001 - 003 - Coming In From the Storm

"I have a sword." Elyria yelled over all of the noise. She knocked the hilt on the door jam for effect. One and Two jumped at the door, their nails leaving grooves in the wood.

"So do I." The stranger pounded on his side of the door with his sword. "Open up and we can compare. I bet mine is bigger than yours."

Elyria could have sworn she heard him chuckle. "Go away or I will loose the dogs on you."

"I don’t want to hurt your dogs." He rattled the door. He pushed on it. The planks groaned against the log thrown across them to keep the door bolted. "Just tie them up and let me in."

"Go away. You have no business here." The barking of the cubs caused Elyria’s head to ache. She motioned for them to sit and be quiet. They stopped but sat alert and on guard, ready to spring at her signal.

"Thank the gods those dogs have stopped. My head aches." It sounded like he was talking into the crack between the door and the jam. "If I stay out here any longer, I will have to grow gills to breathe. Take pity on a drowning man."

"There’s a shed over to your right hand. Go there."

"Can’t, no room."

"There’s plenty of room for you."

"All three of my horses are in there, packed side to side."

"Put them out."

"No."

Elyria groaned in frustration. At this point, her fear left her and she stomped her foot in irritation. "Just go away."

"Can’t. My horses are exhausted."

"Oh, this is just ridiculous." She paced around in little circles, twisting a strand of her hair between her fingers, like spinning wool. She hadn’t bother braiding it today, so it hung loose around her shoulders.

"I agree." His voice came from over by the small window to the right of the door. She saw four fingers wiggling at her from under the bottom edge of the covering.

"I don’t want to let you in." She heard the whine in her voice and cringed.

"You state the obvious." He definitely chuckled this time.

"You try to gain my favor by insulting me? Not a very good strategy." She considered giving in. The Law of Hospitality did demand that she offer shelter to strangers in need. If she kept her distance, with her sword between them and the dogs on guard, she should be safe. He obviously did not intend to leave and the rain continued.

"I enjoy bantering with you, but I have no more energy and I need a fire and hot food." Exhaustion tinged his voice.

"I have no fire. I used all of the wood."

"Poor planning on your part."

"Such sweet words." She smiled. "I used all of the wood in here."

"Do you have wood somewhere out here?"

"Under the awning out back to your left."

"I’ll go get some. Unbolt the door."

Elyria lifted the bar from its brackets and waited until she heard the man return. One and Two jumped up on the cot at Elyria’s signal. The man bumped into the door. She pulled it open and screamed. She jumped back as an avalanche of logs fell into the room. The cubs whimpered. The black flapping beast that entered her cabin shed its skin to reveal a huge, blonde, mustached man.

"Why did you scream for the gods’ sake?"

"You’d scream too if a big, black, monster came in your house."

"I covered the wood and myself with my cloak to keep us dry." He bent and began picking up the logs.

"Well, yes, I can see that now. You just startled me."

The man shook his head. Long, wet hair dripped water down his back. "Pick up some of this wood. Let’s get a fire going. The temperature in here matches that of the outside." He carried the wood across the room to the open, corner hearth and dropped it in a pile. He turned back to the room and looked around. The door stood open and water ran in. His cloak lay on the floor in a heap just inside the door.

"How do you manage on your own?"

"What?"

He pointed around the room.

"You created that mess." Elyria pushed the door closed and began to put the bar back in place, then changed her mind. She heard a chuckle behind her and ignored it. She lifted the cloak from the floor. Water ran down its folds as she hung it on a peg on the wall to the left of the door. She heard the man moving the wood behind her.

When she turned around, the man stood by the bed, petting her dogs and smiling. "I like dogs."

"That’s One and Two. They’re wolf cubs. Very deadly, as you can see."

"Clever names. How long did you have to think before coming up with them?"

Elyria ignored him. She pulled her flints and tinder from a pouch she kept on a shelf by the fire pit. She knelt down and began striking the flints against the wool she stuffed between the neatly stacked logs. The wad caught fire quickly. The aged wood began to burn, lighting up the cabin and dispelling the damp and cold. She stood, slapped her hand on her thigh to call the dogs over and they enjoyed the first warmth they’d had in two days.

The man walked over and joined them. Steam rose from his wet clothes. They all stood together for a long while in silence. One and Two curled up on the hearth and fell asleep. Two began to snore and Elyria giggled. She looked at the man out of the corner of her eyes. He watched her. She felt heat rise into her cheeks.

"What are you called?"

"Elyria. And you? What do they call you?"

"They call me many things." He grinned. "My name is Fendor." Fendor’s stomach gurgled.