GoCorral

Chapter 3 – Blendegad (Continued)

Sandra got Blendegad’s clay cup from the table at the foot of his bed. She poured water from the pitcher there and handed him the cup. “Drink. You’re exhausted.”

Blendegad drank it down quickly. Sandra sat on the edge of his bed.

“I’ll make you a drink to restore your energy. You used too much last night.” Sandra stroked Blendegad’s cheek, one finger crossing his skin while the rest went touched his beard. She got up and returned to the front room. Blendegad heard her putting the kettle on the stove and adding more wood to the oven underneath.

Blendegad felt his knuckles. They were ripped and raw from the wolf attack. He could tell that the scabs would be difficult on them. They would break every time he bent and reopened his fingers. Routinely reapplying the salve would be necessary to prevent infection. Fortunately, the wolves had not been rabid. At least they hadn’t seemed so.

Sandra returned with a mug of hot herb drink. She handed it to Blendegad and he drank it slowly. Hot and rejuvenating.

Blendegad’s mother was a small woman in her fifties. She had the same black hair and orange eyes as her son. Her hair was kept back by a wicker headband around her forehead. Her nose was small, but her lips large. Her hands were always dyed various colors from the plants and reagents she worked with for making medicines and potions. Sandra routinely wore a brown dress with many woven pockets as well as a many-pocketed apron of a slightly darker brown color.

Sandra pulled up a stool and sat by Blendegad. She looked at him with love and he looked back.

“Thanks Mom,” Blendegad said.

Sandra nodded. “You’ll need some bread and broth too.” She slapped her knees and got up to return to the front room. As she did she added, “And you should walk around a bit too. Your muscles will get stiff from laying there all day!”

Blendegad shakily sat up. He slowly turned his body. His legs slipped out from under the blanket at the edge of the bed and lowered to the floor. He removed the remaining blanket from his lap and stood up on creaky legs. After a yawn he stood.

Blendegad stretched each of his muscles before looking for some warm clothes. He could see through the cracks in the shutters that it was getting dark outside. He threw on a sweater, a hat, his boots, and some gloves. He wished he’d had the gloves with the wolves biting his hands. They were only wool, but that was better than nothing.

“Going out for a walk, Mom,” Blendegad declared to the house.

“Bread and soup will be warm when you get back,” Sandra replied.

Blendegad went out the back door. The sun was setting in the western sky to his left. After a trip to the outhouse, he turned to his right to go around the house to the front. He walked into the village center, working out the kinks in his legs and arms as he went.

The village kids were playing in the square. Swinging sticks around and whacking balls and rocks like they always did. The large oak tree in the middle of the plaza oversaw the whole affair. Beneath the tree were a few stumps and benches that the villagers used for meetings or to socialize in the evenings. Half a dozen of the village elders were there. Blendegad waved to them and received a kind greeting in return.

“How are you doing, Blendegad?” said Cheery Goma. She ran the mill in town with two mules powering the machinery.

“Tired, stiff, and my hands are scratched up. Happy that Allan’s sheep are safe. And the kids too.” He pointed to the children playing as he spoke.

“Aye. We’d heard from Allan. Three or four wolves? Which was it?”

Blendegad sat down on one of the empty stumps on the edge of the group of elders. “It was four. I only killed three, but I blinded the fourth. It won’t kill anything if it can’t see.”

Erdojon said with surprise, “Blinded it? Surely if you can blind a beast you can kill it?”

“I didn’t have my sword at the time.”

“What? You’re telling me you blinded a wolf with your bare hands?”

“Yup. Ripped its eyes out on the edge of that grove by the western hills. The eyeballs are probably bird food by now, but the blood on the grass might still be there.”

“By Zeus and Hera, that ain’t natural.”

Blendegad disliked the tone. “I couldn’t use my sword. It was stuck in the third wolf. What I was supposed to do? Let the wolf get away to hunt more sheep?”

“Well, no…”

Blendegad could feel his back stiffening as he spoke, “I couldn’t live with myself if it threatened anyone of you here. Wolves or any other monster. It’s my responsibility to protect us. I take it seriously.”

Cheery Goma interrupted, “I’m sure Erdojon didn’t mean anything by it. What we’re all curious about is how you killed a wolf with your bare hands? We’d think you’d be a lot worse for the wear without a weapon.”

“Uhuh. I did have a weapon. My eyes. A wolf can’t look away if you lock eyes with it. I stared at it and it stared at me. It continued like that until I was right next to it.” Blendegad leaned forward towards the elders and lowered his voice as he spoke. They leaned in to listen. Out of the corner of his eye Blendegad could see the kids listening in as well.

“Then I made my fingers into little hooks like this. All while staring the wolf down so it didn’t move. I got right next to it. And then…” Blendegad made a rapid inserting and scooping removal motion with his finger hooks. The kids and elders jumped a little in surprise at his sudden movement.

“I pulled the eyes out before the wolf could do a thing.”

Erdojon scoffed, “Bah! That’s a tall tale if I’ve ever heard one.”

Blendegad said, “I swear its true! Or may Zeus strike me dead.”

Erdojon said, “It’s not good to invoke the name of the all-father in vain.”

The villager center quickly returned to normal. The kids restarted their games. The twilight birds swooped through the air catching insects and made their songs.

Erdojon slapped his knees and stood, “I’d best be making my way home. Glad to have you back safe, Blendegad.” He touched Blendegad on the shoulder before walking towards his house. There was an unspoken rule among the people of Densmith that the village center belonged to young unmarried couples after dark. There had to be somewhere for them to discover each other. The other elders made their goodbyes as well except for Cheery Goma.

Cheery Goma cleared her throat, “A messenger came through while you were asleep.”

“Oh?”

“He said there’s a problem in another village across the river. They’re asking everyone for days around to help. Something big.”

“What’s the name of the village?”

“Shalerton. There’s a new monster there. It stole a whole gaggle of their people. Men, women, children, all taken. They’re hoping there’s still some to save.”

Blendegad grunted in response.

“You might be someone that could save them. A man that can face down a wolf with no weapon can help those people too.”

“But what about Densmith? You’d be without your protector while I’m away.”

“You talk it over with your mother, but we’ll be fine. You’ve killed the last wolves in the area and there hasn’t been a free goblin or orc seen around here in years. Other people need someone like you more than we do.”

Blendegad picked up a handful of pebbles from the ground. He slowly fed them back to the ground by pushing them with his thumb one at a time out of his hand.

“I’ll think about it,” he said.

Blendegad walked him running the idea through his head. He could help, but that would leave his mother and Densmith undefended. Dalleer was close by, but for immediate threats the had been the village’s best resource these last few years. Without him, they’d have to wait days for the Dalleer town guard to show up or for adventurers, if there were any.

It was true though, that the major problems for Densmith had been dealt with. Maybe they would be fine while he was gone.

And what of the other village? What of Shalerton? Would they survive without Blendegad’s help. Without the help of a brave man like himself, would their village perish? That would be a terrible thing. Did Blendegad have a responsibility to help others beyond Densmith?

His mother would know. Or the Dark Mother would.

He returned home through the back door again. “Home, Mom!” he said.

Sandra brought a bowl of broth in with a warmed loaf of bread. Blendegad sat on one of the two stools and tucked into the food. He was hungry. Sandra prepared a bowl for herself with half a loaf of bread. She’d eaten the rest of her loaf earlier in the day. They ate together in silence. When they were done, Blendegad turned to his mother.

“I heard about that village, Shalerton,” Blendegad said. “Did you know about it?”

“I heard about it today, yes.”

“I’m thinking of going.”