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Darwin's Legacy

Chapter 15 - The Road to War

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The winter campgrounds had become a hive of activity. All about, foxes rushed from one section to another as the War Committee, chaired by Silver Tip, negotiated commitments and contributions from the various fox clans. Long lines of carts choked the narrow trails in the cavern as they hauled preserved foods such as smoked ham and pickled vegetables from store houses far underground. Outside, carpenters and blacksmiths were busy assembling machines of war all day and all night long, and the noise of their work penetrated the outer caverns.

Tig, who had also taken up residence in his father's caves, was absent most of the time as his knowledge of the world away from the caravan routes made him a valuable asset on the planning committee. Annie was left mostly on her own as Aster was busy managing the clan affairs in Silver Tip's place, haggling with and haranguing the War Committee's emissaries in an effort to balance his clan's contribution to the war effort as she knew he would if he was not the chair of the committee. Even Dead Eye, the fox Annie wanted to speak with about her friends, was still being questioned.

Unable to rest even in Silver Tip's sumptuous quarters due to their proximity to the outer walls, Annie prowled the lanes with a shawl over her head to cover her wolfen features. Because she was small, for a wolf, and because the fur on her arms was a soft golden brown not unlike many of the foxes, the disguise worked fairly well. She just had to make sure to keep her head lowered and keep her big wolf paws out of sight. With all the commotion in the tunnels no one was paying much attention anyways.

Annie saw teams of foxes carrying boxes of arrows and armfuls of spears that were finer than anything that had ever traded to the wolves. Bows with complicated swivels and pulleys were stacked beside cross bows made entirely of steel and spring-loaded devices that shot small spears with great force. Armour was in abundance. There were carts loaded with breastplates and shields, wheelbarrows full of helmets, and pack horses burdened with gauntlets and greaves.

Most of the armour and almost all of the weapons were made of metal, more metal than Annie had ever imagined existed in the whole world, but not all of them. There were plenty made of plastic. Helping to gather a collection of protective pads that had fallen off a wagon Annie had marvelled at how hard yet light the material was. And the fabric that covered some of them was so tough that being wedged between rocks and trod on by a steel-shoed horse had not popped a single thread.

"Kevlar." The old fox whose wagon had overturned told her when he saw her running her paws over it. "Very Rare." He had been wearing two ovals of glass on a wire frame over his eyes before the accident but they had fallen off. Now he gazed at her, seemingly unable to focus properly, and she had to place the item in his wavering paws.

"Thank you ..." the ancient fox hesitated as he squinted up at her, "Madam?

"You are welcome." She said, and the look of bliss that came over his face at the sound of her sweet voice made her plant a kiss on his cheek on impulse.

After returning from that particular outing Annie found Tig and another fox waiting for her in Silver Tip's suite. From the travel worn look of the stranger, and the large felt patch that covered the spot where his right eye should be, she surmised that this was Dead Eye. He rose courteously as she approached, but his polite smile soon turned into one of appreciation as she doffed her shawl and cloak and held out her paw in welcome. He bent to kiss it.

"You are every bit as lovely as Dylan said you were ... and more." The rough-looking fox said as his one good eye surveyed her boldly. "I can see why he is in love with you."

Annie was taken back. "He said that he was in love with me?" Her cheeks turned red under her fur.

"No. But he did not have too. It was obvious to anyone who knows about these things, and we foxes know about these things." He waggled his dark eyebrows rakishly. "Of course, if I had even half believed all that he said about you I would have skewered him in his sleep and come to claim you as my own. But Tig tells me that you have your heart set on tracking down the twisted fool so I suppose you would have held it against me."

"Most assuredly." She replied with a grin that matched his. She stepped back and began cleaning her claws with a long-bladed stiletto she had drawn from his sleeve unnoticed while he was kissing her paw.

"Sacre bleu," the old fox sputtered. "Tig told me that you were not a soft one. I have never been the jealous type, but now the thought of him getting to spend so much time with you is making me very envious. When this war is over I demand the right to escort you in your search for Dylan and Roark."

"I suppose you could accompany us." Tig said nonchalantly. "We'll need someone to fetch firewood and clean up after the horses and such." He added with a bored expression.

"Why you little sawed off ... son of a ..."

"Careful. That is my father's beloved third wife you are about to insult." Tig levelled a dagger that he had produced out of nowhere at Dead Eye's throat without changing expression.

"I can see why you two got along so well." The old fox's eye darted from one blade to the other, but he saw no real danger in either. "You are your father's son, to be sure." He said as he eased back into his chair. Then he ignored Tig and turned to Annie. "So, young miss. How can I be of assistance?"

Annie returned his knife and then asked Dead Eye to tell her all about Dylan and Roark, Everything that he remembered since the day they meet. Dead Eye told the story with relish, happy to be doing something other than answering questions about the movement of the wolf army for a change, and further encouraged by the beer that Tig had ordered to be brought in. He amused her with his description of the two naked, sorry-looking losers that he and Silver Tip thought that they had been stuck with, and she beamed with pride when he described how her two cubhood friends had risen through the ranks of the caravan guard and saved her new friend Aster. But it was his recounting of their chance meeting with the beagle Darwin that intrigued her the most.

"So my friends set off with the canine to track down his lost lover? That certainly sounds like something they would do. Ro-Ack, sorry Roark now, for the justice in the act and Dylan for the stories he could tell afterwards. But I am surprised that you did not accompany them." She frowned at Dead Eye quizzically.

"It is not from lack of desire to see my brother's plans ruined, but rather a matter of priorities." Dead Eye assured her. "What Patch intends to do, you see, is more dangerous than the advance of the wolf alliance. It is because of Patch that we are going to war."

