Chapter Two -The Baying of Wolves - Ulfgar, Gizur & Gráknir

as Ulfgar is helping Gizor with the strecher's he ask's him

"brother do you mind if i leave you to go pull some wolve's teeth? we can wear them with us all the time as our own trophies, beside's you should be capable to do this on your own and don't worry when we get home i shall put in a good word my sister Helga...remeber that time we were in old Wolfgar's cellar? to this day i still dont think he know's who drank his best mead "

the boy's chuckle knowing that it was the best mead they had tried, Ulfgar turn's and stand's up from pulling teeth and say's

"my cousin tell's me that he is bringing some to the feast when we get home, maybe we should ask him for a keg?"

letting a small chuckle pass his lips gizur looks towards Ulfgar "well i know it was you who drank the biggest share, your capacity for mead is nearly legendary, i have never seen somone drink a horn of mead faster than you"
tieing the wolf pelt on the third stretcher with some of the butchered tendons giruz looks towards the setting sun "we need to be done here soon, every moment that we delay our departure hastens the darkness and the scavengers that will come with the setting of the sun." gizur says before begining work on the last stretcher

Between Ullie and Gráknir the wolves are soon skinned and butchered. Horgrim and Ygorvic help with the last couple as the other boys manage to finish the construction of the sleds to transport the fallen.
The sun is dipping low on the horizon, about an hours light remains before dusk.
Ullie stands and looks at the slowly failing light and casting a gaze over the sleds and wolves. He studies the area intently for a moment before speaking.
"It will take us about two hours to get back to the village with all this, theres about an hours light left, and partial light for half an hour once the sun goes down. It will not be too bad, the last half an hour or so in the dark will be in familiar lands, but we need to get moving I would think."

Gráknir nods at Ullie.

"I think we can get back tonight. If not, it would mean only a night out in our homelands"

Gráknir stands for a moment, deliberating something.

"My brothers! Say we feast tonight for ourselves? Praise to our fellow kin who have died this battle? It shall be a feast of tales to come, a uniting of our kindred souls in a blood pact that would bind us for ever, through the next battle and the next thousand. We are kin! Brethren of Grimskulls!"

Gráknir unsheathes his knife and raises it skyward as he casts out his last words. Unhooking a skein behind him he also shouts "I also have a skin of akavit, should you be in the mind" he laughs as he looks about the group "I thought it should come in handy if our labour proves it worth, and my brothers, I believe it has!"

with a grin Gizor looks towards Gráknir as he stoops to pick up a fallen spear
"well i wont turn down a swig to help fight off the night airs cool embrace. i think that we can make it back to the village well enough, and even if the last bit is in the dark i have roamed that land far and wide, as most of us have. between us we know if better than we know your own hands... even in dark."

looking at the spear for a moment gizor places it in the hand of Serget corpse, and closes his hand around it before laying his shield apon his body.

Ulfgar look's at his brother's and say's

"we must get back home, i don't like our chance's out here at night we all might know these land's but weve have all heard the stories of what come's out at night and personally i dont want to be it's dinner, may Russ guide us and keep us safe on our journey"

Ulfgar grab's his necklace made of wolve's teeth he had killed in the past while hunting with his father and look's to the sky and mutter's to himself

"keep this group safe tonight sky god"

"Very well my brothers. You know I am more inclined to a night in the wild than within the confines of walls. I understand your need for home" Gráknir looks down sullenly a moment, temporarily lost in thought. He looks back to his brothers and pulls the skein from his belt. Taking a deep draught he pours some out to the ground "To our fallen brothers," handing the skein to Ulfgar. " Take a draft Ulfgar and spare some for your fallen kin"

As Gráknir moves away, he begins to pull out any remaining arrows laying around, cleaning them off and placing them back into his quiver. "I ought to get the tanner to make me a belt quiver."

with a smile gizor looks around the group, as they ready themselves to set off.
"to the village, my brothers... where the meat is hot and the mead is spiced"
with this gizor picks up one of the sleds carrying one of the fallen and begins to head back towards the village

The return trip takes a bit over an hour, and the twilight has deepened remarkedly by the time the village fires come into view, their ruddy flickering light a welcome sight to the nervous boys. After the harrowing encounter with the wolves, it has tested their every nerve to not jump at every night sound or cracking twig in the darkened trees. Yet their return trip is uneventful, with only a single mournful howl far in the distance from where they had come. It was definately well away from their location and was not repeated again after. Their shoulders are quite sore from the weight of the bodies by the time they reach the edge of the treeline and step into the familiar view of their village walls.

as Ulfgar step's through the tree line and see's home he remark's to the group of young men

"look brother's...home...tonight we will feast, drink and lay with the women"

he turn's to Gizor and seay's

"listen brother, i can hear my sister she await's you....you should be carefull brother she has the strength of an ox but after today you might be able to throw her around in the bedroom...."

As the group approaches the entrance to the village, the pair of guards there challenge you and lower their spears in your direction. With some quick talking, the group is soon recognised and their burdens inspected. The first, Hworl, turns to Agnarr "Get the Elders, they will wish to see of this and send some men to help these lads. " As Agnarr speedily heads into the village, his calls filtering back to the group as he rouses the men, Hworl turns and begins to assist lowering the makeshift stretchers to the ground. "What happened lads? We were startin' to think you got lost."

looking towards hworl, gizor grins
"the worlves of fenris underestimated the warriors of the grimskulls!!" gizor says as he moves through the gates and into the village, dropping his pack to the ground, but continuing to drag on of the strechers
"but some of us were lost, and we have brought our victorious fallen back. there pyres shall light the night sky as they assend to the halls of russ"

"we all fought well brother's we all have to agree with Gizor the wolve's do not know the strength of the Grimskulls"

Ulfgar turn's to Gizor and whisper's to him

"let's meet at old man Wolfgar's cellar i hear he has more of his special mead down there, i dont know why the old man has a cellar outside but we sure can take advantage of it"