Adventures of a Drakeling - The Blackwolf

The militia of Bree had been informed, but much to Frøydis' discontent, their researches into the assault on the tower had been bearing only little fruit. It was the general belief that neither the Blackwold gang nor the ominous men of Sharkey had been responsible for that deed, as it was more common for them to raid trade caravans and to steal the goods off the farms. But never would they openly attack Bree, so it had sounded. The watch was confident that the hedge wall around Bree and the well organized defense would earn every brigand a bloody nose if he'd try to come by force into the town. If the brigands would really dare such a lunge, they must have had a traitor in Bree.
   There was little else to do for Frøydis at this point and so the young woman had taken her carving tools and hurried through the town-gate a few days later, to the direction of the Chetwood that lay only about an hour away from Bree.
   The distance was no challenge for a persistent runner like her. Having reached the edge of the forest, she wormed through the thicket, evaded the lowest branches of the firs, pines and spruce trees, to come, after another half of an hour, upon her favorite spot. It was a group of tall rocks, entirely grown over with moss that stood on a small fir-glade.
   Around this time, the sun seemed to shine into the center of the place and bathed it into a warm, soft light. Dust and pollen shimmered in the murky light, a light fog came up, conjured up from the last remaining warmth on this late autumn day and the dampness that had gathered in the moss during the night before.
   Carefully did Frøydis make her way to climb the tallest of the egg-formed rocks that was four times as high as herself. Lost in her thoughts, she began to carve.
   She had never told anyone how much she missed the company that was now probably on their way back from Forochel. Tyrgrim, Torgrun, who were like uncles to her, her mother and of course her foster-father Alfknutr.
   Him she would show all the hidden and secret places she had discovered this fall in Chetwood and in Bree. Soon she would also ask him to follow her here to this place in the forest that she viewed already as something like a sanctuary. Judging the missing of any tracks, few were ever here.
   In the meanwhile, her hands had formed the rough outlines of a fish from the bone and the chippings of the hard material spread about her. Startled, she flinched as she heard a repressed cough. Whoever had entered the glade, he had done so very sneakily.
   Following a certain inkling, she kept quiet and pressed herself against the rock. She did not dare to move towards the edge of the round stone, as she did not want to risk a fall and neither did she want that the visitors notice her presence. All senses sharpened to the utmost, the young woman lay in wait.
   Shortly after, the thicket quivered and four more men appeared that Frøydis estimated to be hunters, judging by their clothes made of leather and pelts. Only it were none from Bree, so they actually were not allowed to be on the land that belonged to the town. That was a rule of honor that the hunter's society usually followed.
   »Good that you all came«, she heard the voice of the, for her, invisible man that she thought to know. »We need to talk about the business.«
   »That is why we have made our way from Andrath, here«, probably the leader of the men retorted. »Your employer wants to have something caught?«
   »Exactly. And for that I will need help, because the beast is just too darn clever.«
   »And what is that beast?«, the unknown man wanted to know.
   »A Blackwolf that lives in these woods. The payment is very good.«
   The hunters looked at each others. »An armorial beast? And we are supposed to kill it?«, the leader asked in obvious disbelief.
   »My employer will need it alive«, came the answer. »I am honest. To catch alone such a dangerous animal is not something for me. I rather share something of my reward and am sure that I will survive.«
   »The half«, the hunter from Andrath demanded.
   »You will get forty parts of three-thousand, because through me you came to this quest. I will not enter any further debates. The coming winter will drive the wolf into our arms, if we do well on the hunt.« The southerners talked quietly to one another, finally they agreed to the terms. »Good. Then we will meet in two weeks exactly at this spot again. The first snow should have fallen by then. You organize the required cages and I will scout for the best places to set them up.« A hand came into Frøydis' field of vision that gave a piece of parchment to the men of the south. »That are the required things that you are supposed to get. Once you have them, I will give you the coin.«
   The leader flew over the lines with his eyes and nodded. »That should be easily acquirable. We will get the beast, I am sure.«
   »And if we call the wrath of the Huntsman over us?«, one of them tossed intimidated in.
   A quiet laughter rang up. »We have in Bree a peculiar group of dalish folk that you can blame wonderfully for anything. I am doing that all the time already.«
   Soini! Now did Frøydis recognize the voice of the Breelander and her most ardent rival. He was a hunter and archer and a very good one at that, but he and Frøydis have had so some quarrel that had gotten into deep hatred by now. Soini was a man of coin and no allegiance and surely he was the one who had been helping the brigands to assault the watch-tower. Her fingers dug into the moss. What a cursed traitor.
   The green carpet beneath her suddenly came into motion, an entire patch of moss threatened to be ripped off beneath her weight. Unstoppable, she was gliding towards her left.
   »That you cannot tell anyone is self-evident«, Soini added. »We will meet again in two weeks. Then you will get your coin and the reward.«
   With a short hail, the folk from the south drew back, while Frøydis was desperately trying to find some sort of hold on the smooth surface of the rock. She did not want to deal with Soini under these circumstances, all conviction aside.
