Chapter Five - Bad Moon Rising
As the light from the rising sun slowly filtered its way into the barn the three friends gave thanks to the gods that they had survived the night, after the initial onslaught no further sign had been seen or heard of the vile creatures although they were sure that they had not gone far. Feeling sure however that the morning sun, albeit tinged by rain, would, at least for the moment, have banished the beasts until nightfall, all three tentatively crept out of the barn relishing the cool rain on thier faces.
Worriedly, to Ragnar's mind, Anora had survived the night &, although she remained sorely wounded, she undoubtedly looked fitter than any one suffering the wounds she most recently had should look. For the moment leaving her to rest, the others cautiously crossed the clearing & entered the croft, all was as they had seen it the night before except that the family bed had been dragged away from the wall to reveal a pit beneath, presumably leading to the trap door in the barn.
Dragging several large timbers from the log store they block the pit as best they can & drag the heavy framed bed back over the pit before carrying Anora from the barn & making her comfortable in the bed.
Despite Anora's apparent speedy recovery Thorfinn realises that she will be unfit to travel for some time & so all three agree that they should remain where they are despite the worry of what may reappear during the night to follow. Having made Anora as comfy as possible they break thier fast with what food they can find from Saeunn's stores & discuss what is to be done.
Again much thought is given to the origin of the beasts, without doubt they agree that Bjarni, Saeunn & thier sons were in someway transformed into the demons of the previous night, whether it was something aimed specifically at them, or merely a terrifying coincidence they are unsure, however from the tale Thorfinn recalls from around the hearth they are convinced it is directly connected to the phases of the moon, quietly they contemplate the fact that the previous nights full moon will stay whole for the two nights to follow.
Over the morning a hasty barricade of logs & underbrush are piled around the croft by Ragnar & Thorfinn whilst Grimhild busies herself fashioning arrows with oil soaked bindings around their heads, searching the croft a clay flask is discovered containing Saeunn's precious supply of lamp oil, which greatly increases thier peace of mind.
With Anora's condition in mind, a crude litter is constructed, such that should they have to flee this place they can at least carry her in some comfort, however as the day progresses the regular checks made on her many wounds alarmingly reveal that her wounds, whilst still visible, resemble wounds that to someone unknowing of the last nights events could have been inflicted many many months before.
Nervously the three gather & inspect the rapidly healing Anora & agree that before things progress further she should be bound to the bed frame, Grimhild suddenly stares & announces,
"Wolfsbane, Crowsfoot, dam it, when I was a youth, old Gudmund spent months trying to teach me the uses of the shrivelled plants she kept in pouches under her bed, I tried my best to forget everything she told me but its truly amazing how much you remember to avoid a beating, she told me the very same tale you were told Thorfinn, I can't remember it all but Wolfsbane had something to do with the bastards death"
With these thoughts in mind Grimhild spent several fruitless hours scouring the nearby woods however whilst she could remember vaguely what it should look like she had no idea where & when it might grow or if she did find it what the hell you should do with it.
By mid afternoon Anora was awake & protesting about her bonds, Thorfinn, checking she was secure, retied several of the ropes just to make sure that she was definitely restrained, after all if what they were all thinking but not saying happened the last thing they needed was a slavering Anora trying to rip out their throats.
As evening closed in, the 25th of Einmánuğur, Grimhild built up the fire & made sure there was plenty of cut wood stacked next to the hearth, then whilst Ragnar watched from the doorway rested whilst all was quiet.
An hour or so later Ragnar saw movement beyond the barn, against the advise of Grimhild, he quickly left the relative safety of the croft & caused several of the surrounding logs placed around the croft to burst into flame, as he turned & moved back towards the croft door Grimhild stared fascinated over Ragnar's shoulder as a shadow suddenly coalesced into the silently crouching figure atop one of the wood piles, before she could react however its shape flickered & was gone.
Occasionally one of the three glimpsed a shadow flitting about the clearing but nothing approached the fire illuminated croft door way, until only hours before dawn Ragnar heard footfalls on the heavy turf covered timber roof above, for several minutes all stared towards the door expecting at any second one of the snarling monsters to burst through the opening, but as dawn eventually raised its welcome head, all three were thankful they'd made it through the night.
Lying atop the bed Anora was restless, she felt more alive than at any other time in her life, surely her friends could see she was healed, yes the wounds were only days old but she healed fast, she always had. Flexing her arms she realised she could without to much effort release her self but she new that this would only upset the others & she didn't want to do that - yet.
The following morning Grimhild, assisted by Ragnar, prepared the last of Saeunn's small store of fresh supplies, placing what was left inside thier own packs, much of the day was spent either resting or replacing the burnt timbers with which they had surrounded the croft. About mid day Grimhild decided to have another look for the plant she new as Wolfsbane, after an hour or so of unsuccessful searching she did make one find but not that for which she was looking for, pushing aside the bracken she discovered the gruesome remains of a half eaten & fly covered Eyolf, after loosing the contents of her stomach she returned, pale faced, to the croft.
After having been granted tentative freedom during the afternoon her friends insist that Anora allows herself to be rebound well before the evening draws in, reluctantly having agreed to their request Anora had done her best to persuade them otherwise, telling them that she could help them. Lying there, chest pinned to the bed Anora couldn't understand why were they being so foolish, they needed her, couldn't they see that.
With darkness almost upon them, Ragnar lit the wood piled around the croft before there was any sign of Bjarni or his sons, surrounded by a ring of fire the croft felt safe from any possible intrusion by the creatures, however not so safe than when ever a shadow suddenly disappeared or changed shape the three watching from the doorway nervously fingered their freshly sharpened blades.
With dawn scant hours away Grimhild suddenly saw a figure peering around the far corner of the barn, eyes wild, clothes dishevelled, the man seeing Grimhild suddenly sprinted across the clearing heading for the open croft doorway, to shouts of encouragement he was almost at the burning timbers when suddenly his progress was intercepted by a familiar shadow.
Eyes closed, lying back on the blankets, Anora could taste thier fear, she could smell the sweet, luxurious & intoxicating odour of freshly drawn blood, she'd never realised just how good it smelt, she could feel her brothers beyond the fire, calling for her to join them, all she had to do was walk out of the door, bask in the moonlight & she'd be free, it would be all so easy.
As the strangers screams echoed around the clearing Ragnar couldn't help wishing the man would just shut up & die, there was nothing they could do to help him, couldn't he understand, he was dead but he just didn't know it yet.
Two hours later the sun rose over the tree tops & shone down into clearing.