Agnar grabbed his forehead and struggled for air. Never before he had to fight.
Then he pulled his sword from the dead wolf body. His eyes were wide open and his tongue was hanging out of his mouth.
Suddenly Agnar noticed that the rigid wolf's eyes seemed to change. Slowly his pupils came out from the white, until a few brown wolf eyes gazed aimlessly into the distance. What does that mean?
"Come on!", Hanna said and pulled at his shirt. "Let's go home again."
Suddenly there was a long, grueling cry, which was answered by another. The tension in Agnar was growing again.
"What's that?", asked Hanna and looked anxiously to Agnar, when out of nowhere another wolf came out of the darkness and growling walked towards to them. This wolf was again greater than the first, and he also had lots pupil eyes. Then came two more wolves behind them, and a deafening chorus of howling came now on all sides nearer and nearer. Within a very short time, the three wolves became ten and still new ones came
They formed a circle around Agnar and Hanna and growl and snarled. There was no way out. A few of them went to the carcass of the dead wolf and smelled of him, which made them even more savage and angry.
Then attacked one of them Agnar, but he rammed him still in flight the cold blade in the throat. Suddenly there was no hold. One by one started to ran. Hanna threw herself flat on the floor and put her hands over her head.
With a sword blow Agnar stretched two of the wolves at the same time down, which made the others so insecure for a brief moment that they stepped back and opened a gap in their ranks.
"Come!", Agnar shouted, and ran with Hanna through the stone gate, deeper into the forest.
The wolves quickly recovered from the shock and started to chased them.
"Keep going!",said Agnar to Hanna, who was slowly failing the forces.
It was not long until the first wolf had already overtaken them. Agnar stopped, turned around, and splited him in length. The blade slid through the animal like butter. Then he ran on. It grew colder, the deeper they entered the forest.
After a while they ran past a ruined wall behind which they hid. Completely out of breath, they pressed against the stone wall and heard the wolves coming whirlwind closer. With a terrible noise, they ran past them one by one. Shortly after the last wolf had moved past them, Agnar and Hanna ran back in the other direction.
The wolves seemed to be suspended, and for a while it seemed certain, but now they faced a new problem. They had no idea where they came from and where they were going. Even the sun, on which one could orient itself, no longer managed to shine through the dense tree tops.
"I want to get out of here!", Hanna said, and began to cry to Agnar's unhappiness; Who at any moment reckoned, that one of the wolves could attack him surprisingly from the side.
Agnar looked around and just as he was about to give up the hope, he saw a small glimmer of light in the distance.
"The exit!", he said and walked with Hanna straight to it.
When they had approached the glimmer of light they had to realize, that it was not the exit from the forest that they had targeted. It was a fire that blazed in the midst of a parched area. In the flames Agnar could see dead wolves, which had been skinned. Who has maiod the fire and, above all, who has made the wolves so? In this forest there were too many questions to which he had no answers.
At the same moment, a wolf jumped out of the shoals of the forest and attacked Agnar from behind.
"No!", cried Hanna, as Agnar went to the ground and emitted a cry of pain, that pierced the whole forest. With all his strength he tried to shake the beast again, but the sharp wolf teeth remained stuck in his skin like barbed hooks. It was a lot of work, but ultimately Agnar managed to get free. His whole shirt was torn at the attack, and his back had been dyed red by blood.
Under severe pain, but still alive, he got up again and ran with Hanna on. They just wanted to get out of this wretched forest.
It was not long before the horrible chorus of howling and barking began to sound from the far.
Agnar and Hanna found a way that looked just like the way they had come from and a last glimmer of hope awoke in them to leave this forest still alive.
Agnar took Hanna's hand again and ran with all his strength he could still muster, but also this time, the forest was misleading. In the middle of the nothing suddenly a deep abyss appeared before them and they managed to stop it just at the last moment, before they fell into the depths. You couldn't go on, and their forces were depleted.
The wolves came growling behind them, one after the other, and again they circled the two. This time there was no escape. They were in the trap. Agnar looked ahead and back, to find a way out, but it did not help.
At that moment he saw a small, glistening lightning flashing through the air. Suddenly one of the wolves began to whine and cry, and began to jump to the side. Something seems to have hit him at the paw, because he suddenly started to hobble. Then it began to rustle in the trees and something fell before Agnar and Hanna to the ground.
It was a small brown mouse, with bow and arrow in his paws. But it was not just a normal kitchen mouse, like the ones, who are looking for food at night. The mouse was different. She stood erect and with a swollen chest. She wore a green cloth trousers, like a hunter and a tight-fitting chain shirt.
Agnar wondered how calm the mouse stood there, without even the slightest hint of fear in the eyes. Then she pulled the arrow into the bow and shot him in the middle of the eye, of the wounded wolf. With a shrill whine, the hit animal went to the ground and curled in pain.
Then the other wolves ran furiously and with foam to the mouth to the little mouse.
