XXXIII. The Friend

He felt that both his body and his mind were growing and improving in the face, despite the difficulties.

For once, he avoided asking questions and continued to enjoy the well-deserved dinner.

Just as he turned the wood in the fireplace, helping himself with an iron stick, he heard a noise coming from outside.

He got up immediately, alerted. His sword was resting right on the wall next to the chimney. Slowly, he approached it and seized it, ready to defend itself from the invaders.

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

It was a sound of footsteps coming from about ten yards away from the farm door. The steps were close, it was not a single individual, but at least two.

After a few seconds, the sound stopped. Someone was right behind the door.

Dag was still motionless in front of the fireplace.

The only useful window from where to spy outside the door was a few steps away from him, on the wall in front.

Slowly Dag crept up the wall towards the window, with his sword clenched in his hands.

He heard another sound, as if someone right behind the door was breathing very fast, or maybe crawling something against the door itself. He could not clearly distinguish the noises.

At last, he could look out of the window.

He saw nothing in front of the door, there was no one behind.

The sound continued.

Dag came even closer to the window and looked better.

Outside it was dimly lit, the only light that illuminated the area came from the fire of the fireplace and from a candle resting on the table.

Squeezing his eyes and focusing on the view, Dag saw something moving forward at the door, down.

That "thing" warned Dag's presence at the window and immediately turned to him: it was the wolf!

At the sight of Dag, the big white wolf promptly recoiled circumspectly.

Dag felt relieved, for a moment he thought it was another undead or who knows what.

With the sword still in his hand, he opened the door.

The icy, biting cold got into his bones after a few seconds with the door open, as he was not wearing his jacket.

The wolf was there and stared at him.

"What do you want?" asked Dag, as if the beast could understand his words.

The wolf sat down in front of him.

There was no doubt, it was the same wolf to which he had given the piece of bread that morning, he

had the same dark gray snout.

He didn't seem to be aggressive.

"Are you hungry?" asked Dag.

The wolf groaned as if he wanted to answer the question.

Dag slowly resented, keeping his eyes fixed on the wolf and the sword still in his hand.

The smell of beef cooked on fire must have attracted him there.

Dag came up to the table and took a piece of meat off his plate.

With the flesh in one hand and the sword in the other, he walked back to the door.

The wolf at that moment looked like a docile and affectionate beast, despite his white tusks sticking out of his mouth and his long claws sinking into the ground.

Dag threw the flesh at the beast, who grabbed it and devoured it in a few seconds in one bite.

"Did you come all that way just because you're hungry? What kind of wolf are you?" said Dag, chuckling.

The wolf was still sitting there, stationary in the same place as if waiting for more food.

"Go away now, I need as much food as you, I can't give you everything. Go!"

Dag nodded his hand as if to drive him away, but the wolf still stood still in his position.

After returning to the house, he closed the door and finished eating. As he ate he stared at the scrolls stacked on the table, right next to him.

When a certain hour came, his eyelids began to close. He woke up after falling asleep for a short time on the table, extinguished the fire of the fireplace and went to bed.

Two days passed.

Dag continued to train as Magni had ordered him.

After only 4 days of intensive training, he was able to get on and down the trail with weights much faster.

Both his arms and legs were decidedly stronger, able to support greater weights over long distances and in adverse weather conditions.

Every night, the wolf returned to the front door of the farm, always in the same location, waiting for Dag to give him food.

Dag became familiar with the beast, taming it just like a real pet.

He called it Thalos.

During the night, Thalos stayed outside the farm, near the entrance, as if to guard.

That day, Dag, after training, returned to the farm in the late afternoon to rest and feed.

Magni's food supply was coming to an end: the next day he would have to go hunting, to get some bushmeat.

While roasting a salmon on the fire, Dag opened a new scroll: Niva.

He recalled when Aslan spoke to him at the temple. Niva was a level 2 skill, useful to understand the level of strength of his opponents.

Dag began to read it.

After about half an hour, he had almost run out of salmon. He had left only one piece, destined for Thalos, who was waiting hungry behind the door.

Suddenly, the wolf began to howl.

Dag stopped reading.

Although howling was normal for a young alpha wolf like Thalos, it didn't usually do it at that time of the evening.

It must have heard something.

"Thalos!" called Dag.

"What's going on?"

The wolf kept howling, undaunted.

Dag rose from the table, picking up his sword.

He made his way to the door.

Thalos stopped howling and began to growl: he had surely spotted something!

Dag quickly opened the door.

The wolf kept growling in the same direction, right in front of them.

The light coming from the farm only illuminated a small area beyond the entrance.