Read Tales of the Wolf: Book 01 - The Coming of the Wolf for Free Online Page B

could be seen from her vantage point. No roads or smoke signaling a campfire or village, only the endless tops of green and white. 
    Shifting her attention to the only door in the room, Tatianna leaned down and placed her pointy ear to the aged wood.  Sounds of movement and muffled voices lay beyond but nothing she could discern. Taking a deep breath, Tatianna shifted the grip on her sword and yanked open the door.
    Whatever she was expecting, that which confronted her wasn’t it. Calmly sitting at a wooden table eating a plate of scrambled eggs with roasted pork were her two brothers, bandaged but alive.
    “Well…well,” Mortharona said as he set down his fork. “Look who finally decided to wake up!”
    Standing slowly, Khlekluëllin winced with the effort. “Greetings sister, I am pleased to see you up and about.”
    “Khlekluëllin!”
    Overwhelmed with joy, Tatianna lowered her sword and rushed forward to embrace her brothers. Also moving slowly, Mortharona joined his siblings and the three spent a brief moment enjoying the comfort of family. 
    “Now lass, you shouldn’t be doin’ all that huggin’ ye might rip your stitches!”
    Breaking their grip, the three elves turned to look at the speaker. Standing in the doorway to the kitchen was their dwarven host.
    Tatianna took a moment and studied the old dwarf.
    He was nearly four feet tall and broad of shoulder. His bushy eyebrows, beard and mustache were fiery red with streaks of grey. Although both his beard and mustache were long and reached down to his belt, he was bald which was extremely unusual for a dwarf.
    “Wha’sa matter lass? Nev’r seen a dwarf before?”
    Blushing with the knowledge that she had been staring, Tatianna placed her right hand over her heart and bowed low. “Forgive my rudeness master dwarf.”
    “Bah! There won’t bein’ any mast’r dwarf this or that, da name’s Rjurik. Rjurik Silvershield.” Crossing the room with his rolling gait, he pulled out an empty chair and thrust it at Tatianna. “Now’in ye better sit down, da pup will be along shortly.”
    Glancing at her brothers, Tatianna raised her right eyebrow. “Pup?”
    “Bah!” was Rjurik’s response. Moving over to the fire, he began slicing off strips of pork from the roasting boar flank. “Ye better eat. Ya need ta regain your strength.”
    At the mention of food, Tatianna’s stomach growled in response. “My thanks Rjurik for the offer but we elves don’t normally eat meat but it does smell delicious.”
    “It is.” Khlekluëllin said, “It is probably the most wonderful meal I have ever had, including every feast and banquet we have ever attended.”
    “Bah! I’da like ta say it was me spices but its nuttin’ more than yer first meal after a brush with death.” He jabbed his fork in the direction of the twins. “You two were mere moments from walking da dark path and ye know it.”
    Taking another mouthful of food, Mortharona nodded his agreement. “There is truth in your words; death’s cold fingers were gripping my spine when you two arrived. I never thought I would owe my life to a stubby old dwarf and a crazed barbarian.”
    “Mortharona!” said Tatianna.
    Rjurik seem unfazed by the slight insult. “Well, to tell ye the truth, I nev’r thought I would have ta rescue a pair of elven warriors from a bunch of gobbies.”
    He punctuated his statement with a tobacco laden spit into the fire. The twins nearly choked with laughter at the jest.
    Realizing the insults were just friendly banter, Tatianna tried to change the subject. “Rjurik, I have some questions.”
    “What’cha need lass?”
    “Answers, where are we for starters?”
    “Logical first question,” Rjurik said. “You’re still in da Highlands, a little over three leagues west from da Shrine of Luna and about twenty leagues from da edge of da Darkmoor Mountains in case dat helps you get your bearings.”
    He gestured at the structure around them. “This tower was once a