Tivlyn drained the last of the kingsfoil tea from her flask, gulping down the few mouthfuls left within as she dragged herself to her cottage during the late watches of the night. She shed layers of clothing in the moonlight when she reached her lawn, tugging off her boots and socks last, leaving her clothing in a heap to be mended and cleaned later, before she waded out into the pond behind her home, not stopping until the water was shoulder high. The water was frigid, but it soothed the ache in her muscles and distracted her from the ache in her spirit. She submerged herself, roughly scrubbing away sweat, dirt and blood.
She surfaced for air, taking a deep breath and scrubbing more, Frogbert calling out a curious croak from atop a rock near the willow tree on the shore. Tivlyn turned towards the curious amphibian that had become something of a pet , sighing.
"Wolves. Lots of wolves, and a Herder of the forest, that's what happened. Didn’t have to fight the Herder, thankfully." She thought back to that massive tree-like creature in the Old Forest, all the carnage it had inflicted upon the wolves there. They had forgotten their place, the Herder had said.
Tivlyn was very, very glad the Herder had not deemed that the group had forgotten their place as well, that it had allowed them to leave. She had stayed silent through the company's encounter with the tree once Bryony had approached it, lowering her weapons slowly to the ground when the forest had closed in around them. She was quite awed by Bryony, hearing the Herder from afar as she had, and communicating with it when they found it. Bryony, what a little wonder she was! Wolf Slayer and Forest Whisperer.
Tivlyn slipped beneath the water's surface again, scrubbing her scalp vigorously, trying to get grime out of her hair as best she could, before she just floated a while, staring up at the stars. She refrained from her usual greeting of Eärendil, given the circumstances, watching the Burning Briar instead, feeling quite sorrowful, despite the group having solved the mystery of the wolves and making it out of the Old Forest to tell the tale.
Much later, dried off and dressed, Tivlyn made her way to the Knackered Neekerbreeker Tavern, where her younger brother, Warryn, was working the overnight shift. The common room was quiet, the fireplaces dark, save for the hearth nearest to the bar, where Warryn stood, throwing another log onto the fire, alone save for the Knackered's barfly, Sarnevar, who was sprawled out on the sofa beside the fire, snoring. Warryn turned towards her approach, smiling with relief to see her there, looking exhausted but unharmed.
"Wolves all dealt with?" Warryn asked quietly, as to not wake Sarnevar. Not that anything could wake Sarny from the drunken slumber he'd succumbed to.
Tivlyn nodded, moving to put the kettle on whilst Warryn prepared a teapot with some tea that would help her sleep, routine in their movements, a dance they had done dozens of times before.
"Do I want to know the whole of it?" Warryn asked as Tivlyn grabbed a folded blanket from behind the bar and stepped over to where Sarnevar slept, carefully covering him with it.
"Aye, I think you'll find it more interesting than horrifying." Tivlyn decided after a moment as she stepped back to the bar and rummaged up some bread and cheese, taking a few bites before she spoke further:
"Howls went up behind the High Hay shortly after we arrived, deafening! Dozens of em! Wolves scratching, digging, heaving against the hedge. They came through the tunnel there, dug up from under the hedge on either side of the tunnel. Absolutely mad they seemed, crashing upon the hedge like a wave! Crashing upon us viciously! We would kill one, and instantly there would be another, trying to rip out your throat! Reckoned they were in the grip of some spell, but no!"
"No? What was it??" Warryn demanded, completely enthralled with the story. "What could cause them wolves to behave like that?"
"After we finally stopped them from coming through, though great numbers still remained on the other side of the hedge, which trembled from their efforts to break through, a horrid sound rang out, a blood chilling howl the likes of which I'd never heard before! The scramble on the other side of the hedge turned into complete frenzy! Whimpering replaced snarling, then yelps as there came the sound of bodies breaking, of something large striking or slashing! Countless sharp yelps cut short at once! Then silence." Tivlyn paused to keep her poor brother in suspense, but also to fetch the kettle off the fire, pouring water into the teapot and letting the tea steep.
"So they wolves were tryin' to flee from something? What was it?" Warryn asked as he fetched a tea cup.
