Whispers from the Dark

2. Strange beasts

As the sun started rising in the sky on the third day of our travel, a little village on the edge of the glistening lake appeared. "We're here." Relieve washed over us. The sight upon the village was breath taking. Buildings were lit up by the red golden light from the sun. The water seemed almost as blue as the sky and fainting clouds kissed the horizon, coloured by the rising sun. Even though it was early in the morning, the people in town were up and about. Ships were loaded and shops opened their doors for the early costumers. I looked out over the lake and in the distant I saw more ships coming for the town. They would arrive just before noon probably. I wondered if there were still some exotic fruits to buy. You want to go in town? Artemis answered my thoughts. "Maybe, I think we need to refill our supplies. We're going on a long trip and won't be coming across many other towns."

Then I will wait for you by the edge of the forest. Call for me, when you need me. I stroke his furl behind his ears. And as silent as a fox he disappeared from my side. I knew our contact wouldn't fade if he stayed within a certain amount of distance. The edge of the forest was just far enough for me to keep in touch with him while I looked about in town.

As I strolled down the winding path, two guards were in discussion with a distressed farmer. The farmer, a middle-aged man, stood with his hands on his slim waist blocking the road for the guards. He looked angry and scared at the same time, like he'd just seen a ghost and no one wanted to help him. His hair was like pepper and salt, covering a small but firm face. You could see the lines of hard work in his face. He didn't look like a farmer. More like a warrior even though his clothing told otherwise. The two guards were taller than him and one of them even had his hand on his sword. "You talk nonsense, old man!" one of the guard's gestures towards the foot of the mountain. "You seriously think, I will believe such a story?!" he continued his arguing. "You have to believe me! He ate my cow. I saw it with my own eyes!" The second guard starting laughing. The face of the farmer grew darker. And I came closer and closer to this blocking of the road. "Thalor, you've always been a pleasant friend of our units, but this time you sound insane. I sincerely advice you to stop freaking people out and act normal. It were the wolves, alright." The first guard put a gentle hand on Thalor's shoulder, but he slapped the hand away. Angry. "I'm starting to understand why you retired, old man," the second guard honed. And started laughing again. I dared not to interfere, so I kept my distance until the guards would hopefully leave. And right now, my wish was granted. "Oh, get your asses out of my face right now! Before I lose my patience." Thalor stepped angrily aside and made it clear he was not interested in any response any more. The two guards got the message and walked off still laughing. When the guards were almost out of sight, the old farmer looked straight at me. "Don't be frightened little girl, I am not an angry, insane, old man as they pointed out so nicely." He took a deep breath and lowered his shoulders. He calmed down and the frown disappeared from his face. I smiled awkwardly at him and he returned it with a big grin. Then he turned around and stalked off, back to his farm. What had he seen? What kind of creature had he witnessed while it ate his cow? I continued walking down towards the village, but managed to quickly look at Thalor's farm. It was a big farm. According to what the guards said, he was once part of one of the units. So, likely he was a guard himself. Or maybe his was a knight, fighting in the army of the king. And now he was retired. Settled down on a farm. I heard stories that retired knights got a piece of land for their own to build a house or to raise a family. The front door looked out over the main road I was walking on. The farm had two stables. One of them was behind the house and the other on the right side, next to the meadow. That was probably for the cows he was taking care of. I couldn't see enough of the stable behind the farm to determine what kind of animals he was keeping more. I walked past his front door and what I saw next to the small side river, that was streaming parallel with the main road, made me feel sick to the stomach. A half-eaten, brutally attacked animal coloured the thin layer of white snow red. The smell was horrible. If I hadn't heard that one of his cows was attacked, I wouldn't have recognized this creature. "This is not done by any wolf," I said out loud.