However Agnar so was not disappointed. Quite the contrary. He was very pleased to see the little Mouse King again and promptly opened the gate.
"Good evening!", said Dain and nodded to him.
"I wish you, too!", Agnar replied. "What brings you here?"
"Sigurd is waiting for me. We have to talk about political issues." In reality he only wanted to Sigurd to eat some of his wife's delicious cake, but he would never have admitted that. Whether King or not, he was still a mouse.
"Then I wish you all the best!", said Agnar and let him pass.
Dain nodded to him again and rode to the town hall. After Agnar had closed the gate again, he went back to the lake and waited.
He waited and waited until the sun went down behind the mountains, but Uller and Geirröd didn't came. Strange! He was very surprised, because normally one could set his watch by Uller.
Hours passed without anything happening, until some man came to him from the village with a lantern in his hand.
"Changing of the guard!", said the man and stopped in front of Agnar.
It was already far after midnight and Agnar had to realize that Ullers wagon would not come that evening. Without saying a word, he packed his things together and went home. He thought, why and for what reason they had not come and he invented the wildest theories, most of which were rather silly. He imagined, among other things, how Geirröd came to the castle, fell in love with the princess and then married her. He had to laugh, even though he did not know if there was a princess in Wala at all. He basically knew nothing about the world outside the village. The stories of Uller and his books were his only contact with the outside world, apart from Dain and his adventure in the woods.
Nevertheless, Agnar didn't worry much. They will come the next days. He thought to himself and went home.
In the following days he waited again after work on the lake for their return, but each time he waited for nothing.
At first he made no thoughts, but days went by and nothing happened. After waited seven nights at the lake, he began to worry. What if they do not come back? Once again he thought of Uller's story, of the monster without a name.
On the evening of the ninth day Agnar was waiting at the lake again. It was raining heavily and a cold wind blew in his ears. Nevertheless, he remains there and watched while he waited to the bridge.
After a while, Sigurd came by and sat down next to him. He was smiling and patted him on the shoulder.
"You know what, Agnar ...", he began, "...Uller is an experienced man. I am pretty sure he has not come yet, because he has forgotten the time of the many business deals."
Agnar felt better, after Sigurd's words. "I'm sure you're right!", he said.
"And you don't have to worry about Geirröd.", Sigurd continue. "As long as Uller is with him, nothing will happen to him."
They remained together for a while until Sigurd sent Agnar home. Without protest he came to the request and went home.
That night, Agnar tortured a cruel nightmare. In his dream he saw Geirröd, standing before a black knight, with a burning sword in hands. The knight seized him in the face, and burned his skin, while bright steam clouds were rising. Geirrod cried so long with pain until he fell silent, like a tree to the ground. He was dead.
As Agnar woke the next morning he was covered in sweat and trembling all over. The dream had shaken him.
He remained sitting on his bed for a moment, when he heard a noise. In the main room it creaked and clattered like crazy. Is the Geirröd? He asked himself and went to the source of the sound.
When he went into the main room, he saw Dain, who was standing on his dining table and was eating a couple of cookies.
"Good morning!", said Dain cheerfully.
"Good morning.", Agnar replied and sat down beside him at the kitchen table. He was not surprised to see Dain at his home, after he had told him that he could always visit him; but he was visibly disappointed that it was not his brother.
"What's wrong?", asked Dain. He noticed that something depressed him.
Then Agnar told him everything. He told him about Uller's story, about the dark creature and his dream, which still took his breath.
Dain was silent for a while and thought. "In my opinion, this matter is very serious.", he said. "Of course, we can only make guesses now, but I feel uncomfortable with this story. I will send my scouts out to look for them."
Although he does not like this statement, Agnar was nevertheless glad to know, that someone shared his thoughts.
"I did not want to stay long anyway.", said Dain, and said goodbye.
In the following days, everything remained the same. As always, Agnar went to work, to the pasture, and fulfilled his duties as dutifully as usual. Harbard was him in this time of great help. He grabbed all over with and was no less diligent than Geirröd.
Sigurd had advised him not to go to the lake after work to wait for Uller and Geirröd so he would not worry any more. But even he came the first bad fealings.
Dain, as promised, searched for them, but all the effort was unsuccessful.
The weeks passed and the once ubiquitous cheerfulness in the village were also disappeared with Uller and Geirröd.
It was difficult for Agnar to think of anything else than to his brother. Even Sigurd, after a long silence, admitted that he was seriously concerned too.
Three months passed and after a mild spring followed a hot summer.
Harbard had now become an integral part of the daily work on the pasture and took full possession of Geirröd's place there. Worst of all was this overwhelming uncertainty about their whereabouts, but life in the village had to go on.
On a warm summer's evening, Agnar was laying in his bed and tryed to sleep, but he can't close his eyes. He just lay there and looked at the ceiling. His window was wide open and let cool air enter the room.
He thought as usual about Geirröd and about all the possibilities there was to get an answer to his disappearance. However forgiven.
