Benlunar- Episode 11
The final encounter.
Take the road up through the mystic mountains
Past the fantastic fishing fields and fountains
Three days through the Titan woods
Whose trees glare down through leafy hoods
Crawl in the darkness of the biting caves
It’s more dangerous the other ways
Then finally find yourself later or sooner
In the hidden valley town Benlunar
Cromwell Attorcop had seen many strange things in his life. This tends to happen when you take an interest in the esoteric. The weird and wonderful things that lie outside the fringes of common knowledge tend to generate bizarre encounters and brilliant stories. But in all his years he had never felt his interest and his fear so piqued as it was in this very moment. On a cool summer’s evening, just outside a funny little mountain town he found himself staring at a creature. His quizzical mind buzzed with a mixture of fear and excitement. It was big, he could tell that even from this distance. It’s head, body and teeth made it seem canine but its ears, eyes and tail contradicted this. Try as he might, he couldn’t place it. Suddenly, it began to move. It’s muscular, heavy body moved with surprising speed and grace. It took a few steps forward and put its feet into the pond in front of it. The water barely ripple as its large feet breeched the surface. It moved with purpose and without shifting its gaze from where he and Lilian stood. Lilian! Mr Attorcop’s attention suddenly snapped out of fascination and back to the danger of the present situation. Beautiful or not, they were still dealing with an unknown and potentially dangerous animal and he had a young woman under his care.
Lilian Lausanne was a few steps behind Mr Attorcop, both literally and mentally. As the Feinhound moved into the water she was still thinking about how happy she was that she wasn’t going mad and that Mr Attorcop could see it too. It wasn’t until she noticed Mr Attorcop reach into his sleeve and pull out a vial of lunar essence that she realised they might be in danger. The liquid shone brightly in the evening darkness and as Mr Attorcop removed the stopper, Lilian was able to see the feinhound’s whole body slip into the water. It kept its head above the surface and swam towards them with incredible grace. She had seen dogs playing in these ponds before and they tended to splash and ripple their way through the water as they fetched a stick or ball. The feinhound was nothing like that, in fact, it barely made the lilypads moved as its head glided towards them. It moved so smoothly that Lilian kept having to readjust her eyes to make sure she was still looking at it. By the time it reached their side of the water, Mr Attorcop had stepped in front of Lilian and dragged the unstoppered bottle through the air in front of him. Lilian had seen him do this before, when Kissandra had attacked them in his room, and just like that day Mr Attorcop placed his hand on one of the floating blobs of essence and whilst drawing it back, crafted the liquid into a silver sword. He stood in a guard position, ready to fight or run. Lilian looked around and noticed that their only means of escape would be to run to their left because behind them was the small waterfall with the Padda stone on top of it and to the right was more water. But Lilian didn’t want to run. She had run once already and now she wanted to stay and watch, to see how the feinhound moved and what it did. She knew that if it attacked, Mr Attorcop would have a plan to defend them. She edged slowly to her right and craned her neck just in time to see the feinhound emerge from the water. It’s fur glistened in the light and it stood still, watching them both.
“Lilian,” Mr Attorcop whispered to her, “Keep very still, we don’t want to make sudden movements or do anything that might surprise it.” Lilian took a deep breath in the hope of slowing her rapidly beating heart. At this distance, she could see its rib cage expand and fall as it breathed. It didn’t seem scared. It didn’t even seem angry or violent. Just… curious. Its black, dog nose rose in the air as it smelled the two strangers in front of it. It dipped its head up and down whilst smelling the air all around them. It even took a couple of steps to its left so as to get a better view of Lilian. With its large jowls and drooping skin under its eyes, Lilian thought it looked almost, goofy. Its pointed ears and size had made it seem so intimidating in the woods, but this close it was a lot more cute. Without warning the feinhound began to shake the water from its body. Its cheeks slapped against its face as it did and Lilian caught a sign of its large teeth, that reminded her to not let her guard down just yet.
