FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Darwin's Legacy

Chapter 10 - Manoeuvres

In any defence there are always weaknesses, gaps, and areas that are not adequately covered, especially when there has been no threat for decades and the job of patrolling has become routine. But the risk is small, because it takes time to find those gaps, and most are too small for a fighting force to get through. However, an unusually small fax who had the luxury of growing up exploring the caves and a petite she-wolf were another matter.

The first indication that anything was amiss was the nicker of the horses stabled nearest to the entrance. They were young and skittish and were kept there to familiarize them with the sounds of the wagons coming and going, but the guards had learned to use their moods to tell if a stoat or a badger had managed to get in. That was the only kind of infiltrator they had these days, the kind that was after their chickens. Still, a cornered badger could gut an unwary fox, so when the horses cried out an alarm the nearest guards come running with crossbows cocked and ready.

They were shocked to discover a wolf in dappled clothing holding a dagger to the throat of a fox kit by the edge of the paddock. At least they assumed that it was a wolf; none of them had ever seen a live one. Guard duty was for young, inexperienced foxes from poor families. After a few years patrolling the entrances and occupying the observation posts they may get a job in a caravan, if they were lucky and did not screw up. The latter condition made them all skid to a stop some distance from the intruder and freeze indecisively. All of their bolts were individually marked, and none of them wanted to risk hitting the kit, who could be the son of someone important. Before they could think of calling for the Chief of the guard the wolf spoke.

"Fetch the one they call Silver Tip." She demanded, and the guards were even more shocked at hearing a female voice, a lovely female voice. "Quickly!" She demanded, pulling the kit's head back to expose the neck. "Or I'll slit his son's throat."

That got a reaction. Every one of them knew Silver Tip, one of the most prosperous foxes and known to have more sons than the next three foxes together, and although none of them could recall whether he had one this age it was always possible. And maybe he would reward the guard who brought him with a job, three of them concluded simultaneously. They fell over each other racing for the interior of the cavern. The remainder stayed, to cover the bandit wolf bitch and prevent her from harming the poor little kit, with hopes of the same reward.

"Not so close with that dagger." Tig whispered low enough so that only Annie could hear. "I do not want a second smile; the first is brilliant enough."

"Just keep struggling and wailing pathetically." Annie said through gritted teeth, amazed that the guards had fallen for the trick.

A few minutes later there came the sound of pounding feet and a number of older, more dangerous-looking foxes rushed in to take up positions around the two. The guard reluctantly gave way. A moment later an older, distinguished fox with many silver hairs in his dark fur strode into the chamber and halted several paces away. He squinted at the odd tableau before him.

"Little Pads? Is that you?"

"Tig, father. The name is Tig." The little fox said angrily.

"You were told never to come back here."

"You do not have the authority to banish me."

"Patron, is this ... creature .... your son?" One of the personal guards Silver Tip employed while in the winter campgrounds asked.

"Not anymore." The old fox said, turning on his heal. "You can kill them." He told the confused young guards as he passed them.

"Father, wait! You know that I would not seek you out without reason."

"Whatever the reason it cannot be sufficient excuse for bringing your latest girlfriend to our sanctuary." Silver Tip called over his shoulder without slowing down.

"She has information vital to the survival of our species." Tig shouted. "I swear it in the name of Renaud, the first fox."

The statement brought Silver Tip up short. Tig could almost see his father's brain working from twenty feet behind him.

Annie missed most of the conversation, as the foxes had been conversing in their own tongue, but she could read the expressions and body language of the leader easily enough. Things were not going the way that they had hoped.

Tig had tried to teach her some of the fox language during their voyage, but she had not picked up much. Wolves found the common tongue overly complicated and burdened by grammatical rules as it was and the fox tongue was even worse.

"Why do you change the verb for every different pronoun and tense?" She had demanded after the first lesson. "And the way you order the words, it sense no make." She joked.

"It is as the first fox taught us." Tig said matter-of-factly. "It is a very precise and scientific language, and young foxes have learned it just the same way since time immemorial. Even contractions like "Ti'gar" are frowned upon. Besides, your common tongue is terrible, so you might as well learn a civilized language so we can converse properly."

That conversation had evolved into a comparison of the wolf and fox cultures. Annie had told Tig about the wolf gods, each linked to an elemental force of nature: So-No the sun god, Lu-Na the moon goddess, Cor-No for the storms, Fer-Na for fire, Ter-No for earthquakes, and his twin sister, Nei-Na who controlled the avalanches.

"So-No and Lu-Na once shared the sky in a state of eternal twilight." She had explained to Tig over the cooking fire one night. One day they joined together, not entirely consensually, and fearing pregnancy, Lu-Na pulled away at the last second and hid on the other side of the earth disc. So-No spilled his seed against the side of the mountain and every drop became a wolf when it struck the living rock. We became a species, and So-No has been chasing Lu-Na around the disc ever since."

"It is different with us." Tig had replied. We have no gods, just our mentor, Renaud the first fox. He taught us to speak and introduced us to science and literature. He named all of the plants and species and showed us how to mould the metal and plastic that we found. We do not pray to him, but we revere him."