Annie was really confused now. "I don't understand. I thought you were going to fight Ang-Ro?"

Dead Eye sat back in his chair and looked at Tig, who nodded that the old fox should continue.

"Well, I suppose with the wolves headed south and the foxes going to war all of our secrets will be out soon enough anyway ... if anyone survives this that is. Tig has told you of Renaud's mission, and the duty he has passed on to us to protect the species of this valley?"

"In a round-about fashion. It seems to mostly involve survival of your own species and controlling the advancement of technology in the others."

"That is true, to a degree. That is why we were going to wait out the war here in the campgrounds, safe from the wolves with our true numbers and advanced technology hidden from all. Come spring we would have sent out a caravan or two to spy out the land, because whoever won they would still need trade goods, the ones only we can provide. If the wolf rule was just, or at least tolerable, we may have let it be and continued as we have for the last few hundred years. If it was not we may have sought out dissidents and provided them with support and weapons to win their freedom. Wars were to be expected as the species advanced and grew more populous. Renaud said that making war was second nature to humans, and a trait we were sure to develop as we became more like them. But he also said that the ability to choose not to engage in war was also human nature, and that much could be achieved by diplomacy and influence. That is the path he wanted us to follow."

Dead Eye shrugged. "The Wolf alliance is a temporary problem. But the southern kingdom and their desire for lost technology has been a concern for hundreds of years."

"Tig told me that they were dangerous because they knew about advanced technology, but that they could not produce it themselves. How is selling a pregnant feline going to advance their technology?"

"It is not. Not in and of itself. But there are things about our southern neighbours that only the most senior foxes know. I first heard them from my father when I was co-heir to his caravan, and despite abandoning my share to my brother I still have that knowledge." Dead Eye turned to Tig. "Your father and I discussed the southerners often during the long days and cool nights on the road, and he added to my knowledge. So allow me to educate you both on the real threat for the south."

Dead Eye went on to explain that the knowledge that Renaud had imparted to the first intelligent foxes included what he knew of the southern creatures and their lust for the power that the humans once wielded. At the old Engineer's behest the foxes had keep tabs on the zoo's descendants, at first by spying, but later by allowing the occasional caravan to trade the simplest of commodities. They discouraged the southerners' expansion northward, while simultaneously limiting the southern migration of the canines and felines, in hopes of keeping the two apart. They also strove to keep the knowledge of the valley species' development and technical abilities from the kingdom. So far, they had succeeded in both, despite the illegal forays of unscrupulous foxes like Patch.

"Even with their extended life spans they are not immortal, so with no fertile females their numbers have been shrinking and they will eventually die out. They are already far outnumbered by our valley's inhabitants. Big and ferocious as they are, they cannot hope to conquer the north, not now, even if they knew how advanced the canines and felines have become. Life, for them, has become hopeless. But what Patch intends to do can change all that."

"Because if they knew that we had developed enough to breed across species they would find new hope." Annie guessed.

Dead Eye's one good eye crinkled in admiration. "Exactly. The southerners had almost ceased to be a concern, but with bastards like Patch willing to ship fertile females to them they could start breeding again. Our scientists believe that the offspring will strongly resemble the southerners, inheriting their size and strength as well as their longevity, but they may also inherit some of their mothers' dexterity. Combine that with their knowledge of human technology and several short generations from now could see them coming out of the south to overwhelm us all."

Annie frowned. They seemed to be forgetting something. "Won't the wolf alliance stop that? If Ang-Ro moves south to conquer the kingdom he will eliminate the treat for you."

"The clan leaders have been debating that point for some days now." Dead Eye admitted. "The two threats may well eliminate each other. But there could be other outcomes. The southerners are fierce fighters, and they know the land. It is steep and close terrain, hard to manoeuvre large armies in. They could hold off Ang-Ro for years, or even defeat him, leaving the way open for them to raid the north for females. But that is not the worst that could happen."

"What could be worse than having the bulk of our young males slaughtered and our sisters enslaved as broodmares?"

"Renaud came from an installation in the mountains east of the kingdom, the last enclave of humans. He said that there were others there, the scientists that had made all of this possible. The installation was also the headquarters and storehouse for the military. There are weapons there. Weapons so powerful that they can eliminate an enemy in one blow. Renaud had helped to design some of them. He knew that they were still there, and he believed that the southerners knew about them too. They may try to capture those weapons in order to halt the advance of the wolf armies"

Dead Eye paused and looked at Tig with a knowing frown. "We tried to keep the knowledge of those weapons restricted to the clan elders, but it seems that bits and pieces of the truth have been overheard by curious ears over the years. Enough to create the rumour that the humans possessed the 'Ultimate power'. It also appears that the leader of the wolves has heard this rumour. That is the only logical reason for the wolf alliance to be driving south so late in the year. We think that he is headed for the last installation to seize those weapons for himself."

He turned back to face Annie. "Knowledge of the weapons that could destroy an army or flatten a city was common in his era. Every adult and child on the planet knew about their existence. But the ones being stored in the facility he came from were special. They could destroy an entire nation. They were so powerful that they could crack open the earth if they were used improperly. And that, according to Renaud, is the problem. The facility was built at the start of a great rift in the skin of the world that he called the San Andreas Fault. The fault line runs from there to the southern gap and underneath the mountains that form the western wall of this great valley. If one of them is set off anywhere near that line then the resulting earthquake could rip the mountains away and open the valley up for the seas to rush in." The old fox had been speaking in a rush, and now he paused for breath.

