Alric and the Wolf Ch VII

By Robbie Ashmore

Alric and Soden spent the next few days in the cave. It was a good time; a happy time. Alric recited poems that he had learned from travelers while working on the farm. Soden told him the story of a great king named Beowulf. They walked in the forest and fished in the stream.

The blisters and cuts on Alric’s hands finally healed up. Soden had asked Alric if he wanted another apple blessed by Eir to speed the healing, but Alric had replied, “No thank you. It’s a small thing.” Which pleased the Wolf greatly.

One day Soden produced a small water-skin. “Inside this skin” the Wolf said, “Is very special mead. It comes from the vat of Sattung the Giant. It is known as ‘The Mead of Poetry’ by the gods. Anyone who drinks from it will become inspired.” Soden gave Alric a sip of the mead, then took a drink himself; after drinking the Wolf began to recite beautiful poems; poems about the Earth, the sky, the mountains and trees. Alric could feel a stirring inside and a poem began to form in his mind as well. One day Soden came up to Alric and said, “Young Saxon, to this point you have done very well upon your quest, better than I could have imagined or hoped for. It is time to head out once more. There is a task that I would have you complete.”

“You will have three days to complete it, but it will not be easy. There will be two very important rules on this quest. First, you must not leave the trail! Second, you shall build no fire!” “I have put together a traveler’s pack for you, inside you will find warm clothes, a cloak of bear skin, bread, cheese and the silver you were given while on the farm. I have added a couple of pieces of gold to this, in payment for the work that you performed; guard it well Alric! I have a feeling that you will need it, if you survive this quest.” “Your destination will be the Sacred Grove and Circle of Stones where your quest began weeks ago. Winter is hard upon that land Alric, and unlike here, it will be brutally cold. You may very well freeze to death.” “Now knowing this; and understanding the rules: Do you accept this quest?” The Wolf stopped speaking and looked Alric in the eyes, awaiting his answer. “I do” said Alric. “After-all my father used to say ‘There is no bad weather, only bad clothes’.” “Hahaha” laughed the Wolf “Spoken like a true Saxon! Then sleep well tonight Alric and in the morning your quest shall begin.” The next morning the first thing that Alric became aware of was the bitter cold. He opened his eyes to a frozen forest, he was lying upon a trail that seemed to begin at that spot, and judging by the position of the sun, headed off to the South.

He was covered with the bear skin cloak and it was covered in snow. He shook the snow from the cloak and stood up. He was dressed in the new traveling clothes that Soden had given him. Outer pants and shirt made from sealskin, with fine woolen undergarments. He slung the bear-skin around his shoulders, picked up his pack and headed out. Before long, his breath was freezing to the fine hair on his lip and chin. The wind was so cold that it seemed to have teeth. Alric struggled on, the trail was plain to see, even when covered in snow; because the trees grew right up to the edge of it, but left the path itself free of growth. The branches stretched over-head, at times so thick that Alric felt that he was traveling in a tunnel.

The ends of Alric’s fingers began to ache, his toes began to ache, but still he struggled on. In some places where the canopy of limbs was thinner, the snow reached almost to his knees and each step seemed a great accomplishment.

Alric travelled throughout the day but didn’t feel as if he had covered much distance. As the sun was beginning to set, he became worried. He had to find a place to spend the night. Soden had told him he could not build a fire and must not leave the trail. But he must find shelter from the biting wind. Just as the sun went down, Alric saw, up in the distance, the flicker of a tiny flame. He had neither seen; nor heard any other signs of life since he woke that morning. Alric quickened his pace trying to reach the fire. As he grew closer, he could tell that it was just to the side of the trail, maybe three strides away. Standing beside the fire was a beautiful young girl. She had golden hair, green eyes and skin so fair that she almost seemed to glow there among the darkness of the forest.

Alric walked until he was directly across the fire from the girl, but still upon the trail. She looked up at him, and into his eyes, there was a look of sadness about her; and Alric’s heart melted. “Hello Alric” the girl said, and her voice was the voice of birds singing, a beautiful sound, that left a yearning in Alric’s soul. “H-hello” Alric managed to say around the lump in his throat. “How do you know my name?” “Who doesn’t know the name of Alric?” she asked. “The bane of trolls, killer of Dark Elves and hope of his people; your name is whispered on the wind, Alric. The birds compose songs of your deeds; and young maidens dream of your kiss.” With that she held out her hand and said “Come and stand beside me, closer to the fire; and let me warm you with my embrace.” Alric held out his hand, and started to step forward, then remembered what Soden had told him “You must not leave the trail!” Alric quickly put his foot back down upon the trail, and dropped his hand. Looking into the girl’s eyes he said. “Though my heart longs for you fair maiden, I am on a quest and duty bound to stay upon this trail. But if you will only step over here I shall hold you in my arms and be content.”