What proceeded was a sort of awkward dance. The feinhound, calm as ever, would take a step towards them and Mr Attorcop would take a step back. He was wary though as to not step too far back towards the padda stone as this would leave them without a means of escape and it would distance him from the remaining lunar essence, still floating patiently in front of them. This meant that by the third of fourth tentative step forward Lilian and Mr Attorcop were almost in reach of the feinhounds large head. Lilian thought that if it was to now decide to go on its hind legs, it could probably put its front paws on Mr Attorcop’s shoulders. The atmosphere was tense, but Lilian still felt lucky. Like when you watch a thunderstorm and you see an arc of lightning not too far away. She could see the feinhound’s eyes now. They were vertically slit, like a cat’s and they were a beautiful shade of green. Its fur was currently a deep blue with flecks of black around its back legs. Lilian held her breath and prayed that it didn’t disappear. She had no idea how long they had spent watching it get closer but Mr Attorcop seemed to be relaxing.
“It doesn’t seem like it wants to attack us.” He whispered. Lilian noticed that it was glancing occasionally at his sword. Everytime it tried to step closer its eyes would dart to the blade and it would hesitate and try to find another way. Lilian had an idea,
“Put the sword away.” She said, “I don’t think it likes it.” Mr Attorcop was hesitant. By the look on his face Lilian could tell that he was torn. He probably sensed its hesitation around the sword too, but putting it away would leave them defenceless. Slowly though, Mr Attorcop brought out the vial and dipped the tip of the blade back into its opening, Lilian watched as it melted quickly back into essence. Now they were only left with the few drops hanging between them and the feinhound, Lilian could see their light reflected in its eyes. That seemed to have done the trick, because no sooner had the last of the sword’s handle been poured back into the vial, the feinhound stepped closer and began to sniff Mr Attorcop’s leg. Lilian heard low chimes coming from its throat. She feared that putting the sword away might have been a mistake as it was now clearly growling. Or at least, it was doing its version of growling. But quickly, it stopped and moved round to Lilian.
“Just let it smell you.” Mr Attorcop breathed out in relief. He was visibly relaxing now but the danger had not disappeared completely. It approached Lilian tentatively and dipped its head to sniff at her shoes and the hem of her skirt. Lilian couldn’t believe it. She felt as though she was dreaming, as though any minute her mum would touch her shoulder and she’d be back in her room. The feinhound looked up at her. She heard nothing coming from its throat but its tail began to wag ever so slightly. She smiled. She had no idea what to do or say but she smiled and looked up at Mr Attorcop. He had turned around to observe the animal and was now stood wide eyed, transfixed and Lilian even thought she saw his mouth slightly open.
“What do I do?” She asked.
“I… I don’t know.” Mr Attorcop was no help at all, thought Lilian as she turned back to the feinhound. Its fur was now dark green and the black flecks turned to white. She heard Mr Attorcop breathe in quickly. Lilian was also mesmerised. She desperately wanted to touch its fur and so, she began to raise her hand slowly towards its head. Her mother had once told her that it’s a good idea to let unfamiliar dogs smell you before touching them so she tried to move her hand towards its black, wet nose. The feinhound did lean in to smell it but backed away before she could reach out and touch it. It was then that Lilian noticed its body. She could see its ribs protruding out in bold lines. She noticed muscle and sinew down its legs too. She obviously had no idea what a healthy feinhound should look like but if this had been a large dog it would have been severely underweight. The feinhound promptly sat on its haunches and stared at both Lilian and Mr Attorcop expectantly.
“It looks hungry…” said Lilian as she watched it lick its cheeks with a slobbery, thin dark tongue. She turned to Mr Attorcop who was putting the rest of the essence back inside the tiny bottle. Once he’d finished he started to back away from her.
“I think we should head back to town Lilian. Once it sees lights and people it might head back into the woods.” Lilian wasn’t sure she wanted it to head back. With every second she gazed at its eyes they became less threatening, but she had to admit that this was probably the right thing to do.
They started walking back to town, navigating their way round the pools and puddles. Lilian turned to look at the Padda Stone one last time and noticed that the Feinhound was following them at a safe distance. This made her smile. But her grin quickly disappeared when she thought about the consequences of bringing this creature into Benlunar. People might panic, they might scream and run and frighten the poor thing. Worse still, they might remember all the sheep that have been going missing and decide to kill it. Lilian was not going to let that happen. Mr Attorcop was silent for most of the way back to Benlunar’s centre. Once the houses were so close that they could make out people moving about in the windows, he turned to look at the creature. It had followed them all the way from the padda stone ponds and it didn’t look like it was going to stop. Mr Attorcop wasn’t used to not knowing what to do. He didn’t like the feeling at all. Walking straight into town with this thing trailing behind them was out of the question. It didn’t seem aggressive but there were too many unpredictable variables when dealing with larger crowds and populated areas. Suddenly he stopped as an idea occured to him.