   Because she was hanging now harsh to the side, she could see the pelt-hunter standing with his back towards her and how he prepared his pipe and set it alight.
   The hand of the young woman clawed itself into the moss, the arm was trembling under the effort.
   Soini gave a sound of astonishment and regarded the ground. Slowly he crouched down, picked something up and held it closely before his eyes. He had found a splinter of the carving that Frøydis had made.
   He just wanted to turn around, as a long drawn howl of a wolf sounded up and that not all too far away from their location.
   The hunter escaped a curse. »Now, you are not supposed to appear, damned wolf.« Quickly, he extinguished the pipe, took his bow from the shoulders and an arrow from his quiver, before he retreated from the glade.
   In the next moment, the moss lost the last of its ties to the rock.
   For Frøydis it went suddenly down, like a ball she hopped from rock to rock until she finally hit the ground and into a layer of soft moss.
   Béma be thanked that it happened just now. Grinning did Frøydis push herself up. Very well, now we got the traitor. Again did she hear the howling of the wolf. And because you rescued me I will make sure that they will not get you. The blame that you had to part from your pelt I will not have being put on the name of my kin, I will give you my word on that.
   Her eyes wandered up the stone from which she had been gliding. Instead of the green growth, showed now black, polished rock.
   Curiously did the young woman climb up to take a closer look. With the help of her carving knife she removed more of the moss until she had laid bare a great patch.
   Carefully she touched the stone. It seems so as if someone really did polish it, she wondered. She tapped with the hilt of her knife against the surface. To her surprise erupted a dimmed dark tone.
   Frøydis was not sure what to do now. On one hand would the removing of the growth and the naked stones definitely draw the the attention of possible visitor. On the other however, she did really want to find out what her discovery truly was. The hunger for knowledge was victorious.
   With the use of her sword, she managed to quickly free one rock after the other from its moss blankets. All the egg-formed pieces of stone of different sizes showed the same traits as the tallest of them. As she hit the smallest, a bright tone rang up that echoed long.
   Quickly she found out that she could produce a high number of tones, that she could vary if she would lay the fingertips a dimming effect on the smooth surface. A bit of practice and she would be able to play entire melodies.
   Should this be a place where the fair folk does its music? She would not show Alfknutr this place before she had not learned a melody. I will definitely be able to surprise him with that. It will be something unique!
   As she saw the patches of moss that towered around the rocks, doubts befell her whether she had done the right thing. But she trusted that the falling snow would hide her deed. Cleanly, she arranged the patches so that she could use them as stair-way, as she could no longer use the growth to pull herself up on the stones.
   Just as she was done, she heard a quiet growl behind her.
   Frøydis did not need to turn around to know who had appeared behind her. With extremely cautious movements did she climb unto her perch and only then dared to throw a look down.
   A new visitor besieged the glade. And not just anyone, but one of the most feared predators in the land around Bree.
   The Blackwolf, that Soini and his comrades were after, cowered in the moss and observed the young woman. Like the white hart and the raven, this animal was viewed by many people as something extraordinary, something even holy, as it was supposed to have gotten its white gleaming eyes from the god Béma himself.
   But that was of little regard to the young woman at the moment. Incongruously did she have to remember now the tales and stories of Alfknutr, in which Blackwolves took extremely seldom a friendly stance towards the race of Man.
   »And what are we doing now, hm?«, Frøydis asked the holy beast. »Will you eat me or will you let me go home?«
   The wolf yawned, placed the head between the paws and made himself comfortable. Mighty muscles twitched beneath the fur. The sight was fascinating.
   »So that will be a siege«, concluded the young woman from the manners of the wolf. »I tell you what. Soini and four others want your pelt, if I have understood them correctly, so you should be wary of them. I have nothing to do with that plan, you hear?«
   Audible, the wolf sniffed into her direction, the ears curiously perked up.
   »I do not harm you and you will not harm me«, Frøydis bartered as if she had a man of Bree before herself. Hopefully it has not become known that my mother killed a white hart once, otherwise the wolf will never believe me.
   As the sun began to descend beyond the horizon, it became suddenly dark and icy within the forest. An entire night, she would only endure without any hurts in these clothes, with a lot of luck.
   »I find that you make quite a peaceful impression«, Frøydis proclaimed and began slowly her descend. The foul feeling in her middle she repressed by concentrating on her climbing. The wolf raised its head. »I will come down now, go very carefully past you and will bring you next time a big bone.« Her feet had reached the ground. Like walking on raw eggs, did she step with a pounding heart and a good and proper portion of fear in her neck over the glade, where she did not look back, because she feared that it could provoke the wolf.
   She had hardly reached the thicket, there she sprinted. In a new record, she hurried through the woodland unto the road and on to Bree.
   Frøydis took the mercy of the Blackwolf as good sign of Béma and that the god must have favored her to protect her this day. She would uncover Soini's mischief and not let him have the wolf's pelt.