"FIRE!", cried the mouse loudly and suddenly a hail of arrows flew down from all sides to the wolves.
The beasts howled and ran wildly in panic. Timpani and trumpets were heard. From foxholes and scrub came rabbit to light, on which sat mice with golden armor, shield and sword in their paws. A whole army of mouse knights fell over the wolves and tore them into small pieces.
Agnar and Hanna watched the action from a safe distance. With fast attacks, the mice slaughter the wolves one after the other.
It was not long since they had already destroyed all. Only a few of them survived and ran back into the forest with tormenting sounds.
All the while, Hanna had clung firmly to Agnar, who held her eyes with his hands. It was hard for him to believe what he had just seen.
Meanwhile, the mice edged up and formed a corridor, through which a white, long-haired rabbit, galloped. On the back of the rabbit sat a mouse, with a shimmering armor, a purple cloak, and a crown on his head.
"There you are again!", said Hanna, who had a smile for the first time that day.
The mouse man stopped at her feet and got off the rabbit. At that moment another mouse came to him.
"They have escaped us, my king!", he said, bowing. "I'm sorry!"
The mice took his crown from his head, which at the same time served him as a helmet, and looked to the rabbitman. "Don't stopp hunting them!", he said. "And do not come back until the beasts are done."
"Yes, sir!", the rider replied, and returned to the forest. Then the mice turned to Hanna.
"Are you tired of life?", he asked her? "I told you not to go into the forest. Just imagine what might have happened."
"But I was worried when you suddenly ran away!", Hanna replied.
"Worried? About me?" The mice began to laugh heartily. "No, you never have to worry about me."
Now Agnar knew, what mouse Hanna had spoken of.
"I do not think we both had the pleasure.", said the mouse, looking at Agnar. "I am Dain! King of the mice and protector of the forest."
"I'm Agnar.", he said, bowing slightly, which he again felt the wound of the wolf bite on his neck.
"Your wounds need to be treated!", said Dain and called for his servant. "Oda!"
Then a small, thick
mouse came running, carrying a bag on her back, which was almost bigger than herself. Faster than he could see, the mouse climbed on Agnar back and disinfected his wounds with alcohol. Then she sewed him the vacancies and jumped as that was done, again on the ground.
"Come along!" said Dain and went with them to the old, ruined remains of a tower, which once stood in the forest a long time ago. In the ruins numerous mice came out of holes and greeted their king courteously as he passed them.
When they arrived in the center of the tower, Agnar saw many small tables and chairs, which were beaten from stones.
"Please, take a seat!", spoke Dain and sat down with them at one of the tables. The chairs were just so big, that Agnar could sit on them. Then came a servant, with a kettle to them, and poured each a fresh infusion of mint tea into the cups.
"It's been a long time ago...", Dain started, "...that I had guests in my realm. For many years there was peace in this forest, but that it's gradually over. " Then he took his cup and drank a small sip.
"What were they for wolves, and why did they hunt us through half the forest?", asked Agnar, when the Mouse King told him everything:
"A long time ago, a wolf named Born was drifting in this forest. He was a big, gray beast, with sharp teeth and huge paws. He set terrible calamity in the neighboring villages and towns, and killed every one, without exception. He was so strong that no man could defeat him and so clever that no one was able to deceive him. All the wolves, who are still living in this forest, are from him; even those who have hunted you." Then he paused briefly and drank another sip from his cup. "One day, a soldier from the King of Wala came into the forest to defeat Bron. He was a bold and courageous warrior, who never shied the battle and stood up to each opponent. He was so clever that he managed to trap the wolf, which he himself did not recognize as such. With his head in his hand he came back and was cheered by all people."
Agnar already knew the story. Tyr was the warrior who conquered the wolf and brought peace back into the forest. Uller had told him the story, as they were sitting together with Geirröd on the pasture and bred fish.
Then Dain continued: "For many years we lived in peace and harmony. We almost forgot that these troubled times once existed, until the wolves returned some time ago. Since then, the attacks have been increasing."
"So it was the wolves who destroyed the gate on the old bridge?", Agnar wanted to know.
"Yes." Dain replied. "I was in your village this morning, when I suddenly heard the trumpets of my people, which only sound when we go into battle. They had just broken the gate as we drove them back into the forest."
Agnar immediately thought of Uller and Geirröd, who had crossed the bridge in the morning. "Please tell me...", he started, "... had you seen a wagon this morning, driving towards to the castle?"
Dain thought for a moment. "Yes, there was a wagon. But he drove over the bridge before the wolves attack."
Agnar fell a stone from his heart. Then he took a big sip from his tea cup and thought about the story of the mouse king. "What is the matter with the wolves' eyes?", he asked. "At first they had no pupils in her eyes, but after I had slain one, they returned from nowhere."
Dain nodded to him. "Yes, I've noticed that. That was not so in the past. Something must have happened to them. I fear, that there are higher powers in the game."
Dain's answer gave Agnar an uneasy feeling, as he had never felt before.
