Redlance: The past never stays in the past

So, after a long wait, here is the next part of our treeshaper's Saga’s. I won't set out my usual rules and such this time. I'm pretty sure everyone understands this an AU, the characters won't be acting as usual, and dare I say some will not be here at all. I hope you all enjoy, but if you don't, I more than understand.

Now, please keep all hands and arms inside the ride at all times. It's time to let our treeshaper do what he does best.



‘The only difference between the saint and the sinner is that every saint has a past, and every sinner has a future’ – Oscar Wilde

The white cold fell in a slow, and seemingly never-ending pace, as if this Death Season meant to cover and bury the whole of the Holt in a solid white wrapping, much like preserver silk he thought with a smile.  Out of these last five turns of the seasons at Father Tree, this Death Season was by far the coldest of all Redlance thought as he headed out this evening, and maybe the coldest of all he had experienced in his long life.  The Death Season was always harsh on the tribe, what with the loss of game due to the white cold making any kill precious and every root he found a necessity to stave off starvation, but here at Father Tree, this one felt worse than any other the Wolfriders had seen.  The Dark Holt, the Forbidden Grove, and even the woods they roamed waiting for his beloved healer, Suntop and Ember to return, all had Death Seasons, but not as cold as here the treeshaper noted.  The white cold here at Father Tree was deeper, almost to his knee now, what with his small stature, and as he walked the growing mass of white cold surrounded him in every direction.  Redlance moved along with his head bowed, crunching and shuffling with a high step, heading in a direction he didn’t need to look up to know where he was going or where he would end up.  He knew this path too well and he found himself walking it often, on those nights when he needed to think, when he needed their guidance.  Only this night wasn’t one of those times where he sought their council.

Then, before he knew it, Redlance was there where the unseen path ended.  He looked up as the large flakes of white cold glistened in his hair, like little stars from the night sky above.  The treeshaper shivered as he saw the small opening in the woods, not big enough to call a clearing or even close to being a dell.  It was just a break in the trees, a small separation where a circle had formed around a single conifer, an opening just big enough to make one think this tree was special, just like Father Tree.  

It used to be the treeshaper thought as he approached slowly, if it were their tree.

The tree was covered in the white cold.  Its branches were bent and weighted down from the amount of the falling flakes.  Redlance reached out and gently brushed away a pile covering a small branch, enough to reach the green needles there, caressing them with a soft touch.  There was no immediate connection, no ‘talking’ as there was with his trees during the Green Growing Season, but this was not something that scared the treeshaper.  No, he knew his friend here was only asleep, something all his trees in the Holt did once the Death Season was among them.  Redlance only brushed more of the white cold away as his nose picked up a familiar scent, just a moment before he heard his voice.

“I thought you were going to get stones to warm.”

The treeshaper turned to see his chief standing just an arm’s length away with a concerned look.  Redlance shook his head sending the white cold in his red hair falling as he smiled and spoke low.  “I was, then I found myself here, being drawn by something.”

Cutter smiled with Redlance, walking up to his treeshaper, knowing well what this spot was and why it drew Redlance here, what is used to be before the humans burnt the forest down so long, long ago.  He gave his head a shake to rid his blond mane of the growing white cold there as he stopped.  All Wolfriders could feel the presence of their families at Father Tree, of sires and grandsires and mothers and grandmothers and loved ones, the grand oak was more than just a home to the tribe.  Father Tree was the Wolfriders ‘Palace’, a single living connection to all the spirits of their beloved dead who stayed and watched the tribe grow and thrive from the other world.  The spirits of those stolen too young, and those who had lived till called to cross, watched over them, to never lose touch with their loved ones.  Cutter had seen his sire and mother, long since taken by Madcoil, come to him in their shimmering spirits before entering Father Tree the night Redlance woke the grand oak.  He had talked with them both so much since that night, long silent conversations that helped guide him and his tribe, but it wasn’t till almost a full turn of the moon that he realized he hadn’t seen one mated pair return to Father Tree that night.

He hadn’t seen the sire and mother of Redlance, his beloved treeshaper.  He had seen all the others, old Wolfriders he knew by sight and those he had never seen before that night, but he did not see Talltree or Starshower.  When he asked his treeshaper later why that was, Redlance only smiled sadly and said because they were somewhere else.  The wolfchief didn’t understand what that meant till he learned of this spot, what it was, and then he understood with simple clarity.  Cutter stopped by the treeshaper’s side and whispered, “This tree, it’s too young to be the one you put their bones in so long ago?”

Redlance shook his head again, “No, that one was lost in the fire when the humans tried to kill us. This one, it’s the grand-cub of the grand-cub of that tree, I think.”

The wolf chief chuckled, and before Cutter could ask why his treeshaper had come to talk with his sire and mother, another familiar voice caught him off guard.  It wasn’t a sound he liked at all, it grated on him actually, but the wolf chief knew who it belonged to and he knew the threat wasn’t physical from this one.  It was the other ‘Way’ of Atok that Cutter was suspicious of. He turned to see the old one squatting by a tree just a few steps away, his old rags he wore and sunken eyes the same as the day Cutter saw them on the trail coming to Father Tree five seasons ago.

