"Brodr, he is dying.."
"Let me look at him.. Bah! Fool for trying to kill a pack of wolves alone!"
Kalf squinted his eyes, the lifeblood was pouring out of his neck where wolfish teeth had bitten him. He lay on his back, brought low in the hunt and his hands feebly clutched on the massive man that was holding up his head a bit so another tried what he could to stem the bleeding. The bearded faces of his friends were turning hazy, his eyesight was faltering.
"He is getting white like chalk!!"
"Hrm-hrm.. keep him awake!"
Kalf felt a jerk of powerful hands, shaking him while a deep voice yelled in his ear, "Stay awake stupid Kalf! Stay awake!"..
His eyes closed and everything was black. Is this what dying was like? It felt surprisingly peaceful, it was painful in the way a long and arduous sprint through nettlebushes could be! Muscles that ached, the deep labor of lungs gasping for air and then the relief when finally able to lay down. To rest, to let go of effort and pain right before it was time to sleep.. sleep yes one final eternal nap that could last forever, but would in the same way be very short and unnoticed. He felt like smiling, but not unlike a man about to fall into a restful slumber being kept up by a noise, he grimaced inwardly. Barking he heard. Was it Gelert his hunting dog? Did his faithful companion die aswell? Not impossible, though couldn't he just go to sleep aswell? Why the need for trouble? Wait.. that wasn't Gelert, something was off about it. It sounded to come from beasts far more dangerous in all fairness, nonsense ofcourse, his family were the best dogbreeders on this earth. The stock they bred had the bravery to face bears and the strength to take down a strong man. He opened his eyes with annoyance.. he heard something else now.. music? Were did that come from?
His eyes opened, he saw a figure there, sitting in front of him with a dry smile on his old face. This old one grabbed a leather skin from his belt and handed it to Kalf. Which the huntsman drank from after having a sniff. Honeywine! He barely remembered the one offering him this gift by the time he was done. The old man smiled with amusement as he noticed the skin was empty. "That was lovely, thanks!", kalf said as he sat up, his eyes suddenly trapped by the old one's, "Do you have a tale to tell?"
Kalf sat there, he wasn't really in the mood to humor some stranger with tales. If he had died he was certain that there would be more interesting things to pursue right now, who knows.. maybe he would be able to speak to hunters of old legends now.. not this old .. fellow, "Uhm.. not really no." He tried to get up and felt wetness run from his throat down into his tunic. He touched it and noticed it was blood as the pain forced him to sit down again, "I mean .. well.. I like to hunt.. hunting is what I do. In fact, it's how I ended up here I think. Wherever that is." The old man did not appear to judge him at all, he just kept staring to the point it made Kalf uneasy, "I caught hares, stags, foxes.. all sorts of beasts. My sister always cooked them for the village's children when I came home with too many. Fish we are also fond of and uhm that is it I think. Got no real tale to tell." The old man kept staring, although he placed a big hand in front of his mouth and rubbed his thumb over his white mustache... "I just hunt.. it is what I do..", Kalf eventually said in conclusion and someway somehow he knew that something was... off. Kalf looked up as the man rose to his feet and set his palm on Kalf's head, "Return when you have a tale to tell.", he pushed Kalf's forehead back and he fell asleep instantly.
"He wakes..."
"Kalf you live then? .."
He blinked his eyes open and he smiled weakly as he realized he was among his friends within a humble encampment in the forest, "Joah.. I do ehm .. AW!" He yelped at the hurt on his neck it was nearly paralyzing.
"Wolfteeth in the neck, sew off what I could hrm-hrm.. Some will stay in there till you die. You nearly .. did not survive that last stunt. Perhaps the spirits saw to your recovery or stupid luck.. ha-hah!"
"Stupid hrohoho..."
Kalf placed his palm on his head, he did not feel so well at all. It was all a dream, .. it made him shiver, .. best to forget that as quickly as possible. His dog Gelert was sitting beside him and as it noticed he was awake it began licking his face with it's big wet tongue. He was glad about that as he patted it's fur, it kept him distracted.
It kept him awake.
