The Brutes clan pt1

In the dark, winding depths of the underground of Vitalus, four reos padded softly, their paws making only the faintest whisper of sound against the cold stone. 

 

Leading the group was Cailu, a haedian they had met when they entered the caves underneath Vitalus. He was empathetic and patient with others, with a wisdom that made him a natural leader.

Beside him was Jeon-e, a dark furred reos with a full coat and sharp, restless but wise eyes. She had good reflexes and keen eyes, Jeon-e took a more guard like role, being the older and wiser of the bunch. 

Following there was Mer, a shifty reos with a white, brown and lilac coat, a skilled scout above ground, fast on his feet, and his brother Valentine, a hunter reos with mauve and white coat, with an intense demeanour and a concentration that rivalled others. 

 

Their eyes gleamed in the dim glow cast by the countless gems embedded in the cave walls. The gems glistened in different shades of blues, like forgotten stars trapped in stone. For hours now, the four had been travelling through the tunnels of the underground, having left the Forgotten's clan territory for the Brute's territory.

 

As they rounded a corner, Cailu stopped in his track, a head movement signalling the others to pause in their steps. His ears pricked, catching faint voices ahead.

 

"Do you hear that?" he whispered.

 

The others nodded, straining to catch the sounds drifting down the passage.

 

The four reos moved forward cautiously, stopping at the mouth of an opening in the tunnels, a huge cave appearing seemingly out of nowhere. Inside, they saw two groups of haedians, roughly equal in number, standing in tense opposition, and all around them a dozen or more haedians looking at the scene. The haedians on one side, a group of three, were leaner than the other group, but they also had tons of scars in their face and body, a sign of reckless fighters that always come on top, while the opposing three were larger and bulkier, standing there with an aggressive stance but bearing no scars on their body, just their muscles as proof of being well trained.

 

The leader of the larger group, a haedian with pink eyes, stepped forward, his voice echoing off the stone walls. "You know the rules," he spoke, "whoever wins keeps the gold of the other group. It's the law."

 

The leader of the smaller group, a small haedian with a scar on his eye, flattened his ears but held his ground. "We fought and got our pieces fair and square, I wonder how you got yours. Bullying newer haedians out of their livelihood ain't living and you know it, we won't give up to your demands."

 

The bigger haedian's lips curled into a sneer. "The only thing that matters in these caves is how much gold you have. How you got it doesn't matter much, does it?"

 

Without waiting for a reply, the bigger haedian jumped towards the other leader, and the two groups clashed in a chaotic fight, all moves allowed. Powerful jaws clamped down on neck scruffs, and bodies collided harder with one another and against the walls of the cave. 

Cailu and the others watched from the shadows, stunned.

 

"Are they... fighting over gold?" Mer whispered, his voice filled with worry.

 

"Seems so," Valentine replied, his eyes fixed on the battle. "It seems like that's how they do it. You fight, you win, you claim what’s rightfully yours. At least that's how this clan seems to work."

 

Jeon-e's looked at the scene perplexly. "So strength is everything down here."

 

The fight came to an end as the smaller group fell back, panting and battered, defeated by the sheer size of their opponents. The bigger haedians started gathering the gold rocks of the smaller group, gloating while doing so, pocketing what their fight awarded them. The losers' group, heads held low, slinked out of the cave, disappearing down a shadowy tunnel.

 

Cailu turned to his friends. "We need to be careful. If we’re not ready, we could lose everything to the first pack that challenges us."

 

The others nodded. The Forgotten's clan had given them some rocks, not explaining anything about the Brute's clan but saying they'd be useful to them if they proceeded and the group now understood what they meant when they gave them the rocks. They continued down the tunnel, minds abuzz with what they'd seen, each reos secretly wondering what they would do if they somehow ended up challenged by a Brute's clan group.

 

Hours of travel later, between narrow and steep tunnels to avoid being spotted by the Brute's clan, the group stumbled on another wide area, this one empty and, with no signs of someone travelling through here, Cailu stopped and sat down. "This could be a good place for us to rest," Cailu suggested, and the others agreed, slowly emerging from the tunnel and slowly placing their belongings on the floor, their shoulders thanking them. The crystals in the walls cast a soft glow all over them, and for a moment, they all felt safe.

 

But the quiet didn't last long.

 

A loud, thundering sound echoed through the tunnels. The four reos jolted awake, ears flat, not realizing they had fell asleep and now unprepared as heavy footsteps approached.

 

Into their resting place strode four massive haedians, each one larger and more intimidating than the last. Their pelts were dark and coarse, their eyes glinting with an intimidating light. These were haedians who had fought many battles in these caves, there was no doubt about it.

 

The leader of the new group, a broad-shouldered haedian with a scar all over his side, stepped forward. His eyes narrowed as he surveyed the bags of belongings of Cailu’s group.