She picked out the name of the first fox from Tig's shout and saw how mention of their holy mentor froze Silver Tip in his tracks. It seemed that their fate was hanging by a thread. In desperation, she shouted out the one phrase of fox that Tig had been able to teach her.

"Bonjour, monsieur. Je m'appalle Annie. Je suis une louve." Tig had told her that it meant 'Hello sir. My name is Annie. I am a wolf.' A she-wolf to be exact, because the foxes had a strange habit of changing the name of something based on its gender.

The old fox turned slowly and regarded her with a combination of shock and curiosity.

"Parlez-vous notre langue?" He asked her. She recognized the first two words only, but guessed that he was asking if she spoke their language.

"I'm sorry. I only know those few words." She replied, switching back to the common tongue.

The old fox motioned to the young guards to lower their crossbows and then returned to stand a few feet in front of her. His troops surrounded them, keeping their crossbows pointed steadily at her heart, concentrating on her face and paws in case she moved on their leader. Annie decided that it was a good time to release Tig too, in case any of them thought that she was really threatening his life. She stood silently while the senior fox and his son conversed in their language, to low for the guards to hear.

"You were foolish to bring her here." Silver Tip said after Tig gave him the short version of the wolf leader's plans.

"If I had come alone with this story, claiming that a beautiful she wolf had told me this, would you have believed me?"

"Probably not."

"Just so." Tig said smugly. "I don't even know what other information she has that might be important to you, bringing her here for you to question was the only way."

"But to violate the winter campgrounds!" Silver Tip moaned. "You could not have intercepted us on the road somewhere?"

"And risk having her fall into the paws of one of your rivals?"

"No, I suppose not." The older fox conceded.

Just then a large, fat red fox hurried into the paddock area, struggling to fasten a sword belt around his belly as he ran. Seeing the circle of private troops within the circle of regular guards he trotted over. They refused to let him pass. He was nearly out of breath, and when he shouted at the trio over the shoulders of Silver Tip's guard his voice sounded thin and whiney.

"Silver Tip! What are you doing there? A guard reported an intruder and I have come to interrogate them. Stand your foxes down and step aside!"

"It is not an intruder, Lead Belly. It is my son Litt ... Tig, and a, uhm, prisoner of his."

"The guard reported that he was the prisoner." The head of the defensive forces said suspiciously.

"She just overcame him for a moment. Young, uh, wolf." He addressed her, switching to the common tongue. "Is it true that my son captured you and brought you here?"

"Yes." She agreed, picking up his cue from his tone and the slight wolfish tilt of his head. "He took me while I was bathing in the river, naked and defenceless."

Several of the foxes surrounding them smiled at the unexpected embellishment, but Silver Tip just gave his son an exasperated look.

"From what I have heard of your youngest, forgive me, your second youngest, that does not surprise me." Lead Belly chuckled. Then he grew serious again. "So, pass her over."

"Not so fast. You know the rules. Prisoners taken outside the winter campgrounds belong to the leader of the caravan that the fox who captures them is associated with. Tig is my son so she is mine to do with as I please."

"I thought that you had disenfranchised him?"

"Nothing of the sort. Tig was on a, ah, secret assignment. You know how it is."

"No. I do not." Lead Belly, who had never ventured more than a few miles outside of the caves and certainly never commanded a caravan said sourly. "But she is yours if you insist ... for now. Good luck explaining why you allowed her inside the campgrounds to the rest of the Board. They may well decide to relive you of this tender morsel. Now good day, sir. I must be off to report to the Board." With that the big-bellied fox turned and strode off, shouting and swearing at the guards who had fetched Silver Tip before him all the way out of the huge cavern.

"We do not have much time." Silver Tip said in the common tongue to Tig and Annie. "He will complain to the Board and before long my enemies on it will have garnered enough support to call me up in front of it. By that time we had better have gathered enough supporters ourselves if it comes to a vote." He motioned for his troops to form into a vanguard and rear-guard and he set off for the rear of the cavern at a surprisingly rapid pace. Annie had to jog to keep up.

"I'll question you privately when we reach our chambers." He told her. "But tell me how you came to meet my wandering son while we walk."

"Father, you will not let them turn her over to Lead Belly, will you?" Tig asked before she could begin. "She is my friend, and you know what that cavern queen will do to her to make her talk."

"No." Silver Tip assured his son, a pained expression coming over his face as he thought of how he had quashed Roark and Dylan's desire to see the home of the foxes. "We are going to need all the friends we can get."

* * * * * * * *

Ang-Ro's wolf alliance moved on the feline tribes and the canine villages as soon as they had reorganized to assimilate the coyotes that swelled their ranks.

They started in the northern end of the valley, where the population was sparse, and swept south. With the maps provided by the foxes they had tortured the wolves were able to envelop most of the small settlements before any resistance could be mustered. Swift scouts brought down any that tried to flee, but their net was not impervious, a few dogs and cats managed to slip through, but it hardly mattered.

