Yngvild and the Forest of Dreams

Followed

Night came on us sooner than I had expected. We'd been going South through the forest since mid-afternoon, perhaps four hours. It was relatively easy going, the trees were spread out, with very little growing on the ground, mainly ankle height blue flowers in bunches between bare loam. The deer and other wildlife seemed to have eaten all the other vegetation.
'I think we're being watched.' Noren said.
'Jafnadr isn't telling me there's any danger.'
'Maybe there isn't yet.'
'How sure are you?'
'I've been aware there are fewer animal noises, and sometimes I hear other noises off to our right rear.'
'We could change direction to look for shelter for the night.'
'Or we could break and run for a bit.'
'I vote for turning. Easier to do and solves the worry faster.'
We walked round the next large tree to the right and both jogged back to where Noren thought the follower might be. Our rush onto them was effective. A young woman broke cover and ran away from us. She had been shadowing our progress. Noren caught her by the shoulder and she stopped running.
'Hey there, be careful!' she said.
'Don't worry, we mean you no harm. We just wanted to know why you were following us?' Noren said.
'Strangers aren't welcome here.' she said.
'Do you live here?' I asked.
'What business is it of yours where I live?'
'It became my business when you started spying on us.' I said.
'Leave now!' her voice became unusually deep.
Leaving seemed like a sensible option. The locals clearly weren't too friendly.
'Nice try.' Noren said. 'We're not going anywhere until we've done what we came for.'
'Who are you to defy us?'
'I'm Noren the foundling, son of Alfarinn. I'm in search of my mother. My friend is Yngvild the Fierce, Helgasdotir. Who might you be?'
'You claim to be the son of Alfarinn?'
'It is what I'm told. I seek her for certainty, and to request that she initiate me in the mysteries of Jorunn.'
'No man is allowed in the presence of Alfarinn.'
'How do you know this?' I said. 'Do you know where we can find her household?'
'I cannot tell you that until you pass the tests set by Alfarinn to divine the worthy.'
'Can you set us on the path of the tests, I am sure we can prove our worth.' Noren said.
'The first test is to work out what the tests are.'
I looked at Noren, taking my eyes off the girl, and when I looked back she had gone.

It was fully dark, but there was no cloud and the moon was up. I could see like daylight, but Noren kept crashing into the lower branches. Not a problem for me.
'Noren, why don't you sit down against the tree trunk and scrape a bare patch of earth so that we can light a small fire.'
I dropped my shield and pack on the windward side of Noren and then gathered some fallen sticks. It took three or four trips to get enough for a small fire to warm us up. I was lucky to find a dead branch that had fallen off a nearby tree.
'Might be a good idea to find some stones too.' Noren said.
I handed him a bundle of smaller twigs to use as kindling and went off to grab some stones from the stream we'd followed.
While Noren got the fire going I arranged our shields to give us a little shelter from the wind. I propped them both up with some long sticks and then draped my still damp clothes over them to dry overnight.
Noren broke some of the ship's biscuits and cut some cheese for us to eat. 
'What do you think the tests are?' I asked as I settled down next to Noren.
'They will be something to show we respect Alfarinn and pose her no threat.'
'Might be worth stashing our weapons and armour somewhere safe then.'
'You probably ought to keep Jafnadr with you.'
'Maybe, but not wearing mail should show we trust that we don't need it.'
'Yes. We should do that. Also maybe we shouldn't hunt anything. Just stick to the bread and cheese until it runs out.'
'I was also thinking that the girl said Alfarinn hadn't allowed a man to enter her presence for years.'
'That might be one of the tests. Need to think about it some more.'
'What about bringing Alfarinn a present of some kind?'
'Possibly. What do you recall of Alfarinn?'
'She's the granddaughter of both Alfarinn and Jorunn.'
'So she believes in Justice and Mischief, and in the Lost and Found.'
'Is there an injustice Alfarinn has suffered?'
'That would be a test.' Noren said. 'I think I'll sleep on it though.'
'Good idea.'
I checked that the fire wasn't going to spread and banked it up with earth on the side furthest from us before I cuddled up against Noren. The loam floor was soft, and I quickly fell asleep.