Wolf was lost. The Viking had urged him to try riding Nudge. He rode down one footpath then up another, always returning to the same clearing. Only it wasn't just a clearing. He was under the biggest and broadest tree he had ever seen. It had huge horizontal branches, just up out of reach. There were vertical supporting branches growing straight down from the huge level branches to root in the ground. One of the vertical branches was missing, cut away.
Wolf dismounted and walked Nudge among the vertical rooting branches, to the center of the clearing under the tree. He looked around and saw the medicine man emerging from the forest with Shadow at his side. The medicine man carried a tall staff, taller than himself, held it out to Wolf.
Wolf slowly reached out and took the black wooden st
