'I don't know,' Pawldo snapped, but then bit his mouth shut. 'Look!' he hissed.
As it had in Lowhill, the dagger began to glow. The halflings could feel its warmth as they stood over it. Then, very slowly, the weapon wiggled across the ground. In a few moments it lay still, pointing directly at the narrow, rocky gap up the stream.
'Up there,' Pawldo said. 'That's where it came from.'
'It-it looks pretty dark,' Stefanik observed hesitantly.
'Morning will brighten it up,' Pawldo announced, his voice heartier than his thoughts. In truth, the forest- shrouded chasm seemed like a foreboding place. It didn't take him more than a moment to decide to postpone its exploration until the morrow.
Stefanik unsaddled the ponies while Pawldo gathered some dry branches he found scattered conveniently around the camp. He set them beside the fire scar and looked to Stefanik-only to see the younger halfling freeze taut, his eyes bulging at a sight behind Pawldo's shoulder.
The lord mayor whirled to confront a pair of unblinking yellow eyes, less than six feet away. A canine face stared impassively. A narrow snout gaped, while a pink tongue lolled between long, white fangs.
'Wolf!' Stefanik hissed.
Pawldo had already recognized the powerful body of the predator. The creature squatted upon a rock, ready to pounce.
Yelping in astonishment, Pawldo fumbled for his sword, but all he managed to do was stumble backward to collapse into an ungainly heap. All the time the wolf stared at him with those penetrating yellow eyes. By the time he had his sword half-drawn, the halfling realized that the creature presented no immediate menace.
'He looks hungry,' observed Stefanik. The wolf's flanks showed the clear outline of his rib cage, screened only slightly by scattered patches of mangy fur. One of its ears flopped sideways, scarred by an ugly red wound. At the sound of the voice, the wolf shifted its gaze to the younger halfling's face, the good ear cocked forward attentively.
'Give him something to eat!' hissed Pawldo, more than a little embarrassed by his clumsiness-and still not certain of the wolf's intentions.
'Here, fellow,' said Stefanik, pulling an entire slab of bacon from the saddlebags. He threw it onto the ground near the animal.
The wolf's eyes followed the meat but then came back to Pawldo. Finally, hunger won out. The creature sniffed tentatively, then hopped down from the rocky perch. With another look at Pawldo, who still had not climbed to his feet, the wolf settled to its haunches, tearing at the tough meal with teeth still white, long, and sharp.
In short order the wolf put a dent in their stockpile of cheese as well. Keeping a wary eye on the beast, Pawldo built the fire while Stefanik stretched out the bedrolls. They cooked some bacon for themselves, throwing another morsel to the wolf, as full darkness descended. Finally the animal dropped its head onto its outstretched forelegs with a contented sigh.
'I think we've found a friend,' Stefanik said as the wolf closed its eyes.
'I suppose we could have a worse companion in these woods,' Pawldo observed warily. The thought of sleeping here, with this huge carnivore just a few feet away, bothered him more than a little. 'Maybe we should give him some more bacon.'
'I think we should let him rest. He looks all worn out.'
In fact, the animal appeared to have reached the end of a long and grueling trail. The shaggy flanks, now noticeably bulging, rose and fell with deliberate breathing. Pawldo noticed that the animal's muzzle and forelegs were also scarred, though not so badly as the ear. Many wounds, however, showed raw and moist-they had not yet had time to heal.
'Don't wolves usually travel in packs?' asked the younger halfling. 'It seems odd to see one by himself.'
'Do you see lots of wolves in Llyrath Forest?' demanded Pawldo.
Stefanik shook his head. 'They're rare. Once or twice in the fall and winter we've seen them running past the village-like gray ghosts in the forest. They don't bother us.
In fact, they haven't even gone after the sheep kept by Whitebeard Karywether. But even then, when we see them there's
'From the look of this one, he's had to fight for his life. I wonder if he's the last survivor of his pack,' Pawldo mused.
'I don't know what could slaughter so many wolves,' Stefanik said. 'There are bears out here, but a wolf could outrun one of them without a problem. What about firbolgs?'
Pawldo shook his head. 'Even if the giant-kin came this far south, they wouldn't do this to wolves. Sometimes they capture them for pets, but they wouldn't torture and maim them.'
Soon the unsettled pair of halflings curled into their bedrolls and went to sleep. Neither slumbered soundly, and Pawldo stirred as soon as the gray dawn filtered through the mist of the streambed.
The wolf, he saw, was still there-though the animal no longer slept. Indeed, the yellow eyes followed Pawldo's every move as the halfling rose and crossed to Stefanik, nudging the youngster to wakefulness. They packed up their camp, half-hoping the wolf would be on its way. But when they started into the narrow canyon, the wolf bounded ahead, picking a way around gnarled roots and over massive rocks. He led them straight into the canyon.
The chasm walls, great shoulders of granite, glowered overhead. Streaks of moss and lichen ran across their weathered faces, and the rocky walls projected a chill that sapped every vestige of warmth from the air. The stream narrowed to a channel choked with debris. Nevertheless, Pawldo had no lingering doubts that the source of the splendid dagger would be found near the headwaters of this creek.
'We won't be able to take the ponies through,' Pawldo announced, gesturing into the steep and narrow canyon. 'Let's picket them here and try to get back by nightfall.'
Stefanik, too, realized the futility of taking the steeds through the maze of rocks and deadfalls. The wolf watched them from its vantage of a high boulder as they dismounted, loosely tied the mounts, and selected a few important items-weapons, flasks of oil, and the platinum dagger-to carry as they progressed on foot. Surprisingly, the wolf seemed more interested in them than in their horses.
The ragged animal again sprang forward, disappearing behind the large rock. It popped up a dozen paces ahead, its face turned alertly back to see if the halflings still followed.
'Yeah, yeah. Wait a minute!' muttered Pawldo, irritated at the ease with which the animal negotiated the rough terrain.
'If he's coming with us, we ought to give him a name,' Stefanik suggested, struggling over a fallen trunk that bristled with prickly branches.
'Be my guest,' grunted the older halfling as he, too, worked his way over the obstacle.
'How about 'Half-Ear'?' suggested Stefanik, taking Pawldo's frustrated mumbling for acquiescence. 'Hey, wolf! Half-Ear-how about finding a better path?'
But Half-Ear only regarded them impassively. For several minutes they scrambled silently along the streambank to the wolfs latest vantage. By then, of course, the animal had bounded forward another two dozen paces.
Pawldo and Stefanik grunted and cursed their way up the narrow canyon. There was no path-indeed, deadfalls, rockslides, and thorny thickets all choked the base of the narrow chasm, making every step a struggle. Always Half-Ear remained before them, crawling under logs that blocked the halflings, scrambling up a steep surface of tumbled rock in a few bounds. Following slowly, the two-footed explorers climbed with painstaking care, hoisting their packs by rope only after they had made these perilous ascents.
The stream continued to flow beside them, rushing with silent power along a deep channel, for the most part free of the rocks that so typically obstructed the streambed lower down. Finally the walls to either side began to lean away from them, and soon they reached the top of the tangled chute. Struggling up a pile of boulders that spilled along the shore of the stream, Pawldo paused to catch his breath. Half-Ear waited patiently in a forest glade a short distance ahead.
'Open space,' grunted the lord mayor as his young companion joined him. 'Looks like the same kind of forest we saw below.'
'Thank the Earthmother for that!' moaned Stefanik, collapsing on the rock pile in exhaustion. Then he looked around. 'Where's Half-Ear?'
