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Subject: {ASSM} The Tails of Rabelaisia 1/8 Aesir The Bard (furry) TBD
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Date: Sun, 08 Apr 2012 06:10:06 -0400
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The Tails of Rabelaisia 1/5 Aesir The Bard
---

Aesir the Bard
Ships of Death
---

The two wolf cubs, brother and sister, were involved in another
argument.  Killian raised her voice:  "No!  You were the Captain of
the flagship *last* time.  It's *my* turn.  *You*,"her voice filled
with all the scorn she could muster, "can be the pirate Captain."

Aesir glanced at their mother and saw the glint of amusement in her
eyes as she shook her head slightly.  When he opened his mouth for his
usual protest she pointed a finger at him.  He sighed.  "Yes, mother."
He then turned to Killian and nodded.  "Captain Killian, prepare to be
attacked."
 
Their mother smiled as she watched them wade into the shallows and
begin to arrange their toy fleets.  It wasn't long before they were
throwing rocks at each other's ships and having their usual arguments
about who did what first and best.

She was contemplating the return of the fleet after a successful
fishing expedition when the penetrating tones of the alarm howl
sounded from the lookout stationed above them.  When the second howl
stopped abruptly she jerked her head around to study the cliff face.
To her horror the body of the sentry was falling toward the sea.

"No!  Not now..."  She spun around to look out to sea.  A fleet of
ships was moving to blockade their harbor.  When she looked at her
cubs she saw that they were staring at the body of the sentry.  A
clatter of rocks made her turn to study the cliff face again.  Wolves
were working their way towards them.  She shuddered and without
turning away gave what she knew would be her last orders to her
children.  "It's the Rock Clan.  You know what to do.  Stay off the
regular trails and head for the King's garrison.  Don't stop and don't
trust anyone until you talk to Scar.  May the Seven Saints protect
you, my children."  As her cubs, game forgotten, ran into the nearby
forest, she took a deep breath and gave voice to the call to arms. She
was sounding it for the third time when a cruelly barbed arrow hit her
chest and silenced her forever.

Killian and Aesir were well into the forest when they heard their
mother's howl break off.  When they looked at each other something
passed between them.  Ten year old Aesir said it first: "If we
survive, they will not.  Are you with me?"

Killian shivered.  "Aye, little brother.  The Rock Clan will pay.  I
swear it!  But, now, we need to use all of our skills to stay alive.
For now, we run.  Later we plan their destruction."

Sibling rivalry forgotten they joined hands in the way that meant they
shared the 'bond of vengeance'.

Killian studied her brother for a few seconds and then sighed. "Little
Brother.  You know the ways of war better than I do." She nodded when
he stared at her.  "Oh, I know I tease you about your fascination for
battle and argue with every decision you make when we are playing."
She smiled when he snorted.  "One of us must be the undisputed
leader--or we will die.  This 'game' is for our lives--and the honor
of our clan."

Aesir gestured at the forest.  "Aye, sister.  The honor of the clan. I
saw the same thing you did.  The pirates were herding the rest of the
clan from the woods as we left.  We are the only ones left.  The
searchers are getting closer.  For now we run where there are no
trails and we head away from the King's garrison."

"The only ones?"

"Aye, Killian.  The only ones not captured or dead.  I saw that much."
He began to jog inland and she followed him.

Four days later two travel weary wolf cubs staggered up to the gate of
the King's garrison.

* * *

The guard looked down at them and smiled.  "A rough journey?  What
brings the two of you here?"

Aesir and Killian ignored him and looked at each other.  They'd talked
about this moment and had time to accept that since none of the clan
members had caught up with them they were all that was left of the
Whispering Leaves Clan.  Aesir hugged his sister and turned to the
guard.

"We are Aesir and Killian, Alpha pair of the Whispering Leaves Clan
and we are here to report that the rest of our clan has been destroyed
by the Rock Clan."

The guard stiffened in surprise as Aesir finished.  "Cubs?  You're the
Alpha pair?  Are you sure?"

Killian glared at the guard.  "A *cat* dares to question the words and
honor of a wolf?  Sound the alarm and gather your troops so we can go
back to our village and save anything the Rock Clan left us!"

The guard started to laugh but stopped when Aesir reached and lightly
touched his chest.  "Three days ago we killed four members of the Rock
Clan who dared to hunt us in our own forest.  Before they died they
told us what they knew of our people.  We are wolves, warriors,
battle-blooded--and oath sworn to end the threat of the Rock Clan.
Apologize for your presumption or prepare to face us in combat for
daring to insult the Alpha pair of the Whispering Leaves Clan."  He
stepped back beside Killian and waited.

The guard straightened to attention and gazed over Aesir's head.  "In
the heat of battle mistakes can be made.  Bodies are not always
bodies.  Nobody can be certain of this until after the battle when
there is time to examine things in more detail.  I have never heard of
an entire clan being destroyed and this knowledge made me question
your words."

Aesir turned to look at the forest.  "Aye. We've had four days to try
and deny what we know.  But when a member of the Rock Clan speaks of
the dead you can be certain they speak the truth.  Before they died
they taunted us with stories of how our people had died.  They were
certain we would be caught and killed.  They were wrong.  We live."

He turned back to face the guard.  "I have one more message for your
commander--and the King.  'I, Aesir, Alpha wolf of the Whispering
Leaves Clan, declare vendetta on the Rock Clan.  It will end when they
agree to never return to the sea--or with my and Killian's deaths.' "
With that he and Killian turned away.

While the guard watched in amazement they quietly returned to the
forest.

* * *

"Report!"