“Lilian, why don’t you walk over there a second, and I’ll go in the opposite direction. I want to see who its following.” Lilian nodded and began to walk to her right in the direction Mr Attorcop had pointed. She came off the path after a few steps and noticed her boots getting wet as she stepped into the grass. She turned to see Mr Attorcop walking in the opposite direction and the feinhound standing very still. It seemed reluctant to approach the town, but desperate enough to try something dangerous. Lilian watched its eyes dart between her and Mr Attorcop. It dipped its head down and its coat changed colour again. This time it became brown with a large patch of white on its chest. Lilian even noticed that its fur grew in length a little so that it now looked like a dog’s shaggy winter coat as opposed to the wiry hairs it had before. Even its ears became fluffier with little tufts of brown hair sprouting from the tips. After just a few short seconds it looked like, well from a distance anyway, a big shaggy dog. Lilian relaxed a little. If it followed them through town now, most people might just think it a stray looking for an easy meal. Once the change had completed, it moved closer to Lilian, clearly deciding she would be the one to feed it before Mr Attorcop. Lilian felt a pang of pride but reminded herself that it was probably just hungry and hedging its bets. Mr Attorcop had noted the change and the decision and in that short time had come up with a plan that should work.
“We have to assume,” He said in a loud whisper, “That it’s going to keep following you. The Thoreson house is closer and I have food there. Hopefully once its been fed it will leave us alone.” Lilian knew that risking the journey across town to her house was probably unwise so she nodded her head, turned around and started walking down the little path to her right, towards the Thoreson house. Mr Attorcop followed her, casting the occasional eye back to their mysterious pursuer. He wondered if this was the right thing to do. He had considered shouting at it, scolding and even hitting it in an attempt to make it leave them alone. But every time he considered that course of action, he remembered the large, sharp teeth hiding beneath its cheeks. For now, best to humour it and hope that it disappears. As the distance between them grew he did note that at a glance it did look just like any other large dog, he crossed his fingers that no one would decide to run up to it and inspect it closely. Mr Attorcop wasn’t quite past the shock of it all yet. He was sure that no one had ever seen or at the very least, documented such an extraordinary creature, yet here it was plodding along behind them like a common stray, sniffing at the ground whenever it past something it thought looked interesting. The hour was late so they didn’t run into many townsfolk on their journey. They narrowly managed to avoid a small group of locals coming out of a pink door and by the time they reached the Thorseson house Mr Attorcop was already trying to figure out what gave the animal its unique abilities.
Getting the creature to the house was not a problem, however, getting it through the front door was an ordeal. Simply walking in and expecting it to follow suit did not work. Whenever, Lilian and Mr Attorcop stepped past the threshold, the animal would sit down and gaze about, patiently awaiting their return.
“This won’t do.” Said Mr Attorcop, “The longer it stays out here the more chance there is of somebody seeing it.” He tried to get close to it in the hope of grabbing the fur on its back and pulling it in, but each time he got close, the creature would move a few steps away, dodging his hand at every attempt. Lilian left them to their silly game and headed for the kitchens. A couple of doors through the dining room took her into an ornate kitchen, probably the size of her entire house’s ground floor. It was eerily silent as she walked past copper ladles, large knives and worn down chopping boards on beautiful oak counters. The door to the larder was at the back, far enough away from the fireplace so that the heat didn’t warm it up. The room was small and stuck out from the side of the house so that it puposefully didn’t benefit from any heat generated from the main fires and chimneys. It was cold inside and Lilian instantly found her prize. The carcass of a large chicken sat on the side amongst various uncooked vegetables. It must have been roast that day because there was still a fair amount of meat on the bones. She tore off as much as she could and headed back out to the front door.
When she pushed the dining room door open however she almost jumped out of her skin. Mr Stepson stood there, candle in hand dressed in a blue nightgown complete with ridiculous sleeping hat. Lilian stifled a scream and then a laugh.