He was at the end of his mental powers. He could not stand this uncertainty any longer and had to do something, because that was the way it could go on. Something must happened, because he couldn't sleep peacefully any night and if he did, then terrible nightmares torment him.
In the middle of the night Agnar stood up and looked out the window. Behind a thick layer of clouds came the moon to light and shone like a spotlight on his house.
At that moment he made a decision. That night he decided to pack his things and go on the search for Uller and Geirröd.
It was far after midnight, when he began the preparations. He took his shoulder bag and grabbed something to eat and drink. Then he took his sword and threw an old coat over his shoulder.
It was just before sunrise, when he left his house and headed for the town hall. He wanted to tell Sigurd about his plan before he left. But because it was still so early and he did not want to wake anyone, he wrote him a letter:
Dear Sigurd,
It is now three months since Uller and Geirröd have disappeared without a trace. Although I firmly believe they are doing well, I need to know what happened. Therefore, I be on the way to the castle before the sunrise and therefore please excuse me that I can not go to work on the pasture tomorrow. Because I did not want to disturb your night rest, I decided to write you this letter.
As soon as I experience something, I will teach you immediately.
Until then, Yours sincerely,
Agnar
When he arrived at the town hall, he walked quietly to the entrance and placed carefully the letter against the threshold of the door. Just as he had turned back and wanted to go, he heard a creak behind him and was instantly frightened. Agnar turned and saw Sigurd standing at the doorway and beginning to read the letter. The situation was him extremely uncomfortable. He felt like a child who had just been caught by stealing a cake from the window sill. Sigurd read the letter and looked after that up at him.<
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"And then?", he asked. Agnar did not understand the question, but he could already imagine, what he wanted to say.
"We've did everything possible to find them.", Sigurd continued. "No one has seen them." Agnar had never seen him so resolved, as at this moment.
"I can no longer sit around idly.", he said and was slightly angry. "Someone must have seen them. Do you don't care what had happened to them? Uller is just your big brother, as Geirröd is mine."
Sigurd looked at him and made a serious face. "Of course not, but I find it harder to believe that they will ever return." Agnar looked at him startled. Never before had he experienced him so desperately. "You know Agnar, something has happened in the world out there. Something bad and strange. There is everywhere a hostility that has never existed before. I would never have thought that we would have to worry about our safety here in the village until these wolves had disappeared. Dain recently told me about new wolf attacks, in the surrounding villages, and Uller told to me to last about a change of people. I'm more concerned about the two than about anything else and more worried than you might think."
Agnar was visibly moved by his speech, and was silent. He felt dumb to believe seriously, that Sigurd did not care about the disappearance of Uller and Geirröd.
At that moment the sun rose behind the rocks and the birds began to chirp. Then Agnar broke the silence:
"No matter what is going on in the world, I will not wait any longer. I'll look for them and not come back until I know what happened." He had never been so serious in his life as at this moment.
Sigurd looked at him and a smile came over his lips. Slowly, his natural happiness returned to him. "If I did not know better, I would think my father talks to me.", he said.
Agnar felt the comparison with Tyr as a great compliment, but he did not let it show.
"Don't worry!", Agnar said. "I'll be back with Uller and Geirröd. I am afraid of nothing and no one."
Sigurd folded his arms and nodded. He had realized, that he could not change his decision.
After their conversation Sigurd decided to give Agnar a horse and a few other useful things on the journey. He fetched from the stable a splendid white horse, which was loaded with two large pockets on the sides and handed it over to Agnar. In the pockets were a blanket, a little bit food and a small bag with gold coins. Only then noticed Agnar how unprepared he was. It would have lasted eternally if he had walked the path to the castle, if his feet's had carried him so far.
Sigurd already took leave of him in the village. "Take good care of yourself!", he said, not really happy with Agnar's decision.
"I will. Do not worry.", replied Agnar and mounted his horse. Then he rode to the castle. Always northwards.
"Good journy!", cried Sigurd, waving after him.
"Do it well!", Agnar called back and left the village.
On the way, Agnar had a bad conscience, because he had not said goodbye to the others, but he was sure that they would understand it when Sigurd it explained.
After a while he came to the lake, which after so many years had almost grown to him like a good friend and to whom he had so many beautiful moments.
In front of the gate to the bridge stood Harbard, who had guarded it the last night. Agnar told and explained everything to him and apologized that he let him alone with the work on pasture. Harbard had understanding and opened the door. Then they said goodbye and Agnar crossed the old wooden bridge. Also on this day, the fog below the bridge was so dense that it seemed he were above the clouds.
The farewell from his home was very difficult for him, but there was no way back. With mixed feelings he started his journey into the unknown.
Hunter's and boar
It was not long before Agnar came back to the place where the road shared to East and West. This time, he took the eastern path, because his goal was clear. He wanted to go to the castle to look for Uller and Geirröd, but that sounded much easier than it really was. Agnar had never been beyond the mountains where he lived. He had no idea where he was going to begin his search at all, but he was sure, that his feeling would show him the right way.