"We ventured into the forest, Bryony leading the way. All them wolves on the other side of the hedge were dead. Not eaten, just absolutely brutalized! Massive tracks led deeper into the forest, but none of us could reckon out what they were made by. We followed em, Bryony hearing a voice calling to her. She has a way with the woods, had harkened such things before, had heard Old Man Willow bein' a menace, but this was different."
"Ain't sure I'd like that, trees speaking to me." Warryn mused, pouring her some tea. "Was it a tree?"
"Seemed like one, when we approached." Tivlyn nodded, taking the tea and moving to the nearest table, bringing her plate of bread and cheese along too, Warryn following her. "A massive tree it was, covered in blood, wolves impaled upon some of its branches. Whilst we beheld it, the forest moved and closed in around us! But Bryony showed no fear, approaching the tree and speaking soothingly to it, telling it we meant no harm, and were listening. She sensed it was angry, told it to calm down, that it was safe now, that we meant no harm and to slumber. All at once it rose, roots coming out of the earth like legs, bark shifting to reveal eyes! Not a tree, but a tree like being!!"
"Never heard of such a thing! And to think, wee Miss Bryony speaking to such a thing! Right brave, with all that carnage. Did it speak?? What happened?" Warryn gasped as they sat.
"Bry's much changed. Spitfire warrior, she is. Speak? Aye, that it did! Took offense to being told to sleep, but with a calm sort of patience something very old has for something very young that don't know better." Tivlyn explained.
"Ahhh, like Daewen often talks to us." Warryn chuckled.
"Mmhmm," Tivlyn smiled tiredly, sipping her tea, "said it's a herder of the forest, woke cause the wolves needed dealing with. Too numerous and ravenous, going where they ought not to! Said that the bloodshed was done though, that balance was restored, and agreed that we meant no harm. Herder rooted to the ground once again, and slipped away into slumber, the forest moving and opening the path to us once more."
"Never been in the Old Forest, and I reckon I'll keep it that way! Goblins, wights and Dourhands are one thing, moving trees and Tree creatures is another! Very lucky the lot of you were able to leave!" He told her, clinking his mug of coffee against her teacup.
"Aye, thankfully the Herder deemed us worthy to live to fight another day." Tivlyn agreed, toasting back, eating a bit more before she spoke further: "Anything I should know about here?"
"Grawnya hired another cook, an elf at that! Reckon food around here is going to get pretty fancy. Ain't tried her cooking yet, but Grawnya seems pleased."
"You know Grawnya, ain't going to hire a cook unless they're incredible and making things which are edible." Tivlyn pointed out, hesitating a moment before she spoke on. "Benjenn happened to return while I was away?"
Warryn sighed, looking quite sorry to disappoint as he shook his head. "I'm sure he's fine, Tivvy." He told her when he saw her disappointment and worry. "Quite capable of taking care of himself, that one."
"It just don't sit right with me, Warry. Him leaving the Knackered in the middle of the night, with a note saying he'll be back soon. That was weeks ago!"
"Maybe Beornings have a different reckoning of what soon means?" Warryn shrugged.
"Or maybe something happened." Tivlyn countered, fretful.
"I don't like to think that way, and you shouldn't either. Let's assume he's all right until we hear otherwise, hm? Iffin' we ain't heard nothing in two months, we can go looking, how about that?" Warryn offered. "For now though, you should try and get some sleep."
"I miss him, Warryn, and I feel like something is wrong." Tivlyn sighed after she'd finished her tea.
"I miss him too, but worrying feels needless at the moment. You're letting the past muck things up, thinking something bad has befallen someone we care about just cause we ain't heard from them in a bit! Tragedy ain't always waiting to strike us, Tivvy. I say we've had our fill and are due a break." Warryn got up, moving to hug her around the shoulders.
Tivlyn twisted on the bench to hug him back, trying to heed his advice, yet she found it very difficult! When she wandered off to her room at the Knackered and curled up in bed, under the covers, sleep came slowly and restless, as it often was these days. She prayed that Warryn was right, yet could not shake her discontent.
