by Allan Joyal
“We have a problem,” she said sadly.
“There are dire wolves stalking the herd,” I said without preamble. “Krysbain noticed them around midday. He’s found a ruin that has a large room. It was probably once a dining hall, but it should be large enough to protect the herd.”
“How big?” Gertrilla said. “And how many openings?”
“There is no roof, but the walls are intact up to about four feet,” I said. “I saw only two openings and one leads into the room we’ll be staying in. If Cimbra is willing to watch the herd tonight and Shaylin can wake quickly to support her, I think we can drive the wolves off.”
“We can guard the doorway and keep the animals in, but the wolves can jump over the wall,” Gertrilla cautioned.
“We’ll have Cimbra watching for a while,” I said. “I hate to ask her to go another night with little sleep.”
“I can watch for a while, and I know Yveney and Oleiana are willing to watch as well,” Gertrilla said. “And we can try to get the wolves to approach from a specific spot.”
“How” I asked.
“Wolves don’t like fire,” Gertrilla said with a giggle. “We’ll have to set up some torches along the walls we don’t want them to come over. If all goes well, they’ll approach from the side with no torches.”
“When we get to the ruin, look at the room,” I said. “You can be in charge of setting up the torches.”
Gertrilla giggled. “I’m in charge of something. My brothers would be in shock.”
“Let’s make sure that the wolves are in shock tonight,” I said. “Otherwise we might lose animals from the herd every night.”
Gertrilla nodded. “That actually was my biggest concern. The new puppies have been very timid since just after midday. It was clear they knew something was stalking the herd. I was wondering what we could do about that.”
“We’ll take care of it,” I promised. “Now how about I lead you to the ruin? We’ll have to allow the wagons to pass and then we’ll follow them around the hill. We’ll have to go up the hill a bit more though. The entrance we’ll use is on the uphill side.”
“Can do,” Gertrilla chirped. She began waving her staff. I looked around and could see Yveney and Oleiana responding by waving back. Yveney did have a staff, but it looked like Oleiana was using her sling to wave back.
“Who doesn’t have a staff?” I asked.
“Yveney and I have them, no one else does. I think Corwar found a knife, but we don’t have a good pole to attach it to,” Gertrilla said.
“Talk to Al about that. He’s been looking into working with wood. And we should have some spear points that would work better once we do find a good shaft. It might take some time though,” I said.
“At least everyone has a sling. Piemal needs to practice though as does Dafalia,” Gertrilla replied.
“And we don’t have time for that,” I said. “I think we need to plan a day of rest once we find a good grove of trees to rest by.”
“With good water,” Gertrilla said. “We found a pond earlier and the animals all drank today, so we don’t need water tonight, but we should find them water every day.”
“I’ll remind Krysbain about that. His worry right now is that we’ll see flooded valleys as the snow melts, so water shouldn’t be too hard to find for now,” I said.
“Yuck,” Gertrilla said. “We need to keep the sheep away from any flooded rivers. They’ll stumble into it and we’ll lose them.”
I just nodded as Mary led the last cart across our path. Once it was out of the way, I led her up the hills. Our herd followed willingly. I could see a couple of the cows pushing sheep out of the way as they fought to move freely.
Gertrilla showed no fear as the herd threatened to charge over us. She stepped over to the bull in the lead and used her staff to smack him on the nose. The creature slowed and watched her as she led him up the slope.
I had aimed us to the left of the hill’s peak. We were cresting a small ridgeline that was part of the hill when Gertrilla laughed. “Oh, that is perfect.”
“You can see the entrance?” I asked.
“Easily. And the animals will be happy to enter. I’ll want to check the walls though, to see if there are any openings,” Gertrilla said.
“I’m going to check the top of the hill and see if we can spot the wolves,” I said. “You can let everyone know that there is a fire going in the other room. Raid the cart for some oats for the animals. Although it looks like they’ve been grazing as we moved.”