"The route that the Wolf alliance must take to reach the humans follows that fault line, and if the southerners seize the weapons and use them against Ang-Ro that is where they will us it. So you see," he concluded as he stood to take his leave, "it is not a matter of who wins, or who becomes whose master, but whether anyone at all survives who gives a damn."

* * * * * * * *

Ro-Don, the General in charge of the scouts for the wolf alliance army, approached Ang-Ro's tent with trepidation. The big black-furred leader of the wolves was becoming less approachable with every passing day, and since reaching the gap he seemed even more distracted, but all the generals had agreed that someone needed to bring this up with Ang-Ro. Ro-Don had drawn the short straw. When he caught the chief's eye he stepped up sharply and made his announcement bluntly.

"We have problem with the shock battalion." The slim grey wolf said, and then waited to see how the increasingly volatile wolf would react.

"What is it this time?" Ang-Ro snarled. The generals were always complaining about the excesses of his special assault group. Why did they have to bother him with such trivialities?

"They completely ignore the wolves that we have put in charge and have formed into ad-hoc companies under a few of the more vicious and sadistic members. They compete to see which one can wreak the most havoc and inflict the most misery. Those that do attract more members. At the moment the largest group is being led by a dog named Crusher. If this is allowed to continue he will soon be the de facto commander of the battalion."

"What of it? They are loyal to our cause and quite useful. Why don't you just remove the wolf officers and let them lead themselves."

"They are only loyal as long as we provide them an opportunity to rape and pillage. They will be very dangerous once we have conquered all of this land and there are no more enemies for them to vent their perversions on. We should destroy them now. Kill their leaders and disband this battalion of devils before they turn on us."

"I disagree." Ro-Da spoke as she stepped forward from out of the shadows. "We cannot put wolves everywhere to enforce our rule once we establish dominion over the other species. Minor uprisings and rebellions are inevitable. Others will think twice about disturbing the peace after sending this, what did you call it? Oh yes, this 'devil's battalion' to discipline them in their own unique manner. I say that we keep them and let them have their chosen leaders. I will visit this Crusher myself and personally ensure his loyalty."

The general's jaw opened and closed three times in rapid succession but he did not utter a word. He was not about to stand up to the leader's mate, the only wolf more vicious and sadistic than any member of the rouge battalion, especially now that it looked like she was about to acquire her own personal army. The shock troops could be used against targets other than poor farmers and rag-tag feline tribes, he realized. They could also be used against wolves that might be plotting against their leader.

"As you wish, Ang-Ro." The scout general addressed the leader as if Ro-Da had never spoken. "I shall inform the others and remove the remaining wolves from the shock battalion." And I will warn the others about your mate and her new-found power, he added to himself.

Ang-Ro flicked a paw in dismissal, but his mate spoke up before Ro-Don could turn and leave. "Before you go, what have your scouts found out about the land on the other side of the gap?"

"There is a steep trail leading down the other side, steeper than the one we climbed to reach the apex. Beyond that it is very mountainous. Those to the west look very similar to ours, but more lush. Those to the east are taller and bare of vegetation. The air above them is clear so I suspect that they are arid. Whichever way we head, it will be slow going." He paused. "Which way are we going?"

"That will depend on where the southerners are." Ro-Da answered for her mate. "Have you made contact with them yet?"

"No, although we know that they are about. They have clever scouts, and they blend in well, but they were not expecting us and they have left a lot of sign. Their paw prints are similar to the felines, but much bigger, and the claw marks they leave on the trees are high. They are as big as the largest of wolves, if not bigger." He indicated a height a foot above his own head with his paw. "And if they follow our practice of using the smallest and lightest as scouts ..." Ro-Don stopped there. It was easy to image how big their assaulters may be.

Ro-Da turned from the general and addressed her mate. "Keep the shock battalion in reserve, dear husband." She advised him. "If the southerners are as formidable as the good general makes them out to be you will need them before we are done here." Then she turned back to the general and gave him a dismissive jerk of her head.

Ro-Don retreated without taking his eyes off her. The gesture had held more meaning than just "Leave us", it had also reminded him of who really controlled the power in the wolf alliance.

* * * * * * * *

The zoo and the surrounding settlements were emptying out. Every available creature was being armed and sent into the hills. They formed a continuous line along the trail leading to the ford where Kaplan had allowed his captives to bathe, but there they split into two groups. One group, consisting mostly of males from the five species moved south and west, toward the bare hills. The other group, almost all female, turned north and followed the trail that led to the gap and the northern valley. The King had pitched his camp at the juncture of the trails, and from there he issued his instructions to the leaders of the various units.

Runners came and went. Unit commanders stopped in for orders before proceeding south or north. The Barons and Earls of the four subservient species gathered to see that no other species got more favour than theirs, or more dangerous assignments. In the middle of it all, San Diego the eighth seemed happy and in his element.

"How fortuitous we are that this opportunity has come to pass during our reign." The Barbary lion commented to Nolan during a lull. "In one fell swoop we will root the humans out of their den, seize their weapons and destroy the northern army. Then there will be nothing to stop us from assimilating the northern species, breeding with their females and becoming the dominant race, er, races in the world. Once we do, we shall change out title to 'Emperor'. And we will not forget our loyal advisors. You shall each have high positions in the court. Higher than any of your compatriots."

"What if the legendary weapons do not exist?" The panda Rock asked sullenly. "What if they have destroyed them to keep them out of our paws?"

"They exist." Nolan insisted. "I can feel it. Besides, every clue we have found points to a cache where the human installation sits."

