The two Little Fliers and the two Sea Marines walked into the circle of standing stones to find Alvari adding more wood to the fire at the center. The three Tundra Wolves were laying on the grass busy cracking large bones that Natalia had given them. Bull Roar lay by Daisy on the other side of the fire, asleep and loudly snoring away. Tac and Till's eyes got round as saucers when they caught sight of the big mound of fur. WizLoke had told them of the cave bear, but its gigantic size still surprised them. Nothing could have prepared them for that. Daisy and the horses were all grazing on the sweet grass inside the circle. Natalia was still tending to Amber's wounds that were already starting to fester from the foulness of the Grim Wolf bite.

Alvari had been busy getting water, collecting arrows and hauling the dead Grim Wolf bodies out of the circle. He had just finished and was stoking up the fire, getting ready to cook something to eat. He thought everyone could do with some hot food instead of cold salted bullock and hardtack. As a pot of water was heating he cut up reindeer meat, potatoes and carrots to prepare a nice stew. He also pulled a couple of skins of cloudberry wine from the supplies and started sipping at one of them. He was starting to feel pretty good when the four walked into the circle.

All three of the Tundra Wolves stood and looked at the Little Fliers as they came in. Till was delighted to see the big wolves, she had met many of them in the last turn when she began flying over the Wolf Lands. Tac was a little apprehensive, being a turn younger than his sister he was new to flying over the Wolf Lands. He had met very few of the big wolves, only seeing most from afar. He followed his sister as she went to each giving the proper wolf greeting. Natalia and Alvari could both feel happiness coming through the bond. There was a special place in the hearts of Tundra Wolves for the Little Fliers. It was probably because of the close relationship they shared with the Red Wings. Tundra Wolves were of course very big so Tac got to look into the eyes of each one and could see their rather large fangs up close. He was very happy he was going to be part of their pack.

"Are you the ones we have to thank for our lives?" Alvari asked coming away from his pot over the fire. He wiped his hands on a cloth in his belt and took Till's hands in his own as he bowed.

"You must be Alvari, the Sergeant told us about you. Yes, we attacked the Grim Wolves, my brother and I. Unfortunately, we lost our gliders, but we will stay with you on your journey. We gave an oath to the Wizard Loke and the Ranger to do so." Till said.

Natalia walked up, also wiping her hands off and hearing everything Till had to say. She walked straight up to the two Little Fliers and gave Tac a warm embrace.

"Thank you," she said softly. "I owe you my life."

"Tis nothin', my Lady," Tac said a bit embarrassed.

Then to both of them she said, "I had no idea WizLoke would be sending Little Fliers to watch over us! We owe you a debt we cannot repay for your bravery and your sacrifice. Surely you were sent here to take charge of our little quest."

"Nay, my Lady," Till said as Tac shook his head behind her. "The Wizard made it clear that you are in command. He said we should consider you just as we would a Captain of the Rangers. As we did your father, Captain Greyrite, whom we've met and flew over for a bit." Till looked at Tac who was looking away blushing a bit.

"You've met my father!" Natalia said excitedly. "What a small world it is! I see there is a story here you must tell me about when we have time. However, that does not give me the right to be in command, WizLoke misspoke."

"I don't think so my Lady," Kal said stepping forward. "You've been giving the orders all the way to this point. There was never any question of who was in command in our minds." Kaleb, standing by his brother, shook his head in agreement with a smile on his face.

"I'm with the twins on this Nat," Alvari said. "You obviously know what you are doing, it was not just the Little Fliers who saved us against the Grim Wolves. If not for your plan the Fliers would have had no one to rescue. I don't know the proper traditions and in this case, but you have my sword to command my Lady." He pulled his blood-sword from its sheath over his shoulder. He held it with both hands in front of him and pointed it to the sky.

The twins followed suit as did the Little Fliers, who had short swords on their hips. They all chanted, "My sword is yours to command!" as the Tundras gave a howl to the night sky. Natalia slowly bowed to the five companions before her, unsure, but accepting the trust they were placing on her.

