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He grinned. “Not yet, but that’s a tempting offer. I could thief all the cattle and sheep, and none would be the wiser.”
“I couldn’t allow that, old friend,” Deor countered as he looked over his shoulder with his eyes twinkling. “Where would we get our supply of food?”
I lifted an eyebrow. “You do that?”
He laughed and shook his head. “Not for a couple of generations, though my grandsire told me tales of a midnight raid on the town in his youth with a few of his friends. He managed to pillage a prized turkey from Feormere’s business before they were chased off. After that, Feormere kept guards at his business for half a century before he dared do without.”
“Speaking of guards, why all the extra security?” Ben asked his old friend.
I noticed Deor’s shoulders stiffened as he stared ahead of us. “The king demanded it,” was the evasive reply.
“He’s the reason for our impromptu visit,” Ben mused as we continued down the path. “Is there any chance of convincing you to allow us an audience with him?”
Deor turned to face us and shook his head. “I’m sorry, but the king is very busy at present.”
“Then perhaps you can help us out,” Ben suggested as he looked over the werewolf. “We were making inquiries into a commotion that happened on a farm on the northern road. Apparently, something slipped into the barnyard and tried to cause a stampede.”
Deor folded his arms over his chest. “I’m afraid I know nothing of this incident. I can tell you that none of our people have left the woods for a few days, so whatever caused the trouble is undoubtedly something else.”
“How can you be so sure?” I wondered.
“Gasric is very strict about keeping anyone from disobeying the king and leaving the forest,” Deor mused as he turned his face to one side. His lips tightened together and he furrowed his brow. “Perhaps too much so.”
Ben lifted an eyebrow. “Who is this Gasric? I’ve never seen him or his men before.”
“One of the mountain clans. They were chased down from their high peaks about five years ago by a large landslide that buried many of their caves under tons of rubble and Eall accepted them among our people.”
“You don’t sound too happy about that,” I guessed.
Deor sighed. “I can’t deny there’s been tension between our people and theirs in the past. I’ve tried to bury the spear, especially as they’ve offered to protect our domain, but Gasric’s brutish habits cause some consternation among our people.”
“What happened between your clan and theirs?” I asked him.
A dark cloud settled on Deor’s brow. “There’s been a great deal of land wars between our clans for nearly two centuries, and their clan was very keen on fetching wood from the forest without heeding the natural ramifications.”
“Meaning what?” I persisted.
“Meaning they would leave the dead that needed to be removed and take the finest of trees for the hearths in their halls.”
“Did the townspeople not notice the sudden influx of werewolves?” Ben wondered.
Deor nodded. “They noticed. There were quite a few confrontations between Gasric’s men and the farmers during the first few years, but they’ve been relatively behaving themselves since we gave them guard duties. I suppose it gives them something to do.” He nodded to his right in a southerly direction. “But this is where we part. You’re an old friend, Ben, but I can’t stretch my king’s orders beyond their limits.”
I stood on my tiptoes and beheld the turnoff road. Deor had led us on a roundabout loop back to our starting position.
“There is one other matter that brought us here,” Ben admitted as he folded his arms over his chest. “Have you ever heard of Ealdan?”
Deor chuckled. “I should. His tales are told at the bedsides of every pup in our clan.”
My curiosity was piqued. “What kind of tales?”
He cocked his head to one side and stared up at the sky. “Most of the tales involve the Ealdan lurking in the darkness waiting for misbehaving young pups to wander into his domain. There were some older legends involving his having created the forest, of course, but he’s mostly a haunter who keeps the pups in line.” He dropped his attention to us. “Why are you asking about him?”
A crooked smile slipped onto Ben’s lips. “Would you believe me if I told you a dead man told us to look for him?”
Deor stared at Ben as though he were insane before he closed his eyes and shook his head. “You get into the strangest of troubles, old friend. I wish I could help more with your search, but that’s all I know about your questions.”
Ben shook his head. “That’s alright. We’ll find our answers somehow. Take care.”