Nolan remembered the day they had unearthed a huge hoard of printed material that had been carefully preserved. Part of it dealt with the locations of secret military compounds where weapons were stored. It had also contained much data about a secret UN army, the plot to hide the remains of aliens that had crashed landed in a desert, how a group called "the Illuminati" were taking over the world, but none of those were important to him at the moment. What was important was the fact that the human's fortress was in the same location as a compound listed in the documents. And that compound was noted as a storage area for the most highly developed weapons, referred to as "Nation Busters".

"I'm certain that we will find weapons there that will eliminate the wolf's army with one blow." The wart hog concluded. "Why else would they defend it so all these centuries?"

The panda was not convinced. "Why didn't they use them on us?"

"I told you." Nolan explained. "They need us to worship them. You've read the books: The Island of Doctor Moreau, Animal Farm, Tarzan, Peter Rabbit. They have set themselves up as gods over us. If they destroy us then there is no one left to serve them.

"Animal Farm. I bet your kind liked that one." Kaplan injected.

Rock frowned, puzzled. "But we don't worship them. We hate them. And we are dying out. What good can that do them?"

"They are hoping that we will come crawling to them, begging forgiveness and imploring them for their help to solve our fertility problem." The King answered. "Did Nolan's folk not find proof that they had conquered infertility before they fought each other to near elimination?"

Rock did not answer. Sometimes he suspected that the wart hogs only brought forth discoveries that fit their theories.

The guards at the entrance to the King's camp announced that the scouts had returned from the north and wished to report to the King. The King gestured with his great paw for them to be allowed in.

"The invaders are following the contours of the land." The leopards reported. "They are moving in several columns now that they have reached open terrain east of the ancient city of Angeles. They look to swing eastwards, and sweep the last valley before they re-enter the mountains north of here."

"Will the female battalions be in position before they reach the passes to the south?"

"Yes, your highness. And the coastal road is already blocked."

"Good. Then they must keep them bottled up until we breach the human fortress and seize their weapons. Go, and emphasize that they fight for the very survival of their species." The scouts left. The King turned to his advisors after they were out of earshot and grinned at them. "Of course, other than as fodder for the advancing enemy we do not actually need them for the survival of the species. And the fewer that return after the fight the less problems we'll have after we replace them with the northern females, eh boys?"

"I am forty years older than your majesty." Kaplan said through clenched teeth. "I am not a boy."

"Oh, cheer up, Lord Kaplan. Your latest intelligence has already earned you the reward you seek. Once this is over you can retire to a villa populated by all the slaves that you like, including the grey wolf you fancy."

"Intelligence?" Nolan's ears swivelled forward. "What intelligence is this? Does it have any bearing on our plans?"

"Not on our plans." The King smiled in a way that did not go beyond his mouth. "Your plans maybe. It seems that the leader of your species has had you studying the human's weapons almost exclusively these last few decades. We wonder if you have learned more about them then you have passed on to your sovereign. But now is not the time for such discussions. Your Baron will have the honour of leading the assault on the human fortress. If he is successful, our household guard will be right behind him, to help in the search for the weapons. One of his heirs, more of a team player hopefully, can take over if he pays the ultimate price in his attempt to break through their defences."

"My King, I am shocked. How could you believe that I ... that we ..."

"Quiet Lord Nolan. We need you to show us how these weapons work. But if you say one more word you will join your Lord in the assault. Done? Good. Now leave us, the three of you. It is time we packed up and moved camp to the foothills of the bald mountains."

* * * * * * * *

Dead Eye was exhausted from days of questioning and assisting with the war planning, so he took his leave of Annie and Tig after revealing his suspicions about the motives behind the wolves' drive south and their fate should he be proven correct. But Annie was still puzzled.

"How can the southerners use those weapons if they have not developed the skills and dexterity of the humans?" She asked Tig.

"Renaud said that using them was easy, too easy. The military insisted on that when they were designed. They were originally made to be thrown, launched was the word he used, across half the world to destroy enemies that possessed similar weapons before they could use them. They were not very good for close defence, because at short range they would kill friends as well as foes. But several were modified and left behind, to be detonated in the face of an invading army should all else fail, as a means of denying them a victory."

"That's like collapsing your caves to keep another pack from occupying them while you are still inside." Annie said, shaking her head at the stupidity of it. "How come he never destroyed those weapons?"

"Apparently they were incredibly complex and difficult to disable, one pair of hands, that is their equivalent of paws, was not enough. That was done to prevent a change of heart by an individual at the last minute. No one person, even one as familiar with their workings as Renaud, could disarm them. He intended to teach some of us how to do it when we had developed enough dexterity to do so, but he was taken from us too soon."

Annie would have liked to discuss the humans and their particular methods of waging war some more, but just then a visitor was announced. It was a wizened old vixen whose fur had gone grey and whose eyes were covered with ghostly white cataracts. She leaned on a cane made from the root of a hemlock tree and on the arm of a female kit, barely an adolescent Annie estimated. Tig introduced them as the seer Star Gazer and her apprentice, the young Amber Rain. The seer had come to see Aster and bless her child, as was custom among the foxes. Annie and Tig stood politely as the ancient vixen shuffled into the room.

The she wolf greeted the seer in her own language, using the formal form. "Bonjour, madame. _ _Comment allez-vous?"

"Je vais bien, merci. Et tu, Ti'gar?" She addressed Tig in a less formal style. "Ça va bien?"

"Comme ci - comme Ça." The little fox shrugged. "Star gazer is one of the few foxes who did not see me as an abomination." He told Annie, reverting to the common tongue. "She predicted great things would come of me. Now that I see what has befallen us since the day in the grove with that devil she-wolf I realize that it was not a complimentary pronouncement."

