Chapter 3
Ishild started to gain consciousness, but she felt her body enclosed by something. It was a bunch of furs from different animals, but she was shocked when she realized she was naked underneath.
Ishild looks around the place; there was a fire roaring in one corner, but Ishild was awe-struck by the walls. They looked to be made of ice and she touches the wall by the bed, it was made of ice.
Then, she hears something and turns to see tiny creatures wearing fur. She lets out a gasp, but one of the tiny beings, who had messy white hair says, "Please don't be afraid, we will not hurt you."
"Who are you? And where are my clothes?" Ishild demands and looks at the beings, "Are you dwarfs?" she asks.
"Yes miss, we are," one of them replies, "And your clothes have been hung up to dry. You took a nasty tumble in the river." Just then, Ishild hears snorting noises and the clanking of hooves. "He's here," the dwarf said.
Ishild looks at the opening and a much larger creature appears. Ishild's heart pounds as she takes in the being's appearance. It was tall and covered in black hair, with cloven hooves for feet, and goat horns were on sides of its head.
"He will not hurt you, he saved your life," a dwarf with blonde hair said. It did little to stop Ishild's pounding heart as she looks into its beaming eyes.
"Are you all right?" the creature asks, its voice was deep.
"I...how long was I out?" Ishild asks.
"All morning and afternoon, its nearly dark outside," the creature answers and Ishild does her best to calm her beating heart. The creature's voice was so deep that it made Ishild shutter.
"Do not be afraid, Meinrad is a gentle soul, unless you taunt him," the blonde dwarf said.
Ishild looks at the creature named Meinrad, "You saved my life?" she asks and he nods.
"Why were you pursuing me?" he asks in return. Ishild looks at Meinrad with confusion, but she then remembers the dead ewe.
"Was it you that killed the farmer's sheep?" she replies.
"I would never set foot in your village!" Meinrad shouts and growls. Ishild scurries into a corner of the bed and the creature realizes what he did. "I apologize, my temper can be...uncontrollable," he said and gives a bow of his head. "No, I did not kill any sheep," he adds.
"Meinrad only hunts animals of the forest," the white-haired dwarf said.
"I didn't mean to make you upset. You see, someone or something killed a sheep in the village and the farmer claims to have shut the door tight," Ishild said to Meinrad.
"I did not kill any sheep," Meinrad replies, "Perhaps it was someone else."
Ishild notices the buck skin hanging on the wall and then remembers the night she saw Meinrad, "So, it was you who scared off the deer that night?" she asks.
"I didn't mean to," Meinrad answers and looks at her clothes that were hanging over the fire. "These are dry," he said to Ishild and adds, "I'll take you back to your village."
"Thank you, but I can find my way back," Ishild replies and the blonde dwarf gives her her clothes.
"It will be dangerous with all those wolves out there," the blonde dwarf said and Ishild sees her empty quiver.
"I will take you to the edge of the forest, then you can run through the meadow," Meinrad said and leaves the room. Ishild gets into her dry clothes and boots.
"Meinrad has never had human company," the white haired dwarf said to Ishild.
"What is this place?" she asks the two dwarfs.
"This is where we live, well, Meinrad does, and we dwarfs have our own place," the blonde dwarf replies and adds, "My name is Runa and this is my husband, Hartwig."
"I'm Ishild, please forgive me for asking this, but what kind of creature is Meinrad?" Ishild asks the two.
"You have to ask him, we found him when he was a little baby. We took him in and raised him. He may look like a beast, but he's gentle as a child," Runa said and the two dwarfs show her the way out of the room.
Ishild takes in the icy walls of the place and they enter a room where it was full of wood. The young woman looks at one and was astonished to see that it was a wood craving. It featured a detailed wolf in a sprint.
She looks at more wood cravings and her head hits something. It was a little chandelier of colored glass.
Ishild sees Meinrad in the entry, "Did you make these?" she asks him.
"I have," he answers.
"These are beautiful," Ishild comments and she notices Meinrad hiding his face under his hood.
"We must go, it will be dark soon," Meinrad insists and Ishild nods. Hartwig lights a torch and the four of them leave. Ishild realizes it was an ice cave when they were outside.
Meinard leads Ishild through the forest in silence, but Runa insists that Ishild talk. "Meinard, I..." she stops, she really didn't want to ask him of what he was.
"What is it...? What is your name?" he asks, looking at her with beaming eyes.
"I'm Ishild," she answers, "I want to thank you for saving my life."
Meinrad stops in his tracks and looks at her with a curious eye. "Is there anything I can do to repay you?" Ishild asks him.
He points with a long claw at her bow, "Can you teach me?" he asks and Ishild looks at her bow.
"The bow? Yes, I can," she answers and they resume their walk.
"And one more thing," he said, "Don't tell anyone of my existence. I am afraid of what they will think of me."
Ishild knew what he was talking about; the villagers would rather hunt down something that looked hideous in appearance.
"I will not say a word about you," Ishild replies and Meinrad nods.
They pass the river and came to the edge of the forest. They heard people shouting and the lights of torches were flickering.
"Thank you Meinrad, I can go from here," Ishild said and she leaves him and two dwarfs.
"You are welcome to come back any time," Hartwig informs her and she nods. She rushes out of the forest, runs across the meadow, and met with the many gazes of her friends and her father and her brother.
"Ishild! What happened to you?!" her father, Gerhard cries out and holds her in his arms.
"Willahelm came back here without you," Adalhard said and Ishild sees her faithful companion tied up in his stall.
"A pack of wolves chased after us. I had to let Willahelm go, so he could escape. I managed to fight off the wolves," Ishild answers, keeping Meinrad secret.
"Ishild, you could've been killed, from now on, no hunting for this...creature," her father insists.
"Yes father," Ishild replies and she and her family head back to their house.
Meinard had watched Ishild run towards her village, almost like deer sprinting towards safety.
"She sees me as a monster," he said to the two dwarfs.
"I don't think so, I know she will come back," Runa replies to Meinrad. The three turn around and disappear into the darkness.
From the author: We finally meet the Krampus, what do you think? 'Meinrad' means in Ancient Germanic for 'strong counsel'.
Stay tuned for more!