Wolfe Pack (20 page)

“What about Loranda?”

“She can take care of herself.” Night called back.

After a minute of full gallop she pulled up to a trot and looked around, they could hear someone near galloping along and Night raised her crossbow. There was a flash of blonde hair through the trees and Night relaxed, it was Loranda coming in fast with a big grin on her face.

“Hey guys! How was your ride? I'm thinking of riding back for some more fun, wanna join me?”

“Is she always like this?”

“Oh yeah, never stops let me tell you.”

He looked around,

“Loranda, have you seen Dark?”

“Oh yeah she was riding hard due west when I last saw her, I am sure she will be fine, she was well out of it all.” He shook his head,

“No we have to go back, I know her horse took an arrow same as mine, no telling how long it will last.”

Night looked to Loranda who nodded,

“Let's do it.”

They turned their horses and began a trot back the way they came keeping a cautious eye out for any of the bandits.  They spent a few minutes scanning the surrounding countryside looking for any sign of Dark. Loranda had moved out about fifty yards to the side to cover a larger area and it wasn't long before she called out to the other two,

“Over here, I see her.”

They trotted up seeing Dark walking towards them with her crossbow sitting on her shoulder, it was loaded as a precaution. Wollfen looked her over as they approached,

“Are you okay?” Dark could hear the concern in his voice,

“Oh sure, I had to kill a couple of them that were chasing me and then my horse finally gave out. There hasn't been anyone since then.”

She pulled herself up behind Loranda and held on. When Nightwing pulled up beside them Dark leaned over and gave Wollfen a deep kiss. Loranda couldn't help but comment,

“Oo, kissy kissy, the lovebirds are at it.”

She then made a dramatic act of blowing kisses to Nightwing who gave her a slap on the thigh, Loranda giggled and batted her eyelids.

“Let's get out of here, no telling what the bandits are up to.”

Night nodded to Wollfen and turned her horse around. They then made off to the rendezvous point to regroup once more. It would be a long ride back but uneventful.

Upon entering the clearing by the creek Wollfen looked about, everyone was accounted for except one, it was one of the soldiers missing,

“Do we know if he fell in battle?” The other soldier nodded,

“Yes I saw him go down when we were hit by those bowmen. Luckily Solynne warned us when she did otherwise we would all be dead.” Wollfen turned to Solynne,

“Yes, you did well, thanks for that, I guess we all owe you.” She nodded graciously.

“Well people we really fell for that one didn't we? I am pleased we got off so lightly, it could have been far worse. I think we had better be more cautious from now on. These guys are sharper than I gave credit for.”

They all nodded at his words, it had a sobering affect on them. Loranda though wasn't so down,

“Hey we did take down a few of them though, that was the plan wasn't it?”

“Yes, I wonder how many were lost by them? Can you all remember how many you each hit?” Loranda went first,

“Well I got five of them in total, most of those after they ambushed us.” Night also had good news,

“I got three of them for sure and maybe wounded another.” Wollfen turned to Dark,

“How about you?”

“I can say I got three as well, two of them were the ones chasing me after we were ambushed.”

“And I hit one so that's twelve from our side of the road. What about you guys, how did you fare?”

Kane and the soldier each got one as did Solynne,

“That's another three there, wow, fifteen in total, that's more than I had hoped for.”

Wollfen looked at Night and Loranda with new found respect, of the fifteen bandits killed these two had accounted for over half of them. They definitely had skills that were finely honed.  He didn't say anything right now, Wollfen didn't want the rest of them feeling they had underachieved, he knew they were all lucky to be alive.

“I am sorry we lost one today, if I had for a moment thought that we were going to run into an ambush I would not have given chase at all.” He looked to the other soldier, “Tell me Falk, did Isaac have any family?”

“No Wollfen, he was single but I think he may have an uncle who lives in Port Cholandra?”

“Well, we shall have to get word back. Let them know he died valiantly.”

“I am sure it would be appreciated.”

Wollfen turned back to the others,

“I think we need to risk sending you back to scout the cave Kane, we need to know if they are licking their wounds or are maybe stirred up and upset enough to come riding out again.”

Kane nodded getting up,

“I'll get right on it.”

Wollfen watched as the man prepared for what would be a four hour ride back to the valley of the bandits. It impressed him that the young man didn't hesitate or complain about anything that was asked of him. He was certainly proving to be an outstanding individual. He turned back to the others,

“We all did good today in spite of almost falling to that ambush, I would like to thank you all for what you have done so far, we have accounted for over half of the bandit numbers and I am sure this campaign will come to an end soon. All we need do now is be aggressive and yet cautious.”

He looked to each of them sitting there making eye contact with everyone.

“Alright then let's set a couple of sentries and rest up now,” He looked to Solynne, “I want you to go and try to rest and get some sleep, I need you to relieve Kane at dawn, that means a ride in the early hours of the morn.”

“Okay I can do that, will you be staying here at the creek tomorrow?”

“I'm not sure, it will depend on what Kane has to report, if there are any changes that allow us to move closer again I will send a person to let you know where we will be encamped.”

Solynne went off and he watched as she unrolled her bedding then he turned back to Dark,

“So my dear, we have time to kill, what would you like to do?” She looked him up and down with an appreciative smile,

“What I would like to do isn't the best choice right now Wolfy, we need to preserve our energy. Something tells me we are going to be busy out there again very soon.” He chuckled at her comment,

“You are a sweet vixen my dear.”