"Yes, Sir!  Only thing unusual was  this morning.  Two scraggly
looking wolf-cubs came out of the forest and said something about
their clan being wiped out and they were now the Alpha pair.  The male
cub acted like he was in charge when he told me and when I asked him
if he was sure the female acted like she had every right to order me
around.  She called me a cat and ordered me to call out the troops so
they could return to their village.  I thought she was overdoing it
and started laughing at her.  The male cub challenged me to combat if
I refused to apologize.  When I told him I'd never heard of an entire
clan being destroyed he agreed with me and then said something about
them being wolves and warriors and that they were sure because they'd
killed four members of the Rock Clan.  Couldn't have been anything
other than wolf cubs anyway.  Touchy about their honor.  Anyway, he
said something about a message for you and the King, told me he was
declaring a vendetta and they went back into the forest.  That's about
it.  Once I had time to think about it, I figured it was some game
they were playing.  Who ever heard of cubs killing pirates?"

The Captain of the garrison, a battle scared wolf , was so shocked it
was nearly a minute before he found his voice.  "And you decided this
was something I didn't need to know immediately?  What clan did they
claim to be from?"

The guard, hearing the dangerous overtones in his Captain's voice,
stiffened to attention.  "They were cubs.  I thought they were playing
a game with me.  He said they were Aesir and Killian, the Alpha pair
of the Whispering Leaves Clan and it was the Rock Clan..."

The Captain exploded.  "The Seven Saints preserve me from idiots like
you!  Do you know who you insulted?  Obviously NOT!"

"Sir?"

"Do the names Landros and Eileen mean anything to you?"

The guard looked confused when his Captain changed the subject.
"Weren't they the best battle command team the fleet ever had?"

The Captain sighed and looked at something only he could see.  "Aye,
that they were until they retired to raise a family.  I can almost
wish you'd faced that cub in combat."  He turned back to the guard and
his face was grim.  "Those two cubs are the *family* Landros and
Eileen were raising.  You're lucky to be alive after insulting them.
If they left without insisting on seeing me they must have other
plans.    Never mind that.  Thanks to your arrogant stupidity *I* get
to explain to the King why one of my men ignored the lawful orders of
an Alpha pair.  Not just any pair, the Alpha pair of the oldest, most
loyal clan of wolves on Rabelaisia."

He studied the guard some more and then he smiled.

The Guard flinched.  His barracks mates had warned him about the
Captain's obsession with making sure all of his troops followed the
code of the land and then their own codes unless they conflicted with
the code of the land.  This was the first time he'd seen the Captain
angry.  A flash of insight forced him to realize that for all their
complaining, the rest of the troops were as serious as the Captain
when it came to following the codes--and keeping their personal honor
intact.  

"Those cubs were touchy about their honor, were they?   The Whispering
Leaves Clan can trace their linage back to the first morphs who stood
with Ruth and Runner during the final battles of the Mage Wars.   The
first members of the Clan survived the final battle of the war.  There
is no other clan in the world who can say not one of their members has
died without honor.  No wolf, not even a member of the Rock
Clan--would dare to claim to be a clan member when they are not. Cubs
barely old enough to speak have *died* rather than tell a harmless lie
that would have saved their lives.  Do you begin to understand?  No?

"Consider this:  Aesir and Killian could have demanded that I kill you
for your actions because I'm your immediate superior, and the King
would have had me executed for treason if I had refused."  The Captain
sighed.  "I can't keep you here because once they find out what you've
done the troops will draw lots to see who gets to kill you.  I can't
send you back to the King because he'd kill you himself, for what
you've done."  He looked at the forest again.  "Killed four, did they?
That means they're both battle-blooded." He turned back to his errant
guard.  "Those cubs are sly ones.  I'm sure they expected better
treatment but if they've learned their lessons they're ready for what
I'm going to do to you." 

"Sir?"

Instead of answering the Captain tilted his head back and howled and
barked in the battle language of the wolves.  When he finished there
was a long silence.  Finally a female wolf answered him with a single
bark that was filled with the unmistakable tones of command.   "I
thought so,"  he muttered.  "Go get your gear and get out of here.
Aesir and Killian will be waiting for you near where you last saw
them."

He finally took pity on the guard.  "They're willing to accept you as
an oath-sworn bodyguard.  Don't give your word unless you mean it."

"Dismissed!"

* * *

The first thing he noticed was that the cubs were comfortably settled
near a fire and eating their dinner.  He shook his head in dismay as
he stepped into the clearing.  He opened his mouth to chide them for
their carelessness when  he felt a tug at his ankles.  Before he could
do more than wonder what happened a net rose around him and he was
jerked into the air.  The cubs never looked up as he cursed them--and
himself for his own carelessness.

Aesir finished his dinner and looked at Killian.  "We have company.
Must be the inept guard Scar wanted us to train.  Can't think of
anyone else who'd fall for that old trick."

She nodded before she turned to study their captive.  "He looks like a
plains cat.  Dad said they they always took a long time to learn how
to live in the woods."

Aesir turned and smiled at their captive.  "A hunter needs to know the
ways of his prey--as some of the Rock Clan learned just before they
died."  He walked over and disarmed the now silent guard.  When he
spoke again his voice held none of the amusement he'd used while
talking to his sister.  "So, cat.  You thought we played at some
childish game."  He held up the captured sword and gently touched the
tip to the cat's throat.  "Three times your life has been given to us.
Once when you questioned my word when I spoke as the Alpha Wolf of my
clan.  Twice when your Captain asked us to teach you how to be a
warrior.  The third time, by your own foolishness."  He pulled the
sword away and grounded it.  As he leaned on it he turned grim.  "Tell
us why we should let you live."

"The Captain said you needed a bodyguard!"

Aesir stiffened.  "Wrong answer.  We agreed to accept you as an oath
sworn bodyguard--as I'm certain he told you."  He shook his head sadly
as he raised the sword and carefully aimed for the cat's throat.  "I
take no pleasure in sending a fool to join other fools."

The cat yowled in terror as Aesir lunged forward.  Aesir never lost
his look of grim-faced sadness while he stepped back and watched the
cat's body jerk wildly before it eventually stilled--in death.

* * *

Scar sighed as the cat's yowl of terror suddenly stopped.  A few
minutes later two wolf cubs walked up the path to stand in front of
him.

Killian spoke first.  "A fool has joined other fools.  Inform his kin
that his body has been left for the scavengers and is not to be
recovered.  He died without honor."