"Simple folk have simple lives." The seer also spoke in the common tongue, but with a heavy accent. "Fate had chosen you to set events in motion that will lead to great things, young Tig. But no birth comes without pain, and I am afraid that the pain will be great before we see the offspring of this forced melding of the societies. Now,' she asked peering around nearsightedly, "where is Aster?"

"She went down to the clan storehouse earlier but said that she would be back by the time you arrived." Annie told her. "She must have been delayed by some important business."

The old seer barked a short laugh. "Very much like a fox that one. Business before ritual and clan before self. Very pragmatic the foxes these days, not like when I was young. I'm surprised that they have not started offering The Philosophy of Renaud bound in leather for only three chunks of copper or one of titanium. Come Child," she addressed her protégé, "assist me to a chair."

"Tig has generously tutored me in the teachings of your mentor tout gratuit." Annie offered

"He is not a good example of a modern fox." Star gazer said, flipping Tig's broad-brimmed and feather adorned hat off his head with the end of her cane as she shuffled past him. "And you should say gratuitement, dear." She settled herself in the best chair and Amber Rain squatted beside it, refusing a seat when Tig offered to pull one up beside her mistress.

Annie studied the two vixens while Tig and Star Gazer exchanged pleasantries. The differences between them were obvious, and startling. The young Amber Rain, her fur shining with a natural gleam that did justice to her name, was taller than the ancient seer for one thing, despite having barely entered her adolescence. She was also much slimmer in the waist and broader in the hips than her tubular elder. Her shoulders were wider, her chest more defined, and her facial features, while still distinctly foxish, were less pronounced than the seer's. The differences in their extremities were even more pronounced. Looking at her own paws, with their long digits and well-developed thumbs, Annie realized that she and Amber Rain resembled each other physically more than the young vixen and the seer did.

Having seen the statue of Renaud and many other depictions of him decorating the cave walls she also recognized the human features that they were evolving toward; long thin limbs, large heads, and less fur, a lot less fur. Thinking of the almost completely hairless engineer, Annie wrapped her tail, one of her best features, around her waist and combed it with her claws, claws that were much broader and blunter than Star Gazer's, and wondered where it would all end.

"So, young wolf." Star gazer's words snapped Annie out of her reverie. The old vixen had produced a leather cup from somewhere in her robes and she was shaking it in front of Annie's nose, making the contents rattle around inside. "Shall I tell your fortune while we wait?" The seer upended the cup and poured three red plastic cubes into her free paw. Annie noted the spots on the sides. They looked like common gaming dice. Star Gazer passed the leather container to her assistant and rolled the cubes between her paws as she stared blindly, but somehow expectedly, at the young wolf.

Annie shrugged. "Sure. Why not?" She believed in spirits and spells to a degree, but not to the point where she threw spilled salt over her shoulder or turned around three times before entering the cave of a stranger. If it was all just superstitious nonsense then it would not matter. But if her fate was set what harm was there in knowing a bit about it?

The seer grinned with her last four teeth showing and then she grew serious again. She embraced the dice and shook them between her paws as she mumbled in the fox language, or one similar to it, as Annie could not make out any of the words. With a cry the old vixen cast the dice down and waited while her assistant tracked them down and declared the results.

"They are in a line, oriented north-south, and equally spaced." The kit announced. "The two on the ends are square to each other, and the middle one is like a diamond between them. From the northern end they are a two, a three and a five."

"How do you read that my child?"

Amber Rain frowned in concentration. "Great love. Undying love." She said slowly, a little uncertain.

"Very good." The tiny fortune teller sat back in her chair. "But there are some nuances there that we will discuss later." She pointed her nose toward Annie as Amber Rain gathered up the dice. "You have someone that loves you dearly." Star gazer pronounced.

That came as no surprise to Annie. Heg's note said as much. And there were a number of foxes who knew of it, as she had not only told Tig but also the foxes of the Board during her interrogation. She wondered how much of her story had been passed around the winter campground.

But Star Gazer was not done. "More than one, actually. Three to be exact, although each loves you in a different manner. But the one you seek loves you deeply and profoundly. He loves you as much as you love him."

Annie's heart leapt in her chest. Suddenly she was filled with new hope, and a greater faith in the telling of fortunes. "Will I find him?" She asked eagerly. "Will we ever be together?"

"You will find him." The seer said sombrely. "You will be together at the end of your journey, and he will love you to the end of time."

Annie plied the old vixen with questions but the fortune teller refused to elaborate. Claiming exhaustion she apologised for not being able to wait longer for Aster's return. She groped for the arm of her assistant and then she shuffled out of the room, slower than she had shuffled in.

Annie and Tig sat in silence for a few moments before the small fox dared to break it.

"Annie. You know that I am one of the three that loves you." The little adventurer said, somewhat sadly. "But I know that I am not the one that you seek, and now it appears that my hopes of you forgetting him are dashed. But I pledge to assist you in your search for him. It is just ... well, the foxes are going to war and my place is with them, despite the way they have treated me most of my life."

Annie smiled, took Tig's narrow snout between her paws and kissed him on the nose. "Don't worry about abandoning me." She said, ruffling his ears the way she knew he liked it. "I'm coming with you."

* * * * * * * * *

In the farthest corner of the deepest cave in the storehouse of Silver Tip's clan, the feline Aster cried out. It was a yowl that would have brought her personal bodyguard running, had they been within earshot, but they were not. She had dismissed them as they were loading the last of the goods being sent to the army to act as an escort until they joined the military caravan that was forming. It was a risk, but only a small one. They had not left her with an armed member of the clan, and the chance of betrayal was slight. Yet less than fifteen minutes later her lone escort had become the cause of the cries that filled the caverns. Cries that most foxes would have taken for extreme agony.

That was because most foxes had never lain with a feline, not in such a way as to give as much pleasure as they got in exchange anyway.