“They have,” Gertrilla said. “We aren’t moving too fast for them. I’d prefer to allow them to roam a meadow at night, but I agree, we need to protect them from the wolves.”
I turned away to climb back to the top of the hill. The sun was touching the horizon as I got to the summit. I had to shield my eyes to look back to the west as the herd streamed into the ruin just below me.
Corwar and Yveney were trailing the herd. I could see them watching something to the north and looked more closely. It took a moment before I spotted the dark furred creature skulking in the grass. It was staying far enough behind the duo that they could not see it, but the dog circling them made it clear that something was behind them.
I crouched down hoping that whatever was following had not seen me. The rest of our herders were coaxing the animals into the ruin. I could see that Oleiana was standing on the crumbled wall. Her right hand was at her hip, and I had a suspicion that she had her sling ready.
Once the last of the herd was inside the walls Corwar and Yveney called in our sheepdogs. The two puppies retreated briskly, but I noticed that the two older dogs kept their eyes on the shadow that had continued to slink forward.
My attempt to remain unnoticed had worked. The wind was from the east, passing over the ruin and the shadow was between me and the ruin. I crept forward, gripping my spear and trying to see it more clearly in the evening shadows.
The creature was clearly intent on looking at the ruin. I estimated that I was about fifteen yards away and carefully rose up from my crouch. I set the spear against my hip and charged.
Oleiana gasped as I surged forward. The shadow had been creeping forward, but stopped when she gasped. The pause gave me time to cover half the distance before a howl from afar got the creature to turn.
It rose as it turned, and I realized I was looking at a huge wolf. It seemed to be twice as tall as I expected, and my spear was in danger of slipping under its body. I raised it up as the wolf coiled and lunged toward me.
The sheer size of the wolf frightened me into halting my charge, but I was rushing downhill and my upper body stopped while my feet slid on the grass of the slope. I fell backwards as the leap made by the wolf threw its body at me.
The spear had tilted upward as I fell. It was nearly torn from my hands as my back was smashed into the ground. I expected to feel teeth biting into me, but the wolf made a faint whine and collapsed. It was heavier than I imagined and I found my body pinned by the wolf’s body.
Just as the wolf reached me I had turned my head. This proved to be the only reason I was still able to breath. The body was pushing me into the ground. My left ear was covered by fur while my right was being pushed into the soil. I could hear nothing.
Trapped under the wolf, I realized that I could feel a thick liquid oozing over my right arm. I tried a couple of times to push up with my left arm, but the body was too heavy. My chest was fighting against the weight, and I had to gasp to draw in breath.
There was no sense of time while I was trapped under the wolf. I was starting to lose the fight to keep drawing breath when the body shifted. I could feel the front legs and head lift off my body. The chest of the wolf still had me pinned, but they raised it enough that I could hear shouting.
“Ron! Please, speak, or move your arms! Are you alive?” a shrill female voice shouted.
The shifting body had freed my right arm. I had to concentrate to get my fingers to unwrap from the spear shaft, but then I
was able to squirm my hand from under the wolf. The shouts immediately became more cheerful.
“I see his arm. His fingers are moving!” a voice called out. “Ron, are you hurt?”
I waved my arm back and forth. Then I pushed my palm against the body of the wolf.
“You’re trapped under the wolf? We’re trying to get you out,” a male voice said.
“We can lift the legs and head, why don’t we rotate the upper body off Ron,” another male voice said.
“Can we do that without hurting Ron?” a female voice said worriedly.
I clenched my fist and raised my thumb. “Ron likes the idea,” the first male voice said. “Let’s get this done quickly. I never thought I’d see a wolf the size of a small car.”
“What’s a car?” one of the other voices asked.
I was desperately trying to draw in a breath. My chest felt like it was being crushed, and I was worried that they would take too long. However, a moment later the body of the wolf seemed to tumble to my left. The weight leaving my chest allowed me to take a deep breath.