Scar winced.  "He was young.  He did not understand the ways of the
forest--and the wolves.  For this, he died?"

Aesir held up a paw in denial.  "No.  He died because three times his
life was ours and when he was asked why he should be allowed to live
he said it was because you said we needed a bodyguard.  Unspoken was
his thought that we are merely cubs."

Scar knelt before them and bowed his head.  "You are wolves of the
Whispering Leaves Clan.  This is all that matters to a true warrior.
Command me that I may regain my honor."

"There is no need for you to kneel, my friend.  You sent that cat to
his death.  Did you think to test us?"

Scar rose to his feet and faced Aesir.  "Aye.  That thought was there.
I was testing him, too.  He was a good man and I hoped that he had
learned wisdom enough to avoid repeating his mistake."  He shrugged
and went on. "If not, he was not a man I wanted in my command during
the times to come.  His death at your hands, mine, or the King's--is
better than losing men to his stupidity.  You declared a vendetta.  I
had to be sure you understood the responsibilities."

Aesir stepped forward and hugged his friend.  "Your honor was never in
doubt.  Gather the men you can spare and help us give our people a
proper burial.  Is there..."  Aesir blinked back his tears. "Someplace
private Killian and I can grieve before we make our plans?"

Scar nodded.  "Follow me.  You can use my quarters while I see to my
troops."

* * *

They settled and stared into the hearth fire in the center of Scar's
quarters.  They could hear the shouted orders as he assembled his
troops but they refused to let the meaning of the shouted orders touch
them.  

Killian finally looked up and spoke softly.  "Little Brother.  They
died with honor."

Aesir stayed silent.

She tried again.  "She ordered us to leave.  If she hadn't..."

When he raised his head to stare at her she could see the tears that
streamed from his eyes to drip from the tip of his muzzle.  "Peace,
Sister.  My mind knows there was nothing we could do except run.  My
heart says otherwise and wishes I had died with them.  Even though the
code councils one to wait and seek battle on one's own terms when
doing anything else is suicide..."  He looked back at the fire.  "No
more toy fleets to command under their watchful eyes.  Did I learn
enough?  Or will the first ship I command be burned to ashes beneath
my feet--as the Rock Clan burned our father's ship in order to destroy
him?"

Killian sighed and whispered her own agonies.  "They called her a
coward because she held her ground and deprived them of the sport they
sought.  They grumbled because they wanted to defile her while she
still lived.  They wanted to break her will slowly.  You heard their
talk before we killed them.  They wanted to use us to get at her--and
she denied them that by giving us enough time to escape their ambush.
I looked back when we reached the forest.  I'll never forget how she
stood there and taunted them by issuing the call to arms even though
she knew she would die for her efforts."  

She hugged herself and rocked back and forth until Aesir moved to hug
her tightly.  She leaned into him and continued:  "When we killed the
one who boasted of loosing the arrow that killed her I wanted to dance
and shout for joy at his death.  I wanted to make his death a
lingering one.  I wanted to openly savor every moment of his pain when
he realized 'mere cubs' were killing him.  Instead, I held my joy
inside.  My feelings terrify me.  I hurt.  I want to kill them slowly.
Little Brother..."  She turned and clung to him as she would a life
raft on a storm tossed sea.  "Don't leave me alone!"

Aesir held her while she shivered and sobbed.  "Sister.  I'm here."

They hugged each other as they turned inward and began to plan for a
future that did not include their parents.
====

pirate2003 furry nosex Mwolf-Flion

Summoned! - Aesir the Bard,  part 1
The Tails of Rabelaisia 
---

"What?  When did they do this?!"

Heads jerked around to stare at the Queen.

"How *dare* they!"

"Samantha!  Explain this outrage!"

The Queen's Mage slowly mounted the steps and faced her Queen.  "As
you can see, we've just recently assembled all the pieces."  She
sighed.  "We've been trying to keep track of them ever since
Death-Dancer destroyed their fleet and somehow managed to get them to
oath-swear that they'd never return to sea."  She and the Queen shared
rueful smiles.  "The Rock Clan is extremely secretive.  Shortly after
they swore their oath they made it clear they wanted no Bards or Mages
anywhere in their territory.  The Guilds put them on their list of
places to avoid and turned the matter over to the Queen's Guard.   All
outsiders have been stopped at the border so we haven't been able to
infiltrate anyone.  Even the traders who dealt with them for decades
were not allowed further than one or two outlying villages."

The Queen nodded.  "What about their port?  I understood that since
they were forced to abandon piracy they opened the port to merchant
shipping."

"True.  But, the first thing they rebuilt were their defenses.  Then
they informed everyone that vessels could dock but none of the crew
could leave--or the ship would be destroyed."

"Continue."

"We were never able to track all of the clan members who traveled but
those we did track did nothing out of the ordinary, unless you count
former pirates engaging in honest trade as 'out of the ordinary'. When
you think about it, it makes sense.  One wolf, working with his
sister, destroyed their entire fleet in one night.  Death-Dancer
terrified them and nobody knew if he was alive or dead.  They
certainly didn't want to do anything that would cause him to show up
again if he was still alive.  It was bad enough that your father
accepted his sister's application to become a privateer.  The Rock
Clan *knew* she would always be out there waiting for them if they
decided to go to sea."

The Queen gestured for Samantha to stop.  "What are you avoiding,
Samantha?  It is clear that the Rock Clan spent years planning for
this oath-breaking.  We do not need this history lesson--or a long
explanation of why nobody was able to learn enough to warn us about
their plans.  Our father assumed they would bide their time and
eventually strike back.  We never thought he was wrong to make that
assumption.  They are wolves and even though they were pirates they
follow a version of the wolf's code.  Under their version of that
code, they would feel a strong need to 'correct' the mistake that led
to Death-Dancer and his fury.  The only way to do that is to kill the
last two members of the Whispering Leaves Clan."

