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Army of Glass Cannons
Prologue
“Mosi! What in the gods’ name are you doing!?” A lupine pup growled.
“I’m going to see what’s been making all that noise outside the village. What do you think I’m doing?” Another one replied.
The stubborn lupine pup continued to jam his heavy rucksack out of a small hole in the village wall, not stopping for a second to listen to his friend’s warning.
“The elder is going to make you scrub the latrines again if he finds out what you’re doing!” The other pup worriedly said.
Mosi squeezed himself through the hole after failing to push his bag out the hole and turned around to face his friend, “Then he’s going to make me scrub them after I-”
The bloated rucksack got stuck in the hole, its mass full of various tools and foods struggling to fit through.
“...will tell him-” Mosi grunted.
The rucksack groaned again, this time an inch further through the wall.
“...what’s been keeping him up-”
It groaned again.
“....for the past few NIGHTS!”
The bag flew out the hole, taking Mosi with it to the ground. The pup immediately got up on his two legs, patted some dust off his clothes and addressed his friend for the last time.
“And don’t worry about me, Kor! I always aced the forest survival tests.”
Seeing Mosi’s proud display, Kor raised his paws in the air and reluctantly retreated back into the village.
“Now…” the brave pup said, “Where did it come from?”
Chapter 1
The Short March
Mosi marched straight for the woods, determined to find the source of the loud, thunderous noise that had been terrorizing the whole clan. According to what he’d heard, it sounded like thunder kept striking the same place over and over again. The clan’s hunters even said that there were no streaks of lightning in the sky when it happened, but flickers of light were seen from the ground instead. The hunter’s tale mesmerized Mosi, it tickled the curious and adventurous part of the wolf pup’s mind as he wondered what otherworldly sorcery could make lightning strike from the ground.
But it seemed like everyone else didn’t feel the same wondrous curiosity that Mosi felt at that moment. Every wolf in the village started to avoid where noises come from, no matter if there are precious fruits and mushrooms to forage or animals to hunt. The Elders simply told everyone to stay inside whenever the thundering noises were heard, but it wasn’t enough to stave them off. The walls and houses of the village weren’t thick enough to muffle the deafening noise that haunts the village, which -unfortunately- made it hard for everyone to sleep. But no one, not even a single wolf is brave enough to venture out of their safe haven, all except for one little pup who has yet to reach the age of twelve.
Hold on, Mosi thought, If you’re venturing out into the unknown, you should at least expect what’s to come!
The pup waited for his brain to come up with some explanation, something logical. But none came to mind.
Oh well… I guess I’ll have to see it-
BANG
Chapter 2
Land Thunders
The wolf pup froze in place, clutching the rope of his rucksack. Next to him was a tree with a fresh scar on the bark, but it had no arrows sticking out of it. It was just a hole that suddenly materialized on the tree. Mosi looked back to the forest ahead, but only bushes and tall grass met his eyes.
T-that was the noise! B-but where did it-
BANG
A small splash of dirt landed on his feet, leaving him whining in fear. Mosi turned around and dashed as fast as his lupine legs could carry him. The sound that he had just heard made his ears go flat on his head. But what was more disturbing was the impact that came with it. If it could carve a hole on a tree, what could it do to a wolf pup?
But it’s as if the gods were laughing at him, another sound caught his ear: the rustling of leaves. And it wasn’t just one either, it was many. Tears began to flood Mosi’s eyes as he heard them closing in on him.
They’re going to skin me alive, he thought.
The lupine pup jumped into the clearing where the village wall stands. All he needed to do was to jump back through the hole and he’ll be safe at home, but he couldn’t. His rucksack’s bulging form was too big to swiftly enter the small gap.
“No no… LET ME IN!” Mosi cried.
His ears could hear the bushes rustling again, along with the sounds of feet landing on the clearing. They were right behind him. Mosi ditched his bag and with erratic breath, squeezed back through the wall. He landed hard on the village grass, but it didn’t matter to him. With teary eyes, he looked back.
The forest outside the wall looked clear. There was nothing out of the ordinary. There were no loud bangs, no leaves rustling and there were no footsteps. The coast was clear. A shaky sigh of relief escaped the pup’s muzzle. That is, before the paws of Elder Novick landed on his shoulder.