“Miss?” He spoke softly, he’d clearly been getting ready for bed when the noise had disturbed him, “May I ask what you are doing rummaging in the kitchen at this hour?” Lilian’s only thought was that she may have been sent on an errand so she just blurted out the first thing that came to her.
“Mr Attorcop wants…” She paused, looked down and said, “chicken.” Mr Stepson looked confused but he didn’t stop her as she pushed past him. Lilian chastised herself. She was normally excellent at coming up with excuses. It was the silly hat that threw her off she thought. Before she reached the entrance hall she threw a glance back to check that Mr Stepson wasn’t following her and when she was satisfied that he had gone back to bed she opened the door to see Mr Attorcop at his wits end.
“It won’t move!” He managed to keep control of his volume but if he had had any hair on his head he would probably have been pulling it out.
“Here look, let’s try this.” Lilian stepped out of the front door and the feinhound instantly snapped its head towards her. She didn’t go all the way over to it, but instead let it approach her. She held a piece of chicken in her outstretched hand and, although it took a moment, the feinhound eventually approached it to give it a good sniff before snapping it out of fingers. The motion was lightning quick, Lilian barely saw the flash of white teeth before the morcel of chicken was gone and the feinhound was licking its lips. Lilian stepped back and repeated the process all the way up to the front door. The feinhound became hesitant again once its feet touched the floor boards but its eyes only momentarily broke contact with the chicken to check its footing before it stepped through the door frame and into the candle lit hallway. Lilian could feel the vibrations in the floor boards as each of its large feet thudded down in step. The chicken ploy was working but Lilian was quickly running out of bait.
“In here,” She heard Mr Attorcop whisper behind her as he opened a small side door to what looked to be a boot room of some sort. Lilian guided the feinhound in amongst the musty smelling leather boots and old hunting jackets. She spotted a crossbow hung up in the corner and wondered when the last time the Thoreson family had gathered for a hunt. Probably not for many years. The room was perfect. She threw the last of the chicken bits on the floor and the feinhound shot towards them. As soon as it had finished the last piece it turned back to Lilian expectantly. Its eyes widened in sadness and Lilian was reminded once again of Ortan’s big dog, she had seen that expression before on Silky’s face whenever anyone at the Fox & Octopus fed her a scrap off their plate. Those big eyes could melt even the coldest of hearts.
“What now?” She turned to Mr Attorcop who was still holding the door open.
“Well, that was the starter, I suppose its time for the main course.” Lilian couldn’t be sure, but she thought she detected a hint of enjoyment in his voice. She smiled widely and dashed back to the kitchen. A few minutes later she came back with her hands filled with various meats and vegetables. She didn’t want to presume that it only eat chicken so she put them all down on the floor in front of the feinhound. Its eyes widened as it saw Lilian approach and its tail wagged at full speed. Even its colour and coat changed from the shaggy brown to a slick and brilliant yellow. It patiently waited for Lilian to step back before devouring the veritable buffet in front of it. Lilian and Mr Attorcop looked on, amused.
“It’s so big.” Said Mr Attorcop. Lilian felt that someone eventually had to say it out loud.
“It’s the feinhound.” She whispered. Mr Attorcop frowned in confusion.
“Yes I… I suppose it is.” The two of them paused to think about exactly what that meant.
“We’re going to have to bring it back to the woods aren’t we?” Asked Lilian.
“Yes I… I suppose we are.” They watched in silence as the Feinhound gobbled up an entire sausage, barely chewing it before moving on to a stick of broccoli.
“But… we are very lucky to be able to have this opportunity to… study such a creature, up close.” Lilian slowly turned her head up to look at Mr Attorcop.
“Yes.” She replied. “Very lucky. It would almost be a shame or a wasted opportunity if we were to let it go now.”
“Indeed.” Mr Attorcop answered quickly, “A great shame. Such a shame in fact that no one would blame us if we decided to postpone the release. For scientific purposes, you understand.”