She slumped back on her throne and sighed.  "We assumed that because
there were *no* reports about the Rock Clan, there was nothing to
worry about.  That is a lack of communication and a serious error in
judgment.  However, the error is partly ours because we assumed you
were aware of our special interest in Broken Fang.  We will no longer
assume that our closest advisors are aware of the ramifications of our
special interests"  She bent her head and studied her hands for a few
minutes.  When she looked up again there was a glint of mischief in
her eyes.  "Tell us the good news, such as how someone managed to
discover what was going on."

Samantha didn't try to hide the fact she was extremely nervous.  The
Queen seldom rebuked any of her advisors and even less often did she
openly accuse them of avoiding the point.  "Your Majesty.   Ruth's
Dream was not lost in a storm, as the crew of Pride of the Waves told
us.  She was driven onto the rocks after being gutted by those who
captured her.  A wandering Bard, hundreds of leagues away from where
she was 'lost', was gathering driftwood for his fire and picked up a
small piece of a ship's hull."  She allowed herself a wry smile when
the Queen bent forward.  "Bards are always curious and looking for
material for new stories.  He decided to 'read' the memories in the
wood."

"He got much more than he expected.  The scrap had been part of Ruth's
Dream and it told him a tale of terror and death-at the hands of the
crew of Pride of the Waves.  Pride was a pirate ship, Your Majesty,
and she had been hired by the Rock Clan to hunt down and destroy
Ruth's Dream."

"We *will* have their heads!"

"No, Your Majesty.  You will not."

"What?  Are you dictating to your Queen?"

"No.  I am telling her a fact.  We found the  Pride moored in the Rock
Clan's harbor.  Her crew was aboard, but dead.  All of the reward
money was gone."

"We assume you interrogated the harbor master?"

Samantha bowed her head.  "We could not.  The Rock Clan has abandoned
their homeland."

The Queen's body and tail stilled in a rare display of shock.  "The
entire clan?"  It was a whisper born of total disbelief.

Samantha flinched slightly but held her ground.  "Yes."

The two women, one a tigress with most of her life behind her, the
other a young lioness barely thirty years old--stared at each other.
It was the lioness, the Queen, who spoke first.  "We do not wish to
say it, Samantha."

"You must.  You also have another duty to perform."

"Oh?  What duty is that?"

"You must send a message to Broken Fang.   It was her brother who took
their oath."  Samantha's smile was thin.  "Wolves are touchy when
their honor is involved, especially so when an oath is broken."

The Queen leaned back in her throne.  "Do you know what you ask? Would
you have us tell Death-Dancer, if he still lives, that his enemies
have become oath-breakers?"

"Yes.  It is your sworn duty--as his Queen."

The Queen frowned and then leaned forward.  "Contact your Guildmaster
and the Guildmaster of the Bards.  We need a list of all their Masters
as soon as possible.  If we happen to awaken the ravening beast named
Death-Dancer, we will at least do our best to protect his sister so he
is not distracted while he works."

"As you command."

The Queen sighed and raised her voice.  "The Rock Clan leaves us no
choice.  We declare them oath-breakers.  As of now, the Rock Clan does
not exist.  No longer will they be allowed to write in the book of
life."

She rose and looked at each of her advisors.  "We sentence the Rock
Clan... to death.  The sentence is to be imposed as quickly as
possible."

She turned and walked out of the throne room.

* * *

The Queen brushed a hand across her face.  She was tired,
exhausted--but that was part of the price she paid for being the ruler
of Rabelaisia's largest nation.  "Samantha.  Nigel.  We applaud your
guilds' diligence in keeping such comprehensive records.  However, we
have not seen a single entry that tells us 'this is the person we must
send'.  Do you have any suggestions?"

Samantha leaned back and sighed.  "Broken Fang is a wolfess.  Perhaps
if we sent one of her own kind?  There are a few wolves who are Mages.
Maybe one of them will be able...  Nigel?  What is it?"

Nigel had stiffened and then started frantically digging in his stack
of papers.  "Wait.  I need to find...  AH!  I thought so!"  He held up
a single piece of paper and grinned as he handed it to the Queen.

She took it, casually glanced at it and then froze.  "A wolf?  A wolf
has become a Bardic Master?  We don't care where he is, summon him at
once."

Nigel gently removed the paper from her fingers.  "He is a Bard, Your
Majesty.  He cannot be summoned.  We will send him a request in your
name.  I remember him well.  He is a loner who renounced all ties to
the wolf clans.  He most likely will not come."

The Queen smiled.  It was a smile that spoke of her heritage.  It was
the smile of a predator who knows the ways of her prey.  "He will
come.  We are sure of it."

"Your Majesty?"  Nigel was obviously puzzled.  "How can you be so
certain?"

"His name is Aesir."

"So?"

"Aesir is the name of one of the patron saints of the seamen.  Tell
him his Queen would like to consult with him about the Rock Clan--and
oath-breaking."

* * *

The young runner caught up with me as I was walking along a forest
trail.  "Master Aesir!  A message from the Queen!"

I frowned and stopped.  "The Queen?"

"Yes, Master."

I held out my hand and she shook her head.  "It's verbal."

I let my hand drop as I tilted my head and studied her.  "Verbal?
You're a Queen's messenger?"

She straightened with obvious pride.  "Yes, Master Aesir.  I am."

I smiled at her enthusiasm.  "I will hear this message."

She nodded and took a deep breath.  " 'Master Aesir.  Your Queen
wishes to consult with you about the Rock Clan--and oath-breaking.' "
She took another breath and added:  "That's all, Master.  Do you wish
to reply?"

"Where is the Queen?"

"At the palace, Master."

"That's about four day's run from here, isn't it?"

She nodded.

"Very well.  Tell the Queen that I will be there in three days."

She frowned slightly.  "I'm to tell the Queen you will arrive three
days after I deliver your message?"

I chuckled.  "No.  Tell her I will be there three days from now."

"That's impossible!"

"Can you make the trip in three days?"

She hesitated as she sensed the trap.  Finally she grinned impudently.
"I am a Queen's runner.  I can do it."

