Violet Riding Hood

Chapter 7

The villagers woke up the following day to discover that Swordhorn was covered by a dense and mysterious fog, which was a rather unusual feature at that time of the year. The snow from the storm was at least two feet deep in many parts of the streets, and the Wintry air still smelled of the smoke released by the chimneys all night.

Very soon, the frozen silence was broken by the church bells ringing with the characteristic pattern that was used to call the people to the main square... and accordingly, the villagers began to emerge from their houses and they marched by the hundreds on their way to the gathering.

Many of the soldiers remained asleep inside their camping tents everywhere, and even those that were already awake were taken by surprise and they could not restrain the advancing villagers.

The voices were chanting in every street, because the people of Swordhorn were determined to celebrate at last the victory that Sage Sallyahel had denied them days ago.

They wanted to demonstrate that the Wolf was really dead and gone forever...

"All follow me!" Harry called, advancing at the head of hundreds of villagers- "Let's show the Sage what we think of her!"

Harry carried the head of the gray wolf on a spear, a perfect vision to inspire and lead Swordhorn through those dark and dangerous days. The young man would raise and shake the spear as they advanced through the main street on their way to the square, while the people behind him displayed their own demonstrations of enthusiasm and pride:

They were wearing those furry hats designed in mocking imitation of a wolf's ears and eyes, a good combination for the fake wolf tails and fake claws in their hands...

"How lucky that we still have the wolf costumes from the Blue Moon festival" Vallery said, holding Catherine's hand as they advanced not far behind Harry- "The Sage is not going to like this!"

"Vallery, watch out for the traps!" Catherine warned, and indeed, every villager was being very careful not to step on any of the concealed metallic devices that the soldiers had buried in the snow.

The dangerous spots were marked by a pale red liquid dropped casually in the snow, because it was believed that all Wolves suffered from a weak color vision and they would be unable to realize where the traps could be.

"Where is the Sage, by the way?" Vallery asked, playing with her Wolf hat and her unusually long tail.

"Everyone, go back to your homes!" a soldier exclaimed, clueless as to what to do regarding the situation- "We have not finished the research yet, and the Sage said..."

Harry and Catherine just pushed him aside, Vallery laughing as she realized that most of the soldiers remained asleep.

Carrow was drinking a huge mug of rye beer for breakfast as he marched beside Susan, even Julie was wearing a wolf costume happily and then everyone began to sing:

"The Wolf is Dead, no more claws and teeth! The Wolf is Dead, no more Death from the Shadows of the Forest..." Harry raised the spear several times as he sang, everyone cheering with great pride- "The Wolf is Dead! We shall fear no more when the Moon is in the sky..."

The same song could be heard coming from other parts of the village, and then they finally arrived at the already large gathering that was taking place in front of the church.

The wind had started to dissipate the fog, and Vallery looked up to appreciate the view of Mount Grimdark and other snowy mountains in the distance... It seemed to her that the day was going to be very beautiful, and she was surprised to see that so many people had already gathered at the square.