“What are you doing out tonight old one, in this cold?”  Cutter asked with squinted eyes.  

It wasn’t long after the night his family had fallen into the stream that the old one had finally come to them, not just him and Redlance, but to the whole tribe. There was a large bear in the Holt, diseased and hurt, which he had come to warn them of, and in doing so to let them know he was certainly more than just an old human in rags. What Cutter learned that night, what he was shown, taught the wolf chief that New Moon was useless against Atok of the Forest.  The old one here was beyond any weapon they possessed, as Redlance had guessed, which wasn’t quite as worrisome as learning Atok had been watching them for as long as there had been a Goodtree’s Rest, the very one burned by the humans.  Cutter didn’t like being stalked like prey, but he had come to grudgingly accept it like the others in the tribe, the old one had been helpful in warning them of unforeseen dangers, like the bear that night, in the Holt on occasion.  Still, having something that left no trace as it passed watching you did not sit well with Cutter, not at all.

Atok shook his body, like a wolf shaking its furs, sending the white cold flying before answering in the voice Cutter didn’t like.  “I came to see what drew our Red Hair to this spot on a night like this?”

“It wasn’t to talk with my sire and mother,” Redlance suddenly whispered, drawing Cutter’s attention away from Atok, as the tree he touched woke up.  It gave a great shake sending white cold falling in chunks, showering the three and blinding the elves both for a moment.  The treeshaper and wolf chief spit out the white cold laughing, that was till Redlance stopped just as quickly as he started and began to slide into the branches of the tree.  “There’s a flower in here.”

“A flower, but how is it alive with the Death Season on us like this?”  Cutter asked quickly, moving the branches to see too.  He watched as Redlance carefully removed the bloom from a single vine growing up and along the trunk of the tree, the color of the flower as vibrant as the dawn of the day star.  The petals were longer than an elf’s finger, nine in all, with a small brown circle from which all grew from.  

The treeshaper slowly pulled it out form its protected spot shaking his head.  “I don’t know my chief, but it’s beautiful, and I think we’ve have seen it before.”

“Yes, we have,” Cutter replied with a low voice as his memory reached back through the fog of his long life, back to a night during the Green Growing Season in another Holt, when he had seen the flower before.  “So why is it back now, here?”

Redlance looked up from where he stood ready to ask Atok why the flower had come back, how it had come back in the middle of the Death Season with the white cold covering everything.  Only the old one wasn’t there, the spot where he had been squatting was vacant now, as if Atok had never been there at all.  The treeshaper saw his chief look over at the spot then back to him with a frustrated look before speaking quickly.  “I hate it when he does that, slips off, leaving me feeling as thick as a tree’s bole.”

“I don’t like it when he sneaks up on me,” Redlance chuckled protecting the flower from the wind and white cold by cradling it close to his thick tunic.  “What do we tell the others why we’ve been gone so long?”

“The flower, we came out here to check on the tree where you put the bones of your sire and mother and found the flower.”  Cutter answered quickly.

“And Atok, my guess is we tell the family we found him?”

“He found us, I like that better because it’s true, now let’s get back with those stones before we freeze to death.”  The wolf chief ordered with a chuckle, and both moved out of the small circle leaving the tree alone to catch the falling white cold on its branches once again.

Nice start. Now what is so special about that flower and where have they seen it before

Can't wait to see what happens next.

G0lden wrote:

Nice start. Now what is so special about that flower and where have they seen it before

Can't wait to see what happens next.

And the wait is now over Miss G0lden as here is the next piece...



Where were they?

Nightfall sighed while looking at the fur covered flap of the den, the large longtooth pelt covering the leather drape, and both trying to hold back the cold biting wind of the outside. She could barely remember a Death Season being this harsh. The white cold falling endlessly, it seemed, to cover everything and all in a dull white mat. It made hunting easier, what with the tracks and signs from the game showing so obviously in the white cold, making following so effortless, that was if there were game to hunt. The cold drove the deer away, the tusk hogs deeper into their dens, and the birds to nest high in their own homes among the trees, and all were waiting for the green growing season to return. What game the tribe was able to kill, was the weaker or young ones among the forest, the feeble deer who could not seek shelter away from the Holt or the young tusk hog caught unaware, away from their hole. Yes, it was a hard life during the Death Season, but one the Wolfriders were accustomed too and could survive.

Yet this one, this season, exerted a grimmer grip on the Holt, and the elves, than other seasons before. The white cold fell longer, gathered quicker, and all the while the wind bit at them more. Even Cutter, who usually wore little but his vest around his chest during the season, had asked Moonshade for a fur-lined tunic just as the Death Season descended. The decision may have been the one step that kept him free of the sickness that was running through most of the tribe, again nothing new to the hardy Wolfriders, Nightfall thought as she helped Leetah crawl under the furs to get comfortable. The sickness was something she hadn’t seen since the last Death Season at Father Tree, but as it appeared first in the young ones, the huntress realized what was happening. Nightfall watched as Suntop and Newstar first became sick, their bodies getting weak while their skin became hot to the touch. Both refused to eat, and what they forced down wouldn’t stay in their stomachs. Leetah had asked to heal them but her lifemate, Nightfall’s beloved chief, had told her no. Cutter knew if they became to dependent on his cherished lifemate’s magic then it would make them too weak to be the masters of the Holt. Then the sickness spread quickly, from the cubs to the elders, striking Strongbow and then Leetah and Clearbrook, and all three almost at once. As the trio fell ill, the sudden attack was all that was needed for their chief to take hold of the situation and begin to put his will to fighting the sickness, and his tribe responded as they always do, using his fierce spirit to rise and fight as well. And as the Wolfriders brought their indominable will to bear, it was the shy one among this loving family who needed this fight the most to keep her well, and save the life of the cub she carried.

