Snippet #2779590

Hethel could feel a slight chill moving in from the north as he peered up towards the white sky, deciding at that moment that he should leave the settlement and go up into the mountains. Engöll watched Aquari quietly, taking a sip of hot tea before setting his cup down on the table and turning to look at the bow and quiver on the wall above the hall entrance. Aquari the sea elf was unaware that she was being watched as she headed down towards the water, but soon Engöll would step out of the great hall and exit the main gate, following close behind her elven footprints in the sand. Meanwhile, Hethel would make his way back up the bank towards the ringfort, using his long spear as a walking staff as he headed towards the viking fortress.

Aquari kept low as she tried to go unseen, but Engöll was already on to her presence. He followed downwind, his strong sense of smell detecting her scent in the high grass as he followed her tracks on the ground. At that moment he also caught another strong scent, and one that was quite familiar to the ulfhednar. It was a lone wolf, a common animal in these parts, and one that the wolfcoats could relate to. The vikings on the Empyrean Sea Beach were all members of the ulfhednar, a cult of pack hunters who lived, breathed, ate, slept and even sometimes looked or acted like wild wolves. Engöll himself was wearing a grey wolf's pelt as he sank low, crawling on all fours through the tall grass in an effort to sneak up quietly on the elf in his sights. To the unweary traveller, Engöll himself would appear like just another wolf in the area.

But after a few minutes of following Aquari silently, Engöll got close enough to see his target in full view. It was at that instant that he caught a glimpse of Aquari's face for the first time through the tall grass. To his dismay, however, she did not appear to be threatening to the settlement in any way. Still, he had to find out why she had been snooping around the tool sheds, acting so suspicious. Engöll took a deep breath, notched an arrow to his bow, closed one eye and drew back his bowstring. "Stöðvaðu, ekki hreyfa þig" he said, stepping forward from out of the tall grass about nine yards away from Aquari, keeping the bow and arrow aimed at her torso.