"If you are all in agreement then," she said softly, "I will do my best. I promise you." Then in a stronger voice she said, "First, we eat, then we get what sleep we can in the next few hours, while the Tundras keep watch. We must leave for my uncles' place. I fear for Amber. She is a strong horse, but the Grim Wolf poison is dreadful."

Everyone went to the fire where Alvari's stew was cooking. There was a large hollowed out stone nearby made by the ancients that Alvari had filled with water so everyone could wash up. Till took some gossamar bread from her pack to share and go along with the stew instead of the hardtack the companions had. The twins found the skins of cloudberry wine and started passing them around after taking long pulls from the bags. The meal was consumed in silence as all were hungry and the food was good. Only Natalia ate very little, she went back to the big packhorse to clean and treat her wounds again.

They all cleaned their kits in the large stone bowl and then went to bed down around the fire, but not before Bull Roar rose up and shuffled over to the pair of terrified Little Fliers. The bear sniffed the two up and down, yawned and gave a low growl that seemed to be approval before walking out into the forest. Till and Tac appeared a little pale from having just met an animal that could eat them in one bite. The other four laughed as Kaleb handed them a skin of wine to help calm their nerves, and to celebrate Bull Roar's acceptance of them.

After Natalia looked over Amber's wounds one more time she lay on her bedroll and tried to get a bit of sleep. Her two Tundras came over to lay down next to her. They were not only providing solace through the bond but a physical comfort that helped her relax. She tried not to think of the struggles to come, there would be time enough for that later. Instead, she thought about her father and felt she had gained a little insight as to why he spent so much time far from home. It wasn't that he did not want to be there. It was the responsibility he felt for the men he led that kept him away.

She felt something of the same responsibility now because of the oaths her friends gave to her. For these people to put their trust in her to be their Captain made her proud. However, it also filled her with dread as she feared failure and was afraid to let them down. As her eyes closed and she started to doze off she wished, not for the first time and far from the last, that her dad was here to talk to and build her confidence. As he had done so many times in the past.

As the sky started to lighten in the east, a thick white mist came creeping out from the forest into the meadow giving everything an eerie look. The only good thing about the ground-hugging mist was it covered all the dead Grim Wolf bodies lying about in a white blanket. Except for the dreadful wounds on Amber and the ones already healing on Beauty the fight for their lives last night was becoming just a memory, an unpleasant one to be sure.

When the companions awoke mid-morning, they went off in pairs to the edge of the forest to take care of business. They could not help but notice the terrible stench of the already rotting bodies of the Grim Wolves. The old magic of the meadow and the standing stones had begun its work to rid itself of the evil creatures. At the rate the bodies were breaking down it would only be a matter of days before the meadow was back to the lush green grass. There would soon be no more sign of the foul black wolves.

"I'm telling you Kal! Something was directing those devil wolves to attack us last night. They just don't act like that on their own, not from any of the tales that I have heard about them," Kaleb said. He was talking as he led Copper into the forest with Beauty and Bash running on up ahead. They had been tasked by Natalia to find the stream that Alvari had been to last night and fill all of the water skins.

"I don't disagree Kaleb," Kal said. "I saw the monster She-bitch, and how the wolves gathered around her. I fear the Druids Bane know we are coming and sent the wolves to stop us. We will have to be on our highest guard as we travel north. Who knows what other terrors await us after this failed attempt."

"If indeed it was the Druids Bane, brother, you are right, our highest guard," Kaleb agreed.

Copper then chose that moment to whinny loudly, stomp his foot and vigorously shake his head while nudging Kaleb. The big War Horse was clearly saying enough talk and get on with finding the water. He wanted to be away from the stench of the meadow.

When they returned to the Tallhenge they found that the air inside the stones smelled completely different from the air outside. It was sweet and pleasant as the twins filled their lungs, taking deep breaths to get rid of the foul air from outside.