“How are you my love?” Moonshade whispered, looking lovingly into her lifemate’s eyes as she brushed a strand of his hair from his face. He looked better this evening, the color was back in his skin and his eyes looked sharp and focused again.

The archer smiled back from the furs and nodded using his voice instead of sending, “I feel better, hungry actually. I think our treeshaper’s brew helped me fight the sickness.”

The tanner could barely hold back her smile of joy at hearing her lifemate getting better. She had been down this path once before and she had no desire to walk it again, yet here she was, taking care of him from sickness. Once she had agreed to do whatever it took to save him, had made a bargain with a troll she detested and despised to keep him alive, and even though Moonshade would have honored that accord the troll never came asking for her due, and the tanner never gave the troll or the bargain a second thought. Just an arm’s reach away, Nightfall smiled with joy at the statement as well. She had worried so much for her archer, the way he took ill so quickly, but the potion her beloved soulmate brewed had helped him stave off the sickness, and it had helped her sweet tanner as well, who looked so weary at the moment. Her belly was large with the life she was ready to deliver, her breast heavy with the food the cub would need, and yet the tanner was still so beautiful the huntress thought, still so captivating.

“That is so good to hear my love, now rest with our precious healer, and tomorrow maybe you can eat some meat and it will stay down.” The tanner smiled lovingly while slipping the furs over her beloved soulmate, keeping him warm just as a voice called out.

“You look tired as well my sweet one, rest with us please.”

Moonshade looked over to see her healer smiling at her affectionately, and it made the tanner’s heart skip. Leetah was looking better as well, the brown skin looking more alive than it had as the tanner reached over and ran the back of her hand across the healer’s cheek. The skin felt smooth and perfect to Moonshade, drawing a loving smile from the tanner, but it also felt cool and that made her feel so much better as Leetah whispered with concern. “Where are our beloveds? Shouldn’t they have been back now?”

Yes, where are they? Strongbow asked with a tinge of worry, rolling over onto his side and reaching out his hand to rub his lifemate’s back and side.

“They have been gone long, too long maybe?” Moonshade replied, her worry now added to the air of the den.

Nightfall only shrugged, noting the worry from her family matched the same in her heart, as her thoughts went back to the nights before this one. Cutter first ordered everyone to share dens, huddle against the cold of the Death Season. He brought the family together first, Moonshade and Strongbow moving into the den they all shared with the treeshaper and his huntress and his healer. The pair only nodded and did as ordered with loving smiles, while Dart and Newstar moved with Suntop into Clearbrook’s and Treestump’s den. Yes, it was cramped, but it was also warm, and with everyone looking after everyone he was assured no one would be alone to fall into some sick stupor. Then, the wolf chief had Redlance make up a special drink from a plant he called Taro, a root his treeshaper knew would help fight the sickness. The treeshaper added a special second part to the drink, a liquid from a leaf which helped the one already stricken to slip into a deep peaceful and restful sleep. The rest, along with the Taro root, helped the affected ones recover, and as they did Redlance made more of the drink from the Taro root, but without the sleep-inducing piece. Everyone else drank this potion as Cutter ordered, keeping the sickness from spreading. So, the huntress thought, all they had to do now was huddle together until the white cold stopped and the tribe would be safe. Cutter had led them through this before and he had done it again.

The flap suddenly moved, breaking the huntress from her thoughts, as she looked at the den entrance with eagerness. The others did as well, even Leetah, who looked up from the furs hoping her loves were through with being outside on this cold night. The healer and huntress both breathed a sigh of relief when they saw Cutter slide in, then turn and take a large leather pouch from someone outside. The wolf chief moved with ease in the cramped den, taking special care not to step on anyone, as he crawled into the cramped space. Nightfall sighed again with contentment as she saw her lifemate slide into the den, closing the flap to the bole hole with the extra pelt. His red hair shimmered in the candle light from the white cold, drawing a smile from Strongbow and Moonshade as he turned and chuckled.

“The white cold is falling still, but it looks to be slowing,”

“Is that what took you so long, watching the white cold fall?” Nightfall chuckled with him, poking her love just a bit, sliding over next to him.

The wolf chief laughed as well, opening the leather pouch, and with a quick hand he pulled out several heated stones he and Redlance got from the fire they had made below. He put them under the furs, replacing the ones that had since turned cold as he spoke. “No, we found ourselves taking a walk through the Holt, and then our treeshaper found something.”

