The Winter's Hunt

by R. K. Rickson

  Isolda nodded, as she digested the details of such a plan, and could find no flaws with it.

  “It is certainly thorough, that’s for sure,” Isolda said, as she peered out of the window to see the blizzard intensify. A smile formed on her face as she said, “Well, what’s next in your plan, Erik?”

  “I was thinking that as a contingency, you could also set up Yarvor to take a fall, so it may secure the council for us and let us lead Bero and Nessa much more easily. The old coot has the ear of those two, and we need the balance to fall into our favor.”

  Isolda ran a finger along Erik’s chest and lilted, “I mean in your more immediate timeframe.”

  Erik, finally having caught on to what she was implying, replied, “Oh! Well, my dear, I suppose it is rather cold outside. Perhaps we should warm up some more?”

  With a giggle, Isolda replied, “There you go. You’re a dense one at times, but I suppose I can overlook it.”

  Boswick and Lyle were marching through the blizzard’s brutal onslaught of biting winds and snow, making their way through the woods. The icy wind cut like an endless barrage of razors, freezing them to their bones as they high-stepped through the heavily-gathered snow on the ground.

  “Boswick, are you sure it’s this way?” Lyle called out through the wind’s roaring howl to his partner.

  Boswick held a glove up to his face and shouted back, “Erik said the trail to the den was this way. We’ll continue on for the next half hour or so, and if we don’t arrive at it, we’ll pack it in and resume our search tomorrow. Brave it a bit longer.”

  The pair continued their harsh trek in the blistering storm, barely able to see a mere few feet in front of their faces. The trees that surrounded them provided little respite as they pressed on. What seemed like a chilling eternity passed for the two, as Boswick saw the trees starting to thicken with some fir bushes that gathered around them. The night made things harder to see as they kept their pace up through the storm, and Lyle began to wonder if Erik had sent the two to their deaths in the blizzard.

  “The fir thicket: we’re close, Lyle!” Boswick cried out over the wind and the two hurried their movement to get to the fir bushes. When they finally arrived, they ducked down against it and felt no more wind as it whistled above the duo and gave them a sorely needed respite.

  Lyle swiped some of the excess snow off his coat as he grumbled, “Erik said to find the den, but he waited until night? In the reach? During a blizzard? He’s not as clever as he thinks he is.”

  Boswick blew some heat back into his gloves for his hands and felt the steamy warmth from his breath sting some feeling back into his skin, then replied, “I can’t argue with that point. Mind you, he’s proven a valuable fence and associate to us, that much we can’t argue.”

  “I’ll concede to that. It’s just irritating that we’re out here risking our hides in the reach like this.”

  “Well, try to see it like this: he’s coming from a position of power and support where he has things moving in motion on the behalf of others. While his planning and guile are sound, sometimes it is not the most thorough when his ego gets involved. He’s also not a well-versed man in the ways of the rigors of hard living like us. Not to say that’s an excuse for Erik, but he did also tell me that Icestorm Reach rarely relents with storms around this time of year.”

  Lyle sighed and answered, “I suppose you’re right. Let’s take another minute to shake some of this chill off, and then we’ll make the push for the den.”

  Another couple of minutes passed while the pair rested at the thicket and let their natural body heat gradually return to them. Once they felt sufficiently ready to go, Boswick gave Lyle a thumbs up, and the two popped up back into the bitter wind to resume their trek.

  The thicket trail led Boswick and Lyle deeper into the woods, where the trees gathered closer together, and helped abate the snowstorm’s chill, which let the two move quicker. In the distance ahead, the trees and bushes grew even tighter into a natural shelter, which blocked out most of the wind as the duo approached it.

  Boswick immediately searched the area and wondered if he’d find what Erik sent them out there for.

  “How big are these pups supposed to be? Wouldn’t it have been easier to find a snowhawk nest and use those?” Lyle said to his partner.

