"I hope you get well clear without me." He said. "Especially now, when it gets warm again, there is always more work to do."
"Don't worry." Agnar replied with a smile. "I'll be fine without you, moreover you're just a few days away.
Geirröd smiled. "Than I'm soothes."
At that moment Agnar was thinking to Ullers story about the gruesome monster in the dark of night and promptly he got a queasy feeling. He was very uncomfortable with the thought that this being could meet his brother on the way. He wanted to tell him the story, but he didn't want to make him unnecessary fear and let it be. Uller eventually went with him and also this essence was only part of a story from Uller.
After dinner Geirröd went straight to bed. There were not many hours which remained him to sleep, but the few he had he wanted to use.
"You go to sleep also equal. It will be a busy day tomorrow Even for you.", he said to Agnar.
"I'll clean only quickly the table, then I'm going to sleep too.", said Agner.
"Then sleep well. I'll wake you before I leave."
"Okay. Sleep also well."
Then Geirröd went to his room and closed the door softly behind him. Quickly cleaned Agnar the used dishes and placed it carefully in the cupboard back. Meanwhile, overcame him a guilty conscience, because he had his brother concealed the sword. He decided to show it to him in the morning at breakfast, hoping that he wouldn't be jealous.
When the dishes were washed and the table was clean again, Agnar looked again out of the window, next to the cupboard, before he went into his room. A big bright full moon appears to him. High above the trees were the stars on a clear sky and sparkled like thousands of jewels. What a view!
Then he went to his room, took off his clothes, put them folded over the chest and lay down in his soft bed. He was tired and exhausted from the long day.
While he lay there, he thought how it will be, when he goes to the market place with Uller next time and what he would see and experience on the trip. I can't wait to see the castle.
With this thought he fell asleep and had pleasant dreams that night.
The Mouse King
Early in the morning, before the sun was rising, Agnar awoke from his sleep and had problems to opening his eyes. The night was short and he was tired. He would have liked to lie down again and sleep until lunch, but that was not possible. With grim groans, he stood up and pulled on his clothes as he heard someone laugh in the house. With tapered ears he went out of his room into the main room and saw Uller and Geirröd sitting at the dining table. They had just started to eat breakfast.
"There you are!" Geirröd said. "I just wanted to wake you up. Come and sit with us."
Agnar took a chair out of the corner and sat down on the already covered place for him. Geirröd just finished with eating his bread, while Uller warming himself with both hands on a cup of coffee.
"I hope you've prepared yourself well." Uller said, looking at Geirröd.
"Do not worry!" Geirröd replied. "I've done everything as always. My bag is packed, my water bottle is filled to the brim and my boots are cleaned."
"Eat well!", Uller said, looking at Agnar. "You will need all your strength today."
Outside, the birds began to sing, which meant that the sun had to rise every second.
"How long will you be away?", asked Agnar.
"This time it will not be so long." said Uller, as he drank the last sip from his coffee cup. "We'll be back in a week."
"And until then you are the master of the house." added Geirröd with a smile. He knew that he could rely on his little brother and that Agnar was able to cope with the work on the pasture without him.
At that moment, the sun was rising behind the rocks and glowed through the window, next to the cabinet into the house.
"It's time to go!", said Uller and stood up from his chair.
Agnar and Geirröd did the same, and they walked along the corridor. On the bench, behind the entrance door, Geirröd's pocket lay ready for him, which he threw himself over his shoulder. The pocket was heavy and looked as if it could burst at any moment. Then they went outside the door.
It was a cold spring morning. A light wind blew under a blue, cloudless sky, and a red-yellow sunrise kissed gently the earth awake.
Uller's wagon stood in front of the house, right next to the door, and was loaded with boxes and barrels. Before it started, Uller saw at his horse again, while it was time for Agnar and Geirröd to say goodbye.
"Good bye!", said Geirröd. "Always remember what I have taught you, and take good care of yourself."
"I'll do it and do not worry.", said Agnar. Then they hugged each other, and Geirröd climbed to Uller on the wagon, who was already waiting for him there.
"Oh Agnar!" said Uller. "Please, do me one last favor. This morning I met Sigurd on the way here. He asked me to tell you, that you should go to him, before you go to the pasture."
Sigurd was a strong man, with long, blond hair, Ullers big brother and also the mayor of the village. He lived with his wife and children in the town hall, in the center of the village, just as all the mayors had done before him. In contrast to his little brother and his father, he did not think so much about traveling. Only rarely did he leave the village and only if it was absolutely necessary.
"So, let's go to the castle!" said Uller, giving the horse the bridle, and the carriage set in motion.
Agnar thought about going with the two to the old wooden bridge, but that would have cost him too much time, which would have been missed him by the work on the pasture. He also had to go to Sigurd before.
"Good journy!", Agnar said to the two. "And take good care of you!"
"We will do it!", Geirröd shouted back and waved him to goodbye. Then they drove away and were soon out of sight.
At that moment Agna noticed that he had quite forgotten to show Geirröd the sword that Uller had given him. It's not so bad. I just show it to him when he comes back.