The heat from the stones began to warm the furs even more as Leetah looked to Redlance and smiled warmly, but with concern. “What did you find my love?”

Redlance bit his bottom lip, then reached into his pouch pulling out the large flower he and Cutter had found in the small clearing. As soon as the bloom was visible, the lifebearers gasped at the sight of the flower and its bright color, but the tanner was the only one of the three who did not to recognize it. Moonshade looked back to ask her lifemate how such a thing was possible, how could the bloom survive the Death Season, but when her eyes saw the look on the archer’s face she froze. A sudden small hand of fear touched her heart, and when he sent to those in the den that fear grew, growing in her stomach.

Is that, the same flower? How, how is that possible?

“It is the same one, but how did it grow here? I thought it only grew in Holt where we waited for our beloved healer to return?” Nightfall whispered, shaking her head, adding her question to the archer’s.

The tanner spun back round at the words from her huntress, saw the look in everyone’s eyes, and the fear in her heart grew and tightened, all at the same time. Everyone had the same confused and frightened look as her lifemate, and now Moonshade felt alone which only added to her own growing anxiety. “What is it? What does the flower mean?”

The den fell silent for a moment, no one sure how to go forward, unsure of what words to say or use to keep the dismay at bay. The tanner felt a twinge of panic now as she stiffened and clutched at the fur covering her lifemate. They were hiding something her family, holding something back from her, and Moonshade was about to demand just what that was when her treeshaper spoke up.

“Do you remember when Strongbow caught the foaming sickness and you took him to Old Maggoty? “He asked and all the tanner could do was nod twice. The grip of fear lessened as she saw the look in her treeshaper’s eyes, the warmth there helping to push the terror away, the flow of his love to her as he continued on slowly. “Do you remember also how you told her you would do whatever she wanted to save him?”

How did he know I was just thinking about that? A cold, deeper than the outside, started to creep into the tanner’s bones as her hand slid up between her breast to cover her heart and she whispered, “Yes, but how did you know about that?”

“Skywise overheard one of the trolls laughing, about how Old Maggoty was going to take you away from us, the tribe.” Leetah spoke up, answering as she sat up as well, the look of confused fear on her face replaced by one of confliction. “He came to me and Nightfall, told us what he overheard, and then I went to Cutter.”

“How was she going to take me away from the tribe, to make me do what?” Moonshade asked quickly, feeling a shiver run down her spine. Even the touch of her precious lifemate could not quell the terror caused by what she was hearing at the moment.

Cutter pulled off his thick tunic and sighed after he did, “She never said, even when we were close to blows, with all the trolls in their caves. If it wasn’t for our treeshaper stepping in to break the bargain, I think we might have lost you.”

Moonshade was struck numb at what her chief revealed, what he told her while his piercing blue eyes gave such sincerity to his words that she knew every word was the truth, and that made her feel so protected. Then, she turned to her treeshaper and he only smiled warmly making the fear ebb even more, to almost disappear as he began to speak and tell her what happened that night so very long ago.

Oh, the flower is the key to the past or the future?

Nice to see how all are taking care of each other rather than having Leetah heal them all.

Great chapter. Can't wait to see what happens next.

And another ball I need to get rolling again, the next piece of these stories...



“Where did you go?”  

Redlance ran up to the stargazer’s side where he waited anxiously, answering him in one large exhale.  “I had to get something, where are Cutter and Strongbow?”

Skywise shook his head sending his sliver mane of hair waving, “both have already headed into the troll caves.  We better hurry up if we’re going to catch them.”  Then the pair was off and running through the Holt to the caves where the trolls lived, hoping to catch the other two who had gone ahead and entered the realm of King Picknose.

“What are you thinking?”  Redlance asked while running behind the stargazer.

“Try to keep them from making this worse.  You keep Strongbow in reach and I’ll do the same with Cutter.”  

“Do you think it’ll come to that, a fight?”

The stargazer dared a look back after ducking a tree limb, “If Old Maggoty has something planned for Moonshade, then I’m sure words won’t be the only thing getting thrown around.”

He was right Redlance thought, keeping up with Skywise as they ran through the forest, the stargazer just out of reach as they approached the caves where Picknose and his trolls lived, running right up to the very large, heavy metal door they used to keep the outside world just that, out.  The usual way to gain entrance was to bang on the door with a hard object until some upset occupant on the inside came to answer, with a few choice words at a yell.  Then you and the occupant would exchange a few more insulting names, the customary pleasantries between elf and troll, before mentioning the word ‘trade’.  Then said occupant would open the door immediately allowing access, because no troll in his or her right mind would turn down a possible trade, it just wasn’t heard of.  Now though, the door opened before the commencement of the usual way to gain entry could start and Skywise ducked into the dark of the caves without hesitation.  As Redlance followed, the stargazer called over his shoulder to a female troll standing there.

“Are they with Picknose yet?”

“Yes, just follow the sound of the screaming.”  She answered sliding the door shut.  

