Alric and the Wolf Ch V

By Robbie Ashmore

“Ahhhhh…that was delicious!” said Soden, leaning back onto his side. “There’s nothing like eating fresh pork after a great adventure. Now…if we only had a great horn of mead…..but alas young Alric, we are in the middle of a quest….so some hardships are to be expected.” “Yes I suppose there are.” Said Alric, thinking a lack of mead was no hardship at all compared to being nearly crushed by a troll. “Tonight we will sleep here in the Dark Forest” said Soden spreading his arms out wide, “We shall sit by the fire and tell tales of Elves and Men, of sword and shield; of young maidens and old trolls. Life is enjoyed in such ways young Alric.” “I’m afraid I have forgotten most of those tales Master Wolf” said Alric. “What? Forgotten!?! Well that won’t do at all. We shall have to remedy that” said the Wolf with a shake of his head.

“What about a poem? Surely you can recite a poem…hmmm?? One of your own making perhaps?” Soden asked “A young Saxon such as you, should be able to compose poetry as easily as he handles his sword! The Bard is as highly regarded as the Warrior by our people.” “No I’m afraid not.” said Alric hanging his head. “Well no worries young man, you have been away for some time, I’m sure it will all come back to you. There are times when a poem or song is worth more than gold” Soden said; then added with a wink, “And there is no quicker way to a maiden’s heart.” Alric blushed and giggled at that. “But tonight young Alric have no fear, for I know as many tales and songs as Bragi himself! Tonight I will take you across this world and back in time to the Days of Ice, when we all lived in the forest, and no one lived anywhere else.”

And true to his word Soden told tales of wonder; magic tales of heroes and dragons; of beautiful maidens and brave warriors. Alric could not remember the last time he had felt so happy. At last the fire died down and they settled in to sleep. The last thing Alric remembered was watching the branches sway above his head; between him and the flickering Northern Lights. The next morning Alric woke to find Soden watching him. “Rise and shine, young Saxon” The Wolf said with his fierce grin. “’Tis a beautiful day and adventure awaits! Today you must journey to the Magic Cave. There is something there you must learn; but time is of the essence! The entrance to the cave is only visible in the last rays of the sun, on this one day of the year. You must let nothing slow you down; let nothing hinder your steps! For if you miss the cave today, it will be another year before the opportunity arises again.”

Alric was getting his gear together. Trying to fill his water skin and listen to Soden all at the same time. “But Soden, what….?” “No time!” said the Wolf, “Follow this trail North; and when it splits you must go East to the Ice Mountain Pass. “There behind that tree (Soden pointed) is a staff; take it, it may help you upon your path.” And with that Soden winked at Alric and vanished; leaving Alric feeling like he had been turned inside out and up-side down. He had so many questions, but figured he had best get started. He reached behind the tree and picked up the staff. It was long, gnarled and worn with age; but felt light in his hands. Alric then turned and started up the trail. The trees around him began to grow smaller, and the air colder. He continued to travel North and up, the trail growing steeper as the day went on. In the distance, off to his right he could see the towering peaks of snow-capped mountains.

About mid-day Alric came to the split in the trail and turned to his right. He was heading directly toward the mountains now. On and on he walked. The wind was beginning to blow harder and Alric leaned heavily upon his staff. The trail underfoot was becoming slick and the ground covered in snow. He had entered the rocky edges of the great mountains. He walked until his legs burned from exertion, until he knew he must stop and rest for a moment. He saw a small bony oak growing from between a pile of rocks, and decided to shelter beneath it for a moment and eat a bite.

Alric had just finished some cheese and bread when he heard a sly voice behind him say: “What do we have here?” Alric turned and standing behind him on a rock was a tall elf, dressed all in black. There was something sinister about the elf, a darkness about him that made Alric’s breath catch in his throat. “What is your name boy?” asked the elf, stepping down beside Alric. “Ah-Ah-Alric” “Well Ah-Ah-Alric, I am Svartauga, or Black-eye in your tongue; and you my boy are my prisoner!” and with that Black-eye, lunged forward and grabbed Alric by the neck, lifting his feet from the ground as if Alric weighed no more than a feather! He then slammed him down hard. Alric struggled and kicked but could not escape. As quick as a thought, the elf tied Alric’s hands behind his back then tied him to the tree. “What do you want with me!” Alric screamed. “Please let me go!” “Now why would I do that? You are worth nothing to me running free, but trussed as you are, I shall sell you to a hungry troll for a piece of gold!” the elf answered, greedily rubbing his hands together. The elf did a little dance around the tree, and then stopped to look at Alric again. “Well maybe five sillvers? You are a bit small. But no matter; some is better than none is what I always say.” The elf then did another capering dance, but stopped suddenly. “Wait! Where there is one Saxon boy there is always another! You vermin never travel alone! Speak up boy; where are your comrades?”