“Sneaking out again, are you?” the Elder asked, “Usually, I would have you assigned to scrub the latrines for your… expeditions.”
Mosi looked at Novick's old, sleepless eyes with defeat. Both of them were too tired to deal with each other.
The Elder sighed. “But I suppose the ‘Land Thunders’ have taught you the lesson already.”
Another sigh of relief left Mosi’s muzzle again. The Elder stood back up and offered his paw to the shell shocked pup.
“However,” he sternly said, “you still owe me and the clan an explanation about your behaviour.”
Darn it, Mosi silently cursed.
Chapter 3
The Face of the Monsters
‘Land Thunders’, they called them. The demons who came to disturb the night with their ear piercing noise to haunt the innocent. After Mosi’s daring trip, the clan’s superstitious worriness has ramped up into paranoia. To keep the clan calm, Elder Novick ordered all side entrances leading in and out of the village to be shut. Unfortunately for the adventurous pup, it also meant that the hole in the wall must be sealed as well. He pouted and protested to keep his only adventuring friend with him, but the worried Elder insisted that the hole would be plugged the next day.
“Huuuhhh…” Mosi sighed, “There goes my key to explore the outside world”
The pup slowly entered his home with his tail limp behind his legs and ears flat on his head. He entered his room feeling like he just lost a close friend and was told that it was “for the safety of the clan”.
Can’t argue with that, he thought.
As he crawled on his bed for a good night sleep, a thought came to his mind. Something else is missing, but what is it?
“My rucksack!” he exclaimed.
Mosi rummaged the room from top to bottom, from corner to corner, but his bag was nowhere to be seen. But then, a chilling realization made his tail slide between his legs.
“I left it outside the hole.” he whined.
The pup peaked his ears out of the door, then his eyes. After making sure that nobody was outside, he silently sneaked around the house. As much as Mosi didn’t like being caught sneaking out, he was more worried about his rucksack being stolen or worse, destroyed. But after arriving at the hole, something felt off.
On the ground in front of the hole was his rucksack. It wasn’t damaged. It wasn’t ripped to shreds. Instead, its lid was wide open. But the strangest part was that the bag was inside the village. Mosi quickly checked its contents.
“All the food is gone,” he mumbled, “But nothing else was taken.”
Mosi looked through the hole in the wall. The trees weren’t moving, it seemed like no one was there. However, he was sure that someone pushed through the wall. Then, something caught his eye. There was a figure between the trees, observing him. It ducked and ran back in the forest after the lupine pup gasped.
“Wait!” Mosi cried out.
Without hesitation, he squeezed through the hole again and chased after the figure. The pup ran deeper and deeper back in the forest as the night sky loomed over the horizon, with the mysterious figure always just out of sight. It was swift, always taking sharp turns every time Mosi almost caught him. And then, it was gone.
Where did it go? Did it went through here-
BANG, click
The lupine pup fell on the ground, whining in fear. A hole appeared on the tree behind him, but Mosi’s teary eyes were locked on the group of figures surrounding him. They didn’t have any ears atop their heads, nor do they seem to have fur on their bodies, for they have them covered with steel and cloth. Their muzzle looks hideously short, with a long snake-like appendage attached to it. But what scared the young wolf the most were their eyes. It looked empty and colorless, yet he could feel them staring back at him.
“W-WAIT! I just want to know w-what you are! Why you all are scaring my clan every night and…why you returned my bag.” he cried. “Please, I don’t mean any harm.”
The pack of creatures stopped to look at the scared wolf pup. One of them lowered their long wooden contraption and slung it behind its back. It then slowly grabbed the back of its head and took the empty eyes and hideous muzzle off its head.
“What…?” Mosi mumbled.
“There…my mask is off.” the creature said, raising both paws up. “You don’t have to cry anymore.”
The lupine pup wiped the tears off his eyes and studied the creature’s real features intently. It had naked skin with small dots strewn across its face. Its eyes looked back at the wolf with the same juvenile curiosity and its voice sounded high pitched. The creature almost looked like…
“...a pup?” Mosi mouthed, shocked to his core.