Soon the signs of late fall and early winter began to set in, the few trees in the town of Frontier had lost all their leaves and on a few especially cold days, the snow began to fall. The people of Frontier began to prepare for the long dark days of winter, the threat of the blighted seemed to grow more and more each day, reports of attacks along the mountain pass leading to the Kingdom of Eldoria, and a few out laying farmsteads had been raised, The Wardens along with the town guard, had hunted down and destroyed a few small parties of blighted creatures a few of which the wardens called Blighted Knights or blighted creatures that had lived long enough to regain some level of intelligence, similar to the dark armored creatures Zarath, Tharon and Lyra fought on their journey to Frontier all those months ago.
Because of the recent influx of blighted creatures Wing Commander Thalia Winterborne decided that the Chapter would march into the Underground highway that went under the mountain pass, built by the ancient dwarves of Thrumdar before the first blight, Zarath and his companions would join the expedition in three days' time but for now they would simply relax and rest until told otherwise.
The group all entered The Golden Hart in as soon as the entered the thick accent of Bera the old dwarf with the thick Thrumdar accent greeted them, the groups usual table was left open, Hura the barrkon (dire wolf) and Storm wing the griffon waited outside. Alaric shivered as he sat down at the table.
"By the gods its cold as hell out there." Alaric shivered as he sat down at their usual table near the hearth of the inn. He tugged at his fur cloak, Dagan pushing past everyone to grab the tankards of ale.
"Get out the way out the way." Dagan shouted as she pushed her way through people much taller than herself. Zarath, Tharon, Lyra all seemed unfaced by the cold winter air. Even Sha'lara only had on a thin extra layer of clothing.
"Come on Alaric its not the cold out there this is nothing compared to the winters in the Heartlands." Tharon sat down at the table rubbing his belly underneath the tunic he had now grown accustomed to wearing daily.
"You four have no room to say anything your bodies are covered in fur." Alaric glared at his friends and squad members as they all sat down, for some reason Sha'lara and Lyra both sat on the same side of the table as Zarath.
"Since when are we so close that you sit next to me Sha'lara?" Zarath asked as he looked at her, he wasn't going to complain and was ready for a sharp remark as she sat down.
"It is common knowledge that Wolfkin have much thicker fur than us Felinar, so if I do get cold not that this is for my own comfort and not anything else." Sha'lara was as harsh as ever in her response to Zarath.
Dagan made no excuse as she slammed a tray down on the table and grabbed a tankard already downing half of it as she sat down next to Tharon. "Bah, woah nothing warms up the body like fresh ale after being in that cold, so what are you all talking about?"
Tharon chuckled, leaning back in his chair, "Just discussing how some people handle the cold worse than others." Lyra smiled, as she teased Alaric, the once shy half fennec half wolfkin now more comfortable with her friends "Alaric, you should have grown fur like us instead of muscle. Then you wouldn't be complaining about the cold."
Alaric rolled his eyes, taking a sip of his ale and warming his hands around the tankard. "Very funny, Lyra. Next time I'll ask the gods for fur instead of strength." Bera approached their table carrying a pot of steaming stew, her thick accent cutting through the chatter of the inn. "Here's something to warm those bones, lads and lasses. Eat up, it's gonna be a long winter."
The group eagerly accepted the bowls of stew, the rich aroma filling their senses and making them forget the chill outside. As they ate, their conversation turned to the upcoming expedition.
"I've read a few reports about the Underground highway," Zarath began, dipping his bread into the stew. "Some sections have apparently been abandoned for centuries. Who knows what we might find down there."
Sha'lara nodded, her expression serious. "Ancient dwarves were master builders. The sections of the highway still intact, are used as strategic advantage against the blighted, I heard from some of the veteran wardens and a couple of the dwarven craftsmen that one such fortress called the Iron Crossroads is constantly under attack by blighted creatures and almost fell a few hundred years ago."
"There is no telling what we will find, my kin in Thrumdar having been fighting the blighted since the age of the first blight. My grandfather was a commander back in my family's home forge cavern before I was born, but even he and his soldiers had trouble in the highway the ancient maps of the highway, were either all lost or destroyed centuries ago." Dagan picked up her bowl of stew and began to slurp up the stew.
