Meeting in the North

I stand in an open field. Snow blankets the ground and muffles all sound. It's so quiet it seems as if I'm the only living creature alive. There's a forest up ahead. Evergreen mixed in with the skeletons of deciduous. I start to walk towards the forest. The crust of the snow crunches underfoot sounding much louder than it really should. As I reach the edge of the forest, I hear bells jingling in the distance. I stop to listen amazed that there is anything else alive in this place. As I stand there listening, a sled approaches, pulled by a team of reindeer and guided by an old man, covered in furs. 'Come, She awaits,' he says. Not knowing exactly who 'She' is I still have a very strong urge to follow his bidding. I climb onto the sled and he nudges the reindeer into motion. We travel through the forest like this for a time, the only sound that of the bells and the rush of the sled. Soon, we arrive in a clearing. The old man guides the sled to a halt and waits for me to depart. As soon as I have stepped down to the ground, he nudges the team into motion again. Alone again, I look around the clearing. Some one has set up camp here. A supply wagon sits to one side, the coals of a fire smolder in a fire pit. No one else scans to be around, so I busy myself With building up the fire. Figuring that who ever has summoned me here will be hungry, I look around for something to fix. A bottle of milk and a loaf of hard bread are all that can be found. I find a pan and pour the milk in. Breaking the bead into small chunks, I drop them into the milk one by one and sit back to wait. 'You've fixed my favorite, thank you boy,' a voice comes suddenly from behind me. Startled, I turn and see a short old woman covered in furs sitting astride a black goat. She slides down from the goat and shuffles over to the fire. She takes a healthy portion of the milk soaked bead and offers me the rest. We eat in Silence as the sun drops behind the horizon. As we finish our meal, she turns to me and says, 'Come, we hunt.' She climbs astride the goat and I climb on behind her. The goat leaps into action and carries us off into the forest. I am surprised at how well the goat moves, not at all what I expected. As we ride through the forest horns car be heed calling elsewhere in the forest. Each call sends a tingle of, fear though my spine. Sensing my fear, The old woman tells me. 'Fear not, it, is only the Wild Hunt and they hunt other prey tonight. Someday you too will lead them in their chase.' Startled by this statement,I almost do not see the Stag as we rush up on it. I leap from The back of the goat onto the stag, dagger in hand. I reach around the neck feeling my dagger bite deep and ride the Stag to the ground. Hoisting the Stag onto my shoulders we head back to the clearing. I clean and dress the kill, offering the choicest, most tender portions the old woman. she accepts them gratefully and then tells me it is time I was on my way. The man with the sled arrives again and I load up the portions left for myself and we ride back the way we came.