The refugees' stories were confused and conflicting. Some had seen wolves attacking, some coyotes, some both. Folklore had it that in ancient times both species had raided the river valley in times of famine, and so those villages and encampments that heeded the warnings, and they were few, prepared themselves to drive off small raiding parties, and were therefore surprised and overwhelmed by the scale and coordination of the attacks.

Even when it became obvious that something more serious was afoot the felines and domestic canines were hard pressed to mount any viable defence. Getting the news from one village or encampment to another was a slow business. In the past, most news travelled with the foxes, but their caravans were notably absent this season. Those that traded early had passed through before the attacks started and those that usually came for harvest season were not due for another week or two. Still there were always one or two caravans wandering between the towns and encampments between seasons, but not this year.

The feline tribes were all independent and often fought among themselves if there were no canine villages nearby to vent their restless youth on. The rare union of tribes to face a greater threat had always come after months of negotiation through delegations sent back and forth. This threat had appeared so suddenly that they could spare no more than a few runners. By the time the nearby tribes could react they were under attack themselves.

A similar situation developed with the dogs. They had only a loose confederation of municipalities, not a true nation. It had always been enough in the past to call for reinforcements from the nearby villages, but now every village was calling for reinforcements, and none had any to spare. Even the large industrial towns in the center of the valley refused, the merchant councils that ruled them preferring to concentrate on building defences while hoping that the wolf assault petered out before it reached them. How many wolves could there be come down from the mountains anyway they asked themselves? Hundreds? A couple of thousand at best?

Ang Ro actually had over thirty thousand troops under his command by the time he reached the first large settlements, and the numbers were growing with each new conquest.

The coyotes had been the easiest to assimilate; they had no central leadership and were essentially mercenaries at heart. The canines and felines had been harder to convince, but as usual Ro-Da had come up with a clever plan. Elders and children were held hostage in their homes by contingents of wolves and loyal coyotes while the large canine and feline males were marched off under the command of wolves. They were kept apart, in two separate armies. The dogs were used exclusively in the assaults against the feline encampments, while the cats were employed solely against the canine towns and villages. Both were told that the campaign was really about subjugating the other species once and for all, after which they would be allowed to return to their villages or camps.

The opportunity to settle old rivalries and grudges proved to be an incentive for many of the conscripted troops. Even the wolf leaders were surprised by the ferocity of some of their more willing recruits, except for Ro-Da, who had been counting on it.

In this manner the alliance moved south through the valley.

* * * * * * * *

Annie was taken to a cavern high up and far back in the fox's complex cave system. The trail leading to it was surprisingly even and free of debris, at least compared to the caves of her home den. They kept to what looked like the main trail for quite a while, passing many foxes along the way. All of them stared, most tried to get a better look at the small but beautiful female wolf, but a few took off running when they realized what she was.

"Gone to report to their clan leaders." Tig informed her. "Father will have some explaining to do."

Ahead of them Silver Tip kept a steady rapid pace that she found difficult to keep up with even after all those weeks on the road. It was because they were going steadily uphill, she realized, and she had been away from her home in the mountains for so long that her climbing muscles had gotten soft. She concentrated on regulating her breathing and studied the foxes and their lair as they went.

The trail, as she had noted, was wide and well kept. It was illuminated by the occasional skylight, and providing one did not stand in the sun and look straight up one's eyes adjusted to the reduced light in no time at all. In the side passages that they passed, where there were no skylights, the foxes had placed lamps. Annie was familiar with them as several of the more well-to-do wolves had them, although these seemed to be burning brighter and cleaner than she recalled from the few she had seen. There was something else different about these ones. It took her a moment to realize that they did not have the heavy, smoky odour of animal fat coming from them. She asked Tig about them.

"Remember the yellow flowered plants?" He whispered. "They burn the oil from those." Annie supposed that was what he had meant when he had said earlier that she would see what else the plant's oil was good for. Not seeing anything else interesting in the structure of the caves, she concentrated on the inhabitants.

There were foxes of all ages. Grand dame foxes and old male foxes, mothers with baby foxes in their arms and kits running alongside. There were adult foxes by the score, and groups of adolescent foxes being led by older foxes that may have been teachers. Their clothing ranged from the sombre to the eccentric, and while none were naked, some were showing quite a lot of their colourful fur.

She had not realized how many different colours of foxes there were. She was familiar with the red ones, like Tig, with their darker forearms and legs and white chests. She had even seen a couple of black foxes, like Silver Tip, but none with as much white in their fur. It really did make him look like he was dusted with silver. But here there were also yellow foxes, white foxes, grey foxes and foxes with various amounts and shades of brown. There were foxes with white tips on their tails, some without, and some with tails that were mostly white. There were even foxes with white stripes bisecting their faces.

