[SP-F4] Befriending a Queen, «Feeding the Enemy» Complete

[Tyr 0]

Tyr sighed as when he looked into the cupboard set into the back of his new shop. Apparently the old man didn’t stock the place when he last left it. Taking one last look around the forge, he strode out into his private paradise in the frozen wasteland. The sun felt warm on his skin, laughing a little inside, he realized that this was probably one of the only places of the 4th floor where one could feel warm. On a whim, Tyr grabbed his pickaxe from where it lay propped up against the building, thinking that he might be lucky enough to find some materials on the way.

Edited January 13, 2016 by Tyr

[Tyr 0]

   Traveling down the sinuous path through the mountains, Tyr kept his eyes peeled for any materials in the clearings to the side of the trail. Unfortunately it seemed like none of the boulders containing ore had re-spawned since his last harvest. Stepping up to the boundary that marked the edge of his safe zone, Tyr looked out into the snow covered woods, searching for any hidden dangers preparing to pounce. All around the clearing were paw-prints of large wolves, no doubt the the ones that had almost had him before he activated the zone. Not seeing any movement, Tyr stepped out into the snow.

[Tyr 0]

      Moving quickly, Tyr made for the thicker stand of trees where any predators would have a harder time following him. Thankfully nothing seemed to be following him, that he could tell anyway. He had forgotten how close together the trees were here. There were points where he had to either turn sideways to fit through a narrow gap, or had to practically crawl on all fours in order to pass under a fallen tree. After clearing the grove, it was a simple process to follow the path back to Snowfrost town.

[Tyr 0]

    Snowfrost Town was a lot easier to spot today, since it appeared that the NPC's had cleared all of the snow from atop their houses. The smell of fires burning in their hearths filled the crisp air as he made his way down the central boulevard of the town searching for a store where he could buy some general supplies for his forge. Tyr was shocked when he spotted what appeared to be a wolf slipping into a small building at the edge of town. Getting closer he noticed that it was a shop called "The Wolves Stash." Curious, Tyr stepped into the store with one hand on his spear.

[Tyr 0]

     Walking into the shop, the first thing he saw was a woman sitting near the back, casually stroking the fur of the one of the most beautiful wolves he had ever seen. Its Glowing yellow eyes standing out in stark contrast to pure black fur. It watched him carefully as he made his way further into the building.

     "Can I help you," The woman asked him. Noticing the focus of his attention, she told him, "Don't worry, he won't harm you. He's very friendly."

    Cautiously, Tyr made his way through the cluttered shop towards the woman. "Where did you find him?" he asked.

[Tyr 0]

    "I found him half starved out in the woods surrounding the town. It took some time before he would let me near, but when I got close I offered him a piece of food that was in my pack. Ever since then he has been a loving friend and companion."

    When she had finished talking, Tyr noticed a notification in his HUD. Pulling up his menu, he was amazed to find new instructions for beast taming. It explained that on occasion special mobs would have an option to "feed," pop up when certain conditions were met. Upon success the creature would follow him as a companion, and in certain cases, would assist him in his actions.

[Tyr 0]

    "I can tell you are intrigued by my story. Is there any creature that you would have stand at your side?" The woman asked.

    Tyr's mind was instantly filled with the vision of the yellow-specked blue eyes of the <Mother of Winter> that had spared his life on his first quest. That experience had left him with a sense of awe and longing unlike any he had known before. He had oftentimes sat at the edge of his safe zone, falling asleep to the sound of her and her children singing to the winter moon. "I think I have something in mind." He told her with a barely contained excitement.

[Tyr 0]

     Noticing the gleam in his eye, the woman handed him a large sack. "When the time is right, give her this. After that she will surely walk proudly beside you."

"Thank you," Tyr told her. Taking the package, he quickly headed for his forge, eager to begin preparations. He was so excited that he had forgotten why he had come to town in the first place. Taking a quick look in the bag, he was surprised to find on large package, and several small packages with a note on them simply saying, "These are for you." With a smile, he took off towards his safe zone. 

[Tyr 0]

    He knew that the wolves would wait until later before they became active. With that in mind, he went straight to his home to plan out his next course of action. Though the <Mother of Winter> had spared his life, her children didn't seem to share her sense of mercy. He tried to keep his eyes out for any signs of them as he moved as swiftly as he could through the snow. When he finally got to the path leading to his home, he noticed that the tracks around the entrance were riddled with fresh tracks. He noticed with a shiver that they looked as if they had followed the path he had taken into town. 

[Tyr 0]

      Unloading the extra supplies at the forge, Tyr took up a seat at the opening of the path to wait for the sun to start setting. He had a faint idea of where he was going to go. The hard part was going to be avoiding the smaller mobs surrounding the area. Tyr looked around at the trees of the grove, and suddenly had a brilliant idea. Walking out to a nearby pine tree, he pulled out his spear and stabbed the blade into the trunk, unleashing a small trickle of sap from the wound. Taking a glob of the sap, he rubbed it on his body in an attempt to mask his scent. He could only hope that it would work.

[Tyr 0]

    Taking one last look at the path to safety, Tyr set off along the side of the mountain. The setting sun gave off an eerie glow behind him as he tried to make his way to the clearing where he had first seen the giant wolf. It was almost completely dark by the time he found it again. It was impossible to miss. A large swath of dense trees felled by the passing of a large animal was usually a pretty obvious landmark, or so he thought. His gaze followed the path up the mountain till they disappeared behind a bend in the mountains. 'Last chance to turn back,' he thought to himself. Firming his resolve, he began to follow the trail of destruction up the side of the mountain.