"Wait I've always been curios why don't you sound like a Thrumdar dwarf like Bera the inn keeper?" Tharon asked Dagan.
"I wasn't born, nor did I grow up in the dwarven lands, my family's forge cavern was taken over by the blighted, two of my uncles died defending the evacuation with a few hundred brave soldiers, it be a great honor if I could retrieve my uncle's armor and give them a burial befitting a dwarven warrior." Dagan placed her bowl down as she wiped some stew from her chin.
"I know this is going to be a stupid question Dagan, but what is a forge cavern?" Zarath asked after the last few months, his education of the world had expanded more than ever with the Wardens Keepers, though he still didn't tell anyone about his ability to enter the veil through his dreams, or his communications with the dark being that started to appear when he first became blighted and even more now since becoming a warden.
"Its not stupid at all most surfacers don't understand what a few things in dwarven culture is, like our clan system or even more the Dammaz Kron or the Great Book of Grudges, though I don't really understand that one much myself." Dagan thought for a moment it had been a few years since she spoke Durakk the language of her kin, so she had to think of the best way to explain it.
"A forge cavern would I guess be home to a clan that specializes in blacksmithing, my father could probably tell you more about it, but apparently the cavern my clan called home had a river of lava that ran through the middle of it and in the center a giant forge which the master smiths of my clan used to craft the weapons those of the warrior caste used to fight the blight born." Dagan looked like she was deep in thought, after spending a few months with her friends she had told them a little of her family and clan and her clans forge cavern was actual not far from the Town of Frontier but the truth is she had never stepped foot in the great underground Highway her people built nor had she any idea how to even get to her clans forge cavern.
"That's the most I've ever seen her thinking about something." Sha'lara joked as she took a sip of her ale, one of the ears atop her head twitching slightly.
"Oh, piss off you dumb cat that's the last time I get sentimental with you in the room." Dagan threw one of the bread rolls at Sha'lara the group laughing.
Eventually the group headed back to the town hall/ warden command for this chapter of the order, Alaric not too happy about having to brave the cold night yet again, Tharon pushing him out the door the night sky was crystal clear not a could in sight.
"Hey, Zarath, you and Tharon are going to bring those tents your clan gave you for our expedition, right?" Dagan asked as she elbowed his thigh.
"Yeah, Dagan don't worry we will make sure you girls have a warm Kraan-thur to sleep in, by the way does anyone know about how far this entrance the commander was talking about is." Zarath was a bit more curious about their actual location than fighting the blight born, that's if they would even see any blighted down in the highways.
"Its about a two day walk or a day and a half by horse, we will be heading south towards the mountain pass through the southern stretch of the Thrumdar mountains, it's the only safe passage from the heartlands to the Kingdom of Eldoria, there is a fort built near the old highway entrance." Alaric tapped his chin as he showed off his well-informed self like usual, he let out a small sneeze when the wind picked up.
"If I remember correctly there is a dwarven settlement not to far from the entrance to the underground highway, Commander Winterborne will most likely want to head their to resupply before we head deeper into the abandoned sections of the old highway." Alaric wrapped himself in his cloak more as he relayed the information to his friends.
The group made it back to the town hall, turning to the right to the outer building that was used for the Wardens command, in the months since the Zarath, Tharon and Lyra, another group of wardens from the Ironhold Citadel the main stronghold of the Wardens built after the Age of Shadows in the Thrumdar mountains to the far north past the entrance to the dwarven capital.
The new Wardens were a great boon to not only to the Frontier chapter but also to the town of Frontier's militia. The extra manpower also helped the town to build a better wall rather than the wooden stockade that surrounded it months ago, though still a wooden wall at least now people could stand on top of it and fight, if necessary, a few wooden watch towers built as well.
The inside of Warden command had become more crowded now and all the unfamiliar faces, had made things a little difficult the dwarven quartermasters and blacksmiths where overworked the first few weeks trying to keep up with all the demand for repairs and supplies, the command structure had to be revised with Commander Winterborne still being the head of the chapter, a welcome member for Sha'lara was another Felinar warden who still had connections with Felinara and especially was able to get Sha'lara more gold body paint.