  “For scouting and small game, maybe,” Boswick retorted. “The pups are what we are after. If we find those, then we’re going to have some major leverage for the days to come.”

  “That’s if we don’t get torn to shreds out here by the parents first. I will give credit to Erik: he knows the nature of these things well enough where we pretty much came here undeterred.”

  Boswick looked down in a section of the fir bushes and saw something white and small move. He crouched to the ground to see a small white wolf pup, no bigger than both of his hands, lying down in a spread of fir leaves and branches.

  Boswick’s face lit up with recognition as he said to Lyle, “We found them, or at least one of them. This will do nicely.”

  The small wolf pup, with its tiny innocuous features, let out a whimper as it looked upon Boswick. He quickly scooped the pup up and put it into his pack, then stood up and faced Lyle.

  “We have what we need: let’s get moving before the parents return,” he said to Lyle, and the two headed back the way they came. As they did, small icy blue lights suddenly winked into sight, which gave the duo pause. The lights eerily hovered about, leaving behind a small fading trail of light, and seemed unaffected by the strong winds that blew about.

  “What…are those?” Lyle asked as he drew one of his knives and held it close to his jaw, ready to slice out if one approached.

  “I honestly don’t know,” Boswick replied as he kept his piercing green eyes on the lights. “Icestorm Reach is home to many strange things. I don’t care to find out what they all are. Let’s get back to the hut as soon as we can.”

  The duo cautiously treaded back the way they came and took extra care not to lose the trail they were on. Despite being given a map by Erik to help navigate, the two were in unfamiliar territory, especially in the area where the woman encased in ice was rumored to be.

  Boswick and Lyle both heard the unmistakable howl of a creature in the distance and knew that they’d have to hurry their pace if they wanted out of the snowstorm unscathed. Lyle drew his other knife and moved with them at the ready, just in case one of the lupine creatures assaulted them.

  Boswick reached into his pocket and felt the small leather pouch he was given by Erik: the dry, granular feel of ground black pepper sifted around his palm as Boswick dropped pinches along the way to cover their scent from the tearwolves. Much like their wolf and dog relatives, the fearsome beasts were repelled by black pepper, the scent highly powerful to their sensitive noses. Boswick wasn’t sure how effective it would prove in the blizzard, where the wind was blistering but he also didn’t want to leave anything to chance.

  Lyle kept his eyes on the eerie lights as the pair continued their trek for the hut. Having found the young tearwolf pup they needed, it was only a matter of time before Erik would set out his plan to catch the jarl unaware and spring a two-pronged attack on both him and the village. It wouldn’t be much longer until Erik would set everything in motion to take the jarldom from Torga.

  Boswick and Lyle personally didn’t care about the politics of the country so much as they had sufficient cover for their supply route to Hackshot, their boss. Erik had proven quite the fence in how well they could move stolen goods and the three profited well from their arrangement.

  The icy blue anomalies continued to follow the pair as they went and remained at a distance that the two swore stayed constant no matter how quickly or slowly they went. Boswick was slightly unnerved by that point, the ghostly lights never leaving their sight.

  Lyle remained indifferent for the most part, not so much spooked as inconvenienced by such a strange constant presence.

  “You think these things
are spirits?” Boswick asked after a period of silence.

  “Doubt it,” Lyle replied. “Maybe some form of will o’ wisps, except in the cold. Which honestly, it makes no sense to me since they need heat to float about from the gasses made. Either way, I’m not worried too much so long as they don’t attack.”

  A small whimper could be heard from Boswick’s pack, the young tearwolf pup afraid and away from its home and parents.

  “Shush now, we’ve got plans for you,” Boswick said to the pup, and patted it before his gaze returned to the trail ahead.

  Chapter VIII: An Awaited Plan of Action

  Heartstouch 11, 1008

  Over the past few days, Jarl Torga had gone to the other regions to speak with the jarls about the tearwolf problem, along with the involvement of two criminals that ran a supply line fence through the country. Normally, the problem would have been kept to Hemmigatr’s locale, but the ledger found, as well as the letter from Erik, showed it passed through the other regions to the other side of the country where the west port was for the country.

