her sitting wet in the stream. How had he stopped seeing that? It made him wonder again if he weren't just a tad worse when he was human than wolf.

Alternating between trotting, occasionally walking, and running, it was still already mid-morning by the time they reached Ketra. Soren slowed to a halt at the outskirts of the city. He hadn't been in a town larger than cain's trading town as a wolf before and he didn't like the thought of it. He looked in at the city with his ears back, tail down. A city was a dangerous place for a wolf. And if he changed in Ketra, with all those people around, it would be so... embarrassing.

It was this thought that snapped Soren back to the task at hand. He was woried about being embarrassed when Pepper was in there being sold as a slave!? So he let out a long exhale, and led Cain into the city.

Soren kept close to the mage and his horse as they moved through the city, hoping to pass as the man's dog. (That was a thought he'd never had before!) It took less than half an hour before they reached the auction market, and as they approached it the hair on the nape of the wolf's neck stood on end. He could smell it. Blood and steel and stale fear. The wolf froze for one moment, then ran the last, remaining distance ahead of Cain, no longer worried about staying in the mare's shadow. The scene that waited there was... an empty one.

The market had neither slaves nor slavers nor bidders. Only the human stains of the past day's massacre in the dirt and dust and stone. And one lone man left to clean it all up. Seeing the man, horse, and... dog? approach the market square, he called over to them.

"No market today! Have to clean up after that mess yesterday."

[Rhindeer]

It took far too long to reach the city, and by the time they did, Cain was going on nearly a full day of no sleep. Yet sleep deprived as he was, he felt strangely energized--because he had to be, for Pepper's sake. He walked his horse when she tired, and galloped her when she had rested, and followed the wolf closely.

The journey passed in a blur of trees and motion, and then the city unfolded before them. With a deep breath, Cain followed the wolf in.

It didn't take long to realize something was horribly wrong.

He felt it first in his mare, whose ears stiffened and nostrils flared. She tossed her head and snorted, feet stamping as she breathed in scents his nose was too weak to pick up. The hair prickled along the back of Cain's neck as they approached the auction block, a heavy lump of dread congealing in his gut. It was too quiet. Too empty. You could usually hear the slavers and bidders long before you actually got there, and there would be more people milling about, more activity, and then the wolf bolted and Cain trotted his horse after him.

The scene that awaited them was worse than he imagined.

Empty. Absolutely empty.

With splashes of reddish brown all along the cobblestones in splatters and pools.

Cain's stomach twisted. He pulled his horse up alongside the man and fought to keep his voice calm and steady.

"What 'mess'? What happened here? Where are the slaves?"

"Oh, well, I reckon they're all dead," the man replied as though it were obvious, propping his broom up against the crook of his elbow. He shook his head. "It was a disaster. Buncha slaves broke free and folks went nuts. Ordered 'em all dead instead of bothering to round 'em up." He clicked his tongue. "Such a waste."

Oh gods. It would be just like the foolish girl to lead a rebellion rather than go quietly. He swallowed passed the lump in his throat, hands growing clammy. "Was there...was there a girl? Curly hair? Black and green? Lots of freckles?"

The man shrugged again. "There were a lot of girls. Beats me, I wasn't there until after the killin' stopped."

"And the bodies? What was done with them?"

"I reckon they'll be burned. They carted them out of town," he said, motioning toward the east.

Cain glanced down at the wolf and gripped his reins tighter. There was only one way to know.

[kleineklementine]

It had been clear that something was wrong from the moment they saw the empty square. Market squares were always full - of vegetables or pots or crafts or, yes, even slaves - why should this one be closed? The answer was obvious, even before the man tasked with cleaning up after it explained what had happened. Or obvious enough anyway. The stain and stale smell of blood was everywhere.

The wolf stood stock-still, eyes locked beyond Cain, beyond the man, on the empty market square. He was hardly even listening to what they were saying. But he still heard more than he wanted to know.

Where are the slaves? ... all dead ... broke free ... ordered 'em all dead ... waste.

This raised the hackles on the wolf and it emitted a low growl. That was the waste? Killing the slaves? That? As if slavery itself weren't already the worst waste of all? But before the growl could finish in his throat, the wolf remembered why he was here. Why the girl had been here. His tail dropped, his hackles lowered, his ears fell back. No, he was the last to claim any right to anger. Not anger with anyone else, anyway...

Soren was still busy feeling miserable with himself when he caught another snippet of the conversation. And the bodies? Oh no. No. The old man wouldn't really dig through a pile of bodies, looking for the girl? Or what had been the girl. No, Soren was not signing up for that. But.. He saw the resolution on Cain's face and knew instantly that he couldn't let the old wizard go alone. He'd done this. He'd caused it. Even if not the killing... Well, what if he had? What if that had happened if Pepper'd been here? He could imagine her breaking away, fighting until the end... Scrappy little brat.

With the heaviest feeling of resignation, sure that he would never feel light or happy or unburdened again, the wolf turned in the direction the man motioned. He was sure Cain would follow, so he didn't even look back to check. He didn't run now - his paws were like lead! - but he moved at the quickest trot the heaviness inside of him and inside of his paws and weighing down on his conscious would allow. He didn't know what he wanted to find. He didn't want to find anything. He didn't want to go. What was he doing? But he led the way, following the man's direction and his nose. Soren wasn't really sure how long it took, but he found himself on the edge of town and stopped. Not twenty yards ahead of the wolf was a pile, haphazardly thrown together, dumped together, with no thought of the dignity of the bodies.

Soren stopped. Swallowed. He knew, somewhere far in the back of his head that he should be the one shuffling through that pile. Through the cold, stiff corpses, searching for Pepper's smell. Whatever that would be now... But he found he couldn't. He was frozen. The wolf just stood, still, alert, terrified.

[Rhindeer]

Cain followed the wolf, dread heavy in his stomach. Like the wolf, he also didn't rush, but walked, his mind racing as they headed in the direction the man had said, his thoughts filled with the horrors that they might find. But he had to know. He had to know if she was among those bodies, or if, by some miracle, she had escaped.

And if she hadn't...

He sucked in a steadying breath.

He would take her home just the same. She deserved the dignity of a burial in her homeland, by a Serenian priest, ushered to her final resting place by her own gods. Not to be burned on a pile of unnamed bodies and scattered across foreign soil. He had failed her already, but he would not fail her here. It was the least he could do for his student now.

It wasn't long before they reached the spot, where a pile of bodies had been thrown in a haphazard heap. Such senseless disregard for life. It never failed to astound him. Steeling himself, he nudged his horse forward, stopped before the pile, and dismounted stiffly. For a moment he just stood there, stretching his sore muscles, but it was more just an excuse to put off the inevitable.

Finally, he glanced at the wolf and let out a slow breath. He didn't say anything, though. Didn't know what to say.

And then, rolling his shoulders back, he approached the heap.

It was a horrible sight. Worse than anything he had ever seen. He had fought in a battle before, but this was unlike that, for these were all defenseless young girls, cut down like nothing, their faces frozen in terror and pain. The smell of old blood and rot was horrific, making him gag, but he had to move some of the bodies to check the ones that were too buried for him to catch sight of their skin color or hair. It felt wrong to push so many aside, caring only for one, but it couldn't be helped, because Pepper was the only one he knew.

It was long work, because it was hard to move some of the bodies, and he had to pause frequently, but finally, finally, he had counted them all, and...

"She's not there."