The Traveler: Name of the Wolf

Chapter 2

                "Werewolf...?" said the dark haired fellow "do not jest, chief we..."

"What does it look like...?" said Zen.

"All who see it..." spoke the chief "tell of a man shaped shaggy beast, double kneed, long arms, claws and a canine snout, with glaring red eyes..."

"You have a werewolf..." There was no longer any assumption to his statement.

"Why do you say that...?"

"Because I know my lore. How long as this been going on...?"

"Just this winter..." said the Chief

"Anything before then, any strange, peculiar death, corpses, anything...?"

"What do you know of werewolves...?" asked the Chief.

"I know...there are several ways in which one can become one. One may be cursed by a witch, one may bitten and survive the bite of one, one may even seek the favor of the Lord of the Black Hunt, and be 'blessed' with the 'honor' of being one of his hounds. Regardless, however, no matter how one becomes one, the rules are the same, one cannot take on their canine form unless it is the night of the full moon, nor do they have a choice once the moon rises."

"How does one fight such a beast...?"

"There is the always faithful silver, holy items and weapons and more proper deities, but also, wolf's bane..."

"What is that...?"

"A, herb, a flower, wolfs and werewolves cannot stand it. In its normal state it is poisonous. When brewed, properly it is poisonous to them. In either form it's a deterrent to them."

"Are really going to trust him...?" asked the dark haired fellow.

"Then give me guards..." said Zen. The group looked at him. "Let's be honest I will be happy to have some protection while this thing stalks about. Also, if you do not trust me...have me watched. If I try to run, your men will kill me, if I'm the beast, they will be there to kill me when I change." The chief stroked his beard in thought.

"Why are we out here...?" said a guard grumbling. He and the other wore layered clothing, a green and purple shirt, both under chainmail shirts and vests made of fur. They wore leather pants and fur boots. On their backs were round shields, in their hands spears, and at their sides, swords. Both were blonde, but the one that spoke had a mustache, twin locks on his face, while the other had a wild beard.

"We are here..." said Zen, on the ground, picking up a plant with pinkish, purple flowers "to find wolf's bane." They were in the forest, surrounded by trees and thick bush. The sky was overcast darkening the forest floor.

"I do not like these woods..."

"Why, if it is the beast then you should only care about it when night has come and the moon is full."

"So you say, but, I've heard of the beast walking these woods at day." Zen paused. He looked at him and went back to his foraging.

"Oh...? When was this...?"

"During winter, we had..." the guard paused "gone trading for resources... It was a few days after we got back, one of the guards saw a thing in the distance, like a bear but walking like a man. It howled, and we shot at it, put an arrow in the left shoulder, and it ran off. We never saw it again until the following full moons. We lost some good souls that night, including the chief's son..."