Chapter 3: The Beast

With a scream, Ulfgar woke up in his bed in Thirsk. He quickly looked around, and then tried to get up. A sharp stinging pain in his arm stopped him, and as he pulled up his sleeve, he saw a bite mark, much similar to the one of a wolf. He recalled last night's incident, with him being attacked by werewolves and hearing that strange voice from his dream. He quickly rolled down the sleeve, as Svenja entered the room. "Ulfgar! You're awake!" He smiled when he saw the joy in her eyes. "Barely," he responded," how long have I been asleep?" Svenja put down a tray with some food and a mug of mead on the table.

"You have been sleeping for three days know…you should thank Reilir, he was the one that found you". She sat down on one of the chairs in the room. "You were unconscious, with that wound on your arm bleeding pretty badly". Ulfgar opened his mouth to speak, when a young man with a full armor walked into the room. He smiled when he saw that Ulfgar was awake, and he also sat down on one of the chairs. "How are you feeling?" he asked, and despite his fierce looks, Ulfgar could tell that he spoke with a worried tone. "I'm a little dizzy, but I'll live". Svenja introduced him as Reilir, a traveling warrior who had been with the people in Thirsk for quite some time now.

Ulfgar felt bad about the fact that he had never bothered to learn the man's name, but Thirsk did have a lot of residents by now, and it would take him at least a week or two to get to know everybody. Ulfgar moaned painfully as he got out of the bed, and looked at Reilir. "My friend, I thank you for what you have done, and I hope that I shall be able to repay you one day". Reilir grinned widely, and raised the mug he had brought with him. "To the chieftain of Thirsk, Ulfgar Beast-slayer". Ulfgar nodded, and laughed loudly. "Come my friends, it's time to meet the others". Ulfgar placed one hand on Svenja's shoulder, and the other on Reilir's and led them out of the room.

The smile on his face briefly changed to a frown of concern as he thought about the creatures he had fought on that night, and how they changed from normal people into bloodthirsty wolf men. He also thought about that voice that had now haunted his dreams for the past nights. He shook his head, and smiled once again as he was led down the stairs to the main hall. The hall was full of people, mostly nords but there were some other races as well. They all stopped what they were doing when they saw Ulfgar coming down the stairs.

Suddenly, the hall erupted in a massive cheer, and Ulfgar thankfully received this gesture of appreciation. He sat down on the throne slowly, and looked out over the hall. Suddenly, he caught a glimpse of a man standing in the doorway. He didn't look like your everyday traveler, as he was clad in nothing more than a brown robe. He looked old, at least a decade older than anyone in here, and he had blonde hair tied back in a pony tail. Ulfgar stared at this man for a minute or two, and when they made eye contact, the strange man motioned for him to follow him outside. Ulfgar nodded, and slowly got up from the throne.

The snowing had stopped, and now there was just a chilly wind blowing across the plains surrounding the mead hall. Ulfgar grabbed a coat made of bear fur on his way out, and wrapped it around his half-naked body. He saw the man sitting on a tree stump, and he cleared his throat and was just about to speak, when the stranger interrupted him. "My name is Korst Wind-Eye, and I have traveled from the village of Skaal in the north to see you". Ulfgar was surprised of the man's sudden introduction, but nonetheless spoke to him. "What is it that the people of Skaal want of me?" he asked, and Korst looked at him. Korst stood up, and started to tell his story.

Both Ulfgar and Korst sat on the tree stump outside of Thirsk, and Ulfgar was trying to take in the information that he had just been told. "So…you are the shaman of Skaal, right?" he asked, and Korst nodded briefly. "And you have come here, because you sense some disturbance in the natural forces around here". Korst looked at him and smiled. "You probably think that I am crazy, aren't you?" he said and looked at the lake that they had in front of them, lake Fjalding. "I assure you, I'm not…It's just that I feel that there is something not right here, and I have come to investigate".

Ulfgar thought about the attack of the werewolves and the man in his dreams, but decided that he wanted to know more about this guy, before telling him everything. "So, have you noticed anything unusual in the past few days?" he asked, and Ulfgar shook his head. He decided not to tell him about the hunt he had set up for the members of Thirsk, since the inhabitants of Skaal knew the procedure as the Ristaag, and it might be considered a bit blasphemous to use a holy ritual as an annual hunting game.

Korst sighed, and stood up. "If you notice anything out of the ordinary, and I do mean anything, don't hesitate to make a trip to Skaal and visit me, okay?". Ulfgar nodded, and Korst started walking. It was now that Ulfgar noticed that Korst didn't carry any weapons. "Isn't it dangerous to make suck a long trip here without any means of defending yourself?" he asked curiously, and Korst just laughed. "I have all the protection I need" he said, and turned around again. Ulfgar suddenly saw the blurry images of a bear and a wolf walking by Korst's sides. Ulfgar just shook his head, and went back inside.

Around midnight, Ulfgar sat in his throne and stared into the wall on the opposite side of the room. Everyone had already gone to bed, and he was the only one awake. He was thinking of all the weird stuff that had happened to him lately, the dreams, the werewolf attack and now being interrogated by a shaman, whatever that is. He sighed heavily, as he leaned back into the comfortable big throne, and closed his eyes. He soon fell asleep, but was awakened by a voice calling out to him.

"Ulfgar…Ulfgar…"

Ulfgar opened his eyes, but there wasn't anyone there. He sighed and closed his eyes again. He heard the voice once more, still calling his name. He got irritated, and got up from the throne. "Who is th…" Ulfgar stopped, as he noticed that the front door was wide open. Strange, he thought, didn't I close the door before? He walked slowly, looking cautiously after any signs of anything that could have opened the door.

He touched the handle of the door and was just about to shut it, when he saw a bright red moon on the sky outside. To his own surprise, he walked out and looked at the moon, without him ordering his body to do so. It was like something else took control of him. The moon was beautiful, he'd admit to that. It was unusually big, and almost hypnotizing. Ulfgar opened his mouth to say something, but no words came out of his mouth, only a low, rumbling howl…