The individuals they saw could be of any type, but the groups tended to be all of the same markings, although the black foxes appeared mostly in groups of red foxes. Snout shape and ear sized seemed to be another defining trait; it seemed that the smaller, yellowish foxes all had disproportionately large ears. But no matter what their colouring, or the size of their ears, they were all sleek and well groomed, unlike her. Even with all the diversity her shaggy wolf pelt stood out, making her a little self conscious. She wondered where they all bathed, as she had yet to see any sign of water in the cavern. She would ask as soon as they were finished questioning her.

But Annie's bath was to be delayed by several days.

They turned off the major thoroughfare and into a side trail that was almost as wide. Annie noticed that a number of armed foxes were lounging a little too casually at the entrance. In this area most of the foxes were of the red and white variety, and had similar markings. There were also a fair number of black and silver ones, who bore a resemblance to Silver Tip. She noticed that they were staring just as hard at Tig as they were at her, but none of them were running off. We must be in their clan's home caves, she guessed.

Smaller trails led off in all directions, but they kept climbing. Silver Tip passed another contingent of guards and then stopped at a wooden door. One of his personal guards opened it and the leader motioned Annie and Tig to enter. He followed with two of his troops.

The cave the door opened onto was small, with a stone bench along the far wall and a small vestibule to one side. Annie smelled water in there, and heard a faint trickling. One of the guards lit a pair of lamps attached to the walls of the main room and another in the small alcove.

"There is a toilet in there." Silver Tip motioned toward the vestibule. "I tend to lose track of time when I am questioning someone so I suggest that you take advantage of it before we begin. And although, ah, Tig assures me that you are no threat I would prefer if you removed as much clothing as possible while preserving your modesty, and all of your weapons."

"I understand from what Tig has told me that you have enemies, so I will comply." She replied and stepped into the small antechamber. She was glad, however, to see that there was a curtain that could be drawn across the opening for privacy.

The vestibule had a basin carved out of the living rock and the basin was full of cool clean water that trickled out of a pipe set in the wall. The overflow from the basin drained into a bucket and from there into a hole in the floor. Someone had drawn paw prints on either side of the hole, and the faint scent of feces coming from it told her what it was for. She removed her clothing, folding them neatly and setting her remaining weapons on top of them, before squatting over the hole. How clever, she thought, indoor outhouses.

When she emerged she was dressed in nothing but a length of Tig's dappled red and black camouflage material that she had wound around her chest and loins. She had knotted it between her breasts in front and between her shoulder blades behind, with a slit in it for her tail. Both guards gasped when they saw her, and even Silver Tip took a half step back. Tig gave a low whistle.

"You never wore it like that for me, Cherie. I am jealous." The little fox said.

Silver Tip regained his composure before his entourage did.

"You appear to have nothing threatening about your person." He said, motioning his guard and Tig to leave them. "That is good, because the less ears that hear what you have to say the better. Now, tell me in your own words how you came to be wandering in the woods with my, uh, son."

* * * * * * * *

The interrogation lasted long into the night, or at least, Annie assumed that it was night, because there was no light except that of the lamps. She knew that less than an hour had transpired between their dramatic entrance and their arrival in the interrogation room, but it was hard to account for time after that. It felt like days had passed, but maybe it was just twelve or fourteen hours. Silver Tip had food and drink brought in twice, and she had used the toilet again three times, but she was getting hungry again, and very, very sleepy.

Silver Tip had listened silently to her story. She had begun with her decision to become a Mi-Ran, leaving nothing of her troubled past out. Then she told him about how Ang-Ro had planned to unite the wolf packs under his leadership, and his subsequent objective of conquering the entire valley and every species in it. But when she came to the latest bit of information that the prideful wolf had revealed during a boasting rant between sessions under the blankets the old fox's ears pricked up, but he held his tongue until she was finished her story.

"South, he said?" He asked in a casual tone, but the way his eyes squinted revealed the importance of the question. "South of the valley?"

"South and through a gap in the mountain ranges that are supposed to meet there." She confirmed.

Silver Tip carefully probed and prodded her memory with questions, sometimes asking about her journey with his son to relax her before circling back to Ang-Ro and his wolf alliance. Little by little he brought out things she had heard but forgotten about and things she had seen but had not recognized the significance of at the time. Annie thought that it was very easy at first, but after the second meal she realized how tiring it really was. She started yawning after describing the leadership of the alliance for the third time and her head was dropping after her fourth turn at recalling everything Ro-Da had ever asked her in less gentle interrogations.

"We will stop for now." Silver Tip said when her answers became nothing more than grunts and mumbles as she lay face down on the table he had brought in for them to eat off of. His eyes were as red as hers must be, she saw, and he was a little unsteady on his feet when he stood up and pushed his chair back.

"You have been very cooperative, and I appreciate that." He told her. "Tig informed me that you have agreed not to tell the entire story to anyone else but me for the time being. Is that so?" She wearily nodded agreement. "In that case I shall try to keep you from being interrogated by the chief of the defensive force as long as possible. You may not see me for a few days, but if Lead Belly manages to get the board to order you turned over to him before I return please do not feel obliged to hold out to the death. He will use torture and I would not have you suffer that on my behalf."

