Malice - In Malice We Trust - Ep. 1

In Malice We Trust - Ep 3

A wolf leaped toward them from the shadow of the woods. Aaron stumbled back in the mud as he thrust the pole's tip at the creature. The traveller yelled and stomped at the ground as more wolves emerged from the underbrush.

Aaron stared at him in disbelief. "What are you doing? You're making things worse."

"You need to show them who's in charge. Show them you're a harder target than they think."

A few animals backed off, but the lead wolf, a large grey creature, stood its ground and bared its teeth to prove it. Snickering came from the top of the wall as the guards stood and watched, highly amused at the confrontation below them. They spoke softly, pointing and nodding, and Aaron debated whether to use his weapon on the animals or the guards. He was sure he could hit at least one of them.

His anger took over. "What the hell's wrong with you?" A wolf charged toward him, and he swung at the beast to ward it off. "Are you just going to stand there and watch them tear us to pieces?"

Ol' Bert chuckled. "Don't worry. We won't let them get that close."

There was raucous laughter from the other guards on the wall. Aaron's temper fueled his attack, and he followed the traveller's lead and stomped and growled at the closest wolf. He swung his pole at another and tried to be as intimidating as possible.

A gunshot rang out and many of the smaller wolves scattered for the safety of the underbrush, but the largest wolf remained behind, at a safe distance.

Aaron glanced up at their audience. "We won?"

The entire row of guards trained their weapons on something larger. The traveller retracted his fighting pike.

"Not yet."

In the dim light, this second creature looked look human. It was tall, muscular, covered in hair, and partially clothed. It crouched low to the ground and leaned slightly forward as though it was ready to pounce.

Aaron stood next to the traveller. He knew what it was, but the words came out anyway. "What is that?"

The traveller turned, glared at the guards on the wall, and then turned back. "A werewolf. Retract the pike. It won't attack if it's not threatened."

Aaron turned to the guards on the wall. "You have to let us in. Now!"

The guards kept the guns aimed at the massive creature.

The traveller grabbed Aaron tight by the arm. "Turn around and back up slowly. They gotta see your face. Tells them if you're friend or foe, but don't take your eyes off it."

Aaron took a few steps back but slipped in the mud and fell backward onto the road. His body hit the ground hard, forcing his fighting pike from his hand. He watched fearfully as it hit the ground a few feet away and burst into its entire length. The werewolf charged at Aaron. Aaron scrambled along the ground and, in fear, ran away from the entrance to a clump of brush at the far side of the wall.

The traveller took a few steps to one side, extracted his pike, cracked the werewolf across his calf, then over the back, and finished with a hard strike across the face.

The werewolf howled in pain and switched his focus to Evren. The gate opened, and several guards rushed out; their long barrel rifles pointed at the werewolf.

The old man chuckled. "We got it covered, Malice. I got ten good shooters on it. It blinks the wrong way, and they'll take it down."

Evren kept his focus on the werewolf. "Get inside, kid!"

Aaron stumbled out of the brush toward the guards. One grabbed him by the scruff and pulled him to his feet.

"Come on! They're letting us in."

The traveller kept his pike and his focus on the werewolf.

The creature made a small move.

The other guards cocked their weapons.

The creature spoke, but it was nothing anyone could understand. A series of grunts and growls were punctuated with short words. When done, it snorted at Evren and backed into the woods with the giant wolf.

No one relaxed.

Ol' Bert shook his head. "Wolfspeak. Gives me nightmares just hearing it."

The traveller stepped back, retracted his pike and grabbed his sack. "Then you don't want to know what he said."

Aaron stood with the other guards a little more relaxed but kept a wary eye on the surrounding black woods. "You understood it?

"As much as anyone does."

"What did he say?"

The traveller pulled his hood back over his head. "It isn't over, or something like that."

The old man appeared in the entranceway of the gate and walked out with a few of the guards from the wall. "Put more guards on the gate and ready the traps. I want them in place by midnight."

The traveller walked up to the older man, and they gripped hands. "No need for that. I think they got the message."

Ol' Bert was defiant. "You're not in charge here, Malice." He turned to a small group of men at the gate entrance. "Set the traps, but don't bait them. Don't need to kill anything unless we have to."

The traveller headed to the open gate. Aaron ran to catch up with him.

"Wait! I didn't catch your name."

"Didn't give one."

Aaron ran back, grabbed his carpet bag from the ground, and followed the guards into town.

Behind the wall, small one-story buildings line a roughly paved road for several blocks. The buildings were primarily shops and storage areas, with a few three-story buildings closest to the wall doubling as lookout points on the roof. A small group of onlookers quietly dispersed from around the main gate and headed toward the center of town. This place smelled of fires, sewer, and another pungent aroma he couldn't quite figure out.

Aaron tried to keep up with the traveller. "My name is Aaron Zahira. What's yours, friend?"

The traveller stopped. "Remember what I showed you, and you can keep the pike."

Aaron frowned. "That's all you're going to say. After we fought wolves together?"

The traveller said nothing and turned down one of the side roads.

Ol' Bert came up behind Aaron. "Give it up, lad. There's just some people in this world you don't wanna get familiar with, and Evren Malice is one of them." He slapped him hard on the back and smiled. "Welcome to Ernestown."