 

"You're strangers," he said in a low growl. "You should come with us, Zarod does not like unworthy people in her territory."

 

Cailu’s heart pounded. They had no choice now, either fighting back or trying to escape would be bad news, and they had no idea who these haedians were, if they were simple Brutes ready to steal from them, or if this Zarod they wanted them to meet would be good news.

 

He took a steadying breath and met the brute’s gaze. "We will follow you."

 

The four reos marched, their belonging on their back, untouched by the Brute's haedians, until they reached a massive cave below Vitalus, buzzing with life as at least 50 haedians wandered around, some fighting, some trading, others just hanging out there and looking at the scene in front of them. They all looked at the reos as they entered the cave, their heads corked and their ears high, as some of them had not seen land dwellers in a long time.

 

Cailu, Jeon-e, Mer and Valentine proceeded without letting the others know they were affected by the attention until they reached a haedian bigger than the others, who regarded them with interest. "Vayrons, what brings you here"

 

Cailu looked at Jeon-e to deliver the explanation, as she should divulge as much or as little information as she pleaded, and Jeon-e started talking. "We are venturing in the underground of Vitalus under the request of the Elder, as unrest has been stirring amongst the reos living above this cave system, the earth has been shaking more frequently and we, amongst others, have been sent to travel through these paths and return with as much information as possible"

 

Zarod seemed to think for a while, until she sighed and lifted herself up from her laying position "Information is for the worthy in these tunnels, do you have what it takes to get it yourselves? Here nothing is given, everything is taken by force."

 

Cailu looked at Jeon-e, Mer and Valentine behind her but leaving her to represent them, as she had been their leader before meeting Cailu. "We will do what it takes, be it give our gold in exchange for knowledge or take it violently, if this is the way of your clan"

 

Zarod hummed and looked at the haedians that brought them there and then nodded. The opposing wolves grinned, teeth flashing in the dim light. The largest of them turned to his comrades, nodding. They spread out, tense with readiness, and their leader spoke. "Remove all your belongings, and place the gold you have in the center of the arena. Here, the only way to be respected is to fight. You will fight us and whichever group has more members still standing, or has collected more of the gold from the middle into their corner, will be deemed the winner and will be deemed worthy of our attention."

 

The all did as told, amassing all their gold in the center and seeing the haedians do the same, and from below they could see Zarod lighting up a candle before demanding their attention once again

 

"Stay close," Cailu murmured to the others, and the four prepared themselves.

 

"The fight will end once the candle has gone out, or once no reos from one group can proceed, did i make myself clear?" Zarod said, and once they all nodded, she gave the start to the battle "Begin".

 

The leader of the other group lunged, aiming directly at Jeon-e, but she sidestepped, snapping at the haedians' legs. The other stumbled but quickly regained his footing, snarling as he charged again. This time, Jeon-e ducked and twisted under his, sending the brute towards the cave wall, hoping to give him a concussion. She hurried towards the center and got as many gold rocks as she could fit in her mouth and brought them towards their belongings, keeping an eye on the haedian so he could not intercept her.

 

Meanwhile, Cailu faced off against a lean but wiry haedian who darted in close, hoping to knock him down quickly, but Cailu was faster. He twisted, his dark pelt blending into the shadows as he moved, and caught the other off guard. With a deft paw strike, he knocked him backward, keeping him off-balance and snarling in his face, threatening with his fangs to his neck. If Jeon-e could deal with her opponent and deal with retrieving the gold, he could keep one of them occupied so he could not intervene.

 

Valentine observed his opponent, a haedian with intense eyes, and when he lunged, Valentine waited until the last second to sidestep, causing him to tumble into the rocky ground. In a swift, fluid motion, Valentine positioned himself in front of the haedian, cutting off his path. The haedian bared his teeth in frustration, trying to lunge for Valentine, but knew he’d been outsmarted and cornered, and now they kept snapping their teeth at each other, trying to grab whichever piece of skin was in range and incapacitate the other.

 

At the same time, Mer, who was facing a massive haedian, had a different approach. Mer was smaller but faster, and he used his agility, leaping up onto a cluster of crystals and springing off to avoid his opponent. The haedian tried to follow, but he quickly got tired of chasing Mer around the cave, and started panting furiously.

 

Jeon-e, seeing his friends holding their own, focused all his energy on bringing the gold to their side, and pushing back on the first haedian she fought, who had gotten up and was now trying to prevent her from taking more than what she already took.

 

All came to an end when a powerful slap of wind made a ear shattering sound go through the cave, all the reos in the arena looking up towards Zarod, and she lowered herself back down, looking to the side. "The candle has run it's course, as all of you are still standing, the one with the most gold will be considered the winner." She looked in the arena, where the haedians had not tried at all to get to the gold and focused instead on keeping the vayrons at bay, while Jeon-e had collected at least half of the gold placed in the middle of the arena, and sighed. "The land dwellers win, we will tell them what we know"