Then he went back to the house and prepared for the work. From the pantry, he took a few slices of bread and a little piece of cheese. Then he filled a bottle of water and packed it all into a small bag. After all that was done, he left his house and went down to the village.
A narrow, tortuous path took him slightly downhill, between rocks, up to the village square. There was only this one road that led from the old wooden bridge in the north, to the great pasture in the south. Beside the path stood many small wooden houses. Everything was quiet. The people were all still asleep. So early in the morning there was no one on the road.
It was not long before Agnar passed a large house, before he stopped. It was the town hall. An old, splendid building, with a bronze door and an ornate facade.
Agnar went up the stairs leading to the entrance and was about to knock at the door, as the door suddenly opened from alone and Sigurd stood before him.
"Agnar!" He shouted happily.
"Uller said you wanted to see me.", Agnar was about to say, when Sigurd had already seized him by the collar and pulled him into the house.
"Come in, come in!", he shouted, excited and smiling. He was known to be always laughing and having a good mood, but as euphoric as he was at the moment he was rare.
"What's going on?", Agnar asked.
"Come with me, I'll show you!", Sigurd replied, and walked down a corridor with him.
At the end of the corridor was a large, bright room, whose walls were covered with swords and axes. Above a large, wooden sliding door was a huge, glass-paneled window that lit the whole hall with a bright light. In front of the sliding door stood a large table, which Sigurd's servants were preparing for breakfast.
"Down here!", said Sigurd, and went quickly to the sliding door. Then he opened the door and presented the room on the other side. After that, Agnar and Sigurd entered a long hall, in the middle of which was a battle-chamber. White columns, adorned with gold, carried the ceiling. The floor was of black, shi
ning marble, and the windows were adorned with pictures of warriors of old days.
Agnar was speechless of the beauty that his eyes saw. Never before had he seen such a magnificent hall.
"At last it's done. After so many years.", said Sigurd, whose euphoric joy suddenly turned into melancholy.
Many years ago, when Tyr was still alive, a big misfortune occurred in the village, where the Town Hall had burnt down to the ground. When Tyr had returned to the village and became mayor, he made the task of rebuilding the Town Hall exactly as it once was. Unfortunately the fate had other plans with him, and so it happened, that Tyr died before he could complete his work.
"I wish he could see it," Sigurd continued, and was close to tears. "I think he would be proud." Then he turned back to Agnar. "I wanted to tell you, that I will send you Harbard, to help you with the work today."
Harbard was Sigurd's son and about the same age as Geirröd.
"Gladly!", said Agnar. "I'm happy about any help I can get." He was visibly relieved. Even two had been doing all the tasks for a long time.
"I'll send him to you as soon as we have breakfast," Sigurd said.
Agnar nodded. Then they went back into the hall and Sigurd carefully closed the sliding door. The servants had just finished coping the table.
"Good," said Sigurd, who suddenly found his smile again. "Then get on your way."
With a slight bow, Agnar said goodbye and went out the door.
When he had walked a few yards away, he passed Ullers house, from where it was about a half mile to the pasture. Agnar went through a narrow forest path, until he came to a large barn after a while. The mowing of the goats and the cackling of chickens could be heard from far away. Well, let's go!
Agnar opened the barn door and first ran the goats to the pasture, as he did it every day. Then he threw off his bag, rolled up the shirt sleeves, and began to work.
At first he renewed the feeding place, which was done quickly. Then he began to empty the stable. After a short time the sweat ran down from his forehead. Normally Geirröd have helped him, but fortunately for him had Harbard arrive soon.
Piece by piece, the old straw disappeared from the barn and after a while all of the heap was removed. Annoyed and breathless saw Agnar on the empty barn floor. From Harbard nothing was to be seen. So he had not imagined it, but it did not help. He's gonna come, he thought, continue.
From the attic he fetched fresh straw and two empty baskets to collect the chickens later in it. It cost him a lot of strength to carry the heavy straw balls down the ladder. Meanwhile his whole shirt was already soaked with sweat and his arms felt as if they would fall off.
It was almost noon and Harbard still had not surfaced. Where is he?
Agnar sat down to the goats on the pasture and ate lunch while he saw to the way that led to the village. While eating, he asked himself uninterruptedly, why Harbard had not come. Sigurd will not have forgotten to tell him? Surely he told him. I bet Harbard is sitting somewhere lazy in the sun, thinking, let the stupid Agnar do it all. Suddenly he became angry. "Oh, no, not with me!", he said aloud, grabbed his bread again and went back to the village.
When he arrived, hustle and bustle had broken out on the street. All the people were running around excitedly, as if they were looking for something.
"Agnar!" Someone shouted his name.
Agnar turned and saw Harbard as he came running excitedly towards him.
"Hanna!", he said, completely out of breath. "Please tell me, did you see Hanna?"
"No, I did not. What about her? ", Agnar wanted to know.
"She's gone!" Harbard's little sister Hanna had disappeared. Now Agnar knew why Harbard did not come him.
Then Sigurd came to them. His worries were written in his face. "Hanna has disappeared, help us search!", he said.