"What becomes of me in the meanwhile?" She asked wearily.

"You must remain here, deep in my territory and out of sight. You must stay in this room until I can circumvent the manoeuvring that my enemies on the Board must have already begun. You can sleep on the bench here; it will be quite comfortable once I have a sleeping pad and blankets brought in."

But he was speaking to deaf ears. Annie had crawled to the bench and fallen deep asleep before he finished his last sentence.

* * * * * * * *

Ang-Ro's armies were advancing at a rate of a village or encampment a day. Some of the larger towns might take a few days to subdue, but he had enough troops now to surround several at once and still have a formidable force to move forward to the next.

The village that they had just conquered had been typical of the northern canine settlements. They had fought hard, but fruitlessly, because their village had outgrown its old defensive walls. There were just too many homes and structures overhanging the barricades for the mountain-bred wolves to scramble over. As usual, the remaining defenders had sought refuge in the town square and the buildings surrounding it.

Ang-Ro let his wolves and their feline subordinates kill a number of the defenders before declaring a cease-fire. During the parley he advised the mayor of the village that he had a choice between surrendering or watching his remaining citizens be burned alive. He had made the same offer in a number of villages already, and so far he had no takers for the inferno option. It was just as well, Ro-Da said that you can't build an empire on ashes, not if you wanted someone else to grow your food, raise your cattle and manufacture your goods for you.

After the mayor had acquiesced, Ang-Ro went from building to building with him in tow so he could advise his fellow dogs of the surrender. As usual most of the defenders surrendered quietly but a few holdouts refused to cooperate.

"You can kill us but you can't break our spirit." Someone shouted from inside what appeared to be a pub.

How noble, Ang-Ro thought. Let's see if he still feels the same way when we stack lumber against the wall with a few of his relatives thrown in for good measure. Only two dogs had died so far serving as examples to hold-outs, from smoke inhalation in both cases. The wolf leader had discovered that it was the ones without relatives that resisted surrender the longest, but the chances of everyone holed up in the pub being unmated orphans were slim to none. Sure enough, he heard an argument break out before they had even finished piling the wood around a few of the children. The doors to the tavern opened a minute later.

Assaulters rushed inside to make sure that there was no ambush. The mayor was sent in next to argue with those that wanted to continue fighting. When all seemed well Ang-Ro himself went in, in part to intimidate them but also to recruit.

"We are on the cusp of a new world order." He informed the assembled prisoners. "A world where true canines like dogs and coyotes and wolves have taken their rightful place as masters and the feline and vulpine species are subdued." He continued in that manner, vilifying the species not present and emphasizing a bond between the wolves and those that were there. His speech to the felines was similar, but replaced 'true canines' with 'hunters like us'. He also had a speech prepared for any foxes they captured but they had not come across any since annihilating that single caravan out on the plains.

"You will all end up serving the alliance for the good of us all." He concluded. "But those that do so willingly and eagerly will have elevated positions in the new order." Not elevated by much, he added to himself. "Now, who will serve with me in our righteous battle? Who will take up arms against ..." he had to look around to confirm that he was in a canine village, "... the feline scum?"

"You shaggy sack of lies." One of the older dogs called out as he stepped forward. Ang-Ro recognized it as some sort of small hound dog. "We know all about your plans to conquer the valley and all of the species in it, and your intent to move south after against the King."

Ang-Ro drew his sword and struck the head from the dog's shoulders in one continuous move. The rest of the dogs jumped back as blood sprayed from the severed neck. The room was dead quiet and it seemed like minutes passed before the heart stopped pumping and the body slumped to the tiles.

"Mordicai!" The mayor cried, but he did not rush to his friend's side, least he come within striking distance of the suddenly enraged wolf leader.

"Who else knows about this?" Ang-Ro screamed at the assembled dogs. "Who has he talked to? Where did he get this inf ... lie ... this lie from?" He snapped his head back and forth, daring any to answer.

"Probably from those two wolves that left with his nephew." A large dog with sharp teeth, pointed ears and no tail said from behind the bar, where he was pouring himself a jug of beer.

The crowd parted between them as the large wolf's eyes blazed in the dog's direction.

"What wolves?" He said in a deadly flat voice.

"A big grey one, almost as big as you, and a gimp with a crocked back." The dog answered. "They came in here with some cock and bull story about a half-fox half feline and left with Darwin, the nephew of the dog you just killed."

The dog was a doberman. Ang-Ro knew the breed because they had killed a fair number in battle and recruited many others afterward. It seemed that they were all either honourable combatants that fought to the death or opportunistic bullies that switched sides in a flash. How can he possibly be so calm after witnessing the slaughter of one of his comrades, Ang-Ro thought? Was he one of those rare heroes that exhibited no outward signs of stress as they prepared for battle or did he just not care about his fellow villagers whatsoever? He tensed as the big canine came around from behind the bar.

"Name's Crusher." The doberman said as he sat in one of the few unbroken chairs and quaffed his beer. He followed up with a huge belch before wiping the foam from his snout. "So, I hear that you need someone to hunt down felines for you. Well, I'm your dog."