The cries tapered off to a series of whimpers and whines, low enough to be able to make out two creatures panting in exhaustion. After a few minutes that too subsided and the silence was broken only by the occasional soft moan or coo.

"I should be going." Silver Tip said, rolling over and reaching for his clothes. But they had been scattered widely in their haste and he had to crawl around in the dim light to retrieve them.

Aster giggled at the image of her mate, naked and on all fours, as she sat up and pulled her dress back down. "You look like a wild fox from the early days." She said. "A feral beast on the prowl."

Silver Tip made a false lunge toward her and yipped like a fox in its first year of maturity. "Be careful, young feline, or I will eat you!" He joked, a rare event lately.

"You had best be careful." She told him, fending him off playfully with one foot. "Or I will be pregnant again before you leave for war. Or is that what you want? To keep me bare-pawed and pregnant?"

Silver Tip grabbed her leg and began to caress her calf. "Pregnant sex is the best, is it not?" He said as his paws slid up her leg.

"Pointes d'Argent! Patron! Où êtes-vous?" Someone was approaching at a run, calling out for Silver Tip in the fox tongue.

"Merde." The elder fox muttered as he scrambled for his clothing. He recognized the voice of one of his senior guards, so he shouted back. "Wait there, Picot, I am coming."

"Not anymore, you are not." Aster laughed.

"Shush. Get dressed."

"Speak for yourself." She said, standing up so that her dress fell back in place around her. Her loose undergarments she stashed in a satchel she carried the clan accounts around in. She helped her mate dress as they walked toward the exit of the cave, outside of which the guard was waiting.

Picot, a hefty black fox, was named for the polka-dots of white on his snout and tail, a pattern known in their language as picotté. He saluted his master before making his report. "Sire, there is a delegation of feline warriors camped out on the trail leading here from the village where the foreign guards live. They wish an audience."

"Are they from the village?" Silver Tip asked.

"There are some of the caravan guards among them." Picot confirmed. "But most are from encampments that have been overrun by the wolf alliance. There are several hundred of them. Many from the lady Aster's tribe. A grey cat named Smokey spoke for them."

"My younger brother." Aster gasped. "Do you know what they want?"

"They want to go to war against the wolves." Picot told her. "They know that there are many more like them, scattered across the valley, and they believe that they can convince them to join the fight, if they have the right leader. Someone known and respected by the felines throughout the valley."

Silver Tip nodded. "They would make an excellent scouting force, and having them on our side will help convince the encampments we come across to rise up against their subjugators. Very well, tell them that I will be there as soon as I can."

The dark fox looked embarrassed. "My apologies sire. I have not been clear. I only came calling your name because the others told me that lady Aster was with you." He indicated the leader's spouse with a tilt of his chin. "It is her that they want to speak with."

* * * * * * * * *

Annie strode with purpose across the alpine valley that the caverns the foxes called their winter campground exited onto. She had left the caves determined to find Silver Tip, because he alone of all the foxes could grant her permission to join the fox army on its pursuit of the wolf alliance.

Annie wanted to join the army in order to catch up with her friends, the two wolves who now called themselves Dylan and Roark. From what Dead Eye had said the two were traveling toward the southern kingdom in the company of a canine in search of the dog's feline lover. They had set out before the wolf alliance invaded that portion of the valley, and presumably were still ahead of the leading edge of battle. Despite the distance between the fox's lair and the southern end of the valley, Tig believed that their forces could catch up to the wolves before they reached the human stronghold where the legendary weapons were supposed to be stored. Annie still had her doubts, but there was no faster way of getting south than joining the military procession, so she had set out to do so.

The young wolf had spent the last few hours arguing with bureaucrats, functionaries, and military officials to no avail. All were aghast at her request to accompany the troops. The thought of a wolf accompanying them in their war against the wolf alliance was apparently too much for them. Besides, there was a question, in their minds at least, as to whether she was still officially a prisoner or not. Freedom to roam the winter campgrounds did not equate freedom to come and go as far as they were concerned. Even Tig's assertions that Annie was indeed free were not enough to sway them. No one was willing to take a chance regarding her status, so she needed to get permission from the Chair of the Military Committee himself.

Moving through the great cavern at the entrance Annie saw the kind of preparations that she had expected to see; long lines of wagons loaded with supplies, horses being harnessed, troops of fox warriors marching out to join the horde. It was not until she got outside though that the scale of the operation struck her.

She knew that there were many more foxes than any wolf had ever suspected but the number of foxes and wagons assembled in the small valley were impressive none the less. Wagons loaded to the hilt with food and weapons stood in lines that would total several miles in length. Thousands of horses were gathered in makeshift corrals waiting to be assigned to individual soldiers. Battalions of foxes stood or sat in loose formation awaiting their turns to have mounts assigned. Still more were camped on the ridge that separated the small valley from the lager one.

It looked to Annie that the foxes intended to ride to battle, which would account for the speed that Tig had implied they could move at. But she noted one omission; none of the supply wagons had horses, and by her rough count there were not nearly enough left in the corals to supply them all. She did not ask her escort why that was so though. Annie was being accompanied by Tig, who was struggling to keep up with her rapid pace and was, for once, not talking. They were being escorted by a hastily assembled group of guards; not for their protection but rather to bring her back in case it was determined that she was still indeed a prisoner, and they were not a talkative bunch.