Agnar and the others searched the whole village for her. No stone remains untouched, and no corner was left out, but as long as they were looking, Hanna could not be found. Sigurd got angry and began shouting at the villagers.
"CONTINUE ADDICTION!!!", he yelled, but it did not helped. Hanna still disappeared.
After a while, Agnar went to Harbard and asked him:
"When did you last see her?"
"When she did not come to breakfast I was going to holler her, but she was not there any more!" Harbard told him.
Agnar thought, and suddenly a horrible feeling came over him. The bridge!
As fast as he could, he ran to the old wooden bridge, to the north and couldn't dared his eyes, when he arrived there. The gate was completely destroyed. Only ruins remained.
Agnar's heart beats like crazy. What happened here? I have to go back to Sigurd, to tell him, what I found out.
He ran back into the village and just past his house, as he suddenly heard a dull scream in the distance. Agnar stopped and turned around. Where did it come from?
Then the scream sounded a second time. He came from the forest, from the other side of the bridge. Now it had to go fast!
Agnar went to his house, took his sword out of the chest and ran back to the old wooden bridge as fast as never before. Shortly before the bridge, he brakes his run. Never before had he entered her, and accordingly he went over them. The boards creaked at every step. Below him was a thick fog, which looked like a large cloud cover and obscured his view of the abyss. Hurry up! On the other side he took his run again.
After a short time, the path suddenly split into an eastern and a western path, and Agnar did not know which one he should take. Then, on the eastern path, he found a signboard on which was written "to the castle" and therefore he decided to take the western path. I hope, my decision is correct!
As a child, Geirröd had always warned him not to go into the forest, because wild animals were hunting there.
There he was suddenly. Between two large rocks was the entrance to the forest. Looks like I'm right here.
With mixed feelings, Agnar entered the forest. He was still wondering what had happened to Hanna and what had broken the gate so brutally. Whatever it was, he was sure he would find it soon.
A narrow path led him between tall trees, which grew close together and whose leaves could not penetrate any light. As deeper he went into the forest, as darker it became. Only the light from the entrance brightened him for a while, but that too quickly disappeared in the distance.
A deep silence enveloped the forest. On the branches of the trees crows and other birds were sitting, but none of them gave the slightest sound. Even the animals seemed to realize, that something was wrong with this forest.
There were many paths, most of which however resulted in a circle, but Agnar could be oriented towards the sun, which shone occasionally between the sheets through.
A cold wind blew around his ears, and before he could gather anything around him, he entered a circular empty space. On the opposite side of him was a large, dilapidated stone gate, that was hung halfway with ivy.
Agnar felt that Hanna had to be somewhere nearby and walked over to the stone gate.
Sudden unrest broke out in the forest. All birds falling from the trees and cawing like crazy. There was a cuddle in the bushes and a strange snort was heard.
Agnar was standing right in the middle of the plane as he heard the sounds coming nearer. He immediately drew his sword and tried to find out, where the lutes came from. He immediately thought of Uller's encounter with the fearsome creatures in the dark of night and immediately ran cold sweat from his face. Despite his fear, he remained calm and waited.
Then something happened. To his left rustled the bushes wildly and a figure stepped out of the dark, which run straight at him.
"Agnar!" It was Hanna. "Oh Agnar, luckily you came!", she said and ran into his arms.
Agnar was visibly relieved and could breathe again. "What happened?", he asked.
"There was this mouse.", Hanna replied. "She was in my room and talked with me, but then she got up and walke
d away just for no reason."
Agnar did not understand a word of what she was saying and was at the edge of his powers. His whole body was sweaty and his feet hurt him. What is that supposed to mean? "How did you ever get so far into the wood?"
"I followed the mouse. I was worried about her."
Slowly Agnar thought to understand what had happened. Hanna had followed a mouse into the forest, but this story did not make any sense for him and it did not explain, why the gate at the old wooden bridge was in ruins. Much more important was, that Hanna was found and that she was okay.
"Come, I'll take you home!", Agnar said, taking Hanna's hand.
Suddenly, this snarling and rustling was back again. Hanna began to scream and Agnar turned around. In the middle of the stone gate stood a growling wolf, who was staring at them and showing his white teeth, which seemed to shine like a dim lamp in the darkness of the forest. Combative and with foaming at the mouth, he walked slowly toward to them. As he came closer, Agnar noticed, that the wolf had no pupils in his eyes.
In the past it was possible to see some wolf in the vicinity of the pasture, but this animal was not comparable to those. This wolf was much bigger and made clear, that he did not intend to let the two pull so easily.
Agnar holds all the time his sword in his hand and pointing with its tip on the animal to keep it so at a distance. Hanna clung firmly to him, as the wolf began to circle them.
At the moment, as a narrow ray of sunlight between the canopy of trees shone through and seemed in Agnar's face, attacked him the wolf with a loud roar. When he jumped up, Agnar took with his sword to strike out and rammed it the animal from the side, in the lower jaw into it. The wolf went to the ground. Agnar did not hesitate and rammed the blade once more with full force into his chest. The beast was dead on the spot.
The Kingdoms of Wala: Agnar and the battle of the Firemountain (1) Page 2
