Chapter 6

Osric and Talia crouched low in the brush, peering through the leaves at the wooden palisade surrounding Silham in the distance. They had been traveling for over a day now, making their way carefully through the woods since departing the ruined keep. It had been a near sleepless journey, both of them nervous with every step they took, on the lookout for both more of the men that had been hounding them and the more typical dangers of the forest. Thankfully, they’d encountered neither, making good time and reaching the small village well before Osric had thought they would.

Surprisingly, the wolf stayed with them the entire time. Osric had thought that now that the magic of the ring had faltered, the wolf would return to the forest, no longer under the control of the ring’s magic. Instead, it had stayed with them, occasionally venturing away but always returning. While part of Osric was glad, both because the wolf had proven itself to be a good protector and because he’d grown attached to the animal after their journey into the keep, it now presented a problem, and was the reason they hid out of sight of the village.

“It can’t go in the village with us,” Osric said. “You know how people would have freaked out if someone brought a full-grown wolf into Eldham, especially the hunters.”

Wolves were one of the dangers of the forest he and Talia had been on the lookout for. While they tended to keep their distance from humans, it was easy to accidentally stumble too close to their pups or den, forcing the animals into a territorial response. If it was winter, the danger would be worse, as the animals became more aggressive as they got hungry. This time of year, with the forest in bloom and full of small animals, that was less of a concern.

Still, people were fearful of the wolves along with bears and a variety of other animals, less common creatures that had become, unfortunately, more common in their forests. Things like webscuttlers and bramblebeaks had become a more and more common sight, and danger, in the Great Forest.

Besides, the wolf would make them stand out, make them memorable, which was the last thing someone being hunted wanted to be.

“I suppose you’re right. I’ll miss ... him. Or her. I never even thought to check,” Talia said, glancing at the wolf, who sat patiently a few feet away, its intelligent eyes fixed on the two humans.

“We haven’t even given it a name.”

“What does it matter? It’s not like it’s going to stick around once we leave it behind.”

“I guess it doesn’t, but ... it feels wrong, you know? After everything we’ve been through together.”

“Fine, what do you want to call it?”

“I was thinking maybe Cinder. Its eyes kind of look like a burning coal in a furnace, and it’s got an ... I don’t know ... intensity to it that fits.”

The wolf’s ears perked up, and it tilted its head, almost as if it understood.

“I think it likes it,” Osric said.

“You know it can’t speak or understand Aelorian, right?”

“Hmm. I think he can.”

“Are you sure?”

“Pretty sure. Yep, I think we should go with Cinder.”

Talia rolled her eyes and said, “All right, fine. Cinder it is. Now, we’ve hung around here long enough. If someone notices us out here, they’ll start to wonder what we’re doing.”

“Fine,” Osric said, and went down on a knee in front of the wolf. “Listen, buddy. You can’t come with us into the village. People will be scared, and we don’t need any more trouble than we’ve already got. Can you wait out here while we’re in there? We’ll come back for you. I’ll even try to bring you some food, okay?”

As Osric spoke, he first pointed to the village, and then to the wolf and a spot under a bush. For a moment, Cinder didn’t do anything at all. Then, to Osric’s surprise, it stood and padded over to the indicated bush, settling down and laying its muzzle on top of its paws, letting out a soft, mournful whine.

“I promise we’ll come back,” he said with one last look at the wolf before stepping out of the brush and onto the road.

“Wow,” Talia said, following him. “Maybe it does understand, at least a little.”

“You should have a little more faith,” Osric said, smiling at her.

The pair made their way along the narrow dirt path leading into Silham, both trying to act as nonchalant as possible. The village was small, probably no more than fifty structures clustered together behind a simple wooden palisade. Much like Eldham, except for the palisade. A few villagers glanced their way as they passed, but quickly returned to their tasks, seeming to pay them no mind.

The tavern was easy to spot, a slightly larger building near the village center with a sign depicting a frothing mug hanging above the door. Osric held the door open for Talia, allowing her to enter first. The interior was dimly lit and smelled of stale ale and smoke, along with the faint scent of something cooking. It occurred to Osric, as his stomach rumbled, that he’d had hardly anything to eat since leaving the village days ago, other than the meager rations he’d split with Talia and a few berries she’d found for them on the trail. Maybe it was the fear and adrenaline, but he hadn’t noticed until that moment how ravenous he was. A few patrons sat at tables nursing drinks, while others gathered around a card game in the corner.

They found a small table in the back, positioning themselves so they could observe the room. A tired looking barmaid approached and without a word, slid two wooden mugs in front of them.

“And two bowls of whatever I can smell cooking back there,” Osric said. “Do you happen to have any dried meat or something like that you could wrap up for us to take? We’ve still got more traveling to do and are low on supplies.”

The barmaid raised an eyebrow but then nodded. “We’ve got some sausages, but nothing dried. They should keep for a few days, though.

“Perfect.”

“I’ll bring ‘em out with yer stew,” she said, turning and walking away before he could ask anything else.

Osric took a big gulp of the ale. It was grainy, thick and tasted like heaven. Talia took smaller sips, but he could see her sharing the feeling, both forgetting their mission and just enjoying the feel of civilization again.

“So?” Talia said after a minute, starting to look around the room.

Osric followed suit. Most of the patrons seemed to be locals, though a few might be from outside the village or travelers. There were none matching the men who’d been chasing them, however.

“Seems ... normal.”

“Yeah,” Talia said, and then paused as the barmaid returned with two steaming bowls of stew and some greasy sausages wrapped in a cloth.