Photo by Victoria Palacios on Unsplash "If a tree falls in the forest..." They traveled in total silence for some time with Rune keeping lookout and Vargr running ahead occasionally as scout. There were more fallen trees than the first time he had run ahead and he wondered what was triggering them. The same thought also crossed Rune’s mind, especially because they clearly had missed their mark since there was nothing left behind after they fell; though, something could have possibly been fast enough to get away. But there was nothing to identify which trees were set to fall, if any were still standing. No runic markers or dangling amulets, just regular trees as far as the eyes could see.
“Are you looking for something, Rune?” Einar finally broke the silence. Rune dreaded him speaking again anytime soon because she was still agitated with him. It didn’t hurt to let him in on what she was doing…then maybe he would go quiet again. “Looking for anything out of place on a magical level. When you last saw us here, we were continuously getting turned around, which should be impossible, but it was because of amulets hung high above the trail between trees. I took them down and we were able to escape the forest.” Rune elucidated. “The Linnormr can’t cast magi like that.” Einar refuted something she hadn’t even mentioned. “I know. It wasn’t them that cast and it wasn’t them or their pudgy little friends that killed Erik either. Maybe it was the Úlfberi that invaded my property.” Rune wasn’t going to be patronized because she at least knew what she was talking about. Einar stopped dead again and commanded the lot of them to stop moving before he opened his mouth to speak, “Did you just say Úlfberi, Rune?” His nostrils flared as he uttered the word; he was visibly scared. “Yes.” “I thought I smelled Varg all around your property, but I assumed it to be this one,” Einar pointed at the wolf who was now intently staring him down. “No. After the Linnormr knocked a tree over onto my property, it broke the fence, but we didn’t find it till the morning after. Before we had a chance to repair it, the pack caught our scent. That’s why the back porch was warded the way it was.” Rune went on, wondering what she was missing about this pack. “That’s who probably created the talismans and sent the Linnormr out into the woods that night I found you. This isn’t good. How can you even see them? The talismans, I mean?” Einar asked her confusedly over a trembling tongue. “I told you; I’m different.” She just shrugged. It was one thing for Ronan to know that she could see them when they knew nothing about themselves or what was going on, but now the information seemed—dangerous to spread around. Einar didn’t like that answer, but he also didn’t think she could actually tell him anymore than that. Regardless, he had to make it known how dire the situation had become. “This pack you speak of is—dangerous isn’t even the right word. They shouldn’t even be here, but this must have something to do with the human disappearances and the unscheduled meteor shower. They most likely are the ones that killed Erik and it probably had to do with something he discovered; he couldn’t just leave things alone.” Einar spoke with some guilt. “How could they create what I saw if they are stuck in their Varg form?” Rune had a thought that struck her as odd. Vargr said that they were frozen in wolf form, but she had seen what they looked like underneath the fur and sharp teeth. “Who told you that? They aren’t stuck; they choose the wolf form over their original a majority of the time, but they are able to bring out the other side when necessity warrants. Everything is making more sense—” Einar trailed off in thought as he scratched the hair on his chin again, “They must have known about you two being in the woods. My guess is that they are the ones that lured the horses from your camp and left them to the Linnormr. They probably had no idea you were there before because you didn’t leave the bunker often enough to spread your scent, or they had never been in to town at all. They may have picked up on your trail when they left Erik’s body in the shed and were able to recognize it in the forest. They probably came back to take him, fearing that you might find the body, though at that point you must have spread your scent so far that they knew exactly where you were and took advantage of the broken fence. But the question is, were they after you or Ronan?” “You seem to know more about them than I do, so you tell me.” Rune shot back. “They are a fringe faction of the Iron-Wood. My guess is they would want him, considering his lineage and where he’s from.” Einar stated his theory. “They’re Jotnar?” Rune completely turned around on the horse to face the man behind her. “Yes. Iron-Wood Jotnar have a tendency to—shapeshift and take the form of certain creatures. There are various clans within the wood that go by different animal names because of this. Every being in that clan has the ability to shift into that animal through the learning of magi and connecting with the animal energetically. There are nine separate clans: “Úlfberi” the Wolf-Bearers, “Hrafnfiður” the Raven-Feathered, “Elgkóróna” the Elk-Crowned, “Hrútahöfuð” the Ram-Horned, “Svínartennt” the Boar-Toothed, “Ormtunga” the Serpent-Tongued, “Bjornekriger” the Bear-Warriors, “Köttleitur” the Cat-Eyed, and “Refaskottur” the Fox-Tailed. But that is by no means all the clans in Jotunheim. Some Jotun choose to master shifting in many forms, like the Iron-Wood Hag herself, Angrboða.” Einar went into more detail about this world than he had with any of the others. That name. Rune knew about the Iron-Wood Hag and how she had birthed three of Loki’s monstrous children, one being the goddess of Helheim, though the stories differed about if such a place actually existed. And this pack of wolves originated from her woods. “I guess we should be extra careful then.” Rune acknowledged what Einar said and turned back around on the horse. Now it was Ronan’s turn to speak, “Something just occurred to me that we completely forgot about amidst the chaos—how did I get into Imellom? If the road had been washed out before I got there…I just don’t understand how. Can you explain that to us, Einar? Considering we saw you there when I found out.” Ronan never turned his head but kept his eyes forward. Rune could feel his body tighten slightly under her grip. Even he was starting to seem wary of their new “friend”, although he was still unsure about Vargr too. “I don’t know. That’s