But then the mouse king suddenly began to laugh. "Do not let your mood get cloudy!", he said. "The wolves no longer have the powers they once had, in old days."
Suddenly a cool wind blew through the ruins and Hanna began to freeze. Dain brought her a blanket and drank his tea with a last big sip.
"It's going to be time for you to go home!", said the mouse. "The sun will soon pass!"
Then brought the Mouse King Agnar and Hanna back to the entrance of the forest, from which they had come.
The sun had already disappeared behind the mountains. The trees cast long shadows in the light of the moon and the birds were silent with the dark.
"Here I leave you!", said Dain.
Agnar and Hanna thanked him and were about to go back to the village, when Agnar overcame one last question:
"Please tell me King.", he began. "Why were you coming to our village this morning?"
The proud king suddenly turned red and looked down at the ground. "I was looking for cakes!", he said. "We do not have anything like that here."
Agnar could not resist a grin and promised him that he could visit him at any time. Then they went their way. Dain back into the forest and Agnar and Hanna in her village.
When they arrived in the village they were already expected by Sigurd and received with open arms. Dain had already sent him a messenger who told him about what had happened in the forest.
Sigurd was glad when he finally got his daughter back in his arms. He decided to celebrate a great feast and sent an invitation to the King of the mice. Dain came with a small delegation to the City Hall and enjoyed Sigurds hospitality.
The hall was so beautifully adorned that one came from one astonishment to another. The people had not seen anything like this since a long time.
The table was covered with the most magnificent dishes. On silver plates, there were apple tarts, raisin cake, venison, pies, cheese and many other delicacies. There were also red wine, beer and mead in silver jugs and just the best of everything.
Agnar ate and drank as bravely as he could, but his plate was not empty, and his glass was always full.
Dain did not eat so much. He preferred the lively activity and the cheerful company.
Sigurd and Dain drank and laughed a lot and understood each other quite well. They swear friendship and turned out, that they in the future would always help each other.
All night long, they laughed and danced. In addition, they sang old songs of bygone days:
In the Wolf Valley lived three brothers,
which hunted the deer on the ice.
But one of the three was wiser,
He knew about his value and price.
He went to the kingdom of Hafrudnir
And fought there unfair battle,
To be king, he promised himself,
he would only use wit and mind.
The king had three daughters,
The most beautiful women in the land.
He asked them for their hearts,
with the only thing he knows.
The king promised him the daughters,
all three would then be his,
but he should conquer the giant,
behind the mountains of Minurtheim.
So he went to the gloomy valley,
Climbed the mountain with all his shame,
But when he reached the summit,
He understood, he was exiled.
They laughed and celebrated, until late into the night, and praised Agnar and Dain, for their heroism.
As the morning approaches, Agnar slowly comes home. What a night!
At home, he went to his room without a detour and fell like a stone to bed. Cheerful and exhausted, he lay there and thought about the day. What Uller and Geirröd will say when I tell them the story.
With this thought he closed his eyes and fell asleep with pride and anticipation.
Good Journey
The next day Agnar was able to sleep in peace, because Sigurd had given him free. Nevertheless, he stood up as usual in the morning and helped Harbard at work, on the pasture.
Meanwhile, Sigurd, who was not only mayor, but also a gifted craftsman, repaired the gate to the old wooden bridge. This time, he built it twice as high and three times stronger than before. At this gate, the wolves would bite their teeth, as long as they would once again take the insolence of another attack.
The following days were all quiet and without incidents.
Whenever Agnar was on the streets, he were always stopped by a gang of children
, who always wanted to hear the story of him and his fight against the wolves. Now he knew how Uller felt when he gave one of his stories the best.
He often thought at Geirröd, but no longer, when he was in the pasture. Then he had other things to do and he could be distracted.
The week was almost around and Agnar realized that it also had advantages to have the house on its own. There was no one who gave him orders and no one he must justify.
On the evening of the seventh day Agnar went after the work with his fishing rod to the lake and waited for Ullers and Geirröd's return. He couldn't wait to tell them what had happened.
It was a warm, cloudless spring evening, just like the week before, when he had been waiting for Uller with his brother.
Agnar threw the rod out and lay back relaxed. Soon they are back. His eyes fell on the old wooden bridge and with her on the gate, which Sigurd had built.
The gate was really good and could be seen. It was huge and was made of thick iron pipes. Sigurd had also decided after the wolf attack, that a guard post had to stand at the bridge and that around the clock, to be prepared for future attacks. Agnar had volunteered that night because he already wanted to wait for Uller and Geirröd.
After a while he saw something coming from the far, whereupon he jumped up and ran joyfully to the gate. There they are.
When the object had come a little bit closer from a distance, he noticed that it was not Ullers wagon, as he had first suspected, but Dain, who was sitting on his rabbit, who was approaching to him.
The Kingdoms of Wala: Agnar and the battle of the Firemountain (1) Page 3