Ang-Ro relaxed. This was no hero.

"What's your policy about, uhm, spoils and such?" Crusher asked before taking another mouthful of beer.

"What do you mean?" The wolf leader asked.

"You know, like .... females and stuff. If I catch one of those pussy princesses can I keep her?"

"There's no looting." Ang-Ro said with a slight grin. He was starting to like this one. He waved a paw and the assaulters cleared the other dogs from the room, leaving them alone except for one Ang-Ro's former spies, who now served as a runner and did other nastier jobs for his leader. "But if there is a cat that takes your fancy, "Ang-Ro continued, "I could arrange for her to be assigned to your service ... in exchange for some information."

"Now we're talking." Crusher said enthusiastically, sitting forward and pushing a chair over for the wolf to sit in. "What do you want to know?"

"Tell me all about the two wolves that came to visit. Tell me why they were interested in this Darwin character, and most of all, tell me the names of anyone else who they spoke to besides the one I killed."

Crusher began to talk. Shortly afterwards the runner slipped out to gather a small contingent of wolves and they headed for a farmhouse on the outskirts of the village.

* * * * * * * *

Silver Tip did not get much sleep in the next three days. His nights were spent making plans with his remaining sons and senior advisors and his days were spent negotiating with other clan leaders and guild representatives, anyone with influence on the board. It was a near thing. Lead Belly's family had a lot of power within the winter campgrounds, and the guilds tended to side with them in a dispute. But his clan was despised as lazy leaches by those that ran the caravans and took all the risks. They were only too happy to put pressure the guilds by insinuating that trading solely in goods made by other species may suit them better next year.

It was by no means a friendly rivalry. Members of Silver Tip's clan were found beaten senseless and trumped up charges were levelled against his followers at an amazing rate. Likewise, any campsite queen, as the caravaners referred to those of Lead Belly's clan, that tried to slip into their territory was harshly dealt with. The quarrel broke out into armed conflict when a contingent of guards under the deputy chief of defences, a younger, fitter and somewhat braver fox than his chief, managed to force their way into the other clan's territory. Only the quick action of Tig, who had been steadfastly waiting in the corridor leading to Annie's cell for the opportunity to see her again, saved the day. Overlooked as a threat by the intruders due to his diminutive size he rallied the clan's troops to attack the guards from behind and personally ensured that three of them would be sleeping on their stomachs for some weeks to come.

The battle brought things to a head, and a special session of the Board was convened to deal with the problem.

The meeting was presided over by the Chair, Star Blaze, so-called for the four-pointed patch of white fur in the middle of his forehead. He was a red fox of Silver Tip's generation and a caravan leader like most of the voting members. His power lay in the fact that he set the agenda for the meetings, and because he held the deciding vote in case of a tie. Several members of his clan and their affiliates were also voting members. His only serious rival on the board was Silver Tip, who controlled a significant block of votes. But every caravan leader had at least one vote, and there were enough of them or their designated representatives present to outvote either Star Blaze or Silver Tip, but not both should they vote together. But under what circumstances would the two rivals vote together, the rest wondered?

The cave that the meetings were held in had never been so full, and it was hard to hear with all the chatter echoing off the walls.

"By the grace of Renaud the meeting will come to order." Star Blaze said as he banged an oval rock against a square of ancient hard wood. Gradually the room fell into silence. "We have called this meeting to discuss the recent intrusion into the campgrounds."

He nodded to the members of the executive committee responsible for convening the board. It included non-voting committee heads such as Lead Belly, the Chief of Defence, and other members of his clan in charge of procurement, provisioning, and planning. These had once been influential committees, but that had been generations ago when there was still a treat from the expanding canine and feline species, as well as the other issues. But since no one had ever seen fit to change the structure of the Executive they retained their positions, even if they wielded no real power.

"Yes." Lead Belly interrupted. "There has been a serious breach and one of our members is harbouring the guilty parties." He was staring straight at Silver Tip, who sat in the first row of seats surrounded by his five oldest sons, as he spoke.

"I would like the record to note that the Chief of Defence has claimed a breach of the defences, his area of responsibility I might add." Silver Tip said calmly. He had Star Gazer give him a potion that forced him to sleep for three hours before the meeting and appeared more rested than he was.

"I have added a review of the defences and the Chief's actions to the agenda." Star Blaze said, bringing a surprised look to Lead Belly's face. "We will deal with him after we decide who has jurisdiction over the intruders. Now, can we move onto the first order of business?" He raised his rock to signal the discussion was over, but in the instant of hesitation before he brought it down Silver Tip spoke.

"A point of order, Mister Chair." He said formally, standing to speak as was the custom. "The mandate of the Board expired several days ago as the annual general meeting was delayed by ... recent events. While it is possible, seeing as we have a quorum, to extend the mandate, it is likewise possible to hold the postponed meeting first, and deal with the other matters afterwards. That way we can be sure that whatever decision is reached reflects the wishes of the majority of the members. To that end I move that we hold a general meeting immediately, with the matter of the prisoner and the lapse in defences to be covered under new business."

