Chapter 9

• *Whispering Port*
• Melantha glanced at the run-down tavern as they directed their feet toward the main entrance. A female opened the door and ushered for the Ancillae warriors to come in.
• “I am Kayla, follow me!” Kayla directed the group to the back of the building as several sets of eyes glared their way. “I have something for you to eat as well as blood bags for you to take on your trips just in case.” She motioned her head over her shoulder as she continued to walk. Pushing a set of swinging doors open she directed the group into the kitchen to a door at the back of the kitchen. “I hope you don’t mind Type A, I know how vampires can be picky!”
• “Miss … beggars can’t be choosers and right now, we will take what we can get!” Damillan said with a smile.
• Going down a flight of stairs to the basement, 237 individuals were sitting down. All heads turned in their direction.
• Stopping in front of a male who was getting blood taken out of his body, “Father they are here!”
• Snorting, “I can see that!” The male said.
• Kayla crossed her arms in front of her chest, “don’t get snippety with me old man, remember who works in the kitchen.”
• Kayla’s father snorted, “So you are the ones that Caid was calling about, you better have a good reason as to why I was pulled out of bed!”
• “Bruce relax, they are here because the capital has already been attacked.” Caid said as he came into the room. Handing a thick pile of tickets to Melantha, “I could not print off any more without being able to pay my bills. I have called for shuttles to be sent our way as a means to get the citizens of Erolzwald out before things get worse for them.”
• A female came from behind Caid, “and the reason why he is late is because of me!” The female held out her hand in greetings displaying her teeth, “Zane told me you were here. Caid told me you need help getting as many Erolzwald citizens out of danger. I will make sure that is possible. I am Marable, Zane’s mate!”
• “We need to make this quick, to get ahead of the unregistered vampires!” Caid told the group.
• Kayla handed the Ancillae’s a goblet of fresh blood.
• Snorting, “we should be evacuating as well!” Bruce commented.
• Marable took a step toward the group, “it is going to take me close to five days to get to our first safe house. Though Bruce you are correct, anyone who is human should be leaving now. Even if the safe houses are not fully stocked!”
• “Enough!” Kayla yelled, “this is a conversation we can have after the Ancillae have left. Who is going to show them the underground passage to Erolzwald?”
• Marable patted Kayla on the shoulder, “once all the blood bags are filled we will be leaving.” Glancing over at Caid then to Damillan, “out of the 7013 tickets, those that Rimvan had trained, his elite’s, their family gets the first seats out of Erolzwald. The rest are to be given to the rest of the people. I would focus on getting the humans out first. As humans can be turned into unregistered vampires as you already know.”
• Melantha glared at the tickets in Damillan’s hand, “the elite's families will be the first to leave followed by all humans. Everyone else … well … they are going to have to do it through our plan.”
• Bruce huffed and puffed, “it should have never gotten to this point!”
• Kayla was finished packing what the Ancillae and Marable were going to need in packs to be carried. “I hope this is enough!”
• Lifting the pack, ” This is more than enough! Though if I could ask for one thing, could you call the Alpha of Dorasea and tell him what is going on and that Balvalur is heading their way, that would be great!” Damillan said.
• “Don’t forget that Alpha Zevar is heading their way, he should be there no more than 21 days,” Melantha added to what Damillan had said.
• Caid opened a secret passageway, “I will try to get a hold of the shuttle station at Dorasea. That is the best I can do!” Handing Marable a torch, she led the group. “Best of luck!” Caid said as he gave each Ancillae a torch of their own.
• Placing a hand on his shoulder, “thank you for everything you have done, you have no idea how many lives you have saved.” Theron said before he entered the passageway.
• *Gold Forest*
• Though his trip was of great importance, he did admire the scenery. The trees of Gold Forest still held their appearance, of beauty and glory. However, there was something about the changing of their leaves that left the forest appearing as if it were on fire. Instead of their natural gold-coloured leaves, they were turning to reds, oranges and yellows. This natural wonder was something many northern-born people never did get to see.