“Of course.” Replied Lilian. She sensed a smile spread across her face. She knew that it was unfair to keep this animal locked up, but the opportunity to spend even a minute more beside it was not one she wanted to give up. She watched the feinhound wolf down a couple of cherry tomatoes, apparently it would eat pretty much anything, before sniffing the floor around it for any more scraps it might have missed. Just then, it looked up quickly and stared at the empty corridor behind them its nose twitching quickly. Half a second later Lilian heard the creak of a floorboard coming from the main staircase. Mr Attorcop must have heard it too because he instinctively shut the door to the boot room at turned to see who was walking down the stairs. The slow moving figure of an old woman was making its way down the grand staircase. She was holding a gas lamp in her right hand and didn’t seem to have noticed them. Lilian watched as she focused all of her attention from one step to the next. Although she had never met this woman before, she knew who it was. This must be Mrs Thoreson. Lilian knew that she still lived in the house but she rarely left it due to her deteriorating health. Or perhaps she just didn’t like people very much. Her hair was dark grey and she had green eyes, clearly visible even through the low light. She was wearing a blue dressing gown that looked thick and warm, probably spun from high quality wool. Lilian noticed tiny stars dotted around it When she reached the last step, she looked up and squinted towards them.
“Oh. Good evening Cromwell.” Mr Attorcop smiled.
“Good evening. I hope we didn’t wake you.” The old woman shuffled towards the dining room door shaking her head.
“No no. I can’t sleep. Can’t ever sleep these days.” She grumbled some inaudible words before stopping to look back at Lilian. “Oh.” She paused. Lilian gulped as she expected the feinhound plot to be rumbled any second. Instead, Mrs Thoreson squinted through the low light to study her. “I suppose you must be the young Nocta?” She paused expectantly, obviously waiting for Lilian to reply, but Lilian had no idea what to say. What even was a Nocta? Had she heard her correctly?
“Uh… Yes.” She replied, “I’m Lilian.” This seemed to please the old woman, her face wrinkled with a smile.
“Yes, Yes. Remember to keep practising, that’s the really hard bit. But you get used to it after a while.” She turned away as she spoke. “I suppose he’s got you running up mountains and all sorts. It is fun. I had fun with it. Anyway, I’m going to get some tea. Good night Cromwell.” She waved her hand absentmindedly as she went.
“Good night, Aunt Ina. I hope you manage to get some sleep.” Mr Attorcop replied. Lilian was taken aback. Was Ina Thoreson really Mr Attorcop’s Aunt? Or was that just a term of endearment… She was about to ask him when he whipped round to open the boot room door and check on the Feinhound. Lilian followed suit and expected it to be sitting quietly in the middle of the room, just the way they had left it. But when her gaze fell on the bare stone slabs she craned her head inside hoping to spot it hiding in a corner. She checked to her left where the coats and arrows were hung, and when she didn’t see anything she walked into the room and checked behind the door. Still nothing. Just an empty corner with some old logs piled on top of each other. She turned around to see Mr Attorcop looking just as confused. He was staring at the small window at the back of the room. Lilian looked at it too, she had noticed it when they first checked the room, it was latched shut and very small. Clearly only intended to let a bit of light into the room during the day and air out any musty smells coming from the boots. She thought that given a lot of effort, she might just about be able to squeeze through it, but it was near the ceiling and clearly hadn’t been opened or tampered with.
“There’s no way.” Lilian was shaking her head in disbelief. She turned around and then around again, each time expecting to see the feinhound walk out from behind a coat or box but there was nothing there. Had it snuck past them? She thought.
“I told you it could disappear!” She said in what could no longer be considered a whisper.
She looked at Mr Attorcop about to ask if he’d noticed anything as he was shutting the door.
He was staring at a point on the ground where the feinhound had been only moments ago. She watched as his squinting eyes widened slowly in disbelief. Lilian looked at the empty spot and then back to Mr Attorcop.
“What is it?” She asked. Mr Attorcop raised his hand and pointed silently towards the empty space on the floor.