"I'll second that!" Came from a fox known to be affiliated with Silver Tip before the Chair could reply. The well orchestrated move forced the Chair to open he floor for discussion and a vote. The discussion was short, most of the members could see no reason not to hold the general meeting, and only Lead Belly and his clan argued against it. Star Gazer, as the Chair, was not allowed to offer his opinion, and the chagrin at having the meeting hijacked showed in his expression.

"We have no agenda prepared for a general meeting." He pointed out before he called for the vote.

"We can follow the standard format. Passing of the previous minutes, old business, confirming new members, appointments and elections, and then new business." Silver Tip suggested. "We have all done it a hundred times before, eh?"

"I move that we amend Silver Tip's motion to include the suggested agenda." Another of the silver fox's clan cried.

"Seconded!" From the same fox that had supported Silver Tip earlier.

"What was the suggestion again?" The secretary of the board asked as he franticly scribbled notes on a roll of parchment.

Star Blaze attempted to prolong the discussion, but the mood of the crowd had turned against the Executive. Motion after motion demanding a vote flew across the chamber. He was forced to call the room to order and continue the meeting from the point where the amendment had been proposed.

"All in favour?" A chorus of 'Yeas" was matched with a number of raised paws. Once the secretary had counted them Star Blaze asked: "Against?"

There were a few dissenting votes, mostly from those of his clan that shared his outrage at the course the meeting was taking. Lead Belly and his fellow committee chairs also added their paws, but they were not counted.

"The motion and the amendment are passed." He said sourly. "So I will ask our secretary to read the minutes of the last meeting."

"I did not bring them." The small yellow fox who had served as secretary for many years said in a panic. "I will have to go back to the archives and ..."

"I move that the minutes have been read and accepted." Silver Tip's voice rang out."

"Seconded!"

The motion was passed. No one ever wants to sit through the reading of the previous minutes.

"Old Business?" Star Blaze suggested.

"There is the outstanding matter of the appropriation to repair the wall that collapsed in the emergency supply depot." The chair of the provisions committee mentioned.

"Oh, nobody wants to hear about that. We all want to get on to the new business and deal with this intrusion thing." Silver Tip interrupted. "I move that we defer the old business to the next general meeting. Dozens of seconders drowned out any objection from the Executive. The motion passed easily.

"Well them, uhm," Star Blaze had to consult the secretary's notes. "Confirming new members. Since we have none we can skip over that and move on to ..."

"On the contrary." Silver Tip spoke as he stood and approached the long table that the Executive was seated behind. "We have several new caravan leaders to welcome into our ranks. He placed a pile of papers in front of the Chair. "I have granted a caravan to each of my six adult sons. As is our law, I have provided each with five wagons, horses to pull them and enough provisions to last them one season. Some of these I have taken from my own caravan, and others I have purchased from other clans. The ownership papers are all here."

"Who is this 'Tig'?" Star Blaze asked as he scanned the papers.

"My youngest adult son. Formerly known as 'Little Pads'. The name change was registered yesterday." Tig stood up behind his seated brothers and waved jauntily at the Chair.

"The one who aided in the intrusion!" Lead Belly stood up and yelled. "He cannot be made a member while under investigation."

"He is not under investigation until the Board decides he is." Silver Tip pointed out. "And according to the agenda that will not be decided until we discuss new business. So yes, he can."

There was some discussion around this point, but enough of the independent leaders had been threatened with disenfranchisement by the Chief of Defence for one infraction or another to make the outcome a foregone conclusion. Bright Eyes, Tig, and all the surviving brothers between them were confirmed as caravan leaders, automatically becoming voting members of the board.

"May they trade well, by the grace of Renaud." Star Blaze intoned the ritual blessing with a noted lack of enthusiasm. His brow furrowed deeply as he frowned in concentration. The spate of new members loyal to Siler Tip swung the balance of power in the silver fox's favour. As the next agenda item was 'Appointments and Elections' he could sense that the end of his tenure as Chair was imminent.

"As our colleague Silver Tip noted," he said morosely, "the mandate of the Board has expired and the current Executive must stand down, unless someone cares to make a motion reinstating the current Executive?" Strictly speaking, such a suggestion was out of order and he risked censure for making it, but that would not prevent one of his supporters from making a similar motion. But Silver tip was on his feet first, so the Chair recognized him and braced himself for the inevitable objection.

"Funny you should mention that, because I was just about to make a similar motion." Silver Tip said surprisingly. "With a few minor changes." He stepped forward and passed a sheath of papers to the secretary, who then passed them around the table.

"What is this?" Lead Belly Roared. "You want to replace me with one of your sons?"

"And all of the other non-voting committees as well." Star Blaze added suspiciously. The motion, already signed by a seconder, allowed all of the voting members of the Executive, including the Chair, to retain their positions, only the names of the chairs of the sub-committees for defence, provisions, procurement and planning were different. "You realize of course that if your sons win these positions that the conflict of interest bylaws take away their right to vote?"