  Back in Hemmigatr, Ryland and Kaito had laid low after the encounter at the docks and Tervaskr Peak and used the time to help the villagers hunt for game and food. Despite the lull while they waited for the jarl to summon them, the duo was far from inactive. When they didn’t go on any of the hunts, the two, along with Jeff, would read up on the history and lore of Hjaalren to better understand the place. During one of the hunts, Leila had joined the hunting party that day and teamed up with Ryland and Kaito to hunt down some elk. The hunting trip itself was pleasant, as the trio followed the trail of a sizeable elk to one of the woodland trails. Upon their arrival, the three set up a trap where Leila would lie in wait with her bow, as Ryland and Kaito would drive the elk to a rope snare.

  The set up went off without a hitch as the elk walked into the area they had baited with juniper berries. As the great creature walked into view, Ryland and Kaito were perched on a tree branch above and held their breaths still as the large animal stepped into the clearing. It stood with great powerful legs that made it seem like it was an apex beast. Elk were known for their large size in colder climates, and the trio knew that the ones in Hjaalren were especially sizable for the environment. When the elk went to lean down to eat the bright red berries before it, Ryland and Kaito leaped down from the branch: Ryland landed on its back, and quickly grappled it by the neck, while Kaito landed a safe distance behind it. The elk started to run from Kaito’s direction as Ryland steered it for the snare ahead in the snow. The elk barreled straight for the trap and was promptly snagged by the trap as it toppled over and crashed into the snow. Leila then let her arrow fly that she had nocked, and it sailed clean into its heart for a relatively quick kill as she was taught. Red began to stain the white snow as the elk bellowed in agony for a moment, then gradually went limp as the life left its body.

  Together, the three then grabbed the sled they had left nearby and with some considerable effort, loaded the fresh game onto the top, then started back for the village.

  As they moved across the snow-laden woodland, Ryland looked to Leila and asked, “Any word on your father’s return?”

  Leila nodded and answered, “He’s expected to be back by later afternoon or evening. Once he’s returned, we’ll begin our plan to deal with Erik and the two he’s with.”

  Kaito wrapped some of the slack rope in his hand around his wrist and kept pulling his part of the sled along and added, “Any of the guards seen Erik at all during their watches, Leila?”

  The young woman shook her head in doubt and replied, “Not in the slightest. It’s like he’s been a ghost of late. So far, it’s had the other council members on edge, especially now that my father is calling for a meeting after visiting the other jarls to inform them personally of what was going on. He fears, since the supply chain runs through the other jarldoms, there may be others aligned with Erik in this whole operation.”

  “If that’s the case, is your father going to stop the other liaisons?” Ryland inquired.

  “From what my father told me, he planned to meet with them and let them know the situation here with Erik, and that he would help in any way possible by staying in communication with the others. All we can do is await his return and see what he wants us to do from there.”

  The trio saw the village appear in their line of sight through the trees, and quickened their pace to the butcher, where the elk they had slain could be dressed and prepared for the villagers to aid in the emergency restocking of food supplies for Hemmigatr.

  As the sun waned in the sky beyond Tervaskr Peak, Leila had Ryland and Kaito join her in the longhouse with the protection of the guards: the Frontier Okami duo had little worry in the way of Erik, but Leila took no chances with him. She knew Erik was always one to be tactful, cunning, and well-versed in the art of politics, all of which were things she knew to look out for.

  Kaito and Ryland looked over the map of the region, wanting to memorize and learn the places better for the upcoming plan of what to do next. Ryland’s eyes eventually drifted to Icestorm Reach and took a moment to admire the drawings of storms and vast stretches of woods and mountains along it.

  Leila glanced at Ryland and saw his gaze heavily transfixed on the reach, and said, “Something caught your eye, Ryland?”