Must be one the stargazer’s friends, the treeshaper thought, as the female troll was right because Redlance could hear Cutter’s voice long before he and Skywise reached the chamber where the wolf chief had confronted the king of the trolls over what Old Maggoty had planned for the tanner.  The pair of elves pushed their way past several pudgy and stout trolls, to get by the side of Cutter and Strongbow, and surprisingly his huntress Nightfall.  Redlance stared in mild shock as she stood behind Cutter while he growled at Picknose and Old Maggoty, who stood just in front of him.  “You two are up to something, don’t try to hide it.”

“You and Pike must be drinking too much dream berry wine again.  You’re making no sense whelp, no sense at all!”  Picknose laughed shaking his head.

The pair locked eyes, troll and elf, and both looked dug in to make this fight a war Redlance thought as he walked over to his lifemate’s side.  He reached up touching her shoulder gently, but she barely flinched at his silent signal to let her know he was there.  Nightfall had come to back her chief, and as always, she had committed herself to this path and no turning away or looking to someone else was allowed.  So, the treeshaper backed away to watch just as Strongbow stepped forward, snarling like a wolf at the trolls, speaking with his voice which meant he was more than serious.

“We know you have something planned, Skywise overheard Maggoty talking about it, about taking away my lifemate!”

“Maybe we did mention your lifemate in passing archer, but what did the stargazer really hear exactly?”  Old Maggoty smirked, turning to the stargazer.

Every eye went straight to him, and Skywise breathed deep before speaking.  “I heard everything you said Maggoty. I heard you tell Picknose here to get Moonshade and bring her back to the caves. The bargain she made with you was due and she was yours now.”

The cavern fell quiet as the pair, Old Maggoty and Picknose, looked to each other.  Cutter could have sworn their eyes looked fearful for a moment, just a moment, but then both burst into a deep laughter that echoed in the room.  It was a condescending laugh, and it didn’t help that the other trolls in the cavern added their own mirth to Picknose and Maggoty’s.  It was enough to drive Cutter’s already stoked anger just high enough to bring out the wolf, only it wasn’t the wolf chief who challenged the pair of guffawing trolls.

“The bargain is off, DONE!  She owes you NOTHING!” Strongbow growled so deep his body shook.

The laughing stopped, just died so fast the only sound were the echoes of what had been rolling through the caves.  Picknose slowly turned away from Old Maggoty with his face contorted in anger now.  “Are you breaking a bargain archer?  Are you ready to let Strongbow speak for all you, every elf, Cutter?”

“He does in this,” the wolf chief snarled crossing his arms across his chest, “Moonshade owes you nothing because you can’t be trusted. The bargain is broken.”

Redlance looked to Skywise while sending, hoping the stargazer was still going with the plan to keep Cutter and Strongbow from making this worse, to stop what he knew was coming, but the treeshaper got nothing in reply.  He reached into his pouch as he thought Skywise was committed to this path of fighting now, too, it seemed, the mocking laughter had blinded him to reason and thinking.  The treeshaper sent to his huntress but got nothing from her as well as Picknose sneered and answered Cutter’s defiance.

“You break this bargain, you break all bargains whelp, understand?  What we’re owed and what your due ends, now and tomorrow and the next night.”

“Moonshade stays, the bargain is broken!” Cutter growled deep, repeating his last.  He may or may not have noticed the other trolls closing in.  Five elves against a whole room full of trolls, it wasn’t what Redlance would have wanted in a fight, but he wasn’t worried either.  He knew the five of them could win their way to freedom if it came to that, it was just the thought of losing the trolls to trade with that made Redlance wince a little.  From arrowheads to jewelry, the trolls were the only source of bright metal, and as much as he hated admitting it, the tribe needed that metal to survive.

The king of the trolls only smiled and leaned in, “after all we’ve done for you elves, after keeping you safe while in wrapstuff, you would go and break a bargain.  Now that just proves how low you Wolfriders truly are.””

“You’re going to take Moonshade from us, deny it!” Nightfall suddenly spat, pointing her finger at Old Maggoty who let a smile creep across her green pock marked face as she whispered low with a reply.

“She made the bargain elves, only she can break it, and your tanner won’t do that, will she?  That’s why she’s not here, is it not?”

The room went quiet again as the realization sat in what the old troll witch had said.  The bargain, a most sacred of all trusts, had been made by two parties and thus only those two parties could break the bargain.  Old Maggoty wasn’t about to let Moonshade out of what she had agreed to, and all the Wolfriders knew Moonshade would not break the bargain and ruin what was sacred.  Cutter’s eyes went wide with the realization as Strongbow stepped back hissing with anger.  Nightfall’s eyes narrowed as she looked to Skywise, who just shook his head and whispered back to Old Maggoty.

“You can’t do this?”

“She made the bargain, anything I want, anything!  And I want her here, now and for a very long time to come.” Old Maggoty sneered.

Picknose leaned in even more and chuckled condescendingly again, “go get our tanner whelp, you and the others can see her when we let you.”

Oh, that was the final poke, the last kick Cutter and Strongbow would take from Picknose Redlance thought, just as he saw his beloved chief take New Moon in his grasp and the archer start to raise his bow.  Those trolls, the ones closing in, also reached for weapons.  The fight was on.  There was nothing to stop it, that was till the treeshaper spoke up in a stern tone from where he stood.  His voice carried in the cavern and it brought everyone to a complete stop.  It also made him very uncomfortable as all the eyes turned to him now.  Oh, how I hate being in the center of this Redlance thought as he called out.  “I’ll trade you for Moonshade and her due.  I have what you’ve been looking for Maggoty.”

