The young warrior stepped into the woods under dim starlight. As the fog thickened, he couldn't help thinking: ''It was foolish to come here!'' He wouldn't even think about coming here if he were not tracking an exceptionally large wolf. This evil beast -which was known only as 'Wolf of Aglon'- had made it a habit to frequently attack hunters, travelers and flocks of animals. It was widely whispered that this monster came down over Anfauglith and was unleashed by Morgoth's servant Sauron, to spread terror in the pass of Aglon. The young warrior had pledged to slay the beast, not to get the bounty placed on the great wolf's pelt, but to gain glory and to prove himself, for his was ambition was great. Paying no mind to those that mocked him and friends that warned him, he set out alone to track down the animal. With great zeal, he tracked the beast for days, following a trail of particularly bloody corpses; he finally arrived at a dark forest, south of the pass of Aglon. He was guessing that he was closing in on the beast. But was it a good idea to enter this creepy forest in this twilight? If he would wait until the morning, the beast would probably get away and cover great distance, or even worse he would probably lose track of the creature. He decided to push on and dared the darkness of the woods.
The fear and doubt in his mind grew and thoughts sped through his head. Perhaps the creature lived in these woods. Perhaps there was a wolf den. The thought of being surrounded by a pack of hunting wolves was not pleasant. As he moved on and on, the fog thickened and the starlight finding its way down the dried trees waned. Then he heard a howl echoing in the forest. The warrior looked toward the direction of the sound and guessed the distance to the source. It was as if the monster was challenging him. He wondered since when the beast knew of his presence. Perhaps the wolf had picked up his scent long ago and deliberately lead him here. He realized that his fearful thoughts were weakening him and dismissed them. He looked back but could see naught but the mist in grey tones and the darkness behind the trees. There was no turning back now. He ignored his fear, made his decision and bolted towards the depths of the forest.
The view Warrior saw as he looked back.
He ran through the trees, jumped over rocks and dove shield first into thick shrubbery and sped on and on for a time that seemed long to him. The howling was closer now. He slowed down and climbed up on a rock amid the woods and drew his sword. As he intended to take a step forward, thinking about the merciless eyes of the cunning beast, he noticed a pair of glittering eyes staring at him. He narrowed his eyes under his steel helmet and saw the wolf behind a tree in the distance. Looking at the silhouette of the mighty beast, he realized the animal was at least twice his size. For a long moment the wolf looked at him and the hatred in its eyes was fierce. The wolf snarled loudly and disappeared in the darkness. The warrior did not know what to do. He adjusted his armor and with his shield in front of him and his sword to his side, he moved cautiously and slowly. He thought he saw the wolf's silhouette in the darkness and thought he heard the sinister snarling of the beast around him. He tried to move silently, but the clinging sound of his armor and the sound of dry leaves under his feet gave him away. The beast could sense his scent even if it were blind, but the wolf was not blind. It could probably see better than the young elf in the dark. To the sharpness of its ears, there was no doubt. The warrior walked in the darkness for a while until he reached an opening amid the woodland. There was slightly more light here for the starlight could find its way down here. He sensed the danger and darkness closing in and his heart warned him. He grasped his sword tighter and angled it outward, ready to swing. Now he was all ears and his eyes scanned the darkness from the openings of his helmet.
Suddenly he heard a snarl rising behind him. Instinctively stepping forward with his right foot and twisting his body, he raised his shield to defend himself. The giant wolf pounced over the warrior with all its weight and wrestled him down. Only thing stopping the creatures claws was the broad shield. The creature was sticking its head over the shield to bite the warrior's head with its long teeth. Squirming under the immense weight of the beast, the warrior somehow managed to support his shield with his knee and barely held the fangs of the beast away from his face.
He could not see much during this struggle, but he could hear the wild sounds and smell the terrible breath of the monster. He realized his sword arm was still free and quickly sought to stab the animal on the neck. The wolf's paw struck at his arm just above the elbow and deflected the sword, but it left a light but red wound on the side of the beast's belly. Taking advantage of the painful howling if the beast, he supported his shield –which weighed on him as the wolf was standing on it- with his foot and pushed it away with all his strength. As the shield was flung to the side, he managed to push the beast away a considerable distance. The animal thrashed about, the warrior rolled away and quickly rose to his feet. Before the beast was on its feet, he bolted back to the trees. Grabbing the trunk of a tree, he used his forward momentum to instantly turn around to face his foe. Using the large tree trunk to cover his defenseless left side, he readied his sword to strike. Meanwhile, the wolf had risen on its feet, taken a look at its wounded side and clearly it was very angry. It turned its evil eyes to the warrior and leaped forward to attack, howling. The warrior knew he had no chance against the animal without his shield. The beast attacked with its claws but the warrior nimbly stepped left and took the tree between himself and the claws. The claws left a long scar on the trunk of the old tree and shook it to the top, causing leaves to fall down from its tall branches. The warrior took great care not to show his left side to the animal and tried to baffle the wolf around the tree, desperately trying to gain some time. But the great wolf was out of patience and moved in to strike at the left side of the feeble warrior. The young elf stepped right and he was just in time to avoid the closing jaws.