After questioning a few of the senior foxes, necessarily posed by Tig because none of the foxes would speak to Annie, they had determined that Silver Tip had set out of the valley on foot to meet a delegation of felines that were headed up the trail. Annie did not want to waste any more time as it looked like the army would be moving out very soon. She persuaded Tig and her escort to march her out of the valley as if they had been commanded to bring her to the old silver fox. By surrounding her and following Tig, who strode rapidly across the ridge as if he owned it, they were able to deflect any probing questions. When they were far enough downhill to be safe from observation Tig, who claimed to be getting soft from all the easy living lately, scrambled up on the shoulders of the largest guard and ordered them to break into a trot.

Within an hour they came in sight of the parley. It appeared to be just getting started. Both sides were standing behind their leaders, who were still standing on each side of a table and chairs that Silver Tip's folk must have brought for the occasion. Servants were just pouring wine into goblets on the table for the ceremonial greeting. Tig jumped down and lead Annie and her escort to the site while the ceremony proceeded.

As host, Silver Tip took a sip from each cup to prove that the contents were not poisoned before offering one to his guest. The leader of the delegation, a young slim feline whose fur was a sooty grey drank in turn to show that he trusted his host. After that they sat and exchanged names, titles and ritual compliments. They were just finishing this phase when the fox leader's guards noticed them and rushed to block their advance.

"Let them through." Silver Tip commanded when he saw Tig and Annie behind the wall of guards. Then he turned back to his guest. "My apologies Smokey. My second youngest son has little sense of protocol."

The feline dismissed the apology with a wave of his paw. "Now is not the time to stand on ceremony. From his expression he looks to be in earnest. But ... is that a wolf with him?"

Silver Tip explained about Annie's circumstances while she and Tig took up a position behind his chair beside Aster.

"A strange partnership indeed." Smokey commented after hearing how Annie and Tig had managed to evade the wolves hunting her and break into the foxes' sanctuary. "As strange as the ones we have been forging lately." He tilted his head back toward the group behind him and Annie noticed for the first time that there were canines among them, several dogs and two coyotes. They stood a bit apart from the felines, but did not appear nervous or under duress.

"Cats and dogs fighting together?" Silver Tip asked.

"We have a common enemy, and any skilled fighter is a valuable asset."

"Your Father would be proud of you, Smokey. Where is he?"

The grey cat cast his glance down at the goblet before him for an instant and then looked up into his sister's eyes. "Our father is dead. He died fighting the wolves, as did our mother and our two brothers. I am sorry Aster. Only your sister Lilac and I remain alive, and that is only because I was tasked to escort her to the tribe where she was to be married before we learned about the wolves' advance."

"Lilac is safe?" Aster asked as she moved up beside her mate and took his paw.

Smokey smiled ruefully. "No, she is with us. The other tribe had already been surrounded by the time we arrived so we rushed back to warn father, but we were too late. There was nothing left of our encampment. It was overrun. No one surrendered, but a few escaped in the confusion. I gathered what was left of the tribe and we moved deep into the forest to regroup. Since then we have been increasing our strength, replacing our weapons, and preparing ourselves for battle."

"How many of you are there?" Silver Tip inquired.

"Our group is small, but there are many others hiding in the forest. Enough to take back an encampment if we can convince them to join us. And we can add the strength of every tribe we liberate to ours."

"And that of a village or two." A rough-looking canine with brown eyes and black fur called from the rear.

Silver Tip toyed with his goblet. "We are marching straight south after the wolves. We do not have time to liberate the masses if we are to catch them before ... before it is too late."

"Then you will be doomed to fail, because the wolves have fortified the encampments and towns in a maze of strongholds that you will have to fight your way through."

"We have ways of fighting that they will not be able to contend with."

"But it will slow you down and weaken your army at the same time. Will you have enough left to defeat them when you catch up to the main body? They have grown in strength since they crossed the plains. Dogs and even a number of felines have swelled their ranks, charmed by their leader's lies."

"Ang-Ro can be persuasive." Annie injected. Silver Tip remained silent as he contemplated the new odds.

"There are other routes we can take." He finally said. "Longer and slower, but safer routes."

"Then it all depends on how long you want to take before you catch him." Smokey sat back and frowned. "You could even sit here on your hill and wait for him to come back this way after you. But you are preparing to ride out after them, and I wonder why." He took a sip of his wine and searched the faces of his host and his retinue for clues. "Tell me," he said after a minute, "have you ever seen a beaver dam burst?"

"No."

"Often, over the winter, they build dams that encompass a huge area. Miles of mud and branches that form a perfectly level barrier. How they know where to put it to take advantage of the contours of the land no one knows, but come spring they fill up to the brim with floodwater. When they interfere with our hunting or trade routes we send out a few experienced warriors to seek out the point where the dam is the most stressed, usually where it crosses a small river or large creek. They examine the construction and select the one or more key branches and pull them out. That starts a trickle that erodes the surrounding structure and becomes wider. Soon the swirling waters are tearing chucks out of the dam on both sides of the gap. That is the point where the beavers usually show up and attempt to repair it, but they are almost always too late, because about then the force of the rushing water will start knocking whole sections of dam out from each side of the gap, and carry them away."

"The pond, if you can call something so big a pond, empties quickly. The wall of water that it produces will rush down the dry river bed, tearing down trees, ripping out bridges, tumbling boulders the size of a moose along with it. It will cut a new path where the old river meanders and wipe out anything in its path for many miles down slope. That is why we have to be very careful when we burst one, and make sure that there are no encampments, or villages" he said over his shoulder to the dog that had spoken earlier, "in its path."

Smokey leaned forward and spoke with more earnest. "We are just a trickle now, but if you take the time to assist us, you will unleash a flood of revenge upon the wolves the like of which they have never contemplated. We can move fast, as fast as you on your horses, and sweep the wolves out of your path. What do you say, chief of the foxes?"