"Then it's not impossible, is it?"  She shook her head without losing
her grin.  "Imp.  Then you'll have to do it more quickly if you want
to deliver your message before I get there.  I'll craft a tale in your
honor if you succeed."  I waved a hand at the trail.  "Be off with
you!"

I was treated to a grin and a flash of lithe legs as she turned and
began her sprint.

I was still chuckling as I settled into the ground devouring lope of a
wolf on the hunt.

Three days later, as I was approaching the gates to the palace, a
lithe form sprinted past me and was stopped by the guards.  I slowed
to a walk and watched as she turned to face me.  The grin was there
again and I sensed some awe behind it when she confronted me.
"Master?"

I looked at the guards.  "I would appreciate it if someone escorted
this young lady to the Queen, immediately.  She's a Queen's runner." I
matched her grin with a grin of my own.  "It is a matter of honor
between us.  I asked her to tell the Queen when I'd arrive."

"We know who she is.  Who are you, wolf, to be making such requests?"

I lightly touched the badge on my harness.  "My name is Aesir.  Your
Queen has asked me here to discuss a matter of some importance."

He frowned slightly.  "Aesir?  We've been told to expect a Bard named
Aesir..."  He stopped.   He looked at my harness, laid his ears flat
on his head and sighed in resignation.  "You?"

I nodded.  "Your powers of observation and deduction astound me."

He winced.  "Master?  The Queen neglected to tell us that she was
expecting a wolf."

I smiled.  "A lesson worthy of a Bard.  I will remain silent on the
matter.  So will this young imp at my side."

He looked down and smiled at the runner.  "So, Elaine.  This is one
tale you can't use to get out of trouble, isn't it?  I'll call for a
relief and escort you to the Queen myself."

She sighed.  "Yes, father."

He reached and tousled her hair.  "Stand aside, daughter.  I must
return to my duties while we wait for my relief.  Master?  If you'd
move aside so we can deal with these others?"

  * * *

The guards quietly let us enter the throne room.  One of them
whispered to the chamberlain and she nodded before quietly approaching
the throne.  She bent and whispered in the Queen's ear.  The Queen
nodded and looked in our direction.  When she saw Elaine she smiled
and beckoned to her.  

I barely noticed when Elaine left my side.  When we entered the room
I'd felt an unfamiliar warmth slowly working its way into my brain. It
felt as if someone were trying to quietly insinuate themselves into my
thoughts.

I ignored the sensations and focused on the Queen and Elaine.

"You delivered our message?"

"Yes, Your Majesty."

"Did Master Aesir send a reply?"

"Yes, Your Majesty.  'Tell the Queen I will be there in three days.' "

She nodded.  "How long ago did you deliver the message?"

"Three days ago, Your Majesty."

The Queen frowned and sighed.  "Three more days of waiting.  Thank
you, Elaine."  She started to turn back to the person she'd been
talking to.

Elaine hesitated and then tentatively touched the Queen's arm to get
her attention. "Your Majesty?"

"Elaine?"

"I thought that was what he meant, too.  When I asked him he said 'No.
Tell her I will be there three days from now.' "  She turned and
pointed at me.  "He's right there."

The Queen's head snapped up and she stared at me.  As we locked eyes
the warmth I'd barely felt increased and suddenly changed to a sense
of completion.  At that point I recognized what was happening.  I
smiled wryly as I approached the throne, uninvited.  "Your Majesty. It
seems that fate has chosen to play one of her little games with us.
Wouldn't you agree?" I held up my hands in the greeting of mates. 

I felt her shock slowly change to denial, then wry amusement as the
denial didn't change the link between us.  "Aesir.  We thought we
needed a Bard to help us solve our problems.  It seems we will have to
settle for a mate, instead."  She rose and walked down the steps to
where I stood.  As our hands touched and our fingers intertwined
themselves we leaned forward and kissed each other.

When she pulled away her eyes were filled with mirth.  "At least we no
longer have to put up with those tiresome old men who think we will
find their sons ideally suited for our private chambers!"

"I see there is much I need to learn about My Queen.  Things such as
her heart-name, for example."

She smiled slightly.  "Leesha."  She raised her voice.   "Leave us.
There are things we wish to discuss with Aesir--privately."

As the room cleared she motioned to a couple of chairs.  After we
settled she sighed.  "You understood our message?"

It was my turn to sigh.  I'd spent most of my journey trying to avoid
thinking about her message.  It hadn't worked and I'd finally used my
worry to distract me from my running. "Aye, Your Majesty."

She shook her head.  "Leesha.  I've waited a long time to hear a man
speak my heart-name."

I sagged into the cushions.  "Aye, Leesha.  I understood your message.
I wish I hadn't.   May I set a privacy shield around us?"

She nodded.

I quickly set the shield.  "Leesha.  While I was answering your call I
spent time planning a possible course of action.  Events have forced
me to discard those plans."

 Her lips peeled back in a grin.  "Understandable.  I have some plans
I need to discard, too."

I sighed and looked down at my hands.  "One thing is clear.  With the
Rock Clan involved, Broken Fang needs to be warned."

She sighed.  "So our advisors insisted.  We don't like it but we see
the need.  We hoped you would be our messenger and Broken Fang's
protector until this is over."
 
I nodded slowly.  "The message?"

She sighed and looked at me.  "If he lives, find Death-Dancer and ask
if he will deal with his old enemies once again, for the sake of the
realm."

I snorted.  "I was afraid it would be something like that.  Why else
send for a wolf who used to belong to one of the sea clans?"  I looked
down at my hands.  "Leesha.  You don't need to send that message."

"Death-Dancer is already aware of the problem?"

I whispered:  "Aye, Leesha.  I am.  Thanks to you."

She gasped.

"After that night and my victory over the Rock Clan I changed my form
to what you see, then renounced all my clan ties to become a Bard.  As
far as the world is concerned, Death-Dancer vanished.  Perhaps he died
of his wounds.  Until your runner delivered her message I believed
that would remain the 'truth' and I could put that part of my life
behind me."

