Chapter 17 - The Stranger
As the rough dirt road wound through a century-old woodland, Jacob scanned his surroundings. He admired the beauty of the mature oak and beech trees with their contrasting smooth and rough bark, noticing the delicate patterns of dappled sunlight passing through their branches. Jake turned to his brother to share his appreciation of the scenery and noticed an uncharacteristically gentle smile on Wilhelm's face as their eyes met.
"Brother, it doesn't get any better than this, does it? I can't recall the last time we were this well fed or well rested," Wilhelm exclaimed cheerily, reining in his horse toward Jacob. "At last, things are going in our favour."
"Careful, Will," Jake chided with a smile, "You know as well as I that Luck can be a capricious lady."
"All the more reason to enjoy when things are good, then," Will retorted with a grin, receiving an eye roll from his brother in return.
A jarring series of shrieks and squawks suddenly shattered the calm early afternoon. A dense flock of songbirds exploded from the edge of the forest to their left, flapping and screeching as if a hawk were on their tails. Taking a sharp turn, the cloud of winged creatures veered directly towards Jacob. Moving faster than Jake could spur Fee on, the swarm momentarily enveloped the younger brother and his mount. Bucking in terror at the sudden noise and movement, Fee reared and nearly unseated Jacob before breaking into a wild gallop down the road. Grasping the reins with all his strength, Jake closed his eyes and felt feathers brush against his face as he was pulled forward through the mob.
Screaming his younger brother's name as the white mare surged forward through the flock, Wilhelm urged his mount onward as the cloud of birds scattered into the forest's edge. By the time Will had reached Jacob's side, the younger man had calmed his mount, slowing her movement down to a walk. Pulling up his mare alongside Jacob's, Will turned to inspect his younger brother. "Jake, are you alright? What the hell was that?"
"I don't know what that was, but it certainly didn't seem like natural behaviour. I'm fine but I don't think Fee is," Jacob responded, coaxing his mare to a standstill.
Wilhelm noticed the horse was favouring one of her hooves. Cursing softly, the older Grimm motioned to the leg that Fee held up gingerly. "A fickle lady indeed. Some change in luck this is," Will muttered as Jacob dismounted to inspect the damage.
Keeping a firm hold on the reins, Jacob gave the white mare's muzzle a pat before turning to inspect her leg. Jake let out a sigh of relief when he detected no cuts or contusions. "I think Fee's leg will be all right, Will," the younger Grimm exclaimed in relief.
"Good. Maybe our luck isn't entirely spent then," Will replied, "Ride with me for now so she can give her leg a rest. I get the feeling we shouldn't linger here any further."
Nodding in agreement, Jake passed Wilhelm his mount's reins and hooked a foot through the chestnut-coloured mare's stirrup. Hoisting himself up behind the older man, Jacob grasped Wilhelm around the waist tightly. "Ready," Jake said into his brother's ear as their mares began to pick up the pace. Scanning the forest edge as the horses broke out into a trot, Jacob absentmindedly wondered if Wilhelm always rode so stiffly.
As the brothers made their way deeper into the old forest, Jacob noticed the trees becoming larger and more gnarled while the terrain shifted from relatively flat to undulating and hummocky. The sun's late afternoon rays cast long shadows across the road, and the younger Grimm found himself increasingly nervous as the prospect of nightfall approached. Already on edge from their earlier incident, Jake felt an indescribable sense of foreboding as they continued along the road. He had noticed some time ago, and Wilhelm had confirmed his suspicions, that as they moved deeper into the forest, the sound of birdsong had steadily increased.
The birdsong had begun as a pleasant background melody in the early afternoon, gradually escalating into persistent and maddening choir of chirps and thrills. "Jake, what the hell is wrong with these birds?" Wilhelm hissed, feeling rather foolish at the urge to whisper so that the birds wouldn't overhear him.
Leaning in towards Wilhelm, Jacob replied in an equally hushed voice, "Loud, aren't they? I'm not entirely sure why the birds are so populated in this part of the woods. I wonder if something has driven them out of another area."
"Excellent," Will retorted sarcastically. "I should have known that such a calm morning was an omen of things to come. Here's hoping we don't encounter whatever it was that agitated the birds in the first place."
Sighing wearily in agreement, Jake continued scanning the forest edge again before turning back to his brother, "At the very least, you've got your pistol holstered on you, right?"
Nodding as he patted his holster in assurance, Wilhelm gritted his teeth as Jake's warm breath ticked his ear. "We should look for somewhere to rest for the night," the younger Grimm added, "The sun is already low." Wilhelm muttered his agreement, feeling no fondness for the idea of spending a night in the forest.
"Let's set up in this clearing, Will," Jacob suggested, gesturing to a small glade formed by a break in the dense canopy.
"It's as good a place as any," his older brother conceded, leading their mares off the road. Wasting no time in hitching the horses, Jacob tended to Fee's leg while Wilhelm began setting up their canvas tent. Noting that the white mare's leg showed no obvious swelling, Jake paused to check if she was using it to bear weight yet. Seeing that she was no longer favouring her leg, Jacob let out a sigh of relief and stroked her neck. Making sure both horses were tethered and fed, the younger Grimm turned to help Will set up their gear. Impressed at the progress his brother had made on the tent in such short time, Jacob began gathering fallen branches and set his attention to starting a fire.