The smell of wet dog assailed me as I drew in a breath of fetid air. The fur covering my left ear fell away and I was able to raise my head. “This sucks,” I said tiredly.
“Ron,” I heard Heather cry. “Are you hurt?”
“I’ll want Esme to check, but I don’t feel any pain. I am trapped under this monster and having a bit of trouble breathing,” I replied with a gasp.
“You’re having trouble breathing?” I heard Esme ask.
“Try having a heavy weight on your chest while you breathe,” I said testily. “And shouldn’t you be checking on Lenoir, Lydia, and Hencktor?”
“They are resting,” Esme said firmly. “I wanted to see if we’d need to carry you back. What made you think you could take this monster on.”
“I didn’t realize it was quite this big,” I said. “But at least we killed it. Hopefully the rest of the pack won’t bother us anymore.”
“You killed it,” Krysbain said. “I think there are two more still out there, but the kids are watching while we get you free.”
“Too bad we can’t save the pelt,” I said. “A wolf skin this size would be useful.”
“Thom can work on that. We don’t have everything we need, but if we use the rickety cart to stretch out the fur, he can work on it while we move,” Lawus said.
“Can we skin it quickly?” I asked as I turned my head to look at the horizon. The setting sun was now vanishing below the horizon. “We don’t have much time before it gets dark.”
“If we roll it on its side, I can make the cuts,” Lawus said. “I’ll need a bit of help though if we want to finish before dark falls.”
“Get me out from under it, and I’ll even help,” I said.
“Everyone, on three,” Al called out. “One big push should free Ron.”
Al led everyone in counting. On three the body seemed to roll to the side and fall off my chest and stomach. The movement also allowed me to free my left leg. I squirmed, digging my elbows into the hillside as I tried to pull my right leg free. Hands grabbed my shoulders and helped pull me from under the wolf.
I staggered to my feet. The efforts of my friends had rolled the wolf onto its side. Even then it was an impressive sight. I had to guess it was eight feet long, not including the tail and when standing upright probably was nearly five feet tall.
“How can something that big survive?” I asked. “It must need massive amounts of food.”
“The stories told in Saraloncto say that before we were banned from the plains some men would come out here to hunt. There used to be massive herds of giant animals. The meat was a delicacy back in town,” Krysbain said.
“And those massive beasts fed massive predators,” I said. “Great. But I don’t remember seeing any large animals today.”
“Most of the stories said that the animals rarely came to the Elfwall River. They preferred the open plains to the north,” Krysbain said.
“Another reason to angle a bit more to the south in our travels. I’d rather not cross the territory of another pack of these. And make sure everyone is alert tonight,” I said.
My chest was still sore. I bent over to take a couple of deep breaths as Lawus knelt and started to cut at the body of the dead wolf. When I started to straighten my back he turned and held out the spear.
“Nice aim,” he said. “You caught the wolf between two ribs. From what I can tell you got the heart and part of one lung. It was dead before it reached you.”
“I was lucky,” I admitted. “I never realized it was that large, or that it would charge at me. And I’d like to go, sit down and eat.”
Heather rushed over and put her head under my right shoulder. “Al can organize,” she said. “Let’s get you to our shelter for the night.”
Heather helped me walk down the hill to the entrance to the ruin. I forced her to take it slowly as each step brought new levels of pain to my chest area. We were about halfway to the entrance when Esme jogged up to us. “Get his shirt off once we are in the shelter,” she ordered. “I want to see how bad the bruising is.”
“It’s not that bad,” I protested.
Esme snorted. “Ron, I can see that you are in pain. That wolf probably weighed four hundred pounds, and it landed on top of you. The fact that nothing appears broken amazes me.”
There was a mournful howl from the west. I wanted to turn and look, but Esme grabbed my left arm and pulled me towards the ruin. I grunted in surprise and pain, but decided not to fight as the two ladies helped me into our camp.