"We realize that." Dark Stockings, Silver Tip's second eldest stood and answered. "And in order to compensate the incumbents' clan we are willing to assign our voting privileges to them for as long as we hold those positions." The announcement was greeted by a volley of supporting shouts, cries of objection, and a general babble of disbelief from the crowd.

The chair's brain went into overdrive. He delayed calling the room to order so he could buy some time to think this through. Four less votes for Silver Tip meant that his majority was reduced significantly. Presuming that the former subcommittee chairs voted with Star Blaze's faction the extra four votes would more than negate those of the two remaining sons. But he must be up to something, he thought, the old trickster was not about to give up four votes and forego the chance to be Chair of the Board for nothing. But what could it be?

Lead Belly was equally confused, but thought that he had figured it out.

"He wants to avoid an investigation." The Chief of defences whispered to the Chair. "His sons will have to relinquish the positions come the spring if they want to go out for the trading season. He forgoes a majority for the time being but there are no more meetings scheduled between now and then. I say give him what he wants and use your powers as chair to call another meeting mid-winter to discipline those responsible for the breach of the den. That will implicate whoever is sitting as chair of defences and the runt that brought her in the first place. That will reduce the number of votes he controls even further." He did not add that by doing so he would also avoid being censured for the breach.

Star Blaze thought hard. Surely Silver Tip must have thought of that possibility and come up with a way to deflect the threat? But there had been very little time to make long-range plans, and maybe the old devil was bluffing, hoping to buy time to draw more supporters to his side. He stared hard at his rival and saw the redness of fatigue in the silver fox's eyes. He held the stare amid the cacophony until Silver Tip blinked and looked away.

Star blaze made up his mind. He hammered the block with his stone and shouted over the noise.

"Order, Order. We have a motion on the floor. And for the sake of brevity I will limit the discussion to the parties most interested. Lead Belly, does your clan wish to contest the positions?"

"No, we do not."

"Sun Blaze, does you clan wish to retain the voting positions on the Board?" He addressed his brother who was acting head of the clan while Star Blaze held the position of Chair. He blinked slowly twice in a prearranged signal that meant the he should answer in favour.

"We do." Sun Blaze dutifully replied.

The Chair consulted the other clan heads in a similar manner, asking them if they had any supporting motions. Only one leader stood to speak, an independent old cuss named Twitch, one of the few vixens that had achieved caravan leader status and who was known for speaking out and refusing to roll over for the larger clans.

"Silver Tip has had this she-wolf in his paws for three days now, and if he wins this vote his clan will still have exclusive access to whatever it is she knows. I for one would be interested in having her appear before the assembly before we make this momentous decision." As he sat Silver Tip stood.

"I personally guarantee that however this vote goes, I will produce the wolf known as Annie and have her tell you all everything that she has told me. I swear this by the grace of Renaud." He said solemnly. That brought another wave of comment from the gallery, and it was mostly favourable; no one would dare to renege on a promise after swearing by the first fox.

Star Blaze called the room to order again and then called for the vote. With his own and Siler Tip's clans in favour of the motion the result was a foregone conclusion. It passed with a vast majority.

There was a short and subdued ceremony as the four campground foxes changed places with Silver Tip's sons. Lead Belly scowled when he realized that the midget fox Tig, the one he planned to bring down at the winter meeting, was also the new chief of defences. That meant one less fox that he could discredit, but he vowed to make it a memorable one.

"New Business." The chair intoned.

"A motion, your honour, a motion!" Lead Belly jumped eagerly to his feet and waved his paw franticly. "I have a motion."

"You do not need to address the Chair as 'your honour', or anyone else on the Executive as such for that matter." Star Blaze informed the large bellied fox. He was glad that someone had beat Silver Tip to the floor for a change, but worried about what the big imbecile may say. "You may proceed." He informed the former Chief of defences.

"I move that we deal with the matter of the intrusion immediately. Before anyone can motion that we close this meeting in order to avoid the subject."

"We do not accuse fellow members in our motions." Star Blaze chastised. "You will reword your motion and apologise to the assembly." He could have made Lead Belly withdraw the motion altogether, but he did not want to cede the initiative to Silver Tip again.

"I, uhm, meant to say, ah, that I move that we address the matter of the wolf's intrusion as, uh, our first order of new business, your ... Mister Chair. And apologise if my original wording was, ah, could be interpreted as accusatory." His embarrassment add extra colour to his red face.

"And I will second that." Silver Tip shouted before any of Star Blaze's clan could. "It is vitally important that we hear the news that my son Tig has brought us before we consider my next motion. He again stepped forward and then placed a single paper directly in front of the Chair's position.

Star Blaze had a sinking feeling that they had been out manoeuvred again as he picked up the paper and read the single sentence above the signatures of Silver Tip and one of his sons that still had voting privileges.

"By the first fox!" The chair exclaimed, so shocked by what he had read that he spoke out loud in the suddenly silent room. "This is a declaration of war!"