Quickly he bashed the creature with the stout piece of wood he held on his left hand. He had cut the branch growing on the lower body of the tree with a single stroke of his sword and had armed himself with it as the wolf attacked. But he was not in a position to follow it up with his sword because the tree was blocking his right side. The wolf was staggered by the blow to its head and without losing time, the warrior sprinted around the tree to the opening. Thinking the wolf right behind him, he hurled himself to the ground and grabbed his shield as he rolled. He rose to his feet sword in hand to face the beast. The giant animal had just recovered from the blow to its head and was ready for another furious attack in pain and anger.
Seeing the condition of the beast, the warrior smiled slightly. ''Come now, wolf of Sauron! We are on equal terms now!'' he muttered. He was not seriously wounded, he had recovered his shield and his sword was in his hand as well. As the monster approached, he thought about how to counter the next attack. He anticipated another pounce attack like the first one and he held his sword behind him, its tip pointing to the wolf. Had the wolf pounced straight to him, he could easily thrust the blade into its chest. But the wolf would not underestimate the warrior again. It closed the distance within the blink of an eye and drooling, it rose on his legs and swung its claws. The elf ducked and the claws lightly scraped his helmet. The warrior lost his balance, but managed to swing his long sword in a follow up and notched the beasts leg. But this did not slow down the mighty animal. Before the warrior could regain his balance, it closed its jaws on the upper leg of the elf and hurled him away.
The elf rolled on the ground, clattering in his hard steel armor, he landed on his face as he groaned. Howling, the wolf proclaimed its victory to the whole forest. It rushed after the elf and sought to sink its teeth into his flesh again. But the warrior had seen it coming. Rolling away over his sword and swinging it clumsily, he managed to escape the long fangs of the wolf. His sword missed the face of the animal, but cut one of its ears clean off. Instinctively, the wolf squawked and lowering its head, rubbed the bleeding part with its paw. Realizing he had evaded certain death once again, the warrior struggled back to his feet. He looked at his leg, expecting to see a large and bleeding wound. In his astonishment, all he could do was to feature a meaningless smile when he saw the chain armor was shattered but the bite had only left little holes on the leather armor underneath. He had just started to feel the pain of the bite, but he could not afford tarry. Without knowing how, he leaped toward the animal and began swinging his sword in wide arcs. Shouting his battle cries, the elf pressed hard as the wolf stepped back again and again in fear of the sharp blade. The warrior chased the wolf around the forest clearing but the wolf escaped every strike of his sword with fleet steps. The graceful arms of the elf did not seem to tire, but the wolf finally managed to strike back after evading another left to right swing of the bright blade.
The warrior greeted the blow with his shield but he had to counter with his sword. He mustered the strength and stretched his right arm low and struck upwards and left. The roar of the young elf and the sound of steel ripping through flesh echoed in the trees. The blade had easily opened a long and bloody wound on the wolf's chest. But the monster was not dead yet. Having gained the initiative, the warrior attacked again. Taking a giant step towards the wolf, he swung his sword to his right, aiming at the head of the beast. The wolf evaded it by leaning back, but the blade had passed too close. The warrior took a second tall step towards the great wolf and supporting his shield with his shoulder, he slammed the beasts head to the left, leaving his own chest wide open. But the beast was now on the verge of collapsing and was in no condition to strike back. It was now time to deal the final blow. With another strong lunge, the elf plunged his sword into the beast’s belly. The wolf howled in pain and knew that the end was nigh. Twisting and pulling it out in a different angle, the elf freed his sword and blood followed it.
The warrior had turned a simple lunge into a fatal blow, and managed to fell the mighty beast. He did not expect it to rise again. The wild creature howled desperately in pain with its last breath and it seemed to the warrior as if the evil in its eyes faded away with the flowing blood. ''How miserable and helpless it seems now.'' the warrior thought and he wanted to end its suffering. Putting his feet on the creature's head where its ear once was, he turned his sword in hand. The animal helplessly looked at him and he could not bear to look into its eyes. He angled his foot to cover the eye, so he wouldn't have to look at them and holding his sword with both hands, he plunged it into the creature for the last time. The animal made no sound. He freed his sword and wiped the blood on it to his cloak and placed it in its scabbard, turned around and crossed the opening. Exhausted and all bruised, he sat on a stone as if collapsing. He looked at his leg and was thankful that his armor had stopped the beast’s fangs. As the excitement of battle faded, he realized the pain on his leg was more severe than he thought. He guessed that under his armor his skin was badly bruised and he would feel it for yet a while. But he had fulfilled his promise and now he had to skin the creature for its pelt as proof of the deed. Although this was a nasty work, he thought about the moment he would return to the fortress of Himring in pride and he smiled. With dawn, he would get to work...