something that I can’t answer. I was actually there inspecting the damage when you two happened to arrive. I hadn’t seen Rune in months and I was incredibly surprised to see her with someone else—especially you. I got caught because of you, Ronan. Neither of you ever would have seen me had I not noticed you.” Einar’s voice trembled as he spoke about him. Ronan let out a dry chuckle, “Of course. I guess we can’t have everything make sense, now can we?” Rune zoned out while the two talked and focused on the trees around them, making sure that she thoroughly scanned the trunks all the way up to the tangled branches for anything that wasn’t supposed to be there. Everything looked normal. Maybe there was a possibility that these were hidden better than the ones she had destroyed before, considering the outcome. If they were hidden, she’d need a way to see them…see them like she saw through the wolf form of the Úlfberi. She saw them because of her galdr. Could she tweak the intent behind a few words and possibly see between things? It was worth a shot. Odin sees with one eye, what you can‘t see with two. I can see what‘s in between, I can see right through. Rune began to chant in her head as she released her grasp on Ronan and put her hands at her side. He didn‘t even seem to notice as Einar had stepped up to walk beside them so the two could chat. It wasn‘t wise to walk two abreast, but if Rune‘s incantation worked, she would hopefully see the trouble coming. Odin sees with one eye, what you can‘t see with two. I can see what‘s in between, I can see right through. Rune continued with the song in her head, her lips moving silently as her fingers wiggled at her side, writing the runes in the air. She kept repeating the galdr as she kept her eyes open wide at the trail ahead. Just more trees, the occasionl felled ones, and lots of rot and fungus—and then she saw it. Only a few meters away was a giant aspen tree that was balanced just so; a slight breath would send it crashing to the ground. Rune didn‘t notice this first, however; what caught her eye was the bleeding red rune that had been carved into the trunk just above the gnawing. “Stop,” She whispered, although nobody seemed to hear her, “ Stop walking. Stop.” Vargr was the first to hear her as he stopped and turned his body so that the men couldn‘t pass. Ronan pulled back on the reins to stall Sleipnir and Einar quit walking because everyone else had. What is it, Rune? What are you seeing? Rune tried to direct Vargr as she spoke, Straight ahead, see that rock with all the moss? Behind that to the left is an enormous aspen tree. It‘s been marked and I can see where it was fixed to fall; it‘s barely hanging on. Vargr’s fur bristled as his eyes wandered to the tree in question. Sure enough, he could see where the trunk had been gnawed to pieces several feet up from the ground. Let me knock it down safely. Watch my back in case you see something else. Vargr turned to Rune and she nodded before he scampered off up the trail. “What is he doing?” Einar asked as the wolf bounded off. “Just be quiet and watch.” Rune held her finger to her mouth and then pointed at Vargr. He had made it fairly close to the tree and Rune could see it teeter as the wolf leapt up onto the rock she pointed out and jumped off of it. He landed on the ground hard, right next to the tree before he took an abrupt turn and came running back to the group. The humongous tree crackled and groaned as it shook itself to the ground. Everything trembled around them momentarily before the branches settled and the tree was still. The movement and sound caused Sleipnir to wield back with such force that Rune slipped from the saddle and began to tumble towards the ground. But Einar was just a bit quicker and was able to swipe her up with one arm so that not a single leg dragged across the ground. “Whew, thank you.” Rune breathed heavily as she regained her footing. Einar’s arm lingered around her waist as he spoke, “It’s nothing. But how did you know?” “Because I could see it. I think they wizened up, though, because I had to use my galdr to get a look at them; they’re hidden.” Rune replied as she gently stepped away from Einar. He eyed her warily as she reached out for the hand Ronan had offered her and got back up on the horse. Einar couldn’t stop thinking about how she was able to see these things, but her ability was working in their favor, so he probably shouldn’t question it. Especially, since it was starting to become later in the day… “We need to set up camp soon. There’s no way we are going to make it to the settlement before nightfall.” Einar turned his attention back to the task at hand. “Do you have any place in mind?” Ronan asked as they began their trek again. Einar pondered the question for a bit before he replied, “We need to find a place that is clear of trees, something secure.” Rune thought that laughable since they were in the middle of a fairly dense forest. Finding a spot like that where a tree couldn’t fall and hit someone was almost going to be impossible. There was another option, though, something this particular landscape was known for… “What about a cave? Preferably, one way in and one way out, trees can’t squish us, and we can bring Sleipnir under cover.” Rune suggested. There was that spark again, the one that Erik mentioned frequently when he spoke about Rune. He told Einar many times about how she reminded him of his daughter Freydís, with a sharp wit and quick thought despite her perceived shortcomings. Erik knew that whole time who he was, what he had seen, where he had been. He knew that Rune wasn’t from Midgard and she wasn’t some alien. He knew that Ronan and she both were from a world that he had once lived in, had been an integral part of. “A cave. That’s the sort of idea I’m looking for. Any that you know of, Einar?” Ronan gently elbowed Rune as he asked their new friend. “Another quarter mile or so up the trail, there’s a break. We need to keep right, but for now, the left takes us down a more narrow path, thicker trees, and there’s a shallow cave there. It’s not deep, but just enough to keep us hidden and out of harm’s way. Maybe there won’t be any traps in that direction.” Einar pointed up the hill that carried the trail. “Good. Then let’s get going.” Ronan took the reins of the situation and the company started they journey once more.
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E.M. MoonStories from the World Wide Weird Archives
December 2021
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