“I cannot Alric” the girl said, “For I have had a spell placed upon me, and I can only survive in the wild places, the places un-touched by men. But if you will only come to my side, I will take you to my home; deep in the forest and there I will be your wife until the end of days. My name is Talley; Talley Maja; and all that you need to do Alric, is take my hand and I am yours.” Alric was tempted. There had never before been a girl so fair; and the fire seemed warm and inviting, and once again Alric raised his foot to go to her embrace; but at the moment before he left the trail; he closed his eyes and said, “No! I cannot!” And put his foot down solidly upon the path.

When Alric opened his eyes, the fire didn’t seem quite as inviting; and the woods seemed darker somehow; and in the shadows below the hem of Talley’s dress he caught a quick glimpse of movement; a tail! A fox’s tail was poking out of the bottom of her dress! Stepping back, Alric made a small bow to the Huldra; for indeed that is what she was; a dark spirit of the forest, who lures young men to their death. “Good night to you my lady” Alric said then took off walking again. He knew that it was considered rude to let the Huldra know that he knew her identity, and just wanted to be quickly away. He walked until he could barely see the flame flickering in the distance behind him; and just before it went completely out of sight, he heard a long blood curdling scream that made him shiver. Alric continued on for almost another hour, eager to put some distance between himself and the Huldra. Suddenly he came upon a blanket of snow that was unusually deep; and there he burrowed out a small cave and went to sleep at last.

When he awoke the next morning, every bone in his body ached from the cold. The tip of his nose felt like it was frozen, but he had slept well. He climbed from his snow cave; ate a quick meal of cheese and bread, then headed out once more. This day was much like the last, the forest was dark and dreary and the wind was cold. The only sound he heard was his own breath and the crunch of his boots in the snow. His feet hurt, his fingers hurt and each breath was painful. The cold seemed to cut through his clothes like a knife. Alric was trying to keep his mind off of the pain by working out the lines to a poem in his mind. The idea had come to him after drinking the mead with Soden, but he still did not have it quite the way he wanted. But try as he might his mind kept returning to the reality of the situation he was in. He was cold….so cold and tired. Each step was agony. He had walked most of the day, when he reached an area on the trail where there was a high rocky ridge climbing up from the dark forest on his right. He saw many caves there and knew they would be warm and dry inside.

“I could stop for a moment” he thought “just a moment, to warm my feet by a fire.” But he knew he must not. To do so would mean abandoning the quest. He was struggling with himself when he topped a small hill. There in the middle of the path was a beautiful mare. The horse tossed her head and spoke. “Good afternoon young sir” “Good afternoon” Alric replied. “What are you doing out on a day like today?” The mare asked. “Surely there is a nice warm cave nearby, where you could build a fire and be warm.” A little suspicious since his meeting with the Huldra, Alric replied: “I don’t mean to be rude, Lady, but I could ask the same of you.” “Ahh…Well spoken young sir, well spoken” said the mare nodding her head up and down. “I will answer the question first then! I am on my way to meet with a friend of mine, who lives just off the trail ahead. If I keep going I will be there by night-fall. Now it is your turn young Saxon; what is your name and why are you upon such a bleak and lonely trail?”

“My name is Alric and I am on a quest.” Alric said, standing up a little straighter, “And I can neither leave the trail nor light a fire; but must continue on as I am.” “Well” said the mare, “You may call me Builders-Bane, a strange name I know, but mine none the less. But if I may ask; who or what has set you upon such a quest; where you are allowed neither shelter nor fire?” “I am being instructed in the ways of my people by the Great Wolf Soden, and it is he that has set me upon this trail” said Alric raising his chin defiantly. “Hahaha…Soden? Hahaha…So it is that mangy wolf that has put you here?”

The mare stomped her foot with laughter, then looked up and said, “And I suppose he is in a nice warm hall somewhere eating pork and drinking mead, while you are out here freezing? Could he not better instruct you if he was here by your side? Or you there by his? Could you not be instructed somewhere in comfort?” Alric stood there watching the mare, feeling very confused. “Was it true? Was Soden making sport of him while he enjoyed himself in some mead-hall?” Alric thought, wrinkling his brow. “Come with me” said the horse, “We shall dine in the home of my friend tonight, and tomorrow I will instruct you. In fact I will begin today; your first lesson is this: Your people have the good sense to find shelter when it snows, not go out walking through it. Second; when cold, they build a fire. Fire is a gift Alric, it warms not only the body but the soul as well. Now climb aboard and forsake this silly quest; let us go and be warm together.”

What Builders-Bane was saying made perfect sense to Alric. He was cold and he was tired, so tired. He reached up and put his fingers into the mane of the horse, and prepared to throw his leg over her back, and then let go. “No” said Alric, “I have given my word to complete this journey and though I may die in the attempt, I will not be swayed from my resolve.” “Well, we will just have to see about that!” said the mare, baring her teeth. She reached out her head as if to bite Alric; when suddenly the sky was filled with the sound of Thunder, and lightning bolts flashed through the clouds! “Eeeeeeek” the mare yelped. She snatched her head back, still glaring at Alric and said, “It seems that you have friends in High places…..but never fear Alric, we shall meet again.” And with that the mare turned and galloped off into the sky. Alric stood there shaking for a moment; then glancing to the sky offered a small prayer of thanks to Donnar; for he knew that it had been none other than the God of Thunder, himself, that had saved his skin.

