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A Wolf's Hunt

Part I, A Wolf's Dream

A Wolf's Hunt

Kugis bent low to the ground inspecting the faint tracks of the bear in the mud. He had spotted it three days ago an enormous beast and white as the heart of winter, only a day ahead of him.

He rushed forward eagerly his bow at his side ready to be strung. Then suddenly he paused. There was an odd scent on the air. The hairs on his neck stood on end. He searched the woods. His eyes darted from left to right then back again. There was nothing... no bird calls... no chipmunks no squirrels or any other signs of life. There wasn't even a rustle of wind.

He had been moving as silently as he could before. Now he straightened up turned around and walked back the way he had come. He walked slowly, deliberately, and as he did he could almost feel enormous jaws yawning behind him ready to snap his neck. The spirits of the wood haunted him. They shivered in the presence of their elder, a great albino grizzly bear.

There was sound behind him, yet he sensed it all the same. Slowly Kugis turned and there it stood on the path he might have taken. Not one hundred yards away eight hundred pounds of death stood on the path. It had surely been lying in wait for him. Now it merely nodded its head and grunted before turning and lumbering off. Kugis watched it depart gritting his teeth and attempting desperately to control his increasingly manic breathing. When it finally disappeared out of sight he sat down on a patch of grass and took a few moments to collect himself.

He wasn't familiar with the lay of the land this far north, but it was clear that if he wanted to take down the bear he would have to use a more sophisticated strategy. The direct approach was too predictable for the beast.

Before he had left the village he had purchased a map from the Hrothi trader Meshringa. He took it out now. The details on the map were a little vague but there was definitely a large cliff face cutting across the landscape directly north of him. If he reached the eastern end he could sweep along the cliff's length moving west and find the bear's lair. A beast that size must have a substantial cave in which to spend the winter. He would be slowed down by the fact he would need to go out of his way. If he wanted to be sure of finding the cave he would need to search the entire length of the cliff which meant he needed to start at one end and move to the other. The bear would be slowed down by its need to eat as much as possible before it entered hibernation. If it pushed itself too hard in its effort to reach the cave first it would run the risk of starving before spring arrived. The clock was ticking for both of them and whoever reached the cave first would win. Kugis laughed out loud. There was no way he'd be fool enough to pursue an animal like that into its own den.

He made good time the rest of that day ranging out east of the forests edge and jogging across open ground. At night he wrapped himself in animal hides leaving a small opening through which to breath. His rations of jerky and gruel were a small comfort in the absence of a fire, but they needed to be carefully packed so that the smell of the food did not give away his position to predators while he slept. Even food he dropped on the ground he ate in order to leave as little scent trail as possible.

The second day as Kugis approached the cliff he was stunned to see nothing but a flat plane of snow before him as far as the eye could perceive. There was no cliff... nothing. He took out the map and examined it again. No, there was no mistaking it. This was where the cliff should be. A little stunned Kugis walked forward cautiously. There was snow there but… and suddenly he slipped and fell. Flailing he grabbed at the side of the cliff and managed to get a strong grip cutting open one of his hands on the rocks in the process. There was a cliff after all, but the map was wrong about one thing. The cliff was facing the other direction. He had been unable to spot the edge because the undifferentiated snow at the top of the cliff blended perfectly with the snow blanketed landscape beyond. Below him death yawned eagerly, a two hundred foot drop straight down.

Then he heard it. A snuffling and a low grunt. He looked up and three feet above the face of the albino bear gazed down at him unblinking. There was no way the bear could get him. It was too heavy to even think of climbing down the cliff face its lack of thumbs notwithstanding. He had slipped off the edge of the cliff at the exact moment the bear had snuck up behind him. He placed his hand to his heart and thanked the spirits for his good fortune. He also took a good long look at the bear. Its massive head was almost a foot in width. His first estimate of its size was actually below its real mass. Now it stared at him, not maliciously, almost playfully. It clawed at the edge of the cliff sending a shower of snow down on his face. Then, as if being mildly disappointed it simply turned and disappeared.

Now Kugis had a choice. He could either risk the climb down the cliff potentially losing his prey, falling to his death, and or becoming stranded at the base without the strength or food to either climb back up or go round. Or, he could climb back up right now and risk being ambushed. There was a very real possibility that the bear was waiting just out of sight and would grab him and pull him to his death with its jaws the moment he poked his head above the edge.

Kugis looked towards the distant northern sky and realized that the approaching clouds were a thunderhead. The entire horizon was blanketed by thick dark clouds and the distant snow was shaded, turning black under the shadow of the oncoming storm. Whatever decision he made he would have to make it soon. If he chose poorly he would certainly die whether by the frost or the razor claws of his would be prey. Kugis had a sinking suspicion that there were no right answers here.

Part III, A Wolf's Storm


8/28/2017 3:28:09 AM #1

@Barleyman, I hope you finish this story. Don't you want to know what happens next???? I sure do.

-NOSIG-


-NOSIG-

8/28/2017 4:24:44 AM #2

Posted By Poingfaust at 9:28 PM - Sun Aug 27 2017

@Barleyman, I hope you finish this story. Don't you want to know what happens next???? I sure do.

-NOSIG-

Thanks. I'm glad someone is reading it. Definitely encourages me to keep writing.


12/21/2017 9:22:06 PM #3

Yea man! It feels very Beowulf-ish. Which was one of my favorite stories. You can't just stop now!


Nos Non Luxuria Pacis.