Murgoh: Part Four

      Finally, he opened his eyes. The image was an orange blur at first, but it cleared quickly, and he saw a small fire, burning happily with a fresh pile of sticks. Looking around he realized that he was in a cavern of some sort. The granite walls were illuminated clearly by the fire, which was built in the center of the floor. From where he lay on his bed of furs, he could see two Lupes at the bend of a dark passage. One looked very old. He was hunched over, and his red pelt was peppered with gray fur from nose to tail. The other was a considerably younger brown Lupess, although her muzzle was starting to turn gray.

      After a moment, Murgoh tried to sit up. When he tried to move, sores that he had no knowledge of flared up and he immediately decided he would lie where he was for a while longer. Whatever that Lupe had done to him on the plains, though it hadn't killed him, it certainly would cause him a lot of pain for some time. Realizing that moving was not one of his options, Murgoh just watched the two Lupes on the other side of the cavern.

      Whatever they were discussing, it wasn't a casual conversation. From the way the Lupess was talking, and gesturing heavily with one of her forepaws, it was a heated debate of some sort. For the first time since he woke up, Murgoh wondered who they were and what they wanted with him. Were they with Kelthar? Unlikely. With the way he was pummeled on the plains, he was probably left for dead. Maybe they were refugees. Nomads? Members of a neighboring pack? No, it couldn't be a neighboring pack. The salt in the air told him that he was near the sea, and his territory was far inland.

      As he thought on this, the Lupess turned in his direction. The way her ears perked up, it was clear that she knew he was awake. With a final word to the old Lupe, she padded around the fire to Murgoh. As she drew closer, Murgoh noticed that her left side had been terribly injured, sometime in her distant past. Most of her fur had grown back, but where it hadn't, there were burn scars, and scars from gashes in her flank. Half her left ear was missing as well. From the pattern of the scars in general, it didn't seem that she got those scars from a fight.

      "Hello there," the Lupess said when she reached the young Lupe. "You're awake, finally. You've been unconscious for two days, ever since we found out outside our cave."

      Murgoh looked at the brown Lupess for a moment in disbelief. "I've been out for two days?"

      "Yes, and I'm surprised it wasn't for longer. You were terribly injured, and you lost a lot of blood. Personally, I wasn't sure if you would survive. Although, someone had a lot of faith in you," she added with a meaningful glance at the old Lupe, who was moving across the cave to him. The way he walked, it was more of a hobble, as if he were limping on three of his four legs. Finally, he sat down stiffly next to the Lupess, and then smiled at Murgoh before he spoke.

      "Good evening, young one," he said. "How do you feel?"

      For a moment, Murgoh didn't reply as he tried to figure out exactly how he felt. "I hurt all over," he said finally.

      The old Lupe nodded. "When we found you, it looked as if you were tackled by the Turmaculus." He shook his head. "Well, no matter what happened, you're in a lot better shape now than when we first found you. But it may still be a while before you'll be able to move again, let alone go home."

      The word home brought about memories from the fight. Murgoh remembered that Ashley and his father were fighting off three Lupes by themselves. "Dad! Ashley! I need to…Arg!" Murgoh, having tried to get to his paws, collapsed again onto his bedding, breathing heavily due to the pain. The Lupess placed a paw on his side in an attempt to calm him down.

      "You're not well enough to move," she reminded him. Then a grave expression crossed her face. "When you were injured, you weren't alone?"

      "No," Murgoh replied. "My sister, Ashley, was there. And so was my father, Savak."

      "Savak?" the Lupess asked, clearly surprised. A chuckle came from the old Lupe.

      "I told you, didn't I?" he asked the Lupess. "His family line is very strong." Then, turning to Murgoh, he asked, "Do you know what happened to them?"

      When the question was asked, many thoughts swam through his head. Savak and Ashley were outnumbered and outmatched. If they survived the fight, it wouldn't have been for long. Grief gripped the young Lupe, and he couldn't respond at all.

      "I see, then," the old Lupe said, moving away from Murgoh. "My companion and I will leave you alone for the time being. Someone will be by later to give you something to eat." With that, the old Lupe turned away. He looked to the Lupess and nodded to the exit. The Lupess glanced briefly at Murgoh before she followed the old Lupe out of the cavern. Even when they were out of sight, Murgoh could still hear them. They spoke urgently about something for a moment, but then stopped, and the moved down the passage that was beyond the Lupe's view.

      It wasn't that he really cared what these strange, nameless Lupes were doing, anyway. All his thoughts were centered around his family. Kelthar had probably driven them all out by now, or had them killed. And when it came to a fight with this enemy, what did he do? He ran. He abandoned his own father, and the rest of his family to the vicious will of a vengeful, power-hungry Lupe.

      Many thoughts like this swirled around his head, filling him with grief. Tears formed themselves around his eyes, even as he drifted to sleep once more.

     * * *

      He didn't know how long he slept before he woke up again. Opening his eyes, he saw that the fire had been kindled while he was sleeping, and it was still going strong. No one now remained in the cave except him. Feeling a bit stronger than he did when he woke up the first time, Murgoh tried to shift his torso into an upright position. It was painful, yes, but he managed to do it, and thus had a better perspective of his current abode.