The rest of the day passed uneventfully, and as night came on Alric once again burrowed deep into the snow to sleep. He woke the next day to the same pain. He was still so sleepy. “Maybe I could just lay here for a while longer” he thought. But something deep inside made him get up and push on; and on; and on. “Just put one foot in front of the other” Alric told himself. Though by this time just lying down to die seemed the better alternative. He was at the limit of his strength, the limit of his will. The only thing that kept him going was a grim determination to succeed. Alric had made his mind up; if he failed; he would fail while trying; if he died it would be standing on his feet, trying to take the next step.

With iron will Alric continued. His head was hung down, focused only on the trail, he barely noticed the sun beginning to set. Alric didn’t realize he was falling until his face buried into the snow. “Just lay here” he thought, “Just lay here and it will be over soon.” But instead he reached out with both hands to drag himself forward. His face plowed through the snow, he was too tired to raise his head. Beyond the limits of strength, in that place where there is only heart and will, Alric found himself. Again and again he reached out to drag himself forward. And when at the moment it seemed that heart and will were no longer enough; he reached out one last time to pull himself forward and his hands fell upon warm grass.

“Warm grass?” his mind screamed at him, “How is that possible?” With his last ounce of strength, Alric raised his head and saw that he had reached the Stone Circle. There was a fire burning in the center; and beside the fire, sat Soden, with a wide grin upon his face. As Alric’s sight faded, as his mind slipped into oblivion, he thought he heard the Wolf say: “Well done Alric, well done.” Alric woke the next morning inside the Stone Circle. It was very warm; in fact the forest around looked as if it was still late Summer. The birds were singing and Alric could hear a nearby stream running. The wind was blowing among the branches. If he listened closely, he could almost hear them speak:

“Welcome back Alric…….We are ssssso proud….” The voices were high and thin, and had a pleasant sound, like a mothers sigh. Alric was very content. “Good morning Alric” Soden said from off to his right. Alric rolled upon his side, facing the Wolf. “Good morning Soden” Alric replied. Alric looked at his hands that had been black with frost bite the day before. Today they looked fine; in fact he felt fine! Like he could run a hundred miles! “It is a beautiful day, Master Wolf.” “Yes it is Alric, but for a while there I didn’t think you would be here to enjoy it” Soden said solemnly. Alric shrugged his shoulders, “It’s a small thing” he said. “Hahahaha” laughed the Wolf, “Hahahaa….a small thing indeed! Well said Alric, well said!” Soden walked over to where Alric was, as the young Saxon stood up. Wolf and boy stood there looking each other in the eye. “You have come far, Alric, and I could not be more proud. On this, your last quest, you have proven yourself to have discipline. We must each have discipline to keep ourselves to a task. We must control our urges. If we give in to temptations, then it is the temptations that control us.” “As you have heard me say, Alric, We Are Our Deeds, but we must control our deeds and not surrender control to the world around us.”

“There are only two types of people in the word Alric: There are leaders; and there are followers. You must be the leader, even if you only lead yourself. It takes discipline to do this. To control our actions, we must control our attitudes. You will find Alric, there will be times in your life where you have no control over the events taking place around you. “What you can control is how you react to them. It takes discipline to do this. To fly off in a rage, shows weakness. There is a time to fight, but you must choose the time. Always think before you do. That is the way to succeed.” “You have shown that you know how to persevere Alric. In most cases the difference between success and failure, is another attempt. To achieve an easy victory is no great feat. It is he that is knocked down and gets up to try again, that truly deserves praise. Think of the old sagas, Alric; would they be as good if the hero did not face adversity? Would you admire the warrior who quit when the battle grew too fierce? No! And the world is the same. Our lives are a saga! Life is an adventure. We must write the story ourselves. We must persevere in order to accomplish what we desire.” “Most importantly Alric you have shown yourself to have Honor. In all ways Honor is the most important virtue. But it is the most unclear in terms of a definition. If a man is successful in his pursuit of the other eight virtues; then he will have honor. Honor is the end result of all the other virtues combined. Honor is not a reputation. Honor is an internal combination of ethics and morals. Honor is the sacred compass, whose needle will always point us towards an ever lofty goal. Internal honor manifest itself outwardly as the character of a good man. Of all goals in this life; above all other desires, we should most want to be known as men of honor. To be remembered in that way, as an honorable man…is the utmost prize in a life well lived.”

“Now, Alric, I have only one more trip for you to take and the journey shall be pleasant. Only one day of walking, and when you reach there; I have arranged a meeting with Heimdal, the watcher of the Bifrost Bridge. You may ask him for one last visit with your mother and father. He may refuse or he may grant your wish; but remember! A gift for a gift! You must give something to Heimdal, in return for this privilege. You still have the coins, right?” Soden asked. “Yes, I still have them” Alric replied. “Good” said the Wolf, “Now come along, we have a long walk ahead of us.”