[Tyr 0]

    About thirty minutes after dark, Tyr began hearing the howls of wolves far off in the distance, appearing to be traveling away from him. The thought only slightly comforted him considering was he was attempting to do. As far as he could tell, the scent cover was working so far. Tyr realized he was subconsciously attempting to psyche himself up for the task ahead. He was so concentrated on making as little noise as possible moving through the snow, that when a thunderous howl shook the trees around him. It was her.

[Tyr 0]

    It was the <Mother of Winter>. Of that he had no doubt. But something was off. That howl sounded weaker, sorrowful. Almost as if she was hurt. Moving towards the sound, he began to notice the evidence of what appeared to be a battle. There was blood everywhere, with scraps of armor and fur dying the snow in a horrific cast of red. He knew that she was just a creature in a game, but she had spared his life. He actually felt more concerned for her than for the other players that had probably met their end trying to take her down for experience and loot.

[Tyr 0]

When the trees finally parted, tears began to well up in his eyes. The massive wolf bore the marks of terrible pain. Where once there was white, now her fur was only red, broken only by the several swords and spears still protruding from her haunches. Her breathing was labored, blood gurgling with each breath. Losing all sense of reason, Tyr ran foreward and began removing the weapons as carefully as he could, using the scraps of cloth that littered the clearing (no doubt from other fallen adventurers) to pack the wounds. He worked for hours trying to help her. After removing the final blade and packing the wound, Tyr set back panting from the effort. It was only then that he noticed that the wolf had opened her eyes and was looking at him quizzically.

[Tyr 0]

ID: 45102

LD: 19 (Taming successful)

    She carefully raised her massive head to look at him with knowing eyes. Looking into them, he knew she remembered, sparing him. He was just returning the favor. Suddenly she leaned forward and licked him with a tongue lager than him, scaring the wits out of him. It was then that he noticed a small notification flashing beside her status bar. The word "Feed to tame," shone like a beacon of victory to Tyr's eyes. Hastily taking the package from his inventory, he unwrapped hit to reveal a large slab of meat. It would hardly be a taste to this massive wolf, but he hoped it would be enough. Placing it before her, he stepped back carefully, signaling to the offering. She sniffed it for a moment before lapping it up with that massive red tongue. The message <Taming Succesful> popped up in his HUD as the wolf suddenly began to glow.

Edited January 13, 2016 by Tyr

[Tyr 0]

The massive wolf before him began to emanate a soft blue glow. Gradually, it began to shrink in size. Where once there was a two story tall bloodstained creature, now there was a pure white wolf, about the size of a large dog, sitting back on its haunches staring at him happily. With a sudden realization, Tyr looked up to see that the clearing was surrounded by larger wolves of all colors and sizes, though none as large as the <Mother of Winter> had been. They stood there like stone sentinels, waiting for the command from their matriarch. Looking back he noticed a prompt hovering above the she-wolfs head asking for him to name him. Thinking back to mythology he had learned as a child, he wanted to give her a name befitting her station. With a careful thought he typed <Lupa> into the prompt, a great wolf mother of Roman mythology.

[Tyr 0]

Seeming pleased, Lupa leaned her head back and let out a howl, a call that was repeated by every wolf surrounding the clearing, until the very air seemed to ring with the power of their combined voices. When they finally stopped, he could still hear the sound echoing through mountains and valleys of the 4th floor. A sound that would probably be sending chills down the spines of any who could hear it. With one last look, Lupa looked at Tyr and started walking in the direction he had come from. 

[Tyr 0]

As Lupa walked away, Tyr spared a look at the ring of wolves, which seemed to be closing in on him as Lupa walked away looking at him with hungry but questioning looks. The message was clear. So long as Lupa was with him, they wouldn't harm him. But should he ever stray, they would pounce in a heartbeat. With a sudden jerk, Tyr hurried to catch up to the departing wolf. Catching up to her, she glanced at him with what could almost be described as a smile, and continued on the path back to his home.

[Tyr 0]

They walked back to his home like royalty. A royal guard of a hundred wolves guarding their path and leading the way. As he looked ahead he realized that they were taking him on a shortcut, bypassing the nearly impassable grove that guarded the entrance to his home. He had wanted to clear a path through that using the ax that the old blacksmith had given him. But until now, the grove had been his only safe route back and forth into town. Tyr thought that he could probably do it soon, now. He wouldn't be worrying about being attacked on his own doorstep anymore.

[Tyr 0]

Passing around a final bend in the mountains, the path to his safe zone finally came into sight. As they approached it, the wolves that were leading them parted to let them through, closing in behind them as they passed. After they were part of the way up the path, Lupa suddenly turned and sat down. Tyr followed her gaze back to the entrance, where the wolves were gathered at the edge of the border. The silence almost seemed to ring in Tyr's ears before it was broken by a howl from the group of wolves, a call which was taken up by all of its peers and returned by Lupa. A beutifull, yet sorrowful sound that reverberated up the path, the thorn-like protrusions of stone along the path acting as large tuning forks adding an almost musical tone to their cries. A final goodbye from her children and a final dismissal from their queen.