The camp was almost packed away when the twins returned. Natalia had just finished putting another coating of Wolf Witch salve on Amber's wounds and was having trouble getting the big packhorse to move. They had split the supplies between Daisy and Bass leaving Amber to travel with nothing on her back, but the horse was not having it. Carrying supplies was her job, and she would not move until the pack saddle was put on her with a load tied to it. Despite her wounds, Amber still needed to be working. Natalia was in tears as she gently saddled the brave horse after applying the ointment.

"How is Amber doing?" Alvari asked Natalia once he had finished packing the horses.

"I don't think very well Alvari. My skill as a healer is limited to using the Wizard's salve, which usually takes care of just about everything. Amber's wounds seem to be growing worse by the hour no matter how well I clean them and apply the salve. The infection is spreading fast," Natalia said sadly.

"Hopefully when we find your uncle, he will know what to do Nat. We'll just have to focus getting there as soon as we can," Alvari said.

Just when the two finished talking the twins returned to camp with Bashful, Beauty and Bull Roar in tow. The two wolves ran over to Natalia to get an ear scratching while giving her licks on the face. She got down on her knees and examined Beauty's wounds, which were starting to heal just fine. Bull Roar lumbered over to Daisy, sat on his butt and started eating two large brown trout he had been carrying in his mouth. He had gone with the twins and while they were filling the water skins the cave bear had been downstream fishing, with much success.

The Little Fliers came walking into the Tallhenge after being out in the meadow collecting more arrows. They both carried about a dozen each as Natalia called everyone together in the stone circle. Bashful and Beauty came to sit by Natalia while Sirus was enjoying getting his chin scratched by Alvari. The twins came walking up to the little circle of friends as they waited on Natalia to speak.

"I think Tac should ride with Alvari and Till should ride with me. Maybe Tac can keep Midnight from killing him," Natalia said while everyone laughed. "It does not look like we will have much light today because of the mist and those black clouds rolling in from the north. So we must take care traveling in the dimness. There will be much deadwood on the ground in the forest we will be traveling through. We do not want to injure any of the horses. Nevertheless, we must make as many miles as possible, for Amber's sake."

"Beauty and Bashful will run point. Alvari, Tac and Sirus will bring up the rear. I'll lead Amber while Kaleb and Kal take Daisy and Bass. I want to keep on the move so there will only be a few short rest stops, lunch and then camp at dusk."

"We need to get to my uncle's place as soon as possible. Amber must be seen to. Even so, we do need to be careful traveling through the Snow Forest, it can be a dangerous place." Natalia said as she looked up at the three Red Wing Hawks who were perched on the stones above them. "Are the hawks with us even though you two are grounded?" she asked.

"Oye, my Lady Captain, they will be with us," Tac said. "We communicate with hand signals and whistles. They be good lookouts for any danger. One will stay above us, probably Trislig there, whilst the other two, Thistl and Dagich, be flyin' on ahead. They'll be makin' us aware of any threats."

"Very good," Natalia said. "That should help us move along somewhat quicker. Any questions before we mount up? No, good then, let's go."

The six new-found friends mounted up and headed north out of the stone circle and through the mist covered meadow. They could not see the bodies of the dead Grim Wolves, but they could smell them, which made the horses eager to be moving on. No howling of wolves could be heard in the forest, making it quite a different day than yesterday.

Their steps were silent as they rode into the gray forest and onto a carpet of old needles from the larch trees. Even though the larch trees were still bare of needles, there were plenty of branches above to make the dim light of the day that much dimmer. In places where they rode under pine trees, it was almost dark. A fine rain started to come down as they entered the forest making everyone bundle up tight in their gossamar cloaks. Yet the cold water still managed to find a way in.

With the cold rain coming down, the dreary-ness of the day and the darkness of the forest closing in around them, their spirits managed to still remain high. After fighting off a brutal attack last night, against overwhelming numbers, they had survived, almost unscathed. It made the band of companions feel just a little more confident about their quest and ready for almost any challenge, as they rode into the great vastness of the wild Snow Forest.