So he rode a long while, between high rocks along the path. The road was good and could be crossed quickly. Shortly before a crossroads, he suddenly had to break his ride, because before him were five wayside fork and far and wide no information shield in sight. Great and now? Agnar did not know which route led him to the castle and was helpless. Should my journey end here? No, think Agnar.
He thought for a while, until suddenly he noticed twelve colorful birds on a branch over him. They sat tightly together and looked at him. At the same time, a few of them turned the heads, others briefly said to each other and seemed to communicate. Such birds he had never seen before.
While he was so pondering, the birds rose suddenly from the tree and began to fly in circles. After they had flown a few laps they reformed into an arrow formation and flew into the middle of the five ways. Agnar looked after them and wondered if he should follow them, but for lack of alternatives, he had no other choice. What I have to lose?
So he rode along the path, hoping that the birds wanted to help him. From time to time the birds came back to him and circled around his head. He was sure that the birds wanted to lead him the way, wherever that led.
A short time later, the path became wider and the birds disappeared in the surrounding trees. Suddenly a clearing appeared before Agnar, in the middle of which stood a small wooden cottage. In front of the cottage sat an old man, with a pipe in his hand, which was apparently just to relax.
Agnar approached him, but he did not seem to notice him. He was wearing a straw hat, with colorful feathers on his head, and had a long white beard. Agnar stopped before him and got off the horse.
"Hello!", said the old man than, without looking at Agnar.
"Hello!", Agnar returned the greeting.
"Where does your path lead you?"
"I want to the Castle of Wala. I'm looking for someone."
"Who are you looking for, when the question is allowed?"
"It is allowed. I'm looking for a man named Uller. He drove to the castle a few months ago and did not return. Please tell me, did have you see him maybe?"
Then the old man raised his head and saw Agnar in the face. "Uller?", he asked. "Yes, he had come here some time ago."
Agnar hearth almost jumped from his chest. A first track. "Tell me, was a young man with him?"
The man looked up at the sky and thought. "Yes, there was a young man with him." he said. "But that must have been at least three months ago. I remember they were loaded with boxes and barrels on the way to the castle; But after that I have not seen them."
Agnar was visibly glad about this information. Now he knew he was on the right track.
"By the way, my name is Agnar.", he said. "Maybe I should have started with that."
The old man grinned and took his straw hat from his head. "I'm Reck.", he said. "Uller and I are old friends. I breed bees and sell their honey. With Uller I can always do good business in the past."
Agnar nodded to him cheerfully and took a seat in front of him. "Do you live alone here?", he asked.
"No!", answered Reck. "I live here with my children. Have they not meet you on the way here?"
"No, there were only a few colorful birds flying through the area."
Reck began to laugh. "Yes, those were my children.", he said and tapped of his pipe.
Agnar looked slightly puzzled, but Reck cleared him.
"You have to know Agnar ...", he began, "...Once I lived alone in my cottage and was terribly lonely, but one day a witch met me. She offered me a magic egg; in exchange for a month harvest of my best honey. She said the egg would fill me a wish no matter what it be. I agreed, but offered her only the half of the honey she had asked for. She cursed and cursed, but she finally agreed under one condition. I should after I expressed my wish throwing a silver coin that should d
ecide whether or not fulfilled my Wish for. Head would have fulfilled my wish immediately, but by number were the egg changed into dust. I agreed, and wished me a house full of daughters and sons before I threw the coin. Completely surprising, the coin remained upright stuck in the ground, so that it did not show any clear result. I was frightened at first, but the witch still fulfilled my wish, but with a modification. In the daytime, my children were to be condemned to dull their lives in the form of birds, but in the night they would always become human again. Then the egg broke and twelve colorful birds flew out. Since that day I have six sons and six daughters."
Agnar had attentively listened to him and considered what he would have wished for in his place. "Why did you not wished to be a king?", he asked. "Then you could have lived in riches, instead of in a small cottage."
Reck smiled and did not wait long with his answer. "Actually, you're right.", he said. "But what brings you wealth, if you have no one with whom you can share it. I was always happy with my life as it was. Only Children have been missing for my happiness."
At that moment, the twelve colorful birds flew from the trees and gathered beside Reck, on a wooden shield. Agnar saw a sparkle in his eyes as he handed the birds a bowl of sunflower seeds and fed them from it.
Agnar could well understand why Reckt had wanted a family. He, too, would have preferred his brother to return (with Uller, of course). Then they were silent for a while, while Reck began to boil potatoes in a kettle.
Agnar would have liked to stay a little bit longer, but it was time to leave again. "Please tell me Reck.", he began. "How do I get to the castle from here?"
"That's easy.", said Reck. "The way to the Castle of Wala is right behind my cottage."
Agnar stood up and looked around the corner. Indeed! Right behind a thick hedge was a long, brightly lit path.
The Kingdoms of Wala: Agnar and the battle of the Firemountain (1) Page 4