The Hour of The Wolves

Chapter III. (Theodor)

The sun just stared to light up the valley as the six horsemen entered it. In the lead a gigantic black warhorse with a rider clad in black clothes, on the black of his clock a wolf howling to the moon, the sigil of house Fenris and on his chest a dessert eagle the sigil of Belionth house. Theodor Belionth was a huge man, almost three meters tall. His dark skin shone in the morning light and his eyes scanned his surroundings tireless. When they reached the point where the cart stopped last night, he called halt to his men.

“ Saddle down boys! We need to look around for clues on the ground, also there might be remaining traps and I don’t want to lose a good horse, because one of you don’t see further than his nose. “

They all laughed nervously, because they knew that the valley still hides a lot of danger and the killer might still be out there too probably. The guardsmen scanned to road and the tall grass near it cautiously, looking for the lost noble children. Theodor knelt down take a closer look as he found the places where the tracks left the road.

“ There is four bare foot mark on the road here, they might have been the poor bastards who were hunted. Two of them entered the grass here and the other two stayed on the road the wolves after them. Then the four hunters came, you can see from the distance of their footprint that they were walking slowly. “- He looked around. –“ If I were the killer I would have hide somewhere near here and wait until they pass me , so I can shoot from the angle they wouldn’t expect. Hmm, oh there it is. A patch of flattened grass. He must have waited here, how skilled he must be for the hunters passed him unnoticed even with their heightened senses provided by the wolf masks.

“Boss, we found them!” Called out one of the guards in the front. “ Only three and the wolves thought.”

Theodor walked there and inspected the bodies. All of them were taken down with one shot, what an accuracy is needed to achieve this he wondered. But where could be the last one ?

“Sir , I think I see the last one! He must have tried to escape . What the hell!? “ The guard must have thrown up based on the sound.

“Let’s see what happened to the last one.” The lord murmured and walked to the last corpse. When he was only a few steps away he could smell that this noble didn’t have an easy death like the others. The guard pointed to his left as he tried to calm his stomach. The young man lying on the ground was tore in half and several crossbow bolts stood out of his body. His face was a frozen mask of horror.

“Okay, let’s go we need to get back to the city as soon as we can. “ said Theodor as turned away from the remains and started to head back o the horses. “ We know everything we needed. The son of the Count is still alive, and he is out there hunting for us again. I must admit guys it will be dirty business from now on. The young wolf just became more dangerous since we last saw, and I have to admit I only can agree whit his plans of getting us purified after all these nobles hunting down the poor citizens.”

“How do you know boss, that it was the young lord? “ Asked one of the soldiers.

“The fear on the young man’s face. He must have known his killer, and he must have been at the market squire when we last saw Liam Fenris. He full turned into a wolf and tore all men apart, then he disappeared for years. I am glad my daughter didn’t see it. Anyway, lets hurry boys, we need to warn the lord about this.”

They rode so fast they couldn’t even see the old man standing in the middle of the road only after two of the riders flew out of the saddle. They all stopped and watched bewildered as the old bald man with a staff in monk robes started to walk towards them. The two men from got up from the ground and reached for their weapon, but Theodore yelled at them.

“Leave your weapons in their sheath. We are no match for Master Endrolin.” He got of the horse and bow to the old martial artist . “ How can I be at your service master? “

“I came with a warning wise eagle. Thou shan’t raise thy weapon against the young hunter. He is the only hope for thy country to obtain its freedom again. The old wolf’s fang got torn out by the forger and his hands bound by promises made upon a corpse. He loses his sanity day by day, and it won’t take long that he will go mad fully. Heed my words the county needs a new leader, a strong leader and only one person has the right for succession. I know that you have vows you cannot break but remember my words when you will need to make a choice. Not only the fate of the family will be in your hands but also the fate of your daughter.” Said the old man in hoarse voice.

“Thank you for the warning master. I hope I will be worthy of your trust and can make a wise choice when it is needed. I will always put this country’s fate first in my hearth as it gave us a new live in after we had to leave Aastricar. “ Answered Theodore with a bow.

“I know old friend I know. That’s why I came to you with the warning. I will pray to the Lord to help you, because only hard days awaits you.”  With this the old monk turned away from the group. A strong wind blew through the valley creating a cloud of dust, so all of them had to close their eyes. When the dust settled, the old man disappeared.

“Let’s move out men, we have a lot to do and I have a lot to think about, so it seems.” Said Theodore and got back to the saddle.