Zarath and his friends had to push past several people to make it back to their shared bunk room, Alaric immediately moved to the fireplace by the large round table, Dagan quickly climbed up and plopped onto her bed quickly falling asleep after drinking, Sha'lara and Lyra retreated to their corner where they put up a sheet for privacy, the two girls talking about the new bottle of body paint she got. Tharon also flopped down on his bed letting out a sigh as he rubbed his belly.
"Tomorrow is going to suck with the march, luckily we will have wagons and a I heard that those new wardens even brought horses." Tharon sighed as he sat up.
"And if they did, you're too big to ride a horse Tharon, only animal you could ride is a full grown Barkkon and I doubt even Hura would let you ride her when she is full grown." Zarath and Tharon laughed at his comment.
"Hey, I could always get my own bound, would just have to make a trip back to the clan wonder if the commander would let me take some time off." Tharon laid back on his bed letting out a large toothy yawn.
"Maybe once we finish this operation, I mean a lot of the wardens over the last couple of months have left and come back, and I've heard that a lot of wardens just wonder around." Zarath took off the boots he had custom made by the Dwarven quarter masters, similar to his armor these new boots left his toes exposed so that his claws could retract and extend.
Zarath stretched his legs, feeling the familiar ache of the day from morning training and patrolling the town. The warmth of the fire was a comfort that filled the bunkroom, chasing away the lingering chill from the early winter wind for the few members of the group that didn't have body fur. He glanced around the room his one amber eye reflecting the flickering light of the fire that Alaric stooked, he laid back in his bed and slowly drifted off to sleep.
As Zarath closed his eyes he awoke in an unfamiliar place, normally his dreams where of the strange study the shadowy figure who had been haunting his dreams had brought him months ago or the eternal grassy plains of Zernar Ralak (land of souls) where he spoke with Fenraya the wolfkin goddess of death and his mother in the realm beyond the veil that separated the mortal world from the world of magic and gods.
Now he stood in a dark damp tunnel, a few low torches glowed with blue fire, the smell was rotten, Zarath covered his muzzled face as if to hold his breath, the ground beneath his pawed feet felt wet and sticky, not like water. He tried to look around but even with his wolfkin eyes he could not see anything more than a few feet in front of him.
"Danger! Run!" a whispered voice shouted from a distance, Zarath's ears twitched as the sound hit them, the fur all over his body and tail stood on end every instinct in his body was screaming for him to run but his legs couldn't move.
Zarath looked down to see the familiar tar-like shadows he once saw in his dreams, only this time instead of slowly dragging him down he was quickly swallowed. The dream changed, now he stood in a cave, the bright glow of orange illuminated the whole cavern, dozens of shadow figures walked around all ranging in size and height, the faceless being paid no mind as the walked mere inches beside him.
"Run!" The whispered voice came again, the voice so familiar yet somehow strange to Zarath. "Run my child, leave this place." Just as the words reached his ears all of the shadow figures seemed to turn towards him their faceless forms now seeming to stare directly at him.
Zarath awake in a cold sweat the fur on his body clinging to him as he shot up in his bed quickly looking around the room which had gone dark by this hour, his breath came in short, ragged gasp.
"Another nightmare?" The voice startled Zarath as he looked up to see Sha'lara staring at him, her silver and black fur made it hard to see her body. The only way he knew it was here was her bright yellow eyes.
"I… it's nothing, just nerves getting the better of me." Zarath wiped his brow back over top of his head, his ears flattened as his hand brushed them over.
"Bull shit mutt you've been having nightmares since you underwent the Rite of Shadows, and none of us have every had nightmare's so what's really going on." Sha'lara crossed her arms, her tail flicking behind her, Zarath knew she wasn't going to leave it alone unless he answered her.
"I've always had nightmares even before the Rite of Shadow's they get worse when I am about to do something dangerous." Zarath looked away scratching the back of his head.
"Like marching into the underground highways." Sha'lara stared at Zarath before letting out a deep sigh. "Fine lay down."
"Wait what." Zarath was confused as Sha'Lara moved next to his bed and sat down on the side of it.
"I said lay down, as our squad's leader we don't need you being exhausted because you didn't get any sleep and if you tell any of the others, I will deny everything." Sha'lara all but forced Zarath to lie down as she moved next to him sitting on the bed next to him.