The silence this time wasn’t as long as the last because Old Maggoty turned and sneered at him coldly.  “And what do you have, oh quiet one, that I want so badly as to free you’re precious Moonshade?”

“The flower you’ve been searching the Holt for, I have it right here.” Redlance answered quickly, so fast there was barely a break from Maggoty’s question.

Picknose and other trolls stood quietly by for a moment before breaking out in laughter again, all guffawing loudly.  A flower, was the treeshaper serious the trolls thought while they bellowed with mirth?  Cutter looked to Nightfall, who only shrugged her shoulders, as Strongbow and Skywise looked on wide eyed and confused.  All, including the laughing trolls, barely heard Old Maggoty whisper, but they noted her actions, and all the howling stopped in an instant.

“No, you couldn’t have found it?”

Redlance pulled two small brown stalks from his pouch, and as he did he spoke.  “You’ve been searching for two full turns of the moon, searching every tree and bush you think the flower might be in.  I know because I’ve watched from the shadows, watched you and wondered just what could it be that would drive Old Maggoty out of her caves and into the forest at night.  Then I remembered a flower my father told me of back in the old Holt, much like this flower here I think, a flower that when dried and cured-“

“You did,” the troll witch hissed cutting Redlance off as Old Maggoty suddenly realized the treeshaper must surely know what she been doing and he was just about to tell everyone in the room about it, “you found the flower.”

“Yes, I found it, and I’ll trade you, Moonshade and her due for both blooms.”

“What’s the elf spewing about Maggoty?  He’s just got two dead sticks there.” Picknose asked and all the certainty of just a moment before was long gone from his voice now.  It seems the tables were being turned right in front of his very eyes, and the king of the trolls did not like it one bit.

“Nothing,” was all Old Maggoty whispered as she watched enraptured by the show unfolding in front of her.  Those two sticks in the treeshaper’s hand began to glow as his magic enveloped the pair, a green glow Cutter and the other Wolfriders had seen before.  Then, with a sudden pop, both sticks opened up, and two red flowers began to grow and flourish in the treeshaper’s hand.  As the flower’s bloomed Redlance spoke, walking up. “The blooms fold up at night, without the day star they seek sleep just like humans.  That’s why you never found the flower.  You were looking for the right plant at the wrong time Maggoty.”  

Nightfall and Cutter watched, both smiling broadly as they understood now what the treeshaper had done. With an unseen hand, he had just taken control of this scrum and even when Old Maggoty tried to wrest it from him she failed miserably.  

“Now that I know the flower only blooms during the day, why would I make a bargain with you, quiet one?”  Old Maggoty glowered with her eyes stuck to the flowers.

“Yes, why would we give up the tanner after we know where to get the flower?” Picknose harrumphed loudly.  He was getting confident again, though he wasn’t sure why.

Too bad for old Picknose.

Both trolls had the stiff backbone of someone who thought they held the advantage in this barter, but neither knew the treeshaper very well, and neither knew what he was playing at.  So, Redlance only smiled and slowly pulled the flowers away as he spoke. “Because I grew the plant back to a seedling, no more flowers except these two.  You know how long it takes for the flowers to bloom don’t you Maggoty?  I think, for whatever purpose, you can’t wait that long for the flower to show again, can you Maggoty?”

The funny part, at least to Redlance, was seeing the look on Picknose’s face when Old Maggoty sneered and made the bargain with him as quick as offering Pike a drink from a skin of dream berry wine.  It was both funny and sad in a way, it looked like someone had just punched him the stomach hard enough to leave him with no breath.

“Bargain,” Maggoty hissed while reaching out for the flowers.

“WAIT-WHAT!!” Picknose screamed as Redlance pulled the flowers away again, just enough to keep the plants away from the troll but not enough to quench the need for the blooms.

“Moonshade owes you nothing and she stays with us. The bargain between you two is fulfilled, no more.”  The treeshaper demanded, knowing full well he could get whatever he wanted at the moment from the troll witch.

Old Maggoty only growled and nodded reaching for the flowers one last time, “yes, the tanner is free.  Our bargain is done.”

And just like that it was over.  Old Maggoty took her flowers from Redlance as Picknose screamed at the top of his lungs at her.  “No, No, we had the elves cornered and you let them go!!  We had them!!!”

“I made the bargain and I can say when it’s done, and it’s DONE!” Old Maggoty snarled one last time before slipping into dark of the deeper caves without a sound, holding her flowers close to her ample chest with care not to lose one petal.

After she disappeared Cutter turned to Picknose and only smiled, “who had us, oh fat one?”

A deep rumbling growl rolled out of the troll king’s throat as he snarled at the elves.  “Out! Get Out of My Caves, Now!”