  “The reach…it just seems so wild, untamed, and dangerous,” Ryland replied as his eyes moved to the point where the woman in ice was rumored to be. “It’s almost like there’s another world right next to Hemmigatr, waiting to be explored.”

  “Well, when you say it like that, yes,” Leila replied, taken aback by his fascination with the reach. “Most don’t care to go to there, and yet you see it as something to go see for yourself.”

  Kaito chuckled, “Well, we are aiming to go to the Green Frontier: if the reach would scare Ryland, how much resolve would he truly have for the travels ahead? His wanderlust far exceeds his fear from what I’ve seen.”

  Ryland looked to Leila and grinned, “He’s absolutely right. Not saying I want to unnecessarily go find danger in the reach, but I wouldn’t mind going to explore it some if we have the time. After all, if we’re bound for the deadliest place in the world, what’s a place like Icestorm Reach in comparison?”

  “I’ve never heard of anyone wanting to actually go to the Green Frontier before, that’s truly a first for me,” Leila said to the two. She giggled a bit, then asked, “You both think you’ll make it?”

  The duo looked to Leila with serious faces which immediately prompted her to drop the smile off her face, and responded in unison with a stern, “Yes.”

  “Oh…you both are dead set on it…I thought you were speaking lightly on it,” Leila explained, surprised by such steeled resolve.

  “Without question,” Ryland replied, his gaze locked with Leila’s, not a trace of fear or doubt in his eyes. “Kaito has a title to win from the world champion in the Halthian Rim. I have a family to find in Dialigo, and we both want to hunt with the top hunters of the frontier. It’s been a dream of mine since I was young.”

  Kaito clenched a fist in approval of his words and added, “I hail from the Tomuruki Sanken Dojo, a fresh master of the style from my sensei, and wish to earn the title of being the best martial artist of the world.”

  Leila’s surprise gave way to a warm smile, as admiration took her over at how serious the two were in taking on such titanic dreams.

  “Forgive my apprehension. It’s not every day I meet people with such lofty aims. It’s refreshing to see high spirited people.”

  Ryland asked Leila, “What do you want to accomplish in life? Any big dreams of yours?”

  Leila paused in thought and looked ahead to the wall in deep thought. She had not anticipated the question to be asked in kind to her.

  “Well…” she began, “I want to see my father safe. To continue to do well and run the jarldom for Hemmigatr without being plotted against.”

  “A noble goal for your father, ye
s. But what do you want for yourself?” Ryland asked, having sensed something beyond the statement.

  Leila stood silent for a moment, then slowly answered, “I want to see places beyond Hjaalren. I want to travel to other places like my sister did. It doesn’t have to be all the way like the Green Frontier, but I want to go sightsee a bit. To experience the joy of freely seeing new places.”

  Ryland gave Leila a look that agreed with her sentiment and said, “Why not do it after this debacle with Erik, Lyle, and Boswick?”

  The trio’s attention turned to the door as it suddenly swung open, as Jarl Torga and his retinue of guards entered the room.

  “Father, you’ve returned!” Leila said excitedly.

  “I have indeed, my dear daughter,” Torga replied as all but one of the guards left the room. Torga then beckoned for the others to get up and follow him to the battle room they had last planned in and bade that they shut the door behind themselves. Kaito brought up the rear and did as such, then sat down with the others while they waited for Torga’s word. His face and disposition were both stoic and quiet, which unsettled the others as tension filled the air.

  “Jarl Torga, what is the news from your travels?” Ryland asked with a concerned tone.

  Torga let a moment of silence pass, then sighed and explained, “To start, thanks to your efforts in reclaiming the crown as well as what you found at the docks, the jarls of Falmod and Galnir are both informed of the events that have been transpiring now and are aware that they have fences in their regions as well for the supply line. I had reservations with telling them of everything that had been happening in Hemmigatr of late in fear of looking weak to them, but I decided that approaching from a place of honor and openness, they’d be receptive to it, which paid off.”