It was the depth of a winter's night and during these times it was that men of Wilderland gathered in their halls with their brethren to sing , drink and await the return of the sun. Few warriors would leave the walls, for the cold was a harsh mistress up in the north even for these hardy folk. A large town referred to as 'Honeyspot' by the families that housed there was no different in this. It lay over a range of hills, split by a broad river, surrounded by many earthwork defenses, crowned by palisades and towers that stood tall as the guards stationed near iron braziers to keep them warm. These men their eyes fell on with wary gazes down on the thick entangled forest so near to their home. There was an eerie beauty about the leafless giants growing there as they slumbered beneath thick carpets of white snow brought down from the Grey Mountains. All that was jutting out of the dark beneath the trees were wired branches and icicles glittering in the faint moonlight like the fangs of bats. It was from within this darkness that pale hungry creatures with thick furs were hiding..
Forstrang placed a hand on his churning gut while he was looking at the mighty protection of this place. Caution warred with the gnawing aches of starvation and to undertake an attack here would have been suicidal enough without their limbs quivering from malnourishment and the wind straining their muscles with it's icy breathe. Their eyes went out to the smoke rising from chimneys and the singing and their cracked mouths watered at the thought of all the meat, bread and cheese that must've been laid out there. Forstrang looked up at his brothers and sisters.. all together they numbered seventeen since they stumbled by accident into a spider's lair. The stink of the place lingered in his nostrils even after several days since their escape, the hairs on his neck rose as he remembered the lowly hissing from right behind him and then the horrified shrieks of his youngest sister being impaled upon a poisoned angle. He quickly pushed the thoughts away as the screams for help began to slowly submerge into the echoes which would haunt him for many years to come.
He grabbed his stone axe close, there was relief in having a weapon. He looked at his siblings, they were all huddled amongst large roots. Shivering , coughing , grumbling and all lowly growling. They had been in these parts before or atleast their relatives of the last generation from which nearly none were left alive. It was the way of his family as far as he could remember. And now this generation had returned here, remembering the tales of their father and mother. "There are villages in the meadows north of the Mircwidu. They live from the labor of their land and the fish from their river. There is a pallisade at the center of the stretching farmland.. avoid it.. take what you can from the fields and houses. Then escape with what you can hold." Even to Forstrang's dim mind it was obvious that some of those tales were either lied about or the passing of the seasons had made these people flourish and expand on what they had. He grunted disgust at the village , especially when he saw the roof of the highest hall. One day he would be the chieftain of some mighty realm, drinking and eating all day.. That would be good, he agreed.
They circled around the defenses and headed for the broad river, which seemed to have flooded the fields and turned everything into ice where they stepped. Hjerban, now the oldest of the pack barked out a noise and they all understood the signal for what it was.. before long they were sliding over the ice between the frozen reeds and tall grass over their stomachs. They only stopped once when some nightly creature hooted.. they had stayed still as long as the cold allowed them. Onwards they slid.. In their direction stood a hall that rose out among the farmhouses, there was light inside and laughter. Noses wrinkled when they caught smells and large wet tongues ran over mouths caked in dirt. Like wolves they came from all around, there was nothing outside. Forstrang looked up and only noticed a single cat disturbing the peace by pushing over a bucket.. They all froze when the object fell into a carpet of snow without a sound. A collective breathe of relief.. Forstrang approached the door with Carnute and Asgal, their weapons held in their frozen hands. Filthy braided locks dangled from their pale faces, their breathing deepened and then they all slapped a hand on the shoulder of the one next to them.. the sign for using the single edible they yet had in their pockets. Forstrang looked down into a torn up pouch that barely was able to serve it's purpose anymore after all the hardships he had gone through. He dug some of his thick fingers within and pinched between the tips of them the heads of dried mushrooms. They stank a bit, but nonetheless they all eagerly shoved these in their faces and with barely chewing swallowed them down. Forstrang soon felt all cold start to leave his limbs, his heart began pounding like a bell in his skull and the faint light on the snow and buildings intensified to a brightening blue. Euphoria took hold of him and the grip on his weapon felt more secure with each other heartbeat.. they were all ready and within moments both Forstrang and Harknar the biggest of the pack began chopping in the wood of the door.. wooden chips flew in all directions! The beautiful imagery carved within it's frame ruined within a short while. Forstrang was sweating now and a sound bordering between howling and laughter erupted from his throat. It goaded his brethren aswell and soon they all were ranting and stomping their feet in a gruesome dance that announced their coming to the ones within. Panicking screams and the crying of young children only seemed to urge the two giant brothers to keep hacking and then with a heavy kick it swung wide inside. The heat of the blaze within slapped them in the face and the bright light of it dazed them for the shortest of moments.. then chaos broke out in the feasting hall!