• Even the dirt beneath Alpha Zevar's paws felt different. The north's landscape is rugged and harsh. When they shift they have to condition their paws to the sharp and jagged land. Here the soil is soft to the touch, nothing like the North. The alpha felt like he was trotting on silk sheets, gliding across the land with little difficulty.
• The smell in the air told Alpha Zevar that autumn was about to bring her colder winds. With the nights getting cooler, the further north he went he could smell the northern airs invading the terrain. The alpha did not need a seer to tell him that this winter was going to be especially cold. How cold Dark Crystal Tower, Sigmison and the Yadah Plains get he was unsure of, but he did know one thing, this winter was going to be extremely harsh on many people and families.
• During the nighttime, the alpha found shelter in the Golden Forest. never fully sleeping, but resting. Always keeping his senses alert and ready for any sign of danger. At the same time, he was hunting for small game that he could eat to sustain his body weight. With the far travel and continuous motion, he could not afford to lose all of his body fat. /Each day that he had travelled in the woods he had either caught a fish that would feed him for the night or a leporid. Alpha Zevar would have preferred venison stew over a fish or leporid, but he needed to keep his body fat up so that when the fighting began, he would be strong enough to defend his land and people.
• *Underground Passage*
• Marable guided the group of Ancillae fighters through the handmade underground passage. Trickling of water could be seen when the light from the torch skimmed over the walls. The air was stale and moist, the further the group descended underground the warmer it became.
• Running his hands over the walls, “I can’t believe this!” Norrix commented. “How long have the nomads been working on this?”
• “Over 300 years each generation worked on a section.” Marable explained to the group, “with no one listening to the cries and warnings. We then formed a plan to create our own society. Knowing that the end result was going to be devastating.” Marable did not blame either side, “I was hoping that a peaceful resolution would be the outcome. That none of this would happen. The worst part of this all … no one really understands why? We all speculate that it has to do with greed and power, but we do not understand the full reason as to why?”
• Nelo thought about what was spoken, “who makes up the society?”
• Marable stopped moving her feet, “primarily the nomads and their families. Some of the family members live in the cities and countryside. The others were leaders of small colonies, like Alpha Jabrot, Davwan and Sufa. They had joined forces with Zane and Rimvan.”
• “Why Zane and Rimvan?” Damillan was not seeing the connection.
• Marable giggled, “they are twins … Rimvan was born a dire wolf, his twin brother Zane had the gen for a vampire. Unlike you, Zane did not need an undead parent to change him to full vampire. He was born that way, like Gazax Alzrin.” She began walking, “and before you start quoting the laws, remember this, the laws state we have to register the name we take, not the bloodline we come from.”
• Theron chuckled, “this whole time, everyone thought you travelled on top of the land, while you have made a functioning society underground. Under the noises of all the kingdoms. I don’t know if I should be impressed or scared of the end results?”
• “You could be both!” Marable commented as she continued to lead the way.
• Only when they reached a cave did they rest. Nelo was the first to gasp when he realized that this area was supplied with everything that would sustain them for years. “You are equipped with everything that you would need to survive down here!”
• Not including the pathway they had come from there were an additional seven entrances. Pointing this out, “Where do all of those paths lead to?” Damillan asked.
• Sitting down, “each of those tunnels lead to other kingdoms, but you have to know which tunnels to take or you are going to be in a continuous loop or ending up at a dead end.” Marabel disclosed to them, “many of the passageways are natural, we worked with the land. Though we had to make it that if our system was ever found out, we had protection. It had been designed to be like a labyrinth, making it more difficult for an unregistered vampire or at the time Coldfurgus to get a hold and kill the individuals that are taking refuge here.” Marabel frowned, “many humans that were sentenced to death had been brought down here when we had learned that Coldfurgus was taking them and handing them over to Reacher.”
• Valinia’s headshot in the direction of Marabel, “What does Reacher have to do with this?”
• Marabel exhaled, “I wasn’t told everything, but I know Reacher was collecting humans for something. Rimvan and Zane tried to get close to Azgar and Bazzu to find out what was going on, but were not successful.”
