GoCorral

Chapter 3 – Blendegad (Continued)

He’d hunkered down on a hillock overlooking the sleeping flock. They were laid out below in sleeping groups of two or three. Blendegad laid down on his stomach. He had no blanket, but he’d borrowed a few sheepskins to stay warm. His hope was that the skins would also mask his scent. The wolf would just smell another sheep instead of a human protector.

Seeing at night would be difficult if it weren’t for some help from Blendegad’s mother. Sandra brewed a potion from carrots, owl pellets, and the juice of devil’s ivy vine. It tasted bitter and faintly of the owl butts, but it let Blendegad see in the dark until the next sunrise. It had the additional benefit of making it difficult to sleep. With the effects of the potion, closing his eyelids didn’t make it dark. Blendegad simply saw the inside of his eyelids instead. A disturbing image such whenever he began to nod enough he was shocked awake once more.

His vision was black and white with the potion. Blendegad heard that dwarves and other creatures of the darkness and underground see the world the same way when the light is gone. The sheep were white fuzzy marks in the small valley below. A wolf would be darker, with brown, black, or grey fur instead of white.

Blendegad looked at the stars on the western horizon. A beautiful view of the Pegasus and Equuleus constellations. Aquarius had already half disappeared. He could feel the cool air coming in from the northwest where the Black River was. It was too far off to see, even from the hillock, but the temperature could still be felt if you paid close attention.

There it was… A dark shape sneaking towards the flock. A lone wolf or a pack? Two, three more shapes. Four in total. A pack then. That would be difficult but Blendegad could manage it. He wanted to slay them all, so he had to let them get a bit closer. He slowly moved from his prone position to on his hands and knees. Once they moved, he would need to move quickly as well.

The flock had noticed something. They awoke and began to move south. Blendegad stood and drew his sword. His legs were stiff, but they’d wake up soon enough as well. The quad of wolves ran towards the three dozen sheep. They would work to separate one of the lambs from the herd for slaughter. But Blendegad was here tonight. He took off down the hillock to intercept them to the southwest.

Blendegad held his sword in his left hand. He wore armor to protect himself. A leather cuirass for his torso. Leather pauldrons for his shoulders. Rerebraces and bracers for his arms. Faulds, greaves, and boots for his legs. All made from leather. Underneath the cuirass he always wore wool padding to absorb blows. And on top of it all tonight, he wore the sheepskins, some of which were falling off as he ran down the hill.

He wasn’t running fast enough to intercept the wolves before they took down a sheep. Allan would be devastated by the loss of another. Blendegad’s legs were too stiff and tired from laying in the cold for so long. He had to accelerate. He leaned forward so his torso was perpendicular to the ground. This was not for speed. He had to reach his right hand out, closer to the knee high grass.

Blendegad’s hand touched the grass and he felt the flow of life within the blades. He separated his fingers and arched them as he began the demand. The grass would give its life force to Blendegad or be punished. The grass surrendered and the energy flowed into Blendegad. He directed the life force into his legs, making them warmer, stronger, and ready to move. The grass he left behind was brown and dead, but Blendegad was looking forward at the wolves.

He straightened and ran full speed on a course to head off the wolves. They had separated a juvenile lamb from the herd and were closing in on her. Blendegad charged into the closest wolf. Leaning down he checked it with his shoulder throwing it to the ground. His momentum carried him further as he climbed over the scrambling wolf. On the other side he stood up quickly and drove his longsword down into the animal’s side. It yelped, the blood flowed, and it died.

Blendegad bent his knees and kept his sword at the ready. The other three wolves were surrounding him now, the lamb forgotten. He kept his sword in front of him and his right hand behind. With the potion he could see better than they could. He swiveled his head to locate each of the trio. The one behind him would move first.

As predicted, the wolf behind Blendegad lunged forward. Blendegad turned to his left and slashed at the wolf. It backpedaled to escape the sword, but it was off balance. Blendegad tackled it. His right hand closed on the wolf’s neck as it snapped at him.

“Give me your energy or die!” Blendegad commanded.

The other wolves leaped upon Blendegad, howling and biting at his feet and hands. His neck was smothered against the wolf beneath him protected. The captive wolf surrendered and its life force flowed into him. He drained it dry, killing it anyways. Always a false choice.

Blendegad channeled the energy into a concussive force driving the last two wolves off him. They backed away for a second. Blendegad didn’t even bother to stand. He leapt at the one on his left from the ground. His hands were bloody from bite marks but they moved just fine with the extra life force in his body. The wolf defended by going for his throat. Blendegad offered it his right forearm instead. It bit into the leather bracer, but not into Blendegad. He plunged his sword into the wolf’s side. It relaxed instantly as blood flowed.

