Author Longetalos

by Richard Di Ioia (ricdii@yahoo.com)
Used With Permission. Used with Permission. Do not repost without obtaining prior permission from the author.

The Wegwiur entered the large tent. A fire had been lit in the center to chase away the chill of this Coldeven night. At the back of the tent was the one that invited them here tonight - Tang the Horrific. As the last hetman entered the tent, Tang spoke up.

"Good evening my brothers. I welcome you all to my wurt. May the Great Wolf Mother watch over us this night and may Istus guide our decisions."

The nomads intoned the ritual phrases, "The Wolf Mother shelter us, Istus guide our fate."

"My brothers, I have brought two guests here this evening to join us in our circle. One is Kordig of the Chakyik, the other is Gand of the lion clan from the lands of Perren. Welcome them among us." As Tang spoke these words he handed over a wineskin to Kordig. Without a word, Kordig drank deeply and passed it on to Gand sitting at his left side.

After the wineskin had been passed around the circle and all the Hetmen had drunk deeply, Tang raised his voice and in a mocking tone began his speech. "My brothers, I sit here and look upon your faces. Faces etched with the hardship of time and battle. Yet I can't help but wonder why does Marto only have one wife? He fought bravely at the battle of the Howling Hills. And why do Jatlum's wives still wear their mothers' jewelry. Why do they not have new jewelry of their own? If I did not know either of these men I would assume they were weaklings and cowards."

A slow angry muttering rose from the gathered Hetmen. Tang raised his hand to forestall any outbursts. "Wait, my brothers. I have more news before you let your anger rise. I have been to the Southern Realms. With my own eyes I have seen fat weaklings wearing more riches than you can imagine." After uttering these words, Tang threw a cloth sac onto the ground in front of the Hetmen. The bag opened and jewelry and gold coins spilled out of it.

"These riches I took in one night from one merchant caravan in the Southern Realms. Why should weaklings such as them hold riches that belong to true men. Do you know what the people of the Southern Realms say of the Wegwiur and the Chakyik? No? Let me tell you what they say of us. They say nothing! That's right, we do not even exist to them. We are so insignificant that no mention is even made of our clans."

The Hetmen stood and roared in anger. Once again Tang raised his voice above theirs. "Listen to me, my brothers. Do you know why they ignore us so? It is because for over 30 years, for a whole generation, no wolf nomad has entered the Southern Realms. We have been blocked by that cur, that priest-king Iuz. For too long his misshapen orc beasts have stood between us and the easy plunder of the south."

At the mention of Iuz, the Hetmen lost some of their fire. One spoke up "Tang, the priest-King has great magics on his side. We dare not ride through his lands."

"Ride through his lands? Ride THROUGH his lands? Are we dogs to be kept in kennels to the north of his lands. Or are we Wolves, free to take all that we want! We shall not ride through his lands. We shall burn and pillage his lands. His women and riches shall be ours. Then we shall pillage the lands of the self-style Bandit Lords of the south. Once our saddle-bags are filled and women tied to the backs of our mounts, only then shall we ride home. I have crushed that bitch Iuz once before and I will do it again. His priests and mages are weak. They travel in coaches and wear robes like women!"

"The Tiger clans will join us in this raid. The clans of Perren as well. We shall show the Southern lands fear once more. Our names and clans will be on the lips of the fat merchants every time they travel outside of their walls. WE WILL BE WOLVES ONCE AGAIN!"