• Damillan growled, not liking what he was hearing, “how many humans were sentenced to death and were taken out of Erolzwald?”
• “In the last decade, of the 640 humans, only 213 of those convicted were we able to save. Once we clued into what was going on, we got the victim and their family out of Erolzwald without a trace. They now live down here!”
• Nelo was glancing around the cave admiring the work, “I am amazed at the preparation of the underground society but how far are we from Erolzwald?”
• “We are more than halfway to the Seheath Woods. Then we will exit from the underground passageways, North of Erolzwald, it will then take two days to travel south to the north gates.”
• Damillan stood up, “has everyone had enough to eat?”
• Marabel mimicked Damillan, “it appears everyone is ready to leave. I have to caution you not to speak as we travel down the tunnel, we will be closer to the surface and we can not give way to our location … vampire hearing!”
• *Yadah Plains*
• A storm cell was going over the Yadah Plains, bringing with it a lot of rain and strong winds. Internally the alpha was jumping up and down with joy. He knew that in this type of weather, the shuttle would be slowed down. Inspecting the location, the tracks recovered with at least a foot of water. If the shuttle should pass this way, it would slow down to make sure the shuttle did not skip the tracks.
• Alpha Zevar had reached the fork in the road, a decision would have to be made, does he continue to follow the shuttle tracks, or should he keep to the river that would shorten his trip by eight days?
• Shifting into his human form, he found a place to sit under a tree. The rain was coming down steadily, causing him to shiver as the winds hit his exposed skin. Sitting so that he can meditate the alpha cleared his mind. Many times in his life as a leader he has had to make difficult choices, but he always had his counsel and family there. This time he had to do this process all by himself! A picture of his wife flashed in his mind.
• Opening his eyes he spotted a single leaf blowing in the direction that was motioning away from the shuttle tracks. Opening his bag he grabbed something quick to eat, it was the last bit of the jerky that he would be able to eat until he could catch his next kill.
• Looking over his shoulder more leaves blew away from the shuttle tracks. Silently nodding his head he took this as a sign.
• As miserable as the weather was, the alpha’s spirits were still high and hopeful. Allowing the food that he had consumed to settle a bit the alpha shifted, picking up his bag with his jaw, he began his travels again.
• *Whispering Port*
• “Caid what proof do you have? There are only stories from the East, and nothing for us to worry about.” Therzana Longfound repeated the same line that had been said thousands of times. “It is their problem not ours and I will not do a thing until you prove to me there is a problem.”
• Therzana chose ignorance over education.
• “But I will do one thing to ease the minds like yours,” Therzana wanted to humour Caid and the others that have brought the concern to her attention, not wanting to lose the next vote to be mayor in the next term. “I will ask for the public floating devices to remain in the water for an additional 14 days.”
• "What about the people of Erolzwald?" Caid tried a different approach.
• ***
• Caid stormed out of the office of Therzana Longfound. As he had predicted, she would not listen to his warnings. Storming into his home his wife was getting the midday meal ready.
• “I am going to take it that things did not go well!” She said as she got him a cup of tea.
• “Cennir … she would not listen, like everyone else! The only thing Therzana is willing to do is keep the public ships in the water an extra 14 days and it is optional.” Caid snorted, “Therzana isn’t taking this seriously at all … lives are at risk and she thinks this is a tale to create fear and confusion.”
• “Sit down before you hurt yourself!” Cennir told her husband. “In every sense she is right! Nothing has happened … in centuries! The concept of a war is only stories in books. It is understandable that she will not respond because in her mind, if she reacts to stories then her credibility is tarnished by those that are naysayers. If she doesn't do a thing and something happens she will feel the heat as well. The only thing we can do is be prepared to help those out when the time comes.” She patted her husband on the back. “Were you able to get the shuttles from the other kingdoms?”
• Caid to a gulp of his tea, shaking his head no, “I was not able to get a hold of them, and that bothers me a great deal.”
• Cennir sat down in the chair beside Caid, “I think it is time we elders had a conversation about what we are going to do next.”