      There wasn't much to see. There was the fire, yes. This was surrounded by a neatly positioned circle of stones, which by their darkened appearance, had evidently been used time and time again for many years. Just inside the passage leading from the cave, Murgoh noticed tendrils of sand, trailed in from outside by passing winds and the Lupes coming and going from the cave. In another part of the cave, Murgoh noticed two other beds of furs, much like his, but larger, and well used. He guessed that these were used by the two Lupes who were in the cave earlier, but he couldn't tell for sure without a closer examination, which he was in no condition to perform at the moment. The sound of pawsteps down the unseen passage distracted him, however, and he turned his attention to this, instead.

      A shadow Lupe, a little older than Murgoh, appeared at the cavern exit, pausing suddenly when he saw Murgoh was awake. The Lupe carried a chunk of meat in his jaws, obviously meant for him. Murgoh, however, was not hungry, and he was in no mood for visitors. When he saw the Lupe, all he could do was snap at him.

      "What do you want?" he demanded.

      The shadow Lupe didn't respond. But, with a slight hesitation, he moved into the cave, padded around the fire, and placed the meat next to Murgoh.

      "I don't want that," Murgoh said.

      "Nomad said you needed to eat," the shadow Lupe insisted.

      "Who?" Murgoh asked. Before his visitor could respond, he shook his head. "Nevermind, just go. I want to be alone."

      A hurt expression crossed the shadow Lupe's face briefly, but then he nodded and padded to the exit. Before he turned the corner, he turned back to Murgoh and, hesitating again, he said, "You're not the only one who's lost family to Kelthar."

      Surprised, Murgoh was about to say something to the shadow Lupe when he disappeared down the passage once more. For a few moments, Murgoh only stared at the cavern exit. Then he turned to the meat the shadow Lupe had left him. He still wasn't hungry, but he knew he hadn't eaten in two days. If he wanted to recover, he needed his strength. Shifting the food closer to himself, he dug in.

     * * *

      Another long nap later, Murgoh woke again to find himself looking at the old red Lupe again. He was seated by Murgoh's bed, and his soft gaze seemed to calm his troubles for a moment. As he looked into those deep, ancient eyes, it struck him that those eyes seemed awfully familiar.

      "You're getting plenty of rest," the old Lupe muttered. "This is good. You will heal faster that way."

      Murgoh didn't reply, but he didn't have to. The old Lupe went on, "Young Orthas feels for you. He lost his pack to Kelthar. His was one of the first. But unlike many of the packs attacked on the plains, yours seemed to have disappeared without a trace."

      Talking about his pack made Murgoh's spirits drop down again. But the way this Lupe spoke, it was as if he were somewhat optimistic. Feeling a glimmer of hope, he asked, "How do you know?"

      "Your father has a reputation on the plains. I already knew where his territory was, and I sent scouts out to find him. Your old den has been abandoned, and there wasn't a Lupe anywhere within a mile of the cave. I don't know where he or your pack is, but I doubt he has fallen to Kelthar's wrath. At least, not yet," he added grimly.

      The old Lupe got to his paws and limped slowly over to one of the fur beds on the other side of the cave. "If any of my scouts find him, they'll bring him here. He's already proven himself a capable leader. He'll be alright." As he said this, the Lupe carefully lay down among the furs. Then, with a yawn, he was about to lay his head down when his brown companion entered the cave. She paused when she saw Murgoh was up, but she moved past the fire to the old Lupe. She spoke in a hushed, nervous tone. Murgoh strained to listen, but he could barely hear them over the fire.

      "You sent your scouts to find Savak?" she asked.

      "I did," the old Lupe replied. "Is there a problem with that?"

      "Yes, there's a problem!" she growled. "Unlike the other refugees who come in here, if he shows up, he'll…"

      "Are you really worried about that little scrap you two had so long ago?"

      "It was more than a little scrap," the Lupess said. "And it was more than once." She scratched her ear nervously, then looked to the old Lupe again. "Aren't you worried he'd recognize you?"

      "I know he'll recognize me," the old Lupe said. "And why should I be worried? I'm not trying to hide, and you shouldn't either. Not from him, or from anyone else in his pack. What happened between you is in the past. Now get some sleep. We have a lot to do tomorrow settling in that last batch of refugees that showed up today."

      As the old Lupe set his head down again, Murgoh noticed that the Lupess wanted to continue the argument. She stood open-mouthed over the old Lupe for a moment before she sighed deeply and glanced in Murgoh's direction. She seemed surprised, and Murgoh imagined she didn't intend for him to hear anything. He expected her to cross the cavern, but instead, she turned away, settling down into her own bed.

      After a few moments, Murgoh laid his head down too, but he didn't try to go to sleep. Too many thoughts were swimming around his head. These Lupes didn't just know about Savak, they knew him, and he knew them as well, it seemed. The only question the young Lupe had on his mind now was one he was far from answering.

      Who were they?

To be continued...