We passed through what must have once been a doorway to the ruined building. Heather immediately seized the spear I was carrying and set it against the wall. “You can take that tomorrow. Now sit down so we can get the shirt off. We don’t have much light left.”
“There is a fire,” I protested as Esme helped me sit down on a stone slab.
“It’s not all that bright,” Esme noted. “I’d rather get a look before the sunlight fades.”
Hands grabbed at the leather vest I wore and started loosening the laces. It took a moment for me to realize they were unfastening it completely so they could slide it off my shoulders. I tried to raise my arms to protest, but the pain in my chest started a coughing fit.
“Stop that,” Heather said as she slapped my hand down. “We can see you are having trouble raising your arms. I promise to lace it back up tomorrow.”
I sighed, which only caused my chest to hurt more. Esme and Heather had finished unlacing the vest and were pushing it back. My right arm did not want to bend, so they worked to slip my left arm out of the vest and then pushed the vest over my right arm. I expected them to attack my shirt, but Esme just pulled it up as high as she could and held it there with her right hand.
“Your chest is one giant bruise,” Esme said. “And now we have to hope nothing got broken.”
“What?” I gasped.
“Oh, like your spleen, which is known for getting hurt when someone suffers a trauma to the abdomen. This looks like most of the bruising is around your ribs, so it’s just possible that you’ll be fine tomorrow. You’ll be stiff and sore, but you’ll heal eventually,” Esme said
“Define eventually,” I muttered.
“I don’t know,” Esme admitted. “Everything is different here. Our diet is mostly unprocessed foods. We are getting far more exercise and fresh air. Overall we are a lot healthier, but how that translates to healing an injury like this, I couldn’t say.”
Esme allowed the shirt to fall. I looked up to see Kariy holding out a bowl containing a steaming liquid. “It’s not chicken soup, but I made something that you should eat,” the young woman said firmly.
Heather reached out and took the bowl. “I’ll feed him, and thanks.”
“We need him,” Kariy said as she turned and made her way back to the fire and the cauldron that hung over the fire.
I looked around. “Where is Cimbra?” I asked. “I was going t
o talk to her about watching tonight. That wolf probably had family and friends.”
“She’s taking a nap,” Heather said as she spooned up some of the soup and held it out for me. “Now eat your dinner and sleep.”
“I can,” I started to protest.
“Eat and then sleep,” Heather said firmly. “Ron, we can handle one night. You have already talked to everyone, and I assure you that your antics out there cemented your position as leader. Even Krysbain is shocked that you took on that monster alone.”
“But,” I said. I wanted to say more, but Heather slipped the spoon into my mouth. I quickly slurped up the soup thinking to get the offending spoon out of the way, but Heather merely spooned up more and once again inserted the spoon into my mouth.
The soup was not as thick as the stews Kariy usually favored, but was surprisingly flavorful. I noticed that something sweet and starchy had been added and looked up at Heather after she had fed me about six spoonfuls.
“There is something different about this soup,” I said.
“Kariy spotted some kind of tuber,” Heather said. “She said that it was quite popular back in her home village, but grew poorly in the mountains. I’m guessing that is what you noticed.”
“We should take some along,” I said. “Perhaps we can add it to the vegetables we farm.”
Heather gave a snort that sounded full of exasperation. “Ron, can you worry about yourself for even one moment? There is no question you are hurt, but you keep asking about others and worrying about our future home. Just for tonight worry about yourself.”
“But I have my wife who can worry for me,” I said cheekily. “So I have to worry about how to keep her happy.”
Heather sobbed. I noticed that she carefully put the bowl on the ground before she reached out to put both her hands around my neck. She leaned in to look me in the eye. “You make me happy by being here for me. The best way to make me happy is to give me some children to raise with you.”
I just looked her in the eyes for a moment. Heather’s shone with unshed tears. For some reason I felt a need to be flippant. “Not tonight dear, I have a headache,” I chirped.