I looked up at last and knew my eyes were filled with my anguish.  "I
am a wolf and I still live by that code, as much of it as I am able to
reconcile with the Bardic Way.  Command me, my Queen, that I may
honorably avenge myself on those who gave me their oaths--and who have
now chosen to break them."

Leesha knelt in front of me and took my hands in hers.  "A week ago I
declared the Rock Clan oath-breakers.  Their fate is sealed.  Their
sentence is death.  I cannot allow you to blindly kill them as you
find them.  Justice demands that we make sure they all die.  Will you
help?  Is there some way you can help make sure we kill them all?"  

She lowered her head into my lap.  "Aesir.  My heart burns with the
anger I feel.  In order to strike at you and your sister, they paid
for the capture of Ruth's Dream and the death of all aboard her--just
so they could seize the reward I paid  for  solving the mystery of The
Dream's disappearance.  With that money they bought a ship and
returned to the sea.  Furthermore, the entire clan has abandoned their
homeland."

She turned her head so she could meet my eyes then reached up  to
lightly touch my muzzle.  "I, too, am a predator.  The code of the
lion is very much like your own.  But, I am Queen.   When the code of
the lion conflicts with the code of the Land, the code of the lion
must be ignored if I am to keep the trust of the people."

The implications staggered me.  "The Rock Clan paid to have the King
assassinated?  The  Pride of the Waves was a pirate vessel?"

Leesha sighed.  "No, and yes.  My father was on the Dream because he
was traveling incognito.  All of us had been after him to take a
vacation so he finally relented and was taking one.  When the Dream
vanished between ports, we had to announce the reason for our sudden
interest in what happened to her."
====

pirate2003 furry nosex Mwolf-Flion
---

Yo Ho! - Aesir the Bard,  part 2
The Tails of Rabelaisia
---

When I quietly boarded the Wolfsong, Killian was staring at the
horizon and smiling slightly.  Her smile revealed the reason for her
other name, the name that was feared by any pirate crew who heard it.
One of her lower fangs was a broken stump.  Nobody knew how it
happened.  Nobody, unless they were fools--asked 'Broken Fang' how her
maiming had happened.  Most people figured she'd done it by doing
something heroic, dangerous or both.

She never bothered to confirm or deny their speculations.  If it added
to her mystique, well, she needed any advantage she could beg, borrow,
steal... or lie for.

"So, sister.  Tripped and fallen into any flowerpots recently?"

She whirled with the fluid grace that I remembered from our childhood.
"Aesir!"

I held out my arms, she laughed and then 120 pounds of wolfess hit me
at a dead run.  I fell backwards as she hit, wrapped my arms around
her and held on as we rolled across the deck of the Wolfsong.  

She nipped at one of my ears.  "No, brother.  I haven't tripped over
any flowerpots.   Don't you dare mention that again.  Most of my crew
is convinced that I did it when I was opening an ale barrel!"

She hugged me and I hugged her back.  "I've always enjoyed the one
about you breaking it when you stopped a Queen's Guard from shooting
you--by grabbing his gun in your mouth."

She glanced up to see if anyone was nearby then she lowered her muzzle
into my chest  fur and giggled.  "That's...  That's...  Oh.  Aesir!
I've missed you!"

"And I, you."

We separated and stood.  I studied the lithe and powerful wolfess in
front of me.  "The sea life suits you."  We locked eyes and there was
something shadowed in hers.  I frowned.  Most wouldn't have seen it
but...   I am who I am, after all is said and done.  "Killian?  What
darkens those brown eyes of yours?"

She flinched.  "Brother, when I left home you wouldn't have seen that.
Whatever your life is now, it has obviously taught you some wisdom, at
last."

It was my turn to flinch.  When I went and leaned on the railing, she
followed and joined me in my contemplation of the sea beyond the
harbor.   "Aye, sister.  More wisdom than any young wolf needs to
know."  I reached into my belt pouch and found a small object.
"Perhaps this will explain, when my words would be less than
convincing."  I turned my hand over and opened it to reveal what I
held.

Her eyes widened in surprise.  One hand reached out and lightly,
tentatively brushed the object.   "Aesir?  You?  But..."  She took a
deep breath.  "Brother, no wolf in generations has been a Bard."

"I know."  I put the badge away and returned to watching the waves.
"That, and a carefully worded 'request' from the Queen--are what led
to this reunion."  I sighed.  "I wish it could have been otherwise,
dear sister."

Her slap on my back nearly toppled me over the railing.  "Well,
brother, the Wolfsong has been too long in port anyway.  Her captain
and crew grow bored with the simple life of the landsmen.  'Tis
seaward we should be bound and soon.  I am grateful that fate has been
kind enough to send me a messenger I can trust to do more than puke
his guts over the rail after a Queen's mission."

She hesitated and then turned me to face her.  "You *will* be with us
for the mission, won't you?"

"Aye.  That I will be."  It was my turn to check for eavesdroppers.
There were none.  Even so, I lowered my voice to a whisper.  "The Rock
Clan has bought themselves a ship and gone back to sea.  The Queen has
asked that I give you the following message:  'If he lives, find
Death-Dancer and ask if he will deal with his old enemies once again,
for the sake of the realm.' "

She blindly grabbed for my hands.  "No!  Not that!  Anything but
that!"

"Killian.  Listen to me.  I, too, thought the Rock Clan had given up
their dreams.  But, they have not forgotten who brought them low. They
have not forgotten the wolf-cubs who survived one of their raids. They
have not forgotten Death-Dancer's sister, just as they have not
forgotten Death-Dancer--and the terror he brings to their misbegotten
souls.  They know who you are, Killian--and they have gone to sea to
trap you, with the dream that Death-Dancer will react unthinkingly.
With us dead, they hope to resume their reign of terror and rebuild
their old glory as the most feared clan of pirates our world has
seen."

She took a deep breath and exhaled slowly.  "Aye, brother.  We can't
allow that to happen.  Does the Queen know who you are?"