Silver Tip sat back in his seat and studied the young feline warrior. He knew that Smokey was the old chief's third son, and had not been groomed for leadership because of that. Few seasoned warriors would follow an untried youth just because he was the last in his line. Or was he?

"I was informed that you wanted an audience with my spouse, your sister." Silver tip said warily. "Why?"

"As you know, she spent several years traveling among the tribes, representing our father when his heir was too young to take that role." The dusky feline answered. "Aster is well known and respected among the tribes, and she has the bearing and look of our father. And while males fight the battles, it is the females of the tribe that decide whether we will go to war or not. It has always been so"

Silver Tip turned to his mate. "Is this so?" It was an aspect of the feline culture that he had not been aware of.

"Males are hot headed and apt to run off to do battle without a second thought." She replied. "But females are the keepers of the homestead and must weigh the inevitable horror of war against the survival of the tribe. What he says is true. Without a female of status at their head they will not garner much support among our people."

"Can you write a note, or send a token of your support with them?"

Aster shook her head sadly. "No, my husband. I will have to travel with them and speak to each group."

"But, what of our son?" He protested weakly.

"There are plenty of wet nurses of your blood. He will not suffer from suckling fox milk for a few weeks." She hugged her mate's head and the group fell silent, letting them have their moment. "You know it is my duty to lead them, just as it is yours to lead your folk to battle." She whispered in his ear so that only he could hear. "Despite your age and feebleness, as evidenced by your recent performance in the storeroom." She added, pinching his buttock.

"This is serious." He whispered back.

"I know." She said, wrapping her other arm tighter around his head. "But if we never see each other again I want to remember you with a smile on those stern lips of yours."

"Alright." He said aloud, disengaging from her as he stood. His face bore a smile, a somewhat sad one but one that managed to convey his pride in her. He turned to Smokey. "You have a leader." The group of felines broke into cheers. Even the canines joined in, caught up in the celebration.

Smoky stood and grasped his brother-in-law's paw. "We shall leave immediately. That way we may gain a couple of days' head start on your army."

"Wait!" Everyone stopped talking and looked at the young female wolf who had cried out. "Aster may be queen of the cats or something but she is also Silver Tip's mate. If she is going away she will need someone from his family to escort her." Annie dragged Tig around in front of her. "Someone who knows the forest as well as she does and has proven survival skills. And of course she should have a female servant from your household to chaperone her also. Shouldn't she Tig?"

A less loving pinch got the little fox talking. "Indeed father. A lady of her stature requires a personal body guard and attendant." Tig turned to address Smokey. "Such is our custom. It has, uhm, always been so."

"Oh? I did not know."

"It has been that way as long as I can remember." Silver Tip said dryly, studying Annie's face. "And I can think of none as loyal and steadfast as these two right here. With your concurrence, Smokey, I would have them accompany Aster."

"We would be honoured. Tales of the little warrior's prowess have long been a fireside staple of my folk. And anyone who he has deemed fit to travel with him is equally worthy."

"Tales of prowess?" Annie whispered down to Tig through clenched teeth.

"I may have started a rumour or two." Tig whispered back.

Silver Tip slapped his thighs. "Good. We shall go back to our winter campground and outfit these three for the journey. Tig will need a pony if he is to keep up over a long distance, but Aster and Annie will have to keep up with you on foot, since neither knows how to ride. It should not be a problem, they both like to run, or so I've heard."

Smoky nodded. "Yes. And your army? Will you follow quickly?"

"Faster than you may expect." Silver Tip said with a grin. "We shall ride the thunder."

* * * * * * * *

Aster, Tig and Annie left Silver Tip to work out the details of how the two forces would coordinate their movements and headed back to the caverns with a small escort. As they crossed the small alpine valley that lay just outside of the winter campgrounds she again noted how the horses were all being assigned to the soldiers, leaving none for the supply wagons.

She understand that the army would be able to move fast on horseback and that the foxes could fight from there very effectively. She had seen them practicing over the last few days from the windows in our suite high above the valley. The sound of many hoofs galloping across the hard packed soil certainly sounded like distant thunder. But what good were wagons without horses? They must have more hidden somewhere, she supposed.

Then she noticed that while they had been down in the next valley the wagons had been rearranged. The lines had grown shorter because each had been pulled forward and hitched to the one in front of it. There was about twenty in each cluster, with a substantial gap between groups.

"Tig, how do you expect a team of horses to pull that many wagons all at once? You would need forty or more for each wagon train. Would it not be more efficient to split them up and assign a pair to each individual wagon?"

"We are using a different kind of horse power to pull the supply wagons." Tig answered. Then he squatted down and placed a paw on the rocky bed of the valley. "I do believe that they are on their way. If you wait a bit you will see them."

Annie stopped and looked around, but she did not see any animals approaching. They should be easy to spot, as any animal strong enough to move so many wagons would have to be twice the size the size of a moose, she thought. Then she heard a noise coming from inside the cavern. It was low at first, but it soon increased into a roar like the wind made when it was strong enough to rip trees from the ground and crush the sturdiest of shelters. At the same time the ground began to shake as it did when Ter-No split the earth and sent rocks tumbling down from the heights.

"Earthquake!" Annie screamed, covering her ears. "We need to get Aster away from the cliff face. Quick! Follow me." But before she could take a step Tig grabbed her by the elbow and turned her back toward the cavern exit. Something huge was emerging. It was painted dull green, it appeared to be made out of metal, and it was the source of the noise and vibration that was making the stones dance about her feet. There was another right behind it, and apparently more following.

"Cor-No's blood." She swore. "What is it?"

"That," Tig shouted above the ever increasing noise, "is our ride."