[Nogrod]

“Noo!“ Legate yelled from the bottom of his lungs rushing to Greenie’s body. “Wake up! Wake up mate!” he cried and tried frantically to shake the dead body into life. Finally he seemed to calm down enough to realise the futility of the effort and fell over Greenie’s body crying violently.

Lommy tried to console him patting him gently on the back. “Sorry friend… so sorry…we share your pain.”

The others were shocked as well as they realised that Greenie and Legate had been mates from longer time some of them had even lived.

Legate shivered with the touch but then calmed a little. His voice was still trembling as he spoke quietly: “I’m not sure I wish to live now that my soulmate is gone. But I will do my best…” He swallowed and concentrated. “I will try…”

“Stay as long as you wish Legate, but we’ll have to bury him early tomorrow morning and then we will move on… Be brave.” Lommy said and turned to others. “Okay, let’s put up a camp and try to get as much sleep we can. I will take guard with Gwath and Nerwen".

One by one the Rangers passed Legate and pat him in the back or stroked his hair giving their support for the veteran and his grief.


The Dead Man’s Hollow was actually a deep depression in the landscape covered from the sides by large mounds and from behind with a lonely great erratic boulder. It was about fifty meters long and some twenty meters wide. It was called the way it was because of the four long and deep cuts into the ground on it’s every corner so that looking at it from a distance it looked like a body with legs and arms lying in the ground.

It was a creepy place but if the weather would turn foul again it could cover them better than staying on the plains around them.

And it did turn for the worst as the Night wore on. First it started snowing again and the wind picked up speed slowly but steadily. The boulder protected them from the straight attack of the wind but even the wind coming round it and through the cuts in the ground was severe enough to make the three guards shiver from cold.

“Like a foul breath of Melkor…” Gwath disclaimed.

“Just think of the Brandywine Cabins… we should reach them tomorrow.” Nerwen said quietly. “It will be so different… Walls around you, a fireplace inside…”

“Let’s hope we do reach them… those of us who do.” Lommy said gravely.

Suddenly there was a long howl of a wolf carried by the wind to their ears. And then another one, and another one… It was quite for a second but then they started hearing the barks and the whines approaching with an astonishing speed.

There was no need to wake up anyone as the chilling howls had gotten everyone up and grasping for their weapons. “Back to back, quick!” Lommy called against the growing wind and the howls of the wolves. “More fire! Anyone?” The Rangers saw dark figures advancing towards them from all the four cuts around them.

The fight was on sooner than the Rangers had thought it would be. The wolves were fast indeed.
What was alarming though was that many of the Rangers felt that during the fight there were fewer of them fighting than were their actual numbers. Like a few had disappeared just like that – and there were more wolves they had anticipated with the first sighting… and a few of the wolves had felt a lot more powerful than most others.

But in the growing blizzard it was hard to recognize anyone. And as shapes went to and fro and one had to fight for his life all the time there was neither time to check who might be around or who might be missing.

Suddenly one of the stronger wolves managed to fell Fea from behind, and just as Legate was trying to help him another wolf bounced on him, forcing him away from the scene defending himself. The wolf stared staright into Fea’s eyes holding him down a moment, like it was trying to send him a last message. Then it forced it’s razorsharp teeth into Fea’s shoulder and jerked his body violently.

But Legate had gotten rid of the wolf giving it a major wound and went back to see how Fea was fearing. His heart almost stopped with the scene: Fea was under the attacker and it looked like it was trying to rip him into pieces. Legate charged towards them. The wolf had ripped considerable pieces from Fea’s body throwing them around in rage but faded into darkness when Legate reached the scene.

“You’re still alive Fea?” Legate panted, shaking the stunned man bleeding in the blizzard, or what was left of him.

Fea opened his eyes still clasping his sword half-consciously. “Legate? That’s you?” He managed to mutter with great difficulty.

“Yes I am… Fea, try to hold on! We’ll come up with something…” Legate lied seeing it was futile anyway.

“Legate, come closer… I need to tell you something” Fea managed to whisper loud enough for him to hear.

Just as he bent down to his mate he felt the cold blade penetrating his flesh.

“There you go you traitor!” Fea yelled with his last strength. ”I hate these dark deeds where you pretend being something and then you’re not! I know your kind!”

Legate tried to pull up but Fea had a knife in his other hand and stabbed him to the side with it just below the armpit.


The Wolves vanished as suddenly they had appeared and it was quiet again.

“Okay mates, any casualties?” Lommy yelled seeing the enemy gone and panting heavily from the fight.

“Nope! … Noo!” Loslote cried and went to the strange shape farther back. Others had noticed it too.

“Oh my good heavens!” Kath cried seeing Legate’s pierced body on top of Fea’s mauled one.

“Oh no! Not yet again!” Sally yelled.

“This near to Brandywine Cabins…” Nerwen lamented.

“Do we have to kill each others all the time! What is it with you guys!” Nienna protested loudly and fell to his knees.

“He’s right, we have enough enemies without killing each other…” Gwath confirmed laying his head down to honour the dead.

They all followed Gwath’s example and hung their heads in silence.

After a few minutes of silence Kath finally opened his mouth. “There are seven of us left… and three are werewolves. We need to get it right the next time…”

The silence continued for a while as the thought was hammered down into their minds. Everyone looked grim but three of them grinned maliciously wide inside. Just one more… they thought.

“Okay. Bury the dead, pick your packings. We’ll not stay a minute longer at this foul place.” Lommy shouted. “Next stop Brandywine Cabins. We’ll discuss this there beside a warm fire… Let’s go for it!”


~*~

The Living:

Nienna
Sally
Kath
Loslote
Nerwen
Lommy
Gwath


The Dead:

Nogrod (mod) - turned into a werewolf and butchered on N1.
Hakon (The Master Hunter) - stuck dead on D1.
Rune (Werewolf) - killed from the sword of the Master Hunter at the end of D1.
Macalaure (The Berserk Hunter) - eaten alive by the werewolves on N2.
Inzil (Ordinary Innocent) - decapitated by the Berserk Hunter on N2.
Boro (Ordinary Innocent) - left to Bree to inform others about the Company's tough fate on D2. (killed by the wolves travelling alone in the blizzard)
Valier (The Night-Traitor aka. The Cobbler) - killed by the Rangers while trying to flee on D2.
Brinn (Ordinary Innocent) – stunned, dragged through a tunnel, stripped naked and left to froze to death on N3.
Greenie (Soulmate) - killed by the sword of the Hates Conspiracies Hunter on D3.
Roa (Hates Conspiracies Hunter) - overpowered by the Rangers on D3.
Fea (Hates Dark Deeds Hunter) - died in the loss of blood after being torn by a werewolf during a wolf-attack on N4.
Legate (Soulmate) - stabbed by the Hates Dark Deeds Hunter on N4.



It's Day 4 now.

Speak like you were at the Brandywine Cabins already...