"Of course.  But she's never seen me as my true self.  The wolf who
stands before you is not the wolf known as 'Aesir, the Bard.'  I
haven't worn this form since the night..."  I shrugged.  "You're the
only  living person who has seen me and known she was seeing
Death-Dancer in his true form.

She nodded.  "I wondered if you would use your skill to build a new
life after that night."

She let go and shouted to the crewman on the dock.  "Gather the crew!
We leave at dawn--and laggards get no share of the booty!"

She turned back and I matched her grin.  "It seems, sister, that some
things about you haven't changed, such as your charitable nature."

Broken Fang and the Queen's privateer Wolfsong--were going hunting.

* * *

Killian's crew was a mixed lot.  The wolves held a visible majority
but I spotted a few hyenas, a rat, a few monkeys and much to my
surprise, a hare.  When I asked her, she grinned.  "Liam?  Don't let
him fool you.  He's as blood driven as any wolf.  We found him adrift
in a lifeboat several years ago.  All he'll tell anyone is that he was
forced to watch as pirates butchered his wife and children for their
dinner.  He still doesn't eat meat but I don't let him near pirates
unless I want them dead."  She shook her head and smiled sadly.
"Reminds me of a wolf I know."

We entered the crew's mess to be greeted by cheers and ribald
comments.  "Fang!  Is that your latest lover?  Crew not good enough?"

I snarled softly and she grabbed my arm when I started to step
forward.  "No.  I'm not your innocent sister, to be protected.  These
men are my family and my lovers.  They've also earned the right to
treat me as one of their own.  In them, our clan lives again."  She
raised her voice.  "Besotted fools!  Would I take a new lover if he
hadn't been welcomed by all in the clan?  I thought you knew me better
than that.  When you begin to bore me, you'll know.  This wolf brings
us word of a new challenge and has agreed to join us on our next
mission."

"This wolf is not my latest lover, to be initiated into our clan.  He
is here to help us destroy the Rock Clan and their dreams of glory."
She lowered her voice and curled her lips into a snarl.  "He is also
my brother, Death-Dancer."

The sudden silence was filled with the scent of terror.  I sighed and
moved in front of Killian.  I looked her crew over and smiled.  "My
nose tells me you know my reputation."  There were a few uneasy
chuckles.  "If Killian says you lot are clan, then you're clan.  Many
years ago, as alpha male, I declared vendetta on the Rock Clan.  When
I was through, they named me 'Death-Dancer' and promised to never
return to the sea.  I called off the vendetta and gave them their
lives.  Less than a year ago they decided to become oath breakers.
They've bought a ship and plan to use it to capture Killian--with the
hope that I will be hate maddened into making a response that lets
them kill me.  Unlikely dream but what does the Rock Clan know of the
honor of a wolf?" 

My calm words were met with growls of anger.  I held up a hand to
still their protests.  "I am here to help, not command.  I stand
before you because it was our Queen who sent the message that brings
me away from my contemplations.  It is our Queen who asks that you
help stop the Rock Clan--and their dreams of terror."  I looked at
each of them, then turned and walked out.  I'd said enough. 

* * *

I turned to face the wolf who had quietly joined me at the bow of the
ship.  He was about my age and his fur was patchy in places.  I
recognized the scars for what they were, battle scars, honorably taken
in his war against our enemies.  By mutual, unspoken agreement, we
both turned to watch the sea as she slid past.

"Death-Dancer.  There are words I must share with you."

"Call me Aesir. It's easier to shout in battle, if nothing else. Speak
your words."

"Aesir, then.  I am Sharl, Wolfsong's battle commander and alpha male
to Broken Fang.  The clan asks if you are willing to return to to your
rightful position as alpha."

I shook my head.  "No.  I've been too long away from the clans. Eleven
years ago I quietly renounced my oaths to the clans and swore a new
oath."  I reached into my pouch, removed my badge and attached it to
my harness.  When I turned to face Sharl I smiled.  "My allegiance is
to something greater.  My arm, my skills and my heart belong to all of
Rabelaisia.   Not even the Queen may command me, only suggest."  I
touched the Bard's badge I wore.  "This is what stops me from
accepting your generous offer."

Sharl sucked in his breath.  "A Bard?"

I nodded.  "Three years ago the guild declared me a Master and told me
to make my own destiny.  Six months ago the Queen requested my
presence.  Three months earlier the Rock Clan had purchased a ship and
abandoned their ancestral lands.  She feared for my sister's safety.
Much against her own desires, she agreed that I needed to be told, if
I still lived.  She is also pragmatic and has been frustrated by her
inability to find a power handler able to deal with the life of a
privateer.  Thus, when she learned there was a wolf who came from the
sea clans who was also a Bardic Master, she dared to dream that I
might be able to join Broken Fang in her task and become the protector
of her and her crew while Death-Dancer administered the Queen's
justice to the Rock Clan."

I chuckled as I remembered her true explanation for her actions. 'When
I saw the name of the wolf who had become a Bard, I knew he would
help.    After all, he is named after one of the patron saints of the
seamen--Aesir'  

He turned and leaned on the railing.  "Aesir.  Where will you stand
during our battles?"

"Aside.  I cannot help.  I will not hinder--and I will defend your
people to the best of my abilities.  My battles come later, after you
have taken prisoners."

We were interrupted by a shout:  "Ship sighted!  She's dead ahead and
closing fast!"

Sharl stiffened and then shouted: "Sound the alarm!"

I 'reached' for the ship and then grinned.  "Sharl.  Call off your
wolves.  That's Runner's Gift."

He whirled to face me.  I could see the stunned disbelief in his eyes.
"The Gift??  But...   How can you tell?  What's she doing out here? "

I never lost my grin.  "I'm a Bard.  She's here to meet us."

Sharl whispered:  "By the Seven Saints of the Sea..."  He came out of
his trance and turned back to his men.  "Belay that alarm!  Form ranks
and prepare to meet your Queen!"

* * *

"Prepare to be boarded!"

Killian glanced in my direction and grimaced.  "Brother, that command
irks me.  One does not 'board' the vessel of a loyal subject.  That
boarding master needs a lesson in courtesy."  She raised her voice.
"Her Majesty's privateer Wolfsong awaits her inspection."

