“We should move onward; we are not there yet,” he announced curtly.
“So we are not done marching?” Erin queried with a petulant tone, continuing to nervously eye a Jaghun that had cautiously approached and begun to sniff at her.
“He is not going to hurt you, and no, we are not done marching. You may be happy to know that the distance from here is short,” Gunther responded firmly, with no trace of humor.
Without another word, the big woodsman started forward with one of the Jaghuns loping along at his side. The others bounded ahead and moved farther off to the sides of the group.
From the first steps into the outskirts of Gunther’s territory, the mood of Ryan, Lee, and Lynn continued to lift up. Though tired, the strain of the march seemed lessened with a destination in range. It was a comfort just to know that there was a physical destination to begin with, after having so recently faced the prospect of wandering aimlessly in the wilds.
At the very least, Lee knew that the end of their day’s travel was imminently approaching. Only Erin remained dour, her face exhibiting a sulky expression as she seemed to be trying to stare holes right through Gunther’s wide back. Her jaw was set firm, and her mouth held tight.
Lee paid her little heed as he focused on his footing through the uneven ground, already irritated enough with her acrimonious attitude. The ground had become noticeably more pronounced in its rises and falls, as they found themselves amid some hills of moderate size. It was to one of the larger hills that Gunther guided the wide-eyed newcomers.
Though the land before Lee had not been entirely cleared of trees, the growth of trees and brush had certainly been purposely thinned to accommodate the woodland homestead that subsequently came into sight. A two-story structure of timber had been built right up against the steep slope of the large hill. The structure was formed around a timber frame supported by thick posts of wood. Horizontal planking covered the spaces within the supportive framing. The steeply pitched roof was densely thatched with straw, and a large wooden door of rough-hewn planks served as the principle entrance to the structure.
There were a couple of small rectangular buildings set off to the right side of the main building. Both were freestanding, shorter in length, and of one level. They were gable-ended, and constructed of timber in a similar fashion to the larger, two-level building. There was also a spacious, fenced holding pen set to the front and left of the building. The space within it was currently empty, and the gate into the pen was closed.
A couple of small Jaghuns, clearly adolescents of their breed, barked, whined, and yipped excitedly at the sight of the returning group. The little creatures brought a rapid smile to Lee’s face, as they expressed their own enthusiasm, albeit in a high pitched, non-intimidating tone that was a far cry from that of their older brethren. One of them tripped over its own legs in its haste to run up to them, going down awkwardly in a ball of uncoordinated muscle and fur.
“Ah, little Skyheart. You have not yet mastered your own body,” Gunther remarked, deftly bending over and scooping up the little creature, cradling it tenderly.
The little beast panted rapidly, and started earnestly licking Gunther’s face. The woodsman put his mouth to the neck of the juvenile creature, and blew while making a humming sound, eliciting an excited squeal from the little Jaghun as it flailed with its paws.
Laughing, Gunther set the young beast back down. “There you go, now try and make sure you can at least stand up!”
The beast padded around Gunther, looking a little wobbly on its chubby legs.
“And you, Darkmane, could perhaps help your sister in this matter,” Gunther quipped, as he greeted the second young Jaghun.
Its movements were a little more sturdy than those of its sibling, Lee noticed, as he watched the creature lick Gunther’s hand. A little thicker and taller of build than Skyheart, it displayed a line of black fur that ran down from the middle of the back of its head, continuing along the center of its back down to its tail. It was little mystery as to how Gunther had come up with its name.
Gunther looked back to his four new guests. “I do not often have visitors, but there should be plenty of room inside my home for all of you. It may have little in the way of luxuries… but it is a different manner of place than you will find in the villages around this area. I used some ideas that I gained during my former travels. Made some use of a hillside, two-story house design I saw within a Saxan burh, and came up with some things of my own. Took some time to build. Had some failures. But I got it done. It is solid, it is distinct, and this has been my home for some time now.”
Gunther sounded both proud and unapologetic as he spoke of his dwelling. Though Lee knew that there were more than a few stories yet to be told by the woodsman, he saved any questions that he might have asked then for a more opportune moment. Gunther was not forthcoming with anything else, commenting no further on his homestead as he strode up to the wooden door leading into the main, two-level structure.
It was not locked, as Gunther unlatched the door and pushed it open. The woodsman then stood to the side, to allow the others to enter first. Lee led the others as they walked inside the woodsman’s dwelling, slowly filing into the front room.
The air was a little denser inside, something that Lee noted on his first inhalation. Shadow surrounded them in the dim interior, as the bulk of the light coming into the room entered through the door opening behind them.
There were no windows within the walls of the lower level. Despite the low ambience, it could still be seen that the spacious, open room had some wooden shelving fitted along the right wall, and there were a few rectangular chests lying upon the ground. The floor itself was earthen, hard-packed and smooth, though strewn about with some old rushes that lent a musty scent to the air.
The outside wall planks of rough-hewn timber were covered to a large extent on the inside with great, capacious fabrics. Some of the hangings appeared to have designs woven upon them, but in the dimness Lee could not make out much detail.
A shallow pit or small hearth had been dug out near to the center of the room. Lined with stones, it was filled with cold ash and embers left over from the last fire that had burned within it. A large iron pot was currently suspended over the hearth by a chain, which hung down from the center of an iron tripod.
Looking up, Lee saw that there was an opening set high in the ceiling, visible through the second level. A little further light made its way through the opening in the roof overhead, giving highlight to the central, open shaft. Some wooden steps running up from the back of the room, just off to the left, led on up to the second story loft.
The light through the front door also revealed a last, intriguing feature in the room, which quickly drew the interest of the four guests. Lee became aware that all of his companions had settled their gazes upon it, even as Gunther followed the direction of their stares.
There was another large wooden door centered in the rear of the room, set right in the hillside’s outer surfacing.
“Yes, I suppose that doorway looks like a mystery. And yes, it is of importance. I once had a habitation not too far from here… and I relocated myself to this place, after I had learned a little more about these woods. It was a little easier to fashion two levels using the hill, but I chose this particular location for a very good reason, which you will learn about soon enough. But not just yet,” Gunther said, disappointing Lee’s curiosity once again.
The woodsman unbuckled his leather belt as he walked closer to the wall with the shelves, setting the belt with its attached leather pouches down upon the ground. Straightening up, he removed his great hunting bow and leaned it against the wall, proceeding to place his quiver down next to it. Finally, he removed his baldric, propping his sword in its leather scabbard up against the wall as well. Gunther then directed his four guests to set their own weapons and other belongings down, near to his weapons.