The following morning not much happened and they all kept themselves busy with minor chores. The soldier Falk and Kane had led three riderless horses back  after the attack and Wollfen was checking the saddles of them both as Dark looked the horses over.

Kane showed up a few hours after dawn, he had much to tell,

“How goes it Kane? Are the bandits quiet?” He shook his head,

“Trouble is brewing there I think.” Wollfen was intrigued,

“Please go on, you have my undivided attention.”

“I heard quite a bit of commotion emanating from the cave, they were obviously arguing amongst themselves, one voice kept shouting over the others and did eventually get them to quieten down. But later after midnight I noticed a bandit leaving the cave now and again not to return. I think some are deserting.”

Wollfen contemplated the news, that was very interesting indeed and if it were true that some had left then the authority of their leader would be very shaky now,

“So how many did you see leave?”

“I am sure it was at least five, possibly six of them.”

“That's very interesting, so if we calculate that with the numbers already lost, that means they are down to about fifteen individuals.”

“That would be my guess yes, we have been very effective so far.”

Kane paused, he had a thought to put past Wollfen but wasn't sure if it would be welcome, Wollfen saw though that he seemed to have something on his mind.

“What is it Kane? You have something more to say?”

“Yes, I am pretty sure you won't like what I have to say but I will tell you. We have done very well so far and have been very lucky. It seems to me that the danger of this gang has effectively been neutralized. They won't be doing any raids on Outrock that would endanger it anymore. So I propose we pack up and leave, we can already call this a victory. Should we press our luck? Those fifteen bandits could still be very dangerous to us.”

Wollfen considered his words, it made sense on the surface, they had eliminated the majority of the bandits numbers but he wasn't satisfied with that.

“It all sounds well and good Kane but I am not convinced that the leader of those bandits will quietly skulk away. In fact I am positive he would only go away to lick his wounds and gather even more outlaws to him. It may take some time but I think he will be back.”

Kane had been expecting such a response,

“That's what I thought you would say and I also agree with you on what the leader will do. I think that we need to ride out now to the valley and I will tell you why. When the bandits stirred this morning they would have seen some of their companions had left during the night, there would be rumblings amongst the ranks for sure. I decided to put myself in their leaders shoes and look at it from his point of view.

He is going to have to act immediately to keep the rest of the men loyal, if he suggests they just sit and wait it out as before they are all going to know that eventually we will attack in force. They know that we know their numbers are far smaller now. Their leader will have to get them out of there and make a run for safety.”

He was right, there was an immediate and compelling need for the gang to get out and away.

“I think you have nailed it Kane, good thinking, let's get over there as fast as possible.” Wollfen turned and called to the others,

“Get ready to mount up and move out! We are preparing for battle!” Kane spoke up,

“What of Justin and Keera? They could be back by tomorrow night?”

“Yes that's true,” Wollfen turned and called out once again, this time to Falk, “Hey Falk, I need you to stay and wait for Keera and Justin. Once they arrive come straight to the cave, we will be there.”

“Very well.”

The man settled back down again, well at least he would get to take it easy for awhile longer. Wollfen looked around,  he could see they would all be packed within the next five minutes and he went over to one of the captured horses and mounted up. Once the others were ready he led the way at a fast trot and they were on the road heading directly for the bandits lair.

A couple of hours later they pulled up outside the valley of the cave and scanned the immediate area, no sign of any sentries had been spotted, Wollfen hoped that the bandits hadn't already left. He turned to Kane and motioned him to follow, the others he made fan out and take cover. Then he headed for the ridge opposite the cave entrance to find Solynne.

Once the two of them had climbed the hill it only took a minute to find Solynne hunkered down behind a fallen tree looking into the valley below. Wollfen and Kane both crawled into position beside Solynne peering over the trunk at the dark mouth of the cave, there was a single sentry at the entrance who was looking around furtively. Wollfen spoke quietly,

“How goes it Solynne? What news?”

“There's been a bit of commotion in the cave and from time to time a bandit will come out and head over to the woods to the horses they have corralled there but no one has been doing anything that I can see. It is all strange.”

“Interesting.”

Wollfen looked over the surrounding area thinking about their best plan of attack.

“Kane, how hard do you think it would be to get to that corral and set the horses free? Drive them off?”

Kane looked and checked the approach to the area in question. He shook his head,

“It's like the cave, only one way to get to it and that means going past the mouth of the cave to get there. That sentry will spot them easily and set off the alarm.”

“We need to take that sentry out.” Kane didn't think that would help.

“It's broad daylight and we couldn't get close enough before he would see us and let the others know, if we wait till dark then we stand a good chance.”

“No, I am sure this lot will be long gone before darkness falls, I am surprised they are still here to be honest.”

“Yes, who knows what they are thinking.”

Alright, I am going back to the others, I have seen enough. Kane, you and Solynne can launch an attack from here once you see us riding in okay?” The two of them nodded,

“Alright, we will be ready.”

Wollfen crawled back and away from the ridge line then mounted his horse.

Once he got back to the others he let them in on what they saw and what he wanted to do,

“We are going to ride in at full gallop, take out the sentry at the entrance and set up outside behind whatever cover we can find, then we keep the bandits in the cave using our crossbows and bows. I will get Nightwing and Loranda to run their horses off out of the valley. Once we do that the bandits will have to wait till nightfall to make a break for it on foot, there is enough moonlight tonight that we will have a good view of anyone making their way out. What ever they do we should be able to take them down. There is only about fifteen of them and we number six, we should be able to pick them off one by one.” Nightwing wasn't too receptive of the idea,