The wolf chief didn’t utter another word, just smiled a little wider and headed back the way he came with his tribe in tow.  He didn’t stop smiling until they were free of the trolls and the caves, back in the woods of his Holt.  They had won this little skirmish, a small fight that could have changed the life of one his precious tribe.  He wouldn’t have let them take Moonshade, if it came to blood then so be it. The trolls wouldn’t have taken her he had decided.  He loved all in his tribe, his Wolfriders, and he would give his all to protect them.

Nice chapter. Love the way Redlance turned the tables on everyone. Can't wait to See what happens next.

And now for the end, of this tale at least. There will be more to come...




The den was quiet as Redlance finished telling the tanner of the night in the caves.  In the glow of the candles he looked to her, saw the tense muscles in her shoulders, and knew she was upset. The treeshaper had an idea as to what that anger might be about as well, and as Moonshade shifted and spoke, she only confirmed what he had assumed.

“Why did you do that? Why did you go behind my back and do that?”

They sat there quietly, all of them, staring at her.  The family sat knowing full well they had broken a trust with their tanner, lifemate and lovemate and friend, but the words to explain why came carefully, on steps that were placed with loving thought.  “We knew what we were doing was wrong my shy one, but we also knew you were in trouble and only wanted to protect you.”  Nightfall sighed and whispered looking deeply to Moonshade with pure affection.

“I can look out for myself Nightfall.  I don’t need everyone protecting me like I cannot,” Moonshade retorted quickly, until she saw the love in the huntress eyes, which caused the ire in her heart to soften.

“We know you can protect yourself, oh we do my loving tanner, but we could not take even the smallest chance on losing you.”  Leetah explained with her own warm, soft words.  Her green eyes were filled with just as much love and Moonshade looked into those pools, feeling her anger ease even more as her chief spoke with the same love.

“You would have given your life to save Strongbow and Old Maggoty knew this.  She would have used that devotion to take you away from the tribe because she knew you would never break the bargain that saved his life. I won’t let anyone take advantage of you like that my tanner.”  

The den was quiet again as Moonshade looked into Cutter’s piercing blue eyes, as she slowly realized what he said was true, what they all said was true.  She would have given her life to see her lifemate, her cherished soulmate Wyl saved from foaming sickness, even if meant leaving the tribe, because of the bargain with Old Maggoty.  Some would never understand, and she could never explain why, but she would have gone with the trolls if that was what the due for her bargain to keep her Strongbow alive.  The tanner felt her lifemate rub her back and side with long loving strokes, the cub in her belly stirring just slightly, as he whispered with devotion, his voice sounding so sweet.  “I won’t lose you my love, even to save my life.  I went there so you didn’t have to.  We went there, and would have fought every troll in those caves, because we won’t lose you, ever.”
 
“I know that now, thank you,” Moonshade whispered looking back to her loves, her sweet family she thought with a tear in her eye.

“It wouldn’t have come to blows my shy one,” Nightfall chuckled as she picked up a bowl which held Redlance’s drink for the sickness and handed it to her healer.  “Our treeshaper came better prepared than all of us for Old Maggoty, which saved us a visit to our lovely healer.”

Moonshade smiled a little, the cub still stirring in her belly, while finally looking to her treeshaper, as did the rest of the family in the den as Leetah took a sip from the bowl.  “How did you know she would free me for a flower?”

“I didn’t, not until I saw her eyes when she saw the blooms,” he said with a warm smile that touched the tanner and others looking to him sweetly.  He saw her eyes though go a little wide at the answer as Moonshade thought about it, and Redlance shook his head continuing.  “I knew she was looking for the flower, and I knew she would have given anything for the blooms.  Just as she would have taken advantage of your love for Strongbow, I had an idea I could take advantage of her need for the flower.”

“What can the flower do?”  Moonshade asked sliding forward on the furs to look at the bloom again, to study its colors and touch a petal gently.

The treeshaper shifted, and answered, while holding the flower, letting her look at the bloom.  “With the flower from the old Holt, Father told me if a petal is dried and mixed with the right root and put into water, it can make it easier to have one do your bidding. You might even force an enemy to be a friend and they would never know it. I think the same can be done with this one”

Leetah handed the bowl to Strongbow so he could take some and whispered. “Do you think the drink would work on elves?  Do you think she would have used it on us?”

“I don’t know. I won’t ever use it and I won’t tell anyone except those here how to make it.”  Redlance answered, setting the flower up into one of the many small holes he had made to in the den wall to be shelves.  “I think Old Maggoty planned to use it on some in the cave, maybe those who didn’t like Picknose that much.”

“I thought the same after you told us about the flower, but Picknose still traded with us and that was all I cared about. The tribe was safe, and we had bright metal which is all I cared about.”  Cutter added as the den fell silent with only the sound that of the wind outside blowing by the entrance.  Then the huntress spoke and looked to her lifemate with a teasing smile.

“I just realized my love, you traded with Old Maggoty for our shy one.  Her due in the bargain is yours now.”  

“Huh,” the treeshaper responded as he looked back to his lifemate confused.

Cutter caught on to the game his love was playing at now though, and he smiled just as sly and playful.  “That’s right, our treeshaper made a bargain for Moonshade’s due and we know our tanner would never break a bargain.”