The final wolf was running now. Blendegad stumbled to his feet. He couldn’t let it get away or it might return to kill again. His sword was stuck in the third wolf. No time to retrieve it. Blendegad sprinted after the fourth wolf. It was headed north to a small copse of trees. He would catch it there.

The wolf loped along and Blendegad followed. It entered the copse as he predicted. He slowed and kept his eyes on it. The shadows didn’t hide the wolf from his enhanced sight. It turned back to check if he was following and Blendegad had it.

He locked eyes with the wolf and slowly poured his own life energy into his eyes. The wolf was now transfixed and could not lock away. Blendegad kept a steady pressure of life force in his eyes as he slowly approached. He couldn’t run while transfixing. It took too much concentration. But he could walk. The wolf stood stock-still. Blendegad bent his back as he approached to keep the wolf’s eye line even with his own. It whined as he crouched next to it.

Blendegad gripped the wolf’s head with his hands. He kept it transfixed. He hated what had to be done next.

Blendegad shaped his index and middle fingers into hooks. He placed them at the top of the wolf’s eyes. A deep breath and then he shoved them in.

Eye contact was lost and the wolf went berserk. Blendegad ripped his hands back out of the eye sockets and stumbled backwards away from the wolf. The beast yelped and danced madly in its blindness, biting and gnashing at everything in the area. Blendegad back away and looked down at his hands. He held two eyes by their optic nerves between his index and middle fingers.

Blendegad dropped the eyes on the ground. The wolf wasn’t dead, but it was no threat to anyone or anything anymore. Without eyes it couldn’t hunt and would be dead within a few weeks from starvation. Blendegad returned to the flock of sheep with the sounds of wolf howls and whines at his back.

With the wolves dead or disabled, Blendegad was free to sleep. Sadly he could not with the potion’s effect. The flock of sheep had gone further south and settled down once more. A few were on watch for the impossible return of the wolves. Blendegad gathered the dropped sheepskins together into a pile. He retrieved his sword from the dead wolf as well. The wolf’s pelt provided a means to clean the blood off before he sheathed the sword once more.

The wolves would be useful. Three pelts and meat for Densmith. Four soon if the last one could be located after it died. Blendegad knew how to skin them. It would be better to do it at the village instead. More of the meat could be preserved that way.

Blendegad wiped his hands off on the grass to remove most of the wolf blood and eye humor. He gathered the sheepskins in his arms and walked over to the sheep. Even if he couldn’t sleep until sunrise, he could at least be warm. He settled down next to a wool covered ewe. She shied away at first, but accepted his presence slowly. Blendegad wrapped himself in the sheepskins and looked off to the north. The blind wolf was out there. He hummed a song to himself as he waited for dawn.

“As long as you live,
Let the world see you,
Don’t feel miserable,
Life is short,
And time demands its due”

Allan found Blendegad in the morning. As soon as the sun’s orb touched above the horizon, Blendegad went to sleep. Allan came by an hour or so later to find Blendegad asleep on the ground. The ewe he’d rested against had left to forage once the sun’s light was over the valley.

Allan stood in front of Blendegad, “Hey! Son! Time to get up.”

Blendegad blinked his eyes open and lifted his head from the ground. He squinted at Allan to see who was calling.

“Allan? Let me sleep.”

“I will, but in your own bed, son. You’ll be more comfortable on a bed than a pile of sheepskins in the grass.”

“Ugghhh. Fine.”

Blendegad rolled over and stood. The cool night air was beginning to warm up.

“You did a good job defending my flock. Three dead wolves! I’d thought it was just one lone one. I’m surprised you don’t look worse for it.”

“It’ll be four soon. I blinded the fourth one, but it got away.”

“Well thanks, son. I do appreciate your help. Zeus bless you for your kindness to me and my family.”

“And may Pan watch over your flock.”

Blendegad stood in the field too tired to remember to move.

“Head home, son. East towards the son. You get some sleep in your bed and have your mother see to your cuts.” Allan gave Blendegad a little push. “Just walk towards the sun and you’ll be going in the right direction.”

Blendegad nodded and turned towards the east. Staring towards the sun helped wake him up a little. He placed slowly back to Densmith. His family home was fortunately on the west end of town. He opened the back door, tripped over to his bed and flopped down on it in his armor. Sleep…

Blendegad’s mother came in. She’d been in the front room preparing to make potions and remedies for the day. The front room was for work. The back room was for living. Sandra found Blendegad collapsed on the bed. She helped remove his armor. She washed his wounds and put a small paste on them to assist healing. Once she was finished she made Blendegad drink some water and eat a bowl of oatmeal before he returned to sleep.

Blendegad slept through the day. Sandra quietly checked on him throughout the day. He awoke at dusk. His mother heard him stirring from the front room and entered.

“Allan said it was three or four wolves.

Blendegad sat up stiff. “Four.”