Men tossed themselves at the furclad warriors armed with the nearest kitchen tools or the few weapons they had allowed themselves to bear despite the drink that was obviously consumed. Forstrang breathed deeply and he blinked the sweat from his eyes as he hunched forward, a woman warrior swung at him with a long-knife! She stuck it in his side and her face was fear and rising panic when he did not reply with a sign of pain. He grabbed her head with one hand and she managed another weak-willed stab in his arm before his crude axe ended her life. He did not have the strength to do more than let her sink to the floor, her golden hair was soon dyed in the crimson pool that ran from her lifeless body. His brethren fared none the worse, these people were brave, but drunk and unprepared. Only some women and children managed to lock themselves in seperate rooms to hide. The pack opened large bags made from crude leather and anything that was on the table got tossed inside, plates and food alike.. They gorged hastily on anything they could drink and then like a whirlwind that had come and torn through they had ran back outside. Frenzied joy filled their hearts and minds as they rushed with all haste towards the trees. Arms swinging and feet wanting to dance.
They were half on their way over the mirror of ice that they had used to make their entry, till javelins and arrows came, whistling out of the air.
A hornblast that shattered icicles and brought roofs of snow from the branches echoed from the darkness. Forstrang felt a sharp passage of wind slide over his arm with a whistle, something clattered on the solid ground behind him. They fell flat down, some on their bellies a few on their backs.. He groaned as the toadstools their magic was wearing off, it was like the wounds that at first have had been like fleebites now started tormenting him like needles poking his skin relentlessly. They all grumbled and Forstrang himself barked a curse as next to him one of his brothers lay lifelessly on the ground with a javelin jutting out of his chest. Sent headlong to the eternal hunting fields. They got up on their feet from the frozen reeds and rose their weapons defiantly still partially intoxicated and now wanting to avenge their fallen one! This was answered by figures caked with black muck from the treelines! They were tribal youths, eager to prove themselves and recklessly they hurled themselves at the pack of man-wolves. On both sides warriors fought with clumsy swings, more than once one of them sank kneedeep through the ice itself when the pressure finally was letting it crack open. With a vicious sweep Forstrang hacked sideways into a fighter's chest, blood splattered the snow. A lucky hit certainly, for they were nearly invisible in this depth of night. A second of them came running and fell down losing his weapon and bit him in the leg by measure of doing something. A crack of ice was rushing their way and Forstrang howled with pain as he tried to get himself away. He sidestepped just in time with his free leg and it was then that the warrior holding his leg fell through the breaking ice when a black watery hole appeared beneath him. He stumbled and fell down, not even looking back behind him as he firmly held on to his bag with food. To lose it was to die later after all. The hands and teeth that held him rooted were gone, good enough for him. Cries went up in the nightly sky and suddenly the dark area got illuminated by distant braziers being lit. Another hornblast , time to run away. He felt panic surge within him and constrict his chest as he could see several of his kin escaping when they did. Forstrang hurried while the shadowy warriors were being held back by the freezing water that now splashed and had deep red mingled within it. He grinned as he hoped they wouldn't have any more missiles, but it was only then that he saw a figure leap from the woods. A wild young giant armed with a spear held in his thick hands..
In a flash of respect for this new challenger his formidable appearance Forstrang's mind scanned him. A beard short, but thick as a bear's fur adorned a massive jaw and wild hair that stood in all directions crowned his thick skull. Sort of, he felt remembered of himself. The giant was his own size he realized, .. not a frail woman or a small man grown soft by living behind walls. This giant was a true product of the wilds and as his mouth opened a voice coming as if from a cavern filled his sharp ears, "I'll take out your guts and hang you from the highest tree with them!!" "Wrrarrrghhh, you want your skull cleaved?!! Let's go!!" The giant struck with the broad head of his spear, simply pushing it in Forstrangs gut hadn't it been for him tossing the stone axe at his head! He stepped back and Forstrang pounced on him to close the distance! All hands were throttling the shaft of the weapon now and both men exerted all their strength on the effort! Every vein stood out on their necks and purple flushed their faces whilst their teeth gnashed and bit! The giant tried to kick a leg out from beneath Forstrang, but he couldn't move him from his place. Forstrang landed a headbutt, but a twist gave his opponent the time to counter with his own forehead. They kept wrestling, twisting, turning.. it felt like an eternity and so far neither side seemed like going to give in. A knee to the giant's gut.. the attempt to bite out his throat.. or the giant trying to raise the shaft and smash it into Forstrang's head.. it kept on going. It was then that there was a single option left.. they both took one hand away from the shaft and grabbed behind their backs.. The long-knives they had strapped there flashed in the fire's light and both men stabbed as fast as they could!
A cry went up in the sky, the deep sound from ice giving in, the splashing of cold water and growls of two giants going under!
The next day Forstrang was sitting in a cave, shivering from the cold and eating on the few spoils his brothers and sisters had managed to get away with. There were fourteen left of them now. Last night was no more than a blur. His wounds ached abominably and more than once he growled and groaned. He barely dared to move. Still he was content enough with the taste of meat in his mouth for the first time in as long as he could remember and the heat of the flames nearby him and ofcourse the offering of blood from the previous day. Surely the spirits would be pleased by this, he wondered what he would get for killing that giant man.. or wether he had gotten him after all... Ohwell, he would find out soon. Last night had shown them the bounty hidden in those houses and more packs of fellow men like their own lurked in the woods.. He laid himself down and sleep overtook him again. He would need all his strength again tomorrow.