“What is that?” Redlance looked from Nightfall to Cutter still confused at what the two were saying.

Now the game had been sensed by the others and Leetah couldn’t let the chance pass to play along as she looked at Redlance with a whimsical grin.  “I wonder just what our treeshaper would want for his due.  What do you think he would ask for my archer?”

Oh I wonder what our tanner would be willing to give to our treeshaper for gaining her freedom from Old Maggoty? Strongbow sent with a mischievous smirk while chuckling.

Redlance looked at all the eyes on him and started to finally see what they were playing at, teasing him, but he still wasn’t ready for his tanner and her words.  Her sultry expression, accented by the candle light with her dark eyes filled with want, made his blood heat and heart begin to beat faster with anticipation, a small bead of sweat rolling down his chest as she whispered low in a husky voice.

“For protecting us, all of his family, I would give him whatever he asked of me, whatever he desired most.” She took his hand in hers, guided it to her belly letting his palm stroke the now hot skin so as to feel the life there. She leaned in, a small purr escaping her throat as her nose first rubbed his cheek then ear.

The heat in the den suddenly became stifling as Redlance felt cramped in his leathers.  The looks, not just from his sweet tanner but all of his family, made his heart race faster and his desire for them swell as his blood began to boil from the longing he felt.  The sly smiles and craving he saw in the eyes of his healer and huntress, his beloved chief and archer brought back memories of past days when they shared with abandon.  Those memories brought new hope of even more memories being made, maybe tonight.  Redlance swallowed hard and was about to say just what he wanted from them all for his due when a strong wind pushed past the flap of the entrance sending a shiver down everyone’s spine.

With the mood abruptly ‘silenced’, the treeshaper only laughed and pushed the furs against the flap, one more for good measure to hold it in place.  “What I want most is to be in the furs with my family where it’s warm.”

“Yes, let us get warm together,” Leetah smiled weakly shivering.  The sickness was leaving her but hadn’t yet relinquished its hold.  She felt her lifemate reach around and hug her to him.  The healer leaned into her soulmate before reaching up and running a hand through his face fur and purring with love.

Nightfall only giggled at the pair before turning back to her lifemate smiling while watching him carefully slide out of his thick leathers.  As he did she noticed Moonshade and Strongbow both watching as well with loving eyes and another thought came to the huntress, spurred on by the want she felt from her tanner just a moment before.  “May I lay with our archer?” She asked warmly.

The request only brought a loving smile from Moonshade who looked to her beloved lifemate and saw him nod before she looked back.  “Will my chief hold me in the furs?” She asked quietly with affection.

“I will my tanner, hold and keep you warm.” Cutter replied with a smile that made Moonshade blush just a little.

“Come here my love,” Leetah said with a small chuckle as she held out her hand to her treeshaper, “hold me as I fall asleep and rest my weary soul.”

Redlance only smiled and nodded free of his leathers now.  They all moved with perfect precision in the cramped den wary of hitting or sitting on someone.  Nightfall slid into Strongbow’s arms burying her face into his neck taking in his scent with a deep inhale before wrapping her arms around him.  He hugged her back with a smile as he watched his lifemate move over to his chief, kissing his cheek before lying down in Cutter’s arms.  Moonshade snuggled in with her back to his chest feeling content as he wrapped his arms around her pulling her into him, his hands rubbing her belly lovingly.  The tanner smiled even more as she watched her treeshaper laydown next to her, just enough room between her and Nightfall for him to fit.  Leetah sighed as she easily laid on him letting her forehead rest in the crook of his neck while the pile of furs was pulled up and over them all.  She reached up under the furs sliding her one hand along her tanner’s side and sighing as Moonshade rested her head on her treeshaper’s shoulder while Leetah’s other arm hugged her huntress and archer before being tucked at her side.  The healer closed her eyes feeling so warm and loved her heart could barely beat fast enough to contain all her emotion.  A moment or two later though, Leetah was asleep taking deep breaths as her tanner gently rubbed her under the furs.

Is she asleep my treeshaper? Cutter asked as his hand held Redlance’s neck in a loving grip from behind, its usual place when they slept.

Yes my chief, resting well, Redlance sent back with his love for all in the den flowing to them across the send.

“Thank you, my family, for protecting me,” Moonshade whispered letting the warmth of the furs and her chief’s embrace settle into her soul and bones. Here, she thought, is where I want to be always, here in this den with my family.

“We will always protect the ones we love my tanner, without question.”  Redlance whispered back feeling her legs wrap around his as she took his arm in her hand under the furs.

The white cold fell for most of the night stopping just before the rising of the Day Star.  They stayed in under the furs enjoying the warmth and the love of being together, did this family, only venturing out to heat more stones and hunt what game they could.  They would soon part, if just for a briefest of time, the tanner and the archer heading back to their den, but for now they only reveled in the feeling of being with the ones they loved most with their hearts.  And just out of sight, as he always was, Atok watched and smiled.

“The past never stays in the past Red Hair, and some days that is good for us all.”

Nice chapter.  Poor Redlance, took him a while to figure out what the rest of the little family was up to.

Can't wait to the new adventures.