There was a sudden silence from the Gift's crew, then muffled laughter
as the lioness who had given the order stood speechless for a few
seconds before she  agilely leaped across the small gap between our
ships.  

Killian and the lioness locked eyes and then the lioness spoke softly.
"Your brother told me you had a sense of humor, Broken Fang.   Few
dare to correct their Queen when we inappropriately indulge ourself in
our whimsy.  We approve." 

She turned to me and raised her hands in the greeting of mates.  "So,
Death-Dancer, this is the form of the wolf who strikes terror into the
hearts and souls of the Rock Clan.  You have our permission to greet
your Queen."

I raised my hands and we intertwined our fingers.  "Leesha.  Though it
has been mere weeks, I have missed you as if we have not been together
for the years I had not seen my sister."  I tilted my head to indicate
Killian and her crew.  "Love, I think you managed to render them
speechless.  Perhaps it would have been wiser to put up with the
'tiresome wastes of time' before you stunned them with your
eloquence."

She lowered her head in passable imitation of feminine contrition.
"Aesir?  Do you really think so?  Should we consider ourself properly
spanked for ignoring protocol?"

I snorted and pulled her into a hug.  As we both tried to crack the
other's ribs I whispered:  "Spanked?  Hell, no.  I approve of anything
that lets you evade the stuffiness that fate has forced into your
life."

She giggled.  "Aesir.  We've missed you so much.  Your Queen has needs
that only you..."  Her tail tip caressed my back seductively. "Can
satisfy."  

She pulled back but left our hands intertwined.  Killian and most of
her crew were watching us with their mouths agape.  Leesha smiled.
"Does it surprise you to discover your Queen is also a woman?  We
called Aesir to ourself as his Queen.  When he entered our presence,
he called to us as a man.  We felt that call and answered as a woman.
We do not regret that decision."

Killian slowly licked her lips in a rare display of confusion.  "Your
Majesty?  My little brother?"

"Not so little, as we have ample reasons to know."

Killian jerked her head back in shock.  I laughed.  "Is my
not-so-innocent sister surprised that her Queen  is as randy as any
wolf?"

"Aye, Aesir.  Even more surprised that she lusts after my
'not-so-little' brother."  She shook herself and turned to her crew.
"What?  Are you all so befuddled by the Queen's presence that you
can't be bothered to pay homage to her..." 

Leesha touched her arm and whispered something.  Killian jerked her
head around to stare at me.  She swallowed and then shouted.  "And our
King!"

I stood frozen in shock as her crew jerked their swords out and raised
them.  "The Queen and King!"

When the shouts died out Leesha turned to me.  There was laughter in
her eyes.  "Oh, dear.  We seem to have forgotten to tell Aesir of his
new status.  We're sure he'll adjust and see things our way.  You may
stand at our left side, Your Majesty."

What could I do but step forward and join her?

* * *

Leesha and I leaned on the rail as the Wolfsong raised her sails and
slowly pulled away from us.  "You didn't tell them everything, my
love."

Leesha leaned against me and sighed.  "I could not burden them with
it.  They will gather the prisoners and bring them to us.  It will be
enough, if what you say you've learned is true."

I shivered.  "Aye.  It will be enough."

She faced me and reached up gently.  "My Aesir.   Do you still refuse
to teach me?"

"I do.  The records are clear.  You may watch and you may later
touchlink to learn whatever I learn.  But, love, no matter the
circumstances, only a Bardic Master may actually perform the task you
need done."  I shivered again and pulled her into a tight embrace.
"Leesha, you *must* see the wisdom in doing it this way.  Mind-ripping
is a violation of everything our world is built on.  It is a return to
the times of the Mage Wars.  I will need you there, unsullied, to help
me recover.  I will need you there to gently wash away my guilt.  I
wish..."  I slumped.  "I wish there were some other solution!"

She turned and wrapped her arms around me.  "The Rock Clan are oath
breakers--as a clan.  There is only one punishment for that crime.  We
must be sure we include all of them in it."

I shook my head in frustration.  "I should have finished it eleven
years ago."

"No.  You had no right to continue once they gave their word.  Could
you have denied everything a wolf stands for?"

"Aye, Leesha, you have it right.  I could not have done it."

She shivered and I looked down at last.  "Aesir.  Runner's Gift
carries a cargo of death.  Less than a week ago we finished salting
the Rock Clan's ancestral lands.  We will do the same to whatever land
they have now chosen to settle."

She let go and turned to face the sea.  "We need your skill so we may
be sure our justice is certain and all encompassing."

I pulled her into my fur and held her close.  "I know, Leesha.  I
know."

She finally sighed and turned in my arms.  Our muzzles met in a gentle
kiss of understanding.  When she pulled away her eyes had some of her
old merriment in them.  "Enough.  Dinner awaits us and then we can
retire to our cabin."  She glanced to her left, where a tigress
casually leaned against the rail. She spoke a bit louder than needed.
"Trisha is discreet and will not panic at any unusual sounds that
happen to escape through the door.  Will she?"

Trisha jerked upright and smiled sourly.  "No, my liege.  I will not
panic.  I cannot speak for the crew, who may snicker a bit when they
realize their Queen is not getting the rest she needs."

Leesha chose to ignore Trisha's barbed return.  "Come, Aesir.  It is
getting chilly out here and we need the comfort of warmer
surroundings."  She was the perfect picture of regal arrogance as she
walked towards the stairs leading to the lower decks.

As Trisha and I fell in behind her we exchanged winks.  My comment was
just loud enough to carry to Leesha's ears.  "Trisha, I share your
concerns.  I'll see that the Queen sleeps soundly--after I make sure
she is exhausted enough to do so."

Leesha's tail stiffened and then slowly raised to its full height.
Once it stopped she slowly and seductively descended the stairs ahead
of us.
====

End: The Tails of Rabelaisia 1/5 Aesir The Bard

-- 
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reserved by its author unless explicitly indicated.
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