Blaidd

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Blaidd
Mick Stratton
mstratton@hlkn.tamu.edu

Louve began working in the Tavern to everyone’s delight. Besides being beautiful, she had a kind heart and loved making people happy.

Henri and Rand were especially happy because as word spread about the beautiful barmaid, people were even coming from other villages.

One day while she was working, a hunter came in to tell Rand that a huge wolf had been spotted in the area and the farmers were worried. Rand laughed and said “Is he black?”

The other hunter also chuckled and said “Thank God, no. He is huge, but he is very grey. However, he also seems to be very smart; no one can get close to him.”

Rand was excited because he loved a good challenge, and it sounded like hunting this wolf would be one.

A couple of days later, Rand came into the tavern shaking his head, grinning. Louve asked him, “What are you grinning about?”

Rand said, “I had a very strange experience while I was hunting the big grey wolf today.”

“Well, are you going to tell me about it or just grin all day?” asked Louve.

“While I was hunting I came upon the big grey wolf. He spotted me and took off at a gentle lope, not afraid, but as if he was challenging me to follow him. He was easy enough to track, so follow him I did.

“As I came into a large clearing I saw a man sitting with his back to me, but no wolf. So I thought to myself, “I think I am going to sneak up on that man and give him a scare.

“I got to about 10 feet from him when he said, ‘One more step and you are going to have a knife sticking in the middle of your chest.’ I instantly stopped. From that distance I could see he was an old man. He had long grey hair, and when he turned to look at me, I saw a beard that was almost white.

“So I said to him, ‘You’ve got good ears old man. Rare is he who I cannot sneak up on.’

“I then noticed he was eating some berries that he had picked off a bush close by, and I said, ‘Old man everybody knows that those berries are poison, and if you keep eating them, I believe I am going to have to bury you.’

“He smiled and said, ‘If these berries are going to kill me, they sure are taking their own sweet time; I’ve been eating them for over 50 years. Don’t go by what “everybody knows,” son. There is much of the land no one knows.’

“I then asked him, ‘Where are you from?’

“He said, ‘From the other side of the barrier.’

“I thought, ‘What a liar,’ but said, ‘We all thought no humans lived over there. How many of you are there?’

“The old man smiled and said, ‘No humans, just me.’

“Well, I liked this old man, and I got the feeling he liked me as well, so I asked him, ‘Would it be impolite if I ask you your name?’

“He said, ‘They call me Blaidd, and I imagine you are Rand.’

“Well, this took me aback; how did he know my name? So I said to him, ‘What makes you think my name is Rand?’

“He replied, ‘You travel in the forest often and the forest informs me of all that happens in its domain.’ I shook my head wondering if he were insane, but he seemed quite lucid, and he had this quality that made me wonder if he might be the most sane of all of us.

“Then I remembered the wolf and asked, ‘Did you see a wolf come through here?’

“He responded, ‘I have not seen anyone but me.’

“Blaidd intrigued me, and I had a great desire to learn more of him, so I told him that if he ever came into town, he might drop by the Tavern for a drink; the first one would be on me. He smiled a strange smile and said he just might do that.

“Louve, you should see him, big, healthy, strong, and he has a presence about him that makes you wonder if he is more animal than human.

“One thing for sure, if there is trouble you would rather have him be with you than against you. I really liked him, and if he ever comes to the tavern, I think you will too.”

About three days later he did come to the tavern. He stood by the door, looked around, then went to the farthest corner, put the chair so that his back was against the wall and sat down. Louve saw him come in, but because he was wearing a wide, flat brimmed hat, she couldn’t see his face; so she did not recognize him by Rand’s description.

She came around the bar and walked over to his table to see what he wanted to have. As he looked up, their eyes met.

Staring into two sky blue pools, she was overwhelmed with their intensity as they pierced her being and gazed upon her soul.

He smiled and said, “Hello, Most Beautiful Lady,” and she heard herself whisper, “Hello, Man of the Wood.”

Why? Why did she respond with those words? In her heart she knew she was right, but they just came out without her consent. Flustered and embarrassed, she started to apologize.

But he just laughed and said, “No apology needed,” and then added, “How about a cold beer.”

Rand had been right. There was something about him that just pulled her in. Whenever he was there, she was just a little happier and the day was a little brighter.

Blaidd started coming to the tavern about twice a week and always sat in the same place. He bothered no one and no one bothered him. When it wasn’t busy, Rand would sit and talk to him, and Louve would sometimes have to be reminded that there were other customers in the tavern.

It was obvious to everyone that Louve had a very special place in his heart and that she was the reason he came to the tavern. There was chemistry between the two. It was a special kind of bond that was evident to everyone but could not be explained by anyone.

Rand particularly liked to talk to Blaidd about wolves because he had never known a person that seemed to know them so well.

Rand once asked him if he hunted wolves, and Blaidd responded, “I have killed wolves, but I have never hunted them; they are my brothers.”

That seemed very strange. Why would you kill a wolf if you weren’t hunting him? And what did he mean by “they are my brothers”? Wolves and humans have always been enemies.

Rand asked if it bothered Blaidd that he, Rand, hunted wolves. Blaidd told Rand that if a wolf comes into this side of the valley, it needs to realize that it may be killed. Humans needed to protect that which is theirs. He then looked directly at Rand and added, “But humans should never go on the other side of the barrier and kill a wolf?”

Then Rand asked if Blaidd had ever had an encounter with the big grey wolf. Blaidd responded by saying he and that wolf were very familiar with each other and that there was no animosity between them.

Rand asked him if the wolf had a name. Blaid responded “Lykos” and from then on the big grey wolf was called Lykos.

Several weeks passed with each day being the same. Then on the night of the full moon everything changed. It was a very slow night, so Henri suggested to Louve that she go home; she had been working all day and was very tired. She would have loved to sit down and talk to Blaidd, but he had left earlier.

Upon his departure several of the villagers had whispered to each other that there was no way that he lived on the other side of the barrier, so where did he live?

The village people tolerated Blaidd, but they also feared him. To them, he was very different, and people do not like different.

Right after Louve left, three men from another village got up and left also. No one knew who they were, but several commented on how obnoxious they were. Henri watched them go thinking “good riddance.”

Louve had not gone fifty yards when two of the men grabbed her, and before she could scream, a knife was put against her throat. The man holding it said, “Don’t make a sound or you will be dead, and we will be gone.”

They pulled her off the road into an enclosed area to partake of her charms. Two of the men were holding her while the man with the knife began to undress her by cutting off the top button of her blouse.

It was then that they heard a sound at the edge of the opening and all eight eyes turned toward the direction of the sound.
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