“I don’t think it disappeared.” He said softly. Lilian looked back at the empty space. She supposed the pressure of sneaking around had finally got to Mr Attorcop and he’d lost his mind. A shame, she thought. She was about to suggest he go upstairs and get some rest when something caught her attention. The pattern of cracks on the stone slabs seemed strange. It was as if they didn’t quite fit together, like when looking at spoon bend in a glass of water. Now that she’d noticed it, other things seemed to stand out as strange as well. The stone looked to be of a different texture that the rest of the floor around it. Almost, fuzzier, less defined. She walked slowly around the spot, keeping her eyes fixed on the strange space. And that’s when she saw it. The feinhound hadn’t disappeared. It was still there. Only it was lying perfectly still, as still as the logs in the corner and its fur had taken on the colour and texture of the floor around it. This is how it must have disappeared in the forest, she thought, this is how it avoids detection. It blends in perfectly with its surroundings. If she hadn’t have studied the space, if she had just continued to look around the room and check behind doors and boxes, she would have stayed completely oblivious. Suddenly, as if it knew it had been detected, or if it sensed the disappearance of danger it stood up and opened its eyes. As it did so, Its coat changed colours again, this time to a deep black and purple. Its eyes glinted like stars against the darkness and its tail began to wag once more. Lilian turned back to look at Mr Attorcop. She didn’t know what to say. Mr Attorcop just rolled his eyes.
“All this sneaking around all the way from the Padda Stone and it decides to show us that now?” Lilian smiled and began to laugh. It really had been an extraordinary evening. As she laughed she realised that she hadn’t let herself smile like that in days. Not since their trip up to Benlunar peak. It felt good. But she also felt a strange pang of guilt. She thought about how much Kilde would have enjoyed the adventure and although she smiled, her smile was somehow shackled. Less free than it had been only a few short weeks ago.
The rest of the evening consisted of figuring out what to do with the feinhound. Keeping it under observation for longer didn’t look as it was going to be as tough a job as they’d thought. For every time Lilian left its sight, the feinhound would follow her. They experimented with locking the boot room door but after a few minutes they would hear loud scratches on the wood and the strange chiming growl. They decided to risk taking it through
Benlunar and back to Lilian’s parent’s house. Lilian knew that they would be just as fascinated as she was and with the hour well past midnight, the town would be relatively safe to traverse. This was a lucky thing too because the feinhound decided to not even bother with its shaggy brown, dog-like appearance but instead remained black and purple. Every time Lilian looked behind her she would see it, hugging the walls and corners and furtively following her home. When she reached her kitchen door she noticed that her parents were still awake, chatting over sweet smelling tea cups in the kitchen. They smiled as she walked in, her mother’s eyes were red, as if she’d been crying. Lilian knew that it was because she was leaving the next day. But she was too excited to cry, too nervous to console her parents. She let Mr Attorcop, who had come back with her, explain everything before they let the feinhound through the kitchen door and into their house. Polly and Edward Lausanne stood up in shock as the beast tentatively walked in, smelling the cupboards and sideboards as it did.
“It’s astounding.” Remarked her father, he stepped closer but the feinhound backed away.
“I don’t think it likes being touched.” Said Lilian. She looked to see how her Mum was taking this all. Polly Lausanne’s eyes were filled with tears and her mouth curved in a wide smile.
“My prayers.” She said, choking back the tears. Lilian looked at her Dad, who shrugged.
“Mum?” Asked Lilian, stepping closer. Polly grabbed her daughter and hugged her tightly. Lilian felt tear drops in her hair.
“Yesterday I went to the Stave and I asked the gods to protect you on your journey. I asked them to watch over you when you left Benlunar and to make sure you returned soon and safe. And here…” She gestured to the great beast in her tiny kitchen, which was currently sniffing the teapot, “here is the answer the gods of have given. I know it. I’m sure of it.” Lilian smiled. She wasn’t exactly sure if that’s how prayers worked, but if the feinhound made her leaving Benlunar easier for her Mother, she was happy.
Mr Attorcop left soon after, giving Lilian instructions as to how they would leave the town should the feinhound decide to follow her the next morning. That night, the creature followed Lilian into her room as she got ready for bed. Her parents had been unsure but Lilian argued that had it wanted to attack her, it had had many opportunities to do so already. Besides, attempting to put the bedroom door between her and the animal resulted in scratched paint and strange sounds. And so Lilian got into bed and watched as the feinhound, the big and beautiful beast, circled her sheepskin rug and lay down on it. As sleep took her over, a name drifted into her mind as if from a dream. A pleasant dream with a whisper carried on a warm summer wind: Fritha.