Relishing the warm glow of the firelight, Jacob passed his brother a piece of bread and flask of whisky from their saddlebag before sitting down in front of the fire to join him. A far cry from their typical stale rations, both men were thankful for the fresh food that Herr Lehrer had provided them on the morning they had departed his home. Their backs towards the tent, Jacob and Will ate in tense silence, the day's strange events leaving a lingering sense of unease in them as the sun set. Quickly consuming the bread, the two brothers shared several swigs of whisky between them. As the drink warmed their stomachs, they began discussing their latest job, musing on whether this was something they could handle and chuckling when they both agreed that it was indeed outside the realm of their capabilities.
"You know, Will," Jacob exclaimed, swaying into his brother in excitement and under the whisky's influence. "The book that Weiss gifted me it's a collection of magical object descriptions from across the past century. I think it's an original, perhaps a collector's personal journal. Highly valuable, and very informative, though the text switches from German to French to Latin at a whim so it's taking me some time to get through," he added with a smile.
"Hmm, highly valuable, you say?" Wilhelm queried with a raised eyebrow. "How many rounds of ale do you think it could buy?" he teased.
Jacob sighed, shaking his head in exasperation, "Don't be silly, Will. Not everything is about money, I really think this book will be important for my studies."
"Only joking, Jake," Wilhelm replied, putting a hand on his brother's arm in reassurance.
"I think you'd enjoy it as well," Jacob added with a mischievous glint in his eyes, "It's got lots of pictures." Chuckling at his own joke, Jacob took another sip of whisky before offering the flask to his brother as a sign of peace.
"Funny, Jake. Though I'll admit, not entirely wrong," Will responded with a laugh as he accepted the whisky.
Admiring his brother's silhouette illuminated by the soft light of the fire, then turning his gaze upward to the patch of starry night sky bounded by the forest canopy, Jacob found himself letting out a small sigh of contentment. 'This is nice,' he thought to himself, 'Even if it is the calm before the storm.' Turning his eyes back to Wilhelm, Jacob tutted in disapproval as his brother took a long swig of whisky.
"What?" Wilhelm countered defensively, "I'm going to need it to sleep through the racket." Pausing a moment, both brothers listened in unison to the woods around them. Jacob felt an icy shiver run down his back as he noticed the heavy silence surrounding them, quite at odds with the early cacophony of birdsong.
Leaning in to whisper in his brother's ear, Jacob softly murmured, "I don't hear much of anything, Will. Let's add some wood to the fire and retire to the tent." Nodding in agreement, Wilhelm closed the flask and stood up, swaying slightly before catching his balance to toss some logs onto the fire. The older Grimm extended a hand to Jacob, the ring he'd been gifted glittering in the firelight, and swiftly pulled Jake to his feet. Following Wilhelm towards the tent, Jacob felt the hairs on the back of his neck rise, pausing momentarily to scan the tree line.
Jacob awoke in the still darkness of the tent to the muffled sounds of their horses huffing and stamping at the ground in distress. Giving Wilhelm a gentle shake to rouse him, the younger Grimm groaned in frustration as his brother's deep, whisky seeped sleep continued uninterrupted. Giving him another prod for good measure, Jacob heard soft murmuring from outside the tent, sounding uncannily as if someone was trying to coax their horses to settle. Now fully awake, Jake reached for his glasses and slipped on his boots.
Grasping his jacket, Jacob emerged from the tent slowly, being mindful to move quietly as he surveyed the moonlit glade. Uneasily noting the heavy darkness that pooled at the forest's edge, Jake cursed himself for not waking up his brother, particularly given that Wilhelm was armed and he was not. Turning towards the horses the younger Grimm froze, letting out a small gasp of surprise. Clasping a hand over his traitorous mouth, Jacob's eyes widened in alarm at the figure that turned towards him, moving with an unnatural, almost predatory grace.
Emerging from the shadows, the silhouette of a long-haired man came into view.
"Hello there," A clear voice whispered beside his ear, causing Jake to flinch and take a step back.
"Beautiful night, isn't it?" A deeper voice intoned at his other side.
"Isn't it past your bedtime?" The first voice mocked Jacob airily.
"What are you?" The younger Grimm finally exclaimed, taking another step back towards the tent.
"How rude," The deeper voice drawled, "The polite question would be who am I?"
"Right, of course," Jacob retorted, noticing that his head was beginning to feel as if it were full of wool, and his limbs were becoming oddly heavy. "Magic," the younger Grimm uttered, feeling his balance begin to waiver.
"Very good!" The first voice mocked.
Noticing darkness beginning to seep into the edge of his vision, Jacob tried to yell his brother's name only to feel tight pressure constrict his throat.
"Now, now, no need for that," The deeper voice chastised silkily as the man approached Jake, a bright smile glistening in the darkness.
Feeling panic overtake him, Jacob recognized that he was no longer in control of his body. Straining to yell for help, the younger Grimm felt his legs give way as darkness clouded his vision.
Author's Note: Thank you for reading. This is the updated version of Chapter 17, uploaded on 02/2023.