“I am alone Master Svartauga” Alric said shakily, “Please won’t you release me? I am on a very important quest, and time is of the essence.” Alric could see the sun would soon be setting, and knew all would be lost if he could not get free. “Well little adventurer, I too am on a quest, a quest for more money! So if you will not tell me where your kin are hiding then I will just go and find them myself…..I can smell Saxon blood and will have them caught in no time.” With that the Elf jumped up onto the rocks and ran away so fast he seemed to disappear. Alric struggled, and tugged against his bonds, but could not break free. He hung his head and started sobbing softly. “Pssst!” Alric heard someone say. “Wha-what? Who is that?” Alric looked all around very quickly…side to side, but there was no-one around. “Hey Alric…psst…Up here.” Alric leaned his head back against the tree and arched his neck so that he could see up the trunk. There on one of the scrawny branches was a squirrel. “Ratatosk! I am so glad to see you! Can you please help me with these ropes?” “Why sure I will Alric…after all we are friends aren’t we. You did give me some cheese. Uhmmm..By the way…you wouldn’t happen to have anymore would you?” “Yes, yes, of course I have more, but the ropes please! I don’t have much time!” Alric pleaded. “Oh, I’m sorry; right away!” said the squirrel And quick as a wink Ratatosk came down the tree and chewed the ropes apart.

Alric stood up, rubbing his arms where the ropes had cut into them. “Thank you Master Squirrel” Alric said with a slight bow. “I am indeed in your debt.” As he looked around to gather his things from the ground he saw that the sun was setting, and there on the mountain face, just ahead was the cave opening. The Magic Cave! He had just enough time…. “Well now! What have we here?!” smirked the Elf. He had come back so quietly that Alric had never heard him. “Run Alric!” shouted Ratatosk and jumped straight at the Dark Elf’s face. “Run! I’ll stop him.” Alric snatched up the staff and ran as fast as he could towards the cave. Behind him he could hear the sound of the elf and squirrel fighting. He was almost to the cave, the sun was almost down, just a few… more… steps…..when he heard Ratatosk cry out in pain.

Alric knew he needed to reach the cave, but he stopped; as he turned he could see Black-eye shoving the squirrel into a sack; he could hear Ratatosk crying in pain and he knew he must go back. With only the staff as a weapon; Alric took one last look at the sun that was disappearing behind the mountains, and charged the Dark Elf. Yelling a war cry, a cry of challenge that all men know at such times; Alric raised the staff over his head, and just before the sun went down, the staff flashed in the last dying rays. Suddenly the staff began to transform! With a flash of light it became a spear, but no ordinary spear was this; this was Gungnir! The spear of Woden! Against which no-one could stand! Alric hurled the spear with all his might. It struck Svartauga in the chest and spear and elf disappeared in a flash of light. Alric was left standing there in growing twilight. He noticed a bag on the ground moving and remembered Ratatosk. He went to the bag, knelt down and released him.

“Thank you Alric, thank you! I was sure that I was dead” said Ratatosk as he climbed out of the bag. “You are welcome Master Squirrel, but I’m afraid I have failed my quest” Alric said hanging his head. “Ah well, that is too bad indeed. But there is still one thing to be happy about” said the squirrel with a grin. “And what is that Master Squirrel?” asked Alric Ratatosk placed both of his hands on his hips, looked up at Alric and said. “Well didn’t you say you had more cheese?” Alric chuckled, “Yes I do, my little friend, yes I do.” And with that Alric built a small fire and he and Ratatosk ate cheese, talked and watched the Northern Lights play across the mountain tops until they both fell asleep. Alric awoke the next morning in a warm dry farm-house. Soden was stretched out near the fireplace before a roaring fire. “Good morning Alric” said the Wolf. “Good morning Soden” Alric said, sitting up, “Although I am afraid I have bad news; I failed to enter the cave in time and have learned nothing.”

The wolf rolled over onto his back laughing, he laughed so hard that tears rolled from his eyes. “I never said you had to enter the cave, I said you must go to the cave in order to learn a lesson; and my young Saxon, the lesson was learned. Now close your mouth you silly boy. It will draw flies.” Alric had been sitting there with his mouth hanging open. He shut it so fast that his teeth clicked. “What do you mean Soden? What lesson did I learn? I lost the staff and nearly lost my life.” “Well…hrmmpff…errm..don’t worry about the staff. It is back with its owner; as for the lesson, it was Fidelity of course” Soden sat up and faced Alric. “Fidelity or loyalty to our kith and kin is very important Alric. Even now our people are breaking apart. They are forgetting their culture and forgetting they are from one tribe. Your friend Ratatosk needed you and you were willing to sacrifice your own quest, your own life, to save him. To those who prove themselves worthy of our friendship, we must never turn our backs. We must stand up for and stand beside those few who have earned a place in our hearts. We must remain steadfast in our loyalty, unless by their actions, they prove themselves unworthy.”

“We must protect the smaller, weaker members of our folk and by doing so we make bigger men of ourselves. So you see young Saxon you have proven yourself faithful, even when it came at great danger and loss to yourself; and for that you have completed your third quest.” With that Soden gave Alric a wink and turned back to the fire. “Wow.” Thought Alric, “I didn’t fail!” Alric was very proud. He stood up and walked to Soden's side, then sat down on the floor beside him. “Soden” he asked. “Yes Alric?” “May I ask you a question?” “You may ask me anything you like Young Saxon” answered Soden suddenly looking serious. Alric turned his head to look Soden in the eye and then took a deep breath and asked: “Well I was just wondering if you have any more of that bacon?!” Then they rolled there in front of the fire laughing until they cried. After-all nothing is better than bacon on a long quest.